This book was written by Luke who also wrote The Acts of the Apostles. He was not a Jew but a well-educated Greek man who became a Christian. He accompanied the apostle Paul on some of his travels preaching the Good News of Jesus. In this book he explains the life and work of Jesus in an orderly way so that people who are not Jews could understand.
Luke includes in this book much information that is not in the other Gospels, such as the birth of John the Baptist, the birth and childhood of Jesus, and the preaching of John the Baptist. He also shows how God’s love is for people of all sorts. Jesus demonstrated this by telling parables such as those about the good Samaritan (chapter 10) and about the lost son (chapter 15), and by staying with a hated tax-collector (chapter 19), and by promising eternal life to a dying criminal (chapter 23).
Luke also mentions many times the role of God’s Spirit in the life and work of Jesus, and he shows how Jesus often spent time praying. At the end of the book he relates several occasions when Jesus appeared to his followers after he had risen from death. These events prove that Jesus was really alive again.
