Luke in the Bible

Meaning: luminous; white

Exact Match

Philip, Bartholomew [i.e., the same as Nathaniel. See John 1:45], Thomas [i.e., the same as Didymus. See John 11:16], Matthew, the tax collector [i.e., the same as Levi. See Mark 2:14], James, the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus [i.e., the same as Judas, son of James. See Luke 6:16],

Simon, the Cananean [i.e., the same as the Zealot. See Luke 6:15], and Judas Iscariot, who also [besides being an apostle] was His betrayer.

When you enter a [particular] house, greet the people warmly [Note: The usual Jewish greeting was to say "Peace to you," See Luke 10:4].

Do not think that I came to bring [only] peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace [only] but [also] a sword [of division. See Luke 12:51].

As the messengers [sent by John. See Luke 7:27] went on their way, Jesus began to talk to the crowds about John. [He said], "What did you expect to see when you went out into the desert? A tall stem swaying in the wind?

"Therefore, when you see that disgusting thing which causes total destruction [i.e., the Roman armies. See Luke 21:20], which Daniel the prophet spoke about [Dan. 9:27; 11:31; 12:11], standing in the sacred place [i.e., Jerusalem and especially the Temple area], (let the reader understand [what is meant by this]),

"But immediately after the terrible trouble of those days, [i.e., the next major event on God's calendar], the sun will become dark, and [therefore] the moon will not [be able to] shed its [reflected] light. The stars will fall from the sky and the forces of the heavens will be shaken [Note: From the description of these same events in Luke 21:25-26, it is possible that this is figurative language for great calamities happening on the earth].

He said to them, "Let us go on to the next towns so that I can preach there also, for this was why I came out [i.e., Jesus was sent by God to preach to other towns as well as Capernaum. See Luke 4:43]."

Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew [i.e., the same as Nathaniel. See John 1:45], Matthew [i.e., the same as Levi. See Mark 2:14], Thomas [i.e., the same as Didymus. See John 11:16], James, the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus [i.e., the same as Judas, the son of James. See Luke 6:16], Simon the Canaanean [i.e., the same as the Zealot. See Luke 6:15],

And about then Jesus compelled His disciples to get into a boat and go on ahead of Him to the other side [i.e., to the west side of Lake Galilee] to Bethsaida [Note: This was apparently a different "Bethsaida" from the one mentioned in Luke 9:10, which was on the east side of Lake Galilee], while He Himself sent the crowd away.

or, to the people (See Luke 20:9)] by using parables. He said, "A man planted a vineyard and built a fence around it. He dug a place for constructing a grape squeezing device, built a [lookout] tower [near it], then leased it out to tenant farmers and went to another country.

"But when you see that disgusting thing that causes total destruction [i.e., the Roman army. See Luke 21:20] standing where it ought not to be [i.e., surrounding the besieged city of Jerusalem], (let the reader understand [what is meant by this]), then those of you in Judea are to run away into the [nearby] mountains.

and the stars will be falling from the sky and the forces of the heavens will be shaken. [Note: From the description of these same events in Luke 21:25-26, it is possible that this is figurative language for great calamities happening on earth].

Then Jesus spoke in a loud voice and gave up His spirit [to God. See Luke 23:46].

After these things happened, Jesus showed Himself in a different form to two disciples [Note: One was named Cleopas. See Luke 24:13-18], as they were walking out into the countryside [i.e., to the village of Emmaus, about seven miles northwest of Jerusalem. See Luke 24:13].

Now after these things [happened] the Lord appointed seventy-two other disciples [Note: Some ancient manuscripts say "seventy." This group would have been in addition to the twelve. See Luke 9:1], and sent them two by two on ahead of Him into every town and locality that He planned to visit.

Now the women who told these things to the apostles were Mary from Magdala; Joanna [Note: This was the wife of Chuzas, Herod's property manager. See Luke 8:3], and other women who were with them.

Then Jesus said to him, "Truly, truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened up and the angels of God going up [from] and coming down on the Son of man" [i.e., probably a reference to angels ministering to Jesus' needs. See Matt. 4:6, 11; Luke 22:43].

