Introducing Our Lord - Luke 3:1-18.

Most of us have been at an event where someone introduced the speaker for the evening. Such an event happended to me recently when I spoke at the dedication of my cousin's adopted daughter. Introductions are usually pretty standard fare. The introducer usually tells of the accomplishments and biography of the speaker. The introduction is supposed to set the table and build anticipation in the congregation or audience for the speaker's message.

Main Theme

Luke 3:1-18 tells of how John the Baptist introduced our Lord Jesus Christ. John's introduction of our Lord is important for a number of reasons but I'll just mention two. First of all his introduction directly links the person and ministry of Jesus Christ to all that God was doing in redemptive history throughout the Old Testament. The coming of Jesus Christ is not some kind of last ditch change of plan that God came up with to deal with the failures of His previous plans. No, not at all. The coming of Jesus is the culmination of of God's intended plan to save the world. A plan He declared to Satan immediately after mankind fell into sin (see Gen. 3:15).

A second significant aspect of this introduction is the passage Luke refers to when writing of the ministry of John the Baptist. He quotes from a passage from Isaiah that refers to how God would send a messanger to announce His coming into the world to bring salvation. The acutal text from the great prophet reads as follows: 'A voice cries:
" In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.'

What does this mean? Nothing less than John the Baptist was introducing the Lord God Almighty. Like the other gospels Luke begins by making it clear that Jesus of Nazareth is the supreme, unique Son of the living God and thus God Himself come in the flesh.

Pray that our Lord will give you the blessed opportunity to introduce Him to someone this month.

Motivation for worship

To gain a better grasp of how this passage motivates us to worship God it's necessary to go deeper into the prophetic passage from which Luke quotes. Isaiah 40 is one of the signiture passages of scripture regarding the character and nature of the living God. We can look at it this way. When John announces that the Lord God almighty has come to His world to bring salvation just what about this God draws us to Him so we will want and crave His salvation? And for that you'll just have to read the rest of Isa. 40.

What does Isa. 40 reveal about our Lord that moves you to worship Him this Sunday?

Character of Jesus

It’s not until we approach the end of the passage that John tells us something of the character of our Lord. Verse 15 clues us into the fact that the Jewish people we eagerly expecting their long awaited savior who would deliver them from Roman domination and restore the glorious kingdom of David. Some thought that John might be that savior but he quickly and emphatically denied this and threw the light on our Lord Jesus Christ. What did John say about Christ that gives us some insight into His character? John tells us something about our Lord that is not very popular and that many of us may not even include in our presentations of the gospel? One of the first things John tells the Jews about their savior is that He will bring both salvation from sin which results in a change of heart and bring about judgment on those who claim to know Him and yet show no change of attitude, affection or appetite for Him.

Have you experienced the change of life attitude, affection and appetite that is the evidence of being baptized by the Holy Spirit?

Promoting the Gospel

John is the last in the line of Old Testament prophets who proclaimed God’s message of repentance and salvation. The scriptures declare that he preached a message of repentance. That is John called upon people to have a change of mind regarding how the thought about, related to, worshiped and served the living God. Everyone to whom John preached acknowledged the existence of God. The problem however was they didn’t actually live as though His existence mattered very much. John’s preaching identified the main problem of humanity. Our main issue is that we purposely live as though God didn’t matter and have the gall to expect His aid in helping us to live this way. It’s important to keep in mind that John’s pattern of proclaiming the gospel was followed by our Lord Jesus Himself and His apostles.

Are we willing to preach a gospel of repentance from sin to our community or will we confine the gospel to just a message of healing and life success?

To Him Who Loves Us...
Pastor Lance