Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Colossians 4:14

Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.

14. Luke ] Loucas, Lucas; Lucanus abbreviated. It is interesting to find the Second and Third Evangelists (see Col 4:8) in one small group around St Paul here. Cp. Phm 1:24; 2Ti 4:11. Lucas had accompanied St Paul to Rome; so the “ we ” “ us ” &c., of Acts 27, 28, implies. He is not named in Philippians, which is probably to be dated earlier than Colossians (see Philippians in this Series, pp. 14, 15, and above, p. 22); he may have left Rome and returned between St Paul’s arrival and the writing of this Epistle. He appears again in 2Ti 4:11 as the one personal attendant of the Apostle in his last imprisonment.

Tradition, vaguely supported at the best, says that he was born at Antioch in Syria; that he was one of the Seventy; that he was the anonymous disciple of the Walk to Emmaus; or, on the contrary, that he was a convert of St Paul’s; that after his master’s death he preached in Dalmatia, Gaul, Italy, and Macedonia; and that he died a martyr, in Achaia, or Bithynia, near the end of cent. 1. Lightfoot points out that he appears here as not “of the circumcision,” and therefore as a Gentile; and that this is “fatal” to the tradition that he was one of the Seventy. He surely indicates this himself in the exordium of his Gospel (Col 1:2), implying that he was not an “eyewitness of the word.” See generally Smith’s Dict. of the Bible, art. Luke, and Dr F.W. Farrar’s edition of St Luke in this Series, Introduction, ch. 2.

the beloved ] The adjective suggests a loveable man, tender and true; a character profoundly welcome to the life-worn heart of the Apostle. He uses it elsewhere of individuals, Rom 16:5; Rom 16:8-9; Rom 16:12; Eph 6:21; above, Col 1:7, Col 4:7; Col 4:9 ; 2Ti 1:2; Phm 1:1-2; Phm 1:16. Cp. 2Pe 3:15; 3Jn 1:1-2; 3Jn 1:5; 3Jn 1:11.

physician ] “Indications of medical knowledge have been traced both in the third Gospel and in the Acts” (cp. Farrar, cited above, p. 21, note). “It has been observed also that St Luke’s first appearance in company with St Paul (Act 16:10) nearly synchronizes with an attack of the Apostle’s constitutional malady (Gal 4:13-14), so that he may have joined him partly in a professional capacity. There is no ground for questioning the ancient belief ( Irenus iii. 14, 1 sq.) that the physician is also the Evangelist St Paul’s motive in specifying him as the physician may have been to emphasize his own obligations to his medical knowledge. The tradition that St Luke was a painter is quite late.” (Lightfoot.)

It may be observed that, whatever were the laws of “ the Gift of Healing,” they threw no discredit, in St Paul’s view, on the skill and knowledge of the trained physician.

“To [St Luke] to his allegiance, his ability, and his accurate preservation of facts we are alone indebted for the greater part of what we know of the Apostle of the Gentiles” (Farrar).

Demas ] Mentioned also Phm 1:24; 2Ti 4:10. In the latter place he is contrasted with the faithful Luke: “ Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world ”; i.e., probably, preferring escape and life to the perils of association with Paul in his last crisis. The colourless mention of him here, just after “ the beloved ” Luke, suggests that already Demas was not all a Christian should be. Probably he “was a Thessalonian (2Ti 4:10) and [probably] his name was Demetrius” (Lightfoot. The Bishop refers for more detail to his, alas, never-accomplished Introduction to Thessalonians).

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Luke, the beloved physician – This was undoubtedly the author of the Gospel which bears his name, and of the Acts of the Apostles. He is mentioned as the traveling companion of Paul in Act 17:10, and appears to have accompanied him afterward until his imprisonment at Rome see 2Ti 4:11. From Col 4:11, it is evident that he was not by birth a Jew, but was probably a proselyte. He is supposed to have been a native of Cyrene, and to have died in Achaia, soon after the martyrdom of Paul, at the advanced age of 84. See Rob. Cal. Art. Luke. He is here mentioned as a physician, and in his Gospel, and in the Acts , there are incidental evidences that he was acquainted with the science of medicine, and that he observed the events which he has recorded with the eye of one who practiced the healing art. It is easy to imagine that the presence of a physician might have been of important service to the apostle Paul in his travels; and that his acquaintance with the art of healing may have aided not a little in the furtherance of the gospel. The miraculous power of healing, possessed by the Saviour and his apostles, contributed much to the success of their preaching; for the power of alleviating pain of body – of restoring to health by miracles, would not only be an evidence of the divine origin of their mission – a credential that they were sent from God, but would dispose those who had received such important benefits to listen attentively to the message of salvation. One of the best qualifications in missionaries in modern times, in order to gain access to the pagan, is an acquaintance with the healing art.

And Demas – Demas is mentioned in two other places, Phm 1:24, and 2Ti 4:10. He is here spoken of with commendation as one in whom the apostle had confidence. Afterwards, when troubles thickened, he was not found proof to the trials which threatened him in Rome, and forsook the apostle and went to Thessalonica. He did this under the influence of the love of this present world, or of life, evidently unwilling to lay down his life in the cause for which Paul suffered; see the notes at 2Ti 4:10. His departure, and that of the others on whom Paul relied in Rome, was one of the severest trials which he was called there to endure; see the notes at 2Ti 4:16.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Col 4:14

Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you.

Luke the beloved physician

At the moment of the transition of Christianity from Asia to Europe he was enrolled among St. Pauls companions. We ascertain this by a change of a pronoun–they (Act 16:6)

, we (Act 16:10). The same language is continued in the narration of what took place at Philippi, and so Luke is very pointedly associated with this neighbourhood. But again we lose sight of the succession from the time Paul quits Macedonia, and we do not discern any trace until Paul is in Macedonia again (Act 20:5-6). From this time he appears to have been in close companionship with the apostle, and to have gone with him to Rome.(Act 28:16; Phm 1:24; Col 4:14). A baseless tradition says that he was a painter; and yet in one sense it is most true. In the Acts, besides the minor portraits, we have a full-length picture of the great apostle, without which we could not have fully known St. Paul, and one drawn by the hand of a friend. We see how thoroughly the biographer sinks and forgets himself, revealing his ardent and steady friendship and modesty. But much more is made known to us concerning St. Luke through what is said of him by St. Paul. He speaks of him not merely as his fellow labourer, but also as the beloved physician. The mere fact that his profession is specified is full of interest. There are only two other such cases in the record which we have of the companions of our apostle. Demetrius, the silversmith (Act 19:24), though his conduct had much to do with the very important passage of St. Pauls career, can hardly be said to have been one of his companions: and of Alexander the coppersmith, or Zenas the lawyer. (2Ti 4:14; Tit 3:13), we know little. Lydia, the seller of purple (Act 16:14), was probably brought to Philippi, and thus within the sacred circle of apostolic companionship, by the exigencies of her trade–while of Aquila and Priscilla, who were tent-makers, we are distinctly told that Paul abode with them, because he was of the same craft (Act 18:3). Similarly, there can hardly be a doubt that St. Lukes professional life was the occasion of his coming into close contact with St. Paul. Physicians were men of high education, and this would establish an easy link of connection with one who, besides other great qualifications for his work, was a man of literary culture. But there is a strong probability that a deeper union between the two men subsisted than that of intellectual tastes. St. Paul had been suffering from serious illness in Galatia (Gal 4:13), and very soon afterwards St. Luke appears with him at Troas. During subsequent years they were frequently associated in the closest manner, and we have the best reasons for believing that the apostles health was delicate. What so natural as to suppose that the first acquaintance at Troas was marked by the exercise of St. Lukes professional skill, and that the same skill was on many subsequent occasions available for the alleviation of suffering and fatigue? How entirely this explains the peculiar warmth and definiteness of the allusion here! We must carefully observe, too, that it is not merely St. Lukes medical knowledge which St. Paul mentions, but that he calls him beloved in connection with this characteristic. There seems to be evidently here the sense of personal gratitude for benefits received. It is natural to attempt to trace out some indications in St. Lukes writings of the fact that he was a physician. Thus it is in his Gospel alone, in the record of that first sermon at Nazareth, that we find the prominent mention of the healing of both mind and body as a characteristic of the Saviours mission; and here only, at the close of that sermon, have we the quoting of that pointed proverb–Physician, heal thyself (Luk 4:18; Luk 4:23). With this may be classed a phrase which is unique in this Gospel, in the account of what took place soon afterwards–The power of the Lord was present to heal them (Luk 5:17). So again, we have, twice repeated, in this Gospel, a peculiar phrase having reference to recovery from sickness: There went virtue out of Him and healed them all Somebody hath touched Me; for I perceive that virtue is gone out of Me (Luk 6:19; Luk 8:46). But, above all, we must notice what is almost an amusing corroboration of the view concerning the existence of this professional feeling in St. Lukes Gospel. In the account which the other evangelist gives of the woman healed a reflection seems to be thrown on the skill of the physicians (Mar 5:26); whereas St. Luke casts no imputation on the skill of those who belonged to his own profession (Luk 8:43). Similarly we trace indications of the physicians mind in the mention of technical details and in the use of appropriate medical terms. In the account of the healing of Peters wifes mother when St. Luke describes the fever as a great fever, and speaks of Jesus as standing over the patient, he is really using technical forms of expression; while still by the words, He rebuked the fever, he is careful to mark the miraculous nature of the cure (Luk 4:38-39). In the Acts the writer has an evident tendency to dwell on symptoms; and this is a true mark of the medical mind. Thus, in relating the case of the lame man at the temple gate, it is not merely the fact of the recovery which is stated, but it is said that the feet and ankle bones received strength and it is added further, as if to mark the stages of the recovery, that he stood up and walked (Act 3:7-8). So the stages of the blindness of Elymas at Paphos are indicated, and the symptoms of the case, as well as the mere fact of the loss of sight, when it is said that, on the utterance of St. Pauls stern anathema, there fell on him a mist and a darkness, and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand (Act 13:11). The lash instance may be furnished by the record of St. Pauls stay in Malta, after the shipwreck. A miraculous cure was worked there on the father of Publius, the chief man of the island, who was suffering from dysentery in an aggravated form; and the language which St. Luke applies to the patient is as exact and appropriate as if he himself had been called in to treat the case professionally (Act 28:8). (Dean Howson.)

