Joshua had walked with the LORD for many years. The scripture described him as a very old man when he summoned the Israelites to share some important messages. This was his opportunity to let them know what was really essential, what really mattered. How did he have faith when others faltered? Some of his significant instructions are to “hold fast to the LORD your God” and “be very careful to love the LORD your God”. That is exactly what he did and that is what gave him such a close relationship with God.
He had lived a lifetime of experiences with the LORD. Just imagine him watching Moses enter the tent of Meeting where the pillar of cloud was. Even when Moses returned to the camp, Joshua remained at the tent.
He stood with Caleb and tried to persuade the people that if they would only follow God that the LORD would give them the land. But the camp chose to rebel against the LORD and succumb to the fear and disbelief of the other spies. (The LORD intervened when the people were ready to stone them for their faith.)
Joshua experienced miracle after miracle including the sun stopping in the middle of the sky. Joshua was chosen and commissioned to lead Israel because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly. That is what he wanted from the Israelites. That should be our purpose, too.
He encouraged them to wholeheartedly obey the scriptures. As Joshua 23:6 states, “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left”.
As modern-day Christians, we can follow Joshua’s example. He did what was right, even when he was in the minority. The LORD approved of his decision and in turn, the Lord loved him. Just like Joshua, there are so many examples of others who wholeheartedly lived life with God. We know that the next experiences for them will be the resurrection, all the rewards that come with entering the kingdom of God and eternal life.
Because we know that this awaits the followers of God, we should also give our whole hearts to God. Let us stand with the Lord and say, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)
-Rebecca Dauksas
Reflection Questions
Consider the life of Joshua – when and how was he faithful to God? When and how was God faithful to him? Now consider your own life – when and how have you been faithful to God? When and how has God been faithful to you?
Does it work to follow, love, serve, obey the Lord half-heartedly? Why or why not? With how much of your heart do you follow, love, serve, obey the Lord?
What do we learn about the Lord our God in our Bible reading today? Does that make it easier or harder to serve him wholeheartedly?
It was the spirit that led Jesus into the wilderness to be tested. It was the devil who tempted him. God does test us, like a father tests his children, allowing us to make a choice between his will and our own, but he does not tempt us to do evil, nor can he be tempted, as everything already belongs to him and therefore wouldn’t be tempting.
God does not tempt with sin, but he does test his children so that they can learn obedience, to overcome sin and become people of character, for their own good, for their survival and for other good things he desires for us. We’ll pass the test every time if we choose his will over our own, just like his son Jesus did.
The devil’s temptations to cause Jesus to sin were cunning. With the first temptation, (Luke 4:3 “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”) the devil raises doubt about Jesus’s identity. He then targets Jesus’s need, his hunger, as a result of his fasting. When you are so hungry and deprived of your need to eat, it can be the most powerful time in your life because you have no choice but to cry out to God for help.
This was a very crafty temptation for Jesus, because both he and the devil knew who he was. He was the Son of God. God had already granted him authority and power, which he continued to grow in, which he could have used to meet his hunger need by performing a miracle for himself at his will. But he didn’t. Instead, his response was God’s will (Luke 4:4: And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”).
The temptation was taken right out of God’s playbook, when he tested his firstborn son, the children of Israel in the wilderness. What is new is knowing the devil’s part in this temptation towards Jesus. Jesus goes straight to God’s will in the matter, referencing Deuteronomy 8:1-10 with his response. The testing was meant to test obedience and build the character trait of humility, as is clear from that passage.
Keep in mind though that it looks like God’s testing came after his firstborn son already tried to put him to the test by blaming him for their hardships and lack of needs in the wilderness. God is Israel’s father. He is going to take care of his children, but they needed to learn to obey and trust him. Our good God sent them bread from heaven despite their evil response because he loved them. It didn’t always fare so well in God’s response to their constant rebellion, but you can see throughout scripture that God was patient and long-suffering with his people.
The second temptation was tempting because the devil was offering the world as Jesus’s kingdom right then and there, if only he’d worship him. Satan is called the god of this world, which meant that he had the power to give Jesus the kingdom. Jesus knew through scripture that through serving God, he was going to gain the whole world and more, but he had to die first. It would have been very tempting for him to set up his kingdom straight away, without having to die first. But his response was to serve God by carrying out his will for him in his plan of salvation (Luke 4:8 8 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.”).
Jesus’s response came from Deuteronomy 6, where God gave the children of Israel the first and great commandment, which is to listen; Yahweh is God, Yahweh alone. Love Yahweh God with all your heart, soul, and might. They were told to do this so that they would remember him, fearing him only, and worshipping him, and swearing by his name (Deut. 6:13). They were to remember what Yahweh did, bringing them out of slavery and into the promised land to serve him. He told them these things for their good always and for their survival (Deut. 6:24).
Jesus trusted his father. He knew that God was faithful to do what he said he’d do, and he loved his father. He also knew from scripture that he had to die to be able to bring us with him. He chose us. He chose God’s will.
With the third temptation, the devil tries to provoke Jesus to prove that he is the Christ on his terms. He quotes from Psalm 91, telling Jesus that God will protect him if he performs the miracle that he wants him to do to show everyone that he is indeed who God said he was.
