Luke 3-5 - "

Click HERE to read the passage.

As we learned in our last bible study, Luke is a medical doctor - a man of science. And, as a scientist, Luke puts a lot of emphasis on the need for facts. So, in order to make sure his reader understands the timing of the events of Jesus' coming, Luke takes several steps in detailing the time. 

First, he mentions that Tiberias, the emperor of Rome, was in his 15th year of reign when Jesus' ministry began. Since Tiberias ruled from 14 A.D to 37 A.D., this would put the date around 29 A.D.  

To add certainty to the date, Luke also mentions other leaders who were in place at the same time - in case anyone is in doubt.  For example, Herod Antipas was the ruler of Galilee at the time and Herod's brother Philip was reigning over the territory of Iturea and Traconitis - which is located in modern day Lebanon and southern Syria. He also mentions that Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests in Jerusalem at the time as well. So...Luke narrows down the exact time that Jesus bursts onto the scene to be baptized by John and begin His earthly ministry. To Luke, the facts matter.

Baptism By John The Baptist

Baptism basically began in the Old Testament, but wasn't necessarily called baptism. Under the law of Moses, God demanded that lepers and those who were ceremonially unclean to go and bath entirely (and even shave their skin) to symbolize their cleansing. Since John the Baptist's father was a priest, John would have been familiar with these purification rituals that symbolized cleansing. In fact, John was so sick of the wickedness and spiritual uncleanliness of the people that he demanded that those who truly wanted to be "clean" in God's eyes not only needed to "repent" of their sins and turn to God, but to prove that they meant it with all their hearts by being baptized by total immersion in water as he said in 3:3 - "Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show they they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven"

Jesus Time Had Come!

It's interesting to note that Luke says that "Everyone was expecting the Messiah to come soon and they were eager to know if John might be the Messiah."

Based on Old Testament scriptures, the Jews had mathematically calculated that their Messiah was soon to come...just as many Christians today believe that Jesus could come soon for His 2nd Coming!  Then, they could calculate His coming based on Jeremiah's prophecy.  Today, we see the signs of Jesus' 2nd coming through His own prophecies and those of many others!

To show the importance of baptism as a symbol of repentance of sin and a turning to God, Jesus sought to be baptized by John.  Although John was confused by it (as seen in the other Gospels), Jesus assured John that it had to be done. This is why I always teach that the first act of obedience that a new believer should want to exercise is that of baptism. If you haven't been baptized, get it done!  It doesn't save you, but it is an act of obedience to the Lord and a testimony to everyone that you've repented of your sins and turn to God.

What about infant baptism?

Infant baptism is essentially an empty gesture and has absolutely NO biblical call for it.  While perhaps many parents see it 

  

Luke 1-2 - "Miracles That Led To Jesus' Birth!"

Click HERE to read the passage.

In the Bible, Luke is traditionally identified as Luke the evangelist, one of the four gospel writers alongside Matthew, Mark, and John. He is also the author of the book of Acts of the Apostles, which continues the narrative from the gospel of Luke and chronicles the early spread of Christianity and the rise of the Christian Church.

Traditionally, Luke has been understood as a medical doctor. This has been reinforced by Christian tradition and historical writings. In fact, the Bible identifies Luke as a beloved physician, as mentioned in Colossians 4:14 where Paul refers to him as “Luke, the beloved physician”. As a medical doctor and a man of science, Luke feels compelled to provide a fact based, accurate narrative about the life and ministry of Jesus. As a man of science, he feels convicted to make sure to describe much of the overwhelming evidence that proves Jesus IS the Son of God who was prophesied as the coming Messiah as detailed throughout the entire Old Testament.

He admits that many people have set out to write stories about the life of Jesus, but Luke wants to make sure that these stories come directly from the disciples of Christ who had an eye-witness account of His miracles and His power. That is why he states in 1:3 that he had “carefully investigated everything from the beginning.”

In verse 3, Luke identifies who he is writing this letter to. He is writing to a man by the name of Theophilus. He gives him the title “most honorable”. This term was a formal title of respect, often used to address individuals of high social or political standing. Theophilus is traditionally believed to have been a person of influence and authority, possibly a Roman official or someone prominent in the early Christian community. He has mentioned twice in the gospel of Luke and once in the book of Acts.

