energies were rightly devoted to perfecting himself. In his Gospel, Luke presents Jesus as the ideal human being, the person who has achieved excellence. But Jesus shows us that perfect manhood is not selfish but selfless. In his Gospel Luke gives us a portrait of a Jesus who is especially sensitive to the poor and oppressed, and who places great value on women—a shocking departure in Jewish, Greek, and Roman cultures alike. Yet Luke’s portrait is utterly convincing. No one can read his Gospel without