Tag Archives: Luke 2-3

Daily Bible Study

October 22, 2023 Bible Study — God’s Messengers Are Terrifying, but Those Who Receive Their Message Need Not Fear

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Luke 2-3.

The appearance of God’s messenger, the angel, to the shepherds illustrate once again the points I made yesterday about God’s messengers.

  • The shepherds were terrified at the messenger’s appearance
  • The messenger told them not to be afraid

There is another aspect all three of these incidents have in common: after the recipients of God’s message saw its fulfillment, they praised God.  The other thing that most people to whom God sends a messenger have in common is that they tell others about what God has done.  So, when God sends His divine messengers to us it is a terrifying experience, but they will reassure that we need not fear.  And, if we follow their direction, we will discover that not only do we not need to fear anything, but we will find joy and a desire to praise God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

October 22, 2022 Bible Study — Jesus Begins To Study For His Ministry

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Luke 2-3.

A few days ago in this blog I asked about how Jesus had the credentials to be allowed, and perhaps even invited, to teach in synagogues, which the Gospels report that He did at the very beginning of His ministry.  In today’s passage we get the only direct insight into that.  Luke writes that when Jesus was twelve He spent three to six days in the temple courts  learning from some of the leading religious scholars of the day.  At the age of twelve, those who taught there were amazed by the questions He asked and the answers He gave.  I want to go over the number of days Jesus spent in the temple courts.  So, Luke writes that His parents did not realize He was not with them until they were a day out from Jerusalem, then Luke writes that they found Jesus after three days.  So, the question becomes, did Mary and Joseph find Jesus three days after they left Jerusalem, three days after they realized He was missing, or three days after they got back to Jerusalem?  If the latter, Jesus was in the temple courts for five or six days, because perhaps the reason Mary and Joseph left Jerusalem without Him was because He spent the day before they left at the temple as well.  Not that the exact number of days has any significance.  More importantly, this story indicates that Jesus spent every opportunity He had learning from teachers of the Law, and He was such a student that the teachers of the Law welcomed Him studying with them.  I think that Luke intends for us to understand that Jesus continued in His studies of Jewish Law, thus explaining why He was welcome to teach in the synagogue when He began His ministry.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

October 22, 2021 Bible Study — God Reveals Himself To Those Of Whom The World Takes Little Notice

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Luke 2-3.

I will always remember my father reading the beginning of Luke 2 every year on Christmas Eve before we opened our presents (we did that on Christmas Eve because we went to one of my Uncle’s house for Christmas Dinner with all of my Dad’s family).  I love the fact that God sent His messengers to announce the birth of His Son to shepherds in the field, not to kings or other members of the elite.  Then, when Jesus’ parents took Him to the Temple for to be presented to God, it was not the priests and Levites to whom He was made known.  No, it was Simeon and Anna to whom the Holy Spirit revealed who He was.  Like the shepherds, Simeon and Anna were not people of great notice.  Even today, God generally first makes His announcements to those of whom the world takes little notice.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

October 22, 2020 Bible Study To Whom Did the Proud Father (God) Announce the Birth of His Son?

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Luke 2-3

There is a reason that the Luke account of Jesus’ birth is the “standard” used by most Christians at Christmas.  Every time I read this passage I am struck by who the angels were sent to make an announcement of Christ’s birth.  I want to review the various people whom the Gospel accounts tell us received a message regarding Christ’s birth.  Mary and Joseph each received a visit from an angel.  They were both intimately involved in this pending birth (Mary more so than Joseph and the nature of the message they received reflects this fact).  Elizabeth received word by the Holy Spirit and her son leaping in her womb. The wise men discovered the announcement by their study of the stars; Herod and others among the high and mighty received word by way of the wise men.  However, the shepherds, among the lowest of the low, received the message by way of a host of angels on the occasion of Jesus’ birth.  When God chose to announce the birth of His Son, He sent His messengers to those who mattered, but they were not those whom we, as humans, would have thought mattered.  He “called” the shepherds, the “common man”, and gave them the message right away.  He let the wise men find out by “reading the sign” that the father put up when the baby went “home from the hospital”, and he let the big wigs and important people find out from them.

Daily Bible Study

October 22, 2019 Bible Study — God’s Ways Are Not Our Ways

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Luke 2-3

To this day when I read Luke 2, I hear it in my father’s voice.  Every year on Christmas Eve we celebrated our family Christmas and that celebration started with my father reading Luke 2, all the way through the account of Anna. (We celebrated on Christmas Eve because we went to my uncle’s house on Christmas day for my Dad’s family Christmas dinner).  It seems clear to me that Luke’s source for this chapter is none other than Jesus’ mother, Mary.  All of the stories recorded in Luke 2 are the sort of thing that a mother remembers. 

