So, in the Greek version of the Gospel, instead of the expected genitive case, the accusative case is used: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness." Not "truth", but "truth". When you read the Gospel in Greek, it immediately makes a great impression. Here we do not mean any specific justice in relation to someone or something, but all justice that exists in the world. The fact that the word "truth" is not in the genitive, but in the accusative case is immediately striking: this form makes the phrase, on the one hand, somewhat clumsy, and on the other hand, surprisingly capacious and bright.

There are a lot of such passages in Matthew, and when, I repeat, you read his Gospel in Greek, they immediately attract attention. However, it is difficult to translate such passages, they must be specified in notes, which, as a rule, is done in editions of the Holy Scriptures in almost all languages.

The Gospel of Luke stands out because it is written in good language, as opposed to the simply bad language of the Gospel of Mark and the somewhat strange, singing, either ecclesiastical or synagogue language of the Gospel of Matthew. The Gospel of Luke is good Greek literature from the first century. Edward Mayer, the famous German historian of the early 20th century, wrote about this.

The Evangelist Luke was a Greek from Antioch, which was one of the largest intellectual and cultural centers of the ancient East. He received a versatile education, was a doctor. How do we know this? Let us recall the parable in which it is said that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The Evangelists Matthew and Mark use the word raffis here – this is an ordinary sewing needle used by women. And in the Gospel of Luke, the word belone is used – the surgeon's needle. This word is from the Corpus Hippocraticum, a collection of works by the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, that is, a purely medical word. Another confirmation is the scene of the healing of the demon-possessed youth. Matthew tells about the illness of this boy without much detail: he goes mad, throws himself into the fire, then into the water, i.e. he looks simply insane. In Mark's program, everything is much more specific, according to his description, you can make an accurate diagnosis: this is epilepsy (a person possessed by a "dumb spirit" throws himself to the ground, emits foam, gnashes his teeth and freezes). Luke, on the other hand, describes the disease in a completely different way. He was not horrified by the repulsive picture of an epileptic seizure, since he, as a doctor, had certainly had to treat such patients; Luke's attention is focused on the suffering of the sick youth, who cries out before the attack, and when the attack "retreats by force," he is completely exhausted. This is exactly the attitude to human suffering, without which the profession of a doctor is impossible.

In addition, Luke is a historian, he read Thucydides and other Greek authors. In addition to the Gospel, he wrote a historical work, the Acts of the Holy Apostles. Luke's authorship is confirmed by a comparative analysis of the vocabulary and style of these two New Testament texts. Acts is a brilliant literary work, which is a comparative biography of the apostles Peter and Paul. In the same vein, the comparative biographies of Plutarch, which were written much later than the Acts, are sustained, although Plutarch is mistakenly considered the first master of this genre. Luke, according to him, strives for acrivia - this is a word that is almost impossible to translate into Russian, means a truthful, accurate, consistent presentation of facts. As a historian, Luke attaches great importance to chronology, as if inscribing the events of the Gospel in world history, and even the genealogy of Christ leads not from Abraham, like Matthew, but from Adam. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Gospel of Luke arouses great interest both from the point of view of a deeply thought-out composition and from the point of view of content. Let us compare it with the two Gospels already considered.

The Gospel of Mark is missionary in nature and can be brilliantly used for missionary purposes. And the statistics confirm that this is indeed the gospel for missionaries. There is the International Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) headquartered in London, which translates the Holy Scriptures into the languages of small peoples. In his card index, the Gospel of Mark occupies the first place in terms of the number of translations of all biblical texts. It has been translated into the most exotic languages. Any missionary who works with people who have not yet been enlightened by the light of the Gospel truth will say that the reading of the New Testament must begin with the Gospel of Mark.

Remarkable evidence of this can be found in the memoirs of Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh. He tells how once, when he was about fourteen years old, Father Sergius Bulgakov came to the school where he studied. A remarkable pastor and thinker spoke about Christ, but this conversation did not arouse great interest in the future metropolitan, rather, on the contrary. However, Fr. Sergius Bulgakov did stir him up in some way. When the boy came home, he asked his mother for a New Testament, and looking at the table of contents, he realized that the Gospel of Mark was the shortest one. In order not to waste time (at fourteen years old people are very busy!), he decided to read this, the shortest one. "And that's where I came across," says the Metropolitan, "because it was written for the same little Roman savages as I was then."

If we start with the Gospel of Matthew, we may be put off by the long genealogy table that takes up the entire first page. Starting with the Gospel of Luke, we will encounter the prehistory of the birth of Christ, which may seem too difficult to us. And let's start with the Gospel of Mark — perhaps we will read to the end.

The Gospel of Matthew, I repeat, can be compared to a book for a teacher, designed to study the basics of the faith. The lesson of the Law of God is most easily taught according to this Gospel.

А Евангелие от Луки? Прежде всего, здесь есть довольно много такого, что отсутствует у других евангелистов. Притчи о блудном сыне, о мытаре и фарисее, о добром самарянине. Притча о блудном сыне, которую Амвросий Медиоланский в IV в. назвал Evangelium Evangeliorum — «Евангелие Евангелий», или «сердцевина Евангелия». В этой притче говорится о безграничности милосердия Божия, о том, как Бог ждёт покаяния от каждого грешника, от самого страшного грешника, от всякого, кто ушёл от Бога.

Притча о мытаре и фарисее — о благочестии внешнем (фарисея) и внутреннем (мытаря). Она учит молиться, как молился мытарь: «Боже! будь милостив ко мне, грешнику!»

Притча о добром самарянине содержит ответ на вопрос, кто твой ближний. Она учит, что христианство заключается не в исповедании, а в действии. Священник и левит, которые прошли мимо лежащего, хоть и были людьми благочестивыми и добропорядочными, не помогли несчастному. Не злодеи, не равнодушные к страданиям ближнего, они не подошли к страдальцу только потому, что боялись оскверниться, прикоснувшись к мёртвому телу. После этого в течение долгого времени они не могли бы совершать богослужения в храме. Иными словами, они прошли мимо из осторожности, заботясь о ритуальной чистоте. А самарянин, без сомнения, презираемый слушателями Иисуса человек, то ли иудей, то ли еретик, то ли вообще безбожник, к тому же купец, имеющий дело с деньгами и, вероятно, не всегда честный, оказался милосердным к несчастному. Речь о том, что есть чистота ритуальная, а есть — внутренняя.

Притчи эти ставят очень важные вопросы, причём такие, которые можно отнести к пастырскому богословию. О грешнике. Что ему делать? Как жить? Что нужно предложить грешнику? Об этом — в притче о блудном сыне. Как вообще жить человеку в этом мире? Какими должны быть его взаимоотношения с Богом, с людьми, с ритуалом и т. д.? Ответы — в притче о добром самарянине. Что такое благочестие? Это тема притчи о мытаре и фарисее…

Евангелие от Луки от начала до конца сосредоточено на проблеме греха и кающегося грешника, и грех понимается здесь как болезнь, а не как преступление или проступок. Христианин должен лечиться от этой болезни. А священник должен помогать ему в этом. Значит, Евангелие от Луки подходит для священника, который готовит проповедь и спрашивает себя: «В чём смысл моего служения?» Оно имеет особый «пастырский» оттенок.