LUKE
The Greek name "Kata Loukon" translates to "According to Luke"
Luke means "Light-giving"
Luke was a Greek physician, author of the Biblical books of Luke and Acts, traveling companion of the apostle Paul and always the meticulous historian.
His writings were so carefully researched that archaeologists trust him virtually without question in his accuracy, and have used his writings to locate lost Biblical sites.
Whenever his historical references have been in question, later discoveries have again proven him to be 100% accurate. And to date he has never been proven wrong.
Luke is believed to have been a Gentile according to Paul's letter to the Colossian Church. Paul acknowledges that Luke is there with him, but not listed as one who is of the circumcision (Jewish).
COLOSSIANS 4:10-14
10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with Mark the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him),
11 and Jesus who is called Justus. These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision; they have proved to be a comfort to me.
12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.
13 For I bear him witness that he has a great zeal for you, and those who are in Laodicea, and those in Hierapolis.
14 Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you.
The book of Luke is essentially summed up in a single verse:
LUKE 19:10
10 "for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
Luke presents Jesus as the Son of Man, emphasizing Jesus' ancestry, birth and early childhood before carefully moving chronologically through His earthly ministry.
He shows the growing faith of those believing in Him as well as the growing opposition of those determined to destroy Him.
LUKE 1 - Prophecy and birth of John the Baptist; angel prophesied Jesus' birth to Mary
LUKE 2 - Jesus' birth; 12 year old Jesus confounds teachers and doctors of the Law
LUKE 3 - Preaching of John the Baptist; Jesus is baptized; genealogy of Jesus
LUKE 4 - Jesus tempted 40 days; rejected at Nazareth; He heals Peter's mother in law
LUKE 5 - Jesus calls 4 disciples; heals leper and paralytic; Levi (Matthew) called
LUKE 6 - Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath; 12 disciples chosen; judging; fruits; foundations
LUKE 7 - Centurion's servant healed; resurrection of widow's son; woman anoints Jesus' feet
LUKE 8 - Jesus calms a storm; heals a demon-possessed man; resurrects Jairus' daughter
LUKE 9 - Disciples preach; Jesus feeds 5,000; transfiguration; demon-possessed boy healed
LUKE 10 - Seventy sent to preach; cities rebuked; good Samaritan; visit to Mary and Martha
LUKE 11 - Concerning prayer; Jesus and Beelzebub; Pharisees and lawyers condemned
LUKE 12 - Confessing Jesus publicly; duties of watchful servants; warning against falling away
LUKE 13 - Barren fig tree; mustard seed faith; the narrow gate; Jesus' sorrow over Jerusalem
LUKE 14 - Jesus heals on Sabbath; teaching on humility; count the cost of discipleship; salt
LUKE 15 - Parables of the lost sheep; the lost coin; the rebellious (prodigal) son
LUKE 16- Parable of the unrighteous steward; divorce; story of the rich man and Lazarus
LUKE 17- Always forgive; ten lepers cleansed; return of Jesus likened to days of Noah
LUKE 18 - Pharisee and tax collector; Jesus resurrection foretold; earthly riches
LUKE 19 - Zacchaeus converted; parable of ten talents; Jesus' acclaimed entry into Jerusalem
LUKE 20 - Authority questioned; vine dressers; paying tribute (taxes); truth of resurrection
LUKE 21 - Widow's offering; End Times prophesied; Jesus' return; watch and always be ready
LUKE 22 - Judas' betrays Jesus; Last Supper; Peter denies Jesus; Jesus mocked, beaten
LUKE 23 - Jesus before Herod and Pilate; Jesus scourged, crucified; death and burial of
Jesus
LUKE 24 - Jesus' resurrection; road to Emmaus; disciples see Jesus; Jesus' ascension into Heaven
LUKE 1:1-4
1 In as much as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us,
2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us,
3 it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus,
4 that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.
Luke carefully researched the events of Jesus' life then wrote them in chronological order with great attention to detail.
Note that he also states that he will be speaking of "things which have been fulfilled among us", showing his belief and understanding of the ancient Biblical prophecies having been fulfilled in Jesus.
Much of his information must have come from the apostles who were with Jesus at the beginning and who were eyewitnesses as denoted by Luke. He may have also received information from Mary, James and others who were witnesses to Jesus' works, death and resurrection.
His writings are so carefully researched that archaeologists trust him virtually without question in his accuracy, and have used his writings to locate lost Biblical sites. And to date he has never been proven wrong.
The person named Theophilus to whom he was writing must have been an important figure, by the fact that Luke would do such careful research and detailed documentation concerning Jesus.
Luke was very well educated and his writings approach the Classical Greek in their style and text. Paul also states that Luke was a physician, which would have indicated a high education.
LUKE 1:5-7
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.
Luke in speaking of Herod the Great sets the timing of the events of which he tells us.
Both Zacharias and Elizabeth were of the tribe of Levi and both of the descendants of Aaron of the priesthood.
The priesthood had been split into divisions during the time of King David, with each division dedicated to certain functions.
I CHRONICLES 23:1-6
1 So when David was old and full of days, he made his son Solomon king over Israel.
2 And he gathered together all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and the Levites.
3 Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and above; and the number of individual males was thirty-eight thousand.
4 Of these, twenty-four thousand were to look after the work of the house of the LORD, six thousand were officers and judges,
5 four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand praised the LORD with musical instruments, "which I made," said David, "for giving praise."
6 Also David separated them into divisions among the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
LUKE 1:8-9
8 So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division,
9 according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
The priesthood had grown so great by the time of Jesus, and had so many priests that a priest might serve his Temple duty in his course only once in his life.
LUKE 1:10-12
10 And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense.
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
The altar of incense was inside the "holy place", the room just outside of the small room called the "Holy of Holies" where the Ark of the Covenant used to sit. (The Ark of the Covenant had been hidden by the priests during the siege of Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C. and had never been recovered)
Zacharias would have gone alone into the "holy place" to burn incense on the altar, which explains his fear when he suddenly saw someone standing beside the altar in what was a previously empty room.
LUKE 1:13-17
13 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
14 "And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.
15 "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.
16 "And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.
17 "He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
Several things of note here. First, the angel prophesies that the son of Zacharias and his wife will be a Nazirite, one who would be totally dedicated to God and would not be allowed to drink any kind of wine or alcohol. Also, he would be filled with the Holy Spirit from birth, something that had never happened before.
In Old Testament times, the Spirit of the Lord would sometimes come upon someone and empower them to do something, but had never filled anyone to that date. Samson was a prime example of this;
JUDGES 14:5-6
5 So Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and came to the vineyards of Timnah. Now to his surprise, a young lion came roaring against him.
6 And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.
Also Zacharias would have known that John would be the fulfillment of God's promises concerning the Messiah, for God had promised that before the coming of the Messiah, He would send a forerunner who would herald the Messiah's imminent arrival. This forerunner would come in the spirit and power of Elijah to prepare the people for the Messiah.
Scripture states;
MALACHI 3:1
1 "Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming," says the LORD of hosts.
MALACHI 4:5-6
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
6 And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse."
Note carefully several things here. First, in Malachi 3:1 it says that the Lord will suddenly come to His Temple. This means that the Messiah would have to appear before the destruction of the Second Temple.
The angel telling Zacharias that John would be the forerunner of the Messiah proves that the Messiah has already come to His Temple, as the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D.
Secondly, while it appears from Malachi that God would send Elijah back to Earth in the form of the messenger, the angel says he would come in the spirit and power of Elijah, not Elijah himself. Elijah's mission was to return idolatrous Israel to worshiping of the true God.
Note that neither God nor the angel stated that the messenger would perform the miracles that Elijah did.
I think a better rendition would be that the messenger would come with the same mission and in the same spirit as Elijah, who turned Israel from worshiping Ba'al to worshiping God.
LUKE 1:18-23
18 And Zacharias said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years."
19 And the angel answered and said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings.
20 "But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time."
21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple.
22 But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless.
23 So it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house.
Zacharias must have been stunned! This was the first time in four hundred years that God had spoken to the Jews. Imagine his surprise when God chose him to receive this message. Poor Zacharias, this would be enough to make a strong man skip a few heartbeats, let alone an old man! His shock and confusion are understandable.
This is one of the few times where the name of an angel is mentioned in Scripture. The fact that Gabriel gave his name is significant, for Israel knew of him from the prophecies of Daniel 500 years earlier. He gave his name as a confirmation of who he was.
For his unbelief, Zacharias was stricken mute until the birth and naming of his son John. Considering that Zacharias was a priest and probably a teacher of the Law, he should very well have known about Abraham and Sarah who through the power and promise of God had Isaac in their old age.
It is also fitting that the herald of the Messiah would be a descendant of Aaron whose descendants were chosen by God to minister to Him as priests. And by Zacharias having been chosen to receive this message he was in an influential position so that what he had seen would be known far and wide.
LUKE 1:24-25
24 Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying,
25 "Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people."
Back then, being barren was viewed as a punishment from God for sin in the life of a husband or wife. As such, a barren woman was looked down upon and scorned, for she was not raising sons for Israel.
However this is a wrong attitude, for God does things in His timing and for His reasons, and a woman being barren is not necessarily because of sin.
Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel also suffered scorn because she was barren;
1 SAMUEL 1:1-7
1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the mountains of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.
2 And he had two wives: the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
3 This man went up from his city yearly to worship and sacrifice to the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. Also the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there.
4 And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an offering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters.
5 But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the LORD had closed her womb.
6 And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the LORD had closed her womb.
7 So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat.
Elkanah's other wife badgered and mocked Hannah because she had no children. Those who know Scripture will remember that Abraham's wife Sarah suffered similar persecution from their servant Hagar.
But in the cases of Sarah, Hannah and Elisabeth, God closed their wombs for a very specific reason, and in each case rewarded them by granting that their sons would be great in Israel.
Elisabeth remained in her house for five months after becoming pregnant, as at her advanced age, pregnancy would be a taxing phenomenon. I also suspect that she wanted to keep the fact hidden until John's birth, so she could show the surprise to everyone.
LUKE 1:26-27
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
There has been much controversy concerning this fulfillment of Isaiah which states;
ISAIAH 7:13-14
13 Then he said, "Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also?
14 "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
There has been much noise among some scholars concerning the term "virgin", with some saying that the Hebrew word for virgin used here, "almah", merely means "a young girl, or young woman of marriageable age".
However, the term literally means "veiled" or "private" in relation to the young lady, and I believe that just as with our culture a virgin woman wears a veil to her wedding ceremony, this refers to the same thing in this case. Hold that thought for a moment.
What is interesting, is that in Genesis when Abraham sent his servant back to Haran to look for a wife for Isaac, the servant meets a young woman named Rebekah. Scripture says of her;
GENESIS 24:16
16 Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up.
The word for "virgin" used here, is "bethulah", meaning a young maid, a virgin. I think it is interesting that Scripture clarifies the word with the addition of "no man had known her".
This indicates that the word "bethulah" refers to a young woman or maiden, possibly a virgin, but the truth of her status would be yet unknown, except for the clarification of Scripture in this case.
The word used by Isaiah is "almah", meaning "veiled, private", referring to a young woman of marriageable age. Both terms seem to mean the same thing.
The clincher to the argument is in Genesis when Rebekah comes to meet her future husband, Isaac;
GENESIS 24:64-65
64 Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from her camel;
65 for she had said to the servant, "Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?" The servant said, "It is my master." So she took a veil and covered herself.
Combining the two parts of Genesis, we see that Rebekah was a young maiden (bethulah), a virgin who had not slept with any man. And when she saw her husband-to-be, she covered herself with a veil (almah) in the fashion of a virgin about to be married to her husband, just as virgin brides-to-be do today.
Thus we see that Isaiah was referring to a young virgin of marriageable age, when he spoke of the word "almah".
I find it difficult to understand why scholars have such a hard time believing in the "virgin birth", when these same scholars will defend with all their might that fact that God created Adam from the dust of the ground!
They would do well to remember God's admonition to Jeremiah;
JEREMIAH 32:26-27
26 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,
27 "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?
LUKE 1:28-33
28 And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"
29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.
30 Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.
32 "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
33 "And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."
Here Mary is given the honor of being the chosen vessel who would bring the promised Redeemer into the world, an honor hoped for by Jewish women down through history since the original prophecy of Isaiah concerning the event.
There had been no king of the line of David on the throne of Judah since Zedekiah who had been taken during the Babylonian captivity over 500 years earlier.
After the captivity, Israel and Judah had been ruled by governors such as Zerubbabel until the Greeks under Alexander the Great conquered Judah in 332 B.C.
Alexander spread Hellenism (Greek thought and customs) in all of the lands he conquered, and many Jews adopted Greek customs and culture, causing much strife between the Jews who wished to retain Judaism and those adopting Greek ways.
The Jews finally threw off Greek rule with the defeat of Seleucid king Antiochus Ephiphanes in 165 B.C.
Then in 143 B.C., Simon Maccabaeus of the house of Hasmon was named both high priest and ethnarch (vassal king).
This led to the rise of the Sadducees, aristocratic Hellenistic Jews, and ruling kings (ethnarchs) who ruled with permission of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire.
Later, the conquering Romans would install puppet kings (such as Herod the Great) on the throne of Israel (Judea and Galilee) who ruled only by permission of the reigning Caesar.
So when Mary was told that her Son would inherit the throne of king David, this would be the fulfillment of God's promises to David 1,000 years earlier, when He had said;
2 SAMUEL 7:1-16
1 Now it came to pass when the king was dwelling in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies all around,
2 that the king said to Nathan the prophet, "See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains."
3 Then Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you."
4 But it happened that night that the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying,
5 "Go and tell My servant David, 'Thus says the LORD: "Would you build a house for Me to dwell in?
6 "For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle.
7 "Wherever I have moved about with all the children of Israel, have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, 'Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?'"'
8 "Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts: "I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel.
9 "And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth.
10 "Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously,
11 "since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the LORD tells you that He will make you a house.
12 "When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 "He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
14 "I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.
15 "But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.
16 "And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever."'"
Note that in verse 11, God tells David that He will "make you a house", meaning that David's lineage would become a dynasty, and that his descendants would rule over Israel. (Later, after the destruction of the rebel Northern Kingdom of Israel in 720 B.C. by the Assyrians, the line of David would rule over the tribes of Judah and Benjamin)
Some believe that verses 12-16 above refer to Solomon, but some sharp differences prove otherwise:
1. Solomon's kingdom wasn't established forever - 10 tribes of Israel rebelled against Solomon's son Rehoboam after Solomon's death and they seceded as a punishment from God because of Solomon's sins of marrying multiple foreign wives and worshiping their pagan gods in violation of the Law of Moses.
2. Solomon was never beaten with a rod for his sins, even though he was considered by God to be an evil king. As Scripture says of him;
1 KINGS 11:1-13
1 But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites
2 from the nations of whom the LORD had said to the children of Israel, "You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods." Solomon clung to these in love.
3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.
4 For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David.
5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
6 Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not fully follow the LORD, as did his father David.
7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon.
8 And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
9 So the LORD became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the LORD God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,
10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the LORD had commanded.
11 Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, "Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.
12 "Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son.
13 "However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen."
The line of Davidic kings through Solomon ended when Zedekiah, son of Jehoiakim was taken to Babylon by king Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C. God said of Zedekiah (also known as Jeconiah);
JEREMIAH 22:24-30
24 "As I live," says the LORD, "though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were the signet on My right hand, yet I would pluck you off;
25 "and I will give you into the hand of those who seek your life, and into the hand of those whose face you fear, the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the hand of the Chaldeans.
26 "So I will cast you out, and your mother who bore you, into another country where you were not born; and there you shall die.
27 "But to the land to which they desire to return, there they shall not return.
28 "Is this man Coniah a despised, broken idol, a vessel in which is no pleasure? Why are they cast out, he and his descendants, and cast into a land which they do not know?
29 O Earth, Earth, Earth, hear the word of the LORD!
30 Thus says the LORD: 'Write this man down as childless, a man who shall not prosper in his days; for none of his descendants shall prosper, sitting on the throne of David, and ruling anymore in Judah.'"
Note carefully that God says that the last king (Jeconiah/Zedekiah) would be childless, seemingly indicating that there would no longer be any Davidic kings sitting on the throne of Judah. This seems to violate God's promise to David that a son would come after him who would rule from his throne forever.
I need to jump ahead a bit to complete this issue.
God had given the throne of David to Solomon, but Solomon had an younger brother named Nathan. Thus when the line of Solomon ended in Jeconiah/Zedekiah, there was still a line of David eligible for the throne. And we will see in chapter 3 that Jesus' adoptive father Joseph was of the line of Nathan, Solomon's brother.
LUKE 1:34-38
34 Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?"
35 And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
36 "Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.
37 "For with God nothing will be impossible."
38 Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
This shows tremendous faith on Mary's part, believing what the angel had told her. Note that there is nothing described to show that she knew it was an angel that spoke to her. No shining light, no wings on the angel, no strange phenomena. Just someone who appeared to be a man who spoke to her.
I think the angel told her of Elizabeth's pregnancy to verify his words as God-given, for Elizabeth had hidden herself, and no one yet knew of her pregnancy.
I find it fascinating also, that the one who would become John the Baptist was of the line of the priests, who would naturally be the heralds of the Lord, who would seek to turn the hearts of the people to the Lord, to prepare them for His coming.
Notice that while Mary listened and was unsure of just how this was going to happen; she still had faith that the Lord would accomplish the words spoken by His messenger. We need to remember this, when the Lord tells us to do something or tells us what will happen in a situation. We don't have to understand, just believe.
LUKE 1:39-45
39 Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah,
40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
43 "But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 "For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
45 "Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord."
If Mary had any lingering doubts, they must have been dispelled with Elizabeth's greeting.
Elizabeth couldn't have known of Mary's pregnancy except through the Holy Spirit, and Elizabeth's greeting of Mary as the mother of the Messiah confirmed the words of the angel to her.
LUKE 1:46-47
46 And Mary said: "My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
I need to mention something important here. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that Mary was born sinless, and thus was the chosen vessel by God to bear His Son. Yet Mary confesses in verse 47 that God is her Savior. If she were truly sinless, why would she have need for a Savior?
Remember Paul's admonition, made long after Mary's birth;
ROMANS 3:9-18
9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.
10 As it is written: There is none righteous, no, not one;
11 There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God.
12 They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one.
13 Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have practiced deceit"; the poison of asps is under their lips;
14 whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.
15 Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 destruction and misery are in their ways;
17 and the way of peace they have not known.
18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.
ROMANS 3:23
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(For more information please see the study in this Website dealing with the issue of Mary in Catholic doctrine.)
LUKE 1:48-56
48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; for behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name.
50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty.
54 He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever."
56 And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.
Notice that Mary is very humble before the Lord. She knows that God is using her as a vessel of honor, but never did she try to raise her status to anything greater because she carried and raised the Son of God.
The Roman Catholic Church has granted Mary special powers over Jesus, but this is a false doctrine. Mary never told Jesus what He had to do once He was an adult, nor did He treat her any different than any other sinner in need of salvation.
LUKE 1:57-65
57 Now Elizabeth's full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son.
58 When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her.
59 So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias.
60 His mother answered and said, "No; he shall be called John."
61 But they said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name."
62 So they made signs to his father what he would have him called.
63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, "His name is John." So they all marveled.
64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God.
65 Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea.
The shame attached to being childless had been removed from Elizabeth. The wording of Scripture shows that she kept her pregnancy a secret until John had been born.
It was customary to name a first-born male child after the name of the father, but both Zacharias and Elizabeth were faithful to God's commandment through the angel Gabriel to name him John. And with Zacharias’ obedience to this commandment, God's punishment for his disbelief was finished. The first words out of Zacharias' mouth were praises to God, for His blessing and mercy to them.
LUKE 1:66-80
66 And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, "What kind of child will this be?" And the hand of the Lord was with him.
67 Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
68 "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people,
69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David,
70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been since the world began,
71 That we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,
72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant,
73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
74 To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
76 "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins,
78 through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."
80 So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
John would be a prophet of the Lord and the promised herald who would prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
LUKE 2:1-5
1 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.
3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.
4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,
5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.
There has been nothing found in Roman annals concerning this tax, although the famous Jewish historian Josephus verifies this tax in his writings, and agrees that Quirinius was charged by Caesar to perform this duty.
Scholars have long had a hard time believing that people scattered across the Empire would need to return home to be registered and taxed.
And there was no physical evidence that Quirinius (some versions call him Cyrenius) ruled Syria during this time.
However, several items of interest have recently come to light to again prove the validity of Scripture.
In 104 A.D. a Roman prefect (governor) of Egypt created a document which stated;
Gaius Vibius Maximus, prefect of Egypt:
Seeing that the time has come for the house to house census, it is necessary to compel all those who for any cause are residing out of their provinces to return to their own homes, that they may both carry out the regular order of the census, and may also attend diligently to the cultivation of their allotments.
A census is a count of people in an area; "cultivation of their allotments" is a flowery term for "pay their taxes". It is well known that the Caesars heavily taxed the Empire, so I find it difficult to believe that scholars would have such a problem with the concept of a Empire-wide census and tax.
Note that Gaius Vibius Maximus stated that those living "outside of their provinces" were to be compelled (forced) to return home to be registered, counted and taxed.
Caesar Augustus needed a census of his vast empire to know the number of people to be taxed, these taxes were based on possessions such as land, and their occupation.
The tax collectors were given a table showing the amount of taxes to collect based on occupation, business and land holdings, and anything above that amount collected were kept as profits by the tax collectors. This made the tax-collectors among the most hated people in the Empire.
Roman coins recovered in Syria have shown Quirinius to have been governor of Syria starting in 6 A.D. The book of Matthew states that Jesus was born during the days of Herod the Great, and it is known that Herod the Great died in 4 B.C., so this created quite a quandary for historians and scholars to try to reconcile.
However, recently coins have been found with the name "Quirinius" engraved in micro script, dated 11 B.C., stating that he was the proconsul (governor) of Syria and Cilicia. This shows that Quirinius was appointed two different times as governor of Syria, one time being during the time that Jesus was born.
So again, the validity of Scripture and the careful devotion to detail and the truth by Luke are proven.
LUKE 2:6-7
6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
This I think shows how God does things in ways that Man would not. If Man had written this story, the birth of the King of Kings would have been a glorious event, surrounded by miracles and fantastic phenomena. Yet God decreed that His Son, the Creator and Savior of the world, the King of Kings was to be born in a humble stable, and placed of all places in a feeding trough!
There was no room left at the inn because of the huge influx of people coming there for the census.
By this token, it is clear as to why Babylonian and Chinese astronomical records do not record any unusual event such as a comet or supernova which could be called the "star of Bethlehem." If God had Jesus born in a stable and placed in a feeding trough, would He create a glorious and majestic star to herald His birth?
Remember, the visiting "wise men" spoken of by Matthew were astrologers (as well as astronomers), so the position of the planets in the Zodiac were important to them, and it was more than likely the position of a planet in the sky that brought them to Bethlehem. Stars are fixed in the sky and do not move (at least not enough to be seen by us in our lifetimes).
Planets however do change positions in the sky from night to night, depending on their orbital position in reference to the Earth. And in 7 B.C. there was a close conjunction of planets Venus, Mars and Jupiter that could have been the "Star of Bethlehem". (For more information on the "Star of Bethlehem" and Jesus' birth, please see the study on the subject in this site.)
Being astrologers, the "wise men" could have calculated in advance when the conjunction would happen and where it would appear to be directly overhead, and it could very well have been this that brought them to Bethlehem.
Note: Joseph kept Mary a virgin until Jesus was born. However, contrary to Roman Catholic teachings Mary did not remain a virgin for the rest of her life. We know she hadat least 6 children after Jesus, four sons and at least 2 daughters.
LUKE 2:8-20
8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.