Luke the beloved physician

Note–

I. The congruity between Lukes profession and the religion of which he had become the possessor

1. The predominating characteristic of Christianity among the religions of the world is its humanity. It brings relief to the physical ills which curse the race. Christ acted as the Great Physician. The works that I do shall ye do also. Where the gospel comes the laws of health and the healing art receive attention such as cannot be found among heathens. In the palmiest days of Greece these matters were terribly neglected.

2. The requirements and tendencies of Christianity involve attention to what is the physicians peculiar care. Physical well-being is essential to vigour of mind, healthy affections, pure morals, both in the individual and in the community. Diseased nervous conditions render the practice of some Christian virtues well-nigh impossible.

II. The adaptation of the gospel to the learned and rich, as well as to the poor and illiterate. Religion in the ancient world was often a luxury for the well-to-do. The glory of the Saviours ministry and its novelty was, To the poor the gospel is preached. There is no room in it for despising culture. Dependence was placed, not upon the wild outburst of fanaticism or the erratic movements of ignorance, but upon the calm energy of disciplined intelligence. Paul was himself a scholar of rare attainments, as was Moses in the older economy, as also was Luke. Their mark on Christianity is the deepest, their influence the strongest. Crude, misshapen theologies are the product, not of the educated, but of smatterers. Luke was a physician when he believed the gospel.

1. The rich and scientific need its grace as much as the poorest and most illiterate. Its revelations make special demands upon the reason of the wise.

2. Lukes example shows us that cultivated intelligence does not find it impossible to assent either to the evidences or the doctrines of Christianity.

III. Here is an example of professional godliness. Luke practised as a physician and preached as an evangelist. For long the healing art was in the hands of ecclesiastics. Modern division of labour has dissociated them. But the two can work together and work into each others hands. But as the physician has to be with men under the darkest shadows of their lives and in the deepest depths, how essential that the spirit of their work should be the spirit of the Man of Sorrows. Luke was Pauls beloved friend. It is a calamity when the physician is unworthy of such a confidence on the part of an apostle. Lukes faithful consistency is full of practical admonition. Being dead he yet speaks. Faith in Christ Jesus, the Physician of souls, is the only but all-sufficient means of salvation. So Luke, the beloved physician, teaches. (The Preachers Monthly.)

Religion and the medical profession

I. The deference shown to medical science. Medicine has always occupied a conspicuous place among the sciences. It has to do with that which intimately concerns us. Our nature is not what it was as it came from the hand of God. Sin has turned this world into a vast lazar-house. No individual ultimately escapes. Naturally men have sought amelioration, and their cry has always been met. Even the most savage tribes have medicine men. So high was the estimate put on this act that it was regarded as akin to the supernatural and was chiefly in the hands of the priesthood. Among the Egyptians the knowledge of medicine was a profound secret, and in Greece it was carefully concealed and transmitted from father to son by the priests of AEsculapius, to whom belonged Hippocrates. Although medicine has ceased to be a secret it has lost nothing of its hold on the respect and confidence of mankind. As in religion men speak lightly of the profession, but as soon as a man, however sceptical, is sick he sends for the doctor. And no profession, except that which deals with the healing of the soul, has more claims on our gratitude. When the body is racked with pain or parched with fever the physician comes as a minister of mercy, and without the boon which he brings what is the value of all other earthly blessings. The banquet is spread in vain for the man who has no appetite, and riches, friends, etc., avail nothing.

II. The benevolence of the medical profession. Their labours are not the most remunerative. Compared with commerce the returns are meagre; yet what deserves ampler remuneration, not only on account of the benefits conferred, but because of the exhaustive character of the work. The merchant is always sure of his evenings and Sundays; the doctor never. And people make allowances when other men fail to keep their engagements, but no excuse is allowed the doctor. Serving all classes self-sacrificingly he is eminently the benefactor of the poor.

III. The religious drawbacks of the profession.

1. It might seem that no class could be more favourably situated for having the claims of religion enforced upon them. With the memento mori ever before him how can the doctor forget that he, too, must die. Familiarity breeds contempt, however, here as elsewhere, or if not, it blunts the edge of providential appeals.

2. Then, again, there is the temptation to materialism into which so many medical men fall. Scientific research has to do with matter alone, and is incapable of discovering the soul; but that does not prove there is no soul, which scientists too often assume.

IV. The religious responsibilities of the profession. Obligation is proportioned to opportunity in doing good. Who has such power over the confidence and the affections as the doctor? With what eagerness are his visits expected, and how much better does a patient often feel simply because the doctor has been. But how immeasurably would the happy effects of his visits be enhanced if he combined with his proper office that of physician for the soul. Words of encouragement and consolation would be of more value because less professional than those of the minister, and what could be more imitative of the example of the Great Physician, He comes, too, just at the time for making a religious impression. In health men are callous, but sickness brings home subjects of momentous importance. (J. Leyburn, D. D.)

The importance of religion to the study and practice of medicine

(To medical students.)

This science is a most pleasing and important study. Its object is the prevention and cure of disease. Next to the health of a mans soul is the health of his body. Without this enjoyment and usefulness is impaired and suffering brought on society in general. A great many men have and are engaged in it, and no class is more worthy of our respect. Witness their gratuitous attention to the poor and at hospitals, their remonstrances against the evils which infest the community.

I. Illustrate the sentiment in the character of Luke. He was a native of Antioch in Syria, where he probably studied at its famous university. Some say that he was a pupil of Galen, but the dates seem to disprove this.

1. His practice as a physician is not stated, whether large or small, but the beloved physician implies much to Paul and perhaps many others. He was beloved–

(1) As a physician. How valuable to Paul to have a companion who understood medicine! How often did he require attention through stripes, bruises, ill-health, and exhausted energies.

(2) As a friend. A man whose mind was cultivated by science and who could write those elegant dedications to Theophilus, and the books of which they are the prefaces, must have been very congenial to a mind like Pauls.

(3) As a helper. The healing art has been always a powerful help to the gospel. The physician can get a word in where the clergyman cannot.

2. Note the importance of religion to him as a physician.

(1) It gave him a decided character. He chose to leave his residence and practice to travel, not for pleasure or in the interests of science, but with a persecuted missionary to propagate the gospel We are not all called to follow this example, but it shows how piety enables a man to prize real excellence, choose and do the greatest good, and not to be ashamed of God when it is fashionable to deny Him.

(2) It made him useful. He, like his Master, was cast among the diseased. Miracles were not always necessary, hence Christ was sparing of them. He that cures the body does well; he that cures the soul does better; he that cures both does best. The name of Luke the beloved physician is admired, but Luke the evangelist all nations shall bless.

II. Prove the sentiment is respect to yourselves. Religion is important.

1. To prepare you for study. You of all men require a peaceful, not a torturing, conscience; a mind at rest, not driven to and fro with the speculations of every religious adventurer. The religion of Christ gives this.

2. To accompany scientific investigations. You have to study the noblest work of God. That religion accelerates this study is proved by David (Psa 139:1-24.) and Solomon (Ecc 12:1-14.). Here is a knowledge of anatomy in its most beauteous form. How can you investigate this without right views of God? Wisdom, power, and goodness display themselves in every exhibition of the human body. And that science should lead to materialism is astounding.

