Sunday
Morning Bible Study
March
1, 2015
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid
to die? Does it speak to the broken
hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision
Is the church loved? Regular: 2900
words Communion: 2500 words (Video = 75wpm) 262+150+300+80=792
Israel Trip – Join us! Get your deposit in.
Luke was a doctor and a travelling companion of the apostle Paul.
He wrote this book while Paul was in prison.
In writing his book, Luke made use of other older documents like the Gospel
of Mark, as well as extensive eyewitness accounts.
The first chapter was about the events leading up to the birth of Jesus,
and last week we looked at Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth.
3:37 262
2:21-24 Baby Rituals
: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.
:21 eight days were completed for the circumcision
As we saw back in 1:59, this was the day when the child’s name would be
official.
We saw back in chapter 1 that John the
Baptist was also circumcised on the eighth day.
(Luke 1:59 NKJV) —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.
Ever since the time of Abraham,
Jewish boys were circumcised on the eighth day. (Gen. 17:12)
(Genesis 17:12 NKJV) —12 He who is
eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your
generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any
foreigner who is not your descendant.
:21 His name was called Jesus
It was the angel Gabriel that had instructed Mary what to name the child.
(Lk. 1:31)
(Luke 1:31 NKJV) And behold, you will
conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.
Our English name “Jesus” comes from the Hebrew name “Yashua”, or “Joshua”.
His name means “Yahweh is salvation”
:21 conceived – sullambano
– to seize, take: one as prisoner; to conceive, of a woman
:21 the womb – koilia
– the whole belly, the entire cavity; the womb, the place where the foetus
is conceived and nourished until birth
: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.”
:22 purification – katharismos
– a cleansing, purification, a ritual purgation or washing
:22 they brought – anago
– to lead up, to lead or bring into a higher place
:22 to present – paristemi
– to place beside or near; to present
:22 the days of her purification
Circumcision took place at eight days.
This took place 33 days after that.
Jesus is 40 days old.
:22 to present Him
Not only was there a ceremony for the mom happening here, but there was a
second kind of ceremony for the baby as well.
:23 Every male who opens …
(Exodus 13:12 NKJV) —12 that you
shall set apart to the Lord all
that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which
you have; the males shall be the Lord’s.
(Exodus 13:15 NKJV) —15 And it
came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord killed all the firstborn in the
land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore
I sacrifice to the Lord all males
that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’
(Numbers 3:13 NKJV) —13 because
all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I struck all the firstborn
in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both
man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am the Lord.”
The quote here is from Exodus.
The firstborn child had a special place in God’s heart.
The special consecration of firstborn children dates back to the days of
the first Passover.
(Exodus 13:2 NKJV) “Consecrate
to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both
of man and beast; it is Mine.”
It was on the first Passover that all the firstborn of Egypt were slain by
the Angel of the LORD.
It was the night that all the firstborn of Israel were spared because the
Israelites had all sacrificed lambs to take the place of their children. (Num.
8:17)
(Numbers 8:17 NKJV) For all
the firstborn among the children of Israel are Mine, both man and
beast; on the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I
sanctified them to Myself.
1400 years after the original Passover, the Lamb of God would be slain,
allowing God to “pass over” our sins.
How was the firstborn “consecrated” after that first Passover?
Technically, everything
“consecrated” to God had to be sacrificed. (Ex. 13:12-13)
(Exodus 13:12–13 NKJV) —12 that you shall set apart to the Lord
all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal
which you have; the males shall be the Lord’s.
13 But every firstborn of a donkey you shall
redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break
its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem.
While some firstborn animals were actually offered in sacrifice, the
firstborn of your sons were “redeemed” or bought back from God.
The price of redeeming your newborn son was five shekels.
(Num. 18:16)
(Numbers 18:16 NKJV) And
those redeemed of the devoted things you shall redeem when one month old,
according to your valuation, for five shekels of silver, according to the
shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs.
Joseph and Mary would “buy back” their firstborn son from
God for the price of five shekels.
Jesus would one day buy us back for a little bit more…
(1
Peter 1:18–19 NKJV) —18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like
silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from
your fathers, 19
but
with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without
spot.
:24 A pair of turtledoves …
We now go back to the purification of Mary with this quote from Leviticus.
When any person had any kind of flow of blood or bodily fluids coming from
their body, they became ceremonially “unclean”.
Any mom will tell you that childbirth is a bloody mess.
God told Moses what should happen when a woman’s forty days of being
“unclean” done.
