Luke 22:47-53: Betrayal and Arrest
OUTLINE Judas’s kiss Peter’s zeal Jesus’s rebuke INTRODUCTION We come to the story of the greatest betrayal in history, the betrayal of Judas. Judas’s act was so wicked that his name is now a proverb, when someone betrays us we call them a ‘Judas’. Despite this section describing the worst act a human being has ever done against the Savior, we are not viewing Christ as a victim but as the God appointed Suffering Savior. Someone has asked the question: if Christ only needed to die for our sins, why then did He have to be arrested, tried, tortured...
Read More
Luke 19:45-48: Jesus and the Temple
OUTLINE Jesus enters the temple Jesus cleanses the temple Jesus’ zeal for the temple INTRODUCTION There are certain texts in the Bible that are pregnant with meaning; they have layers of meaning to unravel. Jesus’ actions in cleansing the temple is one such passage. The birth of Christ, the baptism of Christ, the transfiguration of Christ, these events are multivalent as they bring together several lines of promises, types and prophecies in the OT to a climactic fulfillment in Christ. Although Luke records Jesus cleansing of the temple in very few verses, they are packed full with significance. Today...
Read More
Luke 19:28-44: The King Enters Jerusalem
OUTLINE The prophet King The humble King The weeping King INTRODUCTION The coronation of royalty has always been a loud and expensive affair. When Napoleon decided to crown himself emperor he got a crown called ‘the crown of Charlemagne’ made; a mantle that weighed eighty pounds and had to be carried by four helpers; he held a scepter that belonged to Charles V and a sword belonging to Philip III. The Pope was dragged into crowning Napoleon giving the impression of the approval of the Roman Catholic Church in an elaborate ceremony in Notre Dame. A hot air balloon...
Read More
Luke 9:28-36: The Transfiguration
The transfiguration is one of the most important Christological events in the Bible.1 It establishes the identity of Christ as the Messiah and the divine Son, and the nature of the mission that He had come to accomplish. It is a repeat and an expansion on what the baptism of Christ has already revealed. The transfiguration brings to a climactic crescendo a number of OT themes pointing to Christ. The transfiguration reveals Jesus to be the new Moses who ascends the mountain entering the glory-cloud, but instead of receiving the word of the law Jesus is the final word...
Read More
Luke 9:18-22: ‘Who Do You Say That I Am?’
One of the most important questions we need to answer in life is in this text, ‘Who do you say that I am?’ This is the question that Jesus puts to His disciples. We live in a day and age where many think we cannot answer that question with any confidence. For the more scientifically minded the problem is one of historical distance and having to rely on pre-scientific eye witnesses. For the more sceptical certainty about anything even our own experiences is doubted. But God has given us His word that we can know things truly, though not...
Read More
Luke 9:10-17: Jesus Feeds the 5,000
There are only 2 miracles of Christ that are recorded in all four gospels, the resurrection of Christ from the dead, and the feeding of the 5000. Jesus did many more miracles than the gospels record, but few had such an impact as the feeding of the 5,000. There was another less well remembered feeding of the 4,000 as well, Mark 8:1-9. Here is what John tells us happened after Jesus fed the 5,000, 6:14-15, ‘When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”...
Read More
Luke 9:1-9: The Sending of the 12 Apostles
We are about half way through Christ’s 3 ½ year earthly ministry. We are in the final stretch of what is known as Christ’s Galilean ministry before He sets His sights on His cross-work in Jerusalem. 9:51 is a turning point in His ministry, ‘When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.’ We are still in the middle of a key section that is putting on display the identity of Christ. We have seen by His miracles that He is the one with authority over nature, demons, sickness...
Read More
Luke 8:41-56: Weak Faith Meets a Strong Saviour
‘My cup runneth over;’ ‘Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think;’ these biblical phrases remind us that when we bring the thimble of our faith to God, He fills it with the flood of Himself and His gifts. Luke 8:41-56 records the narrative of two people who have faith in Christ, but it is a thimble sized faith and Christ exceeds their expectations. The woman with the issue of blood comes to Jesus believing that He has the power to heal, but she will leave knowing His kindness...
