is figure out death (Luke 4-8)

I am somewhat bothered by the differences between the three gospels:  different birth story or none at all, different genealogy, different empty tomb story.  I am also somewhat bothered by the miracles whether they involve healing the sick, blind and possessed; raising the dead; walking on water and calming a storm; or feeding thousands with nothing.    I am not sure if they are imaginative recollections on the part of the writer or very clever symbolism.  I am leaning to the latter. While these problems make it difficult for some to believe the historical accuracy of the text, it also makes it easy to lose sight of whatever might be of value.  

For example, in Luke, there is no sermon on the mount.  Jesus was praying on a hill and he came down to the plain and preached there.  Does it matter where he preached?  Of course not.  And certainly both stories could be true because Jesus very easily could have preached that same sermon several times in various locales.  What he has to say is important.  Love your enemies.  Judge not lest you be judged.  Build your life (not just your house) on a solid foundation.  Forgive others.  Jesus gets into a whole lot of trouble because he tells people that their sins are forgiven but if the message is that we should learn to forgive then it is a good one.

Then Luke follows the narrative of Matthew and Mark.  Jesus gathers his disciples, he preaches, he gets rejected by the people in Nazareth, he heals many people and he answers questions about fasting, the Sabbath and forgiveness.  

Luke also  includes stories that are not in the other gospels. In one, a Pharisee questions Jesus for allowing a sinful woman to wash and kiss his feet.  Jesus points out that those who have sinned the most are the ones in the most need of forgiveness.   In another story, Jesus meets a funeral procession and he takes pity on the woman who is widowed and now burying her only son.  Jesus tells the son to get out of the coffin which he does.  A few pages later, and also found in the first two gospels, Jesus tells the people that a girl who was presumed dead is actually sleeping.  

I am not sure where the Lazarus story occurs, but that will make at least three stories where someone other than Jesus is raised from the dead.  I am not sure what is going on here.  I sort of understand the appeal of Jesus being able to rise from the dead and give us hope that there is some sort of afterlife for us.  But what is the purpose of Jesus bringing a couple of people back to life just so they can die again in a few years.  Of course they will have the opportunity of a second chance, but if that is the case why just those three people.  Or is Jesus just demonstrating his power to gain authority?  Or is Jesus pointing out with a couple of examples that we can and will rise again?  Or are the gospel writers just using symbolic events to emphasis this idea of an afterlife?  

I have no idea what happens to us when we die.  My best guess is that nothing happens.  But growing up, in my couple of years of Sunday school, I learned of a Heaven where our souls ended up.   While I don’t believe it, I can see the appeal in that.  But it wasn’t until I was in my 40’s that I realized that the Bible refers to a resurrected body.  I cannot see the appeal or the need of that.  So, I am leaning to some clever symbolic nature of these stories of bodies being brought back to life rather than factual events.