God told Moses that when a woman
gave birth to a son, she would be “unclean” for seven days, then on the eighth
day the son was to be circumcised, and then for the next thirty-three days she
remained “unclean”. (Lev. 12:1-4)
(Leviticus 12:1–4 NKJV) —1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a woman has
conceived, and borne a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days; as in
the days of her customary impurity she shall be unclean. 3 And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be
circumcised. 4 She shall then
continue in the blood of her purification thirty-three days. She shall
not touch any hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary until the days of her
purification are fulfilled.
I’m not sure being declared “unclean”
is a punishment as much as a break for the mom to force her to stay home with
her baby and recuperate.
After the forty days were up …
(Leviticus 12:6–8
NKJV) —6 ‘When the days of her purification are fulfilled, whether for a son
or a daughter, she shall bring to the priest a lamb of the first year as a
burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove as a sin offering, to the
door of the tabernacle of meeting. 7 Then he shall offer it before the Lord,
and make atonement for her. And she shall be clean from the flow of her blood.
This is the law for her who has borne a male or a female. 8 ‘And if she
is not able to bring a lamb, then she may bring two turtledoves or two young
pigeons—one as a burnt offering and the other as a sin offering. So the priest
shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’ ”
The turtledoves that Luke mentions were for Mary’s “cleansing”.
The fact that Joseph and Mary brought a pair of turtledoves instead of a
lamb and a turtledove tells us that Joseph and Mary were poor.
Lesson
Jesus understands
Jesus understands poverty.
(2 Corinthians 8:9
NLT) You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was
rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make
you rich.
It’s kind of like that reality TV show, “Undercover Boss”, where a boss
goes “under cover” to learn about what it’s really like to work in their
company.
I understand that sometimes it leads to moments where a
boss changes the way things are done because they “understand”.
Video: Undercover Boss - Tanna
1:07 80 words
He understands suffering.
(Hebrews 2:18 NLT) Since he
himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we
are being tested.
He’s here to help.
(Hebrews 4:15–16
NLT) —15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced
all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us
come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy,
and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
Wise men
Stop! What happened to the wise men?
Luke tells us a lot of things about the birth of Jesus, but he doesn’t mention
the wise men.
Matthew tells us that the wise men showed up after the birth of Jesus (Mat. 2:1-18)
(Matthew 2:1 NKJV) —1 Now after
Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold,
wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,
King Herod heard about the baby from the wise men, and didn’t want a new
king to survive, so he sent soldiers to kill all the male children two years
old and younger.
Also, Joseph and Mary were living in a house at the time, not the stable.
When Herod’s men showed up, Joseph and Mary had already been warned in a
dream about Herod, and they had taken Jesus to live in Egypt.
It’s after they hear about Herod’s death, that they move back and settle in
Nazareth.
In other words, the wise men don’t show up until a year or two after our
current passage.
2:25-35 Simeon
: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.
:25 Simeon
His name means “heard” (Gen. 29:33).
(Genesis 29:33 NKJV) —33 Then she
conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore
given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon.
This is another form of the name “Simon”, just like the tribe of Simeon, Simon
Peter, and the modern Israeli leader Shimon Peres.
:25 this man was just and devout
just – dikaios
– righteous, observing divine laws
devout – eulabes – careful
in handling; careful in handling divine things; reverencing God, pious,
religious
It describes the person who is very careful to do all that would please
God. It describes the best of
worshippers.
:25 waiting for the Consolation of Israel
waiting – prosdechomai
– to receive to one’s self; to expect: the fulfilment of promises
Present participle. Continuous action.
the Consolation – paraklesis –
a calling near; consolation, comfort
This is related to the word translated “Comforter” or “Helper”. Jesus said,
(John 14:16 NKJV) And I will
pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with
you forever—
Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit as “another Helper”. Jesus was the original “Helper”, “Comforter”, or “Consolation”.
Simeon was waiting for the Savior.
He was waiting for Jesus.
:25 the Holy Spirit was upon him
Simeon was a man filled with the Holy Spirit.
Luke has already made quite a point of the involvement of the Holy Spirit
in the coming, the birth, and early days of Jesus.
John the Baptist, Mary, Elizabeth, Zacharias, and now Simeon were all
filled with the Holy Spirit.
John the Baptist would be filled
with the Holy Spirit from birth. (Lk. 1:15)
(Luke 1:15 NKJV) —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.
Mary would become pregnant at the
time that the Holy Spirit came upon her. (Lk 1:35)
(Luke 1:35 NKJV) —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.
Elizabeth was filled with the Holy
Spirit. (Lk. 1:41)
(Luke 1:41 NKJV) —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.
