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Luke the Evangelist

 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Saint Luke
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(flourished 1st century AD; feast day October 18) In Christian tradition, the author of the third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. He wrote in Greek and is considered the most literary of the New Testament writers. By his own account, he was not an eyewitness to the ministry of Jesus. He was a companion to St. Paul, who called him the "beloved physician," and he is believed to have accompanied Paul on missionary journeys to Macedonia and Rome. Though little is known of his life, tradition holds that he was a Gentile and a native of Antioch in Syria and that he died a martyr.

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Luke (1st century), evangelist. Almost all that we know of him comes from the New Testament. He was a Greek physician (Col. 4: 14), a disciple of St. Paul, and his companion on some of his missionary journeys (Acts 16: 10 ff.; 20: 5 ff., 27–8) and the author of both Acts and the third gospel, which he describes in his idiomatic Greek as ‘the former treatise which I wrote’ (Acts 1: 1). The traditions that he was one of the first members of the Christian community at Antioch, testified by Eusebius, and a physician by profession, may well be correct: less certain is the claim that he lived to the age of eighty-four and died unmarried. Much can be gleaned about his character from his writings. In his Gospel the elements proper to him include much of the account of the Virgin Birth of Christ (Luke 1–2), some of the most moving parables such as those of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son, with the words of Christ in the Passion to the women of Jerusalem and to the Good Thief. All these elements underline the compassion of Christ, which together with Luke's emphasis on poverty, prayer, and purity of heart make up much of his specific appeal to the Gentiles, for whom he wrote this Gospel of the Saviour of the world. Women figure more prominently in Luke's gospel than in any other, for example, Mary, Elizabeth, the widow of Nain, and the woman who was a sinner.

In the Acts of the Apostles (the second part of his theological-historical work) Luke shows himself a remarkably accurate observer, concerned with making necessary links between sacred and profane history. Many of his details have been strikingly confirmed by archaeology. A principal theme of the work is the movement of Christianity away from Jerusalem into the pagan world and especially to Rome. Luke also showed himself an artist with words, which perhaps was the base of the tradition that he was a painter and made at least one icon of the Blessed Virgin; but none of those claimed to be his can be authentic. This has not prevented Luke becoming the patron of artists as well as of doctors and surgeons. Where he is represented with the other evangelists, his symbol is an ox, sometimes explained by reference to the sacrifice in the Temple at the beginning of his Gospel. In England twenty-eight ancient churches were dedicated to him and his feast was celebrated from very early times. The earliest representations of him show him as an evangelist writing, but Flemish painters of the 15th–16th centuries show him painting the blessed Virgin.

Translations of the relics of Luke are claimed by Constantinople and by Padua. Feast: 18 October.

Bibliography
Click here for a list of abbreviations used in this bibliography.

  • AA.SS. Oct. VIII (1853), 282–313; R. A. Lipsius, Die apokryphen Apostelgeschichten, ii. 2, pp. 354–71; commentaries on his Gospel by M. J. Lagrange (Études Bibliques, 1921), W. Manson (1930), and A. R. C. Leaney (2nd edn. 1966). See also A. Harnack, Luke the Physician (1907); A. T. Robertson, Luke the Historian in the Light of Research (1920); H. J. Cadbury, The Making of Luke–Acts (1927); C. K. Barrett, Luke the Historian in Recent Study (1961); P. Esler, Community and Gospel in Luke–Acts (1987); M. D. Goulder, Luke: a new Paradigm (2 vols., 1989)
 
Columbia Encyclopedia: Saint Luke
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Luke, Saint [Gr. Lucas], traditional author of the third Gospel (see Luke, Gospel according to Saint) and of its sequel, the Acts of the Apostles. Paul's letter to the Colossians identifies him as "the beloved physician" and implies that he was a Gentile. Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical History affirms the tradition that Luke accompanied Paul on his second missionary journey and on his journey to Rome. According to tradition he was a painter and died a martyr. As an evangelist his symbol is an ox. Feast: Oct. 18.
Dictionary: Luke,
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Saint First century A.D.

Companion of Saint Paul and author of the third Gospel of the New Testament. He is considered the patron saint of painters and physicians.


