8.1

Content Summary: Expanded Overview of the Gospel of Luke

This Gospel opens with a dedication to Theophilus, for whom the author intends to write an “orderly account.” (1:1–4)

An angel appears to the high priest Zechariah and tells him that his wife, Elizabeth, will bear him a son to be named John. He is struck mute for a time for not believing this, since he and Elizabeth are aged. (1:5–25)

The angel Gabriel tells Mary of Nazareth that, although she is a virgin, she will bear a son; he is to be named Jesus and will be the Son of God. She says, “Let it be with me according to your word.” (1:26–38)

Mary visits Elizabeth, who pronounces her blessed (with words later made part of what is known as “Ave Maria”), and Mary responds with a song of praise (later known as the “Magnificat”). (1:39–56)

Elizabeth gives birth to John; Zechariah speaks a poetic prophecy (later called the “Benedictus”). (1:57–80)

Mary gives birth to Jesus after a census forces her and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem; she lays him in a manger; angels announce the news to shepherds (with words later known as “Gloria in Excelsis”). (2:1–20)

Jesus is circumcised, and then, when he is brought to the Jerusalem temple for the rite of purification, the priest Simeon prophecies over him (with words later known as the “Nunc Dimittis”); a prophet named Anna prophecies over him as well. (2:21–38)

Jesus grows, and at age twelve travels to Jerusalem with his family and stays behind in the temple when they leave. He impresses the teachers with his wisdom, and when his concerned parents return to find him there, he says, “Did you not know I must be in my Father’s house?” (2:39–52)

John the Baptist preaches in the wilderness, giving specific instructions regarding repentance and testifying to the one who is to come after him. After Jesus is baptized, the Spirit comes upon him while he is praying, and a voice says, “You are my Son.” (3:1–22)

A genealogy traces Jesus’s ancestry all the way back to Adam. (3:23–38)

Satan presents Jesus with three temptations in the wilderness. (4:1–13)

In Nazareth, Jesus identifies himself as the one whom God has anointed to bring good news to the poor, but the people are offended when he indicates his ministry may benefit others rather than them. (4:14–30)

Jesus casts a demon out of a man in a synagogue in Capernaum. (4:31–37)

Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law of a fever, and then he heals many others and proclaims the “good news of the kingdom of God” in the synagogues of Judea. (4:38–44)

Jesus grants Simon Peter and other fishermen a miraculously large catch of fish; Peter, James, and John become his disciples. (5:1–11)

Jesus heals a leper and the word about him draws large crowds; he regularly withdraws to pray. (5:12–16)

Jesus heals a paralyzed man who is lowered through the ceiling to him in a crowded house, but first he tells the man that his sins are forgiven; some scribes regard this as blasphemy, since only God can forgive sins. (5:17–26)

Jesus calls Levi, a tax collector, to follow him. To the chagrin of religious leaders, he eats with Levi and other tax collectors. He says, “I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.” (5:27–32)

Jesus explains why his disciples don’t fast, likening his time with them to a wedding feast: they cannot fast while “the bridegroom” is still with them. (5:33–39)

Jesus justifies his disciples’ picking of grain on the Sabbath: “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.” (6:1–5)

Jesus heals a man with a withered hand in a synagogue on the Sabbath, causing the Pharisees to discuss what they might do to him. (6:6–11)

Jesus appoints twelve of his followers to be “apostles”—a group that includes the aforementioned Peter, James, and John. (6:12–16)

Jesus preaches the Sermon on the Plain (6:17–49), which includes (among other material):

A centurion in Capernaum sends people to Jesus, requesting that he heal his servant from a distance; Jesus is impressed by the gentile’s faith. (7:1–10)

Jesus encounters a funeral procession in Nain and raises to life the dead man, who is the only son of a widow. (7:11–17)

Jesus responds to a question from John the Baptist regarding whether Jesus is the one who was to come. He then speaks to the crowd about John and upbraids them for having rejected John’s ministry as well as his own. (7:18–35)

When Jesus dines at the home of Simon the Pharisee, a prostitute weeps at his feet, drying them with her hair. Simon is aghast, and Jesus tells a parable of two debtors and praises the woman for her great love: “Her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love.” (7:36–50)

Many women accompany Jesus, providing for him and his other disciples out of their resources; these include Mary Magdalene, Joanna (the wife of Herod’s steward), and Susanna. (8:1–3)

Jesus tells the parable of a sower and offers his disciples an allegorical explanation of the meaning; likewise, they are to pay attention to how they listen. (8:4–18)

Jesus’s mother and brothers visit but cannot reach him because of the crowd; he says, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” (8:19–21)

Jesus stills a storm at sea and rebukes his fearful disciples for their lack of faith. (8:22–25)

In the area of the Gerasenes, Jesus casts a group of demons called “Legion” out of a man in a cemetery. The demons enter a herd of pigs, which run into the lake and drown. (8:26–39)

Jesus goes to heal the daughter of Jairus, a synagogue leader. Along the way, a woman with a hemorrhage touches the hem of his garment and is healed. Jairus’s daughter dies, but Jesus raises her from the dead. (8:40–56)

