LUKE ACTS CLASS

i just had the COOLEST luke acts class ever.

k.

1. this girl that i really wanted to get to know (cause she seems super cool) was in my group today.

2. we were starting to look at historical context today and my group got the description of "SON OF GOD" for Jesus... and the places in scripture where thats used and what it would mean.

K.

Luke 3:21-22 & Luke 9:28-35 tell us the significance of God calling Jesus his son.

The first is at Jesus' baptism : you know, the one where the dove descends and God speaks for the first time in 400 years... and not even through a prophet but AUDIBLY! and everyone hears him say that JESUS is his son, the chosen one, with whom he is well pleased.

The latter is the transfiguration: where Jesus takes Peter and John up onto the mountain and Moses and Elijah appear (very much waited upon by Hebrews because many believed Moses had never died, and Elijah DIDNT.  Most Jews believed that sometime before the Messiah came these two prophets would come to speak again).  God again calls Jesus his chosen one and commands for all to listen to him.

Other scripture we studied could be located in : Luke 2:41-51 (12 year old in the temple : "father's house")

Luke 22:66-71 (answer to those trying him "I AM")

John 10:10 (Jesus has come to bring life, and life abundant : God gives life)

John 15:23 (hating Jesus is hating the father.  You cannot believe in YHWH and not in Jesus)

THEN IT GOT GOOD.

i love learning new things... and not in like an arrogant way but i feel like it happens so rarely in classes on scripture or in church... certainly i'm reminded of things but its rare that i learn brand new things that i've never heard of before! and i KNOW there is so much out there I DONT KNOW so its sorta frustrating that we never seem to break new ground.

but today we did!

k.  as we know, when a person in Hebrew culture said a phrase in an assembly they sometimes were referring to a larger passage from the Torah or from other major writings.  Hebrews who were brought up well all knew at least the Torah from memory if they had ANY education at all.  Others knew even more...

When God says : "This is my son, the chosen one, of whom I am well pleased."

he is quoting Psalm 2 and the 4 poems of the suffering servant which can be found in Isaiah.

( I LOVE THIS PART OF HEBREW CULTURE: it means theres so much more to be delved out)

first: 

Psalm 2

At first when we read this we were SUPER confused... 

why would God refer to this???

like... some of it makes sense... but DEFINITELY not most of it.

k... thank you to all of the bible commentators who are WAY smarter than me... and to Mr. Mark Duzik my bible professor who thought we should take the time to study the history of sayings in the N.T.  I learned today that Psalm 2 is a coronation song.

They would sing this when a new king was crowned in Israel.

Why are ^(A)the nations in an uproar
         And the peoples ^(B)devising a vain thing? 
    2The ^(C)kings of the earth take their stand
         And the rulers take counsel together
         ^(D)Against the LORD and against His ^[a](E)Anointed, saying, 
    3"Let us ^(F)tear their fetters apart
         And cast away their cords from us!" 
    4He who ^[b]sits in the heavens ^(G)laughs,
         The Lord ^(H)scoffs at them. 
    5Then He will speak to them in His ^(I)anger
         And ^(J)terrify them in His fury, saying, 
    6"But as for Me, I have installed ^(K)My King
         Upon Zion, ^(L)My holy mountain." 
    7"I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD:
         He said to Me, 'You are ^(M)My Son,
         Today I have begotten You. 
    8'Ask of Me, and ^(N)I will surely give ^(O)the nations as Your inheritance,
         And the very ^(P)ends of the earth as Your possession. 
    9'You shall ^[c](Q)break them with a rod of iron,
         You shall ^(R)shatter them like earthenware.'" 
    10Now therefore, O kings, ^(S)show discernment;
         Take warning, O ^[d]judges of the earth. 
    11Worship the LORD with ^(T)reverence
         And rejoice with ^(U)trembling. 
    12Do homage to ^(V)the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,
         For ^(W)His wrath may ^[e]soon be kindled 
         How blessed are all who ^(X)take refuge in Him!

So when God said that Jesus was his son in Luke 3:21-22 every Jew in the place was immediately realizing that this coronation passage from their history (which had recently been thought to describe the Messiah) and was immediately thinking... JESUS IS A KING.

and not only that surface answer but that he had the nations for an inheritance and the earth for a possession.

