Sermon
#42[1] Through The Bible Series
Title: Luke ― Christ
the Man
Text: Luke 1:1-4
Introduction:
As we have seen in our
studies of Matthew and Mark, each of the four gospels were written by divine
inspiration, each revealing the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ, but
each one was intended by the Holy Spirit to set forth a particular, distinct
aspect of our Savior’s person and work. Neither of the gospel narratives give us a complete
view of Christ; but all four, taken together, tell us plainly and fully who the
Lord Jesus Christ is, what he did, why he did it, and where he is now.
1. Matthew was written to show
us that our Lord Jesus Christ is the divine Messiah, the Redeemer-King promised
in the Old Testament Scriptures.
2. Mark was inspired to present
the Lord Jesus as Jehovah’s righteous Servant.
3. John’s gospel sets forth the
glorious divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ as God the Son, the second person in
the holy trinity.
4. Luke’s gospel was designed
and written to show us the perfect and glorious humanity of our Savior. Just as
John shows us that our Redeemer is the Son of God, Luke shows us that he is the
Son of Man.
Son of Man
Luke was inspired of God to
present our Savior distinctly as “the Son of man”. That is the title our
Lord used to describe himself more than any other. As we read the Gospel of
Luke, the One we meet here is, the Redeemer-King Matthew described, the
Righteous Servant Mark portrayed, and the incarnate God John declares. He is
the same Person; but Luke presents him primarily as the Man who is God, while
John presents him as the God who is also man.
Luke gives us more details than either Matthew or
Mark about our Savior’s birth. Luke alone tells us a little bit about our
Lord’s childhood. He stresses, more than the other gospel writers, our
Redeemer’s dependence upon his Father in prayer, his poverty, and his sympathy
with men. He does this because it is his purpose to show us that our Savior’s
perfect humanity is just as essential to his saving work as his divinity. He could
not accomplish his mission, were he not both God and man in one glorious person
(19:10).
(Luke
19:10) “For the Son of man is come to
seek and to save that which was lost.”
Things Most Surely
Believed
Let’s read Luke 1:1-4 and Acts 1:1-4.
(Luke
1:1-4) “Forasmuch as many have taken in
hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely
believed among us, (2) Even as they delivered them unto us, which from
the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; (3) It seemed
good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very
first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, (4) That
thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been
instructed.”
(Acts
1:1-4) “The former treatise have I made,
O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, (2) Until
the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had
given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: (3) To whom
also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being
seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom
of God: (4) And, being assembled together with them, commanded
them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of
the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.”
Luke specifically wrote his gospel to a man named “Theophilus”.
This is the same man to whom he addressed the Book of Acts. Both Luke and Acts were
written specifically for this man Theophilus (Acts 1:1-2). We know nothing
about him, except what Luke himself tells us. This Theophilus was a man of rank
and honor. Luke calls him “most excellent Theophilus.” Not many noble
are called (1 Cor.1:26), but some are. God has chosen some of all ranks. The
name, Theophilus, means either “lover of God” or “loved of God”.
In Acts 1, Luke describes
his gospel as “a treatise of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
until the day in which he was taken up.” Though they did not record every
word and deed of Christ (John 21:25), Luke and the other gospel writers did
record all that the Holy Spirit inspired, all that we need to know,
particularly all that Christ did and said relating to the salvation of his
people; his obedience to the Father, his conformity to the law, and his death
as our Substitute, by which he brought in everlasting righteousness and
obtained eternal redemption for us.
Then Luke tells us that the
Lord Jesus Christ gave his commandments by the Holy Spirit to chosen apostles,
and by them to his church. All the doctrines and ordinances, faith and
practice of the church are, by the commandment of Christ, laid down in the Word
of God (2 Tim. 3:16).
Both in Acts and here, at the very outset, Luke
tells us that his intention in writing this gospel narrative was “set forth
in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us”
(1:1).
Contrary to popular opinion, believers are people
who believe something, something specific, and all believers believe them. All
Christians do, most assuredly, believe some specific things. We believe those
things revealed in the Book of God. Anyone who does not believe that which God
reveals in the Inspired Volume of Holy Scripture is not a Christian, is not a
believer, and does not know God, no matter what he may profess.
“The church is a community of faith, a community
that tenaciously holds with overpowering conviction to a distinct body of
truths.” (Roger Ellsworth)
Yes, There Are Some Things All True Christians Believe. Luke makes no bones about
this. Neither should we. Let men accuse us of being narrow-minded dogmatists,
out of step with the rest of the religious world, and heap upon us whatever
ugly names they choose, the Word of God plainly declares that some things are
vital. Some things must be known and believed. Those who do not believe these
things are not saved.
