on some of his journeys. That neither this, nor any other, companion
of Paul can have been the author of the whole work is
supposed to follow both from its theological temper and from
discrepancies between its statements and those of the Pauline
Epistles on matters of fact.
A careful examination, however, of the “we” sections shows that words and expressions characteristic of the author of the third Gospel and the Acts are found in them to an extent which is very remarkable, and that in many instances they belong to the very texture of the passages. This linguistic evidence, which is of quite unusual force, has never yet been fairly faced by those who deny Luke’s authorship of Acts. Moreover, the difficulties in the way of supposing that the author of Acts could at an earlier period of his life have been a companion of St Paul do not seem to be so serious as some critics think. Indeed it is easier to explain some of the differences between the Acts and St Paul’s Epistles on this assumption than on that of authorship by a writer who would have felt more dependent upon the information which might be gathered from those Epistles, and who would have been more likely to have had a collection of them at hand, if his work was composed c. A.D. 100, as is commonly assumed by critics who reject the authorship by Luke.
There is then strong reason for believing the tradition that Luke, the companion of the Apostle Paul, was the author of our third Gospel and the Acts. Another argument in support of this belief, upon which much reliance has been placed, is found in the descriptions of diseases, and the words common in Greek medical writers, contained in these two works. These, it is said, point to the author’s having been a physician, as Luke (Col. iv. 14) was (see esp. Hobart, The Medical Language of St Luke, 1882). The instances alleged are, many of them at least, not very distinctive. Yet they have some value as confirming the conclusion based on a comparison of the “we” sections of the Acts, with the remainder of the two books.
If we may assume that the writer who uses the first person plural in Acts xvi. 10 sqq. was the author of the two works, they can hardly have been composed later than A.D. 96; he would then have been about 65 years old, even if he was a very young man when he first joined the Apostle. An earlier date than A.D. 96 cannot be assigned if it is held that his writings show acquaintance with the Antiquities of the Jewish People by Josephus. The grounds for supposing this appear, however, to be wholly insufficient (see article on Acts by Bishop Lightfoot in 2nd ed. of Smith’s Dict. of Bible, p. 39) and it is not easy to see why he should have deferred writing so long. On the other hand, a comparison of Luke xxi. 20-24 with Mark xiii. 14 seq. seems to show that in using his document Luke here mingled with the prophecy the interpretation which events had suggested and that the siege of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and dispersion of its inhabitants had already taken place some little time before. Circa A.D. 80 may with probability be given as the time of the composition of his Gospel.
2. Contents, Sources and Arrangement.—In the preface to his Gospel, i. 1-4, Luke alludes to other Gospel-records which preceded his own. He does not say whether he made any use of them, but he seems to imply that his own was more complete. And this was true in regard to the two which, from a comparison of his Gospel with the other two Synoptics, we know that he did use. These we may call his Marcan and his Logian document. Luke also claims that he has written “in order.” The instances in which he has departed from the Marcan order, and the manner in which he has introduced his additional matter into the Marcan outline, do not suggest the idea that he had any independent knowledge of an exact kind of the chronological sequence of events. By the phrase “in order” he may himself have intended chiefly to contrast the orderliness and consecutiveness of his account with the necessarily fragmentary character of the catechetical instruction which Theophilus had received. He may, also, have had in view the fact that he has prefixed a narrative of the birth and infancy of Jesus and of John and so begun the history at what he considered to be its true point of departure; to this he plainly alludes when he says that he has “traced the course of all things accurately from the first.” He may, also, in part be thinking of those indications which he—and he alone among the evangelists—has given of the points in the course of secular history at which Jesus was born and the Baptist began to preach (ii. 1-3, iii. 1, 2), though it may be doubted whether these are in all respects accurate.
Chap. i. 5–ii. 52. The Birth and Infancy of John and of Jesus.—This portion of the Gospel differs in style and character from all the remainder. Its source may be an Aramaic or a Hebrew document. Some critics, however, hold that it is wholly Luke’s own composition, and that the Hebraic style—in which he was able to write in consequence of his familiarity with the LXX.—has been adopted by him as suitable to the subject in hand. Perhaps an intermediate view may be the most probable one; he may have obtained part of his materials, especially the hymns, from some source, and have skilfully worked these into his narrative.
