The gospel is believed to be written by luke, who was a friend of the apostle paul luke was a doctor. The book of acts is the second half of a treatise written by luke to a man named theophilus. When looking at the evidence for lukan authorship of the book of acts it is important to understand that the author of luke also wrote the book of acts. Externally, even the earliest manuscripts support the title according to luke kata loukan.
The authors name does not appear in the book, but much unmistakable evidence points to luke. Theophilus may have supplied the resources for luke and acts to have been written. The companion to the gospel account luke wrote was acts, which retells the work of jesus spirit after his ascension, and the story of the movement of people he inspired. The gospel of luke is a detailed and often historical account of the life and death and resurrection of jesus.
This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true john 21. Yet only onethe gospel of johnclaims to be an eyewitness account, the testimony of the unnamed disciple whom jesus loved. Book of luke overview insight for living ministries. Bobdeffinbaugh graduated from dallas theological seminary with his th. The gospel of luke retells the story of jesus life, death, and resurrection. Clement of alexandria suggests that paul wrote the book originally in hebrew and that luke translated it into greek, though the greek of hebrews bears. Others see these writings as merely fanciful tales or historical curiosities. Luke wrote two works, the third gospel, an account of the life and teachings of jesus, and the book of acts, which is an account of the growth and expansion of christianity after the death of. Luke records jesus prophecy of the destruction of jerusalem in a. We learn from these verses that luke was not one of jesus disciples. The author wrote with a preciseness that is evident when reading.
The cornerstone of luke acts theology is salvation history, the authors understanding that gods purpose is seen in the way he has acted, and will. He was, according to tradition, a physician and a friend of pauls, and he is described as a gentile writing for a gentile audience. Some discredit lukes gospel because he was not one of the 12 disciples. Luke is only mentioned by name three times in scripture, and all three references are in pauls letters. He was the only gentile author of a new testament book. This would make luke the only gentile to pen any books of scripture. The story of the storytellers the gospel of luke from. The authorship of the gospel of luke and the acts of the apostles, collectively known as lukeacts, is an important issue for biblical exegetes who are attempting to produce critical scholarship on the origins of the new testament. A wonderful help to use when studying the books of matthew, mark, luke, and john is found in the bible dictionary, after. The writers of the bible wrote not according to their own will or whim, but only as they were moved, or controlled, by the spirit of god. Of course, for christians, the bible is more than just a human book.
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. The gospels, the first four books of the new testament, tell the story of the life of jesus. Jan 02, 2020 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. Luke, the author of luke and acts is commonly considered to have been a gentile. He was the only gentile who wrote any of the books of the bible. The name luke is only mentioned three times in the new testament. The second judas to be considered was also one of the twelve disciples mark 3.
This is, in my opinion, the best and most beautiful recording. If you really mean nonjew, then all of the new testament books except those written by matthew, maybe 1 peter, and. Oct 30, 2012 this is the holy book of luke, known as the gospel according to saint luke. We do know he was a physician and the only gentile to write any part of the new testament. Throughout the past several weeks, we have been exploring who the authors of the books of the new testament were. He is also recognized as a great historian, with his excellent accounts of the key events of the most important era in the history of the world. However, the earliest manuscripts are anonymous, and the traditional view has been challenged by many modern scholars. The best explanation for this is that acts was finished before he pauls final outcome was known. Luke supplies a genealogy of jesus, a detailed account of christs birth, as well as the parables of the good samaritan and the prodigal son. The book of revelation, written by john, concludes the collection we now call the new testament.
It is the third book of the new testament and comes after the gospel of matthew and the gospel of mark. The bible book of luke with full chapters, footnotes and bible commentary to aid your bible search, reading, and study. Luke, also called saint luke the evangelist, flourished 1st century ce. The recording is dramatized, from the king james bible.
Gospel of luke explained discover the 66 books of the bible. They are addressed to the same individual, theophilus, and the second volume refers to the first. Luke is the only one that would fit into this mold according to pauls epistles. Much of early church tradition also believed that luke wrote this gospel. Most biblical scholars support luke as the author of the gospel of luke and the book of acts. So as you can quickly see, these books were written by either a disciple of christ or a person that was a close associate of a disciple and used their words. Luke wrote two books in the new testament, they are the gospel of luke and the book of acts. Lukeacts is a religiopolitical history of the founder of the church and his successors, in both deeds and words. He accompanied paul on mission journeys, as described in the book of acts, which luke also wrote. Since we know that the gospel of luke was written before the book of acts, we can then date the gospel of luke sometime around a. Each gospel has a different emphasis or theme that seems to run throughout these pages of the bible.
Traditionally, the text is believed to have been written by luke the companion of paul named in colossians 4. Paul s letter to the colossians draws a distinction between luke and other colleagues of. Introduction to the gospel of luke study resources. All of these books were written in the first century ad. Clicking on a chapter will show you the text of that chapter of luke in the bible king james version. From the book of acts, we find that luke was a colaborer with paul throughout his missionary travels. Little is known about luke, the author of the books of luke and acts in the bible. One ancient prologue written to introduce the gospel describes luke as a syrian from antioch.