3. To aid usefulness in practice. Patients are often dependent for their recovery on the state of their mind. Disease is aggravated by anxiety, murmuring, and irreligious views of God. If without the formality of a clerical visit you can soothe the mind and drop into it a Divine promise, how vastly your usefulness will be augmented. And besides, there will be cases which no medicine can reach. What will you do then if you are not qualified by religion to be a physician for the mind?

4. To exalt the character. The man who reverences God and promotes the highest interests of others may be sneered at by infidels and profligates, and perhaps looked down upon by other members of his profession; but ask the public what they think of such a man. But, better still, such a man will stand well in the estimation of God.

5. To promote your own happiness. (J. Sherman.)

Demas (Phm 1:24)

, perhaps Demetrius. Is the curt mention of this man contrasted with the full affectionate recognition of St. Luke the cloud no bigger than a mans hand which prepares as for the subsequent darkness that hangs over him? (2Ti 4:10). (Bishop Alexander.)

We know no more about him except the melancholy record, Demas hath forsaken me, etc. Perhaps he was a Thessalonian, and went home. His love of the world was his reason for abandoning Paul. Probably it was on the side of danger that the world tempted him. He was a coward, and preferred a whole skin to a clear conscience. In immediate connection with the record of his desertion we read, At my first answer, no man stood by me, but all men forsook me. As the same word is used, probably Demas was one of those timid friends whose courage was not equal to standing by Paul when he thrust his head into the lions mouth. Let us not be too hard on a constancy that warped in so fierce a heat. He may not have been an apostate Christian, though he was a faithless friend. Perhaps, away in Thessalonica, he repented him of his evil, and perhaps Paul and Demas met again before the throne, and there clasped inseparable hands. Let us not judge a man of whom we know so little, but take to our selves the lesson of humility and self-distrust. That world that was too strong for Demas will be too strong for us if we front it in our own strength. It is ubiquitous, working on us everywhere, and always like the pressure of the atmosphere upon our bodies. Its might will crush us, unless we can climb to, and dwell on, the heights of communion with God, where pressure is diminished. It acted on Demas through his fears. It acts on us through our ambitions, affections, and desires. So, seeing that miserable wreck of Christian constancy, and considering ourselves lest we also be tempted, let us not judge another, but look at home. There is more than enough there to make profound self-distrust our truest wisdom, and to teach us to pray, Hold thou me up and I shall be safe. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)

Luke and Demas

These two names in juxtaposition and subsequent separation suggest–

I. The basis of Christian friendship.

1. Society is divided into many classes. Men are bound together by similarity of pursuit, taste, attainment. The basis of their union may be pecuniary equality, political agreement, or common occupation. But such friendships are temporary, being based on what is temporary. A mans circumstances may alter, his tastes change; easy then for friends to be sundered. The poor basis of worldly friendship may resist the sapping waters of change. But this is the exception; hence we say, What devotion! Self-interest may bind men together, and even a common consciousness of wrong. But let self be imperilled, and where is the cohesion then?

2. The basis of Christian friendship is common love to a common Lord. A new commandment give I unto you that ye love one another, as I have loved you. There is the measure and the motive. The coolness of some professors shows how they lack the spirit of Christ. As we are in Him, and imbued with His spirit, shall we be one in Him. In the primitive Church men of different ranks and pursuits, etc., continued in the apostles fellowship. And then Paul, a man of large intelligence, wide learning, good family, etc.

just the man to hold others aloof–after the heavenly vision, gathered into his friendship Luke the physician, Onesimus the runaway slave, and Demas. Beautiful his friendship with men of less degree. And when he writes to distant brethren he says, Luke, I shall mention your name, and, Demas, yours.

II. Common Christian labour is a cementing force in Christian friendship. In writing to Philemon, Paul shows the thing which bound them together. Demas, Luke, my fellow-workers. Paul had an utter impatience of idleness. He had not only the faculty of industry, but of setting others to work. And whoever co-operated with him, however humble, received the title of fellow-worker.

1. Luke was such; and was very valuable to the oft-afflicted apostle as–

(1) A physician. Invaluable everywhere, especially so in prison, the sedentary life of which told upon the apostles never stalwart frame. But Luke was with him with his physic and his words, doing good like medicine.

(2) As a congenial fellow-traveller and helper in missionary work.

(3) The hand that could wield a lancet could also use a skilful pen, and by his Gospel and Acts he has laid the Church under perpetual obligations.

2. What of Demas? What he could do is not written. But he did something. He was no idler. Paul calls him a fellow-worker. He was no Luke, but as there are diversities of gifts, so he had his special line, as has every one.

3. Common labour will draw us together. From the general down to the drummer-boy, all in an army, when the battle is expected, feel knit together, for they have a common enemy; and when the enemy is vanquished, they rejoice in a common victory. Let all Christians unite against evil and for God, and that will unite all hearts.

III. Worldliness is the disintegrating force in Christian friendship. Pleasant is our first brief view of Demas–sharer of work and affection with Luke. Later on Paul writes, Demas forsook me only Luke is with me. Paul can ill spare a friend now, for the time of his departure is at hand. On his release from prison Paul had two or three years of Christian labour. Did Demas go with him? Again Paul is cast into a Roman cell. Still Demas is his friend; but only for a while. How much of sincerity mingled with this mans profession of Christ? Did he leave under temptation? Was he recovered? It is worthy of note that in the three times he is mentioned there is no honourable epithet attached to his name. Was Paul in doubt of him? Did his quick eye detect in him an ambitious spirit, or a love of ease, or a hunger for human approbation? He went to Thessalonica. Did his pagan parents seduce him back to idolatry? Or had some heathen beauty captivated and drawn his love from that which ought to have been supreme? Was he ever recovered? Let us hope so; although tradition says he became a heathen priest, and was struck dead with lightning while officiating at the altar. Whatever his end, worldliness was his immediate ruin. Many are the modern confirmatory instances. Many once Christian workers are now idlers. Shall the queens soldier turn deserter because of his difficulties or comrades? Loyalty to queen and country forbid. Shall the Christians duty be less binding? God help us to stay with Luke, and not desert with Demas. What did he gain? What is that gain to him now? (G. T. Coster.)

How strikingly these two contrasted characters bring out–

I. The possibility of men being exposed to the same influences, and yet ending far away from each other! They set out from the same point, and travelled side by side, subject to the same training, in contact with the magnetic attraction of Pauls personality, and at the end they are wide as the poles asunder. Starting from the same level, one line inclines ever so little upwards, the other imperceptibly downwards. Pursue them far enough, and there is room for the whole solar system in the space between them. So two children trained at one mothers knee, subjects of the same prayers, with the same good influence upon both, may grow up, one to break a mothers heart and to disgrace a fathers name, and the other to walk in the way of godliness and to serve the God of his fathers. Circumstances are mighty; but the use we make of circumstances lies with ourselves. As we trim our sails and set our rudder, the same breeze will take us in opposite directions. We are the architects and builders of our own characters, and may so use the most unfavour-able influences as to wholesomely harden our natures thereby, and we may so misuse the most favourable as only thereby to increase our blameworthiness for wasted opportunities.

II. We are reminded, too, from these two men who stand before us like a double star–one bright, one dark–that no loftiness of Christian position nor length of Christian profession is a guarantee against falling and apostasy. As we read in another book, for which also the Church has to thank a prison cell–the place where so many of its precious possessions have been written–there is a backway to the pit from the gate of the Celestial City. Demas had stood high in the Church, and had been admitted to the close intimacy of the apostle, was evidently no raw novice, and yet the world could drag him back from so eminent a place in which he had long stood. Let him that thinketh he standeth, etc. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 14. Luke, the beloved physician] This is generally supposed to be the same with Luke the evangelist. See the preface to the notes on this gospel. Some, however, suppose them to be different persons; because, where it is evident that Luke the evangelist is meant, he never has more than his simple name Luke; and because the apostle is supposed to intend a different person here, he adds, , the beloved physician. The word signifies a healer, and must not be restricted to physician, in the sense in which we use that word; he was surgeon, physician, and dispenser of medicines, &c., for all these were frequently combined in the same person.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Luke, the beloved physician; whether this Luke was the same with him that penned the Gospel and the Acts, because the apostle here gives him no higher a commendation, some doubt. But others, and the most, conclude that as Matthew from a publican became an apostle, and others from fishers of fishes, fishers of men, so Luke from a physician of the body became a physician of souls, and that this was the very person who was Pauls perpetual and individual companion in his travels, 2Ti 4:11; Phm 1:24; considering from his style he was an excellent Grecian, (very fit for a physician), and made use of proper medical terms, Act 15:39; 17:16; and here the apostle calls him beloved, as he had done Tychicus, Col 4:7, and elsewhere his fellow labourer, who only of those that were not prisoners stuck to him, 2Ti 4:11. Some think it to be Luke whose praises are celebrated in the gospel, or evangelical churches, 2Co 8:18; others would have that to be Barnabas, or some other: his practising of physic was no more inconsistent with being an evangelist than Pauls tent-making with being an apostle, 2Th 3:8.

