Category Archives: Luke

Pointing to Christ

For those who had ears to hear, John called to repentance, but for those who would not, he promised judgement. To some the seismic message of the gospel was indeed good news, evidenced by the multitude of people who were repenting of their sins and being baptized. But others were merely present, not repenting but observing, neither hearing nor believing.

Our Father’s Business

Though born in Bethlehem, Jesus did not grow up there. Though born King of the Jews,[2] he was not raised in Jerusalem. Instead, he was raised in the region of Galilee in the tiny town of Nazareth where, Luke tells us, he “grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him” (Luke 2:40). He had an ordinary childhood, as ordinary as a sinless child could have.[3] So unremarkable were his years in Nazareth, years later he would be remembered only for his parents and siblings.[4]   

Nunc Dimittis

The child Jesus was consecrated in the temple that day, and he would grow in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. He would mature to manhood that as fully God and fully man, he might live life righteously, die sacrificially, and resurrect victoriously that we too, like Simeon, may say one day, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,” for we have peace with God forever through faith in Jesus Christ. And for this gift of God’s grace let us give thanks and rejoice.

Fallen yet Faithful Servants of God

Congruent with his righteousness and devotion, we are told that Simeon was “waiting for the consolation of Israel,” which implies a patient trust in the providence of God. A Christian who lives a righteous and devout life doesn’t get entangled with the worldly worries of the age but patiently waits upon the Lord. In Simeon’s case, he had received God’s special revelation telling him that “he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (26), so his patient trust was also an expectant one.

A Sign of the Covenant

When we hear the word covenant today, (in addition to the name of our church!) we may think of something like a contract or agreement. But the biblical understanding of the word is something richer, relational, and remaining. A covenant commits a person to another person, typically involving a verbal oath and sometimes a visible symbol. To break a covenant involves a violation of the terms of the covenant resulting in due consequences.

Gloria in Excelsis Deo

Luke tells us that it was neither leaders of church nor rulers of state who received the angelic announcement but shepherds in a field near Bethlehem, “keeping watch over their flock by night” (2:8). Who are these shepherds? What are their names? We do not know. They are remembered not for who they are but of whom they hear and who they will worship. Their identity is revealed only in the revelation of God to them of the incarnation of the Son of God.

Providentially Perfect

The story is a familiar one: Joseph and Mary travel to Bethlehem where Jesus is born. Though familiar, it is glorious, for in it we read the second Person of the Trinity, the Son of God “was manifested in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16). He was not only born in humble conditions but humbled himself, as the apostle Paul describes it, “he [who] was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:6-7). And such a glorious act of God’s love did not happen by accident but according to the providence of God.

Covenant Faithfulness

The Gospel of John says that John “came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him” (John 1:7). His message was bold but simple, calling for a baptism of repentance, because God is faithful and just to cleanse every sinner from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). But John’s ministry was preparatory, pointing to the one through whom we are forgiven and cleansed from all unrighteousness, Jesus Christ the righteous. Similarly, we too, as the church, herald the good news of Jesus Christ, calling sinners to repentance, and forgiveness of sin and eternal life through Jesus Christ, preparing the way of his coming again.