AUTHOR: Luke, the beloved physician, was Paul's close friend and traveling companion, both in evangelism and in prisons [ Col 4:14 ] and [ 2 Tim 4:11 ]. Many scholars see Paul's influence in this gospel. Luke had many personal contacts with the apostles and other witnesses to the gospel story, which, together with his Greek cultural background and his intellectual training, enabled him to write a credible gospel. Luke is the only holy author of the New Testament and the Bible who was not a Jew; he also wrote the book of Acts of the Apostles.

THEME: An accurate account of the life of Christ, perfect man and savior, according to eyewitnesses. Matthew presented Jesus as the messianic king; Mark, as a suffering servant; and Luke, as the perfect man, full of sympathy with all mankind, the savior of all men, without distinction of any kind. Although the Gospels were ultimately intended for the entire human race, it appears that Matthew had the Jews in view; Mark, the Romans; and Luke, the Greeks. Luke wrote especially for the Greek people, symbol of culture, philosophy, wisdom, education in order to present the glorious beauty and perfection of Jesus.

RECIPIENTS: The book is addressed to a particular Christian named Theophilus [Luke 1:3], whose identity is unknown. There is no doubt that the account was addressed to a wide circle of readers, including Gentiles and people everywhere. This deduction follows from the fact that the writer takes pains to explain Jewish customs, and sometimes substitutes Hebrew for Greek names.

FEATURES: It is the gospel of the universal grace of God and of the "Son of Man", the biography of Christ is more complete in that gospel than in any other. About half of the material in this book is not in the other Gospels.

COMPILATION: This Gospel was probably written between AD 64 and 70. It consists of 24 chapters and 1151 verses.