Forty different men wrote the Bible. Thirty-nine were Jewish. Only one Biblical author was not a descendant of Abraham. That one man wrote more of the New Testament than any other author. His name is Luke.

Luke did not write the most number of books in the New Testament. Paul wrote thirteen and John wrote five. The two books written by Luke, the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts, make up twenty percent of the New Testament. Without the work of Luke, Christians would know little about the earliest days of the church. Despite the historical importance of Luke’s writings, little is known about Luke’s life.

Luke was not one of the twelve apostles and he never saw Jesus. No one knows for certain where he was from or when he was saved. In Acts 16 Luke begins to use the word “we” in his record of the travels of Paul. This change in pronouns suggests Luke joined Paul’s ministry team in Troas. Luke journeyed with Paul into Greece, and appears to have stayed in the province of Macedonia for several years. He rejoined Paul’s team when the apostle returned to Macedonia in Acts 20, and he then traveled with Paul to Jerusalem. Paul was arrested in Jerusalem and transfered to Caesarea. Luke followed him to Caesarea and then made the long journey with him to Rome. Luke remained with Paul throughout the apostle’s house arrest. Possibly Luke wrote the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts during his time in Rome.

Luke was the first historian of Christianity. He is the only New Testament writer who did not personally see the resurrected Jesus. Despite not being an apostle or eyewitness of the resurrection, Luke’s writings show he was a conscientious chronicler of the life of Jesus, the beginning of the church and the spread of the gospel. The opening verses of Luke speak of his investigation into the life of Jesus and of his intention to present a well-ordered account of Jesus. He faithfully reproduced the results of that investigation in a two volume work which presented an exact account of the life of Jesus, the growth of the church and the ministry of the Apostle Paul.

The only other personal information known about Luke is that he was a doctor. Paul mentioned Luke in the letter to the Colossians and called him, “The beloved physician.” The latest reference to Luke in the Bible is in 2 Timothy 4. Paul wrote 2 Timothy during his final Roman imprisonment. Shortly before his execution he said, “Only Luke is with me.” Luke remained faithful to Paul when others forsook him. Though Bible is silent about the years between Paul’s first and second Roman imprisonments, it appears that after Paul was released from prison he continued to travel and preach the gospel. Luke probably traveled and ministered alongside him. When Paul was arrested the final time, Luke stayed with him and ministered to him during his final days.

The Bible does not tell what Luke did after the death of Paul. Tradition says Luke settled in Greece and ministered in the city of Thebes. He is said to have lived into his 80’s and to have died at the hands of an angry mob who skinned him alive and then crucified him on an olive tree. We know relatively little about the “beloved physician” who wrote so much of the Bible. We do know he was a faithful minister and a careful historian who produced an invaluable account of the life of Jesus and the early days of His church.