Luke 3:8
“We have Abraham as our father.’”
John the Baptist had a thriving ministry. We read that multitudes, or large gatherings of people, came out to hear him preach. We read that this crowd was made up of a cross section of society. There were religious people, tax collectors, and soldiers, as well as what we might call the everyday man; all of whom had come out to hear John speak.
Crowds formed the same way then as they do today. One man tells another, who tells another, and pretty soon a multitude forms. We are not told who the first people were to hear John speak, but we can imagine the message they declared to their friends, “You gotta come hear this guy speak. I listened to him, was baptized and my life has was changed.” One after another, they gathered to hear John. His message was very simple; Jesus is coming and we need to be ready. To get ready required a public declaration that they were sinners in need of a savior. Many responded by walking into the water with John to be baptized.
Not everyone who heard was jumping at the chance to respond. Some said, “I have Abraham as my father.” This essentially meant that they thought they did not need a savior. The same is true today. When a person truly meets the Lord he has a message that he cannot contain. He finds himself telling everyone he knows and inviting them to come hear the message for themselves. The problem is, although we are all equally in need of a savior, some attempt to satisfy that need with religion.
They might say “I don’t need Christ because I…”
* go to church
* was born in America
* was baptized as a baby
* am a good person
* give to charity
The list goes on and on; to which John says, ” do not even begin to say…” Those things will not save you from the righteous judgment of God. Ask yourself, do you trust in Christ for salvation? Have you made a public decision for Christ, declaring your need for Him? Or are you trusting in something else that is keeping you from full surrender to Christ?
Pastor Jim
Questions for Luke 3
- When the word of the Lord came to John, what did he do?
- What is required for the remission of sin?
- Take some time now and pray, repent of your sins, and then read 1John1:9.
- Isaiah prophesied that all flesh shall see the salvation of God. In what ways have you seen the salvation of God?
- Verse 16 we read another reference to the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Ask the Spirit to fill you right now.
- Jesus will gather the wheat into His barn. What happens to the chaff?
- Who did John rebuke?
- What happened to John because of this rebuke?
- Verses 23-38 records a genealogy of Jesus. Do you recognize any names in this genealogy?
Old Testament:
Leviticus 4- Oops
Leviticus 5- Restitution
Sometimes, we wonder if our lives could ever really make a difference. We see others who are being used by God, and we think, “of course God uses them, they are so…” But when it comes to us, we think, “God can’t use me because…”
Every parent has the same goal. We desire the best for our children. We want to see them achieve more than we have. We want them to make it through childhood not having been distracted or derailed by vices, but to be prepared to live godly lives and make good life choices. What a blessing for Zacharias and Elizabeth to read that their son, “grew and became strong in spirit”.
Paul explained to the Corinthian church the simplicity of the Gospel message. He stated that Jesus died for our sins, was buried and rose again on the third day; all according to the Scriptures. That was the message the first believers declared to their world. They went into their homes, streets, marketplaces, schools and places of business, declaring the Son of God died for our sins and rose from the dead.
We have come to the most solemn and most important of all Biblical events. The entire life and ministry of Jesus, as well as the whole of human history, has been leading up to these events. Jesus declared, no one could take His life, but that He would lay it down (John 10:18). That day has finally arrived. Without a fight, Jesus, the creator and sustainer of heaven and earth, was taken by the mob, condemned by the the courts, beaten by the soldiers, and nailed to the cross. There on a cross of wood, amidst the clamor of the mob, He would bear the penalty for the sins of all humanity. Louder than all the jeering of the mockers, the laughing of the soldiers, the accusations of the pharisees and the weeping of the disciples, rang out the cry “My God, My God why have You forsaken Me?”
Mingled into the fabric of the betrayal, arrest, conviction and crucifixion of Christ, is the story of Peter’s denial. What happened to him? He went from confidently stating he would never deny Christ, to hiding his faith, denying his Lord, and bitterly weeping. While we never start out to fall, the path we walk will always determine our final destination. Peter’s path inevitably led to Peter’s fall. Let’s take a few minutes to notice the steps leading to his failure, that we might avoid these same pitfalls.
The stones that formed the Temple were massive. Their sheer size represented permanence. For the disciples, it would be difficult to imagine them ever being destroyed. When Jesus declared that a time was coming when the Temple would be leveled, the minds of the disciples jumped to the future. They asked;
The world is fascinated with love. Innumerable songs, books, plays and poetry have been written on the subject. Love is the favorite theme of Hollywood movies, gossip rags and television shows. We even have Valentine’s Day, where we celebrate love with flowers, candy and romantic sentiments. I grew up hearing the words “all we need is love” heralded through the airwaves. Love was an important subject in the times of Christ as well. When Jesus was asked what was the most important of all the commandments He responded, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30 The scribes understood exactly what Jesus was saying and agreed with Him fully. They said “to love God and to love others is more than all the offerings and sacrifices.” We have taken the greatest commandment and put it through the word processor of modern times and reduced it to one word: love. Even those who do not follow Jesus (and a few who do not even believe in Him) will quote Him as saying the greatest commandment is love. They will go on to espouse, that if we want to live and die right, all we need to do is be loving toward one another. Since Jesus declares that this is the most important of all commandments, it is vital that we understand that the command not only states love is the greatest responsibility of man, but also declares who we are to love. Just to love our family, or be compassionate toward those less fortunate than us, or to be kind to our fellow man, does not satisfy this commandment. We are only fulfilling the great commandment when we are loving God first, and loving others as an expression of our love for God. Ask yourself this morning, do I love God first? If you do, He should have first place in your life, which means He will have first place in your living. If you love Him, you will spend time with Him, in His Word and in prayer. You will seek to please Him with your actions and express your love to Him in worship. Just to love, or to herald the importance of love, does not satisfy the greatest commandment. Instead, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. ’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Journeying through the gospels, we have many glimpses into the emotions of Christ. We see His compassion upon the multitudes and the sick, His love toward the rich young ruler, His sadness at the death of Lazarus, His tenderness toward the children, and so much more. As we encounter Him at the Temple, it is His anger that becomes evident to us. We read of Him turning tables over and driving people out of the Temple. Whatever we do not understand about this event, it is clear to all that Jesus is very upset with what is going on in the Temple courts. The key to unlocking the meaning of this event is in the words of Jesus Himself. He said,
Imagine the thrill that must have filled Bartimaeus when he heard these words. Although his eye did not allow him to see, he had heard the stories of the man from Galilee, who was healing the sick and raising the dead. Now Jesus was right there within the sound of his voice, able to hear his cries. Knowing that he had nothing to offer, Bartimaeus simply cried out for mercy. “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jim Gallagher 