A Defense for the Chronological Order of Luke's Gospel

For decades scholars have reached no consensus on the writing order of Luke's gospel. The author, through a thorough study of the word ""orderly"" in Luke 1:3; a comparison of Luke's writing methodologies with those of the Greco-Roman historians; and a detailed investigation of the differences in the narrative accounts among the Synoptic Gospels, concludes that Luke writes in chronological order. The author also explains how Luke has employed writing methodologies commonly used by Greco-Roman historians to write the prefaces in Luke-Acts and divide the Gospel into sections, and the implications of these writing methodologies on Luke's writing order. He explicates the possible reasons behind the differences in the writing style between the ""travel"" section (9:52b to 19:44) and the rest of the Gospel, proposes the central theme of Luke-Acts, and assesses the possible implications for accepting Luke's chronological writing order on biblical studies.

""This is a pivotal work for today's New Testament scholarship, and Benjamin Fung includes several creative ways to research it. Many years ago, treating Luke's gospel in chronological order was a given, but today it is questioned by some liberal and evangelical scholars. Fung has done exhaustive and careful research showing how a chronological perspective fits well within the Gospel, and outside it, as a technique common among ancient Greco-Roman and Jewish historians. This is a must read for anyone interested in affirming the chronological order of the Gospel of Luke.""
--Aida Besancon Spencer, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

""In his preface the author of Luke states that he wrote an 'orderly' account. However, scholars have no consensus on the writing order of this gospel. Dr. Fung aimed to ascertain Luke's writing order by evaluating different suggestions, conducting textual, grammatical, and semantic studies, analyzing the narrative sequence in Luke's gospel and comparing it with writing methodologies of Greco-Roman and Jewish historians. Fung's well motivated finding is that Luke wrote his gospel in chronological order.""
--Francois P. Viljoen, North-West University, South Africa

Benjamin Wing Wo Fung is a CPA in Hong Kong and the United States. He acquired his PhD from the North-West University in South Africa in 2017 and this book is his PhD thesis. He was an adjunct professor of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and taught a Greek Head Start class and a New Testament Survey class at the Center for Urban Ministerial Education in Boston from 2008 to 2009. He currently preaches and teaches at various churches and Bible colleges in Hong Kong.