Luke was the only inspired writer of the Bible that
was a Gentile. He penned one of the four gospels, writing to
the Gentile people and also the book of Acts. He was a physician by
trade and in the first century that meant he was a man of education and
skilled in the art of healing. No doubt the miracles of Jesus over sickness
and disease greatly impressed Luke and also those that he witnessed at
the hand of the apostle Paul. After meeting the apostle Paul, Luke seemed
to have joined his company. Even in the face of imprisonment in Rome, faithful
Luke stayed by Paul (2 Timothy 4:11).
Not only was he mentioned as being a physician,
but also Paul called him his fellow-laborer (Philemon 24). Paul understood
what it meant to have someone stand with you when times were rough. Through
heights of joy to the lows of being shipwrecked, Luke stood with Paul.
Often times, Luke was left in a city with a new congregation to bring it
along for a period while Paul traveled on. No doubt Luke spent many sleepless
nights in caring for Paul and many others, using all the medical knowledge
that he possessed. His writings come to us with a sense of awe about the
great power of God and with a sense of care and compassion that only Christ
personally showed the world.