ABSTRACT
It is now time to turn to the primary purpose of this book, namely to construct the author of the Third Gospel as a priest. My basic interest is in the authority of the author of the Gospel. I begin from the premise that not everyone had the authority to write and to interpret the traditions about Jesus and Paul. The other Evangelists most likely were ascribed such authority to do so by a Christian community or communities, as the later traditions suggest. I believe Luke, however, had such authority as a Jewish priest, now obviously Christian. To support this construction, I will ask and respond to questions like: Are there signs in Luke (and Acts) of an interest in priests and in priestly things? Are there indications of positive portrayals of priests? Or are there indications of intra-priestly conflict – is the writer somewhat like the priests at Qumran who were dissatisfied with the priesthood in Jerusalem, especially at its higher levels? But the more obvious matter is the role and status of priests towards the end of the first century, after the destruction of Jerusalem’s Temple.
