Just like Matthew created his own unique vision of who Jesus was, Luke did as well. Both authors draw from Mark and Q as sources, but also in part from their own sources. They each aim to portray Jesus in a certain way that they want their audience to perceive him. On top of that, they each gear their writings toward a different audience. While Matthew’s audience was primarily Jewish, Luke writes for a more Greco-Roman crowd. In other words, Matthew is more for those who were already considered God’s people, whereas Luke writes for those outside of God’s kingdom. This includes women, who seem to be portrayed as more important in Luke than they are in Matthew.

Luke is also credited with the creation of the “travel narrative,” which means he changed and rearranged stories so that Jesus would be portrayed as being on his way to Jerusalem, where it was his main end goal to end up. In order to do this, Luke alters the locations of where certain stories about Jesus take place. For example, some of Matthew’s stories take place in Caesarea Philippi, but the same exact stories in Luke’s gospel take place in the region of Galilee, because it fits better with his travel narrative. This makes his gospel feel more like one continuous story of the life of Jesus, with each story flowing together seamlessly.