10 Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
11 "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12 "And this will be the sign to you: You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger."
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"
15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us."
16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.
18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.
20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.
Those poor shepherds! Can you imagine their shock and terror at what they saw? Imagine being out the fields, watching over your sheep. The sky is brilliant with stars, and the Fall air is becoming chilly, promising the soon coming of frost. Your thoughts wander sleepily as you stare at the night sky, and you idly think over preparations that need to be made for sheltering your flock during the coming winter.
Suddenly the sky lights up, and is filled with angels praising God, and the glory of God illuminates the Earth about you. You realize that you're not dreaming as you hear the frightened shouts of your companions indicating that they see it too.
Then you hear the stunning message for which Man had been waiting for thousands of years, that the Messiah had been born and you are told to go see Him, and bear witness of His birth! What an honor, to be chosen by God to witness this great event!
The importance of this event to them is shown by the fact that the left their flocks to go and see the baby who was to be the Son of God. Shepherds never left their flocks unattended, especially at night, when wolves and other predators were likely to attack. But they did so, believing that God would protect their flocks while they were gone.
Note that God didn't go to the priests, learned scholars, or the doctors of the Law to proclaim the message of the birth of His Son. He went to the poor and humble, those who would accept the message in reverent faith, those who depended on God daily for their food and shelter.
This also confirmed to Joseph the truth of the dream he'd had concerning the child that Mary bore.
We aren't certain on what actual date Jesus was born but it is interesting that Yom Kippur, the great Day of Atonement in which the Jews confess their sins as a nation, and the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies in the Temple to atone for the sins of the nation occurs in the month of Tishri (September/October).
And it would be fitting that God would have His Son born on the Day of Atonement, seeing as how Jesus 33 years later would become the only acceptable atonement before God for the sins of the world.
So why does the world celebrate Jesus' birth on December 25th ?
The reason the world celebrates Jesus' birth on December 25th is because this is a date set by the Roman Catholic Church in the latter part of the 4th century A.D., and coincides with an old pagan Greek and Roman festival celebrating the return of the sun from the Winter solstice (called the Nativity of the Sun). (Many other ancient cultures had similar celebrations)
Pagan belief was that the sun god (called "Sol") traveled South to "die" each winter, and through sacrifices and prayers was "reborn" at which time it returned northward to bring light and heat again. It was a time of great celebration, feasts and the exchanging of presents to celebrate the sun god's "birth/rebirth".
The Roman Catholic Church created the Christmas holiday to bring pagans into the Church, yet still allow them to keep their pagan holiday.
In fact, concerning the "Christmas" date the Catholic Encyclopedia says, "The well-known feast of "Natalis Invicti", celebrated on 25 December, has a strong claim on the responsibility for our December date". (The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p.727) Natalis Invicti means "the Nativity of the Unconquered Sun".
Apparently there was much confusion among the pagan "Christians" concerning this holiday, as scholars such as Tertullian and Augustine vehemently asserted to their constituents that Jesus was not Sol, the "sun god".
So is it coincidence that the birth date set by the Roman Catholic Church for the "Nativity" of Jesus, and the ancient Greco/Roman "Nativity" of the sun god Sol are the same? The fact that both were "born" during this time, both bringing light and life to the world?
The fact that the shepherds still had their flocks in the fields at night indicates that it was not yet winter when the angel appeared, proclaiming the birth of the Messiah.
The year that Jesus was born is significant for several reasons. When Jesus was born, there had been no word from the Lord for 400 years, after the last great prophecies of Malachi. However, Malachi stated that several events would happen when the Messiah came.
MALACHI 3:1
1 "Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming," says the LORD of hosts.
First, a messenger would come, proclaiming the coming of the promised Messiah. That's why John the Baptist caused so much excitement among the Jews when he appeared, proclaiming the coming of the promised Redeemer. They were well aware of Malachi's prophecy and knew that when the messenger appeared, the Messiah would follow soon after.
Secondly, He would suddenly appear at His Temple. The Jewish people have a tradition that the Messiah will appear at the end of time and will build the Third Temple. (Solomon built the First Temple and Zerubabbel built the Second Temple (Herod the Great expanded and modified the Second Temple, so it is still considered the Second Temple).
This means that Jesus appeared at the Temple as prophesied before it was destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Roman Tenth and Thirteenth Legions, and there has been no Temple since then. And if the Messiah is to build the Third Temple as tradition states, how can He build it, yet suddenly appear at it as Malachi prophesied?
Therefore the Messiah had to appear at the Temple before its destruction in 70 A.D. to fulfill Malachi's prophecy.
Next, the prophet Daniel had been told that from the utterance of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem after it's destruction by the Babylonians, to the coming of the Messiah would be 483 years.
Note carefully that the prophetic time frame was based from the command to rebuild Jerusalem, not the Temple! (The Temple was rebuilt first)
DANIEL 9:21-26
21 yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering.
22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, "O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand.
23 "At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision:
24 "Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.
25 "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.
26 "And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined.
This set a solid time frame in which the Messiah needed to appear, and Jesus made His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, hailed as the Messiah, exactly 483 years later, just as prophesied.
Finally, just as the Jews spent 430 years in Egypt without word from the Lord until Moses arrived, Malachi made his last prophecy 400 years before Jesus' birth, so that when He began His ministry at the age of 30, again the word of the Lord came to the Jews after 430 years of silence.
LUKE 2:21-35
21 And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called JESUS, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
22 Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord
23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the LORD"),
24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, "A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."
25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
27 So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law,
28 he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:
29 "Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word;
30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation
31 Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
32 A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel."
33 And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him.
34 Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, "Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against
35 "(yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."
Mary was ritually unclean after having a baby according to the Law of Moses, therefore she needed to bring a sacrifice to the Temple to atone for her uncleanness before the Lord.
Again, God confirms the birth of His Son through Simeon, and ensured that Simeon's words were spoken in the Temple where many would hear. The sword that he spoke of as piercing Mary's soul, was to be the spoken Word of God through the Holy Spirit, as the author of the Book of Hebrews confirms;
HEBREWS 4:12
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
LUKE 2:36-40
36 Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity;
37 and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
38 And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
39 So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.
40 And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.
This is a tremendous tribute to Anna, the prophetess, for Luke speaks with admiration of her, saying that she was 84 years old, and had been widowed after having a husband for only 7 years.
Most women of that era married when they were about 14-15, so she was probably about 21-22 years old when she was widowed.
She had spent the rest of the time in the Temple, devoted to the Lord and had not married again but served the Lord with prayer and fasting, and God had rewarded her with the gift of prophecy.
This was also done so that seeing as she was well-known by the people as a prophetess, they would pay close heed to her words concerning the child.
LUKE 2:41-45
41 His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.
42 And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast.
43 When they had finished the days, as they returned, the boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it;
44 but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day's journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances.
45 So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him.
The caravans of that time were very large, often over fifty people traveled together. This was for safety reasons mainly, as robbers wouldn't usually attack large caravans.
Also they would all be going to the same feast in Jerusalem and they could celebrate with family and friends. I'm sure that Joseph and Mary assumed that Jesus, being twelve years old was simply visiting with other friends or family elsewhere in the caravan. Imagine their panic in not finding Him!
LUKE 2:46-47
46 Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.
47 And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers.
These teachers were learned men and Jesus astounded them with His wisdom and understanding of the Law. He knew what questions to ask to get the teachers to think about what God really meant concerning His Word.
LUKE 2:48-52
48 So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, "Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously."
49 And He said to them, "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?"
50 But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.
51 Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart.
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
His parents were seeing Him as a child, not as the Son of God. But until He became a man, He submitted himself to His parents as God commanded in the Law.
LUKE 3:1-6
1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,
2 while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.
3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins,
4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth;
6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"
After the death of Herod the Great in 4 B.C., Caesar Augustus had split Israel into separate provinces and appointed Herod's children to be rulers, with the exception of Judea (Judah), which was considered a hotbed of rebellion and was to remain under direct Roman governorship.
Thus Herod Antipas, and Herod Philip ruled "tetrarches", portions of the original kingdom of Israel and Judah, with Herod Antipas taking Galilee to the north, and Philip having lands to the east and north of Galilee.
Over 600 years earlier Isaiah had prophesied that someone would be sent to prepare the way for the Messiah. This person would come in the spirit and power of Elijah, but would not be Elijah himself.
John the Baptist served the Lord with all his heart and had no fear to stand before the kings of the Earth and speak the words of God, even if it meant his death. He began to bring the hearts of the Jews back to the Lord, just as Elijah did in his time. John was preparing the people for the coming Messiah, as prophesied.
Note carefully also that there were two High Priests in office simultaneously, mentioned by Luke in verse 2. When the Romans conquered Judea (Judah) in 63 B.C., they began appointing who would be the High Priest and the position quickly became a political office more so than religious, and was usually controlled by the Sadducees.
Annas, a corrupt, rich and powerful Sadducee had been appointed to the High Priesthood by Quirinius, the Roman governor of Syria in 7 A.D., but Annas had been forced to resign when Augustus Caesar died in 14 A.D.
Tiberius Caesar (who assumed power after Augustus' death) appointed a man named Valerius Gratus to be governor of Judea, and Gratus in turn appointed a number of people (Annas' relatives, "coincidentally"), until 18 A.D. when he chose Annas' son-in-law Joseph ben Caiaphas who would be the reigning High Priest (under Annas) during Jesus' time.
By manipulating the political appointees to the High Priesthood and "keeping it in the family", Annas remained the true "power behind the throne" of the High Priesthood, and thus retained control of lucrative offices like the Temple money-changers until the beginning of the final Jewish war with Rome in 66 A.D.
Some Jews held that Annas was the true High Priest, while others, like the equally notorious Pharisees believed him to be unfit for the position.
LUKE 3:7-11
7 Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8 "Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
9 "And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."
10 So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?"
11 He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."
John told the people that they must repent and follow the Lord to be saved. Being a Jew isn't enough to grant you access to Heaven, for Jews are sinners as much as any Gentile. Repenting isn't enough either, as it is the first step in obedience to the Lord. You must also obey and follow the Lord and His commandments to be saved.
Note: the people that came to be baptized were old enough to make their own decision to be baptized and repent, they were not infants!!! The decision to repent cannot be made by an infant. And while a parent can dedicate a child to the Lord, the decision to repent and follow the Lord must be made by each person individually. Nobody else can make the decision for you, it is only between you and God!
LUKE 3:12-14
12 Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"
13 And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you."
14 Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?" So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages."
It was proper for the tax collectors to collect a reasonable wage for their services, but most tax collectors were very rich men from exacting taxes above and beyond what was required by Roman law.
Soldiers likewise could falsely accuse someone and if convicted they could take the persons' possessions and many became wealthy doing this to others.
LUKE 3:15-18
15 Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not,
16 John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
17 "His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire."
18 And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.
John was preparing the people to meet the long awaited Messiah, while proclaiming that he was not the promised Messiah. John was humble and let the people know that the Messiah will be far more than John would ever be. He also tells the people to look for the Messiah and follow Him wherever He leads them.
Many of the people John and Jesus preached to were not very well educated, so they spoke in allegories so that the people could understand the concepts they were trying to get across.
In ancient times, wheat stalks were taken and beaten on a blanket or stone floor to remove the grain from the chaff. Then the resulting mix was tossed into the air when the wind was blowing to remove the useless chaff from the grain, or the mix was fanned by hand to do the same. The chaff in turn was burned for fuel.
In this fashion, John was speaking of how the coming Messiah would separate the wicked from the just in a format the common people could relate to.
LUKE 3:19-20
19 But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,
20 also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.
Herodias was still married to Herod's brother Philip, even though Herod Antipas and Herodias were living together. John had embarrassed them by proclaiming that this was not right in the sight of God.
Herodias wanted to be with Herod Antipas because he was more powerful, richer and more ambitious than her husband. I suspect she thought he could eventually rule all of the territory of his father Herod the Great.
Herod thought he could shut John up by imprisoning him, and by so doing put away the embarrassment of John's accusations. I suspect also that Herod thought John intended to stir up the people against him and put John in prison as an example to the people.
LUKE 3:21-22
21 When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.
22 And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."
Jesus had to be baptized to fulfill the Fathers will, and set an example for those of us who would follow Him. Note that the Father, Son and Spirit are all separated here, but each are still God. Scripture states that the Spirit descended like a dove, it doesn't say it was a dove.
LUKE 3:23
23 Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli,
Luke gives us the genealogy of Mary the mother of Jesus; from Jesus through Adam in Luke 3:23-38, while Matthew gives us the genealogy of Joseph the father of Jesus; from Abraham through Jesus in Matthew 1:2-16.
It is interesting to note that both Joseph and Mary were both descended from King David and from Judah, as was prophesied of the Messiah.
Heli (Greek) "God is High" (Hebrew "Eli"). He was the father of Mary; father-in-law of Joseph and the maternal grandfather of Jesus. Mary was the daughter of Heli and since the genealogy was listed by men only, Joseph being the husband of Mary would be listed as the son of Heli.
LUKE 3:24
24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Janna, the son of Joseph,
Matthat "Gift"
Melchi "My King"
Joseph "Increaser"
Levi "Joined"
Janna - meaning is unknown
LUKE 3:25
25 the son of Mattathiah, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai,
Mattathiah "Gift of Jehovah"
Nahum "Compassionate"
Naggai "Splendor"
Amos "Burden"
Esli "Reserved"
LUKE 3:26
26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathiah, the son of Semei, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah,
Maath "Small"
Semei (Greek form of Hebrew name Shimei) "Jehovah hear me"
Judah "Praise"
Mattathiah "Gift of Jehovah"
Joseph "Increaser"
LUKE 3:27
27 the son of Joannas, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri,
Joannas "God-given"
Rhesa "Jehovah Heals"
Zerubbabel "Seed of Babylon" (He rebuilt the Temple after the Babylonian captivity)
Shealtiel “I have asked God"
Neri "Whose Lamp is Jehovah"
LUKE 3:28
28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er,
Melchi "My King"
Addi "Ornament"
Cosam "Diviner"
Elmodam "Measure"
Er "watcher"
LUKE 3:29
29 the son of Jose, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,
Jose (Greek form of Hebrew name Joshua) "Jehovah is Salvation"
Eliezer "God of Help"
Jorim (shortened version of Hebrew name Jehoram) "Jehovah is High"
Matthat "Gift"
Levi "Joined"
LUKE 3:30
30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim,
Simeon "Hearing"
Judah "Praise"
Joseph "Increaser"
Jonan "Grace"
Eliakim "God will Establish"
LUKE 3:31
31 the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattathah, the son of Nathan, the son of David,
Melea "Full"
Menan - meaning is unknown
Mattathah "Gift"
Nathan "God has Given" Son of King David and Bathsheba; younger brother to King Solomon. (Remember, the line of kings from Solomon's lineage had ended when king Zedekiah was taken to Babylon. Therefore the kingly line of David would have to come from Nathan, Solomon's brother.)
David "Beloved" This is the king David of the Old Testament, he who was promised by God that the Messiah would come from his descendants.
LUKE 3:32
32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon,
Jesse "Jehovah exists; wealthy" (King David's father.)
Obed "Servant"
Boaz "Fleetness; strength" (also called "Booz"); son of Salmon and Rahab the harlot from Jericho; husband of Ruth ("Friendship; Companion") the Moabite (of the Old Testament book of Ruth). Ruth was King David's great grandmother.
Salmon "Strength", husband of Rahab the harlot (also known as Rachab) "Broad" who hid the Hebrew spies when the Israelites came to destroy Jericho.
Nahshon "Oracle"
In Old testament times, the lineage of the child was decided by the father's genealogy. This all changed after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 A.D. when the Rabbis decided that only the mother that gave birth could be proven to be the parent, and the line should be decided by the line of the mother, not the father as God had determined since Adam and Eve.
LUKE 3:33
33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,
Amminadab "My people are willing or noble"
Ram "Exalted"
Hezron "Blooming"
Perez "Bursting through" (also known as Pharez or Phares)
Judah "Praise" Judah's three older brothers (Reuben, Simeon and Levi) committed sins so abhorrent that the blessing of the Messiah coming through their lines was passed over them and given to Judah.
Tamar delivered twin sons of Judah: Perez and Zerah. The line of Perez was the line from which Jesus would come.
LUKE 3:34
34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,
Jacob "Supplanter" God renamed him Israel "God strives".
Isaac "Laughter"
Abraham "Father of multitudes" God renamed him from Abram "the father is exalted" to Abraham.
Terah "Turning; Duration"
Nahor "Piercer", father of Terah, making him Abraham's grandfather
LUKE 3:35
35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah,
Serug "Strength; firmness"
Reu "Friendship"
Peleg "Division" Considering the time and location in which Peleg lived, the division referred to in his name could refer to the forming of the Red Sea.
Thousands of years ago, the Jordan rift valley split open allowing the salt water to invade from the Indian ocean to form the Red Sea. This also caused the drowning of the southern Jordan riverbed (the Pishon river from Genesis 2:11 that flowed from the Garden of Eden).
Eber "The other side; across"
Shelah "Petition; Sprout"
LUKE 3:36
36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,
Cainan "Acquired"
Arphaxad - (Meaning unknown)
Shem "Name; Renown" Father of the Semitic and Asian peoples. He was one of only eight humans to survive the Great Flood. The eldest of Noah's three sons, his brothers were Ham and Japheth, in that order. It is very likely that all three brothers were triplets, as they were born when Noah was five hundred years old.
Noah "Rest" He was commissioned by God to build the Ark to save mankind and the animals and birds from the Great Flood.
Lamech "Strong Youth; Overthrower", father of Noah
LUKE 3:37
37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Cainan,
Methuselah "Man of the dart (arrow)" At 969 years, he was the longest living man in human history.
Enoch "Mortal" He is one of two men in Scripture that did not die but was taken by the Lord, the second one being the prophet Elijah.
Jared "Descending"
Mahalalel "God is splendor"
Cainan "Acquired"
LUKE 3:38
38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
Enosh "Mortal"
Seth "Compensation; Sprout" He was born to replace Abel who was murdered by Cain; the line of Jesus would come through this line.
Adam "Of the Ground; Firm" Adam was hand-made by God, and was perfect. Adam and his wife Eve are the only two humans to have lived in the Garden of Eden and who walked and talked to God face to face, with no separation between their spirit and flesh.
LUKE 4:1-2
1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
If you notice, Luke is careful to state that Jesus was tempted for all 40 days, not just experiencing the three temptations we see listed below. He needed to be tempted in every way that we are, so He could truly experience things as we do, and to fully understand what it was like to be human.
Being God, he could not sin, but He can understand how we are tempted by sin and therefore can be a merciful Judge to us.
LUKE 4:3-4
3 And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."
4 But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'"
Note that Satan first questions the deity of Jesus. "IF you are the Son of God...." Satan knew very well that He was the Son of God. Also notice that when Jesus quotes Scripture, He quoted the written Law, not the "Oral Law" used by the Pharisees.
While many Rabbis even today follow the "Oral law", which is subject to change, the written Law could not be changed as the original Hebrew is a dead language and can't change, just as God had intended.
Jesus took each physical temptation and answered with a spiritual answer, just as we should when we are tempted. Jesus' answer to this one is found in........
DEUTERONOMY 8:3
3 "So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.
LUKE 4:5-8
5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
7 "Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."
8 And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"
Jesus didn't deny that Satan owned the world and as such he had the right to give the world to whom he wished.
In this case, he spoke the truth. Satan gained legal possession of the Earth and everything and everyone in it when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. Instead Jesus disputed the idea of worshiping anyone except God, referring to;
EXODUS 20:1-6
1 And God spoke all these words, saying:
2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 You shall not make for yourself a carved image any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
5 You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
LUKE 4:9-13
9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.
10 "For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,'
11 "and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"
12 And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"
13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.
Notice that Satan keeps questioning Jesus' deity. Satan accurately quotes Psalms 91:11-12, but out of context, thereby twisting it's meaning. The Scripture in context says:
PSALMS 91:1-16
1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust."
3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence.
4 He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you.
8 Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
10 No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.
12 In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
14 "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation."
LUKE 4:14-30
14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.
15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
18 "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."
20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
21 And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
22 So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"
23 He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"
24 Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.
25 "But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land;
26 "but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.
27 "And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."
28 So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
29 and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.
30 Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.
Jesus healed and performed miracles according to the faith people had in Him. Here in His hometown there was little to no faith. Your family and friends can be the most difficult ones to witness to, because they are judging your knowledge and faith in God by your past. The sad part is that when God judges these people, He will judge them by the same standard by which they judged others.
MATTHEW 7:1-2
1 "Judge not, that you be not judged.
2 "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
The people who knew that Joseph was an illiterate carpenter were astonished that Jesus had miraculous powers, great wisdom, and could read, all while never having been taught to read. So they were jealous and offended, feeling that He was "showing off".
God forgives us for our past and teaches us what we need to know to serve Him, so don't let others discourage you from doing the Lord's bidding.
LUKE 4:31-37
31 Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.
32 And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.
33 Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice,
34 saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are the Holy One of God!"
35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!" And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.
36 Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."
37 And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.
Galilee was a heavily Greek-cultured area. When the area of Galilee was conquered by Alexander the Great, many Greeks settled there in 10 cities known as the Decapolis (Greek for "10 cities").
When scribes would teach; they would teach every opinion known for each Scripture. But Jesus read the Scripture and then told them exactly what it meant. The people had never anything like this before.
Jesus commanded the demons to be quiet because He didn't want them testifying of Him. Jesus wanted people to listen to Him, and believe through His teachings and words.
LUKE 4:38-41
38 Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house. But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her.
39 So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them.
40 When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.
41 And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!" And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.
Oddly enough, Luke skips over Jesus choosing His disciples, and skips to a point of where He apparently already knew Simon Peter. However the apostle John records Jesus' first meeting with Peter, John, and Andrew, Peter's brother in the first chapter of John's Gospel.
Note carefully that his Scripture also shows that Simon Peter was married, as he had a mother-in-law. The Catholic Church falsely claims that Peter was the first Pope, yet Catholic doctrine does not allow their priests to marry. (For more on why Peter was not the first Pope, please refer to the study of the issue in this Web site
LUKE 4:42-44
42 Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them;
43 but He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent."
44 And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.
Jesus always kept on track. He knew why He was on Earth and knew He had a job to complete. We need to remember this in our lives also. Sometimes we can be distracted from the task God has set before us, and we must be watchful to stay on task.
LUKE 5:1-11
1 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret,
2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.
3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.
4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."
5 But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net."
6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.
7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"
9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken;
10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men."
11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.
This incident more fully explains Matthew's story of how Jesus met Peter, Andrew, James and John. Matthew says;
MATTHEW 4:18-22
18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
19 Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."
20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them,
22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
The reason why James and John were mending their nets in the Matthew account was because of the great number of fish they had just caught as detailed by Luke. Matthew for some reason mysteriously leaves out the fact that Jesus already knew Peter, Andrew, and John before He called them to follow Him, but the apostle John records Jesus' first meeting with Peter and Andrew in the first chapter of the Gospel of John.
And Luke's account also explains why Zebedee apparently didn't object to James and John leaving to follow Jesus. Chances are very good that Zebedee had seen what had happened with the massive load of fish and had no objection to his sons following Jesus after seeing such a miracle.
LUKE 5:12-16
12 And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."
13 Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately the leprosy left him.
14 And He charged him to tell no one, "But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded."
15 However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.
16 So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.
Leprosy in those days was a horrifying incurable deadly disease in which the flesh literally rotted away, creating disfigurement and open running sores. These people were to live apart from everyone, and they had to shout "Unclean! Unclean!" wherever they went, so people could avoid them. Even today there is no cure for leprosy.
This leper had monumental faith and courage to come to Jesus and ask for healing, believing that Jesus could do this.
