TILL HE COMES Blog

This Post is based on the Grace Commentary for Luke 1:8-10.

It is difficult to know why they all showed up. One of them, Zack, was there because it was his duty. But more than that, it was also his privilege. Nevertheless, he most likely carried it out with great fear and trembling. After all, some had died doing what he was about to do.  

A few probably came out of genuine desires and pure motives. But others came only because it was what they had always done. It was tradition. On this day, for an hour or two, they came and performed their duty.

But many came because of the rumors. Zack, it was rumored, was going to die today, and everybody wanted to be there when it happened. He had been chosen and he wasn’t ready. He thought he was ready, but everyone knew he wasn’t. It was so obvious.

So when he went in, everybody held their breath…and waited…

——————-

If you have already read the commentary on Luke 1:8-10, you know that I am talking about Zacharias going into the Temple to make the daily offering. Luke makes a point of stating that multitudes were outside waiting, and he has already pointed out that Zacharias and Elizabeth were childless. In Jewish culture, this implies they were cursed.

I’m speculating that maybe some of the people in the crowd that day were there with something less than pure religious motives. They’re not there to worship God, but to see Zack get fried.

At this point, as a “pastor in search of an application”, I am supposed to ask, “So, why do you go to church? Is it worship God, or just to see a good show?” Because if you want a good show, churches that provide one are a dime a dozen. (Actually, they are about $12-$20 million a dozen. The greatest show on earth doesn’t come cheap. But that’s a different point. )

And that is the way I used to preach this passage. In fact, I think when I first preached this passage, that truly is the way I preached it. I tried to put a guilt trip on people who maybe didn’t have the best motives for coming to church.

Today, I don’t care why people come to church, as long as they tithe. After all, I have to feed my kids and pay for the new education wing.

I’m joking.

Here’s the way I would preach this passage today: This passage truly is about the greatest show on earth, and that show is this: One man, going humbly before His God to worship and to pray. He doesn’t care what people think of him. He doesn’t care what people say about him. He only cares about the supreme privilege of meeting one-on-one with God.

Certainly, he went with fear and trembling, maybe wondering if he was wrong. But live or die, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And besides, even if God did strike him dead, what a way to go! Who else had a story like that!

Maybe Zacharias wasn’t thinking that last part, but the point is this: What Zacharias was able to do only once in his entire life, we can do every single day if we want. But how few of us do.

You want to be part of the greatest show on earth — the one that even angels watch with amazement? Just come to God in worship. I don’t care how, where, or when. Sure, it could be at “church.” But don’t limit yourself! Worship God in the forest, worship him at work. Worship Him while you play tennis, paint a picture, or study. Worship for an hour, or a few seconds while gazing at the stars.

Live a life of worship. Be like Zacharias. Be the greatest show on earth.

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This post is based on the Grace Commentary for Luke 1:5-7.

Do you ever feel that God has passed you by? Forgotten about you? Failed in His promises? Given you great plans and then left you out to dry?

Do you ever feel like your prayers never get past the roof? That most of the time when you pray, if answers come at all, they are exactly the opposite of what you prayed?

It may surprise you to learn that this is NORMAL. It seems most preachers and Christians are saying the exact opposite. We often hear others say, “You want to see God at work in your life? Just pray! You want to get a job, have a better marriage, get healed, see all your problems go away? Just become a Christian, start praying, and watch the blessings fall like rain!”

Yeah…not for most of us. Not for most people in Scripture either. Randomly read a Psalm or a Prophet to see what I mean.

And some of these teachers will say, “It’s because of a lack of faith, or sin in your life!” To this, I say…Maybe…but probably not. Take every person in the Hall of Faith (Heb 11) who waited, and prayed, and DID NOT receive what was looked for.

And take Zacharias and Elizabeth in Luke 1:5-7. The text is adamantly clear that they were blameless before God. They walked in all His commandments and ordinances (v. 6). And yet, it seemed that they were under God’s curse. They had no children. In Jewish culture, that meant God had cursed them. Imagine the rumors that must have been spread about some “secret sin” in Elizabeth’s youth.

And now, though they had doubtless served God and prayed to him for decades, they were at the age where having a child was impossible (v. 7).

