Luke 1
Two Annunciations, One Song
Chapter 1 opens with a formal literary preface — Luke addresses a certain Theophilus and claims to have investigated everything carefully, setting himself apart as a self-conscious historian among the gospel writers. The narrative then pivots to the temple, where the elderly priest Zechariah is struck mute after doubting the angel Gabriel's announcement that his barren wife Elizabeth will bear a son. Six months later Gabriel appears to Mary in Galilee and announces that she will conceive a son by the Holy Spirit. Mary travels to the hill country to visit Elizabeth; the child in Elizabeth's womb leaps, and Elizabeth is filled with the Spirit and pronounces a blessing. Mary responds with the Magnificat, one of the great political poems of the Bible — the proud scattered, the mighty unseated, the hungry filled, the rich sent away. The chapter closes with the birth of John, the loosing of Zechariah's tongue, and his canticle the Benedictus, prophesying that his son will prepare the way of the Lord.
Luke 2
Shepherds, Temple, and the Boy
Chapter 2 contains the nativity scene that dominates Western cultural memory of the gospels: the census under Quirinius, the journey to Bethlehem, the birth, the manger, the swaddling cloths, the angels appearing to shepherds in the fields at night. Luke is precise about the shepherds' occupation and their social position — herdsmen on a night shift, not the kind of witnesses a prestigious infancy narrative would choose. The angels announce peace on earth; the shepherds find the child and tell what they heard; Mary treasures all these things, pondering them in her heart. At forty days the parents bring the child to the temple for the rite of purification; there Simeon — who has been told he will not die until he has seen the Lord's anointed — takes the child in his arms and sings the Nunc Dimittis. The prophetess Anna, eighty-four years old, gives thanks. At twelve the boy remains behind in the temple, astounding the teachers with his questions, and tells his parents he must be in his Father's house.
Luke 3
John's Preaching and Jesus's Lineage
Luke situates John's ministry with extraordinary chronological precision — the fifteenth year of Tiberius, the governorship of Pilate, the tetrarchies of Herod and Philip and Lysanias, the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas. Six rulers named in three verses to locate one voice in the wilderness. John's preaching draws crowds from the region: he calls them a brood of vipers and tells them that lineage from Abraham will not be enough. When the crowds ask what they should do, his answers are startlingly concrete: whoever has two tunics must share with the one who has none; tax collectors must collect no more than required; soldiers must not extort or accuse falsely and must be content with their wages. Luke alone preserves these ethical instructions. The voice in the wilderness has economic policy. Jesus comes and is baptized; the Spirit descends in bodily form as a dove; a voice from heaven identifies him as beloved Son. Luke then gives a genealogy — ascending from Jesus back through the line of human ancestors all the way to Adam, son of God, making the reach of the narrative explicitly universal.
Luke 4
Temptation, Nazareth, Capernaum
The Spirit drives Jesus into the wilderness for forty days, where the devil offers him bread, political authority over all the kingdoms of the world, and divine protection — and is refused at each turn with a quotation from Deuteronomy. Jesus returns to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. He enters the synagogue at Nazareth, where he was raised, and is handed the scroll of Isaiah. He reads: the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to captives, recovery of sight to the blind, freedom for the oppressed. He rolls up the scroll and says today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. The audience marvels. Then he tells them that no prophet is accepted in his hometown and cites two precedents: Elijah was sent not to any widow in Israel but to a Sidonian widow; Elisha cleansed not an Israelite leper but Naaman the Syrian. The audience's wonder turns to rage; they drive him out and try to throw him off a cliff at the edge of town. He passes through the crowd and goes away, continuing his ministry in Capernaum, where he casts out an unclean spirit and heals Simon Peter's mother-in-law.
Luke 5
Nets, Lepers, and Forgiven Men
By the Lake of Gennesaret, the crowds press against Jesus and he steps into Simon's empty boat to teach. Afterward he tells Simon to put out into deep water and let down the nets. Simon protests that they have fished all night and caught nothing, but complies. The nets fill so completely that they begin to tear and a second boat has to come to help, and both boats begin to sink from the weight of the fish. Simon Peter falls at Jesus's knees — go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man. Jesus tells him not to be afraid; from now on he will be catching people. They leave everything and follow. Jesus cleanses a leper by touching him — a deliberate act of ritual boundary-crossing. He heals a paralyzed man whose friends have lowered him through the roof of a crowded house; the healing is prefaced with the pronouncement that the man's sins are forgiven, which draws immediate objection from the Pharisees and scribes who are present. Jesus challenges them: which is easier, to say your sins are forgiven, or to say rise and walk? He does both. The authorities are baffled; the crowds glorify God. Levi the tax collector is called from his booth and immediately follows; Jesus eats at his house with tax collectors and sinners.
