Category: Luke 3

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Luke Luke 3

But wasn’t I doing your will?

Luke

Sometimes, as we go through the Christian life, we go through hard times as a result of our own bad decisions.

I once went through unemployment, because though all the warning signs were there that my company was about to go under, I nevertheless ignored them and eventually went down with the ship.

But other times, we’ve done nothing but follow the will of God in our lives, and yet we end up in trouble anyway. And we ask God, “Why? Wasn’t I doing your will?”

That’s what happened to John the Baptist. It says in verse 18 that he was exhorting the people and preaching the good news to them.

We’ve seen in the passages in John that he was also pointing out Jesus to his disciples and telling them, “He is the one you need to follow.”

Not only that, he fulfilled his role as prophet by pointing out the sins of the people, and this is what ultimately got him in trouble.

King Herod (Antipas) had taken his brother Phillip’s wife for his own, and John publicly rebuked him for it. Not only that, he publicly rebuked Herod for many of his other misdeeds as well.

As a result, Herod had him thrown in prison. And there, John was left to rot.

We’ll get more into what happened to John in prison later, but it does bring up the question, “Why did God let it happen?”

Did John deserve to be in prison? No.

Could God have rescued John? Yes.

So why didn’t he? I don’t know.

And ultimately, we just have to accept that (if not be satisfied with it).

God does not promise that our lives will always be nice and comfortable if we follow him. He doesn’t promise that things will always go well.

Jesus, though he was perfect, was himself beaten and crucified. Hardly a comfortable situation. And if he who was perfect suffered, can we expect anything different as his followers?

Peter wrote,

But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. (1 Peter 2:20-21)

What were we called to? Suffering for the sake of Christ.

What steps did Jesus take that we are called to follow in? The steps of suffering.

Am I saying that we should look to suffer? No. But don’t be surprised if it comes.

And if it does come, remember what the writer of Hebrews admonishes us,

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:3)

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John John 1 Luke Luke 3 Mark Mark1 Matthew Matthew 3

Loved by the Father, Filled with the Spirit

Jesus baptized by John the Baptist
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During the time that John was baptizing multitudes of people, Jesus also came up to him to be baptized.

I wonder just how well John knew Jesus and exactly who he was when he did. How much did his parents tell him about his cousin? How much did God tell him?

John had been living in the desert probably from the time he was old enough to survive on his own. Did he even recognize Jesus?

He must have, at least to some degree, for when Jesus came to be baptized, John saw in his eyes someone unlike any other he had ever met. Someone who had no need of repentance. And so he told Jesus,

I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? (Matthew 3:14)

But Jesus told him,

Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness. (Matthew 3:15)

Why did Jesus get baptized? For two reasons. One was to make clear to John with no room for doubt just who he was preparing the people for. Later, when John saw Jesus, he gave this testimony:

Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’

I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel…

I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.

I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’

I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God. (John 1:29-34)

From his words, it seems clear that up until that point, that though he recognized something different in Jesus, nevertheless, he didn’t know he was the One God had promised, the one that he was preparing Israel for.

The second reason Jesus got baptized was to identify himself with us as fallen people in need of repentance.

Although Jesus himself never sinned, he would take our sins upon himself at the cross, and die for us. By his birth, he identified with us as being human. By his baptism, he identified with our sinfulness.

But the thing that strikes me is what happened when he got baptized, something that John the Baptist alludes to.

Namely, that when he got baptized, the Spirit came upon Jesus in power. Not only that, the Father affirmed his love for him.

If we are to be effective Christians, we need these things in our lives. If Jesus, the only unique Son of God, needed these things, how much more do we?

To know that the Father loves us. If we do not know this, we will always fear to draw near to Him. We will always be afraid of his words of rebuke, and so we’ll hesitate to draw into a close relationship with him.

But also, if we are not secure in the love of the Father, it makes all our other relationships much more difficult.

It becomes difficult to love others when they don’t return that love, or at least as much as we would expect or hope.

It becomes difficult to forgive when people hurt us.

The reason so many people find it hard to love as God does is simply because they don’t know God’s love for them.

But because Jesus was so completely filled with his Father’s love, he could love others despite their failings.

At the same time the Father affirmed his love for Jesus, however, the Spirit empowered him. Jesus didn’t start his ministry until that happened.

In the same way, if we want to be effective servants for God, we need to be filled with his Spirit. According to John, that was what Jesus also came to do. To baptize us with his Spirit.

How about you? Do you know God’s love in your life? Are you filled with his Spirit?

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John John 1 Luke Luke 3 Mark Mark1 Matthew Matthew 3

Telling it like it is

The gospels

We leap approximately 18 years in time from when Jesus was 12 years old to when he turned 30. And just before he began his ministry, his cousin John started his own.

The apostle John makes very clear who John the Baptist was and was not, saying,

There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John.

He came as a witness to testify concerning that light (i.e. Jesus), so that through him all men might believe.