Luke tells us that he wrote his gospel, “to set forth in order those things which
are most surely believed among us.” All who are, like Theophilus, lovers of God love those things most
surely believed among us. What are those things? Let me show you
some of those things mast assuredly believed by all who know and love, trust
and worship the God of Glory, as they are set before us in Luke’s Gospel.
1. Luke shows us that all men
are sinners in need of God’s salvation, lost, ruined, dead in trespasses and sins,
under the curse of God’s holy law, and totally incapable of changing their
condition. Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost, like the lost
coin, the lost sheep, and the lost Son (chap. 15).
2. Jesus Christ is the
incarnate God. The Son of God
came in the flesh (1:35; 9:20).
(Luke 1:35) “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”
(Luke
9:20) “He said unto them, But whom say
ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God.”
3. The Lord Jesus Christ has
effectually accomplished and obtained salvation for sinners by his obedience
and death as the sinners Substitute (1:68).
Remember, that which Zechariah spoke here concerning
the accomplishments of Christ, he spoke being filled with the Holy Ghost. He
tells us that Christ accomplished redemption and explains exactly what that
means (1:67-79).
(Luke
1:67-79) “And his father Zechariah was
filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, (68) Blessed be the
Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, (69) And
hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
(70) As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since
the world began: (71) That we should be saved from our enemies, and from
the hand of all that hate us; (72) To perform the mercy promised to
our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; (73) The oath which he
sware to our father Abraham, (74) That he would grant unto us, that we
being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
(75) In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
(76) And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou
shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; (77) To give
knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, (78) Through
the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited
us, (79) To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the
shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
4. This salvation which Christ obtained for his
elect by his blood atonement, by effectual, accomplished redemption, comes to
sinners by the gift of God,
according to his own sovereign, eternal purpose of grace in Christ, as a matter
of pure grace (4:25-27).
(Luke
4:25-27) “But I tell you of a truth,
many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up
three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;
(26) But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of
Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. (27) And many lepers were
in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed,
saving Naaman the Syrian.”
5. God’s grace in Christ is so
abundantly free that every sinner in this world who needs it has it (9:11).
(Luke
9:11) “And the people, when they knew it,
followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of
God, and healed them that had need of healing.”
Luke’s Distinctives
As we read the Gospel of Luke, we cannot help
noticing that Luke tells us many things, precious things, which are not even
mentioned by any of the other inspired writers.
· The Histories of Zechariah
and Elizabeth
· The Birth of John the
Baptist
· The Angel’s Announcement to
Mary of our Savior’s Birth.
· Simeon and Anna in the
Temple
· Mary’s Song
· The Childhood of our Master.
· The Conversions of Zacchaeus
and the Dying Thief
· The Parables of The Good
Samaritan, The Pharisee and the Publican, The Prodigal Son, and The Rich Mann
and Lazarus
· The Walk to Emmaus
How thankful we are for these things. For these
things we are indebted to Luke, “the
beloved physician.”
Luke Himself
Who was this man, Luke? As
we have seen, both this gospel narrative and the book of Acts were written by the pen of
Luke. Both were addressed to Theophilus. In fact, the book of Acts is really
just a continuation of Luke’s gospel, as Luke himself indicates in the opening
verses of Acts. But who was Luke.
He was a man of such modesty that he never mentioned
his own name, even when he wrote about events in which he played a prominent
role. Yet, he was, obviously, a man of remarkable usefulness in the early
church.
Paul calls him, “Luke
the beloved physician” (Col. 4:14). Not many of the wise and noble of this
world are called, but some are; and Luke was one of them. He was Paul’s
constant, faithful companion. He accompanied Paul on his second missionary
journey as far as Philippi. There, after the Lord raised up a gospel church,
Luke stayed behind, probably to take care of and further instruct the young
saints at Philippi in the things of God.
Seven years later, while Paul was on his third
missionary journey, he and Luke joined up again at Philippi. As Paul went on
his way to Jerusalem, Luke went with him. When Paul was arrested at Caesarea,
Luke was with him. Luke was still by Paul’s side when they sailed for Rome. He
went with his friend through the perils of the sea and stayed by his side when
he was arrested at Rome. Luke alone stayed with Paul to the end. When Paul was
about to lay down his life as a martyr for Christ, he wrote, “only Luke is with me” (2 Tim. 4:11).
Luke was a Gentile, as his name indicates, the only
Gentile who was chosen of God to write a portion of the Inspired Volume of Holy
Scripture.
The Son of Man
Luke gives us a portrait
of the Son of Man, the Man Christ Jesus. All the gospel writers show us both the divinity
and the humanity of Christ; but John was distinctly written to set forth our
Lord’s eternal deity; and Luke was distinctly written to show us his perfect
humanity. Let us never forget that
our Lord Jesus Christ lived upon this earth as our Surety, Representative,
Mediator, and Substitute the life of a perfect man, completely obedient to the
will of God, without sin in nature, thought, word, or deed. Had he not
been a perfect man, he could not have been our Savior. Therefore, Luke was
inspired of God to show us the perfection of our Savior as a real man.
