Chapter Seven: Lessons about Faith (Luke 8)
Key theme: Our Lord’s journeys as the Son of man
I.JOURNEY FROM HEAVEN TO EARTH—1:5–4:13
B.The babies are born—1:57–2:20
D.Jesus’ baptism and temptation—3:1–4:13
II.THE JOURNEY THROUGHOUT GALILEE—4:14–9:17
III.THE JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM—9:18–19:27
IV.THE MINISTRY IN JERUSALEM—19:28–24:53
(Luke 1)
(Luke 2)
(Luke 3–4)
(Luke 5)
(Luke 6)
(Luke 7)
(Luke 8)
(Luke 9)
(Luke 10)
(Luke 11)
(Luke 12)
(Luke 13)
(Luke 14)
(Luke 15)
(Luke 16)
(Luke 17)
(Luke 18)
(Luke 19)
(Luke 20)
(Luke 21)
(Luke 23)
(Luke 24)
Luke 1
If ever a man wrote a book filled with good news for everybody, Dr. Luke is that man. His key message is, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (). He presents Jesus Christ as the compassionate Son of man, who came to live among sinners, love them, help them, and die for them.
In this Gospel you meet individuals as well as crowds, women and children as well as men, poor people as well as rich people, and sinners along with saints. It’s a book with a message for everybody, because Luke’s emphasis is on the universality of Jesus Christ and His salvation: “good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people” ().
Dr. Luke is named only three times in the New Testament: in ; ; and . He wrote Acts (compare with ) and traveled with Paul (note the “we” sections in ; ; , and 27:1–28:16). He was probably a Gentile (compare and ) and was trained as a physician. No wonder he began his book with detailed accounts of the births of two important babies! No wonder he emphasized Christ’s sympathy for hurting people! He wrote with the mind of a careful historian and with the heart of a loving physician.
The Gospel of Luke was written for Theophilus (“lover of God”), probably a Roman official who had trusted Christ and now needed to be established in the faith. It’s also possible that Theophilus was a seeker after truth who was being taught the Christian message, because the word translated instructed in gives us our English word catechumen, “someone who is being taught the basics of Christianity.”
The life and message of Christ were so important that many books had already been written about Him, but not everything in them could be trusted. Luke wrote his Gospel so that his readers might have an accurate and orderly narrative of the life, ministry, and message of Jesus Christ. Luke had carefully researched his material, interviewed eyewitnesses, and listened to those who had ministered the Word. Most important, he had the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The phrase from the very first (Gk. anothen) can be translated “from above,” as it is in and . It speaks of the inspiration of the Spirit of God on the message that Luke wrote.
In this first chapter, Luke tells us how God’s wonderful news came to different people and how they responded to it. You will discover four different responses.
It was indeed a dark day for the nation of Israel. The people had heard no prophetic Word from God for 400 years, not since Malachi had promised the coming of Elijah (). The spiritual leaders were shackled by tradition and, in some instances, corruption; and their king, Herod the Great, was a tyrant. He had nine (some say ten) wives, one of whom he had executed for no apparent reason. But no matter how dark the day, God always has His devoted and obedient people.
A faithful priest (vv. ). Zacharias (“Jehovah has remembered”) and Elizabeth (“God is my oath”) were a godly couple who both belonged to the priestly line. The priests were divided into twenty-four courses (1 Chron. 24), and each priest served in the temple two weeks out of the year. In spite of the godlessness around them, Zacharias and Elizabeth were faithful to obey the Word of God and live blamelessly.
Their only sorrow was that they had no family, and they made this a matter of constant prayer. Little did they know that God would answer their prayers and give them, not a priest, but a prophet! And no ordinary prophet, for their son would be the herald of the coming King!
A fearful priest (vv. ). The priests on duty drew lots to see which ministries they would perform, and Zacharias was chosen to offer incense in the holy place. This was a high honor that was permitted to a priest but once in a lifetime. The incense was offered daily before the morning sacrifice and after the evening sacrifice, about 3 o’clock in the afternoon. It was probably the evening offering that was assigned to Zacharias.
You have probably noticed that God often speaks to His people and calls them while they are busy doing their daily tasks. Both Moses and David were caring for sheep, and Gideon was threshing wheat. Peter and his partners were mending nets when Jesus called them. It is difficult to steer a car when the engine is not running. When we get busy, God starts to direct us.
Luke mentions angels twenty-three times in his Gospel. There are innumerable angels (), only two of which are actually named in Scripture: Michael (, ; ; ; ) and Gabriel (; ; , ). When Gabriel appeared by the altar, Zacharias was frightened, for the angel’s appearance could have meant divine judgment.
“Fear not” is a repeated statement in the Gospel of Luke (, ; ; ; ; , ). Imagine how excited Zacharias must have been when he heard that he and Elizabeth were to have a son! “Rejoicing” is another key theme in Luke, mentioned at least nineteen times. Good news brings joy!
Gabriel instructed him to name his son John (“Jehovah is gracious”) and to dedicate the boy to God to be a Nazarite all of his life (). He would be filled with the Spirit before birth () and would be God’s prophet to present His Son to the people of Israel (see ). God would use John’s ministry to turn many people back to the Lord, just as Isaiah had promised ().
A faithless priest (vv. ). You would think that the presence of an angel and the announcement of God’s Word would encourage Zacharias’ faith, but they did not. Instead of looking to God by faith, the priest looked at himself and his wife and decided that the birth of a son was impossible. He wanted some assurance beyond the plain word of Gabriel, God’s messenger, perhaps a sign from God.
This, of course, was unbelief, and unbelief is something God does not accept. Zacharias was really questioning God’s ability to fulfill His own Word! Had he forgotten what God did for Abraham and Sarah? (; ) Did he think that his physical limitations would hinder Almighty God? But before we criticize Zacharias too much, we should examine ourselves and see how strong our own faith is.
Faith is blessed, but unbelief is judged; and Zacharias was struck dumb (and possibly deaf, ) until the Word was fulfilled. “I believed, and therefore have I spoken” (). Zacharias did not believe; therefore he could not speak. When he left the holy place, he was unable to give the priestly benediction to the people () or even tell them what he had seen. Indeed, God had given him a very personal “sign” that he would have to live with for the next nine months.
A favored priest (vv. ). Zacharias must have had a difficult time completing his week of ministry, not only because of his handicap, but also because of his excitement. He could hardly wait to return “to the hill country” () where he lived, to tell his wife the good news.
God kept His promise and Elizabeth conceived a son in her old age. “There is nothing too hard for the Lord” (). Apparently the amazement and curiosity of the people forced her to hide herself even as she praised the Lord for His mercy. Not only was she to have a son, but the birth of her son was evidence that the Messiah was coming! These were exciting days indeed!
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, Gabriel brought a second birth announcement, this time to a young virgin in Nazareth named Mary. At least there was variety in his assignments: an old man, a young woman; a priest, a descendent of David, the king; the temple, a common home; Jerusalem, Nazareth; unbelief, faith.
The people in Judah disdained the Jews in Galilee and claimed they were not “kosher” because of their contacts with the Gentiles there (). They especially despised the people from Nazareth (). But God in His grace chose a girl from Nazareth in Galilee to be the mother of the promised Messiah!
When it comes to Mary, people tend to go to one of two extremes. They either magnify her so much that Jesus takes second place (), or they ignore her and fail to give her the esteem she deserves (). Elizabeth, filled with the Spirit, called her “the mother of my Lord” (); and that is reason enough to honor her.
What do we know about Mary? She was a Jewess of the tribe of Judah, a descendant of David, and a virgin (). She was engaged to a carpenter in Nazareth named Joseph (), and apparently both of them were poor (; ). Among the Jews at that time, engagement was almost as binding as marriage and could be broken only by divorce. In fact, the man and the woman were called “husband” and “wife” even before the marriage took place (compare and ). Since Jewish girls married young, it is likely that Mary was a teenager when the angel appeared to her.
Mary’s surprise (vv. ). When you consider Gabriel’s greeting, you can well understand why Mary was perplexed and afraid: “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you!” (The phrase Blessed art thou among women is not found here in many Greek manuscripts. You find it in .) Why would an angel come to greet her? In what way was she “highly favored” (“greatly graced”) by God? How was God with her?
Mary’s response reveals her humility and honesty before God. She certainly never expected to see an angel and receive special favors from heaven. There was nothing unique about her that such things should happen. If she had been different from other Jewish girls, as some theologians claim she was, then she might have said, “Well, it’s about time! I’ve been expecting you!” No, all of this was a surprise to her.
Gabriel then gave her the good news: she would become the mother of the promised Messiah whom she would name Jesus (“Jehovah is salvation”; see ). Note that Gabriel affirmed both the deity and the humanity of Jesus. As Mary’s son, He would be human; as Son of the Highest (), He would be the Son of God (). “For unto us a Child is born [His humanity], unto us a Son is given [His deity]” (). The emphasis is on the greatness of the Son (cf. ), not the greatness of the mother.
But He would also be a King, inherit David’s throne, and reign over Israel forever! If we interpret literally what Gabriel said in , then we should also interpret literally what he said in . He was referring to God’s covenant with David (2 Sam. 7) and His kingdom promises to the people of Israel (; 11–12; 61; 66; Jer. 33).
Jesus came to earth to be the Saviour of the world, but He also came to fulfill the promises God made to the Jewish fathers (). Today, Jesus is enthroned in heaven (), but it is not on David’s throne. One day Jesus will return and establish His righteous kingdom on earth, and then these promises will be fulfilled.
Mary’s surrender (vv. ). Mary knew what would happen, but she did not know how it would happen. Her question in was not an evidence of unbelief (cf. ); rather, it was an expression of faith. She believed the promise, but she did not understand the performance. How could a virgin give birth to a child?
First, Gabriel explained that this would be a miracle, the work of the Holy Spirit of God. Joseph, her betrothed, would not be the father of the child (), even though Jesus would be legally identified as the son of Joseph (; ; ; ). It’s possible that some people thought Mary had been unfaithful to Joseph and that Jesus was “born of fornication” (). This was a part of the pain that Mary had to bear all her life ().
Gabriel was careful to point out that the Baby would be a “holy thing” and would not share the sinful human nature of man. Jesus knew no sin (), He did no sin (), and He had no sin (). His body was prepared for Him by the Spirit of God () who “overshadowed” Mary. That word is applied to the presence of God in the holy of holies in the Jewish tabernacle and temple (). Mary’s womb became a holy of holies for the Son of God!
The angel ended his message by giving Mary a word of encouragement: her aged relative Elizabeth was with child, proving that “with God nothing shall be impossible.” God gave a similar word to Abraham when He announced the birth of Isaac (). That our God can do anything is the witness of many, including Job (), Jeremiah (), and even our Lord Jesus (). I personally like the translation of this verse found in the 1901 American Standard Version: “For no word of God shall be void of power.” God accomplishes His purposes through the power of His Word ().
Mary’s believing response was to surrender herself to God as His willing servant. She experienced the grace of God () and believed the Word of God, and therefore she could be used by the Spirit to accomplish the will of God. A “handmaid” was the lowest kind of female servant, which shows how much Mary trusted God. She belonged totally to the Lord, body (), soul (), and spirit (). What an example for us to follow! ()
Now that Mary knew she was to become a mother, and that her kinswoman Elizabeth would give birth in three months, she wanted to see Elizabeth so they could rejoice together. “Joy” is the major theme of this section as you see three persons rejoicing in the Lord.
The joy of Elizabeth (vv. ). As Mary entered the house, Elizabeth heard her greeting, was filled with the Spirit, and was told by the Lord why Mary was there. The one word that filled her lips was “blessed.” Note that she did not say that Mary was blessed above women but among women, and certainly this is true. While we don’t want to ascribe to Mary that which only belongs to God, neither do we want to minimize her place in the plan of God.
The thing that Elizabeth emphasized was Mary’s faith: “Blessed is she that believed” (). We are saved “by grace … through faith” (). Because Mary believed the Word of God, she experienced the power of God.
The joy of the unborn son, John (vv. , ). This was probably the time when he was filled with the Spirit as the angel had promised (). Even before his birth, John rejoiced in Jesus Christ, just as he did during his earthly ministry (). As John the Baptist, he would have the great privilege of introducing the Messiah to the Jewish nation.
The joy of Mary (vv. ). Hers was a joy that compelled her to lift her voice in a hymn of praise. The fullness of the Spirit should lead to joyful praise in our lives (), and so should the fullness of the Word (). Mary’s song contains quotations from and references to the Old Testament Scriptures, especially the Psalms and the song of Hannah in . Mary hid God’s Word in her heart and turned it into a song.
This song is called “The Magnificat” because the Latin version of is Magnificat anima mea Dominum. Her great desire was to magnify the Lord, not herself. She used the phrase “He hath” eight times as she recounted what God had done for three recipients of His blessing.
What God did for Mary (vv. ). To begin with, God had saved her (), which indicates that Mary was a sinner like all of us and needed to trust the Lord for her eternal salvation. Not only had He saved her, but He had also chosen her to be the mother of the Messiah (). He had “regarded” her, which means He was mindful of her and looked with favor on her. No doubt there were others who could have been chosen, but God chose her! The Lord had indeed showered His grace on her (see ).
Not only was God mindful of her, but He was also mighty for her, working on her behalf (). Mary would have no problem singing “Great Things He Hath Done!” (see ; ; ; and ) Because she believed God and yielded to His will, He performed a miracle in her life and used her to bring the Saviour into the world.
What God did for us (vv. ). In the second stanza of her song, Mary included all of God’s people who fear Him from generation to generation. We have all received His mercy and experienced His help. Mary named three specific groups to whom God had been merciful: the helpless (), the humble (), and the hungry ().
