Who was Luke?

Who was Luke?

He was a companion of the apostle Paul and author of the third Gospel and Acts.

 The preface to the Gospel indicates that Luke was not an eyewitness or immediate disciple of the Lord. Luke states that he had carried out extensive research and had written an orderly account about Jesus.

Luke’s writings present some distinctive features that tell us something about him as a person and his understanding of Christianity. Those features include:

• The extraordinary feature of Luke’s work is the inclusion of the book of Acts as a sequel to the Gospel. The two books together—Luke and Acts—show the actual fulfilling of the prophecies of Isaiah in the proclamation of the gospel to the ends of the earth. This inclusion of the Gentiles is often referred to as Luke’s universalism or concern for all humanity (Luke 2:14; 24:47).

• The Gospel of Luke displays a keen interest in individuals, social outcasts, women, children, and social relationships, especially situations involving poverty or wealth.

• This Gospel has a special stress on prayer and the Holy Spirit, which results in a striking note of joyfulness and praise.

The “we” passages of Acts disclose that Luke was in Philippi (possibly his hometown) when he first joined Paul (Acts 16:10–17). Then he later rejoined Paul again in the return to Philippi (20:5–15). Luke then journeyed with Paul on his way to Jerusalem and stayed with Philip at Caesarea (21:1–18). Then, after Paul’s two-year imprisonment in Caesarea, Luke sailed with him to Rome (27:1–28:16).

Further references to Luke in the epistles of Paul (Col 4:14; 2 Tm 4:11; Phlm 1:24) give some valuable information about Luke. Colossians 4:11 and 14 indicate that Luke was a Gentile and a physician. This is proven by the interest shown by Luke in medical matters, as in Luke 4:38, 5:12, and 8:43. It is also interesting that early tradition adds that Luke was a physician of Antioch who wrote his Gospel in Achaia and died at the age of 84.

***This is an article adapted by from one published in the In Tyndale Bible dictionary (pp. 829–830). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). 

Who was Ezekiel?

Who was Ezekiel?

A priest and prophet during Israel’s Babylonian exile. Ezekiel was a descendant of the influential priestly family of Zadok (Ez 1:3). He was probably reared in Jerusalem and was familiar with the temple ritual; it is unknown whether he served as a priest there. All that is known of his personal life is obtained from the OT book of Ezekiel.

Ezekiel was married (24:16–18) and lived at Tel-abib in Babylonia (3:15), in his own house (3:24; 8:1). Most of the Judean captives had settled by the Kebar Canal (1:3), which went from Babylon by Nippur to Erech. The elders of Israel there sought out Ezekiel for counsel (8:1; 14:1; 20:1). In the fifth year of the exile, when Ezekiel was between 25 and 30 years old, he received God’s call to the prophetic office (1:1–3:11). His wife died suddenly during the exile, but he was forbidden to mourn for her in public (24:16–18). Her sudden death was meant to convey a striking and solemn warning of what would occur in the captives’ homeland (vv 15–27).

The time of Ezekiel’s ministry was unusual in many ways. It was a period of great prophetic activity. With the prophets Jeremiah and Daniel, Ezekiel spoke to the nation’s needs at the time of the Babylonian captivity. It was an era of upheaval and uprooting for the southern kingdom of Judah, and a time of persistent apostasy, idolatry, and general disobedience to the Mosaic law. It was also a period of international conflict and shifting power balances throughout the Near East.

Ezekiel’s ministry seems to have extended from 592 BC to at least the 27th year of the exile (29:17). It falls into two main periods. During the first period (592–587 BC), his messages were repeated warnings—in prose discourse and symbolic acts—intended to lead the exiles to repentance and faith in God. During the second period (586–570 BC), after Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, the prophet comforted the exiles and encouraged them to look to the future in hope (chs 33–48). There were 13 years in which no prophetic utterances were delivered, namely 585 BC (32:1, 17; 33:21) to 572 BC (40:1). The prophet learned of the fall of Jerusalem while in Babylon (33:21–22).

The burden of Ezekiel’s message was that Judah was ripe for judgment. His preparation for speaking God’s message is given in the picture of his eating the written prophecies (2:8–3:3). At first the messages were not accepted, but later his prophecies were vindicated as they began to come true and as the nation was purged of its idolatry. Ezekiel has been called “the father of Judaism” because of his supposed influence on Israel’s later worship. His greatest contribution to postexilic Jewish worship consisted in establishing the basis of the synagogue. He stressed the teaching of personal immortality, resurrection, and the ritual law.

***This is an expert from the Tyndale Bible dictionary (p. 461). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001).

Who was Daniel?

Who was Daniel?

He was a Jewish statesman and seer in the Babylonian court whose career is recounted in the book of Daniel.

 Daniel’s early life is cloaked in silence. Nothing is known of his parents or family, though he was probably descended from Jewish nobility (Dn 1:3). If born during the time of King Josiah’s reforms (c. 621 bc), Daniel would have been about 16 when he and his three friends—Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah—were deported from Jerusalem to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. They may have been hostages to assure the cooperation of the royal family in Judah.

Daniel, renamed Belteshazzar (meaning “may Bel [god] protect his life”), was trained for court service. He quickly established a reputation for intelligence and for absolute fidelity to his God. After three years of instruction, he began a court career that lasted nearly 70 years (Dn 1:21). Daniel had hardly finished his training when he was called on to interpret one of Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams, in which a great image collapsed and disintegrated when struck by a stone. God revealed its meaning to Daniel, who explained it to the king. In gratitude Nebuchadnezzar offered him the post of governor of Babylonia.

***This is an expert from the Tyndale Bible dictionary (p. 348). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001).