Sunshine & Rainbows: Luke #3

Life with God isn't all sunshine and rainbows. The silver lining we are blessed with, often comes with rain clouds. Take for instance the experience of Mary.

Mary's first knowledge that she will bear a son comes from the angel Gabriel, who informs her that she will be having a son, who not only will be king, but as the "Son of the Most High," will be divine as well (1.31ff). Gabriel further explains that the Holy Spirit will bring about the conception by "overshadowing" her (Gk. episkiazo), thus making the child holy.

Mary responds to all this by saying, "Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word" (1.38). Her faith is incredible and as we will see, she is overwhelmed with excitement (1.46ff). Overwhelmed with excitement is how we often feel when we are being blessed by God. 

But the story of Mary and Jesus continues. While at the beginning Mary is filled with tremendous joy, it won't be long until she experiences tremendous pain. Her eldest son will reject her (Mk 3.33) and she will have to bear the burden of watching his enemies plot against him and eventually succeed at taking his life. We often feel God is absent during these times.   

But the story doesn't end there. Mary experiences the resurrection - the new life made available to the whole world. And through her flesh and God's unending grace we all are able to experience new life.

Our adventure with God may follow a similar plot - we experience the monumental highs and the devastating lows. But through all of it we have a promise: that no matter what this life throws at us, we hope in the resurrection. 

Just Getting Started: Luke #2

We are only a couple verses into Luke when we run into our first problem. There is this religious couple, who follow all the rules, yet don't get what they really want - children.

Jewish culture regarded this as a sign of divine disfavor (cf. Gen 30.23; 1 Sam 1), often as punishment for sin. But this is not the case with this couple; they were "righteous" (1.6); some- thing is going to happen. 

Sure enough an angel appears to the husband and tells him that his wife is going to have a son. He asks, "How is this possible!? We are too old to have children" (1.19).

To which the angel responds, "I stand in the very presence of God and have been sent specifically to tell you this - you think I'm kidding? On that note, how about you don't talk for the entire duration of the pregnancy" (1.20).

The woman ends up conceiving, releasing her from the disgrace that had plagued her for so many years. God set something amazing in motion, and even the disbelief of those involved could not stop it.

The Gospel of Luke has just begun, and already barrenness is turned to fertility, disgrace to favor, and hope is brought to circumstances that seemed hopeless. This is the gospel in its purest form and we are just getting started!

Why It's Written: Luke #1

Why are there four gospels? Why are three of them (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) very similar while the fourth (John) is quite different?

Over the next few months I am going to tackle these questions by examining The Gospel According to Luke.

Luke was written around 85 CE, and while church history identifies Luke as the author (cf. Col 4.14), the gospel itself is anonymous. In fact, not one of the gospels identify their author.

This is noteworthy because of the strong statement it makes: it was the subject of the gospel that was important and not the author. What better way to highlight Jesus than to present his story anonymously.

Luke also composed the book of Acts, which comes after John, in between the gospels and the rest of the NT letters.

So why did Luke write his version? He tells us, in very polished Greek, "I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the truth about which you have been instructed" (1.3-4).

So Luke researched, talked to eyewitnesses, gathered data, and in the end, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, wrote the third gospel.

As we journey through this book, may we come to better know the truth of the most important story ever told.