Was Luke a Gentile?

Christian Symbol for Gospel of Luke

Consensus is a rare thing in New Testament scholarship, but if there is a scholarly consensus about anything, it is that Luke was perhaps the only Gentile writer in the New Testament. Sometimes scholars suggest that Luke was a Gentile because his Gospel reflects an interest in Gentiles, but, of course, so does Paul and no one argues that Paul was a Gentile. Others argue that Luke was most likely a Gentile because he wrote in excellent, fluid Greek, but, as anyone who has read him in Greek will attest, so too does Philo Judaeus, and no one argues that he was a Gentile.

But by far, the chief reason scholars argue for Luke’s being a Gentile is because of something Paul says in Colossians. Lea and Black, in their New Testament Introduction, voice the consensus when they write: “Luke is usually viewed as a Gentile Christian. In Colossians 4:10-11 Paul refers to Aristarchus, Mark, and Jesus Justus as Jewish believers. Later he sends greetings from Luke, apparently designating him as a Gentile.”

The Ides of March: A Sermon (Luke 13:31-35)*

In Margaret Jensen’s book First We Have Coffee, there is the touching account of her Baptist preacher father’s being voted out of his church. She describes how the news reached her. Called to the dormitory phone, she heard her sister saying, “Margaret, this is Grace.” Long pause. “Papa’s been voted out.”

She goes on to write: “Unable to share the family disgrace with anyone, I went to class and failed the biology exam for which I was well prepared … I tried to figure out what could have gone wrong with Papa’s call. In my mind, the ministry had somehow been disgraced.”

For ten years he had shepherded and loved that congregation, but now they didn’t want him anymore. When Margaret arrived home, she found her sister Leona furious. She explained life as she saw it for the Norwegian immigrant pastor: “They wanted an American pastor, one more geared to the changing times.”

“What will we do now?” Margaret asked. Her mother, taking cups out of the cupboard never looked up:  “God never fails,” she said. “But it will be interesting to see how He works this one out. But first, we have coffee.”

Rejection. Feel it?