Luke 5:12-26

Good morning, RTB’ers!

Faith and healings. Today’s STS asks a good question, comparing the faith of the individuals involved in each of today’s healings. It’s a good question to ponder – and then to ask ourselves about our own faith when we pray for healings.

Ben has announced a St. Andrew’s healing service for January 20. These would be good scriptures for background for that service. I would encourage you to attend that service and to re-read today’s passage as preparation before you go.

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… Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem (verse 17). We have already seen that Jesus’ fame was spreading throughout Galilee. Now we have Pharisees and scribes coming all the way from Jerusalem (~80 miles) and even farther from locations throughout Judea. Clearly Jesus’ fame was spreading! Carol had pointed out to me a few years back that the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem were always on the lookout for anyone claiming to be the Messiah or someone who was healing or teaching or recruiting followers. So the Pharisees and Scribes may have been there to check Jesus out – and probably with an eye to discredit Him. Unfortunately for them, Jesus was up to the task and the Pharisees and Scribes got more than they bargained for!

Blessings!

Luke 5:1-11

Good morning, RTB’ers!

In today’s first verse Luke refers to the Lake of Gennesaret. This lake is also known as the Sea of Galilee in Matthew’s and Mark’s gospels and as the Sea of Tiberius in John’s gospel. It is a prominent feature on the map that I posted yesterday and is referred to quite often in the gospels, as in Jesus calming the storm (Matthew 8:26, Mark 4:39, and Luke 8:24); Jesus walking on the water (Matthew 14:22-33, Mark 6:45-52, John 6:16-21); and Jesus crossing “over to the other side” (Mark 4:35).

As I mentioned yesterday, cross-referencing the other gospels is helpful for a better understanding of Jesus’ ministry. For today’s reading, if you only read Luke’s gospel, you might have some sense that this is the first time that Jesus met these three men. But in John 1:40-42 we see Andrew as Jesus’ first follower, and then Andrew bringing his brother, Simon Peter to Jesus (John 1:40-42). It is also quite possible that the other man with Andrew who was following Jesus in John 1:37, 40 was either James or John (v. 10 in today’s reading). Finally, later in John’s first chapter we see Jesus also calling Philip and Nathanael (John 1:43-50). (See also Mark 1:16-20 and Matthew 4:18-22 for other records of Jesus calling His first disciples.)

If you are reading this post and following along in Search the Scriptures, it’s likely that you have also been called. So, when was that? When were you called? What was the occasion? Who was there with you at that time? What was your response? It’s good for us to ask ourselves those questions occasionally, to regularly recall Jesus’ and His Holy Spirit’s ministry into our lives. More Sunday discussion!!

Blessings!

Luke 4:31-44

Good morning, RTB’ers!

Today we see Jesus leaving Nazareth and going “down” (in elevation) to Capernaum, some 40 miles to the northeast. I’ve imbedded a map below showing much of the Galilee region. (BTW, Galilee is a Jewish region between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, bordering Samaria on the south and Lebanon on the north.) The dark lines show a route between Cana (where Jesus turned water into wine, John 2:1-12) and Nazareth (Jesus’ hometown), and then from Nazareth to Capernaum. We will find Capernaum to be a major city in Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. Peter was from Capernaum, along with his brother Andrew and another set of brothers, James and John. They were all fishermen, fishing in the Sea of Galilee. Eleven of Jesus’ twelve apostles were from Galilee, the exception being Judas, who was from a small town south of Jerusalem.

The demons that Jesus cast out in today’s reading referred to Him as the “Holy One of God” (v. 34) and the “Son of God” (v. 41). He silenced them both, not wanting them to broadcast to onlookers as to Who He was. Mark’s gospel makes a big deal of Jesus’ “Messianic Secret”, so we see a bit of that here in Luke. Another phrase that we see for the first time today is the “kingdom of God” (v. 43). My Study Bible noted that this phrase occurs more than 30 times in Luke’s gospel. We might ask ourselves what exactly is the “kingdom of God”? Is it some “heaven” place, from where Jesus had come to be born, where the Father “resides”? Is it some future heaven or Earth, which will be Jesus’ Kingdom when He returns? Or is it some “location” or “presence” wherever Jesus is, in His earthly person? What exactly does Jesus mean by the “kingdom of God”? Another good question for discussion on the 14^th!

Blessings!

Luke 4:14-30

Good morning, RTB’ers! Sorry for that delay. A hard, windy night slows things down in the morning here in the country.

