Jesus Born & Nazareth

What happens in Luke 1–6

Luke's Gospel opens unlike any other, with a formal preface explaining that this is a carefully investigated, orderly account written to give 'certainty' about the things taught about Jesus. Luke is the only Gentile author in the New Testament, a physician and companion of Paul, and his Gospel emphasizes what makes Jesus' story universal: good news for the poor, the outcast, women, Gentiles, and every person the world overlooks.

Chapter 1 begins not with Jesus but with an elderly, childless couple, Zechariah and Elizabeth. The angel Gabriel appears to Zechariah in the temple and announces that Elizabeth will bear a son, John, who will prepare the way for the Lord. Zechariah doubts and is struck mute until John's birth. Gabriel then visits a young virgin in Nazareth named Mary: 'Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.' Mary's response is one of the most beautiful statements of faith in Scripture: 'I am the Lord's servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.'

Mary visits Elizabeth, and when Elizabeth hears Mary's greeting, the baby John leaps in her womb. Mary bursts into the Magnificat, a song of praise that is also a manifesto of social revolution: 'He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.' This song sets the tone for Luke's entire Gospel: God's salvation turns the world's hierarchies upside down.

Chapter 2 records the most famous birth in human history. Caesar Augustus orders a census that brings Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, where Jesus is born and laid in a manger, a feeding trough for animals, 'because there was no guest room available for them.' The first announcement goes not to kings or priests but to shepherds in the fields, the lowest-status workers in society. An angel declares: 'Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.' A heavenly army appears: 'Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.'

Jesus is circumcised, presented at the temple, and recognized by two elderly prophets, Simeon, who calls Him 'a light for revelation to the Gentiles,' and Anna, an 84-year-old prophetess who speaks about Him to all who are looking for redemption. At twelve years old, Jesus stays behind in the temple, astonishing the teachers with His understanding, and tells His parents: 'Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?'

Chapter 3 introduces John the Baptist's ministry, and Luke provides the most detailed genealogy of Jesus, tracing His line all the way back to Adam, 'the son of God.' Where Matthew traces Jesus to Abraham (the Jewish patriarch), Luke traces Him to Adam (the father of all humanity), underscoring that Jesus is the Savior of the entire human race, not just Israel.

Jesus is baptized, the Holy Spirit descends, and God declares: 'You are my Son, whom I love.' After the temptation in the wilderness (where Jesus again defeats Satan with Scripture), He returns to Galilee 'in the power of the Spirit.'

Chapter 4 contains Jesus' dramatic debut at the Nazareth synagogue. He reads from Isaiah 61: 'The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.' He rolls up the scroll and says: 'Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.' The hometown crowd is amazed, until Jesus reminds them that God sent Elijah to a Gentile widow and Elisha to a Syrian leper. The implication that God's grace extends beyond Israel enrages them so much they try to throw Him off a cliff.

Chapters 5-6 record the calling of the first disciples (including the miraculous catch of fish where Peter says 'Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!'), healings, and conflicts with Pharisees. Chapter 6 contains Luke's 'Sermon on the Plain', a shorter, more direct version of the Beatitudes that includes corresponding 'woes': 'Blessed are you who are poor... but woe to you who are rich.' Jesus teaches radical love: 'Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you... be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.'