SAVE - Eyewitness Testimony of Early Disciples (Gospel of Luke)(Mainstream Apologetics)

SAVE - Eyewitness Testimony of Early Disciples (Gospel of Luke)

Evidence ID: HIS-EV27

Evidence: SAVE - Eyewitness Testimony of Early Disciples (Gospel of Luke)

Summary:

Description: The Gospel of Luke is credited to Luke the companion of Paul. Luke was a gentile who became a believer through the ministry of Paul. He was likely a Greek by birth, was a physician by profession (Colossians 4:14) and an historian by avocation. Luke was not an eyewitness of the life of Jesus, as were mark and Matthew.

The Gospel of Luke is an accurate historical account of the life of Jesus. Luke drew from many sources, most notably the synoptic Gospel of Mark.

¹ Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. ² They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples. ³ Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write an accurate account for you, most honorable Theophilus, ⁴ so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught. (Luke 1:1-4 NLT)

In this passage we learn that many disciples were attempting to write accounts of the events of Jesus' ministry. These accounts were eyewitness by Jesus' original disciples. They included both oral and written accounts. Luke makes a special point to say that he thoroughly investigated all accounts to ensure they were accurate, trustworthy and authoritative.

According to Geisler and Turek [REF-GEI01], Luke's Book of Act is historically, geographically and archaeologically accurate. Based on Colin Hemer's research [REF-HEM01], they cite 84 passages that have been painstakingly attested by historical, geographical and archaeological discoveries. The assumption is that if the Book of Acts is highly accurate, so is the Gospel of Luke.

If the Book of Acts was written in 62 AD (before the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD), then the Gospel of Luke must have been written beforehand. Scholars believe the Gospel of Luke to be written in 59-62 AD. This is roughly 26-29 years after Jesus' ascension.

Based on biblical scholarship, the Gospel of Luke is credited to Luke the disciple. Its authorship is based on the following inferences and references:

The language and structure of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts are very similar. The Book of Acts is meant to be a continuation of the Gospel of Luke (Acts 1:1). A reference to Theophilus is found in each book (Luke 1:3, Acts 1:1). For this reason, the Gospel of Luke and the Book lf Acts were likely written by the same author.
The Book of Acts is likely written by Luke, the close companion of Paul. The personal pronoun "we" is used in many places in the Book of Acts to suggest the author was with Paul on his second missionary journey (Acts 16:10-28:16). Paul's second missionary journey was in 49 AD.
Paul directly refers to Luke as a companion in Philemon 24 and Colossians 4:14. In Irenaeus' Against Hereisies Book III [REF-IRE01], he mentions that "Luke was inseparable from Paul, and his fellow-labourer in the Gospel" and that "Luke was present at all these occurrences, he carefully noted them down in writing".
According to church tradition, the consensus was that Luke authored the third gospel. There are explicit references to Luke's gospel in the Muratorian Fragment 170 AD [REF-MUR01] and by Irenaeus (180 AD) [REF-IRE01]. Other references are made by Clement (Eusebius's Church History 6.14.5-7), Tertullian (Against Heresies 5.1), Origen (Eusebius's Church History 6.25.14) and Jerome (Illustrious Men 7).

Testimonies of Jesus' Messiahship

Luke includes in his gospel many testimonies and accusations regarding the Messiahship of Jesus. These testimonies and accusations reflect the fact that claims of Jesus' Messiahship were public knowledge. While Jesus tried to keep his true identify a secret until later in his ministry, many people testified publicly about his claim to be the Messiah and his power to perform miracles (Mark 7:36-37).

Mark Reference	Testimony/Accusation	Witness
Luke 1:32-35	Jesus to be called holy—the Son of God.	Angel
Luke 4:3 Luke 4:9	Referring to Jesus as Son of God	Satan
Luke 4:41	Ackowledging Jesus as Son of God	Demons
Luke 5:24	Demonstrating that Jesus, the Son of Man, has Authority Over Nature	Jesus
Luke 9:18-21	Confessing Jesus is the Christ	Peter
Luke 9:35	Acknowledgement that Jesus is the Beloved Son of God	God
Luke 22:67-71	Jesus' Testimony of Being the Son of Man.	Jesus
Luke 23:47	Admitting Jesus is Truly the Son of God	Centurion

The evidence presented regarding the eyewitness testimony of early disciples as recorded by Luke attests to the trustworthiness of the record concerning Jesus' Messiahship.

Resources:

I Don't Have Enough FAITH to Be an ATHEIST (REF-GEI01)

Irenaeus of Lyons; Against Heresies, Book III (REF-IRE01)

The Book of Acts in the Setting of Hellenistic History (REF-HEM01)

The Muratorian Fragment (REF-MUR01)