This is tempting because proving that he is the Son of God, the Messiah, could remove a lot of suffering from his life. Picture Jesus performing the miracle from the temple pinnacle in Jerusalem, in front of all the religious leaders. If they saw him doing this act, in front of everyone, from that location, they all would have known for certain that Jesus was the Christ. They probably would have set him up as their king, rather than trying to continuously kill him. Because Jesus chooses not to reveal his identity to anyone, except on God’s terms, it appears that like David, Jesus was always “on the run” from his enemies, because they doubted that he was the Messiah. Falsely claiming to be so was an offense worthy of death to the Jews.
But Jesus wasn’t really just “on the run” from his enemies. He was choosing to do God’s will at every step in his ministry. For the most part, he was on the move because his father told him to preach the kingdom of God to the various cities he was sent to.
The life Jesus chose was hard. He told us often that he spoke his father’s words, not his own. His father’s words were met with resistance and hate from most, except from those to whom it was given to know the things of God. Jesus’s response was the harder, but better route. He chose God’s will. He said, 12”…It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
This quote comes from Deut. 6:16. It references the bread incident from the first temptation. Again, we’re told what this was all about in Deut. 8:1-10. God does things his way for our own good, for our salvation, and to give us good things. But we have to trust him by doing it his way, even if his ways are harder than what we think ours will be.
If Jesus would have performed the miracle that the devil tempted him with, he would have been no better than God’s firstborn son, who put him to the test in the wilderness. They remembered their former slavery to Egypt, thinking it was far superior to their journey in the wilderness on the way to God’s promised land. The wilderness was hard. Many of them died there, never getting to see the promised land.
Similarly, if Jesus had proved to all that he was the Messiah by choosing his own will over God’s, the seemingly better route to go, he too would have put God to the test. Instead, he never blames God for his circumstances. He endures, looking at his hope, and thinking about all those he will save by choosing God’s will.
The devil left him, but only until another opportune time. Many of the things he said to Jesus make their comeback through the lips of religious leaders, as we’ll see through their interactions with Jesus in the rest of Luke’s narrative.
There were people who admired Jesus, but still doubted his identity. There were people, particularly those in his hometown, who asked Jesus to heal and perform miracles. When they don’t receive what they want from Jesus, which looks like a request for proof because of their doubt that he was the Messiah, they are denied, and they hate him for it. They attempt to push him off a cliff! Jesus doesn’t budge in following his God’s will, despite the consequences from men.
It is interesting that after the devil’s temptations, that Jesus quotes from scripture in Isaiah 61. We’ll eventually read in the rest of Luke’s narrative that Jesus lives out these proclamations from Luke 4:18-19.
Mixed in the quote is a quote from Isaiah 35 (recovery of sight to the blind). Jesus will indeed perform this miracle too. He’s even going to do it in Jerusalem, proving that he is the Son of God for many to take note of, but it will be on God’s time, and it is to the people God chooses for Jesus to reveal himself to as the Son of God, for God’s own purposes. When you read about this, and the other “Messiah” miracles, be careful to investigate the details so that you will know the exact truth about the things you are learning.
-Juliet Taylor – It’s been a joy to write again for SeekGrowLove.com and I’ve grown tremendously from doing it, so thank you Marcia! Hello Seekers! I am a Biblical Unitarian (BU) living in Tennessee with my husband, Wes Taylor, and our two boys, John and James. God has given me a BU church (Higher Ground), the best BU friend (Amy Swanson) to go through this race to the Kingdom with, an online church to fellowship with (Allegiance to the King), and a profession (Behavior Analyst/Sleep Consultant) that allows me time to study God’s word. God is good!
Questions
God cannot be tempted, because there’s no way to get him to desire anything that he doesn’t already have or will have at his will, as he’s the creator of all. But he can be tested (although we shouldn’t, knowing the consequences). In what ways do people test God in our time?
Similarly, God does not tempt us to sin, but he does test us like a father tests his child for her own good. In what ways do you think God has tested you?
What other “Messiah” miracle does Jesus perform in Jerusalem (hint: it’s mentioned in Isaiah 35).
Did you know that cities of refuge were first established by God? Did you know that everything good and just has its origins from our God? Our God performs righteous deeds and judgments for all who are oppressed. Our God establishes mercy and justice, and desires that from those who fear him. But often we do not. Instead, we pervert his ways. We do what Romans chapter one says and distort his good gifts and his good intentions for us.
We don’t get what we deserve. We deserve death, or at the very least, a reprimand, like the one God gave through his prophet John the Baptist to the crowds coming to him to be baptized.
Luke 3:7-8 (NASB) 7…“You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance.”
Psalm 103 tells us that our God 10 “has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:10). If he did, none of us would be here.
Instead, 12 “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12). We must remember that. He pardons, he heals, he redeems. He’s compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. In our New Covenant, he does this through his son Jesus. That is the God we serve. But we must also remember that he will not strive with us forever.
Can you imagine the impact our modern Sanctuary Cities would have if they functioned with God’s definition of mercy and justice at the helm? One day they will, assuming we still need them, when our righteous ruler, King Jesus returns. In the meantime, we can be Jesus’s hands and feet to the oppressed by asking our Lord Jesus what we can do.
