Who wrote Luke?

• Consider “them” vs. “we”
  • Acts 1:1-5 – Luke obviously not an apostle.
  • Acts 16:10-17; 20:5-12; 21:1-28:16 – Was a participant in Acts
    • Shows Luke with Paul and his entourage
    • Shows companionship with Paul
• Irenaeus, Tertullian
  • “According to Luke”
  • Mid-second to early third centuries
• Muratorian fragment from late second century
• Written after Mark, before Acts, circa AD 80-90

Luke 1

Luke 1:1-4 – Luke’s preamble

• Making an account
  • From eyewitnesses
  • Investigated from the beginning
  • Wrote “in order”
  • Show Theophilus the “exact truth”
• Inspiration?

Luke 1:5-25 – Prophecy of the birth of John

• When? Luke dates it for us
  • In the days of Herod the king
  • When Zacharias was priest
  • When Abijah’s clan was in rotation (I Chronicles 24:5-18)
    • Eighth of twenty-four lots
    • As commanded by David – symbolic?
• Wife also descendant of Aaron, barren
• Both righteous
• Both advanced in age (beyond normal child-bearing age)
• Zacharias drew the lot to burn incense
  • Alone in the temple?
    • One cleaned the altar of incense
    • Another placed new incense into altar
    • Third priest entered alone to offer the incense and prayers
  • Altar of incense in Holy Place before the veil
    • Veil separates Holy Place from Most Holy Place
    • Veil torn at the death of Jesus
    • Offering incense, making intercession for Israel
    • People outside offering prayers
    • People beyond the courts offering prayers
  • Gabriel appears
    • Don’t be afraid – prayer heard and granted
    • A lot goes with that answered prayer
      • Son, name him John
      • No wine or liquor
      • Filled with the Holy Spirit
      • Turn many Israelites back to the Lord their God (Luke 1:16)
      • He’ll go before Him in spirit and power of Elijah
        • “Him” meaning God (Luke 1:16)
        • Between the lines: Jesus is God
      • Hearts of fathers back to children (eye to the future)
      • Disobedient to attitude of righteous
      • Preparing a path for the Lord
• Zacharias’ response – Gabriel’s reaction
  • Questions possibility
    • What made him doubt?
    • Was that wrong?
  • Gabriel – seems insulted
    • I’m Gabriel
    • Sent to bring you this good news
    • You’ll be mute because you didn’t believe
    • Until it all takes place
    • Muteness happens immediately
• Zacharias’ reception outside
  • Large crowd outside the temple
    • He was taking a long time – wondered why
    • He came out mute
    • They recognized he’d seen a vision
    • He spoke with his hands, couldn’t speak
  • Went home at rotation’s end
    • Elizabeth conceived
    • Secludes herself five months
    • Said God had taken away her reproach among men
      • Why reproach?
      • Instruction repeated: Be fruitful and multiply
      • She’d been unable to be part of that command and its promise

Luke 1:26-38 – Jesus’ birth foretold

• Gabriel’s message
  • Greeting – you’ve received grace
  • The Lord is with you
  • You are blessed among women
  • Mary perplexed by the greeting
  • Gabriel saw her perplexion
  • Don’t be afraid, you’ve found favor with God
  • Conceive, bear a son, name Him Jesus
  • He’ll be great, be called the Son of the Most High
  • Lord God will give Him throne of His father David
  • He’ll reign over the house of Jacob forever
  • His kingdom will have no end
• What does this say to Mary? Any religiously informed Jew?
  • MESSIAH!
• Mary’s question
  • How? (Not, “will it happen” or “how can I know/believe” but “how will it be done?”)
    • How different from Zacharias’ question?
    • Belief vs unbelief
  • Answer: Holy Spirit will come upon you
    • Power of the Most High will overshadow you
    • That’s why your holy Child will be called the Son of God
• Oh, by the way …
  • Elizabeth is in her sixth month
  • Conceived in her old age, no longer barren
  • NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD
• Mary
  • Behold, the bondslave of the Lord
  • May it be done according to your word

Luke 1:39-45 – Mary visits Elizabeth

• Don’t know exactly where
  • A city of Judah in the hill country
  • John leaped inside Elizabeth’s womb.
  • Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit.
• Elizabeth speaks
  • Blessed
    • You among women
    • The fruit of your womb
  • Blessed by visit of “the mother of my Lord”
  • Mary blessed for having believed that spoken by the Lord
• Mary praises God
  • Her joy
    • In God
    • In His regarding her, His bondslave
    • She’ll always be regarded as blessed
    • Done great things, His name is holy
    • His mercy is on every generation who fears Him
    • His strength, His deeds
    • Exalts the humble
    • His help and mercy upon Israel
• Mary’s attitude of obedience
  • Importance in God having selected her?
  • How about Joseph?
  • Obedience springs from belief – Luke 1:45
  • Jesus would learn obedience in His life

Luke 1:57-66 – The birth of John

• Mary goes home after three months
• Eighth day – circumcision
  • Naming was coincidental – Zacharias, after his father
  • Elizabeth: “No, John”
  • Defer to father (signing with hands) – “John” not a family name
  • Zacharias writes, “His name is John.”
  • All in the region talked about it
  • Zacharias now speaking, filled with the Holy Spirit

Luke 1:67-80 – Zacharias’ prophecies of his son

• Praises God
• Reminds of the covenant
• Says John will by the prophet of the Most High
• He will go before the Lord to prepare His ways
• Knowledge of salvation
• Forgiveness of sins
• John grows up
  • And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

Review

• The universal church is NOT composed of local churches. It is composed of individual Christians.

