Authority denotes rule, influence, power, and the power to fulfill one’s desires. An example of authority is the executive power that is possessed by the president of the United States. That is, the president has certain authority to make decisions that impact the country. Like so, there are many local, state, and federal authorities in this world, but no authority is as high as the divine authority of God (Ps 2:4-6). The Scripture states that God places people in positions of power and gives them authority. He gave authority to Adam (Gen 1:28) when God created him. Because God has the highest authority, He is also the source of all authority that is possessed by man in any level of government and position of power.

This divine authority is seen in Jesus. As is shown in the passage, Jesus uses this authority to teach. Unlike the teaching of the Hebrew teachers at the time, Jesus’ teaching is refreshing and new. As the author of the Old Testament, which is the revelation of the Word of God, He speaks to the people about the will of God, sin, kingdom of God, peace, faith, and sacrificial love. As the eyewitness and partaker in Creation, Jesus teaches with the authority of the Author of Creation in full knowledge of all things.

Jesus has authority because He is God. However, he willingly condescends to man by being born as a man. Jesus descends from Heaven to the earth to reach men and offer salvation, and one may say that His teaching ministry is an example of this condescension. In a way, He is condescending from heaven to Capernaum for the purpose of teaching (v.31). Jesus does not teach as a professor or a scholar; He teaches as the Son of God (Col 2:9). His teaching has the power to save people from their sins (Mt 1:21), and because God alone can forgive sins (Mk 2:7), one can be sure that Jesus is God and, therefore, has the divine, truthful authority.

Although He has the power to speak unadulterated truths independent of the Scriptures, Jesus speaks through the Word of God. This shows that the authority of Jesus’ teaching comes from the Word of God (v.32). He does not speak independently, but He expounds upon the Word of God. Because Jesus uses the Scripture for His teaching, one can be sure that it has the “stamp of approval” from God; that is, the divinely inspired writings of the Scripture is approved by God. Because of this, Christians know that the Word of God will be fulfilled (Lk 24:44).

The authority of Jesus is universal; His authority extends even over demons (v.36). Demons are real (Eph 6:12), powerful, and unclean (Mk 5:3-4). They attack sinners and struggling Christians to keep them away from Jesus. However, Jesus has the power over demons, and He will one day destroy all the demons. So as to fend off demonic spiritual attacks and fight against the kingdom of darkness, Christians are called to be holy like Jesus (1 Jn 1:9, 1 Pet 5:8-9, Jam 4:7) and defer to Jesus’ divine authority in times of spiritual attacks.

Jesus’ ministry of teaching, preaching, and sharing continues in authority, even today (v 37). We must continue spreading what we’ve seen and heard (Acts 4:19-20) if we truly understand the authority of Jesus (Mt 28:18-20). 

The sin of unbelief leads to harsh consequences. We see in the OT, Abraham’s unbelief resulted in his first child, Ishmael, by Tamar, brought forth in sin. While Isaac, Abraham’s second son by Sarah was brought forth through the God’s promise. Ishmael is a major element in the Arab genetic line. Old records clearly link the north Arabians with Ishmael’s descendants. Abraham’s disobedience and distrust of God’s word resulted in disaster for Ishmael and generations to follow (Gen. 15:18). Unbelief have always existed since sin entered the world until present day.

What is unbelief?

“In short, to refuse to admit the truth of God’s Word; not depending on God as we ought to” (J.C. Ryle). Unbelief is distrusting, disobeying and denying Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, always associated with non-Christians. Another form of unbelief is practiced by Christians when they test God. God has given His very best, namely His one and only Son, but sometimes Christians hunger and thirst for something less rather than finding contentment in Christ alone. The Israelites who were in the wilderness were the same way even though God redeemed them from Egyptians. True belief is finding freedom in Christ alone.

