Luke
3 – 4
Notice when reading Luke he gives more historical details
and time frames so people can understand the period when Jesus lived. Also
notice he gives scripture references for the prophecies which Jesus fulfilled.
Verse 3:4 references Isaiah 40:3-5:
As
Isaiah the prophet had said,
A solitary voice
is calling:
“Go into the wilderness;
prepare
the road for the Eternal One’s journey.
In the desert, repair and straighten
every
mile of our True God’s highway.
John the Baptist was preparing the way for
the Lord. I often wondered how much interaction these two had since John’s
mother Elizabeth and Mary were cousins. Mary spent the first few months of her
pregnancy with Elizabeth so I assume John had contact with Jesus. We read these
accounts and it’s like they first met when Jesus was baptized, but I have to
wonder.
John’s message was hard hitting and in
their face. Verse 3:13 had his response to the tax collectors asking what God
wanted:
Stop overcharging
people. Only collect what you must turn over to the Romans.
This why Matthew was considered a
questionable “disciple” since he was of this ilk. See the tax collectors
collected more than they sent to Rome to line their pockets. This made them
very unpopular with the Jewish people and John the Baptist calls them out on
doing this.
Verse 3:16 sets the stage for Jesus:
I baptize you with
water, but One is coming—One far more powerful than I, One whose sandals I am
not worthy to untie—who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
They are still expecting Jesus to overturn Rome and free
them, but did not expect what actually happened. Again I wonder if the Church
today would reject Jesus if He came in another way than on a white horse with
smoke and pageantry. Be aware and don’t reject someone saying they are Jesus just
because they are in jeans and a tee.
Chapter 4 opens with the Devil tempting Jesus. Verse 4:13
caught my attention:
The devil had no
more temptations to offer that day, so he left Jesus, preparing to
return at some other opportune time.
When does Satan come back to tempt Jesus?
Or does he return to corrupt Judas? Which leads me to the question if Judas and
Jesus were working together without anyone else’s knowledge? Think about it
Jesus knew, but did He help Judas along the way? One of the “Gnostic Gospels”
is that of Judas which implies this was orchestrated since it had to be done.
Notice in the remaining of the chapter, he
heals and then get over run by people wanting the same thing. I can see how
“healing ministries” get so much support. There is a lot of pain and hurt in
this world which these ministries take advantage of. Not saying that all a
frauds, but it’s been shown how many are “setups” and stage “healings”. That
just shows the enormity of the problem and how much he would be in demand today!!
Could you imagine the riots that would follow Jesus just trying to get to Him?
Now we can understand the pressure He felt.