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Getting Started…    “Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write an accurate account for you,” With these words, the physician Luke begins his own account of some very remarkable events. Drawing upon many eyewitness testimonies, Luke sets out the history of the Messiah Jesus Christ for one simple reason: so we “can be certain of the truth.”    In this verse-by-verse study we’ll begin our look at Luke’s Gospel and the extraordinary

Day 1  RECEIVE   Luke 1:1-2     1 Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. 2 They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples.     As Luke began his gospel, he alluded to others who had written about the recent events. He saw these events as fulfilled promises. The others had used eyewitness reports that came from the early disciples. Luke does not claim to be an eyewitness; instead he is a

Day 1  RECEIVE   Luke 1:14-15     14 “You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.”     This continues what the angel told Zechariah when he appeared to him in the temple. The angel had said Zechariah’s prayer had been answered and God was giving him and Elizabeth a son. The angel sai

Day 1  RECEIVE   Luke 1:44-45     44 “When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. 45 You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”     Elizabeth continued telling Mary what happened when Mary greeted her. The baby in Elizabeth’s womb “jumped for joy.” Elizabeth commended Mary for trusting in what the Lord, through the angel, had said would be done.   REFLECT   Think of the excitement these two ladies had as they had babies in

Day 1  RECEIVE   Luke 1:23-25     23 When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home. 24 Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. 25 “How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.”     This passage reveals the people in Bible times thought it was a disgrace not to have children. Elizabeth is thrilled this stigma has been removed from her. She did not s

Day 1  RECEIVE   Luke 1:35     35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.”     This records what the angel Gabriel told Mary. His instructions concerned the baby she would have by means of the power of the Holy Spirit. The baby “will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.” Surely Mary’s mind was whirling about what was predict

Day 1  RECEIVE   Luke 1:57-58     57 When it was time for Elizabeth’s baby to be born, she gave birth to a son. 58 And when her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very merciful to her, everyone rejoiced with her.     The story now turns to Elizabeth who gave birth to the promised son at her and Zechariah’s old age. Friends and relatives rejoiced with her. They saw this as God’s mercy being extended to Elizabeth.   REFLECT   How is it when a relative has a

Day 1  RECEIVE   Luke 1:67-70     67 Then his father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy:  68 “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and redeemed his people. 69 He has sent us a mighty Savior from the royal line of his servant David, 70 just as he promised through his holy prophets long ago.”     After Zechariah said his son should be called “John,” he was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy. As a priest,

Day 1  RECEIVE   Luke 2:13-14     13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”     The shepherds had announced that a baby had been born in Bethlehem. Suddenly the “armies of heaven” joined them in praising God. Verse 14 has been misunderstood by some. There are some translations that refer to peace on earth and good will tow

Day 1  RECEIVE   Luke 2:23-24     23 The law of the Lord says, “If a woman’s first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the Lord.” 24 So they offered the sacrifice required in the law of the Lord—“either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”     Jesus’ parents dedicated Him according to the Old Testament law standards. The sacrifice they offered for Him was what poor people could offer. Jesus was not born into a wealthy home. This also reveals Jesus was born durin

Day 1  RECEIVE   Luke 2:45-47     45 When they couldn’t find him, they went back to Jerusalem to search for him there. 46 Three days later they finally discovered him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions. 47 All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.     Mary and Joseph kept frantically looking for Jesus. They had gone a day from Jerusalem so now they had to go a day back to it. On the next da

Day 1  RECEIVE   Luke 4:1-2     1 Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.     By “wilderness” some think of desert; others think of a wooded area. The word literally means “an uninhabited place.” In the case with Jesus it was a desert. Jesus was tempted there for 40 days by the devil. The word “

Day 1  RECEIVE   Luke 4:12-13     12 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” 13 When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.     This was Jesus’ answer to the testing by the devil. Again He used the Scriptures to do so as He quoted from Deuteronomy 6:16. Notice that the devil expected there to be other opportunities to test Jesus.   REFLECT   Does this help you to understand that the devi

Day 1  RECEIVE   Luke 4:22-24     22 Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” 23 Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’ 24 But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown.”     Those in Galilee could not believe that such gra

Day 1  RECEIVE   Luke 4:35     35 But Jesus reprimanded him. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. At that, the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it came out of him without hurting him further.     This is what Jesus ordered the demon to do who was inside of the man. The demon knew who Jesus was and likely knew His power. Before the demon came out of the man, it threw him to the floor. The crowd watched as this was occurring.   REFLECT   Thin

Day 1  RECEIVE   Luke 5:1-3     1 One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. 2 He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.     When Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea o

Day 1  RECEIVE   Luke 5:13-14     13 Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared. 14 Then Jesus instructed him not to tell anyone what had happened. He said, “Go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.”     For anyone who may have been watching, think how

Day 1  RECEIVE   Luke 5:22-24     22 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? 23 Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? 24 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”     Jesus had forgiven the sins of a paralyzed man. The Pharisees and teachers of religi

Day 1  RECEIVE   Luke 5:33     33 One day some people said to Jesus, “John the Baptist’s disciples fast and pray regularly, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why are your disciples always eating and drinking?”     The watching world has questions about what believers do. Here the Pharisees ask why John the Baptist’s disciples fast and pray but Jesus’ disciples do not. Jesus’ disciples were eating and drinking as usual. The Pharisees thought everyone should be followi

Day 1  RECEIVE   Luke 6:3-5     3 Jesus replied, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He went into the house of God and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests can eat. He also gave some to his companions.” 5 And Jesus added, “The Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath.”     The Pharisees claimed the disciples of Jesus were harvesting on the Sabbath as they rubbed the grain in their

Day 1  RECEIVE   Luke 6:17-19     17 When they came down from the mountain, the disciples stood with Jesus on a large, level area, surrounded by many of his followers and by the crowds. There were people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those troubled by evil spirits were healed. 19 Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out

Day 1  RECEIVE   Luke 6:29-31     29 “If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. 30 Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. 31 Do to others as you would like them to do to you.”     The disciples of Jesus were instructed by Him to do things that only those with divine love could do. The unbeliever could never do what Jesus suggested. Those who are

Day 1  RECEIVE   Luke 6:39-40     39 Then Jesus gave the following illustration: “Can one blind person lead another? Won’t they both fall into a ditch? 40 Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.”     Jesus reminded His disciples that a blind person cannot be a leader of others. One must be able to see where he is going. Jesus also let His disciples know that when they became fully trained they would be

Day 1  RECEIVE   Luke 7:1-2     1 When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people, he returned to Capernaum. 2 At that time the highly valued slave of a Roman officer was sick and near death.     Jesus’ hometown had rejected Him while Capernaum had welcomed Him. Here He learned that a “highly valued slave” of a Gentile Roman officer was near death. Jesus and His apostles were taking the Messiah’s message to the Jewish people first. The Gentile officer needed help beca