Interpretation Of The We Passages In Authorship Discussions
The “we” passagesa number of verses in Acts are written in the first person plural apparently indicating that the writer is participating in the events he is describingwere first interpreted by Irenaeus as evidence that the writer was a personal eyewitness of these events, and a companion of Paul on his travels the traditional Luke. This interpretation had come under sustained criticism by the middle of the twentieth century.
Although there currently exists no scholarly consensus on the “we” passages, three interpretations in particular have become dominant: a) the writer was a genuine historical eyewitness, b) the writer was redacting existing written material or oral sources, whether by genuine eyewitnesses or not, c) use of the first person plural is a deliberate stylistic device which was common to the genre of the work, but which was not intended to indicate a historical eyewitness. New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman goes beyond the theory of stylistic insertions to propose that the “we” passages are deliberate deceptions, designed to convince readers that the author was a travelling companion of Paul, even though he was not.
What Is The Message Of Acts
The resounding message of Acts is that the Church is alive! In spite of opposition and persecution, the Church marches on, unabated. All over the world, people are being saved every day. If you are involved in evangelism, you are on the front lines in bringing this gospel to a lost world.
One of the early Church authors, Tertullian, made a statement that stands true to this day. He wrote: The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. Each time in the book of Acts, and throughout history, when Christians are persecuted beyond measure, forced to go underground, or are scattered, the Church grows. In Acts we are blessed to witness the expansion of the greatest message ever told. If this gospel message can save a man like Paul, who was a murderer, a terrorist, and the chief of sinners, as he put it, then this gospel of Jesus Christ can save anyone. This is the message and power that flows throughout the book of Acts.
Roman Catholicism Eastern Orthodoxy And Classical Anglicanism
For the , there are two modes of Revelation: Scripture and . Both of them are interpreted by the teachings of the Church. The Roman Catholic view is expressed clearly in the :
§ 82: As a result the Church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted, does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honoured with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence.§ 107: The inspired books teach the truth. Since therefore all that the inspired authors or sacred writers affirm should be regarded as affirmed by the Holy Spirit, we must acknowledge that the books of Scripture firmly, faithfully, and without error teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the Sacred Scriptures.
In Catholic terminology the teaching office is called the . The Catholic view should not be confused with the two-source theory. As the Catechism states in §§ 80 and 81, Revelation has “one common source … two distinct modes of transmission.”
While many writers distinguish between Scripture and Tradition, Bishop Kallistos Ware says that for the Orthodox there is only one source of the Christian faith, Holy Tradition, within which Scripture exists.
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Audience And Authorial Intent
Luke was written to be read aloud to a group of Jesus-followers gathered in a house to share the Lord’s Supper. The author assumes an educated Greek-speaking audience, but directs his attention to specifically Christian concerns rather than to the Greco-Roman world at large. He begins his gospel with a preface addressed to “Theophilus“: the name means “Lover of God,” and could refer to any Christian, though most interpreters consider it a reference to a Christian convert and Luke’s literary patron. Here he informs Theophilus of his intention, which is to lead his reader to certainty through an orderly account “of the events that have been fulfilled among us.” He did not, however, intend to provide Theophilus with a historical justification of the Christian faith “did it happen?” but to encourage faith “what happened, and what does it all mean?”
Who Wrote The Gospel Of Luke And Acts
by Guest | Jul 2, 2017 | 4. Is the NT True?, Theology and Christian Apologetics |
We have been engaged in a series of articles discussing the authorship of the books of the New Testament. In this article, we consider the Third Gospel, the Gospel of Luke. Who wrote the Gospel? What clues do we have from the internal and external evidence, the date, and the location and audience?
Proposed Author by Tradition: Traditionally, Luke is proposed as the author of the Third Gospel. Luke was a physician and an associate of Paul the apostle .
Internal Evidence: Internally, a few distinctive markers are found. First and most noticeably, the author of the Third Gospel writes to one Theophilus and seeks to provide an orderly sequence of the life of Jesus, after having had carefully investigated everything from the very first according to what the original eyewitnesses and servants of the word handed down . From this information, one can gather that the author was not an eyewitness of the events of Jesuss life. But, the author had access to those who had.
Second, the author of the Third Gospel also authored the book of Acts. The level of detail and precision, writing style, the similar address to Theophilus, as well as the connective clause in the first of Acts connects the two works to the same author.
