Luke's Travels With Paul

One of the interesting aspects about the book of Acts is that Luke, the writer of the book, discretely put himself in it as a missionary companion to Paul.  We first see this in Paul’s second missionary journey when Luke apparently joined Paul and Silas in Troas.  He wrote, “And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.”  Whereas they went to Troas, it was we who left and went to Macedonia.  They went to the city of Philippi where Luke recorded, “We were in that city abiding certain days” (Acts 16:8-12).  Paul and Silas (but not Luke) were jailed there and had a miraculous experience in prison, converting the jailor and his household.  After Paul and Silas were freed because of their Roman citizenship, Luke wrote that “they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.  Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews” (Acts 16:40-17:1).  The language using again the pronoun they here suggests that Luke stayed in Philippi while Silas and Paul ventured on in their mission further into Greece. 

             It appears that Luke joined back up with Paul on the latter’s last journey to Jerusalem.  In the account in Acts the we pronoun entered again at Philippi, suggesting perhaps that Luke had been there all that time: “And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas” (Acts 20:6).  Luke stayed with Paul as he gave heartfelt and tear-filled goodbyes to the Saints in Ephesus, Miletus, Tyre, and Caesarea.  Those scenes of the great love that the Saints had for Paul must have had a profound influence on Luke as he watched as they “all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him, Sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more” (Acts 20:37-38).  Paul and Luke and company eventually made it all the way to Jerusalem where Paul was arrested and gave a marvelous defense of the gospel to the people.  When Paul eventually left Luke was there; we see this again in the use of we in Paul’s travels to Rome: “And when it was determined that we should sail into Italy” (Acts 27:1).  Luke recounted their journey, finally declaring, “We came to Rome.”  Clearly Luke was a faithful friend and companion to Paul, going forth willingly to suffer with the great missionary who he highlighted in the book of Acts.  The Bible Dictionary suggests that “Luke was with Paul during his second Roman imprisonment,” and so Luke likely suffered in prison with Paul.  Luke’s account of the great actions of Paul in the second half of the book of Acts is all the more convincing to know that Luke knew firsthand what it meant to travel with, teach with, and suffer with Paul in his great missionary labors.