Luke in the Bible

Meaning: luminous; white

Exact Match

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].

Verse ConceptsClimbingStairwaysSymbolsHeaven And AngelsTypes Of ChristChrist GlorifiedJesus As Son Of ManThe Act Of OpeningOpening HeavenTruly TrulyAngels Going At God's BiddingCreatures Going UpOther Creatures Going UpOthers Going DownVisualizationRelationship Troubles

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].

Verse ConceptsThe Witness Of ChristProphecy Ignored

[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?"

Verse ConceptsApostles, DescriptionMaking Christ Known

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.

Verse ConceptsFathers, Responsibilities OfFathers In LawsRivers

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],