Verse 23b is confusing. Jesus is suggesting that the synagogue crowd was thinking, “…What we have heard You did at Capernaum, do here in Your hometown as well.” We have no record here in Luke’s gospel of what He had done in Capernaum. In verse 14 we have the Spirit directing Jesus away from His wilderness experience and back to his home area in Galilee. But there is nothing said in Luke about what Jesus might have done in Judea or Galilee before returning to his hometown of Nazareth (v. 16), except that He was preaching in Galilean synagogues (v. 15). John’s gospel records a number of incidents soon after Jesus’ baptism – His calling His disciples, the wedding at Cana, Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman at the well. We simply have to go along with Luke’s verse 15 comment, “And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.” Then the next verse has Him back in Nazareth. So there must have been a good deal of time lapse between verse 13 and verse 16.

Computer problems remain, especially with Chrome, which I use extensively in posting these comments. So if this note sends, I’m going to leave it with you to work through this Nazareth synagogue experience yourselves. Another good discussion item for the 14^th!

Blessings!

Luke 3:23-4:13

Good morning, RTB’ers!

Jesus’ genealogy and temptation in the wilderness. Luke’s genealogy is very different from Matthew’s. In fact, only a couple of ancestors are the same. To me the major difference is that Luke had Jesus descended through David’s son, Nathan, while Matthew has him descended through David’s son, Solomon. I’m sure that hundreds of scholars have studied these genealogies through the ages, but, thankfully, it’s neither my interest nor my chore.

There are two other accounts of Jesus’ temptation, in Matthew 4:1-11 and a very short version in Mark 1:12-13. We often hear that one of the benefits of Jesus’ incarnation is His temptation in the wilderness – that He was humanly tempted and was able to withstand the devil’s tests. So, too, we also have the tools to resist temptations. We are occasionally encouraged by John S. to engage in Scripture memorization. Thankfully, one verse that I did memorize some years back is I Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you except that which is common to mankind; and God is faithful, He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you will be able to endure it.” As above, I’m sure that hundreds of scholars have looked at Jesus’ temptation through the ages. For us, it sounds like another good discussion topic for our gathering this coming Sunday, the 14^th.

A phrase that struck me this time was the devil’s offer, “I will give You all this domain and its glory, for it has been handed over to me…”, especially the claim he makes that “…it has been handed over to me…” (v. 6a). It is troubling to consider that this world has been handed over to the devil, but apparently that’s what happened when Adam and Eve sinned and were cast out of the Garden of Eden. We know that Jesus has defeated Satan and that He will reclaim this Earth when He comes again, but until then those temptations that Satan used on Jesus will also continue to test us. However, “No temptation has overtaken you except that which is common to mankind; and God is faithful; He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you will be able to endure it.”

Blessings!

Luke 3:1-22

Good morning, RTB’ers!

Today is John the Baptizer’s ministry and Jesus’ baptism, except that Jesus’ baptism takes up only two verses (21-22). Surprisingly, as happens infrequently with RTB readings, just yesterday Ben preached on Jesus’ baptism. So listen to his sermon if you want to hear more about Jesus’ baptism.

Almost the whole of today’s reading is about John’s ministry. We saw details of his birth in Luke 1:5-25, 57-80. So in today’s reading we see the fulfillment of Zachariah’s prophecy in Luke 1:76-77. We often think of John’s ministry as one of preaching repentance, thereby preparing the way for the Messiah, Jesus. We also see him baptizing Jesus. Longer accounts of Jesus’ baptism are found in the other three gospels. Incidentally, until Holy Week, Jesus’ baptism and His feeding of the 5,000 are the only events in Jesus’ life that are reported in all four gospels.

There is one other thing that I saw anew today in John’s ministry – his remarks to his listeners as to their earthly behavior. He told the crowds to share their goods with the needy (v. 10), tax collectors to not cheat on their collections (v. 13), and soldiers to not extort money and be content with their wages (v. 14). Therein, I think, lie messages for all of us – to share with the needy, to not cheat on items related to money issues, and to behave as respectable citizens. All that in addition to repentance. A full message, indeed!

I urged you a couple of days ago to watch for the Holy Spirit in Luke’s gospel. We see two mentions today. Check them out, then ask our Lord to fill you with His Holy Spirit today!

Blessings!

Good morning, RTB’ers!

Today’s reading is another story with which most of us are familiar. It’s a story that children love – I guess, because Jesus is a young boy himself and children can relate to Him at this age. For adults, however, this story raises questions about Jesus’ divinity. How much did He know of His birth, of Mary’s and Joseph’s stories? What was His relationship with His Father? Was His Holy Spirit within Him from birth or must we wait for tomorrow’s reading where we see the Holy Spirit descending upon Him and the Father speaking of/to Him? And more questions! Good questions for discussion next Sunday at our RTB gathering!!

Today’s verse 51b, “…and His mother treasured all these things in her heart…” is a repeat from verse 2:19 from two days ago, “But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.” We saw at the first day of this year’s readings that Luke was serious about getting the story correct: “…it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account…” I have always imagined that Jesus’ mother, Mary, was one of Luke’s key sources. Now Luke is telling us that Mary was also serious about getting all these details correct. Folks, we can take confidence in these words written some 2,000 years ago. It’s a true story; it really all happened, just as we read it. Glory!

