Authorship

The same author wrote both Luke and Acts. Just compare the opening lines of both books:

Because of the similarities between Luke and Acts, virtually all scholars believe that whoever wrote Luke, also wrote Acts. Indeed, this is the overwhelming consensus of NT scholarship today:

• Hemer states that it is “widely agreed that the Third Gospel and Acts share common authorship.”

• Longenecker writes that “hardly anyone today would dispute this basic observation.”

• Marshall writes that “the vast majority of scholars [assume] common authorship of the Gospel and Acts.”

• Polhill writes, “Scholars of all persuasions are in agreement that the third Gospel and the Book of Acts are by the same author.”

Luke is the best candidate for the authorship of these two books. For a long defense of Luke’s authorship see our earlier article, “Who Wrote the Four Gospels?” Both the external and internal evidence support that Luke was the author of these two books. In fact, Luke’s “authorship was unquestioned until 18^th century skepticism.”

Luke was a physician (Col. 4:14), and most likely a Gentile convert. Not only does he have a Gentile name, but he is also listed alongside other Gentiles. Luke was the only one with Paul at the end of his life (2 Tim. 4:11), and Paul mentions Luke to Philemon (Phile. 24). Beyond these passages, we don’t know much more about this person, and we would “perhaps do better simply to admit that we do not know very much about Luke’s background.”