Thought of the Day

 

LUKE: Spotlight on Zechariah

            Zechariah was a Jewish priest who was told by God prior to anyone one else knowing that the Lord was setting in motion his own visit to earth. Both Zechariah & his wife, Elizabeth, were known for being holy, even as God is holy. Though they were well suited to do a special work for the Lord, they shared the pain of not having any children. In Jewish culture, not being able to birth children was considered not having God’s blessing. The couple were old, therefore they ceased asking God for children, accepting that it must not have been his will for them to have children, in spite of what others would say.

            One day while on duty at the Jerusalem Temple, Zechariah received an unexpected blessing. He was chosen to be the priest who would enter the Holy Place to offer incense to God for the people of Israel. Suddenly, to his surprise & terror, Zechariah found himself face to face with an angel. The message from God’s messenger was too good to be true! It was news of the coming Savior; however, his mission was for his wife to give birth to the precursor of the Messiah. Luke 1:13, “...the angel said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John.’” Because of their age, Zechariah was found not believing what the angel Gabriel ^[1] had said to him. Therefore, because of his disbelief the angel told him he would be unable to speak until the promise became a reality.

            Zechariah was known in his region as a righteous man. He was one of the few people who had been addressed by an angel face to face. Elizabeth gave birth to John the Baptist, the one who cried out in the wilderness to prepare the way for the Messiah, Savior of the nations. Proving his humanity, Zechariah momentarily doubted the angel’s promise due to the couples old age. In other words, Elizabeth was considered way beyond her birthing years. God’s will is never thwarted by physical limitations, but rather accomplishes his will in unexpected ways.

            Zechariah’s story is one that gives hope to Christians thru the ages. The lesson learned here is this: God can do great things thru ANYONE who makes him or herself available to him.

 

Up next is a look at the unusual ways God communicates with man. Until then, walk with the King and be a blessing.

 

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible; p. 2173.

^[1] Luke 1:19 “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news!”

LUKE: The Mega-Themes

1) JESUS CHRIST, THE SAVIOR: Luke takes the time to describe just how God’s Son entered human history. Jesus was the perfect example of a human. After a perfect ministry that lasted 3 years, Jesus provided a perfect sacrifice for our sins so we could be redeemed.

                  Jesus is our perfect leader & Savior. He offered forgiveness to all who will accept him as Lord of their lives and Savior of their souls & believe there is truth in what he says.

 

2) HISTORY: Luke was both a medical doctor & a historian. Luke placed great emphasis on dates & details, connecting Jesus to events and people in history.

                  Luke gives details so we can believe in the reliability of the history of Jesus’ life. More importantly, we can believe with certainty that Jesus is God.

 

3) PEOPLE: Jesus was deeply interested in people regardless of gender, race, color. That was unimportant to him. He showed warm concern for his followers and his friends; whether men, women, or children.

                  Jesus’ extreme and never-ending, unconditional love for his creation is good news for all mankind. No one is excluded from his loving touch. All have an opportunity to respond to God in faith. That is incredible news!

 

4) COMPASSION: Do you ever disregard someone because they look or act different than you? Because Jesus is the epidemy of loving compassion, he avoids no one, regardless of their appearance or behavior. NO ONE. Because of the world we live in today I am very wary of anyone whom I don’t know. That’s not what the Lord expects from his children. I’m guilty of that and it weighs heavy on me. How about you? I suppose we’ve all been conditioned by our families, society, our culture, what region of the globe we live in. It’s a large contributory factor towards how we think, speak and act around others. God wishes to cleanse us of that, but we need to seek it out. If you want to be like Jesus, you must succumb to his will, by shedding your will like a snake sheds its’ skin. God forces nothing on us. We must seek it.

                  One of God’s names is Yahwah Yireh or Jehovah Jireh for he is “the God who shall provide”.  God’s compassion makes him far more than a good teacher. It means he cares for you. Because of his deep, abiding love for you, he can surely satisfy your every need.

 

5) HOLY SPIRIT:  Did you ever realize that God’s Holy Spirit was with Jesus throughout his life. From his birth to his baptism, to his ministry, and during the resurrection; Jesus depended on the Holy Spirit.

                  God sent the Holy Spirit as confirmation of Jesus’ authority. He is given to enable us to live for Christ, for we most assuredly cannot do it on our own. It is by faith and trust in Almighty God that we can have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which gives us the power to witness to others and serve the Kingdom of God.

 

                  Up next is a Spotlight piece on Zechariah, a Jewish priest, whose story is told in Luke 1. Until then, walk with the King and be a blessing.

 

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

LUKE at a glance

PURPOSE: To present the most accurate accounting of the life of Christ and to present Christ as the perfect human & Savior.

AUTHOR: The author of this Gospel is the only Gentile to author a book in the New Testament. That would be Luke the physician (Colossians 4:14). Luke was a close friend & companion of the Apostle Paul. Luke was also the author of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles or simply the Book of Acts. The Gospel of Luke & Acts are meant to follow one another ... as if the Gospel is supposed to be followed by Acts; and it is.

DATE WRITTEN: Roughly A.D. 60.

