The Gospel According to Luke (, ''to kata Loukan euangelion''), commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.

The author is traditionally identified as Luke the Evangelist. Certain popular stories, such as the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan, are found only in this gospel. This account also has a special emphasis on prayer, the activity of the Holy Spirit, women, and joyfulness. Luke presented Jesus as the Son of God, but turned his attention especially to the humanity of Jesus, featuring His compassion for the weak, the suffering and the outcast.

According to the preface the purpose of Luke is to write a historical account, while bringing out the theological significance of the history. The evangelist divides history into three stages: the first ends with John the Baptist, the second consists of Jesus' earthly ministry, and the third is the life of the church after Jesus' resurrection. The author portrays Christianity as divine, respectable, law-abiding, and international. Here, Jesus' compassion extends to all who are needy, women are important among his followers, the despised Samaritans are commended, and Gentiles are promised the opportunity to accept the gospel. While the gospel is written as a historical narrative, many of the facts portrayed therein are based on previous traditions of the recorded Gospel story and not on what some might consider to be historical record.

Most modern critical scholarship concludes that Luke used the Gospel of Mark for his chronology and a hypothetical sayings source Q document for many of Jesus' teachings. Luke may also have drawn from independent written records. Traditional Christian scholarship has dated the composition of the gospel to the early 60s, while higher criticism dates it to the later decades of the 1st century. While the traditional view that Paul's companion Luke authored the gospel is still often put forward, a number of possible contradictions between Acts and Paul's letters lead many scholars to dispute this account. According to Raymond E. Brown, it is not impossible that Luke was the author. According to the majority view, the author is simply unknown.

Biblical Scholars are in wide agreement that the author of the ''Gospel of Luke'' also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Many believe "the ''Gospel of Luke'' and the ''Acts of the Apostles'' originally constituted a two-volume work" , which scholars refer to as Luke-Acts.

Title

Early on, the anonymous gospel was given the title Gospel According to Luke (, ''kata Loukan euangelion'', or , ''to euangelion kata Loukan''). It is commonly called the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke. "Gospel" means "good news."

Composition

The date of the Gospel of Luke is traditionally fixed to some time before the end of the final events of Luke's second volume to Theophilus, Acts, so as early as 59 or 60. The author of the ''Gospel of Luke'' acknowledges familiarity with earlier gospels (1:1). Although semitisms exist throughout the ''Gospel of Luke'', it was composed in Koine Greek. Like Mark (but unlike Matthew), the intended audience is the Greek-speaking populations of the region; it assures readers that Christianity is an international religion, not an exclusively Jewish sect.

Synoptic Gospels

The Gospels of Luke, Matthew and Mark (known as the Synoptic Gospels) include many of the same stories, often in the same sequence, and sometimes exactly the same wording. The most commonly accepted explanation for this similarity is the two-source hypothesis. It hypothesizes that Matthew and Luke each borrowed from both Mark and a hypothetical sayings collection, called Q. For most scholars, the Q collection accounts for what the gospels of Luke and Matthew share but are not found in Mark.

In ''The Four Gospels: A Study of Origins'' (1924), Burnett Hillman Streeter argued that another source, referred to as ''L'' and also hypothetical, lies behind the material in Luke that has no parallel in Mark or Matthew. (See the Four Document Hypothesis )

Sources

The traditional view is that Luke, who was not an eye-witness of Jesus' ministry, wrote his gospel after gathering the best sources of information within his reach (Luke 1:1-4). Critical scholarship generally holds to the two-source hypothesis as most probable, which argues that the author used the Gospel of Mark and the hypothetical Q document in addition to unique material, as sources for the gospel.

The Gospel of Mark

Most modern scholars agree that Luke used the ''Gospel of Mark'' as one of his sources. The understanding that Mark was the first of the synoptic gospels and that it served as a source for Matthew and Luke is foundational to modern critical scholarship.

Mark's gospel is quite short, and written in Koine Greek (that is, common Greek). It provides a general chronology from Jesus' baptism to the empty tomb. Luke, however, sometimes presented events in a different order to more clearly support his emphases. For example, Mark has Jesus recruit his first disciples before he has performed any miracles, and Luke moves the recruitment scene to a point after Jesus' first miracles.

The sayings gospel Q

A majority of scholars believe that Luke used Q as his second source. Q (for "Quelle," German for "source") is a hypothetical collection of Jesus' sayings. In the "two-source hypothesis," Q explains where the authors of Matthew and Luke got the material that they have in common with each other but that is not found in Mark, such as the Lord's prayer. The existence of a highly treasured dominical sayings document in circulation going totally unmentioned by the Fathers of the Early Church, remains one of the great conundrums of Modern Biblical Scholarship.

