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You are here: Home / Passages / Acts / Who was Luke?

Who was Luke?

January 15, 2021 by Krisan Marotta

Who was Luke? | WednesdayintheWord.com

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.
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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
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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
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More: Gospel of Luke Resources

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Photo by Raul Popadineți on Unsplash

(This article has been read 447 times plus 7 today.)

Related posts:

  1. Luke’s use of the Old Testament
  2. Gospel of Luke Resources
  3. The Great Banquet Parable, Luke 14:7-24
  4. What does it mean to carry your cross? Luke 14:25-35
  5. Have a Mary Christmas Luke 10:38-42

Filed Under: Acts, Who is Tagged With: Luke, who

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