And Demas, greet you; he adds a third in this salutation from others, and that is Demas, who hitherto did persevere, and that as one of his fellow labourers, Phm 1:24; though it should seem, afterwards, when the persecution grew hotter, he did for some worldly respect leave Paul, and depart unto Thessalonica, 2Ti 4:10.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

14. It is conjectured that Luke”the beloved physician” (the same as the Evangelist), mayhave first become connected with Paul in professionally attending onhim in the sickness under which he labored in Phrygia and Galatia (inwhich latter place he was detained by sickness), in the early part ofthat journey wherein Luke first is found in his company (Ac16:10; compare Note, see on Ga4:13). Thus the allusion to his medical profession is appropriatein writing to men of Phrygia. Luke ministered to Paul in his lastimprisonment (2Ti 4:11).

Demasincluded amonghis “fellow laborers” (Phm24), but afterwards a deserter from him through love of thisworld (2Ti 4:10). He alone hashere no honorable or descriptive epithet attached to his name.Perhaps, already, his real character was betraying itself.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Luke, the beloved physician,…. Luke the Evangelist, though some doubt it, is here intended, who was a constant companion of the apostle in his troubles, and went with him to Rome, as the Acts of the Apostles wrote by him show, and as from 2Ti 4:11 it appears; so Jerom n calls the Evangelist Luke, the physician of Antioch, for from thence he was; and being converted by the Apostle Paul, as is very probable, though some make him to be one of the seventy disciples, he became of a physician of bodies, a physician of souls: some say o he was a scholar of Galen, the famous physician, and others that he was his sister’s son; who having heard of Christ’s miracles, set out with his master Galen for Judea, to know the truth of them, of which they doubted; Galen died by the way, Luke came to Christ, and being taught by him, became one of the seventy disciples. The apostle calls him “beloved”, not on account of his profession, in which he might be useful to many, but as he was a brother in Christ, a minister of the Gospel, and a fellow labourer of his. This is the same person as Lucas, mentioned along with Demas, and others, as here, in Phm 1:24. The name perhaps is Roman, but was, however, well known among the Jews; for they say p, the

“witnesses that sign a divorce, and their names are as the names of strangers, what is to be done with it? there is none comes into our hands (is received) but “Lukus” and “Lus”, and we allow it to be right:”

upon which the gloss says, because these were famous names:

and Demas greet you; the same who, through the love of the present world, forsook the apostle, 2Ti 4:10 which he did either after the writing of this epistle, or if before it, he was now returned again to him: his name seems to be the same with the Roman Dama, unless it should be a contraction of Demetrius, or rather of Demarchos; though the Jews make frequent mention of R. , “Dimi”, or “Demi”, in their writings q, which perhaps is the same name with this.

n Catalog. Script. Eccles. p. 91. Vid. Nicephor. Hist. l. 2. c. 43. o Vid. Castell. Lex. Polyglott. col. 1894. p T. Bab. Gittin, fol. 11. 2. q T. Bab. Gittin, fol. 19. 2. Nazir, fol. 36. 1. Sota, fol. 43. 2. Bava Kama, fol. 43.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Luke, the beloved physician ( ). Mentioned also in Phlm 1:24; 2Tim 4:11. The author of the Gospel and the Acts. Both Mark and Luke are with Paul at this time, possibly also with copies of their Gospels with them. The article here (repeated) may mean “my beloved physician.” It would seem certain that Luke looked after Paul’s health and that Paul loved him. Paul was Luke’s hero, but it was not a one-sided affection. It is beautiful to see preacher and physician warm friends in the community.

Demas (). Just his name here (a contraction of Demetrius), but in 2Ti 4:10 he is mentioned as one who deserted Paul.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

Luke – Demas. See on Phl 1:24.

The beloved physician. See Introduction to Luke.

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

1) “Luke the beloved physician” (Loukas ho hiatros ho agapetos) “Luke the physician, the beloved one,” the evangelist, Luke who wrote both the books of Luke and Acts, not one of the circumcision, Col 4:11. He was loyal to Paul to death, 2Ti 4:11.

2) “And Demas greet you” (Kai demas aspazetai humas) and Demas greet all of you; Demas later forsook, deserted, or betrayed Paul, 2Ti 4:10, returning to a life of worldly ease, in Thessalonica. He may have been the scribe who wrote this letter or assisted Timothy in writing it for Paul. Phm 1:24.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

14. Luke saluteth you. I do not agree with those who understand this to be Luke the Evangelist; for I am of opinion that he was too well known to stand in need of such a designation, and he would have been signalized by a more magnificent eulogium. He would, undoubtedly, have called him his fellow-helper, or at least his companion and participant in his conflicts. I rather conjecture that he was absent at that time, and that it is another of the same name that is called a physician, to distinguish him from the other. Demas, of whom he makes mention, is undoubtedly the person of whom he complains — that he afterwards deserted him. (2Ti 4:10.)

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES

Col. 4:17. And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry.He is again closely connected with Coloss in the epistle to Philemon. A monition perhaps needed by Archippus. In the Lord.The element in which every work of the Christian, and especially the Christian minister, is to be done.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Col. 4:14-17

Christian Greetings and Counsels.

It is sometimes asked, with an indiscriminate flippancy, Whats in a name? There are some names which have no title to a lasting remembrance, and with reference to these the flippancy may be justified. But there are names whose reputation is imperishable, and which are written on the worlds history in indelible characters. The name of Paul, the great apostle of the Gentiles, will be venerated by the coming ages when the titles of the greatest sages and warriors shall have faded away in the darkness of oblivion; and, just as there are lesser lights in the firmament that share in the glory of the great luminary to which they are essentially related, so there are names of lesser note grouped around that of the great apostle that are immortalised by their association with him. Besides, names as they are quoted and used by St. Paul in this and other epistles often furnish evidence of the authenticity of Scripture and undesigned coincidences of the truth of the sacred history. In these verses there are some names preserved to us which were lifted into prominence by the connection of the persons they represented with the apostle, and by their own eminent piety and usefulness. They furnish another illustration of the truth of the sacred saying, The memory of the just is blessed; but the name of the wicked shall rot. We have here a series of kindly Christian greetings and important Christian counsels. Observe:
I. The value of a Christian greeting is estimated by the moral character of those from whom it emanates.Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you (Col. 4:14). Two persons are here mentioned whose individual histories present a suggestive contrast; and it is observable, by the way in which their names are mentioned, that the two men stood very differently in the apostles estimation.

1. Luke is the beloved physicianthe very dear and attached friend of Paul. He was his constant companion in travel, and stood faithfully by him in his greatest trials. He joined the apostle at Troas (Act. 16:10), accompanied him into Judea, remained with him during two years of his imprisonment at Jerusalem and Csarea, and was no doubt present at his trial before Festus and Felix; he went with him into Italy when Paul was sent there as a prisoner, and during his second and final imprisonment in Rome; while others deserted him, Luke continued his staunch and faithful friend. In the last epistle probably the apostle ever wrote is the simple but pathetic reference, Only Luke is with me. We can understand, therefore, the affectionate tenderness with which Luke is designated the beloved physician. As St. Paul was not a robust man, but was troubled with a thorn in the flesh, the presence of a medical friend must have been of immense service to him in his laborious missionary journeys and during his long imprisonment. The physicians of ancient times had a very questionable reputation for religiousness; but in these modern days there is an increasing number of medical men who are no less eminent for piety than for their professional skill, and many and important are the opportunities of such for doing good both to body and soul. The greetings of a man of superlative moral excellence is gratefully welcomed and respectfully treasured.

2. And Demas!How suggestive is the laconic allusion! There is no explanation, no qualifying word of any special regard. Perhaps the apostle was already beginning to suspect him, to mark the increasing worldliness of his spirit, and his growing indifference to divine things. About three years after this greeting was despatched to the Colossians, we meet with the melancholy record: Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world (2Ti. 4:10). Alas! how seductive and how fatal are the allurements of the world! The highest and holiest are not invulnerable to its charms. The most promising career of usefulness and honour has often been blighted by its influence. Bitter indeed would be the disappointment of the apostles heart to witness one, whom he had acknowledged and trusted as a fellow-worker in the gospel, fall a victim to worldly avarice, and, like Achan, covet the golden wedge and Babylonish garment of secular things. There is a specially solemn significance in the warning of the beloved disciple: Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world (1Jn. 2:15).