Why unbelief is disastrous

And all were speaking well of [Jesus], and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” (v. 22). Despite Jesus’ preaching was amazing those in the synagogue did not consider the person of Jesus as the promised Messiah, born of the virgin Mary. They knew Jesus and his family; therefore, their conclusion was it was impossible that He can be the Christ unless He was able to prove He could heal Himself. In other words, His words were not enough for them to believe, but they sought signs. The disastrous end of their unbelief is blindness to the true source of eternal life (Jn. 1:3-5, 10-11). This type of unbelief is universal.

Unbelief is blind to reality (v. 25-27)

Unbelievers do not realize why they’re living in sin and unbelief. The sin of unbelief leads often to deny the reality of hell. Unbelief also prevents people from total surrender and removing their pride in order to see the reality that Jesus is the only way, the truth, and the life (Jn. 14:6a). What Jesus requires is total surrender to Him in humility to receive spiritual healing. And obedience is impossible without humility as exemplified in Christ’s obedience to the point of death on a cross. Are we willing to take up the cross and Christ’s disciples and follow Him?

Moreover, unbelief is murderous and ultimately hatred towards God (v. 28-29). Christians often do not take seriously those that profess their unbelief. But we need to recognize the reality of unbelief; that is, it appears innocent, but it is murderous. The rage of unbelief revealed in the NT shows that not believing in the gospel is not enough, but a true portrait of unbelief is they want to get rid of and remove Christ completely (Acts 7:56-59). This is because it comes down to confronting their sin before the holy God; the chief sin being unbelief.

Unbelief is the primary issue for all mankind. Only the power of the gospel of Christ is able to deliver us from unbelief to faith in Christ as demonstrated in His power in v. 30. Again, the only solution and master key to the problem of unbelief is to know Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2).

Understanding the depth of our sin helps us to realize the greater grace God gives in saving us. And to share this truth to others as the only means of their salvation.

What makes the message of Jesus so extraordinary that it would have the ability to change us?

The message of Jesus is powerful.
The message of Jesus is for the spiritually poor- those who know they desperately need God. We can identify three enemies of the poor from v.18- captors, that which causes blindness, and oppressors. Ultimately, the enemy is Satan, who holds all those who are without Jesus under captivity. Christ alone is powerful to overcome Satan, and He frees us not only from Satan’s bondage, but from spiritual blindness to see Jesus clearly and worship Him. The message of Jesus frees us from the guilt, penalty, and power of sin, which formerly oppressed us in misery. It is God’s grace that works behind the message of Jesus, and herein is its power. Those who are saved are free- free from Satan’s captivity, free from spiritual blindness, free from the oppression of sin.

The message of Jesus is exceptional.
Jesus’ message is exceptionally good. His message is all about the year of Jubilee, an Old Testament event when all debts were forgiven and slaves were set free. Jesus’ message is exceptionally absolute. The message is the Word of God, which never changes. By His Word, we are permanently in Christ.

The message of Jesus is reliable.
When Jesus began to speak, His words indicated that salvation has come. Jesus’ message is reliable because He spoke Scripture, which can not be broken. Jesus Himself fulfilled Scripture; we can therefore depend fully on the message of Jesus.

How can we be changed by the message of Jesus?
We are changed as we hear the message with faith. The message of Jesus comes with power, and it is by the Holy Spirit that we are changed. Jesus warns us that those who do not hear His Word with faith but are guided by self-law will not be received by Him. So do not worry about eating and drinking- our Heavenly Father knows all that we need. Instead, be concerned about your sanctification and seek the Kingdom of God. Take heed how you listen.

Introduction

The goal for the Christian is to be like Jesus Christ. They follow Jesus and through obedient sanctification they become like Jesus. One of the purposes of the gospel of Luke is to reveal the humanity of Jesus, so that the goal to be like Jesus seems more attainable. (1 Corinthians 11:1) We realize who Jesus is as a man, we see the example He set for us and therefore the goal for us to be like Him.

