Luke, a gospel written to a congregation of diaspora (or dispersed) Jews that was just beginning to attract Gentile proselytes into its midst, had a rather different agenda from that of Matthew. So Elijah, the father of the prophetic movement, served Luke much better than did Moses, as the figure through whom Jesus was to be interpreted. A close reading of Luke reveals this broader world into which Jesus, as the new Elijah, fitted so well.
