Bible Reading Challenge - Episode 78 - Luke 1-6

The chapters in Luke are long and dense, but of course, wonderful. Today we get the story of the nativity, Jesus’ middle years, then his early ministry as he recruits his disciples, heals, and begins teaching his gospel. The gospel. Our gospel.
Remember that ‘gospel’ means ‘good news.’ It isn’t necessarily the news we want to hear, but it is the news we need to hear. Some people receive it as good news. Others, like his audience in Nazareth, receive it very poorly. He tells them, by referencing two incidents in which God showed preference for Gentiles, that he will similarly not play favorites the way that they want him to. They get so angry that they try to throw him off a cliff!
One of the confusions of our era is the mistaken belief that people of the world will always receive the gospel happily. The scriptural witness is rather that people will receive it quite differently from one another. Many will hate you and harm you for uttering the things that Jesus said. He prepares us for these things in his “Sermon on the Plain” in the final chapter today. We should not be surprised when life is difficult, when we are called to be poor, miserable, hungry. We should rather rejoice in living and dying as Christ did, as he is the only way to the Father.

[@Agben35]

Let’s do this!

[@Agben35]

Interesting the BSB v1:37 says “no word of God will ever fail” where my translations have always said “nothing is impossible with God” interesting …. (My pastor’s sermon last Sunday on that exact line/verse. This Zechariah prophecy sounds familiar … 😂 Still wondering what “he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit AND FIRE (?)” …. Always wondered about this term… and fire. Know your scriptures … when Jesus tempted and in battle with the devil, he quoted scriptures… how are we to battle if we don’t have that sWORD for battle. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. Each tree is known by its own fruit.

[@nowatamethodistchurch]

Fire is a painful purifying agent. I have always taken his words to mean that Jesus, the refiner's fire, purifies us of our iniquities. The Holy Spirit's manifestation as tongues of flame on the day of Pentecost fits with this understanding, I believe. The Holy Spirit isn't to be seen only as a comfort, but also as a convicting and purifying agent. That process for us sinner is...painful.