Before the people asked Jesus what they should do, they asked the one who prepared the way before him, John the Baptist, knowing that a man from God had the authority to teach them and tell them what to do. He responds with justice because he knew what to say through the holy spirit.
His responses sound very familiar, like the responses Jesus gives during his ministry. I believe this is because it is the same spirit that is within John the Baptist that is then placed fully upon Jesus at his baptism, but to an even greater measure than it was placed on the highly respected John the Baptist. It reminds me of Elijah, being full of the holy spirit, who went before Elisha, who received an even greater measure of spirit from his God. In fact, the word tells us that John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah. Jesus goes so far as to tell us that John the Baptist “is” Elijah who is to come. Of course, not literally; all in spirit.
The people were amazed by John. They, 15 “were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ.” (Luke 3:15). Of course, he was not, and made sure the people knew that the one they were looking for would not baptize them with water, but with the holy spirit.
It is Jesus whom we should look to with our questions. In Jesus we find all the fullness of the spirit of God, without measure, because God gave all power and authority to his son, with whom he is well pleased, until all enemies are made his footstools for him in the end. It is Jesus who is our salvation, a man who is mightier than John the Baptist; A man who eventually gave us the holy spirit, the power and presence of God, so that we could “be Jesus” to those who are oppressed in our day.
Unfortunately, as we look to the perverted justice system in our society, we see that there is much work to be done before our life race ends. It will never be fully just until Jesus returns and makes all wrongs right, but if we have the power now, in an even greater capacity than even Jesus was given, because now the holy spirit is given through Jesus post his death on the cross, we can keep doing the work he left for us to do.
God told us what he desires from us throughout scripture. Everything he wants for us he wants because it is good for us, and it culminates in Jesus. If we are going to stop perverting God’s words and his will, we must repent and ask God through his son what we must do! He has made known his ways through Jesus in the New Covenant. Remember his precepts through Jesus Messiah and do them. Remember what he did through Jesus and remember what Jesus chose to do for you and I often. Jesus’s yoke is easy. Serve him by doing his will, which is God’s will. And bless the Lord oh my soul for his everlasting lovingkindness!
-Juliet Taylor
Questions
What does it mean to bear fruits in keeping with repentance?
Why do you think God chooses to work through his son? In turn, why do you think Jesus chooses to work through us?
What work do you think Jesus wants you to want to do for him in your life race?
As we read through Luke, Joshua, and Psalm, let’s continue to be like Luke in carefully examining scripture. Let’s take note of the important details so that we will know the exact truth about what we are learning, like in Luke, as he lays out the facts surrounding the birth of Jesus, including when he was born, where he was born, and who was ruling and present at the time. We are left with evidence that he is indeed the Lord’s Messiah, born under the law of Moses during the first census that was taken during the reign of Quirinius as governor of Syria.
Those details are important.
As we read Joshua, let’s look for parallels between what happens there and what happens in the New Testament, like the women, daughters in the line of Joseph, who came directly to Joshua to ask for an inheritance. He granted it to them. I relate it to all the passages about women in the New Testament who are always surrounding and supporting Jesus and his ministry. Jesus grants many of them their petitions, even the ones I assume were unspoken.
As we read through Psalm 102, let’s consider what was going on in David’s life at the time of his writing. Let’s remember that although it was prophesied from an early time in his life that he would be king, he spent most of his life on the run for his life. When he finally became king, he committed one (or two) of the gravest sins with grave consequences, yet, he was still known for being a man after God’s own heart. I imagine this was due to the constant love and respect he had for God in loving and respecting the LORD’s first anointed king, King Saul, as we see him time and time again showing mercy to him.
Think of a time in your life as a Christian when you were so distraught that you forgot to eat, or drinking your wine mixed with your tears, before getting up, and carrying on, praising God for his compassion, graciousness, and consistency in your life with fear (reverence). Remember that our Lord Jesus told us that in this life, we will have trouble. If you haven’t experienced distress in this way, praise God! But know that we can expect it, especially if we’re doing our part in God’s plan of salvation, serving the word. We’re promised the age to come after enduring this age and all that that entails for the sake of the salvation of others. If we’re working for him, we may also have a target on our backs like David did. But we can take courage. Jesus has overcome the world, and so can we through him, by imitating him when met with hardships.
Notice now in Joshua that even though the children of Israel were promised the land they were conquering, with Joshua as their leader, that they still had much work to do before they were able to rest in the land that was promised to them. In order to even step foot in the land promised them, they had to drive the current residents out. Many times they failed to drive them out completely and dwelt among people who were not God’s people. Often this caused many of them to stumble.
I relate this to sin under our new covenant through Jesus. Although we are promised the kingdom of God at the end of our life race, we still have much work to do. For one, we must drive out the sin from our lives completely, not allowing it to dwell with us. If we don’t, we may end up with a snare that costs us our lives. Thank God for repentance and forgiveness of sins.
Now let’s switch gears back to Luke chapter two. There is so much detail that shouldn’t be ignored. These details, along with the parallels between both of the major covenants, can grant us an even greater understanding of what this life is all about if we go through it all carefully. But again, the result of all the knowledge gained should lead us into new creatures, people who are made in the image of God, who become new in the image of Christ, to the glory of God if we belong to him.