II. Christian greeting recognises the universal brotherhood of the Church.

1. We learn the early Christian Churches were composed of brethren. Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea (Col. 4:15). This recognition of a common brotherhood was a great advance upon the eclecticism and sharp, prejudiced distinctions of the times. In the circle of the Christian Church the Jew surrendered his Judaism, and the Gentile his paganism, and became one in Christ; the slave and the freeman enjoyed the same spiritual liberty, and the barbarian was no longer dreaded as a monster, but hailed as a brother. The test of brotherhood and union is an individual faith in a common Saviour, the sharing of one common life in the Holy Spirit, and the assurance of possessing one common Father in God. It is only as we encourage the brotherly spirit that we can ensure union and permanency in the Churches. About thirty years after this salutation was sent to the Laodiceans, the Church in that city had degenerated into a state of lukewarmness and sterility (Rev. 3:15-16). There is need for united watchfulness and fidelity in order to continue steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.

2. We learn further that a separate assembly of the brethren constituted a Church.And Nymphas, and the Church which is in his house (Col. 4:15). This was not the principal Church in Laodicea, nor was it simply a meeting together of the family, but an assembly of worshippers. Nymphas was probably a man of position and influence in the city, and being also a man of piety he afforded every opportunity for the gathering together of the brethren for Christian worship and communion. There is little said in the New Testament about Church polity, and there is no ecclesiastical organisation, whether Episcopal, Presbyterian, or Congregational, that can claim exclusive divine authority and sanction. Whether meeting in large numbers in the stately cathedral, the modern tabernacle, or a few in the private dwelling-house, a company of believers assembled for worship and mutual edification constitutes a Church. Thus the true brotherhood of Christianity is maintained, irrespective of locality, of ecclesiastical structures, or of sacerdotal claims and pretensions.

III. The reading of the Holy Scriptures in the Church an important subject of apostolic counsel.And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the Church of the Laodiceans, and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea (Col. 4:16). The epistle from Laodicea refers to a letter that St. Paul had sent to that city, and which was to be forwarded to Coloss for perusal. Some think this was a letter specifically addressed to the Laodiceans, and which is now lost; but the best commentators now believe that the epistle to the Ephesians is meant, which was, in fact, a circular letter addressed to the principal Churches in proconsular Asia. Tychicus was obliged to pass through Laodicea on his way to Coloss, and would leave a copy of the Ephesian epistle there before the Colossian letter was delivered. Here we learn that one important means of edification was the reading of the inspired letters of the apostle in the assemblies of the brethren. The public reading of the Scriptures has been an invaluable method of instruction to the Church in all ages and places, and it is a provision with which the Church will never be able to dispense. The Church which dares to prohibit the general perusal of the Scriptures, or reads only small portions, and those mumbled in a language not understood by the people, has thrown off all regard for apostolic counsel and inflicts an unutterable injury upon humanity. Shut up the Bible, and the Churches will instantly be invaded by the most enfeebling superstitions, the civilisation of the nations will be put centuries behind, and the widespread ignorance and moral and social degradation of the dark ages will reappear.

IV. An example of apostolic counsel concerning fidelity in the Christian ministry.And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it (Col. 4:17). It is probable that Archippus was a youthful pastor recently appointed to the Church at Laodicea. Already signs of slackened zeal began to appear, which afterwards culminated in the state of lukewarmness for which this Church was denounced (Rev. 3:19). The condition of preacher and people reacts upon each other; the Church takes its colour from and communicates its colour to its spiritual pastor. Hence the apostle, well knowing the perils surrounding the inexperienced Archippus, sends to him this timely warning to take heed to his ministry. He is reminded of:

1. The direct authority of the ministry.The ministry which thou hast received in the Lord. The commission to preach the gospel can come from no other than the Lord, and can be properly received only by one who is himself spiritually in the Lord; there must be not only gifts, but also grace. The minister must be in direct and constant communication with the Lord, depend on Him for help in doing his duty, remember he is accountable to Him, and strive to seek His glory in preference to all personal considerations. In times of difficulty and trial it will sustain the courage of the minister to feel that his commission is divine in its source and authority.

2. The implied dangers of the ministry.Take heed. The special dangers that threatened the Colossian Church at that time have been distinctly pointed out in the epistle. The ministry is ever encompassed with perils, arising from the seductive forms of error, the flatteries and frowns of the world, the subtle workings of self-approbation, and the deceitfulness of sin. There is need for the exercise of a sleepless vigilance, a tireless zeal, and a faultless circumspection.

3. The imperative personal demands of the ministry.That thou fulfil it. The whole truth must be made known, and that with the utmost clearness, faithfulness, kindness, and completeness. Every energy must be consecrated to the sacred work, and the aid of all the powers of heaven earnestly implored. No pains must be spared in prayer, study, and self-sacrifice to reach the highest efficiency and make full proof of the ministry. Failure here is lamentable and irremediable.

Lessons.

1. Salutations are valuable when imbued with the Christian spirit.

2. The true appreciation of the Holy Scriptures is shown in their constant and studious perusal.

3. The Christian ministry should be sustained by practical sympathy and intelligent co-operation.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES

Col. 4:14. Luke, the beloved physician. Religion and the Medical Profession.

I. The deference shown to medical science.

II. Benevolence of the medical profession.

III. Religious drawbacks in assaults from materialism.Mind is one thing, matter is another.

IV. Religious responsibilities.Vast power for good. Co-operation with the minister.

V. The great Physician.Doctor and patient need Him alike.Homiletic Monthly.

Col. 4:16. The Public Reading of the Holy Scriptures an Important Means of Church Edification.

I. It is in harmony with the usage of the ancient Church.

II. It is enforced by precept and example in the Scriptures themselves.

III. It familiarises the mind with the grandest truths.

IV. It is a mighty agency in advocating and moulding national character.

V. It keeps alive the enthusiasm of the Church for aggressive enterprise.

VI. It demands the most laborious study and practice to render it effective.

Col. 4:17. The Christian Ministry a Solemn and Responsible Trust.

I. It is divine in its bestowal.Received in the Lord.

II. It is personal in its responsibility.Which thou hast received.

III. It involves the communication of good to others.Ministry.

IV. It has a special aspect of importance to the individual minister.The ministry.

That thou fulfil it. The Christian Ministry demands Unswerving Fidelity in accomplishing its Lofty Mission.

I. Divine truth must be clearly apprehended and profoundly realised.

II. The whole truth must be declared.

III. The declaration of the truth must be full and courageous.

Take heed. The Christian Ministry is surrounded by Peculiar Perils.A shrewd and ever-wakeful vigilance is needed

I. Against the stealthy encroachments of error.

II. Against the pernicious influences of the world.

III. Against the subtle temptations to unfaithfulness.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF Col. 4:18

Words of Farewell.

Last words have in them a nameless touch of pathos. They linger in the memory as a loved familiar presence, they soothe lifes sorrows, and exert upon the soul a strange and irresistible fascination. As the years rush by, how rich in meaning do the words that have fallen from dying lips become, as when Csar said sadly, And thou, Brutus!; or when John Quincy Adams said, This is the last of earth; or Mirabeaus frantic cry for music, after a life of discord; or George Washingtons calm statement, It is well; or Wesleys triumphant utterance, The best of all is, God is with us. And these closing words of the high-souled apostle written from his Roman prison, in prospect of threatened death, carry with them a significance and tenderness which will be felt wherever this epistle is read. In these words we have a personally inscribed salutation, a touching reminder, and a brief benediction.

I. A personally inscribed salutation.The salutation by the hand of mo Paul. The rest of the epistle was dictated by the apostle to an amanuensis, who, in this case, was probably Timothy. Paul adds his own personal salutation, not only as an expression of his anxious love, but also as a mark of the authenticity of the document, and of his unqualified approval of its contents. It would surely be a scene worthy of the pencil of genius to portray the noble prisoner, whose right hand was linked to the left of his military gaoler, tracing with tremulous fingers the final words to those for whose sake he was in bonds! How would the hand-writing of such a man be prized and venerated, and with what holy eagerness would his words be read and pondered!

II. A touching reminder.Remember my bonds. The apostle was in prison, not for any offence against the laws of God or man, but for the sake of the gospel he loved to preach, and which had wrought so marvellous a change in the lives of those to whom he wrote. His bonds bore irrefragable testimony to the truth he was called to proclaim, and to his unalterable determination to insist upon the rights and privileges of the Gentiles, on whose behalf he suffered. He wished to be remembered in prayer, that he might be sustained in his imprisonment, and that he might be speedily delivered from it, so that he might preach the glorious news of spiritual liberty to the benighted and fettered sons of men. Remember my bonds. These words seem to indicate that the illustrious prisoner was more concerned to exhibit a spirit and deportment befitting the gospel than to be released from his incarceration. The Church of Christ in all ages has had abundant reason to remember with gratitude and praise the bonds of the great apostle, not only for the stimulating example of holy patience and dignified submission displayed under trying circumstances, but for the unspeakably precious literary treasures they enabled him to bequeath to the world. Bishop Wordsworth has well said: The fact that this epistle was written by Paul in this state of durance and restraint, and yet designed to minister comfort to others, and that it has never ceased to cheer the Church of Christ, is certainly one which is worthy of everlasting remembrance. In the prayer for all prisoners and captives special reference should be made to those who are now suffering for the truth. The offence of the cross has not yet ceased. We most practically remember the imprisoned when we supply their wants and assuage their sufferings.

