Gospel of Luke

The Gospel of Luke is a holy book.

It tells the story of Jesus. It talks about his birth and his life.

It also tells how he died and rose again. The book was written a long time ago. Some people think a doctor named Luke wrote it.

This book is part of a larger work. It goes with the Acts of the Apostles. Together, they tell a very big story.

The writer wanted to tell things in order. He wanted to help people know the truth. He wrote it for a person named Theophilus.

Many people still read these stories today. They help people learn about their faith.

It is a very famous book.

The Gospel of Luke is a famous book.

It is part of the New Testament. This book tells the story of Jesus. It covers his birth and his work. It also tells how he died and rose again.

This book is one part of a two-volume work. The other part is called the Acts of the Apostles. Together, they are known as Luke–Acts. This work makes up about 27.5% of the New Testament.

The writer does not give his own name. Many people believe a doctor named Luke wrote it. Tradition says he was a friend of Paul. Some scholars think he used the Gospel of Mark to help write his story. Most experts think it was written around AD 80 to 90.

The author wrote a preface at the start. He wrote it for a person named Theophilus. The name means "Lover of God." The writer wanted to give an orderly account. He wanted to help Theophilus feel certain about these events. He used careful study to tell the story.

The Gospel of Luke is a very important book in the New Testament.

It tells the story of Jesus from his birth to his time in heaven. This book is actually one half of a larger two-volume work. The other volume is called the Acts of the Apostles. Together, they are known as Luke–Acts. This large work makes up 27.5% of the New Testament.

It provides a big framework for the history of the early church.

The writer wanted to tell a very orderly story. He began with a preface addressed to a person named Theophilus. This name means "Lover of God." The author wanted to help Theophilus feel certain about what happened. He said he used careful investigation to write his account. He wanted his report to be better and more reliable than others. The book was likely meant to be read aloud to groups of followers.

We do not know the writer's name from the text itself. However, many people follow a tradition that says a doctor named Luke wrote it. This Luke was a companion of the Apostle Paul. Some scholars study this idea very closely. They look at the differences between this book and Paul's own letters. Most experts believe the book was written around AD 80 to 90. This was a time after the destruction of Jerusalem.

Many old copies of this book still exist today. We do not have the very first original copies. Instead, we have third-generation copies that are slightly different. Some of these are found in groups called the Alexandrian and Western text-types. One very old piece of paper is called Papyrus 75. It dates from the late 2nd or early 3rd century. The oldest complete books are from the 4th century. These include the famous Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus.

The story in the book follows a specific path. It starts with the births of John the Baptist and Jesus. Then, the story moves from Galilee toward the city of Jerusalem.

The writer shows a three-stage history of salvation. This includes the time of the Law, the time of Jesus, and the time of the church. The book also highlights the role of the Holy Spirit. This helps explain how the early Christian community began to grow.

The Gospel of Luke is a major text within the New Testament canon. It provides a detailed account of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. This book is actually one half of a much larger two-volume work. The second volume is known as the Acts of the Apostles. Together, these two books are referred to by scholars as Luke–Acts. This combined work is quite significant in its scope. It accounts for 27.5% of the entire New Testament.

The author of this work is not named within the text itself. This was a common practice for ancient historians and biographies. For example, writers like Tacitus and Diogenes Laertius did not name their authors. However, a long-standing tradition identifies the writer as Luke the Evangelist. This tradition claims he was a doctor who traveled with the Apostle Paul. Many scholars believe the author was indeed a companion of Paul. Others disagree because they notice differences between this book and Paul's own letters. Near the end of the 20th century, scholarly opinion on this was split almost evenly.

Scholars use different theories to explain how the text was composed. Most agree that the author used the Gospel of Mark as a primary source. This is part of the two-source hypothesis, which also suggests the use of a source called Q. Some modern researchers suggest different ideas. They propose the Farrer Hypothesis or the Matthean Posteriority Hypothesis. These ideas suggest Luke might have used the Gospel of Matthew directly. The author of Luke was likely an educated, urban man of some means. He seemed to respect manual work, even though he was not a laborer himself. This is important because his audience included the artisans and small business-people of the early church.

We do not possess the original copies, known as autographs, of the Gospels. Instead, we rely on third-generation copies that vary slightly from one another. These manuscripts are often categorized into two main families or "text-types." The first is the Alexandrian text-type, which includes the famous 4th-century Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus. The second is the Western text-type. Some scholars believe the Western text resulted from deliberate revisions in the second century. One very early manuscript is Papyrus 75, dating to the late 2nd or early 3rd century. This papyrus includes an attribution of the Gospel to Luke.

The structure of the Gospel follows a very specific geographic and theological path. It begins with a preface and the birth narratives of John the Baptist and Jesus. From there, the story starts in Galilee and moves toward a climax in Jerusalem. The author presents a three-stage concept called "salvation history." This history moves from the time of the Law and prophets to the epoch of Jesus. The final stage is the period of the church. The Holy Spirit plays a very prominent role in this narrative. This emphasis helps form the foundation for the early Christian community.

The Gospel is unique because it includes a formal prologue. In this preface, the author addresses a person named Theophilus. The name Theophilus means "Lover of God." He may have been a specific Christian convert or a literary patron. The author claims he has used careful investigation to write an orderly account. He wanted to provide a reliable narrative that was superior to previous attempts. The book was likely written to be read aloud in houses. This would happen during gatherings to share the Lord's Supper. The author writes for an educated, Greek-speaking audience.

Luke–Acts serves as a religio-political history of the church's founder and his successors. It shares many similarities with the works of other ancient historians. For instance, the historian Josephus also wrote histories that anchored his people through stories of great founders. The Gospel of Luke is one of the three "Synoptic Gospels." This means it covers many of the same events as Matthew and Mark. It uses similar language and follows a comparable narrative outline. By documenting these events, the work provides a framework for the liturgical calendar. It also offers a historical outline that many generations have used to understand the story of Jesus.