SETTING: Luke wrote from Rome or possibly from Caesarea.

SPECIAL FEATURE: This is the most comprehensive of the Gospels. Using common vocabulary & diction shows that the author was well-educated. Luke made several references to illnesses and diagnoses. He stresses Jesus’ relationships with common folks; emphasizes prayer, miracles, & angels; records God inspired praise hymns; & gives a prominent position to women. Most of Luke 9:51 - 18:35 is only found in Luke ... not in the other Gospels.

 

            “Luke affirms Jesus’ divinity, but the real emphasis of his book is on Jesus’ humanity - Jesus the Son of God was also the Son of Man. Luke’s close friendship with Paul gave him access to interview the other disciples, thus had other historical accounts, & was an eyewitness to the birth & growth of the early church. His Gospel & the book of Acts are reliable, historical documents.” ^[1]

 

THE BLUEPRINT

 

A. BIRTH & PREPARATION OF JESUS, THE SAVIOR _{(Luke 1:1 - 4:13)}

            Starting out as an infant unable to do anything for himself, Jesus grew into a fully grown man able to fulfill his earthly mission. He was fully man & yet still fully God. He took no short cuts and certainly wasn’t isolated from the daily pressures & temptations of life. There are no short cuts for us as believers either. We are to serve God with our lives. Jesus is our example.

 

B. MESSAGE & MINISTRY OF JESUS, THE SAVIOR _{(Luke 4:14 - 21:38)}

                  Jesus taught before great crowds, especially thru parables, which are stories that illustrate great truths. Sadly, not everyone caught on to what Jesus was teaching. It was only those who had ears to hear what Jesus was saying. There are an overwhelming number of truths throughout scripture & it is up to us as believers to hone our discernment so that we are able to grasp the significance of what Jesus is saying.

 

C. DEATH & RESURRECTION OF JESUS, THE SAVIOR _{(Luke 22:1 - 24:53)}

            Jesus, as the Savior of the world, was arrested unjustly & executed without cause, but death couldn’t destroy him. Jesus took the keys of death & hell & then, after showing himself to his disciples, ascended into heaven with the 12 watching.  There is one way to heaven. Thru the blood of Christ. When you absorb these facts never forget that with faith & belief comes forgiveness, for Jesus died once for all time. He didn’t need to continue to die for us because being human & not divine, we still sin from time to time. Christ’s forgiveness completely covers sin. Understand the significance of his death on a cross. His blood’s for you!

            Up next are the Mega-Themes from the Gospel of Luke. Until then, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible                  

^[1] The Life Application Study Bible; p 2168.

 

MARK: Evidence Jesus Actually Died & Rose Again!

                   The evidence portrayed here will demonstrate the uniqueness of the individual Jesus of Nazareth, thus proving he was & is God’s only Son. No one else in the history of mankind has been able to predict their own death & bodily resurrection and then make it happen.

                  Some folks have stated that Jesus wasn’t dead on the cross but was only unconscious and was later revived. To that we can counter with Mark 15:44-45, John 19:32-34 & John 19:38-40 (all seen below) ...

 

“Pilate couldn’t believe that Jesus was already dead, so he called for the Roman officer and asked if he had died yet. The officer confirmed that Jesus was dead, so Pilate told Joseph he could have the body.”

 

 

“So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs. One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.”

 

 

“Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away. With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth.”

 

                  Regarding the ladies visiting Jesus tomb some say these women made a mistake by going to the wrong tomb ... also some unknown thieves stole Jesus’ body ... or simply that his disciples stole Jesus body. This evidence is found in Mark 15:47, Matthew 27:59-61

 

“Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where Jesus’ body was laid.” 

 

“Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a long sheet of clean linen cloth. He placed it in his own new tomb, which had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance and left. Both Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting across from the tomb and watching.”

 

                  The other Mary with Mary Magdalene is listed in Mark as ‘Mary, mother of Joseph’. Not finding any evidence to back up her connection with Joseph of Arimathea, I will still sgo out on a limb and say it’s Mary, mother of Joseph of Arimathea, since it was that Joseph who supplied the new tomb to house Jesus’ dead body. The very same tomb Mary was ‘sitting across from’.

 

                  There was also speculation that the religious leaders stole Jesus’ body to produce it at a later date. Now the disciples would not have stolen the body of Jesus, for at some point when the true of it came out, it would have diminished their faith, thus making it virtually meaningless. If the religious leaders really HAD taken Jesus’ body they would have produced it to the public to stop all the rumors of his resurrection.  

 

Did Jesus REALLY die on a Roman cross as scripture says? 

What was crucifixion?

