Luke’s Service (1) - All The LORD is near Daily Devotionals for 2025

So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.
Acts 16:8-10 NKJV

Luke's Service (1)
During Paul's second missionary journey, he, Silas, and Timothy stopped in Troas. When Paul had a vision of a Macedonian man seeking help, it was received as the Lord's direction for their travels. But here now is an interesting moment in the book of Acts. Whereas verse 8 says "they" came to Troas, verse 10 says "we" decided to visit Macedonia. Therefore, we conclude that Luke, the writer of Acts, lived in Troas and now joined with Paul. Possibly, he was newly saved through Paul and Silas's preaching on that very visit. Or perhaps the gospel had previously come to Troas through one of the first converts in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, some of whom were from Asia Minor (2:9).

In any case, how beautiful that Luke became Paul's associate. He was among those who heard Paul describe his vision the next morning; he joined in the discussion about its meaning; and he felt included in the Lord's call to join the gospel effort in Macedonia. Leaving his home town, Luke traveled to Philippi, went with Paul and Silas to the riverside for prayer and outreach, saw Lydia's conversion, and walked daily through the streets of the city with Paul and others (16:11-17).

But then, after God delivered Paul and Silas from prison, we read that "they" encouraged the brethren and left Philippi (16:40). The pronoun "we" only returns to the text in Acts 20:6, when Paul again visited Philippi. Thus we understand that Luke must have decided to stay in Philippi. He was probably there for five years or more, helping a fledgling assembly of believers grow in the Lord. What love and care he had for the people of God!

-- Stephen Campbell