Luke 6
Sabbath Controversies and the Plain Sermon
The chapter opens with two Sabbath controversies: the disciples pluck grain as they walk through fields, and Jesus defends them by citing David's eating the showbread when his men were hungry. Then in a synagogue Jesus heals a man with a withered right hand, doing so publicly and deliberately in front of opponents who are watching to see if he will work on the Sabbath. He asks whether it is lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, and heals the man. The Pharisees and scribes are filled with fury and begin to discuss with each other what they might do to Jesus. After a night of prayer on the mountain, Jesus calls twelve disciples to be apostles. Then he comes down to a level place and delivers what Luke's audience would compare to Matthew's Sermon on the Mount — the Sermon on the Plain. Luke's beatitudes are addressed directly in second person to the poor, the hungry, the weeping, and the excluded. His woes — absent in Matthew — are addressed to the rich, the full, the laughing, and the praised. The ethical demands that follow include love of enemies, prayer for persecutors, lending without expectation of return, and the summons to be merciful as your Father is merciful.
Luke 7
A Centurion's Faith, a Widow's Son, a Sinful Woman
Three distinct episodes give chapter 7 its range. A Roman centurion at Capernaum sends Jewish elders to ask Jesus to heal his dying servant; when Jesus approaches the house, the centurion sends another message — do not trouble yourself, I am not worthy for you to come under my roof; just say the word and my servant will be healed. He explains with military precision: he too knows how authority works. Jesus marvels and tells the crowd he has not found such faith in all Israel. The servant is healed. At the gate of the city of Nain, Jesus encounters a funeral procession for a young man who was the only son of a widow. He stops the bier, tells the young man to arise, and returns him alive to his mother. The crowd identifies him as a great prophet. John the Baptist, in prison, sends messengers to ask whether Jesus is the one who is to come; Jesus sends back a report of healings and good news to the poor and pronounces a blessing on whoever is not offended by him. He then speaks in praise of John and criticizes the current generation for its fickleness. The chapter closes with the anointing scene: a woman described only as a sinner enters the Pharisee Simon's house and washes Jesus's feet with her tears, dries them with her hair, and anoints them. Jesus defends her against Simon's disdain and pronounces her sins forgiven.
Luke 8
Parables, Storm, Demons, and the Dead
Chapter 8 moves quickly across a range of narrative modes. Luke notes, in a brief passage unique to him, that a group of women accompanied Jesus and the twelve and supported their ministry out of their own resources: Mary Magdalene, Joanna the wife of Herod's household manager, Susanna, and many others. Then comes the parable of the sower — seed on the path, on rock, among thorns, and on good soil — with a private explanation to the disciples about why Jesus speaks in parables and what each soil represents. The saying about a lamp is added, and the true family of Jesus is identified as those who hear and do the word of God. Then the four great demonstrations of power: the calming of the storm on the sea, which prompts the disciples to ask who this man can be that even the winds and water obey him; the exorcism of Legion at Gerasa, where a man possessed by a multitude of demons is encountered among the tombs, the demons are sent into a herd of pigs that plunges into the lake, the man is found clothed and in his right mind, and the townspeople beg Jesus to leave; the healing of the woman with a twelve-year hemorrhage who touches the edge of his garment and is healed before he can stop moving through the crowd; and the raising of Jairus's daughter, twelve years old, who is dead when he arrives but whom Jesus calls back.
