Was Luke a Gentile?\u00a0 Maybe a proselyte?\u00a0 If so, how do we know this?<\/p>\n\t
Nothing is said in the Scriptures concerning Luke’s heritage, so we cannot know by direct reference.<\/p>\n
Luke is believed to be a Gentile because in Colossians 4:10-14, Paul lists three fellow Jews and then three others, of which one is Luke. There is another hint in Acts 1:19, “And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem; so that field is called in their own language, Akel Dama, that is, Field of Blood.<\/em>” Though\u00a0Akel Dama<\/em>\u00a0is in Aramaic, Luke calls it “their own language” and not his own.<\/p>\n There is one instance that leads me to believe Luke was of the Jewish faith before he became a Christian. Paul had traveled to Jerusalem along with Luke (seen by the “we” in the passage). “After these days we took up our baggage and went up to Jerusalem. Some of the disciples from Caesarea also went with us, bringing one Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we would stay. When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly<\/em>” (Acts 21:15-17). It was suggested that Paul bring four men to the temple for their purification rites so that Jews would see that Paul wasn’t hostile to the Old Law. But the idea backfired. “When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the multitude and laid hands on him, crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place. Moreover, he also brought Greeks into the temple, and has defiled this holy place!” For they had seen Trophimus, the Ephesian, with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple<\/em>” (Acts 21:27-29). Though Luke was a well-known companion of Paul, it was the Gentile Trophimus who got the crowd riled, assuming he came with Paul into the Temple (though he had not been there).<\/p>\n Thus by inference, we suppose that Luke was possibly a Hellenistic Jew or more probably a proselyte.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: Was Luke a Gentile?\u00a0 Maybe a proselyte?\u00a0 If so, how do we know this? Answer: Nothing is said in the Scriptures concerning Luke’s heritage, so we cannot know by direct reference. Luke is believed to be a Gentile because in Colossians 4:10-14, Paul lists three fellow Jews and then three others, of which one…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[690],"class_list":["post-10755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-luke"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":44034,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wasnt-luke-a-disciple-of-paul\/","url_meta":{"origin":10755,"position":0},"title":"Wasn’t Luke a disciple of Paul?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Wasn't Luke a disciple of Paul and not Jesus though he did follow Jesus. So were the other three gospels were written even later because Luke didn't come in the picture till 30-40 years after our Lord's death. Answer: Luke is never described as being a disciple of Paul.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54883,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-did-jesus-mean-by-the-kingdom-being-near-in-luke-2131\/","url_meta":{"origin":10755,"position":1},"title":"What did Jesus mean by the kingdom being near in Luke 21:31?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 20, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I had a question regarding the kingdom of God. From my understanding, the kingdom of God is another term for the church. However, after reading the gospel accounts, I found a problem with Luke 21:31. \"So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19097,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-luke-2116-and-luke-2118-harmonize\/","url_meta":{"origin":10755,"position":2},"title":"How do Luke 21:16 and Luke 21:18 harmonize?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 9, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In the context of Luke 21:5-19, how would you harmonize 16 and 18? If you take the figurative approach to 18, what do the hair and head represent? Literal? I look forward to your thoughts. Answer: Luke 21 is a parallel account to Matthew 24 and Mark 13, discussing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25424,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-many-passovers-did-jesus-attend-during-his-ministry\/","url_meta":{"origin":10755,"position":3},"title":"How many Passovers did Jesus attend during his ministry?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 6, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Some say that Jesus attended three Passovers during his ministry and by that try to determine long He preached His gospel. I've heard that there may have been four Passovers, thus making His preaching career longer than 3 1\/2 years. The possible fourth Passover, I believe is in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18720,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/marys-testimony\/","url_meta":{"origin":10755,"position":4},"title":"Mary’s Testimony","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 20, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford In Luke 1:1-4, Luke claims to be engaged in the practice of inspired history. He hasn\u2019t accumulated his knowledge of Jesus via direct download from the Holy Spirit, nor is he an eyewitness to the events of the gospels. Instead, he has consulted those who were\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/scan0007-9-233x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":28877,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-until-the-times-of-the-gentiles-are-fulfilled-mean\/","url_meta":{"origin":10755,"position":5},"title":"What does “until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” mean?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 22, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Please explain \"until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled\" from Luke 21:24. Thanks. Answer: \"But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10755\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}