LUKE CHAPTERS 1-3

[Kevin Young]

Alright, it's time for a new book. This week we will be reading the first three chapters of the Gospel of Luke. Please post your comments, questions, and insights here in this thread. God bless you guys.

[craigermaka]

And I think I might finally jump in on this one.

[heidi.]

WOOHOOO!!!!! i'm on it.

[ShArP]

i think i may have this one already...

[Bob]

Awesome! *rubs hands together*

[bandmonkey08]

woo! finally i'm nearly done with chapter 2 so i'll wait til i'm finished to post everything i have to say, but wow i'm excited to read through this and gain insight with everyone on here!!

[Jess]

Thoughts on Luke 3
Two major features of this passage stand out. First is the emphasis on repentance and forgiveness of sins that relates to the preparation needed for the Coming One. There are examples given later in the passage of what that repentance should entail in concrete ways, and the proper response will be fleshed out later in the book. But here, repentance, turning around, walking toward God becomes part of the preparation for His coming. This implies a change of attitude, an openness to the new work of God in the world. Perhaps that is as much an issue of developing a proper sense of expectation, and the trust that goes with it, as it is abandoning sinful actions. Here "repent" and "prepare" are really two parts of the same thing.

For people today this can become a call to live life in expectation, with a view to the reality of God’s Coming to the world. This probably should not take the form of scare tactics about the end of the world or hell. But it should be a call to commitment to live with an attitude of humility, expectation, and repentance, knowing that all of life is shaped by the One who came and is coming.

A second feature is the radical newness that is unfolding here. The metaphor of the "Highway" in Isaiah picks up the idea of a new act of God. That is a major theme of the section of Isaiah from which the quotation here comes (42:8-10,43:18-19, etc; cf. 35:8) as the prophet speaks of the return from Exile. In that sense, the First Advent was one of those acts of God that, metaphorically, could be described quite well as a new "highway" of God's grace, a new historical self-revelation of God.

This becomes an opportunity to simply celebrate the magnitude of this new initiative of God in calling humanity to Himself. When we reflect on how all of this worked out, on the "mountains" Jesus had to remove in the minds and hearts of people, of the "valleys" he had to fill in to reach those who had eyes but could not see, who had ears but could not hear, and when we realize the terrible cost that unfolded from this marvelous act of newness, we are compelled to thankfulness and rejoicing at the wonder of God and His commitment to humanity!

Being careful not to move to allegory, the implication for people’s lives should should be clear: There is a newness with God in which He will remove the obstacles to proper relationship. He will not allow barriers to block His revelation to "all flesh." No matter how sinful, the call still comes, "Turn around!" But the most wonderful part is that the highway back home has already been built.

[Polish Tom]

Please remember to leave links (or footnotes) to any commentary you find online. Personal comments are very much welcomed as well. Thanks!

[Jess]

haha true, that one belongs to me and Pastor G in Melbourne so the right APA documentation would be (PG, and me)

[loudnhevy]

Luke 1:15 (speaking of John the Baptist) "He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born."

This is truly unique. I think this was because God had a unique plan for John, and needed him to fulfill that plan.

In John 3 Jesus tells Nicodemus that "flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit."

We are all born "of the flesh": meaning that we do not have fellowship with God at birth.

We cannot follow the Spirit when we are "in the flesh".

John needed to be led by the Spirit from the very beginning in order to fulfill God's plan.

Today, we also need to be led by the Spirit of God to fulfill His plan for us. To do so, we must first be born of the Spirit.

We cannot live the "Christian" life by our own determination. A true spiritual life can only come from the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:5 says, " Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires." It is vital that we live each day following the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

God has given us two powerful tools that enable us to hear the voice of His Spirit: The Word of God and the Body of Christ.

Daily meditation on His word, and daily fellowship give us the strength we need to follow Him.

[Bob]

In verse three of chapter 1 Luke mentions someone named Theophilus. It'd be easy to just gloss over this and think nothing of it, but it actually is kind of significant.

So who is Theophilus? He was most likely a Roman official, possibly a governor, who hired Luke to investigate just who Jesus was. So Luke took several years to interview people who were around during Jesus' lifetime and were witness to these events. Also, Luke was a witness, obviously.

Sometimes we think that the disciples just sat in a dark room somewhere scribbling these books down furiously, but that's not the case here.

[isaiah53]

Thoephilus has 2 meaning
1) friend of GOD (Smiths, Holmans, Harpers Bible dictionary)
2) literally "lover of GOD" Davis Bible dictionary says lovede by GOD

I see two words Theo/ GOD and philio/brotherly love

[isaiah53]

2 misspellings
loved by GOD
philia

[isaiah53]

other names to look at
abarim-publications.com
Zechariah yhwh/the LORD has remembered Elizabeth /Hebrew Elisheba ( only one mentioned in the Bible) Eli -GOD as in ELIHOM
Sheba has more than 1 meaning 1) seven 2) oath, swear, adjure
John Hebrew Johanan 1st part commonly excepted abbreivated form of YHWH
2) part gracious, pity possibly means YAHWEH has benn gracious/ the LORD graciously gave

[Bob]

Everyone's name had a meaning back then, like Joshua's name meant 'supplanter'. It was just part of their culture.

[loudnhevy]

Everyone's name had a meaning back then, like Joshua's name meant 'supplanter'. It was just part of their culture.

(Clears throat and whispers) Jacob meant "supplanter" - Joshua means "Yahweh is salvation"

[Bob]

Everyone's name had a meaning back then, like Joshua's name meant 'supplanter'. It was just part of their culture.

(Clears throat and whispers) Jacob meant "supplanter" - Joshua means "Yahweh is salvation"

Ha ha! I knew that. I always confuse Jacob and Joshua for whatever reason. Even though Joshua has a book of the Bible named after him . . . And Joseph's name usually escapes my mind. Too many names!

[adeadmanrising]

Luke wrote at least two installments to his documentation, the first being the gospel of Luke and the second being the book of ACTS. Some believe there is even further documentation because of the abrupt ending of ACTS.

While reflecting initially on chapter 1 of Luke I have some interest in the comparison that the angel makes to Elijah in reference to John the Baptist. In fact, later in the book the description of John the Baptist also references an OT description of Elijah. It is clear that the author is emphasizing the role of John as a modern Elijah, possibly even the return of Elijah. I recall that Elijah ascended and never died.

John's role is fascinating to me. I really challenge myself to take my "churchiness" out of my reading of scripture to find Truth based on God's word and the Holy Spirit. I find myself now especially considering the way the church speaks of eternal salvation as a very high priority. When in fact Jesus spoke a lot more about the Kingdom of God entering here on earth. As I continue to read these opening chapters, I will be investigating and considering the role John plays in ushering in this "baptism of repentance". I wish to consider why this baptism was necessary in context of the OT Jewish custom. It was a revolutionary message. For the Jewish people repentance was an act of ritual and sacrifice, not a spiritual condition. I'm curious about this point.

More to come...

[loudnhevy]

Luke 2:25

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. ... and the Holy Spirit was on him.

What a wonderful summary of a man's life.

[isaiah53]

Luke 2:51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.
one of my favorite verses teaches how JESUS as a youth obeyed HIS earthly parents as an example to HIS obiedence to HIS Heavenly FATHER.