It was the only gospel that chronicled the birth of Christ (the Magnificat) and the history of John the Baptist. The author describes his book as a "narrative" (diegesis), rather than as a gospel, and implicitly criticises his predecessors for not giving their readers the speeches of Jesus and the Apostles, as such speeches were the mark of a "full" report, the vehicle through which ancient historians conveyed the meaning of their narratives. In addition, Luke wrote the Book of Acts and served as a missionary and early church leader. It is traditionally credited to St. Luke, a close associate of St. Paul the Apostle, and was written for Gentile converts. Most scholars agree that Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Some discredit Luke's Gospel because he was not one of the 12 disciples. [2] Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-volume work which scholars call Luke–Acts;[3] together they account for 27.5% of the New Testament.[4]. Who wrote the Gospel of Luke? These early apologists accused Marcion of having "mutilated" canonical Luke by removing material that contradicted his unorthodox theological views. B.H. [39] Regarding the Jews, Luke emphasises the fact that Jesus and all his earliest followers were Jews, although by his time the majority of Christ-followers were gentiles; nevertheless, the Jews had rejected and killed the Messiah, and the Christian mission now lay with the gentiles. [17], Mark, written around 70 AD, provided the narrative outline for Luke, but Mark contains comparatively little of Jesus' teachings,[18] and for these Luke likely turned to a collection of sayings called Q, which would have consisted mostly, although not exclusively, of "sayings". [15], The eclipse of the traditional attribution to Luke the companion of Paul has meant that an early date for the gospel is now rarely put forward. According to Colossians 4:10-14, Luke was not ‘of the circumcision’, meaning he was not Jewish; he was a Gentile. No other contenders exist. The textual evidence suggests that these stories are very early, dating to the first and second century. The date of the Gospel must be in the early 60s due to the necessity of Acts being completed by AD 64. He was the only Gentile author of a New Testament book. He wasn’t an apostle… Who was Luke? [44], While no manuscript copies of Marcion's gospel survive, reconstructions of his text have been published by Adolf von Harnack and Dieter T. Roth,[45] based on quotations in the anti-Marcionite treatises of orthodox Christian apologists, such as Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Epiphanius. According to church tradition, Luke wrote the book of Acts. Nearly all ancient sources also shared this theory of authorship—Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and the Muratorian Canon all regarded Luke as the author of the Luke-Acts. The gospel itself never reveals the author’s name. Accomplishments of Luke . Paul does mention a companion named Luke in the book of Philemon, but he does not say anything at all about him (not, for example, that he was a gentile or that he was a physician). Unlike the writings of the apostle Paul, the books of Luke and Acts do not record the authors name. [9], Autographs (original copies) of Luke and the other Gospels have not been preserved; the texts that survive are third-generation copies, with no two completely identical. Objective Evidence for "When" Luke Wrote. A Brief Introduction to Luke–Acts is available online. Luke supplies a genealogy of Jesus, a detailed account of Christ's birth, as well as the parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son. Luke wrote two books in the Bible. External Evidence: Early attestation … The combined work divides the history of first-century Christianity into three stages, with the gospel making up the first two of these – the arrival among men of Jesus the Messiah, from his birth to the beginning of his earthly mission in the meeting with John the Baptist followed by his earthly ministry, Passion, death, and resurrection (concluding the gospel story per se). Luke wrote the Gospel of Luke, which emphasizes Jesus Christ's humanity. … I continue now with my discussion of whether one of Paul’s traveling companions wrote the account of his life in the book of Acts, and thus, by association, the Gospel of Luke. Early Christian writings accepted Luke as the author of 2 books, Luke and Acts. The early church father Irenaeus (AD 130-202) claimed Luke, a companion of Paul and doctor, wrote the gospels. Gospel According to Luke, third of the four New Testament Gospels and, with Mark and Matthew, one of the three Synoptic Gospels. Luke wrote the book of Acts as a sequel to the Gospel of Luke. James, the brother of Jesus, was martyred in 62 CE. Acts may well be dated around A.D. Paul wrote most of these, but also included are letters written by James, Peter, John, and