Canonical gospels of the
Gospel of Luke The four
canonical gospels (
Matthew,
Mark,
Luke, and
John) are the foremost sources for the life and message of Jesus. refers to Jesus's early ministry and its anticipation by
John the Baptist. Acts 1:1–11 provides more detail about the
Ascension of Jesus than the canonical gospels do. In the
undisputed Pauline letters, which were written earlier than the gospels, Jesus's words or instructions are cited several times. Some
early Christian groups had separate descriptions of Jesus's life and teachings that are not included in the New Testament. These include the
Gospel of Thomas,
Gospel of Peter,
Gospel of Judas, the
Apocryphon of James, and
many other apocryphal writings. Most scholars conclude that these texts were written later and are less historically reliable than the canonical gospels.
Authorship, date, and reliability The canonical gospels are four accounts, each attributed to a different author. The authors of the gospels are generally regarded as pseudonymous and are attributed by tradition to the
four evangelists, each associated with Jesus or his close followers: Mark by
John Mark, an associate of
Peter; Most scholars agree that the authors of Matthew and Luke used Mark as a source for their gospels. Since Matthew and Luke also share some content not found in Mark, many scholars infer that they used a hypothetical
Q source in addition to Mark, while a growing number support the
Farrer hypothesis or
Matthean Posteriority, in which Matthew and Luke used each other directly. Luke and Matthew treat their sources more conservatively than other ancient historians like
Diodorus Siculus, though the parallels and variations of the Synoptic gospels are typical of ancient historical biographies. One important aspect of the study of the gospels is the
literary genre under which they fall. Genre "is a key convention guiding both the composition and the interpretation of writings". Whether the gospel authors set out to write novels, myths, histories, or biographies has a significant impact on how their works ought to be interpreted. Some studies have suggested that the gospels ought to be seen as a form of ancient biography. Although not without critics, the view that the gospels are a type of ancient biography represents the consensus among scholars today. Concerning the accuracy of the accounts, viewpoints range from considering them
inerrant descriptions of Jesus's life, to doubting their historical reliability on various points, to regarding them as providing very little historical information about his life beyond the basics.
Comparative structure and content Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the Synoptic Gospels, from the Greek (, 'together') and (, 'view'), because they are similar in content, narrative arrangement, language, and paragraph structure, and can readily be set side by side for synoptic comparison. Scholars generally agree that it is impossible to find any direct literary relationship between the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John. Many events—such as Jesus's baptism, crucifixion, and interactions with his
apostles—appear in the Synoptic Gospels, but incidents such as the
transfiguration and Jesus's
exorcising demons do not appear in John, which also differs on other matters, such as the
cleansing of the Temple. The Synoptics emphasize different aspects of Jesus. In Mark, Jesus is the
Son of God whose mighty works demonstrate the presence of
God's Kingdom. This short gospel records relatively few of Jesus's words or extended teachings. He is presented as the "
Son of David", a "king", and the Messiah. He is depicted as the friend of sinners and outcasts, who came to seek and save the lost. As the Word, Jesus is described as eternally present with God, active in all creation, and the source of humanity's moral and spiritual nature. The accounts were primarily written as theological documents in the context of
early Christianity, with timelines as a secondary consideration. The gospels devote about one third of their text to the last week of Jesus's life in
Jerusalem, referred to as the
Passion. They do not provide enough detail to satisfy the demands of modern historians regarding exact dates, but it is possible to draw from them a general picture of Jesus's life story. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke offer two different accounts of his
genealogy. Matthew traces Jesus's ancestry to
Abraham through
David, while Luke traces Jesus's ancestry through
Adam to God. The lists are identical between Abraham and David but differ markedly from that point onward; Matthew has 27 generations from David to Joseph, whereas Luke has 42, with almost no overlap between the names on the two lists. Various theories have been put forward to explain why the two genealogies are so different. , 1622|alt=A Nativity scene; men and animals surround Mary and newborn Jesus, who are covered in light Both Matthew and Luke describe Jesus's birth, particularly that he was born to a virgin named Mary in
Bethlehem in fulfilment of
prophecy. Luke's account emphasizes events before the
birth of Jesus and centres on Mary, while Matthew's mostly covers events after the birth and centres on Joseph. Both accounts state that Mary was engaged to a man named Joseph, who was descended from King David and was not Jesus's biological father, and both support the doctrine of the
virgin birth of Jesus, according to which Jesus was miraculously conceived by the
Holy Spirit in Mary's womb when she was still a virgin. At the same time, there is evidence, at least in the Lukan
Acts of the Apostles, that Jesus was thought to have had, like many figures in antiquity, a dual paternity, since there it is stated that he descended from the seed or loins of David. By
taking Jesus as his own son, Joseph is understood to confer on him the necessary Davidic descent. Some scholars suggest that Jesus had
Levite heritage from Mary, based on her blood relationship with
Elizabeth. , . The work depicts the
circumcision of Jesus. In Matthew, Joseph is troubled because Mary, his betrothed, is pregnant, but in the first of
Joseph's four dreams an angel assures him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife because her child was conceived by the Holy Spirit. In
Matthew 2:1–
12,
wise men or
Magi from the East bring gifts to the young Jesus as the
King of the Jews. They find him in a house in Bethlehem.