For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet does not receive honor in his own country. [Note: Jesus' reference here to his "own country" means Judea, while in Matt., Mark and Luke it refers to Nazareth].

[Then] Judas (not the betrayer) [Note: This was the son of James, See Luke 6:16. He is also called Thaddaeus, See Matt. 10:3], said to Jesus, "Lord, what has happened [i.e., to your original plans to be seen by everyone when you came. See Luke 21:27], that you will reveal yourself to us apostles [only] and not to the [whole] world?"

They led Him to Annas first [Note: This man was a former head priest. See Luke 3:2], for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was head priest that year.

[Dear] Theophilus, in my former letter [i.e., the Gospel of Luke] I wrote to you concerning what all Jesus did and taught since the beginning [of His ministry],

[One day, as He was] gathered with these apostles, He urged them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there until they received what the Father had promised them. (Jesus had previously discussed this with them). [See Luke 24:49].

And when he had seen the vision, we (including Luke) tried to go on into Macedonia at once, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Now when they [Note: A change from the use of "we" to "they" suggests that the writer Luke remained behind in Philippi at this point] had traveled through the [Macedonian] towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to [the city of] Thessalonica where there was a Jewish synagogue.

These men went on ahead and were waiting for us (including Luke) at Troas.

Now when it was determined that we (including Luke) would sail for Italy, they turned Paul and some other prisoners over to a centurion of the Augustan Regiment named Julius.

and He appeared to Cephas [i.e., Peter. See Luke 24:34], and then to the twelve apostles. [See Luke 24:33].

Now God is the One who makes us stand firm with you in [fellowship with] Christ. He has anointed us [Note: "Anointed" here probably refers to selecting, appointing and commissioning people for some form of Christian service. See Luke 4:18];

was [actually] taken up into Paradise. [Note: This is the same as the "third heaven" of the previous verse, and was a place in the presence of God. See Luke 23:43; Rev. 2:7]. There he heard inexpressible words which are not permitted for people to repeat.

For the Scripture says [Deut. 25:4], "You should not put a muzzle on the ox while it tramples over the grain." And [Luke 10:7], "The worker deserves his wages."

and to the church of the firstborn ones [i.e., those who have received an inheritance from their Father], whose names are recorded in heaven. [See Luke 10:20]. [You have come] to God, who is the Judge of all people, and to the spirits of righteous people who have become [morally] perfect [i.e., that great company of God's people who have gone on to their heavenly reward],

No one who has been [spiritually] conceived [and eventually born] by God continues to live a sinful life, because God's seed [i.e., His word, See Luke 8:11] continues to live in his heart, so he cannot [continue a life of] sin, because he has been conceived by God.

Pay close attention to yourselves, so that you do not lose what we [Note: Some Greek manuscripts say "you"] worked for [i.e., the spiritual blessings you have acquired], but [continue faithful] so that you will receive a full reward. [See Luke 12:47-48; James 3:1; Matt. 20:1-15].

So then, because thou art luke-warm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit thee out of my mouth:

Thematic Bible



along with [John] Mark [Note: This shows that Mark was now back in the good graces of Paul. See Acts 15:36-40], Aristarchus, Demas [Note: This man later deserted Paul. See II Tim. 4:10] and Luke, who are [also] my fellow-workers. [Note: These men, unlike Epaphras who was imprisoned with Paul, were free to minister for Christ there in Rome].

Luke is the only one [of my fellow-workers still] with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you for he [will be] helpful to me in [my] ministry.


After seeing [the man in] the vision, we immediately made every effort to go to Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the good news [about Jesus] to the people there. [Note: This is first use of "we" and "us" in the book of Acts and indicates that Luke, the writer of Acts, joined the party at this point. See 1:1 with Luke 1:1-3]. After setting sail from Troas we headed straight for Samothrace [i.e., an island in the Aegean Sea] and the next day we went on to Neapolis [i.e., a seaport in Macedonia], and from there to Philippi, a city of the principal district of Macedonia, [which was] a Roman colony. We stayed in this city for a number of days. read more.
On a [particular] Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to a place beside a river where we thought people gathered for prayer. We sat down and began speaking [about the Lord] to some women who had gathered there.