It's interesting to note that the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, each begin their books with different interests in mind. Matthew is interested in capturing the attention of the Jewish people and showing that Jesus was part of the genealogy of King David where his lineage would produce the Messiah. Mark wasted no time with genealogy, but rather plunged directly into the ministry of John the Baptist. John begins with explaining that Jesus is the eternal God and is the word that spoke everything into existence. However, Luke takes a different route. Luke's gospel goes further back and shares how John the Baptist was born through Zechariah and Elizabeth and the familial relationship they had with Mary and Joseph, the parents of the Lord Jesus.

Luke begins with a story of John the Baptist. It's an amazing story detailing a miracle that the other writers do not address. Even though Zechariah and Elizabeth were older in years and somewhat beyond the childbearing years, Zechariah was begging God for a miracle to have a son. One of the most amazing stories to come out of the Bible is this story about John the Baptists birth! In fact, it begins with the Angel Gabriel, who stands in the very presence of God, and who is commanded by God to go to Zechariah while he's working in the temple and share the good news of the birth of his son and how his ministry will change the lives of thousands of people.

I find it interesting that Gabriel mentions that John will be filled with the Holy Spirit from birth!

Sadly, like so many of us today, Zechariah prayed for a miracle. And even though God sent his angel Gabriel to announce to Zechariah that is prayer would be answered, Zechariah could not believe it. As a result of his lack of faith, God took away his ability to speak until the child was born!

Keep in mind, the way to please God is through our faith and him. The Bible tells us explicitly in Hebrews 11:6 that without faith it is impossible to please God.

Within the same chapter, Luke shares the details of how the angel Gabriel also came to Mary and spoke of the virgin birth of Jesus.

Another amazing fact that the other writers failed to mention is that when Mary went to visit Elizabeth a few months later, the infant John jumped inside of Elizabeth's womb as Mary approached Elizabeth bearing the son of God in her womb. Both Mary and Elizabeth must have been a tremendously excited to know that they were bearing sons who would change the world!

It's interesting to note in verse 48 that Mary describes herself as “a lowly servant girl” and was amazed that God Almighty would even consider her for such an amazing opportunity!

As we begin chapter 2 we see more of some amazing miracles and proof that Jesus is the son of God!

First, the physician Luke describes Jesus as being a descendant of King David – which was a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Luke also lets his readers know that Jesus would come out of Nazareth of Galilee, also fulfilling Old Testament scripture detailing that he would not only be a Nazarene from Nazareth but also out of Galilee. To the Jewish people, these were two profound statements!!

Second, Luke speaks of the incredible account of how the shepherds near Bethlehem witnessed angels by the thousands praising God and giving glory to God for the birth of the Messiah. Once the shepherds heard the good news from the angels they hurried to the village and found baby Jesus wrapped in a dirty blanket and lying in a Manger. I'm sure both Mary and Joseph were amazed by the stories the shepherds told of the angels who came and visited them and shouted glory to God for the birth of their son.

Third, Luke also tells the amazing story of how the godly man by the name of Simeon who was eagerly awaiting the coming of the Messiah was led by the Holy Spirit to Mary and Joseph and Jesus and prophesied over the baby as the salvation for all people. This prophecy took place just eight days after Jesus was born while Mary and Joseph were taking Jesus to be presented to the high priest as the Mosaic law required.

Fourth, Luke continues to tell the stories that others fail to tell. Luke tells of the story of Anna, a prophetess who was 84 years of age. She also Saul Mary and Joseph standing in the temple with baby Jesus and begin to praise God and shared with everyone how he was the Messiah all of the nation of Israel had been looking for many years!

Fifth, Luke continues with another story about Jesus at the age of 12. Jesus and his parents would go to Jerusalem for the Passover festival every year and on this particular occasion he began to teach many of the priests about things they had questioned. In 2:46-47, we find that Jesus was left behind by his parents accidentally. However, God had his own plans for his son! For three days Jesus spoke with the religious leaders of the temple both asking questions and answering questions. And all who heard him were amazed at Jesus’ understanding and answers to the scriptures!

In verse 52 we read one of the most important scriptures. This particular verse should apply to all of us! It says that Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people. Oh that that would happen to us! May we do the same thing! May we also grow in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.