The Gospel of Matthew

Martin Hengel argued that Luke also made use of Matthew, the second synoptic gospel.

L source

Material unique to Luke is said to derive from the L source, which is thought to derive from the oral tradition.

Luke apparently draws formal set pieces from the "teachings" of Christianity and incorporates into the gospel. The Magnificat, in which Mary praises God, is one such element.

The birth narratives in both Luke and Matthew seem to be the latest component of the Gospels. Luke may have originally begun with verses 3:1-7, a second prologue.

Comparisons have been made between the annunciation narrative in Luke's Gospel with the Dead Sea scrolls manuscript Q4Q246:

“He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High … The power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God” (Luke 1:32, 35).

“[X] shall be great upon the earth. [O king, all (people) shall] make [peace], and all shall serve [him. He shall be called the son of] the [G]reat [God], and by his name shall he be hailed (as) the Son of God, and they shall call him Son of the Most High.” (Dead Sea scrolls manuscript Q4Q246)

The similarity in content has been described as such that "''it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that Luke is dependent in some way, whether directly or indirectly, on this long lost text from Qumran''".

Greek

The books of the New Testament were written in Greek. Luke's style is the most literary of all these books. Graham Stanton evaluates the opening of the Gospel of Luke as "the most finely composed sentence in the whole of post-Classical Greek literature."

Authorship

The writer of this anonymous gospel was probably a Gentile Christian. Whoever the author was, he was highly educated, well traveled, well connected, and extremely widely read. By the time he composed the Gospel, he must have been a highly practiced and competent author - able to compose in a wide variety of literary forms according to the demands of the moment.

The ''Gospel of Luke'' and the Acts of the Apostles were both written by the same author. The most direct evidence comes from the prefaces of each book. Both prefaces were addressed to Theophilus, and the preface of Acts explicitly references "my former book" about the life of Jesus. Furthermore, there are linguistic and theological similarities between the two works, suggesting that they have a common author. Both books also contain common interests. Linguistic and theological agreements and cross-references between the books indicate that they are from the same author. Those biblical scholars who consider the two books a single, two-volume work often refer to both together as Luke-Acts.

The passages in Acts where the first person plural is used point to the author being a companion of Paul. Tradition holds that the text was written by Luke the companion of Paul (named in Colossians ).

The Church Fathers, witnessed by the Muratorian Canon, Irenaeus (''c.'' 170), Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Tertullian, held that the ''Gospel of Luke'' was written by Luke. The oldest manuscript of the gospel P⁷⁵ (''circa'' 200) carries the attribution “the Gospel according to Luke”. however another manuscript P⁴ from about the same time period has no such (surviving) attribution.

According to the majority view, the evidence against Luke being the author is strong enough that the author is unknown. The Book of Acts contradicts the letters of Paul on many points, such as Paul's second trip to Jerusalem for an apostolic council. Paul placed an emphasis on Jesus' death while the author of Luke instead emphasizes Jesus' suffering, and there are other differences regarding eschatology and the Law. Paul described Luke as “the beloved physician”, leading Hobart to claim in 1882 that the vocabulary used in Luke-Acts suggests its author may have had medical training. However, this assertion was contradicted by an influential study by Cadbury in 1926, and has since been abandoned; instead it is now believed this language reflects merely a common Greek education.

The traditional view on Lukan authorship, however, is held by many scholars, and according to Raymond Brown it is "not impossible" that they are right. Since Luke was not prominent there is no obvious reason that this gospel and Acts would have been attributed to him if he didn't write them. If Luke was only a sometime companion of Paul who idealized him long after his death, that could explain the differences between Acts and Paul's letter. Even though the evangelist as depicted in the New Testament doesn't match the patristic description of Luke, the traditional view is still argued today. although some argue for a date ''c.'' 60-65.

