Luke, the third Gospel, was written by “the beloved physician,” the companion of the apostle Paul. Only in Luke are found the Magnificat, the story of the birth of John the Baptist, the Christmas story of the shepherds, the parables of the good Samaritan, the lost sheep, and the prodigal son, and the great hymns-the Gloria in Excelsis and Nunc Dimittis. Jesus is presented as the compassionate Savior, healer, redeemer and friend of the weak. From this Gospel comes a special feeling of the mercy of God as Jesus made men to understand it.

Luke 1

1:59 And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.