 

“Crucifixion is a death sentence, a nailing or tying of the hands and feet to a wooden beam and being left to hang there until death by exhaustion or asphyxiation. The crucifixion Jesus endured was even more brutal than the typical punishment for criminals. He was given a crown of thorns, beaten along the way, mocked and humiliated. Sometimes the legs of the criminals are broken to speed up the process, but Christ was pierced in the side and determined to be dead already, so His legs were not broken. While a crucifixion was an execution, it was also a humiliation, by making the condemned as vulnerable as possible.” ^[1]

            “Let's summarize what we've learned about Jesus from this examination of ancient non-Christian sources. First, both Josephus and Lucian indicate that Jesus was regarded as wise. Second, Pliny, the Talmud, and Lucian imply He was a powerful and revered teacher. Third, both Josephus and the Talmud indicate He performed miraculous feats. Fourth, Tacitus, Josephus, the Talmud, and Lucian all mention that He was crucified. Tacitus and Josephus say this occurred under Pontius Pilate. And the Talmud declares it happened on the eve of Passover. Fifth, there are possible references to the Christian belief in Jesus' resurrection in both Tacitus and Josephus. Sixth, Josephus records that Jesus' followers believed He was the Christ, or Messiah. And finally, both Pliny and Lucian indicate that Christians worshipped Jesus as God!” ^[2]

Okay, so we’re relying on the word of people we’ll never know, trusting they were being truthful. I can see where Christian writers may speak of these things as a means of pushing their belief system, but secular people? Why would they speak of Jesus in any sort of way at all. If he was deemed as a problem in society, why would anyone tie their name to his existence? At some part it simply comes down to a faith and trust issue. In other words, based on what I know and what I’ve seen, heard, and read during my 68 years on planet earth I have CHOSEN to believe in the existence of God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit ... the birth, ministry, death, and resurrection of the Son of God. Do I HAVE TO believe this? NO, but having a free will it is my God given right to believe as I please and I choose to believe in Christ and follow him into eternity. 

 

Up next is the Gospel of Luke. Until then, walk with the King and be a blessing.

 

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

^[1]https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/what-was-the-crucifixion-of-jesus.html

^[2]https://www.bethinking.org/jesus/ancient-evidence-for-jesus-from-non-christian-sources

MARK: Why Did Jesus Have to Die?

           Almighty God created earth and man perfect. But when Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s commands, He had to punish them. A judge who pardons law-breakers isn’t a righteous judge. Likewise, overlooking sin would make the holy God unjust. Death is God’s just consequence for sin. “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Even good works cannot make up for wrongs against a holy God. Compared to His goodness, “All our righteousness are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6b). Ever since Adam’s sin, every human has been guilty of disobeying God’s righteous laws. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Sin is not just big things like murder or blasphemy, but also includes love of money, hatred of enemies, and deceit of tongue and pride. Because of sin, everyone has deserved death – eternal separation from God in hell. And there is absolutely NOTHING we can do to pay that sin debt on our own.              

The plan of salvation Almighty God designed is perfect, just, and upright, and no one could have come up with anything better. Usually what WE perceive as “better” is something that seems right to us. “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” (Proverbs 14:12) A plan must be universally just and fair for all parties, with no favoritism given to any individual or group. Before we can come to grips with anything God does, we have to first acknowledge that His ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts—they are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8). In addition, Deuteronomy 32:4 reminds us that “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.” So whatever God does is right and fair and therefore WILL take place. Doing good is an insufficient means to gain forgiveness and eternity with our Heavenly Father. Doing good so WE feel satisfied is worthless in God’s economy, because the question that must be asked is why do we do good things for others? Who benefits??

The Scripture says, “... Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Evidence affirms that the sinless Jesus bled and died on a cross. Most importantly, the Bible explains why Jesus’ death and resurrection provide the ONLY ENTRANCE INTO HEAVEN.

Herein lies the beauty of God’s perfect plan: God Himself provided the only sacrifice (Jesus) who could atone for the sins of His people. God’s perfect Son fulfilled God’s perfect requirement of God’s perfect law. It is perfectly brilliant in its simplicity. “God made Him (Christ), who knew no sin, to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

            Some folks who do not know the Lord, may say: “I never asked Jesus to die for me!” Their ignorance is glaring. They don’t understand how it all works. They don’t read the Bible and don’t take seriously knowing God intimately, thinking this will put a crimp in their life. No longer can they do whatever they want. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are born with a ‘free will’ to do as we please. God is watching at all times, not to chastise us any time we do wrong, but guard us, and guide us into his will for that person. If you are one of his children who knows he word relatively well, you should take comfort in that fact. Those who don’t know him must come to a place where they are willing to lay all pride and reasoning down and listen to what God has to say. It’s a matter of faith and trust in a loving God. Christ died on a wooden cross not simply because he HAD to, but rather, the love he has for his creation caused him to willingly take our beating in our place. I think we should all remind ourselves of that one solitary fact that should give us a humble approach to life.  We did nothing and could / can do nothing to save ourselves. Without Christ’s voluntary death on the cross we would all be doomed to live a life without hope and die in our sins. Is that you? Bow your knee to Christ at this moment and receive the Christ into your heart and life. Turn your back on your old life and become reborn. Like me, who gave my life over to God in March of 1979, you will never, ever regret your decision ... surrender your will in favor of His perfect will for you.

            Up next we’ll take a look at evidence that Jesus actually died and rose again to new life. Until then, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resources: The Life Application Study Bible; www.gotquestions.org

Thought for the Day ...

In His name & for His glory... Richard Keller... Bread of Life Ministries