Luke: A Messenger of Jesus Christ

I would have thought that Paul was the most prolific writer in the New Testament.  But I read yesterday that it is actually Luke, the author of both the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts.  According to one site, he is responsible for 37,932 Greek words, whereas Paul contributed 32,408.  As I consider the contribution of Luke, we really are deeply indebted to the record of the Savior and the ministry of the apostles that he left us.  Many of the stories and parables of the gospel of Luke are unique to his account, and his book of Acts tells us so much about the early Christian church after the resurrection of the Savior that we wouldn’t have otherwise.  What is perhaps surprising is that he was a Greek Gentile, a symbol perhaps for us that the gospel really did spread beyond the Jews and house of Israel to go to “all nations” as the Savior had commanded before ascending into heaven (Matt. 28:19). 

               The name Luke is apparently means “from Lucania,” but the Latin form is derived from the name Lucius could mean “the bright one.”  Whether or not that’s what the name of the gospel write meant in his day, it is certainly fitting in my opinion: he brought us light about the Savior, His teaching, and the establishment of His church.  In addition to just about everything in the book of Acts, here is a list of some of the most significant contributions of gospel light that he left us (and that are unique to him among the four gospel writers):

·        The visits of Gabriel to Zacharias and Mary (Luke 1)

·        The story of the shepherds visiting the baby Jesus (Luke 2:8-18)

·        The visit of the twelve-year-old boy Jesus to Jerusalem (Luke 2:41-52)

·        The Savior’s declaration of his fulfilment of Isaiah 61:1-2 (Luke 4:16-30)

·        Raising the son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-17)

·        The sending forth of the Seventy (Luke 10:1-12)

·        The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)

·        The story of Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42)

·        The parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:13-21)

·        The parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son (Luke 15)

·        The parables of the unjust steward and Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16)

·        The story of the ten lepers healed (Luke 17:11-19)

·        Parables of the unjust judge and the pharisee and the publican (Luke 18:1-14)

·        The story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10)

·        That Christ shed drops of blood in the garden (Luke 22:44)

Without Luke’s testimony we would be missing so much—it is hard to imagine not having the Christmas story of Luke 2 or the parables of the prodigal son and the Good Samaritan or the story of the ten lepers who were healed.  How blessed we are to have the words of this faithful “messenger of Jesus Christ” (JST Luke 1:1)!