Only God can provide His favor on your life! Have you asked him for His Favor? If not, ask him right now and be sure to live for Him!

Mark 15-16 - "9 Facts About Jesus' Death"

Click HERE to read the passage.

Have you ever been charged with a crime?  I haven't, but I've been associated with those who have. Justice seems like, in many ways, just a word. We ALL want justice, but so many judges and attorneys today will tell you that the court system isn't about getting justice, it's about what attorneys and judges can get away with. If you've got a lot of money and can hire an expensive and experienced law firm, you can get away with murder. And, at the same time, if you've got liberal district attorneys who let criminals back on the street after being arrested for a major crime - i.e. murder, sexual assault, major theft, or even assaulting a police officer(s) - then justice seems like an arbitrary word.

Jesus didn't get justice. Even 2,000 years ago, Jesus was the victim of a victimless crime and those in charge of imputing and protecting justice allowed a kangaroo court to put to Jesus to death - no jury, false testimony, and a governor who was more interested in pleasing the people than in doing the right thing!

Our bible study today sadly opens up today with the Jewish spiritual leaders (who were jealous of Jesus) making an attempt to circumvent the usual justice system set up by the Jews. They wanted Jesus dead! And, there was no other way to get that done than to bypass the typical Jewish "justice" system and thrust him before Pilate, the Roman governor over the Jewish territory. These Jewish leaders admitted it was against their law to put Jesus to death. So, they decided to let Rome do it.

To mock Jesus, they bound him up and took him to Pilate. The accused him of "many crimes".  However, Pilate didn't believe anything they brought before him was a crime at all.  Most of the testimony of witnesses were contradicted. And as sad as it might sound, these leaders were less interested in the many miracles He performed on the Sabbath Day, but found it offensive that He did these miracles on the Sabbath. While Jesus tried to teach these religious idiots that the Sabbath was designed for man's benefit and goodness, these leaders still had their own man-made religious rules about the Sabbath - which actually flew in the face of why God allowed for a Sabbath Day in the beginning.

Notice the timeline of events:

1.  Jesus is accused of many baseless crimes!  Notice how Jesus didn't rebut these crimes. Instead, by remaining silent He fulfilled the Scriptures found in Isaiah 53:7 - "He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.

- Another reason Jesus didn't defend Himself is because He knew His purpose!  He knew He had to die on the cross!  He knew He was our ONLY means of salvation from Hell and from being eternally separated from God!

2.  Pilate tries to defend Jesus!  In verse 14, Pilate asked the religious leaders - "Why, what crime has he committed?" Pilate's examination of Jesus was fairly exhaustive. Notice what Pilate said in Luke 23:14-15, Pilate says, "I have examined him thoroughly on this point in your presence and find him innocent. Herod came to the same conclusion and sent him back to us. Nothing this man has done calls for the death penalty."

- In other words, not only did the first trial before Herod end in finding "no fault" in Jesus, but also in the second trial with Pilate the outcome was the same!  Justice for Jesus was a sham!

Have you ever witnessed a sham in the court system?  If you're above the age of 30 and watch the news, you've seen and heard of countless shams within our justice system - crooked attorneys, bribed judges, and a penalty system where 100% of the people of any country would say is in total chaos!  

3.  Crowd pleasing is NOT justice!  By verse 15, Pilate is worried about his political position as governor more so than doing what's right.  In order to pacify the people, he himself committed the greatest crime - putting to death the Son of God!  However, as we read in the book of Matthew, the chief priests and the crowd said that the blood of Jesus could be blamed on them and their children!!!  Oh...what a mistake!!!!  However, Jesus forgave them for what they did while He was hanging on the cross!!! He knew they had no idea of the gravity of this major, major blunder that would eternally haunt them!!!

- There is some evidence showing that Pilate eventually became a believer in Jesus as the true Son of God. If so, Jesus forgave him of his sin.  However, if he didn't believe in Christ, I imagine that even now Pilate (as one writer put it) would be in Hell still trying to wash the blood from his hands saying, "Will they never be clean of this innocent man's blood?"

Have you ever tried to be a crowd pleaser to the point of shaming Jesus?  Have you ever been ashamed of praying over a meal at a restaurant?  Have you ever been ashamed or fearful of telling your friends about Jesus?