That Jesus would use his rod (*symbol of power and authority) to shatter the nations (who have just been described as plotting against the Lord).

So... the promise to all the people present and us today is that we will be "blessed [should we] take refuge in Him!"(v. 12).

BUT.

Israel expected their Messiah to be a king... so while this was amazing... 

it didn't have the shock value that the second part did...

SERVANTHOOD.

Until this moment, the 4 poems in Isaiah of the Suffering Servant were never thought of as messianic.  When God referenced them with the words "the chosen one, with whom I am well pleased" everyone was stunned.  

Heres Isaiah 53 One of the 4

52:13 Behold, my servant shall prosper,

he shall be exalted and lifted up,

and shall be very high.

52:14 As many were astonished at him 

his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,

and his form beyond that of the sons of men 

52:15 so shall he sprinkle many nations;

kings shall shut their mouths because of him;

for that which has not been told them they shall see,

and that which they have not heard they shall understand.

53:1 Who has believed our message?

And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

53:2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,

and like a root out of dry ground;

he had no form or comeliness that we should look at him,

and no beauty that we should desire him.

53:3 He was despised and rejected by men;

a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;

and as one from whom men hide their faces

he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

53:4 Surely he has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows;

yet we esteemed him stricken,

smitten by God, and afflicted.

53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions,

he was bruised for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that made us whole,

and with his stripes we are healed.

53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray;

we have turned every one to his own way;

and the LORD has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

yet he opened not his mouth;

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

and like a sheep that before its shearers is dumb,

so he opened not his mouth.

53:8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;

and as for his generation, who considered

that he was cut off out of the land of the living,

stricken for the transgression of my people?

53:9 And they made his grave with the wicked

and with a rich man in his death,

although he had done no violence,

and there was no deceit in his mouth.

53:10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to bruise him;

he has put him to grief;

when he makes himself an offering for sin,

he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days;

the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand;

53:11 he shall see the fruit of the travail of his soul and be satisfied;

by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,

make many to be accounted righteous;

and he shall bear their iniquities.

53:12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great,

and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;

because he poured out his soul to death,

and was numbered with the transgressors;

yet he bore the sin of many,

and made intercession for the transgressors. 

The people of Israel would have been very confused.... status was extremely important to their day... how could someone be both a servant AND a king??

As Jesus' divinity is very much debated upon I asked my professor about his opinion on Jesus' knowledge of his task at this point.

How human was Jesus' humanity?  Did he KNOW he would be giving up his life?  Did he KNOW that these prophesies were all about him before this point?

Obviously no one knows but I was wondering about the general opinion...

if anything... he at least knew it THEN.  no doubts in his mind...

I thnk its just soooo interesting to read from Israel's perspective.  I've thought about Jesus as a servant a hundred times alongside his being a KING... but to realize through their history how they discovered that for the first time... after expecting something totally different... how STRANGE they must have thought Jesus!?!

I thought it was interesting:1. I hadn't thought about Isaiah 53 in a while... Its funny because I CANNOT think of it without conjuring up memories from 5th grade.  Matt Opitz asked us to prepare and pray over something we could say on a video about Jesus being a lamb.  I remember i was doing my bible reading in the morning and I read that passage in Isaiah. 

it was the first time I'd ever heard that passage.

I remember those days... when I was first understanding that Jesus spoke to me through his word.

That prophecy was AWAKENED and made alive to me without the illumination of a pastor.

drawing connections on my own and realizing that chapter 53 was utterly and completely about my amazing savior.

He was led like a lamb to the slaughter and like a sheep before his shearers was silent.

Jesus was the ultimate servant king.

i remember that when we went to be recorded for the christmas video I was so excited to share what I'd found but Ari went before me and her mom had shown her the verse.  She said it into the microphone and for some reason my heart fell... 

I think i wanted the glory (somewhat innocently) of being able to show that I had found it by myself with Jesus... to let everyone know that even though I was a 5th grader God had shown me something that some people might not know.

I remember I didn't say it

I made something up on the spot.  Something hackneyed that they didn't even put into the video.

but... that moment on my bed with Jesus... I cried a little to myself.

What a good God I love.  Preparing for all time the greatest rescue of all time.  the best love story.  That his king, his lion of Judah would become a lamb to save me.

Sing, Oh Holy One, your prepared encouragement.