Zacharias was filled with the Holy
Spirit. (Lk. 1:67)
(Luke 1:67 NKJV) —67 Now his
father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
Simeon was filled with the Holy
Spirit. (Lk.2:25)
(Luke 2:25 NKJV) —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.
:26 had been revealed – chrematizo
– to transact business, esp. to manage public affairs; to give a response
to those consulting an oracle, to give a divine command or admonition, to teach
from heaven; to be divinely commanded, admonished, instructed
Perfect tense – it had been
revealed in the past, but still going on into the present.
:26 he would not see death
This man had received a precious promise from God that he would not die
until he would see the Messiah with his own two eyes.
This promise was given in the past
(“revealed”), and he was still continuously “waiting” for the promise to come
true.
Lesson
Counting on God’s promises
God had whispered something
precious in Simeon’s ears, and he was holding on to it.
: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:
:27 he came by the Spirit into the temple
On that particular day, Simeon sensed the Holy Spirit’s specific leading
when he entered the temple.
Joseph and Mary on the other hand, were simply following the prescribed
“custom” of the Law of Moses.
These two things crossed paths and brought Simeon together with Joseph and
Mary.
What a coincidence.
Lesson
Led by the Spirit
We have a little tiny plaque at home that reads:
Coincidence – When God does a miracle and remains anonymous.
When you give the Holy Spirit permission to lead your life, you are going
to see your share of coincidences.
It might be something as simple as running into an old friend at Starbucks.
It could be something like Philip being led down into the desert near Gaza.
(Acts 8:27–28 NKJV)
—27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of
great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of
all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 was
returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet.
When Philip found out the man just happened to be reading
Isaiah 53, a passage describing the suffering Messiah, Philip followed the
leading of the Spirit and ended up leading this important man to believe in
Jesus.
Coincidence?
About ten years ago, back when we were meeting at the Ice House, I decided
to accept an invitation to the Fullerton Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast.
While I was there, I met a fellow pastor named Larry. Larry was the pastor of a Lutheran church
that was going through some difficult economic times. Larry was afraid the church was going to have
to close. We prayed, and I thought that
was the last time I’d see Larry.
Two weeks later our own lease at the Ice House blew up, and we were
suddenly faced with needing to move the church within six weeks.
I panicked. We
prayed. And I remembered having met
Larry. I picked up the phone.
And ten years later we are still renting space from the
same Lutheran church, and our rent is half of what it was at the Ice House.
Coincidence? Not.
When you make the choice to open up your life more and more to the work of
the Holy Spirit, you will find more and more of these little “coincidences”
happening.
:27 brought – eisago
– to lead in; to bring in, the place into which not being expressly stated
:27 the custom – ethidzo
– to accustomed, usage, custom
:28 took Him up – dechomai
– to take with the hand; to take up, receive
:28 his arms – agkale
– the curve or inner angle of the arm, the bent arm
:28 he took Him up in his arms
The language describes the cradling of the baby in the crook of his arms.
He then began to speak prophetically about this little baby.
(Luke 2:29–32 NKJV)
—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.”
:28 blessed – eulogeo
– to praise, celebrate with praises; to invoke blessings; to consecrate a
thing with solemn prayers; to ask God’s blessing on a thing
:29 “Lord, now You are letting Your
servant depart in peace, According to Your word;
:29 You are letting Your servant depart in peace
Simeon feels that he can finally die in peace because he’s seen the
promised Messiah.
For you classical music buffs, this is the text of quite a few important
pieces of music, often called by the Latin name “Nunc Dimittis”.
:29 letting … depart – apoluo
– to set free; to let go, dismiss, (to detain no longer); to let go free,
release
:29 Lord – despotes
– a master, Lord
:29 word – rhema
– that which is or has been uttered by the living voice, thing spoken, word;
subject matter of speech, thing spoken of
:29 According to Your word
God had made him a promise, and now
it’s coming to pass.
:30 For my eyes have seen Your
salvation
:30 my eyes have seen Your salvation
He’s just seeing a baby.
Yet he knows that that baby is the Savior.
This small tiny baby would one day grow up and lay down His life for the
sins of the world, including those of Simeon.
The last two weeks we’ve been covering various aspects of the “Christmas”
story. Yet sometimes we forget that the baby at Christmas is the same one that
will grow up to die for our sins.
2:00 150 words
:31 Which You have prepared
before the face of all peoples,
prepared – hetoimazo
– to make ready, prepare
The prophecies of the coming
Messiah were not a secret.