Many Rabbis today say that Jesus could not be the promised Messiah because He didn't keep the Law, yet here in accordance with the Law of Moses He commands the leper to offer the sacrifice for his cleansing required by the Law, and to show the priests the proof of his cleansing as required by the Law so that the former leper could rejoin society.
LUKE 5:17-26
17 Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
18 Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him.
19 And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.
20 When He saw their faith, He said to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."
21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts?
23 "Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Rise up and walk'?
24 "But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" He said to the man who was paralyzed, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."
25 Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.
26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, "We have seen strange things today!"
Only God has the authority to forgive our sins. No man (including priests) has the power to forgive sin.
However, if someone sins against you, you can forgive them for their transgressions against yourself, but you cannot forgive the sins committed against the Lord or against others. The person must still go before the Lord to ask forgiveness from the Lord for their transgressions committed against Him. And in like manner the person needs to go and ask forgiveness of the person(s) they have sinned against.
Every sin we commit is a sin of disobedience and rebellion against the Lord. This is why the Catholic Church cannot absolve anyone of their sins as they claim they do, as this goes against Scripture.
By forgiving this man's sin, Jesus was showing that He was truly the Son of God, the Messiah they had been waiting for, for so many centuries. And He showed them that He had both the power to forgive sins and to heal, verifying that He was God.
It is interesting that the four men were so devoted to their paralyzed friend that they broke up the tile roof over Jesus' head and lowered the man in front of Jesus which probably angered many (including the owner of the dwelling). But Jesus looked at their faith, not at their method.
LUKE 5:27-28
27 After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me."
28 So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.
Notice that Matthew left everything behind and followed Jesus. He didn't ask to finish what he was doing first or tell Jesus that he would join Him in a little while when it would be more convenient, but he left books, collected taxes, everything, and went with Jesus.
This probably astonished some of Jesus' followers, for tax-collectors (Latin: publicans) were universally hated and despised people. They were Jews who collected taxes for the Roman provincial governor and frequently collected above the amount set by the Romans and kept the difference. People didn't dare to complain, for the tax collector could bring word to the governor and the complainer could be imprisoned or worse.
When the Lord asks anything of us we must do it in His timing not ours. Serving the Lord is not always convenient in our selfish reasoning, but we are to respond immediately and with a happy and willing heart, not grudgingly and with complaint. Remember that every choice we make is a free will choice. Jesus doesn't want anything from you that you are not willing to freely give.
LUKE 5:29-32
29 Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them.
30 And the scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, "Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"
31 Jesus answered and said to them, "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 scribes and Pharisees would not go near tax collectors, prostitutes, thieves and the like as they felt they would be defiled if they did. Thus they condemned the sinners to destruction, not lifting a finger to help them come to righteousness.
Jesus showed His love and compassion by reaching out to these people, to bring the good news of salvation to those who so desperately needed to hear it, telling them that they could still enter the kingdom of Heaven if they repented and turned their lives around.
Whether you follow Jesus or not, He loves you. Jesus wants everyone to repent, believe in Him and be saved, but He knows that He will only be found by those who seek Him. Again each person must make their own free will choice. To those seeking Him, they will find Him. Nobody is beyond the saving grace of Jesus!
LUKE 5:33-39
33 Then they said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?"
34 And He said to them, "Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?
35 "But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days."
36 Then He spoke a parable to them: "No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old.
37 "And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined.
38 "But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.
39 "And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, 'The old is better.'"
The bridegroom spoken of here is Jesus, expressing His relationship with His people as being a bridegroom preparing to marry his betrothed. It is a symbol of the intimacy of God's relationship to His people in the emotional and spiritual sense, not the physical sense.
In the examples of the unshrunk cloth and the wineskins, Jesus is saying that the doctrine of Christianity isn't a "patch" or an extension of Judaism, but a whole new covenant. The new wine/new cloth is the Holy Spirit and the old garment/wineskin is our old nature. When we come to Jesus we are made new in Him and are filled with the Holy Spirit to help us to follow the will of the Lord.
And the "preferring old wine" is referring to the fact that the Jews, being intimately familiar with the old Law of Moses, would not immediately embrace the teachings of Christianity, as it would move them out of their "comfort zone".
LUKE 6:1-5
1 Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands.
2 And some of the Pharisees said to them, "Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?"
3 But Jesus answering them said, "Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:
4 "how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?"
5 And He said to them, "The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."
This really shows the hypocrisy and corruption in the teachings of the Pharisees in that they considered the fact that the disciples were picking grain to eat was "work", carrying the concept of not working on the Sabbath to a ridiculous extent.
Jesus countered that in some cases there are exceptions to the rules, especially in unexpected or emergency situations.
When King David was on the run from King Saul who sought to kill him, he and his men were hungry and ate of the showbread which according to the Law of Moses was only for the priests. But as he did it out of need and there was no other food available, it was lawful for him and his men to eat it, showing God's mercy and grace.
The priests broke the Sabbath every time they performed sacrifices and circumcisions on the Sabbath, which would fall under the Law concerning working on the Sabbath, but God understood these things and allowed for such.
Jesus was telling them that God was Lord over the Sabbath and He understands when a need arises to eat or heal or save a life, even on the Sabbath.
LUKE 6:6-11
6 Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered.
7 So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him.
8 But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, "Arise and stand here." And he arose and stood.
9 Then Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?"
10 And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.
11 But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
Again this shows the hypocrisy of the Pharisees in that they considered healing to be "work" and therefore forbidden on the Sabbath. This also shows their growing desperation to find something to accuse Him of that they might have reason to bring Him to trial and be rid of Him.
They were afraid that Jesus, exposing their corruption, would take away their power, position and eventually their wealth. If the people knew that the traditions the Pharisees established were only to bring themselves glory and wealth, this could ruin the nice setup they had.
The people listened to them, believing them to be learned men as most common people were illiterate and had to rely on their leaders to tell them what the Word of God said and to show them how to please the Lord.
The Pharisees were also jealous of Jesus' popularity and His miracles, for it took attention away from themselves, and focused it on this upstart teacher of righteousness.
LUKE 6:12-16
12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
13 And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles:
14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew;
15 Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot;
16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.
Simon - "hearing" Peter -"stone"
Andrew - "manly"
James - "Supplanter; Following after"
John - "Jehovah is Gracious"
Philip - "lover of horses"
Bartholomew - "son of Tolmai" Generally believed to be the same person referred to as Nathanael (God has given) in the gospel of John.
Matthew - "Gift of God" surnamed Levi (Joined).
Thomas - "Twin"; Greek - Didymus
James - "Supplanter; following after"; also called James the Lesser
Simon - "Hearing" He belonged to a faction of Zealots, who were well known for their fierce desire to promote the strict following of the Mosaic laws and rituals. He was known as a Canaanite, perhaps he was born there.
Judas "Praise"; Hebrew - Judah; also known as Lebbaeus - "Courageous Heart" surnamed Thaddaeus
Judas - "Praise" Iscariot - (Hebrew "Ish Kirioth" - "man of Kerioth".)
In ancient times (and in some countries today) it was common for two people with the same first name to have some kind of identifying feature to distinguish them from someone else of the same name in the same group.
This tends to be common in Arab nations today, in which a man named Mohammad may have the surname "al_Masri" ("the Egyptian"), or they may have the name of the town where their family originated. Some of Saddam Hussein's relatives carried the surname "al-Tikriti", showing that they came from the city of Tikrit in Iraq.
In the passages above, there are two with such distinctions, namely Judas Iscariot and Simon who is known as the Zealot and is also known as "the Canaanite".
Simon the Zealot has long posed a puzzle for scholars, for they were assassins, feared by the Romans who called them "Sicarii" - (dagger men). Zealots would hide daggers in their clothing, and usually during a time of disturbance would slip behind Roman soldiers (or those marked by the Zealot leadership) and would quickly stab them and then slip away in the crowd.
The fact that Jesus would pick such a person to be one of His disciples makes an odd contrast to His teachings. But the fact that Simon shows no Zealot tendencies while with Jesus also shows Jesus' power over men's hearts.
LUKE 6:17-19
17 And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases,
18 as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed.
19 And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.
Jesus traveled all over the countryside preaching, and in his love and compassion never turned away anyone who came to be healed or delivered from unclean spirits.
LUKE 6:20
20 Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
These people had little in the way of possessions and led hard lives. They relied on God daily for their food and sustenance, and Jesus was telling them that their faith would be rewarded in Heaven.
LUKE 6:21
21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
Those that hunger for the Word of Knowledge which is the Word of God and seek His righteousness will receive their desire in full. Food will satisfy you temporarily, but the Word will satisfy your spirit forever.
Those who are sad over some kind of loss and are mourning, God will dry all their tears. This also applies to prayer warriors, as they are sad of heart by the things they see in this world. This sadness and compassion for others leads them to prayer. They will be comforted by God Himself.
LUKE 6:22-23
22 Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake.
23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.
When people reject you for the sake of the Lord, remember they are rejecting Him, not you! They are of the world, and through Jesus, we are not. Ours is a spiritual battle as well as a physical battle against the temptations of the flesh.
LUKE 6:24
24 "But woe to you who are rich, For you have received your consolation.
The poor have an easier time relying on God, as they have no other resources available to them. But rich people tend to rely on their money, power and position in society instead of God; making money their god. As such, they will have had their reward here on Earth.
LUKE 6:25
25 Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
Those that don't hunger for the Word of Knowledge which is the Word of God and seek His righteousness will never receive their desire in full. Food will not satisfy your spirit, only the Word of God can accomplish that. Those who live their entire life without serving the Lord will mourn and weep for what they could have had if they had served the Lord.
LUKE 6:26
26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.
If popularity among others is your goal, you will have no place in God's kingdom. There is nothing wrong in receiving praise from others for a good deed or good work, but if you do it with the goal of receiving this praise, then it is sin.
Unfortunately even today there are people in churches who crave honor and popularity from the congregation. These people can usually be seen for what they are, showing false humility while greedily seeking praise from others, or claiming spiritual gifts which they do not have in order to impress the congregation. In like manner, these people will have the praise they crave from men as their reward, but will have nothing from God.
LUKE 6:27-36
27 "But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28 "bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.
29 "To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either.
30 "Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.
31 "And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.
32 "But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
33 "And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
34 "And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.
35 "But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.
36 "Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
We are not to take our own revenge, but are to let God handle the situation, remembering that these people need Jesus in their lives, and that we have harmed or done evil to others in our lives also, even if we don't remember the particulars.
Sometimes God allows this evil to happen to us to repay us for evil we have caused others. For example, the apostle Paul approved the stoning of Stephen the Christian, and was stoned in return; he imprisoned Christians, and was imprisoned in return; he beat Christians and was beaten in return; he persecuted others, and was persecuted in return.
This does not mean that every evil thing that happens to us is in repayment for evil that we have done. Remember, Satan will afflict us at every opportunity, and sometimes God allows us to suffer for His sake even though we are innocent, just as innocent Jesus suffered and died for us.
We need to remember to hate the sin, but not the sinner. Jesus talked and ate with prostitutes, thieves, and tax collectors, people considered to be the "scum of the Earth". If people see us suffering for Jesus without taking revenge, they may decide to learn more about Jesus.
We sin against Jesus and the Father every day of our lives. Where would we be if Jesus had not had shown us mercy as sinners?
LUKE 6:37-42
37 "Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
38 "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."
39 And He spoke a parable to them: "Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?
40 "A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.
41 "And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye?
42 "Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye.
Sins that God has already judged, we are to avoid. Each of us has to face the Lord on our own, regarding our own sins. This is strictly between the Lord and the individual person.
Read the Bible, pray often and listen to the Lord. He will tell you if you begin to wander off the path you are supposed to be walking with Him. If this happens, listen to the Lord and He will guide you back to the right path.
As far as judging others, we can only judge the sins, not the sinner. Sins that God has already judged in His Word we can judge, as He has deemed such acts to be sin. Likewise acts that civil authorities have set as wrong we can also judge, having given courts and civil officials the authority to judge and punish those who commit such sins.
But the heart of this matter is that we can't judge someone as if we have no sins in our lives. None of us is any better than anyone else in God's eyes, and we are to be humble in our dealings with others.
Remember when you accuse others of sins and faults that you too have sins and faults of your own. If you judge others harshly, you will in turn be harshly judged by God. If you judge without mercy, you will receive no mercy at your judgment. But if you point out the sins of others to them in private in a spirit of love and compassion, seeking to turn them away from such sins in fear of God, then you will judge righteously.
LUKE 6:43-49
43 "For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.
44 "For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.
45 "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
46 "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say?
47 "Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like:
48 "He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.
49 "But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great."
There will always be those people that will try to imitate being a Christian to try and trick or fool others. Remember that the Lord sees the true intentions of heart.
We can't see the intentions and motives of a person's heart, but we can determine by the person's words and works if they are truly a Christian or not. If a person says one thing and does something quite different, this would be a good indication of what Jesus spoke of above. This is not to say that Christians are perfect and perform perfect works! All Christians have their weak points, and we all sin.
But good works are not a sign that a person is a Christian either. Knowing and being obedient to God's written Word combined with works shows the true Christian. A person can do all kinds of good works in God's name, but if they are disobedient to God's Word, neither they or their works will be accepted or honored by God.
We can do all kinds of wonderful works in the name of Jesus, but if He is not Lord in our hearts, it will do us no good. He gave us His written Word that we might come to know Him and know what is expected of us as far as obedience to Him and His laws. Good works should naturally come from having Him in our hearts and being obedient to Him through His Spirit. But know this, works alone will not get you into Heaven.
Unfortunately there will be far too many people who at their judgment will beg Jesus with tears in their eyes to be allowed into His kingdom, and will be refused. They will point out all of the good works they have done, many done in His name, and He in turn will show that they did their own works in His name. Men see the outward appearance, but only God can see the intentions of the heart.
It is only by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ that we are granted access to Heaven. We cannot earn our way there through any action we might do, for all of our works are corrupt and sinful in His sight. Good works are a natural result of having Jesus in our lives, but they will not grant us access to Heaven. Only works done in His name in accordance with His will, will be rewarded and praised at our judgment.
Entry into Heaven will be determined by two hard facts:
Did we have Jesus in our heart when we died?
Did we strive to be obedient to His will and the will of the Father while on Earth?
Those who had Jesus in their hearts and were obedient to Him and the Father will have their works judged as to the quality of service they performed for Him in their works.
Those who didn't have Jesus in their lives will have their sins judged and will have their works examined as to motives and reasons for doing what they did.
LUKE 7:1-10
1 Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum.
2 And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die.
3 So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant.
4 And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving,
5 "for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue."
6 Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, "Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof.
7 "Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.
8 "For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
9 When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, "I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!"
10 And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.
Jesus came first to the Jews in accordance with the promises given to Israel through the prophets, but here was a Gentile (and a Roman to boot) with more faith in Jesus than His own people! This is the kind of faith Jesus wanted to see in the Jews to whom He had been teaching.
Jesus saw the unswerving faith and humility in this Roman soldier and did what was requested of Him as a reward for that faith, especially as the Centurion asked for healing for his beloved servant, and nothing for himself.
Jesus also used the situation as a lesson to the Jews who were with Him, in that he was essentially saying, 'You have had the Law and the prophets to teach you and raise faith in you, and here is a Gentile who has had none of this and he still has more faith than you.'
I strongly suspect that this is the same Centurion as the Centurion named Cornelius in the book of Acts who received the baptism of the Holy Spirit when God opened the door of salvation to the Gentiles after Jesus' death and resurrection. (Acts 10:1-48)
LUKE 7:11-17
11 Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd.
12 And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her.
13 When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep."
14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise."
15 So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.
16 Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has risen up among us"; and, "God has visited His people."
17 And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.
Jesus had great compassion for this grieving woman. This was her only son and she had already buried her husband so she had no one left to provide for her. Jesus showed her great kindness and compassion in restoring life back to her only son.
LUKE 7:18-23
18 Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things.
19 And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"
20 When the men had come to Him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, 'Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?'"
21 And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight.
22 Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.
23 "And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."
The prophecies spoken many centuries ago were known to all Jewish people, as they had been listening to them being preached in the Synagogues every week for most of their lives.
Everyone was waiting and watching to see if their generation might be the one to see the long awaited Messiah. They also knew the signs and wonders that would accompany the Messiah.
John knew very well that Jesus was the Messiah, but with this act he was directing his disciples to Jesus as the long-awaited Son of God. I think that John knew what was coming, and was preparing his disciples to follow Jesus after his death.
LUKE 7:24-30
24 When the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?
25 "But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings' courts.
26 "But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.
27 "This is he of whom it is written: 'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.'
28 "For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."
29 And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John.
30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.
This was an electrifying statement by Jesus, for in telling the people that John was the fulfillment of Malachi's prophecy of being the forerunner to the Messiah, He was claiming to be the promised Messiah.
Some people believe that God resurrected Elijah and sent him as John the Baptist, but this is not what the prophecies said. They actually read;
MALACHI 3:1
1 "Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming," says the LORD of hosts.
MALACHI 4:5-6
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
6 And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse."
At first this would seem to indicate that a resurrected Elijah would come to prepare the way for the Messiah. However, a careful reading of a passage concerning John in the book of LUKE clarifies the issue. An angel had appeared to John's father Zacharias before John's birth and had prophesied of him;
LUKE 1:12-17
12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
13 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.
15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.
16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.
17 He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
In verse 17 the angel says that John would go forth in the spirit and power of Elijah to reform the people and prepare them for the Messiah's coming.
Granted, John didn't perform the miracles of Elijah, but Elijah's main purpose was to bring the people back to the Lord, and to put an end to injustice and sin, just as John did.
So therefore, John did indeed come in the spirit and power of Elijah, and was indeed the forerunner of the Messiah but he was not Elijah in a resurrected body.
LUKE 7:31-35
31 And the Lord said, "To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like?
32 "They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying: 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we mourned to you, and you did not weep.'
33 "For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.'
34 "The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'
35 "But wisdom is justified by all her children."
Jesus is telling the people that they will find fault with anyone who doesn't fit into their preconceived ideas of what a prophet or Messiah should be, something that unfortunately still goes on today. Such people will never be satisfied with God's answer to His own prophecies.
( A "winebibber" was a drunkard)
LUKE 7:36-38
36 Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee's house, and sat down to eat.
37 And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil,
38 and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.
Alabaster was a very expensive form of white semi-translucent calcite. This is the same incident recorded in Mark 14, in which a woman broke open a alabaster box of very expensive spikenard oil (imported from the Himalayas in India) and anointed Jesus with the oil.
She wept in repentance and fear of her sins behind Jesus, and honored Him by washing His feet with her tears and wiping them with her hair.
LUKE 7:39-50
39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, "This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner."
40 And Jesus answered and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." So he said, "Teacher, say it."
41 "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.
42 "And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?"
43 Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more." And He said to him, "You have rightly judged."
44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.
45 "You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in.
46 "You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.
47 "Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."
48 Then He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."
49 And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"
50 Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace."
Some interesting things here. The Pharisee was named Simon, providing more information than the same story recorded in Mark 14 in which Jesus eats at the house of Simon the Leper. Ordinarily lepers were to dwell outside of the cities in camps and were to have no contact with healthy people.
The fact that Simon held a feast at his house and others were gathered there shows that he was no longer leprous and in fact may very well have been healed by Jesus, or God at some time in the past may have cured him. I strongly suspect that God may have healed him in the past, for if Jesus had healed him, he wouldn't have asked the questions he did.
Notice that Jesus also admonished Simon for not providing for a guest in his own home. It was the custom of that time to provide your guest with water to wash the dust from their feet, to anoint their heads with oil and to greet them with a kiss on the cheek. Simon had done none of these things for the guest he had invited into his own home; yet he had the nerve to condemn the woman who did all of these things out of love and gratitude for her Savior.
LUKE 8:1-3
1 Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him,
2 and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons,
3 and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.
Mary (Greek) "Strong" (Hebrew - Miriam)
Magdalene - An inhabitant of the region of Magdala, a small town on the west side of the Sea of Galilee
Joanna - (Greek) "Jehovah is gracious" ; feminine form of John; (Hebrew - Jonannes)
Susanna "Lily" (Hebrew - Shushan, Shoshanna)
These and other women had received healing from demons or illnesses and so they did what they could to help in Jesus' ministry, providing Him with food, shelter and other necessities.
Remember, Jesus had no home of his own to go to, He walked wherever He went during His public ministry and slept outdoors or stayed at other people's homes when invited.
LUKE 8:4-8
4 And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:
5 "A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.
6 "Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.
7 "And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.
8 "But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold." When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
The seeds that fell by the wayside: These are the people who hear the word, but don't immediately understand it. They don't ponder on it, neither do they seek wisdom from the Lord to understand it, and Satan quickly snatches it away before it can grow in their heart.
This is why we need to keep reading God's Word, so it can stay with us and can grow in our hearts.
The seeds that fell on rocks: These are the people who don't have a solid foundation in Jesus. They are overjoyed at hearing the word of God, but they stumble and fall away at the first trials or temptations that test their faith. Jesus never promised us that it would be easy to follow Him.
As soon as you accept Jesus, you instantly become a hated enemy of Satan and he will quickly try to draw you away from Jesus back into his dark kingdom.
The seeds that fell among the thorns: These are the people who won't give up the worldly things in their lives, such as possessions or money. No one can serve both God and the world, it must be one or the other.
This does not mean that you must give up your possessions or money, but if they stand between you and Jesus, or interfere with your walk with Him, you must seek God's will as to what to do in the matter, and follow His instructions.
The seeds that fell on good ground: These are the people who have a good foundation in Jesus and understand the word of God. They will work hard and serve the Lord with great joy, even in the midst of hardships and persecution.
Their lives will bring great joy to the Lord, the fruits of their lives will be bountiful and their rewards in Heaven will be great.
LUKE 8:9-10
9 Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?"
10 And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that 'Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'
This was in fulfillment of the terrible prophecy given to Isaiah concerning the hardness of Israel's hearts, when He said to Isaiah;
ISAIAH 6:9-10
9 And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
10 “Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed.”
Israel had become so dull of heart that God Himself in the form of Jesus Christ could not reach the majority of them. They had become so numbed in heart that the dictates of the Law of Moses had no meaning to them any more, but had become for most a boring ritual which they did without thinking, just as God said to Isaiah;
ISAIAH 28:13
13 But the word of the LORD was to them, "Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little," That they might go and fall backward, and be broken and snared and caught.
The Word of God will be understood by those for whom the words are meant. Those who seek the Lord with all their heart, mind and soul will find Him and will receive understanding and wisdom.
LUKE 8:11-18
11 "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
12 "Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
13 "But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.
14 "Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
15 "But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.
16 "No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.
17 "For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.
18 "Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him."
Note carefully what Jesus says in verse 15, when He says that we are to bear fruit with patience. Far too many new Christians are taught by other Christians who should know better, that when they accept Jesus as Savior things will be rosy and a constant joy. God will give them whatever they want, and He can't refuse their prayers.
Satan loves these teachings, as he can and will use them to his advantage. He may start afflicting the new Christian who will become bewildered and disillusioned because what they had been told by other Christians was far from the reality they are now experiencing, and they will quickly become embittered and fall away.
He may leave the new Christian alone, and not attack them, so they become complacent and slowly fall away. Then he snares them, and again, they are lost.
He may (and often does) steer the new Christian to a church that teaches corrupted doctrines and the new Christian eagerly accepts these doctrines as truth, as they promise health, wealth and so on. Again, these precious souls are lost to Satan.
One good example of this was a church I attended only twice when looking for a church after moving into a new city. The minister stood at the pulpit and said that God had told him that He wanted to make millionaires of 10 people in the congregation. He then asked members who wanted to be millionaires to stand up. Several people did, and the minister kept saying that he wasn't going to continue with the sermon until 10 people had stood up. That was only one of a number of major errors he was preaching and teaching.
