Category Archives: Bible Study

LUKE’S GOSPEL…THE NEW COVENANT – 25

Bible Study, , ,

“On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.””

‭‭Luke‬ ‭10‬:‭25‬-‭28‬ ‭NIV‬‬

When I was researching the subject of prayer in the Bible several years ago, the Holy Spirit alerted me to the truth that there is a difference in the requirements in relation to prayer between the Old and New Covenants. I had never been taught this as a young believer nor had I myself ever recognised this truth in all the years of my study of Scripture. 

What a liberating and life-changing discovery this was to me! The entire Old Covenant revolves around “Do this …and you will live. “ The New Covenant, by contrast, assures us…”Believe, and you will live because it is done.”

Now, let’s unpack Jesus’ answer to this enquiry in light of the above reality. 

There are several key words and ideas in this encounter, which are confirmed in the context of other Scriptures, that clearly differentiate between the two covenants and between what our focus should be when we pray. 

The first word Jesus used in reply to the question, “What must  I do to inherit eternal life?” was “the Law”. He replied, “What is written in the Law?” Jesus’ answer, in the form of a question, was to refer the enquirer back to the Torah, the foundation of the Old Covenant. The operative principle of the Old Covenant was obedience to the Law.  

In this context, Jesus agreed with his answer.  “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” The first key word, then, is “Do!”followed by the 

second key word,”Live.” 

However, the entire history of Israel is the record of abject failure to obey this one overriding commandment. They could not keep this commandment…because the Law provided the standard but their sinful human nature made it impossible to keep. They were doomed from the start.  

Imagine this enquirer’s frustration at Jesus’ answer! He already knew that he could not obey this commandment. So, if perfect obedience to this one commandment was out of reach for him, what else could he do to be sure of his eternal destiny? 

Jesus left him hanging because the real answer lay in an event, planned in eternity but still to happen. 

This “expert in the law” was out of solutions because he was up against a problem outside of his control. The impenetrable barrier of sin separated him from a holy God. Even if he could perfectly obey the greatest commandment from that moment on, his past would always be there to accuse him. No amount of animal blood could erase his history. Under the Old Covenant, no matter how much he did or how hard he tried, this so-called expert was doomed. 

Did Jesus answer this enquirer in this way to drive home the reality of the Law’s failure to save anyone, even the experts who thought they knew everything?

Jesus’ real answer came in a scene of intimacy with His twelve closest associates. 

“When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭22‬:‭14‬-‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Picture the scene. This was the final Passover celebration in all of history before its fulfilment in the next few hours! When Jesus breathed His final breath, the Old Covenant became obsolete and the New Covenant took over. 

“For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said: “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah…By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭8‬:‭7, 13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Now, let’s examine the terms and requirements of the New Covenant. First, loving God is not an obligation according to the Law but a response to God’s love for us.  

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins…We love because he first loved us.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭9‬-‭10‬, ‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Second, we demonstrate our love for Jesus by loving His people. 

“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

‭‭John‬ ‭13‬:‭34‬-‭35‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Third, both Paul and John summarised all the terms and requirements of the New Covenant in these two simple statements…

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭13‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭3‬:‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

…and these requirements are made possible because the Holy Spirit lives in us.  

“The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭3‬:‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The New Covenant sets us free from all obligations of the Ikd Covenant. because of our inability to “do”. The New Covenant declares that Jesus fulfilled all the obligations of the Old Covenant for us and cancelled our the guilt of our disobedience by paying our debt for us. It calls us to believe and receive what He has done for us and to respond by loving His people. 

Can we do this? Yes we can because His Spirit is in us to give us power to overcome our old nature and to renew our minds with the truth of what God has done. Moment by moment, day by day, little by little, He is at work in us, restoring the image of Jesus in us until we begin to resemble Him. 

“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭3‬:‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Now, for those who are under the New Covenant, prayer changes from “please” to “thank you”. We are no longer required to do in order to approach God because, through Jesus, it is done. 

