St. Luke
The Evangelist
"The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
The Story In A Minute
Saint Luke
St. Luke was born in the Syrian city of Antioch. He was highly educated – a writer, artist, and eloquent speaker.
In his Gospel, St Luke used elaborate expressions to describe the ailments healed by the Lord Christ. His depiction of Christ as the Physician of our souls (Luke 5:31-32) reflects his work as a doctor. St. Paul describes him as the beloved physician (Colossians 4:14). St. Luke presents the Lord Christ as The Saviour, Friend of all mankind Who fulfills the yearning of every heart, and Who came bearing our humanity, resembling us in everything except for sin.
In his writing, he pays special care to spread the evangelic message to the poor, the needy, the suffering, and the oppressed, all of whom find hope and encouragement in his Gospel. He depicts the Lord Christ as the Lover of sinners, the Healer of the sick, the Comfort of the fainthearted and the Shepherd of the lost sheep.
For these reasons, the Gospel of St Luke is described as the "The ecumenical Gospel", representing a call to all humanity to receive the message of Christ the Saviour. St. Luke illustrates the joy of the heavens when just one sinner returns to God, through parables that are unique to his Gospel, such as that of the lost coin (Luke 15:10) and the lost son (Luke 15:32).
The Gospel of Saint Luke and the Acts of the Apostles
St. Luke wrote his Gospel between the years 60-63 A.D. in the Greek language for the Gentiles. He also wrote the book of the Acts of the Apostles as a continuation for his Gospel between the year 63-64 A.D. during his stay with the apostle St. Paul in his first imprisonment in Rome. His account in the book of Acts includes the establishing of the early church among the Jews in Jerusalem through the ministry of St. Peter, and among the Gentiles through the ministry of St. Paul. St. Luke is therefore credited as being the first historian of the Christian Church.
According to some, he was one of the two whom the Lord Jesus encountered after His resurrection on their way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13) and one of the 70 apostles. However, the most accepted among scholars is that he was not one of the apostles, as this would be contradictory to the introduction of his Gospel in which he says about the things concerning the Lord Christ:
"just as those who from the beginning were eye witnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us"
Fr. Tadros Malaty explains that this clearly shows that St Luke did not see Jesus Christ, but elaborately recorded what he received through the tradition which was confirmed to him by such witnesses.
St Luke is known to be an illustrative author, recounting stories with great detail and description. His is the only Gospel to include the following miracles: the catching of fish (5:4-11); raising the son of the widow of Nain from the dead (7:11); healing the woman with the spirit of weakness (13:11-17); healing the leper (14:1-6); healing the ten lepers (17:11-19); and healing the ear of the servant of the high priest (22:50-51).
It is also the only Gospel to include the following parables: the two debtors (7: 41-43); good Samaritan (10:25-37); persistent friend (11:5-8); foolish rich man (12:16-20); fruitless fig tree (13:6-9); lost coin (15:8-10); prodigal son (15:11-32); dishonest steward (16:1-13); rich man and Lazarus (16:19-31); and Pharisee and tax-collector (18:10-14).
Readings of Kiahk
The first chapter of his Gospel, which describes the details of the events of the Nativity, is read during the Blessed Month of Kiakh - also called the “Mariam month” because of its association with the Holy Theotokos St. Mary. The month of Kiakh is especially significant in our Coptic Orthodox Church because it is a month of preparation for the glorious Feast of the Nativity.
The First Church Iconographer
According to tradition, St. Luke is the first church iconographer and painted the first portrait of the Virgin St. Mary. Many icons depict him painting the Holy Theotokos St. Mary holding in her arms the Child Jesus.
Companion of St. Paul
St. Luke accompanied the apostle St. Paul during his second missionary journey from Troas to Philippi, and on his third journey from Philippi to Jerusalem. He also accompanied St. Paul during his imprisonment in Rome until his martyrdom – in his farewell message, St Paul writes,
"Only Luke is with me"