Sunday
Morning Bible Study
April
12, 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
Israel – We are going to change the tour dates to Nov. 30-Dec.12, or Petra
until Dec. 15.
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.
We’ve seen the beginning of the ministry of John the Baptist.
His message was “the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins”, or,
telling people to get baptized as a sign of their own repentance, the
repentance resulting from the forgiveness of sins.
3:15-18 Who is John?
:15 Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts
about John, whether he was the Christ or not,
:15 were in expectation – prosdokao
– to expect (whether in thought, in hope, or in fear); to look for, wait
for
There were a group of the Jews who
were actually looking for and expecting the Messiah to come.
:15 reasoned – dialogizomai
– to bring together different reasons, to reckon up the reasons, to reason,
revolve in one’s mind, deliberate
: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.
:16 mightier – ischuros
– strong, mighty
Comparative, “might-ier”
:16 worthy – hikanos
– sufficient; many enough, enough
:16 strap – himas
– a thong of leather, a strap
:16 sandal – hupodema
– what is bound under, a sandal, a sole fastened to the foot with thongs
:16 One mightier than I is coming
The people were on the lookout for the Messiah, but John makes sure the
people know that He is not the One.
Lesson
Humility
Throughout John’s ministry, he constantly made sure that people were
looking to Jesus, not him.
Early in his ministry, he told his own disciples to follow after Jesus, not
him.
(John 1:35–37 NKJV)
—35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36 And looking
at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” 37 The two
disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
When asked if he was bothered because Jesus was drawing bigger crowds than
he was, John responded:
(John 3:30 NKJV) He must
increase, but I must decrease.
God is looking to work through humble people, not proud people.
(1 Peter 5:5b–6
NKJV) …be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 6 Therefore humble yourselves under
the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
Paul wrote,
(Philippians 2:3–4
NKJV) —3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in
lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of
you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of
others.
Illustration
In basketball, there is a statistic called “assists”. This is when you throw the ball to another
player so they can score the points.
Humility is helping others make the big play and get
credit for the points.
Video: State Farm Chris Paul
Assists
Ultimately, the best person to throw the ball to is not Blake Griffin, but
Jesus.
John was faithful to point people to the one who could
really help, Jesus.
:16 He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit
The word “baptize” means to “immerse”.
John immersed in water.
Jesus immerses us in the Holy Spirit.
Just as John immersed people in water, Jesus would be immersing people in
the Holy Spirit.
After Jesus rose from the dead, He told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem…
(Acts 1:5 NKJV) for John
truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not
many days from now.”
Jesus went on to explain,
(Acts 1:8 NKJV) But you
shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses
to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Some people mistakenly teach that the true result of the baptism of the
Spirit is speaking in tongues (which may happen), but Jesus said it was power
or “ability” to be His witnesses.
It happened the first time on the day of Pentecost, almost two months after
Jesus rose from the dead.
(Acts 2:1–4 NKJV)
—1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one
accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty
wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there
appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of
them. 4 And they
were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as
the Spirit gave them utterance.
It happened as they were gathered in a prayer meeting.
Note that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is also called the “filling” of
the Spirit.
They did indeed speak in tongues.
But Peter would also stand up and preach about Jesus with
three thousand people believing in Jesus.
Lesson
Thirsty?
You just have to be thirsty for it.
You don’t have to be a Kung Fu master to get a drink.
You too can be filled with the Holy Spirit.
(John 7:37–38 NKJV)
—37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood
and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes
in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living
water.”
John goes on to say that Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit, which
would fill them at Pentecost.
Do you have a thirst? Do you need
God’s power in your life?
Then come to Jesus. He’s the one who
will fill you with the Spirit.
Drink, receive, and believe.
It doesn’t come
when you “feel” something, but when you “believe” something.
:16 and fire
Often this “fire” is linked by folks to the baptism of the Holy Spirit, as
if Spirit Baptism is a “fiery” thing.
Some folks say this means that if you are baptized with the Holy Ghost then
you will get all excited, jump up and down, scream, and do all sorts of things.
The disciples did indeed have “tongues as of fire” on them on the day of
Pentecost, but if you keep reading, John explains the 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.
:17 winnowing fan – ptuon
– a winnowing shovel
:17 thoroughly clean out – diakatharizo
– to cleanse thoroughly
:17 threshing floor – halon
– a ground plot or threshing floor, i.e. a place in the field made hard
after the harvest by a roller, where grain was threshed out
:17 gather – sunago
– to gather together, to gather
:17 wheat – sitos
– wheat, grain
:17 barn – apotheke
– a place in which anything is laid by or up; a storehouse, granary
:17 chaff – achuron
– a stalk of grain from which the kernels have been beaten out; straw
broken up by a threshing machine, chaff
:17 He will burn – katakaio
– to burn up, consume by fire
:17 unquenchable – asbestos
– unquenched, unquenchable; of eternal hell fire to punish the damned
:18 exhortations – parakaleo
– to call to one’s side, call for, summon; to address, speak to, (call to,
call upon), which may be done in the way of exhortation, entreaty, comfort,
instruction, etc.