These [men] had gone ahead and were waiting for us [when we arrived] in Troas [i.e., a seaport town across the Aegean Sea from Philippi]. [Note: The use of "us" begins here again, suggesting that the writer Luke rejoins the party at Philippi. See next verse]. And we [ourselves] sailed away from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread [Note: This was the Jewish feast commemorating deliverance from Egyptian bondage], and five days later [we] joined them at Troas [i.e., the seven men mentioned in verses


Your Excellency Theophilus: Since so many people have undertaken the task of compiling a narrative of events that have happened among us, [that is, people] who were ministers of the word and original eyewitnesses [of these events], and who passed them on to us; [and since] I have thoroughly investigated the entire series of events [myself], I felt it would be good for me also to write you an orderly account of them. read more.
Then you could know how reliable the information is that you have been told.

[Dear] Theophilus, in my former letter [i.e., the Gospel of Luke] I wrote to you concerning what all Jesus did and taught since the beginning [of His ministry], up until the day He returned to heaven. [Just before that time] He had given [certain] instructions to His [specially] selected apostles through [the direction of] the Holy Spirit.


After we had [reluctantly] left [the Ephesian elders] and set sail, we traveled straight [south] to Cos [i.e., a small island] and the next day to Rhodes [i.e., another island], and from there on to Patara [i.e., a seaport town on the southern coast of the province of Asia Minor]. Here we found a ship heading across [the open sea] for Phoenicia, boarded it and sailed away. When we sighted Cyprus [i.e., a large island], we sailed past it on our port side and arrived at Tyre [i.e., a major seaport] in Syria [i.e., on the west coast of Palestine], where the ship was to unload its cargo. read more.
When we located the disciples [there] we stayed [with them] for seven days. They advised Paul, through [inspired revelations from] the Holy Spirit, not [even] to set foot in Jerusalem. When we had completed preparations for the next day's voyage we left, and headed out [to sea] on our journey. All the disciples, together with their wives and children, escorted us out of the city and knelt down and prayed with us as we said goodbye to each other. Then we went aboard the ship while the disciples returned home again. When we completed our voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais and greeted the brothers there, then stayed with them for a day. The next day we left and came to Caesarea, where we went to the house of Philip, the evangelist, who had been one of the seven ["deacons" chosen by the Jerusalem church to minister to widows, See Acts 6]. We stayed with him [while there]. This man had four virgin [i.e., unmarried] daughters, who were female prophets [i.e., they spoke by inspiration]. As we waited there for a number of days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. When he met with us, he took Paul's belt, tied his own hands and feet [with it], and said, "The Holy Spirit has revealed [to me] that the man who owns this belt will be tied up like this by the Jews in Jerusalem and will be turned over to the Gentiles." When we heard these things, both we and those who lived there [i.e., Philip, his daughters and local disciples] urged Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. [But] Paul answered, "What are you trying to do [by your] crying and breaking my heart [like this]? [Do you not know that] I am ready, not only to be chained up, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus?" And when he could not be dissuaded [from going to Jerusalem] we stopped [trying to convince him], saying, "Let the Lord's will be done in the matter." After these days we packed up our belongings and went up to Jerusalem. Some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us also, bringing with them Mnason from Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we were to live [while in Jerusalem]. And when we came to Jerusalem, the brothers [there] welcomed us gladly. The next day Paul went with us to visit James [the Lord's half-brother and a leader in the Jerusalem church], with all of the elders [of the Jerusalem church] being present.


Luke, my dearly loved physician, and Demas [See II Tim. 4:10] send you their greetings.


I have thoroughly investigated the entire series of events [myself], I felt it would be good for me also to write you an orderly account of them.

[Dear] Theophilus, in my former letter [i.e., the Gospel of Luke] I wrote to you concerning what all Jesus did and taught since the beginning [of His ministry],