Pay careful attention to what Jesus said in verse 17, in which He said there is nothing that will not be revealed at our Judgment. Some worry or become downcast because they don't seem to have a glorious, highly-visible ministry and become envious of those that do. This is especially true concerning the "gifts of the Spirit", in which people try to display gifts that they do not have, so as to impress others.
Just because you may not have a visible, popular ministry before the Lord doesn't mean that your service is less valuable in His sight! A good servant in a household is one who does their work so quietly and efficiently that the Master praises them for keeping the household running so smoothly. But if that servant starts to become lazy and not do their assigned tasks, then the whole household suffers.
There are many parts of your body that function so quietly and efficiently that we don't notice them. But let one of them start malfunctioning, and we notice it immediately! Even so we are like a body, in which by helping our brethren we keep the body functioning efficiently. And if we slack off or fail in our duties, the body suffers.
God sees everything you do, and will reward you for the quality of your service to Him. He may reward you in this world with physical things, but He more than likely will reward you with treasures in Heaven where you will enjoy them for eternity and all in Heaven will know why you received them and will honor you.
LUKE 8:19-21
19 Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd.
20 And it was told Him by some, who said, "Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You."
21 But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."
This shows that Jesus' physical brethren and mother had no power over Him, as the Catholics teach. Joseph, His adoptive father had already died and therefore could not exercise authority over Jesus, and He was the eldest of His siblings. Mary, His earthly mother, was a sinner in need of salvation as much as any of us as she herself pointed out; when she said;
LUKE 1:46-47
46 And Mary said: "My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
If she was born sinless as the Catholic Church teaches, why would she need a Savior?
Jesus was pointing out to all generations that His brethren and kindred were those who did the will of His Father. Thus He removed Mary as being an authority figure to those who would come later, showing that she, being a sinful mortal in need of a Savior like the rest of us, was no different than any of the other people He had come to save.
LUKE 8:22-25
22 Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake." And they launched out.
23 But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.
24 And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm.
25 But He said to them, "Where is your faith?" And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, "Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!"
A careful reading of the Gospel of Mark says that there were other little boats with the 12 disciples, so we need to understand that when it is talking about disciples here, it is talking about many people.
The Sea of Galilee lies in a depression below Mount Hermon which stands 9,230 feet above sea level and is perpetually snow-covered, providing for much of the water resources in the region.
During the hot summer months sudden downdrafts of cold air descend the mountain and sweep over the Sea of Galilee (or Lake Kinneret) producing sudden violent storms that lash the area. This is probably what happened here. I tend to think that it was an attempt by Satan to kill Jesus or to drown His disciples, for if any drowned it would make Jesus seem powerless and not the Son of God as He claimed.
Jesus however showed His authority and power and by His word alone, stopped the storm. He also rebuked them for their lack of faith, for even though the storm had been violent, He would not have allowed any of them to perish.
LUKE 8:26-33
26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee.
27 And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs.
28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!"
29 For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.
30 Jesus asked him, saying, "What is your name?" And he said, "Legion," because many demons had entered him.
31 And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.
32 Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them.
33 Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.
Note that the man knew Jesus, even though he had never seen Him before. Actually it was the demons within him that knew Jesus was the Son of God. Demons are terrified of the power of God, they just don't like to admit it to humans. They are afraid because they know God is far more powerful than their master, Satan.
But as they chose to follow Satan in the Rebellion, God in turn judged them, condemned them to the same future punishment slated for their master, cast them out of Heaven and forced them to serve Satan.
Some question Jesus' divinity in the fact that He asked the name of the man instead of knowing who he was already. I believe that Jesus knew exactly who he was, but asked his name to show that many demons can possess a man, not just one.
A Roman legion consisted of 6,000 soldiers and officers, so this man could have been possessed by up to 6,000 demons. This is important to remember for those of us called into spiritual warfare.
It is interesting to note that some psychotic people are noted for their tremendous brute strength, and the man spoken of here could easily pull apart heavy bronze chains and shackles.
If psychiatrists would believe the Scriptures, I think that many psychotic people who are demon-possessed could be freed from this terrible bondage, rather than being medicated into a stupor with drugs which merely treat the symptoms, not the source of the problem.
Verse 32 above also shows that demons can enter and possess animals. Also notice that the demons asked permission to enter the swine as they have no authority to demand Jesus do anything. And note that Jesus gave them specific permission to possess the animals, as they feared that He would cast them into Hell immediately.
LUKE 8:34-39
34 When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.
35 Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.
36 They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed.
37 Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned.
38 Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying,
39 "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you." And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.
Apparently the man was well-known to the people of the area as they were frightened when they saw that he was rational, clothed and sitting at Jesus' feet, and knowing his violent nature understood immediately that Jesus was more powerful than the demons who had possessed the man. I imagine that they wanted to get rid of both the problem and the solution at the same time, begging Jesus to leave and probably asking Him to take the man with Him.
The healed man wanted to come with Jesus, but He wanted the man to go tell his family and friends of the compassion and mercy of the Lord. This would help remove the fear of the local townspeople, who had asked Jesus to leave, and would spread word of the Messiah to many people, Jew and Gentile alike.
The compassion and mercy of Jesus was well demonstrated by the fact that He crossed the Sea of Galilee just to free this man of the legion of demons within him, while teaching His disciples (and us) some powerful lessons.
LUKE 8:40-42
40 So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.
41 And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house,
42 for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.
Jairus "Enlightened"
This ruler (a synagogue official, more than likely a Pharisee) also showed tremendous faith by asking Jesus to heal his daughter, publicly showing his belief that Jesus was indeed the Son of God, the promised Messiah who alone would have such power. His daughter was almost dead, but he believed if Jesus came to her that she would be healed.
LUKE 8:43-48
43 Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any,
44 came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.
45 And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?" When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"
46 But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."
47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.
48 And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace."
This is interesting, as while Jesus had people crowding and pressing against Him, only this woman received healing, and Jesus knew it immediately. From the sounds of it, this woman may have been a hemophiliac in which her blood lacked platelets needed for blood clotting. Such people can bleed to death from a small wound unless medically treated.
One could picture her hesitantly approaching Jesus, trying to be unobtrusive, timidly reaching out to touch His clothing and her fear and embarrassment when Jesus suddenly stops and begins looking for her.
Jesus showed great compassion in that He was not angry with the woman seeking healing without asking first, He instead commended her publicly for her faith and confirmed that she had been healed.
LUKE 8:49-56
49 While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher."
50 But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."
51 When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.
52 Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping."
53 And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.
54 But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise."
55 Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat.
56 And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.
It is hard to imagine the anguish of Jairus, facing the stunned realization of having had Jesus so close by and then finding out that he had reached Jesus too late. One can imagine him, tears streaming down his face, in desperate hope trying to believe that Jesus could resurrect his daughter even as his friends gently tugged at him, trying to get him to come home.
In ancient times when a person died, professional mourners were hired to express grief on behalf of the bereaved, shrieking and wailing and playing noisy instruments and flutes which supposedly demonstrated the sorrow of the grief-stricken family members.
When the people at the rulers' house ridiculed Jesus, this didn't deter Him. He merely got them to leave so that He could give the family privacy and perform His work in private.
This must have been deeply moving to Jesus, seeing tears of sorrow turned into tears of joy when the parents saw their daughter rise up. And Jesus, knowing the trauma her body had been through with her illness, commanded that she be given something to eat so as to give her body a source of energy to draw from.
LUKE 9:1-6
1 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.
2 He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
3 And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.
4 "Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.
5 "And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."
6 So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
Any power we have as servants of the Lord comes from Him, in accordance with His will. This is why there are to be no power struggles in God's kingdom and this also helps Christians to keep humble. He allows us to use His power to accomplish His will. This again proves Jesus' deity, as only God could give His power and authority to others; none of the prophets were able to do so.
Understand this. If money is your goal, preaching the Word of God is not your calling. Jesus told the disciples to preach His word and to meet the spiritual and physical needs of the people and the people listening would in turn provide for their physical needs. Notice that their needs would be met, but they would not be made rich.
If the people refused to receive them and listen to the Word of God, then they were to shake the dust from their feet as they left, bringing a curse from God on those people for rejecting the message of the Lord's servants. This still holds true today, but is not to be done lightly. They were to shake off the dust from their feet only if the people refused to receive them and listen to their words.
LUKE 9:7-9
7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead,
8 and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.
9 Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?" So he sought to see Him.
Remember that after the death of Herod the Great, Caesar Augustus had Israel split into four separate provinces, namely Judea, Galilee, Trachonitis and Abilene.
Each of Herod's four surviving sons were given a province to rule, with Herod Archalaeus ruling Judea (later banished to Gaul (France) by Caesar Augustus), Herod Antipas ruling Galilee, Herod Philip ruling Trachonitus, and Herod Lysanius ruling Abilene.
Herodias was Herod Philip's wife, but being an ambitious woman, she married Herod Antipas without divorcing Philip as apparently Herod Philip wasn't as strong, ambitious and as rich and powerful a king as was Herod Antipas. John the Baptist had publicly rebuked them both for the illicit marriage, and Herodias hated him for it and wanted revenge.
Apparently she knew her husband Herod Antipas well enough to have her daughter dance before them, and probably ensured that he was drunk enough to make a foolish oath as he indeed did. And having instructed her daughter ahead of time, Salome knew how to respond to such an oath. And Herodias knew that once the oath was spoken in front of guests, Herod didn't dare break it, lest he lose face before those at dinner with him.
So he had John executed and had John's head brought to Salome on a tray, who gave it to her mother. This is where we get the expression, "Having someone's head on a platter" when someone gets into trouble.
So when Herod heard about Jesus and His miracles he believed that God had resurrected John the Baptist to take revenge on him, which must have frightened him badly.
LUKE 9:10-17
10 And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.
11 But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.
12 When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."
13 But He said to them, "You give them something to eat." And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."
14 For there were about five thousand men. Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."
15 And they did so, and made them all sit down.
16 Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.
17 So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.
Jesus was reminding them to show compassion for others, even though they themselves were tired from their travels. Part of serving Jesus is having compassion for others whether you are tired or very busy.
They had just finished teaching and performing miracles, yet didn't think to ask for God to provide food for all of these people seeking more words from the Lord. The disciples were still learning that with God nothing is too difficult or impossible.
Jesus had great compassion for these people and took care of both their spiritual and physical needs. He didn't want to send them away without eating, as some might faint from hunger along the way, and the size of the crowd would quickly have cleaned out the surrounding villages of food with some still not having food because there would be none left.
It is estimated that here were at least 20,000 - 30,000 people including women and children, that were fed that day.
LUKE 9:18-21
18 And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"
19 So they answered and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again."
20 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."
21 And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one,
The Father chooses to whom He will reveal the truth in His own timing. Some may think it natural for Peter to believe that Jesus was who He said He was based on what he had seen and heard, but remember many had already seen and heard and still did not believe.
LUKE 9:22-27
22 saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."
23 Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
24 "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.
25 "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?
26 "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.
27 "But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."
Jesus knew that He was here to accomplish the Father's will, and would let nothing stand in His way of completing His work. The disciples were slowly learning, but Jesus knew that He was running out of time to teach them.
This is where the expression "you can't take it with you" comes from, in that you can gain the whole world (as the Antichrist will) but still perish in the Lake of Fire for eternity. Is what you may gain here worth eternity in torment?
We are only here in this world for a short time compared to eternity. Physically we can live up to 120 years, but our spirits will never die. If you deny Jesus, you can lose your soul.
Be sure to count the cost, whatever you decide, because once you die you can never change your decision and your eternal destination is set.
Judas Iscariot was the only one of the twelve that didn't see Jesus ascend into His Kingdom after His Resurrection.
LUKE 9:28-36
28 Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.
29 As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.
30 And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah,
31 who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
32 But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him.
33 Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" not knowing what he said.
34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud.
35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!"
36 When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.
Moses represented the Law, Elijah the Prophets. This was to show that Jesus was the fulfillment of both the Law and the Prophets. I find it interesting that Peter knew who they were, even though it had been thousands of years since either of them had walked the Earth.
Just as God had told Peter that Jesus is the Son of God, He must have told Peter, James and John that these were Moses and Elijah. There were no pictures or statues of these men, so how else could he have known who they were?
Notice that God tells them to listen to His Son, acknowledging that Jesus is the Son of God and letting them know that what Jesus has to tell them is much more important than building shrines, monasteries or churches to commemorate any event. They, with time, will perish, whereas He will not.
LUKE 9:37-42
37 Now it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him.
38 Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, "Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child.
39 "And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him.
40 "So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not."
41 Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here."
42 And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.
This shows us that there are many classifications of demons. Some are stronger than others. Always remember that when dealing with demons, it is the power of God not our own power that we use when casting them out. Never take the glory or praise for yourself.
Amazingly, only a small amount of faith can accomplish wondrous things, if there is no doubt to hinder it.
From the description of the behavior of the child, today we would deem him to have epilepsy or be psychotic and would drug him into a stupor, treating the symptoms rather than the source of the problem. Remember, demon possession can have physical consequences, and apparently this was a very powerful demon.
LUKE 9:43-45
43 And they were all amazed at the majesty of God. But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples,
44 "Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men."
45 But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.
Jesus is on His final journey to Jerusalem, speaking to His disciples of His coming death and resurrection. The disciples are learning to listen to Jesus; they may not have completely understood what He meant, but they knew something bad was coming.
LUKE 9:46-48
46 Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest.
47 And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him,
48 and said to them, "Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great."
In God's kingdom our goal isn't to be the richest, the most popular or have the most worldly treasures. Our goal should be to have a child-like faith in Him and to do everything to the best of our ability for Him. A child has complete faith and trust without reservation and in this way the Lord wants us to be like a child.
He wants us to encourage and take care of each other, not discourage, fight and compete with each other.
LUKE 9:49-50
49 Now John answered and said, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us."
50 But Jesus said to him, "Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side."
The disciples were indignant that someone else was casting out demons in Jesus' name, but Jesus told them to forbid no one from doing so. Again, there is to be no competition or rank in God's kingdom, we are all brethren and equal in His sight.
LUKE 9:51-56
51 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem,
52 and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him.
53 But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.
54 And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?"
55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.
56 "For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." And they went to another village.
There had long been friction between the Jews and the Samaritans, and the fact that Jesus was headed to Jerusalem was the reason why they refused to receive Him.
When the Assyrians under king Sargon II destroyed the 10 tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 721 B.C., they deported the entire remaining population to Assyria and brought people from other nations to live in the former kingdom of Israel. Over time, they intermarried with the Jews of Judah creating a mixed race of people.
When Judah was destroyed by Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C., the entire nation of Judah was deported to Babylon for 70 years as God had prophesied through Jeremiah.
When they returned and began building the Second Temple, the people dwelling in the former Northern Kingdom of Israel tried to integrate with the Jews, but the Jews refused them as their bloodlines were not pure as was required by the Law of Moses.
As a result, they began troubling the Jews as recounted in the book of Ezra;
EZRA 4:1-5
1 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the LORD God of Israel,
2 they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers' houses, and said to them, "Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here."
3 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers' houses of Israel said to them, "You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God; but we alone will build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us."
4 Then the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building,
5 and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
The book of Nehemiah, a contemporary of Ezra also recounts the efforts of the Samaritans to trouble the Jews in their efforts to rebuild Jerusalem, to the point of where half the people worked and the other half carried spears and swords to discourage attacks by the Samaritans.
The Samaritans later even went so far as to build their own Temple atop Mount Gerizim to rival the Temple in Jerusalem, as recounted in the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well in John chapter 4.
LUKE 9:57-62
57 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go."
58 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."
59 Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."
60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God."
61 And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house."
62 But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
Jesus had them think about the cost of discipleship, saying that even He, Jesus, had no home to call His own, and that discipleship would not be an easy road to follow. Another wanted to first bury his father, but Jesus told him to let the spiritually dead bury their physically dead if he truly wanted to follow Jesus. In both cases He was establishing priorities; put Jesus and His will first, then do whatever else you need to do.
LUKE 10:1-12
1 After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.
2 Then He said to them, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.
3 "Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.
4 "Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road.
5 "But whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house.'
6 "And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you.
7 "And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house.
8 "Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you.
9 "And heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'
10 "But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say,
11 'The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.'
12 "But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city.
Jesus' words above still ring true today, for in this world we are as sheep among wolves. But remember, even wolves fear the Shepherd. And if the Lord sends you somewhere to preach, do not worry about what you will eat or where you will stay. He will provide for you, and you are not to ask for anything special, but are to be content with what they provide.
Jesus also made a horrifying pronouncement for cities that had the dust of the disciples' feet shaken off against them. Sodom has been held as an example of God's wrath against sin for 5,000 years, and yet Jesus says that He will be more lenient to the people of Sodom than for any city whose dust has been shaken off.
The reason for this, is that Sodom didn't have Jesus performing miracles or preaching in the city as the cities of Israel did. If they did, they would have repented and turned from their sins. Yet the cities of Israel had seen, and still did not believe. Therefore their punishment would be far greater for their rejection of Him, as He speaks of in the verses below.
LUKE 10:13-15
13 "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
14 "But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.
15 "And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hell.
The cities of Tyre and Sidon were ancient Phoenician cities in Lebanon. They were under Roman control during Jesus' time, but there were many temples there dedicated to different Greek, Roman and Mesopotamian gods. In essence, they were idol worshipers.
Capernaum (Aramaic - City of Nahum) - Capernaum was a small fishing town on the north-northwest coast of the Sea of Galilee, with Chorazin just to the northwest and Bethsaida just to the northeast.
LUKE 10:16-20
16 "He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me."
17 Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."
18 And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
19 "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
20 "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."
The authority we receive from Jesus is to be used to accomplish His will. We must never become boastful or arrogant about His power that He allows us to use, in His Name. Always remember that all of the power belongs to God alone. It is easy to forget this, and become arrogant whether you mean to do so or not.
And always remember that the greatest gift God has given us, Jesus Christ, His Son, and through Him the priceless gift of the forgiveness of our sins and because of this we will be with Him eternally and not in the Lake of Fire where sin dictates that we belong.
LUKE 10:21-22
21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.
22 "All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."
Notice that Jesus gives all glory to His Father, who's will in turn has glorified Him by elevating Him to sit at His right hand. If we humble ourselves here on Earth and give all glory to God while we are here on Earth, He in turn will honor us and give us glory at our Judgment.
LUKE 10:23-24
23 Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see;
24 "for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."
Many of the prophets foretold of the coming Messiah, but never lived to see Him with their own eyes. John the Baptist was the only prophet to see Jesus. And many kings from David to Zedekiah waited a lifetime hoping to see the long awaited Messiah, but He didn't come until long after they had died.
LUKE 10:25-28
25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
26 He said to him, "What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?"
27 So he answered and said, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'"
28 And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."
Think about every law and commandment spoken by the prophets in the name of the Lord. If you truly live by these two commandments you would be able to fulfill each one. To love the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind would mean knowing every Scriptural requirement and your love of God would cause you to want to follow them. Likewise, if you love your neighbor you would extend them every courtesy and would always be helpful to them in every way possible.
LUKE 10:29-37
29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
30 Then Jesus answered and said: "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 "Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 "Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.
33 "But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion.
34 "So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 "On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'
36 "So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"
37 And he said, "He who showed mercy on him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."
Remember, Samaritans were considered by the Jews to be among the dregs of society, yet both a priest and a Levite, who knew what the Law said about such things, passed by, unwilling to lower themselves to help a man who obviously needed it.
Yet this Samaritan, not caring who the wounded man was, stopped and helped him, pouring oil and wine on his wounds (wine to sterilize the wounds, oil to keep out infection), and ensured for his care, both present and future, even though he knew the man probably didn't have the means to repay him.
We should remember to show mercy to others, otherwise God will not show mercy to us when we need it. Never believe that you are too good to reach out to another person. If in doubt, ask yourself the question, if I were in the same situation, would I want someone to help me?
LUKE 10:38-42
38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word.
40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me."
41 And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.
42 "But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."
Mary wasn't being lazy, she wanted to hear the words of the Lord, as it was more important to her to feed her spirit than her body. Jesus understood why Mary wasn't helping Martha and He was subtly telling Martha that Mary had chosen her priorities more wisely than Martha. In our sometimes hectic lives we need to remember that nothing should be more important than the Lord.
LUKE 11:1-4
1 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."
2 So He said to them, "When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."
According to Matthew, Jesus said, "In this manner, therefore, pray:..." , You don't need to repeat these words to talk to the Lord, this was just an example. God wants to hear personal prayers from you, not "canned" prayers that are repeated over and over again.
Our God is a personal God, One who enjoys hearing from His children. But to repeat the same prayers over and over to Him is an insult, and shows disrespect to Him. In God's place, would you want to hear droning repetitions of the same prayer over and over again?
When you pray, first show proper honor and respect to God, and thank Him for the blessings He has given to you. We must also forgive in order to be forgiven and we need to think of others. We need to ask the Lord's help to keep out of the traps and snares around us in our daily lives. We especially need to be sure that all honor, glory and praise are given to Him, for His hearing us and providing for us in what we ask of Him.
LUKE 11:5-13
5 And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves;
6 'for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him';
7 "and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'.
8 "I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.
9 "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
10 "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
11 "If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?
12 "Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
13 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"
Even though the Lord already knows what we need, we need to ask Him to provide for those needs. This way we are constantly reminded who is in charge, and are grateful for His fulfilling of our requests. And remember, ask for your needs, but don't get greedy. If God chooses to bless you abundantly, that is His choice not yours!!
Too many people are taught the poisonous "name it and claim it" doctrine, where God is a big "sugar daddy" who can't resist the requests (or demands) of His children. We are in no position to demand anything of Him and to do so is the utmost in arrogance. Are we greater than He? Does He truly owe us anything?
He blesses us and provides for us out of His love and grace alone, not because He owes us anything. We depend on Him each day for our food and drink, and even each breath we take is by His permission alone. Therefore we are to be thankful for everything He has provided for us, and we are to humbly request His assistance for our needs.
LUKE 11:14-23
14 And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled.
15 But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."
16 Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven.
17 But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls.
18 "If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub.
19 "And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
20 "But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
21 "When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace.
22 "But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.
23 "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
This is the only unforgivable sin, calling the Holy Spirit a demon, or calling the works of the Holy Spirit the works of Satan.
Beelzebub was the disgusting "dung god" of the city of Ekron, a city of the Philistines who were ancient enemies of Israel for hundreds of years.
The Philistines were finally destroyed by Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar during his massive campaign in which Jerusalem was destroyed, the Temple burnt to the ground, and the people of Judah deported to Babylon as captives, 500 years before Jesus' birth
In the Matthew account of the same situation, Jesus knew that the Pharisees spoke from ignorance, therefore He told them that this sin was unforgivable. As He knew that they had spoken from ignorance, Jesus was warning them that if they did this again, they would be guilty of this sin.
I have had people write to me who have come out of the Occult who were frightened that they had condemned themselves forever, as they had blasphemed the Holy Spirit while in the Occult. When they had asked other Christians, they were told "Sorry, there is no hope for you." leaving them terrified, desperate, and without hope.
God is a just and merciful God, and He will overlook this sin when spoken from ignorance, just as He did with the Pharisees. But once informed of the truth of the matter, there is no forgiveness if you do it again.
One man wrote to me who wanted to accept Jesus, but was afraid that Jesus wouldn't accept him as he had blasphemed the Holy Spirit while in the Occult. I explained how it worked, and he accepted Jesus as his Savior shortly afterward. He later wrote to me and said, "I never knew... could never have known there could be such peace." Jesus had accepted him knowing his heart and knowing that he had blasphemed out of ignorance.