Date: Seeing that Acts ends with the imprisonment of Paul , the Gospel of Luke must have been written at some time in the early 60s AD.
Notes
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Establishing A Critical Text
The among manuscript copies of books in the New Testament prompted attempts to discern the earliest form of text already in antiquity . The efforts began in earnest again during the , which saw a revival of the study of ancient Greek texts. During this period, modern was born. In this context, such as and promoted a return to the original Greek of the New Testament. This was the beginning of modern , which over subsequent centuries would increasingly incorporate more and more manuscripts, in more languages , as well as citations of the New Testament by ancient authors and the New Testament text in in order to reconstruct the earliest recoverable form of the New Testament text and the history of changes to it.
What Was Lukes Relationship With Jesus
Luke depicts Jesus in his short-lived ministry as deeply compassionate caring for the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalized of that culture, such as Samaritans, Gentiles, and women. Whereas Matthew traces Jesus genealogy to Abraham, father of the Jewish people, Luke goes back to Adam, parent of us all.
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Arguments Against Johns Authorship
Some scholars propose that the textual evidence doesnt necessarily point to John as the disciple whom Jesus loved.
1. John would have had important information that isnt recorded in the gospel. The gospel written by the disciple Jesus loved doesnt include the main events where only Peter, James, and John were presentthe raising of Jairus daughter, the transfiguration, or the prayer in Gethsemane. Plus, John followed Jesus from the beginning of his ministry , but the disciple whom Jesus loved isnt mentioned until the Last Supper .
2. John may have been martyred before this gospel was written. Some scholars have suggested the apostle John was martyred too early to have written this gospel, citing Mark 10:3839, where Jesus may be suggesting that an early martyrdom was in his future:
You dont know what you are asking, Jesus said. Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?
We can, they answered.
Jesus said to them, You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with . . .
3. A fourth-century church historian says there were two Johns. Were back to Eusebius and Papias. According to Eusebius, Papias claims that there were two men named John ministering in Ephesus .
Lukeacts: Unity Authorship And Date
Subscriptio
The gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles make up a two-volume work which scholars call LukeActs. Together they account for 27.5% of the New Testament, the largest contribution by a single author, providing the framework for both the Church’s liturgical calendar and the historical outline into which later generations have fitted their idea of the story of Jesus.
The author is not named in either volume. According to a Church tradition, first attested by Irenaeus , he was the Luke named as a companion of Paul in three of the Pauline letters, but “a critical consensus emphasizes the countless contradictions between the account in Acts and the authentic Pauline letters.” An example can be seen by comparing Acts’ accounts of Paul’s conversion with Paul’s own statement that he remained unknown to Christians in Judea after that event . The author of the Gospel of Luke clearly admired Paul, but his theology was significantly different from Paul’s on key points and he does not represent Paul’s views accurately. He was educated, a man of means, probably urban, and someone who respected manual work, although not a worker himself this is significant, because more high-brow writers of the time looked down on the artisans and small business-people who made up the early church of Paul and were presumably Luke’s audience.
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Why Study This Book
The book of Luke provides an additional witness of many truths recorded by Matthew and Mark and also contains unique content. The Gospel of Luke can deepen your understanding of the teachings of Jesus Christ and help you more fully appreciate His love and compassion for all mankind, as manifested during His mortal ministry and through His infinite Atonement.
What Are Some Key Verses In Acts
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance .
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The Gospel According To Luke
The Gospel according to Luke is the first part of a two-volume work that continues the biblical history of Gods dealings with humanity found in the Old Testament, showing how Gods promises to Israel have been fulfilled in Jesus and how the salvation promised to Israel and accomplished by Jesus has been extended to the Gentiles. The stated purpose of the two volumes is to provide Theophilus and others like him with certaintyassuranceabout earlier instruction they have received . To accomplish his purpose, Luke shows that the preaching and teaching of the representatives of the early church are grounded in the preaching and teaching of Jesus, who during his historical ministry prepared his specially chosen followers and commissioned them to be witnesses to his resurrection and to all else that he did . This continuity between the historical ministry of Jesus and the ministry of the apostles is Lukes way of guaranteeing the fidelity of the Churchs teaching to the teaching of Jesus.
