About Luke

In Romans 12 it says,

“6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;

8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.”

You don’t have to be a preacher that speaks to the public in order to be a servant of the Lord. There are different gifts that are handed out by the Holy Spirit. Everybody that has received the Holy Spirit has some type of gift.

There has been speculation that Luke was a Gentile. Let’s cover scriptures to see whether this is so.

We all know that Luke wrote the book of Acts. He never mentions the name “Luke” in the book of Acts but we can see when he is involved in the book of Acts.

Whenever we run across the word, “we, us, or our”, we know that Luke is including himself in the passage. For instance the first time that he mentions “we” is in Acts 16 which says,

“9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.

10 And after he had seen the vision, immediately WE endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.”

So we see here in verse 10 that Luke says, “WE”, which shows us that he is in Paul’s company. But this does not mean because he doesn’t say “we”, that he is not with Paul’s company, but rather when he does say it he definitely is with him.

Also in verse 10 it says they were sure that the Lord called them to go preach the gospel unto them. Here he is referring to the group. I want to show you that Luke was not in the foreground as a public speaker but rather in the background as a minister to Paul. Luke was a behind the scenes kind of guy.

Not everyone in the ministry is going to be a dynamic speaker. There are people in the ministry that are not in the spotlight as Paul was, but they are every bit as important, doing the behind the scenes work. Luke was one of these.

In Acts 16 it says,

“11 Therefore loosing from Troas, WE came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis;

12 And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony: and WE were in that city abiding certain days.

13 And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and WE sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.

14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were SPOKEN OF PAUL.

15 And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought US, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained US.

16 And it came to pass, as WE went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met US, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:

17 The same followed Paul and US, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.

18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

19 And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,

20 And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city,

21 And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.

22 And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them.

23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:

24 Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.”

Question: Why didn’t they take Luke and throw him in prison also? Wasn’t Luke with Paul?

Luke was not the one doing all the public speaking, that was done by Paul and Silas. The people of Philippi said that Paul and Silas were the ones that were troubling the city, not Luke. So Luke was not the main public speaker here, Paul and Silas were.

There are many places in Acts and Paul’s epistles were Paul sends preachers out to different cities to go preach the gospel. For instance in Acts 19 it says,

“22 So he sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus; but he himself stayed in Asia for a season.”

This happens many times throughout Paul’s ministry but you will never find where he sends Luke out.

Question: Why doesn’t Paul ever send out Luke? There has to be a reason for this.

Is it possible that Luke was Paul’s personal minister? Is it possible that Luke’s gift of the Holy Spirit was not public speaking as a teacher or preacher but rather ministering and teaching through the written word?

There are people out there that have the gift of teaching. They can speak publicly very well and get their point across but they can’t write and get their point across.

Some people can write well and get their point across but they can’t get up in front of a crowd and speak.

Some people can do both, some people can do neither.

Luke was with Paul for most of his ministry, but he was always in the background, not in the spotlight. For instance when Paul writes the book of Romans he is in Corinth, which is in Greece in Acts 20 verse 3.

Right after this when Paul leaves, notice what the scripture says in Acts 20,

“2 And when he had gone over those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece,

3 And there abode three months. And when the Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia.

4 And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.

5 These going before tarried for US at Troas.

6 And WE sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where WE abode seven days.

So we see here in verse 5 that Luke was with Paul. So Luke was with Paul when he went from Greece to Philippi to Troas.

This means that Luke was with Paul when Paul wrote the book of Romans while he was in Greece.

In Romans 16 it says,

“21 Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you.”

These people were with Paul when he wrote the book of Romans and he told the Romans that these saluted them. In Philemon Paul said,

“24 Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellowlabourers.”

Here in Philemon, Luke is referred to as “Lucas”. Luke was with Paul in Rome when he wrote Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon.

Just as:

Peter was called Cephas.
Saul was called Paul.
Timotheus was called Timothy.
Marcus was called Mark.
Silvanus was called Silas.
Sosipater was called Sopater
Jesus was called Justus

It looks like Lucius was called Lucas and Luke.

Now back to Acts 20,

“4 And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.

5 These going before tarried for US at Troas.”

Even though Luke does not put “Lucius” on this list, he does include himself when he says, “US”. So Luke was with Paul.

Again when Paul writes Romans he says,

“21 Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you.”

Timothy and Sopater are on his list when he writes Acts 20. They were with Paul also when he wrote Romans.

This shows us that Lucius is Luke.

Paul also said that Timothy was his workfellow. Timothy was a Gentile. But he said Lucius, Jason and Sosipater were his kinsmen. They were Jews.

Luke was a Jew.

In Acts 13 it says,

“1 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.”

Lucius of Cyrene was one of the teachers at Antioch. This is Luke. Luke was of the circumcision, he was of the new covenant church as was Barnabas and Silas.

In Acts 4 it says,

“36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,”

Barnabas was definitely of the circumcision (the new covenant church).