Early christian writings accepted luke as the author of 2 books, luke and acts. This gospel is a companion volume to the book of acts, and the language and structure of these two books indicate that both were written by the same person. Luke is credited with writing not only his gospel but the new testament book of acts as well. This summary of the gospel of luke provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the gospel of luke. Both books are addressed to theophilus, the authors 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. Luke wrote the gospel of luke, which emphasizes jesus christs humanity. 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 gospel of john. 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. Mar 01, 20 forty men shared in the writing of the bible over a span of about 1,600 years from the time of moses to the last book written by john. Luke also wrote the book of acts in the bible, which tells us what happened after jesus went back to heaven and how the story of jesus spread throughout the whole world. Historians are not sure who this theophilus mentioned in luke 1. Although other writers wrote more new testament books, luke wrote the most in.
The first book of the new testament, matthew, was written about 40 a. Luke wrote 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. The emphasis of luke is parables and contains more of them than any other gospel 19 total.
For some, the sixtysix books of the bible are holy scripture. Luke may also have been writing in general to those who loved god. Luke wrote his gospel for a gentile audience, having been asked for an account of jesuss life and teachings by a roman friend he calls theophilus lover of god see luke 1. Luke the author of the third gospel and the book of actsis of special interest for several reasons. Already we have seen that there are good reasons for supporting the traditional view that the apostles matthew and john wrote the gospels attributed to them, john mark writing the second gospel which was a documentation of simon peters testimony, dr. 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. Clement of alexandria suggests that paul wrote the book originally in hebrew and that luke translated it it is possible paul wrote the book of hebrews. Well, more accurately, the bible is a unique collection of books. He carefully researched and interviewed the disciples and others who were eyewitnesses to. These writers had direct access to the facts they were recording. Paul the apostle, and the most literary of the new testament writers.
The last book of the old testament, malachi, was written about 443 b. By counting the pages written by luke in both his gospel and acts, it is clear that luke wrote more pages of the new testament than any other writer, including paul and john. If luke was a gentile, then the lord entrusted more pages of new testament revelation to a gentile than to any other writer. In addition, luke wrote the book of acts and served as a missionary and early church leader.
John mark, who was a friend of the disciple peter, wrote the book of mark. Like the other gospels, the gospel of luke tells the stories of the life and teachings of jesus. Luke was a syrian born in antioch and one of the earliest converts to christianity. Luke leaves the reader with paul being in rome and waiting to present his case before caesar. Luke is the longest of the four gospels and the longest book in the new testament. And luke, who was pauls doctor, wrote the book of luke and the acts of the apostles.
Luke, a doctor and a greek christian, wrote it circa 5961 a. This would place acts in the early sixties with the gospel of luke being written. Two of the gospel biographies were written by the apostles matthew and john, men who knew jesus personally and traveled with him for over three years. We hope you enjoy this bible adventure and learn to love and follow jesus just like luke. Over the centuries, numerous traditions have evolved around this somewhat shadowy evangelist. A comparison of the two books of mark and luke reveals that judas, the son of james was also called thaddeus mark 3. While lukes name never appears in this gospel, ancient christian tradition unanimously ascribes the book to him. And he opened the book and found the place where it was written.
The gospel of luke and the book of acts are closely related. Luke writes to the influential theophilus, a man of great standing and prominent status. The gospel of john was written by one of jesus closest disciples, giving us an eyewitness account of the messiahs life. Forty men shared in the writing of the bible over a span of about 1,600 years from the time of moses to the last book written by john. Paul writes about him in his letter to the colossians 4. Asked in new testament what two books in the bible did luke write. The other two books were written by mark and luke, close associates of the apostles.
The gospel of luke was written to theophilus, meaning the one who loves god. Jan 03, 2008 matthew, a tax collector also known as levi and one of the twelve disciples, wrote the first gospel in the new testament of matthew. Luke stresses that jesus was the saviour of all mankind, whatever. Net bible luke also wrote the book the acts of the apostles, and also wrote that to theophilus as well. Bob is a pastorteacher and elder at community bible chapel in richardson, texas, and has contributed many of his bible study series for use by the foundation. The book of acts ends with paul still in rome, which leads to the conclusion that luke wrote these books from rome during pauls imprisonment there ca. Luke bible book with full chapters king james version. Clement of alexandria suggests that paul wrote the book originally in hebrew and that luke translated it into greek, though the greek of hebrews bears no resemblance to translation greek e. Paul wrote most of these, but also included are letters written by james, peter, john, and jude. With this piece of information, we can deduce that luke was probably not jewish. History of the bible who wrote the bible why its reliable. From the early church on this book was known to be written by this person, called luke, who accompanied paul on some of his journeys hence the we parts in acts, for example acts 16. Luke wrote the book of acts as a sequel to the gospel of luke.