Guide
What Is the Gospel of Luke?
Late 1st or Early 2nd Century
Restricted
One of the three Synoptic Gospels of the New Testament, Luke is believed by most scholars to incorporate material from the somewhat earlier Gospel of Mark, a hypothetical source called Q also used by the Gospel of Matthew, and material not found in the other canonical gospels. Luke is the first part of a two-part work that includes the book of Acts (known as Luke–Acts), which likely dates to the late first or early second century CE. The work emphasizes the Jewishness of Jesus and his early followers while seeking to explain the evolution of Christianity into a largely gentile group.
Related Primary Sources
Primary Source
The Birth of Jesus
Matthew 1:18–25|Luke 2:1–14
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be…
Primary Source
Jesus’ Crucifixion and Death
And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.It was…
Primary Source
Jesus’ Resurrection
Mark 16:1–8|Matthew 28:1–15|Luke 24:1–12|John 20:1–23
When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first…
Primary Source
Jesus Teaches in a Synagogue in Galilee
Luke 4:14–30
Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by…
Primary Source
The Son of Man and the Messianic Secret
Mark 8:27–33|Matthew 16:13–23|Luke 9:18–22
Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they answered…
Primary Source
John’s Birth and Naming
Luke 1:5–25, 57–66
In the days of King Herod of Judaea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both of them…
Primary Source
John’s Prediction of Jesus’ Coming
Mark 1:2–11|Matthew 3:1–17|Luke 3:1–22|John 1:29–34
As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way;the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the…
Primary Source
John Questions Jesus’ Identity
Matthew 11:2–6|Luke 7:18–23
When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for…
Primary Source
An Archisynagōgos Berates Jesus
Luke 13:10–17
Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to…
Primary Source
Jesus Travels to the Temple
Luke 2 (selections)|Mark 10–11|Luke 19 (selections)
When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in…
Primary Source
Special Treatment for a Donor
Luke 7:1–5
After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave whom he valued highly, and who was ill and…
Primary Source
Magnificat and Benedictus
Luke 1:46–55, 67–79
And Mary said,“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call…
Primary Source
Jesus’ Teachings on Charity and Public Giving
Matthew 5–6|Luke 12–18 (selections)
[I]f anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone…
Primary Source
Jesus’ Tripartite Division of Scripture
Luke 24:44
Then [Jesus] said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.”
Primary Source
Jesus Warns about Judgment in Synagogues
Luke 12:11; 21:12
When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how you are to defend yourselves or what you are to say.But before all this…
Primary Source
The New Testament on Reading Scripture in the Synagogue
Luke 4:16–20|Acts 13:13–16
When he [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the…
Primary Source
The New Testament on Preaching and Teaching in the Synagogue
Mark 6:1–2|Luke 4:14–15|Acts 14:1; 17:1–3, 16–18
He [Jesus] left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him…
Primary Source
Jesus and the Archon
Luke 8:40–42
Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. Just then there came a man named Jairus, a leader of the synagogue. He fell at Jesus’ feet and begged him to…
Related Guide
The Gospels as Jewish Literature
Late 1st–Early 2nd Century
Related Guide
Ancient Jewish Communal Identities: Early Christians
1st–2nd Century