When I was a child and people used to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always said that I wanted to be a doctor. Even when I was very young, I was fascinated by the parts and processes of the human body, and I loved to play doctor. I would make up rare diseases with unpronounceable names and force my family members to pretend like they suffered from them. Then I would make a diagnosis and perform surgery on them.
It is interesting to think about it now, but even back then I had no fear of blood and I had a natural proclivity toward helping people. As soon as I was old enough to read with any kind of proficiency, I began working my way through the “Hippocratic Corpus”—that is, the writings of Hippocrates, the ancient Greek doctor who is known as the father of medicine. Being of Greek lineage myself, I was especially interested in these writings.
My parents recognized my aptitude for medicine, but they were so poor that there was no way that they could afford to send me to medical school, but thankfully, the wealthy family whom they worked for, also saw my potential. That family agreed to pay for me to go to medical school as long I would return and practice in my hometown. Today most people know me as a preacher and evangelist, but before all of this, I used to be a practicing physician.
After receiving medical training in the nearby city of Tarsus, I returned to my hometown of Antioch and served as a private doctor to the family that paid for my education. They also allowed me to serve as a general practitioner in the community. Antioch was a diverse city—with the regions of Cilicia to the north and Phoenicia and Judea to the south—it was inhabited by Greeks, Roman, Jews, and since it wasn’t very far from the Mediterranean coast, people from all over the world passed through. Being a Greek, I had always worshipped the gods of the pantheon: Zeus, Athena, Ares, Artemis, and Aphrodite, but I had the luxury of learning about Judaism and other religions. It was exciting to treat patients from so many different backgrounds.
Luke’s Conversion
I really enjoyed being a physician in Antioch, and I thought I would continue my practice there for the rest of my life, but I was in for a big surprise. One day a group of men came to Antioch from Jerusalem; they were fleeing persecution for spreading different religious beliefs. A few of these men became my patients, and over time, they started preaching in our religious centers and even to people on the streets. Their message focused on a Jewish rabbi named Jesus, who claimed to be the Son of God. They invited me to come and hear more about this Jesus. Being a man who was interested in new things, I decided to attend their meetings.
At first, I thought that this new teaching was just another form of Judaism, but the more I listened to them, I saw that it was different. They believed that this Jesus was the promised Messiah who had come to save the world. They shared many of his teachings and told stories about the miracles he performed. As a doctor, I was especially intrigued by the miracles of curing diseases and raising dead bodies to new life. They even said that he was crucified but was resurrected three days later. It was all very interesting, and many people in Antioch became believers, but at first, I was skeptical. You know how doctors are!
How about you? How would you respond if someone told you that a man was resurrected three days after he died? Would you believe it?
After a few months, a member of the church in Jerusalem, a man by the name of Barnabas, came to Antioch because he heard that many people were responding to the message. Barnabas was a good man and he had a deep faith and was an excellent teacher. As Barnabas and the others kept preaching throughout the city, even more people were embracing the message, both Jews and Greeks alike. The church was becoming so large that Barnabas needed some help. He told me about a man named Paul who was a powerful teacher. He had heard that Paul was living in Tarsus, the same place I went to medical school; so he left us and went to look for him. Indeed, Barnabas found Paul and brought him back to Antioch to help with the church.
I was surprised when I found out that Paul had been a Pharisee and had studied under the renowned Rabbi Gamaliel. One day when we were gathered for worship, he told us the story of his conversion. He was walking on the road to Damascus to kill Jesus’ followers, all of the sudden he was blinded by a great light, and heard Jesus speaking to him. That day, Paul put his faith in Jesus, and the bully became a believer.
Paul was a powerful teacher! He taught us that everyone is separated from God because of their sin and that Jesus’ death on the cross paid the penalty for the sins of the world. He explained that Jesus was the only one who ever lived a sinless life because he was actually God in human flesh. Therefore, his sacrifice provided atonement and forgiveness for our sins and his resurrection offered the hope of eternal life.
Even though his teaching conflicted with the beliefs I grew up with, my soul resonated with it so much that I became convinced of its truth. I left the world of the Greek gods behind, and believed that there was only one God of the universe and that he revealed himself in the person of Jesus the Christ. I put my faith in him, and he became my Lord and Savior!
Ministry in Antioch
For the next year, Paul and Barnabas stayed at the church in Antioch and continued to evangelize, teach, and train up leaders. They discipled me and I got so involved in the ministry of the church that I almost forgot about my medical practice. As the church was getting more established in the city, people began calling us Christians, which means followers of Christ.
As our church continued to grow and mature, we all sensed that the Holy Spirit was calling Paul and Barnabas to a different work. After much prayer and fasting, we all felt the Spirit was leading them to sail to the island of Cypress to proclaim the Word of God and battle against the spiritual darkness there. So, during a special worship service, we laid hands on Paul, Barnabas, and Barnabas’ cousin Mark, who was going along as their helper, and prayed for them and commissioned them as the church’s first missionaries.
It was two years later by the time they returned and reported to us everything that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles, and they stayed with us for a long time, strengthening our church. (Acts 14:26-28) I was glad that they returned when they did; our church had been experiencing some conflict. Some Christians from Judea showed up and started preaching that it was impossible for a person to be saved unless they are circumcised according to the Law of Moses. Since our congregation was made up of both circumcised Jews and uncircumcised Gentiles, this stirred up a lot of controversy.
