Is there anything in Luke's Gospel that says Luke knew Mary?

Answer 1

Almost certainly. We know that the disciple John knew Mary as it was John who was given responsibility of looking after Mary after Jesus' death (as written in John's gospel John 19:26-27). We also know that Peter knew, through Paul, the doctor Luke as it was with Luke that Paul went on some of his journeys across the mediterranean area (Book of Acts). Peter, of course, was a disciple of Jesus alongside John. Thus, it is logical to assume that Luke, through the connection with Peter and John, knew Mary. Scholars believe that it is through this connection that Luke was able to give almost eyewitness accounts, and intimate details, of the birth stories, and include such items as the 'Magnificat' - the song sung by Mary as a tribute to God for choosing her to bear the Messiah. Unless Luke made this up (very unlikely Luke was a logical-thinking doctor - not a poet or novellist) then he would have had to have had close contact with Mary in order to glean the information he required to produce an orderly account. As he said at the beginning of his gospel, "...Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you..." Empty words indeed unless he knew Mary personally. Luke chapter 1 clearly states that Luke was not an eyewitness of his narratives and that his sources are mere hearsay. The authorship of Luke is still unknown and it's difficult to accept anything written by an unknown author (except by faith). * [Correction from a Bible scholar: Luke's account was researched by commission of Theophilus, and based on many sources - Mark's gospel, an unknown gospel, now lost, called 'Q' - and by meeting the people concerned. It was not based on hearsay. The vast majority of Bible scholars now accept that the gospel was written by Luke himself. For one thing, he mentions healing and forgiveness miracles (healing and forgiveness were intertwined then) a great deal suggesting a medical slant on things], but there are many other reasons why Luke's authorship is accepted.

If Luke was a constant companion of Paul and if Paul never met Jesus in the flesh, then it's safe to conclude that Luke never met Jesus nor the mother Mary. * [Correction from a Bible scholar: Luke was not a constant companion of Paul - Luke's second book - the Acts of the Apostles - makes this very clear. There are several places recorded where Luke was able to visit Galilee and possibly Mary and John. It is highly likely that Luke did meet Mary through Paul, Peter and John, and, as a result, was able to include the birth and early childhood stories (including the visit to the Temple by Jesus at the age of 12) that are omitted in Mark's account.]

Answer 2

Although Luke knew Paul, who also met the apostles, who also knew Mary, we have no direct evidence that Luke met or knew Mary. However, it is not impossible that he did know her and that she is the source of much of the extra material Luke has in his gospel about the early events in the life of Jesus.

St Luke also painted many icons of the Virgin Mary, some of which are still in existence today, mainly at Mount Athos in Greece.

Answer 3

Luke's Gospel was originally written anonymously, being attributed to the apostle Luke when the second-century Church Fathers were seeking to establish who probably wrote each of the gospels. There is no suggestion anywhere that Luke, the physician and companion of Paul, ever met either Jesus or Mary, and there is nothing stated in this gospel that suggests he could have known Mary.

On the other hand, the book contains detailed information about the births of both John the Baptist and Jesus, even describing the visits of the angel and the reactions of both Zechariah and Mary, none of which was known to the author of Matthew's Gospel. To be able to write this, one should expect the author of Luke to have known Mary quite well. Against this, scholars say that Luke was written around the end of the first century, more than a hundred years after Jesus could have been born. It is not possible for the evangelist to have known Mary.

Answer 4

He may have met her.
He most likely did, as he knew all the Apostles, including John, who cared for Our Lady. Paul even noted in his letter to the Galatians that Christ "was Born of a Woman; born under the Law."

Answer 5

According to The Chosen, she sent a recollection of her journey to bearing our Savior to Luke, via a clandestine Martha, from her sick bed.