Luke 1:5-25
In the Gospel of Luke, the central character is Jesus Christ.
Before the Name of Jesus appears in Luke 1:31, we read of John the Baptist who paved the way for Jesus.
In the opening chapter of Luke’s Gospel, we remember a man whose name was given to him by God. The man’s name was John. His name means “The Lord is gracious.” His name speaks of the grace of God, reaching out to many people through His ministry.
When John the Baptist preached, he called on the people of his own day to learn from the faithful of past generations. John was sent by God “to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous” (Luke 1:17).
In the story of John the Baptist, we see the greatness of a man who was “great in the sight of the Lord” (Luke 1:15).
As we think of human greatness, let’s look beyond all of it to the greatness of God.
We can learn much from John the Baptist - this man who pointed away from himself to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
John's birth foretold in an angelic message (Luke 1:13-17) which speaks of prayer - “your prayer is heard” (Luke 1:13), preparation – looking forward to a time of “joy and gladness” (Luke 1:14), power - “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Luke 1:15) and purpose - “he will turn many of the people to the Lord their God … to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:16-17).
We learn more about John’s ministry in John 1:19-34. In his ministry, there is prayer -pointing to Christ, the One who is worthy to receive our prayers (John 1:27), preparation- preparing people for Christ (John 1:23), power - pointing people to the power of Christ which comes to us in the gift of the Holy Spirit, purpose -pointing people to the purpose of Christ’s coming (John 1:29). As we prepare to celebrate Christ's birth, let us come to Him prayerfully, remembering that the power of the Christian message lies in the purpose of Christ’s coming.
We can learn much from John the Baptist - this man who pointed away from himself to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
John's birth foretold in an angelic message (Luke 1:13-17) which speaks of prayer - “your prayer is heard” (Luke 1:13), preparation – looking forward to a time of “joy and gladness” (Luke 1:14), power - “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Luke 1:15) and purpose - “he will turn many of the people to the Lord their God … to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:16-17).
We learn more about John’s ministry in John 1:19-34. In his ministry, there is prayer -pointing to Christ, the One who is worthy to receive our prayers (John 1:27), preparation- preparing people for Christ (John 1:23), power - pointing people to the power of Christ which comes to us in the gift of the Holy Spirit, purpose -pointing people to the purpose of Christ’s coming (John 1:29). As we prepare to celebrate Christ's birth, let us come to Him prayerfully, remembering that the power of the Christian message lies in the purpose of Christ’s coming.
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