4. Jesus receives the utmost humiliation!  I can't even imagine how our Heavenly Father endured the events of Mark 15:16-20 as the Roman soldiers stripped Jesus of his clothes, beat him, mocked him, pulled his beard out of his face (another passage), and did it until they were "tired" of mocking Him!

- Jesus left His throne of glory, and if it wasn't enough for Him to take on the flesh of wicked humans, we wicked humans have to humiliate Him more!  I can only imagine how He must have felt when He said in John 17:5 - "Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.

5. Jesus, our Helper, needed help that day!  I love the following article by Clay Carter found in The Sampson Independent which describes this event so remarkably. Let me provide some excerpts worth noting:

"Jesus fell to the ground under the burden of the cross. After their efforts to get Him to continue on His way, the Roman soldiers are in trouble, looking for a solution to the situation. According to Roman law, they could force a traveler to help carry the burden for a mile. They found Simon of Cyrene, seized him, and put the cross on his back to take it after Jesus. Simon of Cyrene was a Jew who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. To hasten Jesus’ execution by crucifixion the soldiers forced Simon to carry the cross, which weighed approximately 88 pounds, a distance of three quarters of a mile from the fortress of Antonia to Calvary. God is always purposeful, and He may have directed the soldiers to choose Simon of Cyrene to carry the Lord’s cross for a portion of the way to Calvary. We must not lose sight of the fact that Immanuel (God with us), the Creator, the One who carries our burdens accepted help from a man. What a lesson in humility. And we know that part of the execution process involved shameful, public humiliation. Simon did not merely spectate; he also partook in the Lord’s advance toward crucifixion. If we imagine the scene along the way, we envision crowds taunting the Lord as He bears the weight of His cross. The people probably jostled each other to see the Christ go by, the One to whom they so recently cried “Hosanna! Hosanna!” Isaiah says, “He was despised and rejected by men…He was despised, and we esteemed Him not” (Isaiah 53:3). Matthew and Mark say Simon “was pressed into service” to carry the cross, while Luke says Simon “was seized” and had the cross laid on him. In each account, Simon is pressed into service. The passages do not say he volunteered. In a manner of spiritualizing what Simon did, we, too, would rather not carry our own crosses. When the New Testament authors cite someone by name it shows us their significance in the story. The significance of Simon of Cyrene is that he helped Jesus during his time of need. Billions of humans have lived and died since the time of Jesus’ death on the cross, but still today we know Simon for what he did on Good Friday. Perhaps this shows us what God Himself remembers: our acts of kindness (no matter how small or large) to serve those who are suffering."

6. Death after only 6 hours on the cross!  I studied the crucifixion fairly heavily back in my high school and college days. I was going for a biology degree at the time and was interested in the historical and biological aspects of the notorious Roman crucifixion.  I found that it has been considered one of the most tortuous deaths ever invented by man. Jesus allowed Himself to take that route!  Why?  Because sin deserves the worst punishment - eternal death in Hell!  Hell was created by God for Satan and his angels after their fall from Heaven. Hell is the penalty for sin - even one!  Why? Because God is Holy!! A Holy God cannot stand sin. But thankfully, God is also Love! And it was because of His love that He allowed Jesus to go through the most horrendous death as a sacrifice for the sins of the world!

- 6 hours was a short time!  For most, it took a day or two or three. The longest on record is 9 days! And the reason the Roman soldiers broke the legs of the two men hanging with Jesus was to intentionally speed up the death of the other two. This would suffocate them quickly. 

7. Jesus rose on the First Day of the Jewish week!  This is why we, as Christians, worship Jesus in church on Sunday, the first day of the week.

8. Innumerable proof that Jesus rose from the grave! Jesus' appearance after His death on the cross was validated by over 500 people living in Jerusalem - people who were often skeptical until they had a chance to visit with him and see the scars in his hands and his feet. Over a hundred people were present when he was lifted back into Heaven!  Many of these same people were responsible for seeing thousands of Jews in that day being converted to believing that Jesus was, in fact, the Messiah they've long been looking for!

9. Our purpose is defined! Jesus made it simple as far as our purpose is defined - the share the gospel with the world, baptizing them, and leading them in discipleship!

What did you get out of today's bible study?