Daily Bread Luke 3
Daily Bread Luke 3
7John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."
10"What should we do then?" the crowd asked.
11John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."
12Tax collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?"
13"Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told
them. 14Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely—be content with your pay."
Observation:
As the people all come out to check out John the Baptist, John made it clear what it would mean to follow Jesus. The mark of someone who was ready to follow Jesus was not who they were related to, but the condition of their hearts.
Although Abraham was who the promise originally came through, the promise was meant to be for all people. As the promise was now coming to the people in the flesh, the true preparation was not based on ancestry but being willing to turn from reliance on self to produce good fruit.
In Luke’s eyes this meant, sharing with those in need if you had plenty, not collecting more taxes than was due to someone, and not extorting money and accusing falsely to get paid more.
Application:
For Luke, getting ready for Jesus meant righting the wrongs in society, including the discrepancy between the rich and the poor. Luke had a concern for the poor and marginalized. Often we see sin as the sins of the flesh and acts of commission. But Luke points out that sometimes sin is knowing the good we should do, and not doing it. We call this sins of “omission”.
Like when we see someone in need and walk on by, this is something to repent of as much as lust or anger. Part of what Jesus comes to judge is not just the bad things in our lives, but also the lack of good things, or good fruit. In another passage it says a good tree bears good fruit, it cannot bear bad fruit.
Meaning if we are in a right relationship with God good things like sharing with those in need will flow from that relationship.
Prayer: God help us to repent from not sharing with those in need and taking advantage of others even in subtle ways. Help us to be content with you have given us and work so that all get a decent wage for their labor. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
7John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."
10"What should we do then?" the crowd asked.
11John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."
12Tax collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?"
13"Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told
them. 14Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely—be content with your pay."
Observation:
As the people all come out to check out John the Baptist, John made it clear what it would mean to follow Jesus. The mark of someone who was ready to follow Jesus was not who they were related to, but the condition of their hearts.
Although Abraham was who the promise originally came through, the promise was meant to be for all people. As the promise was now coming to the people in the flesh, the true preparation was not based on ancestry but being willing to turn from reliance on self to produce good fruit.
In Luke’s eyes this meant, sharing with those in need if you had plenty, not collecting more taxes than was due to someone, and not extorting money and accusing falsely to get paid more.
Application:
For Luke, getting ready for Jesus meant righting the wrongs in society, including the discrepancy between the rich and the poor. Luke had a concern for the poor and marginalized. Often we see sin as the sins of the flesh and acts of commission. But Luke points out that sometimes sin is knowing the good we should do, and not doing it. We call this sins of “omission”.
Like when we see someone in need and walk on by, this is something to repent of as much as lust or anger. Part of what Jesus comes to judge is not just the bad things in our lives, but also the lack of good things, or good fruit. In another passage it says a good tree bears good fruit, it cannot bear bad fruit.
Meaning if we are in a right relationship with God good things like sharing with those in need will flow from that relationship.
Prayer: God help us to repent from not sharing with those in need and taking advantage of others even in subtle ways. Help us to be content with you have given us and work so that all get a decent wage for their labor. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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