“You are my Son…” was the Father’s voice from heaven. Jesus own assertion and intimation indicate that references to Him as Son of God can be traced to Jesus Himself. At the center of Jesus identity in the fourth Gospel is His divine state as Son (John 10:36). Jesus conceived of His divine state as […]
Tag: Luke
Luke 3:21-22 is today’s BDBD. Why was Jesus Baptized?
Jesus was baptised when John was baptizing all the people who came to be baptized. Jesus’ baptism showed John who he was preparing the way for. With that knowledge, John could point out that Jesus was the Messiah and that the Messiah was the Son of God and the Lamb of God. (John 1:31-34) Jesus […]
Luke 3:17-18 is today’s BDBD. The Coming Harvest.
John continued his preaching a repentance for the forgiveness of sin with a warning about the consequences of choices when the Messiah comes. “His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” (Luke 3:17) […]
Luke 3:15-16 is today’s BDBD. Two Baptisms.
People wondered in their hearts if John might be the Christ (Messiah). John did not fall. He confessed that he is not. He gave proof by saying that there are two types of baptism. John’s baptism uses water. Jesus’ baptism uses the Holy Spirit. The latter is far better than the first. Most believers in […]
Luke 3:10-14 is today’s BDBD. Practical Change.
John prophesied a coming fire if people did not produce good fruit. The people were cut to the heart. Arrogance is racked by the truth. Truth exposes the reality of the past and present chosen inadequacies and sins, and the future penalty they bring. Humbled with holy fear, they asked,” What should we do then?” […]
Luke 3:9 is today’s BDBD. God, the Lumber Jack.
John the Baptist, the desert priest, filled with the Holy Spirit, made a prophecy of judgement on the Jewish nation. The time to change was at hand. However, the maximum boa constrictor’s life span (forty years) was all that God had allotted for them to change from crushing others around a tree to becoming a […]
Luke 3:8 is today’s BDBD. I am a Stone.
Many Jews from all strata of society came to hear God’s voice in the desert and were baptized. Many heard and did not accept John’s testimony. “We have Abraham as our Father,” they argued. They meant that they had permanent and privileged status because of their family tree. The Apostle John started his gospel account […]
Luke 3:7 is today’s BDBD. The Coming Wrath.
John called the crowds who came out to him to be baptized a brood of vipers. Specifically, he was talking to the Pharisees and Sadducees according to Matthew 3:7. Then he asked an interesting question, “Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?” The question was sarcasm for he knew few in Jerusalem and […]
Luke 3:4-6 is today’s BDBD. See God’s Salvation.
John the Baptist is the only prophet who was foretold by another prophet. Isaiah prophesied about John seven hundred years before John was born. Isaiah said John was coming, where he would be, and what he would do. John’s arrival was good news, not so much that John was great. Rather, the good news was […]
Luke 3:3b is today’s BDBD. Repentance Before Forgiveness.
The religious leaders, by John’s and Jesus’s time, had turned baptism into an elaborate ceremony, full of rules and regulations. Sometimes they baptized themselves every day. They self-baptize at least once a week. The Jewish religious establishment had all kinds of reasons why they must baptize themselves, as the Dead Sea Scrolls reveal. Baptism in […]
Luke 3:2b-3a is today’s BDBD. Simple and Practical Faith.
Luke records that John’s ministry was “in the desert…around the Jordan (River)”. John lived and travelled within a region that was often travelled by Jews going to and from Galilee and Jerusalem. The gospel can be preached anywhere, even in the desert. God will send those he has chosen to those who preach the gospel. […]
Luke 3:1-2a is today’s BDBD. During Evil Times.
The high priesthood was corrupt, not following the law of God set forth in the first five books of the Bible. There were two high priests. (John 18:19, 22, 24) This was unlawful. Annas was the father-in-law of Caiaphas. Annas was the first and true high priest. However, he had a political problem with the […]
Luke 2:51-52 is today’s BDBD. Obey Parents.
Who was to blame for Jesus being separated from his parents? The question implies that someone is to blame for an error. Yet, no error had been made. Jesus’ parents asked, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” The question and supporting statement say […]
Luke 2:46-50 in today’s BDBD. Listen, Answer, and Ask Questions.
Jesus, who was twelve and attending Passover in Jerusalem with his parents, was attending the required temple education as preparation for his adult life as a Jew. Adult life for Jewish children started at their thirteenth birthday. Seated around him would have been many other twelve-year-old boys. The boys were to listen, answer questions, and […]
Luke 2:43-46 is today’s BDBD. Jesus’ Education.