Herod the Great hears of Jesus's birth and, wanting him killed,
orders the killings of male infants in Bethlehem and its surroundings. However, an angel warns Joseph in his second dream, and the family
flees to Egypt, later returning and settling in Nazareth. In Luke 1:31–38, Mary learns from the angel
Gabriel that she will conceive and bear a child called Jesus through the action of the Holy Spirit. An
angel announces the birth to a group of shepherds, who go to Bethlehem to see Jesus and subsequently spread the news abroad. Luke 2:21 recounts how Joseph and Mary
have their baby circumcised on the eighth day after birth and name him Jesus, as Gabriel had commanded Mary. After the
presentation of Jesus at the Temple, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus return to Nazareth. His other family members, including his mother Mary;
his four brothers,
James,
Joses (or Joseph),
Judas, and
Simon; and his unnamed sisters, are mentioned in the Gospels and other sources. Jesus's maternal grandparents are named
Joachim and
Anne in the
Gospel of James. The Gospel of Luke records that Mary was a relative of Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. Some extra-biblical contemporary sources consider Jesus and John the Baptist to be second cousins, based on the belief that Elizabeth was the daughter of
Sobe, the sister of Anne. The Gospel of Mark reports that at the beginning of
his ministry, Jesus comes into conflict with his neighbours and family. Jesus's mother and brothers come to get him because people are saying that
he is out of his mind. Jesus responds that his followers are his true family. In the Gospel of John, Jesus and his mother attend a
wedding at Cana, where he performs his first miracle at her request. Later, she is present at his crucifixion, and he expresses concern for her well-being. Jesus is called a () in
Mark 6:3, a term traditionally understood as "carpenter" but which can also refer to makers of objects in various materials, including builders. Given the term's broad semantic range and "the socio-historical reality of a common Nazarene τέκτων", Matthew K. Robinson, a minister and academic, prefers to translate τέκτων as 'builder-craftsman'. The Gospels indicate that Jesus could read, paraphrase, and debate scripture, but this does not necessarily mean that he received formal scribal training. The Gospel of Luke reports two journeys of Jesus and his parents in Jerusalem during his childhood. They come to the
Temple in Jerusalem for the
presentation of Jesus as a baby in accordance with Jewish Law, where a man named
Simeon prophesies about Jesus and Mary. When Jesus, at the age of twelve, goes missing on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for
Passover, his parents
find him in the Temple sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions, and the people are amazed at his understanding and answers. Mary scolds Jesus for going missing, to which Jesus replies that he must "be in his Father's house".
Baptism and temptation by
John the Baptist'', by
Almeida Júnior, 1895|alt=Jesus is baptised by John. The Holy Spirit in the form of a dove is overhead. The
synoptic gospels describe
Jesus's baptism in the
Jordan River and
the temptations he faced while spending forty days in the
Judaean Desert as a preparation for his public ministry. In each of these accounts, the accounts of Jesus's baptism is preceded by information about John the Baptist. They portray John preaching repentance for the forgiveness of sins, encouraging the giving of
alms to the poor, baptizing people in the region of the Jordan River around
Perea, and foretelling the arrival of someone "more powerful" than he. '', by
Ary Scheffer, 1854 In the Gospel of Mark, John the Baptist baptizes Jesus, and as Jesus comes up out of the water he sees the
Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove, and a voice comes from heaven and declares him to be God's Son. This is one of two events described in the Gospels where a voice from Heaven refers to Jesus as "Son", the other being the
Transfiguration. The Spirit then drives him into the wilderness, where he is tempted by
Satan. After John's arrest, Jesus begins his ministry in Galilee. In the Gospel of Matthew, when Jesus comes to John to be baptized, John protests, saying, "I need to be baptized by you." Jesus instructs him to proceed with the baptism "to fulfil all righteousness". Matthew then narratives three specific temptations that Satan offers Jesus in the wilderness. In the Gospel of Luke, the Holy Spirit descends in bodily form like a dove after all the people have been baptized and while Jesus is
praying. Later, John implicitly acknowledges Jesus by sending his followers to inquire about him. Luke also describes three temptations experienced by Jesus in the wilderness before he begins his ministry in Galilee. The Gospel of John does not narrate Jesus's baptism and temptation. Instead, John the Baptist testifies that he saw the Spirit descend and remain on Jesus. John publicly proclaims Jesus as the
Lamb of God, and some of John's followers become disciples of Jesus. Before John is imprisoned, Jesus leads his followers to baptize, and they baptize more people than John.
