Paul on trial the book of acts as a defense of christianity mauck, john w. Reading any literature it is important to know what the writer is trying to achieve and it is no different in the bible. May 29, 20 while both luke and acts are, strictly speaking, anonymous, carsonmoo, 290 there is both external and internal evidence to support luke as the author of acts. Sep 03, 2019 neither paul nor luke really wrote acts of the apostles. The cornerstone of lukeacts theology is salvation history, the authors understanding that gods purpose. Lukeacts, theology of bakers evangelical dictionary of. Together with the gospel of luke and the letter to the. 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. He was also the author of its companion work, the gospel of luke. As well, within the book of acts itself, the socalled wesections were composed by the same. If he did, the book is a sequel to the gospel of luke. Internal evidence 1 the author of acts is the same as the author of luke. Book of acts explained discover the 66 books of the bible.
Problems with luke as the author of luke the bart ehrman blog. After the first few chapters of acts of the apostles the main missionary character of the book is who. Paul on trial the book of acts as a defense of christianity. Who was luke, the author of the book of luke and acts. A historical introduction to the new testament by robert m. The genre of the book of acts is narrative history with several sermons.
Authorship of the book of acts is attributed to luke. In the peoples new testament, a commentary on the new testament of the. Lukes involvement with the gospel of lukeacts is documented by justin martyr, irenaeus, papias, and others. The gospel of luke and the book of acts form a single, twovolume work. This film depicts the birth of the early church through the eyes of luke, the author of the gospel of luke. Luke was the author of the gospel of luke and the book of acts.
By such processes of elimination luke remains the only likely candidate for the authorship of acts. Verse 1 demonstrates clearly that the unnamed author of acts is the same person as the unnamed author of the third gospel luke 1. The author s name does not appear in the book, but much unmistakable evidence points to luke. In the first volume, the movement is towards jerusalem, the center of jewish national life. The first to identify the luke in pauls letters with the author of the gospel according to luke and acts was irenaeus, bishop of lyons in the late 2nd century. It is titled acts to emphasize that this book records the acts of the apostles through the work of the holy spirit. Since it is universally recognized that whoever wrote luke also wrote acts, this evidence would favor luke as the author of acts. Traditionally, the text is believed to have been written by luke the companion of paul named in colossians 4. Both books are addressed to theophilus, and the latter acts. Paul the apostle, and the most literary of the new testament writers. The book of acts ends with paul in house arrest waiting to. Since luke is the author of acts, any date between ad 60 and 100 is reasonable as conzelmann points out. Since many have undertaken to draw up an account concerning the events which have taken place among us, as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the matter delivered accounts of them to us, it seemed good also to me, since i followed all of.
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. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. 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. Unlike the writings of the apostle paul, luke and acts do not mention an authors name. Luke s involvement with the gospel of luke acts is documented by justin martyr, irenaeus, papias, and others. Luke, also called saint luke the evangelist, flourished 1st century ce. Who is the author of the book of acts in the holy bible. Luke as author of the book of acts lives transforming. In the latter portion of acts, luke recorded three rejections of the jews to pauls overtures of salvation.
He edited traditional material of which he came into possession. He is the author of this gospel and the acts of the apostles. The author quite certainly was luke for the following reason. The author of the acts of the apostles is the same author of the gospel of luke. Just as his gospel opens with a dedication to theophilus, so also does acts.
We can come to this conclusion because of the similarity of writing styles and vocabulary in both. Lukeacts introduction, the books of the bible nt books. Lukeacts is the composite work of the gospel of luke and the acts of the apostles in the new. Already the church father ireneus ca 140202 mentions that luke is the author of the book of acts. Therefore one would conclude that the book of acts also originates from the pen of luke. Luke, the author of the gospel of luke, was a doctor and gentile. Carson and douglas moo note that both luke and acts are anonymous, the prologue to luke acts alludes to an author who is well educated, not an apostle, versed in the old testament, and knowledgeable of first century society, which all align with a. Luke had great influence in the development of christianity. We have no idea, really, but heres guessing it wasnt from old age. Both luke and acts are addressed to the same person, theophilus luke 1. This groundbreaking work by darrell bock thoroughly explores the theology of luke s gospel and the book of acts.
