Luke 3:7-9 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
 
ONE walking into John’s church to determine if they liked what he saw and heard would be likely to quickly leave, wouldn’t he? Certainly, too, most church attenders would soon depart if their pastor addressed them as, “You brood of vipers!” In fact, mentioning any aspect of God’s Word that reminds a church attender of their shortcomings and sins is taboo, isn’t it? We want to go to church to be happy and leave church feeling good about ourselves.
    Or do we? Actually, we should want to be awakened to our sins. We should mourn our affronts against God. Yes, we can leave church happy when we repent and know our confessions lead to God’s forgiveness.
    Consider this. Have you ever changed a bad habit if you felt good about it? Change comes when we regret our words and actions that violate God’s law and hurt others. The only way we will seek God’s Word to truly want to change is to be as  hungry and thirsty as Jesus taught in Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” When you love God, you know the only way to be satisfied in your soul is to listen closely to God’s words.
    Yes, when John called the Jews, “brood of vipers” his harsh words were to awaken the Jews to sin. He knew that some of the Jews who came out to be baptized by him did so only for show. They desired only man’s approval. These Jews were as many people today who come to church each Sunday, unconcerned about their sins. Their lives remain unchanged. They move toward their destruction because they do not hunger for God’s truth.
    And have you considered how Jesus preached in the same manner? The Lord of Love who commands us to “Love one another.” actually preached Matthew 23:33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?”
    Why did the prophets, John and Jesus, and then later the apostles make such harsh references to peoples’ sin? Perhaps the best way to answer this is in the apostle John’s words from 1 John 3:8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. Listen and know: Love is the reason for the harsh words. The prophets, the Christ and the apostles used such language to awaken the self-righteous sinners to their souls’ danger. They loved the world so much they couldn’t keep quiet. People need to know there is a problem before they will seek the way to redeem the problem.
    If your soul becomes uncomfortable about your sin when you are listening to a sermon, you are hearing a good sermon. Pay attention to what God is saying to you. Thank the Holy Spirit for opening your heart to feel bad. He is convicting you to thirst for the truth. This kind of desire will lead you to a true heart change for Jesus’ gospel. Submit to the truth and find joy in the Lord.
 
Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for your loving preaching. Amen. 

Luke 3:3-6 John went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. 5 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. 6 And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’” 
 
LET’S go to 2 Kings to read of the place where God took Elijah into heaven. 2 Kings 2:11 As they were walking along and talking together (on the far side of the Jordan River), suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. We note Elijah and Elisha were at the Jordan River.
    Now, John, who is to “go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17) is at the Jordan River to begin his ministry where Elijah’s ended.
    God’s purpose is to show the Jews his promises spoken by many prophets were becoming real. The Lord had been silent in Israel for 400 years. Now he breaks the silence with John’s voice reiterating the prophets’ repentance and salvation messages. Although his life is written in the New Testament, John is the last of the Old Testament, the Old Covenant, prophets. John’s voice is the final herald to say, “Prepare the way for the Lord.” The New Testament, the New Promise, of Grace in the Lord Jesus Christ is about to begin. 
    See, then, that the preparation is to be a baptism of repentance. But why baptism? This is a New Testament sacrament. Jesus commanded it as a visible sign and seal of the Holy Spirit giving new life to one who confesses Christ.
    Baptism before Jesus was a sign of repentance and desiring a more righteous life. Baptism symbolized the cleansing, changing waters of the Great Flood. Baptism helped one remember the Jews’ change through the Red Sea from Egypt’s bondage to our Lord’s freedom. Baptism helped the Jews also remember the change from wandering in the desert to settling in the Promised Land when the Jews walked through the Jordan River. Baptism was also an act of change for a Gentile to show his desire to live as a Jew under God’s law.
    John called his people to change their view of sin and God. He preached their need for change, so they would be prepared for the Lord’s salvation. As had other Jewish prophets and priests, John baptized with water to symbolize one’s desire to change. Jesus would come to baptize us into his death, resurrection and eternal life: Romans 6:3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 
    New Testament baptism is a confession you are born again. You not only repent of your sins as the Jews, but you are eternally forgiven through Jesus’ blood. Your life is made new and marked in Jesus’ life, sealed in the Holy Spirit forever.
   
Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for your eternal change of my soul, washed clean by your blood. Amen.

Luke 3:1-2 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar –  when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene – 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.
 