AD 75 to 100

Most contemporary scholars regard Mark as a source used by Luke (see Markan Priority). If it is true that Mark was written around the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, around 70, they theorize that Luke would not have been written before 70. Some who take this view believe that Luke's prediction of the destruction of the temple could not be a result of Jesus predicting the future but with the benefit of hindsight regarding specific details. They believe that the discussion in Luke 21:5-30 is specific enough (more specific than Mark's or Matthew's) that a date after 70 seems necessary, if disputed. These scholars have suggested dates for Luke from 75 to 100. Support for a later date comes from a number of reasons. Differences of chronology, "style", and theology suggest that the author of Luke-Acts was not familiar with Paul's distinctive theology but instead was writing a decade or more after his death, by which point significant harmonization between different traditions within Early Christianity had occurred. Furthermore, Luke-Acts has views on Jesus' divine nature, the end times, and salvation that are similar to the those found in Pastoral epistles, which are often seen as pseudonymous and of a later date than the undisputed Pauline Epistles.

Some scholars from the Jesus Seminar argue that the birth narratives of Luke and Matthew are a late development in gospel writing about Jesus. In this view, Luke might have originally started at 3:1, with John the Baptist.

The ''terminus ad quem'', or latest possible date, for Luke is bound by the earliest papyri manuscripts that contains portions of Luke (late 2nd/early 3rd century) and the mid to late 2nd century writings that quote or reference Luke. The work is reflected in the Didache, the Gnostic writings of Basilides and Valentinus, the apologetics of the Church Father Justin Martyr, and was used by Marcion. Christian scholar Donald Guthrie claims that the Gospel was likely widely known before the end of the 1st century, and was fully recognized by the early part of the second, while Helmut Koester states that aside from Marcion, "there is no certain evidence for its usage," prior to ''ca.'' 150. In the middle of the 2nd century, an edited version of the Gospel of Luke was the only gospel accepted by Marcion, a heretic who rejected Christianity's connection to Jewish scripture.

Before AD 70

A minority argument for a date between AD 37 and AD 61 for the Gospel typically suggests that Luke's address to "Most Excellent Theophilus," may be a reference to the Roman-imposed High Priest of Israel between AD 37 and AD 41, Theophilus ben Ananus.

Christian scholar Donald Guthrie reports that some think Luke collected much of his unique material during the imprisonment of Paul in Caesarea, when Luke attended to him. Paul mentions Luke, in passing, several times as traveling with Paul. However Guthrie notes that much of the evidence for dating the Gospel at any point is based upon conjecture.

Audience and authorial intent

It is thought that like Mark (but unlike Matthew), the intended audience is international. Luke portrays his subject in a positive light regarding Roman authorities. For example, the Jews are said to be responsible for Jesus' crucifixion, with Pontius Pilate finding no wrong in him.

The Gospel is addressed to the author's patron, Theophilus, which in Greek simply means ''friend of God'' or ''(be)loved by God'' or ''loving God'', and may not be a name but a generic term for a Christian. The Gospel is clearly directed at Christians, or at those who already knew about Early Christianity, rather than a general audience, since the ascription goes on to state that the Gospel was written "so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught" ().

Content

Formal introduction

To Theophilus (1:1–4)

Jesus' birth and boyhood

Zacharias (1:5–25)

Annunciation (1:26–45)

Magnificat (1:46–56)

John the Baptist (1:57–80; 3:1–20; 7:18–35; 9:7–9)

*Benedictus (1:68–79)

Census of Quirinius (2:1–5)

Nativity (2:6–7)

Annunciation to the shepherds (2:8-15)

Adoration of the Shepherds (2:16–20)

Circumcision of Jesus (2:21–40)

*Nunc dimittis (2:29–32)

Finding in the Temple (2:41–52)

Jesus' baptism and temptation

Baptism (3:21–22)

Genealogy (3:23–38)

Temptation (4:1–13)

Jesus' ministry in Galilee

Good News (4:14–15)

Rejection in Nazareth (4:16–30)

Capernaum (4:31–44)

Miraculous catch of fish (5:1–11)

Leper and Paralytic (5:12–26)

Calling of Matthew (5:27–32)

On fasting (5:33–35)

New Wine into Old Wineskins (5:36-39)

Lord of the Sabbath (6:1-5)

Man with withered hand (6:6-11)

Commission of the Twelve (6:12–16; 9:1–6, 22:24-30)

Sermon on the Plain (6:17–49)

Centurion's servant (7:1–10)

Young man from Nain (7:11-17)

Anointing (7:36–50)

Women companions of Jesus (8:1–3)

Parable of the Sower (8:4–8,11–15)

Purpose of parables (8:9–10)

The Lamp under a Bushel (8:16-18; 11:33)

Jesus' true relatives (8:19-21)

Calming the storm (8:22–25)

Demon named Legion (8:26–39)

Daughter of Jairus (8:40–56)

Feeding of the 5000 (9:10–17)

