Matthew 19
Hardened hearts seem to be one theme running through this Chapter. Hearts hardened toward spouses, children, and God’s commands.
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Luke 18a
The persistent widow. What’s the difference between persistent and nagging? For one thing, no one wants to become a “nagger”. Is that a word?
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John 11
The raising of Lazarus. Is there a lesson here beyond that of life after death?
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Luke 17
Here’s a new thought from Luke 17: Temptation will always be with us, and according to Jesus these temptations come through others.
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Luke 16
There are several powerful discussion in Luke 16! Is Jesus saying it’s okay to cheat? Can a person once divorced never marry again?
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Luke 15
A lost sheep, a lost coin and a lost son. This is a story about celebrating things of great value that have been found!
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Luke 13
This chapter highlights how radical Jesus was in his time. Doesn’t it make you wonder if we would accept Him if He were walking the earth today?
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Luke 12
At the end of Chapter 11 the Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus. At the beginning of Chapter 12 Jesus responds.
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Luke 2:1-38
- The references to Augustus and the census, and to Quirinius help us to document the date through other ancient records.
- I noticed that Luke’s record doesn’t say the baby was born the night they arrived. I wonder if they were in the stable for more than a night?
- The radiance of God’s glory surrounded the shepherds. This was more than a bright light that shone down on the earth like a beam of light. This light chased away every shadow, and illuminated all sides of the shepherds. It was more than daylight.
- The vast host might not have been singing. The armies of heaven may have been chanting the phrase in verse 14. It doesn’t say whether the army said it once, or kept saying it. From what is written, it sounds like they said other things as well, because it says they were “praising God and saying” not “praising God by saying” or “as they said”.
- When the shepherds told their story to the people, everyone was astonished. There’s no record here that they were not believed because of their station in life. Generally, people want to believe good news, and news about a deliverer being born was good news indeed.
The shepherds shared and went back to work. Mary meditated on what they said. - I wonder if any of the shepherds lived long enough to see Jesus ministering to the people. Could one of the shepherds been young enough to see Jesus born and crucified? Shepherds were often younger men.
- God orchestrates wonderfully. Simeon “just happens” to be in the temple when Mary and Joseph arrive. That’s because he listened to the Holy Spirit and moved when he was supposed to. I’m so glad that he did! Anna “just happens” to be walking by when Simeon is prophesying and praising God. Anna practically lived at the temple, but it’s a fairly large place with lots of people milling around. This is no less a miracle than Simeon. Interesting that a woman would play such a key role in the announcement of Christ.
- Luke doesn’t mention that Mary and Joseph returned to Bethlehem to stay for awhile. He doesn’t mention the visit from the wise men, or the trip to Egypt. Honestly, that seems odd to me, because Luke has so many other details recorded. (like Mary’s song of praise). Maybe Matthew was already recorded, so he didn’t feel the need to reiterate.
- I’ve mentioned this before: they offered the sacrifice of poor people, two young pigeons. Oddly enough, within a year or two they would be very wealthy because of the gifts of the Magi. (at least we think they were). Some scholars believe that Mary lived out her life on the income from the Magi. I doubt it, honestly.
- Vs 34 says that Jesus was a “sign from God” but he was also much more than that.
Pastor Rick signing off for today. Be blessed!