Portland, Oregon Church  -  Affiliated with the Intercontinental Church of God and the Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association

SUBJECT:  Luke

QUESTION:  What do we know about Luke?  How could he write one of the gospels if he never met Jesus?  Doesn’t that make his gospel hearsay?

ANSWER:

Notice this from the Bible Dictionary:

LUKE

A "fellow laborer" of the apostle Paul (Philem 24) and the probable author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. By profession he was a physician (Colossians 4:14). During one of Paul's imprisonments, probably in Rome, Luke's faithfulness was recorded by Paul when he declared, "Only Luke is with me" (2 Timothy 4:11). These three references are our only direct knowledge of Luke in the New Testament.

A bit more of Luke's life and personality can be pieced together with the aid of his writings (Luke and Acts) and some outside sources. Tradition records that he came from Antioch in Syria. This is possible, because Antioch played a significant role in the early Gentile mission which Luke described in Acts (Acts 11; 13; 14; 15; 18). Luke was a Gentile (Colossians 4:10-17) and the only non-Jewish author of a New Testament book. A comparison of 2 Corinthians 8:18 and 12:18 has led some to suppose that Luke and Titus were brothers, but this is a guess.

Luke accompanied Paul on parts of his second third, and final missionary journeys. At three places in Acts, the narrative changes to the first person ("we"). This probably indicates that Luke was personally present during those episodes. On the second journey (A.D. 49-53), Luke accompanied Paul on the short voyage from Troas to Philippi (Acts 16:10-17). On the third journey (A.D. 54-58), Luke was present on the voyage from Philippi to Jerusalem (Acts 20:5-21:18). Whether Luke had spent the intervening time in Philippi is uncertain, but his connection with Philippi has led some to favor it (rather than Antioch) as Luke's home.

Once in Palestine, Luke probably remained close by Paul during his two-year imprisonment in Caesarea. During this time, Luke probably drew together material, both oral and written, which he later used in the composition of his gospel (Luke 4). A third "we" passage describes in masterful suspense the shipwreck during Paul's voyage to Rome for his trial before Caesar. Each of the "we" passages involves Luke on a voyage, and the description of the journey from Jerusalem to Rome is full of observations and knowledge of nautical matters.

Luke apparently was a humble man, with no desire to sound his own horn. More than one-fourth of the New Testament comes from his pen, but not once does he mention himself by name. He had a greater command of the Greek language and was probably more broad-minded and urbane than any New Testament writer. He was a careful historian, both by his own admission (Luke 1:1-4), and by the judgment of later history.

Luke's gospel reveals his concern for the poor, sick, and outcast, thus offering a clue to why Paul called him "the beloved physician" (Colossians 4:14). He was faithful not only to Paul, but to the greater cause which he served-the publication of "good tidings of great joy" (Luke 2:10). ~from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary

Note:  As the dictionary says, Luke was a careful historian.  He was the author of one-fourth of the New Testament.  Most importantly, all scripture is actually authored by God, Himself…

2 Timothy 3:16

 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

We can easily see that Luke was called of God and had His Holy Spirit.  He was in close relationship with Paul.  The point is that we do not need to rely on specific men to have truth.  We need only rely on God who chose those specific men to do His desires whether raising up churches in Asia or writing one of the Gospels.  I do not trust the Bible because Luke and Paul wrote much of the New Testament; I trust it because I am a Spirit begotten firstfruit of God and have proven the Bible to be His Word (See 1 John 2:20)

In addition, think of all the people who have, through the ages, maintained the Bible, made copies, passed them down and who canonized the Bible in the first place.  The Bible could only have come to us by an ongoing miracle of God; from its inspiration, to its formation as a book, to its publishing and distribution and to its preservation.  Just as one can understand the word through the power of the Holy Spirit, that same Spirit could inspire Luke to write all that he did.

Portland, Oregon Church  -  Affiliated with the Intercontinental Church of God and the Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association