But God had something in store for them. Something greater than they had ever imagined. Something beyond their wildest dreams and boldest prayers.

I think sometimes that is what God has for each of us. We pray, and God says “No.” Why? Because to get what we were praying for is to settle for second best.

So are you praying for something, desperately waiting for God to act? By all means, keep praying. But be open to the possibility that God is waiting until the answer to your prayer is shattered at your feet, so that He can give you something better than you ever imagined.

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This post is based on the Grace Commentary for Luke 1:5-7.

Obama gave his health care speech tonight. So here’s a question: Do you think that following Jesus should influence one’s viewpoint on the health care debate? Why or why not?

Interestingly, about 2000 years ago, a high-ranking public official named Theophilus was asking similar questions about the political plans of Caesar. Luke writes to Theophilus about Jesus to help answer these questions.

Foremost in the mind of Theophilus was almost certainly this question: “If I follow King Jesus, declaring that He is my Lord, how will that affect my current position in the Roman Empire and my statement of allegiance to Caesar as Lord?”

Luke addresses this question in an indirect way throughout his Gospel. He begins to do this in the section before us, Luke 1:5-7, by writing about Herod instead of Caesar. This approach is repeated throughout the Gospel. Luke constantly pits Jesus and the Kingdom of God, not against Caesar, but against Herod the Great (and his son, King Herod Antipas; cf. 1:5-7; 2:1-2; 3:1-22; 7:18-33; 9:7-9; 13:31-33; 23:8-11). In the Gospel of Luke, there seems to be an ongoing contest between King Herod and King Jesus. Ultimately, King Herod (the son of Herod the Great) seems to “win,” for under his reign, Jesus is put to death.

So the Gospel of Luke presents a dual message about what kind of Kingdom Jesus brought: The Kingdom of God is both a direct challenge to the Roman Empire, and at the same time, absolutely no threat at all.

Those who belong to the Kingdom of God challenge governments and rulers, not by threats of rebellion and insurrection, but simply by the way we live. We seek to do the things and accomplish the programs which governments and rulers promise, but which they can never fulfil. Most of the things that governments and rulers promise can only be accomplished through the church. So in this way, we are no threat at all. They can imprison us, or kill us, but we seek only to be a blessing on our community and nation (24:47).

Certainly, Theophilus didn’t understand all this after reading Luke 1:5-7. And maybe it’s a new and challenging idea for you too. Maybe you are thinking about all the promises and prophecies in Scripture that Jesus will destroy all the wicked nations and wayward rulers and rule the world, and wondering how that fits in with the idea that the Kingdom of God is no threat to the kingdoms of men. Maybe Theophilus had such questions as well. Maybe as a public official within the Roman Empire, he was a little bit nervous. He didn’t want to be on the “losing side” when Jesus destroyed the Empire. What should he do?

I feel these questions personally, for I am a “government employee” as well. But even if I wasn’t, all of us who live in Twenty-first Century Western Civilization are part of “The Empire.” Like the Roman Empire, we have the best military. We consume the vast majority of the world resources. We think that it is our responsibility to bring Pax Americana to the rest of the world. We think other cultures need to adopt Western culture, Western ways, and Western ideals.

But really, is “The West” really the best? If it is, should we be fighting for it? If it isn’t, should we be fighting against it? Either way, is fighting really the answer?

Maybe there is a different Kingdom, with a different King, which is calling for our time, energy, and attention. And maybe that Kingdom can function in any society, any culture, any government, because it is not of this world. Maybe that Kingdom, when it expands, doesn’t overthrow Kings and rulers and governments through power and might, but redeems them through service, sacrifice, generosity, kindness, justice, forgiveness, mercy, and most of all, love.

Hopefully, Luke will help us with some of this. But at this point, all we have are questions. Theophilus has heard rumors of another Kingdom, and he wants to find out more. I hope that by the time we get to Luke 24, we understand what Luke was telling Theophilus to do.

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This post is based on the Grace New Testament Commentary for Luke 1:1-4.

Science Cannot Prove History
In the movie Religulous (which I recently reviewed), Bill Maher challenged Francis Collins (the leading geneticist of the Human Genome Project) to scientifically prove that Jesus really lived, died, and rose again. This is not really an area of expertise for Francis, but he did a decent job of stating something about how the Four Gospels are historically reliable. Maher scoffed at this of course, but then moved on to some other topic.

