Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Bible Reading Challenge - Week 6 Day 2 Luke 1-5

Our reading challenge for the day is Luke 1-5. I'll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?

Luke 1-2 Notice that this carefully researched report Luke gives us is all about miraculous events - births of two children to mothers who could not have children but who conceived in response to an angelic message. The events surrounding both the birth of Jesus and of John the Baptizer are truly extraordinary. Yet when someone today talks about careful research, miraculous events don't tend to come up in the discussion. Maybe we can recapture the idea that simply because it is miraculous does not mean it is not true.

Luke 3 See how forcefully John calls people to believe Jesus. He is clear that Jesus is the one to watch, not John. The genealogy, as is proper for a gospel written to a possibly Gentile audience, traces Jesus as the son of God, not merely the son of Abraham. He is the one promised from the very start.

Luke 4-5 Jesus engages in ministry by healing, preaching, and calling disciples. Notice that, unlike most situations, Jesus selects his disciples. They do not select him. He is the one who will teach them what they need to know, who will show them what they need to see, and who will empower them for the work of the ministry.

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