As a Gentile, I certainly didn’t think that circumcision was necessary for salvation. The thought of circumcision at my age wasn’t very pleasant, but I was willing to do whatever the church thought required. When Paul and Barnabas showed up, they didn’t think circumcision was necessary either, especially since they just returned from a mission trip where they saw many Gentiles embrace the gospel, apart from the custom of circumcision. But Paul thought that the church should send some representatives to Jerusalem and ask their opinion.
So, they went to Jerusalem and held a council with the apostles and the church there. After much prayer and discussion, they all agreed that circumcision was not necessary for salvation. When they returned to Antioch with the decision, we were overjoyed. Unity was restored, peace prevailed, ministry continued, and the whole church was doing well.
That is when I learned that when a church faces a dispute or controversy, it is important to spend time praying, fasting, and talking together. Has your church ever experienced a controversy?
Luke’s Mission Trips
After a while, Paul and Barnabas felt led by the Holy Spirit to go back and visit the churches that they had planted on their journey. As they made plans, they entered a most unfortunate dispute. They argued about whether Mark should accompany them since he had abandoned them during their first trip. Neither of them were willing to budge on their position, so they decided to part ways. Barnabas and Mark set off west for Cyprus, but Paul selected Silas and went north to Syria.
It was difficult seeing the two men who were responsible for me becoming a Christian debate so fiercely. It broke my heart when they decided to part ways, but I even saw God’s sovereignty in this. Instead of one missionary team, now we had two! He brought good out of a bad situation, as he always does! Has that ever happened to you?
After they left, I continued my medical practice and ministry in Antioch, but eventually I sensed God calling me to become a missionary and join up with Paul and Silas. The church gave me their blessing and I set off to find them. I eventually caught up with them in the city of Troas. We were so happy to see each other and we looked forward to working together again.
From there, we sailed west to Neapolis and eventually wound up in the city of Philippi, which was one of the leading cities in the district of Macedonia. We had only planned to stay there a few days, but God had other plans for us. One Sabbath, we went to the river outside the city to find a good place to pray, when we saw a group of women assembled. We sat down with them and began to share the gospel message with them. A wealthy business woman by the name of Lydia was particularly interested in the message. God opened her heart and she put her faith in Jesus Christ. In the days that followed, she went on to share the gospel with her whole family. They all became Christians and we baptized them in the river. After this, she shared her gift of hospitality by inviting us to stay with her family.
As we continued to minister in Philippi, we came across a slave girl who was possessed by a demonic spirit whereby she predicted the future. Her owners made a lot of money off of her fortune-telling. Day after day, she followed us and kept shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” Finally Paul was so troubled by this that he spoke to the spirit and said, “In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her.” At that moment, the spirit left her, and so did her ability to predict the future.
When her owners found out that their hopes of making money were gone, they were so infuriated that they falsely accused Paul and Silas of throwing the city into an uproar and had him arrested by the authorities. I was scared when I found out that they had been imprisoned, and Lydia and I spent the rest of the day doing everything we could to get them released, but it was to no avail. They were sentenced to spend the night in jail.
That evening we gathered at Lydia’s house and were praying for them, and about midnight, as Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundation of the prison was shaken, and all of the prison doors flew open and everyone’s chains fell off. The jailer was so amazed by these events that he cried out, “What must I do to be saved?” Needless to say, he and many others became Christians.
After the magistrates found out that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens they were scared, so they ordered them to leave the city. Paul knew that it was about time to leave anyway and continue the mission west. There were enough Christians in Philippi to form a viable church, and Paul asked me if I would stay behind and disciple the people. Imagine that, I went from doctor to missionary to pastor. So, for the next few years, I shepherded the flock in Philippi.
Paul’s Companion
When Paul finally made it back to Philippi, he was taking up a collection to help the church in Jerusalem, which was suffering desperately. After motivating them to support the cause and turning over leadership, I said farewell to the Philippians and headed back to Jerusalem with Paul. My years in Philippi were fruitful and a piece of my heart will always be with those people.
So, I went with Paul and remained at his side throughout the rest of his life. When we got back to Jerusalem, the Jews falsely accused him committing crimes against the Roman Empire and he was imprisoned. I was with him when he was transferred to Caesarea and stood trial before Felix, Festus, and King Agrippa. I was with him when he made his appeal as a Roman citizen to appear before Caesar in Rome. I was with him when we made the perilous voyage across the Mediterranean and were shipwrecked on the island of Malta. I constantly helped him during the two years he was on house arrest in Rome awaiting trial. And I was with him on that dreaded day, when he was unjustly beheaded for crimes he did not commit. He fought the good fight; he finished the race; he kept the faith; and he has received the crown of righteousness.
Luke’s Writings
After Paul’s death, I knew I couldn’t stay in Rome any longer. I have been moving around ever since and my ministry has transitioned again. Although I still preach occasionally, like I am today, I have been focusing most of my time and energy on writing. I have been working on a history of the Christian church. I have already completed the first volume, which is mostly a biography about Jesus. I traced his genealogy back to Adam, I interviewed his mother Mary about his miraculous birth, I investigated the events of his life, and have written an accurate and orderly account. People call it the Gospel of Luke!
Recently, I have been working on volume two, which tells the story of the expansion of the church since Jesus’ ascension. I hope you will read it when I am finished; it fills in all of the details of the stories that I have shared with you this morning. I think I will call it “The Acts of the Apostles.” Both of these volumes have been written from a physician’s perspective!
As I put the finishing touches on my work, I have been reflecting on God’s providence in my life. It is amazing to think about how God led me through all of these ironic twists and turns. Imagine that, a Greek slave boy becomes a doctor, a missionary, a pastor, and a writer. As you reflect over your life, do you see how God’s providence has guided you?