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Luke 1:5 “There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.”

   The death of Herod the Great, as he is called, and the birth of Christ occurred fairly close together. Jesus was quite young when Herod’s son Archelaus began to reign in Judea.
   Not only do we get information about Zacharias, but we are told quite a bit about Elizabeth. A wealth of biographical information makes these people more real to us.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the human nature of Your Word. It is easy for us to read. We identify with it and can follow its narrative. We will declare the truth of it to this lost world. May we never stop allowing You to speak through us! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 1:4 “that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.”

   Since we do not know the age of Theophilus, is possible that he was instructed while young. In any case, it seems that, like Luke, he did not have any first-hand experience of the events of the Gospel.
   It is important for us to pick up on something here. Luke acts as if the truth is something to be considered, and then accepted. It needs to be studied. A sort of mental assent is required. A person is not just simply expected to accept it whole cloth, but to consider it and accept after thinking it over. So, as we have already seen, faith is needed. But that faith is not based on an unfounded belief, but on a reasonable conclusion.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the facts of the gospel. And thank You for the faith that You have given us in Your word. You lead us to a place of trust. You help us to see that Your Word is dependable. Give us a reliance on it that is unshakeable. As your Word, is worthy of honor. We will obey it for all of our lives. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Sunday and Monday’s devotions were accidentally from Acts 1:3-4 rather than Luke 1:3-4. And, of course, I had already done Luke 1:3 on Saturday. Tomorrow I will get back on track in Luke. I appreciate the fact that this was brought to my attention. It’s nice to know someone is reading this blog.

Luke 1:4 “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;”

   Who is this Promise? As we see it is the Holy Spirit. Though having Jesus right there with them was a great privilege, we must not miss the wonderful blessing of having the Holy Spirit. He is in complete agreement and Union with Christ. The power, wisdom, and grace of the Lord Jesus are all accessible to us through Him.
   We dare not miss the significance of the fact that Jesus told them to wait. The Spirit is vital to our mission to spread the gospel, and He is the main component of the church. It was not until after the sacrifice of Christ that God the Father made the Spirit available in this way.

Heavenly Father, it is just amazing to me to think of how you have worked in our lives. Your Spirit gives us the tools we need. He is our infinite supply. That’s really what it is all about, being hooked up to the Power Source. You have all that we need, may we serve You with all our hearts! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 1:3 “to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”

   The way Luke words this is very compelling. He writes this very complete and detailed narrative because he is absolutely convinced of the truth of what has been told him by these witnesses. He calls the evidence offered to them infallible. This is a statement of faith, yes. But it is no less meant to be a statement of fact. Luke sees the resurrection as an undisputable fact, not only a point of faith.

Heavenly Father, we will go right on believing, regardless of what the world says. But I am so glad I don’t have to take my mind out and set it aside to maintain my faith. Reason did not bring me to You, faith did. But reason has only served to strengthen my faith. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 1:3 “it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus,”

   Many have strongly suggested that this Theophilus is a reference to lovers of God in general. This is consistent with the name in Greek. And, the idea is quite pleasant. It is not without support. The accounts from Luke, his gospel and Acts, do not read like a personal letter.
   However, without trying to pour cold water on a good thing, I must point out a few reasons why such a scenario is not likely. For one, the accounts, both Luke and Acts, are addressed to the same name. They read as if they are what they are presented to be, something of a running narrative. The dedication, if you will, is what we find here. We wouldn’t expect to find references to Theophilus in other places in the account as you would with a regular letter. Thus it seems consistent with what it claims to be. Another point is that the chief reason we might accept the general addressing of the narrative is that we do not know the identity of Theophilus if indeed he was a specific person. Well, that doesn’t prove much. There are many personalities in Scripture that we know little to nothing about.
   Finally perhaps the biggest reason to see this as a reference to a specific person is the way he is addressed. Luke uses the appellation ‘most excellent’ as if this man might have been a political appointee. He further says in the next verse that this person has been instructed concerning the things about Christ. So we would tend to take this as a specific reference to a specific person because that is how it presents itself. It would not be outlandish to expect a name like Theophilus to be given.

Heavenly Father, thank You so much for Your work in each of our lives. Just as with Theophilus, You seek to make Your Truth known to us. What a mercy! Thank You for Your grace! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 1:2 “just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us,”

   Luke was not a first-hand witness. Indeed, unlike many of the authors of Scripture, he wasn’t even Jewish. And yet, reading this gospel we will find no way in which it is substandard. Luke listened well to those who told him the story of Christ.

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us a complete account of the life of Christ. It blesses or souls. We will praise you forever for Your Word. It will stand when all else fails. And, it will hold us up when nothing else can help. We praise You for Your great wisdom! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 1:1 “Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us,”

   Luke has an unparalleled exactness. His concern for detail is immediately obvious. And, of all the Gospel authors, Luke gives us the most detail concerning the early life of Christ. In his logical and encyclopedic style, Luke begins with an explanation of his motive and intention.
   We are told this is a narrative. And indeed, it reads as such. It will pull you in and engross your attention completely if you will allow it. Almighty God has chosen to use a variety of human authors, and Luke is among the most exacting.

Heavenly Father, Your wisdom is always perfect! Your choice of the authors the Holy Spirit wrote through was just right. Luke is an excellent choice, as are the rest. Thank You for illuminating the text as we read. It blesses us every day in so many ways. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Mark 16:20 “And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.”

   The accompanying signs are the miracles just mentioned. The key thing to see here is what it says about the Lord working with them. The Lord still works with His people today. But, we have to leave the signs to Him. We are not called to work miracles, we are called to preach the gospel. If the Lord, working with us, brings forth miracles, that is His choice. We must not, however, try to force Him to do so.
   For example, let’s say I was witnessing for Christ in a wilderness area, and through no fault of my own I was bitten by a viper. It would not shock me at all if the venom of the beast were to have no ill affect against me. Or, if I were to be brought an antidote more quickly than would usually be expected. But, I have no plan to bring a cobra to church and let it bite me so that people will believe. That would be foolish.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word! Mark had always been a blessing to me. It is short, but powerful. It lays the gospel out before us just as it is. Your work with us as we try to spread the gospel is so awesome! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Mark 16:19 “So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.”

   The right hand is a place of power and authority. Jesus has His physical, glorified body in heaven. This does not limit His Presence. Unlike us, Jesus is God. As a member of the Trinity, He has a Habitation and a Presence. As a physical person He also has a physical location. His physical location is in heaven, and not on the earth, at this time. But, His Habitation is here. His Habitation is in the saints in His church. His Presence, due to His Omnipresent nature in His divinity, permeates the entire universe. As He by Whom God has made all things, His Presence actually holds the cosmos together. The Word of His Power accomplishes this.
   The ascension, like the resurrection and crucifixion, is a crucial part of the gospel. Many will claim to believe in the efficacy of the atonement on the cross, and then deny the specific reality of Christ’s literal physical location at the right hand of the Father at this present time. This is confusing and misleading. We must accept Mark’s account at face value.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Presence and Habitation among us. But thank You also for the physical hope we have in the glorified Christ. We understand that His resurrection is the precursor to our own. We will have a physical location in a real, albeit perfect, body throughout eternity. And we are looking forward to it! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.