Read Proverbs 2: 6, 9-11
If you don’t have a bible at home you can find the readings on a website such as www.biblegateway.com or an app such as YouVersion
“For the LORD gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
Then you will understand what is right and just
and fair—every good path.
For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
Discretion will protect you,
and understanding will guard you.”
As you read the Bible Stop; Read; Ponder; and Pray.
Monday Luke 3:1-6
After the birth details, Luke wants Theophilus to know that the life of Jesus was no fairytale and he wants to give a more chronological background to the life of John the Baptist and the start of Jesus ministry. Ancient chronology can be complicated but the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar could be reckoned as somewhere around 27-29 A.D.
It was during this time that Luke says the Word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. In other words he was no longer with his parents and in all likelihood they were dead by now and John was living a solitary life in the wilderness. The word that came to John was that he should move into the populous areas of the country and preach a message of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. His preaching was a confirmation of Isaiah’s prophecies of many years ago – “a voice of one crying in the wilderness” (Isaiah 40:3)
Tuesday Luke 3:7-14
Reading these verses we might be tempted to ask what vacancy committee would want this candidate to become their new minister? Sadly not, but sometimes we may need a voice of challenge and judgement. C S Lewis once complained about the common plea not to put the clock back but sometimes, he says, if the clock is telling the wrong time then putting it back is the sensible thing to do..
John the Baptist certainly puts his “axe” (v9) to the root of the contemporary cultural tree that was the current picture of the Jews at the time. Some examples of his teaching are given which are generally about generosity, sharing and the use of authority but they are given with a background of coming wrath. The Jews prided themselves on being of the offspring of Abraham but John warns that God is able to raise up children from stones so they need to get rid of their sense of self-importance.
Wednesday Luke 3:15-20
Because John’s preaching was so stunning and that he was saying that he was a person spoken of in the Old Testament people were wondering if he might possibly be the Messiah they were all waiting for. John disabused them of that idea by first of all confirming that the Messiah was coming but that he was only the preparer, the one who was preaching to prepare the people for the Messiah to arrive. He baptised people in the Jordan as a sign of their repentance, their desire to cleanse themselves of their sins, but John told them that the one coming after them would do something much deeper for he would baptise with the Holy Spirit of God. He would thresh and winnow the people to gather his people and they must prepare as the chaff, the dross, would be burned up in his judgement. That is all we hear about what John said but Luke tells us that he spoke many other words (v18).
What put him the bad books of Herod the Tetrarch was his criticism of Herod’s sexual life (his marriage to Herodias who had been his brother’s wife, which was incestuous and unlawful under Jewish law) and other evil things. The result of this was his imprisonment by Herod.
Thursday Luke 3:21-37
Luke now tells of Jesus baptism. He was praying during his baptism and during the baptism the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. The dove has a variety of places in the Bible, notably linked with the end of the flood when Noah sent one out and it returned first with an olive branch then later it didn’t return. It signified peace had come to the Earth and then it was safe for the ark’s inhabitants to come out. The dove at the time of Jesus baptism would be a reminder of God’s salvation after judgement. The voice that followed declared the relationship of Jesus with his Father in heaven and Luke follows this with a long genealogy linking him with God the creator. We notice that although the list is from Joseph Luke highlights that his father is none other than God the Father himself. Luke also mentions that Jesus baptism took place when he was about thirty years old, in other words not a youngster but an adult man, Luke mentions nothing of his life before other than the temple visit when he was 12.
If you are aware of Mathew’s genealogical list you will see that the lists are quite different. Scholars have suggested that the lists are different because one is a listing through Mary’s line whilst the other is through Joseph’s. Mathew’s genealogy is the royal lineage via David and Solomon whereas Mary’s is the legal lineage. Genealogies in the Bible serve a purpose distinct from our modern literal listing the genealogies serve to show Jesus Messianicposition and his human position.
Friday Luke 4:1-13
Luke now tells us that after his baptism, full of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. We need to note that it was through the Spirit that Jesus was led there although it was the Devil who tempted him there. It was as though God set the battlefield and ushered the Devil to come because there was going to be a battle in which Jesus would be triumphant. There are similarities here to the story of Job in the Old Testament where the Devil boasts to God that he can make Job curse him yet, through all the trials Job has, he does not do the Devil’s bidding instead he declares, “though he slay me yet will I trust him” (Job 13:15).
The temptations of the Devil are not mentioned in full but the three at the conclusion are given to us. The first was a temptation of bodily satisfaction (tell this stone ….), the second a temptation of absolute power, though with a caveat (if you worship me ….), and the third a temptation to tempt his Father (if you are the son of God …)
In all three Jesus answers with scripture, a response which is always given to Christian believers that the way to avoid falling into temptation is to know and use the scriptures in combating the temptatioe spent time teaching in the synagogues and ns of the Enemy in our own lives.
Saturday Luke 4:14-22
After his time spent in the wilderness Jesus returned to habitable areas around Galilee and he spent time teaching in the synagogues and his fame spread abroad. He returned to Nazareth, his home town, and being given the scroll of the prophet Isaiah he unrolled it to what we would know as chapter 6. [Chapters were only introduced to the Bible by Stephen Langton in the early 1200s and verses came later in the 1500s, the first Bible containing both systems being the Geneva Bible in 1560]. The passage beginning “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me” and detailing the releasing power of the Messianic figure he refers to himself – “this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing”.
The response of the people was one of gladness although they were puzzled because he was only Joseph’s son whom they had known during his early life.