Who is the Luke in Scripture?
- Luke was a Gentile (Colossians 4:11-14). Jerome and Eusebius tell us Luke was from Antioch in Syria.
- We do not know how he was converted, but it’s probably he was converted by the Apostle Paul.
- He was a doctor (Colossians 4:14) and a historian.
- “Luke/Lucanus” was a slave name and many Roman slaves were physicians. Luke could have been a freed slave.
- He wrote both the Gospel that bears his name and the book of Acts. Many scholars think he wrote them while in Rome with Paul during Paul’s first imprisonment.
- Luke joined Paul on his second missionary journey in Troas (note the “we” in Acts 16:10-16). Luke remained in Philippi after Paul left (note “they in Acts 17:1).
- Luke rejoined Paul when Paul passed through Philippi on his way to Jerusalem at the end of his third missionary journey (note the pronouns in Acts 20:5-6).
- It appears Luke traveled with Paul from this time on.
- Luke stayed with Paul as Paul awaited execution in a Roman prison (2 Timothy 4:11).
- Some traditions claim Luke died by martyrdom between 75-100 AD. Other traditions claim he died a natural death and was buried in Bithynia.
Luke in Scripture
Col 4:14 Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas.
2Ti 4:11 Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.
Phm 1:24 and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.
Luke refers to his journeys with Paul in:
- Acts 16:10-17
- Acts 20:5-15
- Acts 21:1-18
- Acts 27:1-28:16
Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
- McClinktock & Strong: Luke
- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Luke
- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary: Luke
- Easton’s Bible Dictionary: Luke
- Fausset’s Bible Dictionary: Luke
- Holman Bible Dictionary: Luke
- Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible: Luke
- Kitto’s Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature: Luke, the Evangelist
- Morrish Bible Dictionary: Luke, Lucas
- Nutall Encyclopedia: Luke
- Luke, means “luminous, white” – Hitchcock’s Bible Names
More: Gospel of Luke Resources
Photo by Raul Popadineți on Unsplash