Jesus sends the twelve out to proclaim the kingdom of God and heal diseases; they are to depend on others to provide for them. Meanwhile, Jesus’s ministry attracts the attention of Herod, who previously beheaded John the Baptist. (9:1–9)

After the twelve return from their mission, Jesus takes them on a retreat, but multitudes follow. He feeds over five thousand people with only five pieces of bread and two fish. (9:10–17)

When Peter identifies Jesus as the “Messiah of God,” Jesus warns the disciples not to tell anyone this. He predicts his passion and says that any who want to be his followers must deny themselves and bear the cross. (9:18–26)

Jesus says that some of those standing with him will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God. (9:27)

Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a mountain and is transfigured before them; Moses and Elijah appear and they discuss Jesus’s “departure”; a voice from heaven says, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” (9:28–36)

After his disciples are unable to do so, Jesus casts a demon out of a boy who has seizures. (9:37–43)

Jesus predicts his passion a second time and resolves a dispute among his disciples as to which of them is the greatest by saying that whoever welcomes little children in his name welcomes him. (9:44–48)

Jesus’s disciples try to restrain an exorcist who they say “does not follow us,” but Jesus insists, “Whoever is not against you is for you.” (9:49–50)

Jesus begins a long journey to Jerusalem. (9:51)

Jesus rebukes James and John after they want to call down fire from heaven to destroy a Samaritan village that will not receive them on their way to Jerusalem. (9:52–56)

Jesus encounters three would-be disciples: an enthusiast and two procrastinators. (9:57–62)

Jesus sends out seventy disciples for a ministry of preaching and exorcisms; he upbraids cities that reject what God is doing, and he says that he saw Satan fall like lightning. (10:1–20)

Jesus rejoices that God hides truth from the wise and intelligent and reveals it to infants, just as the Son reveals the Father to whomever he chooses (i.e., his disciples). (10:21–24)

Jesus tells the parable of the good Samaritan to answer the question “Who is my neighbor?” (10:25–37)

Jesus visits a home where Martha is distracted by many tasks and criticizes her sister Mary for listening to Jesus’s words instead of helping; Jesus says that Mary has chosen the “better part.” (10:38–42)

Jesus teaches the Lord’s Prayer and then tells the parable of the friend at midnight to illustrate how God answers prayer and gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask (11:1–13).

The crowds say that Jesus casts out demons by the power of Beelzebul. Jesus indicates that the idea is ridiculous because a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand, but if it is by the finger of God that he casts out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon them. (11:14–23)

Jesus says that after a demon leaves a person, it seeks to return with seven more. (11:24–26)

When a woman indicates Jesus’s mother is blessed to have borne him, he says, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!” (11:27–28)

Jesus says that no sign will be given to his generation except the sign of Jonah, and they will be harshly judged. (11:29–32)

Jesus likens a healthy person to a lamp that gives plentiful light. (11:33–36)

Jesus criticizes the Pharisees as fools concerned with external purity and pronounces woes against them and against the legal experts. (11:37–54)

Jesus warns the crowds against hypocrisy and advises people to fear God more than they fear the people who persecute them; the latter will try to make them deny him or blaspheme the Holy Spirit. (12:1–12)

Jesus tells the parable of the rich fool: a rich man builds bigger barns to hold all of his possessions, but he is not rich toward God and will have nothing when he dies. (12:13–21)

Jesus teaches his disciples about many matters (12:22–59):

Jesus says that victims of violence or natural disasters are not necessarily worse sinners than others, but that all who do not repent will suffer similarly. (13:1–5)

Jesus tells the parable of the fruitless tree to indicate that those who have not yet suffered calamity should not assume that judgment will not eventually come. (13:6–9)

Jesus heals a crippled woman in a synagogue on the Sabbath, invoking the ire of the synagogue leader. (13:10–17)

Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a mustard seed and to yeast. (13:18–21)

Jesus answers the question, “Will only a few be saved?”: the gate is narrow, and many now first will be last. (13:22–30)

Jesus calls Herod a “fox” and compares himself to a mother hen seeking to protect Jerusalem. (13:31–35)

Jesus heals a man who has dropsy and stumps religious leaders with a question about healing on the Sabbath. (14:1–6)

Jesus speaks about proper behavior at banquets: people should take the lowest seats when invited to banquets, and when they give a banquet they should invite those who cannot reciprocate. (14:7–14)

Jesus tells the parable of the banquet: those who are invited make excuses and don’t come, so the host fills his house with the poor and disadvantaged instead. (14:15–24)

Jesus speaks harsh words about the costs of discipleship (hating one’s family, carrying the cross, giving up all possessions); he encourages counting the cost (like a builder who would construct a tower or a king who would go to war) so as not to become worthless salt. (14:25–35)

Scribes and Pharisees complain that Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them; this prompts Jesus to tell the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. (15:1–32)

Jesus tells the parable of the dishonest steward, encouraging people not to make friends for themselves with unrighteous mammon and stating that no one can serve two masters. (16:1–13)

Jesus speaks to the Pharisees about self-justification, the coming of the kingdom, the enduring validity of the law, and the sinfulness of remarriage after divorce. (16:14–18)