The message of Jesus Christ is a matter of life and death. It’s not a suggestion or spiritual advice. John 5:24. To misunderstand or mistreat the message has dire consequences. If you hear and respond properly then you will have life but if you reject then it will result in death. So why is Jesus’ message so necessary ad why do we need it?

The power of the Holy Spirit

Jesus spent most of his 3 year ministry in the region of Galilee. Between verse 13 and 14 of Luke 4 there is a one year gap. Jesus was led by Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted. The ministry of Jesus from beginning to end was led by the Holy Spirit. In verse 14, we see Jesus return to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was fully God and yet all of His miracles were done not by His own power or deity but in the power of the Holy Spirit. As a man, he surrendered his power but did He did not abandon His deity (Phil 2:6-7). When accused of using Satan’s power for His miracles, Jesus clarifies that His power is not of Satan but of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:24,31-32). In life, Jesus depended fully on the Holy Spirit. And what of you? Do you depend on the Holy Spirit? Do you merely profess without actually living by the power of the Holy Spirit? Without the Holy Spirit you will have no power in your Christian life.

The necessity of Jesus’ message

When in a region, Jesus’ custom was to go into the synagogue to read God’s word and teach. During the time of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, the people practiced Judaism (Romans 9:6-8). Unfortunately Judaism and the Law cannot save you. The purpose of the Law is to reveal your sin and cause you to repent, not to save. Even though they were passionate and zealous for Judaism they were still in the flesh. To be in the flesh is to be self-righteous. There is no way to tame the flesh or remove the guilt of sin in the flesh. That is why everyone will die according to the flesh, and after death comes judgement. Only in Christ can we forsake our old sinful flesh and be made new. (2Corinthians 5:17) Mere religion cannot accomplish this salvation, only Jesus can.

Can this message save?

Isaiah 61:1-2 is the message:

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord anointed me, To bring good news to the humble; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim release to captives And freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,

God providentially provided this message to Jesus. The scroll was handed to Jesus and Jesus found the spot of Isaiah 61. This passage was not something Jesus made up or claimed as His own teaching but He fully understood that this was the Word of God. This shows that the Bible is sufficient. If you have the Bible, then you have everything you need. Use the Bible just as Jesus did. He didn’t seek outside truth but sought the truth in the Bible.

‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me‘ shows the Trinity in perpetual fellowship. Jesus is not acting or claiming of His own volition but in perfect harmony with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. ‘Anointed me‘ The word anointed means chosen, set apart for and empowered for ministry. Jesus is the only anointed one as Savior. He is appointed to bring the good news of salvation. No other message can save because no other message has been put forth by God, but only the message of Jesus Christ. The message of Jesus is most necessary not just because it can save but also because all other messages cannot.

Who is qualified to receive the saving message?

Preach the gospel to the poor. The poor does not mean physically or financially poor. More then 90% of the region of Galilee was poor. Was Jesus referring to all of them? The poor is not someone who just doesn’t have money, but truly poor means someone who cannot help themselves but is dependent on another to live. The poor are beggars. (Acts 3:2)

Just because you are poor doesn’t mean you are righteous. God even teaches the humble. Psalms 25:9. In Matthew 19:23-24 Jesus says the rich cannot enter the kingdom, not because they are rich, but they do not recognize their spiritual poverty. Even for the poor, if they do not recognize their spiritual poverty, they also cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. The ones qualified to receive the saving the message are the poor in spirit, who understand they have no righteousness and are unable to save themselves.

The poor recognize that there are no other gods before God (Exodus 20:3). You cannot depend on anything else but God (Matthew 19:21). You cannot depend on the world but you must give it all up to follow Christ. Luke 21:2-4 The widow gave up everything to depend on the Lord. She truly understood her real poverty. The prodigal son also had the attitude someone poor in spirit. Luke 15:17-19 He realized he was a sinner who didn’t deserve anything but went to his father to beg for mercy and grace. This is the true attitude of the poor

Conclusion

Jesus preaches the gospel to the poor. The poor accept the gospel because they know nothing else can satisfy their need. Their is true salvation in Jesus and His message. It’s not wealth and health, its not comfort or success. It is forgiveness from sins, adoption as sons and daughters, freedom from sin, a holy calling and eternal life. This wonderful salvation is found in God’s word. If you are not hungry or thirsty for God’s word then you are not poor yet. To those who are truly poor, God’s message makes sense and they receive salvation through it.

