Having spent the last few weeks studying in the book of Proverbs I felt it would be refreshing to go to one of the New Testament Gospel accounts. I chose the Gospel of Luke, and to start our study, let’s consider the life of the author.
Though not identified by name in the Gospel Luke is considered to be the author by most scholars. For our purposes we’ll base our biographical study on what the Bible says. First we’ll collect information in Acts, Colossians, 2nd Timothy and Philemon.
In Acts 16 Luke is identified as the author of Acts by writing in the first person. Using the pronoun “we” he includes himself in the team that traveled with Paul from Troas to Philippi. When Paul left Philippi the author reverts to referring to the team using the pronoun “they.” He continues describing the team this way on their journey until in Acts 20 he again includes himself as a part of the team by using the pronoun “we.” From then on to the end of the book of Acts he continues to refer to himself as an associate with Paul.
If he is the Author of Acts, then it’s clear he would be the author of the Gospel of Luke. Compare references in the opening verses to the “most Excellent Theophilus,” the recipient of both books.
In our next visit we’ll gather more information from the other Biblical references: Colossians 4:14, 2nd Timothy 4:11 and Philemon 24.