Characters at the Cradle: Zechariah, Father of John the Baptist
A Moment of Hope
by David Chadwick John was the long awaited son to Zechariah and Elizabeth. His birth paved the way for Jesus’s birth. His voice prepared the way of the Lord. His life pointed to the soon and coming King. Luke 1:16-17 says this of John: “And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.” The personal calling of John’s life in God’s story grabs my heart every...
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Characters at the Cradle: Zechariah’s Angelic Visitation
A Moment of Hope
by David Chadwick The story of Zechariah continues in Luke 1:8-15, which we will look at today. While serving as priest, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple during a high holy feast. Take note that even the drawing of straws is under the sovereign hand of Almighty God according to Proverbs 16:33. We serve a mighty God who has a timing and purpose for everything! Undoubtedly, while serving in the temple, Zechariah prayed for Israel, as all priests regularly did. However, I would suppose he also prayed fervently for a child, and probably more specifically a son, as sons were considered a...
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Characters at the Cradle: Zechariah Introduction
A Moment of Hope
by David Chadwick This week, we begin our series called “Characters at the Cradle.” Join me as we explore the major characters whose lives intersected with Jesus’s life as he entered into this world through a cradle in a manger. Zechariah is our first character. We will spend an entire week looking at his life and exploring why he is so important to the incarnation of Jesus. Luke was very careful to tell his readers exactly what was going on when Zechariah entered the story. Luke 1:5-7 begins by giving us several important insights into Zechariah’s life. He came on the scene...
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A Look at Luke: The Certainty of Things Taught
A Moment of Hope
by David Chadwick Luke wanted Theophilus, and any future readers, to know the certainty of things taught (Luke 1:4). How were truths passed on during these biblical times? First, through oral tradition. Never underestimate the ability of people to remember what has been taught to them verbally. For some in Luke’s day, this was the only way to transmit truths to future generations. Therefore, people repeated truths through families, in public arenas, and within gatherings in order to both learn and pass on information. Without oral tradition, truths and generational realities were lost....
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A Look at Luke: Friend to Theophilus
A Moment of Hope
by David Chadwick Luke wrote the Gospel of Luke as a letter to the “most excellent Theophilus” (verse 4). Who is Theophilus? This friend to Luke is another important piece in understanding who authored this book. Luke was a Greek, undoubtedly impassioned to reach those like himself. This should inspire each of us. We, most likely, have been given keys by God to reach others like us as well. Maybe you are a businessman. You have skills and knowledge to reach other businessmen. Maybe you are a mom. Chances are you have unique insights to reach other moms. And so on and so forth. Theophilus...
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A Look at Luke: The Importance of Eyewitnesses
A Moment of Hope
by David Chadwick The Gospel of Luke gives an account of the life of Jesus that is significant. Written by a physician with a tremendous attention to detail, Luke’s perspective was heavily focused on the important reality that God took on human flesh to accomplish his mission. What else do we know about Luke? Let’s keep unpacking Luke 1:1-4. Dr. Luke counted on the testimonies of actual eyewitnesses. He emphasized in verse 2 that his compilations included information delivered to him from “those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word.” It seems as though...
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A Look at Luke: The Beloved Physician
A Moment of Hope
by David Chadwick As we continue to learn more about Luke in order to further appreciate this New Testament author, let’s turn our eyes back to Luke 1:1-4. What else does Scripture teach us about him? Luke was a physician. In fact, Paul called him “the beloved physician” in Colossians 4:14. Apparently, Dr. Luke joined Paul in his missionary journeys in Acts 16:10-11, and they obviously became close friends. He may have even cared for Paul physically when he was imprisoned and/or in peril. We all know that Jesus, the Great Physician, is the ultimate supernatural healer. But it is clear...
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A Look at Luke: God Took on Flesh
A Moment of Hope
by David Chadwick This week, throughout the Christmas season, and even into the new year, our church is going to be doing an in-depth study of the Gospel of Luke. After doing a brief overview of Luke himself, we will be looking more specifically at the characters at the cradle. Somewhere along the way, from the conception of Jesus until his birth, you will see how each of these characters had a divine intersection with the incarnation of Jesus– the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This week, we will focus on Luke 1:1-4. Let’s take a look at Dr. Luke. Who was he? To whom was he writing?...
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Money Matters: So What? Or So That!
A Moment of Hope
by Marilynn Chadwick Are you growing in your faith merely to become a “deeper” disciple? I call this a “so what” faith. I believe Jesus is calling us to more. God’s Word urges us to grow in our faith “so that” we’ll give our lives away to the least and lost. I hope our lessons from the Gospel of Luke will encourage us to reflect on the question, “Is my life a so what or a so that?” How can we make a difference in our world? Remember how Jesus always noticed the least and the lost. So often the poor are invisible to us. We may have to ask the Holy Spirit to help us regain...
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Money Matters: God Loves Small Things
A Moment of Hope
by Marilynn Chadwick Luke stresses the importance of the widow’s sacrificial gift. Jesus tells us the Father loves this kind of faith. We bring him glory when we trust him as our loving Provider. Such a message is vastly different from what the religious leaders were teaching. Jesus rebukes them, “What sorrow also awaits you experts in religious law! For you crush people with unbearable religious demands, and you never lift a finger to ease the burden” (Luke 11:46 NLT). Can you imagine? These teachers of the law even got mad when Jesus healed someone on the Sabbath. Luke encourages us to...
info_outlineby Marilynn Chadwick
Luke’s Gospel emphasizes society’s outcasts—those lacking in power, prestige, and money. He tells stories of Jesus’s kindness toward women, the weak, and the powerless. But he gives an especially prominent place to the poor. Luke flips society’s “script” about who has value and who does not, a motif sometimes called the “divine reversal.”
The proper attitude toward possessions is also a major theme in Luke. He shines a glaring light on the use and abuse of money. This theme repeats itself again and again as Jesus contrasts the dangers of wealth with the virtues of generosity—and more specifically, the gifts of the rich compared to the gift of the poor widow (Luke 21:1-4).
Money, for Jesus, appears to be a litmus test for one’s spiritual condition. Luke presents us with several snapshots of Jesus’s teaching on money. Earlier, Jesus had warned his disciples to watch out for the “leaven,” or teaching, of the hypocritical Pharisees (Luke 12:1). He challenged his followers on the upside-down nature of heaven’s value system, warning them not to trust in riches. “Sell your possessions and give to the poor” he encouraged them. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:33,34 NIV).
It’s no secret where the Pharisees’ treasure resided. Luke tells us plainly they were philargyros, or “lovers of money” (Luke 16:14). Money was at the core of their corruption.
Jesus warns that those who have not been “faithful with dishonest wealth” cannot be trusted with true [eternal] riches (Luke 16:11). He warns that no one can serve both God and wealth (16:13). Other versions translate mamonas, or “wealth,” as “mammon,” personifying the deity-like quality of money (KJV). In short, these religious leaders worshiped money.
The worship of money was a stumbling block for the rich young ruler who asked Jesus for the way to “inherit eternal life.” Jesus answered him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich” (Luke 18:22,23 ESV).
In contrast, Zacchaeus was a despised tax collector and known as a great “sinner.” But his heartfelt response to Jesus upon receiving salvation was to cry out, “Look, Lord! Here and now, I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount [double what the law required]” (Luke 19:8 NIV).
Luke shows how true repentance dramatically impacted Zacchaeus’s relationship with money. When we truly encounter Jesus, it naturally follows that we loosen our grip on this world. Think about the words of this beautiful old hymn, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”