The Gospel of Luke, also known as the Gospel According to Luke, originates from the New
Testament and is one of the four gospels written about the life of Jesus Christ.
All the gospels, named Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, detail Jesus' life from the time
he was born until his death.
Luke's gospel is unique because it's the only one that presents certain information not
found anywhere else in the Bible.
For example, Luke's is the only gospel that mentions the Roman census, to which Mary and
Joseph allegedly traveled to Bethlehem for.
As a result, the Gospel of Luke is a biblical account of great importance to both scholars
and the faithful.
Luke's gospel comes third in order of the gospels and historians believe it was written
sometime in the first or second century.
The date of its writing is somewhat debated, but many accounts pin the date of authorship
from 80 to 90 A.D.
Some research, however, contends that it may have been written even earlier, from 60 to
65 A.D.
Whenever it was written, it came out after Christ died and was resurrected.
In the gospel, Luke explores lessons on compassion, and Jesus' commitment to save humanity from
the tribulations of life.
Luke's gospel contains more than two dozen stories that are not found in the other gospels,
like the parable of The Good Samaritan.
One of the most recognizable of these stories can be found in Luke chapter 1, verses 28
through 38.
It tells the story of the angel Gabriel who was sent by God to deliver a message to a
virgin woman expecting to be married.
The unmarried woman was Mary, and her future husband was Joseph.
God sent Gabriel to inform Mary that despite being a virgin, she would become pregnant
and have a son who she was asked to name Jesus.
This is the sole reference to the forthcoming miraculous birth of Jesus.
The verses also discuss another miracle — that of Mary's cousin, Elizabeth.
Throughout Luke, Elizabeth is referenced as an older female relative of Mary's who took
her in.
Elizabeth was described as being older than childbearing age, and unable to have children.
However, she eventually gave birth to a boy, who has come to be known as John the Baptist.
Jesus and John the Baptist were both born Jewish, yet of the four gospels, Luke is the
only one who was not Jewish.
This is noted because he speaks of non-Jews, commonly referred to as gentiles, and also
talks about their faith.
He writes that Jesus displayed support for gentiles and their beliefs, and how he loved
everyone regardless of their faith.
What is known about Luke is that he was a Greek, an evangelist, and he was born in the
ancient city of Antioch, in Greek-ruled Syria.
And, he was probably born into slavery.
It’s also known that Luke was not just the author of the third Gospel, but is believed
to have written Acts, or Acts of the Apostles as well, which is another book in the New
Testament.
Aside from having the same author, the content of Luke's Gospel and Acts are so connected
that Acts has been referred to as the second part of Luke's Gospel.
In both of them, a man named Theophilus is being addressed.
He is the subject to whom Luke is speaking when he is recalling Jesus' life story.
This is how historians have placed Luke as the sole writer of both texts.
The introduction of Acts also resumes where Luke's Gospel concludes.
This is noted by Luke's immediate mention of Theophilus in the first three verses of
Acts.
But, despite the two writings being related, most religious historians do not place Acts
after Luke's gospel.
Instead, it comes after John's gospel, and as a result, it was separated from what is
now recognized as the four gospels of the New Testament.
The explanation is based on the order of their translation in ancient times as well as the
recollection of the time they were written.
Having authored two books of the Bible we know that Luke contributed a lot to the New
Testament.
But just how much?
The Gospel of Matthew is shown to beat out Luke with the number of chapters of each of
the four books, with 28.
Luke's is 24 chapters but has Matthew beat by the number of words.
Luke wrote 19,482 words in his Gospel alone, whereas Matthews wrote 18,345 words.
However if one were to include Acts, that brings the total number of words that Luke
wrote to 37,933.
In addition to that, both Acts and Matthew have an equal number of chapters.
This fact means that Luke has written the most words and chapters in the Bible.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Grunge videos about your favorite stuff are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.