Page 15 - New Testament Survey Student Textbook

Study Section 2: Introduction to the Gospels- continued

2.1 Connect
Having one witness to testify for someone, with 100% readiness to lose their lives because of
their testimony, while they have nothing to win, and no benefit to gain for lying, that witness
alone is worth believing. Even better, to have four witnesses, three that are very much alike,
one with supplementary information, all in the same circumstances (without anything to gain,
but their lives to lose), their testimony is worth great attention and consideration. Let’s take a
look into these four witnesses.

2.2 Objectives

1. The student shall be able to locate when the witnesses wrote their testimonies.

2 The student shall be able to recite the themes and purposes to which the witnesses testified.

3. The student shall be able to restate the structures of the testimonies of the discussed witnesses.

4. The student shall be able to discuss the recipients of the testimonies from the witnesses.

5. The student shall be able to explain the special features of each of the witnesses.

6. The student shall be able to recite the key words of each of the witnesses.

2.3 Gospel of Luke: Son of Man

Background

Author

Undisputedly, early church tradition holds that both the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts
were authored by Luke the physician, Paul’s frequent companion during his missionary journeys
(Col 4:14). Early church history also says Luke was a Gentile (non-Jewish) and came from
Antioch—where Paul spent a great deal of time (Acts 11:25–26; 15:35). These biographical details fit with
the Gospel’s familiarity with Graeco-Roman culture and its emphasis on Gentiles becoming followers of
Christ. The Gospel also uses very sophisticated Greek, including technical terms for ailments, suggesting
that a well-educated person (like a doctor) authored it.
45
Date
Theories about the compositional date of Luke’s Gospel are closely tied to the Synoptic Problem and to
the presumed date of Acts. There are three general proposals for when Luke and Acts were composed:

45 Barry, J. D. et al
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