Christians are continually being sanctified and made holy in a fallen world and therefore cannot avoid temptations to sin. They are, however, able to overcome these temptations through the Word of God.

In the third temptation of Jesus, Satan tempts Jesus to presume upon God by way of a public stunt. He attempts to convince Jesus to not fulfill the will of God and instead follow Satan’s will. Having failed in the first two tries to have Jesus disavow God, Satan leads Jesus to the highest point of the temple in Jerusalem. As they stand overlooking the city, Satan tells Jesus to jump down from the temple, reasoning that God will not let His Son die but send angels to His catch him from his fall. Of course, Jesus, being fully man, would die upon impact from such a fall. Satan’s desire is for Jesus to die from the fall, thereby dying without defeating death and redeeming mankind. If Jesus follows Satan’s will instead of God’s will, Jesus would undo the promises of God in the Scriptures of a redeemer, making God a liar. This action would also force God to choose between letting Christ die and intervening with a divine miracle for Jesus’ salvation.

Satan even tries to use the Word of God in this third effort to tempt Jesus by saying “for it is written” to misquote Scripture out of context. As he quotes Scripture, Satan purposely omits parts of Scripture to try to confuse Jesus. However, Jesus does not fall for Satan’s scheme nor does he not test God. Instead, He responds to Satan by saying, “It is said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST,” accurately quoting Scriptures to counter Satan’s distortion of the Scriptures.

As we look to Christ in this third temptation, we are shown that we must know God’s Word thoroughly so that we handle the Word of God properly through diligent study (2 Tim 2:15). Otherwise, even the choicest Christian will be in danger of falling away. Studying the Word simply requires passion and diligence on our part, because Christians are supernaturally equipped with the Holy Spirit to help them study and understand the Word of God properly.

How are Christians to overcome the temptation to trust God presumptuously? They should check their motives to make sure they are doing all for the glory of God. They must also live by faith. Christian faith is a living faith because they serve a living God. Faith is a supernatural gift of God for every believer.

God allows Jesus to be tempted by Satan a third time in this passage. This particular temptation displays Jesus’ readiness to preach and teach in His ministry. Jesus is convinced that the Word of God is true and powerful. He overcomes temptation by using the Word of God, and because of this, we know that we can be confident in and sanctified by the Word of God, which will never fail us.  

And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”

Cf. Matthew 4:4 – “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”

As Jesus went through His temptation in the wilderness, He was able to empathize because of his true humanity. Although He was unable to sin, He faced temptation as a true man and understands fully what all mankind deals with regarding temptation.

Three parts for today’s message:

• Who is the tempter, Satan?
• What is the nature of temptation?
• How did Jesus overcome temptation?

Who is Satan?

Satan describes his malignant and brutal character (Jn. 8:44). He was an angel (i.e. cherubim) but fell as he sinned against God wanting to be above God. Currently, he still seeks to make his throne above God. Satan has many other names but is also famously known as the devil, which means “slanderer”.

What are the Satan’s goals? Submission and worship of him. In verse 8, this is the moment of truth for Jesus, but He chooses to worship and obey the Father rather than Satan. Satan also desires as many sinners to be die and be forever separated from God. And he will not cease to accomplish this goal until God puts an end (1 Pet. 5:8). The reality is that everyone of us either belongs to God’s kingdom or of Satan’s.

Even though God is allowing at this time for Satan to tempt mankind to be separated from God, his ultimate end is already laid out as written in Scripture to be thrown into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10).

What is the nature of temptation?