But guess what? Maher is somewhat right. It is impossible to scientifically prove that the events of the Gospels are true. This is not because Jesus did not live, or the events recorded in the gospels did not happen, but because it is impossible to scientifically prove any historical event. By definition, historical events cannot be scientifically proven. You cannot scientifically prove that George Washington was the First President of the United States, that Michael Jackson recently died, or even what you had for breakfast this morning. Why not? Because to prove something scientifically, it needs to be observable and repeatable. Historical events, while observable by the people who happen to see it, are not repeatable.

History Can Still Be Learned
But this doesn’t mean we can’t know anything about history. We learn about and study history all the time, and for the most part, believe that what we read really happened. Generally, we come to learn about history through the accounts of the eyewitness. They saw something happen, and then they tell stories or write about it. Then others listen to what they say, or read what they wrote, and write history.

Are the Gospels Reliable History?
When we come to the Gospel of Luke, this is what he says he is doing.  He is not an eyewitness to the events he writes about, but he has carefully investigated these events, and records what he has learned.

Of course, who is to say Luke is a reliable historian? For that matter, how do we know any historian is reliable? Well, to help in this area, historians have come up with various tests to help determine the accuracy of an account. I don’t have space to get into them here.

But various historians, many of them “secular”, have stated that based on the various tests for historic reliability, the Gospels are some of the most historically reliable documents of that time period. The Gospel writers can be shown to be more reliable than such historians as Josephus, Herodotus, Plutarch, Thucidydes, and Julius Caesar. World renowned archaeologist Sir William Ramsay, after setting out to prove that the Gospels were full of errors, concluded that “Luke’s history is unsurpassed in respect of its trustworthiness.” Similar quotes from other historians and scientists could be multiplied.

But let’s be honest. Just because Ramsay and numerous other scholars say the Gospels are reliable, doesn’t mean they really are. I’m sure Gospel critics could stack up numerous quotes from many famous archaeologists, historians, and scientists who say the Gospels are full of errors. And I’m sure they have their own research and documentation to prove it.

So…Are the Gospels Reliable or Not?
So where does that leave us? Are the Gospels accounts historically reliable or not? Personally, I think they are reliable. I think that the events recorded in the Gospels actually happened. But you want to know what else? I think that the entire question is the wrong question. Debates and argues about the historical reliability of the Gospels would have surprised the Gospel writers. They would have listened to such arguments, scratched their heads, and said, “What are you doing? That’s not why I wrote at all!” The purpose of the Gospels is not to provide a historical reliable account of the life of Jesus. I think this is a by-product; but it is not their purpose.

The Purpose of the Gospels
So what is the purpose of the Gospels? If it was not to give us a historically reliable account of the life of Jesus (though I think they do provide us this), why were they written? Simply this: life change.

Take Luke, for example (since that’s the book under discussion). He is writing specifically to Theophilus. As I mentioned in the commentary, most believe that his title indicates he was a high ranking public official. As we study through the Gospel of Luke, we are going to see that it is a very political book. Luke constantly takes things that Caesar promised the people, and shows how these things can only be provided and accomplished through Jesus. For a high ranking public official in the Roman Empire, these ideas are treasonous. Imagine how the mind and heart of Theophilus must have raced as he read this volatile book by Luke! Luke was challenge the Lordship of Caesar! He was challenging the Pax Romana, the peace of Rome! As Theophilus read this book, he was faced with a choice – to accept or deny the message, to live as he had up until then, or to change and live in light of what Luke wrote.

And the challenge is the same for us today. We may not be high-ranking public officials, but the challenge of Jesus remains. You cannot read about Him and come away unscathed. Just as watching any movie or reading any book changes a person, so also, studying and reading about Jesus will change you.

So Let’s Read!
So frankly, if someone tells me they believe the Bible is full of errors, and they don’t believe in the historical accuracy of the Gospels, my typical response is, “OK.” I don’t argue. Then I say, “You want to read it anyway? We could discuss it together if you want.”

I don’t know where you stand in your view of Scripture and the reliability of the Gospels, but regardless of your view, I invite you to join with me in learning about Jesus. It’s where the only true “CHANGE” is found.

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