To b continued…

LUKE’S GOSPEL…A DONE DEAL – 24

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“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go…. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road….The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.””

‭‭Luke‬ ‭10‬:‭1‬, ‭3‬-‭4‬, ‭17‬-‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Why did Jesus send a second contingent of disciples to prepare for His mission to Israel? Was He simply duplicating His previous preparation? 

I am indebted to Dr Michael Heiser for an interesting explanation. 

Since Jesus never did anything without a significant purpose, there was some specific meaning to this instruction. He sent another group of followers, this time seventy, or alternatively seventy-two…the number is of no consequence…ahead of Him to prepare the way for His coming, with the same instructions He had given to the twelve. 

According to Dr Heiser, in Genesis 10, the table of nations, records the seventy nations (or seventy-two depending on the breakdown of clans), descending from Noah after the flood. 

Is it not possible, then, that Jesus sent seventy-two of His representatives to prepare for His mission to the Gentile nations as well as to the Jews? His outburst against the Jewish towns that rejected Him, and His reference to Gentile places that had welcomed Him, seem to confirm this notion. 

Now let’s look at Jesus’ response to the report these seventy-two disciples brought of the success of their mission. 

“He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven…At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭10‬:‭18‬, ‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus was excited…yes…excited because the disciples brought back a report that confirmed something that had already happened in the heavenly realm.

“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven,” from Luke 10:18, means Jesus affirmed his ultimate authority over evil, seeing Satan’s fall as swift and final, referencing his initial rebellion and cast-out status, and showing that even as disciples cast out demons, it was a sign of Satan’s ongoing, but doomed, defeat and the greater joy of salvation, not just temporary power over devils.“…

…”In essence, it’s a declaration that Satan is a defeated foe, and the work of Jesus and His followers is the ongoing manifestation of that ultimate, swift, and irreversible downfall, leading to greater spiritual realities than just earthly power.”

(Source: Google AI)

What does Jesus’ response to His followers mean to us today? 

Just as these seventy-two followers met with no resistance because Satan was already defeated and under judgment, so should  we, who fall into the same category as these men, expect the same result. As Jesus’ followers, we have been given the mandate to announce the presence of God’s kingdom with the same authority and power as they had, and should expect the same effect. 

Why, then, does it seem that we are powerless to do the same work as these people did? Is it not possible that many of God’s children have shifted the purpose of their mission from announcing and demonstrating the presence of the kingdom of God to doing miracles for miracles’s sake. 

However, Jesus added a sobering warning. “Don’t let this success go to your heads!”

“However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.””

‭‭Luke‬ ‭10‬:‭20‬ ‭NIV

How easy it is to become inflated with self-importance when God’s kingdom breaks into our realm in response to His power at work through us. We need to keep a realistic attitude at all times. This is not about us. This is about His grace at work in us first. 

Jesus was adamant and clear that His works demonstrated, first, that the reign of God had come and was among and in His people…

“But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭12‬:‭28‬ ‭NIV‬‬

…and, second, that He had authority to do the works of the Father because He is the Son of God. 

“Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭4‬:‭41‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”

‭‭John‬ ‭5‬:‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!””

‭‭Mark‬ ‭2‬:‭10‬-‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

How important that we, the representatives of Jesus on earth, have the focus and perspective of Jesus. He was always about God’s kingdom and so should we be, both in our lives and in our mission. 

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭33‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Perhaps, with this in mind, we might see much more of the evidence of His reign here on earth than we do when we are obsessed with doing miracles rather than with the presence and rule of Jesus among us. 

To be continued…

LUKE’S GOSPEL…A PERVERSE GENERATION – 23

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“The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.” “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the impure spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. And they were all amazed at the greatness of God…”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭9‬:‭37‬-‭43‬a NIV‬‬

A perverse generation! What did He mean?

