12 Points about Saint Luke the Evangelist and His Accounts

By Tom Perna on October 18, 2013 • ( Leave a comment )

1. He was a Gentile (Greek) from Antioch.

2. He was a companion to St. Paul and traveled with him during the Caesarean and Roman persecutions and imprisonments.

3. He was an educated physician whom St. Paul refers to as “Luke the Beloved Physician” (Col 4:14).

4. He is the author of the Gospel that bears his name. It is dedicated to Theophilus. There are two theories on this name – first, he was a convert to Christianity and possibly a Roman Aristocrat that financed Luke to write down his accounts, and second, the name Theophilus means “Lover of God”, which could pertain to all those people love the Lord. St. Luke’s target audience for his Gospel was Gentile Christians.

5. His authorship of the Gospel is affirmed by Tradition as well as by the Muratorian Canon, Tertullian, Origen, St. Irenaeus, St. Jerome, and St. Eusebius.

6. The theme of his Gospel is a Universal Message of Salvation for all, not just the chosen people. This begins in Jerusalem and spreads throughout the world.

7. He is one of the three Synoptic (“seeing together”) Gospel Writers. St. Matthew and St. Mark are the other two.

8. Although his Gospel account as similarities with St. Matthew and St. Mark, St. Luke gives us a detailed account of the Infancy Narratives. More than likely, St. Luke had personal contact with the mother of Jesus and received his information from her.

9. Other themes stressed in the Gospel of Luke: Mercy of God, Mercy and Concern for the Poor, Oppressed, and Care and Respect for Women.

10. He is also the author of Acts of the Apostles.

11. The theme of Acts of the Apostles is the reliable history of the first 30 years of the Church from the Ascension of Jesus to St. Paul’s imprisonment in Rome. The first part is about St. Peter and second part is about St. Paul.

12. Both the Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles were written in the early 60’s A.D. (63-65 A.D.) in the Greek language. His accounts are the most literary and most historical.

Sources:

Hahn, Scott, Catholic Bible Dictionary. Doubleday, 2009.

Socias, Rev. James, Introduction to Catholicism. Midwest Theological Forum, 2002.