Luke 4:9–13

Luke 4:9-13 

English Standard Version 

  Who doesn't want proof?  We'd like to know for certain, right?  

  That's what the devil is offering Jesus.  He wants Jesus to show off to everyone that he is who he says he is.  If he performs this public task, then no one will be uncertain.

  But God isn't someone to be manipulated, Jesus tells the devil.  There is still a role for faith.  Belief in God encourages us to dig in and learn everything we can, to ask big questions and seek answers, but we'll never have complete knowledge, because we are not equivalent to God.  God exists outside of time and space, so let us follow every thread, but there will always be a space for faith.  

Luke 4:5–8

Luke 4:5-8 

English Standard Version 

  Have you ever been tempted to take a shortcut?  In April 1980, Rosie Ruiz won the Boston Marathon, but it was later discovered that she'd joined the race about half a mile from the finish, having taken the subway to eliminate most of the bothersome running.  She wanted the glory, but wasn't going to put in the work to earn it.

  The devil offers Jesus the same shortcut -- a path to glory without the pain.  There's a part of all of us that wants this.  Shortcuts should make things easier.  And most of the time, who would know?  

  But Jesus lived with perfect integrity.  He wasn't willing to sacrifice that so that he could achieve glory more easily.  He was willing to pay the price to live the right way.  Thanks be to God -- this made him the perfect sacrifice.

Luke 4:3-4

Luke 4:3-4 

English Standard Version 

  What's the most important thing in daily life?  

  We all answer the question a little differently.  Most of us are simply trying to get our physical needs met -- to keep a roof over our heads, food in the fridge, and the lights on.  These needs can rule our lives -- we chase the means to meet them, and we find ourselves running out of energy simply trying to get by.

  The devil tempts Jesus to let his physical hunger drive his decision making.  But Jesus sees the bigger picture.  He recognizes the importance of food -- think of all the times where Jesus feeds hungry people.  He doesn't say that we don't live by bread -- but not by bread alone.  Bread isn't the most important thing.  When we make it the single most important thing, we fall short of the people we were created to be.  We're striving to meet our needs, but we're also striving to enjoy and serve God.  We're striving for more than just success in this world -- but to grow into the people God created us to be.

  So make time today for more than just bread.

Luke 4:1-2

Luke 4:1-2

English Standard Version 

  This transition always amazes me -- Jesus has just been baptized, and as a celebration, he's immediately driven out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, where he eats nothing for 40 days.  Not exactly the honeymoon we'd all want after such a celebration, right?  

  But God so often refines our hearts in the wilderness.  God has work to do on us, to focus us on humility and faithfulness.  We want the celebration, the mountaintop experiences, but God knows those often comes with distractions that pull us farther from God.  God sometimes leads us into desolate places so that we better learn to depend on God alone.  It isn't fun, and can be some of the hardest times of our lives, but God doesn't abandon us there, even in the midst of temptation.  God is with us, nourishing us, encouraging us, whispering to the soul that we might grow into the people God wants us to be.

Luke 3:23-38

Luke 3:23-38 

English Standard Version 

  Jesus is in a long line of faithful people.  The genealogy of Jesus goes all the way back to Adam, back to God -- this plan has been in the works for many centuries, all of it leading up to Jesus.  Adam failed, and that has repercussions echoing through the ages, but that's not the end of the story, because it's all pointing ahead to Jesus.

  One of the interesting things about this lineage to me is that I don't know most of these names -- a few stand out, but most of them are unknown to me.  They probably didn't see themselves as a critical page in the line to the Messiah, but they were part of the story.  

  You are part of the same story, the same family.  Your story may not be known to the whole world, and when others see your name in the list, they may not immediately know who you are... but God includes you in the story, and you matter.  Never forget that.

Luke 3:21–22

Luke 3:21-22 

English Standard Version 

  Imagine what it would've been like to have heard this.  Here is Jesus, having been baptized, and the Holy Spirit is descending while the voice of God cries out in affirmation.  Can it get better than this?  This is a moment to stay in -- gazing upon the face of Jesus, hearing the affirming words of God.  Close your eyes for a minute and be in that place, in that moment.

  The Good News of the Gospel is that this awaits each of us, no matter how deserving we are of such an honor.  We don't belong there on our own merits, but because Christ was willing to die for us, we have access to such privilege.  God speaks to us in the same way, affirming God's pleasure with us, and the same Holy Spirit descends upon us.  God wants this for you.  Jesus died to give this to you.  What a pure gift.  Let it lift up your spirit, lift up your soul.

Luke 3:18–20

Luke 3:18-20 

English Standard Version 

  John came to preach good news... but it wasn't comfortable news.  John challenged people in authority, and he was locked in prison for this.  Would you do it?

