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DAVID'S EMAIL BIBLE STUDY:
A.
BACKGROUND
... we are travelling through Jesus' life with St. Luke as our guide. Luke was a physician who joined up with St. Paul about half way through Paul's career. Paul never knew the earthly Jesus before being confronted/called by the Resurrected Christ. Paul then became the main architect of Christianity as its own, stand-alone religion, establishing churches and writing half the New Testament. Luke learned from Paul and others of the "original" Christians, becoming well-versed in all the stories of Jesus before compiling his own biography. Luke takes us from the Christmas Story to Jesus' only adolescent story to his adult baptism and to his three-year public ministry.
C. SUMMARY. In verses 11-17, Jesus comes across a funeral procession for a young man. Moved by "compassion" he brings the man back to life. The townsfolk realize that God's presence is right there with them through Jesus. Verses 18-35 are about John the Baptist. In prison and soon to be executed, John sends two of his own disciples to ask Jesus point blank, "are you the Messiah, or should we wait for the real one?" Jesus tells them to report what they have seen and heard. Then he praises John the Baptist, honors his roll in fulfilling Biblical prophecy and faithfully "preparing the way" for God's Christ (Jesus). Jesus admits that critics oppose both John and Jesus - they don't want change. But Jesus is confident that some will get it.
D. KEY POINTS:
- Why my title FIRST FRUITS? The "first fruits" are the early harvest that show what's coming. Jesus' own Easter resurrection is referred to by Paul as "first fruits"; the proof that through Christ, God has exhibited final power over death. Death can take us but cannot hold us. In addition to his own Easter resurrection, Jesus provides two other "first fruits" examples: the resurrection of this young man, and the later resurrection of Lazarus. Jesus is saying "I can do this. I am Lord over life. I can bring life out of death." A banner was hung over a Merritt Parkway bridge a while ago, "Love Wins", it said. Thanks to God's love in Christ, "Life Wins".
- BAPTISTS. I am one, by the way. Baptists take their name from Jesus' cousin, John the Baptist. God chose John to "prepare the way" for the coming Messiah by preaching a message of repentance. To repent is to "turn around", to turn from behavior or attitudes of one kind (sinful, negative, destructive, selfish, un-Godly or anti-Godly) to another kind (we call it "Chirstlike"). As a symbol of that change John baptized people, immersing them fully in water. Today's Baptists emphasize both: the repentance, and the immersion. John did his part faithfully and was about to pay for it with his life. But first he wanted to know straight from Jesus - are you the Messiah, or not? Jesus' answer is instructive then and a good warning now. He described the people whom were helped, the lives changed, the many saved, the afflicted restored. Jesus says, in effect, "if that counts, if that is what you are looking for, then you don't need to look any further. Here I am." The warning for today is this - when a disinterested or even critical world looks at Christians today, or Christianity, or Churches, or you and me, what do they see? Are we changing lives, saving people, restoring the afflicted? If Jesus was "Emmanuel, God with us" as the Messiah, is there proof of God with us? If people wanted to see evidence of Christ, could they look at us and find satisfaction? A worthy goal as we start Lent next week.
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