The Apostles: Luke the Evangelist

The name Luke means light.

Scholars believe he originated from the Greek city of Antioch.

Luke wrote both the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. Some historians believe he also contributed to the book of Hebrews.  He is believed to have been a disciple of Paul.  In Colossians 4:14, Paul refers to Luke as a physician.

It is believed the narrative for Luke taken from Mary’s account and that since he used “we” at times through the book of Acts, he was an eyewitness to many of the events. On example is found in Acts 28:16 where he wrote “And when we came to Rome… .”

One early Christian historian mentioned Luke as being one of the Seventy Apostles. 

At the end of Philemon, Paul writes “…sends greetings to you…and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.”  {Philemon 1:23-24}

In 2 Timothy 4:11 Paul writes “Only Luke is with me”.

Christian tradition states that Luke died in 84AD and reportedly was hung from an olive tree, although others scholars believe he suffered a different fate.