LUKE (Chapter 9) - Like a divine shewbread in this world (Part 1)

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This part teaches us to keep God’s Word of protective grace on the table of our purified and sanctified heart!
In the previous chapter we had a close look at the servant, namely the priest of the Lord, being a glowing candlestick in this dark world to bring to others the light of God's truth unto their salvation; now we will see that the life of the priests, God's children, themselves are as many wondrous signs in this world by their relationship with Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life. Their life, in the light of the Israeli Tabernacle, should be like a "shewbread". In the Holy Place of the Israeli Tabernacle stood "the table with twelve shewbread". Know, that 12 is the symbolic number of the Church, which should be the revealed fruit (or: the result) of the Holy Spirit. A "life like a shewbread" therefore means: a life, where in the glory of God is revealed. Chapters 9 and 10 must now be seen in the light of the twelve shewbread.

The prayer life, the true gauge of our spiritual hunger.
Beloved, we cannot be a shewbread in the world by our own strength. We must give Him access into our heart. And He will only come into our heart and being when we truly long for Him, and seek Him with all our heart... (Jeremiah 29:13). There also must be found a willingness in our heart to obey Him; a subjection of our whole being, whereby He can make us obedient. These are the conditions for being able to be baptized with His Holy Spirit. Only the wish to be baptized, without the act of seeking Him in prayer, which is characterized by a total surrender, in this case will not help you much further. Not for nothing it is written: "Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain..." (Zechariah 10:1a). The true gauge of your longing for the Lord is your prayer life. How much time do you spend daily on the seeking and admitting of Jesus? How much time do you spend on seeking contact (communion) with Him? You should add up the times of struggling, seeking prayer until you found contact (communion) with that great Shepherd (i.e. Jesus); until you actually reached the spiritual Rock (i.e. Jesus), on which you, together with Jesus, could build your spiritual house (Matthew 7:24); you will then discover how much you truly long for Jesus; in what measure you truly want to be used by Him.
I know, you all long for (more of) Him, but you are prevented by all kinds of things, and these things are as many fruits of the increasing iniquities, such as: watching TV too much, and looking at the wrong TV programs; reading novels or gossip magazines; maybe even lust-arousing (pornographic) literature; the desire for more (or more beautiful) material possessions, whereby and wherefore you have to work overtime. You see, the things which keep us away from Jesus, and from prayer, can be of different sorts! The devil will do his utmost to keep you from praying; because nowadays he is weakening the prayer-life by tempting you with all kinds of worldly things, just as he made that fruit in paradise desirable to Eve. He will take away that "continual sacrifice" – namely the continual dedicated prayer based on His finished work on Calvary (Daniel 12:11; 2 Corinthians 4:10-11)! Because of the sin of this prayerless or prayer-poor life (1 Samuel 12:23) we could never have communion with Him, and because of this we could never come to the status of "shewbread" in this life.

