Some common assumptions about Luke the writer:
1. Physician - the gospel of Luke recounts many healings and presents a compassionate Jesus. However, this profession for Luke is biblically based on Colossians 4, not the gospel itself.
2. Gentile - if Luke is a Gentile writer, he is certainly the evangelist most interested in the Jewishness of Jesus. The beginning chapters of Luke's gospel present close up views of the Temple and Jesus' very Jewish upbringing, including his circumcision on the eighth day. Based on this information, recent scholars have challenged this tradition.
3. Character in the Story - in Acts 16, Luke uses "we" in the narrative, placing himself in the story as Paul sails the Mediterranean.
The gospel:
1. Is part one of a two part series, including the book of Acts. Paul begins before the birth of Jesus and ends with Paul in Rome.
2. Is not really a gospel, but an epistle to a certain new Christian named Theophilus.
3. Is intended "so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed" (Luke 1.4).
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