III. A brief benediction.Grace be with you. Amen. The epistle begins and ends with blessing; and between these two extremes lies a magnificent body of truth which has dispensed blessings to thousands and is destined to bless thousands more. The benediction is short, but it is instinct with fervent life and laden with the unutterable wealth of divine beneficence. Grace is inclusive of all the good God can bestow or man receive. Grace is what all need, what none can merit, and what God alone can give. To possess the grace of God is to be rich indeed; without it Tis misery all, and woe. Grace kindles the lamp of hope amidst the darkest experiences of life, supplies the clue which unravels the most tangled mysteries, presses the nectar of consolation into the bitterest cup, implants in the soul its holiest motives and opens up its noblest career, strengthens the dying saint when he traverses the lonely borderland of the unknown, and tunes and perpetuates the celestial harmonies of the everlasting song.

Lessons.

1. Praise God for a well-authenticated Bible.

2. Praise God for the teachings of a suffering life.

3. Praise God for His boundless grace.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

14. Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas salute you.

Translation and Paraphrase

14. Luke, the beloved physician, greets you, and (also) Demas.

Notes

1.

We learn from Col. 4:14 a fact stated nowhere else in Scripture; that Luke was a physician. When we read the gospel of Luke with this knowledge, we notice occasional medicinal comments that seem particularly appropriate for a doctor to make. Luk. 4:38-39; Luk. 8:43.

2.

Luke was the author of the third gospel story containing a life of Christ. He also was author of the book of Acts. Note that the books of Luke and Acts were both sent to the same man. Luk. 1:1-4; Act. 1:1-2. It is interesting to notice that the authors of the second and third gospels were both with Paul at this time.

3.

Luke was apparently a Gentile. He travelled with Paul, joining him at Troas during Pauls second missionary trip. (Act. 16:8-10). He seems to have stopped off and remained at Philippi until the returning portion of Pauls third missionary trip. (Act. 20:5-6). At that time he rejoined Paul, returning with him to Jerusalem, and apparently was with Paul during his trials and imprisonments in Judea, and during his trip to Rome, and was with Paul in Rome when Paul wrote Colossians and Philemon. (Phm. 1:24). He was still with Paul during Pauls later second imprisonment in Rome. (2Ti. 4:11). Paul refers to Luke as beloved and as a fellow-worker.

4.

Some Christians have felt that they should not go to doctors, but only pray for healing. The fact that Luke was a doctor, even so long after his first travels with Paul, and that his occupation was not condemned, nor described as being past, no-longer-practiced, profession, argues rather strongly that physicians are approved by God for Christians in these times. We are indeed taught to pray for the sick, but we are not taught to avoid physicians.

5.

Demas the disappointment! Here is Colossians and in Phm. 1:24, Demas is listed as one of Pauls companions. In Philemon he is grouped with others who are called Pauls fellow-workers. Nothing further is said of him, either in praise or blame.

However in 2Ti. 4:10 a sad sentence reads: Demas forsook me, having loved this present world, and went to Thessalonica. Demas could have been another Barnabas, a Timothy, a Titus, or Tychicus, It is as the poet said,

Of all sad words in tongue or pen,
The saddest these: It might have been.

Study and Review

22.

How is Luke described? (Col. 4:14)

23.

What else do we know about Demas? (Phm. 1:24; 2Ti. 4:10)

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(14) Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas.Comp. Phm. 1:24. The original is even more emphatic, Luke the physician, the beloved one. Demas, on the contrary, is barely named. It is impossible not to pass on in thought to the last notice of the two by St. Paul (2Ti. 4:10), Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world. . . . only Luke is with me.

On the relation of St. Luke to St. Paul, see Introduction to the Acts. Here we need only remark that the emphatic mention of him as the beloved physician suggests the idea that it was both as physician and as friend that St. Luke, now, as in the last captivity, was with the Apostle. Though the captivity was not, according to ancient ideas, severe, it must have told upon his weak and shattered health.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

14. Luke Undoubtedly the author of the third Gospel and The Acts. The honourable mention of his profession may have been necessary for accurate identification, though it accords with the apostle’s delight in bestowing epithets of affection and praise. It has been conjectured that his first acquaintance with St. Paul was in a professional capacity.

Demas No word of commendation for him. Was he even then betraying tokens of the worldly spirit which at a later day became his master? See 2Ti 4:10.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas salute you.’

Luke was a regular companion of Paul (note the ‘we’ passages in Acts – see Act 16:10-16; Act 20:6 to Act 21:18 and probably after; Act 27:1 to Act 28:31), and the author of Luke and Acts. It is here that we learn he was a physician. In Phm 1:24 he is a ‘fellow-worker’. This demonstrates that he did more than just being a doctor. He was also active in Christian service and ministry.

‘And Demas.’ Ranked with Aristarchus and Luke as ‘fellow-workers’ in Phm 1:24. Later he would fear for his life and leave Paul (2Ti 4:10).

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Col 4:14. Luke, the beloved physician, From comparing this with Col 4:11, where St. Paul says he had no fellow-labourer of the circumcision but those whom he had named, Lord Barrington concludes that Luke was a proselyte of the gate before he was converted to Christianity; and it may certainly be fairly concluded that hewas not a Jew. See the introductory note to St. Luke’s gospel.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Col 4:14 . Luke the physician, the (by me) beloved , is the Evangelist a point which, in presence of the tradition current from Iren. iii. 14. 1 onward, is as little to be doubted as that the Mark of Col 4:10 is the Evangelist. Luke was with Paul at Caesarea (Phm 1:24 ), and travelled with him to Rome (Act 27:1 ), accompanying him, however, not as physician (as if or had been appended), but as an associate in teaching, as , Phm 1:24 . Hofmann calls this in question, in order to avoid the inference from Col 4:11 , that Luke was a non-Israelite. The addition, moreover, of is simply to be explained after the analogy of all the previous salutations sent, by assuming that Paul has appended to each of the persons named a special characteristic description by way of recommendation. [177] The case of is the only exception; on which account it is the more probable that the latter had even at this time (at the date of 2Ti 4:10 he has abandoned him) seemed to the apostle not quite surely entitled to a commendatory description, although he still, at Phm 1:24 , adduces him among his , to whose number he still belonged . Hence the assumption of such a probability is not strange, but is to be preferred to the altogether precarious opinion of Hofmann, that Demas was the amanuensis of the letter, and had, with the permission of the apostle, inserted his name (comp. Bengel’s suggestion). Whence was the reader to know that? How very different is it at Rom 16:22 ! The name itself is not Hebrew (in opposition to Schoettgen), but Greek; see Boeckh, Corp. inscrip . 1085; Becker, Anecd . 714.

[177] In the case of Luke, the attachment of the honourable professional designation to the name suggested itself so naturally and spontaneously considering the peculiarity of his professional position, to which there was probably nothing similar in the case of any other that there is no reason to assume any special purpose in the selection (Chrysostom, Erasmus, and many, suggest that the object was to distinguish Luke from others of the same name).

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

14 Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.

Ver. 14. And Demas ] He will needs be one, and is, but without any title of honour, as the rest. He began to be suspected; and he afterwards proved an utter apostate, and (as Dorotheus saith) an idol priest at Thessalonica.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

14 .] This has ever been taken for the Evangelist: see Iren. iii. 14.1, p. 201, and Prolegg. to St. Luke, i. In there may be a trace of what has been supposed, that it was in a professional capacity that he first became attached to St. Paul, who evidently laboured under grievous sickness during the earlier part of the journey where Luke first appears in his company. Compare Gal 4:13 note, with Act 16:6 ; Act 16:10 . But this is too uncertain to be more than an interesting conjecture.

] one of Paul’s , Phm 1:24 , who however afterwards deserted him, from love to the world, 2Ti 4:10 . The absence of any honourable or endearing mention here may be owing to the commencement of this apostasy, or some unfavourable indication in his character.

