Luke apparently addressed his writings to a patron named Theophilus and he wrote in an elegant, well educated style of Greek. Early church authorities held (or at least guessed) that Luke was one of the 70 evangelists Jesus sent out in Luke 10, and possibly the "brother" whom Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 8 as being commissioned to travel with Titus. Whether he was a Gentile Christian or a Hellenistic Jew has been debated; Paul seems to exclude him from the list of Jews among his coworkers in Colossians 4. Rumor has it that he died at age 84, either by hanging or of natural causes, in or around Thebes.
In my introduction to the St. Matthew hymn, I mentioned some things that Matthew gives us in distinction from the other evangelists. Luke gives us a lot of important stuff, too. He describes the conception and birth of John the Baptist, the angelic annunciation of Jesus' conception to the virgin Mary, her visitation to John's mother Elizabeth, the songs of Mary (Magnificat), Zacharias (Benedictus) and Simeon (Nunc dimittis), the best known version of the birth of Jesus (with shepherds, angels and the Gloria in excelsis), some stories about the childhood of Jesus, and a genealogy that runs from Jesus (via Mary, I would argue) all the way back to Adam. In contrast to the structure of Matthew's genealogy from Abraham through Joseph to Jesus, Luke's purpose seems to be portraying Jesus as the Son of God in relation to all of mankind.
Luke shares a lot of material with both Matthew and Mark (not for nothing are they called synoptics), but he also gives us a goodly share of unique material. Parables of Jesus found exclusively in Luke include the two debtors (chapter 7), the good Samaritan (10), the rich fool (12), the lost coin and the prodigal son (15), the crooked steward (16), the rich man and Lazarus (also 16, if indeed it's a parable), the Pharisee and the tax collector (18) and the minas (19). Miracles only found in Luke include the great catch of fish (chapter 5), raising the widow's son (7), cleansing 10 lepers (17) and restoring the severed ear of the high priest's servant (22), along with some notable healings. Only Luke portrays Jesus' encounter with "wee little man" Zacchaeus and His weeping over Jerusalem (19), and several of his "seven words on the cross" (23). Luke is the only evangelist who details the resurrected Jesus' appearance to the two Emmaus disciples (24). And of course everything we know about the first spread of the gospel after Jesus' ascension into heaven comes from Luke, with some support from Paul's epistles. So, while not much of a character in the New Testament's dramaturgy, Luke is a significant source of information as well as liturgical lyrics and fodder for meditation.
Lord, bless Your church with watchful eyes
And voices sure
To teach, yea, to evangelize
And still endure
Though as drink-offerings they are poured,
That in our midst, in deed and word,
Christ may be praised with one accord
And reverence pure.
Take from our eyes the scales that blind;
Unstop our ears!
Let heavy tongues Your lightness find
And join the spheres
To swell the glory of Your name,
Your justifying grace proclaim,
Unclean no more, no longer lame—
We pray through tears!
When all men have forsaken us,
Stand with us, Lord.
When trials have overtaken us,
Your strength afford
So that Your message may resound,
Till from the nations all around
A fruitful harvest may redound
Upon Your word.
And when at last our struggles close,
Remind us, Lord,
Who once a dear physician chose
To pen Your word,
That You still heal the heart that faints,
Still hear our querulous complaints,
And evermore by all the saints
Shall be adored.
ART: Holy Evangelist Luke, Russian Orthodox icon, 18th century, tempera on wood, public domain. Note the winged bull, a symbol of Luke.
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