Jude. Both books are addressed to Theophilus (Luke 1:3, Acts 1:1), and Acts begins by mentioning a “former book” which is very likely a reference to the Gospel of Luke. (All the parts 1–5 and 5'–1' are constructed of three parts in the style of ABB'. Hence, several commentators have suggested that, while John’s Gospel has an evangelistic purpose, Luke’s Gospel, along with its sequel, the Book of Acts, has a quasi-apologetic purpose. Information about his life is scanty. [31] While much of this is familiar, much also is missing: for example, Luke makes no clear reference to Christ's pre-existence or to the Christian's union with Christ, and makes relatively little reference to the concept of atonement: perhaps he felt no need to mention these ideas, or disagreed with them, or possibly he was simply unaware of them. Over the centuries, numerous traditions have evolved around this somewhat shadowy evangelist: Luke is credited with writing not only his gospel but the New Testament Book of Acts as well. A brief preface addressed to Theophilus stating the author's aims; Birth and infancy narratives for both Jesus and John the Baptist, interpreted as the dawn of the promised era of Israel's salvation; Preparation for Jesus' messianic mission: John's prophetic mission, his baptism of Jesus, and the testing of Jesus' vocation; The beginning of Jesus' mission in Galilee, and the hostile reception there; The central section: the journey to Jerusalem, where Jesus knows he must meet his destiny as God's prophet and messiah; His mission in Jerusalem, culminating in confrontation with the leaders of the Jewish Temple; His last supper with his most intimate followers, followed by his arrest, interrogation, and crucifixion; God's validation of Jesus as Christ: events from the first Easter to the Ascension, showing Jesus' death to be divinely ordained, in keeping with both scriptural promise and the nature of messiahship, and anticipating the story of Acts. Crucial aspects of the teaching of all three concerned the relationship between rich and poor and the question of whether "foreigners" were to be received into the people. At Jesus' arrest, only Luke and John state that the servant's. Every source is unanimous that Matthew wrote Matthew, Mark wrote Mark, Luke penned his gospel, and John wrote his. ), "The Titles of the Gospels in the Earliest New Testament Manuscripts", "The Least Orthodox Reading is to be Preferred". Papyrus 75 (= Papyrus Bodmer XIV-XV) is another very early manuscript (late 2nd - early 3rd century), and it includes an attribution of the gospel to Luke. Date. [5], The author is anonymous;[6] the traditional view that it was Luke the Evangelist, the companion of Paul, is still occasionally put forward, but the scholarly consensus emphasises the many contradictions between Acts and the authentic Pauline letters. Still later, Luke was depicted as a portrait painter whose most famous subject was the Virgin Mary herself. Log in with your IP address. [34] An important example of such deliberate alterations is found in Luke's account of the baptism of Jesus, where virtually all the earliest witnesses have God saying, "This day I have begotten you. The scope of this book covers the birth of Jesus all the way to his resurrection. James, the brother of Jesus, was martyred in 62 CE. A dedicated disciple, Luke stayed at Paul’s side when the controversial apostle was incarcerated ( 2 Timothy 4:11 ). But do we really know this, and, if so, how? – that whatever his name, it was a companion of Paul who wrote the books of Luke and Acts. The presentation of the child Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem, Jesus preaches with power (the power of the spirit), The apostles are sent to preach to all nations, Pentecost: Christ's followers receive the spirit, The apostles preach with the power of the spirit, Death of Stephen, the first martyr for Christ. Luke wrote the Gospel of Luke, which emphasizes Jesus Christ's humanity. The book of Luke is the third book in the Gospels and helps us to understand the way of salvation. These traditions—with further embellishments—continued throughout the Middle Ages. [7][8], The most probable date for its composition is around AD 80–110, and there is evidence that it was still being revised well into the 2nd century. Codex Bezae shows comprehensively the differences between the versions which show no core theological significance. [35] It is unlikely, therefore, that the more common reading of Luke 3:22 (God says to Jesus, "You are my beloved son, with you I am well pleased") is original. Despite being grouped with Matthew and Mark, Luke's gospel has a number of parallels with the Gospel of John which are not shared by the other Synoptics: There are also several other parallels that scholars have identified. So how do we know who really wrote them? 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