MARCH 8 READING…Luke 3
Luke 3 is divided into two parts…the first half deals with the ministry of John the Baptizer. In earlier readings we have been told by Luke that Jesus and John were related not only by blood, but by the calling of John to be the prophet to go before Messiah and prepare the way for Him. John’s ministry was to preach the baptism of repentance, that people would be ready for Jesus’ coming. The Prophet Isaiah spoke of John in chapter 40 of his book. John was not one to mix his words…when he perceived by the Holy Spirit that people where just being religious, but had no heart for God…he called them out. He told them, like Jesus did later, that their ethnic heritage of being descendants of Abraham, did not make them right with God. John call them to have changed lives…he told them to do what they knew was right in repentance, as they wait the coming of Messiah. Then John told them that his baptism was one of water…but there was One who would come after him who would baptize them with the Holy Spirit and fire. The fire of God works in two ways…for the believer it purifies…for those who refuse to believe, it consumes them in God’s judgment. The day came for Jesus to fulfill Scripture…to identify that John was the prophet of God who came to prepare the way for Jesus…so Jesus has John baptize Him.
Matthew gave us the first genealogy of Jesus…he started with Abraham and came down to the line of Joseph. Luke gives us another genealogy of Jesus…this one runs through Mary. It goes all the way back past David…past Abraham…past Adam…and declares that Jesus is the Son of God. These genealogies are important, as they are the fulfillment of prophecy. Any way one wants to look at it, Jesus, either through His earthly father, or through His mother, is of the line of David…and ultimately of the holy line of God through men. It was important to the Jews that Messiah would be of this line. It is important to us, as Jesus is the complete and perfect fulfillment of the Word of God.
Please share your thoughts from today’s reading.
TOMORROW’S READING…Luke 4
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