The Gospel of Luke is obsessed with one question. It is a simple, sublime, life-changing question. “Who is this man?”
The question is asked by sceptics, such as the Pharisees, who asked (5:21), “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy?”
It is also asked by the curious (7:49), who enquired, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
It is asked by a king: Herod, (9:9) who demanded to know, “Who is this I hear such things about?”…
We are too apt to move straight from an assertion of Christ’s resurrection to an invitation to a present encounter with the living Saviour. But we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that ‘from the moment Jesus left the tomb, he was heading for the heavenly throne.’
‘The third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty.’ The resurrection began, and the ascension completed, his return to glory, his journey home.…
I have posted an item on questions Jesus was asked, and the replies he gave to them.
Equally fascinating are the questions that he himself posed to others. They, too, show how wisely and sensitively he probed people’s thoughts, feelings and motives.
Here is a selection:-
Mk 10:18; Lk 18:19 “Why do you call me good?”
Luke 6:3 “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?”
Luke 6:9 “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”…
1. To Mary Magdalene, as Consoler, Jn 20:14ff
2. To other women, as Object of Worship, Mt 28:8ff
3. To Peter, as the Friend who never forsakes, Lk 24:34; 1 Cor 15:5
4. To the Emmaus disciples, as the Sympathetic Instructor, Lk 24:13ff
5. To The Ten, as the Restorer of Joy, Lk 24:36; Jn 20:19
6. To Thomas (with the disciples), as Confirmer of Faith, Jn 20:26
7. To the seven on the seashore, as the Compassionate One, Jn 21:1ff
8. …
John 10:1-21 w Ezekiel 34
John’s Gospel has famously been likened to ‘a pool in which children can paddle and elephants can swim.’ These famous words of Jesus are transparently clear and unfathomably deep.
A common figure in ancient Palestine. ‘His life was very hard. No flock ever grazed without a shepherd, and he was never off duty.…
The doctrine of Christ’s return affects everything in the Christian life. It:-
1. encourages us in daily godliness, 1 Thess 1:10; 2:13; 3:13; 5:23; Tit 2:11-14.
2. provides a focus for all church life and worship, 1 Cor 1:7; 11:26; Heb 10:25.
3. gives us confidence in spiritual warfare, Rom 16:20; 1 Cor 6:3; 2 Thess 2:8-12;
Rom 13:11-13; 1 Thess 5:2-8.
4. comforts us in times of persecution, Rom 8:18-25; 2 Thess 1:6-10.
5. consoles us at the loss of loved ones, 1 Thess 4:13-18.…
Martin Luther said, ‘There is not a word in the Bible which is extra crucem, which can be understood without reference to the cross.’
And J.I. Packer has written, ‘It cannot be over-emphasised that we have not seen the full meaning of the cross till we have seen it…as the centre of the gospel, flanked on the one hand by total inability and unconditional election and on the other by irresistible grace and final preservation.’
In the New Testament, the cross is:-
Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Jesus has attracted to himself not only a group of 12 disciples, but also a large number of admirers. Events such as the Transfiguration, and Peter’s confession, have marked a change of direction in his ministry. Hitherto, he has been occupied for much of the time in the north, around Galilee.…
‘The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.’
As clowns long to play Hamlet, so I have longed to preach from this great verse. Now that I have the chance to do so, I feel like a child standing by the edge of some vast ocean, wanting to dive in and swim across, and yet afraid even to put his toe in the water, for fear of quickly finding himself completely out of his depth. …
Lk 2:52 ‘And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men.’
A unique glimpse into the boyhood of Jesus.
Shows us that his was a true humanity: he became like us, so that we might become like him. Here is a summary statement of his human development. Similar things are said about Samuel and John the Baptist.
1. He increased in wisdom – intellectual development
Although he was the Son of God, the Bible does not teach that he was born with complete knowledge and wisdom. …