Wikipedia: Luke the Evangelist
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"Saint Luke" redirects here. For other uses, see Saint Luke (disambiguation).
Saint Luke
Image of Luke writing down the Gospel attributed to him, by Andrea Kinndio (1431).
Apostle, Evangelist, Martyr
Born Antioch, Syria, Roman Empire
Died c. 84, near Boeotia, Greece
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, Anglican Church, Lutheran Church, some other Protestant Churches
Major shrine Padua, Italy
Feast 18 October
Patronage Artists, Physicians, Surgeons, and others[1]

Luke the Evangelist (Ancient Greek: Λουκᾶς Loukas) was an Early Christian writer who the Church Fathers such as Jerome and Eusebius said was the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.

The Roman Catholic Church venerates him as Saint Luke, patron saint of physicians, surgeons, students, butchers, and artists; his feast day is 18 October.

Contents

Life

Saint Luke was born of Greek origin in the city of Antioch.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

His earliest notice is in Paul's Epistle to Philemon, verse 24. He is also mentioned in Colossians 4:14 and 2 Timothy 4:11, two works commonly ascribed to Paul. The next earliest account of Luke is in the Anti-Marcionite Prologue to the Gospel of Luke, a document once thought to date to the 2nd century, but which has more recently been dated to the later 4th century. Helmut Koester, however, claims that the following part – the only part preserved in the original Greek – may have been composed in the late 2nd century:

“ Luke, a native of Antioch, by profession a physician.[8] He had become a disciple of the apostle Paul and later followed Paul until his [Paul's] martyrdom. Having served the Lord continuously, unmarried and without children, filled with the Holy Spirit he died at the age of 84 years. (p. 335) ”

Epiphanius states that Luke was one of the Seventy (Panarion 51.11), and John Chrysostom indicates at one point that the "brother" Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians 8:18 is either Luke or Barnabas. J. Wenham asserts that Luke was "one of the Seventy, the Emmaus disciple, Lucius of Cyrene and Paul's kinsman." Not all scholars are as confident of all of these attributes as Wenham is, not least because Luke's own statement at the beginning of the Gospel of Luke (1:1–4) freely admits that he was not an eyewitness to the events of the Gospel.

If we accept that Luke was in fact the author of the Gospel bearing his name and also the Acts of the Apostles, certain details of his personal life can be reasonably assumed. While he does exclude himself from those who were eyewitnesses to Jesus' ministry, he repeatedly uses the word "we" in describing the Pauline missions in Acts of the Apostles, indicating that he was personally there at those times.[9]

There is similar evidence that Luke resided in Troas, the province which included the ruins of ancient Troy, in that he writes in Acts in the third person about Paul and his travels until they get to Troas, where he switches to the first person plural. The "we" section of Acts continues until the group leaves Philippi, when his writing goes back to the third person. This change happens again when the group returns to Philippi. There are three "we sections" in Acts, all following this rule. Luke never stated, however, that he lived in Troas, and this is the only evidence that he did.

The composition of the writings, as well as the range of vocabulary used, indicate that the author was an educated man. The quote in the Letter of Paul to the Colossians differentiating between Luke and other colleagues "of the circumcision"[10] has caused many to speculate that this indicates Luke was a Gentile. If this were true, it would make Luke the only writer of the New Testament who can clearly be identified as not being Jewish. However, that is not the only possibility. The phrase could just as easily be used to differentiate between those Christians who strictly observed the rituals of Judaism and those who did not.[9]

Luke died at age 84 in Boeotia, according to a "fairly early and widespread tradition".[11] According to Nikiphoros-Kallistos Xanthopoulos (Eccles. History XIVth c. AD., Migne P.G. 145, 876) and others, Luke's Tomb was located in Thebes (Greece), from whence his relics were transferred to Constantinople in the year 357.

Luke as a Historian

See also: Historical reliability of the Acts of the Apostles
A medieval Armenian illumination, by Toros Roslin.

