Lectionary Year B
May 7, 2000
Acts 3:12-19
Immediate Context
(DH) C. AUTHORSHIP
Although the author's identity is not disclosed in the text, there is considerable scholarly
agreement that Acts and the Gospel of Luke were written by Luke.
According to early church tradition, the author was identical to Luke, "the
beloved physician" (Col 4:14; Phil 24; 2 Tim 4:11). However, there is no
agreement whether he was Paul's companion (as the Muratorian Canon, end of
second century, assumes), or simply an admirer of Paul. According to
Roloff, [JEA - Comm. on Acts in NTD series?] Luke does not recognize Paul's apostleship. Thus, it is unlikely
that he was a companion or pupil of the latter, who would have emphasized
his apostolicity, as Paul himself does in Galatians (1:1). Luke seems to
have been a Gentile Christian of the second or third generation, possibly
from an Antiochene congregation (Acts 11:19ff.; 13:1-3; 15:1f.). Some
scholars presume him to be a native of Asia Minor, either from Ephesus or
Troas. Others speculate about possible Italian origins of Acts. In
general, Luke's audiences were most likely Gentile Christians.
The text does not possess specific references regarding its date of
origin. Since Luke does not seem to possess knowledge of the Pastoral
Epistles (usually dated between 90-100 A.D.), Acts cannot be dated later
than 90. Furthermore, there is general scholarly agreement that Luke's
Gospel was written around 80. Thus, Acts was probably written some time
between 85-90. [JEA - the "authorship question" is indeed a good occasion to get to know the author from within the composition itself].
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