Public ministry , 1877, depicts
Jesus's important discourse.|alt=Jesus sits atop a mount, preaching to a crowd The Synoptics depict two main geographical settings in Jesus's ministry. The first takes place in Galilee, north of
Judea, where Jesus conducts a largely successful ministry; the second occurs in Jerusalem, where he is rejected and killed. Often referred to as "
rabbi", In these accounts, he forbids those who recognize him as the messiah—including people he heals and demons he is said to exorcise—to speak about it (see
Messianic Secret). By contrast, the Gospel of John portrays Jesus's ministry as taking place primarily in and around Jerusalem rather than in Galilee, and his divine nature is more openly proclaimed and recognized. Scholars commonly divide the ministry of Jesus into several stages. The Galilean ministry begins when Jesus returns to Galilee from the
Judaean Desert after resisting the temptations of
Satan. He then preaches throughout Galilee, and in
Matthew 4:18–20, his
first disciples—who will later form the core of the early Church—encounter him and begin to follow him. This period includes the
Sermon on the Mount, one of Jesus's major discourses, as well as the
calming of the storm, the
feeding of the 5,000,
walking on water, and various other miracles and
parables. It concludes with the
Confession of Peter and the Transfiguration. As Jesus travels towards Jerusalem, during what is often called the Perean ministry, he returns to the region where he was baptized, roughly a third of the way down from the
Sea of Galilee along the Jordan River. The
final phase of his ministry, In Jerusalem, begins with his
triumphal entry into the city on
Palm Sunday. In the Synoptic Gospels, during that week Jesus
drives the money changers from the
Second Temple, and
Judas bargains to betray him. This period culminates in the
Last Supper and, in the Johannine account, the
Farewell Discourse.
Disciples and followers , portrays Jesus talking to his twelve disciples. Near the beginning of his ministry, Jesus
appoints twelve apostles. In Matthew and Mark, Jesus calls his first four apostles, who are fishermen, and they are described as immediately leaving their nets to follow him. In John, Jesus's first two apostles are initially disciples of John the Baptist; the Baptist sees Jesus and calls him the Lamb of God, and the two, hearing this, begin to follow Jesus. In addition to the Twelve Apostles, the introduction of the
Sermon on the Plain in Luke identifies a much larger group of people as disciples. In
Luke 10:1–16, Jesus sends
70 or 72 of his followers out in pairs to prepare towns for his prospective visits; they are instructed to accept hospitality, heal the sick, and proclaim the
Kingdom of God.