Jesus tells the parable of the rich man and Lazarus: after death, the rich man is in torment, beholding the poor beggar Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham. (16:19–31)

Jesus speaks to his disciples about not causing others to stumble, about the power of faith, and about identifying themselves as “worthless slaves.” (17:1–10)

Jesus heals ten lepers but only one gives thanks, and he is a Samaritan. (17:11–19)

Jesus responds to a question of when the kingdom is coming: “The kingdom of God is among you.” (17:20–21)

Jesus speaks of the coming of the Son of Man as a time of sudden judgment. (17:22–37)

Jesus tells the parable of the widow and the unjust judge to encourage persistence in prayer. (18:1–8)

Jesus tells the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector as a warning against self-righteousness. (18:9–14)

Jesus’s disciples try to prevent people from bringing children to him, but Jesus says, “Let the little children come to me . . . to such as these the kingdom of God belongs.” (18:15–17)

A rich man goes away sad because he cannot give up his possessions to follow Jesus. Jesus says that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. (18:18–27)

Jesus assures his disciples, who left their homes to follow him, that they will receive abundant rewards in this life and more in the age to come. (18:28–30)

Jesus predicts his passion a third time, but the meaning is hidden from his disciples. (18:31–34)

Jesus heals a blind beggar in Jericho; the beggar follows him, glorifying God. (18:35–43)

In Jericho Jesus welcomes Zacchaeus, a rich tax collector who had climbed a tree to see him; Jesus says, “The Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.” (19:1–10)

Jesus tells the parable of the pounds: the slave who does not invest the money is condemned. (19:11–27)

Jesus enters Jerusalem riding a colt, as a crowds bless him and lay their cloaks in his path. (19:28–40)

Jesus weeps over Jerusalem for having failed to recognize the time of its visitation, and then he drives out people who are selling things in the temple and teaches there for days. (19:41–48)

Religious leaders ask Jesus by what authority he is acting, but he refuses to answer them because they will not respond to his own question regarding the baptism of John. (20:1–8)

Jesus tells the parable of the wicked tenants: the owner of a vineyard sends a series of servants, then finally his son, to collect fruit from tenants, who beat the servants and kill the son. (20:9–19)

Religious leaders try to trap Jesus by asking him whether it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. He says, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (20:20–26)

Sadducees test Jesus with a question: If a woman was married to seven men in this life, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? He says that there is no marriage in heaven, for people are like angels. (20:27–40)

Jesus stumps the religious leaders by asking them how the Messiah can be the son of David when David calls him “Lord.” (20:41–44)

Jesus denounces the scribes for being ostentatious and greedy. and then calls attention to the generosity of a poor widow who puts her last two coins into the temple treasury. (20:45–21:4)

Jesus tells his disciples that the Jerusalem temple will be destroyed. Then he launches into a long discourse on the end times, emphasizing the terrible persecutions to come and urging people to be ready at all times. (21:5–38)

Satan enters into Judas, who agrees to cooperate with the religious leaders to betray Jesus. (22:1–6)

At the Passover meal, Jesus identifies the bread and wine as his body and blood and tells the disciples to share the meal in remembrance of him; the disciples argue over which of them is the greatest, and he identifies greatness with service. (22:7–27)

Jesus confers a kingdom on his disciples, who have stood by him in his trials. He predicts Simon’s temporary denial of him and tells them that henceforth they must carry bags and swords. (22:28–38)

Jesus and the disciples go out to Gethsemane, where he prays that, if possible, God remove the cup from him. He is arrested, and Peter denies him three times. (22:39–62)

Jesus is put on trial before an assembly of religious leaders, who decide that he deserves death. (22:63–71)

Jesus is turned over to Pilate, who sends him to be questioned by Herod; he is returned to Pilate, and a crowd calls for him to be crucified and a murderer, Barabbas, to be released. (23:1–25)

Simon of Cyrene carries Jesus’s cross, and as Jesus is led to his death, he calls out to the “daughters of Jerusalem” who are weeping for him to save their tears for terrible days to come. (23:26–31)

Jesus is crucified, and he speaks three times from the cross: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing”; “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (to a thief crucified with him); “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”; when he dies, the centurion says, “Certainly this man was innocent.” (23:32–49)

Joseph of Arimathea, a righteous man, provides a tomb for Jesus’s burial, and the women who have been following Jesus observe where his body is laid. (23:50–56)

On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and another Mary come to the tomb and are told by two men in dazzling clothes that Jesus is risen; they report this to the apostles, who dismiss it as “an idle tale.” Peter decides to go to the tomb, sees that it is empty, and is amazed. (24:1–12)

Jesus appears to Cleopas and one other person on the road to Emmaus, but they do not recognize him until they see him break bread; reporting to the others, they learn that Jesus has also appeared to Simon. (24:13–35)

Jesus suddenly stands among his disciples and eats fish in their presence; he commissions them to proclaim repentance and forgiveness in his name and promises that they will be clothed with power from on high. (24:36–49)

At Bethany, Jesus blesses his disciples and ascends into heaven; the disciples return to Jerusalem and worship God in the temple. (24:50–53)