The passion and resurrection in Luke: the Last Supper, Gethsemane, the trials, the crucifixion with its distinctive sayings, the death of Jesus, the empty tomb and the Emmaus road, and Luke's distinctive emphases.

What this dot point is asking

You need to explain Luke's account of the passion and resurrection: the Last Supper, the agony in Gethsemane, the trials before the Sanhedrin, Pilate and Herod, the crucifixion with its distinctive sayings, the death of Jesus, the empty tomb and the Emmaus road, and then evaluate Luke's distinctive emphases, especially forgiveness and Jesus's innocence. The passion is the climax of the Gospel and shows the kind of Saviour Luke has portrayed throughout.

The Last Supper and Gethsemane

The trials and the theme of innocence

The crucifixion and the distinctive sayings

The resurrection: the empty tomb and Emmaus

The resurrection accounts also carry Luke's stamp.

• The empty tomb (Luke 24:1 to 12). The women who had followed from Galilee find the tomb empty and are told by two angels, "He is not here; he has risen", and reminded of Jesus's own predictions; the apostles at first dismiss the report as nonsense.
• The Emmaus road (Luke 24:13 to 35). The risen Jesus walks unrecognised with two disciples, explains "beginning with Moses and all the Prophets ... what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself", and is recognised "in the breaking of the bread", a scene rich in scriptural fulfilment and eucharistic overtones.

Evaluating Luke's emphases

A model evaluation paragraph might run: "Luke's passion does foreground forgiveness and innocence: the prayer 'Father, forgive them', the promise of paradise to the penitent thief, the threefold verdict of Pilate and the centurion's declaration all present Jesus as a righteous, forgiving sufferer rather than dwelling, as Mark does, on his cry of dereliction or, as Paul does, on the death as a ransom for sin. Yet it would be wrong to conclude that Luke empties the death of saving significance, for the Last Supper words, the body 'given for you' and the cup of 'the new covenant in my blood', plainly interpret the death as covenant-making and life-giving, and the salvation promised to the dying thief is the death's saving power in action. The judgement, therefore, is that Luke characteristically presents Jesus's death as a model of forgiveness and trust and as the unjust death of the innocent righteous one, but he does not deny its atoning, saving meaning, which the Supper makes explicit, so the contrast between forgiveness and sacrifice is overdrawn."

Try this

Q1. What are the three sayings from the cross found only in Luke? [3 marks]

• Cue. "Father, forgive them"; "today you will be with me in paradise"; "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit".

Q2. Explain the significance of the Emmaus road appearance. [6 marks]

• Cue. The risen Jesus opens the scriptures about the suffering Messiah and is recognised in the breaking of the bread, stressing scriptural fulfilment and eucharistic recognition.

Q3. "Luke presents Jesus's death mainly as a model of forgiveness." Discuss. [12 marks]

• Cue. Weigh the emphasis on forgiveness, innocence and trust against the saving, covenant meaning in the Last Supper words and the promise to the thief. Reach a judgement.