INTRODUCING LUKE’S GOSPEL (1) Andrew Larkin

Luke’s gospel, focusing on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, is the first of a two-volume document covering nearly ¼ of the New Testament.  The second volume, the book of Acts, covers the first thirty years of the early church.

In Acts 1:1 we read, “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach...”  This is what we read in Luke’s Gospel and then, in Acts, we read of what Jesus continued to do and teach through his apostles by the power of the Holy Spirit.  As such, when focusing on Luke’s Gospel, it is helpful to look at Acts as well.  Themes touched on Luke receive prominence in Acts and passages in Acts help shed light on Luke’s Gospel. 

Who is Luke?

Although there is no place in the Gospel which names Luke as the writer, church history has identified the writer as the Luke mentioned in Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11 and Philemon 24 who is described as a physician or doctor.  There are also passages in Acts, the famous “we” passages, which indicate he was an eyewitness and travelling companion of Paul’s during certain stages of his ministry (Acts 16:10-17; 20:5-15; 21:1-18; 27:1-28:16).  Attempts to explain otherwise have not proved satisfactory.

Do we know anything else about him?  From the style of Greek which tends to be more stylised than found elsewhere in the New Testament and avoidance of Semitic terms[1], many believe him to be a well-educated Gentile Christian, probably from Antioch. 

Given his familiarity with the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Old Testament) some, like Joseph Fitzmyer, have suggested he was a non-Jewish Semite, or perhaps a Hellenist.[2]  If so, this could provide a new angle on Luke’s particular interest in recording the incident in Acts 6 when the Hellenist widows were being neglected in the food distribution.  Some, based on similarities between Luke, Acts and Hebrews have suggested Luke also wrote the latter.  For more on this intriguing possibility, see David Allen’s book, Lukan Authorship of Hebrews. A book review can also be found on The Gospel Coalition website.

Why did Luke write his gospel?  We read in Luke 1:3-4 his desire “to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.”  The question then is:

Who is Theophilus?

Broadly speaking, there are three views on who Theophilus might be.  One suggestion is because his name means “Beloved of God”, the name is a literary device.  Luke is writing for all Christians who are, in a real sense, Theophilus.  This view was a later development in the life of the church.

Others suggest Theophilus was a new Christian who commissioned Luke to write his gospel.  He was probably well-off as the writing and producing of such manuscripts, alongside the time needed for Luke to talk to his sources, would not have been without financial cost.

Finally, perhaps he was someone influential in Paul’s trial at Rome?  Acts ends with Paul under house arrest in Rome.  Why does the story end here?  It can be argued Luke has achieved his purposes with the gospel having reached the centre of the world, the Roman empire.  It does seem, however, a strange place to stop without mention of how Paul’s trial went – whether a death sentence or his acquittal (which I think more likely) followed by imprisonment and martyrdom a few years later.  Tied up with this issue is the question of when Luke wrote his gospel.  We will turn to that question next.

[1] This would include such phrases as “Talitha Cumi” found in Mark 5:41

[2] Jews who had adopted Greek language and culture, although Jewish in ancestry