Luke – Doors Wide Open!
What do we fear most? Many of us have real fears such as the fear of heights, the fear of birds (cough, me), the fear of losing what you have obtained in this life, the fear of losing family members, the fear of not being able to pay all your bills on time, the fear of doing anything for the first time and the fear of embarrassment. From poor to rich, all humans have fears.
A little fear is good. It keeps us from doing things that are not good for us. The fear of death might keep us from jumping off a building unassisted. The fear of personal injury of crashing our vehicles might cause us to be more alert on the highways as we drive with others who seem to have no fear.
Fear can be coupled with respect for those who know more than you know. This is also a healthy fear so that you don’t go beyond limits of what you do not know and get into trouble. For example, when we were younger we did what our parents told us to do for fear of the punishment and/or the consequences of our actions of misbehavior. Our parent’s love and care for us caused them to set limits for our behavior. Our fear of the consequences of misbehaving coupled with our love and respect for our parents guided our decision making. Sometimes, we failed and learned from disobedience. Most times we learned from doing what was right and good for all.
In this same vein of thinking, we fear God with awe and respect for Who He is. We know He can do anything. He created the world. He created us. Nothing is impossible with God. Mary feared God as she fell to her knees. God’s angel immediately assured her with, “Don’t be afraid”. She rose to her feet in awe and respect for God’s message telling her she would carry the Son of God in her womb. Joseph’s fear when visited in a dream by God, coupled with awe and respect for God message and assignment caused him to take care of Mary despite what others in their community might think of this arrangement. Did God choose this couple because of their awe and respect for Him?
The shepherds fell to their knees in fear of the great light produced by the armies of angels who announced the arrival of the long awaited Messiah. The message got them back up on their feet, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” Awe and respect caused them drop everything and go see. Did God announce the great arrival of His Son to mere shepherds, the poorest of the poor, because of their awe and respect for Him?While fear seems to drive us to our knees, awe and respect of God pulls us to our feet with His message of “Fear not, don’t be afraid” and gets us going because of our love and devotion for God. Trust and obedience to God seems to trump all our fears. Is that why God always opens with, “Fear not?”
These shepherds are good examples for us to imitate today. They received by faith the message God sent them and then responded with immediate obedience.
Luke 2, NLT
The Birth of Jesus
At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. 4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5 He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.
6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.
The Shepherds and Angels
8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.
GOING DEEPER…When God comes to us and asks us to do something, say something and be His messenger of hope, love and forgiveness, we will have human fears. But our awe, respect, and reverence for God will trump our fears when we trust and obey. Fear not…
Dear Heavenly Father, Lord and Savior,
It seems whenever you ask us to join you in your work we fear first. We are mere humans. But you know that, and you assure us with fear not. Your promises are true and unchanging. You prove your promises over and over in our lives. Where you guide us you provide us with all we need to accomplish what you have asked us to be and do. Fear diminishes as we trust and obey. Thank you for always being with us. Help us to “fear not”, get up and get going for today.
In Jesus Name, Amen
61 “What?” they exclaimed. “There is no one in all your family by that name.” 62 So they used gestures to ask the baby’s father what he wanted to name him. 63 He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s surprise he wrote, “His name is John.” 64 Instantly Zechariah could speak again, and he began praising God.
His name is John.
Another word translated “blessing” is the Hebrew word esher, which indicates a state of happiness. This word occurs frequently in the Psalms and Proverbs. When the Psalmist says, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers” (Psalm 1:1), he is saying “you will be happy if you do not walk in the counsel of the wicked, etc.” Obedience to God is not a pre-requisite for salvation—while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8)—but obedience to God and living according to His Word is a recipe for blessing, for happiness in life (Proverbs 3:1-4). 
Two women, chosen, and called by God, to deliver two sons who would forever change the world. One would be a man filled with the Holy Spirit, set apart, ordained to prepare the way for the other, the Son of God, who was the Holy Spirit, the three-in-One. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. John would get the attention of the people to repent and turn back to God. Jesus would be the perfect sacrifice to complete our total redemption so that we can enter the open doors to God! Wow!
39 A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town 40 where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. 41 At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Do you feel favored, blessed by God, in your walk with Him?
Luke is a most vigorous champion of the outsider. An outsider himself, the only Gentile in an all-Jewish cast of New Testament writers, he shows how Jesus includes those who typically were treated as outsiders by the religious establishment of the day; women, common laborers (sheepherders), the racially different (Samaritans), the poor. He will not countenance religion as a club. As Luke tells the story, all of us who have found ourselves on the outside looking in on life with no hope of gaining entrance (and who of us hasn’t felt it?) now find the doors wide open, found and welcomed by God in Jesus.