Jesus brought up a valid point, in that if Satan casts out his own demons, he would be defeating his own purpose. Demons may try to hide within a person, but the discernment of the Holy Spirit will show them to be there. The reference concerning "binding the strong man" is actually a double reference, in that the demons first have to bind the spirit of a person before they can possess them, and that God being greater in might and power can bind demons and cast them out.
LUKE 11:24-26
24 "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'
25 "And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order.
26 "Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first."
This is why I mentioned earlier to be very sure that you know what you are doing when casting out demons, and to be sure that this is what the Lord wants you to do. For if you cast them out and the person does not accept Jesus, the demons will be back, and will bring others worse and more powerful than themselves with them. Thus while your intentions may have been good, you will have made the situation far worse than before.
If you are not sure, in the name of Jesus, out loud command that the demons be bound, deafened, blinded and muted. By doing this, you will stop them from actively interfering in the life of the person you are trying to reach for Jesus, and they can freely make an intelligent choice without demons influencing their will.
They will remain bound until the Lord releases them, giving you the chance to talk to the person about Jesus without interference. He or she may not choose to accept Him right then, and do not be discouraged by that. You will have planted seeds as the Lord has commanded us to do. He is the one who causes the seeds to grow. We can water the seeds by continuing to speak to them about Jesus, but the final decision whether they accept Jesus as Savior and Lord is up to them.
If the person accepts Jesus as Savior and Lord, then and only then it is safe for either you or the person involved to cast the demons out in the name of Jesus Christ.
LUKE 11:27-36
27 And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!"
28 But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"
Again Jesus is saying that Mary was not anyone special as far as He was concerned. She was a sinner just like anyone else. It was more important to Him that people hear and obey the Word of God, than to dwell on physical things.
LUKE 11:29-36
29 And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, "This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
30 "For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.
31 "The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.
32 "The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.
33 "No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.
34 "The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.
35 "Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.
36 "If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light."
Jesus wanted people to listen to His preaching, not to concentrate only on the miracles. While seeing a miracle would indeed be profound, listening to the words spoken by the Son of God would touch their hearts forever and had the potential to change their daily lives. These are literally words to live by. This is why reading the Word of God daily is so important for all Christians. Reading the Word, talking to the Lord and listening to His answers, will keep us on the right path in our walk with Jesus.
In reference to Jonah, Jesus was speaking of the three days He would spend in the tomb after His crucifixion. The reference to the Queen of the South, was referring to the Queen of Sheba (present day Yemen) who traveled hundreds of miles just to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and while One greater than Jonah and Solomon was there, they rejected His words.
Note that by Jesus speaking of Jonah as He did, was confirming that what happened to Jonah was a actual event, not just an allegory or a parable.
The men of Assyria were cruel, brutal warriors who tortured conquered captives in horrifying fashions and were feared and hated across all of Mesopotamia. Yet when Jonah preached to them, they all repented, from the king down to the lowest servant and God had mercy and spared them from the destruction He had planned for them.
LUKE 11:37-41
37 And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in and sat down to eat.
38 When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.
39 Then the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.
40 "Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?
41 "But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.
This is a prime example of the errors taught by the Pharisees. They rigidly observed hygienic commandments concerning the eating of foods so that they didn't eat anything unclean, but they were unclean in heart which is what God sees. They concentrated on the physical aspects but were blind to the spiritual aspects of the Law of Moses.
Jesus was saying that if you are clean within, you will be clean without in God's eyes. If you are unclean within, outward cleansing will do you no good before God. As God told the prophet Samuel;
I SAMUEL 16:7
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
LUKE 11:42-44
42 "But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
43 "Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.
44 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them."
While the tithing was important, they didn't think things like justice, mercy and faith were important at all. Those things weren't as easy to get praise and glory for like the tithes they brought before the crowds to impress the people.
Again, they followed the physical requirements of the Law but ignored the purpose of the Law, or they chose which parts they wanted to follow and not the rest, fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy of;
ISAIAH 29:13-14
13 Therefore the Lord said: "Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,
14 Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work among this people, a marvelous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden."
LUKE 11:45-51
45 Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, "Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also."
46 And He said, "Woe to you lawyers! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.
47 "Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.
48 "In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.
49 "Therefore the wisdom of God also said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,'
50 "that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation,
51 "from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.
The Pharisees and doctors of the Law believed that they were too important to do menial labor and simply added their obligations onto the illiterate people they taught in the synagogue.
They also added unnecessary restrictions to the Law but didn't follow their own restrictions. For example, they accused Jesus of working because He healed on the Sabbath, but if one of them had been sick, he more than likely would not have hesitated to go to a physician and be healed on a Sabbath.
Jesus accused them of following the corrupt deeds and doctrines of their fathers who killed the prophets of old. And even knowing why the prophets were killed, their children built elaborate tombs for the prophets but still followed in their fathers' footsteps.
LUKE 11:52-54
52 "Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered."
53 And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things,
54 lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.
Here is a very important point, and one which I really want to stress.
The Catholic Church has long taught that Jesus gave Peter the keys to the kingdom of Heaven, signifying that Peter (and those designated as his successors) have the power to open and close the gates of Heaven to anyone, based on the following Scripture;
MATTHEW 16:18-19
18 "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
19 "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
First of all, Peter was not the "rock" that Jesus spoke of in the Scripture above. The Latin word "Petrus" from which we get the name "Peter" means "a stone". But Jesus when he spoke of "this rock", He used the feminine pronoun "Petra", meaning "bedrock", referring to Himself. He is the Rock of salvation, not sinful Peter!
The apostle Paul knew this when he said;
I CORINTHIANS 10:1-4
1 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea,
2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,
3 all ate the same spiritual food,
4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.
The word that Paul used for "Rock" was the same one that Jesus used in speaking of Himself as the Rock that the Church would be built upon.
Know and understand that the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven are knowledge of the Word of God and knowledge of His commandments! Jesus told the lawyers that they had taken away the key of knowledge from the people which would hinder their listeners from entering Heaven.
If you ever take a look at an aerial view of St. Peter's Square in the Vatican, it is shaped like a huge key, supposedly indicating that the Popes have the keys to the gates of Heaven.
No man has the power to allow or bar anyone from entering the Kingdom of Heaven! This power has been given to Jesus Christ alone and He will either welcome us or bar us at our Judgment! And for the Popes to claim this authority makes them equal with Jesus Christ, which is blasphemy.
As for power of binding and loosing spoken to Peter by Jesus, we all have this power and authority. If we bind Satan and his demons here on Earth, they are bound in Heaven also. If we loose the sins of others who have sinned against us by forgiving them, the sins are forgiven before God also. We cannot forgive sins that people sin against others in God's place as the Catholic priests claim to do. Only God and the person(s) they sinned against can do that. To claim that we have such power is to put us in the place of God which is again, blasphemy.
So even though the lawyers weren't going to follow the Word of God and get into heaven they were also blocking the way for others to get into heaven by making everything much more complicated than God had intended. They read the correct scriptures, but then told the people their very complicated interpretations of the required laws and commandments. This allowed them to bend and twist God's laws to their desires and exalt themselves as the only ones capable of understanding the Word of God.
God's Word is not difficult to understand. Read it and if you have any questions, ask Him. He loves it when we talk to Him on a personal basis. Try it, and await His answers.
LUKE 12:1
1 In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
The doctrines of men are like a spiritual poison in that many man-made doctrines sound right on the surface, but they are displeasing to God and in some cases actually contrary to His Word.
LUKE 12:2-5
2 "For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.
3 "Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.
4 "And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
5 "But I will show you whom you should fear: fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into Hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!
Every deceitful word and deed whether done in the open or done in secret will be known to all on the Day of Judgement, during the Judgement of the unrighteous.
Jesus tells us that whatever wisdom He gives us, we are to proclaim to others and not keep it hidden. Therefore there should not be any secret "Christian" organizations like the Masons, who claim to preserve "hidden" knowledge, and reveal such arcane "knowledge" only to members of the organization. Jesus spoke openly to all men. So should we also follow His example.
Our lives are a very small time frame compared to eternity; and no matter whom you serve your spirit will live for eternity. You must decide where you will spend eternity, either in Heaven or Hell. There is no such thing as "Purgatory", where you "pay" for your sins then enter Heaven, as Jesus has already paid for all sins with His atoning death.
The Catholic Church teaches that there is a place similar to Hell called "Purgatory" where the Catholic dead who have not committed "mortal sins" go to suffer until their sins have been paid for. In some cases, their sins are literally paid for, as the Church encourages bereaved ones to pay for Masses to be said to shorten the time their loved ones spend in Purgatory.
Know and understand that there is no such place as "Purgatory". Anyone who dies in their sins without Jesus in their heart will go to Hell to await the Great Judgment. This may seem harsh, but God has set the rules for this, not man.
He has made it so simple for us. All we must do is believe, and accept the priceless gift of salvation in Jesus Christ, and accept the freedom from sin that His atoning death has brought.
Know and understand this above all, after death you no longer have the freedom to choose Jesus as Savior and Lord. You will have already made your decision as to where you will spend eternity. We don't know when death will take us, but it would be foolish in the extreme to not make sure of your eternal destination before your time comes.
LUKE 12:6-9
6 "Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God.
7 "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
8 "Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.
9 "But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.
Nothing happens without God's specific will being exercised in the matter. Don't fear your own death, but fear the wrath of God. The only way to the Father is through Jesus, and if He denies you before the Father you cannot enter into heaven to spend eternity with Him. Never be ashamed of the Lord!
LUKE 12:10
10 "And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.
Remember we spoke previously of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, calling the Holy Spirit a demon, or calling the work of the Holy Spirit the work of Satan. Once He specified this, we are now responsible for this knowledge and the consequences of committing this sin.
LUKE 12:11-12
11 "Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say.
12 "For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."
God takes care of all of our needs. When we are being persecuted for His Name sake, listen to the Lord and He will give you the words He wants you to speak in any situation. Trust Him to take care of you.
There have been recorded cases during the time of the Inquisition of children preaching the Word to their persecutors with powerful eloquence, as well as others refuting the Inquisitioners with accurate quotes from Scripture. Your words will be a witness against your persecutors at their judgment.
LUKE 12:13-21
13 Then one from the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."
14 But He said to him, "Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?"
15 And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."
16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.
17 "And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?'
18 "So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.
19 'And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."'
20 "But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?'
21 "So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."
It isn't evil to have money or possessions, but when the money or material possessions become your god, then evil begins because of your love of money. Who has a closer relationship with God, the rich person who has need of nothing (except a good tax consultant), or the poor who rely on God for their daily bread? Who is richer in the long run?
Remember, money isn't called "cold cash" for nothing. You can love it, but it will not love you in return. Material things are just that, material things that will eventually perish or be stolen. But if you have treasure in Heaven, it will be eternal and will be a glory to you.
LUKE 12:22-31
22 Then He said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.
23 "Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.
24 "Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?
25 "And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
26 "If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?
27 "Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
28 "If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?
29 "And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.
30 "For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things.
31 "But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.
This has to be one of the hardest things in life, to not worry about material things. But the only thing worrying produces is stress! It never accomplishes anything good. God will provide for our needs, not necessarily for our wants, and will not always provide the way we expect or want Him to.
If we seek to do His will in our lives, will He not take care of these things for us? Did He not provide for the multitude of the people of Israel for 40 years in the desert where there was no food or water? If we believe that God is all powerful and hears our prayers, why do we worry about what we have no control over?
Worrying about the future won't accomplish anything except to give you a sleepless night. Plan for the future, but don't worry about what you can't change anyway.
LUKE 12:32-41
32 "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
33 "Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.
34 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
35 "Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning;
36 "and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.
37 "Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them.
38 "And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.
39 "But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.
40 "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."
41 Then Peter said to Him, "Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?"
Money is very much like fire, a good servant but a bad master. Do not hesitate to help those less fortunate than yourself, for these things are pleasing in the sight of God. But do it selflessly, not with an eye to accumulating treasures in Heaven. Remember, God knows your motives for what you do.
We are to always be ready for Jesus, whether He returns in glory before we die, or when we leave this world to go meet Him. If He comes and finds us diligently doing our duties for Him, or if we have been doing works for Him when our time to leave this Earth comes, He will honor and commend us at our Judgment.
Note also, that He says He Himself will prepare a dinner and come and serve us! Almighty God, humbling Himself to honor those who have been faithful to Him! I suspect this will happen at the great Marriage Supper of the Lamb, spoken of in the book of Revelation, when the Great Judgment is over, and eternity begins.
LUKE 12:42-46
42 And the Lord said, "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?
43 "Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.
44 "Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has.
45 "But if that servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk,
46 "the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.
There is a very poisonous doctrine in the churches of "once saved, always saved". In other words, once you receive Jesus, you are saved no matter what you do afterward. The verses above show that this is not the case. If you fall away and are still in a fallen state when Jesus returns, or when death takes you, you will be assigned a place with the hypocrites in Hell!
LUKE 12:47-53
47 "And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
48 "But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
49 "I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!
50 "But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!
51 "Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division.
52 "For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three.
53 "Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."
Many non-believers point to this and say that if Jesus is supposedly the "Prince of Peace", why would He say this?
If you think carefully about this, He is warning us that because of the battle lines drawn between believers and non-believers, the believers would be hated even by members of their own households. I have heard where non-believing wives or husbands have divorced the believing spouse because they didn't want to live with the believer any more.
Down through history during the persecutions of true Christians in Europe under the Roman Empire and the Roman Catholic Church sponsored Inquisition, non-believers would betray believers to the authorities and would infiltrate groups of believers in order to betray them to the authorities.
During the coming great persecution during the End Times, this will happen again and will be far more prevalent as Satan will be banished to Earth to make his final stand and will be personally directing his demon forces here on Earth.
And during these times, there will be believers, especially those who believe in a "Pre-Tribulation Rapture" who my very well fall away when the great persecution arises under the rule of the Antichrist and they realize they're still here. These people could very well turn on the believers who maintain their faith.
LUKE 12:54-59
54 Then He also said to the multitudes, "Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, 'A shower is coming'; and so it is.
55 "And when you see the south wind blow, you say, 'There will be hot weather'; and there is.
56 "Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?
57 "Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right?
58 "When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison.
59 "I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite."
This may be where the Catholic church gets the idea of Purgatory with the reference to not getting out of prison until every last penny is paid. What Jesus means is that we cannot enter Heaven until all of our sins are paid in full.
We can never fully pay for our sins on our own. But Jesus, being the perfect, sinless sacrifice has already paid for all sins ever committed by humans in the past, present or future. The only condition attached to this free gift is that we believe in Him, accept Him as Savior and Lord, and follow His commandments.
LUKE 13:1-9
1 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
2 And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?
3 "I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.
4 "Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?
5 "I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."
6 He also spoke this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.
7 "Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?'
8 "But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.
9 'And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.'"
The reference to Pilate mingling the blood of Galileans with their sacrifices probably refers to a riot that broke out when Pontius Pilate ordered Roman soldiers to surround and slaughter a group of Samaritans who had climbed Mount Gerizim in Samaria.
These people had begun digging for artifacts supposedly buried by Moses as proclaimed by a self-proclaimed religious figure, and the soldiers not only slaughtered the diggers, but bystanders as well.
The reference to the tower of Siloam refers to when a fortified tower being built in Old Testament times collapsed on the builders, killing eighteen of them. Jesus was saying that just because this catastrophe happened to them, it wasn't because of divine judgment against them, or because they were greater sinners than those around them.
He was saying that death can strike us at any time, and only God knows how and when it will happen, and if we do not repent and have Jesus in our hearts, we will perish in our sins.
With the parable of the fig tree, Jesus often put His teachings in a context that the common people could understand.
In this context, the owner of a fig tree comes for three years seeking fruit from a fig tree, only to find it barren. In frustration he asks the groundskeeper to cut it down so the land can be used for something more fruitful.
The groundskeeper asks for one more year in which to dig around it (aerating the roots) and add fertilizer for nutrition, and if it still doesn't bear, he will cut it down.
This could very well refer to unfruitful Christians to whom the Father comes seeking fruits of righteousness, but finds nothing. Jesus, the groundskeeper, asks for more time to try to make it fruitful and diligently applies effort to make this happen.
But there comes a time when if the Christian is still unfruitful, then as the fig tree, they will be cut down and thrown away.
Does this make God unmerciful? Hardly! We plant fruit trees fully expecting them to produce fruit. If they don't, we consider them to be useless, cut them down, burn them and replace them with another. We cannot condemn God for what we do ourselves, can we?
LUKE 13:10-17
10 Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
11 And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.
12 But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity."
13 And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
14 But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, "There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day."
15 The Lord then answered him and said, "Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it?
16 "So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?"
17 And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.
Nowadays, we would attribute this woman's affliction to osteoporosis (weak bone density) but Jesus saw that there was a spiritual problem, apparently a spirit of infirmity, that had manifested itself in a physical ailment.
Unfortunately we cannot attribute all physical ailments to spiritual problems, only the Lord can grant discernment in these cases, but we need to seek Him in such matters.
Again this passage shows the hypocrisy of the Pharisees in that they considered healing to be "work" and therefore forbidden on the Sabbath. Yet Jesus shrewdly pointed out that they violated their own teachings every time they fed and watered their animals on the Sabbath.
This shows their growing desperation to find something to accuse Him of that they might have reason to bring Him to trial and be rid of Him. They were afraid that Jesus, by exposing their corruption, would take away their power, position and eventually their wealth.
If the people knew that the traditions the Pharisees established were only to bring themselves glory and wealth, this could ruin the nice setup they had. The people listened to them believing them to be wise and learned men as most common people were illiterate and had to rely on their leaders to tell them what the Word of God said and to show them how to please the Lord.
The Pharisees were also extremely jealous of Jesus' popularity and His miracles, for it took attention away from them, and focused it on this upstart teacher of righteousness, who in turn pointed out their errors publicly.
LUKE 13:18-21
18 Then He said, "What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?
19 "It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches."
20 And again He said, "To what shall I liken the kingdom of God?
21 "It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."
Faith is like leaven (yeast in a loaf of bread), it permeates everything. Our faith continues to grow as long as we feed it, by reading the Word of God and talking to Him as well as listening to Him.
And like a mustard seed, faith starts out small and as we grow in Jesus and understand more about Him and His Word, it increases to the point of where it can defy even death itself and remove the natural fear that death brings.
LUKE 13:22-30
22 And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.
23 Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" And He said to them,
24 "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
25 "When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you, where you are from,'
26 "then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.'
27 "But He will say, 'I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.'
28 "There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.
29 "They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.
30 "And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last."
We can do all kinds of wonderful works in the name of Jesus, but if He is not Lord in our hearts, it will do us no good. He gave us His written Word that we might come to know Him and know what is expected of us as far as obedience to Him and His laws. Good works should naturally come from having Him in our hearts and being obedient to Him through His Spirit. But know this, works alone will not get you into Heaven.
Unfortunately there will be far too many people who at their judgment will beg Jesus with tears in their eyes to be allowed into His kingdom, and will be refused. They will point out all of the good works they have done, many done in His name, and He in turn will show that they did their own works in His name. Men see the outward appearance, but only God can see the intentions of the heart.
It is only by grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ that we are granted access to Heaven. We cannot earn our way there through any action we might do, for all of our works are corrupt and sinful in His sight. Good works are a natural result of having Jesus in our lives, but they will not grant us access to Heaven. Only works done in His name
Entry into Heaven will be determined by two hard facts:
1. Did we have Jesus in our heart when we died?
2. Did we strive to be obedient to His will and the will of the Father while on Earth?
Those who had Jesus in their hearts when they died and were obedient to Him and the Father will have their works judged as to the quality of service they performed for Him in their works. Those who didn't have Jesus in their lives will have their sins judged and will have all of their works examined as to motives and reasons for doing what they did.
Jesus told the people that associating with Him while He was on Earth would not grant them entry into Heaven. If we accept Him as Lord and Savior, He knows us and we know Him, and He will grant us entry into His kingdom if we remain obedient to Him and His Father.
But if we do not believe in Him or accept Him, He will tell us , "I don't know you" when we stand before Him at our judgment, and we will be cast out of His presence for eternity.
LUKE 13:31-35
31 On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, "Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You."
32 And He said to them, "Go, tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.'
33 "Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.
34 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!
35 "See! Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"
Herod Antipas was the Herod referred to here. A brutal king, he was also a very shrewd politician causing Jesus to refer to him as a "fox". Jesus knew that it would be the Romans who would physically put Him to death, so he had no fear of Herod or his threats.
Jesus also knew the terrible events that would come 40 years after His death on the cross resulting in their exile from the Land a second time, and He wept knowing the persecution and misery that would come because of their unbelief.
LUKE 14:1-6
1 Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely.
2 And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy.
3 And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"
4 But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go.
5 Then He answered them, saying, "Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?"
6 And they could not answer Him regarding these things.
"Dropsy" (Greek: Hudropikos "watery") is a disease in which the body retains water, usually in the abdomen. The above passage refers to an extreme case, as usually most forms of dropsy are not easily visible. One such example is congestive heart failure in which the pericardial sac surrounding the heart fills with water, squeezing the heart and interfering with its ability to pump blood.
Again this shows the hypocrisy of the Pharisees in that they considered healing to be "work" and therefore forbidden on the Sabbath. Note however that they didn't answer Jesus when He asked them whether it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not. I think they were going to see if Jesus would entrap Himself with His words.
LUKE 14:7-14
7 So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them:
8 "When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him;
9 "and he who invited you and him come and say to you, 'Give place to this man,' and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place.
10 "But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher.' Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you.
11 "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
12 Then He also said to him who invited Him, "When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid.
13 "But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.
14 "And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just."
It was customary when private feasts were held to hold them in buildings with multiple (usually two-story) floors, with the most honored guests sitting in seats on the upper floor. The closer to the host of the feast you sat, the greater the honor you received.
Jesus was telling us to be humble and start at the bottom, thus avoiding an embarrassing situation of having to be unseated by one considered by the host to be more honorable than you, and you become ashamed before all who see.
When we do our good deeds we should do them out of desire to please the Lord and help others, not to seek to bring glory to ourselves. If you do good deeds for glory and recognition here on Earth, you may receive it, but you will not receive praise from the Lord at your judgment because you did so from evil motives.
LUKE 14:15-24
15 Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, "Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!"
16 Then He said to him, "A certain man gave a great supper and invited many,
17 "and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, 'Come, for all things are now ready.'
18 "But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.'
19 "And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.'
20 "Still another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.'
21 "So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.'
22 "And the servant said, 'Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.'
23 "Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
24 'For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.'"
The Jews were the first guests invited by God to His kingdom and marriage supper, but most of them rejected Jesus and those who followed Him, they were not willing to humble themselves to God's will. The lawyers and Pharisees were prime examples of this, exalting themselves in their own sight, believing that they were guaranteed access to Heaven merely because of who they were.
Note that Jesus went to the poor, the crippled, the blind, the spiritually destitute, not to the self-exalted. Those that needed Him the most were the ones He sought, and they readily accepted Him. These are the poor, blind, maimed and lame in the parable.
As there was still room, the Gentiles who believe that Jesus is the Messiah were then invited to the wedding feast, being accounted worthy through their faith in Jesus to attend the wedding and have a place in God's kingdom.
And note that those whom God invited first were not allowed to enter the room where the wedding feast was being held. Even so, those Jews who rejected Jesus will not be allowed to enter the kingdom of God.
LUKE 14:25-27
25 Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them,
26 "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.
27 "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
Some people have a big problem with these verses. This is a case of priorities, not a case of loving your family less. Jesus must be first in your life, and doing His will must be your top priority. But make sure that it is Jesus' will that you do something, not you doing your own will in His name.
Men, especially fathers, it is your job to be the head of the household and you are responsible before God to provide for the needs of your family. God has given your dependants to you to care for and you must be diligent to carry out this responsibility before the Lord.
Concerning the needs of the church, (church maintenance and upkeep) there are many single people who can do work requested or required by the church, or the church can even hire someone to do the work. If requested, do whatever is asked of you if it does not pose a hardship on your family.
