Luke-Acts

The Gospel of Luke, with 19,482 words, is the longest among the four Gospels. The Book of Acts has another 18,450 words. These together have more words than all thirteen books of Paul combined. Similarly, they are longer than all five books of John, including Revelation. The author of Luke-Acts was the most prolific writer in the NT.

Tradition attributes the composition of these books to a person named Luke. Luke and Acts do not list an author’s name, and the name “Luke” appears only three times in the NT. Paul referred to him as his “beloved physician” (Col 4:14) and “coworker” (Phlm 1:24) and said that even when everyone deserted him, Luke remained with him (2 Tim 4:11). None of these references say anything about Luke being an author.

In Colossians, Paul listed six ministry partners. Three were Hebrew: Aristarchus, Mark, and Jesus, who was also called Justus (4:10–11), and three were Greeks: Epaphras (a Colossian), Luke (the physician), and Demas (4:12–14). Thus, we know Paul’s traveling companion, Luke, was a Greek.

Acts has a mystery man. On Paul’s second missionary journey, he left Antioch, Syria, with Silas and reached Derbe and Lystra (Acts 15:39–16:1), where they met and circumcised the half-Hebrew, Timothy. Afterward, Timothy also joined Paul and Silas in their travels, and they reached Troas in Asia Minor (16:1–8). While they waited there, Paul had a dream in which “a man from Macedonia” visited him, saying, “Crossover to Macedonia and help us” (16:9). The next day, they started their crossover across the sea to Macedonia. The writer of Acts says, “Just as he saw in the dream, we made plans to go to Macedonia.” This person in the “we” was most likely the author of Luke-Acts, and it wasn’t Paul, referred to as “he” (third person). Perhaps this person was Silas or Timothy. But tradition says that mystery man in the “we” was Luke, who later became the writer of Luke-Acts. He had come from Macedonia, as in Paul’s dream.

Putting all these together, scholars deduce that Luke, the Greek physician from Macedonia, joined Paul in his second and subsequent missionary journeys. While traveling with him, he talked with eyewitnesses like Mary, Jesus’s mother, and other apostles and wrote his two-volume book. Although this deduction is an informed guess, I’ll refer to the author as Luke for convenience.

In all possibility, the same Luke wrote both Luke and Acts, as he said,

“As many have attempted to compile a narrative of the deeds that occurred among us, as those witnesses from the beginning and the servants of the word [singular] handed down to us, I thought to follow closely, from the beginning all things, and to write to you accurately and orderly, Excellent Theophilus so that you may know, with certainty, the instructed words.” (Luke 1:1–4)

And

“In my first account, O Theophilus, I dictated everything Jesus began to do, teach, and command his chosen apostles through the Holy Spirit until the day he was taken up.” (Acts 1:1–2)

Since both books were addressed to Theophilus and the author referred to Luke as “my first account,” we may rightly assume that Luke-Acts was a two-volume book by the same author. The length would have been the reason for dividing it into two volumes.

Now, we begin the study of these amazing two books.