Peter's confession (9:18–20)

Son of Man (9:21–25, 44–45, 57–58; 18:31–34)

Return of the Son of Man (9:26–27)

Transfiguration (9:28–36)

Possessed boy (9:37–43)

The Little Children (9:46–48)

Those not against are for (9:49–50)

Jesus' teaching on the journey to Jerusalem

On the road to Jerusalem (9:51)

Samaritan rejection (9:52–56)

Let the dead bury the dead (9:59–60)

Don't look back (9:61–62)

Commission of the Seventy (10:1–12,10:16-20)

Cursing Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum (10:13–15)

Praising the Father (10:21–24)

Great Commandment (10:25–28)

Parable of the Good Samaritan (10:29–37)

Visiting Martha and Mary (10:38–42)

Lord's Prayer (11:1–4)

The Friend at Night (11:5–13)

Blind-mute man (11:14–20)

Strong man (11:21-22)

Those not with me are against me (11:23)

Return of the unclean spirit (11:24–26)

Those who hear the word and keep it (11:27–28)

Sign of Jonah (11:29–32)

Eye and Light (11:34–36)

Woes of the Pharisees (11:37–54)

Veiled and Unveiled (12:1–3)

Whom to fear (12:4–7)

Unforgivable sin (12:8–12)

Disputed inheritance (12:13–15)

The Rich Fool and Birds (12:16–32)

Sell your possessions (12:33–34)

Parable of the Faithful Servant (12:35–48)

Not Peace, but a Sword (12:49–53; 14:25–27)

Knowing the times (12:54–56)

Settle with your accuser (12:57–59)

Tower of Siloam (13:1–5)

The Barren Fig Tree (13:6–9)

Infirm woman (13:10–17)

Parables of Mustard seed and Leaven (13:18–21)

The Narrow Gate (13:22–30)

Lament over Jerusalem (13:31–35)

Man with dropsy (14:1–6)

Parable of the Wedding Feast, Great banquet, Counting the cost, Lost sheep, Lost coin, Lost son, Unjust steward (14:7–16:13)

Not one stroke of a letter (16:14–17)

On divorce (16:18)

Lazarus and Dives (16:19–31)

Curse those who set traps (17:1–6)

The Master and Servant (17:7–10)

Cleansing ten lepers (17:11–19)

The Coming Kingdom of God (17:20–37)

Parables of the Unjust judge, Pharisee and Publican (18:1–14)

The Little Children (18:15–17)

Evangelical counsels (18:18–30)

Blind near Jericho (18:35–43)

Zacchaeus (19:1–10)

Parable of the Talents (19:11–27)

Jesus' Jerusalem conflicts, crucifixion, and resurrection

Triumphal entry into Jerusalem (19:28–44)

Temple incident (19:45–20:8)

The Wicked Husbandman (20:9–19)

Render unto Caesar... (20:20–26)

Resurrection of the Dead (20:27–40)

Is the Messiah the son of David? (20:41–44)

Denouncing scribes (20:45–47)

Lesson of the widow's mite (21:1–4)

Olivet discourse (21:5–38)

Plot to kill Jesus (22:1–6)

Last Supper (22:7–23)

Peter's denial (22:31–34, 55–62)

Sell your cloak and buy a sword (22:35–38)

Arrest (22:39–54)

Before the High Priest (22:63–71)

Before Pilate (23:1–5, 13–25)

Before Herod Antipas (23:6–12)

Crucifixion (23:26–49)

Joseph of Arimathea (23:50–56)

Empty tomb (24:1–12)

Resurrection appearances (24:13–43)

Great Commission (24:44–49)

Ascension of Jesus (24:50–53)

Content summary

The Gospel of Luke tells the story of Jesus' miraculous birth, ministry of healing and parables, passion, resurrection, and ascension. Christian scholar Donald Guthrie claims, “it is full of superb stories and leaves the reader with a deep impression of the personality and teachings of Jesus."

Introduction

Luke is the only gospel with a formal introduction, in which the author explains his methodology and purpose. It states that many others have already "undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word." The author adds that he too wishes to compose an orderly account for Theophilus, so that Theophilus "may know the certainty of the things [he has] been taught".