19 Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! 20 But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”
Yes, if ever a man wrote a book filled with good news for everybody, Dr. Luke is that man. His key message is, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). He presents Jesus Christ as the compassionate Son of Man, who came to live among sinners, love them, help them, and die for them. 
The life and message of Christ were so important that many books had already been written about Him, but not everything in them could be trusted. Luke wrote his gospel so that his readers might have an accurate and orderly narrative of the life, ministry, and message of Jesus Christ. Luke had carefully researched his material, interviewed eyewitnesses, and listened to those who had ministered the Word. Most important, he had the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The phrase from the very first (Gk. anothen) can be translated “from above,” as it is in John 3:31 and 19:11. It speaks of the inspiration of the Spirit of God on the message that Luke wrote. 
Zacharias (“Jehovah has remembered”) and Elizabeth (“God is my oath”) were a godly couple who both belonged to the priestly line. The priests were divided into twenty-four courses (1 Chron. 24), and each priest served in the temple two weeks out of the year. In spite of the godlessness around them, Zacharias and Elizabeth were faithful to obey the Word of God and live blamelessly. Their only sorrow was that they had no family, and they made this a matter of constant prayer. Little did they know that God would answer their prayers and give them, not a priest, but a prophet! And no ordinary prophet, for their son would be the herald of the coming King! 
HOLY PAUSE
Mere man would not and could not die a physical death to save mankind. The torture of being nailed to the cross for our sin was only part of the salvation plan of God. Death in hell had to be defeated. Only Jesus went to hell and back again for us. Only Jesus rose to life again, scars and all, by the same power that held him to a cross of shame and humility for each one of us. Only Jesus died for our sins AND rose again to give we who believe life eternal with him in heaven. Only Jesus, Son of God.
5 When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, 6 but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. 7 Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.”
15 And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. 16 Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. 17 These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. 18 They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”
THE WOMEN STAYED
37 Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.
42 This all happened on Friday, the day of preparation, the day before the Sabbath. As evening approached, 43 Joseph of Arimathea took a risk and went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. (Joseph was an honored member of the high council, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come.) 44 Pilate couldn’t believe that Jesus was already dead, so he called for the Roman officer and asked if he had died yet. 45 The officer confirmed that Jesus was dead, so Pilate told Joseph he could have the body. 46 Joseph bought a long sheet of linen cloth. Then he took Jesus’ body down from the cross, wrapped it in the cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone in front of the entrance. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where Jesus’ body was laid.
It is touching to see how the women stood near the cross until the very end. John had also been there, but he had taken Mary, our Lord’s mother, to his own home where he could care for her (John 19:25–27). Faithful women were the last at the cross on Friday and the first at the tomb on Sunday. What a contrast to the disciples, who had boasted that they would die for Him! The church of Jesus Christ owes much to the sacrifice and devotion of believing women.
It seems evident that God prepared these two men and directed them in their activities. Nicodemus had come to Jesus privately (John 3) and had even defended Him before the council (John 7:45–53). I believe that Joseph and Nicodemus searched the Scriptures together and discovered, led by the Spirit, that the Lamb would die at Passover. It is possible that they were hiding in the new tomb when Jesus died. It was a simple matter for Joseph to go to Pilate for permission to take the body, and for Nicodemus to guard the body until the official release was given. Had these men not acted boldly, the body of Jesus might have been disposed of like rubbish. 
Jesus Christ was “delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification” (Rom. 4:25). A dead Savior cannot save anybody. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is as much a part of the gospel message as His sacrificial death on the cross (1 Cor. 15:1–8). In fact, in the book of Acts, the church gave witness primarily to the resurrection (Acts 1:22; 4:2, 33). 
As we get older, we experience little nagging pains that send signals to joints and muscles about the limits of these bodies that eventually wear out. We begin to pace ourselves so the pain is not so great. Some of us medicate to “manage” pain. I personally seek to get rid of it, not “manage it” with drugs. Some of us try to avoid pain at all cost, or think we can, by slowing to a stop. But we soon discover that a body in motion stays in motion and a body at rest…well, you know the science, it assumes all it can do is rest. 
All the pain that we might experience here on earth cannot compare to the excruciating pain Jesus willing, according to God’s Plan to save us, endured. WILLINGLY is the key word. God willed it. Jesus willingly accepted the mission. Why? Because God’s love for us trumped all the pain His Son would endure. A perfect, without sin, sacrifice for our sin had to be made, once and for all.
