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Luke 3 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

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0:00Luke 3:1
0:03In the 15th year of the reign of
0:05Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was
0:09governor of Judea, and Herod was
0:11tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother
0:14Philip was tetrarch of the region of
0:16Icheria and Trachonitis,
0:19and Lasanius was tetrarch of Abalene.
0:23In the high priesthood of Annis and
0:25Caiaphas, the word of God came to John
0:28the son of Zachcharias in the
0:30wilderness.
0:32And he came into all the district around
0:35the Jordan, preaching a baptism of
0:38repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
0:43As it is written in the book of the
0:44words of Isaiah the prophet, the voice
0:47of one crying in the wilderness, make
0:49ready the way of the Lord. Make his path
0:53straight. Every ravine will be filled
0:56and every mountain and hill will be
0:58brought low. The crooked will become
1:01straight
1:03and the rough roads smooth and all flesh
1:07will see the salvation of God.
1:11So he began saying to the crowds who
1:13were going to be baptized by him, "You
1:16brood of vipers, who warned you to flee
1:20from the wrath to come?" Therefore, bear
1:24fruits in keeping with repentance, and
1:27do not begin to say to yourselves, "We
1:31have Abraham as our father." For I say
1:34to you that from these stones God is
1:36able to raise up children to Abraham.
1:39Indeed, the axe is already laid at the
1:42root of the trees. So, every tree that
1:45does not bear good fruit is cut down and
1:48thrown into the fire. And the crowds
1:51were questioning him, saying, "Then what
1:54shall we do?" And he would answer and
1:57say to them, "The man who has two tunics
2:00is to share with him who has none, and
2:03he who has food is to do likewise."
2:07And some tax collectors also came to be
2:10baptized. And they said to him,
2:11"Teacher, what shall we do?" And he said
2:13to them, "Collect no more than what you
2:17have been ordered to." Some soldiers
2:20were questioning him, saying, "And what
2:23about us? What shall we do?" And he said
2:25to them, "Do not take money from anyone
2:28by force or accuse anyone falsely, and
2:31be content with your wages."
2:34So again,
2:35Luke is giving us very detailed precise
2:40explanation of the exact timing of John
2:43the Baptist's ministry. He tells us it's
2:46in the 15th year. It's during the high
2:49priestly uh reign of Annus and Caiaphas.
2:54The word of God came. It's very
2:56specific. He wants us to know exactly
2:58when these events occurred. He's writing
3:00to an audience for whom these details
3:04situate the events precisely and that's
3:07important to him. The message of
3:09repentance that that he brings is the
3:12voice of one crying in the wilderness
3:16make ready the way of the Lord. So this
3:18is an idea that says
3:23the people and their heart condition was
3:27not a garden for God. It was not an
3:30orchard for God. It was not a farm
3:34of plowed earth and fruitful fields. It
3:37was a barren place. It was a wilderness.
3:41What is the difference between a farm
3:43and a garden, an orchard and a vineyard
3:47and a wilderness? In one there is
3:51drought, there are rocks. There are
3:54barriers and there is very little
3:56fruitfulness.
3:58In the other there is lush abundance and
4:02fruitfulness.
4:03And so when he says that the message and
4:06preaching of John was about repentance
4:09and it was a voice of one crying in the
4:12wilderness,
4:13it was a wilderness of the human heart.
4:16It was a drought. It was rugged.
4:20And and the mission was
4:23make God's paths straight.
4:29You see, in a fertile farm, you can make
4:33straight roads and paths because there
4:35aren't very many barriers.
4:38But in a wilderness full of boulders and
4:42briars or cactus and thorn bushes, you
4:47have to make the paths very ciruitous
4:51cuz you're working around many barriers.
4:54And so John's ministry, John's ministry
4:58of repentance was to get people to clear
5:01the barriers out of their life so that
5:04the word of God would have smooth access
5:07into their hearts.
5:10What are the barriers in our life? What
5:12are the boulders that God has to step
5:15around?
5:18What what what has prevented his access
5:20from being direct?
5:23Real help, urgent help, swift help.
5:28And what does God have to work around?
5:31Those barriers, those boulders are the
5:33things that repentance removes so that
5:36God can speak to us decisively, swiftly.