Luke 9
Mission, Transfiguration, Jerusalem
Chapter 9 is a turning-point chapter. The twelve are sent out with authority over demons and power to heal and are given instructions for itinerant poverty: take nothing for the journey, no staff or bag or bread or money. Herod, hearing of what is happening, is perplexed and asks who this is. Five thousand people are fed with five loaves and two fish in what will become one of the most discussed miracle narratives in the gospels. Jesus prays alone; then asks his disciples who the crowds say he is, and then who they themselves say he is. Peter answers: the Messiah of God. Jesus commands silence and predicts his suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection for the first time. Then the terms of discipleship: whoever wants to save his life will lose it; whoever loses his life for the sake of the Son of Man will save it. Eight days later, on a mountain, Jesus's appearance changes and Moses and Elijah appear talking with him; a voice from a cloud says this is my Son, my Chosen — listen to him. The disciples say nothing to anyone. An unclean spirit that the disciples could not exorcise is expelled. A second passion prediction. The disciples do not understand, and the question is suppressed from their perception. And then: when the days drew near for him to be received up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
Luke 10
Seventy Sent, the Good Neighbor, and Mary
Jesus sends out seventy (some manuscripts say seventy-two) in pairs ahead of him into every town and place he intends to visit, with instructions similar to the twelve's but addressed to a larger group and a longer journey. They return with joy reporting that even the demons submit to them; Jesus says he saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. When a lawyer asks what he must do to inherit eternal life, he elicits the double love commandment from Jesus and then asks who counts as his neighbor. Jesus answers with the parable of the good Samaritan: a man is attacked going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, left beaten in the road; a priest passes by on the other side; a Levite passes by on the other side; a Samaritan stops, treats his wounds with oil and wine, sets him on his own animal, takes him to an inn, pays for his care, and promises to reimburse whatever further expense arises. Jesus asks which of the three was a neighbor to the man who fell among robbers. The lawyer answers: the one who showed mercy. Jesus says go and do likewise. The chapter closes with a scene at Mary and Martha's home: Martha is distracted with much serving; Mary sits at the Lord's feet and listens. Martha asks Jesus to tell Mary to help; Jesus answers that Mary has chosen the good portion and it will not be taken from her.
Luke 11
Prayer, Exorcism, and Woes
The chapter opens with Jesus praying in a certain place; when he stops, a disciple asks him to teach them to pray as John taught his disciples. He gives a version of the Lord's Prayer shorter than Matthew's — address, daily bread, forgiveness, temptation — then the parable of the friend at midnight: a man wakes his neighbor at midnight asking for bread for a guest; the neighbor gets up not out of friendship but because of the petitioner's persistent shamelessness. The lesson: ask, seek, knock, and the Father will give good things, especially the Holy Spirit, to those who ask. An exorcism triggers the Beelzebul controversy: some say he casts out demons by the prince of demons; Jesus answers with the logic of divided kingdoms and asks by whose power the Pharisees' own exorcists work. A woman from the crowd blesses his mother; he extends the blessing to those who hear and keep the word of God. When the crowds demand a sign he offers only the sign of Jonah — the Son of Man will be to this generation as Jonah was to the Ninevites — and notes that the Queen of the South came to hear Solomon's wisdom and Jonah's generation repented at his preaching, yet something greater than Solomon or Jonah is here. Then woes: to the Pharisees who clean the outside of the cup, who tithe mint and rue but neglect justice and love of God, who love prominent seats and greetings; to the lawyers who load burdens on others and refuse to carry them, who built the tombs of the prophets their ancestors killed, who have taken away the key of knowledge.
Luke 12
Fear, Greed, Readiness, and Division
With ten thousand pressing around him, Jesus addresses the disciples first: beware the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Everything covered will be uncovered; everything secret will be known. Fear the one who has authority over both body and soul, not those who can only kill the body. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies, and yet not one is forgotten by God? Even the hairs of your head are numbered. Do not worry. The parable of the rich fool interrupts with a word about greed: a man whose land yields abundantly decides to tear down his barns and build larger ones and take his ease for many years; that night his soul is required of him, and who will get what he has stored? So it is with those who store up treasure for themselves and are not rich toward God. The extended teaching against anxiety follows — consider the ravens, consider the lilies — culminating in seek first the kingdom of God and these things will be added. Then the parables of readiness: the slaves who keep their lamps burning and wait for their master to return from a wedding, the strong man whose house a thief enters, the faithful manager. Jesus then says he has come to bring not peace but division — even within households. And he accuses the crowd of reading weather signs expertly while missing the sign of the present moment.