“In the Bible, “perverse” means a deliberate, twisted turning away from God’s moral standards, involving crooked speech, corrupt actions, and a hardened heart that rejects what is right, often linked to distorting justice or truth, and seen as contrary to divine wisdom, with Hebrew terms like iqqesh (crooked/twisted) and Greek diastrepho (distort) highlighting this deviation from God’s upright path.”

A perverse generation, in this context, seems to refer, not to that particular generation in general but to that particular group of people who had turned around…that is, away from faith to unbelief…In this circumstance, why was Jesus’ rebuke so meaningful? 

First, to whom did Jesus address this harsh rebuke? To the crowd? No. They were merely onlookers. To the father of the boy? Not likely, since he had brought his son to the disciples in good faith that they could help him. Obviously, He was addressing His disciples because they were the ones who were supposed to be doing the healing. 

Did Jesus really mean that His disciples had turned away from the revelation He had given them of Himself as the Messiah? Were they really perverse in their attitude to His Word and His kingdom? 

Let’s examine the context of Jesus’ rebuke. 

Luke records, in the previous chapters, a plethora of situations in which the disciples had either taken part in Jesus’ miracles or witnessed Jesus’ power. For example, He had sent them out to announce the kingdom with power and authority to demonstrate the nature of the kingdom. They returned with stories of miracles that had accompanied their preaching. 

Jesus had fed five thousand plus people with the lunch of a small child. At Caesarea Philippi, He  had assured them of the power of His yoke that would transform people from idolaters to members of His church…and much more. 

Now, faced with a demon that was particularly stubborn and vicious, as reported in Mark 9:17-27, the disciples were intimidated and powerless. Why had they retreated? 

Jesus chided them for turning around, from faith to unbelief. They had been influenced by the circumstances. They had been facing the wrong way. They had forgotten the witness of the power of Jesus and the power of the kingdom within them. They were deceived and overwhelmed by the demonstration of the demon’s antics and had turned around. 

After the upheaval had quietened down, the squatter demon evicted, and the disciples alone with Jesus, the guilty ones inevitably asked why? Where had they gone wrong?

Jesus’ response might seem surprising to us. Luke didn’t bring closure to this incident, so, we must turn to Mark’s record for completion. 

“After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭9‬:‭28‬-‭29‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Although Jesus’ reply may seem broad and incomplete, what He said was loaded. What did He mean by “prayer”? Were the disciples meant to pray before they dealt with the demon? I think His reply went much deeper than that. 

Prayer is, in essence, the communion with the Father, through Jesus, by the power of the Spirit, that allows us access into the very circle and heart of the Trinity. Prayer is much more than getting God to do things. This idea is distortion of the Father/child relationship Jesus has made possible through His atoning death. 

It is in the intimacy of this relationship that we have fellowship with the triune God. The more we gaze at God’s glory in Jesus, through prayer and contemplation, the more we grow in confidence in the authority and power of the Son. 

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭3‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This is the pinnacle of prayer. Armed, then, with this conviction, no demonic resistance or any other adverse circumstances can defy the power of that name. Focusing on circumstances diminished faith. Focusing on Jesus despite circumstances releases invincible power. 

Without the prayer that seeks greater intimacy and greater fellowship that bonds us to Jesus, prayer and faith remain flabby and ineffective. By communion with God in prayer, and contemplation of the glory of Jesus, we grow in the conviction of who He is and commitment to the power of His word to do what He has promised. 

How often Jesus’ accusation can apply to us when we are so intimidated by what is happening that we turn around and look the wrong way. Jesus called this “perverse”. Faith in the authority of the one who has spoken defies all odds and releases heaven’s resources to do what His word  has said. 

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11‬:‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

To be continued…

LUKE’S GOSPEL…THE REAL JESUS – 22

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“About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem…While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭9‬:‭28‬-‭31‬, ‭34‬-‭36‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I wonder what impact this unveiling of the real Jesus had on Peter, James, and John. What were the flashbacks that surfaced in their memories in their quiet moments? Flashbacks happen to people who have had sudden, dramatic experiences that stain their memories and intrude uninvited…often really bad things that cause serious emotional distress. 

