An unlikely man named Luke is chosen by God to write the New Testament books we know today as Luke and Acts. These two books together make up twenty-seven percent of the entire New Testament. So who is this man God uses to communicate such a large and important portion of the New Testament?
From what we can tell, Luke is a well-educated and well-traveled doctor. We know he is well-educated based on the high level of Greek vocabulary he uses in his writing. Colossians 4:14 tells us Luke is a beloved doctor. The way he describes people, places and concepts lets us know Luke is well traveled. The Sea of Galilee, for example, is called a “lake” by Luke because he has travelled the Mediterranean and knows it is far larger and truly a “sea.”
Luke, interestingly, is not an eye witness to the events of Jesus. At the time of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection Luke is not a follower of Jesus. He more than likely is a committed follower to one of the many gods of the Roman empire while Jesus is dying for the sins of the world. Luke possesses no spiritual pedigree to make his resume look good as a New Testament writer. Except one thing, Jesus becomes his Savior. It is very likely Luke met Jesus in the 40’s or 50’s AD through the ministry of Paul, but we do not know exactly how or when Luke comes to put his faith in Jesus. Paul and Luke are close companions and will minister together for the rest of their lives.
"There are many genres of writing in the Bible: poetry, narrative, wisdom literature..."
There are many genres of writing in the Bible: poetry, narrative, wisdom literature, etc… Luke uses the genre of history to communicate God’s truths found in the book of Acts. Luke has a great purpose in writing this historical book.