Because the gospel according to luke doesnt display accurate knowledge of palestinian geography, the author probably didnt live there or. Luke is traditionally thought of as one of pauls traveling companions and its certainly the case that the author of luke was from those greek cities in which paul. Luke acts makes up 28% of the new testamentmore than that written by either paul or john a. This summary of the gospel of luke provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the gospel of luke. The author s name does not appear in the book, but much unmistakable evidence points to luke. The gospel of mark was published around the year 70 ce, and within only a few years or decades, matthew and luke made it on the scene. Gospel authorship catholic education resource center. It tells of the ministry of jesus from his baptism by john the baptist to his death and burial and the discovery of the empty tomb. Written by the same author and for the same purpose, both were addressed to a christian named theophilus and were designed for the purpose of presenting to him a complete and well authenticated narrative of the early history of the christian movement. Interesting facts about luke barnes bible charts author. The gospel of luke and the book of acts are closely related. This entry consists of two articles assessing lukes accomplishments as an historian and as a theologian. Saint luke, the traditional author of the gospel according to luke and the acts of the apostles.
Lukestrictly speaking, the gospel of luke is anonymous, but luke the physician and companion of paul is probably the author of the gospel by his name. The gospel writers we know as matthew, mark, luke and john did not know jesus personally. Following the authors preface addressed to his patron and the two birth narratives john the baptist and jesus, the gospel opens. Might be one person, might be a team, but this is irrelevant in this book the point is what is the point of the gospel. Traditionally, luke is proposed as the author of the third gospel. Paul the apostle, and the most literary of the new. Luke could, however, have witnessed some events in acts. This would make luke the only gentile to pen any books of scripture. Luke is traditionally thought of as one of pauls traveling companions and its certainly the case that the author of luke was from those greek cities in which paul had worked. The author of luke claims to have had a perfect understanding of all things from the very first luke 1. Eusebius notes that pantaenus was a man highly distinguished for his learning.
The gospel of luke is one of four gospels in the holy bible and is the third book presented in the new testament. Darrell bock did matthew, mark, luke, and john actually author the gospel accounts. Both luke and acts are addressed to the same person, theophilus luke 1. Paul the apostle, and the most literary of the new testament writers. Few would doubt that the author of marks gospel did not know jesus, and the other. Because the book of acts is the sequel to luke, it should be considered when trying to define the author. These are pseudonyms for the otherwise anonymous authors of the gospels.
The gospel of luke and the acts of the apostles make up a twovolume work which scholars call lukeacts. Mary fairchild is a fulltime christian minister, writer, and editor of two christian anthologies, including stories of cavalry. One thing seems certain, if we know the author of either work, we have probably found the author of both. The date of the gospel must be in the early 60s due to the necessity of acts being completed by ad 64. The final editors of the new testament separated the gospel according to luke and acts of the apostles, which were originally written by the same author in a single twovolume work. Luke spelled out his purpose for writing in the first four verses of chapter one. The great church historian, eusebius of caesarea, writes that pantaenus, a church leader in the late 2 nd to possibly early 3 rd century, came across the hebrew version of matthews gospel. Early christian writings accepted luke as the author of 2 books, luke and acts. The version of the gospel we have was probably written between 7080. It is widely accepted that marks gospel was also a source for the gospels of matthew and luke. So later authors might have wondered how to get their text, their distinctive vision of jesus and jesuss message, into the hands of readers.
Luke, also called saint luke the evangelist, flourished 1st century ce. As the commentary notes, lukes perspective of the spiritual life is a journey. Luke was a doctor and probably well educated according to. Introduction to the gospel of luke learn religions. This is the gospel of luke from the aspect of the author what was he trying to accomplish. Historical reliability of the acts of the apostles. Introduction to the gospel of luke study resources. We journey with luke as he tells his gospel story gleaned from edited eyewitness accounts. He edited traditional material of which he came into possession. It is usually agreed that the author of our gospel is to be identified with the writer of acts. The date of the gospel must be in the early 60s due to.
