The Gospel of Luke

The Gospel of Luke is traditionally attributed to Luke, though the text itself does not name its author. Its opening narrator says he has carefully investigated the events handed down by eyewitnesses and writes them in order for Theophilus, so that he may know the truth of what he was taught. The Spanish source is the Reina-Valera 1909 translation; its translators are separate from the narrator.

The story begins with two announcements. An angel tells the priest Zacarías that his wife Elisabet will bear John, and tells Mary that she will bear Jesus, Son of the Most High. Jesus is born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger, shepherds hear of a Savior, and Simeon and Ana recognize the child in the temple. John preaches repentance by the Jordan and baptizes Jesus; a voice from heaven calls him the beloved Son. After resisting the devil in the wilderness, Jesus teaches in Galilee, is rejected in Nazaret, heals, calls disciples, and sends out the twelve and then seventy. Peter confesses him as the Christ of God, and Jesus announces his coming suffering and sets his face toward Jerusalem. On the way he tells parables of mercy, the lost, and the cost of following him. In Jerusalem he teaches in the temple while the leaders plot. Judas betrays him, Peter denies him, and Pilate hands him over to be crucified. Jesus asks forgiveness for those who crucify him and dies. He is buried, the tomb is found empty, and the risen Jesus meets two disciples on the road to Emaús, opens the Scriptures to them, and appears to the eleven. He is carried up to heaven, and the disciples return to Jerusalem with great joy.