Introduction to the Book of Luke

Luke Introduction

This study begins a series of Bible Studies presented to the Bill and Cilicia Grant home-group of Calvary Chapel, Tucson, AZ. The group meets each Friday evening for a potluck meal, fellowship, Bible study, and prayer. This blog shares the Bible Study portion of the evenings.

Our first study in the book of Luke will concentrate on who wrote the book. We’ll study the ‘why-he-wrote-the book’ in detail in the coming weeks.

Author

The author of the Gospel of Luke does not identify himself by name. The best manuscript of this gospel is titled "The Gospel According to Luke". However, the title of the Gospel is not part of the book itself and was undoubtedly added after the fact, as a way to categorize the manuscript in its owner's library. Tradition, beginning in the 2nd century church, attributes this Gospel to Luke, a believer who accompanied on the Apostle Paul on some of his journeys and is mentioned by name in three of Paul's epistles.

Luke was not an Apostle nor was he mentioned in the other Gospels among those who followed Jesus during His lifetime. However, the fact that Luke was not an Apostle does not mean that we ought to call his Gospel into question. Neither Mark nor Paul were among the original Apostles to whom Jesus promised special inspiration but that has not prevented either man's writings from becoming part of the Canon of Scripture. We can be confident that Luke wrote under the influence of the Holy Spirit and based his Gospel on the written accounts and oral traditions about Jesus circulating in the decades after His death. If Luke had written anything that in His Gospel that was untrue or heretical, we can be confident that the eyewitnesses to the life and miracles of Jesus would have rejected Luke's Gospel.

The Bible is our sole source of information about Luke. Unfortunately, Paul's three mentions tell us very little about Luke. Taken roughly in chronological order, these references are:

Philem 23-24  23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, 24 as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers.

Col 4:10-15 10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with Mark the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and Jesus who is called Justus. These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision; they have proved to be a comfort to me.12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him witness that he has a great zeal for you, and those who are in Laodicea, and those in Hierapolis. 14 Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you. 15 Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas and the church that is in his house.

2 Tim 4:9-13 9 Be diligent to come to me quickly; 10 for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica — Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry. 12 And Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. 13 Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come — and the books, especially the parchments.

From the letter to Philemon, we learn that Luke is a fellow laborer of Paul's.  This probably implies that Luke at least for a time helped Paul to spread the Gospel in some capacity. The reference in Colossians, in addition to the information that Luke was a physician beloved by Paul, suggests that Luke may have been a Gentile, as opposed to Paul's other named companions, Aristarchus, Mark the cousin of Barnabas, and Jesus who is called Justus, whom Paul describes as being "of the circumcision" (i.e., Jews). Finally, the passage in 2 Timothy testifies to Luke's faithfulness - he had stayed by Paul in Rome when others had left.




Paul's three mentions do not provide much substantial information about Luke. However, there is another Biblical source containing information about Luke: the Book of Acts. The Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts are attributed to the same author, by virtue of the dedication that occurs in the Book of Acts:

Acts 1:1-3


1 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

Accepting the tradition that the Luke mentioned by Paul is the author of both the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, we can gather some additional information about Luke from certain passages in Acts that use "we" as the subject, indicating that Luke himself was a participant. There are 61 such occurrences in the Book of Acts, which group themselves roughly into five chapters:

1.    Acts 16:10-16 [51 A.D.]: Luke accompanies Paul by land from Troas to Samothrace, Neapolis, and Philippi in Macedonia. Luke is in Philippi during the imprisonment and release of Paul & Silas. It is unclear if or how long Luke remained with Paul after his release from the Philippian jail.
   2.    Acts 20:6-15 [56 A.D.]:  Luke travels to Troas to meet up Paul. After five days, they depart on a journey to reach Jerusalem for Pentecost. They sail to Miletus by way of Assos, Mitylene, Chios, and Samos. In Miletus, Paul gives a farewell address to the Ephesian elders.
    3.    Acts 21:1-17 [57-58 A.D.]: Luke sails with Paul from Miletus to Cos, Rhodes, and Patara. There they change ships and sail to Tyre, where they remain  for a week. Paul and Luke then sail to Ptolemais and  travel by land to Caesarea. Luke was present when the prophet Agabus warned Paul what awaited him in Jerusalem. They then travel to Jerusalem where Paul meets with James and the elders of the church. Luke is present in Jerusalem for Paul's seizure in the Temple, his defense before the Jews, his detention by the Romans, his trial before the Sanhedrin, the plot to slay Paul, and his relocation to Caesarea.
     4.    Acts 27:1-37 [58-61 A.D.]: It is not stated but likely that Luke was present during Paul's appearances over the course of several years before Felix (the Roman governor of Judea who imprisoned Paul for two years), Festus (Felix's successor), and Herod Agrippa II (King of Jewish Palestine under Roman rule). However, Luke did accompany Paul on his voyage to Rome. They sail by way of Sidon, Cyprus, Cilicia, Myra, Cnidus, Salome, and Fair Havens near Lasea. Luke was present during the shipwreck off Malta and spent three months on the island with Paul.
     5.    Acts 28:10-16 [61-63 A.D.]: Luke sails with Paul from Malta to Syracuse, where they travel by land to Rome by way of Rhegium and Puteoli. Paul is imprisoned for two years and then released. It is unclear how long Luke remains with Paul in Rome.

 The information that these passages give us about Luke is mostly limited to the itinerary that Luke and Paul followed on their journeys. We learn about the places they visited, their mode of travel, and how long they remained in each place. Consequently, most questions about Luke remain unanswered. For example, we do not know either the date or place of Luke's birth and death. We know that he wrote Greek well  but are uncertain about his nationality. We know nothing about his life before his travels with Paul. We do not know when or where he became a believer or if he played another role in the early church besides author of Scripture.

Date & place of composition

While it not possible to date the composition of the Gospel of Luke to a specific year, we can make some assumptions based on events described in both the Gospel and Acts. Since the Gospel of Luke describes the death and resurrection of Jesus as historical events rather than prophecy, we know it must have been written after these events occurred [30 A.D.]. Acts 1:1 tells us that the Gospel of Luke was written before Acts. The Book of Acts ends with Paul having served a two-year imprisonment in Rome, which is traditionally believed to have occurred between 61-63 A.D.. This suggests that Acts could not have been written before 63 A.D.. This means that the Gospel of Luke was written prior to that date. This gives us a roughly thirty year window - from 30-62 A.D. - in which the Gospel could have been written.<

The fact that we cannot closely date the composition of the Gospel means that we also cannot definitively place where it was written. We will have a bit more to say on this subject later when we look at the Gospel of Luke's dedication passage - chapter one, verses one though four - in more detail. 

Purpose & audience

 The purpose and audience are also best addressed in the context of the Gospel's dedication passage which we will discuss next week.<