AS Luke gave to Theophilus (and unknowingly to us) a sure time to mark Jesus’ birth using Rome’s rulers, he also gives a definite time reference to Jesus’ ministry. Remember, Luke was writing to Theophilus to prove Jesus’ humanity and Jesus’ divinity. Theophilus would have ample resources to check Luke’s information. Luke had to be accurate, or Theophilus would likely reject Luke’s proof of Jesus’ identity.
    Also, note how Luke sets the stage for what he is yet to write. Pontius Pilate, Caiaphas, Annas and Herod will all have a significant role in John’s and Jesus’ ministries.
    As important as it is to know these historical facts, we must focus on the history-changing fact: The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. The LORD God, which means the Almighty One of Absolute Control, has moved all the events of time and people to this moment. Remember, John was born for this moment: Luke 1:15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. 16 Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. John was conceived through Zechariah and Elizabeth in the Holy Spirit’s power. He has grown, and God has prepared him for this moment.
    As the Olympic Games approach every four years, you could use the metaphor that John is the athlete who trains for years to perform at his peak at just the right time. The LORD God has prepared Judea’s rulers, and he has prepared John and Jesus for this time. All are about to enter center stage to live out God’s eternal redemption plan for the Jews and then the Gentiles. God has told John, “Now.”
    How about you? It is an inescapable truth to know that if you say, “I’m a Christian.” the Lord God has acted throughout time to call you to this historic confession. You are not an accident who happened to walk into the Kingdom of God to say, “I’m here. Aren’t you glad?” Instead, you are chosen to a grand purpose. God’s revealing Word, a true preaching church and encouraging friends are your training tools. The Lord God instructs you to prepare yourself for the moment he says, “Now.”
 
Prayer: Lord God, I pray I am purposeful to pursue true training to minister your love when you say to me, “Now.” In Jesus’ name, amen.  

Luke 2:47-50 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” 49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”  50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
 
WITH all the evidence of Jesus’ conception, birth and purpose, would it not be logical for Joseph and Mary to go directly to the temple to find their son? Is it possible they looked upon the past events now 8-12 years distant as dim images of God’s promises? Maybe in seeing Jesus’ humanity, his earthly parents had found it difficult to remember that Jesus is God’s Son.
    This holy relationship would be a challenge for the Jews as our Lord ministered some 20 years later. People doubted his identity, his authority and his miraculous powers because of he was Mary’s and Joseph’s son. See, for example, John 6:42 They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”    
    Yes, this is one of the great debates. Is Jesus of Nazareth, son of Joseph and Mary, the Son of God? Even now, many who say they belong to Jesus’ church doubt and even deny Jesus’ identity, authority and miraculous power. Some even become Bible “scholars” and theology teachers, so they can spread their lies against God the Father, Son and Spirit. Mankind’s sin nature began in the denial of God’s identity, authority and miraculous power. “Did God really say?” (Genesis 3:1) This question casts its dark shadow over the sinful heart even now.
    At his early age, Jesus clearly says who he is. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”  is our Lord’s first recorded announcement that God is his Father. Jews in those days would say “our Father”. To them it was blasphemy to announce, “Yahweh, the I Am is ‘my Father’.” The Jews who followed the law barely spoke God’s name for fear of breaking the third commandment.
    Jesus, though, consistently testified to I Am as his Father. One very powerful, convicting teaching is John 8:54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.” And this very simple, direct confession: John 14:9 “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”
    God, the Son, has come to the world to reveal God, the Father through his incarnation and now through God, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Trinity calls his own into his heavenly House. God’s will is that you will say, “My Father” as you dwell with him in the new Heaven and earth. John 14:2 “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.” 
    Believe in Jesus, the Son. Live with God, the Father, forever.
 
Prayer: My Father in Heaven, thank you for sending Jesus to make it possible for his Father in Heaven to also become my Father in Heaven. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen. 

Luke 2:43-46 After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
 
FROM our 21st-century view in America (We are not sure how you in other countries would see this.), we would find Joseph and Mary guilty of negligence. In the three days Jesus was absent from his parents, we can assume Mary and Joseph traveled one day from Jerusalem, discovered him missing, traveled one day back and found him on the third day. How could they travel for a day and not know he was absent?
    To gain an accurate understanding of the Bible, we must learn about the culture of the event, or narrative, we are studying. In this circumstance, we learn people then often traveled in caravans for safety from robbers. A caravan was a traveling community. Women and men traveled in separate groups. Children of various families could easily mingle together. Mary and Joseph would assume their 12-year-old son was with the other spouse, friends or relatives.
    Jesus’ age is also important to consider for that culture. Twelve-year-old boys were on the edge of adulthood. They were expected to assume much responsibility. Likely, Jesus was given freedom to go about his own business in the city. It was also common for many of the brightest boys to be in training for the understanding of the Torah – the Law of Moses – and the prophets’ teachings. Jesus was probably not the only boy at the temple to ask questions and to learn.
    Even more, our Lord was coming into the age where he fully understood his identity and his purpose.  He is absorbed with the teachings of the Word because he is the Living Word.
    Luke records this event to help us understand a pivotal moment in Jesus’ life as a human. He was faithful to go with his earthly parents to the Passover Feast. Jesus was also faithful to attend to his heavenly Father’s business in the temple.
    We must live in such a way as our Lord demonstrated here. Be faithful to family matters. Be faithful to the Lord’s matters. If you are, your children, your parents, your friends and your church will know where to find you.
 
Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, you are where I can find you. Give me wisdom to understand where you want me to attend to your business. Amen. 

Luke 2:41-42 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom.
 
WE have seen how Mary and Joseph were faithful to remember God’s law. Luke 2:20-24 tells us they took their newborn son Jesus to the priest for circumcision. Mary also went for her post-pregnancy cleansing ritual. This passage further affirms the couple continued to remember and obey the Lord’s commands. Each year they attended the Feast of Passover. This was the annual time at God’s command to remember God’s loving, gracious and powerful work to free the Jews from Egypt’s slavery and idol worship.
    How crucial it is to purposefully remember God’s grace to free us from sin. Each time we worship in church or with another group of Christians, we must remember God’s saving grace.
    Too often churches can be a place to go when it is convenient. Maybe we think it is good enough to go to church or to take communion occasionally.
    But nowhere in Scripture does God say, “Worship me however and whenever you feel like it.” That is essentially what happened in Israel. After King David’s reign, Judah had many kings who forgot God. When King Hezekiah came to Judah’s throne, he knew why the nation was in great trouble. Hear his words from 2 Chronicles 29:4 “Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the Lord, the God of your fathers. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary. 6 Our fathers were unfaithful; they did evil in the eyes of the Lord our God and forsook him. They turned their faces away from the Lord’s dwelling place and turned their backs on him…8 Therefore, the anger of the Lord has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem; he has made them an object of dread and horror and scorn, as you can see with your own eyes.”
    Sadly, God’s people became his enemy. Only a remnant worshiped the LORD. Hezekiah turned his nation to remember their Lord God. Peace reigned during Hezekiah’s reign. But future kings again forgot God, and he ultimately judged Judah into exile.
    Parents, guardians, leaders and teachers, you have a responsibility. Remember God. Tell your children of his commands and of his grace. Tell them why they need a Savior and teach them how Jesus saves. Remember Jesus’ command to remember: Luke 22:19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”
    As Mary and Joseph remembered and worshiped the God of the Passover, we must worship God, the Passover Lamb.
    How is it possible to forget such great love? 

Luke 2:36-40 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. 39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.
 
MATTHEW 2 tells us Jesus was in Bethlehem about two years. The Lord instructed Joseph to take his family to Egypt to escape Herod’s deadly attack on Bethlehem’s baby boys. After about two years, the Lord instructed Joseph to return. As the family returned to Judea, their plans changed. Having been warned in a dream, Joseph withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. (Matthew 2:22-23a)
    Matthew also wrote in Matthew 2:23b So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.” This statement has caused controversy because there is no specific prophecy that spoke these words. But we understand Matthew’s words point to the lowly, humble life Isaiah and other prophets said Jesus would live. Nazareth was of a low reputation in Galilee. When Philip told Nathanel he had found the prophesied Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, Nathanael’s response was a slur on Nazareth, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. (John 1:46)
    Yes, come and see – come and understand Jesus is the redemption of Jerusalem and of all nations. Why did Luke omit the Egypt interlude? Apparently it did not fit into his purpose for this orderly account to Theophilus. The blessing of four gospels is they are God’s method to help us come to his Word and help us see a more complete picture of Jesus’ life and teachings. In Luke 1 and 2, we have witnessed God’s particular plan for the way Jesus entered the world. Through the gospels’ accounts we can understand the Father’s very specific directions to those he chose to participate in his redemptive drama.
    God is a planner. Each thing that occurs in the world is under his domain. Sometimes – even often – we might wonder if the Holy Trinity is attentive to the world’s turmoil. The Bible tells us he is. In turn, we must be attentive to know our role in God’s plan to complete the world’s redemption.
 
Praye: Father in heaven, holy be your name. May your will be done on earth and in our lives. Help us to have faith in your plan. Amen.

