Col 4:14; 2Ti 4:11.
Luke INDEX OF THE HARMONY OF THE GOSPELS
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
Lucas (Gr. Loukás; Lat. Lucas, perhaps a diminutive of Lat. Lucanus or Lucius; various forms of this name are documented in ancient inscriptions and texts). Author of the 3rd Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, a fellow traveler of the apostle Paul. In Col 4:10-14 the apostle includes Luke among the Gentile believers who were with him, not with those “of the circumcision.” That is why it is believed that Lucas was a Gentile converted to Christianity; early Christian tradition regards him as a native of Antioch in Syria. Other details of his life are unknown. See Luke, Gospel of; Acts of the Apostles, Book of the. Luke, Gospel of. Third Synoptic Gospel. In the oldest manuscripts, the title of this Gospel simply reads: “According to Luke.” I. Author. The ancient and unanimous consensus of the Christian tradition points to Luke,* the physician, as the author of the book (cÆ’ Col 4:14). The famous Muratorian Fragment (c AD 200) also attributes it to Paul’s fellow physician. Nowhere is Luke identified as the author, but internal evidence clearly points to him as such: 1. The introductions to the Gospel of Luke (1:1-4) and to Acts (1:1, 2) leave no doubt about a common author. Furthermore, both books are dedicated to the same person – a certain Theophilus – and the literary style and diction in both are manifestly the same. 2. The use of the pronoun “we” in certain passages in Acts (16:10-17; 20:5-21:18; 27:1-28:16) indicates that the author was with Paul at various points in his ministry : joined Paul at Troas, during the 2nd missionary journey, and continued with him to Philippi; he accompanied him to Jerusalem on the 3rd trip; he remained in Palestine during the 2 years that Paul was imprisoned in Caesarea. his 1st imprisonment (there he joined Paul in sending greetings to the Colossian believers and to Philemon); and later, during his 2nd imprisonment in Rome (2 Tit 4:11), when the apostle pathetically wrote: “Only Luke is with me”. According to Col 4:14, Luke was a physician as well as a man of letters. Lists of alleged medical terms used by him have been compiled. Some of them, it is true, reflect the training and point of view of a professional (cf. Luk 4:38; 5:12; 8:43 with the parallel narratives in Matthew and Mark). But many of the words and expressions quoted as medical terms were in general use, and the use of him in his Gospel cannot be taken as absolute proof that the author was a physician. II. Setting. Conservative scholars generally date the Gospel no later than AD 63, because: 1. Its composition obviously predates Acts (Acts 1:1). 2. The abrupt termination of the Acts narrative implies that it was written during Paul’s 1st imprisonment in Rome, cAD 61-63, and apparently shortly after his arrival in the city. That Acts says nothing of Paul’s trial, release, re-arrest, sentencing, and execution is generally accepted as evidence that the report was written before these latter events occurred. It appears that Luke used the 2 years he spent in Palestine, while Paul was imprisoned in Caesarea, to collect eyewitness materials for his Gospel (Luk 1:1-4). According to Col 4:10 and 14, Luke and John Mark were in Rome at the same time, and this would have given Luke the opportunity to obtain additional information, which would explain the similarity between lengthy passages and the order of many events in the passages. 2 Gospels. These similarities have led many to believe that Mark was one of the sources from which he obtained information. III. Recipients. Luke directs his Gospel to a certain “Most Excellent Theophilus” (Luk 1:3; Act 1:1), of whom nothing else is known. Since the name Theophilus means “friend of God”, some scholars have suggested that it does not refer to a particular person but to any person who could be called “friend of God”; that is, to Christians in general. However, the title “most excellent” definitely implies 723 that Luke had a real person in mind. As the name suggests, Theophilus was probably a Gentile convert to Christianity. It has also been conjectured, though without factual basis, that Theophilus provided the necessary funds for Luke to write his 2-volume history of the church. As the introduction to Acts implies (Acts 1:1, 2), the book picks up the narrative of Christian church history where the Gospel of Locas left off (Luk 24:50-53). This suggests that the author’s purpose was to write it in 2 volumes. In terms of amount of material, Luke contributed about as much to the NT as Paul, and almost twice as much as the apostle John. Luke’s prologue is written in splendid literary Koine Greek, the common tongue of the Greek-speaking Roman world in those days (Luk 1:1-4). He is polished but full of grace and modesty, conforming to the best Greek literary models. This, together with his effort to date the events in harmony with the Greek form current in his day, and his reference to the sources of information, suggests that Luke, evidently a learned and intelligent man, addressed himself primarily to the cultured and educated men of his day. his time. In elegance of Greek literary style, the book of Luke stands next to that of Hebrews, and in some