The common people of that day were almost helpless when it came to justice and civil rights. They were often hungry, downtrodden, and discouraged (), and there was no way for them to “fight the system.” A secret society of patriotic Jewish extremists called “the zealots” used violent means to oppose Rome, but their activities made matters only worse.
Mary saw the Lord turning everything upside down: the weak dethrone the mighty, the humble scatter the proud, the nobodies are exalted, the hungry are filled, and the rich end up poor! The grace of God works contrary to the thoughts and ways of this world system (). The church is something like that band of men that gathered around David ().
What God did for Israel (vv. ). “He shall save His people from their sins” (). In spite of Israel’s destitute condition, the nation was still God’s servant and He would help the people fulfill His purposes. God was on Israel’s side! He would remember His mercy and keep His promises (; also see ; ; ; ; ). Were it not for Israel, Jesus Christ could not have been born into the world.
Mary stayed with Elizabeth until John was born, and then she returned to Nazareth. By then, it was clear that she was pregnant, and no doubt the tongues began to wag. After all, she had been away from home for three months; and why, people were likely asking, had she left in such a hurry? It was then that God gave the good news to Joseph and instructed him what to do ().
God’s blessing was resting abundantly on Zacharias and Elizabeth. He sent them a baby boy, just as He promised; and they named him “John” just as God had instructed. The Jews looked on children as a gift from God and a “heritage from the Lord” (; ), and rightly so, for they are. Israel would not follow the practices of their pagan neighbors by aborting or abandoning their children. When you consider that 1–1/2 million babies are aborted each year in the United States alone, you can see how far we have drifted from the laws of God.
“The greatest forces in the world are not the earthquakes and the thunderbolts,” said Dr. E.T. Sullivan. “The greatest forces in the world are babies.”
Traditionally, a baby boy would be named after his father or someone else in the family; so the relatives and neighbors were shocked when Elizabeth insisted on the name John. Zacharias wrote “His name is John” on a tablet, and that settled it! Immediately God opened the old priest’s mouth, and he sang a hymn that gives us four beautiful pictures of what the coming of Jesus Christ to earth really means.
The opening of a prison door (v. ). The word redeem means “to set free by paying a price.” It can refer to the releasing of a prisoner or the liberating of a slave. Jesus Christ came to earth to bring “deliverance to the captives” (), salvation to people in bondage to sin and death. Certainly we are unable to set ourselves free; only Christ could pay the price necessary for our redemption (; ).
The winning of a battle (vv. ). In Scripture, a horn symbolizes power and victory (; , ). The picture here is that of an army about to be taken captive, but then help arrives and the enemy is defeated. In the previous picture, the captives were set free; but in this picture, the enemy is defeated so that he cannot capture more prisoners. It means total victory for the people of God.
The word salvation (, ) carries the meaning of “health and soundness.” No matter what the condition of the captives, their Redeemer brings spiritual soundness. When you trust Jesus Christ as Saviour, you are delivered from Satan’s power, moved into God’s kingdom, redeemed, and forgiven ().
Where did the Redeemer come from? He came from the house of David (), who himself was a great conqueror. God had promised that the Saviour would be a Jew (), from the tribe of Judah (), from the family of David (), born in David’s city, Bethlehem (). Both Mary () and Joseph () belonged to David’s line. The coming of the Redeemer was inherent in the covenants God made with His people (), and it was promised by the prophets ().
Note that the results of this victory are sanctity and service (). He sets us free, not to do our own will, because that would be bondage, but to do His will and enjoy His freedom.
The canceling of a debt (vv. ). Remission means “to send away, to dismiss, as a debt.” All of us are in debt to God because we have broken His law and failed to live up to His standards (). Furthermore, all of us are spiritually bankrupt, unable to pay our debt. But Jesus came and paid the debt for us (; ).
The dawning of a new day (vv. ). Dayspring means “sunrise.” The people were sitting in darkness and death, and distress gripped them when Jesus came; but He brought light, life, and peace. It was the dawn of a new day because of the tender mercies of God (see ).
The old priest had not said anything for nine months, but he certainly compensated for his silence when he sang this song of praise to God! And how joyful he was that his son was chosen by God to prepare the way for the Messiah (; ). John was “prophet of the Highest” (), introducing to Israel “the Son of the Highest” () who was conceived in Mary’s womb by “the power of the Highest” ().
Instead of enjoying a comfortable life as a priest, John lived in the wilderness, disciplining himself physically and spiritually, waiting for the day when God would send him out to prepare Israel for the arrival of the Messiah. People like Simeon and Anna () had been waiting for this day for many years, and soon it would come.
God calls us today to believe His Good News. Those who believe it experience His joy and want to express their praise to Him. It is not enough for us to say that Jesus is a Saviour, or even the Saviour. With Mary, we must say, “My spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour” (, italics mine).
Luke 2
Luke 2 may well be the most familiar and beloved portion in Luke’s Gospel. My wife and I still read the first twenty verses together each Christmas Eve, just as we did when our children were growing up. The story is old, but it is ever new; and God’s people never tire of it.
Dr. Luke gives us three glimpses into the early years of the Lord Jesus Christ.
“As weak as a baby!” is a common expression that could not be applied to the Baby Jesus in the manger. While He was as weak as any other baby humanly speaking, He was also the center of power as far as heaven was concerned.
His birth drew Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem (vv. ). Augustus Caesar was ruling, but God was in charge, for He used Caesar’s edict to move Mary and Joseph eighty miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem to fulfill His Word. Rome took a census every fourteen years for both military and tax purposes, and each Jewish male had to return to the city of his fathers to record his name, occupation, property, and family.
When Mary said “Be it unto me according to Thy word” (), it meant that from then on, her life would be a part of the fulfillment of divine prophecy. God had promised that the Saviour would be a human, not an angel (; ), and a Jew, not a Gentile (; ). He would be from the tribe of Judah (), and the family of David (), born of a virgin () in Bethlehem, the city of David ().
All of this occurred just as the Scriptures said, and Caesar unknowingly played an important part. A.T. Pierson used to say, “History is His story,” and President James A. Garfield called history “the unrolled scroll of prophecy.” If God’s Word controls our lives, then the events of history only help us fulfill the will of God. “I am watching over My word to perform it,” promises the Lord (, NASB).
Mary and Joseph were already husband and wife but since they did not consummate the marriage until after Jesus was born, she is called his “espoused wife” (). The journey must have been very trying for her, but she rejoiced in doing the will of God, and she was no doubt glad to get away from the wagging tongues in Nazareth.
Mothers in that day wrapped their infants in long bands of cloth to give the limbs strength and protection. The word translated “manger” (, , ) is translated “stall” in , and can mean either a feeding trough or an enclosure for animals. You see ancient stone troughs even today as you travel in the Holy Land, and it is probable that such a trough cradled the Infant Jesus. Many scholars believe that our Lord was born in a cave where animals were sheltered and not in a wooden shed such as you see in modern manger scenes.
Bethlehem means “house of bread,” the ideal birthplace for the Bread of Life (). Its rich historic heritage included the death of Rachel and the birth of Benjamin (; also see ), the marriage of Ruth, and the exploits of David. It is worth noting that the name Benjamin means “son of my right hand,” and the name David means “beloved.” Both of these names apply to our Lord, for He is the Beloved Son () at God’s right hand ().
His birth drew the angels from heaven (vv. ). How amazed the angels must have been when they saw the Creator born as a creature, the Word coming as a speechless baby. The best commentary on this is , and the best response from our hearts is wonder and worship. “Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh” ().
The first announcement of the Messiah’s birth was given by an angel to some anonymous shepherds. Why shepherds? Why not to priests or scribes? By visiting the shepherds, the angel revealed the grace of God toward mankind. Shepherds were really outcasts in Israel. Their work not only made them ceremonially unclean, but it kept them away from the temple for weeks at a time so that they could not be made clean. God does not call the rich and mighty; He calls the poor and the lowly (; ).
The Messiah came to be both the Good Shepherd (John 10) and the Lamb of God sacrificed for the sins of the world (). Perhaps these shepherds were caring for the flocks that would provide sacrifices for the temple services. It was fitting that the good news about God’s Shepherd and Lamb be given first to humble shepherds.
Shepherds are not easily fooled. They are practical men of the world who have little to do with fantasy. If they said that they saw angels and went and found the Messiah, then you could believe them. God selected hardworking men to be the first witnesses that His Son had come into the world.
First, one angel appeared (Gabriel?) and gave the glad announcement; and then a chorus of angels joined him and gave an anthem of praise. For the first time in centuries, the glory of God returned to earth. If brave shepherds were afraid at what they saw and heard, then you can be sure it was real!
“Fear not!” is one of the key themes of the Christmas story (, , ; and see ). Literally the angel said, “I announce to you good news, a great joy which shall be to all the people.” He used the word which means “to preach the Good News,” a word Luke uses often in both his Gospel and in the Book of Acts. We see here Luke’s emphasis on a worldwide Gospel: the Good News is for everybody, not just the Jews.
What was the Good News? Not that God had sent a soldier or a judge or a reformer, but that He had sent a Saviour to meet man’s greatest need. It was a message of peace to a world that had known much war. The famous “Pax Romana” (Roman Peace) had been in effect since 27 B.C. but the absence of war doesn’t guarantee the presence of peace.
The Stoic philosopher Epictetus said, “While the emperor may give peace from war on land and sea, he is unable to give peace from passion, grief, and envy. He cannot give peace of heart for which man yearns more than even for outward peace.”
The Jewish word shalom (peace) means much more than a truce in the battles of life. It means well-being, health, prosperity, security, soundness, and completeness. It has to do more with character than circumstances. Life was difficult at that time just as it is today. Taxes were high, unemployment was high, morals were slipping lower, and the military state was in control. Roman law, Greek philosophy, and even Jewish religion could not meet the needs of men’s hearts. Then, God sent His Son!
The angels praised God at Creation (), and now they praised Him at the beginning of the new creation. The whole purpose of the plan of salvation is “glory to God” (see , , ). God’s glory had dwelt in the tabernacle () and in the temple (), but had departed because of the nation’s sin (; ; ; , ; ). Now God’s glory was returning to earth in the person of His Son (). That lowly manger was a holy of holies because Jesus was there!
His birth drew the shepherds from the fields (vv. ). The phrase “even unto Bethlehem” suggests that these men were located some distance away, but they were willing to make the trip in order to see the newborn Messiah. Certainly they arranged for others to care for their flocks while they hastened to Bethlehem. Halford Luccock called this “the first Christmas rush,” but it was certainly different from the Christmas rushes we see today!
The verb found in means “found after a search.” The shepherds knew what to look for: a newborn Baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And they found Him! They worshiped Him and marveled at God’s grace and goodness and the miracle He had wrought for them.
These shepherds are good examples for us to imitate today. They received by faith the message God sent them and then responded with immediate obedience. After finding the Baby, they reported the good news to others, “glorifying and praising God.” They took the place of the angels! () Then they humbly returned to their duties, new men going back to the same old job.
For some reason, shepherds were not permitted to testify in court, but God used some humble shepherds to be the first human witnesses that prophecy had been fulfilled and the Messiah had been born. The angels have never experienced the grace of God, so they can’t bear witness as we can. Telling others about the Saviour is a solemn obligation as well as a great privilege, and we who are believers must be faithful.
Dr. Luke now tells us about three important meetings in the temple in Jerusalem: the child Jesus met Moses (), Simeon (), and Anna ().
Moses (vv. ). Note that the word law is used five times in . Though He came to deliver His people from the bondage of the Law, Jesus was “made under the Law” and obeyed its commands (). He did not come to destroy the Law but to fulfill it ().
Jesus’ parents obeyed the Law first by having the child circumcised when He was eight days old. This was the sign and seal of the covenant that God made with Abraham (Gen. 17), and it was required of every Jewish male who wanted to practice the faith. The Jews were proud to be God’s covenant people, and they scornfully called the Gentiles “the uncircumcision” (). It is unfortunate that circumcision became an empty ritual for many Jews, because it proclaimed an important spiritual truth (; ).
“His circumcision was His first suffering for us,” said the late Donald Grey Barnhouse, a Philadelphia minister and author. It symbolized the work the Saviour did on the cross in dealing with our sin nature (; ; ). In obedience to the Lord, Mary and Joseph gave Him the name Jesus, which means “Jehovah is salvation” ().
But circumcision was only the beginning. When the child was forty days old, Mary and Joseph had to come to the temple for the purification rites described in Leviticus 12. They also had to “redeem” the boy since He was Mary’s firstborn (). They had to pay five shekels to redeem the Redeemer who would one day redeem us with His precious blood (). Their humble sacrifice would suggest that they were too poor to bring a lamb (). But He was the Lamb!
Our Lord’s relationship to the Law is an important part of His saving ministry. He was made under the Law (); and though He rejected man’s religious traditions, He obeyed God’s Law perfectly (). He bore the curse of the Law for us () and set us free from bondage ().
Simeon (vv. ). Simeon and Anna, like Zacharias and Elizabeth, were a part of the faithful Jewish remnant that eagerly looked for their Messiah (). Because of his readiness and eagerness to die (), Simeon is usually pictured as a very old man, but nothing in Scripture supports this. Tradition says he was 113 years old, but it is only tradition.
“The consolation of Israel” means the messianic hope. One of the traditional Jewish prayers is, “May I see the consolation of Israel!” That prayer was answered for Simeon when he saw Jesus Christ in the temple. He was a man who was led by the Spirit of God, taught by the Word of God, and obedient to the will of God; and therefore he was privileged to see the salvation of God. How important it is for people to see God’s salvation, Jesus Christ, before they see death.