I love the story of the angels announcing Jesus’ birth to the shepherds.  God did not send His angels to announce The Messiah’s birth to the Temple and the high priest, nor did He send them to the palace and the king.  God did not send His angels to announce Christ’s birth to the high and mighty.  He sent them to announce it to the nobodies in the field.  The shepherds weren’t the people with the “important” jobs.  They were doing a job about which most of their contemporaries would have said, “anybody can be a shepherd.”  That is who God thinks are important enough to announce the birth of Christ

Daily Bible Study

October 22, 2018 Bible Study — A Mother’s Memories

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Luke 2-3.

    Luke chapter 2:1-20 was the passage my Dad read every Christmas Eve when we celebrated Christmas as a family (we celebrated our family Christmas on Christmas Eve because my Dad’s family got together on Christmas Day for a family dinner). The first thing which struck me today was Luke’s attention to detail. Luke’s account contains all of the things which the urban legends websites tell you are missing from urban legends and myths. Luke tells us that Jesus was born during a census taken when Augustus was Emperor and Quirinius was governor of Syria (the word which Luke uses for governor is ambiguous and does not refer to a specific Roman title, merely to the most powerful political figure in a region). I would also note that Luke’s source for most of chapter two must have been Jesus’ mother, Mary. I have two reasons for believing Mary to be Luke’s source. First, these strike me as the types of stories, with the types of details, that a mother would remember. Second, who else that was present would be likely to both remember the incident and still be alive 50 or so years later?

    The message of John the Baptist was very similar to what James wrote in his letter many years later. It really comes down to this, if you truly love God your actions will reflect it. In some ways. what John says here reflects what Jesus said when He told His disciples that it is not food which defiles us. Our words and actions come from our deepest being and reflect what we truly believe. You can say that you believe whatever you want, but people can tell from what you do if you truly believe it. There is one further point I want to make that comes from Jesus’ comment about what defiles us. Over time, your actions will change your beliefs. Every time you take an action which is inconsistent with what you say you believe, the less you will believe it. On the other hand, every time you take an action which is consistent with a particular belief the more you will believe it. The latter works even if you thought you did not believe it in the first place.

Daily Bible Study

October 22, 2017 Bible Study — A Mother’s Memories

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Luke 2-3.

    The first thing that occurred to me when I finished reading today’s passage was that Luke’s source for these stories had to be Mary. Thinking about that, these are the sorts of stories a mother would remember about her son. We have a story about the stressful times right after the child’s birth (“no lodging available”), another about the amazing joy of having a new child (the story of the shepherds). There are stories about memorable things that happened with the child while he was very young (the dedication at the Temple, Simeon and Anna). Finally, there is a story about the child starting to exert his independence, demonstrating what kind of man he would become (staying behind at the Temple). My Mom tells stories with similar themes about my childhood and that of my older siblings, none of them are nearly as momentous as those recounted here. I remember my Mom telling a story about where they lived when my oldest sister was born. I remember my Mom telling a story about my one older brother banging his head against the wall whenever he was in the crib. I remember her telling other stories about my siblings. The thing is, I remember her telling the stories, but I don’t remember the details. However, my mother does, just as Mary remembered the details in these stories.

    Luke introduces the beginning of Jesus’ ministry with John the Baptist. The point of John’s ministry was that it being a descendant of Abraham was not enough to shield them from God’s judgment. John preached that God’s judgment was coming. That same message needs to be preached today. When God’s judgment comes, it is not going to be enough to go to Church every Sunday. It is not enough to not be a bad person. It is not enough to say that you are sorry for the bad things you have done. You need to take actions which demonstrate that you have changed, give to the poor, feed the hungry, stop using your power to abuse those over whom you have power. All of this was just the start. John preached that there was someone coming soon who would divide those who really wanted to serve God from those who just wanted to avoid God’s judgment.

Daily Bible Study

October 22, 2016 Bible Study — How Do We Learn What God Wants Of Us?

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on Luke 2-3.

    This passage always touches me deeply. It is the passage my father read every Christmas Eve as my family celebrated the birth of Christ. It also appealed to me because Luke has a certain matter-of-fact approach to his presentation. Even with that matter-of-fact approach the story still paints a vivid picture. Reading it today, I finally saw what Jesus meant when He asked His parents why they had to search for Him. After all, they were there when the shepherds came and told of seeing the angels. They were there when Simeon and Anna prophesied over Him. They had surely told Jesus these stories as He grew up. Where else would He be but the place where He could find answers to the questions about what God wanted Him to do?