respects reflects the style of the great Greek writers of his time. In v 5 he sets aside the koine literary style, with its elegant form, and uses one of distinctly Hebrew taste that recalls the OT narratives (such as the birth of Samuel). In short, Luke, Paul’s beloved physician and traveling companion, wrote his Gospel for Greek readers in particular. IV. Theme. The prologue reveals that he composed his Gospel after “many” others had written on the subject (1:1). Although he was not an eyewitness to the life and ministry of Jesus, he received much information from people who witnessed the events (v 2). He thoroughly investigated all the sources accessible to him, written and oral, and it was his purpose to preserve the history “in order” (v 3). One of his explicit goals was to provide his friend Theophilus with a fully reliable account of the life and teachings of Jesus. We have no way of knowing whether Luke includes Matthew and Mark among the “many have tried to put in order” the events of the Gospel narrative. It is generally believed that the Gospel of Mark, at least, and perhaps Matthew, were already in circulation. But “many” clearly implies more than 2, and so it would seem that other accounts of the gospel story had been written that have been lost. That Lucas does not claim to be an eyewitness, but frankly acknowledges his debt to others, speaks well of him as a careful and accurate historian, and implies that, in this case, inspiration is not so much a matter of imparting original information, but more or a guarantee of the accuracy of what is recorded. As a historian, he went to the original sources, but he was also an inspired author. Only Luke, among the Gospel writers, provides a chronological framework that correlates the events of Christ’s life with the events of the history of his time (Luk 2:1, 2; 3:1, 2). See Gospels, Harmony of the; Mark, Gospel of. V. Content. Luke offers his Gospel narrative as an accurate, complete, and systematic presentation of the story of Jesus’ life and ministry. While Matthew emphasizes what Jesus taught, and Mark what Jesus did, Luke combines both elements. His claim to have “diligently investigated all things from their beginning” (Luk 1:3) is not an idle boast, since almost 1/4 of the known incidents of the Gospel narrative only appear in Lk. Two aspects of the life and ministry of Jesus that Luke covers extensively, but are only briefly mentioned or glossed over by the others, are the period of infancy and childhood and his extensive ministry in Samaria and Perea during the preceding 6 months. to the last Passover (chs 1; 2; 9:51-19:10). Only Luke records the circumstances surrounding the birth of John the Baptist (1:5-25, 57-80), the Annunciation to Mary and Mary’s visit to Elizabeth (1:26-56), the birth of Jesus (2 :1-7), the announcement to the shepherds (vs 8-20), the circumcision and the presentation in the temple (vs 21-38), the participation of Jesus in a Passover (vs 41-50) and his youth ( vs 51, 52). Similarly, only Luke deals with the Visit of Jesus to Nazareth, at the beginning of his ministry in Galilee, and his rejection there (4:16-30). Perhaps in an attempt to explain to non-Jewish readers how Jesus could be rejected by the leaders of his own nation and yet truly be the promised Messiah, Luke traces Jesus’ ancestry back to Adam (Luk 3:23- 38), the father of the race, thus implying that he was the Savior of all mankind and not just of the Jews (Matthew, on the other hand, is satisfied with exposing the genealogy of Jesus to Abraham). Luke also has an abiding interest in Jesus’ personal 724 ministry to non-Jews (7:1-10; 8:26-39), and he alone records the mission of the 70 to Samaria (9:51-10:20). ) and tells the parable of the Good Samaritan. In Lc. Jewish particularism and exclusivism, which can sometimes be detected in Mt. and Mr., are hardly traced. The first 2 chapters are dedicated to the childhood and youth of Jesus. Like the other Synoptic Gospels, it ignores Jesus’ early ministry from his baptism and Passover, and his work in Judea until the 2nd Passover. He presents his work in Galilee up to the 3rd Passover in considerable detail (4:14-9:17), as do Matthew and Mark. In dealing with the period of Jesus’ retirement from public ministry until the Feast of Tabernacles 6 months later, Luke omits a number of incidents narrated by Matthew and Mark (Luk 9:18-43). As already stated, he treats the labors in Samaria-Perea in great detail (9:51-19:10), as well as the events surrounding the last week of Jesus’ earthly ministry, the 4th Passover (19:10). 28-23:56). Finally, like the other evangelical writers, he deals in some detail with the events of the post-resurrection period (ch 24; see CBA 5: 649-651). For the ancient manuscripts of the Gospel of Luke, see figs 84, 86. For the historical background of the Gospels, see Jesus Christ. Bib.: EC-HE iii.4.6.
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
diminutive of Lucio or Lucanos —city south of Italis—.
Physician Col 4, 14, who accompanied the apostle Paul on a missionary journey to Rome, Acts 27, 1 s, and helped Paul in his captivity, 2 Tm 4, 11. Author of the third gospel that bore his name, written approximately between the 80 and the 90 d. C., as well as the Acts of the Apostles, …