Luke background

Luke

Author: Luke
Origen - "And the third, according to Luke, the gospel commended by Paul, which was written for the converts from the Gentiles..." (1)
(Ecclesiastical History by Eusebius; Book 6, Chapter 25, Verse 6).

Eusebius - "But Luke, who was born at Antioch, and was by profession a physician..."
(Ecclesiastical History by Eusebius; Book 3, Chapter 4, Verse 6)
Eusebius goes on to say that Luke wrote "Luke" and "Acts."

Date: Dr. Samuel Cartledge, Professor of New Testament Literature and Exegesis at Columbia Theological Seminary during the 1930's, tentatively suggests 60 A.D., since He considers Luke did his research while Paul was in prison for two years in Caesarea.

Language: Greek, literary Greek

Place: Caesarea possibly
Dr. Cartledge states: "While Paul was in prison for two years in Caesarea, Luke had a splendid opportunity of carrying on his research into the history of the life of Jesus and the early Church..." (2)

Purpose: To tell the Gospel, for example, Luke 9:22, and to give a thorough history of Jesus in this world along with His teachings.

What kind of book?: Historical biography

Reflection: Luke was not an eyewitness of Jesus. What makes Luke an author of Scripture rather than simply a religious historian? The fact that he was a companion of Paul gave him canon authority. The fact that he was a believer in Jesus and inspired by the Holy Spirit truly makes "Luke" Scripture.
And Luke is truly a standout in the entire Bible since he was a Gentile.  Of the 66 books of the Bible, there is only one author who was not Jewish.  That author was Luke, the author of Luke and Acts.
Hunter Irvine
(1) Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History {Complete and Unabridged}, trans. C.F. Cruse, (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998), 215.
(2) Samuel A. Cartledge, A Conservative Introduction to the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1938), 84.
{The definition of "conservative" in this context means giving the biblical text the upmost of authority, working to interpret the writing as the author intended.}