This summary of the book of acts provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of acts. While no definite answer can be given to this question, it seems highly probable that luke was the author of the original book, but the work of editors and redactors was added before the text reached the final form in which we have it today. The story of the storytellers the gospel of luke from. 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. As the book of acts closes, the author places himself beside paul at the roman imprisonment. There are sections in acts where the storytelling switches to we did this or that acts 16. Paul in his epistle states that luke, not titus, was with him at that time philemon 24. He was a greek and the only gentile christian writer of the new testament. Companion books the theme of the gospel according to luke the theme of the acts of the apostles central message of luke s bivolume work conclusion. The book of acts ends with paul in house arrest waiting to present his case before caesar. It turns out to be a really sticky problem one of those that cant be solved simply. Various scholars have also pointed out that the style and the choice of words in luke and acts are very similar. Within three verses, luke lists seven places on the way to jerusalem. Although the author does not name himself, evidence outside the scriptures and inferences from the book itself lead to the conclusion that the author.
Lukeacts, theology of the initial verses of both the gospel of luke and the book of acts indicate they were written to an otherwise unknown person named theophilus. According to church tradition, luke wrote the book of acts. Lukethe physician and coworker with the apostle paulis the only viable candidate for the authorship of the twovolume work known as lukeacts. Luke wrote this twovolume history to serve several important purposes. Luke is by the same author as the book of acts in the new testament, the book that tells the story of the beginnings of the christian movement and down through the time of pauls career. The date of the gospel must be in the early 60s due to the necessity of acts. Luke was the first great church historian and literary apologist for christianity luke 1. This summary of the gospel of luke provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the gospel of luke.
Four significant factors point to a lucan authorship of the book of acts. Luke acts makes up 28% of the new testamentmore than that written by either paul or john. Book of acts audio bible reading new testament the author of the acts of the apostles is the same author of the gospel of luke. He wanted to assure followers of jesus that what theyd been taught about him was trustworthy. He was an educated man, and we learn in colossians 4. We have reunited the two volumes of luke acts and placed them first because they provide an overview of the new testament period. Luke is by the same author as the book of acts in the new testament, the book that tells the story of the beginnings of the christian movement and down. Jun 25, 2019 luke was not, then, an eyewitness of the gospel events. Compiling all the information we have before us, dr. So how do we know that he really was the author of these works. The tradition from the earliest days of the church has been that luke, a companion of the apostle paul, wrote the books of luke and acts colossians 4. What evidence is there for luke as the author of acts of. Luke was not, then, an eyewitness of the gospel events. The association that the third gospel holds with the book of acts illustrates the association that the author had with the apostle paul due to the we passages in acts.
He was the only gentile who wrote any of the books of the bible. Jun 19, 2017 the external evidence unanimously holds dr. The wording in the first chapter of the book of luke is interesting because not only does luke address the same man as in the book of acts, but he also gives a lengthy explanation as to why he is writing. Luke does not name himself in either of his books, but paul mentions him by name in three epistles. Another difference between luke and the other synoptics is the prologue. Book of acts audio bible reading new testament youtube. The book of acts is a continuation of the record luke began in the gospel of luke.
So luke acts tells the story of how god invited first the people of israel, then the people of all nations, to follow jesus. The external evidence is what others have said in support, and the internal evidence is within the document itself. These two books are often referred to as a single unit called luke acts. We dont really know that much about who wrote the book of luke, so your speculation is probably at least as good as mine or maybe even as good as those who think he was part of. I continue now with my discussion of whether one of pauls traveling companions wrote the account of his life in the book of acts, and thus, by association, the gospel of luke. A man penned the book as the spirit of god instructed him. Many critics dispute the claim that the luke in pauls letters wrote the gospel for example, the acts author shows no knowledge of pauls writings. Lukeacts makes up 28% of the new testamentmore than that written by either paul or john. The authorship and date of the book of acts 628 words. Authorship of actsluke is the author of the book acts. This would indicate it was matthew, mark, luke, or john.