Luke 13
Repentance, the Fig Tree, Healing, and Lament
Some report to Jesus about Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Were they worse sinners? No, Jesus answers — and unless you repent, you will likewise perish. The same logic applies to the eighteen who died when the tower at Siloam fell on them. The parable of the barren fig tree: a man who has had no fruit from his fig tree for three years wants it cut down; the gardener asks for one more year to dig around it and fertilize it, and if it bears fruit, good; if not, then cut it down. A Sabbath healing interrupts: a woman bent double for eighteen years by a spirit of infirmity is straightened and glorifies God; the ruler of the synagogue objects to healing on the Sabbath; Jesus argues from the logic of livestock untied on the Sabbath to drink. Two brief parables about the kingdom: a mustard seed and leaven hidden in meal. The chapter closes with a lament. Someone asks if the number who will be saved is small; Jesus speaks of a narrow door and describes those who will stand outside and knock and not be allowed in, while others come from east and west and north and south to recline at the table in the kingdom of God. Jerusalem is addressed directly: you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent — how often would he have gathered her children as a hen gathers her brood, but they were not willing. Your house is left to you desolate.
Luke 14
Sabbath Meal, Humility, and the Great Banquet
Jesus goes to eat at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees on the Sabbath, watched carefully by those present. A man with dropsy is there; Jesus heals him and then challenges the observers with the same livestock argument he has used before: if your son or ox falls into a well on the Sabbath, do you not pull him out? He then observes the guests choosing places of honor and gives practical advice: choose the lowest place so that the host may honor you by asking you to move up, rather than seat yourself at the top and be asked to move down — for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled. He then instructs the host not to invite friends and family and rich neighbors who will reciprocate, but rather the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind — those who cannot repay. A guest remarks that blessed is the one who will eat bread in the kingdom of God. Jesus responds with the parable of the great banquet: a man sends invitations, the guests refuse with excuses about fields, oxen, and marriage; the host sends the servant into the streets to bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame; the house still has room; the servant is sent into the roads and hedges to compel people to come; those originally invited will not taste the banquet. The chapter ends with the cost of discipleship: carrying the cross, calculating the cost before building or going to war, salt that has lost its taste.
Luke 15
Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, Lost Son
The Pharisees and scribes grumble that this man receives sinners and eats with them. Jesus responds with three parables, each on the same theme. A shepherd who has lost one sheep leaves the ninety-nine in the open country and searches until he finds it, then calls his neighbors to rejoice; just so there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance. A woman who has lost one coin lights a lamp, sweeps the whole house, and searches diligently until she finds it, then calls her neighbors to rejoice; just so there is joy before the angels of God. Then the third and longest parable: a younger son asks for his inheritance, goes to a far country and wastes it in reckless living, comes to himself in a pig pen during a famine, resolves to return as a hired servant, and is met on the road by his father who runs to him, embraces and kisses him, and calls for the best robe and the ring and the fatted calf. The celebration is interrupted by the older son who refuses to come in; the father goes out and pleads with him; the older son objects that he has served faithfully for years without a celebration; the father answers that everything I have is yours, and it was fitting to celebrate because your brother was dead and is alive, was lost and is found. The parable ends there.
Luke 16
The Shrewd Manager, Lazarus, and the Rich Man
Chapter 16 contains two of Luke's most difficult parables. The first: a rich man's manager is accused of wasting his possessions and is told he is being fired. Before the master dismisses him, the manager quickly reduces the debts of those who owe his master — one's bill from one hundred measures of oil to fifty, another's from one hundred measures of wheat to eighty. The master commends the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. Jesus draws a lesson: the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the children of light. Use worldly wealth to make friends so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. A sequence of sayings follows: whoever is faithful in little is faithful in much; you cannot serve God and money. The Pharisees, who love money, ridicule these teachings; Jesus tells them that what is exalted among people is an abomination before God. Then the law and the prophets until John; now the kingdom of God is proclaimed. Then Lazarus and the rich man: a rich man feasts daily while a beggar named Lazarus lies at his gate covered in sores, longing for scraps. Both die. Lazarus is carried to Abraham's bosom; the rich man is in torment in Hades and sees Abraham and Lazarus far away. He asks first for a drop of water; he is refused. He asks that Lazarus be sent to warn his five brothers; Abraham says they have Moses and the prophets. If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.
