V. George Shillington, An Introduction to the Study of Luke-Acts, second edition) T&T Clark Approaches to Biblical Studies (T&T Clark, 2015), 17.
For the Gospel of Luke, it is reasonably safe to say that the author relied on Mark, although less so than Matthew did. The sequence of events in Luke 1:1 to 22:53 is essentially the sequence of Mark – even though Luke has only about seven-tenths of the material of Mark. Yet the author of Luke is not bound slavishly to Mark’s sequence. Mark 6:1-6 (the rejection of Jesus at Nazareth) is moved forward in Luke (4:16-30); Mark 1:16-20 (Jesus’ call o the first disciples) is moved back (5:1-11); the sequence of Mark 3:7-12 (a large crowd by the Sea of Galilee) followed by Mark 3:13-19 (Jesus appointing the Twelve) is switched in Luke (6:12-19); and Mark 3:31-35 (the true family of Jesus) is moved back in Luke (8:19-20). Of course, the author of Luke interrupts the sequence at points to insert other material pertinent to his purpose, most significantly a large block of Lukan material set in a circuitous ‘travel narrative’ of Jesus en route to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51-19:27). Similarly, Luke’s birth, infancy, and genealogy narratives (1:5-3:38) are the work of the Luke-Acts redactor quite apart from Mark. Finally, Luke’s passion narrative (22:54-23:49) exhibits limited reliance on Mark’s passion.
The Amateur Exegete 
Thanks for posting this. They’re one of several reasons to keep checking out this site (your insights on biblical scholarship being another)!
I was wondering: Under the earlier article “Michael Kochenash: Saul the Persecutor, Saul the King, and Pentheus”, I posted some more thoughts on the possible influence of the story of Heliodorus in 2 Maccabees along with Euripides’ Bacchae on Luke’s account of Paul. What did you think? It appeared like a likely source for Luke but would welcome any thoughts you might have on the topic.
Sorry once again for the weird humor under the last article. I think I see what you have been doing with all the Robyn Faith Walsh videos: Trying to show as much footage as possible of an intelligent Bible scholar (who just so happens to be aesthetically pleasing) so we’ll keep returning to the site.
Clever, very clever. 🙂
-J Source
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I’m open to Luke-Acts being influenced by an array of sources, in large part because I think the author of Luke-Acts was probably fairly well educated and (for the period) well read. I’ve not investigated that particular line on 2 Macc though. I’ll have to check out a few commentaries to see if they pick up on that at all.
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Alright, cool.
One other thing I found odd is that while the conversion accounts in Acts 9, 22, and 26 seem to diverge at times, they all have Paul being accompanied by others. They are either said to have heard “the voice” or seen “the light” depending on the version.
It’s unusual that in his authentic letters, Paul never mentions being accompanied by others during his conversion or cites them as eyewitnesses in 1 Corinthians 15:8 that Jesus appeared to him “as one untimely born.” (They aren’t explicitly named in Acts, either.)
While some believers have argued that the accounts in Acts can be reconciled with passages in the Pauline epistles like 1 Corinthians 15: 1-8 and Galatians 1:11-24, I think the better question might be whether something like the Acts conversion account is implied by what you find in the epistles: If someone were presented with only passages in the letters and had no knowledge of Acts, could they be counted on to piece together an account like that in Acts 9? If not, it seems more likely that Luke crafted his own conversion narrative to suit his goals.
(On an unrelated note, I had one of those reading experiences where you look over a familiar passage for the nth time and notice something bizarre: In Genesis 50: 22-26, Joseph speaks to his brothers from his deathbed. According to the passage, he was an astounding one hundred-and-ten years old. Yet, he was the eleventh-born son of Jacob. So, with the possible exception of Benjamin, his brothers would also be at least one hundred-and-ten years old! So, according to Genesis, a bunch of centenarians were gathered together in a room in Ancient Egypt, where the life expectancy is estimated to have been either 30-40 or 50-60 years, depending on factors like infant mortality.)
Thanks,
J Source
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