He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. (John 1:6-8)

Or as John the Baptist himself put it when questioned by the priests, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees,

I am not the Christ…I am the voice of one calling in the desert, “Make straight the way for the Lord.” (John 1:20, 23)

His whole purpose in life was to pave the way for Jesus. To prepare people’s hearts to receive him.

It strikes me that as followers of Jesus, God has passed on that mission to us. To prepare people’s hearts for Jesus. We cannot make them follow him. All we can do is plant the seed.

Our message, really, isn’t much different from John’s. The main difference, of course, was that he was preaching that they needed to prepare their hearts because God’s salvation was coming. (Luke 3:6)

We preach that God’s salvation has already come in Jesus Christ.

But the other thing that strikes me is that John really didn’t mince words. When he saw the Pharisees and Sadducees coming down towards him, he said,

You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.

And do not think you can say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.”

I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire. (Matthew 3:7-12)

Why did John come down so hard on these people? Because for the most part, they were hypocrites that looked good on the outside, keeping the letter of the law, while on the inside, they were utterly corrupt.

They thought they were in with God because they were Jews. Not only that, unlike the “ignorant,” they knew God’s law.

But on the inside, they were filled with pride and were utterly devoid of the mercy of God in their lives.

And though he was less harsh with the rest of the people, even the most hated of people in Israel, the tax collectors and astonishingly enough the Roman soldiers (although some would argue that the soldiers were Jewish soldiers), nevertheless, he called them to repentance as well.

He warned them that they could not just keep living the way that they were. Because as he told all of them, a day of judgment is coming.

We need to do the same. We need to tell people like it is.

We of course need to tell people that Jesus loves them. That he died to take the punishment for their sins, and that they can be forgiven and made whole.

But if they refuse to listen in their pride, stubbornness, or utter sinfulness, we also need to warn them that a day of judgment is coming.

Because if we don’t, God will hold us accountable. (Ezekiel 3:16-21; Acts 20:26-27)

How about you? Are you telling it like it is?

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Luke Luke 3 Matthew Matthew 1

Identifying with a fallen people

The gospels

As we look at the genealogies of Jesus, there are a couple of things that should be noted.

First, the genealogy in Matthew is clearly incomplete as several kings are skipped over (e.g. Joash, Amaziah, and Jehoiakim). So when you read “father of,” in Matthew, it would be better to read it as the “ancestor of.”

Second, most scholars agree that these genealogies are not both from Joseph’s line. It is assumed that the account of Matthew is giving us Joseph’s actual genealogy, while Luke’s gives us Mary’s.

The main reason is that in Luke, it says that Jesus was the son, “so it was thought,” of Joseph.

So as we read Luke’s account, it should probably be read, “[Jesus] was the son, so it was thought of Joseph, but really the descendant of Heli…” and so on. (The word “son” in the book of Luke can be translated descendant).

This is the first time I’m taking such a close look at the genealogies, and I’m realizing just how complex the issues with the genealogies can be, but I don’t want to get into them here except to say that the explanations are certainly very interesting.

At any rate, before I get lost in the explanation of the genealogies, let’s get to the fiercely practical.

As I look at these genealogies, one thing strikes me. When Jesus came, he didn’t just appear out of nowhere. He didn’t just drop out of the sky and say, “Here I am!”

Rather, fallen people though we are, he chose to identify with us. He chose to become one of us.

Just look at his ancestors.

  • Adam, who was created in a perfect world, but still managed to bring sin into it.
  • Terah, an idol worshipper, as were probably many of his ancestors.
  • Jacob, who had been a conman for much of his life.
  • Judah, who because of his ill-treatment of his daughter-in-law after his son’s death, was deceived by her and slept with her thinking she was a prostitute. The result? Two sons, one of whom just happened to be Jesus’ ancestor. (A complex story: See Genesis 38).
  • Rahab, who was not only an outsider to the Jewish people, but a prostitute.
  • Ruth, a woman from an outcast group of people, the Moabites. (See Deuteronomy 23:3-4)
  • David, who committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband. Yet Solomon (Matthew 1:6) and Nathan (not the prophet — Luke 3:31) were both sons of this union.
  • Numerous kings who had turned their backs on God (Ahaz and Manasseh among others).

Jesus could have skipped out on all this if he had wanted to. He could have held himself out as completely separate from us. But he didn’t. Instead, he identified himself with us, saying, “I am one of you.”

He identified with us in other ways as well. He wasn’t particularly handsome. (Isaiah 53:2)

He didn’t come from a rich family. He grew up working hard, supporting his family once his father Joseph died.

He got tired. He got hungry and thirsty. He went through temptation and trials. He suffered rejection. He was misunderstood. He was abused. He was betrayed. He suffered pain.

Why?

The book of Hebrews tells us, saying,

[Jesus] had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God. (Hebrews 2:17)

In short, he did it to understand us. And because he understands us, he has become more merciful towards us as our high priest before God.

Because of this, it says in Hebrews 4:16,

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may find mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

How are you feeling today? Depressed because of your struggles with sin? Struggling just to support your family? Tired? Troubled? Rejected? Hurt? Betrayed?

Bring it all before Jesus. Because he understands. And he will help.