Jesus’ desire to know and understand the word of God is displayed. He could not have received such education in the small village Nazareth as he should have been able to receive in Jerusalem. Jesus took advantage of his time in Jerusalem to stand and learn in the temple courts. So many adults in our […]
Luke 2:42 is today’s BDBD. Socially Recognized Adulthood.
Luke records, “When he was twelve years old… according to the custom”. When a Jewish boy celebrates his thirteenth birthday, they officially declared an adult. The event is called a bar mitzvah. When thirteen years old, he is given the right to participate in society and religion as an adult. When thirteen, he fully assumed […]
Luke 1:41 is today’s BDBD. Worship in God’s Temple.
Luke comments, “Every year his parents went to Jerusalem”. The Lord God required all men to appear before the Sovereign Lord at the temple in Jerusalem three times a year. (Exodus 23:14, 17, 34:23; Deuteronomy 16:16) Since Alexander the Great controlled Palestine, many Jews had been scattered throughout the Greek and Roman world. Traveling to […]
Luke 1:40 is today’s BDBD. A Balanced Life.
Jesus was well-balanced. Somewhat similar to the trinity of God, man has (or is capable of having) three parts: physical body, soul (feelings and thought), and spirit (that which is of the spiritual world). When Adam and Eve sinned, the first part that died was the spirit, for God’s spirit departed from them. (John 1:4, […]
Luke 2:39 is today’s BDBD. Nazareth.
Nazareth in the district of Galilee was a small town, Mary and Joseph’s hometown. (Luke 1:26) According to John 2:46 the town was known for nothing good. “Nazer” means “despised,” or “not honorable”. Christians were at first called Nazarenes. (Acts 24:5) Nazareth was on a major trade route. Being on a major trade route brought […]
Luke 2:36-38 is today’s BDBD. A Prophetess Among Us.
Anna was unique in many ways. She was a prophetess, the first human messenger of God in the Bible since the time of Malachi. She was of the lost tribe of Asher, not Judea. She was a woman who had dedicated herself to the Lord. She was eighty-four (or widowed eighty-four years), an age uncommon […]
Luke 2:33-35 is today’s BDBD. Heart Revealed.
A Jesus encounter reveals the person I am. Every joint and marrow, every membrane and cell, every thought and reason are now known. The id is revealed as indecent. The ego is exposed to reality. The heart is cut open with a double-edged sword. The mind has seen the Great Light. My Maker has opened […]
Luke 2:28-32 is today’s BDBD. Hey Gentiles, Jesus is Our Light of Revelation.
The Gentiles are in the dark even though we are intellectual and have achievements much. We were and still can be in the dark when we do not have a right relationship with God through Jesus who is full of grace and truth. Gentiles live in darkness until the gospel of Jesus is welcomed within […]
Luke 2:25-27 is today’s BDBD. Simeon’s Holy Spirit Revelation.
Luke records that “the Holy Spirit was upon Simeon”, a righteous and devout Jew. Quoting Tozer, “The Spirit-filled life is not a special, deluxe edition of Christianity. It is part and parcel of the total plan of God for His people. There is nothing about the Holy Spirit queer, or strange, or eerie. “Unless you […]
Luke 2:21-24 is today’s BDBD. Jesus Embarks the Covenant.
The sign of the covenant between the Lord God and Abraham was circumcision. Luke states the Law, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord.” (Exodus 13:2, 12) God Almighty said He would be Abraham’s God, as well as the God of his descendants. Abraham and his descendants were to keep their part. […]
Luke 1:15-20 is today’s BDBD. Testimony Treasures.
The shepherds went to Bethlehem and saw that the angel’s message was true. Mary, Joseph, and a newborn baby, Jesus Christ, were as was told. Jesus was in a manger. The shepherds told everyone they encountered what had been said about Jesus. Their testimony was true. Everyone was amazed. She and Joseph had not known […]
Luke 2:12-14 is today’s BDBD. Peace & Favor.
The angel gave the shepherd a sign that would enable them to find Christ, the Lord (“Christos Kyrios” in the original Greek). The sign was unusual in itself, a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger (12). The anointed was poor and destitute from birth. Christ did not work in worldly riches, glory, […]
Luke 2:11c is today’s BDBD. Christ the Lord.
The angel says of the baby Jesus, “He is Christ (Messiah) the Lord.” Christ the Lord renders a Greek expression found nowhere else in the New Testament. It literally can be translated, “Christ Lord”. Perhaps we should understand it as “Christ and Lord”. Acts 2:36 records Peter saying to the crowd on the day of […]
Luke 2:8-11 is today’s BDBD. Angel Visitation.