Men who have families or dependants would do well to remember Paul's words on this subject;
I TIMOTHY 5:8
8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
If there is doubt in the matter, pray, asking what you should do. The Lord will not be pleased if you do work for Him that he does not want you to do, especially if you neglect your family to do so.
LUKE 14:28-35
28 "For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it
29 "lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,
30 "saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'
31 "Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?
32 "Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.
33 "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
34 "Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?
35 "It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
Following Jesus is not an easy thing to do, and don't let anyone convince you otherwise! In this world we will suffer hardships and persecutions just as He did, and we need count the cost of discipleship and consider whether we are able and willing to undergo hardship for His name.
Remember, God commanded Abraham to leave his kindred and friends behind and go to a land that He would show him. And as Scripture records, Abraham obeyed, taking his family with him, not knowing where he would be going.
GENESIS 12:1-5
1 And the LORD said to Abram, Go out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house into a land that I will show you.
2 And I will make you a great nation. And I will bless you and make your name great. And you shall be a blessing.
3 And I will bless those that bless you and curse the one who curses you. And in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.
4 And Abram departed, even as the LORD had spoken to him. And Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gained in Haran. And they went forth to go into the land of Canaan. And they came into the land of Canaan.
If called to do something similar by God, would we be willing to do the same without question or argument?
LUKE 15:1-10
1 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.
2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them."
3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying:
4 "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?
5 "And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6 "And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'
7 "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
8 "Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?
9 "And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!'
10 "Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
A sheep was a shepherd's livelihood, and if one was lost or killed, it was costly to him. Therefore he would leave the 99 in a safe place, or get someone to watch over them and go search for the lost sheep.
Wolves, lions and bears abounded during those times, so it was important that the search be started immediately.
All of heaven rejoices when a sinner comes to Jesus. He knows that it must be a free will choice, but God rejoices in each one who chooses Him.
LUKE 15:11-13
11 Then He said: "A certain man had two sons.
12 "And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' So he divided to them his livelihood.
13 "And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.
The younger son had no respect for the work that his father did to earn the money he had. He believed it was his right to have the money. Sadly, many people are like that with their parents and God. They believe that their parents are a means to the good life for them and they believe being a child of God means they will automatically get the riches of Heaven by right, not by the grace of God.
LUKE 15:14-16
14 "But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.
15 "Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16 "And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
God chose to teach that son humility, as he does with all of His children when we go down the wrong path. He will not violate our free will to go, but he will cause us to understand the truth about foolishness, disobedience and the consequences of both. Satan's kingdom is not founded on mercy, so none is given to any who are there except to those who cry out to God and are taken into His Kingdom.
Swine were an abomination to the Jews and the fact that the man was not only willing to take care of them but wanted also to feed from their trough shows what desperate straits he was in. And note that his "friends" who stayed with him while he had money were nowhere to be found when he needed help.
LUKE 15:17-19
17 "But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
18 'I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,
19 "and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants."'
Like the son going to his father, we must go to God with humility, admit our mistakes, and ask for forgiveness. We should not expect any reward for returning, since we are the ones who walked away, but should only hope to be received back.
LUKE 15:20-24
20 "And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.
21 "And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
22 "But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.
23 'And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry;
24 'for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry.
God and Heaven always rejoice when a lost one is found, or when a fallen Christian returns to God again.
LUKE 15:25-28
25 "Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.
26 "So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.
27 "And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.'
28 "But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.
It can be hard on those who have always served the Lord to see the rejoicing for the ones who went willingly into Satan's Kingdom and are so eagerly welcomed back by God and his servants. Jesus rejoices when one lost soul returns to His fold. Those who never stray from Jesus, should rejoice with Him and not be jealous of the attention received by the returning child.
LUKE 15:29-32
29 "So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.
30 'But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.'
31 "And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.
32 'It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.'"
Any good Father rejoices at the return of His children, but the greatest reward falls to those who have always been faithful and were willing to stay and work instead of trying to live what some would consider the life of leisure.
The thing we need to remember is that when the judgement comes and we all receive our rewards for our service, the people who served God to the best of their abilities will receive many crowns for their service and other rewards from Him. The ones who did not serve him well by walking away and coming back will receive significantly fewer crowns. By your crowns and their glory it will be known how well you served the Lord our God.
LUKE 16:1-8
1 He also said to His disciples: "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.
2 "So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.'
3 "Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.
4 'I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.'
5 "So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'
6 "And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.' So he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'
7 "Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?' So he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'
8 "So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.
The unjust steward altered the bills of those who owed his master, so that they would pay back less than they owed, in hopes of ingratiating himself to them. A true steward would have given his master accurate accounts of what was owed to him.
We must do our best for the Lord in any job He gives us to do, to the best of our abilities. The steward was dishonest and not doing his job and the boss called him on it, just as the Lord will do to us, if we become lazy or dishonest while in His service.
God doesn't expect us to be perfect, however He does expect the best effort. If we really try our best and end up making a mistake or things don't work out as intended, just go to the Lord and ask for help. He won't be angry but will help you to see what you should have done to get the desired results. With God it's the intent of the heart and the effort that counts not the results.
LUKE 16:9-15
9 "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home.
10 "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.
11 "Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
12 "And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own?
13 "No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."
14 Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him.
15 And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
Being a good steward of money can be very hard, and many can't seem to do it well. But if you are careful and shrewd with your money, you will be praised for your efforts. If you are put in charge of another man's possessions, be diligent to preserve what he has.
Remember, being rich is not a sin, but it is the love of money that causes sin, greed and much woe to those who are ensnared by it's lure. It's not called "cold cash" for nothing. You can love it, but it won't love you! And like fire, money is a good servant but a bad master.
You can serve God or money (mammon), but you cannot serve both!!! As the apostle Paul said;
I TIMOTHY 6:10
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
LUKE 16:16-18
16 "The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.
17 "And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.
18 "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.
The Law will remain until every part of the law is fulfilled completely.
Think very carefully before marrying. This is not a contract, it is a lifelong commitment, much like serving the Lord. Jesus was telling us that we cannot divorce wives or husbands for trivial causes.
LUKE 16:19-31
19 "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.
20 "But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate,
21 "desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 "So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.
23 "And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 "Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.'
25 "But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.
26 'And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.'
27 "Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house,
28 'for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.'
29 "Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.'
30 "And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'
31 "But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'"
Note that Jesus never said this was a parable! I suspect it is a true story!
Before Jesus died for our sins and arose victorious over Death and Hell, those who died went to either a place of rest or a place of torment as shown by the story above.
The reason for this was that those who died in obedience to the Law of Moses were still sinners, and were not yet worthy to enter Heaven, because the Law had no provision for cleansing them of their sins.
The imperfect sacrifices of the Old Testament Law covered their sins, but could not remove them. But when Jesus paid for their sins with His death on the cross, their sins were now removed forever and they were now made perfect and were worthy to enter Heaven.
Thus when we die now, we either enter Heaven, being made perfect in Jesus, or we go to Hell to await our judgment.
Thus when Jesus spoke of this story, the rich man went to Hell and Lazarus went to a place of rest to be with Abraham, who was also awaiting Jesus' atoning death. Note that both the rich man and Abraham could see and talk with each other, but there was a huge gap fixed between them so that neither could cross over to the other side.
Note also that the rich man was thirsty and in agony in the fire of Hell, showing that after death we still can see, hear, speak and have all of the physical feelings that we do in life.
God has given abundant information for people to make their own freewill choice as to whom they will serve. If you choose not to serve Jesus because it would go against your family traditions or you might have to give up the material things in your life or your family would turn against you; etc., then you will pay the same consequences that the rich man paid of being tormented for eternity.
Whether you go to Heaven or Hell you will be there FOREVER.
And Abraham was right, in that Jesus rose from the dead just as Moses and the prophets said, and few believe in Him today. Are you willing to believe, or will you join the rich man and believe when it's too late?
LUKE 17:1-2
1 Then He said to the disciples, "It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!
2 "It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
We must be very careful not to cause a believer in Jesus to lose faith. It doesn't matter if it is caused by word or deed. While everyone is responsible before the Lord for their own decisions, if a thoughtless word or deed on your part causes someone to turn away from Jesus, you will be held accountable for your part in the losing of a soul to Hell.
A millstone was a huge stone used to grind grain into flour.
LUKE 17:3-4
3 "Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
4 "And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."
If we don't forgive others who have sinned against us, then God will not forgive our sins. Jesus was saying that we must continue to forgive over and over again, just as He forgives us over and over again.
Only Jesus and the person sinned against can forgive the sins of one who has sinned against them. In other words, if someone sins against you, only you and Jesus can forgive them. No one else can forgive them in your place. God never gave such authority to men in the Scriptures, and will never do so, as that would place man equal with God who alone has this authority.
Catholic priests claim to have this power, and they routinely tell their parishioners that their sins are forgiven. Are they God? Did they die for our sins? This was graphically illustrated back in chapter 5, when the paralytic man had been lowered by his friends through the roof of the building where Jesus was teaching. Scripture records;
LUKE 5:18-26
18 Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him.
19 And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.
20 When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”
21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts?
23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk’?
24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”
25 Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.
26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today!”
Note that in verse 20, Jesus forgave the sins of the paralyzed man, for being equal with God He had power and authority to do so. But those who sat with Him were horrified, seeing a man claim to have authority to forgive the sins of a man who had not sinned against Jesus personally. They rightly asked, "Who can forgive sins, but God alone?"
Jesus, in order to prove that He had this authority, merely spoke to the paralyzed man and he was healed, again something only God Himself could do.
Know and understand that no man, be he priest or minister, has the power to forgive the sins of others in the place of God. Any one who claims this power exalts himself to be equal with God who alone has this authority. Nowhere in Scripture has God given such authority to Man, not shall it ever be given to Man.
LUKE 17:5-6
5 And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."
6 So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.
Faith is like leaven (yeast in a loaf of bread), it permeates everything. Our faith continues to grow as long as we feed it, by reading the Word of God and talking to Him as well as listening to Him.
And like a mustard seed, faith starts out small and as we grow in Jesus and understand more about Him and His Word, it increases to the point of where it can defy even Death itself and remove the natural fear that death brings. Our faith can also help others in their walk with the Lord.
Jesus didn't mean that we could tell a tree to be uprooted and be planted in the sea, He was showing us the power that faith can wield when used properly. Read some of the stories in the Old Testament of the miracles performed through faith and you will see what Jesus meant.
Remember that Jesus often healed according to the strength of the faith of the petitioner, as shown in Matthew;
Matthew 9:28-29
28 And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."
29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you."
LUKE 17:7-10
7 "And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'?
8 "But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'?
9 "Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not.
10 "So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.'"
Scripture commands us to do certain things that are required of us as God's disciples. We can do just those things, but we will not receive many rewards in Heaven for doing so, just as servants do not receive many rewards for their required service.
But if we do things that are above and beyond what is required of us, then we will receive praise and honor from God, just as a servant who performed above and beyond what his master required would receive from his master.
LUKE 17:11-19
11 Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
12 Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.
13 And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"
14 So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.
15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God,
16 and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.
17 So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?
18 "Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?"
19 And He said to him, "Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well."
Here were ten people healed from a horrific and deadly disease which made these people outcasts and left them living on the fringes of the cities. They were banned from all society, their families, and everything they had ever known, in addition to very slowly and painfully dying of this incurable disease.
Jesus came along and showing great compassion and mercy, healed the entire group of lepers. Only one of the ten came back to Jesus and offered thanks and praise to the Lord. And this one who offered praise to the Lord was not even a Jew, to whom Jesus was sent, but a man of Samaria, considered by the Jews to be among the dregs of society.
LUKE 17:20-21
20 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation;
21 "nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you."
When we serve the Lord we ask Jesus to come into our hearts. He lives within us, making our bodies a Temple for the Lord. People should be able to see Jesus in us and in our lives through our words and deeds.
Our spirit dwells within our flesh, and when we accept Jesus, He also dwells within us. As our flesh will not enter Heaven but our spirits will through Jesus Christ, truly the kingdom of God is within us.
LUKE 17:22-23
22 Then He said to the disciples, "The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.
23 "And they will say to you, 'Look here!' or 'Look there!' Do not go after them or follow them.
Here is a warning we all need to heed! Satan's servants will be empowered to perform miracles to the point that the elect (believers in Jesus) could be deceived by them.
Sadly enough, I have seen people in churches today that are so hungry for signs of God's power that they could very well fall into Satan's trap. They are so desperate for displays of something that they are willing to accept Satanic counterfeits and false prophets without testing them as the apostles Paul and John cautioned. Sadly, many Christians and Messianic Jews will be deceived by the Antichrist and his people.
Paul foresaw this, causing him to say;
I THESSALONIANS 5:21
21 Test all things; hold fast what is good.
And the apostle John said;
I JOHN 4:1-3
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,
3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
LUKE 17:24-32
24 "For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day.
25 "But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
26 "And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:
27 "They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
28 "Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built;
29 "but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.
30 "Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
31 "In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back.
32 "Remember Lot's wife.
We must keep our faith strong so we are prepared to serve Him in any way and at any time. Also, we must be watchful and prepared for meeting the Lord, whether it is because He returns or because we die. Either way our time for decisions will be over. We must be ready at any time for any thing the Lord asks of us.
Jesus is saying that when He returns, the unprepared will have no warning. Things will be going as normal, and then suddenly He will appear in the sky. And like Lot's wife, those who want the world more than Jesus, will pay a terrible price. And Jesus, by referring to Lot's wife as a warning, has stated that what happened to her as described in the Scriptures was an actual event.
LUKE 17:33
33 "Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.
Anyone who takes the "Mark of the Beast" or denies Jesus in order to save their life will lose their soul for eternity. But those who refuse the "Mark of the Beast" or refuse to deny Jesus may lose their life but will spend eternity with Jesus in Heaven.
Remember what Jesus tells us in Matthew.
MATTHEW 10:28
28 "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
MATTHEW 16:26
26 "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
LUKE 17:34-37
34 "I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left.
35 "Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left.
36 "Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left."
37 And they answered and said to Him, "Where, Lord?" So He said to them, "Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together."
This has been much misinterpreted as being proof of the "Pre-Tribulation Rapture", which teaches that Jesus is going to come back invisibly to take His Church out of the world before the Antichrist starts the Great Persecution described in the books of Daniel and Revelation. They teach that just as eagles fly high in the heavens, even so we will be with the eagles when Jesus returns.
Yet Jesus said in Luke 17:24 above, that as lightning lights up the entire sky, so will His coming be. Every living thing will see Him when He returns. And Jesus spoke of only one return, not an invisible Second Coming followed several years later by a glorious Third Coming.
As for verses 34-37 above, understand that eagles are carrion birds, and while beautiful to behold, they eat dead carrion. And the word used for eagles (Greek: aetos), is also translated as vultures.
As for "the body", spoken of by Jesus in verse 37, read what He said of this in Matthew, when He said;
MATTHEW 24:28
28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered.
These verses are not referring to the Rapture, they are referring to when the Great Persecution comes, in which the believer will be taken by the forces of the Antichrist and killed, and the non-believer will be left.
Remember, in verse 31 above, Jesus speaks of fleeing, not even going back into your house to get your clothes. In Matthew chapter 24, He was referring to when the Antichrist seats himself in the newly built Temple in Jerusalem and proclaims himself as God, saying that when we see this, we are to flee for safety.
Do not be deceived! Christians will go through the entire Tribulation! The Rapture will not happen until Jesus returns in glory at the end of all things!
(For those seeking more information, please read the entire 5-part End Times Studies series in this Web site.)
LUKE 18:1-8
1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,
2 saying: "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.
3 "Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, 'Get justice for me from my adversary.'
4 "And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man,
5 'yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.'"
6 Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said.
7 "And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?
8 "I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"
Just because God doesn't answer our prayers right away, doesn't mean that He hasn't heard them, or that His answer is "No". Keep praying and petitioning until you get an answer, not losing faith if the answer is long in coming. Only God knows the reasons for seeming delays in responses, and we need to trust Him in everything.
The devastation of the days of tribulation will be greater than anything ever seen by Mankind before, including the great flood in Noah's day. Will the faithful of the Lord continue to do His bidding even in the worst of situations or will they lose heart (and faith) when things get really bad?
Remember what Jesus said in the book of Mark;
MARK 13:19-20
19 "For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be.
20 "And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.
The word for "flesh" used in verse 20 is the Greek word "sarx", meaning literal flesh. Jesus is saying that things will be so bad that if He was not to come back and put an end to the Antichrist and Satan, there would be literally no life left on the planet.
People have a hard time believing this, or understanding how this could happen, but we need to remember that we are fighting against a merciless, ruthless enemy who wants nothing more than to see all of Mankind destroyed.
We're not that far removed from WW II and the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust, yet Jesus is saying that the destruction under the Antichrist will be far worse. We need to wake up and understand that we are living in the End Times, and the prophesied events of Daniel and Revelation will soon be on us.
LUKE 18:9-14
9 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.
12 'I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'
13 "And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'
14 "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Note carefully that Jesus said that the Pharisee prayed with himself. Essentially he was praying to himself, and not to God, for he perceived himself as sinless and better than all other men, arrogantly comparing himself to the tax collector. Essentially he was measuring his perceived righteousness by comparing himself to himself.
Yet the humble tax collector, despised even by his fellow countrymen, didn't feel himself worthy enough to even look upward, but stood afar off in shame and begged God for mercy because he knew he was a sinner.
Who do you think God would look upon with favor?
LUKE 18:15-17
15 Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.
16 But Jesus called them to Him and said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.
17 "Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."
The disciples were showing arrogance here, indicating that Jesus was far too important for such trivial things as touching and blessing children. In the book of Mark, it says that Jesus was "greatly displeased" by their arrogance and that he rebuked the disciples for this.
The faith, love, innocence and trust that children have is a very special thing, and children are precious in God's sight. Jesus would never turn away children who came to Him, and children have unswerving faith and trust that many adults cannot match. We need to have the trust and faith of a child in our walk with Jesus, if we are to please Him.
LUKE 18:18-23
18 Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
19 So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.
20 "You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'"
21 And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth."
22 So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
23 But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.
You must serve God above everything else. Money and riches are not evil, but the love of money will separate you from the love of God. You can love God or you can love money, but not both. Remember, money is like fire: a good servant, but a bad master.
LUKE 18:24-30
24 And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!
25 "For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
26 And those who heard it said, "Who then can be saved?"
27 But He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."
28 Then Peter said, "See, we have left all and followed You."
29 So He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,
30 "who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life."
The poor have an easier time relying on God, as they have no other resources available to them. But rich people tend to rely on their money, power and position in society instead of God. It would not be easy for a rich man to humble himself and give his wealth to the poor.
The disciples were worried because several of them were wealthy men. Remember, Peter, James and John had their own commercial fishing business, and James and John were rich enough that they could hire servants to help them with their fishing business. But unlike most rich men, money wasn't their God. It was a tool used for their needs and the needs of others, but they gave it up to follow Jesus.
LUKE 18:31-34
31 Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.
32 "For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon.
33 "They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again."
34 But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.
The Gentiles spoken of here were the Romans. Jesus was preparing them for the events about to unfold so that they would be ready when it happened. One has to admire the tremendous courage Jesus showed, knowing what was going to happen to Him, yet still being willing to do His Father's will just so that we might be free of sin and have eternal life through Him. Can we ever honor and thank Him enough for this?
People tend to forget that when Jesus walked the Earth, He was just as human as any of us. He felt hunger, weariness, both physical and emotional pain, sorrow, thirst, just as we do. The difference was that He was filled with the completeness of the Holy Spirit, whereas we receive a measure of the Spirit until we die and become perfect through Him.
Did this then make Him more than human? In no way, for He had to experience the fullness of what it was like to be human, to be both fully God and fully Man. As someone once accurately said of Him,"Jesus Christ: God's Man and Man's God".
LUKE 18:35-43
35 Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging.
36 And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant.
37 So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.
38 And he cried out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
39 Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"
40 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him,
41 saying, "What do you want Me to do for you?" He said, "Lord, that I may receive my sight."
42 Then Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well."
43 And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.
One has to wonder at the selfish attitude of the crowd around Jesus. Here was a blind man who believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah, begging for His attention in the hope of receiving his sight, and the crowd are telling him to shut up and not bother the Master.
Apparently they thought that Jesus was far too important to be bothered by such things. This may have been the only chance for this man to receive his sight, and he took it in faith, believing that Jesus could heal him.
We take our sight for granted and don't think of what a priceless gift it truly is to be able to physically see the world around us. Try walking around for a day or so with your eyes closed and see how you fare. Then consider a lifetime living like this and you will appreciate the gift of sight.
By calling Jesus "Lord" and "Son of David", he was publicly proclaiming Him as Messiah. And note that Jesus stopped and had compassion on him and healed him as he requested. Hopefully the crowd learned a bit of humility by this event.
LUKE 19:1-10
1 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.
2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.
3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature.
4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way.
5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house."
6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully.
7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner."
8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold."
9 And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham;
10 "for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
Tax collectors were considered the lowest people in society, even though they were often rich men. They collected taxes for the hated Romans plus their commission and anything else they wanted. Being a tax collector was like having a license to steal. Rome didn't care how much they took from the people as long as Rome received their required amount of taxes.
Jesus came to save everyone who wants to be saved. He doesn't care what your sins are; only that you repent, turn from your sins and believe in Him.
LUKE 19:11-14
11 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately.
12 Therefore He said: "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.
13 "So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business till I come.'
14 "But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.'
A mina was a silver coin worth about 50 shekels (about 12 American dollars). We need to remember that silver was of greater value back during these times than it is today. So the actual value of 10 minas then could have been up to an equivalent value of several thousand dollars today.
Jesus has returned to His Father, waiting for His kingdom to be given to Him by His Father. In this parable, the citizens He is referring to, are the Jews.
LUKE 19:15-26
15 "And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.
16 "Then came the first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten minas.'
17 "And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.'
18 "And the second came, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned five minas.'
19 "Likewise he said to him, 'You also be over five cities.'
20 "Then another came, saying, 'Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief.
21 'For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.'
22 "And he said to him, 'Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.
23 'Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?'
24 "And he said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.'
25 ("But they said to him, 'Master, he has ten minas.')
26 'For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
The coins represent gifts and abilities that we receive from the Lord, the increase or lack of increase is based our faith, witnessing and sharing Jesus with others, and using the gifts God has given each of us to the best of our abilities. God gives each of us gifts according to our abilities, and if we use them wisely and for His glory, then He will give us more gifts as we can handle them.
We are to be servants for the Lord, this means that our job is to serve. Serving the Lord requires action on our part. God gives us jobs to do for Him and He expects us to go above and beyond the letter of the assignment and follow the spirit of the assignment given by the Lord. In other words, don't do just the minimum you think you can get by with, put your whole heart into everything you do for Him. Remember, He knows the intent of your heart.
LUKE 19:27-28
27 'But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.'"
28 When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
Those who didn't have Jesus in their lives will have their sins judged and will have their works examined as to motives and reasons for doing what they did. Unfortunately there will be far too many people who at their judgment will beg Jesus with tears in their eyes to be allowed into His kingdom, and who will be refused.
Many critics have pointed to this and have exclaimed "How can Jesus be a 'Prince of Peace', yet say something like this?"
Unfortunately we judge things today in a much different light than people did back then. First, there was no such thing as "Democracy" back then, nations and people were ruled by kings and emperors who had absolute power over their people and such a statement would have made sense to the people of that time.
If a nobleman went to another country to receive authority to rule a kingdom and a delegation of citizens petitioned the ruler of the country who was to grant a kingdom to not give the nobleman the kingdom, the nobleman had every right to come back and crush the rebellion. If he didn't, such a rebellion would quickly spread and he would quickly lose his kingdom.