  It's a reminder to us that the Gospel is often at odds with the world's powers.  The Gospel comes to liberate, but not everyone welcomes a message that delivers a message of liberation and equality.  The Gospel calls each and every one of us to change and to change the way we treat one another.  This is not a task undertaken lightly.  

  So when you think back on John's message, what needs to change within you?  How is God speaking to your heart?  And how is God calling you to interact with the world around you?

Luke 3:15–17

Luke 3:15-17 

English Standard Version 

  It's hard to imagine being John -- people streamed out to listen to him, looking to him as an authority.  Here, they're wondering if he is the Christ.  Think of the temptation for him to claim to be the one that they have been waiting for.

  But John knows his role is to point to Christ.  John knows that the single most important thing he can do is direct the attention of every single person towards Christ, the true Messiah.  John is not the one who can save -- only Christ can do that.

  We're called to be like John -- to point to the truth of the Gospel in word and in deed.

Luke 3:10-14

Luke 3:10-14 

English Standard Version 

  The recently negotiated peace deal was challenging for both sides to find something they could agree on.  When we think about making peace between parties at war, it's very challenging and complex.  Nothing is simple about it.  

  Think about other global problems, such as poverty and inequality and hunger.  All of these are tremendously difficult to solve.

  There are countless things in our lives that are complex and complicated and can be exhausting just to think about.  

  That's why I love the advice John the Baptist offers the crowds.  They've heard about the challenge of discipleship, and they want to know how to follow God.  John doesn't give them immensely complicated instructions... but he tells them to share out of their abundance, to follow ethical principals in their work to deal fairly with one another.  None of this is wildly complex.  It's straightforward.  It's simple.  Do the next right thing, John says, and then the right thing after that.  In doing so, in consistently choosing to treat one another with the same grace and kindness that God shows to us, we reveal the Kingdom of God, one small act at a time, through our love and mercy.

Luke 3:7–9

Luke 3:7-9 

English Standard Version 

  The Gospel is a message of grace, and it is filled with truth.  To have truth implies that there is falsehood, and often we carry that within us.  Because the Gospel is loving, it confronts us in our falsehoods, and it is gracious yet firm in insisting that we cling to Christ and to Christ alone.  To keep one foot firmly planted in a lie is to fail to commit to the Gospel.  Jesus loves us too much to leave us where we are.  When we turn to Christ, we are called to turn away from other things, even things that are often hard to turn away from.  Fortunately, Christ knows our challenges and loves us through them, continuing to send the Holy Spirit to transform us.

Luke 3:3–6

Luke 3:3-6

English Standard Version 

  Which region did he go to?

  ALL of them.  

  I love it.  God doesn't send John to some of the regions -- he sent him to all, crying out for people to prepare their hearts.  The imagery of filled valleys and lowered mountains is used, pointing people to the reality that the landscape looks different when God is King.  There are no more obstacles between us and God -- it is a level plain, and we are invited to dwell in the fullness of God's Kingdom.  What a privilege, to no longer be lost in the valleys.  What a joy, to no longer have to scale the mountains.  The road is straight, so that we might see and experience the salvation of God.

  What preparation do you need in your heart?  What valleys or mountains in your life need to be changed so that the fullness of grace might enter in?

Luke 3:1–2

Luke 3:1-2 

English Standard Version 

  The Gospel is anchored in a real time and place.  It's not a myth or a legend that could be picked up and set in another time.  There are certainly themes that carry from era to era, and the truths are timeless, but the story is told in a very particular place amongst a very particular group of people.  We can take comfort in this -- it's a way to test the reliability of the Gospel, and the authors wouldn't have included these details if they weren't confident in the truth of their story.  

  And yet -- it's all the more amazing in that the Gospel shows up in an out-of-the-way place, with people who are as far from the center of power as possible.  The Gospel isn't just for the privileged and those with access to power.  This gives us hope -- we who are ourselves far from power, we who have little influence, we see how the Holy Spirit works, and we are challenged to make room in our own lives for the intrusive Word, the one that breaks in and overwhelms and comforts and challenges.

Luke 2:47–52

Luke 2:47-52 

English Standard Version 

  I think of Joseph and Mary, who heard what Jesus had to say and did not understand what he spoke to them.  How many people reacted to Jesus in that same way?  They heard his words... but they didn't grasp the importance of them, the weight of them, the impact of them?  

  How many of us are like that?  We read the words of Jesus, and we understand the surface level meaning, but do we grasp the full impact, the full weight, the meaning they're intended to have in our lives?  CS Lewis said he didn't worry about the sayings of Jesus that he didn't understand, he worried about the sayings of Jesus that he did understand, because they were the ones demanding change from him, asking much of him.  I do the same thing -- I skim over some of the harder teachings, because I don't want to change.  I don't always like change.

  So let us let the words and teachings of Jesus sink in as we dive deeper into the Gospels.  May we let the challenging teachings of Jesus sit in our hearts, treasuring them up, and seeing where God is calling us.

