The Wonder of Jesus

 

READ Luke 1-4

I’ve read the Bible daily for years, but God always shows me what I’d not noticed before. Today was no exception.

The angel said, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will 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 for the Lord a people prepared.” (Luke 1:13–17)

Note: Only the Holy Spirit gives power to turn people to God, fathers to their children, rebels to wisdom, and can prepare people to meet Jesus.

“And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” (1:20)

Note: If I don’t believe God will fill and use me, it will affect my ability to tell others about Jesus.

And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God . . . . you will . . . bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus . . . . He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” . . . . “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people . . . that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us . . . to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness. (1: 30–33; 68–71; 72–75)

Note: The Jews supposed their Messiah would give them deliverance from enemy oppression. Only a few considered what Zachariah said to John: “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins . . . .” which John did: “He went . . . proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins . . . .” (3:3–6)

The devil said to (Jesus), “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread . . . . To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will . . . . If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here . . . .” (4:3-9)

Note: These lies correspond to false ideas of what Jesus will do for those who submit to Him: such as we will never be without anything, will be able to do all we want, and be protected even in our foolishness.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed . . . .” (4:18)

Note: We resist taking good news to people in poverty, prison, darkness, and oppression, preferring our own social groups — the opposite of why He came.

And in the synagogue, there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God” . . . . And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ. (4: 33–34; 41)

Note: Many people, including ‘Christian’ cults and those who attend church have no clue who Jesus really is, but the demons know. Why does sin keep us from realizing His identity but fallen angels are not blind to who Jesus is? Could it be our false expectations? Could it be a fear of His rule being ‘no fun’ or too harsh? Or are millions so busy or too content running their own lives to consider Him?

I know that salvation from sin happens only by God. All of it. Sin separates us from Him. It ruins my fellowship when I rely on my own way. Only God can turn me to Himself. People will say, “I came to Christ” but in reality, no one chooses Him — He chooses us and then enables us to choose Him.

 

Craving good news?

 

2 Chronicles 10; Zephaniah 2; Luke 24; Revelation 1

Our local television news is mostly Covid, Covid, Covid with occasional reports of crime in our city. I’m tired of it, of the statistics and the gloom. We are also in lockdown. Essential services stay open, but numbers in the stores are limited to 15% of their capacity. No one can come over for dinner or a visit. This will last four weeks, effectively shutting down Christmas dinner with family and friends. I’m tired of all the bad news. What is the good news for today?

Luke ends his gospel with the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead! That is good news. The women were first told, then the eleven — who didn’t believe them at first, but Peter went to the tomb and found it empty. That same day, Jesus appeared to two others. They didn’t realize it was Him. Who expects a dead person to walk beside them? Yet He explained and, “Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27)

What an experience that would have been! I remember a seminary class focused on the same theme — it was incredible, delightful, awesome. Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament enriches my life. I cannot imagine what it did to those two on that road to Emmaus except that finally “their eyes were opened and they recognized Him” and later, as He appeared to the others, He gave them this good news:

“These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:44–49, italics mine)

Do those who suffer sickness know this? Do those whose livelihood has been threatened or lost realize the significance of this? Do those whose family has been broken know the power of what Jesus proclaimed?

I’m reading about liberation theology and realize that the message of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection is largely hidden to many of the most ‘religious’ people. They are oblivious to the power of Jesus to change everything through repentance and forgiveness of sin — not the sins of everyone else but ‘my own sin’. He opens blind eyes and dull hearts with the gifts of seeing who He is and understanding His Word. This seeing and understanding is impossible without His amazing power to make it happen. He can bring people into a kingdom that is otherwise unseen, invisible, hidden to the sharpest minds. This is incredible; the very high point of good news.

Jesus said He would send the promise of His Father upon them. He meant the power of the Holy Spirit. Without the Spirit, the things of God are hidden from even the most ‘religious’ — the best we can do is imagine, make up a system that sort of ‘works for us’ yet this does not bring freedom. For some, their religion puts the blame on their oppressors for their problems rather than where it is rooted and far more insidious. Sin blinds minds: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death” (Proverbs 14:12) Without the illuminating power of Jesus to those He grants repentance and forgiveness, there is only blindness and folly, a stumbling that is oblivious to its own error.

APPLY: As I read how Jesus opened the eyes of those two men and gave understanding to these dull of heart disciples, I am more than ever convinced that only the power of God can change human lives. The Bible tells readers to choose, but without the enlightening grace of God, the choice to ‘do it my way’ will seem right as it leads people down the wrong path. Prayer is my response to this, prayer that God will touch blind eyes and give understanding to dull hearts, mine too. Without Jesus, we can do nothing, and most certainly cannot save ourselves. The reason this is good news is that is exactly what Jesus wants to do — save us from blindness and ignorance and from the deceptive notion that we can live without Him.