Birth narratives and genealogy

Like Matthew, Luke recounts a royal genealogy and a virgin birth for Jesus. Unlike Matthew, who traces Jesus' birth back through the line of David to Abraham in order to appeal to his Jewish audience, in Luke the evangelist traces Jesus' lineage back to Adam, indicating a universal sense of salvation. Luke's birth narrative features the Christmas story, in which Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem for a census, the newborn Jesus is laid in a feeding trough (or manger), angels proclaim him the savior for all people, and shepherds come to adore him. Also unique to Luke is John the Baptist's birth story and three canticles (including the Magnificat) as well as the only story from Jesus' boyhood.

Miracles and parables

Luke emphasizes Jesus' miracles, recounting 20, four of which are unique. Like Matthew, it includes important sayings from the Q source, such as the Beatitudes. Luke's version of the Beatitudes differs from Matthew's, and Luke's seems closer to the source in Q. More than a dozen of Jesus' most memorable parables are unique to Luke, including the Good Samaritan, the Corrupt Steward and the Parable of the Prodigal Son.

Role of women

More than the other gospels, Luke focuses on women as playing important roles among Jesus' followers, such as Mary Magdalene, Martha, and Mary of Bethany. The Gospel of Luke is the only Gospel which contains the Annunciation of the Birth of Jesus to Mary his mother (1:26-38).

Compared to the other canonical gospels, Luke devotes significantly more attention to women. The Gospel of Luke features more female characters, features a female prophet (), and details the experience of pregnancy ().

Prominent discussion is given to the lives of Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist and of Mary, the mother of Jesus (ch. ).

Last supper

Luke is the only gospel that treats the Last Supper the way Paul does, as the institution of a liturgy to be repeated by his followers. According to Geza Vermes, Paul is to be considered the primary source for this interpretation because he says he received this insight from direct revelation rather than from the other apostles. The verses in question are not found in certain older manuscripts, and Bart Ehrman concludes that they were added in order to support the theme of Jesus' atoning death, a theme found in Mark but that the evangelist excluded from the original Luke.

Trials and crucifixion

Luke emphasizes that Jesus had committed no crime against Rome, as confirmed by Herod, Pilate, and the thief crucified with Jesus. It is possible that the author of Luke was trying to gain the respect of the Roman authorities for the benefit of the church by stressing Jesus' innocence. In addition, it is also noted that Luke downplays Roman involvement in Jesus' execution and places responsibility more on the Jews. In Luke's Passion narrative, Jesus prays that God forgive those who crucify him and his assurance to a crucified thief that they will be together in Paradise.

Resurrection appearances

Luke's accounts differ from those in Mark and Matthew. Luke tells the story of two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and (as in John) Jesus appears to the Eleven and demonstrates that he is flesh and blood, not a spirit. Some scholars suggest that by writing of the "flesh and bones" properties of the resurrected Jesus, the author was making an apologetic response to docetic or gnostic views about Jesus' body, or to views that the disciples had merely seen his ghost. However, scholar Daniel A. Smith writes that the author was more likely concerned with those in Christian circles who may have believed that the resurrection as merely "spiritual" and that it could have occurred without the transformation of the natural body. Jesus' commission (the Great Commission), to the disciples to carry his message to all the nations, affirms Christianity as a universal religion. The Book of Acts, also written by Luke to the same Theophilus, declares about Jesus that "he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days..."

The detailed narration of the ''Road to Emmaus appearance'' in is at times considered one of the best sketches of a biblical scene in the Gospel of Luke.

==Manuscripts== The earliest manuscripts of the Gospel of Luke are three extensive papyrus fragments dating from the late 2nd century or early 3rd century. P⁴ is probably the earliest, dating from the late 2nd century. P⁷⁵ dates from the late 2nd century/early 3rd century. Finally P⁴⁵ (mid-3rd century) contains an extensive portion of all four Gospels. In addition to these major early papyri there are 6 other papyri (P³, P⁷, P⁴², P⁶⁹, P⁸² and P⁹⁷) dating from between the 3rd-8th century which also have small portions of Luke's Gospel. The early copies, as well as the earliest copies of Acts, date after the Gospel was separated from Acts.

The Codex Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, 4th-century codices of the Greek bible, are the oldest manuscripts that contain the full text of Luke. Codex Bezae is a 5th- or 6th-century Western text-type manuscript that contains Luke in Greek and Latin versions on facing pages. This text-type appears to have descended from an offshoot of the main manuscript tradition, departing from more familiar readings at many points. Verses are omitted only in Codex Bezae and a handful of Old Latin manuscripts. Nearly all other manuscripts including Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus and Church Fathers contain the "longer" reading of Luke 22:19 and 20. Verse 22:20, which is very similar to , provides the only gospel support for the doctrine of the New Covenant. Verses are found in Western text-type. But they are omitted by a diverse number of ancient witnesses and are generally marked as such in modern translations. See Bruce M. Metzger's ''Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament'' for details.

