Writer and Missionary

Luke’s Gospel and the book Acts of Apostles are addressed to Theophilus, indicating that Luke compiled both of these divinely inspired documents. (Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1)

Although Luke is not named in Acts, certain passages use the pronouns “we,” “our,” and “us,” indicating that he participated in some of the events described in the book. When Luke traces the route taken by Paul and his companions through Asia Minor, he says: “They passed Mysia by and came down to Troas.” It was in Troas that Paul had a vision of a Macedonian man who made the entreaty: “Step over into Macedonia and help us.” Luke adds: “Now as soon as he had seen the vision, we sought to go forth into Macedonia.” (Acts 16:8-10) The switch from “they” to “we” suggests that Luke joined Paul’s party in Troas. Luke then described the preaching activity in Philippi in the first person plural, indicating that he participated in it. “On the sabbath day,” he writes, “we went forth outside the gate beside a river, where we were thinking there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women that had assembled.” As a result, Lydia and all her household accepted the good news and were baptized.​—Acts 16:11-15.

Opposition was encountered in Philippi, where Paul healed a servant girl who had been making predictions under the influence of “a demon of divination.” When her masters saw that their means of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas, who were then beaten and jailed. Luke apparently avoided arrest, for he describes his companions’ ordeal in the third person. On their release, “they [Paul and Silas] encouraged [the brothers] and departed.” Luke reverted to the first person only when Paul returned to Philippi at a later time. (Acts 16:16-40; 20:5, 6) Perhaps Luke had remained in Philippi to oversee the work there.

Collecting Information

How did Luke obtain material for his Gospel and the book of Acts? The first-person sections of Acts​—those in which Luke included himself in the narrative—​indicate that he accompanied Paul from Philippi to Jerusalem, where the apostle was again arrested. En route, Paul’s party stayed with Philip the evangelizer in Caesarea. (Acts 20:6; 21:1-17) Luke could have gathered information for his account about early missionary activities in Samaria from Philip, who had spearheaded the preaching work there. (Acts 8:4-25)