The second chapter of Luke is full of people who I admire for their Godly character. I have no doubt that God hand selected them all to receive the best gift, being eyewitnesses of their Messiah Jesus.
Like unto Mary, the angel of the Lord came to a group of highly favored shepherds, bringing good news of great joy for all people. Not only one angel, but a multitude of heavenly hosts came, praising God before them for what he had done. If I am understanding their message correctly, I would say that they were among the men with whom God was pleased. It is my strive at the end of this life to hear those words from my Lord Jesus when I get the chance to meet him face to face.
When the shepherds heard these words, they went straight away to see what was made known to them. That is faith. After they fellowshipped with the new parents, they went away with the response that we should all endeavor to have after an encounter with our Messiah, which was to glorify and praise their God for all that they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.
Next comes Simeon, the man looking for the consolation of Israel, a devout and righteous man, with holy spirit upon him. He got what he was hungering and thirsting for when he held the Lord God’s Christ in his arms. His response was to bless God, the one who gave him what he promised him, for eyes to see God’s salvation in the face of Jesus, who would be a light of revelation to the gentiles and the glory of God’s people Israel.
Then we’re told about Anna, the prophetess, who chose to remain devoted to God’s work in the temple. Day and night she served the Lord God with fasting and prayers, after being widowed for years. At the age of 84, she met her Messiah Jesus. At that very moment, her response was to give thanks to God. She then continued speaking of Jesus to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
Looking at the child Jesus, we can see how he grew in wisdom. He didn’t know what he didn’t know. He had to seek it and obtain it. When he was only 12, he spent his time listening to teachers in the temple and asking them questions. He made it his business to be about his father’s business. That’s the heart of someone thirsty for the word.
The result of Jesus’s studying was a young child who had great understanding of the word, someone who had an answer that I can only assume was correct when corresponding with those well versed in the word, as they were astonished by his answers. He continued to increase in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
And finally, there is my favorite person, save Jesus, Mary, his mother. Her response to all of those Godly people and their words, including her son, was to treasure the things spoken about her son in her heart.
-Juliet Taylor
Questions
What are some petitions or unspoken prayers that Jesus grants to the women during his earthly life?
What else could we relate the work of the children of Israel to with the work we must do under our New Covenant through Jesus besides driving out the sin in our lives?
What characteristic do you admire the most about those who got to witness Jesus in the flesh, face to face before their death?
As I carefully investigate Luke’s narrative, I take note of the encounter between Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, and the angel of the Lord, including where the angel stands, and what he says.
I take note of Zacharias’s position and heritage, being a Levitical priest under the Division of Abijah, meaning that it is his duty to serve in the temple in Jerusalem in the 8th division, which was at the conclusion of the Feast of Passover.
I take note that Zacharias and Elizabeth are living in the hill country, perhaps the same hill country described in our reading in Joshua wherein Jabin prepared the way for Joshua’s coming as conqueror, in the same land that became Judah’s inheritance, where Mary, the mother of our Messiah Jesus, dwells (with them) for the first 3 months of her pregnancy with her baby Jesus.
I take note of the life of John the Baptist, sent by God to prepare the way for the Messiah Jesus, relating it to Moses, preparing the way in the wilderness for Joshua to take over and lead his people into the promised land.
After all that detail, likely there to teach us that Jesus is indeed the Christ, born under the law, in the way that God prophesied, with all the Old Testament parallels, I take note of where I think Luke wants our focus, after all the knowledge is obtained.
It is the character of the two women of God that causes me to pause.
God chose to prepare the way for the Lord Messiah through two birth miracles, because two women of God chose to be faithful and humble in the presence of Yahweh God through his agent angel Gabriel.
The details are so important, but it is the character of the women of God, Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, and Mary, the mother of our Lord Messiah, that we should rest our focus on after knowledge is obtained.
There is a stark contrast between the character displayed by the priest, who should have been first to bear the image of God in his response to the word of God, and the women of God in God’s presence.
Zacharias the priest is slow to be faithful, despite the significant circumstance he found himself in (despite a miracle). The angel Gabriel reminds Zacharias that he is one who stands in the presence of the Lord God, reiterating to him that his position deserves reverence and faith because of who he works for and of whose words he’s reiterating to him.
But to the woman, the angel of Yahweh, Gabriel, found the response that God desires from his people. From Elizabeth, we see faith and thankfulness. From Mary, we see faith and humility. We then see what follows women favored by God. When the two meet, Elizabeth is filled with the holy spirit after her baby, filled with the holy spirit, leaps in her womb! She prophesies regarding Mary’s response to the word of God:
Luke 1:45
“Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”
Mary’s response to this is praise to God her Savior, magnifying her Lord God through song and prophesy. Her response sounds familiar, much like some of the psalms of David, her likely ancestor.
What follows the people of character, the character of the people that God has always wanted, is exalting the Lord God, the receiving of the holy spirit (and all that comes with that), and joy!
But I take note still. There were consequences for the servant priest’s character flaw. Because of his unbelief to the angel’s words, which were God’s words, he was made unable to speak until the day when the things spoken by God’s agent angel were fulfilled.