5:41Every ravine will be filled.
5:44So again, this is this is using the
5:48metaphor of a wilderness and showing how
5:50it's going to become a cultivated farm.
5:54The wilderness has erosion. That's what
5:57a ravine is. It's where flash floods
5:59come and tear out all the soil and it's
6:02these ditches that are hard to cross.
6:05So he says all of those problems that
6:08make it difficult for Jesus to come into
6:11your life and speak and bring about the
6:13change that he desires which is the
6:16fruit he has planned for you. It needs
6:18to be filled in. The ravines need to be
6:20filled in. The high points need to be
6:23cut low. Everything needs to be made
6:26ready for farming is basically what he's
6:28saying. This is a an image of tilling
6:33and preparing and readying oneself for
6:36fruit.
6:38And it says the crowds came out to him.
6:41In Matthew's gospel, it specifically
6:44tells us that it was the Pharisees who
6:45came out to him. They're the most
6:47righteous. So, you would assume that the
6:49Pharisees were the most cultivated.
6:53Their ground was the most ready. But
6:56that wasn't the case. They were the
6:58people whom John rejected. John was
7:00unwilling to help them. You brood of
7:03vipers who warned you to flee from the
7:05wrath to come.
7:07Bear fruits in keeping with repentance
7:10and do not begin to say to yourselves,
7:13"We have Abraham for our father. For I
7:15say to you that from these stones God is
7:18able to raise up children to Abraham."
7:21So he's telling us what their barrier
7:23is, what their rocks are, what their
7:25obstacles and ravines are. They are
7:28arrogant. They are self assured. They
7:33are self-righteous. They think they're
7:35superior than other people because of
7:37their heritage. We have Abraham as our
7:39father. And he says, you're not special
7:42because you have Abraham as your father.
7:45God could make sons of Abraham from
7:47these stones.
7:48You've done nothing more to be a son of
7:50Abraham than just be a stone sticking on
7:53the side of a hill. Don't even begin to
7:56say that in your heart. Because if you
7:59start to to lean on your past, on your
8:01legacy, on your pride, you're not going
8:04to prepare the ground for what God is
8:06wanting to do now, which is take your
8:09barrenness and turn it into
8:10fruitfulness.
8:13And then people began to come to him and
8:14ask them what they should do. And he
8:16just gave them simple things that they
8:18could do
8:20to show love, to show care, to stop
8:24serving themselves.
8:26So if you have an abundance, share it
8:28with someone who doesn't have an
8:29abundance. Don't let your life be about
8:31you only.
8:35If you're a tax collector, stop taking
8:37more than what you should take. Even the
8:40soldiers are told, "Be content with your
8:43wages. Stop living this life of
8:46complaining and griping. These specific
8:49instructions are starting to show us
8:51some of the barriers and ravines that
8:53are in people's lives that need to be
8:56fixed to prepare the way of the Lord.
8:59The coming of the Lord into our life is
9:01the coming of grace.
9:04If you don't have grace coming into your
9:06life, what are the barriers? What are
9:08the the steps of obedience? What are the
9:11valleys that need to be filled in? so
9:14that grace can flow to you. The grace
9:16that flows to the humble. If you're a
9:19soldier and you're unhappy with your
9:20wages, that's not humility. That's not
9:23gratitude and there's no grace in your
9:25life.
9:27Now, while the people were in a state of
9:30expectation,
9:32and all were wondering in their hearts
9:34about John as to whether he was the
9:37Christ, John answered and said to them,
9:41"As for me, I baptize you with water,
9:45but one is coming who is mightier than
9:48I, and I am not fit to untie the thong
9:51of his sandals. He will baptize you with
9:55the Holy Spirit and fire.
9:58So John isn't just telling people to
10:01walk in humility. John isn't just
10:03teaching people to live in repentance.
10:05He's living in it also. He's saying,
10:08"I'm not the big kahuna here. I'm not
10:11the big answer. I'm not what you're
10:13looking for.
10:15There's somebody and something coming
10:17that is so much more than me." He's
10:21saying, "I'm I'm baptizing you with
10:22water. I'm doing the work of preparing."