He was the only gentile author of a new testament book. Most biblical scholars believe that both the gospel of luke and acts were written by the same person. In other words he is claiming that he is in a perfect position, he is ideally qualified to tell theophilus the history of the events from his perspective, making use of eyewitness accounts. The gospel of luke is the units first half and narrates the birth, ministry, death, and resurrection of jesus. Externally, even the earliest manuscripts support the title according to luke kata loukan. Acts is the first book to follow the four gospels in the bible. Luke intro to luke biblica the international bible society. Saint luke, also known as luke the evangelist, is widely regarded as the author of both the gospel of luke and the book of acts.
The gospel of luke is one of four gospels of the new testament of the bible matthew, mark, luke, and john. Did matthew, mark, luke, and john actually author the. Lukes involvement with the gospel of lukeacts is documented by justin martyr, irenaeus, papias, and others. Much of early church tradition also believed that luke wrote this gospel.
The gospel of luke was written to give a reliable and precise historical record of the life of jesus christ. Both books are addressed to theophilus, the author s patronand perhaps a label for a christian community as a whole as the name means beloved of god, and the preface of acts explicitly references my former book about the life of jesusalmost certainly the work we know as the gospel of luke furthermore, there are linguistic and theological similarities between the gospel of luke and. He was also the author of its companion work, the book of acts. Luke does not name himself in either of his books, but paul mentions him by name in three epistles. The story of the storytellers the gospel of luke from jesus to. Introduction to new testament rlst 152 luke and acts, a twovolume work, are structured very carefully by the author to outline the ministry of. The tradition from the earliest days of the church has been that luke, a physician and a close companion of the. This gospel is a companion volume to the book of acts, and. An edited excerpt from leon morriss commentary on luke tyndale new testament commentaries.
Both were written to a man named theophilus, and in acts 1. Luke is the only one that would fit into this mold according to pauls epistles. The book is not a theological commentary but also does not lack scholarly insight. The title the gospel according to lukeprinted in virtually every christian bible todayis late. Luke, welleducated in classical greek and noted for his literary talent, wrote his gospel and a sequel, the acts of the apostles, which follows the.
Many critics dispute the claim that the luke in pauls letters wrote the gospel for example, the acts author shows no knowledge of pauls writings. The story of the storytellers the gospel of luke from. The tradition from the earliest days of the church has been that luke, a physician and a close companion of the apostle paul, wrote both luke and acts colossians 4. He wrote more of the new testament than anyone elseeven the apostle paul luke wasnt an eyewitness to jesus ministry, but he lived during the first century, and according to his own writings, he carefully investigated everything from the beginning. Michael card provides a conversational commentary to luke. Did gospel writers matthew, mark, luke and john know jesus. Over the centuries, numerous traditions have evolved around this somewhat shadowy evangelist. The gospel of luke and the acts of the apostles make up a twovolume work which scholars call luke acts. The authors name does not appear in the book, but much unmistakable evidence points to luke. Luke was not, then, an eyewitness of the gospel events. The author of this gospel, luke, was an associate of the apostle paul and also the author of the book of acts. Luke paints the madonna and the baby jesus, by maarten van heemskerck, 1532.
Luke apparently accompanied paul on his journey to rome, and is the reputed author of the gospel of luke and the acts of the apostles. There is no genealogy of jesus or birth narrative, nor, in the. Pantaenus also confirmed that matthew was the author of the first gospel. We have no evidence that it appeared on the earliest versions of the gospel. Profile of luke the evangelist, author of a gospel acts. Lukestrictly speaking, the gospel of luke is anonymous, but luke the physician and companion of paul is probably the author of. Luke was born in antioch and was one of the earliest converts to christianity. John marks gospel, the earliest account of jesus life, may have been told to him by peter when the two spent so much time together. Luke was the author of the gospel of luke and the book of acts. Luke s involvement with the gospel of luke acts is documented by justin martyr, irenaeus, papias, and others.
1113 330 30 676 530 65 648 1053 70 374 1356 1116 358 1193 335 479 882 671 1160 73 1250 168 1434 989 404 831 867 538 972 738 161 246 1094