Was Luke alive when Jesus did his ministry?

Answer 1

Paul mentions Luke in his Epistle to Philemon so, depending on how old Luke was at this time, he may well have been alive during Jesus' ministry. However, Luke was not the author of the gospel that now bears his name.

Like all the New Testament gospels, Luke's Gospel was originally anonymous, so the second-century Church Fathers decided to attribute it to the person they felt was most probably its author. Because Acts of the Apostles seems to have been written by the same author, they expected that he must have been an educated gentile who knew Paul, and narrowed it down to Luke. And so, for nearly two thousand years, we have believed that one of the gospels was written by Luke.

However, the gospel appears to have been written far too late to have been written by the Luke that Paul knew. In fact, it was written far too late to have been written by anyone likely to have been alive around seventy years earlier, during the time of Jesus.

Answer 2

A precise answer is unknown, but a likely answer is yes.

Even more likely is the following conclusion: if Luke was alive during Jesus' ministry, he probably didn't experience it firsthand. The following passage (with emphasis added) from Luke's writings seems to indicate that Luke himself was not an eyewitness to Jesus' ministry.

(Luke 1:1-4) 1 Whereas many have undertaken to compile a statement of the facts that are given full credence among us, 2 just as those who from [the] beginning became eyewitnesses and attendants of the message delivered these to us, 3 I resolved also, because I have traced all things from the start with accuracy, to write them in logical order to you, most excellent The·oph′i·lus, 4 that you may know fully the certainty of the things that you have been taught orally. Some consider the book of Luke to have been completed as early as 56 C.E., just 23 years after the death of Jesus. Consider: If Luke were not alive during Jesus' ministry, then he would have to complete the following tasks in the 23 years following Jesus' death:

-Be born

-Learn to be a physician

-Trace all things about Jesus from the start with accuracy (Luke1:3)

-Travel with Paul on his third missionary trip (compare Luke's writing in Acts 21:15-17)

...all before writing the book of Luke. It's more likely that he was alive during Jesus' ministry, but simply unaware of of the ministry or an unbeliever.

Answer 3

Exact dates of Jesus death are not trustworthy. It is believed Jesus was born around 4 BC and that his death was around 32 AD. But nobody really knows. By all accounts Paul should have been in Jerusalem during Jesus' passion, but Paul, the only one who could say, was mum about it. He had good reasons for not writing about it if he was one of the pharisees who jeered Jesus. Paul wrote about being in Jerusalem during Stephen's stoning shortly after Jesus died and before he left for Damascus. It is very improbable for Paul to have come to Jerusalem to become a pharisee in 28 AD, something that took a lot of training and time, return to Tarsus and then comeback again to Jerusalem in 32 AD right after Jesus died to be part of the pharisees mob who stoned Stephen for preaching about Jesus' resurrection and having a vision of Jesus seating to the right-hand of God himself. Paul was very sly and intelligent. Admitting he had any part in Jesus' demise would have barred him from joining Peter and James, as he did later. Remember, Paul had an internal "vision." Hundred of Jews had visions in those days, it was very common; so were miracles and cures. I think Paul, being a natural leader with no one to lead because he was too young, decided to form a new sect within Judaism based on Jesus. By the way, he made things up along the way, changing and re-making himself to push his new vision. Gentiles, especially disfranchised Romans, were ready for something new using a mix of Judaism and Stoic philosophy. Notice Paul is the Apostle of the Gentiles. He would have been tickled to find he invented a new religion and that his ideas influenced billions of people to this day. To me he is numero uno. Also, notice it is called The Roman Catholic Church--emphasis on "Roman", not Christian.

Answer 4

Yes he was one of Jesus disciples.

Answer 5

Yes