The Romans understood this and while by today's standards their methods of crushing rebellion seem brutal, it was quite effective. Basically it told the citizens of a conquered country, "We are going to rule over you whether you like it or not. Whether our rule is lenient or harsh depends on you."
Jesus Christ is indeed the Prince of Peace, in that He offers peace to those willing to believe in Him and follow His laws. He is willing to forgive those who have sinned against Him and He is willing to share His kingdom with those who love Him from a sincere heart and who seek to follow His will.
But just as history shows, there are always those who believe that peace is for the weak, and will take whatever they can by force. Adolf Hitler was such a man, and while the world tried to appease him by allowing him to conquer small countries in Europe, it only whetted his appetite for more. And look at what it took to stop Nazi Germany. If he had been crushed at the very beginning, millions of lives would have been saved.
In light of this, think about Jesus' words. Was He unrighteous for saying what He did?
LUKE 19:29-34
29 And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples,
30 saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here.
31 "And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing it?' thus you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of it.'"
32 So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them.
33 But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you loosing the colt?"
34 And they said, "The Lord has need of him."
Jesus' entry into Jerusalem caused great excitement among the people, for it fulfilled another prophecy spoken of about the Messiah, which said;
ZECHARIAH 9:9
9 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Jesus has fulfilled almost every prophecy of the Old Covenant (Old Testament) ever written of Him (some are left to be fulfilled at His return). There are over 400 prophecies concerning the Messiah according to Biblical scholars.
By using the modern day science of probability in reference to prophecies, if only 8 of these prophecies were used in the probability equation, the chance that any one man who has ever lived fulfilling all 8 prophecies is 1 in 10 to the 17th power! This would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000 (one in one hundred quadrillion).
In order to help us comprehend this, if we took one hundred quadrillion silver dollars and laid them down on the surface of Texas, they would cover the State two feet deep. Now mark only one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the State. Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wants, but he can only pick up one silver dollar and it must be the marked silver dollar. This man would have the same chances as a prophet writing eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man.
LUKE 19:35-40
35 Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.
36 And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road.
37 Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen,
38 saying: "'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!' Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"
39 And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."
40 But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."
Notice that the people are hailing and praising Jesus as the promised Messiah and King, yet several days later these same people would be howling for His crucifixion. We need to keep vigilant and not be easily swayed by others around us so we don't do what is not right before the Lord. Even though this was prophesied, each person there had a choice to do right or wrong. Remember the Lord will be our Judge, nobody else. You will be judged by your own actions and words, not by anyone else's.
LUKE 19:41-44
41 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it,
42 saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.
43 "For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side,
44 "and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."
This speaks of the final destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D. The Roman legions under general Titus burned the Temple. When the Temple was burned all the gold inside and on the roof melted between the stones and ran into the walls and floors. Titus ordered each stone removed, the gold taken off the stone, then the stones to be thrown down the mountainside to ensure that the Temple would not be rebuilt.
Archaeologists have uncovered ancient roads that ran through Jerusalem next to where the Temple had stood, and many of the paving stones had been shattered from the multi-ton stones of the Temple being thrown down into the streets by the enraged Romans.
The Romans razed the city, renamed it Aelia Capitolina, dedicated the ruins to Jupiter and forbid the Jews to come there to weep for the loss of their Temple. These events are also recorded in the writings of contemporary Jewish historian Josephus.
God loves His children, but when they continuously rebel against Him, He will do what is necessary to teach them the right way to live for Him much as we discipline our children when they are disobedient. The Jews were rebelling against the New Covenant spoken of by Jeremiah the prophet that was about to be set in place.
JEREMIAH 31:31-34
31 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah
32 "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.
33 "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
34 "No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."
Jesus, knowing the terrible destruction to come, wept for the city and its people, knowing what their blindness, corruption, arrogance, greed and rebellion would bring upon them.
LUKE 19:45-48
45 Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it,
46 saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"
47 And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him,
48 and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.
Jesus' actions showed that anger is not a sin, if it is righteous anger.
The sacrificial system had become corrupted by the priests over the years. People were required by the Law of Moses to bring animals to the Temple for sacrifice. The priests would find fault with many of the animals brought to them and reject the animal as being an acceptable sacrifice. Then they would offer to sell one of their "pre-approved" animals for an acceptable sacrifice to be purchased for a tidy profit for the priests.
In ancient times, animals were kept outside of the Temple itself until it was time to bring them into the courtyard for sacrifice. Merchants approved by the priests were later allowed to bring their animals inside the Temple itself, making the Temple more like a zoo than a house of worship.
Just like today, money in ancient times had faces of rulers and pagan gods embossed on them which were considered by the Jews to be graven images (idols). In order to ensure that no graven images were brought into the Temple, the money paid to the Temple as a Temple tax of offering required money changers to exchange the common minted currency for the Temple coins, which were blank silver coins that bore no images, acceptable to bring into the Temple. But instead of exchanging equal values, the priests made a profit by charging more for their coins than the actual face value of the coin itself.
Thus the Temple had become a place of commerce more than a place of worship.
LUKE 20:1-8
1 Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him
2 and spoke to Him, saying, "Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?"
3 But He answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me:
4 "The baptism of John was it from heaven or from men?"
5 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'
6 "But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet."
7 So they answered that they did not know where it was from.
8 And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."
This question from the scribes, Pharisees, and elders was a trap, in which they wanted to know which Rabbi's teaching had given Jesus authority to do what He did. The Oral Law, which was later codified and became the Talmud was a bewildering mishmash of teachings some of which were (and still are) contradictory to each other. The reason for this is because different Rabbis gave differing interpretations of points of the Law of Moses, and the scribes carefully ensured that all of the teachings and arguments were recorded, whether they were contradictory or not.
By asking this question, the religious leaders sought to find out which Rabbi, living or dead, that Jesus followed, which would give them an idea of how to come against Him.
Jesus in turn created an interesting trap for these religious leaders which quickly deflated the arrogance of these pompous men. He knew they wouldn't admit publicly what they thought of John the Baptist, but He was also letting them know that He knew their double-mindedness. They would say one thing in public and another amongst themselves. I think the common people enjoyed seeing Jesus easily turn the tables on these self-important, arrogant religious leaders.
LUKE 20:9-19
9 Then He began to tell the people this parable: "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time.
10 "Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
11 "Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.
12 "And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.
13 "Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Probably they will respect him when they see him.'
14 "But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'
15 "So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?
16 "He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others." And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!"
17 Then He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written: 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone'?
18 "Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."
19 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.
The vineyard in this case is the land of Israel; the vine-dressers are the Jews; the servants are the prophets; the son was Jesus, and the owner of the vineyard, God the Father.
God first sent some prophets to speak to His people, to warn them of their wickedness and to exhort them to practice righteousness, but they beat and killed the prophets. Then God over time sent many prophets to speak to His people and many were beaten, driven out, imprisoned and/or killed. Then God sent His Son and He was also beaten, cast out and killed, with the rulers figuring if they could kill the heir they could take the land for themselves.
God had warned them through the prophets of the price of continued disobedience and wickedness but they refused to listen, as did their fathers when God finally sent Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar against them 573 years before.
And just as king Nebuchadnezzar burned the Temple, leveled the city of Jerusalem and killed or deported most of the inhabitants to Babylon (he left the poor to care for the land), the Romans would burn the Temple and the city and would kill or sell the inhabitants as slaves throughout the Empire. And it is fascinating to note that both Temples were destroyed on the exact same day, the first in 586 B.C. the second in 70 A.D. The Babylonian captivity (called the Exile) only lasted for 70 years, but the Second Exile generated by the Romans lasted for 1878 years.
LUKE 20:20-26
20 So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.
21 Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:
22 "Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"
23 But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?
24 "Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?" They answered and said, "Caesar's."
25 And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
26 But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.
Many tyrannical rulers develop "personality cults", where people revere the leader and elevate them to almost god-like status. The late Kim Il Sung of North Korea was such a figure, and even now the North Korean calendar has the year of his birth as "Year 1" of their calendar dating system. Adolph Hitler and Josef Stalin are other examples.
This was an ingenious trap that was laid to catch Jesus. This brought into question the legitimacy of Roman rule over Judea and put Jesus' allegiances to the test. If He said that it was ok to pay taxes to Rome, He would be viewed as a traitor to His people. But if He said to not pay taxes, that would make Him a traitor to Rome. This was also an attempt to attempt to have Him either violate the Law of Moses, or to revile either Herod Antipas or Tiberius Caesar, which in any case could be used as a justification to put Him to death for blasphemy or treason. One has to admire the ingenuity of this little trap, but one has to admire Jesus' ingenious response even more!
Again Jesus neatly turned the tables on them, leaving them in open-mouthed astonishment. By his response, He proved that the Roman domination of Judea was God's will, and as such it was legal to pay taxes to Rome. And while the Jews were to pay taxes to Caesar and the local rulers set over them, they were to follow God in their hearts.
It was also not yet time for Him to be put to death, therefore any attempt to kill Him ahead of time would fail.
LUKE 20:27-40
27 Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him,
28 saying: "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.
29 "Now there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and died without children.
30 "And the second took her as wife, and he died childless.
31 "Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children, and died.
32 "Last of all the woman died also.
33 "Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become? For all seven had her as wife."
34 Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.
35 "But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage;
36 "nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
37 "But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'
38 "For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."
39 Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well."
40 But after that they dared not question Him anymore.
In the kingdom of Heaven there will be no need for male or female genders as there will be no need to have children to continue the race of Man. Those who are granted entry into Heaven will be God's eternal children.
The Sadducees truly showed their hypocrisy here as they were what was known as "Hellenized Jews", Jews who had adopted Greek customs and some Greek beliefs. The Sadducees didn't believe in a resurrection, but believed that when a man died he went to Hades, the Greek place of the dead where the spirits wander for eternity in darkness beneath the Earth.
But here they were asking Jesus about the resurrection, something they didn't believe in themselves, in order to get Him to say something for which they could accuse Him. Jesus in turn reminded them that when God spoke to Moses at the burning bush and stated His identity, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had long been dead. Yet God spoke as being their God as if they yet lived, for while they may be dead to us, they live to Him.
Which brings up an interesting point. Communication with the dead (necromancy) is strictly forbidden by God, for in doing so, you are not communicating with the dead person, but to a demon posing as the departed dead.
DEUTERONOMY 18:9-13
9 "When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations.
10 "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer,
11 "or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.
12 "For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you.
13 "You shall be blameless before the LORD your God.
In the Old Testament, King Saul did this when he went to the witch of Endor and asked her to raise the prophet Samuel , and while he appeared to have spoken to the dead prophet, he had communicated with a "familiar spirit" (demon) and Saul and his sons were destroyed by God because of it. (I Samuel chapters 28 and 31)
Yet the author of I Chronicles confirmed that king Saul had spoken with a demon, when he said of the issue;
I CHRONICLES 10:13-14
13 So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, [even] against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking of a familiar spirit, to enquire [of it];
14 And enquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.
(I used the King James version in the text above, as it states that Saul enquired of a familiar spirit, whereas others say he consulted with a medium. Both statements are true, but as Saul also spoke directly with the demon posing as Samuel, I felt that the King James version was a better description of what happened.)
Now the main point of this discussion is that in the Roman Catholic Church, people are taught to pray to Mary, Joseph, the "saints", etc. These people are all dead, just as the prophet Samuel was, and by praying to them you are either communicating with them (necromancy) or are elevating them to be equal to God, to whom we alone should offer prayers.
In either case, this is a huge sin, for it is either equated with witchcraft and sorcery in God's eyes (necromancy) or you are elevating these dead people to be equal with God by praying to them.
Nowhere in Scripture are we commanded to pray to the dead! If you have been guilty of doing these things, go before the Lord and confess your sins in this matter. He is faithful and will forgive you of this sin. I would also seek another church where such grave errors are not taught.
LUKE 20:41-44
41 And He said to them, "How can they say that the Christ is the Son of David?
42 "Now David himself said in the Book of Psalms: 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand,
43 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'
44 "Therefore David calls Him 'Lord'; how is He then his Son?"
Jesus posed an interesting riddle to the Pharisees, in that in Psalms David states that God spoke to someone greater than king David, the greatest king Israel has ever had, yet this person was David's son. And as the son while the father is still living is never considered to be greater than his father, and David was the greatest king in Israel's history, who could God be speaking to but the Messiah, God's Son who would be of the line of David?
Needless to say they couldn't answer that one for if they did, they would be confirming Jesus' claim to be the promised Messiah. The genealogical records would also show that He came from the line of Judah and king David, and like king David was born in Bethlehem Ephrata in Judea just as the prophets foretold, adding further credence to His claim.
LUKE 20:45-47
45 Then, in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples,
46 "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts,
47 "who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation."
Outward appearances and honor from men were most important to them, but as God had already explained to the prophet Samuel when he was to anoint the next king of Israel, God looks at the heart not the outward appearance of men. This includes everything from clothes and physical looks to words and deeds.
I SAMUEL 16:7
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
The greater condemnation they would receive would come because they knew the Scriptures and would be held responsible for this knowledge. They would appear righteous, but were ruthless in business matters. They knew what they were doing was wrong, but liked their money, power and positions so much they were willing to ignore the Word of God for their own gain.
LUKE 21:1-4
1 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury,
2 and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites.
3 So He said, "Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all;
4 "for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had."
The mite was also called a Lepton which was first minted by the Maccabees and two of them were equal to one Roman Kodrantes (quadrans). The quadrans was the smallest Roman copper coin and about one-sixteenth of a soldier's daily pay.
Jesus was impressed because He knew that while others gave much, this woman gave all of the money she had to live on, trusting the Lord to provide for her needs. We need to remember this when we tithe to the Lord. We need to tithe not only our money, but our time, harvests, cattle, talents and anything else that God has blessed us with. Be sure to ask the Lord where He wants your tithes to go. If you ask Him, He will let you know what His will is in the matter.
LUKE 21:5-6
5 Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He said,
6 "These things which you see the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down."
In 70 A.D. the infuriated Roman legions under general Titus burned the city and the Temple. When the Temple was burned all the gold inside and on the roof melted between the stones in the walls and floors. Titus ordered each stone removed, the gold taken off the stone, then had the stones thrown down the mountainside to ensure that the Temple would not be rebuilt.
Archaeological discoveries have shown that the paving stones by where the Temple once stood have been deeply scored and smashed from where the multi-ton stone blocks from the Temple came crashing down into the streets.
They razed the city, renamed it Aelia Capitolina, dedicated the ruins to Jupiter and forbid the Jews to come there to weep for the loss of their Temple. These events are also recorded in the writings of the contemporary Jewish historian Josephus, a general in the Jewish army captured by Roman general Vespasian during the final war with the Jews.
In the book of Daniel the angel Gabriel prophesied that seventy "weeks" (periods of seven years) would pass in order to rebuild Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity and bring the Messiah. However it was prophesied that after 69 "weeks" the Messiah would be "cut off" (killed) but not for Himself (not for His own sins).
DANIEL 9:20-27
20 Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God,
21 yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering.
22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, "O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand.
23 "At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision:
24 "Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.
25 "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.
26 "And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate."
Note that the prophecy states that after 69 "weeks" (483 years) the Messiah would be cut off. And especially note that the 70th "week" is separated from the 69 previous "weeks".
In 457 B.C. Persian King Artaxerxes Longimanus gave Ezra the scribe permission to return and rebuild Jerusalem, which event is recorded in the Old Testament books of Ezra and Nehemiah. And exactly 483 years later, Jesus Christ made His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, sitting on a donkey and acclaimed to be the Messiah by the people, just as the angel Gabriel had told Daniel over 500 years earlier.
When Jesus died, God's prophetic "clock" stopped, leaving the last "week" unfulfilled. Jesus died in 26 A.D. and the final Jewish war with Rome started 40 years later in 66 A.D. ending with the destruction of Jerusalem and the nation of Judea in 70 A.D.
I think it is interesting that the prophet Jeremiah warned Judah for 40 years that God would destroy the nation if they didn't turn from their wickedness, and at the end of that 40 years, Nebuchadnezzar started a war that destroyed Jerusalem and deported all of Judah to Babylon for 70 years.
Jesus Christ died in 26 A.D., and 40 years later the Romans attacked and started the war with Judea that would again result in the destruction of the Temple on the exact same day as the first Temple was destroyed, and again resulted in Israel being deported into captivity.
Jesus knew of the coming destruction of the nation, the city and the Temple, so He prophesied concerning the nation in the near future, then prophesied that during the interim time Israel would be scattered to the farthest reaches of the Earth.
As spoken of by Daniel above, God's prophetic "clock" stopped in 26 A.D. when Jesus died (ending the 69th "week") and has not yet been restarted even though Israel is again a nation.
The prophetic "clock" will only be restarted and the last "week" fulfilled when the coming Antichrist will make a 7 year peace treaty with Israel after WW III. (Please see the End Times studies in this site for more details)
LUKE 21:7-11
7 So they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, but when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?"
8 And He said: "Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and, 'The time has drawn near.' Therefore do not go after them.
9 "But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately."
10 Then He said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
11 "And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.
We have already seen the beginnings of these prophecies. There have been numerous people down through history claiming to be the Messiah, among the latest being Branch Davidian cult leader David Koresh, who was killed in Waco Texas in 1993, after Federal agents stormed his heavily-armed compound.
There are others reported in the New Age circles today, and there was a recent news report of a man in Miami, Florida who is openly proclaiming that he is "Jesus Christ after the cross". He and his followers have "666" tattooed on their bodies, and this man has proclaimed for 20 years that he is God and the Antichrist. He apparently has several thousand followers in South America and claims to have even more in the United States. He is not and will not be the Antichrist of Revelation, as the true Antichrist will arise in Europe.
(For more information about this, please read the End Times Studies in this Web site)
The news services constantly report of wars, famines, AIDS epidemics, increasing violence, murders and terrorism. There has been a marked increase of violent weather in the form of hurricanes, tornados, bitterly cold winters, blizzards and flooding, while other areas suffer from decades-long drought.
Killer earthquakes (some generating tsunamis) are on the rise as are the eruptions of volcanos. Increasing pollution is killing rivers, and oceanographers are reporting more and more "dead zones" in the ocean, where oxygen depletion due to pollutants is killing ocean life.
What we are seeing is just the beginning of the age of the End Times; there will be much more to come before the end of this age when Jesus returns. And understand this well, Christians will go through the tribulations of this age.
We are seeing a rise in atheism in America, where one person's challenge to things like having the words "under God" as being "offensive" can force an entire school district to suspend the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance. There have even been court cases (unsuccessful so far) from people who are trying to have the words "In God We Trust" removed from our currency.
When we are persecuted and go through trials we must remember that it is Jesus that is being rejected and we are the visual target for that retaliation. Jesus said;
JOHN 15:20-21
20 "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
21 "But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.
LUKE 21:12-19
12 "But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake.
13 "But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony.
14 "Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer;
15 "for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.
16 "You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death.
17 "And you will be hated by all for My name's sake.
18 "But not a hair of your head shall be lost.
19 "By your patience possess your souls.
When we are persecuted and go through trials and stand before our persecutors, God Himself will give us wisdom and the words to say, wisdom that our enemies won't be able to counter. This has been proven through history especially during the times of the Inquisition, when those persecuted for their faith were able to refute their persecutors with quotes from the Scriptures that their persecutors couldn't counter.
The persecution He is speaking of here seems to refer to the End Times, in which people will betray each other to try to save their lives, and those who lose their faith and fall away will betray those who remain faithful. And remember, though we are sheep in the midst of wolves, even wolves fear the Shepherd.
LUKE 21:20-24
20 "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.
21 "Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her.
22 "For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
23 "But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.
24 "And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Contemporary Jewish historian Josephus recounts the siege and destruction of Jerusalem in his "Wars of the Jews" section of his book. And what is fascinating, is that when Roman general Titus and the Roman legions were besieging the city, they briefly withdrew for unknown reasons, allowing those who believed Jesus' words to escape the city before it was destroyed.
In 1967, the Jews captured the eastern part of Jerusalem which had been held by the Muslims since 1948, bringing the entire city of Jerusalem back under complete Jewish control for the first time since 70 A.D.
This signified that the "times of the Gentiles" Jesus had spoken of had finally come to an end. The city will never again be destroyed or given to the Gentiles.
LUKE 21:25-28
25 "And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;
26 "men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
27 "Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28 "Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."
Jesus will come after the Great Tribulation, as it is also stated in the book of Revelation in which John states;
REVELATION 16:13-16
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
15 "Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame."
16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
Note carefully that Satan is gathering the armies of the world to Armageddon and Jesus is still saying "Behold, I am coming as a thief". If he had already "raptured" the Christians beforehand, the world would know that He was coming back soon. But He is still saying He is coming as a thief, which means that Armageddon is about to start and He hasn't returned yet!
Please understand that the "Pre-Tribulation Rapture" theory is a false doctrine and cannot be supported Scripturally! Jesus never said that we would escape the Great Tribulation. If we were going to escape it, why would He warn us to prepare for it?
LUKE 21:29-33
29 Then He spoke to them a parable: "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.
30 "When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.
31 "So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.
32 "Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.
33 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
As we mentioned previously, God's "70 week" (490 year) prophetical clock spoken of in the book of Daniel stopped at Jesus' death in the 69th "week" (483rd year). The last 7 years (one prophetical week) will begin again when the Antichrist signs a seven year peace treaty with Israel after WW III.
In the midst of the seven years, the Antichrist will break the peace treaty and the one known as the False Prophet will set up the abomination of desolation (an image of the Antichrist) in the Temple.
When the seven year peace treaty is signed the last prophetical week will be locked into place. Only the Father knows when the Antichrist will arise and set the last week into motion. That is why Jesus Himself didn't know the exact day or hour He would return.
The generation Jesus is speaking of is our generation. God's prophecies are timed so that the generation for whom they were meant will understand their meaning. Some of the prophets didn't understand what they were prophesying about, neither were they allowed to understand, as shown by the prophet Daniel.
Daniel saw and heard many things pertaining to the passing of future history and the End Times, but he didn't know what they meant. His job was to write and report what he had seen. As Scripture states;
DANIEL 12:8-10, 13
8 Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, "My lord, what shall be the end of these things?"
9 And he said, "Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
10 "Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.
13 "But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days."
One can only imagine the frustration of Daniel, seeing and hearing things that he was not allowed to understand! Personally, I think I'd be jumping up and down in frustration!
The Book of Revelation has been shrouded in mystery for thousands of years but it's prophecies are now becoming clearer as time goes on, meaning that we are the generation in which these prophecies will be fulfilled.
LUKE 21:34-38
34 "But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.
35 "For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.
36 "Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."
37 And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.
38 Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.
We need to be sure we are serving Him to the best of our abilities at ALL times. Whether we die or Jesus comes before our death, He knows every thought, word and deed for everyone. We must never become lazy or complacent about serving the Lord. And we are to constantly watch for the things He said would indicate that the End Times are upon us, lest we be taken by surprise.
(For those seeking more information on the End Times, please see the End Times Studies in this Web site)
LUKE 22:1-2
1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.
2 And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.
Notice that these men weren't bothered by the idea of breaking their own laws and murdering an innocent man, but they were afraid of the reaction of the people. If the people rioted then the Romans might come in and take away their position and with it their power and money.
LUKE 22:3-6
3 Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.
4 So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.
5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.
6 So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.
I believe that Judas Iscariot was trying to force Jesus to proclaim Himself as the Messiah, destroy the Romans and restore the kingdom to Israel. Many of the Jews believe that when the Messiah comes it will be in power, glory and with great might. While His second coming will be like that, His first coming was not.
Matthew tells us that the amount of money agreed to was thirty pieces of silver........
MATTHEW 26:14-16
14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests
15 and said, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?" And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.
16 So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.
Thirty pieces of silver was the price of a slave at that time. This was also a fulfillment of the prophecy in....