:18 he preached – euaggelizo
– to bring good news, to announce glad tidings
:17 burn with unquenchable fire
The first time Jesus came it was to baptize us with the Holy Spirit.
The second time Jesus comes it will be to baptize the world with fire.
When you harvest wheat, you separate the wheat kernel from the stalk by
tossing it up in the air. The wind blows
the chaff away from the wheat.
This process is called “winnowing”.
The wheat kernel is edible, the stalk or chaff is not.
You save the kernel and grind it into wheat.
You burn up the useless chaff.
John paints a picture of a time when the bad will be separated from the
good, and the bad will be burnt.
It’s a picture of judgment.
Jesus talked about the same
principle with similar pictures.
He talked about separating the
sheep from the goats (Mat. 25:31-46)
He talked about a dragnet catching
a huge catch of fish and separating out the good from the bad (Mat. 13:47-50).
Lesson
Judgment
There will be a time when God will judge the world.
Every person will stand to account for their lives before God.
Every sin will be accounted for.
There is only one way to avoid God’s judgment.
(John 3:16–17 NKJV)
—16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did
not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world
through Him might be saved.
God loves you so much He sent Jesus to pay the penalty for
our sins.
God wants you to trust in His Son.
3:19-20 Herod and John
: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.
:19 Herod the tetrarch
This is Herod Antipas.
:19 being rebuked – elegcho
– to convict generally with a suggestion of shame of the person convicted;
to find fault with, correct; to reprehend severely, chide, admonish, reprove
:20 he shut … up – katakleio
– to shut up, confine
:20 prison – phulake
– guard, watch; of the place where captives are kept, a prison
:19 rebuked by him concerning Herodias
Herodias had been the wife of Herod’s half brother Philip while they lived
in Rome. Philip was also Herodias’
uncle.
When Herod Antipas (our current Herod) visited Rome, he seduced her and persuaded
her to leave her husband and marry him.
John openly rebuked Herod for his immorality.
There may be times when we too need
to speak up.
Illustration
Charles Stanley writes,
A woman in
our church was married for only a short time when she found out her husband was
a homosexual. Soon after, he left her.
As I talked with her, she said something I shall never forget. "After I
was divorced, several of my friends came to me and said they knew he was
gay. When I asked them why they didn't
say anything to me, they said, 'We didn't think it was any of our
business.'"
Her friends
were dead wrong. They violated a
scriptural principle. After hearing her
story, I made up my mind never to stand by quietly and watch a friend make what
I was sure in my heart was a mistake.
This resolution has made me very unpopular at times. People have left my
church over things I have confronted them about. But when I start thinking that
maybe I should keep my mouth shut, I always remember what Solomon said,
"He who rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than he who flatters
with the tongue (Proverbs 28:23)."
:20 he shut John up in prison
Luke is getting a little ahead of himself.
John won’t actually be put into prison until sometime after Jesus is
baptized.
It is probable that John’s ministry
was only about three years, one year in public preaching, and two years in
prison.
3:21-22 Jesus is baptized
: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.”
:22 descended – katabaino
– to go down, come down, descend
:22 bodily – somatikos
– corporeal, bodily
:22 form – eidos
– the external or outward appearance, form figure, shape
:22 dove – peristera
– a dove
:22 beloved – agapetos
– beloved, esteemed, dear, favorite, worthy of love
:22 well pleased – eudokeo
– it seems good to one, is one’s good pleasure; to be well pleased with,
take pleasure in, to be favorably inclined towards one
:22 the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove
John the Baptist saw the Holy Spirit falling on Jesus.
(John 1:32–34 NKJV)
—32 And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from
heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not know Him, but He who sent
me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending,
and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have
seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
Note:
There are some people that have the
strange idea that Jesus didn’t become the Messiah until His baptism. Others hold to a similar idea that Jesus
didn’t become the Son of God until the baptism, when the Holy Spirit came upon
Him.
A.T. Robertson –
“We are not to understand that this
was the beginning of the Incarnation of Christ as the Cerinthian Gnostics held.
But this fresh influx of the Holy Spirit may have deepened the Messianic
consciousness of Jesus and certainly revealed him to the Baptist as God’s Son.”
