8. Are the Witnesses Honest? (2)

(3) The Gospel of Luke - the Book of Acts

 

• Luke is the accepted author for both Luke and Acts written in the 55-90 AD time period.[1]
• The gospel is written in elegant, sophisticated Greek, supporting the claim of an educated native Greek writer.
• The gospel is addressed to a Greek audience, proclaiming Jesus as savior to the whole world (2:3, 24:27) and tracing his genealogy all the way back to Adam, the first human.
• Luke was a travel companion of Paul to Rome and is, as such, mentioned in the books of Acts, Colossians (4:10), and Philemon (24).
• He was a Gentile. In Colossians 4:10–14, Paul lists three companions, who are “the only Jews among my fellow workers” and he includes Luke’s name with two other Gentiles.
• Luke probably met John Mark (and possibly also Peter) in Rome in the mid 60s AD.
• The “we” clauses used in the later chapters of Acts support Luke’s authorship and his presence during those travels:

o       Journey from Troas to Philippi (Acts 16:10-16)

o       Journey from Philippi to Jerusalem (Acts 20:5 – 21:17)

o       Journey from Caesarea to Rome (Acts 27:1 – 28:14)

• Early tradition asserts that Luke was a native from Antioch in Syria .
• Luke was a physician (Colossians 4:14) by profession, focused on accurate details. His descriptions of geographical locations, cities, travel routes and customs are accurate and again and again confirmed by what we know via other sources in every detail. This builds a very strong case for the preciseness and completeness of the remainder of this gospel.
• Luke himself was not an eyewitness to Jesus, but scholars believe that Luke “interviewed” many of Jesus disciples and followers as sources. This probably took place when he was in Jerusalem with Paul from 58-60 AD. Sources likely have included Jesus’ brother James and Philip the deacon.
• Compared to the other gospels, Luke pays particular attention to Jesus’ ministry to the poor and outcasts, and women play a more significant role.
• About 30% of Luke’s gospel is based on about 50% of Mark.
• About 20% of Luke’s gospel is shared with Matthew via Q.
• Luke’s unique material (about 50% of the gospel) is very detailed and shows extensive research of its sources.
• The nativity chapters (Luke 1 and 2, about 10% of the total gospel) due to their style and vocabulary are considered to have originated from a unique source (Mary, the mother of Jesus?).

The synoptic relationship between the synoptic gospels

Comparing the Four Gospels