Picture yourself as an early Christian who is also a writer. You have the opportunity to travel with a famous preacher by the name of Paul, who is now a prisoner of the Roman government and on his way to Rome. Among other things, you go through a storm at sea that leaves you shipwrecked. Washed up on a small island with kind but primitive inhabitants, you watch as the preacher shakes a poisonous snake off his hand into the fire and experiences no harm from the bite. You see how the inhabitants respond to what seems like a miracle—but you have already seen many other wonderful things that this man's faith in God has enabled him to do.
What a story! Fortunately for the Christian community, Luke—who is thought to be the author of the Gospel of Luke and of the book of Acts, in which the account of Paul's journey to Rome appears, was willing to leave a legacy for humanity in his compelling accounts of Jesus' ministry and the struggles of the early Christians to create a viable Church and a movement that would carry on Jesus' teachings.
Sometimes called "Luke the Physician"—although it isn't definite that he actually was a doctor—Luke is mentioned by name a mere three times in the New Testament, giving readers only limited insight into the nature of his character. Luke is first mentioned in Colossians as "the beloved physician." Col. 4:14. II Timothy emphasizes his faithfulness: "Only Luke is with me." II Tim. 4:11. Finally, in Philemon, Luke is characterized by Paul as one of his "fellow-labourers," Phil. 1:24. indicating that Luke was not merely a traveling companion or assistant to Paul, but a missionary colleague. In spite of this characterization, only speculation exists as to whether or not Luke accompanied Paul on all his missionary journeys and which cities the two missionaries may have visited together.