Luke 17
Faith, Gratitude, and the Kingdom's Arrival
The chapter opens with warnings about causing stumbling — better to have a millstone around your neck and be thrown into the sea — and the obligation to rebuke and forgive a brother who sins seven times in a day and repents each time. The apostles ask for more faith; Jesus answers that faith the size of a mustard seed could uproot a mulberry tree and replant it in the sea. The parable of the servant who deserves no thanks: when a servant comes in from plowing or tending sheep, the master does not thank him for doing what he was supposed to do. On the road between Samaria and Galilee, ten lepers approach and call out for mercy; Jesus sends them to show themselves to the priest; they are cleansed as they go. One, seeing that he is healed, returns and falls at Jesus's feet giving thanks — and he is a Samaritan. Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Only the foreigner has returned to give praise to God. His faith has saved him. The chapter closes with teaching on the kingdom's coming: it does not come with things to observe; no one will say look, here it is or there it is; the kingdom of God is in your midst. The days of the Son of Man: as in the days of Noah, eating and drinking and marrying until the flood came; as in the days of Lot, eating and drinking and buying and selling until fire came from heaven. The night will divide two people in one bed, two women grinding together, two in a field. Where the corpse is, the vultures will gather.
Luke 18
The Persistent Widow, the Pharisee, and a Rich Ruler
Jesus tells the parable of the persistent widow to teach that they ought always to pray and not lose heart: a widow in a city where a judge neither fears God nor respects people keeps coming to him demanding justice against her adversary; he eventually grants it not because of justice but because she is wearing him out. Will not God give justice to the elect who cry to him day and night? The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector: two men go up to the temple to pray; the Pharisee thanks God he is not like other people — extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even this tax collector — and lists his practices: he fasts twice a week and tithes everything he receives. The tax collector stands far off, will not even lift his eyes toward heaven, beats his breast and says God be merciful to me a sinner. The tax collector goes home justified rather than the Pharisee; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and everyone who humbles himself will be exalted. Infants are brought; the disciples try to keep them away; Jesus says to let the children come, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. A ruler asks what he must do to inherit eternal life; he has kept the commandments since youth; Jesus tells him one thing remains — sell everything and distribute to the poor and follow me. He is very rich and goes away sad. The disciples ask who can be saved; Jesus says what is impossible with man is possible with God. A third passion prediction. And blind Bartimaeus calls out from the roadside and is healed.
Luke 19
Zacchaeus, the Ten Pounds, and the Entry
Jericho contains the Zacchaeus scene, unique to Luke: a chief tax collector who is wealthy and short climbs a sycamore tree to see Jesus over the crowd. Jesus looks up and calls him by name and says he must stay at his house today. The crowd grumbles that he has gone to be the guest of a sinner. Zacchaeus stands and announces he will give half his goods to the poor and repay fourfold anyone he has defrauded. Jesus says salvation has come to this house today, for this man also is a son of Abraham, because the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost. The parable of the ten minas follows, addressing those who thought the kingdom was about to appear immediately: a nobleman goes to a distant country to receive a kingdom and returns; he gives ten servants one mina each and instructs them to trade with it until he comes back; citizens send a delegation saying they do not want him to rule over them; he returns as king, calls the servants to account, rewards the servants who doubled and increased their minas, condemns the servant who wrapped his mina in a handkerchief, and orders those who rejected him to be brought and slaughtered. Then the entry into Jerusalem: a colt on which no one has ever sat, cloaks spread on the road, the crowd of disciples praising God — blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Some Pharisees ask Jesus to silence his disciples; he answers that if they were silent, the stones would shout out. He weeps over the city.
Luke 20
Authority Challenged, Tenants Killed, Caesar's Coin
Chapter 20 is a series of confrontations in the temple. The chief priests and scribes and elders challenge Jesus's authority: by what authority does he do these things? He answers with a counter-question about John's baptism — was it from heaven or from man? They cannot answer without incriminating themselves and he refuses to answer them. The parable of the wicked tenants: a man plants a vineyard and lets it to tenants who beat each servant sent to collect the fruit and finally kill the owner's son, hoping to inherit the vineyard. The owner will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. The cornerstone from Psalm 118 is quoted. Those who fall on this stone will be broken to pieces; those on whom it falls will be crushed. The scribes and chief priests try to arrest him but fear the people. Spies are sent to trap him: is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar? He asks for a coin, asks whose image and inscription are on it, and answers render to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's. The Sadducees try the resurrection with a puzzle about the woman married seven times. Jesus answers that marriage belongs to this age; in the resurrection people neither marry nor are given in marriage. He cites the burning bush — the Lord is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — and argues that God is God of the living, not the dead. Finally, how can the Messiah be both David's son and David's Lord?