Jesus, the Savior, was announced to shepherds living in the fields around Bethlehem by the angel of the Lord. The angel did not appear to people living in Bethlehem who rejected the Messiah and his parents, nor the religious leaders in and near Jerusalem, nor the Jewish eccentric sect called the Essenes living in Qumran, […]
Luke 2:1-7 is today’s BDBD. As a Matter of Fact.
Luke, the author, establishes the facts of Jesus’ birth. He establishes when Jesus was born with other events that can be easily dated. Numbering years as we do now was invented by a monk in 525 AD and adopted officially in the 9th century. So, antiquity authors used well-documented and known people and events to […]
Luke 1:76-79 is today’s BDBD. Path of Peace.
Zechariah begins to direct the subject of his song to his son, John, a prophet of the Most High. Zechariah repeats and adds to the angel’s message concerning John’s mission (13-17). Zechariah’s song has hints of Psalm 23 with the stanza, “…the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living […]
Luke 1:72-75 is today’s BDBD. Serve Him Without Fear.
Nine months before this event, Zechariah was chosen by lot to burn incense in the temple. Most priests had a deep-seated fear of God, especially when this honor was bestowed upon them. Zechariah loved the Lord, but, like the rest of the Jews, he had learned to fear the Lord while living in exile in […]
Luke 1:68-71 is today’s BDBD. Redeemed!
“I am redeemed!” a title to some popular contemporary Christian and Gospel songs: one by Big Daddy Weave, another by Jessie Dixon, and another by Chris Blue. Oh yeah, there is also the one by Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist titled, “The Lord, the God of Israel has redeemed his people,” a longer […]
Luke 1:67 is today’s BDBD. Holy Spirit Filled.
Zechariah was filled with the Spirit after silent humble Bible study and prayer for over nine months. Every prophesy comes from the Holy Spirit. Peter wrote, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but […]
Luke 1:64-67 is today’s BDBD. The Hand.
God wanted everyone to know that John was to be something special. He wanted everyone to pay close attention to the lad, for he was the forerunner of the Messiah, the Elijah who was to come (17). God introduced a prophet for the first time in four hundred years. No one is recorded as having […]
Luke 1:60-64 is today’s BDBD. Still Silent?
When it was time to name Zechariah’s and Elizabeth’s son during the circumcision, the local religious leaders were going to follow tradition and give him his father’s name. Elizabeth had learned from Zechariah that the angel who visited him in the temple said to name the boy John, which means “Jehovah has been gracious.” Zechariah […]
Luke 1:59 is today’s BDBD. Circumcised.
Zechariah and Elizabeth brought their baby son to be circumcised, as required by the Law of Moses. Circumcision was the way to bring boys into the nation and society of Israel. It is and was for purification and a seal of the covenant made to Abraham. (Genesis 17:1-3, 9-11) Circumcision is the removal of a […]
Luke 1:57-58 is today’s BDBD. Great Mercy.
Elizabeth’s neighbors and relatives rejoiced with her. They were probably some of the same people who made it hard for her to bear her previous childless life because of their gossip. However, when Elizabeth gave birth to the boy, they all rejoiced together. We may not personally like someone because we see a weakness in […]
Luke 1:46-53 is today’s BDBD. God my Savior.
Who was God to Mary? Her song answers this and more. Mary sang, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Mary calls God, Lord; “kryios” (a transliteration) in the original Greek. “Lord” is used in the New Testament when referring to Jesus. She calls Jesus her God. Mary called […]
Luke 1:39-45 is today’s BDBD. Blessed is She Who Believed.
Hearing the angel’s word about Elizabeth, Mary did not delay in visiting Elizabeth. Her hurry shows her need to find comfort and support from a fellow believer. Her visit was unannounced. Elizabeth and her husband, both of the priestly line, did not know she was coming. The priest lived close to Jerusalem, within a day’s […]
Luke 1:21-25 is today’s BDBD. Living the Unexpected
Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, discovered that living the unexpected was unlike what they had understood in the retelling of gallant stories of heroes past. For example, Abraham had no permanent home, humiliatingly had no son, and lived as an alien and a stranger in this world (Genesis 23:4; Hebrews 11:9). David spent most of […]
Luke 1:11-17 is today’s BDBD. Expect the Unexpected.
According to Numbers 4:3, the eligible age to serve as priest was 30 to 50 years old. To serve before the Lord would require that Zechariah be ceremonially clean. With so many priests available and being old, Zechariah could not have taken the time to serve as a priest in the temple. Zechariah could have […]
Luke 1:7-10 is today’s BDBD. No Answer.
Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes. They served God. Yet, though they prayed for a son, they did not have one, even into old age. Why do bad things happen in righteous people’s lives, especially things that they have little or no control over? One is discipline and training. Another is to prove […]