Disputed verses

Some argue that early Christian scribes introduced numerous accidental and deliberate alterations into New Testament documents. Textual critics have used principles of textual criticism to tentatively identify which variants are original. Bart D. Ehrman cites two cases where proto-orthodox Christians may have altered the text in order to prevent its being used to support heretical beliefs.

When Jesus is baptized, some early witnesses attest that Luke's gospel had God the Father say to Jesus, "This day I have begotten you." In orthodox texts (and thus in most modern Bibles), this text is replaced by the text from Mark. Ehrman concludes that the original text was changed because it had adoptionist overtones.

When Jesus prays in the garden of Gethsemane, the text refers to his being comforted by an angel and sweating drops like blood (verses 43-44 in ). These two verses disrupt the literary structure of the scene (the chiasmus), they are not found in all the early manuscripts, and they are the only place in Luke where Jesus is seen to be in agony. Ehrman concludes that they were inserted in order to counter doceticism, the belief that Jesus, as divine, only ''seemed'' to suffer. While probably not original to the text, these verses reflect 1st-century tradition.

See also

Textual variants in the Gospel of Luke

List of Gospels

List of omitted Bible verses

Luke-Acts

Order of St. Luke

Luke 1

Luke 2

Luke 3

Luke 4

Christ's agony at Gethsemane

References

''This article was originally based on text from Easton Bible Dictionary of 1897 and from M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., ''Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897.''

External links

Online translations of the Gospel of Luke:

''Bible Gateway 35 languages/50 versions'' at GospelCom.net

''Unbound Bible 100+ languages/versions'' at Biola University

''Online Bible'' at gospelhall.org

Early Christian Writings; ''Gospel of Luke: introductions and e-texts''

French; English translation

Secondary Literature:

Gospel of Luke Reading Room: on-line virtual library (Tyndale Seminary)

Related articles:

B.H. Streeter, The Four Gospels: A study of origins 1924.

Willker,W (2007), ''A textual commentary on the Gospel of Luke'', Pub. on-line A very detailed text-critical discussion of the 300 most important variants of the Greek text (PDF, 467 pages)

Gospel of Saint Luke @ Catholic Encyclopedia

Luke, Gospel of St. in the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica

Category:New Testament books Category:Gospel Books Category:Canonical Gospels Category:New Testament narrative *

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Richard Burridge, born in 1951 in Rothbury, Northumberland, is a film screenwriter and author. His credits include ''Absolute Beginners'' (1986). With his family he is an owner of several racehorses, including the late Desert Orchid.

External links

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Name	Saint Luke the Evangelist
Death date	''c''. 84
Feast day	18 October
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, Anglican Church, Lutheran Church, some other Protestant Churches
Birth place	Antioch, Syria, Roman Empire
Death place	near Boeotia, Greece
Titles	Apostle, Evangelist, Martyr
Cans	Evangelist, Physician, a bishop, a book and/or a pen, a man accompanied by a winged ox/ winged calf/ ox, a man painting an icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a brush and/or a palette (referring to the tradition that he was a painter).
Patronage	Artists, Physicians, Surgeons, and others
Major shrine	Padua, Italy
Major works	''Gospel of Luke''''Acts of the Apostles''
Prayer	}}

Luke the Evangelist (, ''Loukás'') was an Early Christian writer who the Church Fathers such as Jerome and Eusebius said was the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. He is considered one of the Four Evangelists.

The Roman Catholic Church venerates him as Saint Luke, patron saint of artists, physicians, surgeons, students, butchers; his feast day is 18 October.

Life

Luke was a Greco-Syrian physician who lived in the Greek city of Antioch in Ancient Syria.

His earliest notice is in Paul's Epistle to Philemon, verse 24. He is also mentioned in Colossians 4:14 and 2 Timothy 4:11, two works commonly ascribed to Paul. The next earliest account of Luke is in the ''Anti-Marcionite Prologue to the Gospel of Luke'', a document once thought to date to the 2nd century, but which has more recently been dated to the later 4th century. Helmut Koester, however, claims that the following part – the only part preserved in the original Greek – may have been composed in the late 2nd century:

Epiphanius states that Luke was one of the Seventy (''Panarion'' 51.11), and John Chrysostom indicates at one point that the "brother" Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians 8:18 is either Luke or Barnabas. J. Wenham asserts that Luke was "one of the Seventy, the Emmaus disciple, Lucius of Cyrene and Paul's kinsman." Not all scholars are as confident of all of these attributes as Wenham is, not least because Luke's own statement at the beginning of the Gospel of Luke () freely admits that he was not an eyewitness to the events of the Gospel.

