From time to time I enjoy reading the epic fail blog. It is a wonderful testament to the intellectual prowess of our culture. I read one story the other day about some police officers. In Corpus Christi, Texas the police department discovered a cache of plants that they initially believed to be marijuana. They had received a tip from an unnamed youth who came across the plant while riding his bike through the park one evening. They seized the crop in what was reported as the largest marijuana seizure in the department’s history. The officers spent hours laboring to remove and tag up to four hundred plants from a city park only to discover after a number of tests that the plant they had worked so hard to confiscate was actually Horse mint turning this enormous drug bust into mere tax payer funded yard work. The sad thing is the horse mint plant itself has very few similarities to actual marijuana. If they had taken a little time to investigate before they acted they could have saved themselves a lot of time and humiliation. You see investigation is one of those steps we often neglect, but it can be hugely valuable.
We are beginning a new series this week on the Gospel of Luke where we will investigate the man who called Himself the Son of God. In our study of the Bible we should never stray too far from the Gospels. While all of Scripture is important and helpful for us in our Christian walk we must not forget that we are Christians. This means that we follow Christ. The only way for us to do that is for us to understand how He lived. The only place we really get to see how Jesus lived is in the gospels.
The first four books of the New Testament are the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. They are historical records of the life of Christ and should be treated like a witness’s testimony in the court of law. Yet it is also readily apparent that these books are not strictly a testimony of Christ’s life. We reach this conclusion due to the fact that only a small portion of Jesus life is covered in these books and that they are doing much more than just recording facts.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke are often referred to as the synoptic Gospels. This comes from two words ‘syn’ where we get out word synonym meaning like or similar and ‘optic’ as in optical which is having to do with sight or looks. Synoptic Gospels are therefore gospels that look similar. The term is very fitting being that about 90% of Mark is directly paralleled in Matthew and over half is seen also in Luke.
The Gospels tell us of the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Yet each has its own purpose. Each writer has a statement they are trying to make about who Jesus is. They provide us with the key characteristics that we need to know about Jesus from their own perspectives. So while we see a great deal of similarity between these synoptic gospels they each reveal to us an important part of who Jesus is.
Each gospel writer will actually make a profound statement about their perspective on Jesus in their genealogy. John’s gospel is the most unique. He is writing years after the publication and circulation of the synoptic gospels and so he is essentially filling in some important gaps. He doesn’t give a standard genealogy but he does give one. John 1:1- In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. What is John telling us about Jesus? He is saying that Jesus is God.
Matthew’s traces the genealogy of Jesus through David; the man who killed, the man after God’s own heart. David was the one of the greatest men in the history of Israel. What do you think Matthew is saying in connecting Jesus’ ancestry with David? ASK QUESTION. David was Israel’s greatest king. Matthew is saying that Jesus is the king. His message is that Jesus is Lord and we should submit ourselves to His authority.
Then look at Mark. Mark doesn’t record a genealogy. Why? Who doesn’t have a noteworthy lineage? ASK QUESTION. A servant. Mark is telling us that Jesus is a servant. He does not record a genealogy because a servant doesn’t have one. His gospel emphasizes Jesus heart in coming not to be served but to serve.
Finally we have Luke. Luke writes and his genealogy goes all the way back to Adam. What is Luke saying? What is Luke trying to tell us about Jesus by connecting Him with Adam? ASK QUESTION. Adam was the first man and the father of all men. Luke is saying that Jesus is man. Luke is showing us that Jesus is fully human just like you and me. He is not distant from us. He is our brother. He is one of us.
Each gospel gives us a different perspective on who Jesus was. When we look at Him through all four lenses we get a better picture for who He was and how He lived His life. These four writers show us that Jesus is servant king who is both man and God. What a profound picture they paint for us as each shows us a different aspect of Christ on Earth. Knowing Jesus and seeing Him clearly is so important that God gave us four unique perspectives through which we could see His Son. Our focus through this series is going to be on the Gospel of Luke and the humanity of Jesus.
If you want to look at Luke 1:1. Luke is actually not an eye witness to the life of Jesus. However he is an incredible historian and investigative reporter. He was a traveling companion of Peter and Paul. Through intensive eye witness interviews he works to compile an orderly account of Jesus life. A few important things to know about Luke are: one he is a doctor. Two he is a Gentile meaning he is the only New Testament writer that is not Jewish.
