Luke-Acts and the Pauline Epistles

The linguistic overlap between Luke-Acts and the late epistles of Paul suggests that the author had access to these when composing his histories. Pervo has written a fine argument for the familiarity of Luke-Acts with the Pauline epistles which suggests Lukan posteriority. (Richard I. Pervo, Dating Acts: Between the Evangelists and the Apologists, 2006) I shall summarize some of the most striking instances of Lukan use of Paul with examples taken from Pervo and others. Dunn often mentioned the similar Eucharistic blessings, 

Lk. 22:19-20: καὶ λαβὼν ἄρτον εὐχαριστήσας ἔκλασεν καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς λέγων· 

Τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ σῶμά μου τὸ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν διδόμενον· 

τοῦτο ποιεῖτε εἰς τὴν ἐμὴν ἀνάμνησιν. 

καὶ τὸ ποτήριον ὡσαύτως μετὰ τὸ δειπνῆσαι, λέγων· 

Τοῦτο τὸ ποτήριον ἡ καινὴ διαθήκη ἐν τῷ αἵματί μου, 

τὸ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν ἐκχυννόμενον.

1 Cor. 11:23-25: Ἐγὼ γὰρ παρέλαβον ἀπὸ τοῦ κυρίου, ὃ καὶ παρέδωκα ὑμῖν, ὅτι ὁ κύριος Ἰησοῦς ἐν τῇ νυκτὶ ᾗ παρεδίδετο ἔλαβεν ἄρτον καὶ εὐχαριστήσας ἔκλασεν καὶ εἶπεν· 

Τοῦτό μού ἐστιν τὸ σῶμα τὸ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν·

τοῦτο ποιεῖτε εἰς τὴν ἐμὴν ἀνάμνησιν. 

ὡσαύτως καὶ τὸ ποτήριον μετὰ τὸ δειπνῆσαι, λέγων· 

Τοῦτο τὸ ποτήριον ἡ καινὴ διαθήκη ἐστὶν ἐν τῷ ἐμῷ αἵματι· 

τοῦτο ποιεῖτε, ὁσάκις ἐὰν πίνητε, εἰς τὴν ἐμὴν ἀνάμνησιν.

The high verbatim agreements are close and even go on for strings of five or more words. Further, the eucharistic blessings in Paul and Luke differ from those found in the other two synoptics; they feature distinctive phrases such as “new covenant,” and “do this in my memory” which are not found in other versions. (cf. Matt. 26:26-28; Mk. 14:22-24) The simplest inference is that Lk borrowed this language directly from 1 Corinthians. 

Moule mentioned more technical similarities in language between Paul and Lk. The following examples are taken from  C. F. D. Moule, The Birth of the New Testament (1966), p. 220, 221. The hapax φιλαργυρία is only found in the pastorals (1 Tim. 6:10; 2 Tim. 3:2) and once in Luke 16:14. Just one example may be regarded as coincidence, but another υφηλοφρονείν is found only 1 Tim. 6:17 and at Lk. 16:15. Moule comments that 2 Τim. 4:1-8 "as a whole is reminiscent of the Pauline farewell in Acts 20:17 ff., and the references to the presbyter-episcopi in the Pastorals generally is like Acts 20; but of course it might be said that this is only because both passages are Pauline, not because both are Lucan!"

MacDonald in Two Shipwrecked Gospels (2012) p. 51 notes the close similarity between Colossians 4:17 τὴν διακονίαν ἣν παρέλαβες ἐν κυρίῳ, and Acts 20:24. τὴν διακονίαν ἣν ἔλαβον παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ. A more familiar example of high verbatim agreements between the Pauline epistles and Lk is a certain saying quoted as scripture in 1 Tim. 5:18 ἄξιος ὁ ἐργάτης τοῦ μισθοῦ αὐτοῦ (1 Tim. 5:18) which is found also in Lk. 10:7 ἄξιος γὰρ ὁ ἐργάτης τοῦ μισθοῦ αὐτοῦ. It is very likely that Lk. 10:7 directly borrows this saying from 1 Tim. 5:18 but it is not possible to say with any certainty what source the author of the pastoral epistle was referencing. It is plausibly a lost source or tradition shared in common with Lk, as there were "many" narratives which preceded Lk's and there are verbatim agreements between Lk and late Pauline epistles.

There are a few close points of contact between Paul and the gospel of Mark but they are not as significant. In Mk. 7:15 Jesus declares all foods clean κοινός, and this same substantive is used in Rom. 14:14 to declare the same. Both Mk. 11:23 and 1 Cor. 13:2 speak of faith moving mountains, however, Lk. 17:6 instead  speaks of casting mulberry trees into the sea. Again at, Mk. 9:50 Christ exhorts his followers, ἔχετε ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἅλα καὶ εἰρηνεύετε ἐν ἀλλήλοις which is seems to be alluded to by Paul, εἰρηνεύετε ἐν ἑαυτοῖς. (1 Thess. 5:13)