This gave opportunity for Elizabeth to continue her faithful stance as servant to the words God spoke. It may be difficult for us to imagine how hard it would have been for her to oppose those in the temple, who chose to disrespect Elizabeth by clinging to tradition in naming the child over her words, which were God’s words. She stood firm in her faith. The people diverted their attention and respect to Zacharias, her priest husband instead.
Thankfully, the consequence from the angel led Zacharias to repentance and faithfulness. When he told the people that the child would be called John (Yahweh gives grace), the name given to him by God through his agent angel, his consequence ceased and his tongue was loosened. His response after repentance was praise to God. He too received the gift of the holy spirit and prophesied, speaking words of salvation.
But fear overtook all those in the hill country of Judea who heard of these things, perhaps due to unbelief. I imagine the fear being like the fear that overtook the people living in the hill country centuries prior, when King Jabin proclaimed the fearful news that Joshua was coming to conquer.
The details are so important, but if they don’t lead people to change, to conform to people bearing the image of God, which becomes conforming to the image of his Christ, all knowledge gained is null and void.
Let our character be the character that God has always desired, like the women, and be faithful and humble servants of the word, to believe in all the words the Lord God has spoken, which are eventually spoken through his Messiah Jesus.
-Juliet Taylor
Questions
What are other important details that Luke gives us in chapter 1?
In Luke 1:7, an Old Testament scripture is applied to John the Baptist. What did John do to “7…turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”?
My favorite part of Mary’s response, after Elizabeth prophesies to her is, “My soul exalts the Lord” (Luke 1:46). What characteristics of the Lord did Mary find worthy of exalting? What’s your favorite part of Mary’s response?
The gospel of Luke was written by Luke the physician (Col 4:14), who traveled with Paul. Luke was a gentile who learned about Jesus through careful research from eye witnesses. Luke wrote the gospel of Luke (the longest Gospel), and the book of Acts – which combined make Luke the most prolific writer in the New Testament.
The gospel of Matthew was written to a Jewish audience, Mark was written to a Roman audience. Luke was written to Theophilus, for a Gentile audience – to assure Theophilus the truth of what he had been taught about Jesus. Multiple times, Luke stressed that salvation was for the Gentiles. For example, Luke 2:30-32, “For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”
Luke highlighted Jesus’ love for and ministry to outcasts, including: immoral women, Samaritans, runaways, tax collectors, lepers, and criminals. Luke also emphasized Jesus’ prayer life.
The gospel of Luke starts with the story of John the Baptist’s birth, and details the familiar birth of Jesus. Luke then details Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. The majority of the book focuses on Jesus’ heading to Jerusalem – where he knew he would be crucified. (Luke 9:51 says, “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.”) Luke then records Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.
Luke is the only gospel to detail the story of Jesus’ joining two men on the road to Emmaus after his resurrection. I find this story moving. I love their response as recorded in Luke 24: 32, “They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
I pray that your heart will be burning within you as you let Jesus speak to you as you open the Scriptures to read the book of Luke.
-Steve Mattison
DEVOTION by Juliet
There were many who tried to compile an account about the things accomplished by the disciples of Jesus, as handed down to them by the eyewitnesses and servants of the word, but it was Luke’s compilation that made the cut.
Luke investigated everything carefully from the beginning (of Jesus’s ministry) and wrote it out in consecutive order. He wanted his reader(s) to know the exact truth about the things that he was learning, which meant that his reader could have been believing some things in error, even though his reader was learning things not too long after there were eyewitnesses to Jesus’s ministry. This should cause us to pause and be mindful of all that we know or think we know.
Truth matters. We should all endeavor to be careful to investigate everything written about and spoken by Jesus, because in him is the knowledge of salvation.
Did you notice though that Luke’s intro makes a statement we don’t often hear? He said his compilation was an account of the things accomplished by the eyewitnesses and servants of the word, or of the gospel. Whether the “word” here represents Jesus or the entirety of the gospel message, which you find in Jesus the Christ, I am not sure. What I am sure of is that if you want to be a servant of the word, the gospel, you should probably know what it is, desire it, and serve.
Do you know the word, the gospel? Do you desire it, both to know it and serve it? Do you know what it means to serve the word, the gospel? If we don’t, we should investigate it carefully, just like Luke did, to serve it rightly, in truth and without error. But that can be difficult.
The god of this world, Satan, has blinded the minds of those who will perish without the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Cor. 4:4). That’s why we have such a great commission set before us as his disciples, to make known to the world the word, which is the gospel of the kingdom of God, which is found in Jesus, who is in the image of God, which leads to salvation.
God wants none to perish, but without the knowledge of the word, the gospel, Jesus, we will perish. It is our service to the word to preach the gospel.
Notice again that Luke says, “servants of the word,” not just knowledge bearers of the word. It follows that if you are servants of the word, that your life and your character will reflect that. If you are servants of the word, then you will be a person that serves self-sacrificially, to whatever extent is needed in the plan of God, for the salvation of others.
Within our commission, we may have specific tasks that God grants us to do for him on an individual basis to accomplish his work. If we want to know what that work is, we have to get to serving. The more we do for him through Christ, the more service he will give us to do work with while his son is away.
In Joshua, we read about his service and sacrifice to God for the salvation of others, which involved conquering all the lands that God told him to conquer, to be the one through whom he would give his people of his time the promised land. But he didn’t become this servant of the words God spoke to him just because he acknowledged that what was spoken by God was true. He became this servant because of his service to do what God told him to do, reflecting his character, his faith in God to do what he said he’d do.