HOLY PAUSE…
24 Then the soldiers nailed him to the cross. They divided his clothes and threw dice to decide who would get each piece. 25 It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. 26 A sign announced the charge against him. It read, “The King of the Jews.” 27 Two revolutionaries were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.
31 The leading priests and teachers of religious law also mocked Jesus. “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself! 32 Let this Messiah, this King of Israel, come down from the cross so we can see it and believe him!” Even the men who were crucified with Jesus ridiculed him.
Believe and be saved. Right now. 
In our passage today, Mark writes about God’s religious who are out of touch, out of relationship with Him, out of control, and out of focus on God. The leaders are all about self preservation. The leaders have lost contact with God for so long that they only recognize self. Self leads to envy of the One who has been sent to save them. They are now “out’ to punish God’s One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, promised Messiah. 
Very early in the morning the leading priests, the elders, and the teachers of religious law—the entire high council met to discuss their next step. They bound Jesus, led him away, and took him to Pilate, the Roman governor.
9 “Would you like me to release to you this ‘King of the Jews’?” Pilate asked. 10 (For he realized by now that the leading priests had arrested Jesus out of envy.) 11 But at this point the leading priests stirred up the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas instead of Jesus. 12 Pilate asked them, “Then what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews?”
The Jewish council had to convince Pilate that Jesus was guilty of a capital crime and therefore worthy of death (John 18:31–32). In spite of their political corruption, many Roman officials had an appreciation for justice and tried to deal fairly with prisoners. Furthermore, Pilate had no great love for the Jews and was not about to do them any favors. He knew that the Jewish leaders were not interested in seeing justice done; what they really wanted was vengeance (Mark 15:10). 
The governor then tried a third ruse: he had Jesus scourged, hoping that the sight of the suffering prisoner would somehow arouse their pity (Mark 15:15; John 19:1ff.). But the plan did not work. The governor gave in and delivered Jesus to be crucified. 
HOLY PAUSE
We learned a long time ago to hold to this truth when dealing with people who want to destroy you and the work God has given you to do: “The less said, the less spread.” We would stick to what God’s word says and just go silent about our family life, the transitions in ministry God invited us to do, and details of our growing and learning. We had to stop “thinking out loud” as we grappled with a problem, for that would soon be a wonderful morsel that gossipers would chew on and share with others as finished truth. Weird, I know. But it happens.
53 They took Jesus to the high priest’s home where the leading priests, the elders, and the teachers of religious law had gathered. 54 Meanwhile, Peter followed him at a distance and went right into the high priest’s courtyard. There he sat with the guards, warming himself by the fire.
Peter Denies Jesus
Throughout this time of false accusation, our Lord said nothing (Isa. 53:7; 1 Peter 2:23). But when the high priest put Him under oath, Jesus had to reply, and He testified clearly that he was indeed the Son of God. The title “Son of man” is messianic (Dan. 7:13), and the members of the council knew exactly what Jesus was saying: He was claiming to be God come in human flesh! This claim, of course, was blasphemy to the Jews, and they declared Him guilty and worthy of death. Since it was irregular for the Sanhedrin to vote on capital cases at night, the council met again early the next morning and gave the official sentence (Mark 15:1). 
Before we judge Peter too severely, we need to examine our own lives. How many times have we denied the Lord and lost opportunities to share the gospel with others? Do we, like Peter, talk when we should listen, argue when we should obey, sleep when we should pray, and fight when we should submit? 
Dear Heavenly Father,
43 And immediately, even as Jesus said this, Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived with a crowd of men armed with swords and clubs. They had been sent by the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders. 44 The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal: “You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss. Then you can take him away under guard.” 45 As soon as they arrived, Judas walked up to Jesus. “Rabbi!” he exclaimed, and gave him the kiss.
48 Jesus asked them, “Am I some dangerous revolutionary, that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? 49 Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there among you teaching every day. But these things are happening to fulfill what the Scriptures say about me.”
The fact that Judas brought such a large group of armed men is evidence that neither he nor the religious leaders really understood Jesus. They thought that Jesus would try to escape, or that His followers would put up a fight, or that perhaps He might do a miracle. Our Lord’s words in Mark 14:49 were proof that He was in control, for they could have arrested Him many times earlier, except that His hour had not yet come. 
If the Upper Room was in the home of John Mark, then perhaps Judas led the soldiers there first. John Mark may have hastily put on an outer garment and followed the mob to the Garden. The soldiers may have even tried to arrest him, so he fled. The disciples were scattered and the Servant was now alone, “and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me” (John 16:32).