Luke 2:33-35 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
 
IN the midst of this joyous moment for Simeon, he prophesied a summary of Israel’s response to Jesus in the years to come.  Jesus will cause change. People will rise spiritually as they receive his truth: Malachi 4:2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.
    In contrast, many people will fall because of Jesus’ life. Isaiah 8:14 “and he will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel he will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare.”
    Indeed, the gospel message centers our hearts to change. From the moment Jesus arrived into his creation, countless numbers of people have found new life in him. We’ve read, for example, that Mary and Joseph very personally experienced God. We saw them faithfully respond to God’s call. And from Luke’s information in Acts, we know, that even in her pierced soul, Mary remained faithful to her son who is her Lord, crucified, dead, buried, raise and ascended.
    During Jesus’ lifetime, Jesus changed thousands upon thousands of people through his miracles. Jesus fed them real food, multiplied by the thousands. Jesus healed the sick. He forgave the repentant sinners. On the cross, Jesus exchanged his holiness for your sin. Tragically, countless souls have fallen to hell because they have rejected Jesus. We rejoice, too, that millions more have risen to eternal life because Jesus, the Savior, has come.
    Mary would not be, could not be merely a witness to Jesus’ life. Grief would pierce her heart as Israel condemned Jesus.
 
Prayer: My soul is often pierced, Jesus, when I see the world’s rebellion against you. Raise the unbelieving hearts to receive the consolation of your salvation. Amen. 

Luke 2:25-32 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”
 
YOU can certainly count Simeon a faithful servant of God, can’t you? God had given to him a wonderful promise: “Simeon, you will see the Savior before you die.” Then Jesus comes. Simeon experienced the fullness of God’s great love complete his life.
    Jesus is certainly the consolation for each one who turns to him, who sees him with the eyes of your heart (Ephesians 1:18). You believe and live into what he says. Jesus’ life brought peace to Simeon, who knew God’s promise became flesh.
    Assuredly, Jesus is the one who brings peace to our souls when we know God has fulfilled his promise to deliver the Savior to us.
    Our Consolation, Jesus Messiah, is all we truly have to hold onto, isn’t he? All else fades and disappears. But God’s promised Savior is here now. He consoles your disappointments and grief. His merciful teachings guide you to true happiness. Jesus lovingly offers you the certainty of eternal life.  
    Are you perhaps still wondering when you will see Jesus? Pray for such a faith as Simeon’s. Call on the Spirit to acknowledge Jesus as your Consolation who has come to you. Know and remember God’s promises in his Holy Bible. Then rejoice the Spirit has opened your eyes to show to you the Savior is very present with you. Eagerly praise God when your Consolation fills your soul.
   
Prayer: Lord, I want to see the Savior come to me with his consoling love. In Jesus’ name I pray this. Amen.

Luke 2:21-24 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived. 22 When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.” 
 
HERE is this simple, poor couple who have few possessions and little money. But they managed to buy some pigeons for Mary’s purification and Jesus’ dedication. The couple was required by the Law not only to have Jesus circumcised at eight days (Leviticus 12:3), but also to present their firstborn to God (Exodus 13:2,12) 33 days later. They were also to bring an offering for Mary's purification after childbirth (Leviticus 12). Joseph and Mary were devoted to know God’s Word and obey it. Joseph her husband was a righteous man. (Matthew 1:19) Quietly and obediently, Joseph and Mary demonstrated they lived under God’s law for God’s sake. They do not point to themselves to say, “Look at us. We are parents of the Messiah!”
    Think of it! This chosen couple went that day to the temple holding in their arms the One who would complete the sacrificial law. Jesus – Savior – was born to be the final atoning sacrifice for you. Mary and Joseph obeyed God’s Word while holding the Word (who) was with God, and the Word (who) was God. He was with God in the beginning. (John 1:1b-2)
    This obedience is active worship. God’s knowledge has poured into this couple, and they lovingly responded. Do you grasp their worshipful wonder? Would they have been in awe of a God who has shown himself to them in this personal way? Can you know the joy in Joseph’s and Mary’s hearts? Are you thankful with them that God has delivered a son to them? Are you with this couple in humility that they are taking God’s Son to God’s House? Do you tremble with them at the miracle of being the ones chosen for this great task? Could you even be afraid with them that they may make a mistake? 
    But Joseph and Mary are not the only ones God has chosen, are they? God has clearly commanded to you what you must do. Jesus summarized his command in John 15:12 “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” Do you have a righteous response?
 
Prayer: Lord God, my heart rejoices in your commands. I pray for loving obedience. In Jesus’ name, amen.