Satan’s goal of tempting Jesus was to alter the path Jesus came down from heaven to do; to convince Him there is an easier path to achieve the Father’s goal, which was a lie. Satan has always lied and is the father of lies (Jn. 8:4) and it’s no different in this first temptation we read. A major example of this lie we see today is the lie about abortion; that is, it is not a big deal getting rid of the “fetus” inside the womb because it is not a human yet. Another reason would be to delay having a child out of selfish motives to live a comfortable life.

How did Jesus overcome temptation?

In Jesus’ response, we witness his humanity fully trusting in God’s Word above anything. Jesus refused what Satan was tempting Him with, put His trust in the Father and His word, and protected His mind from outside influence. In the same manner, if we trust in the word of God as Jesus did, God’s truth has the power to save and sustain our faith. Therefore, as Jesus had confidence in the word, we too, must have confidence in it to grow in sanctification and proclaiming the gospel to others.

It is important to note that outside influence, apart from God’s word, must be limited and done away with as much as possible. Protecting our mind to live in obedience to God is to fill it with His word. Put simply, Jesus feared the Father and worshipped Him. Do we fear God? What is the condition of our heart when we worship God (i.e. heart attitude)?

Moreover, God-fearing Christians are able to resist the onslaught of temptations from Satan, the flesh, and the world as a living sacrifice unto the Lord. There is nothing else Christians love more than the way of the cross. Thus, there is no temptation we cannot endure, and we are able to be faithful as He is faithful.

Believers can not avoid temptation in a fallen world, but we can learn about its nature and how to stand firm against Satan by examining how our Lord Jesus went through temptation.

Man in his sinful nature tries to justify his evil actions. Based on circumstances, we often struggle between following our own will versus submitting to God’s will. Jesus’ circumstances were extreme. He was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, and having fasted for 40 days, He was extremely hungry. At this moment of physical weakness, Satan began to tempt Jesus by trying to make Him question what he was doing- “If you are the Son of God…” He was essentially suggesting, as the Son of God, Jesus should just enjoy His power and status and abandon the hard work of suffering and redeeming sinners.

What is the true nature of Jesus’ first temptation?

Your hunger must trump God’s will.In difficult circumstances, Satan tries to deceive us into thinking we are justified to disobey God’s Will. We must not discount God- God never changes in His holy and merciful attributes. No matter what we are going through- whether it be a pandemic, persecution, or suffering- we can not dismiss God’s will.

You are the Son of God yet God allows this?Satan always tries to cast doubt on God’s love and kindness. We read that it was the Spirit of God who led Jesus into the wilderness. This shows that God has a good purpose for every righteous suffering that a believer goes through. When we go through prolonged suffering, Satan will often try to confuse us to misunderstand God’s goodness, but we must always remember that God is good.

Be pragmatic.
Jesus was not exempted from learning obedience through suffering. It is a process that takes time and pain, but Satan tried to get Jesus to take the easy way. Satan attacks the church with this temptation today- to take the wide and easy way that leads to destruction, rather than the narrow and hard way that leads to eternal life.

Ultimately, Satan will try to challenge you with the question of who you love most- God or yourself. How did Jesus respond?

It is written…
God’s Word is the only weapon to deal with the devil. Jesus didn’t respond to Satan by His emotions or opinion. Without hesitation, Jesus spoke Scripture- “‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” He applied this verse to Himself because He was a man, just like us. God’s Word is our spiritual food, and we feed on it by faith.

Temptations are inevitable, but we have the means to overcome them by following Jesus’ example. Jesus prioritized God’s Word in His life because it was His essential spiritual food. Let us always remember that those who keep the Word of God are the truly blessed.

