Luke

Author
The gospel does not specifically state who the author was, but the earliest tradition tells us that the author of this gospel was Luke. He was apparently from Troas, an Asian coastal city about 150 miles north of Ephesus (Ac 16:9, notice the "we"), and apparently worked with the church in Philippi (Ac 16:16, 17:1, 20:6, notice "we" and "they" sections). He later traveled with Paul (Ac 20:6, Plm 24, Col 4:14, 2 Ti 4:11). He was a Gentile (Col 4:11,14) and thus the only Gentile author of a New Testament book.

Recipients
This gospel is addressed to a certain Theophilus (Lk 1:3). Theophilus means "loved of God" and Luke regards Theophilus as a believer (Lk 1:4). Theophilus may have been a man wealthy enough to publish his friend Luke's gospel.

Place of Origin and Date
Luke may have had ample time to "carefully investigate" (Lk 1:3) the events of Jesus' life during Paul's imprisonment for two years at Caesarea in Palestine (Ac 24:27). No information in the gospel gives us any specific guidelines on when this gospel should be dated, but it clearly predates Acts (Ac 1:1). If indeed it was written during Paul's Caesarean imprisonment, this would put the date around 58- 60 A.D.

Immediate Occasion
Luke's intent with the gospel is that his readers would know the certainty of the things they had been taught (Lk 1:4). He claims he has made a careful analysis and study, and presents a gospel with a lot of "loose ends" tied up. For instance, he is the one who gives great detail on exactly who was governing Palestine when Jesus was born (Lk 2:1-2).

Main Theme and Focus
Luke’s own analysis of this gospel was "all that Jesus began to do and teach" (Ac 1:1). His main thrust is to show the rationality of the teachings of Jesus to a world looking for wisdom. He paints a picture of Jesus as the ultimate human, i.e. the Son of Man (this term is used 25 times in the gospel). He shows Jesus' childhood (Lk 2:41-52) and his interaction with the downtrodden and rejected of society (Lk 4:40, 5:13, 5:31-32, 6:20-22, 7:13, 7:44, 14:7-14, 21:1-4, et al) like no other gospel writer. Overall, the message of Jesus' love for people comes through loud and clear.

Key Passages for Today
Lk 4:14-30 Jesus rejected at Nazareth.
Lk 5:27-32 Jesus and his call to the sinners.
Lk 11:1-13 Jesus' teaching on prayer.
Lk 14:25-34 The cost of discipleship.
Lk 15:1-32 Jesus' concern for the lost.
Lk 22:39-42 Jesus prays in the garden.
Lk 24:44-49 Jesus explains the Scriptures.