Chap. iii. 1–iv. 13. From the Commencement of the Preaching of the Baptist to the End of the Temptation in the Wilderness.—The accounts of the Baptist’s preaching and of the temptation are taken from the Logian document. The genealogy of Jesus here given is peculiar to this Gospel.
Chap. iv. 14–vi. 16 From the Commencement of the Ministry of Jesus in Galilee to the Appointment of the Twelve.—In the main Luke here follows his Marcan document. He has, however, independent narratives of the visit of Jesus to Nazareth (iv. 16-30) and the call of the first disciples (v. 1-11). The former, which in Mark is placed some way on in the Galilean ministry (vi. 1-6a), is given by Luke at the very beginning of it, perhaps because of the previous connexion of Jesus with Nazareth. But that it is not in its right position here, before any mention of the work in Capernaum, appears from verse 23. Luke has also slightly altered the position of the call of the first disciples in the sequence of events.
Chap. vi. 17–viii. 3.—This is an insertion into the Marcan outline of matter chiefly taken from the Logian document (the Address, Luke vi. 20-49, corresponds with portions of the Sermon on the Mount in Matt, v.-vii.; the healing of the centurion’s servant, Luke vii. 1-10 = Matt. viii. 5-13; the message of the Baptist and the discourse for which it gave occasion, Luke vii. 18-35 = Matt. xi. 2-19). He includes besides, a few pieces peculiar to this Gospel which Luke had probably himself collected.
Chap. viii. 4–ix. 50. From the Adoption of Parabolic Teaching to the End of the Ministry in Galilee.—He begins again to follow his Marcan document for what he gives. Many sections, however, contained in the corresponding part of Mark have no parallel in Luke, while the parallel to one of them is placed later and differs considerably in form. Possibly this fact points to his Marcan document having been briefer than our Mark, and to its having afterwards received interpolations (see Mark, Gospel of St).
Chap. ix. 51–xviii. 14. Incidents and Teaching connected with Journey towards Jerusalem.—This is another insertion into the Marcan outline, much longer than the previous one, and consisting partly of matter taken from the Logian document (warnings to men who offer to become disciples, Luke ix. 57-60 = Matt. viii. 19-22; a mission-charge, Luke x. 2-16 = Matt. ix. 37 and x. 7-16, 40; thanksgiving that the Father reveals to the simple that which is hidden from the wise, Luke x. 21-24 = Matt. xi. 25-27 and xiii. 16, 17, &c., &c.) and partly of sections peculiar to Luke, about which the same remark may be made as before.
Chap. xviii. 15–xxii. 13. From the Bringing of young Children to Jesus to the Preparation for the Passover.—Luke again takes up his Marcan document, nearly at the point at which he left it, and follows it in the main, though he adds the story of Zacchaeus and the parable of the Minae (the Ten Pieces of Money), and omits the withering of the fig-tree and some matter at the end of the discourse on the Last Things, which are given in Mark.
Chap. xxii. 14 to end. The Last Supper, Passion and Resurrection.—Though in this portion of his Gospel signs of use of Mark are not wanting, he also has much that is peculiar to himself. It is supposed by some that he here made use of another document. It seems more likely that he had a good many distinct oral traditions for this part of the history and that he used them freely, sometimes substituting them for passages of the Marcan document, sometimes altering the latter in accordance therewith.
3. Doctrinal, Ethical and Literary Characteristics.—The thought of divine forgiveness, as set forth in the teaching of Jesus and manifested in His own attitude towards, and power over, the hearts of the outcasts among the people, is peculiarly prominent in this Gospel. This feature of Christ’s ministry appears only in one passage of Mark; some other illustrations of it are mentioned in Matthew, but in Luke there are several more which are peculiar to himself (see the three individual cases vii. 36 sqq.; xix. 1 sqq., xxiii. 40 sqq.; also the description at xv. 1, and the three parables that follow). These were “lost sheep of the house of Israel”; but Christ’s freedom from Jewish exclusiveness is also brought out (1) as regards Samaritans, by the rebuke
