St Luke The Evangelist (first century AD)

      What do we know about Luke? It is said that he was the writer of the gospel of Luke, and also the book of Acts, which describes the adventures of the early Christians in the years that followed the life of Jesus on earth. The books of Luke and Acts were, in effect, part of the same two-volume work.

     Unlike John, Luke was not one of the original disciples, and he did not come from the Holy Land of Israel. It seems that he was a Greek by birth, some say born in Antioch. His main association with the early Church was as a helper of Paul on his missionary journeys. Paul, in his letters, refers to Luke three times as being present in Rome. Also, in Acts, a few of the accounts of the experiences of Paul and his companions are phrased in terms of what we did rather than what they did, which seems to suggest that Luke himself was present with Paul at these moments.

     It is also said that Luke was a physician, and because of this he has come to be seen as the patron saint of doctors and surgeons.

     According to a second-century writer, Luke lived a long life, dying in Greece at the age of eighty-four, unmarried. Some say that he was martyred, but there seems to be doubt about this – it is possible that he was spared the fate of martyrdom that befell so many of the early Christians.

     One might say that this adds up to one of the less striking and eventful lives of the early Christians, but perhaps this makes it all the more believable. His great legacy to us is his writing. He emphasised how the Christian message was open to people from all nations, and stressed the active role of the Holy Spirit in the spreading of this message. He was also keen to point out that the gospel brought people not only peace, but joy!
   

Article by Will Hardy