Conclusion
Conclusion
We have shown that there is no convincing reason to deny that the author of Acts was a companion of Paul. That he was his companion is the natural implication of the "we” passages. That this companion was none other than Luke "the beloved physician” is the unanimous opinion of the early church. We have good reason, then, to conclude that Luke was the author of Acts.
We know almost nothing about Luke’s background. That he was a Gentile seems clear from Colossians 4:10-14, where Luke is not included among Paul’s Jewish fellow workers. That he had not been a follower of Christ from the beginning is clear from the prologue to the gospel. William Ramsay speculated that Luke may have been the "man of Macedonia” who appeared to Paul in a vision (Acts 16:9). 19 On the basis of theological parallels between Acts and Roman documents, others have suggested that Luke was from Rome. 20 But the oldest and most respected tradition associates Luke with Syrian Antioch, 21 and several scholars are inclined to accept the tradition as probably authentic. 22 But the evidence is far from conclusive, and we would perhaps do better simply to admit that we do not know very much specific about Luke’s background