The so-called experts often tell us how advanced we are in today’s culture. What with the advancement of technology, medicine and medical treatments and all kinds of time-saving gadgets. We have come so far, or so they try to tell us.
The reason we think we are so much advanced today is because we really do not know the history of our world. If you would study world history and the development of our country, you will find that we are no better off today than at any other time in world history. We may have advanced technically, but not morally or spiritually.
For example, with all the developments in medicine, medical treatments and drugs of all sorts, why do people still get sick and better yet, why do people die?
With all the social media advancements, why is this generation the most socially challenged and lonely of all generations? According to secular research, the most stressed age group are those 18 to 33 years of age.
With all the advancements in psychology and psychiatry, why do we still have crazy people murdering people?
We have been told that the solution to all of our problems is in “things.” The more we surround ourselves with “thing” the more wretched we become.
I think Solomon hit it right on the head when he wrote, “Lo, this only have I found, that God made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions” (Ecclesiastes 7:29).
The real challenges of life never change from one generation to the next. We have been told, “New days call for new ways.”
Again, Solomon understood this very thing when he wrote, “The thing that has been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? It has been already of old time, which was before us” (Ecclesiastes 1:9-10).
It is not the condition of the world around us, but our personal commitment to God and its ramifications in my world that really matters.
Nothing we face today or in any future generation but what God’s grace is sufficient. If anything, men and women get worse and worse rather than better despite cultural advance. Our Puritan blood has gotten very thin.
The world that Jesus entered into is relatively no different from the world we have around us. Our toys are different. But that is about all. Nothing can change the human nature but God.
Man is stuck in the horrible cycle of human depravity and nothing he does can break him loose of it. Not all the advancements in education, technology, politics, you name it, can make man better.
This may seem like a dismal view of humanity, but the facts and the reality are on my side. Look at some of the things that have happened in what is supposed to be the greatest and most sophisticated country in the world. There is no sin, no debauchery, no evil that is not found here in the United States of America.
The world Jesus entered into is comparable to the world we live in today. I want to explore this idea as Luke outlines it for us in these first two chapters.
What was, is and what is, will be.
I. The Condition of the World Jesus Entered
There are many similarities in the world that Jesus entered to our world today, but we do not have time to explore the whole picture. Two primary forces governed the world that Jesus entered into.
The first force would be political tyranny. The Roman government had conquered the world and ruled with an iron fist.
“In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town” (Luke 2:1-3).
The world was governed by the Roman Empire that crushed every country it came to and brought them under their rule, or as I call it, tyranny.
The purpose of political tyranny is to control people. To put them in bondage and make them slaves. No government can long stand people who are not under some kind a control. They operated by the “under my thumb” rule.
The world Jesus came into was controlled by a pagan government that was in every way contrary to godliness and purity.
Another force in the world the Jesus entered was religious tyranny. Although the Jews were under the control of the Roman Empire, the religious leaders had made a deal with the Roman government to control their own people. Rome worked this way. They controlled the people by controlling the leaders.
The Sadducees and Pharisees represented the religious ruling factor in Jesus’ day.
The Sadducees were the higher class of wealthy people who controlled the wealth of Israel. They represented the higher level of priests all the way up to the High Priest. They were not so much interested in the spiritual development as the economic and political aspect. They worked in cahoots with the Roman government. Their job was to keep the Roman government happy and therefore they wielded a strong hand over the assets of the nation of Israel.
The Pharisees represented the middle class and they were interested in the religious aspect of controlling the people. Nothing is more powerful to control people than religion. Jesus faced off with these Pharisees all through his ministry.
Jesus’ attitude towards these Pharisees is seen in His comments, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44).
The religious tyranny represented by the Sadducees and Pharisees were interested only in controlling the people to their personal advantage. As long as they satisfied the Roman government, they were happy and were willing to do anything to keep their position with the Roman government.
John the Baptist made his attack on the political tyranny of his day and lost his head. While Jesus, made his attack on the religious tyranny of his day and lost his life on the cross. In losing his life, he redeemed all mankind.
It is not a stretch to see these two tyrannies are still at work today. We have government tyranny and we have religious tyranny. All of us are under the Dominion of these two tyrannies.
II. The Dynamics for Coping with This Condition
The thing I want to know is, how did the people in Jesus day cope with this kind of condition? Because, if I can understand how they coped with this condition in their day I will get a handle on how I can cope with it in our day.