If one accepts that Luke was in fact the author of the Gospel bearing his name and also the ''Acts of the Apostles'', certain details of his personal life can be reasonably assumed. While he does exclude himself from those who were eyewitnesses to Jesus' ministry, he repeatedly uses the word "we" in describing the Pauline missions in ''Acts of the Apostles'', indicating that he was personally there at those times.

There is similar evidence that Luke resided in Troas, the province which included the ruins of ancient Troy, in that he writes in ''Acts'' in the third person about Paul and his travels until they get to Troas, where he switches to the first person plural. The "we" section of ''Acts'' continues until the group leaves Philippi, when his writing goes back to the third person. This change happens again when the group returns to Philippi. There are three "we sections" in ''Acts'', all following this rule. Luke never stated, however, that he lived in Troas, and this is the only evidence that he did.

The composition of the writings, as well as the range of vocabulary used, indicate that the author was an educated man. The quote in the Letter of Paul to the Colossians differentiating between Luke and other colleagues "of the circumcision" has caused many to speculate that this indicates Luke was a Gentile. If this were true, it would make Luke the only writer of the New Testament who can clearly be identified as not being Jewish. However, that is not the only possibility. The phrase could just as easily be used to differentiate between those Christians who strictly observed the rituals of Judaism and those who did not.

Luke died at age 84 in Boeotia, according to a "fairly early and widespread tradition". According to Nikiphoros-Kallistos Xanthopoulos (Eccles. History XIVth c. AD., Migne P.G. 145, 876) and others, Luke's Tomb was located in Thebes (Greece), from whence his relics were transferred to Constantinople in the year 357.

Luke as a historian

Most scholars understand Luke's works (Luke-Acts) in the tradition of Greek historiography. The preface of ''The Gospel of Luke'' (1:1-4) drawing on historical investigation is believed to have identified the work to the readers as belonging to the genre of history. There is some disagreement about how best to treat Luke's writings, with some historians regarding Luke as highly accurate, and others taking a more critical approach.

Archaeologist Sir William Ramsay wrote that "Luke is a historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements of fact trustworthy...[he] should be placed along with the very greatest of historians." Professor of classics at Auckland University, E.M. Blaiklock, wrote: "For accuracy of detail, and for evocation of atmosphere, Luke stands, in fact, with Thucydides. The Acts of the Apostles is not shoddy product of pious imagining, but a trustworthy record...it was the spadework of archaeology which first revealed the truth." New Testament scholar Colin Hemer has made a number of advancements in understanding the historical nature and accuracy of Luke's writings.

On the purpose of Acts, New Testament Scholar Luke Timothy Johnson has noted that "Luke's account is selected and shaped to suit his apologetic interests, not in defiance of but in conformity to ancient standards of historiography." Such a position is shared by most commentators such as Richard Heard who sees historical deficiencies as arising from "special objects in writing and to the limitations of his sources of information." However, during modern times, Luke's competence as a historian is questioned. A narrative which relates supernatural, fantastic things like angels, demons etc. is seen as problematic as a historical source. Besides these factors, several discrepancies are found in his accounts. His knowledge of geography is seen as rudimentary. And it is understood that Luke did not intend to record history. His intention was to proclaim and to persuade. Many see this understanding as the final nail in Luke the historian's coffin. Robert M. Grant has noted that although Luke saw himself within the historical tradition, his work contains a number of statistical improbabilities such as the sizable crowd addressed by Peter in Acts 4:4. He has also noted chronological difficulties whereby Luke "has Gamaliel refer to Theudas and Judas in the wrong order, and Theudas actually rebelled about a decade after Gamaliel spoke(5:36-7)'

Luke as an artist

Another Christian tradition states that he was the first icon painter. He is said to have painted pictures of the Virgin Mary (for example, The Black Madonna of Częstochowa or Our Lady of Vladimir) and of Peter and Paul. Thus late medieval guilds of St Luke in the cities of Flanders, or the ''Accademia di San penas'' ("Academy of St Luke") in Rome, imitated in many other European cities during the 16th century, gathered together and protected painters. The tradition that Luke painted icons of Mary and Jesus has been common, particularly in Eastern Orthodoxy. The tradition also has support from the Saint Thomas Christians of India who claim to still have one of the Theotokos icons that St Luke painted and Thomas brought to India.