Jesus became fully man and is the perfect example to follow in all things. We learned he was baptized as an example for us. In this passage, His example continues as He is tempted in the wilderness. We must pay attention because everyone faces temptation. Temptation is unavoidable and if it cannot be avoided then we must defeat it. If you claim to not struggle with temptation, then you are most likely not a Christian. Sinners do not struggle against temptation but the Christian does (Ephesians 6:12; Acts 14:22). Satan and the world are enemies to the saints and the believer must always be fighting temptation (1 Peter 5:8; 2 Timothy 3:12; John 16:33)

What is temptation?

Jesus was filled the Holy Spirit and then was tempted in wilderness. Now Jesus was perfect, sinless man, so His temptation did not come from within. So what is temptation? Temptation has to do with the struggle between internal and external. The word is related to the word ‘enduring’. It can mean ‘trial’, ‘desire’, or ‘lust’. While most of the time temptation has a bad connotation, it can be a word that can be good or bad. God tests but Satan tempts (James 1:3). We must be careful here because Jesus does say that lust in your mind is already committing adultery. So that desire itself is sinful. In general, temptation or the desire is not necessarily sinful. This is clear because Jesus was tempted but without sin. There are many desires in God’s word that are not judged sinfully (Acts 16:6-7).

However, temptation can be dangerous because it leads to sin (James 1:14-16). Again, to look at a women with lust, Jesus calls adultery, but that same look at your own wife is not sinful (Matthew 5:27-28). Temptations can be strong and they happen to everyone, but it is how you deal with your temptation that matters (1 Peter 4:15-16).

The wilderness

Christians are like the Israelites traveling through the wilderness before reaching the Promised Land. The wilderness is a harsh and dangerous land full of temptations. Jesus was in the wilderness 40 days. This period signifies probation, a period of restricted freedom. Like Noah waited in the Ark 40 days, or the Israelites 40 years in the wilderness, or the 40 days of uncleanness after a women gives birth, our lives are a period of probation, of living in a wilderness.

People try to escape temptation by physically isolating themselves, like the monks in the monasteries. This doesn’t work, as Spurgeon points out, Jesus went out to be alone in the wilderness and then He was tempted aggressively.

The example of Jesus’ temptation

Jesus was tempted as the last Adam, not the first Adam. Adam was tempted in the Garden of Eden, where everything was provided and his circumstances were good. In contrast, Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. As the last Adam, as the Messiah, He conquered Satan mightily and repelled all of Satan’s attacks. To overcome temptation ourselves, we simply put ourselves under Jesus and His mighty power (2 Corinthians 10:5; Ephesians 6:10; Psalms 18:2). While the first Adam failed miserably, Jesus the Messiah never fails, and He is ours!

Jesus sympathizes with us because He fully experienced temptation as a man. We cannot dismiss the temptations Jesus went through just because He was God. This leads to blasphemy against Jesus and an excusing of our own sin. Instead Jesus sympathizes with us, even more so then fellow man, because He has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Even though Peter had denied Jesus three times, yet Jesus looked at Peter with such concern and compassion. Instead of rebuking, Jesus sympathized with Peter (Luke 22:60-61). Jesus knows the struggle against sin as He was fully man and had to resist temptation with all His strength throughout His life and ministry (Luke 22:43:-44). Because Jesus suffered completely and overcame, there are believers who are able to go through unspeakable suffering as well, through the power of Jesus Christ.

Jesus’s example also reveals true sanctification. When Jesus was tempted, He was filled with the Holy Spirit. It is those who are faithful and strong spiritually who are tempted. Satan doesn’t desire to target those who are weak, they are not worth the effort, instead it is those like Job who are righteous and blameless (Job 1:1,8). To not be tempted is a sign you might not be Christian. Being tempted means you are on the right track of sanctification. There is no need to regret or feel guilty about temptation itself. We must realize it is inevitable and useful for our sanctification

Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit

The Bible emphasizes the importance of the Holy Spirit. We are born again in the Holy Spirit, the Spirit wrote God’s word, teaches God’s word and builds the Church (Ephesians 2:19-21). Yet, modern day Christians give little concern when they are not filled with the Holy Spirit. We may have the Bible, sound doctrine and the true gospel but we still lack the most essential, the filling of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:19, 5:18). This is very disturbing and we must repent.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit is a choice, a matter of obedience. The filling of the Holy Spirit is not a feeling or a moment of spirituality, it is a lifestyle (1 Corinthians 3:16; Psalms 42:1). Without the Holy Spirit, sanctification cannot happen. So we must constantly seek and desire for the Holy Spirit through God’s word (Colossians 3:16). Stop being fearful of the world and what’s going on. Remind yourself that the Holy Spirit is in you and be led by Him. As a Christian it is blasphemous to ignore the Holy Spirit.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit leads to the fruit of the Spirit and speaking and singing of Christ (Galatians 5:22-23;Ephesians 5:19). As Christians, we face temptations and our desire is to overcome them like Jesus, to be sanctified and filled with the Holy Spirit for the glory of God.

“Easy-believism” is rampant in American Christianity, and it falsely advertises a wide path to salvation as opposed to the biblical narrow gate of salvation. It imagines God as the Uber of life – only called upon when needed, but otherwise largely forgotten. It is a false belief that God serves the sinners. In truth, Jesus is the Lord, and all men are the sinners. Man should be more concerned about God accepting him. It is only by God’s condescending mercy that are saved by the gospel of Jesus. He is the One in power, not his creatures.

For our soul to be saved, God must be understood as our Lord (Rom 10:9). Confession of Jesus as Lord and belief in the resurrection are cornerstones of saving faith. However, in many churches today, only Jesus’ role as Savior is emphasized, while Jesus’ role as Lord is mentioned as a mere footnote. This is a sad truth because true salvation is only in lordship salvation. Jesus’ role as Lord must be at the forefront of the salvific process. The evidence of true salvation, therefore, is obedience and holiness. Although it is sometimes mislabeled as legalistic, lordship salvation is, in fact, true salvation.

Lordship in the lives of Christians is essential to their faith and lives because Jesus is the Lord of all as stated in the Scriptures. In Acts 2:32-39, we see Jesus as Lord, raised up, exalted, victorious, sitting forever on the throne, full of power and majesty. Therefore, if Jesus is not the Lord of our lives, we have usurped this role for ourselves and must examine our hearts to repent. We must remember that in true salvation, there is a death of self and a commitment to live in Christ.

In the passage in Mark, we see a rich young ruler who has security, money, strength, youth, time, success, and an elite status. He is perceived as being blessed by God due to the plethora of wealth that belonged to him. He runs up to Jesus, kneels before Him, and asks, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (v.17). This rich young ruler is erred in thinking that he can gain eternal life by his own power. But Jesus answers Him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone” (v.18). Herein lies the starting point of the gospel—only God is good. He is holy. We are sinners that are incapable of keeping the law. Righteousness is not graded on a curve but measured against a holy God.

Jesus felt love for this man, who could not see his own doom because he did not perceive his own sin and wickedness. The ruler, not unlike Adam, boldly lies about His sin to God’s face. He claims he is an upstanding citizen that has kept every letter of the Jewish law from youth.

Despite the rich young ruler’s lie, Jesus kindly answers, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” (v.21). Jesus is commanding the rich young ruler to get rid of his idols – which is his wealth, youth, and status – and submit to His Lordship by first selling all his possessions then following Jesus wherever He goes. If the young man was to follow Jesus’ command, he would lose his money, tarnish his good standing with the community, and spend his youth traveling with a Lord who does not have a place to lay his head.

Lordship salvation comes at a cost. Salvation cannot be earned, because the cost of satisfying the wrath of God is too high for man. Our sin is our debt, and the price of sin is impossible for us to pay back. Only Jesus can pay the full price of our sin, and He paid it all. We contribute nothing. We are helpless. The divine exchange of our life for the life of Christ, therefore, demands that we give up everything and submit to the Lord Jesus Christ.

