Luke was one of the four evangelists and author of one of the canonical gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. He records the life and teachings of Jesus and the growth of the early Church. He was a native of Antioch in Syria was unmarried and without children. He was the only Gentile of the four Gospel writers. Ephesians states that Luke was one of the seventy and was present during the early missionary journeys and was a companion, disciple and friend of Paul, he is mentioned in Acts including being with Paul when he was imprisoned in Rome right up until the end of his life. Luke was a doctor, he was well educated, well traveled and a writer who was an accurate historian providing a high degree of accuracy in his accounts, being meticulous in recording people and place names.
It is interesting that Luke shows particular interest in medical things like circumcision, the high fever of Peters mother in law, the birth of Jesus from Mary's perspective and five out of the six miracles he describes in his gospel are healings, yet despite his focus on the natural realm he also recorded supernatural events such as the virgin birth and the many miracles signs and wonders that Jesus performed. The Gospel of Luke and Acts are both ascribed to Luke through early manuscripts and the witness accounts of early believers and scholars agree that both books are similar in style and written by the same person. Both books are written to Theophalus who was believed to be a Roman official or lawyer and is thought to have been written to explain what Paul had been teaching in Rome for which he was arrested.
The book of Luke sometimes called the Gospel according to Luke is thought to have been written around A.D. 59-61 and is the longest of the four Gospels and along with Acts takes up 25% of the new testament. His books are written in Greek but are not his own eye witness accounts of Jesus’s ministry but rather gathered from those who knew him including details sourced from St Mark’s gospel but it is believed that both books were once one long continuous book. Luke’s writings carry many common themes. He has a very empathetic style which you might expect of a physician, he writes more about Children than the others and mentions 13 women by name including the first European convert Lydia. He traces the physical ancestry of Christ through Mary's line as opposed to Matthew who traces it through Josephs. There are 20 Parables in Luke’s writing and his is the only one to carry "The prodigal son" and "The Good Samaritan" two of the best known Bible stories. It includes the birth story and three sayings of Christ when he was on the cross.
Common themes in Luke’s writings include an emphasis on prayer and the work of the Holy Spirit, concern for the poor, the marginalised and the sick. He emphasises Jesus’s Son-ship and his lineage from King David. Each Gospel writer had a symbol attributed to them and Luke’s is that of an Ox with wings which signifies sacrifice and the beast of burden. Acts covers the period from Pentecost up to Paul’s imprisonment in Rome and records all the trials and hardships of the missionary journeys including persecutions, beatings and imprisonment but also the teachings and conversions on the way. Luke is said to have been martyred at the age of 84 and it is believed that Luke’s tomb was located at Thebes and his relics removed to Constantinople in 357. Luke was considered a saint by the early Christians and in the Catholic Church he is the patron saint of Artists, Physicians, Surgeons, students and butchers. Luke’s writings were meant for a gentile rather than Jewish audience and to be read by all the nations