In we find Simeon’s response to seeing Jesus. This is the fifth and last of the “Christmas songs” in Luke. (Elizabeth, ; Mary, ; Zacharias, ; the angels, ). It is first of all a worship hymn as he blesses God for keeping His promise and sending the Messiah. He joyfully praises God that he has been privileged to see the Lord’s Christ.
But his song is also a salvation hymn: “For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation” (). Now he is ready to die! The word depart in the Greek has several meanings, and each of them tells us something about the death of a Christian. It means to release a prisoner, to untie a ship and set sail, to take down a tent (see ), and to unyoke a beast of burden (see ). God’s people are not afraid of death because it only frees us from the burdens of this life and leads into the blessings of the next life.
Simeon’s song is a missionary hymn, which is something unusual for a devout Jew standing in the temple. He sees this great salvation going out to the Gentiles! Jesus has restored the glory to Israel and brought the light to the Gentiles so that all people can be saved (see ). Remember that the compassion of Christ for the whole world is one of Luke’s major themes.
Then Simeon stopped praising and started prophesying (), and in his message used three important images: the stone, the sign, and the sword.
The stone is an important Old Testament image of God (; ; ; ). Messiah would be a “rejected cornerstone” (; ; ), and the nation of Israel would stumble over Him (; ). Because of Jesus Christ, many in Israel would fall in conviction and then rise in salvation. (Simeon seems to be speaking about one group, not two.) Even today, God’s people Israel stumble over the Cross () and do not understand that Jesus is their Rock ().
The word sign means “a miracle,” not so much as a demonstration of power but as a revelation of divine truth. Our Lord’s miracles in John’s Gospel are called “signs” because they reveal special truths about Him (). Jesus Christ is God’s miracle; and yet, instead of admiring Him, the people attacked Him and spoke against Him. His birth was a miracle, yet they slandered it (). They said His miracles were done in the power of Satan () and that His character was questionable (, ; , ). They slandered His death (; ) and lied about His resurrection (). Today, people are even speaking against His coming again (2 Peter 3).
But the way people speak about Jesus Christ is evidence of what is in their hearts. He is not only the “salvation stone” and the “judgment stone” (, ), but He is also the “touchstone” that exposes what people are really like. “What think ye of Christ?” () is still the most important question for anybody to answer ().
The image of the sword was for Mary alone, and it spoke of the suffering and sorrow she would bear as the mother of the Messiah. (This suggests that Joseph was dead when Jesus began His ministry thirty years later, or Joseph would have been included.) The Greek word means a large sword such as Goliath used (), and the verb means “constantly keep on piercing.”
During our Lord’s life and ministry, Mary did experience more and more sorrow until one day she stood by His cross and saw Him suffer and die (). However, without minimizing her devotion, Mary’s personal pain must not in any way be made a part of Christ’s redemptive work. Only He could die for the sins of the world ().
How much did Mary and Joseph understand of God’s great plan for this miracle Child? We don’t know, but we do know that Mary stored up all these things and pondered them (, ). The word means “to put things together”; Mary sought for some pattern that would help her understand God’s will. There were times when Mary misunderstood Him (), and this would add to her suffering. The last time you find Mary named in Scripture, she is in the Upper Room, praying with the other believers ().
Anna (vv. ). Her name means “grace,” and she was a godly widow of great age. There are forty-three references to women in Luke’s Gospel, and of the twelve widows mentioned in the Bible, Luke has three (; ; ; and note ). It isn’t difficult to see the heart of a physician in Luke’s presentation.
Widows didn’t have an easy time in that day; often they were neglected and exploited in spite of the commandment of the Law (; ; ; ). Anna devoted herself to “serving God by worship” through fastings and prayers. She moved from the tribe of Asher and remained in the temple, waiting for the appearing of God’s promised Messiah (see ).
God’s timing is always perfect. Anna came up just as Simeon was praising the Lord for the Child Jesus, so she joined in the song! I would like to have heard these elderly people singing in the temple! Their praise was inspired by the Spirit of God, and God accepted it. But Anna did much more than sing; she also spread the Good News among the other faithful members of “the remnant” who were waiting for the redemption of Israel. The excitement began to spread as more and more people heard the Good News.
Anna was a prophetess, which meant she had a special gift of declaring and interpreting God’s message. Other prophetesses in Scripture are Miriam (), Deborah (), Hulduh (), Noadiah (), and the wife of Isaiah (). The evangelist Philip had four daughters who were prophetesses ().
Having obeyed the Law in everything, Mary and Joseph returned to Nazareth, which would be our Lord’s home until He started His official ministry. There were many Jewish men with the name Jesus (Joshua), so He would be known as “Jesus of Nazareth” (); and His followers would be called “Nazarenes” (; see ). His enemies used the name scornfully and Pilate even hung it on the cross (), but Jesus was not ashamed to use it when He spoke from heaven (). That which men scorned (), Jesus Christ took to heaven and made glorious!
What did Jesus do during the “hidden years” at Nazareth? Dr. Luke reports that the lad developed physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually (, ). In His incarnation, the Son of God set aside the independent use of His own divine attributes and submitted Himself wholly to the Father (). There are deep mysteries here that no one can fully understand or explain, but we have no problem accepting them by faith.
Jesus did not perform any miracles as a Boy, traditions notwithstanding, because the turning of water into wine was the beginning of His miracles (). He worked with Joseph in the carpenter shop (; ) and apparently ran the business after Joseph died. Joseph and Mary had other children during those years (; ), for the “until” of indicates that the couple eventually had normal marital relations.
Luke gives us only one story from our Lord’s youthful years. Joseph and Mary were devout Jews who observed Passover in Jerusalem every year. Three times a year the Jewish men were required to go to Jerusalem to worship (), but not all of them could afford to do so. If they chose one feast, it was usually the Passover; and they tried to take their family with them, for it was the most important feast on the Jewish calendar.
People traveled to the feasts in caravans, the women and children leading the way and setting the pace, and the men and young men following behind. Relatives and whole villages often traveled together and kept an eye on each other’s children. At the age of twelve, Jesus could easily have gone from one group to another and not been missed. Joseph would think Jesus was with Mary and the other children, while Mary would suppose He was with Joseph and the men, or perhaps with one of their relatives.
They had gone a day’s journey from Jerusalem when they discovered that Jesus was missing. It took a day to return to the city and another day for them to find Him. During those three days, Joseph and Mary had been “greatly distressed” (, “sorrowing”). This word is used to describe Paul’s concern for lost Israel () as well as the pain of lost souls in hades ().
It is worth noting that Luke’s phrase “Joseph and His mother” () suggests the Virgin Birth, while the phrase “Thy father and I” () indicates that Joseph was accepted as the legal father of Jesus (see ). To use to disprove the Virgin Birth is stretching a point.
Whether Jesus had spent the entire time in the temple, we don’t know. It certainly would have been safe there and the Heavenly Father was watching over Him. We do know that when Joseph and Mary found Him, He was in the midst of the teachers, asking them questions and listening to their answers; and the teachers were amazed at both His questions and His answers.
Mary’s loving rebuke brought a respectful but astonished reply from Jesus: “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” (, NASB) It can also be translated “in the things of My Father” (NASB margin), but the idea is the same. Jesus was affirming His divine sonship and His mission to do the will of the Father.
The word must was often on our Lord’s lips: “I must preach” (); “The Son of man must suffer” (); the Son of man “must be lifted up” (). Even at the age of twelve, Jesus was moved by a divine compulsion to do the Father’s will.
Since Jesus “increased in wisdom” (), we wonder how much He understood God’s divine plan at that time. We must not assume that at the age of twelve He was omniscient. Certainly He grew in His comprehension of those mysteries as He communed with His Father and was taught by the Spirit.
One thing is sure: Joseph and Mary didn’t understand! This was a part of the pain from “the sword” that Simeon had promised her (), and no doubt it happened again and again as the boy matured. Years later, during His ministry, our Lord’s family didn’t understand Him (; ).
Jesus is a wonderful example for all young people to follow. He grew in a balanced way () without neglecting any part of life, and His priority was to do the will of His Father (see ). He knew how to listen () and how to ask the right questions. He learned how to work, and He was obedient to His parents.
The Boy Jesus grew up in a large family, in a despised city, nurtured by parents who were probably poor. The Jewish religion was at an all-time low, the Roman government was in control, and society was in a state of fear and change. Yet when Jesus emerged from Nazareth, eighteen years later, the Father was able to say of Him, “Thou art My beloved Son; in Thee I am well pleased” ().
May the Father be able to say that about us!
Luke 3–4
If Socrates would enter the room, we should rise and do him honor,” said Napoleon Bonaparte. “But if Jesus Christ came into the room, we should fall down on our knees and worship Him.”
Dr. Luke would have agreed with the famous French general, for in these two chapters, he makes it clear that Jesus Christ of Nazareth is indeed the Son of God. Notice the witnesses that he presents, all of whom declare that Jesus is God’s Son.
When he came (vv. ). When John the Baptist appeared on the scene, no prophetic voice had been heard in Israel for 400 years. His coming was a part of God’s perfect timing, for everything that relates to God’s Son is always on schedule (; ; ). The fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar was A.D. 28/29.
Luke named seven different men in , including a Roman emperor, a governor, three tetrarchs (rulers over a fourth part of an area), and two Jewish high priests. But God’s Word was not sent to any of them! Instead, the message of God came to John the Baptist, a humble Jewish prophet.
How he came (v. ). Resembling the Prophet Elijah in manner and dress (; ; ), John came to the area near the Jordan River, preaching and baptizing. He announced the arrival of the kingdom of heaven () and urged the people to repent. Centuries before, Israel had crossed the Jordan (a national baptism) to claim their Promised Land. Now God summoned them to turn from sin and enter His spiritual kingdom.
Keep in mind that John did much more than preach against sin; he also proclaimed the Gospel. The word preached in gives us the English word evangelize (“to preach the Good News”). John introduced Jesus as the Lamb of God () and told people to trust in Him. John was only the best man at the wedding: Jesus was the Bridegroom (). John rejoiced at the opportunity of introducing people to the Saviour, and then getting out of the way.
A unique feature about John’s ministry was baptism (; ). Baptism was nothing new to the people, for the Jews baptized Gentile proselytes. But John baptized Jews, and this was unusual. explains that John’s baptism looked forward to the coming of the Messiah, while Christian baptism looks back to the finished work of Christ.
But there was something even beyond John’s baptism, and that was the baptism that the Messiah would administer (). He would baptize believers with the Holy Spirit, and this began at Pentecost (; ). Today, the moment a sinner trusts Christ, he or she is baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ ().
What is the “baptism of fire”? It does not refer to the “tongues of fire” at Pentecost, for tongues over a person’s head could hardly be called a “baptism.” John’s use of the symbol of “fire” in and indicates that he is talking about judgment and not blessing. In A.D. 70 the nation experienced a baptism of fire when Titus and the Roman armies destroyed Jerusalem and scattered the people. All unbelievers will experience a baptism of judgment in the lake of fire ().
Why he came (vv. ). The illustrations used in the chapter help us understand the ministry God gave to John.
To begin with, John the Baptist was a voice “crying in the wilderness” (; also see and ). He was like the herald who went before the royal procession to make sure the roads were ready for the king. Spiritually speaking, the nation of Israel was living in a “wilderness” of unbelief, and the roads to spiritual reality were twisted and in disrepair. The corruption of the priesthood (instead of one, there were two high priests!) and the legalistic hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees had weakened the nation spiritually. The people desperately needed to hear a voice from God, and John was that faithful voice.
It was John’s task to prepare the nation for the Messiah and then present the Messiah to them (, ; , ). He rebuked their sins and announced God’s salvation, for without conviction there can be no conversion.
John is also compared to a farmer who chops down useless trees () and who winnows the grain to separate the wheat from the chaff (). Like some “religious sinners” today, many of the Jews thought they were destined for heaven simply because they were descendants of Abraham (see ; ; ). John reminded them that God gets to the root of things and is not impressed with religious profession that does not produce fruit. In the last judgment, the true believers (wheat) will be gathered by God, while the lost sinners (chaff) will be burned in the fire.
In , John pictured the self-righteous sinners as snakes that slithered out of the grass because a fire was coming! Jesus compared the Pharisees to vipers () because their self-righteousness and unbelief made them the children of the devil (; ). How tragic that the religious leaders refused to obey John’s message and submit to his baptism (). They not only failed to enter the kingdom themselves, but their bad example and false teaching kept other people from entering.
John the Baptist was also a teacher (). He not only preached publicly, but he also had a personal ministry to the people, telling them how to practice their new faith (). He told them not to be selfish but to share their blessings with others (see ; ).
Even the tax collectors came to John for counsel. These men were despised by their fellow Jews because they worked for the Romans and usually extorted money from the people. Luke emphasized the fact that Jesus was the friend of tax collectors (; ; ). John did not tell them to quit their jobs but to do their work honestly.
Likewise, the soldiers were not condemned for their vocation. Rather, John told them to refrain from using their authority to get personal gain. These were probably Jewish soldiers attached to the temple or to the court of one of the Jewish rulers. It was not likely that Roman soldiers would ask a Jewish prophet for counsel.
John was faithful in his ministry to prepare the hearts of the people and then to present their Messiah to them. He clearly stated that Jesus was “the Lord” () and the Son of God (). Because John rebuked Herod Antipas for his adulterous marriage to Herodias, he was imprisoned by the king and finally beheaded. However, he had faithfully finished his God-given assignment and prepared the people to meet the Messiah, the Son of God.
One day, after all the others had been baptized, Jesus presented Himself for baptism at the Jordan; and John at first refused to comply (). He knew that Jesus of Nazareth was the perfect Son of God who had no need to repent of sin. Why then was the sinless Son of God baptized?