In Psalm 100, we can read about one of many services that David is well known for. He brought the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to God when he came before him, acknowledging who his God was often, acknowledging his name Yahweh, and the work of his hands, namely, us. The byproduct of David’s service reflects his heart, his character, which is after God’s own heart.
Through Luke’s personal service and sacrifice to God through his narrative, we’ll read about our Messiah Jesus, and see his self-sacrificial service embedded in his entire life, written in consecutive order. Once his ministry began, the man didn’t even have a place to call home, as he was too busy serving others to settle in one location. His servitude and devotion to his God culminated in his final earthly work at his death on the cross, leading to the salvation of all.
Remember as we read Luke’s narrative that he was one of only 4 writers out of many whose compilation succeeded in becoming what are commonly referred to as “the gospels”. What an accomplishment! This tells me that if you want to be servers of the word, you’ve got to have a desire to do it and to do it with everything that is in you, because that’s the person you’ve become after receiving the knowledge of Christ.
As we continue on in our reading in Luke chapter 1, let’s take note of all the witnesses and servants of the word with the same careful investigation that Luke gave to his narrative. While we search for the exact truth about the things we’ve been taught, let’s examine the servitude and character of the people who were closest to Jesus, as well as the consequences that followed. After gaining the knowledge of what was accomplished by the original servants of the word, the gospel, let’s get to being the servants of the word of our generation.
-Juliet Taylor
Reflection Questions:
Luke’s narrative was written in consecutive order. Do you know how the other three narratives that met the gospel cut were ordered?
How are you a servant of the word?
What character trait do you want to portray to others after being a servant of the word?
Before I knew the significance of what God did through his people of old, that everything done points to his Messiah, Jesus the Christ, Joshua was my favorite Old Testament “character.”
It was Joshua who was met by the captain of the Yahweh’s army. It was Joshua who led the children of Israel into the promised land. It was Joshua who fought the battle of Jericho, blowing trumpets and shouting as the walls came tumbling down. It was Joshua the Lord helped using hailstones to defeat his enemies, and it was Joshua, a man, whom God listened to, to make time stand still.
And yet, Joshua cannot compare to our Lord Jesus and what God has done and will do through him.
We mustn’t be foolish. We must know and understand what the prophets said about Jesus to fully understand how significant he is to us. Praise be to God through him that we can gain that wisdom through the help of the holy spirit that was poured out by him because he earned that right. Now everything made new is through him.
Jesus himself taught these things about himself after his resurrection to the men on the road to Emmaus. Beginning with Moses, he explained to them the things concerning himself in all the scriptures.
I’m going to begin explaining some things I’ve learned about him and God’s plan of salvation, beginning in Joshua.
As Joshua, the son of Nun, conquers the land promised by God, he is met with a people who are not the children of Israel, but fear Yahweh and believe that he will do for Israel what he has said, by destroying all the inhabitants of the land to give it to God’s chosen people.
These people were the Gibeonites. They deceived the leaders of the children of Israel into making a covenant with them to save their lives. The terms of the covenant granted them life as slaves in exchange for not being destroyed.
It was a mistake to not seek the counsel of Yahweh prior to entering this covenant, but we see that God continues to work with his people through their failures. They continue to break the terms of their own covenant with God time and time again, but God is forgiving and merciful, just like he is with us after we entered the New Covenant with him through his son Jesus.
Watch the parallels of this story with end time prophesy. It’s quite remarkable.
The people of Gibeon, now servants to the children of Israel, called on the name of their leader Joshua (same name as Jesus) to be saved when they came under attack by the current King of Jerusalem, Adoni-Zedek (meaning Lord of justice or Lord of righteousness; yet he was not really THE lord of justice -that is reserved for the true Lord of Righteousness, our Messiah Jesus) and the other 5 Kings of the Amorites.
God saves Joshua’s servants (Gibeonites) through Joshua (Jesus). . In a similar manner, he will save the gentiles, us, who were not God’s people, but are His after we become the servants of his Son Jesus. He confuses the enemy as Joshua pursues them and He sends hailstones to give Joshua (Jesus) the victory.
To the five Kings who went up against him, he kept them in caves covered by a large stone, sealing them in until the time is right for his people to put their enemies under their foot (literally).
On the day Joshua (Jesus) defeats the Amorites, he, a man, asks God to make time stand still, and God listens. There was never a day like it before or since the time of the writing of Joshua, a day when the LORD (Yahweh) listened to a human being. Surely the LORD (Yahweh) was fighting for Israel!
One greater than Joshua, and all those God answered in the past, is now seated at the right hand of God! Because of this, we can come to the throne room of God in his son Jesus’s name and have confidence that he will hear us, humans, too.
We are privy to know and understand the gospel as recorded in our bibles in the New Testament, which is something Jesus’s own disciples, who walked with him on earth, didn’t have.
Let us do our part in understanding the scriptures (the Old Testament) and the words of our Lord Jesus (the gospel; the Much of the New Testament) through the spirit, to hear the words he spoke, that all things which are written about him in the Law of Moses and the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled (Luke 24:44).