Luke 2:41–46

Luke 2:41-46 

English Standard Version 

  For three frantic days, Mary and Joseph are running around Jerusalem, searching for Jesus.  

  All the while, he's in the temple, in his father's house, asking questions of the teachers gathered around him, who must have been amazed at this extraordinary child in their midst who grasps so much truth.  All he wanted was to dwell in the temple and speak of the things of God.

  What draws you and your heart into the temple, into the house of God, that you might dwell on God's love for you?  We all have journeys and things that must be done, but when we have free time, do we run to God's house to think on God's love for us?  I heard someone say once that if you want to know what someone truly loves, watch how they spend their free time.  I think about that a lot.  Do my choices for free time reflect my love for God?  Am I leading my heart closer to God?  Do I look for ways to sit and listen to people teach about God?  Or do I simply fill my time with distractions?

Luke 2:39–40

Luke 2:39-40 

English Standard Version 

  Jesus grew up in a small town, an ordinary place, and much of his childhood was ordinary.  He was extraordinary, filled with wisdom, but he was immersed in daily village life.  

  When Jesus comes to earth, he dwells among us, as John's Gospel tells us.  He moved into the neighborhood.  He's not at a distance, in a palace, unable to relate.  He is in the village.  He knows our history.  He knows what it is like to struggle.  He knows the reality of poverty.  He knows all the heartbreaks and joys of life that come with living in community.  

  So when we pray, we can pray to someone who knows the path we walk.  He can relate.  He gets it.  He knows your sorrows and hopes and expectations and struggles.  Jesus cares enough to enter life in such a way that he'll be able to relate to us, thanks be to God.

Luke 2:36–38

Luke 2:36-38 

English Standard Version 

  Anna's story is an amazing one.  She's 84 years old, and I read this as her being a widow for most of her life.  She's waiting on the Messiah, but she doesn't wait idly.  She worships while she waits.  

  There's a lesson here for all of us.  We spend a lot of time waiting -- sometimes we're waiting in line, other times we're waiting for a season of life to pass, or maybe we're waiting on someone.  We wait a lot.  How do we fill the time?  In most waiting rooms, everyone has their head in an electronic device, and that will fill the time... but what if you found a way to worship while you wait?  There are plenty of ways to do it.  There are apps and podcasts that will help you pray or teach you about Scripture or provide sermons.  There are pocket Bibles you could take with you.  Or you can just sit and contemplate the beauty or grandeur of God.  If you're waiting for a season, you can find ways to worship throughout your day, to mix it into everything you're doing and set time aside for it.  

  While we wait, may we be mindful of God and how God yearns to draw closer to us.

Luke 2:33–35

Luke 2:33-35 

English Standard Version 

  The coming of Jesus brings joy and sorrow.  Jesus threatens those who hold power, as they see in him a rival, and Jesus brings joy to those who are powerless, as they see an advocate.  Jesus comes for us all -- to teach those in power how to rule with wisdom and humility, and to those in power to offer them hope and assurance.  Much of the response to Jesus has to do with how fiercely we hold on to the things we have.  If our fists are closed around our earthly treasure, there is no room left for the blessings of God to come into our hands.  

  Simeon warns Mary of the pain that is to come for her.  Jesus does not come with an easy message that promises triumph to all.  There is immense pain in the short-term -- for him and those around him.  And yet, he points ahead, ever faithful, assuring us of the joy that is to come in the long term.

Luke 2:25–32

Luke 2:25-32 

English Standard Version 

  Simeon always amazes me.  He'd been told by the Holy Spirit that he wouldn't die until he saw the Christ, but he didn't know how long that would be.  Who knows how long he had been waiting.  But he didn't give up.  He kept waiting.  He kept looking, because he trusted God's promises.

  I think about this a lot.  God makes promises to us, but sometimes, it's awfully hard to see how those are going to be fulfilled.  We wonder if God meant all those things that God said.  We wonder if the promises are true for us.  

  But as Christians, we're called to keep waiting.  We don't know how long we'll have to wait... but God is faithful.  The promises will be fulfilled, it's just a matter of when. 

  So keep faithfully waiting, watching for what God is doing, and be ready to celebrate.  God is good.

Luke 2:22–24

Luke 2:22-24 

English Standard Version 

  We know from the offering that Mary and Joseph brought that they were poor.  One of the things that I value most about Christianity is that it is rooted in simplicity and humility.  It hasn't come to conquer through worldly power.  It doesn't come to rule over -- it comes to serve, and the beauty and sweetness of the Gospel, rooted in service, has attracted billions over the millennia.  

  It's an amazing concept -- God comes to serve you, dressed in humility.  He hasn't come to wow you through riches and influence, but to bring you in to the Kingdom through acts of selfless love.  We who are attracted are then sent back into the world to show such love to others.