Perhaps the first thing we need to do is recognize the fact that nothing has changed. The political and religious tyranny is all around us. No one is exempt from these influences. If we are not careful, we will succumb to the pressure that these bring on us.
This is nowhere better seen than in the average family today. There is a vicious attack on the traditional family unit as never before. Because the enemy knows the traditional Christian family goes counter to all of tyranny that he can put upon them.
The average Christian family is losing their children to the system of tyranny in our generation. They are being lured away from the church, which is an indication that they are being pulled away from following Jesus Christ.
What were some of the dynamics in Jesus’ day that we can pull into our situation today?
I think the most powerful dynamic is that in our families we need to model godliness in the home.
Look at John the Baptist’s parents. All you have to do is read Zechariah’s prophecy in Luke 1:67-80. Here is a man utterly committed to holiness and godliness in his life.
The effect of this is seen in, “And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel” (Luke 1:80).
Look at Jesus’ mother and read her Song of Praise: The Magnificat in Luke 1:46-55. There was a woman utterly committed to godliness and it is not hard to see that she modeled this in her home.
The effect of this is seen in, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52).
This “increase” was a result of deliberate and disciplined nurturing and not anything accidental.
The modeling of godliness in the home dynamically affects the children in that home.
Two aspects of this are important in our lives.
A. Demonstrate in the home the fruit of the Spirit.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
In the home setting it is important to demonstrate this “Fruit of the Spirit.” This is the solemn obligation of the Christian parents. This is what God will hold each of us accountable for in the day of accounting.
What is the atmosphere of your home? Arguing? Temper tantrums? Self-centered demands? Language that you would not use in church? The atmosphere of your home will create the atmosphere in the children who grow up in that home.
One of the reasons kids drift away from church is because it is not a reality to their parents. They notice their parents act one way in church and a completely different way outside the church in the home.
“Abstain from all appearance of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22).
I can find no excuse or reason for not demonstrating the “Fruit of the Spirit” in the home. It is something that should come natural to the Christian who is filled with the Holy Spirit. What is in, will come out naturally.
Genuinely celebrate holiness and godliness in your home. This is what produces reverence toward the things of God.
There is an epidemic of irreverence in our generation today, which has come into the church. I believe the source of this irreverence is in the home.
All of this has to do with:
Bible reading and prayer in the home.
Worshiping together as a family.
Honoring God on Sunday.
Faithfully tithing your money.
Sharing your testimony of faith in Jesus.
All of this has to do with creating in the home a sense of reverence for God. This reverence means that God is first in our home.
Another dynamic would be to surround yourself, your family and your children with godly people.
Who are your friends? Who are the people that come into your home? Who do your children hang around with?
Surrounding our children with godly people is a very important strategy in helping to develop godly children.
Even Mary surrounded Jesus with godly people.
There is the man named Simeon, “Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him” (Luke 2:25).
There was also Anna, Luke 2:36-38.
The world has conned us into surrounding our children with the “celebrities” of the world. These people are ungodly to say the least. I know we are supposed to be out in the world but we are not supposed to be of the world. Who is your child’s idol? Who is your child fashioning their life after?
It is a tough, wicked world out there. Like a salivating wolf seeking to devour your children.
Put around them a hedge of godly people. Not perfect people, because that would eliminate all of us. But people who have a desire for the things of God. But even more than that. People who have a desire for God. God certainly is enough.
I know we are not going to win every battle. I look back over my life and ministry and see the people that I have not been able to reach. The people who were ensnared by the world and pulled in that direction.
We cannot win every battle, but every battle I lose I do not want to lose because I have not tried my best. God requires me to do so much and then it is His responsibility.
This is a hard lesson for all of us with children and responsibilities toward them.
I take refuge in Abraham’s command to his servant when he said, “But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there” (Genesis 24:8).
We are under orders. Our orders are to go and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. That begins in our home. This is where the battle begins and this is where the battle will be the fiercest. Our consolation is simply this, if we do our part to the best of our ability, God will always do His part.
Luke spends a lot of time with the family dynamic. It was important to him and I feel it should be important to us today.
We only have one shot with our children. Let us make it the best that we possibly can. Our goal should be to raise godly children. Children that honor and please God with their life. Nothing is more important than that.
Let us not sacrifice our children on the altar of the gods of this world, but let us raise our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Only one life
twill soon be past,
only what’s done for Christ
will last.
How Zechariah raised John and how Mary raised Jesus is how we must raise our children today.
