Luke Bible Study, Day 6
Today’s passage: Luke 3:1–20
Focus verse: “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” (Luke 3:11)
Our timeline jumps forward eighteen years, and we pick up the story with John the Baptist—John for short. This is the second time we hear about him. And there will be one more time that Luke weaves him into Jesus’s story.
We begin with a curious phrase that’s easy to overlook. Luke writes that the word of God came to John. This is another case of the Holy Spirit providing God-given instruction to his people.
Though we don’t know what this instruction is, we do know that John acts. He goes on a tour in the area, a circuit preacher of sorts. His message is simple.
He baptizes people who are sorry for the wrong things they’ve done and want to turn their life around. The Bible uses the words sin and repentance to describe this.
John’s message spreads, and throngs flock to him so he can baptize them. However, instead of embracing this and seeing it as affirmation of his work, he challenges the people. “You’re a brood of snakes.”
That’s no way to grow a ministry or amass a following.
But baptism isn’t enough. John wants to see changed lives too.
The people ask him to explain what they should do.
John starts by giving a general instruction for them to produce fruit—that is, do good things—to confirm they’ve changed.
Then he gives two specific examples. He says anyone with two shirts (or two of anything, I suppose) should give one to someone who’s shirtless. Even more convicting, he says anyone with food should share with someone who’s hungry.
Next, he gives some specific examples of two occupations, jobs that don’t command the respect of the Jewish people. One group is tax collectors—who historically exploited the people. The other group is soldiers—who often abused their power.
To the tax collectors John says, “Don’t collect more than what you’re supposed to.” And to the soldiers, presumably Roman soldiers, John gives three instructions.
First, “Don’t extort money.”
Next, “Don’t falsely accuse anyone.” Last, “Be content with your pay.”
This is quite a list. Let’s put these items into today’s context:
- Give your extra possessions to those in need.
- Share food with the hungry.
- Be fair and honest in financial dealings.
- Don’t use our position to wrongly increase our wealth.
- Don’t accuse people without proof.
- Don’t complain about our paychecks.
Though we think of John’s message as baptism, we miss the point. His real message is changing our behavior. Baptism isn’t the end; it’s the beginning.
Questions:
What should we do to show others our baptism was real?
What should we change in our lives to thank Jesus for what he’s done for us?
[Discover more about putting our faith into action in James 2:14–26. Read more about John the Baptist in Luke 7:18–35.]
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Read more about the book of Luke in Dear Theophilus: A 40-Day Devotional Exploring the Life of Jesus through the Gospel of Luke, now available in ebook, paperback, and hardcover.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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