Finally, “…they thought that He was somewhere in the caravan…” (v. 44a, NASB). The ESV translation has “group” instead of caravan. Later today I will hope to write to you all what Carol and I learned about caravans a few years back.

Blessings!

Luke 2:21-39

Good morning, RTB’ers!

Today’s reading is known as “The Presentation in the Temple”. Mary and Joseph were following an Old Testament custom for Jewish parents, passed on through the ages from the time when it was handed down by God to Moses, some 1,500 years before Jesus’ birth. The first STS note below today’s questions has Old Testament references for this custom.

Simeon and Anna, two Bible people known to us only through this one incident in today’s reading. I was struck at how news of Jesus’ birth was being “broadcast” around Jerusalem, by Simeon, “And His father and His mother marveled at what was said about Him.” (v. 33) and by Anna, “And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of Him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.” (v. 39). And what brought these two people to this moment? Apparently Anna either lived in a room in the Temple or reasonably close by, since she was there fasting and praying every day (v. 37). Simeon, however, seemingly just “showed up”, but clearly guided by the Holy Spirit, as we see in three Holy Spirit references for His presence in verses 25-27. What a model these two provide for us – daily prayer and being led by the Spirit. Good examples to follow!

One personal note… My mother’s name was Anna, with Nancy as her nickname. She died when I was four years old. Our first child is named Nancy, after my mother and recalling this Anna. So today’s reading is always warm in my heart.

Blessings!

Luke 2:1-20

Good morning, RTB’ers!

I mentioned a few days ago that we were reading a Scripture passage with which we were quite familiar. I daresay that for many (or most) of us, there is no passage in all of Scripture with which we are more familiar than today’s reading. Jesus’ birth is recounted for us each Christmas; at St. Andrew’s we even have a children’s Christmas pageant that tells the story in words and action. But with such familiarity it can be difficult to pick out material which is new – unless we go deeper and look for it! Many years ago our pastor, David Brannen suggested to us, “Notice what you notice.” So if you’ve already read today’s passage, go back and read it again with “new eyes” and “notice what you notice”.

To that end, what did I notice? Surprisingly, something fairly small: “And they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. When they had seen Him, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it were amazed about the things which were told them by the shepherds.” (vv. 16-18) Mary had already had an angelic visit from Gabriel telling her what to expect (Luke 1:26-38); Joseph had had a dream in which he was filled in on some details (Matthew 1:18-21). So together they knew and surely had talked together about this birth. And now these (lowly) shepherds come to the stable and report what they had seen and heard, fully confirming to Mary and Joseph that Gabriel’s words and Joseph’s dream had come to pass as predicted.

Nine years ago we were living in Richmond and, unknown to me, Carol was quietly looking around Versailles, wondering about us possibly moving here. Then one day between Christmas and New Year’s, 2014, she finally asked me, “Have you ever thought about moving to Versailles?” My response stunned both of us: “It’s been heavy on my heart the past week!” Truly, in our driving to St. Andrew’s for services for more than six years the thought had certainly crossed my mind. But in that week before Carol’s question to me, that thought had become a burning “desire”. It just made sense to me that we should look into moving. And then, Carol’s question… Our hearts are filled whenever we get confirmation from an external source of something, maybe a plan of action that we have been considering. For Carol and me, my response to her question was a full confirmation of our moving over here. Likewise, for Mary and Joseph, the shepherds’ visit was that confirmation of what they had been told. No doubt, this young, lonely couple was filled with joy at these shepherds’ words! Yes, most certainly, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people with whom He is pleased.” (Luke 1:14)

Blessings!

Luke 1:57-80

Good morning, RTB’ers!

Today we have a helpful explanatory note in STS prior to our readings. The note guides us a bit into the structure of Zechariah’s prayer/prophecy. What was intriguing to me in his prayer is that Zachariah’s words have little to do with his own son’s birth and more to do with Jesus. It’s only two verses that relate to John: “And you, child, also will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins…” (vv. 76-77).

The Holy Spirit is mentioned four times in this first chapter of Luke’s gospel – John, Elizabeth and Zachariah were all (or would be) filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:15,35,67) and for Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you…” (v. 41). One online source suggests that there will be fifteen more mentions of the Holy Spirit in Luke’s gospel (https://spectrummagazine.org/post-archives/misplaced-expectations-ministry-holy-spirit-presented-gospel-luke/). So the Holy Spirit is Someone we will want to be watching for as we read further, including in both of the next two chapters. Who is He? What does He do? What can He do to/for us? How can we know Him better? Good questions to ponder…

Blessings!