1.
The Lord Jesus Christ was a Man of great courage.
He was not a hard, abrasive man; but he was a
courageous man. This boldness and courage is seen most distinctly in our Lord’s
preaching. He knew that he was his Father’s servant. Therefore, he spoke the
Word of God with unflinching courage (chapter 4). When he was advised to flee
from Herod, he said, Go tell that old fox
that I am doing what I came here to do, and that he can’t stop me (Fortner
paraphrase - Luke 13:32).
When the time came for him to lay down his life as
our sin-atoning Substitute, our Savor set his face like a flint to go up to
Jerusalem, that he might accomplish the will of him that sent him (9:51).
(Luke
9:51) “And it came to pass, when the
time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go
to Jerusalem,”
Fearlessly and unfalteringly, our Savior steadily
walked, step by step, with determinate resolution, up to Mt. Calvary, to lay
down his life for us, according to the will of God, not to defeat but to
victory, not to be pitied but worshipped!
2.
Our Lord Jesus Christ was also a Man of great
tenderness, compassion, and sympathy.
He declared, in his very first sermon, that he came
here to preach the gospel to the poor, to set the captive free, and to give
sight to the blind (4:18-19).
(Luke
4:18-19) “The Spirit of the Lord is upon
me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent
me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
(19) To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
Luke constantly portrays the Lord Jesus as a man
full of compassion, drying the tears of sorrow, pitying the outcast,
entertaining despised publicans, receiving sinners, healing all who had need of
healing.
Let every man here learn from the Master.
Manhood, real manhood involves courage and compassion.
3. Moreover, and this is very,
very important, as the perfect Man,
our Lord Jesus Christ was a Man of implicit faith.
He believed God perfectly. He lived in constant
fellowship with God, as a Man. What an example of consecration and faith he
gave us! His very first recorded words were, “I must be about my Father’s business” (2:40). His last words
before his final breath of mortality were, “Father,
into thy hands I commend my spirit” (23:46). On at least eight other
occasions, Luke describes our Lord Jesus as a Man of faith, calling upon God
his Father, our Father, in prayer.
· At His Baptism (3:21)
· After Healing The Leper
(5:16)
· Before Choosing His
Disciples (6:12)
· Before Peter’s Great Confession
(9:18)
· At His Transfiguration
(9:29)
· Before Teaching His
Disciples How To Pray (11:1)
· In Gethsemane (22:42)
· As He Hung Upon The Cross
(23:34)
As God’s servants in this world, we all must confess
with, shame and sorrow, that we are often weak, hard hearted, and unbelieving.
But, blessed be God, that Man who is our Divine Savior lived before God in the
perfection of manhood for us – Perfect In Courage, ― Perfect In
Tenderness, Mercy and Compassion, ― Perfect In Faith! But he is more than
an exemplary Man…
4. Luke presents this holy Man, the Lord Jesus Christ,
to us as God’s Salvation.
He brought salvation to sinners. He won it by his
obedience. He bought it with his blood. He secured it by his ascension into
heaven. He gives it by his grace. But Luke tells us more. He tells us that the
Lord Jesus Christ himself is Salvation.
Luke
2:25-32 “And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem,
whose name was Simeon; and the same
man was just and devout, waiting for
the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. 26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should
not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents
brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, 28 Then took he him up in his arms, and
blessed God, and said, 29 Lord, now
lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: 30 For mine eyes have seen thy
salvation, 31 Which thou hast
prepared before the face of all people;
32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.”
We rejoice
I the blood and righteousness of Christ and adore his doctrine, but it is the
Lord Jesus Christ himself that we trust, love and worship.
― “Unto you that believe, HE is precious.”
The gospel we
preach is the good news of salvation accomplished and secured by the obedience
and death of the God-man, Christ Jesus. Luke, speaking in perfect harmony with
all the prophets and apostles, tells us that this salvation is…
·
God’s Salvation. ― His Work, His Property, His Gift.
·
A Finished Work.
·
For Sinners Everywhere, Jews and Gentiles!
·
A Salvation That Demands Faith In Christ. ― A Faith That Only God
Himself Can Give, ― A Faith That Willingly Bows To Christ As Lord!
·
A Salvation To Be Preached To All The World!
5.
Luke’s object is to show us
the humanity of our Savior; but his humanity would be of no value to us, all
that he is was and did as a man would be totally without benefit to us, if he
is not God. So Luke shows us that this great man is much more than that. He
shows us that this great man is the almighty God.
He has all power over all
things and exercises it all the time. The God-man, our Mediator has complete authority over all evil (Lk 4:12, 35, 9:38, 11:14).
