Introduction to the

Gospel of Luke

by Fr. Mark Paver

( IN 3 parts)

Gospel of Luke Sunday Cycle C

Part 1

Introduction

Luke’s is the largest of the 4 Gospels and is the first part of a two volume work with the Acts of the Apostles. Only when seen together can we understand the scope of Luke’s theological message. Together they make up more than a quarter of the whole of the New Testament and many of the most well known and most well loved passages from the Gospels are only found in the Gospel of Luke.

Written by Whom and When?

While the Gospel is anonymous, an early tradition (from the latter half of the second century) identifies the author of the Gospel with Luke, the physician and companion of Paul (Colossians 4:14; cf. Philemon 24, 2 Timothy 4:11). Strong support for this tradition comes from the use of “we” in sections of Acts (cf. 16:10-17, 20:5-15, 21:1-18, 27:1-28:16). Authorities for this attribution include the Muratorian Fragment and St Irenaeus. Further external evidence from an ancient Prologue, which does not contradict this tradition, describes Luke as a Syrian from Antioch who died in Boeotia in Greece at the age of 84. Although the issue is debated, there is no better guess as to authorship than this early tradition. 

Internal evidence reveals much about the author. In the opening of the Gospel he does not count himself amongst the “eyewitnesses and ministers of the word”, thus he is likely to be a second generation disciple. He was highly educated with a significantly elevated grasp of Greek language and culture in comparison to Mark. This has led many to conclude that he must have been a Gentile. At the same time, his knowledge and use of the Old Testament shows a well developed understanding of the Jewish faith, which has led others to conclude he must have been Jewish, perhaps a Jew living in the diaspora. Militating against this latter view is seeming confusion in his description of the purification laws (2:22ff). The best guess then is that Luke was a well educated, Greek speaking convert to Christianity, possibly with a previous strong attraction to Judaism – if not a Jew from the diaspora. There is no strong reason to reject the ancient tradition of the Church to associate authorship with Paul’s companion and the description in Colossians 4:11 suggests that, if this were the case, he was not Jewish.     

In terms of when the Gospel was written, experts are divided and there is little that can be said with real certainty. Some hold that it was written before the year 63 because Acts ends with Paul imprisoned in Rome. Others do not see what subsequently happened to Paul as essential to the purpose of Acts and so posit a later date. Luke’s reliance on Mark tends to lead towards a date some time after the mid 70s and the weight of opinion points towards a date between 80 and 90. 

From Where and to Whom?

Luke appears to display a lack of understanding of the geography of Palestine which leads many to conclude that the Gospel was written from elsewhere. His knowledge of Greek and philosophy have suggested a source in the diaspora is most likely and Antioch (Syria) or Achaia (Greece) have emerged as likely origins, which chimes with the external evidence noted above.

In the prologue of the Gospel Luke cites his reasons for writing it: “to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed.” (1:3-4) “Theophilus”, lover of God, could be a Roman official but more likely is a general name for any reader who wishes to understand the life of Jesus in an orderly way. It is most likely that Luke is writing not to an individual church but to newly converted Christians across the Mediterranean region, a theory given credence by the replacing of Aramaic terms for Greek equivalents for the sake of his Gentile audience.

Structure

Luke’s Gospel is very well ordered and written, even to the extent of re-ordering material from Mark and eliminating passages that he views as duplicates in Mark. Luke uses Geography to tell his story with a large chunk of the Gospel following a journey to Jerusalem, an approach which continues in Acts as the Word travels from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth (cf Acts 1:8). The following is a basic structure of the Gospel:

Chapter: verse

Luke 1:1-4                  Classic Prologue

Luke 1:5-2:25           

 Infancy Narrative including the annunciations and

births of John the Baptist and Jesus,

the Presentation in the Temple and the Finding of Jesus in the Temple. 

Luke 3:1-4:13            

Preparations for Ministry including the preaching of John the Baptist,       

Baptism of Jesus, Genealogy of Jesus, and Temptations in the desert. 

Luke 4:14-9:50         

Preaching and Teaching in Galilee. 

Luke 9:51-19:27         

Long Journey to Jerusalem. 

Luke 19:28-21:38       

Entrance into Jerusalem and Ministry there. 

Luke 22:1-23:56       

 Last Supper, Passion, Death and Burial. 

Luke 24:1-53             

Resurrection Appearances and Ascension.   

In Part 2  we will look at the  Characteristics of Luke's Gospel