ZECHARIAH 11:12-13
12 Then I said to them, "If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain." So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.
13 And the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter" that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD for the potter.
LUKE 22:7-13
7 Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.
8 And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."
9 So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"
10 And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.
11 "Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'
12 "Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready."
13 So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.
This is believed to be the disciple John Mark's house. John Mark wrote the Gospel of Mark.
LUKE 22:14-20
14 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.
15 Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;
16 "for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."
17 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves;
18 "for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."
19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."
20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.
The wine is a symbol of the blood Jesus shed for payment of our sins and the bread is a symbol of His body that He sacrificed for our sins to be paid in full, once and for all time.
There are those who believe the bread and wine become the literal body and blood of Jesus. This is completely false and contrary to the teachings of God! God states numerous times that drinking blood is a sin.
GENESIS 9:3-4
3 "Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.
4 "But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.
LEVITICUS 3:17
17 'This shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall eat neither fat nor blood.'"
LEVITICUS 7:26-27
26 'Moreover you shall not eat any blood in any of your dwellings, whether of bird or beast.
27 'Whoever eats any blood, that person shall be cut off from his people.'"
Also;
ACTS 21:25
25 But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.”
Jesus made one sacrifice for sins, never to be repeated. For by one sacrifice He took away all sin forever, therefore there is no reason for repeat sacrifices as required in the Old Testament, and in disobedience by the Catholic Church when they "offer up the divine victim" during Communion in their Mass.
If any man could actually command Jesus into the bread and turn the wine into the blood of Jesus; that would mean that they were greater in power than Jesus. Jesus commands us, not the other away around.
And it would also mean that Jesus' sacrifice for sin wasn't enough for all time, as the Catholics and others claim that Jesus must be sacrificed over and over again in the Mass. Scripture tells us the opposite is true.
ROMANS 6:10
10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
HEBREWS 10:10-13
10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,
13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.
You now know the truth of this matter, and will be held responsible before God for this knowledge. If you continue receiving the Mass Communion in which Jesus is again "sacrificed" each time and where He is commanded to enter the Eucharist and the wine becomes His blood, you will eat and drink judgment to yourself for your disobedience.
Jesus will not drink wine again until all things are fulfilled at the end of time, when all of His enemies have been destroyed, and eternity begins. The New Covenant in His blood that Jesus is talking about is the New Covenant (New Testament) spoken of in....
JEREMIAH 31:31-34
31 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah
32 "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.
33 "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
34 "No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."
The Laws of Moses concerning sacrifices ended with Jesus' death on the cross. The focus now changed from a physical law to a spiritual law, and God's commandments would now be written not on stone tablets, but in the hearts of all who will believe in Him.
LUKE 22:21-23
21 "But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table.
22 "And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!"
23 Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.
Jesus let Judas and the others know the He knew that Judas was planning to betray Him. He is also letting them know the severity of his punishment for the crime Judas will commit.
LUKE 22:24-30
24 Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.
25 And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.'
26 "But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.
27 "For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves.
28 "But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials.
29 "And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me,
30 "that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."
Our goal isn't to be the richest or have the highest position in God's kingdom. He wants us to encourage and take care of each other, NOT discourage and compete with each other.
In Satan's kingdom, each person looks out for themselves with no regard for anyone or anything else. Power, riches and high position in the kingdom of Satan is the only goal. God's kingdom is founded on love and mercy; the exact opposite of Satan's kingdom.
To serve God we must be humble and serve others with love and mercy, remembering that it is not the seeming importance of our ministry here on Earth that is measured in His eyes, it is how well we do what He has assigned us to do.
Jesus is the ONLY heir to God's Kingdom, however in His love and mercy He is willing to share His inheritance with all of the children of God (those who serve Jesus Christ). There will be great rewards for the sacrifices we make to serve the Lord.
LUKE 22:31-34
31 And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.
32 "But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."
33 But he said to Him, "Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death."
34 Then He said, "I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me."
This is a lesson for all followers of Jesus Christ. We tend to make decisions based on our sight and previous knowledge. However, the Lord speaks from knowledge of future events. God is the only one who knows the entire future. So if He says something will happen, you can depend on it; even though you may not be able to understand how it will happen.
Note carefully that Satan asked permission of God to be able to test Peter. He cannot tempt or test anyone without asking for God's permission to do so.
LUKE 22:35-38
35 And He said to them, "When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?" So they said, "Nothing."
36 Then He said to them, "But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.
37 "For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me: 'And He was numbered with the transgressors.' For the things concerning Me have an end."
38 So they said, "Lord, look, here are two swords." And He said to them; "It is enough."
Once they had learned to have faith in the Lord to provide for their needs; they could now take with them money, clothing, etc., knowing not to rely on material things but always look to the Lord for guidance.
Jesus was also warning them that with His crucifixion and death, they would become targets for His enemies, for as He had previously warned them, if His enemies had persecuted Him, they would also persecute His followers.
Also with Jesus' death and resurrection, He would no longer be the visible enemy that those who hated Him could attack. Therefore the wrath of those who hated Jesus would be directed at those they could attack, namely those who believe in and follow Him.
LUKE 22:39-46
39 Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him.
40 When He came to the place, He said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation."
41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed,
42 saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done."
43 Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.
44 And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
45 When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow.
46 Then He said to them, "Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation."
Matthew says that Jesus took Peter, and brothers, James and John with Him to watch and pray with Him. And even though Jesus was afraid of what He knew was going to happen to Him and asked if the cup of suffering could be removed from Him, He put the Father's will above His own will. We must be willing to do the same thing, that is submitting to God. That is our greatest defense against Satan.
Jesus began to literally "sweat blood" from the agony of knowing He would have all of the sins of Mankind poured into His flesh. The medical term for this is Hematidrosis. This can happen when stress causes the capillaries under the skin break open and the blood mixes with the sweat and is excreted through the pores. This only happens under conditions of great stress, and causes tremendous dehydration and weakness.
Peter, James and John, worried about all that had happened and was to happen, fell asleep from exhaustion, the emotional drain having consumed their energy.
LUKE 22:47-53
47 And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him.
48 But Jesus said to him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?"
49 When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?"
50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.
51 But Jesus answered and said, "Permit even this." And He touched his ear and healed him.
52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who had come to Him, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs?
53 "When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness."
Notice Jesus enemies were fearful of His disciples protecting Him so they brought a mob. Here the corrupt High Priest broke the first of many laws, by arresting Jesus at night.
According to John, Peter was the one to cut off the servant's ear and Luke tells us that Jesus healed the injury. Even though His enemies were out for blood, Jesus still showed kindness by healing the injury.
John 18:10
10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.
LUKE 22:54-62
54 Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest's house. But Peter followed at a distance.
55 Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them.
56 And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, "This man was also with Him."
57 But he denied Him, saying, "Woman, I do not know Him."
58 And after a little while another saw him and said, "You also are of them." But Peter said, "Man, I am not!"
59 Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, "Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean."
60 But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are saying!" Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.
61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."
62 So Peter went out and wept bitterly.
When Jesus turned and looked at Peter just as he denied Him for the third time, the guilt, shame and humiliation Peter felt must have been overwhelming. All of his rash promises to go with Jesus to prison and death must have come to his remembrance, making his shame even worse.
But, Peter learned a great lesson from this experience and it helped Peter to later become a stronger man of God. When we fail God, the best thing we can do is to learn from our mistakes, and become stronger because of them.
LUKE 22:63-65
63 Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him.
64 And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, "Prophesy! Who is the one who struck You?"
65 And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.
This was a serious breach of Jewish law by the High Priest and the Sanhedrin, in that prisoners were not to be abused during their trial. This was only one of many laws that were broken by the Jews in their hatred of Him.
This was the fulfillment of prophecy spoken by the Prophet Micah over 400 years before this event.
MICAH 5:1
1 Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops; he has laid siege against us; they will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.
LUKE 22:66-71
66 As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying,
67 "If You are the Christ, tell us." But He said to them, "If I tell you, you will by no means believe.
68 "And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go.
69 "Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God."
70 Then they all said, "Are You then the Son of God?" So He said to them, "You rightly say that I am."
71 And they said, "What further testimony do we need? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth."
According to Jewish law, the entire Sanhedrin was to fast and pray for three days when trying a man for a capital crime (a crime carrying the death penalty). As Scripture records, these men didn't fast for three days to determine His guilt or innocence, they had already decided His guilt in the matter.
Jesus knew this was a mockery of a trial and that the outcome had already been determined, when He spoke in verses 67 and 68. And in answer to their questions, He confessed that He was indeed the Son of God, the promised Messiah.
LUKE 23:1-2
1 Then the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to Pilate.
2 And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King."
They took Him to Pilate because the Romans had taken away the right of the Jews to put anyone to death for a crime. The Roman procurator (governor) was the only one who could issue a death sentence.
The chief priests, scribes and elders of the Sanhedrin brought the only charges they knew would gain Pilate's attention, namely that Jesus had proclaimed Himself as King of the Jews, and forbidding the Jews to pay taxes which was treason against Rome. Any other charge would have been dismissed by Pilate and he would have told the Jews to take care of the matter themselves.
Jesus never proclaimed Himself as King, neither did he forbid the paying of taxes, so these supposedly righteous men lied through their teeth before the Roman Governor in order to railroad Jesus to the cross.
LUKE 23:3-7
3 Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?" He answered him and said, "It is as you say."
4 So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no fault in this Man."
5 But they were the more fierce, saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place."
6 When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean.
7 And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.
Being the governor of Judea, Pilate obviously knew of Jesus and it is certain that his spies had reported to him of Jesus' teachings. Therefore Pilate knew the real reason that the scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees had brought Jesus to him, namely that they were envious of Him and were incensed at His public exposure of their hypocrisy. So to tweak their pride he asked Jesus a casual question, then declared that Jesus was innocent of the charges brought against Him.
Then when he heard that Jesus was from Galilee, he saw a chance to be rid of this annoyance and sent Jesus to Herod to be judged.
LUKE 23:8-12
8 Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.
9 Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.
10 And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.
11 Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.
12 That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.
Herod must have been highly nervous at first, as he had long thought that Jesus was a resurrected John the Baptist, and was probably expecting Him to look like John. Jesus didn't perform miracles on demand, or to please authority figures, so He said nothing in His defense.
This also fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which said;
ISAIAH 53:7-8
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
Pilate had tried to pass the buck by sending Jesus to Herod as he was in charge of the area of Galilee, but shrewd Herod sent Jesus was sent right back to Pilate to deal with this situation. Pilate was in a difficult position, balancing between Rome and the people he governed.
There had apparently been friction between Herod and Pilate for some time, and with Herod's contemptuous treatment of Jesus, this convinced Pilate that Herod didn't consider Jesus to be a dangerous element or threat. This relief on Pilate's part is probably what befriended him to Herod.
LUKE 23:13-17
13 Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people,
14 said to them, "You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him;
15 "no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him.
16 "I will therefore chastise Him and release Him"
17 (for it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast).
Pilate in order to help keep the Jews loyalty used the release one prisoner over the Passover holiday as a gift to the people. In this case, he was going to release Jesus as believed Him to be a harmless teacher of righteousness who had collected some dangerous adversaries.
He figured that having not found anything in Jesus to cause Him to be put to death, he would punish Him to appease the religious leaders, after which the situation would go away. When Pilate said he would "chastise" Him, this meant Jesus would be scourged. Most people today don't understand what "scourging" actually entailed in Roman times. A scourge is a whip with leather strips coming out of the handle, and each strip had a dumbbell shaped piece of lead attached to the end of the thong.
The victim was stripped, then tied to a post (usually in a bent-over position) with their arms taut so the skin of the back and chest and legs was tight and exposed. The scourge was long enough that when swung at the victim that the leather strips would wrap around the body with great speed and force so that the lead dumbbells would impact hard enough to cause bruising and bleeding on the inside of the chest cavity and deep bruising and tearing of muscle tissue elsewhere. The victim was whipped from neck to ankles and many victims died while being scourged, or died later from the trauma.
Jewish law set beatings at a maximum of 39 lashes. The Romans had no such limit, and the Shroud of Turin, reportedly Jesus' burial shroud (scientific evidence is proving this more and more to be true) shows that the victim buried in the shroud was whipped over 120 times. The result would be deep bruising, bleeding, internal hemorrhaging, shock, dehydration, vomiting, uncontrolled tremors and great weakness. And remember, Jesus was as human as any of us when this happened. And He was already suffering from dehydration, the beating He received and was in a greatly weakened state from the bloody sweat in the Garden of Gethsemane.
LUKE 23:18-25
18 And they all cried out at once, saying, "Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas"
19 who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.
20 Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them.
21 But they shouted, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!"
22 Then he said to them the third time, "Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go."
23 But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed.
24 So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested.
25 And he released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.
According to Matthew, Pilate even tried to instill guilt in the crowd by "washing his hands" of the matter.
Barabbas was a Zealot, a professional assassin. The Romans feared the zealots, calling them "sicarii" (Latin: dagger men), because during festivals and in crowds they would slip up behind Roman soldiers, stab them with daggers that they carried in their robes, then slip sway in the crowds. This was the type of murder that Barabbas had been imprisoned for.
But to prevent a riot, he gave the death sentence and ordered Jesus to be crucified, showing complicity in the matter. Actually this behavior is at odds with Pilate's known nature. He was a cruel, easily irritated man and usually had no qualms about sending soldiers into crowds to quell a potential riot by force. And by giving in to the crowd's demands to have Jesus crucified was to place his fear of the crowds before the authority and power of his superiors, the governor of Syria and Caesar himself.
(According to historian Eusebius, Pilate would later be banished to Gaul (modern day France) by Tiberius Caesar for his behavior in the matter of Jesus, and that he died in exile.)
LUKE 23:26
26 Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.
Jesus, while He was indeed God, had also agreed to be confined to the limitations of the human body during His time on Earth. After being punched in the face, scourged, repeatedly having His wounds ripped open, six inch thorns pounded into His head, the trauma to His body, severe dehydration, the emotional battering of knowing that He was innocent and these people that He had claimed as His own children were doing this to Him with such obvious zeal, His physical limitations were finally reached. He just couldn't handle the weight of the cross beam of His cross which was usually tied across the shoulders of the condemned as they were driven by whips uphill to the place of execution.
Concerning the trauma He suffered before His execution, a modern forensic pathologist once said,"The miracle isn't that Jesus died on the cross; the miracle is that He made it there at all."
Cyrene is modern day Tripoli and located in upper Libya, Northern Africa. When the Romans "compelled" you to work for them actually it was a choice of do it now or die now.
More laws were broken here as Jesus was supposed to have a placard around His neck showing the crimes He was accused of, and several people were to go before Him requesting that any witnesses in His defense step forward if they had evidence of His innocence. None of this happened.
LUKE 23:27-32
27 And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him.
28 But Jesus, turning to them, said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.
29 "For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!'
30 "Then they will begin to say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!"
31 "For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?"
32 There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death.
Jesus knew of the terrible events that were coming, and warned the women of Jerusalem to be ready for what was coming. The "green wood" He spoke of was the present time, in which Rome ruled Judea with a fairly loose hand, considering the way that they ruled other conquered provinces. But because of their continued rebellion and their rejection of Him as Messiah, they were going to pay a cruel price as a nation at the hands of the Romans 40 years later (the dry wood).
LUKE 23:33-34
33 And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
34 Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." And they divided His garments and cast lots.
Even while He was in excruciating agony, mocked, and tormented, He stilled showed His amazing compassion by asking forgiveness for all of those who took part in His being crucified.
This fulfilled the prophecy spoken of in Psalms.
PSALM 22:12-19
12 Many bulls have surrounded Me; strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.
13 They gape at Me with their mouths, like a raging and roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; it has melted within Me.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death.
16 For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet;
17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me.
18 They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.
19 But You, O LORD, do not be far from Me; O My Strength, hasten to help Me!
LUKE 23:35-43
35 And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God."
36 The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine,
37 and saying, "If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself."
38 And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
39 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us."
40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?
41 "And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong."
42 Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom."
43 And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."
Pilate wrote the sign in three languages, Hebrew, Greek and Latin; the most popular languages of the region at that time. The priests may have used their influence with the crowd and forced Pilate to do their bidding, but he used this sign to show the priests that their power was limited, and that he would not put up with any more of their schemes.
Everyone around Jesus was mocking Him, but one of the thieves knew that his punishment was what he deserved, but that Jesus was innocent. Because of his sinful life all he asked of Jesus was for Him to remember him and that would be enough for the thief. Because of his faith in Jesus, he would be saved. And it took a tremendous amount of faith to look over at the horribly disfigured, crucified man next to him and still believe that He was the Messiah.
The mocking of Jesus was prophesied in........
PSALMS 22:7-8
7 All those who see Me ridicule Me; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
8 "He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!"
LUKE 23:44-46
44 Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.
45 Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two.
46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit." Having said this, He breathed His last.
The sixth hour was is 12:00 p.m. (noon) and the ninth hour is 3:00 p.m.
The Greek historian Thallus recorded an account of this darkness, and unable to explain it any other way, called it a "super-eclipse". Yet solar eclipses can only happen during a new Moon, and the Passover is only held at a full moon.
The spiritual aspect of all the sins of mankind (past, present and future) were put upon Jesus and were so great that it literally had a physical effect on the world, causing the sun to darken. This was also a fulfillment of a fascinating Old Testament prophecy, in which God said through the prophet Amos;
AMOS 8:9
9 "And it shall come to pass in that day," says the Lord GOD, "That I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in broad daylight;
Note that the "sixth hour" is noon, and God darkened the earth at noon, just as prophesied.
The tearing of the Temple veil showed that with Jesus' death, the barrier of sin between God and Man was torn away, and Man now has direct access to God the Father through Jesus Christ. The veil was a visual symbol of this separation, and separated the "Holy of Holies", the room where God dwelt in the Temple, from the rest of the Temple.
With Jesus' death and resurrection there was (and still is) no longer a need for a priesthood to intercede between God and Man. Jesus is our intercessor, and we have direct access to the Father through Him.
Jesus was spiritually alone with a complete separation between Father and Son when He hung on the cross. This was the first and last time this will ever happen, but the Father had to turn His back on His own Son when His Son needed Him the most because the Father could not look at the sins heaped upon Jesus.
The prophet Habakkuk observed;
Habakkuk 1:13a
13 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness.
LUKE 23:47-49
47 So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, "Certainly this was a righteous Man!"
48 And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned.
49 But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
After seeing the darkness and the earthquake that Matthew and Mark record as having happened at the moment of His death, the centurion, probably a superstitious man in the first place, was frightened enough to make this confession.
LUKE 23:50-56
50 Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man.
51 He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God.
52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before.
54 That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.
55 And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid.
56 Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.
Joseph was apparently a member of the Sanhedrin and was not called to the trial of Jesus, probably because the other members of the Sanhedrin knew he would not consent to having Jesus put to death.
This shows two more violations of their laws also, for one law stated that if a single person in the Sanhedrin dissented against a guilty verdict, the accused was to be set free. The second violation was that in cases of capital crimes, the full 70 members of the Sanhedrin and the High Priest were to be in attendance, yet the fact that Joseph was excluded shows that this didn't happen. The trial was rigged from the start.
According to John, Joseph of Arimathea was secretly a disciple of Jesus.
JOHN 19:38-42
38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus.
39 And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.
40 Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.
41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.
42 So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews' Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.
Pilate probably gave the body to him, just to be sure the Pharisees didn't get their hands on it. Joseph then greatly honored Jesus by placing Him in his own tomb cut into a limestone hill (in ancient times, rich people carved their own tombs out of solid rock), a tomb which had never been used, fulfilling the prophecy spoken by Isaiah in;
ISAIAH 53:9
9 And they made His grave with the wicked but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.
LUKE 24:1-9
1 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.
2 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.
3 Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.
5 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?
6 "He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee,
7 "saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'"
8 And they remembered His words.
9 Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
Those stones were huge carved round slabs that were rolled into a slot cut into the rock in front of a tomb that usually took several strong men to move. Rolling the stone back was even harder, as it had to be rolled up and out of it's slot.
The corpse usually remained in the tomb until decomposition was complete, then the bones were removed and were usually interred in an "ossuary", a stone box that contained the bones of family members.
It is interesting that such an ossuary containing the bones of Joseph ben Caiaphas, the High Priest that prosecuted Jesus at His trial was found in Israel a few years ago when excavators accidentally broke into an ancient tomb. Inside was a beautifully carved limestone ossuary with the inscription reading "Joseph ben Caiaphas". An examination of the bones determined that they were of a man who had died while in his 60's.
The reason for rolling the stone back was to show that Jesus was no longer in the tomb, not to let Him out. After His resurrection He was no longer restricted by such trivial things as space, time, and matter.
The women had come, expecting to do the final preparations for Jesus' burial, and it is interesting that they weren't worried about being ritually defiled by entering the tomb. They looked inside and the angels told them of Jesus' resurrection and reminded them of His words to them before He was crucified. These women were afraid of the events but very excited to share the wonderful news with the other believers. Jesus was alive!!!
LUKE 24:10-12
10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.
11 And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.
12 But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.
One can hardly blame the apostles, for they knew that Jesus had been crucified and killed, and that His mangled body had been placed in a tomb for burial. But Peter wanted to see for himself if the body was indeed gone, and went away wondering what had happened.
Jesus had told the disciples that He would rise on the third day; they didn't completely believe that Jesus would literally rise from the dead.
LUKE 24:13-35
13 Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.
14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.
16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.
17 And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?"
18 Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?"
19 And He said to them, "What things?" So they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,
20 "and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.
21 "But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.
22 "Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us.
23 "When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive.
24 "And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see."
25 Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
26 "Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?"
27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
28 Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther.
29 But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent." And He went in to stay with them.
30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.
31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.
32 And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"
33 So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together,
34 saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"
35 And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.
People tend to think that the eleven apostles (Judas Iscariot had already committed suicide) were the only ones who were gathered together after Jesus' death. Jesus had personally chosen the Twelve, but remember there were at least 70 men whom He had sent out to preach, heal, and cast out demons.
Jesus encountered Simon (not Peter) and Cleopas on the road to a provincial town and joined them as a traveling companion. It must have been quite a long walk for Jesus to tell them ALL the Scriptures from Moses through Malachi which concerned Him.
Once they are allowed to recognize Him, the joy of seeing Him alive again must have been incredible! And they were so excited that they traveled back to Jerusalem at night, a dangerous time because of robbers, just to report to the 11 apostles that they had also seen Jesus.
I believe that part of the reason that Jesus appeared to so many people besides the 11 disciples, is that according to the law everything was to be confirmed by at least three or more people.
LUKE 24:36-43
36 Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you."
37 But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit.
38 And He said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?
39 "Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have."
40 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.
41 But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?"
42 So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb.
43 And He took it and ate in their presence.
Jesus ate the food, not because He was hungry but to prove to them that He was real and not a ghost or spirit.
I like the way that singer Don Francisco in his song "The Traveler" put this event. He said that when Jesus appeared, "Some lifted hands toward Heaven, then knelt without a sound; others just stood and stared at Him as if rooted to the ground".
LUKE 24:44-53
44 Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me."
45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
46 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,
47 "and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
48 "And you are witnesses of these things.
49 "Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."
50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.
51 Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.
52 And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
53 and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.
We are to share Jesus whenever possible. But remember, once the person knows about Jesus, then it must be their freewill choice to follow Jesus. We are never to force someone into following Jesus.
Mark says that Jesus gives us permission to use His authority to accomplish His commands.
MARK 16:15-18
15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
17 "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;
18 "they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."
Jesus' ascension to Heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father was the completion of the Old Covenant created between the Israelites and God. Now the New Covenant begins as stated in Jeremiah.
JEREMIAH 31:31-34
31 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah
32 "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.
33 "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
34 "No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."
AMEN!!!!!
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