All men must count the cost of following Jesus first (Lk 14:25-33), so that they are not found disillusioned like the young rich ruler. Consider Jesus’ question, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the world and forfeits his soul?” (Mt 16:25-26) In light of this challenge, we must choose to forfeit the world and gain our souls.

Submission to the Lord is summed up by our obedience. We are called to love God with all our hearts. Man cannot serve two masters. The rich young ruler practiced unbelief and could not serve Jesus as Lord.

Jesus is the good Lord. He laid down His life for His sheep. He offers peace, joy, and keeps His promises. He leads and guides us. He causes all things to work for His glory and for our good. He is a sovereign and might God who loves His followers. Because of this, we can serve Him without reservation. We can trust Him because we know that He is good. We must obey and follow Him. Obedience is critical if God is to lead us to eternal life. Salvation without obedience won’t lead you to heaven’s gates. We must obey with love. We can do this because Jesus loved us first (Jn 15:13).  

Today’s passage exhibits the genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ. Genealogies are important because it preserves the record of historical figures that existed from generation to generation. They also show our roots, which in this case points back to Jesus’ roots as a man.

How does Luke’s genealogy record compare to Matthew’s account? At first glance, it appears as they are different with minimal similarities. Therefore, it begs the question which genealogy is accurate or if they’re both inaccurate. However, as both genealogies are recorded in the pages of Scripture, inspired by the Holy Spirit, we believe both records to be historically accurate. In Luke’s particular case, he reveals that he investigated everything carefully from the beginning… so that [we] may know the exact truth about the things [we] have been taught (Lk. 1:34). Archeology also evidences over time as historical artifacts become uncovered. Furthermore, if any part of Jesus’ genealogy contained false names, the first century unbelievers would have sought after the false information to discredit Jesus as the Messiah, but this was not the case.

Similarities between Matthew and Luke’s genealogy account

• Matthew and Luke 3:31-34
• Matthew 1:20 and Luke 3:27

Differences between Matthew and Luke’s genealogy account

• Matthew’s account is Joseph’s genealogy (legal line) whereas Luke’s account is Mary’s (blood line)
  • Although Mary’s name is never mentioned people argue this point as Nathan is an ancestor of Mary, not Joseph
• Matthew’s order is top-down whereas Luke’s order is bottom-up
• Matthew mention five women, but Luke omits women
• Matthew mentions Solomon whereas Luke mentions Nathan as the son of David
  • Jeremiah 22:28-30 – God cursed the line of Coniah; therefore, his descendants cannot be the King or Messiah
  • However, to better understand why Nathan is mentioned is due to several reasons, but most importantly because Jesus’ Messiahship does not depend on blood as He was born by the Spirit.

Although there are similarities and differences between the two abovementioned genealogies of Jesus Christ, we need to ask ourselves what Luke’s purpose is for including it in his gospel record in the third chapter. While chapters 1 thru the early part of chapter 3 shows the spiritual evidence of how Jesus became man, Luke also wanted to add additional evidence from man’s perspective to show Jesus as a true historical man. In other words, in chapter 3:22 heaven approved Jesus as the Son of Man and Luke adds an earthly approval of Jesus as a true historical man.

What Luke is trying to reveal about Jesus through the genealogy

• Jesus was truly man yet without sin
  • As man, Jesus is our representative, substitute, exemplary,
• Jesus as King
• Jesus as the second Adam
• Jesus as the Son of God

Luke’s ultimate purpose is to demonstrate that Jesus is truly God and His genealogy is one of many examples demonstrating the deity of Christ. Therefore, if Jesus is God, we must ask ourselves if Jesus is God in our own hearts. Jesus gave up Himself so that we might be saved. He came to save sinners but requires our repentance and to believe in Him as our personal Lord and Savior. And we must always examine our hearts to see which Jesus we believe in because we reflect that Jesus. Is the Jesus we hold on to the Jesus of the Bible who is God or a false Jesus that is an idol?