Luke 21
The Widow's Gift, the Temple's Fall, and the End
Looking up at those putting gifts into the treasury, Jesus observes that a poor widow puts in two small copper coins — the smallest unit of currency — and says she has put in more than all of them, because they gave from their abundance and she from her poverty gave everything she had. As some speak of how the temple is adorned with beautiful stones and offerings, Jesus predicts that not one stone will be left upon another. When will this be, the disciples ask, and what will be the sign? The discourse that follows weaves together predictions of the destruction of Jerusalem — armies surrounding the city, people falling by the sword and being led captive — with descriptions of cosmic events and the coming of the Son of Man in a cloud with power and great glory. Luke's version of the discourse is more clearly focused on the fall of Jerusalem than Mark's parallel: the language about the abomination of desolation is replaced with the more historically specific when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. The section on the cosmic signs — sun and moon and stars, the roaring of the sea, people fainting from fear — introduces the Son of Man's coming and the summons to stand straight and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. The parable of the fig tree: when the leaves appear you know summer is near; so when these things happen you know the kingdom of God is near. Keep watch; do not let your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the cares of life.
Luke 22
Supper, Betrayal, Agony, and Arrest
Satan enters Judas Iscariot and he goes to the chief priests to discuss how to betray Jesus. The Passover meal is prepared. At the table Jesus takes the cup, gives thanks, passes it, and then takes the bread, gives thanks, breaks it, and says this is my body given for you — do this in remembrance of me. After the supper he takes the cup and says this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Immediately the disciples begin to argue about which of them is greatest; Jesus answers by inverting the patron model — the greatest among you must be like the youngest and the leader like one who serves — and by pointing to himself as the one among them who serves. He appoints them a kingdom, as the Father has appointed him one. Simon, Satan has demanded to sift you like wheat; I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. Simon says he is ready to go to prison and to death. Jesus predicts the three denials before the cock crows. On the Mount of Olives he prays in agony, his sweat like drops of blood falling on the ground; an angel appears to strengthen him. He returns to find the disciples asleep. Judas comes with a crowd; the signal is a kiss; a disciple cuts off the ear of the high priest's servant; Jesus heals it. He is arrested. In the high priest's courtyard, Peter denies him three times; the cock crows; the Lord turns and looks at Peter; Peter weeps bitterly.
Luke 23
Trial, Crucifixion, Burial
The assembly brings Jesus to Pilate, accusing him of perverting the nation, forbidding tribute to Caesar, and claiming to be king. Pilate asks him; Jesus gives a minimal answer; Pilate declares he finds no fault. The crowd insists; Pilate sends him to Herod Antipas, since Jesus is a Galilean. Herod is delighted and questions him at length, hoping to see a sign; Jesus says nothing; Herod and his soldiers mock him and dress him in fine clothing and send him back. Luke alone includes this Herod scene. Pilate again declares he finds nothing deserving death and proposes releasing him under the Passover custom; the crowd demands Barabbas and the crucifixion of Jesus; Pilate gives in. On the way to the cross, Simon of Cyrene carries the cross; the women of Jerusalem wail; Jesus speaks to them — do not weep for me, weep for yourselves and your children. He is crucified between two criminals; he prays for his executioners — Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do. One criminal mocks; the other rebukes the first and says to Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus answers: today you will be with me in paradise. Darkness at noon; the veil of the temple torn; Jesus's last words — Father, into your hands I commit my spirit — from Psalm 31 rather than the Markan anguished cry. A centurion pronounces him innocent. Joseph of Arimathea takes the body; the women see where it is laid.
Luke 24
Empty Tomb, Emmaus, and Ascension
Very early on the first day of the week, the women — Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and others — bring spices to the tomb and find the stone rolled away. Two men in dazzling clothes tell them the Son of Man is not here but has risen; the women remember the predictions and report to the eleven; Peter runs to the tomb and sees only the burial cloths. Two disciples walk to Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem, talking about everything that has happened. A stranger joins them. They tell him the whole story; he calls them slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken and explains all the scriptures concerning himself beginning from Moses. At Emmaus they urge him to stay because the day is far spent; at the table he takes the bread, blesses and breaks it, and gives it to them; their eyes are opened; he vanishes. They rise that same hour and walk back to Jerusalem. The eleven tell them the Lord has appeared to Simon. While they are still speaking, he stands among them; they are terrified, thinking they see a ghost; he shows them his hands and feet and asks for something to eat and eats a piece of broiled fish. He opens their minds to understand the scriptures. He commissions them as witnesses beginning from Jerusalem. Then at Bethany he is taken up while blessing them; they worship him and return to Jerusalem with great joy, and are continually in the temple, blessing God.