Luke was another companion of Paul. He wrote the Gospel of Luke and The Acts of the Apostles. Despite having penned two major books in the Bible—comprising about 25% of the content in New Testament—Luke is only mentioned three times in the Bible, so we don’t know too much about him.
First, we learn that he is a “dear friend” of Paul’s and a doctor. He is also esteemed by Paul as a “fellow worker.” Third, in one of his darker hours, Paul laments that “only Luke is with me.” As such, we see Luke as faithful and persevering.
We also know that Luke was a participant observer in many of the events he recorded in the book of Acts. We see this through his first-person narratives and the use of the pronoun “we.”
Although Luke was not a leader or an apostle, his contribution to our faith and understanding of Jesus and his church is significant. Doctor Luke’s ministry function was not leading or preaching, but rather playing a silent and almost unnoticed supporting role .
His work was quiet, but his legacy lives on, loudly influencing Jesus’ followers two millennia later.
[Colossians 4:14, Philemon 1:24, 2 Timothy 4:11, and Acts 16:10-16, 20:4-15, 21:1-18, 27:1-29 & 37, 28:1-16]
A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.
