Gospel of Luke

==Comparison with other writings==
[[File:1602-3 Caravaggio,Supper at Emmaus National Gallery, London.jpg|300px|left|thumb|''[[Supper at Emmaus (Caravaggio), London|Supper at Emmaus]]'' (1601), [[Michelangelo Merisi|Caravaggio]], [[National Gallery]]]]

===Synoptics===
The gospels of [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]], [[Gospel of Mark|Mark]] and Luke share so much in common that they are called the [[Synoptic Gospels|Synoptics]], as they frequently cover the same events in similar and sometimes identical language. The majority opinion among scholars is that Mark was the earliest of the three (about 70 AD) and that Matthew and Luke both used this work and the "sayings gospel" known as [[Q source|Q]] as their basic sources. Luke has both expanded Mark and refined his grammar and syntax, as Mark's Greek writing is less elegant. Some passages from Mark he has eliminated, notably most of chapters 6 and 7, which he apparently felt reflected poorly on the disciples and painted Jesus too much like a magician. Despite this, he follows Mark's narrative more faithfully than does Matthew.{{sfn|Johnson|2010|p=48}}

===The Gospel of John===
Despite being grouped with Matthew and Mark, the Gospel of Luke has a number of parallels with the [[Gospel of John]] which are not shared by the other [[Synoptic Gospels|synoptics]]:
* Luke uses the terms "Jews" and "Israelites" in a way unlike Mark, but like John.
* Both gospels have characters named [[Mary of Bethany]], [[Martha]], and Lazarus, although John's [[Lazarus of Bethany|Lazarus]] is portrayed as a real person, while Luke's is a figure in [[Rich man and Lazarus|a parable]].
* There are several points where Luke's [[passion narrative]] resembles that of John.<ref>[[William Robertson Nicoll|Nicoll, W. R.]], [https://biblehub.com/commentaries/egt/luke/22.htm Expositor's Greek Testament] on Luke 22, accessed 30 October 2023</ref><ref>Jerusalem Bible (1966), footnote a at Luke 22</ref> At Jesus' [[Arrest of Jesus|arrest]], only Luke and John state that the servant's {{em|right}} ear was cut off.<ref>{{bibleverse|Luke|22:50}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse|John|18:10}}</ref>
There are also several other parallels that scholars have identified.{{sfn|Boring|2012|p=576}} Recently, some scholars have proposed that the author of John's gospel may have specifically redacted and responded to the Gospel of Luke.{{sfn|MacDonald|2015}}

===The Gospel of Marcion===
{{see also|Gospel of Marcion}}
Some time in the 2nd century, the Christian thinker [[Marcion of Sinope]] began using a gospel that was very similar to, but shorter than, canonical Luke. Marcion was well known for preaching that the god who sent Jesus into the world was a different, higher deity than the creator god of Judaism.{{sfn|BeDuhn|2015|p=165}}

While no manuscript copies of [[Gospel of Marcion|Marcion's gospel]] survive, reconstructions of his text have been published by [[Adolf von Harnack]] and Dieter T. Roth,{{sfn|Roth|2015}} based on quotations in the anti-[[Marcionism|Marcionite]] treatises of orthodox Christian [[Apologetics|apologists]], such as [[Irenaeus]], [[Tertullian]], and [[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]]. These early apologists accused Marcion of having "mutilated" canonical Luke by removing material that contradicted his unorthodox theological views.{{sfn|BeDuhn|2015|p=166}} According to Tertullian, Marcion also accused his orthodox opponents of having "falsified" canonical Luke.{{sfn|BeDuhn|2015|p=167-168, citing Tertullian, [http://www.tertullian.org/articles/evans_marc/evans_marc_10book4_eng.htm ''Adversus Marcionem'' 4.4]}}

Like the [[Gospel of Mark]], Marcion's gospel lacked any nativity story, and Luke's account of the baptism of Jesus was absent. The Gospel of Marcion also omitted Luke's parables of the [[Parable of the Good Samaritan|Good Samaritan]] and the [[Parable of the Prodigal Son|Prodigal Son]].{{sfn|BeDuhn|2015|p=170}}