10:26But there's an answer and a grace and a
10:28power that is coming that I can't yet
10:31give you. There's a baptism of the Holy
10:34Spirit and fire that Jesus is going to
10:37bring after me. So John is walking in
10:40humility. John is not self arandizing.
10:44He's not pointing people toward himself.
10:46He's pointing people toward another.
10:49He goes on and he speaks more about
10:51Jesus. He says, "His winnowing fork is
10:54in his hand to thoroughly clear his
10:58threshing floor and to gather the wheat
11:01into his barn, but he will burn up the
11:04chaff with unquenchable fire."
11:07So with many other exhortations, he
11:10preached the gospel to the people.
11:14So all he's preached is repentance and
11:16the promise of the coming Holy Spirit,
11:19preparation and the need to bear fruit.
11:21But Luke calls it the gospel. But when
11:24Herod the tetrarch
11:26was reprimanded by him, John, because of
11:29Herodiius, his brother's wife, and
11:32because of all the wicked things which
11:34Herod had done, Herod also added this to
11:39them to his transgressions. He locked
11:42John up in prison.
11:44The people are in a state of
11:46expectation. They're wondering, "Is John
11:49the Messiah?" But John is pointing them
11:52towards somebody else. John is later
11:55going to be called the greatest among
11:57all those who are born of women who
12:00haven't yet been born of God. But he has
12:02the kind of greatness that Jesus is
12:05trying to teach to the disciples. A
12:07greatness that is the servant of all. A
12:10greatness that does not seek prominence
12:13but points toward the Lord. That's the
12:16greatness that John had and that Jesus
12:18celebrated in him. Now when all the
12:21people were baptized, Jesus also was
12:24baptized. And while he was praying,
12:27heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit
12:30descended upon him in bodily form like a
12:33dove. And a voice came out of heaven.
12:36You are my beloved son. In you I am well
12:40pleased.
12:43So Luke doesn't say much about the
12:45baptism of Jesus. He just says that he
12:48was baptized. And he says that the Holy
12:50Spirit descended upon him in bodily form
12:54like a dove. That doesn't sound like it
12:57was a dove. That sounds like it was like
12:59a dove. The father spoke from heaven.
13:03You are my beloved son. In you I am well
13:06pleased.
13:09When he began his ministry, Jesus
13:11himself was about 30 years of age, being
13:15as was supposed the son of Joseph, the
13:18son of Eli, the son of Matat, the son of
13:22Levi, the son of Meli, the son of Jani,
13:26the son of Joseph, the son of Matias,
13:29the son of Amos, the son of Nah, the son
13:32of Hesley, the son of Nagi, the son of
13:35Maath, the son of Matias, the son of
13:38Samine, the son of Joseph, the son of
13:41Jodah, the son of Joan, the son of Resa,
13:46the son of Zerubbabel, the son of
13:48Shaaliel, the son of Ner, the son of
13:51Melki, the son of Adi, the son of Kasam,
13:55the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, the
13:59son of Joshua, the son of Eleazar, the
14:02son of Joram, the son of Matat, the son
14:05of Levi, the son of Simeon, the son of
14:09Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of
14:12Janam, the son of Eliakim,
14:15the son of Mle, the son of Manan, the
14:19son of Matatha, the son of Nathan, the
14:22son of David,
14:25the son of Jesse, the son of Oid, the
14:28son of Boaz, the son of Salman, the son
14:32of Nashon, the son of Abinadab, the son
14:36of Admin, the son of Rahm, the son of
14:39Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of
14:42Judah, the son of Jacob, the son of
14:45Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of
14:48Terara, the son of Nahor, the son of
14:52Serug, the son of Ru, the son of Pelleg,
14:55the son of Hebar, the son of Shalah, the
14:59son of Canaan, the son of Arfaxad, the
15:02son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of
15:06Lamech, the son of Methuselah, the son
15:09of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of
15:12Mahaliel, the son of Canaan, the son of
15:16Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam,
15:21the son of God.