Let us pray to the God of Jesus that we would not be foolish and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken, rather, let our hearts burn within us. “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem (Luke 24:46-47).
Praise be to God that the servants of his son Jesus (Gentiles) can be forgiven because God listens to a man (our Jesus), and accepts us through him.
We were a people who were not God’s people, but were grafted in through God’s son, a man whom he chose to save us through, as the mediator of a better covenant, with better promises.
I cannot wait for God to listen to the man Jesus of Nazareth again, our better Joshua, our Messiah, to make time stand still for us in the Kingdom of God.
-Juliet Taylor
Questions:
What parallels do you see between Joshua in chapters 9 and 10 and Jesus regarding end time prophesy?
Why is it important to know all that is spoken about Jesus Messiah in scripture?
How do you feel knowing that God listens to you, a human, when you come to him in his Son’s name?
Remember what Jesus accomplished today and all that that entails. Remember his faithfulness to finish the work God gave him on earth.
Now remember what God did. Remember that it was God’s plan of salvation to save us through his son. His right hand and his holy arm have gained the victory for Him!
God has made known to us our salvation!
The Seas and all that is in them know it and resound! The rivers know it and clap! The mountains know it and sing together for joy at his marvelous works!
Do we know it?
Do we realize that God’s plan of salvation is fulfilled through Jesus? Do we fully grasp what that means?
It means that if we are his, we are kingdom bound, and no one can snatch us out of his hand.
Salvation has been made known by God, and he’s done it through covenants. God offers the opportunity for his people to be saved by remaining faithful to the covenants he makes with them. The last, final, “goal” covenant God has made, and will make with his people, is the New Covenant through Jesus.
Before Jesus’s covenant, bringing the hope of entering into the Kingdom of God, God worked through other covenants with his people to give them good things.
It is no surprise to me that God chose Joshua (Jesus), whose name means, “Yahweh is salvation,” to bring his children into the land promised. Although it was Moses who was the mediator of the covenant that God made with them, the plan of salvation for Israel was fulfilled through Joshua.
Just prior to delivering Jericho over to them, God made another covenant with his people through Joshua. This covenant involved being faithful to refrain from taking the devoted things from the city, so that God’s people would not covet. If they violated this command, God said they would have trouble.
One man did violate this covenant, and through this one man’s sin, all the children of Israel were held liable for destruction (hmmm, sounds familiar).
God was faithful to do what he said he’d do regarding the breaking of this covenant. He turned away from his people because of the sin of one man amongst the many, and trouble ensued. But another man, Joshua, led the people to repent (hmmm, this also sounds familiar). God accepted this repentance through Joshua’s leadership, but with requirements to destroy the sin and the violator of the covenant.
After sin was removed from the people, God told his people to consecrate themselves. If they were devoted to him, he would be devoted to them (covenant language). The plan of salvation was restored for a time.
Eventually, the covenant through Moses, and most of the additional regulations that came to be through others came to an end because the people continued to violate God’s covenants over and over again. Every time God offered to make a covenant with his disobedient and obstinate people, it was an act of his mercy and grace because they rarely remained faithful to it, and he knew that. All of God’s covenants were grace covenants out of his love for his people and his desire for all to be saved.
But because of man’s constant violation of his free gift, their unfaithfulness to the covenant, or their unfaithfulness to fulfill their part of the plan, God made a New Covenant, with all mankind, with better promises, that would be fulfilled through his son, Jesus. That is what we are celebrating today.
But remember. God’s plan of salvation through the blood of Jesus is the last covenant he will offer to mankind.
To partake in the plan of salvation, we must freely choose to enter the covenant through Jesus and remain faithful to our part in the plan, as Jesus was faithful to his.
Our part in the plan is to imitate our Lord and Savior, Jesus Messiah, by keeping ourselves free from sin, and repenting when we do sin, so that we can live out a life of self-sacrifice of our will, to whatever extent is needed to save others, just as our leader Jesus did, which is God’s will.
If we do that, we will be one (in the plan of salvation) with Jesus and God. To be one with God and Jesus means that you know your role in the plan of salvation, and you remain faithful to it. Be devoted to him through his son. He will be devoted to you.
I’ve come to realize that most people don’t know the plan of salvation that God has revealed, at least not in its entirety.
There was a time when Jesus’s own disciples did not fully grasp what the plan of salvation was. In John 20:9-10, we’re told that his disciples did not even understand from scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead, even though he had been telling them all along!
Jesus revealed this part of the plan plainly by first showing himself in his resurrected state to Mary Magdalene. He then told her more about the plan and told her to go and tell his brethren.
She was faithful to believe and do whatever her Lord required of her. Remember her character.
Jesus then revealed his resurrected self to his disciples. When those who saw him finally understood this part of the plan, they rejoiced!!!
Jesus instructed and empowered his disciples through the gift of the holy spirit to fulfill their part in the plan of salvation, which includes forgiveness of sins.
God’s plan of salvation begins in Genesis and ends in Revelation. It is fulfilled through our Messiah Jesus.
The people who know the plan of salvation live it out and preach it, so that all may be saved. They join in the purpose and plan of God through his son to save humanity, by choosing God’s will over their own.
Remember Jesus today, and that God’s plan of salvation is through him.
