Luke is the third book of
- Authorship & Date Written
- Studies
- Important People
- Interesting Facts
- References & Footnotes
- Other Posts About Luke
Authorship & Date Written
Scholars generally accept Luke (sometimes referred to as Saint Luke or Saint Luke the Evangelist) to be the author of the book; he is also presumed to be the author of
Luke traveled with Paul on at least one mission in Asia minor (2 Timothy 4); scholars believer he was present for other missions as well (e.g., Acts 20:1-6), though in these passages the text is not as explicit in stating that Luke is with Paul.[1][2] Nonetheless, it is not surprising that Paul’s letter discusses Luke on several occasions and give us glimpses of who he was:
- set apart from the circumcised, meaning he was likely not an Israelite (Colossians 4:10-14)
- a doctor (Colossians 4:14)
- a laborer of the gospel (Philemon 1:24)
Ancient writers such as Eusebius, Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, and Tertullian all refer to Luke as the author of the third gospel.
Scholars believe Luke penned the book between 60-65 AD. Skeptics give the book a later date since they don’t believe Messiah could predict the fall of Jerusalem and conclude it was written after the destruction of the Temple.[3]
Studies
Usually for each book of the Bible I study chapter by chapter and write posts covering each chapter or group of chapters depending on their connectivity. Due to the overlap between the the Gospels, I plan to studying them together (eventually I will probably come back and do chapter by chapter individually, as well as). Thus some of the posts below will not necessarily cover whole chapters or pertain just to the Gospel of Luke.
Important People
Interesting Facts
Luke was called “the most beautiful book that exists” by a French critic who didn’t even believe in the Gospel![3]
There are a few motifs that have been applied to the Gospels. For Luke, they are:
- The Gospel of the Son of Man
- Symbolically represented by the man (see Ezekiel 1 and Revelation 4)
- The color white, for rsighteousness and purity, from the materials used to make up the tabernacle
- “The Man…the Branch” (Zechariah 6:12) → the Branch is a title given to our LORD throughout the Bible
- “Behold, the Man” (Zechariah 6:12) → there are four “behold” statements in the Old Testament that line up with the gospels as well
References & Footnotes
- E. Earl Ellis. “St. Luke”. Britannica. March 23, 2023; visited September 2023
- “Who Was Luke?”. GotQuestions.org; visited September 2023
- William MacDonald. Believer’s Bible Commentary. pgs 1197-1200, 1367-1368. 1995