Lucas

Lucas is the name used in some New Testament passages (Philem. 24; Col. 4:14) to refer to Luke the Evangelist, the physician and companion of Paul. The variant form Loukas (Lucas) and Loukas (Luke) both appear in the Greek manuscripts, reflecting the same individual. In Colossians 4:14 Paul refers to Luke the beloved physician, and in Philemon 24 to Lucas, my fellow laborer—one of the few companions who remained with Paul during his Roman imprisonment. Second Timothy 4:11 records that near the end of Paul's life, Only Luke is with me, testifying to his exceptional loyalty.

Luke was a Gentile Christian and the author of the Third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, making him the only known Gentile contributor to the New Testament canon. His medical background is reflected in the precision and detail of the healing accounts in his Gospel. The we passages in Acts (16:10–17; 20:5–21:18; 27:1–28:16) indicate he was a traveling companion of Paul on several of his missionary journeys. See also Luke.