The Gospel According to Luke, the third…
76 CE to 87 CE
The Gospel According to Luke, the third and longest of the Gospels—and classified, because of its similarities to the Gospels according to Mark and Matthew, with them as the Synoptic Gospels—is probably written between 80 and 90 by a Gentile Christian who goes on to writes the Acts of the Apostles as a sequel (although tradition ascribes the work to Luke, a companion of Paul).
Luke's Gospel, which, in common with the other Gospels, relates the principal events of Christ's public life, divides naturally into five major sections: a prologue; infancy narrative; ministry in Galilee; journey to Jerusalem; and the passion and resurrection.
The conclusion prepares the stage for the spread of the Christian word (as recounted in the Acts).
The Gospel of Luke is unique in relating the parable of the good Samaritan, the prodigal son, and Christ's words to the women of Jerusalem and to the good thief.
Examples of the prominence Luke accords women include the story of Elizabeth, Mary's role in the infancy narrative, and the widow of Naim.
Luke also contains three hymns (later an important component of liturgy): the Magnificat, the Benedictus, and the Nunc Dimittis.
The traditional view is that Luke, who was not an eyewitness of Jesus' ministry, wrote his gospel after gathering the best sources of information within his reach (Luke 1:1-4).
Most modern critical scholarship concludes that Luke used the Gospel of Mark for his chronology and a hypothetical sayings source Q document for many of Jesus' teachings.
Luke may also have drawn from independent written records.
Traditional Christian scholarship has dated the composition of the gospel to the early 60s, while higher criticism dates it to the later decades of the first century.
While the traditional view that Paul's companion Luke authored the gospel is still often put forward, a number of possible contradictions between Acts and Paul's letters lead many scholars to dispute this account.
The Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles were both written by the same author.
The most direct evidence comes from the prefaces of each book.
Both prefaces were addressed to Theophilus, and the preface of Acts explicitly references "my former book" about the life of Jesus.
Furthermore, there are linguistic and theological similarities between the two works, suggesting that they have a common author.
Both books also contain common interests.
Linguistic and theological agreements and cross-references between the books indicate that they are from the same author.
Those biblical scholars who consider the two books a single, two-volume work often refer to both together as Luke-Acts.