To begin with, in His baptism He identified with the sinners that He came to save. Also, His baptism was the official start of His ministry (; ). He was “about thirty years of age” (), and the Jewish Levites began their work at age thirty (see , ). But our Lord’s words tell us the main reason for His baptism: “for in this way it is fitting for Us to fulfill all righteousness” (, NASB). In what way? In the way pictured by His baptism in the Jordan. Many Bible scholars agree that New Testament baptism was by immersion, which is a picture of death, burial, and resurrection. Our Lord’s baptism in water was a picture of His work of redemption (; ). It was through His baptism of suffering on the cross that God “fulfilled all righteousness.” (The “Us” in does not mean John and Jesus. It means the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.)
When our Lord came up from the water, the Father spoke from heaven and identified Him as the beloved Son of God, and the Spirit visibly came upon Jesus in the form of a dove. Those who deny the Trinity have a difficult time explaining this event.
This is the first of three recorded occasions when the Father spoke from heaven. The second was when Jesus was transfigured (), and the third was during His last week before the cross ().
Only Luke mentions that Jesus was praying, and this was only one of many occasions (; ; , ; ; , ). As the perfect Son of man, Jesus depended on His Father to meet His needs, and that was why He prayed.
Luke interrupted his narrative at this point to give us a genealogy of Jesus. Matthew’s genealogy () begins with Abraham and moves forward to Jesus, while Luke’s begins with Jesus and moves backward to Adam. Matthew gives us the genealogy of Joseph, the legal foster-father of Jesus, while Luke gives us the genealogy of His mother Mary. can be translated: “When He began His ministry, Jesus was about thirty years old (being supposedly the son of Joseph), the son of Heli [an ancestor of Mary].” Mary herself would not be mentioned because it was unusual for women to be named in the official genealogies, though Matthew names four of them (, , ).
By putting the genealogy here, Luke reminded his readers that the Son of God was also the Son of man, born into this world, identified with the needs and problems of mankind. And, since Joseph and Mary were both in David’s line, these genealogies prove that Jesus of Nazareth has the legal right to David’s throne ().
Even the enemy must admit that Jesus is the Son of God. “If Thou be the Son of God” (, ) is not a supposition but an affirmation. It means “in view of the fact that You are the Son of God” (WUEST). In fact, the fact of His deity was the basis for the first of the three temptations. “Since You are the Son of God,” Satan argued, “why be hungry? You can change stones into bread!” Satan wanted Jesus to disobey the Father’s will by using His divine power for His own purposes.
Why was Jesus tempted? For one thing, it was proof that the Father’s approval was deserved (). Jesus is indeed the “beloved Son” who always does whatever pleases His Father (). Also, in His temptation, Jesus exposed the tactics of the enemy and revealed to us how we can overcome when we are tempted. This experience helped prepare our Lord for His present ministry as our sympathetic High Priest, and we may come to Him for the help we need to overcome the tempter (; ). The first Adam was tempted in a beautiful Garden and failed. The Last Adam was tempted in a dangerous wilderness () and succeeded.
We have at our disposal the same spiritual resources that Jesus used when He faced and defeated Satan: prayer (), the Father’s love (), the power of the Spirit (), and the Word of God (“It is written”). Plus, we have in heaven the interceding Saviour who has defeated the enemy completely. Satan tempts us to bring out the worst in us, but God can use these difficult experiences to put the best into us. Temptation is Satan’s weapon to defeat us, but it can become God’s tool to build us (see , ).
In the first temptation, Satan suggested that there must be something wrong with the Father’s love since His “beloved Son” was hungry. In years past Israel hungered in the wilderness, and God sent them bread from heaven; so surely Jesus could use His divine power to feed Himself and save His life. Satan subtly used this same approach on Eve: “God is holding out on you! Why can’t you eat of every tree in the Garden? If He really loved you, He would share everything with you!”
But the test was even more subtle than that, for Satan was asking Jesus to separate the physical from the spiritual. In the Christian life, eating is a spiritual activity, and we can use even our daily food to glorify God (; ). Whenever we label different spheres of our lives “physical,” “material,” “financial,” or “spiritual,” we are bound to leave God out of areas where He rightfully belongs. Christ must be first in everything, or He is first in nothing (). It is better to be hungry in the will of God than satisfied out of the will of God.
When our Lord quoted , He put the emphasis on the word man. As the eternal Son of God, He had power to do anything; but as the humble Son of man, He had authority to do only that which the Father willed. (Note carefully , ; ; ; , .) As the Servant, Jesus did not use His divine attributes for selfish purposes (). Because He was man, He hungered; but He trusted the Father to meet His needs in His own time and His own way.
You and I need bread for the body (), but we must not live by physical bread alone. We also need food for the inner person to satisfy our spiritual needs. This food is the Word of God (; ; ). What digestion is to the body, meditation is to the soul. As we read the Word and meditate on it, we receive spiritual health and strength for the inner person, and this enables us to obey the will of God.
We do not know why Luke reversed the second and third temptations, but since he did not claim to record the events in order, he is not contradicting . The word then in indicates that Matthew’s order is the correct one. We do seem to have in Luke’s order a parallel to : the lust of the flesh (stones into bread), the lust of the eyes (the world’s kingdoms and glory), and the pride of life (jump from the pinnacle of the temple); but it’s doubtful that Luke had this in mind.
The Father had already promised to give the Son all the kingdoms of the world (), but first the Son had to suffer and die (; ). The suffering must come first, then the glory (). The adversary offered Jesus these same kingdoms if He would once worship him, and this would eliminate the necessity of His going to the cross (note ). Satan has always wanted to take God’s place and receive worship ().
As the prince of this world, Satan has a certain amount of delegated authority from God (; ). One day he will share this authority with the Antichrist, the man of sin, who will rule the world for a brief time (Rev. 13). Satan’s offer to Christ was valid, but his terms were unacceptable; and the Saviour refused.
Again, Jesus quoted God’s Word, this time . Satan had said nothing about service, but Jesus knew that whatever we worship, we will serve. Service to the Lord is true freedom, but service to Satan is terrible bondage. God’s pattern is to start with suffering and end with glory (), while Satan’s pattern is to start with glory and end with suffering. Satan wants us to sacrifice the eternal for the temporary and take the “easy way.”
There are no “shortcuts” in the Christian life, and there is no easy way to spiritual victory and maturity. If the perfect Son of God had to hang on a tree before He could sit on the throne, then His disciples should not expect an easier way of life (see ; ).
Satan questioned the Father’s love when he tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread. He questioned His hope when he offered Jesus the world’s kingdoms this side of the Cross (see ). Satan questioned the Father’s faithfulness when he asked Jesus to jump from the temple and prove that the Father would keep His promise (). Thus, the enemy attacked the three basic virtues of the Christian life-faith, hope, and love.
The pinnacle was probably a high point at the southeast corner of the temple, far above the Kidron Valley. Satan can tempt us even in the Holy City at the highest part of the holy temple! Following the example of Jesus, Satan decided to quote Scripture, and he selected . Of course, he misquoted the promise and besides he omitted “in all thy ways.”
When a child of God is in the will of God, he can claim the Father’s protection and care. But if he willfully gets into trouble and expects God to rescue him, then he is tempting God. (For an example of this, see .) We tempt God when we “force” Him (or dare Him) to act contrary to His Word. It is a dangerous thing to try God’s patience, even though He is indeed long-suffering and gracious.
Our Lord’s reply was, “on the other hand, it is written” (, NASB); and He quoted . Jesus balanced Scripture with Scripture to get the total expression of God’s will. If you isolate verses from their contexts, or passages from the total revelation of Scripture, you can prove almost anything from the Bible. Almost every false cult claims to be based on the teachings of the Bible. When we get our orders from God by picking out verses from here and there in the Bible, we are not living by faith. We are living by chance and tempting the Lord. “For whatever is not of faith is sin” (), and “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (, NKJV).
Jesus came out of the wilderness a victor, but Satan did not give up. He watched for other opportunities to tempt the Saviour away from the Father’s will. “Let us be as watchful after the victory as before the battle,” said Andrew Bonar; and he was right.
The events recorded in John 1:19–4:45 took place at this time, but Matthew, Mark, and Luke did not record them. They moved right into the Lord’s ministry in Galilee, and Luke alone reports His visit to His hometown of Nazareth. By now, the news had spread widely about the miracle-worker from Nazareth; so His family, friends, and neighbors were anxious to see and hear Him.
It was our Lord’s custom to attend public worship, a custom His followers should imitate today (). He might have argued that the “religious system” was corrupt, or that He didn’t need the instruction; but instead, He made His way on the Sabbath to the place of prayer.
A typical synagogue service opened with an invocation for God’s blessing and then the recitation of the traditional Hebrew confession of faith (; ). This was followed by prayer and the prescribed readings from the Law and from the Prophets, with the reader paraphrasing the Hebrew Scriptures in Aramaic.
This was followed by a brief sermon given by one of the men of the congregation or perhaps by a visiting rabbi (see ). If a priest was present, the service closed with a benediction. Otherwise, one of the laymen prayed and the meeting was dismissed.
Jesus was asked to read the Scripture text and to give the sermon. The passage He read included , and He selected it for His “text.” The Jewish rabbis interpreted this passage to refer to the Messiah, and the people in the synagogue knew it. You can imagine how shocked they were when Jesus boldly said that it was written about Him and that He had come to usher in the “acceptable year of the Lord.”
The reference here is the “Year of Jubilee” described in Leviticus 25. Every seventh year was a “Sabbatical year” for the nation, when the land was allowed to rest; and every fiftieth year (after seven Sabbaticals) was set apart as the “Year of Jubilee.” The main purpose of this special year was the balancing of the economic system: slaves were set free and returned to their families, property that was sold reverted to the original owners, and all debts were canceled. The land lay fallow as man and beast rested and rejoiced in the Lord.
Jesus applied all of this to His own ministry, not in a political or economic sense, but in a physical and spiritual sense. He had certainly brought Good News of salvation to bankrupt sinners and healing to brokenhearted and rejected people. He had delivered many from blindness and from bondage to demons and disease. Indeed, it was a spiritual “Year of Jubilee” for the nation of Israel!
The problem was that His listeners would not believe in Him. They saw Him only as the son of Mary and Joseph, the Boy they had watched grow up in their own city. Furthermore, they wanted Him to perform in Nazareth the same miracles He had done in Capernaum, but He refused. That’s the meaning of the phrase, “Physician, heal thyself.” Do a miracle!
At first, they admired the way He taught, but it didn’t take long for their admiration to turn into antagonism. Why? Because Jesus began to remind them of God’s goodness to the Gentiles! The Prophet Elijah bypassed all the Jewish widows and helped a Gentile widow in Sidon (), and his successor Elisha healed a Gentile leper from Syria (). Our Lord’s message of grace was a blow to the proud Jewish exclusivism of the congregation, and they would not repent. Imagine this hometown Boy saying that Jews had to be saved by grace just like the pagan Gentiles!
The congregation was so angry, they took action to kill Jesus! St. Augustine said, “They love truth when it enlightens them, but hate truth when it accuses them.” That applies well to many congregations today, people who want “gracious words” () but who don’t want to face the truth (see ).
In spite of the unbelief of the people in Nazareth, the Scriptures declared that Jesus of Nazareth is God’s Son, the Messiah sent to fulfill His promises. The people who do not want Him and who reject “the acceptable year of the Lord” will one day face “the day of vengeance of our God” (). How significant that Jesus stopped reading at that very place!
Jesus left Nazareth and set up His headquarters in Capernaum (), the home of Peter, Andrew, James, and John. He taught regularly in the synagogue and astonished the people by the authority of His message (see ). He further astonished them by His authority over the demons.
Why would a demonized man attend the synagogue? Did he know Jesus would be there? Our Lord did not want the demons to bear witness to Him, so He told, them to be still and He cast them out. Of course, the demons know that Jesus is the Son of God
(, ); and knowing this, they tremble ().
After the service, Jesus went to Peter’s house, and there He healed Peter’s mother-in-law. (Dr. Luke noted that she had a “great fever.”) At sundown, when the Sabbath had ended and healing was permissible, a host of people brought their sick and afflicted to Peter’s house and asked Jesus to help them. Again, He silenced the demons who confessed Him to be the Son of God.
The Lord must have been weary after such a demanding day, and yet He was up early the next morning to pray (). It was in prayer that He found His strength and power for service, and so must we.
Luke 5
Jesus was concerned about individuals. He preached to great crowds, but His message was always to the individual; and He took time to help people personally. His purpose was to transform them and then send them out to share His message of forgiveness with others. Luke describes in this chapter our Lord’s meetings with four individuals and the changes they experienced because they trusted Him.
This event is not parallel to the one described in and . In those accounts, Peter and Andrew were busy fishing, but in this account they had fished all night and caught nothing and were washing their nets. (If nets are not washed and stretched out to dry, they rot and break.) Jesus had enlisted Peter, Andrew, James, and John earlier, and they had traveled with Him in Capernaum and Galilee (), but then they went back to their trade. Now He would call them to a life of full-time discipleship.
It is possible that at least seven of the disciples were fishermen (). Consider the fact that fishermen generally have the qualities that make for success in serving the Lord. It takes courage and daring, patience and determination to work on the seas; and it also takes a great deal of faith. Fishermen must be willing to work together (they used nets, not hooks) and help one another. They must develop the skills necessary to get the job done quickly and efficiently.
If I had fished all night and caught nothing, I would probably be selling my nets, not washing them to get ready to go out again! But true fishermen don’t quit. Peter kept on working while Jesus used his ship as a platform from which to address the huge crowd on the shore. “Every pulpit is a fishing boat,” said Dr. J. Vernon McGee, “a place to give out the Word of God and attempt to catch fish.”