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Col 4:14 . : “Luke the physician, the beloved,” no doubt to be identified with the evangelist Luke. His writings have been shown to exhibit a considerable use of medical terms. The name was originally Lucanus. He was clearly not one “of the circumcision” (Col 4:11 ), and this, as often pointed out, seems to exclude the possibility that he wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews. : mentioned last and without commendation. This is commonly explained as due to a foreboding of Paul that he would turn out badly, suggested by the reference to him in 2Ti 4:10 as having left him. But in Phm 1:24 he is placed before Luke and numbered among Paul’s fellow-workers. Possibly he wrote the Epistle, and is thus mentioned last and without praise.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

Demas. See 2Ti 4:10. Phm. Col 1:24.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

14.] This has ever been taken for the Evangelist: see Iren. iii. 14.1, p. 201, and Prolegg. to St. Luke, i. In there may be a trace of what has been supposed, that it was in a professional capacity that he first became attached to St. Paul, who evidently laboured under grievous sickness during the earlier part of the journey where Luke first appears in his company. Compare Gal 4:13 note, with Act 16:6; Act 16:10. But this is too uncertain to be more than an interesting conjecture.

] one of Pauls , Phm 1:24, who however afterwards deserted him, from love to the world, 2Ti 4:10. The absence of any honourable or endearing mention here may be owing to the commencement of this apostasy, or some unfavourable indication in his character.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Col 4:14. , the physician) He is so called, either because he had practised, or was practising, medicine. He calls him Luke, as being sufficiently known to Timothy by his name alone, in 2Ti 4:11. He calls him the physician here, as being unknown to the Colossians.-, Demas) He alone is put without any descriptive epithet; comp. 2Ti 4:10 : but perhaps the reason for this was, that Demas wrote the epistle under the dictation of Paul.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Col 4:14

Col 4:14

Luke,- [This name occurs three times in the New Testament. (Here; 2Ti 4:11; Phm 1:24). As there is every reason to believe that the man of these passages is the author of the Gospel of Luke and of Acts of Apostles, it is natural to seek the evidence in the book itself some traces of the connection with Paul, which these passages assume to exist; and although the name Luke does not occur in Acts, there is reason to believe that under the pronoun we, several references to Luke are to be added to the three already mentioned. Combining the traditional with the scriptural, we are able to trace the following outline of his life. He was born at Antioch in Syria, not of Jewish parents, for he is not reckoned among those who are of the circumcision by Paul. (Col 4:11). The date of his conversion to Christ is uncertain. He was not among those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word (Luk 1:1-2), or he would have rested his claim upon that ground. The ray of historical light falls on him as a follower of Jesus Christ when he joined Paul at Troas and shared his journey into Macedonia. The sudden transition to the first person plural (we) in Act 16:10 is most naturally explained that the writer of Acts formed one of the company from this point. His conversion had taken place before, since he silently assumes his place in Pauls company without any hint that this was his first admission to the knowledge of the ministry of Christ. As far as Philippi he journeyed with Paul and his company. The resumption of the third person (they) on Pauls departure from Philippi (Act 17:1) shows that Luke was left behind. During the remainder of Pauls second missionary journey no further mention of Luke is made. But on the third journey the same indication reminds us that Luke is again in the company (Act 20:5), having joined it at Philippi, where he had been left. With Paul he passed on to Jerusalem (Act 20:5-6; Act 21:18). Between the two visits to Philippi, seven years elapsed (A.D. 51 to 58), which Luke may have spent in Philippi, preaching the gospel. There is one passage which, if it refers to Luke, must belong to this period: And we have sent together with him (Titus) the brother whose praise in the gospel is spread through all the churches. (2Co 8:18). It is an opinion among some expositors that Luke was the companion of Titus on this mission. If this be so, we are to suppose that during the three months of Pauls sojourn at Philippi (Act 20:6). Luke was sent from that place on this mission; and the words whose praise is in all the churches enable us to form an estimate of his activity during the interval in which he has not been otherwise mentioned. The praise lay in the activity with which he preached the gospel. He again appears in the company of Paul in the journey to Rome. (Act 27:1). He remained at his side during his first imprisonment (Col 4:14; Phm 1:24); then during his second Roman imprisonment, the Second Epistle to Timothy (2Ti 4:11) shows that he continued faithful to Paul, and remained with him to the end of his affliction. After the death of Paul the acts of Luke are hopelessly obscure. It is perhaps as Luke wished it to be. We only know while he stood faithfully by the side of his beloved Paul; when he departed the history of his faithful companion becomes hopelessly confused. It is enough for us, so far as regards the Gospel of Luke, to know that the writer was the tried and constant friend of Paul, who shared his labors, and was not driven from his side by danger.]

the beloved physician,-Of all Pauls friends none was dearer to him or more serviceable than Luke. [This suggests a lovable man, tender and true; a character profoundly welcome to the aching heart of the apostle.]

and Demas salute you.-From the fact that Demas is mentioned here without a word of praise while the others received commendations in various ways, many interpreters have concluded that already his true character was beginning to appear, and that Paul did not have full confidence in him. [During Pauls second Roman imprisonment, when troubles multiplied, and danger was imminent, Paul says: Demas forsook me, having loved this present world, and went to Thessalonica. (2Ti 4:10). His departure and that of the others on whom Paul relied while in prison was one of the severest trials which he was called upon to endure.]

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

Luke: 2Ti 4:11, Phm 1:24

Demas: 2Ti 4:10, Phm 1:24

Reciprocal: 2Ch 16:12 – physicians

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

LUKE THE EVANGELIST

Luke, the beloved physician.

Col 4:14

St. Luke is said to have been born at Antioch; the probability, therefore, is that he was, as Jerome says, a Syrian, and thus a Gentile. If so, then he was a proselyte to the Jewish religion.

I. He is described as the beloved physician.As a physician he was of essential service to St. Paul, not only in his own personal needs, but in his missionary enterprises, as the healing art was then, as it is now, of great advantage to the furtherance of the Gospel among the heathen. Through attending to the body the modern medical missionary may reach the soul, and by saving the one may, under the Divine blessing, save the other.

II. St. Paul and he were great friends, as the text clearly shows. The appellation of the beloved physician signifies that St. Luke, apart from his professional services, possessed certain amiable and holy characteristics which had won St. Pauls admiration and affection. He loved his physician; and his physician reciprocated his love. Only Luke is with me, he says. There is a tone of deep sadness in this avowal, but it magnifies the friendship of both of them.

III. St. Luke was evidently a well-educated man.His learning is proved by his Gospel to have been great; for it stands out from the others in its evidences of a higher education, its peculiar beauty and pathos, its didactic style and graphic descriptiveness. Universality is its predominant feature. The Acts of the Apostles, which St. Luke also wrote, is a supplementary composition. It begins where the Gospel ends, so that united the two form one history anent the life of Christ on earth and the establishment of His Church in the world. In no part of the Bible have we such models of preaching, such tender, eloquent, and powerful appeals to the understanding and the heart.

Illustration

Considering how large a portion of the New Testament was written by St. Luke, it is noticeable how little else we are told of him than is conveyed in these two short sentences of St. Pauls. Yet it is noticeable also how very closely this description given by St. Paul fits the character of St. Luke as it comes out in his writings. A man cannot write much without showing what manner of man he is; and so we can see St. Lukes temper through the portion of Scripture he was inspired to write. Gentleness, tenderness, sympathy with other people, especially the suffering and the weak, shines out clearly through his Gospel, and makes us enter at once into St. Pauls name for himthe beloved physician. Men are not usually beloved for nothing. It is the loving who receive love.

(SECOND OUTLINE)

THE INSPIRATION OF EARTHLY VOCATION

It is as the author of the Gospel that the Church is most interested in St. Luke. That book is one of the four golden columns on which rests the Christian history. It is one of the four golden trumpets which have sent forth the summons of Christ to the sons of men. It has, moreover, its own peculiar character. It was not so Jewish as the others; there is a peculiar human breadth and richness in it. It gives the fullest account of our Lords nativity, and relates the parable of the Prodigal Son. But it is not only as the writer of the Gospel that we know St. Luke. He was also the author of The Acts of the Apostles, and was the fellow-labourer of St. Paul, who is the central figure of the larger portion of the book. St. Paul, in his Epistles, thrice mentions him, and twice he styles him the beloved physician. That is almost all. By early tradition, and from some incidental indications, we gather that Lucanus was a Gentile and a citizen of Antioch, that he was a physician by profession, that he travelled with St. Paul, and that before he died he wrote, at St. Pauls suggestion, the Gospel which bears his name. And yet there is something more. It seems clear that St. Lukes character, as a physician, remained an influential fact, even after he became a missionary. His style, the events of our Lords life which he selects for his narration, bear marks of the physicians habits of thought and speech. St. Pauls allusion to him as the beloved physician, and the fact that Luke appears to have joined Paul on several occasions when that Apostles strength broke down under one of those recurrent attacks of prostration, all seem to imply that he continued to practise the art of healing, and that it was as a physician also that he travelled with St. Paul from place to place.

