Waterbrook Sermons Revisited

In Luke 6, Jesus will teach us about the Sabbath and may be much broader than what you think.  As an example, Jesus will show how King David did things thought unlawful, but the priests allowed it. Jesus will also claim to be the One who is Lord of Sabbath.  He'll go on to heal on the same day.  And, after an all night prayer session, he'll pick his team.  Ready to roll, Jesus will begin to teach the most famous of all his sermons from the Plain and the Mount.

Jesus chooses his first followers.  He also performs some healing miracles and steps on some religious toes.  And Jesus is going to throw out the double parable that is going to give scholars some issues.

Jesus will be led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, where Jesus will go without food for nine-hundred and sixty hours straight. Satan will confront him and offer 3 interesting temptations.  We'll cover these in great detail.

Jesus will also be teaching in the synagogues around Galilee.  He will explain a portion of a passage from Isaiah, but he'll leave a part out intentionally. There'll be a lot of very interesting reactions from his hometown, other towns, and demons.

Jesus gives the boot to demons. As supernatural beings, they're privy to Jesus's identity as the Son of God and Messiah, but Jesus silences them. What's with all the hush hush?

Luke chapter 3 picks up the Gospel story with John who's down at the Jordan River, announcing that God wants everyone to turn from wickedness and prove their commitment by being ritually washed in the river's water.  The Prophet Isaiah predicted his coming.

Everyone was speculating that John is the Messiah, but he says to hang tight, the Messiah is just around the corner and is the true Passover Lamb.  In fact, he tells them that the messiah is going to have a "winnowing fork" (3:17 NRSV) that he'll use to separate the harvested grain into one a pile, but he'll burn the remaining chaff with fire that will never stop blazing. Don't be the chaff.

In other news, John's been saying that Herod married his brother's wife, which is against the law (Leviticus 18:16) which was only one of many wicked acts. Herod responds by tossing John in prison. But not until after Jesus shows up with the Trinity to be baptized.

Luke includes a long genealogy of Jesus, whose lineage via Mary and Joseph can be traced back all the way to Adam—yeah, that Adam—and therefore to God. It's tough to read this list, which is about as interesting as reading an old phone book, but we'll include some fun highlights.

And we'll sweeten the deal by showing the Book of Ruth predicted the reign of King David over a hundred years early and ultimately, the coming of Jesus Christ and our relationship to him as the church.

Joseph and Mary, who is still pregnant, depart from Nazareth for Bethlehem, which is King David's hometown as required by Caesar. In Bethlehem, Mary gives birth to Jesus, wraps him up all nice and cozy, and puts him in a trough because all the accommodations typically provided for travelers were booked.

At night, a heavenly army angel appears to local shepherds, followed by the whole angelic Marine Corps shouting acclamations to the Commander in Chief. Glory! Peace! The shepherds decide to go check things out for themselves.

Mary and Joseph present baby Jesus to the Lord in the temple at Jerusalem where they meet a priest named Simeon, filled with the Holy Spirit, who is expecting that great things are in store for the nation. The Holy Spirit had informed Simeon that he wouldn't die until laying his eyes upon God's Messiah. Also in the temple is a prophetess named Anna, an eighty-four-year-old widow. Like Simeon, Anna recognizes the Son of God and starts to tell everyone there all about baby Jesus.

When he's twelve years old, Jesus stays behind in Jerusalem after his parents go back home, where he's shocked the Temple teachers by the depth of understanding this kid has.  Like so many parents, they're frightened and upset at losing him. But they recognize that he's obeying his "father," who is God.

We also talk about the silent years in Psalm 69 and the 24 Courses and how they relate to the 24 elders in Revelation 4 and 5.

Luke introduces his account about what happened through the time of Jesus. 

It was in the time of Herod, King of Judea. Where there was a Priest named Zechariah serving his time in the temple, and his wife Elizabeth. But they were old, and Elizabeth was not able to conceive children. On duty, chosen by lot, Zechariah was in the temple to burn incense and the people assembled outside to pray and worship. The angel Gabriel appeared to him, and when Zechariah saw him was started and gripped with fear. 

Gabriel told him that his wife, Elizabeth will bear a son, and he was to call him John. The angel, who was Gabriel, told Zechariah that he stood in the presence of God, and spoke to him to tell him the good news. Because of Zechariah's lack of faith, he would be silent until the baby was born.

When Elizabeth was sixth months pregnant, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee. Mary, a virgin, pledged to be married to Joesph (descendant of David). Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel told her not to be afraid. For God had found favor in her. The angel told her that she will bore a son, and are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and reign over Jacob's descendants forever. His kingdom will never end. The angel told Mary, who wondered how she could because she was still a virgin. The angel answered that the Holy Spirit will come on you, and the Most High will overshadow her. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 

Haggai spoke some 66 years after the temple was destroyed, but very likely there were some old people who had seen Solomon’s temple in its lavish glory.  God asks them to compare its glory now and see if it measures up.

God also tells them to be strong, do not be discouraged, and carry on the work. God further describes the idea of clean and unclean with regards to the hearts of the people. With a change of heart, comes a restoration of blessings.

Finally, a promise to Zerubbabel brings hope of the Messiah.

The hard financial times the Jews were experiencing meant God was trying to get their attention, as He warned He would (Deut. 28:15-41). God told them they would sow much and reap little (28:38) and it was happening. Their fruitful land wouldn’t prosper if they refused to listen and obey.

Here in Haggai they got discouraged and then found other things to do, so God tells them to “consider” their ways. They ate, but didn’t have enough to eat, something else God warned about (Lev. 26:14,26; Hos. 4:10; Mic. 6:13,14).

They ignored Leviticus 25:4 for 490 years, so God told them the Land would need to rest for 70 years.  They were given an all expenses paid trip to bondage in Babylon. That means all the nutrients farming takes out of land were restored, and their land should have been producing again. When it didn’t, they should have known they were being judged.

Just as the coats they were putting on weren’t warming them, the money they were making wasn’t profiting them. God warned them they’d spend their strength at work in vain (Lev. 26:14,20). So when God told them to consider their ways they should take Him seriously.

It was time to go back to work on the temple.

In Israel's Post-exile history, the Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther tell us the story of a people returning to the land.

Post-exile prophets: Haggai, Zecharaiah, and Malachi were there to speak to them from the Lord.

Through the prophet Haggai, the Lord noted that these men lived in great houses while His house was still in ruins. Haggai told the men to seriously think about the way they lived. They seemed to only care about pleasure and they had become lazy.  Their future would be one of ruin if they did not mend their ways.

Peter closes out his letter to the churches of Asia Minor with some final words. He instructs the elders about how to lead, includes how and why to live in humility with each other, and gives a final warning to be clear-minded and alert.