Faithful on Fridays Blog

Scene One

Almost every Bible character has a backstory; some are easy to find and others not so much. Luke fits into the ‘not so much’ category. Therefore, I’m going to speculate a little, and give a big picture that’ll help us appreciate his writings more than ever.

First of all, Luke’s name means light; he’ll shed light on Jesus’ life from before his birth, during his ministry days, and to the end of his natural life. For example, as an impressive historian who didn’t actually walk with Christ, he learned the chronological order of Jesus’ life from interviews of eyewitnesses. Interestingly the Greek word for ‘eyewitness’ is a medical term meaning autopsy, his conversations cut apart Jesus’ life and pieced it back together for us. Why’s that important? Because Luke was a doctor; his medical background had trained him for this divine assignment from God.

Secondly, Luke was the only Gentile New Testament writer, a non-Jew, meaning, his perspective would be unique from the other three who were Jewish believers. God had originally promised a place for Gentiles in His plan of salvation (Gen. 13:14-16, 18:18, Ps. 2:8) and Luke was chosen to give that worldwide outlook. That accounts for his unique genealogy (Ch. 3) which traces Jesus’ bloodline from Joseph (and Mary) back to Adam, not just Abraham. That’s good news for us since we are Gentiles or Jesus’ ‘other sheep’,

“And I have other sheep that are onto this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock and one Shepherd.” John 10:16

As I dig our foundation in Luke, let’s remember that being a trained physician influenced what he included and what he left out. That medical connection is exemplified in Chapter 1 where only Dr. Luke took a family history beginning with the story of Zechariah, Elizabeth (Mary’s cousin), their son John (the Baptizer) and Mary’s supernatural pregnancy which no other gospel recorded. Where did he get that info? His interviews must’ve been with Mary who we know was alive, her elderly relatives had undoubtedly died, and John was executed. Mary was his primary source.

Lastly, how did Luke get saved? Was it the discussions with believers or a divine calling, was it immediate or progressive? We simply don’t know, but however it happened, it was his mission in life that God prepared him for his whole life. His unique perspective continually shows us that Jesus was God in the flesh, a real person, who alone called Himself the Son of Man. That physical connection to us, leaving the Throne Room in heaven to become a physical man with one purpose in life, to die in our place, endears us to our Savior. What kind of love is that? Luke addressed his gospel narrative to Theophilus, meaning loved by God. As you crack open your Bible and read along in Luke remember that you’re Theophilus: you’re loved by God.