There is Joy!

N.T.#466  "There is Joy!"

Jan. 16, 2025 

Luke 1 

LET IT GLOW

Need some joy today, my friend? Read on and find it.

As said earlier, Luke was a physician who shows Jesus' compassionately identifying with the needs of humanity. Luke marvels that God, moved by love for us, would make Himself so vulnerable. Only in Luke's account do we see the Almighty wrapped in swaddling clothes, a helpless infant laid in a manger. We see the Christ child matching wits with the greatest theological minds of His day and becoming fully aware of His dual nature-His divine origin, divine purpose, healing diseased and disfigured people for no reason other than love. (Swindoll)

Luke was not one of the 12 disciples which Jesus chose to follow Him and teach. It is possible that Luke became a believer as a direct result of Paul's ministry in Troas. In Acts 16, Luke includes himself as part of the missionary team with Paul, referring to "we" in the chapter. He may have heard about the Hebrew God while living around Philippi. He may have heard the gospel from Paul and accepted Jesus as the Messiah. Or Luke may have heard about Jesus from a Jewish convert returning from Pentecost. (Acts 2)(Swindoll)

At any rate, Luke was a believer in Christ Jesus who wrote this book. Why did he write it?

• Many people set out to write accounts about the events that were fulfilled among them. (verse 1)
• There were eyewitness reports circulating among them from the disciples. (verse 2)
• Luke decided to write a careful account for Theophilus, so he could be certain of the truth of everything he was taught. (verses 3-4) New Living Translation

Luke set out to complete the history of the events surrounding the beginnings, growth, and development of Christianity. By the way, Theophilus was a Greek noble and a believer in Jesus.

Are you a believer in Jesus?

LET IT GROW 

We will learn why Jesus is the object of our faith, hope, and deserves worship while studying this book. We will see Jesus':

• miraculous, divine conception,
• humility as He identifies with the lowest of the low,
• His righteousness displayed in His life,
• His triumph over temptation and compassion for infirmity,
• intolerance of hypocrisy,
• confrontation of evil,
• welcoming sinners, 
• obedience to the Father,
• His willingness to suffer on our behalf,
• and His conquest over death. (Swindoll) 

Luke presents Jesus as a human, an extraordinary human, because of His character. Jesus is not a dead hero, but a Risen Savior! This is His story!

And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. (24:52)

There we are, saved to worship the Lord Jesus, our Savior. There we are, sent to spread the Gospel, the Good News to our Jerusalem. How are we to do it? With great joy!

LET IT GO