But there was another side to this request: Peter was a “captive audience” as he sat in the ship listening to the Word of God. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (, NKJV). In a short time, Peter would have to exercise faith, and Jesus was preparing him. First He said, “Thrust out a little”; and then, when Peter was ready, He commanded, “Launch out into the deep.” If Peter had not obeyed the first seemingly insignificant command, he would never have participated in a miracle.
Peter must have been surprised when Jesus took command of the ship and its crew. After all, Jesus was a carpenter by trade (), and what do carpenters know about fishing? It was a well-known fact that, in the Sea of Galilee, you caught fish at night in the shallow water, not in the daytime in the deep water. What Jesus asked Peter to do was contrary to all of his training and experience, but Peter obeyed. The key was his faith in the Word of God: “Nevertheless, at Thy word” ().
The word translated “Master” () is used only by Luke and it has a variety of meanings, all of which speak of authority: chief commander, magistrate, governor of a city, and president of a college. Peter was willing to submit to the authority of Jesus, even though he did not understand all that the Lord was doing. And remember, a great crowd was watching from the shore.
How people respond to success is one indication of their true character. Instead of claiming the valuable catch for themselves, Peter and Andrew called their partners to share it. We are not reservoirs, but channels of blessing, to share with others what God has graciously given to us.
Here was a man who needed to be changed, for he was a leper. Among the Jews, several skin diseases were classified as leprosy, including our modern Hansen’s disease. In spite of modern medical advances, an estimated 10 million people around the world have leprosy. One form of leprosy attacks the nerves so that the victim cannot feel pain. Infection easily sets in, and this leads to degeneration of the tissues. The limb becomes deformed and eventually falls off.
It was the task of the Jewish priest to examine people to determine whether they were lepers (Lev. 13). Infected people were isolated and could not return to normal society until declared “cleansed.” Leprosy was used by Isaiah as a picture of sin (), and the detailed instructions in Leviticus 13–14 would suggest that more was involved in the procedure than maintaining public health.
Like sin, leprosy is deeper than the skin () and cannot be helped by mere “surface” measures (see ). Like sin, leprosy spreads (); and as it spreads, it defiles (). Because of his defilement, a leprous person had to be isolated outside the camp (), and lost sinners one day will be isolated in hell. People with leprosy were looked on as “dead” (), and garments infected with leprosy were fit only for the fire (). How important it is for lost sinners to trust Jesus Christ and get rid of their “leprosy”!
This man not only needed to be changed, but he wanted to be changed. Lepers were required to keep their distance, but he was so determined that he broke the Law and approached the Lord Jesus personally. Throughout his Gospel, Luke makes it clear that Jesus was the Friend of the outcast, and they could come to Him for help. The man humbled himself before the Lord and asked for mercy.
By the grace and power of God, this man was changed! In fact, Jesus even touched the man, which meant that He became unclean Himself. This is a beautiful picture of what Jesus has done for lost sinners: He became sin for us that we might be made clean (; ). Jesus is not only willing to save (; ), but He is also able to save (); and He can do it now ().
Jesus encouraged the man to see the priest and to obey the rules for restoration given in Leviticus 14. The ceremony is a picture of the work of Jesus Christ in His incarnation, His death, and His resurrection. All of this was done over running water, a symbol of the Holy Spirit of God. This sacrifice reminds us that Jesus had to die for us in order to deliver us from our sins.
Jesus instructed the man not to reveal who had healed him, but the cleansed leper became an enthusiastic witness for the Lord. (Jesus commands us to tell everybody, and we keep quiet!) Because of this witness, great multitudes came to Jesus for help, and He graciously ministered to them. But Jesus was not impressed by these great crowds, for He knew that most of the people wanted only His healing power and not His salvation. He often left the crowds and slipped away into a quiet place to pray and seek the Father’s help. That’s a good example for all of God’s servants to follow.
Jesus returned to Capernaum, possibly to Peter’s house, and the crowd gathered to see Him heal and to hear Him teach. But a new element was added: some of the official religious leaders from Jerusalem were present to investigate what He was doing. They had every right to do this since it was the responsibility of the elders to prevent false prophets from leading the people astray (Deut. 13; ). They had interrogated John the Baptist () and now they would examine Jesus of Nazareth.
Since this is the first time the scribes and Pharisees are mentioned in Luke’s Gospel, it would be good for us to get acquainted with them. The word Pharisee comes from a Hebrew word that means “to divide, to separate.” The scribes and Pharisees probably developed out of the ministry of Ezra, the priest, who taught the Jewish people to obey the Law of Moses and be separate from the heathen nations around them (Ezra 9–10; Neh. 8–9). The great desire of the scribes and Pharisees was to understand and magnify God’s Law and apply it in their daily lives.
However, the movement soon became quite legalistic and its leaders laid so many burdens on the people that it was impossible to “serve the Lord with gladness” (). Furthermore, many of the Pharisees were hypocrites and did not practice what they preached (see ; ). In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5–7), Jesus exposed the shallowness of pharisaical religion. He explained that true righteousness is a matter of the heart and not external religious practices alone.
The scribes and Pharisees picked a good time to attend one of our Lord’s meetings, because God’s power was present in a special way and Jesus would heal a man with palsy. If leprosy illustrates the corruption and defilement of sin, then palsy is a picture of the paralysis that sin produces in a life. But Jesus would do more than heal the man; He would also forgive his sins and teach the crowd a lesson in forgiveness.
The paralytic was unable to come to Jesus himself, but he was fortunate enough to have four friends who were able to get him to Jesus. These four men are examples of how friends ought to minister to one another and help needy sinners come to the Saviour.
To begin with, they had faith that Jesus would heal him (); and it is faith that God honors. Their love for the man united them in their efforts so that nothing discouraged them, not even the crowd at the door. (How tragic it is when spectators stand in the way of people who want to meet Jesus. Zaccheus would have this problem. See .) When they could not get in at the door, they went on the roof, removed the tiling, and lowered the man on his mat right in front of the Lord!
Jesus could have simply healed the man and sent him home, but instead, He used the opportunity to teach a lesson about sin and forgiveness. Certainly it was easier to say to the man, “Your sins be forgiven!” than it was to say, “Rise up and walk!” Why? Because nobody could prove whether or not his sins really were forgiven! Jesus took the harder approach and healed the man’s body, something everybody in the house could witness.
Was the man’s affliction the result of his sin? We do not know, but it is probable (see ). The healing of his body was an outward evidence of the spiritual healing within. Jesus astounded the religious leaders by claiming to have authority both to heal the body and to forgive sins. The people had already acknowledged His authority to teach and to cast out demons (, ), but now He claimed authority to forgive sins as well. The scribes and Pharisees could not deny the miracle of healing, but they considered His claim to forgive sins nothing less than blasphemy, for only God can forgive sins. For making that kind of statement, Jesus could be stoned, because He was claiming to be God.
In , we have the first recorded use of the title Son of man in Luke’s Gospel, where it is found twenty-three times. Our Lord’s listeners were familiar with this title. It was used of the Prophet Ezekiel over eighty times, and Daniel applied it to the Messiah (, ). “Son of man” was our Lord’s favorite name for Himself; this title is found at least eighty-two times in the Gospel record. Occasionally He used the title “Son of God” (; ; ; ; ; ), but “Son of man” was used more. Certainly the Jewish people caught the messianic character of this title, but it also identified Him with the people He came to save (). Like Ezekiel, the Old Testament “son of man,” Jesus “sat where they sat” ().
The healing was immediate and the people glorified God. But even more than receiving healing, the man experienced forgiveness and the start of a whole new life. Our Lord’s miracles not only demonstrated His deity and His compassion for needy people, but they also revealed important spiritual lessons about salvation. They were “object lessons” to teach spiritually blind people what God could do for them if only they would believe in His Son.
When Jesus called Levi, He accomplished three things: He saved a lost soul; He added a new disciple to His band; and He created an opportunity to explain His ministry to Levi’s friends and to the scribes and Pharisees. This event probably took place shortly after Jesus healed the palsied man, for the “official committee” was still there (). And it is likely that Jesus at this time gave Levi his new name—“Matthew, the gift of God” (; see also ).
Matthew sat at the toll booth and levied duty on the merchandise that was brought through. Since the tax rates were not always clear, it was easy for an unscrupulous man to make extra money for himself. But even if a tax collector served honestly, the Jews still despised him for defiling himself by working for the Gentiles. John the Baptist had made it clear that there was nothing innately sinful in collecting taxes (), and we have no evidence that Matthew was a thief. But to the Jews, Levi was a sinner, and Jesus was suspect for having anything to do with him and his sinner friends.
We wonder how much Matthew knew about Jesus. Our Lord’s friendship with Peter and his partners would put Him in touch with the businessmen of Capernaum, and certainly Matthew had heard Jesus preach by the seaside. Matthew instantly obeyed the Lord’s call, left everything, and followed Jesus. He was so overjoyed at his salvation experience that he invited many of his friends to rejoice with him (see , , ).
The scribes and Pharisees criticized Jesus because they did not understand either His message or His ministry. Jesus simply did not fit into their traditional religious life. It is unfortunate when leaders resist change and refuse to try to understand the new things that God is doing. In order to help them understand, Jesus gave four illustrations of what He was doing.
The Physician (vv. ). The scribes and Pharisees saw Matthew and his friends as condemned sinners, but Jesus saw them as spiritually sick “patients” who needed the help of a physician. In fact, He had illustrated this when He cleansed the leper and healed the paralytic. Sin is like a disease: it starts in a small and hidden way; it grows secretly; it saps our strength; and if it is not cured, it kills. It is tragic when sickness kills the body, but it is even more tragic when sin condemns the soul to hell.
The scribes and Pharisees were quick to diagnose the needs of others, but they were blind to their own needs, for they were sinners like everyone else. They appeared righteous on the outside but were corrupt within (). They may not have been “prodigal sons” who were guilty of sins of the flesh, but they were certainly “elder brothers” who were guilty of sins of the spirit (; ).
As I was writing this chapter, I received a phone call from a woman in Canada who disagreed with my radio ministry and repeatedly condemned “the judgmental fundamentalists.” I tried to reason with her from the Word, but she would not accept it. According to her, there was no hell and I had no right to preach about it. As I quoted Scripture to her, she hung up; all I could do was pause to pray for her, and I did it with a heavy heart.
The first step toward healing sin sickness is admitting that we have a need and that we must do something about it. False prophets give a false diagnosis that leads to a false hope (); but the servant of God tells the truth about sin, death, and hell, and offers the only remedy: faith in Jesus Christ. The religion of the scribes and Pharisees could offer no hope to Matthew’s friends, but Jesus could.
What a wonderful Physician Jesus is! He comes to us in love; He calls us; He saves us when we trust Him; and He “pays the bill.” His diagnosis is always accurate and His cure is perfect and complete. No wonder Matthew was so happy and wanted to share the Good News with his friends!
The Bridegroom (vv. ). The scribes and Pharisees were not only upset at the disciples’ friends, but also at their obvious joy as they fellowshipped with Jesus and the guests. We get the impression that the Pharisees experienced little if any joy in the practice of their religion (see ; ). Jesus was “a Man of Sorrows” (), but He was also filled with joy (; ; ).
Jewish weddings lasted a week and were times of great joy and celebration. By using this image, Jesus was saying to His critics, “I came to make life a wedding feast, not a funeral. If you know the Bridegroom, then you can share His joy.” He said that one day He would be “taken away,” which suggested rejection and death; but meanwhile, there was good reason for joy, for sinners were coming to repentance.
Fasting is found often in the Old Testament, but nowhere is it commanded in the New Testament. However, the example of the prophets and the early church is certainly significant for believers today. Our Lord’s words in assume that we will fast (“when,” not “if”), and passages like and indicate that fasting was a practice of the early church (see also ; ; ).
The garment (v. ). Jesus did not come to patch up the old; He came to give the new. The Pharisees would admit that Judaism was not all it could be, and perhaps they hoped that Jesus would work with them in reviving the old religion. But Jesus showed the foolishness of this approach by contrasting two garments, an old one and a new one. If you take a patch from a new garment and sew it to an old garment, you ruin both of them. The new garment has a hole in it, and the old garment has a patch that does not match and that will tear away when the garment is washed.
In Scripture, garments are sometimes used to picture character and conduct (). Isaiah wrote about a “robe of righteousness” (; see also ), and he warned against our trusting our own good works for salvation (). Many people have a “patchwork” religion of their own making, instead of trusting Christ for the robe of salvation that He gives by grace.
The wineskins (vv. ). If unfermented wine is put into brittle old wineskins, the gas will burst the skins and both the skins and the wine will be lost. The new life of the Spirit could not be forced into the old wineskins of Judaism. Jesus was revealing that the ancient Jewish religion was getting old and would soon be replaced (see ). Most of the Jews preferred the old and refused the new. It was not until A.D. 70, when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, and scattered the people, that the Jewish religion as described in the Law came to an end. Today, the Jews do not have a priesthood, a temple, or an altar; so they cannot practice their religion as their ancestors did (see ).
The things in the ceremonial Law were fulfilled by Jesus Christ, so there is no need today for sacrifices, priests, temples, and ceremonies. All of God’s people are priests who bring spiritual sacrifices to the Lord (, ). The tables of Law have been replaced by the tables of the human heart, where God’s Spirit is writing the Word and making us like Jesus Christ (, ).
Jesus Christ still offers “all things new” (). As the Physician, He offers sinners new life and spiritual health. As the Bridegroom, He brings new love and joy. He gives us the robe of righteousness and the wine of the Spirit (; also see ). Life is a feast, not a famine or a funeral; and Jesus Christ is the only one who can make that kind of a difference in our lives.
