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The Gospel of Luke was written around the third quarter of the 1st century. According to the tradition, it was written by Luke, the doctor, one of the Seventy and a co-laborer of Paul (see Col 4:14; Phm 1:24; 2 Tim 4:10).

«So, Luke, the co-laborer of Paul, wrote down in the form a book the Gospel which he preached» (Irenaeus of Lyons. Against Heresies, 3.1.1; compare Eusebius of Caesarea. Church History, 5.8).

«As one can gather from his writings, Luke, the doctor from Antioch, was very knowledgeable in the Greek language. The author of the Gospel and Paul’s follower, he accompanied the apostle in all his journeys. Here is what Paul said of him: «And we have sent with him the brother, whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches (Corinthians) [2 Cor 8:18]; «Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas greet you» (Colossians) [Col 4:14], «Only Luke is with me» (Timothy) [2 Tim 4:10]. The other excellent work written by Luke, «Acts of the Apostles», covers events during Paul’s second year in Rome, which was the fourth year of Nero’s reign [57/58 NE]. On this basis we conclude that this book was written in this city… Some believe that when Paul says in his epistle: «according to my gospel, [Rom 2:16], he refers to the book of Luke [the Greek for Gospel is «Good News)], and that Luke knew the stories of the Gospel not only from Paul who didn’t see the Lord in the flesh, but also from other apostles. He mentions it in the beginning of his work: «…Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word.» [Lk 1:2]. So, he wrote the Gospel on the basis of what he had heard from others, while «Acts of the Apostles» was written out of his own experience» (Jerome of Stridon. On Famous Men, 7).

In the prologue to his Gospel (Lk 1:1—4), Luke states the purpose for writing the book – to pull together the reliable information about Jesus and to relate it in an orderly manner. Many biblical scholars consider Luke’s Gospel to be highly accurate in its chronology as well as historical and geographical detail. For example, the other evangelists refer to the Galilean body of water as the sea, whereas Luke is more precise in naming it a lake (see Lk 5:1) – its water is fresh. Luke goes as far as to name even the smallest settlements in Judea. For example, he is the only one who mentions the city of Nain (see Lk 7:11). As a physician, Luke periodically throws in medical terms (Lk 4:38; 5:12; 14:2 and other).

The Book of Acts, also written by Luke, is an important source that complements the four Gospels.