Luke 3:1-38
This passage tells us of John's ministry as well as the beginning of Christ's ministry. There are several things that stood out to me about the way John went about his job as well as the genealogy of Christ.
JOHN WAS FAITHFUL: He knew what he was called to do and he did it with faithfulness and excellence. His job was not an easy one, but it was his and he did it with all of his heart. Nothing less is expected of us. Any task that the Lord would entrust to us is an honor. All He expects of us is that we be faithful with that which He has given. The place John ministered was not very comfortable, the people to whom he ministered were not very pleasant and the perks of his job were virtually not existent. Still he was faithful.
JOHN WAS HUMBLE: There were those who mistook John for Messiah. He would have none of it. He knew who he was and he had no intentions of allowing others to think of him in a way that was not true. John's job was to prepare the way for Christ and he was not interested in promoting himself. I am afraid that there are many of us in ministry today that fail this test of humility. We enjoy the praise of men so much that we fail to point all glory to Christ as John so humbly did.
JOHN WAS PRACTICAL: His teaching is down to earth and straight to the point. When he is asked by various groups of people what they should do, John jumps straight to the chase. He tells them to be generous with their possessions, honest with their work and kind to those who are under them. Too often, our teachings seems to get bogged down by long theological titles that we spend so much time trying to define that there is no time left to apply. John did not teach like this, he told men what they needed to hear and how they needed to live. He was practical.
JOHN WAS CONFRONTATIONAL: The people of John's day were living in complete disregard of the will and Word of God. The political leaders of his day were doing whatever they wanted without any care about what was right or wrong. Does not sound too different from our day. John did not care about the public opinion polls nor did he fear the power of men. He called men to turn from their sin no matter what their station in life. In our day of political correctness, far too many preachers would rather tickle ears than ruffle feathers. John was a feather ruffler and was used of God to change many hearts.
THE GENEALOGY OF CHRIST: There are a few things about these men that crossed my mind as I read the list of the genealogy of Jesus. First, I notice that there are some OBSTINATE men. None of them were perfect in fact many of them have glaring faults and sins. This gives me hope. However, I also note that many of them were OBEDIENT. We may recognize their failures, but we must also take note of the fact that they trusted and obeyed God in many circumstances that would have made many of us cower. What really jumped out at me as I waded through the list, was that most of the men were very OBSCURE. Very few of us could name most of them even minutes after reading their names. What is exciting to me is that nothing and nobody is obscure to our Father.
JOHN WAS FAITHFUL: He knew what he was called to do and he did it with faithfulness and excellence. His job was not an easy one, but it was his and he did it with all of his heart. Nothing less is expected of us. Any task that the Lord would entrust to us is an honor. All He expects of us is that we be faithful with that which He has given. The place John ministered was not very comfortable, the people to whom he ministered were not very pleasant and the perks of his job were virtually not existent. Still he was faithful.
JOHN WAS HUMBLE: There were those who mistook John for Messiah. He would have none of it. He knew who he was and he had no intentions of allowing others to think of him in a way that was not true. John's job was to prepare the way for Christ and he was not interested in promoting himself. I am afraid that there are many of us in ministry today that fail this test of humility. We enjoy the praise of men so much that we fail to point all glory to Christ as John so humbly did.
JOHN WAS PRACTICAL: His teaching is down to earth and straight to the point. When he is asked by various groups of people what they should do, John jumps straight to the chase. He tells them to be generous with their possessions, honest with their work and kind to those who are under them. Too often, our teachings seems to get bogged down by long theological titles that we spend so much time trying to define that there is no time left to apply. John did not teach like this, he told men what they needed to hear and how they needed to live. He was practical.
JOHN WAS CONFRONTATIONAL: The people of John's day were living in complete disregard of the will and Word of God. The political leaders of his day were doing whatever they wanted without any care about what was right or wrong. Does not sound too different from our day. John did not care about the public opinion polls nor did he fear the power of men. He called men to turn from their sin no matter what their station in life. In our day of political correctness, far too many preachers would rather tickle ears than ruffle feathers. John was a feather ruffler and was used of God to change many hearts.
THE GENEALOGY OF CHRIST: There are a few things about these men that crossed my mind as I read the list of the genealogy of Jesus. First, I notice that there are some OBSTINATE men. None of them were perfect in fact many of them have glaring faults and sins. This gives me hope. However, I also note that many of them were OBEDIENT. We may recognize their failures, but we must also take note of the fact that they trusted and obeyed God in many circumstances that would have made many of us cower. What really jumped out at me as I waded through the list, was that most of the men were very OBSCURE. Very few of us could name most of them even minutes after reading their names. What is exciting to me is that nothing and nobody is obscure to our Father.
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