Lesson
Ministry begins with the
Spirit
This would fulfill a prophecy in Isaiah, describing the Messiah’s ministry:
(Isaiah 61:1 NKJV) “The Spirit
of the Lord God is upon
Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach
good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim
liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
It’s the Holy Spirit that “anoints” us, that qualifies and
equips us for the work that God has for us.
Even Jesus didn’t start His official ministry until He had
the Holy Spirit come upon Him.
It can’t be manufactured or conjured up by our human, fleshly efforts.
Illustration
A traveling evangelist always put on a grand finale at his revival
meetings. When he was to preach at a church, he would secretly hire a small boy
to sit in the ceiling rafters with a dove in a cage. Toward the end of his
sermon, the preacher would shout for the Holy Spirit to come down, and the boy
in the rafters would dutifully release the dove. At one revival meeting,
however, nothing happened when the preacher called for the Holy Spirit to
descend. He again raised his arms and exclaimed: “Come down, Holy Spirit!”
Still no sign of the dove. The preacher then heard the anxious voice of the
small boy call down from the rafters: “Sir, a yellow cat just ate the Holy
Spirit. Shall I throw down the yellow cat?”
From E.M. Bounds, “Power Through
Prayer” in the section titled “14. Unction (Holy Spirit Anointing) a
Necessity”.
This unction is the art of
preaching. The preacher who never had this unction never had the art of
preaching. The preacher who has lost this unction has lost the art of
preaching. Whatever other arts he may have and retain—the art of sermon-making,
the art of eloquence, the art of great, clear thinking, the art of pleasing an
audience—he has lost the divine art of preaching. This unction makes God’s
truth powerful and interesting, draws and attracts, edifies, convicts,
saves. This unction vitalizes God’s revealed truth,
makes it living and life-giving. Even God’s truth spoken without this unction
is light, dead, and deadening. Though abounding in truth, though weighty with
thought, though sparkling with rhetoric, though pointed by logic, though
powerful by earnestness, without this divine unction it issues in death and not
in life. Mr. Spurgeon says: “I wonder how long we might beat our brains before
we could plainly put into word what is meant by preaching with unction. Yet he
who preaches knows its presence, and he who hears soon detects its absence.
Samaria, in famine, typifies a discourse without it. Jerusalem, with her feast
of fat things, full of marrow, may represent a sermon enriched with it.
Everyone knows what the freshness of the morning is when orient pearls abound
on every blade of grass, but who can describe it, much less produce it of
itself? Such is the mystery of spiritual anointing. We know, but we cannot tell
to others what it is. It is as easy as it is foolish, to counterfeit it.
Unction is a thing which you cannot manufacture, and its counterfeits are worse
than worthless. Yet it is, in itself, priceless, and beyond measure needful if
you would edify believers and bring sinners to Christ.”
We may have many ideas of what it means to be under the “power” of the Holy
Spirit, but some of our ideas are wrong.
Yes, the disciples had “tongues of fire” on their heads, but Jesus had a
gentle dove on His.
Be careful not to turn away from anything that the Father wants to do for
you.
(Luke
11:9–13 NKJV) —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!”
:22 My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased
Notice the work of the trinity here.
The Son is being baptized.
The Holy Spirit descended.
The Father spoke.
There is an ancient heresy (“modalism” - still found today) that says that
there is only one God who has manifested Himself in different ways through
history.
They say that in the Old Testament God was the “Father”.
In the New Testament, God becomes Jesus.
After the resurrection, God becomes the Holy Spirit.
So explain what is happening here.
All three are present at Jesus’ baptism.
3:23-38 Jesus’ Genealogy
: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,
:23 began His ministry at about thirty years of age
Luke is only giving us a general idea of Jesus’ age, not an exact age.
The age of 30 is a good time to start ministry.
Joseph was thirty years old when he started serving Pharaoh. (Gen. 41:46)
(Genesis 41:46 NKJV) —46 Joseph was
thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went
out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.
The Levites served in the temple from age thirty to fifty. (Num. 4:3)
(Numbers 4:3 NKJV) —3 from
thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, all who enter the service
to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting.
David was thirty years old when he became king. (2Sam. 5:4)
(2 Samuel 5:4 NKJV) —4 David was
thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.
:23 began – archomai
– to be the first to do (anything), to begin; to begin, make a beginning
:23 was supposed – nomizo
– to hold by custom or usage, own as a custom or usage, to follow a custom
or usage; it is the custom, it is the received usage; to deem, think, suppose
:23 being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph
Note that Luke is careful not to
say that Jesus was the son of Joseph, but only that He was “supposed” or
thought to have been the son of Joseph.
Different lines
Luke and Matthew give us different genealogies.
Matthew begins his Gospel with the genealogy, establishing the connection
between the OT and with Israel.
Luke waits until the major part of John the Baptist’s
ministry is over, after Jesus’ baptism.