In Acts 15 it says,

“22 Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren:”

Silas was also of the new covenant church.

Both Barnabas and Silas were Jews and were of the new covenant church, yet they both worked with Paul at one time or another as did Lucius (Luke).

Many times in Paul’s epistles he mentions himself and others that are with him in the beginning of his epistles.

In 1st Corinthians he says,

“1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,”

In 2nd Corinthians he says,

“1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:”

In Galatians 1 he mentions all the brethren that are with him but not by name,

“1 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)

2 And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia:”

In Philippians 1 it says,

“1 Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:”

In Colossians it says,

“1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother,

In Philemon he says,

“1 Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer,”

In 1st Thessalonians it says,

“1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

In 2nd Thessalonians he says,

“1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:”

Even though Luke is with him when he writes most of his epistles he never mentions Luke at the beginning of his epistles.

Why?

Is it because Luke is not a major player when it comes to preaching in public? There is never any record of Luke doing any public speaking except maybe in Acts 16 but he is referring to the whole group and then he says that Lydia attended unto the things SPOKEN BY PAUL.

So we never find scripture that Luke is in the forefront but rather always in the background. In Acts 19 it says,

“29 And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's COMPANIONS IN TRAVEL, they rushed with one accord into the theatre.”

Paul had many companions in travel, but they were not all preachers. Luke was definitely one of Paul’s companions in travel, but the scripture seems to indicate that Luke was not the preacher type such as Silas and Timothy.

But Luke had excellent writing skills, probably more so than any of his companions. He could really teach through his writings and it also seems that he must have been a scribe, his writings of the book of Luke and Acts would indicate this.

When we get to the book of Colossians, Paul writes in the opening of the epistle,

“1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother,”

Once again, here Paul mentions Timothy at the beginning of the epistle but he does not mention Luke, even though Luke is with him.

Why?

Luke was not a preacher as Timothy was. Timothy was in the forefront because he preached to the people and the people knew Timothy. Luke was in the background doing his ministering work.

At the end of Colossians Paul says in chapter 4,

“9 With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here.

10 Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;)

11 And Jesus, which is called Justus, who are of the circumcision. These only are my fellowworkers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me.

12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.

13 For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis.

14 Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.

Once again, Luke is in the background.

Why?

Luke is not listed with Marcus and Justus. Is it because Luke was not of the circumcision or because Luke was not a preacher? Why wasn’t Barnabas and Silas listed with them? They were of the circumcision also and they worked with Paul.

When we make the connection when Paul wrote Romans and Luke was with him and in Romans he is listed as Lucius and we go back to Acts 13 we can see that Lucius of Cyrene was of the circumcision, the new covenant church. He was there when Herod was the tetrarch.

So it seems that Luke was Paul’s private minister rather than a preacher and public speaker as many of the others.

As we go through the book of Acts we can see without a doubt that Luke was with Paul no later than Acts 16. He also mentions himself in Acts 19, 20, 21, 27 and 28 being with Paul.

Luke was with Paul almost throughout Paul’s entire ministry. He started out with him fairly early, went with him on most of his missionary journeys, went back to Jerusalem with him, was in the shipwreck with him on the island of Melita, went to Rome with him, was with him when he wrote his prison epistles and in Paul’s very last epistle in chapter 4 he said,

“11 Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.”

Not only was Luke one of Paul’s companions in travel, Luke was with him till the very end. I’m sure that Paul and Luke were dearest of friends. Luke was more like Paul’s butler than he was a public speaker.

Paul never sent Luke out to preach as he did the others, nor did Paul ever mention Luke in the beginning of any of his epistles as he did some of the others. But Luke was always with him, ministering unto the needs of the apostle Paul.

I’m not saying that Luke never preached at all, but rather that it was not his calling, it was not his gift. Teaching through writings, ministering, and exhortation, seemed to be Luke’s gifts, not public speaking.

We know that Paul wrote Galatians with his own hand, because he said so. He also said that he wrote the salutation of every epistle with his own hand. But we also know that other men wrote most of his epistles for him as in Romans 16 which says,

“22 I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord.”

Because that Luke was with him most of the time, it is very possible that Luke wrote some of Paul’s epistles for him, especially 2nd Timothy.

When Paul says in 2nd Timothy, “Only Luke is with me…”, well, if Paul did not write 2nd Timothy himself, then it seems like Luke could have been the one that wrote it for him.

So when we get to the book of Hebrews, if Luke possibly wrote some of Paul’s epistles for him, and if Luke did indeed write the book of Hebrews, then this would explain why some of the writings in Hebrews are very similar to the writings of Paul, because they could have had the same man behind the pen.

But from all indication it seems that Luke, as Barnabas and Silas, were all of the circumcision. Luke definitely was not a Gentile, for in Romans 16 Paul said Lucius was his kinsman.

So if Luke did indeed write the book of Hebrews, then this would make more sense, him being of the circumcision. But as always, God left the book of Hebrews without an author, and that is the way we should leave it.