
Luke, Theophilus & Joanna
From The Humble Skeptic by Truth Isn't Afraid of Questions
September 24, 2025 · 38 min
About this episode
Dr. Jim Sibley discusses the identity of Theophilus and Joanna in Luke's Gospel and their historical significance.
In a chapter he wrote for the Handbook on the Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith , Jim Sibley argued that Luke’s Theophilus was likely a Jewish high priest. In fact, he says this Theophilus may have been deposed from office in 41 AD because of his favorability toward the growing Christian movement. He also believes that Luke’s Joanna was likely the granddaughter of this same Theophilus. Dr. Sibley joins Shane to discuss these issues and more. During this episode, Shane referenced an upcoming livestream presentation related to the prologue of Luke’s Gospel. A video recording of this webinar is now available here . SHOW NOTES Books A Handbook on the Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith , Jim Sibley & others A Handbook on the Jewish Roots of the Gospels , Jim Sibley & others The Undercover Messiah & His Coming Kingdom , Jim Sibley The Moody Handbook on Messianic Prophecy , Rydelnik & Blum Luke: A Commentary , Peter G. Bolt The Gospel According to Luke , James R. Edwards Lukan Authorship of Hebrews (ebook), David Allen Gospel Women , Richard Bauckham Can We Trust The Gospels? Peter J. Williams Testimonies to the Truth , Lydia McGrew Luke’s Key Witness , Shane Rosenthal Articles Who…
People in this episode
Hosts: Shane, Shane Rosenthal
Guest: Jim Sibley
Topics covered
- Jewish roots of Christianity
- Luke's Gospel
- Theophilus
- historical context
- Christian movement
- biblical scholarship
Keywords
- Theophilus
- Joanna
- Luke
- Christianity
- Jewish high priest
- historical context
- biblical scholarship
- Jim Sibley
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: A Handbook on the Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith, A Handbook on the Jewish Roots of the Gospels, The Undercover Messiah & His Coming Kingdom, The Moody Handbook on Messianic Prophecy, Luke: A Commentary, The Gospel According to Luke, Lukan Authorship of Hebrews (ebook), Gospel Women, Can We Trust The Gospels?, Testimonies to the Truth
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- The Cambridge Declaration · April 21, 2026 · 1h 19m
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- The Bar That Inspired Piano Man · January 7, 2026 · 1h 7m
- The Annunciation & Incarnation · December 22, 2025 · 26 min
- A Forensic Approach to the Gospels · October 15, 2025 · 44 min
- Who Is Theophilus? · September 5, 2025 · 37 min
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