Let’s shout!!! Hallelujah to our God, and Hosanna to our King!
-Juliet Taylor
Question 1: Do you know your role in the plan of salvation?
Question 2: What other parallels between Joshua and Jesus do you see, especially related to the covenants God made with them?
Question 3: Look into the phrase, “One with God.” Do you think it means what I think it means (one in understanding and fulfillment of the plan of salvation)?
Jesus is dead and sealed in a tomb. And Barabbas is free.
Can you imagine waking up on the day after you were to die a deservedly horrific and public death? Waking up free? The sun is shining. Birds sing. Life continues around you. You should be dead, but you’re not.
Mark’s account of our Messiah’s death here mentions the centurion standing guard over Jesus. This Roman witnesses something he probably didn’t know much about. Even those raised with the prophecies of the savior didn’t comprehend what was happening. But this Roman soldier sees all that happened during Jesus’ death and he says, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
I wonder what he did with that information. I wonder what you will do with it.
Upon Jesus’ death, the heavy curtain separating God’s presence from the rest of the world was torn in two. You are no longer separated from our heavenly father. Christ is now your way to Him. And Christ was the only sacrifice significant enough to truly allow salvation.
It’s Saturday. Barabbas is guilty but free. The centurion is ignorant of God’s plan but knows exactly who Jesus is. And Jesus is innocent but dead.
Where are you this day? The way to God is now open. You are free. You know who Jesus Christ is. And better still, you know what happens next. So what will you do with this information?
Take some time with me today to prepare yourself by opening your heart and accepting the gift that has been given. Ask yourself:
How am I like Barrabas? I’m living today, and can be free from my sin, but am I behaving like someone who has been given another chance?
How can I better know Jesus Christ, the Son of God? Am I spending enough time in Scripture?
My way to God is clear, but am I seeking Him? How can I do a better job of recognizing God and acknowledging Him in everything?
Have I truly accepted the gift of salvation? And am I showing that in my words and actions and choices?
My prayer for us today is that we recognize Jesus’ crucifixion for what it was: a sacrifice that was made so that we can live free of sin, so that we could be reunited again with our God. Reflect on this today, and accept the gift that has been given. He’s in the tomb and we are not. Today we remember the sacrifice. Tomorrow we celebrate!
Jenn Haynes
(Editor’s Note: Jenn has done a great job this week preparing us for a celebration of the Resurrection! If you haven’t yet had a chance to attend or view a Good Friday service of reflection you might also find benefit in that. Here is a link to one that 3 churches in northern Indiana did last night which was set up as a memorial Celebration of Life service after the death of Jesus.)
Let’s face it. We’ve all done things we have felt guilt over. Accepting responsibility for our actions is one of the most difficult lessons to learn.
We see in this account of Jesus’ arrest and subsequent torture and death a few different takes on acknowledging wrong done and accepting, or denying, blame.
Judas’ guilt is overwhelming. So much so, that he no longer knows how he can go on living. We don’t know what Judas said to God in his final moments or whether he sought forgiveness. But rather than trying to find repentance in living a Godly life, he decides to take his own.
The Jewish leaders who paid Judas to betray his rabbi and Christ acknowledged that the money Judas returned to them was blood money. If that isn’t a confession of some form of guilt, I’m not sure what is. And yet they, too, choose not to repent. Instead they continue on with their mission.
Pilate, warned by his wife, knows that the man before him is not guilty of any crime worthy of death. He gives the people several outs, including offering over a known, terrible criminal. But rather than stand up to the crowd, he proclaims himself guiltless and allows them to take away to torture and kill a man he knows is innocent.
And the Jewish crowd. This one hurts me most of all, because in true mob mentality, they flippantly ignore their consciences, ignore God’s presence, and accept all guilt of Jesus’ death. And they do it without second thought, it seems. They accept the blame not only on themselves, but on their children as well!
Our savior stood before all these people, blameless and betrayed, and said not a word of condemnation or defense. How many sins have we committed that have been laid upon his shoulders?
Isaiah 53:6-8 says:
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished.
For our transgressions, to take care of our guilt, he was punished and died.
Today is Good Friday, the day we remember Christ’s sacrifice. Take some time with me today to prepare yourself by seeking forgiveness. Ask yourself:
What sins have I committed that I have laid on my Messiah’s shoulders? There are so many, but which have I not sought forgiveness for?
Are there sins that I’m not sure how to handle, and that seem hopeless, like Judas’? How can I turn them over?
Are there sins that I’m choosing to ignore, like the Jewish leaders? How can I repent and turn the other way?
Are there sins that I could avoid or turn a blind eye to like Pilate? How can I call them out for what they are and act against them?
Are there sins that I’m willingly accepting blame for but I’m determining them inconsequential so I can continue doing them like the angry mob? How can I fully realize and accept how they are affecting my life in a negative way?
I pray that today as you meditate with me and observe Jesus’ sacrifice for all our sins, we are able to call out our sins for what they are and spend time with God seeking forgiveness and redemption. His son suffered and died for us, to cleanse us of those sins. Today is a day for reflection and repentance, so please take the opportunity for it.
We mourn the suffering of our savior today and the fact that we, and our sins, are the cause of it. But because our God is good, we know that our sin and that cross are not the end of the story.
Seek Grow Love 