Luke 6
For over a year, Jesus ministered as a popular itinerant Teacher and Healer, and multitudes followed Him. But now the time had come for Him to “organize” His followers and declare just what His kingdom was all about.
In this chapter, we see the Lord Jesus establishing three new spiritual entities to replace that which was now “worn out” in the Jewish religion: a new Sabbath, a new nation, and a new blessing in the new spiritual kingdom.
The sanctity of the seventh day was a distinctive part of the Jewish faith. God gave Israel the Sabbath law at Sinai () and made it a sign between Him and the nation (; ). The word Sabbath means “rest” and is linked with God’s cessation of work after the six days of Creation (). Some of the rabbis taught that Messiah could not come until Israel had perfectly kept the Sabbath, so obeying this law was very important both personally and nationally.
To call Sunday “the Sabbath” is to confuse the first day and the seventh day and what each signifies. The Sabbath is a reminder of the completion of “the old Creation,” while the Lord’s Day is a reminder of our Lord’s finished work in “the new Creation” (; ; ). The Sabbath speaks of rest after work and relates to the Law, while the Lord’s Day speaks of rest before work and relates to grace. The Lord’s Day commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead as well as the coming of the Holy Spirit and the “birthday” of the church (Acts 2).
The early church met on the first day of the week (; ). However, some Jewish believers kept the Sabbath, and this sometimes led to division. Paul addressed this problem in Romans 14:1–15:13 where he gave principles to promote both liberty and unity in the church. But Paul always made it clear that observing special days had nothing to do with salvation (; ). We are not saved from sin by faith in Christ plus keeping the Sabbath. We are saved by faith in Christ alone.
By their strict and oppressive rules, the Pharisees and scribes had turned the Sabbath Day into a burden instead of the blessing God meant it to be, and Jesus challenged both their doctrine and their authority. He had announced a new “Year of Jubilee” (), and now He would declare a new Sabbath. He had already healed a lame man on the Sabbath, and the religious leaders had determined to kill Him (; also note ). Now He was to violate their Sabbath laws on two more occasions.
In the field (vv. ). It was lawful for a Jew to eat from a neighbor’s vineyard, orchard, or field, provided he did not fill a container or use a harvesting implement (). The disciples were hungry, so they picked the heads of wheat, rubbed them in their hands, and ate them. But in so doing, according to the rabbis, they broke the Sabbath law, because they were harvesting, winnowing, and preparing food!
Always alert for something to criticize, some of the Pharisees asked Jesus why He permitted His disciples to violate the Sabbath laws. This was His second offense, and they were sure they had a case against Him. How tragic that their slavish devotion to religious rules blinded them to the true ministry of the Law as well as the very presence of the Lord who gave them the Law.
Jesus did not argue with them; instead, He took them right to the Word of God (). The “showbread” was comprised of twelve loaves, one for each tribe in Israel; and it stood on the table in the holy place in the tabernacle and then in the temple (; ). Fresh bread was put on the table each Sabbath, and only the priests were allowed to eat the loaves.
But David and his men ate the loaves, and what Jew would condemn Israel’s great king? “He was God’s anointed!” they might argue, but that was exactly what Jesus claimed for Himself (). Not only was He God’s Anointed, but He was also the Lord of the Sabbath! When Jesus made that statement, He was claiming to be Jehovah God, because it was the Lord who established the Sabbath. If Jesus Christ is indeed Lord of the Sabbath, then He is free to do on it and with it whatever He pleases. The Pharisees did not miss His meaning, you can be sure.
God is more concerned about meeting human needs than He is about protecting religious rules. Better that David and his men receive strength to serve God than that they perish only for the sake of a temporary law. God desires compassion, not sacrifice (, quoting ). The Pharisees, of course, had a different view of the Law ().
In the synagogue (vv. ). The Pharisees knew that it was our Lord’s practice to be in the synagogue on the Sabbath, so they were there to watch Him and to gather more evidence against Him. Did they know that the handicapped man would also be there? Did they “plant” him there? We do not know, and Jesus probably did not care. His compassionate heart responded to the man’s need, and He healed him. Jesus could have waited a few hours until the Sabbath was over, or He could have healed the man in private, but He did it openly and immediately. It was a deliberate violation of the Sabbath traditions.
Our Lord’s defense in the field was based on the Old Testament Scriptures, but His defense in the synagogue was based on the nature of God’s Sabbath law. God gave that law to help people, not to hurt them. “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath” (). Every man in the synagogue would rescue a sheep on the Sabbath, so why not rescue a man made in the image of God? () The scribes and Pharisees had turned God’s gift into a heavy yoke that nobody could bear (; ).
This miracle illustrates the power of faith in God’s Word. Jesus commanded the man to do the very thing he could not do, and yet he did it! “For no word from God shall be void of power” (, ASV). God’s commandments are always God’s enablements.
The scribes and Pharisees were filled with fury. It certainly did not do them any good to worship God in the synagogue that morning. So angry were they that they even joined forces with the Herodians (the Jews who supported Herod) in a plot to kill Jesus (). Jesus knew their thoughts (; ); so He merely withdrew to the Sea of Galilee, ministered to the multitudes, and then went up to a mountain alone to pray.
Jesus gives a spiritual “Sabbath rest” that is in the heart all the time (). Unlike the galling yoke of the Law, the yoke that Jesus gives is “well-fitting,” and His “burden is light.” When the sinner trusts the Saviour, he has peace with God because his sins are forgiven and he is reconciled to God (). As the believer yields to Christ in daily experience, he enjoys “the peace of God” in his heart and mind ().
Jesus spent the whole night in prayer, for He was about to call His 12 Apostles from among the many disciples who were following Him. A disciple is a learner, an apprentice; while an apostle is a chosen messenger sent with a special commission. Jesus had many disciples (see ) but only twelve handpicked Apostles.
Why did He pray all night? For one thing, He knew that opposition against Him was growing and would finally result in His crucifixion; so He prayed for strength as He faced the path ahead. Also, He wanted the Father’s guidance as He selected His 12 Apostles, for the future of the church rested with them. Keep in mind that one of the Twelve would betray Him, and Jesus knew who he was from the beginning (). Our Lord had real human emotions (; ), and it was through prayer that He made this difficult choice.
The names of the Apostles are also given in ; ; (minus Judas). In all the lists, Peter is named first and, except in , Judas is named last. The Judas in is Judas the brother [more likely “the son”] of James, who is also called Thaddeus in . It was not unusual for one man to have two or more names.
Simon received the name Peter (stone) when Andrew brought him to Jesus (). Bartholomew is the same as Nathanael (). The other Simon in the group was nicknamed “Zelotes,” which can mean one of two things. It may mean that he belonged to a group of fanatical Jewish patriots known as “the Zealots,” whose purpose was to deliver Israel from the tyranny of Rome. They used every means at hand, including terror and assassination, to accomplish their purposes. Or, perhaps the word Zelotes translates from the Hebrew word qanna which means “jealous for God, zealous for God’s honor.” (It is transliterated in as “Simon the Canaanite” [qanna].) Whether Simon was known for his zeal to honor God, or his membership in a subversive organization, we cannot be sure—possibly both.
Nor are we sure of the origin of the word Iscariot. It probably means “man [ish in Hebrew] of Kerioth,” a town in southern Judah (). Some connect it with the Aramaic word seqar which means “falsehood.” Thus, “Judas the false one.” The geographical explanation is probably right.
What an interesting group of men! They illustrate what Paul wrote in , and they are an encouragement to us today. After all, if God could use them, can He not use us? Perhaps seven of them were fishermen (see ), one was a tax collector, and the other four are anonymous as far as their vocations are concerned. They were ordinary men; their personalities were different; yet Jesus called them to be with Him, to learn from Him, and to go out to represent Him ().
Why 12 Apostles? Because there were twelve tribes in Israel, and Jesus was forming the nucleus for a new nation (see ; ). The first Christians were Jews because the Gospel came “to the Jew first” (; ). Later, the Gentiles were added to the church through the witness of the scattered Jewish believers () and the ministry of Paul, apostle to the Gentiles. In the church, there is no difference between Jew and Gentile; we are “all one in Christ Jesus” ().
It is significant that after Jesus called His 12 Apostles, and before He preached this great sermon, He took time to heal many needy people. This was a demonstration of both His power and His compassion. It was also a reminder to His newly appointed assistants that their job was to share His love and power with a needy world. It is estimated that there were 300 million people in the world in Jesus’ day, while there are over 5 billion today, four fifths of them in the less-developed nations. What a challenge to the church!
This sermon is probably a shorter version of what we call “The Sermon on the Mount” (Matt. 5–7), though some fine evangelical scholars believe these were two different events. If they are the same event, the fact that Matthew locates it on a mountain (), while Luke puts it “in the plain” (), creates no problem. Dr. D.A. Carson points out that the Greek word translated “plain” can mean “a plateau in a mountainous region” (Exegetical Fallacies, Baker, p. 43).
Jesus went “into the hill country” with His disciples. After a night of prayer, He came down to a level place, ordained the Twelve, ministered to the sick, and then preached this sermon. It was His description of what it means to have a life of “blessing.”
To most Jewish people, the word “blessing” evoked images of a long life, wealth, a large, healthy family, a full barn, and defeated enemies. God’s covenant with Israel did include such material and physical blessings (Deut. 28; ; ), for this was how God taught and disciplined them. After all, they were “little children” in the faith, and we teach children by means of rewards and punishments. With the coming of Jesus, Israel’s childhood period ended, and the people had to mature in their understanding of God’s ways ().
Jesus was preaching to His disciples as well as to the multitudes (, ), for even the Twelve had to unlearn many things before they could effectively serve Him. Furthermore, they had left everything to follow Jesus (, ), and no doubt were asking themselves, “What is in store for us?” (see ) The Lord explained in this sermon that the truly blessed life comes not from getting, or from doing, but from being. The emphasis is on Godlike character.
This sermon is not “the Gospel” and nobody goes to heaven by “following the Sermon on the Mount.” Dead sinners cannot obey the living God; they must first be born again and receive God’s life (, ).
Nor is this sermon a “constitution” for the kingdom God will one day establish on earth (; ). The Sermon on the Mount applies to life today and describes the kind of godly character we should have as believers in this world. Certainly our Lord describes a life situation quite unlike that of the glorious kingdom, including hunger, tears, persecution, and false teachers.
What Jesus did was to focus on attitudes: our attitude toward circumstances (), people (), ourselves (), and God (). He emphasized four essentials for true happiness: faith in God, love toward others, honesty with ourselves, and obedience toward God.
Circumstances (vv. ). Life was difficult for the people of that day and there was not much hope their circumstances would be improved. Like people today, many of them thought that happiness came from having great possessions, or holding an exalted position, or enjoying the pleasures and popularity that money can buy. Imagine how surprised they were when they heard Jesus describe happiness in terms just the opposite of what they expected! They discovered that what they needed most was not a change in circumstances but a change in their relationship to God and in their outlook on life.
Jesus was not teaching that poverty, hunger, persecution, and tears were blessings in themselves. If that were true, He would never have done all He did to alleviate the sufferings of others. Rather, Jesus was describing the inner attitudes we must have if we are to experience the blessedness of the Christian life. We should certainly do what we can to help others in a material way (; ), but we must remember that no amount of “things” can substitute for a personal relationship with God.
Matthew’s account makes this clear: “Blessed are the poor in spirit … Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness” (, , italics mine). Jesus was not glorifying material poverty; rather, He was calling for that brokenness of heart that confesses spiritual poverty within (; ). The humble person is the only kind the Lord can save (; ; ). If you compare “The Beatitudes” with and , you will see that our Lord’s emphasis was on the condition of the heart and not the outward circumstances. Mary expressed this same insight in her song of praise ().
Jesus Himself would experience the persecution described in , and so would His disciples. How can we rejoice when men attack us? By remembering that it is a privilege to suffer for His sake (). When they treat us the way they treated Him, it is evidence that we are starting to live as He lived, and that is a compliment. All of the saints of the ages were treated this way, so we are in good company! Furthermore, God promises a special reward for all those who are faithful to Him; so the best is yet to come!
The four “woes” all share a common truth: you take what you want from life and you pay for it. If you want immediate wealth, fullness, laughter, and popularity, you can get it; but there is a price to pay: that is all you will get. Jesus did not say that these things were wrong. He said that being satisfied with them is its own judgment.
H.H. Farmer wrote that “to Jesus the terrible thing about having wrong values in life and pursuing wrong things is not that you are doomed to bitter disappointment, but that you are not; not that you do not achieve what you want, but that you do” (Things Not Seen, Nishbet [London], p. 96). When people are satisfied with the lesser things of life, the good instead of the best, then their successes add up only as failures. These people are spiritually bankrupt and do not realize it.
Life is built on character, and character is built on decisions. But decisions are based on values, and values must be accepted by faith. Moses made his life-changing decisions on the basis of values that other people thought were foolish (), but God honored his faith. The Christian enjoys all that God gives him () because he lives “with eternity’s values in view.”
People (vv. ). Jesus assumed that anybody who lived for eternal values would get into trouble with the world’s crowd. Christians are the “salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” (), and sometimes the salt stings and the light exposes sin. Sinners show their hatred by avoiding us or rejecting us (), insulting us (), physically abusing us (), and suing us (). This is something we must expect (; ).
How should we treat our enemies? We must love them, do them good, and pray for them. Hatred only breeds more hatred, “for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires” (, NIV). This cannot be done in our own strength, but it can be done through the power of the Holy Spirit (; ).