Lk 1:1 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, Lk 1:2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Lk 1:3 Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, Lk 1:4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
These first four verses actually make up one well crafted sentence in Greek. Luke starts off by teasing our intellects with his brilliant writing. Many people who do not believe in Jesus accuse the Scriptures of being works of fiction. Luke makes very clear in his gospel that this belief is not true. He is upfront about the fact that he was not an eye-witness but that his writing is a carefully constructed report from his thorough investigation. If Jesus was a made up story, then why would Luke admit to not being an eye witness? Why not just fabricate the story? Luke is not a clever story teller he is reliable researcher. Luke tells us his three sources: he looks at written documents, he interviews eye-witnesses, and he studies oral tradition. Luke does a massive amount of work to construct his report on the man who claims to be the Son of God.
Luke talks with Peter, he talks with Jesus’ brothers James and Jude: “it is said that Jesus never sinned, but is that true?” If anyone were going to discredit that claim it would be Jesus brothers who He grew up with. If there was even something that could be remotely used to discredit Jesus divinity His brothers would be the first ones to say it. Just imagine the questions this doctor would have asked Mary about the virgin birth. Or what he might have asked Joseph about his reaction when he found out. “So Joey, what convinced you that your teenage pregnant girlfriend was really still a virgin?”
Luke’s gospel is an invaluable resource because Luke is not like the other Gospel writers. Matthew, Mark, and John are great gospels but you know what the writers are hillbillies. Matthew was a Jewish tax collector, John was a fisherman, Mark was a streaker. These men don’t hold a lot of clout in the intellectual community. They are Jews which means they are naturally looking for a messiah and their intellect or lack their of could result in their gospel’s being discredited as superstitious.
Luke however is not a man who would be naturally prone to faith. He is doctor who is well educated. He represents a reasonable, logical thinker who looks at Jesus from a purely objective viewpoint. Luke is the sort of man who is not going to believe something just because he heard it, he follows the evidence to find the truth and the evidence is what leads him to Jesus. In addition Luke’s funding came from a Roman governor, which means if his account was not accurate then he would be in a lot of trouble. Luke did not start out with an answer. He went looking for the truth. When you look for the truth, if you will follow it wherever it leads you end up with Jesus.
It is not uncommon for us to have doubts. How can you live your life following after a man who you haven’t seen with your own eyes? You never walked with Jesus. You weren’t there so how can you know with certainty that Jesus is who He claimed to be? God’s answer to this question is Luke. Like you and me, Luke was not there to witness the life of Jesus. His gospel is not based on opinion or bias but on the evidence he discovered through careful investigation. Luke researched all the claims and stories about Jesus and came to the conclusion that Jesus really was the Son of God based on historical evidence. His faith came through careful research. So for those of us who need proof, for those of us who like Luke are not naturally predisposed to faith Luke’s gospel is the perfect testimony so that we may know with certainty the claims about Jesus are true. Luke is the gospel for those who need evidence before they will believe in Jesus.
As we see evidence of the reality of Jesus’ life we should also be leaving evidence in our own lives. If Luke were to investigate you, would your life lead him to Jesus? There should be evidence of our relationship with Christ in our everyday life. It should be seen in our marriages, our families, our friendships, and our work relationships. Jesus should be seen in how we treat strangers and people who can’t do anything for us.
If someone were to follow you around for a week would they see Jesus in your life on any day but Sunday? The behavior of a Christian should be a reflection of Christ. When people listen to how you talk and the words that you use, do they hear Jesus? When they look at how you spend your time, at your hobbies, at your friendships would they see Jesus? Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. After careful investigation we discover that His claim is true. We claim to be Christians, which means we are followers of Christ. Would a careful investigation support our claim?
If you are not investing yourself in the work of the kingdom of God, if you are not serving at all in the church, or doing much outside of the church how is Jesus being glorified in your life? Ask yourself this question: is there evidence in my life to support my claim to be a Christian? You might not like what you find. See most Christians come to church to get something out of it. Entertain me, amuse me, keep me awake, play the music I like, say the things I want to hear. But when it comes to giving something back, to volunteering their time and energy to help the church share the love of God with the world, well then they have better things to do. That is not a good testament to a relationship with Jesus. The only Bible a non-Christian will read is you.
What if we became a church of givers and not takers? What if each one of us looked for something that we could do to support a ministry of the church and advance the gospel of Christ? If every one of us found something we could do to serve at the church our lives would start to bear a lot more evidence of our relationship with Jesus. Jesus claims were not validated by what He said alone, but also by what He did. When we call ourselves Christians it doesn’t mean anything unless we live like Christians. Christians are people who are invested in the work of God and of His church. If you are not serving inside or outside the church, how will anyone know that you are Christian? I want to encourage you to find a place to get involved. Find a place where you can serve and give something back. If you are willing to serve and just want to know where you can, come talk with me after church.