:32 A light to bring
revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”
:32 revelation – apokalupsis
– laying bear, making naked; a disclosure of truth, instruction; concerning
things before unknown; used of events by which things or states or persons
hitherto withdrawn from view are made visible to all
:32 Gentiles – ethnos
– a multitude (whether of men or of beasts) associated or living together;
in the OT, foreign nations not worshipping the true God, pagans, Gentiles
:32 A light to bring revelation
to the Gentiles
It is amazing that a godly Jewish
man would say anything that would be positive towards us Gentiles.
Jesus would even come to save Gentiles as well as Jews.
Even in the Old Testament, this
secret is found.
Isaiah wrote of the Messiah,
(Isaiah 42:6 NKJV) “I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, And will
hold Your hand; I will keep
You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles,
:32 And the glory of Your people Israel
Though He was rejected for the most part, He is/was their glory.
Jesus was Jewish.
We Gentiles owe everything to the Jews because of Jesus.
:33 And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of
Him.
:33 marveled – thaumazo
– to wonder, wonder at, marvel
Joseph and Mary are blown away with
what this stranger is saying about their boy.
They knew Jesus was special, but this just goes further to confirm it.
: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.”
:34 blessed – eulogeo
– to praise, celebrate with praises; to invoke blessings; to consecrate a
thing with solemn prayers; to ask God’s blessing on a thing
:34 destined – keimai
– to lie, of an infant; metaph. to be (by God’s intent) set, i.e. destined,
appointed
:34 the fall and rising of many in Israel
the fall – ptosis
– a falling, downfall
rising – anastasis
– a raising up, rising (e.g. from a seat); a rising from the dead
Many would stumble and fall on their faces in failure by rejecting Jesus.
Peter wrote,
(1 Peter 2:6–8
NKJV) —6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I
lay in Zion A chief
cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.” 7 Therefore,
to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone
which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone of
stumbling And a rock
of offense.”
They
stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.
While some stumble, others would follow Him and “rise”.
The word for “rising” is also the word for “resurrection”.
(John 11:25 NKJV) Jesus said
to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he
may die, he shall live.
:34 a sign which will be spoken against
:34 sign – semeion
– a sign, mark, token
:34 spoken against – antilego
– to speak against, gainsay, contradict; to oppose one’s self to one,
decline to obey him, declare one’s self against him, refuse to have anything to
do with him
Jesus had clearly come from God.
Jesus’ whole life was a sign from God.
John wrote his gospel to show just who He was.
(John 20:30–31
NKJV) —30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His
disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may
have life in His name.
And yet, despite all of this, many would “speak against” Jesus instead of
follow Him.
(John 1:11 NKJV) He came to
His own, and His own did not receive Him.
:35 a sword will pierce through your own soul also
:35 will pierce through – dierchomai
– to go through, pass through
:35 a sword – rhomphaia
– a large sword; properly a long Thracian javelin, also a kind of long
sword wont to be worn on the right shoulder
Mary would hear people “speak against” her Son.
I’m sure that pierced her heart at times.
Mary would also watch Him die for the sins of the world.
(John 19:23-37)
4:00 300 words
:35 that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed
:35 may be revealed – apokalupto
– to uncover, lay open what has been veiled or covered up; disclose, make
bare; to make known, make manifest, disclose what before was unknown
This is the verb form of
“revelation” in vs. 32.
When Jesus walked on the earth, He knew what people were thinking.
(John 2:25b NKJV) …for He knew
what was in man.
(Luke 11:17a NKJV) But He,
knowing their thoughts, said to them…
But I want to talk about another way
that hearts are “revealed”…
Lesson
No other
You may say to others and yourself that you are a “God seeker”.
Yet what you believe about Jesus “reveals” a lot about who you are.
In God’s eyes, the most important thing you could ever do is to embrace the
truth about Jesus.
Just saying that you “like” God isn’t enough if you don’t accept the One
that God sent to save you.
Illustration
Suppose you decide to go to the beach on one of those days
where there is huge surf, along with powerful rip currents.
And as you begin to swim out from shore, you realize that
you’re in trouble.
You begin to wave your hand and shout for help.
And back on the beach, the lifeguard that works for the
city sees your cry for help and heads out into the waves to rescue you.
As the lifeguard reaches you, you look at the fellow and
think to yourself, “This fellow doesn’t look anything like the lifeguards on Baywatch”.
And so you say to the fellow, “No thanks, I don’t want you to save me”.
And yet this is the one fellow sent to save you. No one else is coming.
My point is not to make light of Jesus, but to point out
that Jesus might not look like what you think a Savior should look like.
But He is.
Jesus said,
(John 14:6 NKJV) Jesus said
to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through Me.
The apostle Peter said,
(Acts 4:12 NKJV) Nor is there
salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men
by which we must be saved.”
Are you ready to trust your life to the only One that God sent to save you?