We must not look at these admonitions as a series of rules to be obeyed. They describe an attitude of heart that expresses itself positively when others are negative, and generously when others are selfish, all to the glory of God. It is an inner disposition, not a legal duty. We must have wisdom to know when to turn the other cheek and when to claim our rights (; ). Even Christian love must exercise discernment ().
Two principles stand out: we must treat others as we would want to be treated (), which assumes we want the very best spiritually for ourselves; and we must imitate our Father in heaven and be merciful (). The important thing is not that we are vindicated before our enemies but that we become more like God in our character (). This is the greatest reward anyone can receive, far greater than riches, food, laughter, or popularity (). Those things will one day vanish, but character will last for eternity. We must believe and practice it in the power of the Spirit.
reminds us that we reap what we sow and in the amount that we sow. If we judge others, we will ourselves be judged. If we forgive, we shall be forgiven, but if we condemn, we shall be condemned (see ). He was not talking about eternal judgment but the way we are treated in this life. If we live to give, God will see to it that we receive; but if we live only to get, God will see to it that we lose. This principle applies not only to our giving of money, but also to the giving of ourselves in ministry to others.
Self (vv. ). The four striking figures in this section teach us some important lessons about ministry. To begin with, as His disciples, we must be sure that we see clearly enough to guide others in their spiritual walk. While there are blind people who have a keen sense of direction, it is not likely any of them will be hired as airplane pilots or wilderness guides. Jesus was referring primarily to the Pharisees who were leading the people astray (; ). If we see ourselves as excellent guides, but do not realize our blindness, we will only lead people into the ditch (see ).
reminds us that we cannot lead others where we have not been ourselves, nor can we be all that our Master is. In fact, the more we strive to be like Him, the more we realize how far short we fall. This is a warning against pride, for nothing blinds a person like pride.
Continuing the image of “the eye,” Jesus taught that we must be able to see clearly enough to help our brother see better. It certainly is not wrong to help a brother get a painful speck of dirt out of his eye, provided we can see what we are doing. The crowd must have laughed out loud when Jesus described an “eye doctor” with a plank in his eye, performing surgery on a patient with a speck in his eye!
The emphasis here is on being honest with ourselves and not becoming hypocrites. It is easy to try to help a brother with his faults just so we can cover up our own sins! People who are constantly criticizing others are usually guilty of something worse in their own lives.
The illustration of the tree reminds us that fruit is always true to character. An apple tree produces apples, not oranges; and a good person produces good fruit, not evil. Believers do sin, but the witness of their words and works is consistently good to the glory of God. In terms of ministry, servants of God who are faithful will reproduce themselves in people who are in turn true to the Lord ().
The last image, the treasury, teaches us that what comes out of the lips depends on what is inside the heart. The human heart is like a treasury, and what we speak reveals what is there. A man who apologized for swearing by saying, “It really wasn’t in me!” heard a friend say, “It had to be in you or it couldn’t have come out of you!”
We must be honest with ourselves and admit the blind spots in our lives, the obstacles that blur our vision, and the areas within that must be corrected. Then we can be used of the Lord to minister to others and not lead them astray.
God (vv. ). Our Lord’s emphasis here is on obedience. It is not enough merely to hear His Word and call Him “Lord.” We must also obey what He commands us to do. All of us are builders and we must be careful to build wisely. To “build on the rock” simply means to obey what God commands in His Word. To “build on the sand” means to give Christ lip service, but not obey His will. It may look as if we are building a strong house, but if it has no foundation, it cannot last. The storm here is not the last judgment but the tests of life that come to every professing Christian. Not everybody who professes to know the Lord has had a real experience of salvation. They may have been active in church and other religious organizations, but if they are not saved by faith, they have no foundation to their lives. When difficulties come, instead of glorifying the Lord, they desert Him; and their house of testimony collapses.
Nobody can really call Jesus Christ “Lord” except by the Holy Spirit of God (; ). If Christ is in our hearts, then our mouths must confess Him to others (). If we are “rooted and built up in Him” (), then our fruits will be good and our house will withstand the storms. We may have our faults and failures, but the steady witness of our lives will point to Christ and honor Him.
This is the “new blessing” that Jesus offered His nation and that He offers us today. We can experience the “heavenly happiness” and true blessedness which only He can give. The basis for all of this is personal saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, for, as Dr. H.A. Ironside once said, “We cannot live the life until first we possess it.”
Luke 7
Compassion has been defined as “your pain in my heart.” What pain our Lord must have felt as He ministered from place to place! In this chapter alone, Jesus is confronted with the miseries of a dying servant, a grieving widow, a perplexed prophet, and a repentant sinner; and He helped them all. If a “hardship committee” had been asked to decide which of these persons was “deserving,” we wonder who would have been chosen.
Jesus helped them all, because compassion does not measure: it ministers. Bernard of Clairvaux said, “Justice seeks out only the merits of the case, but pity only regards the need.” It was compassion, not justice, that motivated the Great Physician who came “not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (). Let’s meet these four hurting people and see our Lord’s responses to their needs.
The Servant: His Response to Faith ()
In the Gospels and the Book of Acts, Roman centurions are presented as quality men of character, and this one is a sterling example. The Jewish elders had little love for the Romans in general and Roman soldiers in particular, and yet the elders commended this officer to Jesus. He loved the Jewish people in Capernaum and even built them a synagogue. He loved his servant and did not want him to die. This centurion was not a Stoic who insulated himself from the pain of others. He had a heart of concern, even for his lowly servant boy who was dying from a paralyzing disease ().
Matthew’s condensed report () does not contradict Luke’s fuller account. The centurion’s friends represented him to Jesus and then represented Jesus to him. When a newscaster reports that the President or the Prime Minister said something to Congress or Parliament, this does not necessarily mean that the message was delivered by them in person. It was probably delivered by one of their official representatives, but the message would be received as from the President or Prime Minister personally.
We are impressed not only with this man’s great love, but also his great humility. Imagine a Roman officer telling a poor Jewish rabbi that he was unworthy to have Him enter his house! The Romans were not known for displaying humility, especially before their Jewish subjects.
But the characteristic that most impressed Jesus was the man’s faith. Twice in the Gospel record we are told that Jesus marveled. Here in Capernaum, He marveled at the faith of a Gentile; and in Nazareth, He marveled at the unbelief of the Jews (). The only other person Jesus commended for having “great faith” was a Gentile woman whose daughter He delivered from a demon (). It is worth noting that in both of these instances, Jesus healed at a distance (see ; ).
The centurion’s faith certainly was remarkable. After all, he was a Gentile whose background was pagan. He was a Roman soldier, trained to be self-sufficient, and we have no evidence that he had ever heard Jesus preach. Perhaps he heard about Jesus’ healing power from the nobleman whose son Jesus had healed, also at a distance (). His soldiers may also have brought him reports of the miracles Jesus had performed, for the Romans kept close touch with the events in Jewish life.
The important word in is “also.” (It should be in as well, but the KJV omits it for some reason. The NASB has “too” in both places.) The officer saw a parallel between the way he commanded his soldiers and the way Jesus commanded diseases. Both the centurion and Jesus were under authority, and because they were under authority, they had the right to exercise authority. All they had to do was say the word and things happened. What tremendous faith this man exhibited! No wonder Jesus marveled.
If this Roman, with very little spiritual instruction, had that kind of faith in God’s Word, how much greater our faith ought to be! We have an entire Bible to read and study, as well as nearly 2,000 years of church history to encourage us, and yet we are guilty of “no faith” () or “little faith” (). Our prayer ought to be, “Lord, increase our faith!” ()
The Widow: Jesus’ Response to Despair ()
Nain was about twenty-five miles from Capernaum, a good day’s journey away, yet Jesus went there even though He was not requested to come. Since the Jews buried their dead the same day (; ), it is likely that Jesus and His disciples arrived at the city gate late in the afternoon of the day the boy died. Four special meetings took place at the city gate that day.
Two crowds met. We can only marvel at the providence of God when we see Jesus meet that funeral procession just as it was heading for the burial ground. He lived on a divine timetable as He obeyed the will of His Father (; ). The sympathetic Saviour always gives help when we need it most ().
What a contrast between the crowd that was following Jesus and the crowd following the widow and her dead son. Jesus and His disciples were rejoicing in the blessing of the Lord, but the widow and her friends were lamenting the death of her only son. Jesus was heading for the city while the mourners were heading for the cemetery.
Spiritually speaking, each of us is in one of these two crowds. If you have trusted Christ, you are going to the city (, ; ). If you are “dead in sin,” you are already in the cemetery and under the condemnation of God (; ). You need to trust Jesus Christ and be raised from the dead (; ).
Two only sons met. One was alive but destined to die, the other dead but destined to live. The term only begotten as applied to Jesus means “unique,” “the only one of its kind.” Jesus is not a “son” in the same sense that I am, having been brought into existence by conception and birth. Since Jesus is eternal God, He has always existed. The title Son of God declares Christ’s divine nature and His relationship to the Father, to whom the Son has willingly subjected Himself from all eternity. All the Persons of the Godhead are equal, but in the “economy” of the Trinity, each has a specific place to fill and task to fulfill.
Two sufferers met. Jesus, “the Man of Sorrows,” could easily identify with the widow’s heartache. Not only was she in sorrow, but she was now left alone in a society that did not have resources to care for widows. What would happen to her? Jesus felt the pain that sin and death have brought into this world, and He did something about it.
Two enemies met. Jesus faced death, “the last enemy” (). When you consider the pain and grief that it causes in this world, death is indeed an enemy, and only Jesus Christ can give us victory (see ; ). Jesus had only to speak the word and the boy was raised to life and health.
The boy gave two evidences of life: he sat up and he spoke. He was lying on an open stretcher, not in a closed coffin; so it was easy for him to sit up. We are not told what he said, but it must have been interesting! What an act of tenderness it was for Jesus to take the boy and give him to his rejoicing mother. The whole scene reminds us of what will happen when the Lord returns, and we are reunited with our loved ones who have gone to glory ().
The response of the people was to glorify God and identify Jesus with the Prophet the Jews had been waiting for (; ; ). It did not take long for the report of this miracle to spread. People were even more enthusiastic to see Jesus, and great crowds followed Him (, , ).
John the Baptist: His Response to Doubt ()
Confusion (vv. ). John had been in prison some months (), but he knew what Jesus was doing because his own disciples kept him informed. It must have been difficult for this man, accustomed to a wilderness life, to be confined in a prison. The physical and emotional strain were no doubt great, and the long days of waiting did not make it easier. The Jewish leaders did nothing to intercede for John, and it seemed that even Jesus was doing nothing for him. If He came to set the prisoners free (), then John the Baptist was a candidate!
It is not unusual for great spiritual leaders to have their days of doubt and uncertainty. Moses was ready to quit on one occasion (), and so were Elijah (1 Kings 19) and Jeremiah (, ); and even Paul knew the meaning of despair ().
There is a difference between doubt and unbelief. Doubt is a matter of the mind: we cannot understand what God is doing or why He is doing it. Unbelief is a matter of the will: we refuse to believe God’s Word and obey what He tells us to do. “Doubt is not always a sign that a man is wrong,” said Oswald Chambers; “it may be a sign that he is thinking.” In John’s case, his inquiry was not born of willful unbelief, but of doubt nourished by physical and emotional strain.
You and I can look back at the ministry of Christ and understand what He was doing, but John did not have that advantage. John had announced judgment, but Jesus was doing deeds of love and mercy. John had promised that the kingdom was at hand, but there was no evidence of it so far. He had presented Jesus as “the Lamb of God” (), so John must have understood something about Jesus’ sacrifice; yet how did this sacrifice relate to the promised kingdom for Israel? He was perplexed about God’s plan and his place in it. But let’s not judge him harshly, for even the prophets were perplexed about some of these things ().
Confirmation (vv. ). Jesus did not give the two men a lecture on theology or prophecy. Instead, He invited them to watch as He healed many people of many different afflictions. Certainly these were His credentials as the promised Messiah (; ; ). He had not established a political kingdom, but the kingdom of God was there in power.
The Greek word translated “offended” gives us our English word scandalize, and it referred originally to the “bait stick” in a trap. John was in danger of being trapped because of his concern about what Jesus was not doing. He was stumbling over his Lord and His ministry. Jesus gently told him to have faith, for his Lord knew what He was doing.
There are many people today who criticize the church for not “changing the world” and solving the economic, political, and social problems of society. What they forget is that God changes His world by changing individual people. History shows that the church has often led the way in humanitarian service and reform, but the church’s main job is to bring lost sinners to the Saviour. Everything else is a by-product of that. Proclaiming the Gospel must always be the church’s first priority.
Commendation (vv. ). What we think of ourselves, or what others think of us, is not as important as what God thinks. Jesus waited until the messengers had departed and then He publicly commended John for his ministry. At the same time, He exposed the sinful hearts of those who rejected John’s ministry.
John the Baptist was not a compromiser, a reed blowing in the wind (note ); nor was he a popular celebrity, enjoying the friendship of great people and the pleasures of wealth. John did not waver or weaken, no matter what people did to him. John was not only a prophet, but he was a prophet whose ministry was prophesied! (see and ) The last of the Old Testament prophets, John had the great privilege as God’s messenger of introducing the Messiah to Israel.
How is the least person in the kingdom of God greater than John? In position, not in character or ministry. John was the herald of the King, announcing the kingdom; believers today are children of the kingdom and the friends of the King (). John’s ministry was a turning point in both the nation’s history and in God’s plan of redemption ().
are the words of Jesus, not an explanation from Luke (see ). They answer the question some of the people were asking, “If John is such a great prophet, why is he in prison?” The answer is: because of the willful unbelief of the religious leaders. The common people accepted John’s message and were baptized by him as proof of their repentance. They “justified God,” which means they agreed with what God said about them (). But the religious leaders justified themselves (), not God, and rejected John and his message.