He controls all of what men call “the elements of nature” (Lk 8:22-25, 9:12-17,
5:4-11). He has total dominion over life and death (Lk 8:41-42, 7:11-15). He
has total dominion over sickness, disease and trouble. (Lk 5:12-13, 7:1-10,
4:38-35, 5:18-25, 6:6-10, 18:35-43). He has power in heaven and in earth to
forgive sins (Lk 5:24, 7:48). He has the power and authority to bless people
(Lk 6:20-22) and the authority to give people eternal life in heaven (Lk 23:43;
24:50). All things are in his hands (John 17:2).
Gospel
For Sinners
The gospel of God is a gospel
for sinners, the good news of redemption obtained and salvation finished, for
poor, needy, lost sinners. And Luke’s Gospel is just that. It is good news for
needy sinners. Luke shows us the compassionate love of Christ in becoming Man
to save us. He traces our Lord's descent back to Adam, and shows him as the Son
of Man and the Son of God, the Savior of men.
He is both the “Son of the Highest,” and the Son of the lowest.
Like Matthew, Luke gives us our
Lord’s genealogy (3:23-38); but it is not the same. Matthew’s account
of the genealogy begins with Abraham and traces the Savior’s lineage up to
Joseph. Luke begins with the Savior himself and traces his lineage back to
Adam, and then to God himself. Matthew shows us our Savior’s lineage through
Joseph, him “being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph” (Luke 1:23).
Luke traces his lineage through Mary.
The
Shepherds
Instead of the visit of the
Magi, Luke tells us of the common shepherds to whom the Savior’s
birth was announced the glad-tidings of peace to all people, “to you is born
a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”
Simeon
and Anna
Aged Simeon said, “Mine eyes
have seen Thy Salvation,” as he took the Holy Child in his arms. And Anna “spake
of him to all that looked for Redemption in Israel.”
Luke records his compassion to
the Widow of Nain (7:11-18), and the depths of his mercy to the woman that was
a sinner (7:36-50). Luke tells us the story of Zacchaeus with the murmuring of
the Pharisees because he had gone to be a guest with a man which was a sinner
(19:1-10).
The
Parables
The parables recorded in Luke’s
Gospel are intended to display both our Redeemer’s compassion and his saving
power and efficacy.
·
The Good Samaritan
·
The Pharisee and the Publican
·
The Importunate Widow
·
The Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Lost
Son, in which we see his great joy over the lost one that is found so marvellously represented
·
In
the parable of the Great Supper (14:16-24; Mat 22:1-14), it is Luke who tells
us of the Lord's command to go out into the highways and hedges and compel them
to come in. And the words “Yet there is room” seem to echo throughout
these 24 chapters.
Luke alone tells us that when
our Lord beheld the city, He wept over it (19:41-44). It is Luke who describes
the Savior’s bloody sweat in Gethsemane (22:39-46). Luke tells us of the saving
power possessed by our Savior as he hung upon the cursed tree, displayed in
saving the dying thief even in His agony, gathering as it were, even in his
agony, the first-fruits of his atonement (23:39-43).
Luke alone gives us the account
of our Lord’s walk along the Emmaus Road with two of his troubled disciples
after his resurrection (chap. 24). It may be, as some have suggested, that Luke
was one of those two disciples.
He tells of our Lord eating a
piece of broiled fish and some honey to show us his perfect humanity even after
his resurrection. Yes, blessed be his name, that Man who is risen and exalted
is still a man, touched with the feeling of our infirmities, full of sympathy
and the omnipotent God, able to help in time of need!
Now, watch the last scene in the
Gospel of Luke, again, a scene that Luke alone gives us (chap. 24). First, in
verses 43-47, the Savior condescends to confirm the shaken faith of his
fearful disciples and opens their understanding, to understand the Scriptures.
(Luke
24:43-47) "And he took it, and
did eat before them. (44) And he said unto them, These are the
words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be
fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets,
and in the psalms, concerning me. (45) Then opened he their
understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, (46) And said
unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to
rise from the dead the third day: (47) And that repentance and remission
of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at
Jerusalem."
Then, he issues his
commission to his church, assuring us of the power of his Spirit to do
his work (vv. 48-49).
(Luke
24:48-49) "And ye are witnesses of
these things. (49) And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon
you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from
on high."
And, in verses 50-53, the
crucified, risen Son of Man ascends to Glory to take his place on his
throne as the God-man, and blesses his people as he ascends his throne.
(Luke
24:50-53) "And he led them out as
far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed
them. (51) And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he
was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. (52) And they
worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy:
(53) And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.
Amen."
[1] Date: Tuesday
Evening—February 24, 2004
Friday (PM) ― March 5, 2004 ―
Jackson, MO
Tape # Y-4b
Readings: Bob Duff and Larry Brown