15:23So in all of this, Luke is emphasizing
15:28the genealogy,
15:31the legacy of God's faithfulness down
15:35through the ages. He is emphasizing
15:38Jesus's humanity. He's tracing him back
15:41to Adam and saying this is the
15:46fulfillment of what God promised when he
15:49made Adam that he was making us in the
15:53image and glory of God. Adam betrayed
15:57that covenant with God when he tapped
16:00into the tree of knowledge in his
16:03temptation. A temptation that Jesus is
16:06going to go through also. Adam betrayed
16:09the voice of his father. He betrayed the
16:12the Eden covenant of communion when he
16:16walked with God in the spirit of the
16:19day. And he released the power of death
16:23when he grasp for the tree of knowledge
16:26in order to find his own power and glory
16:29apart from relationship with God. Now
16:32Jesus is going to give us a new
16:34beginning. And all the promises made to
16:36Adam. All the hopes made to Adam are
16:39going to be fulfilled in Jesus. That's
16:41what Luke is doing. He's connecting
16:44Jesus to Adam.
16:46You will remember that when Adam fell
16:49and the earth was cursed and this
16:52darkness poured into the world through
16:55his disobedience and his submission to
16:58the evil one that God made a promise
17:02when he spoke to the snake. What was
17:04that promise?
17:06He said the snake was going to bruise
17:09the descendant of the woman on his heel.
17:14but that the descendant of the woman was
17:16going to crush the head of the serpent.
17:20You see, before Adam fell, before sin
17:24came into the world, God gave the
17:27dominion of the earth to man, trusting
17:30that man would in turn
17:33submit in relationship to his father and
17:36allow the Father's grace to flow through
17:39him as he tended and cultivated and
17:41cared for the earth.
17:43So he made him a little lower than the
17:45angels and placed him over all the works
17:47of his hands.
17:49But instead, mankind in Eden betrayed
17:53that covenant of trust that God had
17:55given. And he came into subjection to
17:58the enemy through his fears and his
18:01pride and his grasping after the wrong
18:04kind of power. So now it's got to be a
18:07man. It's got to be one to whom the
18:10rights were given. God gave Adam the
18:13keys to control the earth. So now it's
18:15got to be another Adam, a human being
18:19who is going to come and take back the
18:21power that had been turned over to the
18:24enemy through deception and fear. So
18:27it's emphasizing Jesus's humanity
18:32because he has to be a human being. God
18:34could not redeem the world through an
18:36angel because it has to be a son of Adam
18:40in order to have the rights and
18:43inheritance and promises of Adam and to
18:46undo what Adam had done and all of
18:49Adam's descendants up to that point.
18:52That's what Jesus is going to do through
18:54his life and through his death. Why is
18:56Luke stressing that Jesus is a son of
19:00Adam and a human being?
19:03Because before Adam and Eve fell,
19:07God gave the dominion of this earth to
19:11human beings. He did not give it to
19:13angels. He did not give it to demons. He
19:16gave it to human beings.
19:20He made them in his image and for his
19:22glory.
19:24And he gave him dominion over all the
19:28works of his hands. In Psalms it says,
19:31"You have made him a little lower than
19:33God and crowned him with glory, and you
19:37have made him ruler over all the works
19:40of your hands."
19:42So the earth and its dominion is a right
19:47of inheritance to human beings. Human
19:51beings were supposed to
19:54bring God's dominion on the earth
19:56through a covenant with their father.
19:58They were supposed to channel his grace
20:01as dominion upon the earth. And they did
20:04not do that. They took the keys. They
20:06took the the title deed of their
20:09inheritance and they instead subverted
20:12God and came into subjection to God's
20:15enemy, the devil. Okay? So if anyone is
20:19going to take back the keys of control,
20:22if anyone is going to reclaim the
20:25purpose of this earth and the
20:27inheritance given to Adam and his
20:29descendants, it cannot be an angel. It
20:32has to be a human being. It has to be
20:35someone made in the image and glory of
20:37God who is the offspring of Adam. So God
20:42could not come incarnated as an angel.
20:45He could not come incarnated as some
20:47heavenly being. He had to come
20:50incarnated as a human being because
20:54human beings are the ones that were
20:57given authority and dominion over this
21:00world.
21:01So it has to be a man who takes back
21:04what a man has done. And Jesus was that
21:08man. And living inside that man was
21:10almighty God. He was fully man and fully
21:13God. But it's emphasizing his humanity
21:16because it's showing that what got off
21:19with Adam and has been wrong ever since
21:21is going to be undone through Jesus
21:24Christ.

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