by Roseanna White | Mar 7, 2016 | Bible Study
Luke 7
Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. 2 And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. 3 So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, 5 “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.”
6 Then
Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house,
the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble
Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For
I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I
say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes;
and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
9 When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” 10 And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.[a]
This passage always inspires me, not only because of the faith, but because of the humility. This is a man of authority . . . a man who is obviously in favor with the Jews–I mean he must be one awesome guy for the Jewish elders to defend him! But he thought himself unworthy of being in the presence of the Lord.
Jesus Raises the Son of the Widow of Nain
11 Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd. 12 And
when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being
carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a
large crowd from the city was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.
16 Then
fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet
has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people.” 17 And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.
John the Baptist Sends Messengers to Jesus
18 Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things. 19 And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus,[b] saying, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”
20 When
the men had come to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to
You, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’” 21 And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight.
22 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. 23 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”
24 When the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 25 But
what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed
those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings’
courts. 26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written:
‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You.’[c]
28 For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist;[d] but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
29 And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. 30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.
31 And the Lord said,[e] “To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying:
‘We played the flute for you,
And you did not dance;
We mourned to you,
And you did not weep.’
33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The
Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton
and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 But wisdom is justified by all her children.”
I’m a wee bit confused about this passage. John had already baptized Jesus, the Spirit had already visibly descended. In other gospels, when John sees Jesus then, he knows who He is. Here, quite a while after the baptism, he’s asking for clarification. Not sure I really get why and wonder if it’s a bit out of place chronologically…though the point of the conversation certainly stands. And I find it telling indeed that the everyday people had accepted the call to repentance that John preached, but the upper class, the educated, the rulers of the people did not.
A Sinful Woman Forgiven
36 Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. 37 And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, 38 and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”
40 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”
So he said, “Teacher, say it.”
41 “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 And
when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both.
Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”
And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” 44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do
you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My
feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. 45 You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. 46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. 47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”
48 Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
50 Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
Love this. This is told in the same way as any other miracle Jesus performs–and so it is. This woman didn’t have a physical ailment. She didn’t have a demon. But she needed healed as surely as the paralytic. And she knew that–she sought the Lord, the Christ as earnestly as the physically sick people did, and she was rewarded with the same healing…in her soul. It’s every bit as much a miracle, and every bit as beautiful.
by Roseanna White | Mar 5, 2016 | Bible Study
Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first[a] that He went through the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands. 2 And some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”
3 But Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how
he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also
gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests
to eat?” 5 And He said to them, “The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”
Healing on the Sabbath
6 Now
it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and
taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 So
the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on
the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. 8 But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood. 9 Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?”[b] 10 And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man,[c] “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.[d] 11 But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
The Twelve Apostles
12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles: 14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; 15 Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; 16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.
Jesus Heals a Great Multitude
17 And
He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His
disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem,
and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be
healed of their diseases, 18 as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. 19 And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.
The Beatitudes
20 Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:
“Blessed are you poor,
For yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
For you shall be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now,
For you shall laugh.
22 Blessed are you when men hate you,
And when they exclude you,
And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,
For the Son of Man’s sake.
23 Rejoice in that day and leap for Joy!
For indeed your reward is great in heaven,
For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.
Jesus Pronounces Woes
24 “But woe to you who are rich,
For you have received your consolation.
25 Woe to you who are full,
For you shall hunger.
Woe to you who laugh now,
For you shall mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you[e] when all[f] men speak well of you,
For so did their fathers to the false prophets.
Love Your Enemies
27 “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. 29 To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. 31 And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.
32 “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. 35 But
love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and
your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For
He is kind to the unthankful and evil. 36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
Do Not Judge
37 “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give,
and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken
together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the
same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
39 And He spoke a parable to them: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. 41 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is
in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye,
and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your
brother’s eye.
A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit
43 “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. 45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart[g] brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Build on the Rock
46 “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? 47 Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 He
is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on
the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against
that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.[h] 49 But
he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the
earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently;
and immediately it fell.[i] And the ruin of that house was great.”
I’m late getting this posted (got my dead computer back and had reinstall everything) so will just ask one question rather than go through section by section. =)
In this section we get an abbreviated version of what Matthew calls the Sermon on the Mount. Here Jesus sets conventional earthly wisdom–and even Old Testament wisdom–on its head by saying, “Your condition on earth is not a reflection of your condition in heaven.” What part of this most speaks to you? Give you hope? Confuses you?
by Roseanna White | Mar 4, 2016 | Bible Study
So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, 2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. 3 Then
He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put
out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes
from the boat.
4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
5 But
Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and
caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” 6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. 7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” 11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.
I’m really loving this story this time through. I’ve read/heard it so many times . . . but as I’m sitting here rereading, I keep thinking, “Wow. If God gives us what is essential a huge financial windfall–is that our reaction? To leave it all and follow Him? Does he ever do that today–give us a great gift to get our attention, but then call us away from it all?” Makes me wonder . . .
Jesus Cleanses a Leper
12 And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
13 Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And He charged him to tell no one, “But
go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your
cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded.”
15 However,
the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great
multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their
infirmities. 16 So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.
A minor note that struck me last time I read through the Law of Moses–I love that the law takes into account healings. It’s not like they had big fancy clinics and treatments for leprosy. But they knew healing could and would happen, so there are instructions on how to present yourself as being cleansed.
Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralytic
17 Now
it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were
Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every
town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.[a] 18 Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him. 19 And
when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the
crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.
20 When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”
21 And
the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who
speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk’? 24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”
25 Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. 26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today!”
Matthew the Tax Collector
27 After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” 28 So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.
29 Then
Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great
number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them. 30 And their scribes and the Pharisees[b] complained against His disciples, saying, “Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
31 Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
An oft-quoted verse–and interesting, since we know that everyone is a sinner. But by bringing the Word to those deemed so by the self-righteous, Jesus made it clear that he was there to heal. First treating the “obvious wounds.” And then later he shows us the less obvious, internal festering that made the self-righteous aware of their sins as well.
Jesus Is Questioned About Fasting
33 Then they said to Him, “Why do[c] the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?”
34 And He said to them, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days.”
36 Then He spoke a parable to them: “No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one;[d] otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old. 37 And
no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will
burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. 38 But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.[e] 39 And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately[f] desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’”[g]
by Roseanna White | Mar 3, 2016 | Bible Study
Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into[a] the wilderness, 2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
4 But Jesus answered him, saying,[b] “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”[c]
5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him[d] all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
8 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan![e] For[f] it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”[g]
9 Then
he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and
said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.
10 For it is written:
‘He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you,’
11 and,
‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”[h]
12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”[i]
13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.
Jesus Begins His Galilean Ministry
14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. 15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
In this telling, He’s not performing miracles yet . . . He’s just teaching. But that was enough to make word of Him go out, to make Him glorified by all. I love that. That it’s the Truth that really had this profound effect, not the signs that people chased.
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
16 So
He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom
was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to
read. 17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,[j]
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”[k]
20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 So
all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which
proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”
23 He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum,[l] do also here in Your country.’” 24 Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. 25 But
I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah,
when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a
great famine throughout all the land; 26 but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath,[m] in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”
28 So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, 29 and
rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of
the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down
over the cliff. 30 Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.
This is something I never read as miraculous until I read a novel called Soul’s Gate. But how did Jesus “pass through the midst of them and go His way?” There had to be something beyond the ordinary going on there. These people were ready to throw him from a cliff! Did he blind them? Did he walk through them as he later did a wall, or as he did over water? Love the wonder.
Jesus Casts Out an Unclean Spirit
31 Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. 32 And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority. 33 Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, 34 saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him. 36 Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, “What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” 37 And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.
Peter’s Mother-in-Law Healed
38 Now
He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. But Simon’s
wife’s mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him
concerning her. 39 So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them.
Many Healed After Sabbath Sunset
40 When
the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various
diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them
and healed them. 41 And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, “You are the Christ,[n] the Son of God!”
And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.
These are all stories familiar to us from the Mark reading, with only a few words added to it here and there, so I won’t spend much time dwelling.
Jesus Preaches in Galilee
42 Now
when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the
crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving
them; 43 but He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.” 44 And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.[o]
This ending is so . . . so Jesus. That he had to go and spread this Truth to everyone. He wasn’t in it to become one town’s celebrity–he was in it to spread the Good News.
by Roseanna White | Mar 2, 2016 | Bible Study
Now
in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate
being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother
Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias
tetrarch of Abilene, 2 while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests,[a] the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough ways smooth;
6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”[b]
John Preaches to the People
7 Then
he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood
of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 9 And
even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree
which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 So the people asked him, saying, “What shall we do then?”
11 He
answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him
who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.”
12 Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”
13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.”
14 Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?”
So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.”
15 Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, 16 John
answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One
mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fan is
in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and
gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with
unquenchable fire.”
18 And with many other exhortations he preached to the people. 19 But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,[c] and for all the evils which Herod had done, 20 also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.
This advice that John gives is interesting–the specifics we see are very physical things. We know he preached repentance, but this practical advice in answer to the “what shall we do?” question has nothing overtly to do with the spiritual?
Or does it? Each thing he instructs has something in common–John’s instructions all point people to focus away from themselves. To not be self-seeking. Once you’re no longer self-seeking, it’s so much easier to hear God whisper what He wants for you.
John Baptizes Jesus
21 When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. 22 And
the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a
voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am
well pleased.”
The Genealogy of Jesus Christ
23 Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat,[d] the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Janna, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathiah, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathiah, the son of Semei, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah, 27 the son of Joannas, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Jose, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattathah, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
Many of us experience a glazing-over of the eyes when it comes to the genealogy . . . and many of us also wonder why all the genealogies trace Joseph’s lineage, when Joseph wasn’t his biological father. But it’s interesting to note that Luke and Matthew give two different genealogies for Jesus. Both tracing back to David’s house, and beyond. The explanation for this is pretty simple–there’s no separate word for son-in-law in the ancient languages. When you married, you were one, and you became the son of your wife’s father. So while Matthew’s genealogy actually says “Matthan begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary,” this one in Luke doesn’t say that. It says that Jesus was the son of Joseph, who was the son of Heli. Scholars think this one must be that Joseph was the son-in-law of Heli, who must have been Mary’s father. They can both trace their lineage back to David. But where Joseph’s goes through Solomon, this one, if you notice, goes through another of David’s sons, Nathan. Pretty interesting!
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. Having successfully launched two homeschool grads, she now spends her time writing fiction, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years, as well as a fantasy series and contemporary mysteries and romances. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.