Here's what Luke is doing in this text today – He is establishing that Jesus Christ is the sovereign God – He is in control.  He holds all authority. He is Lord over all, and thus the proper response to Him is to hear His message, submit to Him, and do what He says – repent and believe the Gospel.  Repent and believe in Jesus.

Jesus’ teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum is so powerful, so authoritative, so pregnant  with the sovereignty of God, not only are the visible, human listeners astonished by His words, but also the invisible world, and the world we can’t see, is hit with an irresistible impact. Jesus not only

Our message for today – The Word has become flesh and dwelt among us.  Jesus has come into the world.  And He is more than a man.  He is God. And we know that He is God because He is full of truth, He is omniscient, He is omnipresent, and He extends mercy to sinners, even sinners like me, even sinners like you.   And when you come to an understanding of who Jesus is, you become caught in the grip of an irresistible grace, a calling to your heart that radically alters the course of your life.  Christ embraces us in mercy; we respond by embracing Him Him in obedience, and following Him where He leads us.  He saves our souls, then uses us to save souls.  He erases

Jesus encounters a man with leprosy in this episode - He is in need of something beyond a natural solution to his problem.  He is in need of divine intervention.  So he comes to the one whom Mark 1:27 calls “The Great Physician” – A little later on in Luke 5:27, when Jesus asked why He spends so much time with those on the fringes of society, with sinners, He says “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.”  The solution to this man’s problem, the

When we sin, it’s God’s law that we have violated.  God is the only individual who has any right to be offended by our sinfulness, because He is the one who authored and perfected the law.  And since He is the One whom we offend with our sin, He is the only One who has any right to forgive us of our sins. Jesus has put Himself on the judgment seat, the place where only God Himself can sit.  The pharisees are outraged.  Jesus tells them, “Just so

The standard of every religious system outside of Christianity is that if you are good enough, you

Who needs a doctor? Sick people.  Who needs forgiveness for sins? Sinners.  There are two verses that contain the core of the Gospel – II Corinthians 5:21 - For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.  God has what we lack and what we need to be in right relationship with Him – holiness – and holiness is what He demands – the good news is that what God demands, He supplies in the

As we continue our line by line journey through the Book of Luke, we find the tension escalating between Jesus and the Pharisees - Jesus defies their man-made Sabbath laws by healing on the Sabbath, and in doing so, declares Himself to be "Lord of the Sabbath". Jesus chooses mercy over empty religious works.

In this episode, Jesus chooses 12 apostles, or emissaries, to carry on His message of repentance, forgiveness of sins, and love. He chooses a most unlikely array of characters to fulfill His mission and build His church, from bad-tempered fishermen to tax-collecting extortionists to outright traitors - And does so to demonstrate that the work to be done is not man's work, but God is to receive all the glory.

Jesus is presented at the Temple, and Simeon and Anna prophesy over Him, declaring Him to be the Messiah. We don't hear from Jesus again until He is 12 years old, when He is found teaching the religious experts in the Temple, and He openly states for the first time that He is the Son of God.