The two documents most widely attributed to Luke, The Gospel According to Luke and The Acts of the Apostles, are held in high regard by Christian apologists for their historical accuracy and trustworthiness.[12]

Archaeologist Sir William Ramsay wrote that "Luke is a historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements of fact trustworthy...[he] should be placed along with the very greatest of historians."[13] Professor of classics at Auckland University, E.M. Blaiklock, wrote: "For accuracy of detail, and for evocation of atmosphere, Luke stands, in fact, with Thucydides. The Acts of the Apostles is not shoddy product of pious imagining, but a trustworthy record...it was the spadework of archaeology which first revealed the truth."[14]

Norman L. Geisler observed, "In all, Luke names thirty-two countries, fifty-four cities and nine islands without an [factual or historical] error."[15]

Christian apologist Josh McDowell notes that in specific instances where Luke's texts have been found to disagree with common scholarly knowledge, where archaeology has been able to resolve the difference, the disagreement has consistently been resolved in favor of Luke. Additionally, Luke has brought to light previously unknown details which have later been verified by historians or archaeologists.[16] Examples of such details include the names and titles of local officials as well as dates that those individuals served, locations and descriptions of ancient cities, and religious, civic, and governmental idiosyncrasies of various locales. However, see note on Pilate's title below for an example not mentioned by McDowell where archaeology appears to have found an unexpected error in Luke.

Roman historian Colin Hemer made note of the following attributes of Luke's writing:

  • Specialized details, which would not have been widely known except to a contemporary researcher such as Luke who traveled widely. These details include exact titles of officials, identification of army units, and information about major routes.
  • Details archaeologists know are accurate but cannot verify as to the precise time period. Some of these are unlikely to have been known except to a writer who had visited the districts.
  • Correlation of dates of known kings and governors with the chronology of the narrative.
  • Facts appropriate to the date of Paul or his immediate contemporary in the church but not to a date earlier or later.
  • "Undesigned coincidents" between Acts and the Pauline Epistles.
  • Internal correlations within Acts.
  • Off-hand geographical references that bespeak familiarity with common knowledge.
  • Differences in formulation within Acts that indicate the different categories of sources he used.
  • Peculiarities in the selection of detail, as in theology, that are explainable in the context of what is now known of first-century church life.
  • Materials, the "immediacy" of which suggests that the author was recounting a recent experience, rather than shaping or editing a text long after it had been written.
  • Cultural or idiomatic items now known to be peculiar to the first-century atmosphere.[17]

Other historians note that at several points Luke conflicts with other history, and therefore appears to be in error. Attempts by Christian apologists to reconcile Luke with other sources have been described as 'hopelessly contrived'[18], see also Census of Quirinius and Chronology of Jesus. In several cases, Luke appears to misunderstand his source material, or unquestioningly accept of errors made by his sources. In particular, it has been suggested that Luke used Josephus as a source, and that several of his errors can be traced back to misunderstandings of Josephus.[citation needed] If correct, this would put the date of composition of Luke/Acts after 95 and probably well into the second century. It has also been noted that accuracy in some details does not necessarily imply accuracy in others.

Iconography

Luke the Evangelist painting the first icon of the Virgin Mary.

Another Christian tradition states that he was the first iconographer, and painted pictures of the Virgin Mary (for example, The Black Madonna of Częstochowa or Our Lady of Vladimir) and of Peter and Paul. Thus late medieval guilds of St Luke in the cities of Flanders, or the Accademia di San Luca ("Academy of St Luke") in Rome, imitated in many other European cities during the 16th century, gathered together and protected painters. The tradition that Luke painted icons of Mary and Jesus has been common, particularly in Eastern Orthodoxy. The tradition also has support from the Saint Thomas Christians of India who claim to still have one of the Theotokos icons that St Luke painted and Thomas brought to India.[19]

New Testament books

See also Gospel of Luke: Author and Acts of the Apostles: Authorship

Conservative Christian scholars attribute to Luke the third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, which is clearly meant to be read as a sequel to the Gospel account. Other scholars question Luke's authorship of these books. Many secular scholars give credit to Luke's abilities as an historian. Both books are dedicated to one Theophilus and no scholar seriously doubts that the same person wrote both works, though neither work contains the name of its author.

Many argue that the author of the book must have been a companion of the Apostle Paul, because of several passages in Acts written in the first person plural (known as the We Sections). These verses (see Acts 16:10–17, 20:5–15, 21:1–18, etc.) seem to indicate the author was traveling with Paul during parts of his journeys. Some scholars report that, of the colleagues that Paul mentions in his epistles, the process of elimination leaves Luke as the only person who fits everything known about the author of Luke/Acts.