Lukes consistent substitution of Greek names for the Aramaic or Hebrew names occurring in his sources , his omission from the gospel of specifically Jewish Christian concerns found in his sources , his interest in Gentile Christians , and his incomplete knowledge of Palestinian geography, customs, and practices are among the characteristics of this gospel that suggest that Luke was a non-Palestinian writing to a non-Palestinian audience that was largely made up of Gentile Christians.
When And Where Was It Written
Although it is not known exactly when Luke wrote his Gospel, it was likely written in the second half of the first century A.D. Lukeâs sources were people who âfrom the beginning were eyewitnessesâ of the Saviorâs mortal ministry and Resurrection. We do not know where the Gospel of Luke was written.
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Argument Against Lukes Authorship
Secular and Christian scholars agree that these books were both written by the same person, but not everyone believes it was Luke.
The biggest argument against Luke as the author of these two volumes is that there are perceived inconsistencies between his account of Pauls missionary journeys and Pauls own accounts as recorded in his letters. Some also argue that he misrepresents Pauls theology. One would expect a close companion of Paul to get these things right.
For example, in Acts 9:1930, we read that immediately after Pauls conversion, he spent time with the believers in Damascus, preached for many days, and eventually came to Jerusalem.
But Paul says he didnt go to Jerusalem right away , and that he was personally unknown to the Christian churches of Judea .
This certainly appears to be a contradiction, but the language is ambiguous. Acts doesnt specify how much time passed before Paul went to Jerusalem, nor does Paul being personally unknown the the churches overall mean that he couldnt have had private meetings with the apostles or that the churches had never heard of him.
Some also argue that Acts 15:135, which records the Council of Jerusalem , contradicts Pauls account of the same event in Galatians 2:110.
However, others argue that these are two separate events.
There are a few instances like this where Paul and Luke appear to contradict one another, but where the language is ambiguous enough that there is room for interpretation.
Luke Writes To Theophilus
Lukes introduction to Theophilus, in the book of Luke, begins like this: Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word.
With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught .
Lukes phrase so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught gives the impression that Theophilus is probably a Gentile with whom Luke has studied about Christianity. Luke wants to prove to Theophilus that what he has learned about Jesus is in fact true.
In this vein, Luke even includes the account of Jesus explaining the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah to two people as they traveled to Emmaus. And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself .
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Papias Who Wrote The Gospel Of Mark
The Elder used to say: Mark, in his capacity as Peterâs interpreter, wrote down accurately as many things as he recalled from memoryâthough not in an ordered formâof the things either said or done by the Lord. For he neither heard the Lord nor accompanied him, but later, as I said, Peter, who used to give his teachings in the form of chreiai, but had no intention of providing an ordered arrangement of the logia of the Lord. Consequently Mark did nothing wrong when he wrote down some individual items just as he related them from memory. For he made it his one concern not to omit anything he had heard or to falsify anything.
Papias. Cited by Eusebius.
Papias is very early evidence that Mark is the author of the Gospel of Mark. Here, Papias says that âMark⦠wrote down accurately as many things as he recalled from memory.â
Author Of Both Gospel And Acts
For the proof of the Lukan authorship of the Acts see Acts Of The& nbsp Apostles& nbsp . For the discussion of the Lukan authorship of the Gospel with his name, see& nbsp Luke, Gospel Of. Our interest in him is largely due to this fact and to his relations with Paul. The Christian world owes him a great debt for his literary productions in the interest of the gospel.
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Is Luke A Reliable Biblical Author
Luke has both been praised and criticized for his accuracy and attention to detail. Some hail his work as a marvel of ancient history, while others denounce it as a fabrication designed to push a theological agenda.
A lot of the conflict centers around those ambiguous passages that appear to conflict with Paul, but there are also occasional historical discrepancies, like in Acts 5:3637. Luke records a speech given by a well-known Pharisee named Gamaliel :
Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered.
The problem with this is that Judas actually led a rebellion before Theudas, and Theudas didnt revolt until many years after the events recorded in Acts 5.
In spite of instances like this, many scholars find Luke remarkably reliable. In fact, some argue that these errors are simply conventions of the genre Luke was writing in.
Lukes account is selected and shaped to suit his apologetic interests, not in defiance of but in conformity to ancient standards of historiography. Luke Timothy Johnson, New Testament scholar