Teachings and miracles '' by
Heinrich Hofmann, 1889 In the Synoptics, Jesus teaches extensively—often in
parables—about the Kingdom of God. Jesus also speaks of the "
Son of Man", an
apocalyptic figure who will come to gather the chosen. He instructs his followers to observe
Jewish law, although he is perceived by some contemporaries as having broken the law himself, for example in relation to
Sabbath observance. Other ethical teachings attributed to Jesus include
loving one's enemies, refraining from
hatred and
lust,
turning the other cheek, and
forgiving those who have sinned against oneself. The Gospel of John presents the teachings of Jesus not merely as his own preaching but as divine
revelation. John the Baptist, for example, states in
John 3:34: "He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure." In
John 7:16, Jesus says, "My teaching is not mine but his who sent me." He reiterates this in
John 14:10: "Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works." '' by
Pompeo Batoni, 1773 Approximately 30 parables constitute about one-third of Jesus's recorded teachings. The parables appear both within longer sermons and at various other places in the narrative. They often contain symbolism and typically relate aspects of the physical world to
spiritual realities. Common themes include the kindness and generosity of God, as well as the dangers and consequences of transgression. Some parables, such as that of the
Prodigal Son, are relatively straightforward, while others, such as the
Growing Seed, are more complex, profound, and difficult to interpret. When his disciples ask why he speaks to the people in parables, Jesus replies that the chosen disciples have been granted "to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven", unlike the rest, adding: "For the one who has will be given more and he will have in abundance. But the one who does not have will be deprived even more", and he goes on to say that most of their generation have developed "dull hearts" and are therefore unable to understand. , medieval
mosaic from the
Monreale Cathedral, late 12th to mid-13th centuries|alt=Jesus, his head surrounded by a halo, puts his hands on a leper, thereby healing him In the gospel accounts, Jesus devotes a substantial portion of his ministry to performing
miracles, especially healings. These miracles are commonly classified into two main categories: healing miracles and nature miracles. The healing miracles include cures of physical ailments,
exorcisms, and
the raising of the dead. The nature miracles demonstrate authority over the natural world and include
turning water into wine, walking on water, and calming a storm, among others. Jesus attributes his miracles to a divine source. When opponents accuse him of casting out demons by the power of
Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he replies that he does so by the "Spirit of God" (
Matthew 12:28) or "finger of God", arguing that it would be illogical for Satan to undermine his own domain; he also asks, if he exorcises by Beelzebub, "by whom do your sons cast them out?" In Matthew 12:31–32, he further states that while all kinds of sin, including "insults against God" or "insults against the Son of Man", may be forgiven, blasphemy against "The
Holy Spirit" will never be forgiven, and those guilty of it bear their sin permanently. In John, Jesus's miracles are described as "signs", performed to manifest his mission and identity. saying that no sign will be given to a corrupt and evil generation except the sign of the prophet
Jonah. In the Synoptics, the crowds typically respond to his miracles with awe and press upon him to heal their sick, whereas in John, Jesus is depicted as less constrained by the crowds, who often respond to his signs with belief and trust. A feature common to all the miracle narratives is that Jesus performs them freely and does not request or accept payment. The miracle stories are frequently interwoven with teachings, and the miracles themselves often carry a
didactic dimension. Many emphasize the importance of faith: in the
cleansing of ten lepers and the
raising of Jairus's daughter, for instance, the beneficiaries are told that their healing is due to their faith. In
A Marginal Jew, scholar
John P. Meier argues that "the miracle traditions about Jesus' public ministry are already so widely attested in various sources" that any "total fabrication by the early church is, practically speaking, impossible". He bases this claim on literary sources such as the Gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John, as well as on the writings of the historian Josephus. Meier contends that the "criterion of multiple attestation of sources and forms" supports the conclusion that Jesus performed "extraordinary deeds" which his contemporaries regarded as miracles. Scholar
Paul J. Achtemeier argues that such miracles were not unique to Jesus in the ancient world and were perceived as ambiguous even by eyewitnesses. He notes that Jesus likely performed acts understood as exorcisms, which were "accepted as reality by his contemporaries", but that these should not be seen as having "probative value with respect to Jesus," since witnesses could claim that he was working with either Satan or God. Scholar
Gregory Sterling observes that, in the case of Jesus's alleged exorcisms, "For first-century Galileans who believed in the personal presence of evil in the form of demons, Jesus' act was a validation of his ministry."
Proclamation, Transfiguration, and Passion Week , depicted by
Carl Bloch, 19th century At approximately the midpoint of each of the three Synoptic Gospels, two significant events are narrated: the Confession of
Peter and the Transfiguration of Jesus—not mentioned in the Gospel of John. Jesus affirms that this is a divinely revealed truth. Following this confession, Jesus begins to tell his disciples about his forthcoming suffering, death, and resurrection. In the Transfiguration, The description of the final week of Jesus's life—often referred to as
Passion Week—occupies roughly one-third of the narrative in the canonical gospels. As he proceeds, people spread cloaks and small branches of trees (
palm fronds) on the road before him and chant lines from Psalm 118:25–26. Jesus next expels the money changers from the Temple, accusing them of turning it into a den of thieves through their commercial activities. Most scholars agree that it is overwhelmingly likely that Jesus did something in the temple and mentioned its destruction. In John, the Cleansing of the Temple occurs at the beginning of Jesus's ministry instead of at the end. Ancient compositional practices involved such chronological displacement and compression, with even reliable biographers like
Plutarch displaying them. Jesus comes into conflict with the Jewish elders, such as when they
question his authority and when he
criticizes them and calls them hypocrites.