Matthew begins with Abraham, stressing Jesus’ Jewish heritage.
Luke goes in reverse order, and takes it all the way back
to Adam, stressing Jesus’ connection with the entire human race.
Matthew groups his names symmetrically, in groups of fourteen. He skips names.
Luke simply lists the names.
Matthew traces the genealogy to David through his son Solomon.
Luke traces the genealogy to David through Solomon’s older
brother Nathan. (1Chr. 3:5) Both sons
had Bathsheba as their mother.
(1 Chronicles 3:5 NKJV) —5 And these were born to him in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan,
and Solomon—four by Bathshua the daughter of Ammiel.
It’s the part from David to Jesus that is so different
between the genealogies.
Why Two Lines?
There have been several suggestions as to why the genealogies differ
between David and Jesus, but I think the best explanation is –
Matthew gives us the genealogy of Joseph.
Joseph’s line comes through the royal line, the kings.
Joseph’s line gives us the legal claim to the throne of
David.
Luke gives us the genealogy of Mary.
Luke has already given us more detail about Mary so far,
giving us the idea that he spent time with her getting her recollection of
events.
Though Mary’s line also comes from David, hers is through
a different son of David (Nathan) who didn’t rule as king.
Mary’s line points to Adam, showing Jesus’ humanity.
Mary’s line gives us the actual, physical claim to the
throne of David (since Joseph wasn’t his biological father – God was).
Note: Both lines seem to converge and run through
Shealtiel and Zerubbabel, but since Luke’s genealogy has different fathers and
grandfathers of Shealtiel, it makes me wonder if these aren’t simply different
fellows than the ones in the kingly line.
There are others in the lineage who have names that are common in other
places in the Bible but aren’t the same person (ie Joseph, Er, Levi, Simeon,
several Judahs, Eliakim, etc.).
Solving Problems
God promised David that the Messiah
would be one of his descendants. (2Sam. 7:11-14)
(2 Samuel 7:11–14 NKJV) —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.
There would be two problems:
1.
How could the Messiah be a descendant of David and yet be born of a virgin
(Is. 7:14), and the “seed of the woman” (Gen. 3:15)?
Jesus had the
legal claim to the throne through his adopted dad, Joseph.
Jesus had the
actual physical lineage through his mother Mary.
2.
The kingly line of David had a problem.
One of the last kings,
Jeconiah, was cursed by God, and was promised not to have any descendants
sitting on the throne (Jer. 22:30)
(Jeremiah 22:30 NKJV) —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.’ ”
Yet Jeconiah was
one of those listed in Matthew’s list (Mat. 1:11-12).
How could both be
true? How could Messiah come from David, yet not
through Jeconiah?
Because Jesus
physically came through Mary’s line, which didn’t include Jeconiah.
Luke will take the genealogy backward to David, to Abraham, to Noah, and …
skip to …
:24 the son of Matthat, the son
of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Janna, the son of
Joseph,
:25 the son of Mattathiah, the
son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son
of Naggai,
:26 the son of Maath, the son
of Mattathiah, the son of Semei, the son of Joseph, the son
of Judah,
:27 the son of Joannas, the son
of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son
of Neri,
:28 the son of Melchi, the son
of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of
Er,
:29 the son of Jose, the son
of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son
of Levi,
:30 the son of Simeon, the son
of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of
Eliakim,
:31 the son of Melea, the son
of Menan, the son of Mattathah, the son of Nathan, the son
of David,
:32 the son of Jesse, the
son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son
of Nahshon,
:33 the son of Amminadab, the
son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son
of Judah,
:34 the son of Jacob, the son
of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of
Nahor,
:35 the son of Serug, the son
of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of
Shelah,
:36 the son of Cainan, the
son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son
of Lamech,
:37 the son of Methuselah, the
son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the
son of Cainan,
:38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the
son of God.
:38 the son of Adam, the son of God
Adam was the first “son of God”, the created “son of God”. He fell from
that position when he sinned.
Jesus was truly the “son of God” because God was actually His father
through the virgin Mary.
Jesus came as the “second Adam”, to bring mankind back into relationship
with God.
:22 You are My beloved Son
Lesson
God loves me too
We don’t have a problem with the Father telling Jesus that He loves Him and
is well pleased with Him.
Did you know that God loves you as much as He loves Jesus?
(John 17:23 NKJV) I in them,
and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may
know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
When you become a child of God by believing in Jesus, you will find that
God loves you as much as He loves Jesus.
This is why God sent His Son Jesus to die for us. Because He loved us.
(Romans 8:31–34
NKJV) —31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us,
who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all,
how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall
bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is
he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen,
who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
Do you need God today?
Do you need His love and forgiveness?