Unlike traumatic experiences that are unforgettably painful, Jesus’ transfiguration must have been both exciting and puzzling.  What was the three men’s initial reaction. Fear! They were so scared that they couldn’t look at Him! What! Not overwhelmed with His majesty, beauty, grandeur? Not thrilled with His power and authority? Just plain terrified!

Matthew reports that the voice of the Father frightened them. 

“While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.””

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭17‬:‭5‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Mark reported that the vision of Jesus terrified them…Peter blurted out the first thing that came into his head…good old Peter! 

“Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭9‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It seems that the whole episode was so terrifying that the disciples were completely unnerved. Get this! This was no “near death experience,” where they were in the heavenly realm where there were new experience and understanding of heavenly realities. 

This was heaven breaking into earth…

To be continued…

LUKE’S GOSPEL…THE KINGDOM WITHIN – 21

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“And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭9‬:‭22‬-‭25 NIV‬‬

How in the world does this disclosure fit with the words Jesus has just spoken to His disciples? He promised to build a church so strong that nothing in hell could break it! Now He’s talking about dying. The Son of God dying! How crazy is that!

Jesus was speaking words far above the understanding of His twelve followers and, as so often, above the mindset of many, if not most of His followers today. The notion of a kingdom entered only through death makes no sense to sane-thinking people. 

In the natural world, birth spells the beginning of new life and citizenship which cannot be taken away. Even if one relocates to another country, one forever remains an expatriot in a foreign land. Dual citizenship I guaranteed. 

However, God’s kingdom functions on a completely different principle which Jesus’ disciples struggled to understand. Only after Pentecost, when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples first, and then on all who believe in Jesus, regardless of birth or nationality, brought understanding and full participation in this kingdom, did God’s spiritual realities make sense. 

Jesus had sown the seeds of truth in many parables and illustrations about the nature of this kingdom. The coming of the Holy Spirit lit the fire  of understanding…Jesus’ words came alive in  their spirits…and the disciples went out to announce the arrival of this kingdom to the world. 

Unlike the entrance of the newborn into the land of its birth, the door into God’s kingdom begins with death. Why? There is no access for sinners into the eternal presence of a holy God. Sin is the impenetrable barrier between God and humans. 

However, God accepts a sinless sacrifice to atone for the sin of the world. However, not one human qualified, so He came Himself to pay the price. For the disciples, this truth was unthinkable because they were schooled to believe that the promised Messiah would come as a conquering hero to usher in a kingdom in the pattern of their great ancestor, King David. 

The minds of these men were closed to the thought of their leader dying. To them, sin was not the issue. The Roman oppressors were! It would take the horrific death of their Master and His miraculous return from the tomb finally to convince them that this kingdom was both of another realm and powerfully real. 

However, if the establishment of this supernatural kingdom on earth happened through the death of its king, so does the membership of this kingdom in the hearts of its citizens. No one can gatecrash this kingdom. One must first die to enter. 

Jesus’ words are uncompromising. 

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.”

There is no place for self-will in God’s reign. The old nature must be set aside for a new nature that increasingly reflects the nature of its king. The test is this…in this dual nature at war with each other, which one wins? Jesus clarifies the vital outcome… and three steps to victory. Deny self, die to self, and follow Jesus. Simple…but not easy. 

Paul expands on this unending war in the soul. 

“For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The Holy Spirit, freely given to every believer, is God’s answer to the rampant demands of the flesh. He lives within every true child of God to tame the unruly old nature and to cultivate the fruit of His indwelling presence. 

The issue is, to whom do I give allegiance…to my untamed evil desires or to my Lord who is in me   by His Spirit? My response makes the difference between life and death. 

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭2‬:‭15‬-‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

To be continued…