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Luke began chapter two with the call of the most

famous of the apostles, Simon Peter (5:1-11). Immediately following Peter’s call, Luke demonstrated the unusual nature of Jesus’ ministry: he touched society’s most pitiful outcast (5:12-16) and forgave the sins of an utterly helpless man (5:17-26). Significantly,

the very next event in Jesus’ life that Luke highlights is the call of another apostle. This time, he chooses a spiritual outcast, a notorious sinner: a tax collector.

Luke presents us with a vivid account of two memorable miracles Jesus performed. The accounts describe several groups of people suggestive of several lessons we could

learn:

• The leprous man

• The crowds

• The paralytic

• The four friends

• The religious leaders

But Luke’s main purpose is to instruct us concerning the identity of Christ and his message of the gospel of the Kingdom.

The miraculous deeds Jesus performed during his

earthly ministry confirmed his identity and verified his message. 1That is why the Gospel of John calls them “signs.” This sermon text is Luke’s first account of Jesus calling disciples to follow him. He used a miraculous sign to confirm his identity (“I am the one you should follow”) and explain what it means to follow him (“You will fish for men”).

The first chapter of Acts chronicles the final days of

Jesus’ earthly ministry and adjustments made by his followers

immediately after his departure. Verse 3 says that Jesus “presented himself alive” during a 40-day period. Verse 8, a famous restatement of the church’s Great Commission, summarizes the mission of Christ’s followers: “You shall be my witnesses.” In the last section of the chapter, the Lord choses a replacement for Judas. From Luke’s description of that event, we learn that the resurrection is the central and indispensable element of the “witness” we bear regarding Jesus Christ.

After his own neighbors rejected him in Nazareth

(4:14-30), Jesus went to one of the larger cities in Galilee. This

passage of Scripture recounts the events of a single Sabbath day when he taught in the synagogues. As the day unfolds, we

“witness” four of the miraculous signs that would mark his

ministry. But Luke clearly shows us that Jesus’ miracles served a greater purpose.

Luke chose to begin his account of Jesus’ public

ministry with his preaching tour in Galilee. This tour took him

back to his hometown, Nazareth. In the synagogue there, Jesus’ closest friends and acquaintances heard him preach for the first time. His message and their response set the trajectory for the rest of the Gospel of Luke.

As we look at this passage together, we will retell the story as it

appears in the text and conclude by highlighting implications that remain unchanged in every generation.

In Galatians Paul is dealing with people

who thought that the Law was the answer to all spiritual

problems. Paul has been arguing against that. The answer

to the works of the flesh is found in the life-giving and

life-transforming ministry of the Holy Spirit. If people

will walk in the Spirit and be led by the Spirit and keep in

step with the Spirit, they will have the fruit of the Spirit

produced in them. However, that does not eliminate the

reality of sin. Genuine believers, indwelled by the Holy

Spirit, still can commit sin. That is true from the moment

of conversion until the moment of glorification. God’s

answer to that is the ministry of the Spirit in and through

His people.

Due to the remarkable events of this week, we will pause our ongoing study of Luke’s Gospel to consider the Christian’s response to the current pandemic. We will turn to the wisdom provided by James.

Immediately following Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit directed him into the wilderness for a grueling fast. At the end of the fast, the devil presented him with a three-fold temptation. He tempted Jesus to satisfy himself apart from God, to achieve success through false worship, and to promote himself by testing God. Jesus passed the trial with unwavering trust in God’s word. In his victory, Jesus not only showed us the path for our own victory over the evil one, but he took the first step in fulfilling the promise of Genesis 3:15

This Lord’s Day we come to the place where Luke introduces the public ministry of Jesus. Unexpectedly, Luke interrupts the narrative to give us the genealogy of Jesus (Luke 3:23-32). Matthew presented his genealogy the very beginning—even before his account of the conception and birth of Jesus. That leads us to ask, what connection did Luke see between the ministry and the heritage of Jesus. This Sunday’s sermon will answer this question and show the deep significance of a passage the we often skip when reading the Scriptures.