Talk of JESUS .com

Tag: Luke

A Light of Revelation to the Gentiles

Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

Luke 1:5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord…

The Birth of John the Baptist

57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.”

(a few months later in Jerusalem, which is near to Bethlehem)

Jesus Presented at the Temple

22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord…

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation
31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”

33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

(Jesus was eight days old; then Joseph fled from the wrath of Herod to Egypt.)

We have picked up the story of Jesus’ early ministry 30 years later.

He is filled by the Holy Spirit, baptized by John, faced Satan for 40 days in the wilderness and returned to Nazareth and the surrounding towns to preach repentance.

Jesus has been rejected by his own brothers and neighbors of Nazareth. The people of Nazareth try to stone Him!

Jesus moves to Capernaum. He teaches and performs miracles on the Galilean hillsides. All the time, of course, Galilee is under the administration and watchful eye of Rome. A Roman army could occupy any town at any time if they perceived a threat from its people or a charismatic leader with thousands of followers listening to his teaching. Of course, watchful Roman ears would have the intelligence to hear what such a Galilean would be saying to his followers. Rome and the gentile solders certainly knew Jesus prior to His triumphal entry into Jerusalem which would occur just three short years from now.

Christ Jesus is not only a teacher and friend of the Jews. Jesus IS a light and salvation to the gentile Romans.

The Prophesy of Luke 1:

30 …for my eyes have seen your salvation
31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”

(Next we continue Jesus’ journey and witness to Capernaum and Nain in Galilee.)

February 24, 2014
Lord, Lord

“My lord, King…”

“My lord of the land where I live, lord of the house you own that I rent…”

“My lord, protector of the lands and neighborhood against the enemies which would destroy me and my family and take everything we have…”

“My lord, boss, administrator over my work and lord over my wages and payment…”

“Oh, Lord,” we exclaim of God or Christ; but it is a concept with with we have much difficulty.

“Oh, my God!” “Good Lord!” Once references to our helplessness in relation to Deity, now exclamation of our helplessness of self.

“OMG” – small god; BIG MY!

Will you bow down to our merciful Father in Heaven, Jesus asks?

Will a wife lord it over her husband?

Will a child lord it over its mother?

What do you mean when you call Christ Jesus your “Lord?”

Luke 6:46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

My grandparents were poor and could only afford a small house on a riverbank. I remember it well from my boyhood. We would walk in the side door off the gravel drive and up three steps to the right to enter the kitchen of the small house where my mom grew up. To the left several steps descended into the unfinished basement where the furnace and coal bin were located. Beneath the kitchen window in the back was a small river bank that descended in two levels to a plateau on level to the basement floor then another drop to the river (unless it was flooded). Their house was built on a riverbank of firm clay.

Yet many years in the spring the river would flood the entire neighborhood on the bend in the river. My grandparents would put the furniture up on cement blocks and wait for the water to recede. The house still stands after many years (in the neighborhood pictured above.)

Jesus speaks of two houses built on places of less and of more stability and again gives us a picture for consideration of our faith.

47 Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like:

48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.

49 But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

“Do you mean to say that Jesus is still calling the multitudes to repentance?

OMG! (or should I say, Oh, my Lord?)”

February 20, 2014
The Fruit of Good Advice – 2

A Tree and Its Fruit

Luke 6:43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit.

For figs are not gathered from thornbushes,

nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.

It’s a picture proverb, really; a comparison or two fruits to the source of their growth. It’s a picture of inconsistency, hypocrisy (if you will) as He has just related in verses 39-42.

You are both hungry and thirsty. You see a luscious and juicy fig on a tree in an orchard or you walk through a vineyard on a hillside with grapes juicy and ripe for the picking. Your timing is just right. The figs are ready to be picked. The grapes are ripe and ready for the wine-press. God has blessed you. God has fed you.

But what does Jesus tell the multitudes whom He has just fed with His authoritative good advice?

45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Look at the tree and you will see the fruit. Look at the thistle and the bramble and you will have NO fruit.

Where is the source of the good fruit – the source of blessing?

It is from God our Father.

Therefore, IF you are part of those who hear, YOU will have good fruit and blessing. Yet IF you are just one of the multitude who bears no fruit, YOU will have curse.

Is His message still repent?

Of course. We have a merciful Father. Therefore bear the fruit of repentance.

Speak good and not evil from your heart.

Are you known by your fruit for Christ Jesus?

Consider the consequence for failing to repent and return to the Lord.

February 19, 2014