Oversight

“church”

• Jesus is the head of the church (Ephesians 1:22-23). There are no earthly leaders.
• John 10:14
• Matthew 16:18

“churches”

• Elders are to be appointed in every church (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5).
• Acts 15:2; 20:17; Philippians 1:1
• I Peter 5:1-2
• There is no reference to elders being overseers of anything other than a local church.
• I Thessalonians 2:13
• Acts 8:18
• Acts 15:7, 12-13 – They were revealing what God had already decided. It was not men getting together to decide church doctrine.

Treasury

“church”

• There is none.

“churches”

• Churches collect and use money on a congregational level. (I Corinthians 16:1-4; Philippians 4:15-16)

Work of the church

“church”

• The word “church” in this sense simply refers to all saved people (Ephesians 5:23-29; Hebrews 12:22-24), but they are not a universally functioning entity.
• Romans 16:16 – Multiple churches sent greetings, but this is not a collective action.

“churches”

• Churches engage in lots of different actions and work.
  • Help needy saints in the local church (Acts 6:1-6)
  • Help needy saints in other churches (Romans 15:26)
  • Add/subtract members (Acts 9:26-28; I Corinthians 5:13)
  • Assemble to worship God and edify each other (I Corinthians 14:23-26)
  • Have overseers and deacons (Philippians 1:1)
  • Make decisions (I Corinthians 16:3)
  • Help sinners repent (Matthew 18:17)
  • Partake of the Lord’s Supper (I Corinthians 11:17-24)
  • Sing spiritual songs (I Corinthians 14:26)
  • Pray (I Corinthians 14:15)
  • Teach God’s word (I Corinthians 14:26)
  • Collect money (I Corinthians 16:2)
  • Sound forth the word (I Thessalonians 1:8)
  • Support preachers in other places (Philippians 4:15-16)
  • Etc.
• The work was done on a local level.

Takeaways

• Don’t think of the church as a denomination.
  • Romans 14:12
• Jesus is my primary authority, not the local church.
  • Acts 11:20-26
  • Local churches make mistakes!
  • No person has the authority to rewrite God’s rules.
• The local church is a spiritual team.
  • Philippians 1:27

Introduction

• Genesis 2:18-25 – God created the marriage relationship.

Stats from Barna

• Currently married: 46% (down from 66% in the 1950s)
• Cohabitation is considered morally acceptable by a majority of people.
• God’s marriage law has not changed.
• Christians are experiencing divorce as often as the general population now.
• Young people believe in marriage less and less.

What is the standard?

• Mark 7:8
• Is it possible for people who have been married a long time to give bad advice? Yes!

Let’s start with some basic Bible truths.

• Ecclesiastes 11:9
• II Timothy 4:3-4
• James 1:21-25

Companionship, part 1

God’s purpose in marriage

• Genesis 1:27, 31 – God’s creation was “very good”
• Genesis 2:18 – At the beginning of Day 6, Adam’s situation was described by God as “not good.”
• Genesis 2:22 – Eve was created during Day 6 to solve the problem of Adam’s loneliness. That was the purpose of Eve – not to help him in the garden. Her purpose was companionship.
• Malachi 2:14

When we stop sharing life together, the marriage erodes.

• Ephesians 5:25, 28, 33
• Titus 2:4
• Dave Carder – “Anatomy of an Affair”
  • Tell-tale signs of a degrading marriage
• Romans 12:15
• “When you are in pain, the world stops and I listen.”

Part 3: The depth of Israel’s apostasy (Judges 17:1-21:25), continued

Moral and societal corruption (Judges 19:1-21:24), continued

Chaotic aftermath (Judges 21:1-24)

Final verdict (Judges 21:25)

Review

Historical context of Judges

• Israelites were delivered from slavery in Egypt and then thoroughly and repeatedly warned against the pitfalls of living in Canaan (Deuteronomy 4, 11).
• Covers a period of about 300 years and depicts part of the transition from “house of the father” (e.g., Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) ➡ tribal confederacy ➡ dynastic monarchy.
• The Israelites go from a time of relative unity (under Moses and Joshua’s leadership) ➡ assimilating with heathen nations ➡ anarchy and civil war
• Proverbs 26:11

Outline of Judges

• Chapter 1-2 – The roots of Israel’s apostasy
• Chapters 3-16 – The downward spiral of Israel’s apostasy
• Chapters 17-21 – The depths of Israel’s apostasy
• Latter part of the narrative focuses on two points (Judges 21:25):
  • “In those days, there was no king in Israel.”
  • “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
• Several graphic depictions of God’s judgment (Ehud and Eglon) but also of wanton violence and depravity (Levite’s concubine).

Israel’s downward spiral

• Judges 2:19
• Rejection ➡ Reaction ➡ Retribution ➡ Repentance ➡ Rescue ➡ Relapse

Conclusion

• Hebrews 12:28-29, 1

God is strong, we are weak

• Job 38:1-7
• Job 38:22-24, 28-30
• Genesis 8:22
• Matthew 5:36
• Job 38:25-27, 33-38
• We have so little control!
• Psalms 147:1-11, 15-20 – Just praise God! Fear the Lord and praise Him.

Count your (basic) blessings

• I Kings 17:10-12 – The widow had nothing left.
• Philippians 4:11
• II Corinthians 11:27
• I Timothy 6:8

It’s wise to be prepared.

• Matthew 25:1-13
• Matthew 25:41
• We must be prepared spiritually.