Was Luke an original witness to Christ's ascension?
~ Tim's Answer ~
As far as we know Luke was not an original witness to Christ's ascension. Luke apparently joined Paul at Troas, as up to that time in the book of Acts Luke always refers to the accounts in the third person. That is, "they" did this and "he" did this, but never "we" did this. After Luke 16:10, Luke switches to the first person, that is, "we" did this. Thus, it appears that Luke joined Paul and Silas at Troas on Paul's second missionary journey. Further, in Luke 1:1-2, Luke speaks of the eyewitnesses as other people, not as himself. Finally, in Acts 1:3, he speaks of Jesus being seen by "them" after his resurrection. He never mentions seeing Christ himself. Accordingly, it appears that Luke writes as an historian, one who collected the eyewitness accounts from others and wrote them in his two books.
tim