Luke is uniformly identified as the author acts by the second century a. Luke is the only new testament writer clearly identifiable as a nonjew. Dec 22, 2008 the muratorian canon, which was an early list of important christian writings, from around the end of the 2nd century, calls the author of luke s gospel and acts luke the physician and companion. Luke could, however, have witnessed some events in acts. How did luke, the person who wrote the book of acts and.
As the traditional author of two books of the new testament, st. Carson and douglas moo note that both luke and acts are anonymous, the prologue to lukeacts alludes to an author who is well educated, not an apostle, versed in the old testament, and knowledgeable of first century society, which all align with a current understanding of luke. Introduction to the gospel of luke study resources. Luke s gospel is his account of the life of jesus christ. Second, the author gives some evidence of being a physician by the attention he gives to medical detail luke 8. Acts and the gospel of luke make up a twopart work, lukeacts, by the same anonymous author, usually dated to around 8090 ad. These two works were authored by luke, a gentile believer colossians 4. Both books are addressed to theophilus, and the latter acts refers. According to multiple commentaries on the book of acts, luke is the author of that book. Problems with luke as the author of luke the bart ehrman. For instance, luke is the only gospel to have a sequel, the acts of the apostles. Most biblical scholars support luke as the author of the gospel of luke and the book of acts.
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. His gospel according to luke is one of the three synoptic gospels and was written for gentile converts. Luke s prologue can also be called an exordium, which is a literary device that was also used by other greek writers. Jan 10, 2017 who was luke, the author of the book of luke and acts. Problems with thinking that luke wrote luke and acts the. Luke was writing for someone who already knew him, theophilus, and so he didnt bother to introduce himself. The gospel and acts were, in all likelihood, tagged with the name luke when they were deposited in the library of the authors patron, theophilus luke 1. Commentary on the book of acts bible study lessons. Introduction to the book of acts study resources blue letter bible. The first part, the gospel of luke, tells how god fulfilled his plan for the worlds salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of jesus of nazareth, the promised messiah. Vocabulary and style are very similar in the two books.
The purpose of the book of acts is governed by the jews response to peter and paul. Jun 10, 2012 this groundbreaking work by darrell bock thoroughly explores the theology of lukes gospel and the book of acts. The date of the gospel must be in the early 60s due to the necessity of acts being completed by ad 64. 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. Paul wrote many letters, john wrote a gospel, a letter and the book of revelation and luke wrote a gospel and the acts of the apostles. The muratorian canon, which was an early list of important christian writings, from around the end of the 2nd century, calls the author of lukes gospel and acts luke the physician and companion. Much of the material about paul that is contained in acts is quite inconsistent with what paul wrote about in his own epistles, which rules out authorship by paul but also rules out authorsh. The gospel of luke and the book of acts are closely related. Luke recorded three rejections by the jews to peter and the apostles associated with him to the message of repentance and proclamation of the kingdom. The two books traditionally attributed to luke are luke s gospel and acts of the apostles. Mar 11, 2011 book of acts audio bible reading new testament the author of the acts of the apostles is the same author of the gospel of luke. Paul, luke and john all wrote a fair bit of the new testament. Books, in those days, were handwritten, not massproduced, and though theophilus probably had a few copies made for friends, all of them.
Research discussing luke as the author of the book of acts and the evidence supporting his authorship and historical account of events. Luke the author of the third gospel and the book of acts is of special interest for several reasons. The story of the storytellers the gospel of luke from jesus to. The ending of acts plays an important role in route of determining the book s date. Books, in those days, were handwritten, not massproduced, and though theophilus probably had a few copies made for friends, all of them would have known either luke or theophilus. In his writing, luke records the story of god working through jesus to usher in a new era of promise and spiritenablement so that the people of god can be gods people even in the midst of a hostile world. What we can infer from the evidence of the book of acts and the third gospel is that the author was someone who was steeped in scripture, in the septuagint. Jan 10, 2020 luke is the only new testament writer clearly identifiable as a nonjew. Luke, as the human author, has strong support as the author of acts given his previous letter he penned to theophilus about jesus ministry. Acts overview mcgarveys original commentary on acts. Furthermore, he was the only scientist among the writers. However both books were originally anonymous and the consensus of scholars is that luke, the physician.