Additionally, the earliest manuscript of the Gospel (Papyrus Bodmer XIV/XV = P75), dated circa AD 200, ascribes the work to Luke; as did Irenaeus, writing circa AD 180; and the Muratorian fragment from AD 170.[20] Scholars defending Luke's authorship say there is no reason for early Christians to attribute these works to such a minor figure if he did not in fact write them, nor is there any tradition attributing this work to any other author.

Luke and the Madonna, Altar of the Guild of St. Luke, Hermen Rode, Lübeck 1484.

The Relics of St. Luke the Evangelist

The remains of St. Luke were brought to Padua, Italy, sometime before 1177, according to tradition.[21][22] In 1992, the then Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Ieronymos of Thebes and Levathia (currently the Archbishop of Greece) requested from Bishop Antonio Mattiazzo of Padua the return of a "a significant fragment of the relics of St. Luke to be placed on the site where the holy tomb of the Evangelist is located and venerated today". This prompted a scientific investigation of the relics in Padua, and by numerous lines of empirical evidence (archeological analyses of the Tomb in Thebes and the Reliquary of Padua, anatomical analyses of the remains, Carbon-14 dating, comparison with the purported skull of the Evangelist located in Prague) confirmed that these were the remains of an individual of Syrian descent who died between 130 and 400 A.D. The Bishop of Padua then delivered to Metropolitan Ieronymos the rib of St. Luke that was closest to his heart to be kept at his tomb in Thebes, Greece.[21][22]

See also

References

  • Helmut Koester. Ancient Christian Gospels. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Trinity Press International, 1999.
  • Burton L. Mack. Who Wrote the New Testament?: The Making of the Christian Myth. San Francisco, California: HarperCollins, 1996.
  • J. Wenham, "The Identification of Luke", Evangelical Quarterly 63 (1991), 3–44

Notes

  1. ^ "Luke the Apostle". Star Quest Production Network. http://saints.sqpn.com/saintl06.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-27. 
  2. ^ The New Testament Documents: Their Origin and Early History, George Milligan, 1913, Macmillan and Co. limited, p. 149
  3. ^ Saint Luke Catholic Online article
  4. ^ Saints: A Visual Guide, Edward Mornin, Lorna Mornin, 2006, Eerdmans Books, p. 74
  5. ^ Saint Luke Catholic Encyclopedia article
  6. ^ New Outlook, Alfred Emanuel Smith, 1935, Outlook Pub. Co., p. 792
  7. ^ New Testament Studies. I. Luke the Physician: The Author of the Third Gospel, Adolf von Harnack, 1907, Williams & Norgate; G.P. Putnam's Sons, p. 5
  8. ^ A Commentary on the Original Text of the Acts of the Apostles, Horatio Balch Hackett, 1858, Gould and Lincoln; Sheldon, Blakeman & Co., p. 12
  9. ^ a b Encyclopedia Britannica, Micropedia vol. 7, p. 554–555. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc, 1998. ISBN 0-85229-633-0.
  10. ^ Colossians 4:10 and 11, compared with 14
  11. ^ Michael Walsh, ed. "Butler's Lives of the Saints." (HarperCollins Publishers: New York, 1991), pp. 342.
  12. ^ MacDowell, The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict, 64.
  13. ^ Ramsay, BRDTNT, 222
  14. ^ Blaiklock, The Archaeology of the New Testament, page 96, Zondervan Publishing Houst, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1970.
  15. ^ Geisler, BECA, 47
  16. ^ MacDowell, The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict, 64-68
  17. ^ Hemer, BASHH, 104–107, as summarized by MacDowell.
  18. ^ John P. Meier, "A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus" (Doubleday, 1991), v. 1, p. 213.
  19. ^ Father H. Hosten in his book Antiquities notes the following "The picture at the mount is one of the oldest, and, therefore, one of the most venerable Christian paintings to be had in India. Other traditions hold that St. Luke painted two icons which currently reside in Greece: the Theotokos Mega Spileotissa (Our Lady of the Great Cave, where supposedly St. Luke lived for a period of time in asceticism) and Panagia Soumela, and Panagia Kykkou which resides in Cyprus."
  20. ^ Brown, Raymond E. An Introduction to the New Testament, p. 267. Anchor Bible; 1st edition (October 13, 1997). ISBN 978-0385247672.
  21. ^ a b The Beloved Physician St. Luke, Padua.
  22. ^ a b Wade, Nicholas. "Body of St. Luke' Gains Credibility." New York Times, October 16, 2001.

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