Study Six.
Luke.
Bible readings: Colossians 4:14; 2
Timothy 4:11; Philemon 1:24.
“Luke the beloved
physician and Demas greet you” Colossians
4:14.
Date: About
a.d. 50.
Name: Luke (“light”).
Greatest
accomplishment: A companion
of the apostle Paul, Luke wrote Acts and the Gospel that bears his name.
1.
Luke’s
Life and Times.
Paul speaks of him as the “beloved physician” Colossian 4:14, and as a “fellow labourer” Philemon 1:24. From earliest
times, Luke has been identified as the author of the third Gospel and of Acts.
In part because each book
features medical language and refers often to illnesses, diagnoses, and to the
details of sickness, cures, and marks of recovery. In Acts 16, for the first time the author shifts from describing what “they” (Paul and his companions) did to
what “we” (Paul, with Luke now among
his companions) did (Acts 16:11).
It becomes clear that Luke joined
the missionary team at Troas, just before Paul crossed into Europe for the
first time. What we know of Luke as a person must be inferred from the books he
wrote.
1. First,
Luke used the most educated and beautiful Greek of any Gospel writer. He was
clearly given a classical education as well as medical training. While his name
is Greek, he may well have been a Jew, as Jews often bore Greek as well as
Jewish names.
2. We
also know from the emphases in Luke’s Gospel that Luke was especially concerned
with the poor, the oppressed, and with women. His Gospel contains many stories portray
Jesus’ involvement with the poor, and Luke often shows the difference the
responses of women to the Lord with the responses of men.
3. The
themes developed in Luke’s writings show that he was an unusually sensitive and
caring man as well as a careful historian.
2.
Luke: An
example for today.
Luke was by all indications a
true intellectual as well as a dedicated physician and caring person. The term “beloved” used by Paul to describe Luke
tell us much about his character. He combined a sharp mind with a loving and mild
character and an unusual sensitivity for those whom society largely uncared for.
Someone once commented that God
must love the common people because He made so many of them. It is just as true
to say that God must love the uncommon, because men like Luke so wonderfully
glorify Him.
Conclusion:
We need more people like Luke, to
assist us in our faith today!
