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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadGreater Men and Women of the Bible by James Hastings: 582. The Historian
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1. The Luke to whom the composition of the Third Gospel and of the Acts was unanimously ascribed by the ancient Church is first mentioned by St. Paul in the Epistles of the first and second Roman imprisonments. That the “Luke” whose name is so closely connected with the Third Gospel and the Acts is the Luke mentioned in the Pauline Epistles has never been questioned. According to these Epistles (Col_4:14; Philem. 24; 2Ti_4:11), he was (1) a Hellene by birth, (2) a physician, (3) a companion of St. Paul, (4) a fellow-worker with St. Paul.
2. In ancient times we find that a famous man's place of origin is generally noted, while records of the places where he composed his writings are much more rare. Both Eusebius and the ancient “Argumentum evangelii secundum Lucam” agree in describing Luke as a native of Antioch. But Eusebius is scarcely dependent upon the “Argumentum,” since he defines the relations of St. Luke with the original Apostles more accurately than the latter. Rather we are here compelled to assume a common source, which must therefore be of very early date. The fact that this record tells us nothing of the place of composition, but simply fixes St. Luke's native city, speaks in favour of its reliability. The author of Acts is certainly not a native of Palestine, nor does he write for natives of that district. Neither does he write for Macedonians (see Act_16:11). On the other hand, in addition to Antioch and the coastland of Phœnicia and Palestine (especially Cæsarea), he knows Asia well.