Judas Iscariot, one of the
twelve apostles, secretly strikes a bargain with the Jewish elders, agreeing to betray Jesus to them for
30 silver coins. The Gospel of John recounts two other feasts in which Jesus taught in Jerusalem before the Passion Week. In
Bethany, a village near Jerusalem, Jesus
raises Lazarus from the dead. This potent sign increases the tension with authorities, who conspire to kill him.
Mary of Bethany anoints Jesus's feet, foreshadowing his entombment. Jesus then makes his messianic entry into Jerusalem. The cheering crowds greeting Jesus as he enters Jerusalem add to the animosity between him and the establishment. In John, Jesus has already cleansed the Second Temple during an earlier Passover visit to Jerusalem. John next recounts Jesus's Last Supper with his disciples.
Last Supper , depicted by
Juan de Juanes, |alt=A depiction of the Last Supper. Jesus sits in the centre, his apostles gathered around on either side of him. The Last Supper is the final meal that Jesus shared with his twelve apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The Last Supper is mentioned in all four canonical gospels; Paul's
First Epistle to the Corinthians also refers to it. During the meal,
Jesus predicts that one of his apostles will betray him. Despite each Apostle's assertion that he would not betray him, Jesus reiterates that the betrayer would be one of those present. Matthew 26:23–25 and John 13:26–27 identify Judas as the traitor. Although the Gospel of John does not include a description of the bread-and-wine ritual during the Last Supper, most scholars agree that John 6:22–59 (the
Bread of Life Discourse) has a eucharistic character and resonates with the
institution narratives in the Synoptic Gospels and in the Pauline writings on the Last Supper. In all four gospels, Jesus predicts that Peter will deny knowledge of him three times before the
cock crows the next morning. In Luke and John, the prediction is made during the Supper. In Matthew and Mark, the prediction is made after the Supper; Jesus also predicts that all his disciples will desert him. The Gospel of John provides the only account of
Jesus washing his disciples' feet after the meal. John also includes a long sermon by Jesus, preparing his disciples (now without Judas) for his departure. Chapters 14–17 of the Gospel of John are known as the
Farewell Discourse and are a significant source of
Christological content.
Agony in the Garden, betrayal, and arrest and
arrest of Jesus, by
Caravaggio, |alt=Judas kisses Jesus, and soldiers rush to seize the latter. In the Synoptics, Jesus and his disciples go to the garden
Gethsemane, where Jesus prays to be spared his coming ordeal. Then Judas comes with an armed mob, sent by the chief priests,
scribes and elders. He
kisses Jesus to identify him to the crowd, which then
arrests Jesus. In an attempt to stop them, an unnamed disciple of Jesus uses a sword to cut off the ear
of a man in the crowd. After Jesus's arrest, his disciples go into hiding, and Peter, when questioned, thrice
denies knowing Jesus. After the third denial, Peter hears the cock crow and recalls Jesus's prediction about his denial. Peter then weeps bitterly. Instead of being betrayed by a kiss, Jesus proclaims his identity, and when he does, the soldiers and officers fall to the ground. The gospel identifies Peter as the disciple who used the sword, and Jesus rebukes him for it.