In St. Luke we see what since his time has been the natural and normal type of Christian life, the inspiration by a new spiritual power of an earthly vocation, so that it continued to be exercised, and, moreover, fulfilled its true ideal. This suggests certain thoughts with reference to the general relation of the Christian life to mens occupations and professions. The professions get all their character, their glory or disgrace, from the nature of the men who live in them, and produce their vital effects through those men. Consider, then, what effects the warm fire of the love of God must have upon the life, in certain arts and professions, of which the world must necessarily be full. It must

I. Purify all the professions.It melts away the dross and leaves the gold. It makes the man purely the thing he means to be, without any admixture of baseness or corruption.

II. It makes the professions to be no longer means of separation, but of sympathy and union between men.If you and I feel always beating through our diverse callings and methods of activity the common purpose of the love of God, then the harder we work in different ways the more our lives are one.

III. It will sanctify the secular work of your life.No thoughtful man has failed to feel that the division of labour represented by the many and various occupations of life has its dangerscorruption, narrowness, loss of human sympathy, and such-like. Where is the safeguard against these things? Not by deserting your profession, but by deepening it; by seeking a new life under it; by praying for, and never resting until you find regeneration, the new life lived by the faith of the Son of God. So only can your life of trade, or art, or profession be redeemed; so only can it become for you and for the world a blessed thing.

This is the lesson taught us by the lives and comradeship of St. Paul and St. Luke. We see the figures of St. Paul and St. Luke walking together as ministers of Christtheology and medicine labouring in harmony for the redemption of man, for the saving of body, soul, and spiritand the picture is very sacred and impressive. Thus may these two professions, and every other calling in life, in fellowship with religion, working together as if they were one, grow to be more and more a worthy channel through which the helpfulness of God may flow forth to the neediness of man.

Bishop Phillips Brooks.

Illustration

The disposition to find the simplicity of motive under the variety of action is familiar enough now, and it is right in its aim. The world of human action, like the world of Nature, is a scene of endless superficial variety which, by-and-by, we learn to gather into unity under some common force, under the power of some central inspiration. To the shallow observer each profession and calling is a life by itself; it will have its own thoughts, standards, principles, and passions; nothing in common with others. But that is only the superficial aspect. Very soon he who lives begins to discover some deeper forces working underneath and giving a real unity to all this seemingly incoherent life. How will it be, then, if you can reach one point which is the genuine centre of the whole massone supreme force, of which they are all only modifications and manifestations, issuing from the very heart of alland this one central fountain of force, the souls love for God as its Father; so that everything which a man had a right to do at all upon earth might be ideally done as an expression of this central forcethe love of man for God? Does not this change the aspect and feeling of a mans work in life, which we call his profession, when what he has to do reaches thus inwards to the heart of things, and finds its deepest motiveand when that motive becomes the inspiring force of what he has to do? Is not the mans work, even if it be drudgery, enlightened by the impulse, redeemed and glorified? Is not its real unity with other callings, however different in form, made vivid by the common relation of them all to the source from which they spring and derive their motive power? These are the things which professional life needsthe redemption of its drudgery, the establishment of sympathy with other callings, and the harmony of the absolute and universal with the relative and special; and all of these must come when that which a man does in his profession lays hold, as its motive, on the love of God. What was it but this that came to St. Luke when he was brought to believe in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, and all that it meant? St. Paul must have taught him, indeed, the meaning of the words, The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God. Luke, the physician, must have learned to say them of himself, and as he went among his patients to say, I do this by the faith of the Son of God And when he could say that, tell me, was there no holier sacredness in the finger laid on the sick mans pulse? Was there not truer sympathy with men around him engaged in other work?

Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary

(Col 4:14.) , -There salutes you Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas. That this Luke was Paul’s companion does not appear to admit of any doubt; nor is there any reason for denying the old opinion, that he was the author of the third Gospel. He is styled the beloved physician, either to distinguish him from others of the same name, or to specify the peculiar office in which he had endeared himself to the apostle. The health of the apostle, as they might know, had been signally benefited by his medical skill, and that this might be at all times available to his patient, Luke attached himself to his person, accompanied him in several of his missionary tours, was with him in his voyage to Rome, and remained with him in the Italian metropolis. Luke is mentioned in Phm 1:24; 2Ti 4:11. It is said in Sir 38:1-2, Honour a physician with the honour due unto him for the uses which ye may have of him, for the Lord hath created him, for of the Most High cometh healing. Sir Thomas Browne, however, in the first chapter of his Religio Medici, says, that several circumstances might persuade the world he had no religion, and among them he mentions-the general scandal of my profession. It was, indeed, a common saying,-ubi tres medici, duo athei. Luke might have been an example to the profession. His physicospiritual character is happily delineated in the following epigram:

Pandit evangelii et medicinae munera Lucas

Artibus hinc, illinc religione valens.

Utilis ille labor, per quem vixere tot aegri

Utilior per quem tot didicere mori.

Who Demas was, we know not. He seems to have been the person who afterwards left the apostle on account of his love of the world; and the name has no distinctive or eulogistic epithet added to it, as if the apostle had suspected this future estrangement-an estrangement which we are perhaps not warranted to identify with absolute apostasy. 2Ti 4:10. The word itself, as has been remarked, is Greek, and not Hebrew, as Schoettgen thought; for he supposes it to be a Greek form of , ending in , and not -as would mean carnifex. It is probably a contraction of .

Fuente: Commentary on the Greek Text of Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and Phillipians

Col 4:14. Luke was a physician by profession, but became a devoted companion of Paul, both in his travels and also in his tribulations at Rome. He is also the writer of the Gospel record bearing his name in the heading, and of the book of Acts (Luk 1:3; Act 1:1). Demas was yet in Rome and devoted to the apostle also at the time this letter was written; he deserted him afterward (2Ti 4:10).

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Col 4:14. Luke, the beloved physician; undoubtedly the Evangelist, not to be confounded with Lucius (Act 13:1), this being a shorter form of Lucanus. He was a Gentile, being distinguished from those of the circumcision (Col 4:11). As he accompanied Paul from Csarea to Rome (Acts 27), hence the mention of his name does not decide where the Epistle was written. He probably attended the Apostle as a physician, at least the first hint of his personal presence is given (Act 16:10) about the time Paul was suffering from his unknown malady (Gal 4:13-14). He may have been known at Coloss, but his gospel could scarcely have been known there, if indeed it was written so early. The word beloved is emphatic (the physician, the beloved one), giving prominence to his relation to Paul.

Demas; comp. Phm 1:24; 2Ti 4:10. The latter notice tells of his desertion of the Apostle. The absence of any honorable or endearing mention here may be owing to the commencement of this apostasy, or some unfavorable indication in his character (Alford).

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Still the apostle is sending salutations from Rome to the Colossians.

1. From St. Luke, who, of a physician for the body, becomes a physician for the soul, as Matthew of a publican, became a preacher. Luke well deserved the title here given him of beloved, in that he undertook the ministry at a time when civil authority did allow no maintenance for ministers, and when his employment as a physician would probably have advantaged him much more. Luke, the beloved physician, greets you.

2. Demas also, who when persecution grew hot, his affections grew cold; yet now he sends salutations with the rest to the church at Colosse. St. Paul complains of his forsaking of him, 2Ti 4:10 for the sake of this present world. Let no professor judge of himself by his external profession, by his performance of outward duties, by his associating himself with the people of God, nay, by his sufferings with the servants of God, (Demas did all this,) but by their sincere love to Christ and persevering faithfulness in the trying hour of temptation; we know not what we are till sufferings appear.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Luke was often Paul’s traveling companion and wrote thorough accounts of his works in the book of Acts. Demas later turned from Paul and the Lord’s work ( 2Ti 4:10 ). His love of the world was greater than his love of the truth. Paul also greeted the church at Laodicea. Special greetings went to Nymphas and the church that met in his/her house. We do not know any more about this good soul ( Col 4:14-15 ).

Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books

Verse 14

Luke; probably the same Luke who wrote the Gospel which bears his name, and the book of the Acts. He went with the apostle to Rome, as appears from his account of the voyage, in which he uses language which includes himself as one of the company. (Acts 27:1,2.)

Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament

“Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.”

We see Doctor Luke, an educated person following the Lord. There are detractors of the Lord that call Christianity the crutch for the lame, but we know that educated people can know the saving grace of the Lord as well as their need of it.

Don’t be afraid to speak to educated people about the Gospel if you are given opportunity. They need the Lord too, and most are wise enough to know their need if the Spirit of God has been there before you.

Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson

Paul identified Luke, the writer of the third Gospel and Acts, only as a physician.

"At this time medicine was only just becoming a subject of systematic instruction." [Note: Dunn, p. 283. See The Oxford Classical Dictionary, s. v. "Medicine," p. 662.]

Luke would have been both physically and spiritually helpful to Paul. Demas later forsook Paul (2Ti 4:10), but at this time he was ministering to and with the apostle.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)