New Testament books

:''See also Gospel of Luke: Author and Acts of the Apostles: Authorship'' Some scholars attribute to Luke the third Gospel and the ''Acts of the Apostles'', which is clearly meant to be read as a sequel to the Gospel account. Other scholars question Luke's authorship of these books. Many secular scholars give credit to Luke's abilities as a historian. Both books are dedicated to one Theophilus and no scholar seriously doubts that the same person wrote both works, though neither work contains the name of its author.

Many argue that the author of the book must have been a companion of the Apostle Paul, because of several passages in Acts written in the first person plural (known as the ''We Sections''). These verses seem to indicate the author was traveling with Paul during parts of his journeys. Some scholars report that, of the colleagues that Paul mentions in his epistles, the process of elimination leaves Luke as the only person who fits everything known about the author of Luke/Acts.

Additionally, the earliest manuscript of the Gospel, dated circa AD 200, ascribes the work to Luke; as did Irenaeus, writing circa AD 180; and the Muratorian fragment from AD 170. Scholars defending Luke's authorship say there is no reason for early Christians to attribute these works to such a minor figure if he did not in fact write them, nor is there any tradition attributing this work to any other author.

The ox as symbol of St. Luke

In traditional depictions, such as paintings, evangelist portraits and church mosaics, St. Luke is often accompanied by an ox or bull, usually having wings. Also, only the symbol may be shown, especially when in a combination of those of all Four Evangelists.

The relics of St. Luke the Evangelist

Remains claimed to be of St. Luke were brought to Padua, Italy, sometime after 1459, after the fall of medieval Serbian capital Smederevo. Despot George Brankovic had bought them from the Turkish sultan for 30.000 gold coins. In 1992, the then Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Ieronymos of Thebes and Levathia (the current Archbishop of Athens and All Greece) requested from Bishop Antonio Mattiazzo of Padua the return of a "a significant fragment of the relics of St. Luke to be placed on the site where the holy tomb of the Evangelist is located and venerated today". This prompted a scientific investigation of the relics in Padua, and by numerous lines of empirical evidence (archeological analyses of the Tomb in Thebes and the Reliquary of Padua, anatomical analyses of the remains, Carbon-14 dating, comparison with the purported skull of the Evangelist located in Prague) confirmed that these were the remains of an individual of Syrian descent who died between 72 and 416 A.D. The Bishop of Padua then delivered to Metropolitan Ieronymos the rib of St. Luke that was closest to his heart to be kept at his tomb in Thebes, Greece.

See also

Gospel of Luke

Acts of the Apostles

Order of St. Luke

St. Luke's

Icon of the Hodegetria

Woes of the Pharisees

References

I. Howard Marshall. ''Luke: Historian and Theologian''. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press.

F.F. Bruce, ''The Speeches in the Acts of the Apostles.'' London: The Tyndale Press, 1942.

Helmut Koester. ''Ancient Christian Gospels''. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Trinity Press International, 1999.

Burton L. Mack. ''Who Wrote the New Testament?: The Making of the Christian Myth''. San Francisco, California: HarperCollins, 1996.

J. Wenham, "The Identification of Luke", ''Evangelical Quarterly'' 63 (1991), 3–44

Notes

External links

The Life of St. Luke the Evangelist, Apostle & Martyr

Gospel of St.Luke - Douay-Rheims Bible

Biblical Interpretation of Texts of Saint Luke

Early Christian Writings: ''Gospel of Luke'' e-texts, introductions

National Academy of Sciences on Luke the Evangelist

Gospel of Saint Luke

Patron Saint Luke

Photo of the grave of Luke in Padua (in German)

DNA testing of the Saint Luke corpse

Category:Seventy Disciples Category:80s deaths Category:Greek saints Category:Greek Roman Catholic saints Category:Christian martyrs of the Roman era Category:New Testament people Category:People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar Category:Saints from the Holy Land Category:Syrian saints Category:Syrian Roman Catholic saints Category:Anatolian Roman Catholic saints Category:Saints from Anatolia Category:Black Madonna of Częstochowa Category:Ancient Greek physicians Category:Ancient Syrian physicians Category:Christianity in Roman Achaea Category:Ancient Boeotia Category:1st-century Christian martyr saints Category:Anglican saints Category:Syrian Christians Category:Saints days Category:Book of Acts Category:Gospel of Luke

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