Trials by the Sanhedrin, Herod, and Pilate After his arrest, Jesus is taken late at night to the private residence of the high priest,
Caiaphas, who had been installed by Pilate's predecessor, the Roman procurator
Valerius Gratus. The
Sanhedrin was a Jewish judicial body. The gospel accounts differ on the
details of the trials. In Matthew 26:57, Mark 14:53, and Luke 22:54, Jesus is taken to the house of the high priest, Caiaphas, where he is
mocked and beaten that night. Early the next morning, the chief priests and scribes lead Jesus away into their council. John 18:12–14 states that Jesus is first taken to
Annas, Caiaphas's father-in-law, and then to the high priest. The Jewish elders take Jesus to
Pilate's Court and ask the Roman governor,
Pontius Pilate, to judge and condemn Jesus for various allegations: subverting the nation, opposing the payment of tribute, claiming to be Christ, a king, and claiming to be the son of God. In Luke 23:7–15, Pilate realizes that Jesus is a Galilean, and thus comes under the jurisdiction of
Herod Antipas, the
Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea. Pilate sends Jesus to Herod to be tried, but Jesus says almost nothing in response to Herod's questions. Herod and his soldiers mock Jesus, put an expensive robe on him to make him look like a king, and return him to Pilate, who then calls together the Jewish elders and announces that he has "not found this man guilty". Observing a Passover custom of the time, Pilate allows one prisoner chosen by the crowd to be released. He gives the people a choice between Jesus and a murderer called
Barabbas ( or
Bar-abbâ, "son of the father", from the common given name
Abba: 'father'). Persuaded by the elders, the mob chooses to release Barabbas and crucify Jesus. Pilate writes a sign in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek that reads "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews" (abbreviated as
INRI in depictions) to be affixed to Jesus's cross, then
scourges Jesus and sends him to be crucified. The soldiers place a
crown of thorns on Jesus's head and ridicule him as the King of the Jews. They beat and taunt him before taking him to
Calvary, also called Golgotha, for crucifixion. The four gospels mention the presence of
a group of female disciples of Jesus at the crucifixion. In John, Jesus sees his mother Mary and the
beloved disciple and tells him to take care of her. In John 19:33–34, Roman soldiers break the two thieves' legs to hasten their death, but not those of Jesus, as he is already dead. Instead,
one soldier pierces Jesus's side with a
lance, and
blood and water flow out. The Synoptics report a
period of darkness, and the heavy curtain in the Temple is torn when Jesus dies. In Matthew 27:51–54, an earthquake breaks open tombs. In Matthew and Mark, terrified by the events, a Roman
centurion states that Jesus was the Son of God. On the same day,
Joseph of Arimathea, with Pilate's permission and with
Nicodemus's help,
removes Jesus's body from the cross, wraps it in a clean cloth, and buries it in a new
rock-hewn tomb. In Matthew 27:62–66, on the following day the chief Jewish priests ask Pilate for the tomb to be secured, and with Pilate's permission the priests place seals on the large stone covering the entrance.
Resurrection and ascension , depicted by
Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov.|
Appearance of Jesus Christ to Maria Magdalena by
Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov, 1835 The Gospels do not describe the moment of the
resurrection of Jesus. They describe the discovery of his
empty tomb and several appearances of Jesus, with distinct differences in each narrative. In the four Gospels,
Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb on Sunday morning, alone or with one or several
other women. The tomb is empty, with the stone rolled away, and there are one or two angels, depending on the accounts. In the Synoptics, the women are told that Jesus is not here and that he is risen. In Mark and Matthew, the angel also instructs them to tell the disciples to meet Jesus in Galilee. In Luke, Peter visits the tomb after he is told it is empty. In John, he goes there with the beloved disciple. Matthew mentions Roman guards at the tomb, who report to the priests of Jerusalem what happened. The priests bribe them to say that the disciples
stole Jesus's body during the night. The four Gospels then describe various appearances of Jesus in his resurrected body. Jesus first reveals himself to Mary Magdalene in Mark 16:9 and John 20:14–17, along with "the other Mary" in Matthew 28:9, while in Luke the first reported appearance is to
two disciples heading to
Emmaus. Jesus then reveals himself to the eleven disciples, in Jerusalem or in Galilee. In Luke 24:36–43, he eats and shows them his
tangible wounds to prove that he is not a spirit. He also shows them to
Thomas to end
his doubts, in John 20:24–29. In the Synoptics, Jesus
commissions the disciples to spread the gospel message to all nations, while in
John 21, he
tells Peter to take care of his sheep. Jesus's
ascension into Heaven is described in Luke 24:50–53, Acts 1:1–11, and mentioned in 1 Timothy 3:16. In the Acts of the Apostles, forty days after the Resurrection, as the disciples look on, "he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight". 1 Peter 3:22 states that Jesus has "gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God". The Acts of the Apostles describes several appearances of Jesus after his Ascension. In Acts 7:55,
Stephen gazes into heaven and sees "Jesus standing at the right hand of God" just before his death. On the road to
Damascus, the Apostle
Paul is converted to Christianity after seeing a blinding light and hearing a voice saying, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." In Acts 9:10–18, Jesus instructs
Ananias of Damascus in a vision to heal Paul. The
Book of Revelation includes a revelation from Jesus concerning the
last days of Earth. == Early Christianity ==