Read More
Luke 8:26-39: Power to Deliver
We are all familiar with the concept of power, we just have to think of the country of China and we have an immediate picture of power, it has economic power, military might, it represents one 7th of the world’s population. We can think of past powers like the USSR; Hitler; Napoleon; the USA at the height of its powers, but power to do what? Power without goodness is perceived to be a threat. Christ has power and authority, Christ as the vice-regent of God has ascended to the right hand of God and been given all power and...
Read More
Luke 8:22-25: A Lesson in Faith
There is often a big difference between that first faith by which we are saved and the ongoing faith of the Christian life. Because unbelief is more natural to us than faith; because we are prone to feel first and not to think first; because we often walk by sight and not by faith we stumble at those trials that test our faith. We can be grateful then that we serve a Savior who is both the author and the finisher; the founder and the perfecter of our faith. As we come to this famous portion in Luke 8:22-25,...
Read More
Luke 5:12-26: Jesus-The Forgiver of Sins
If you mention the name Jesus Christ today the first thought in many minds is that Jesus is a judge and Christians are judgemental, this however is not the first thought they should think. Yes it is true that one day we will have to stand before Christ and give an account for every deed done in the body, but there are two comings of Christ, and until that His second coming we are to think of Jesus as the one who saves not the one who judges, John 3:17, ‘ For God did not send his Son into the...
Read More
Luke 5:1-11: The Miracle of the Big Catch
Luke 5:1-11 is known best for the miracle of the big catch of fish, but I do not think that this is the central point of the text, rather it is the miracle of catching the big fish, namely Peter. It is not merely given to demonstrate the power of Jesus, but rather a demonstration of power that leads to Peter following Christ. Luke 4 has introduced Jesus as our Second Adam and the one who has authority over sickness and demons. Having established Jesus identity Luke now turns his attention to Jesus gathering His disciples, various callings and...
Read More
Luke 3:15-22: The Baptism of Jesus
Many people have claimed to be or have been thought to the Messiah, the Savior, the Son of God. For example, ‘Krishna Venta (1911–1958), born Francis Herman Pencovic in San Francisco, founded the WKFL (Wisdom, Knowledge, Faith and Love) Fountain of the World cult in Simi Valley, California in the late 1940s. In 1948 he stated that he was Christ, the new messiah and claimed to have led a convoy of rocket ships to Earth from the extinct planet Neophrates. He died on 10 December 1958 after being suicide bombed by two disgruntled former followers who accused Venta of...
Read More
Luke 2:39-52: The Childhood of Jesus
‘Who am I?’ a basic question that all of us have struggled to answer. For many of us this has been a tremendous struggle, for those brought up in a Christian home and taught a biblical worldview, you have been saved from unnecessary confusion in so many areas. Many today think they are nothing more than evolved apes; others are experiencing gender dysphoria; many are struggling with basic questions about what career they should do, what do they like and want to pursue, etc. My own personal time of crisis with all of these questions were my teenage years,...
Read More
Luke 2:22-38: Jesus presented at the Temple
Jesus being presented at the temple is usually not seen as a very important part of the birth narratives in the gospels, but it is important for several reasons. Jesus presentation of the temple gives the final birth hymn, the Nunc Dimittis, that goes along with the Benedictus; the Magnificat; and the Gloria in Excelsius. It is the first visit of Christ to the temple. It is significant that He who is the temple, and the Word tabernacling among us comes to the temple and certain Spirit led things confirm His identity and purpose. This visit is important because...
Read More
Luke 2:8-21: The Good News of Christ’s Birth
One of the great public events, at least for those who still have a monarchy, is the first appearance of the crown prince, or royal baby. The picture of the couple and the baby makes the front cover of every news outlet, social commentators wax lyrical about whether the duchess wore a dress in the same style as Diana, and on and on it goes. The arrival of a new royal is a big deal and the world sits up and pays attention. Some even have a little shrine to the royal family in their homes, a central place...
Read More