The Gospel of Luke is the third book of the New Testament and one of the four gospels telling the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Luke was a physician and travel companion of the apostle Paul. His gospel provides a detailed account of the birth, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Luke begins by recounting the birth of John the Baptist. An angel appears to John’s father Zechariah while he is serving in the temple and tells him that his barren wife Elizabeth will conceive a son. Six months later, the angel Gabriel visits Mary in Nazareth and announces that she will give birth to Jesus, the Son of God. Although she is a virgin, she will conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Mary goes to visit Elizabeth, who is already six months pregnant. When Mary greets Elizabeth, the baby (John) leaps in Elizabeth’s womb. Mary responds with what is known as the Magnificat, a song of praise to God for choosing her. Mary stays with Elizabeth for three months and then returns home.
An order from Caesar Augustus requires Joseph and the very pregnant Mary to travel to Bethlehem for a census. Because there is no room at the inn, Mary gives birth to Jesus in a stable and lays him in a manger. Angels appear to shepherds in nearby fields and tell them of the Savior’s birth. The shepherds visit the child and spread the news.
Eight days later, Mary and Joseph have Jesus circumcised according to Jewish law and give him the name Jesus, as instructed by the angel. They then present him at the Temple in Jerusalem to offer the sacrifice of two turtledoves, as required by Mosaic law for a firstborn son. At the temple, they encounter Simeon and Anna, two righteous people who rejoice at the long-awaited arrival of the Messiah.
Some time later, magi (wise men) from the East see signs in the heavens that the King of the Jews has been born. They follow a star to Jerusalem and ask King Herod where to find this newborn king. When Herod hears of a potential rival, he asks the religious leaders where the Messiah was prophesied to be born. They tell him, Bethlehem. Herod secretly asks the wise men to return and tell him where they find the child. The wise men follow the star to Bethlehem, where they worship Jesus and present him with gifts. Having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they take another route home.
Joseph is warned by an angel that Herod intends to kill Jesus, so he takes Mary and Jesus and flees to Egypt. Herod, angered at being tricked by the wise men, orders the execution of all boys under age two in Bethlehem and its vicinity. Later, after Herod dies, Joseph receives another dream telling him it is safe to return home.
The gospel then skips ahead to Jesus at age twelve, when he accompanies his parents from Nazareth to Jerusalem for the Passover feast. Afterward, Jesus stays behind to listen to the teachers in the Temple courts. His frantic parents search for him for three days before finding him in the Temple. Jesus expresses awareness that he is God’s Son but returns obediently to Nazareth with them.
The narrative advances to the start of Jesus’ public ministry when he is “about thirty years of age”. John the Baptist has begun preaching repentance and baptizing people in the Jordan River. Jesus travels from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. As Jesus prays afterwards, the Holy Spirit descends on him in the form of a dove, and God’s voice calls him his beloved Son.
After fasting forty days in the wilderness, Jesus travels to Galilee and begins teaching in the synagogues. Early in his ministry he visits his hometown of Nazareth and declares that he has come to fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy. The people are amazed at first but then become furious at his claims of being the Messiah. They drive him out of town and try to kill him by throwing him off a cliff, but he slips away.
Jesus calls his first disciples – Peter, Andrew, James and John. He heals many people and news about him spreads. He teaches large crowds with authority and performs miracles, like cleansing a leper and healing a paralytic lowered through the roof by his friends. Jesus calls the tax collector Levi (Matthew) to be his disciple, then has dinner at Levi’s house along with other tax collectors and sinners. This angers the Pharisees who criticize Jesus for associating with such people.
Jesus continues traveling and teaching. He delivers the Sermon on the Plain, similar to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s gospel. He also raises a widow’s dead son in the village of Nain and receives anointing from a sinful woman at a Pharisee’s house. Jesus explains his ministry through parables, including the Parable of the Sower, the Parable of the Good Samaritan, and the Parable of the Prodigal Son.
The opposition to Jesus grows. After he heals a demon-possessed man, the Pharisees accuse Jesus of using the prince of demons to drive out demons. Jesus responds with warnings about blaspheming the Holy Spirit. His own family tries to restrain him at one point, fearing he has lost his mind.
Jesus sends out the twelve disciples to preach, teach and heal in his name. Herod Antipas hears about Jesus and worries he may be John the Baptist raised from the dead. When Jesus feeds the five thousand with only five loaves and two fish, the people want to make him king by force. But Jesus withdraws to pray alone. At Caesarea Philippi, Peter declares that Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus predicts his own death and resurrection.
As they travel toward Jerusalem, Jesus sends seventy-two disciples out in pairs to preach ahead of him. He is rejected by Samaritans in one village and rebukes James and John for wanting to call down fire from heaven on them. Jesus states that his true family are those who hear God’s word and obey it.
Entering Jericho, Jesus encounters Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector, perched in a sycamore tree. Jesus invites himself to Zacchaeus’ home. This produces more grumbling from the crowds about Jesus befriending sinners. Jesus then tells the Parable of the Ten Minas, which illustrates the need for faithfulness until his return.
Approaching Jerusalem, Jesus weeps over the city and predicts its coming destruction because they did not recognize him as the Messiah. Entering Jerusalem, he drives the money changers from the Temple, then engages in public teaching. The Jewish leaders challenge his authority and try to trap him with questions. Jesus criticizes them with scathing denunciations, most notably in the Seven Woes.
As the Passover nears, Judas agrees to betray Jesus to the chief priests and officers for 30 pieces of silver. Jesus instructs Peter and John to prepare the Passover meal. After sharing the Last Supper, Jesus predicts Peter will deny knowing him three times before the rooster crows.
On the Mount of Olives, Jesus prays in anguish about his coming suffering. He is betrayed by Judas and arrested. Peter does indeed deny knowing Jesus three times before the rooster crows. Jesus is beaten, mocked and brought before the Sanhedrin. They declare him guilty and send him to Pilate. Finding no guilt in Jesus, Pilate sends him to Herod Antipas, who questions him but treats him with contempt. Pilate offers to release Jesus as a customary pardon, but the crowd demands the release of Barabbas instead. Pilate acquiesces and hands Jesus over to be crucified.
As Jesus hangs on the cross, he forgives those who crucified him, bestows responsibility for his mother Mary to John, and promises one of the criminals hanging next to him that he will be in paradise. At noon darkness falls over the land. Jesus cries out, “It is finished!” and dies. The temple curtain rips from top to bottom. A centurion proclaims, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
Joseph of Arimathea buries Jesus’ body in his own tomb on Preparation Day before the Sabbath begins. On Sunday morning, the women who followed Jesus find the tomb empty. Two men (angels) appear and tell them Jesus has risen from the dead as he said he would. The women tell the disciples, but the disciples do not believe them. However, Peter runs to the tomb and finds it empty except for the burial cloths.
That same day, two disciples encounter the risen Jesus on the road to Emmaus but do not recognize him at first. He explains how the Messiah had to suffer before entering his glory. They invite him to stay for dinner and their eyes are opened when he breaks bread and gives thanks. The two rush back to Jerusalem to tell the others.
While they are sharing the news, Jesus suddenly appears among them. They are frightened, thinking he is a ghost. But he invites them to touch him, eats a piece of fish to prove he is not a spirit. He opens their minds to understand the Scriptures concerning him. Jesus tells them they are to remain in Jerusalem until they receive power from on high when the Holy Spirit comes upon them.
Jesus leads his followers as far as Bethany, blesses them, and is carried up into heaven. The disciples worship him and return joyfully to Jerusalem, praising God in the Temple courts. They stay continually at the temple, blessing God.