by Fr Gabriel-Allan Boyd
This coming Friday, October 18th, we celebrate the feast of Saint Luke the Evangelist—on the day of his martyrdom. He was the author of two books—the third Gospel…and its sequel, the Acts of the Apostles. He was a Greek (Gentile) from Antioch in Syria, who’d had a thorough preparation in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament). He was trained as a physician; well-schooled and cultured; and became one of the Church’s very first iconographers—painting the very first icon of Jesus’ mother, Mary, the Theotokos. Because Saint Luke wrote one of the four Gospels, many people mistakenly believe that he was one of the Twelve Apostles—Jesus’ inner circle. He was not one of the twelve, but rather, Luke was one of the Seventy Apostles (Luke 10:1), whom Jesus sent two by two to prepare the way for Him in every city where Jesus was about to go preaching. Those Seventy Apostles, were given power to perform miracles and cast out demons (Luke 10:17).
When that particular ministry of the Seventy Apostles was completed, after Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension into heaven, Luke went on to accompany Saint Paul on his missionary journeys. Since Saint Paul likely suffered from a chronic and painful eye disease, Luke was there to serve Paul as his personal physician. However, Paul also regarded Luke’s assistance in bringing people to the Christian faith as vital. Thus, he referred to Luke as, both, “the beloved physician” (Colossians 4:14), and the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of Christ’s Good News” (2 Corinthians 8:18).
After Saint Paul’s martyrdom in Rome, Saint Luke, went on to expand his role as a powerful witness, preaching the Gospel in a variety of places. He traveled into different parts of Egypt and Greece. Finally, Greece’s pagan priest’s were so enraged against him that they martyred him, hanging him from a noose on the branch of a large olive-tree.
At the beginning of each of Saint Luke’s two books (the Gospel of Luke, and the Acts of the Apostles) he dedicates them to the “most excellent Theophilus” (Theophilus means, “one who loves God” and “most excellent” is the title by which you would address a nobleman). While Theophilus may have been an actual, historical person, it’s very likely that this name is a literary device used by Luke to address the book to all Christians, since every Christian is “someone who loves God”…and since every Christian is a “noble” son or daughter of the King of Glory.
In both the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, Saint Luke’s writing is very detailed and precise. People who study the Greek language say that his literary style is distinguished, elegant, and inspiring…flowing clearly, with a natural grace and sweetness. Some biblical scholars say that each of his two books embodies a different type of “Gospel.” The Gospel of Luke is the Good News of Jesus Christ…and the Acts of the Apostles is the Gospel of the Holy Spirit’s work in the Church.
Remarkably different from most Jewish writings of his day, women have an important place in Luke’s Gospel. He actually acknowledges by name the women who accompanied Jesus, such as Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, Martha & Mary and “many other women who used their own resources to help Jesus and his disciples.” Luke also writes about the birth of Christ from Mary’s point of view and she is especially important in Luke’s gospel. Only Luke’s Gospel tells us the story of the Archangel Gabriel’s Annunciation to Mary; her visit to Elizabeth; the “Magnificat” (“My soul magnifies the Lord…”); the baby Jesus’ Presentation in the Temple; and the boy Jesus, remaining in Jerusalem to teach the teachers in the Temple. Only in Luke’s Gospel do we learn the words spoken by the angel to Mary at the Annunciation, “Rejoice, Mary, full of grace,” and Elizabeth’s words to Mary, “Blessed are you and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.”
The Gospel of Luke presents Jesus’ story as God’s fulfillment of His prophesies and promises. In giving a nod to the Jewish Temple—Luke shows Christ as the realization of its practices. And because Jesus tells so many parables in Luke, this Gospel offers us a place to reflect deeply about God’s reign and what it means to live as His faithful people in His Kingdom throughout the world. Therefore, Luke’s telling of Jesus’ story focuses on God’s concern for poor, oppressed, and marginalized people, encouraging us toward tenderness and compassion for the less fortunate. He also tells the story of the poor man, Lazarus, and the fate of the unnamed Rich Man who ignored poor Lazarus…as well as the parable of the Good Samaritan who rescues the man who had been beaten by robbers and left to die. Luke’s Gospel stresses the importance of evangelizing the Gentiles (non-Jews). That’s why you see Jesus, in Luke’s Gospel, praising the faith of certain Gentiles, such as the widow of Zarephath—whom Elijah saved from starvation, and Naaman the Syrian who was healed of leprosy (Luke 4:25-27), and the story of the single cured Samaritan-leper who came back to show his gratitude to Jesus (Luke 17:11-19). Saint Luke emphasizes God’s Good News for Samaritans, Gentiles, Sinners, Poor, Outcasts, Women, and Children. Yet he also answers the question “How is it that Christianity has become so filled with Gentiles (non-Jews), if it originally came to us from the Jews?” So, Luke’s writing of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles demonstrate that the Christian Gospel isn’t anti-Jewish, but rather, it’s rooted in the Old Testament’s promise of salvation to the whole world, both the Jews and the Gentiles. “The People of The Way” (as Christians first referred themselves in the Book of Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22) are given the same spiritual promises that were given to Israel, fulfilling them in Christ. Thus, Luke wants Christians to know that we’ve become the stewards of God’s promises to Israel. The reason that Christianity has become so filled with non-Jews is because most (but certainly not all) of the Jews ultimately rejected Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah, eventually kicking Christians out of the Temple and the synagogues. However, Luke wants the Jews to know that they’ve not been rejected or forgotten by God nor by God’s Apostle to the Gentiles, Paul. Since Saint Luke’s Gospel opens with the priest Zechariah at the Temple, we’re reminded of the Temple and its offerings—with Jesus as their fulfillment. Thus, Luke is often represented (as you see in Luke’s icon at the beginning of this article) with the symbol of the bull—one of the many Temple offerings.