Condemnation (vv. ). Jesus compared that generation to people who were childish, not childlike, and nothing pleased them. He was probably referring to the scribes and Pharisees in particular. John was an individual who declared a stern message of judgment, and they said, “He has a demon!” Jesus mingled with the people and preached a gracious message of salvation, and they said, “He’s a glutton, a winebibber, and a friend of publicans and sinners!” They wanted neither the funeral nor the wedding, because nothing pleased them.
People who want to avoid the truth about themselves can always find something in the preacher to criticize. This is one way they “justify themselves.” But God’s wisdom is not frustrated by the arguments of the “wise and prudent.” It is demonstrated in the changed lives of those who believe. This is how true wisdom is “justified.”
A Sinful Woman: His Response to Love ()
Jesus not only accepted hospitality from the publicans and sinners but also from the Pharisees. They needed the Word of God too, whether they realized it or not. We trust that Simon’s invitation was a sincere one and that he did not have some ulterior motive for having Jesus in his home. If he did, his plan backfired, because he ended up learning more about himself than he cared to know!
The repentant woman (vv. ). It was customary in that day for outsiders to hover around during banquets so they could watch the “important people” and hear the conversation. Since everything was open, they could even enter the banquet hall and speak to a guest. This explains how this woman had access to Jesus. He was not behind locked doors. In that day women were not invited to banquets.
Jewish rabbis did not speak to women in public, nor did they eat with them in public. A woman of this type would not be welcomed in the house of Simon the Pharisee. Her sins are not named, but we get the impression she was a woman of the streets with a bad reputation.
Do not confuse this event with a similar one involving Mary of Bethany (), and do not identify this woman with Mary Magdalene (; ) as many continue to do.
The woman admitted she was a sinner and gave evidence that she was a repentant sinner. If you check a harmony of the Gospels, you will discover that just before this event, Jesus had given the gracious invitation, “Come unto Me … and I will give you rest” (). Perhaps that was when the woman turned from her sin and trusted the Saviour. Her tears, her humble attitude, and her expensive gift all spoke of a changed heart.
The critical host (vv. ). Simon was embarrassed, both for himself and for his guests. People had been saying that Jesus was a great Prophet (), but He certainly was not exhibiting much prophetic discernment if He allowed a sinful woman to anoint His feet! He must be a fraud.
Simon’s real problem was blindness: he could not see himself, the woman, or the Lord Jesus. It was easy for him to say, “She is a sinner!” but impossible for him to say, “I am also a sinner!” (see ) Jesus proved that He was indeed a prophet by reading Simon’s thoughts and revealing his needs.
The parable does not deal with the amount of sin in a person’s life but the awareness of that sin in his heart. How much sin must a person commit to be a sinner? Simon and the woman were both sinners. Simon was guilty of sins of the spirit, especially pride, while the woman was guilty of sins of the flesh (see ). Her sins were known, while Simon’s sins were hidden to everyone except God. And both of them were bankrupt and could not pay their debt to God. Simon was just as spiritually bankrupt as the woman, only he did not realize it.
Forgiveness is a gift of God’s grace; the debt was paid in full by Jesus Christ (; ). The word frankly means “graciously and freely.” The woman accepted God’s free offer of salvation and expressed her love openly. Simon rejected that offer and remained unforgiven. He was not only blind to himself, but he was blind to the woman and to his honored guest!
The forgiving Saviour (vv. ). The woman was guilty of sins of commission, but Simon was guilty of sins of omission. He had not been a gracious host to the Lord Jesus. (For a contrast, see Abraham in .) Everything that Simon neglected to do, the woman did—and she did it better!
There are two errors we must avoid as we interpret our Lord’s words. First, we must not conclude that this woman was saved by her tears and her gift. Jesus made it clear that it was her faith alone that saved her (), for no amount of good works can pay for salvation ().
Nor should we think that lost sinners are saved by love, either God’s love for them or their love for God. God loves the whole world (), yet the whole world is not saved. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (, NKJV). Grace is love that pays a price, and that price was the death of the Son of God on the cross.
Jesus did not reject either the woman’s tears or her gift of ointment, because her works were the evidence of her faith. “Faith without works is dead” (see ). We are not saved by faith plus works; we are saved by a faith that leads to works. This anonymous woman illustrates the truth of , “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (NIV).
How did the woman know that her sins were forgiven? Jesus told her. How do we know today that we have been forgiven? God tells us so in His Word. Here are just a few verses to consider: ; ; ; ; ; ; and . Once you understand the meaning of God’s grace you have no trouble receiving His free and full forgiveness and rejoicing in it.
Of course, the legalistic critics at the dinner were shocked when Jesus said, “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven.” By saying this, Jesus was claiming to be God! (see ) But He is God, and He died for the sins that she committed. His words of forgiveness were not cheap words; they cost Him dearly on the cross.
How was this woman saved? She repented of her sins and put her faith in Jesus Christ. How did she know she was truly forgiven? She had the assurance of His word. What was the proof of her salvation? Her love for Christ expressed in sacrificial devotion to Him. For the first time in her life, she had peace with God (). Literally it reads, “Go into peace,” for she had moved out of the sphere of enmity toward God and was now enjoying peace with God (; ).
When Jesus healed the centurion’s servant, it was a great miracle. An even greater miracle was His raising the widow’s son from the dead. But in this chapter, the greatest miracle of all was His saving this woman from her sins and making her a new person. The miracle of salvation has to be the greatest miracle of all, for it meets the greatest need, brings the greatest results (and they last forever), and cost the greatest price.
Simon was blind to the woman and blind to himself. He saw her past, but Jesus saw her future. I wonder how many rejected sinners have found salvation through the testimony of this woman in Luke’s Gospel. She encourages us to believe that Jesus can take any sinner and make him or her into a child of God.
But God’s forgiveness is not automatic; we can reject His grace if we will. In 1830, a man named George Wilson was arrested for mail theft, the penalty for which was hanging. After a time, President Andrew Jackson gave Wilson a pardon but he refused to accept it! The authorities were puzzled: should Wilson be freed or hanged?
They consulted Chief Justice John Marshall, who handed down this decision: “A pardon is a slip of paper, the value of which is determined by the acceptance of the person to be pardoned. If it is refused, it is no pardon. George Wilson must be hanged.”
If you have never accepted God’s pardon, now is the time to believe and be saved.
Luke 8
One of the major themes in Luke 8 is how to get faith and use it in the everyday experiences of life. In the first section, Jesus laid the foundation by teaching His disciples that faith comes through receiving the Word of God into an understanding heart. In the second part, He put them through a series of “examinations” to see how much they had really learned. Most of us enjoy Bible study, but we wish we could avoid the examinations that often follow the lessons! However, it is in the tests of life that faith really grows and we get closer to Christ.
The cynical American editor H.L. Mencken defined faith as “an illogical belief in the occurrence of the impossible,” and Mark Twain said (through one of his characters) that faith is “believin’ what you know ain’t so.” Of course, these men are describing superstition, not faith; for the faith of a Christian rests on solid foundations.
Everybody lives by faith in something or someone. The difference between the Christian believer and the unsaved person is not that one has faith and the other does not. They both have faith. The difference is in the object of their faith, for faith is only as good as the object. The Christian believer has put his faith in Jesus Christ, and he bases that faith on the Word of God.
Teaching: Hearing God’s Word ()
The Lord continued His itinerant ministry in Galilee, assisted by His disciples and partially supported by some godly women. It was not unusual for Jewish rabbis to receive gifts from grateful people, and these women had certainly benefited from Jesus’ ministry. The New Testament church leaders were supported by gifts from friends () and from churches (), and Paul supported himself by his own labor ().
The word hear is used nine times in this section. It means much more than simply listening to words. “Hearing” means listening with spiritual understanding and receptivity. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (). With this in mind, we can understand the three admonitions Jesus gave His followers.
Hear and receive the Word (vv. ). Initially, the Sower is Jesus Christ, but the sower represents any of God’s people who share the Word of God (). The seed is the Word of God, for, like seed, the Word has life and power () and can produce spiritual fruit (). But the seed can do nothing until it is planted (). When a person hears and understands the Word, then the seed is planted in the heart. What happens after that depends on the nature of the soil.
Jesus called this parable “The Parable of the Sower” (), but it could also be called “The Parable of the Soils.” The seed without the soil is fruitless, and the soil without the seed is almost useless. The human heart is like soil: if it is prepared properly, it can receive the seed of the Word of God and produce a fruitful harvest.
Jesus described four different kinds of hearts, three of which did not produce any fruit. The proof of salvation is fruit and not merely hearing the Word or making a profession of faith in Christ. Jesus had already made that clear in His “Sermon on the Mount” (; also note ).
The hard soil (vv. , ). This soil represents the person who hears the Word but immediately allows the devil to snatch the seed away. How did the heart become hard? The “wayside” was the path that ran through the common field, separating the plots; and the foot traffic hardened the soil. Whatever goes into the ear or eye finally enters the heart, so be careful who is allowed to “walk on your heart.”
The shallow soil (vv. , ). This soil illustrates the emotional hearer who quickly responds to the message, but his interest wanes and he does not continue (see ). In many parts of the Holy Land you find a substratum of limestone covered with a thin layer of soil. The shoot can grow up, but the roots cannot go down, and the sun withers the rootless plant. The sun represents the testing that comes to all professing believers to prove their faith. Sun is good for plants if they have roots. Persecution can deepen the roots of a true Christian, but it only exposes the shallowness of the false Christian.
The crowded soil (vv. , ). This soil illustrates the person who does not repent and “weed out” the things that hinder the harvest. There is enough soil so the roots can go down, but not enough room for the plant to grow up and produce fruit. The plant is crowded out and the fruit is choked. “Cares, riches, and the pleasures of this life” are like weeds in a garden that keep the soil from being fruitful. The person with the “crowded heart” comes closest to salvation, but he still does not bring forth “fruit to perfection.”
The good soil (vv. , ). This soil alone is fruitful. It illustrates the individual who hears the Word, understands it, receives it within, is truly saved, and proves it by patiently producing fruit (see ; ). Not everybody produces the same amount of fruit (), but all true believers will produce some fruit as evidence of spiritual life. That fruit may include winning others to Christ (), money given to God’s work (), good works (), Christian character (), and praise to the Lord ().
This parable shows that Jesus was not impressed by the great crowds that followed Him. He knew that most of the people did not really “hear” the Word and receive it in their hearts. He gave this story to encourage the disciples in their future ministry, and to encourage us today. When you consider how much teaching, preaching, and witnessing goes on in the course of a month or a year, you wonder why there is such a small harvest. The fault does not lie with the sower or the seed. The problem is with the soil. The human heart will not submit to God, repent and receive the Word, and be saved.
“Faith comes first to the hearing ear, not to the cogitating mind,” said A.W. Tozer, the much-quoted pastor and author. Faith is not a matter of IQ or education; it is a matter of humbly preparing the heart to receive God’s truth (). The wise and prudent are blind to truths that are easy for the babes to understand ().
Hear and share the Word (vv. ). The disciples were perplexed because Jesus taught in parables, so they asked Him for an explanation (; also see ). His reply seems to suggest that He used parables in order to hide the truth from the crowds, but just the opposite is true, and makes that clear. His teaching is a light that must be allowed to shine so that sinners may be saved.
The word parable means “to cast alongside.” A parable is a story that teaches something new by putting the truth alongside something familiar. The people knew about seeds and soil, so the Parable of the Sower interested them. Those who were indifferent or proud would shrug it off. Our Lord’s parables aroused the interest of the concerned.
A parable starts off as a picture that is familiar to the listeners. But as you carefully consider the picture, it becomes a mirror in which you see yourself, and many people do not like to see themselves. This explains why some of our Lord’s listeners became angry when they heard His parables, and even tried to kill Him. But if we see ourselves as needy sinners and ask for help, then the mirror becomes a window through which we see God and His grace. To understand a parable and benefit from it demands honesty and humility on our part, and many of our Lord’s hearers lacked both.
It is a serious thing to hear and understand the Word of God, because this puts on us the obligation to share that Word with others. Everyone who receives the seed then becomes a sower, a light-bearer, and a transmitter of God’s truth (see ). If we keep it to ourselves, we will lose it; but if we share it, we will receive more.
Hear and obey the Word (vv. ). Our Lord’s mother, Mary, and His half brothers (; ) were worried about Jesus and wanted to talk with Him. Some of His friends had already said that He was out of His mind (), and perhaps His family agreed with them. Jesus took this as an opportunity to teach another spiritual lesson: being a part of His spiritual family is much more important than any human relationship and is based on obedience to the Word of God. It is not enough to “hear” the Word of God; we must also “keep it” ().
In one of my radio series, I emphasized the importance of doing the Word of God, putting it into practice in daily life (). I warned listeners that it is easy to think we are “spiritual” because we listen to one preacher after another, take notes, mark our Bibles, but never really practice what we learn. We are only fooling ourselves.
A listener wrote that my words had made her angry, but then she faced up to the fact that she was indeed guilty of being an “auditor” and not a doer of the Word. She began to listen to fewer radio preachers, to listen more carefully, and to practice what she heard. “This new approach to Bible study has transformed me!” she wrote. “The Bible has become a new Book to me and my life has changed!”
As His disciples, we must take heed what we hear () and how we hear (), because God will hold us accountable. Listening to the wrong things, or listening to the right things with the wrong attitude, will rob us of truth and blessing. If we are faithful to receive the Word and share it, God will give us more; but if we fail to let our light shine, we will lose what we have. It is a solemn thing to hear the Word of God.