Luke didn’t claim any credit for authorship in his Gospel or its sequel, the Book of Acts. He didn’t sign his work to draw attention to himself. In fact, his name only appears three times in the New Testament, and never in the Gospel of Luke or the Book of Acts.
Paul spoke of him in his prison epistles as his “coworker” (Philemon 24), and as “Luke, the dearly loved physician”(Colossians 4:14). And in Paul’s final letter, Second Timothy, probably written during Paul’s second and final Roman imprisonment, he wrote, “Only Luke is with me” (2 Timothy 4:11).
Dr. Luke was Paul’s faithful and frequent companion. This is evident by the “we passages” in the Book of Acts. In these so-called “we passages” (Acts 16:10–17; 20:5–15; 21:1–18; 27:1–28:16), the author switches from using pronouns like “he, they, and them” to “we and us.” The “we passages” demonstrate that Luke was with Paul on parts of his second and third missionary journeys and on his journey from the Caesarean prison to Rome. In the final “we” entry, Luke writes: “When we entered Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself with the soldier who guarded him” (Acts 28:16).
Two things are remarkable and noteworthy concerning Dr. Luke.
First, as noted in the opening paragraph, he was humble. But add to that, he was a physician who gave up a comfortable existence to walk limitless miles and place himself in harm’s way for the sake of his friend and his Lord.
Second, he was a careful and passionate Christian historian. The two books he authored
record the life and works of Jesus and the Holy Spirit empowered spread of the Gospel across the Roman world. They are priceless and have changed the lives of countless multitudes.
Finally, Luke’s ultimate desire was the glory of God and the salvation of souls. Luke’s Gospel closes: “And they were continually in the temple praising God” (Luke 24:53). The last words in the Book of Acts report Paul “proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance” (Acts 28:31).
Surely, Luke was “the dearly loved physician” (Colossians 4:14), and another “most honorable Theophilus” (Luke 1:4), a friend of God.
“… think on these things” (Philippians 4:8, KJV).
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