We must become wondrous signs in this world by communion with Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life.
Luke 9 verse 1-6: "Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip (travel bag), neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece. And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart. And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them. And they de-parted, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where."
He called the twelve disciples unto Himself – namely the apostles sent (out) by Him; but here these apostles represent all the laborers of Jesus, high and low. Before sending them away He first gave them a portion of spiritual power over all demons and sicknesses (Luke 10:19). Here, they had not yet received the baptism with the Spirit, but they acted in the power of God which, as it were, was transferred unto them. The laborers of the Lord, from the time after the first Pentecost outpouring (see Acts 2:1-4), must act in His Name, under the guidance of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Essentially it remains the same: a child of God, by his communion with the Bread of Life, is put in this world as a wondrous sign! And it is only by this communion, and solely under His express guidance that he can fulfill the great mission, which is written in Mark 16:15-18, because the Spirit of God alone is the Binder and Looser of sins and powers of darkness! "And I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:19). Compare this with Matthew 18:18. So all satanic powers and forces had to fall back before the apostles, and so all powers and forces of the (spiritual) darkness will still make way before each child of God, that is willed with the almighty Spirit, as long as he only does what the Spirit commands him to do. Do you then under-stand that the words of such a child of God are binding and loosing; that the preaching of such a person is binding and loosing; that such a ministry is binding and loosing? For the Spirit of God Himself is then active in and through His servant!
How wondrous such labor in the Spirit is, when the life of God's servant has been completely crucified, and the Lord does not find any resistance anymore. In the end-time God will bring part of His Church to such a position. This then will be God's Bride(church), namely that part of the Church which was willing to follow Him... in such a Bride-church; and, spiritually seen, they will be indeed "without spot or wrinkle"!
Verse 3 says: "Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip (travel bag), neither bread, neither money..." Nothing was to be taken that could support them (could help them). They were to completely depend on the omnipotence of God; there had to be faith which leaned completely on the almighty Sender. Verse 4 says: "And whatsoever house ye enter into there abide..." When someone of a town, wherein is preached, has accepted the Word, and offered the preacher lodging, and thus hospitality, then that preacher should not move to someone else's house, because e.g. that house might be more comfortable; for so the love of the first one is rejected. And such behavior would not go with the Spirit of the Sender, and is unworthy of a laborer of the Lord! Verse 5 urges even to "...shake off the very dust from their feet..." of the towns that are not willing to receive God's laborers. There is not to be any relationship between God's laborers and those who reject His Word.

Luke 9 verse 10-11: "And the apostles, when they were returned, told him all that they had done. And he took them, and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing."
The corresponding verses in the other Gospels tell us, that the apostles had returned to the Lord with great joy, on account of the miracles they were able to perform during their mission, because the Spirit of God was being revealed.
The Lord then took them to an area near Bethsaida, and He departed alone to a desert place. This way He wanted to teach His disciples, that after that release of divine power, dedicated, humble prayer was needed... for the restoration of a person's spiritual inner being. When a servant of God was allowed to act so wonderfully in His Name, it is a good thing when that servant, after such a powerful service, retires in the shadow of the cross; the place he belongs to, together with all other believers whom Jesus has won out of the world (Luke 17:10).
There once was a preacher who was wonderfully used by the Lord. He was used so wonderfully, that he... sometimes had problems with his ego. He testified, that, after having been used so wonderfully, he needed many hours in prayer in order to arrive again at that humble subjection to God, wherein the Lord could use him.
Of ourselves we all are unprofitable servants (Luke 17:10), because all activity should be guided by Him alone. He is the only Builder of the New Jerusalem (Matthew 16:18; Psalm 127:1-2)! He is the only One, Who could form Christians into real and (spiritually) mature children of God. He is the only One, Who could make His children into perfect saints of God! After such a servant of God has retreated with Him, there will be new labor in Him again for him Therefore we read, that the people returned to Him afterwards. The Gospel was brought to them, and He again healed the sick. Labor and prayer should always alternate. If there is much work, then many prayers should go before, and many prayers should follow! The spiritual "battery" must be recharged again and again.

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study (Chapter 9) – that is to long for the Blog.

By E. van den Worm

LUKE (Chapter 6) - The basic principals of God’s priest-kingdom

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Introduction

(Note: verses 1-16 have already been studied in Chapter 5 - see our Blog on March 10th).

As we have already shown: God is going to establish a kingdom of priests. Each one in this kingdom will be a priest for another person. A priest who hands out God's gracious blessings to another; who intercedes with God for that other person; and who lives before God's face in honor and praise and thanksgiving. Because of a greater devotion and a more faithful dedication to God, the one priest will receive, through grace, a place closer to God than another priest. Because of this he will receive more gracious blessings from God, and passes those on to others. One sees, that therefore in this wonderful Kingdom of God, the highest placed person – this is the one closest to God – will be everybody's servant.
"But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:42-45).
From high to low God's Kingdom therefore consists of priests. The one regards and prays for the other. Intercession for another is a priestly job. At the head of this Kingdom is the High Priest, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who forms the Source of all God's blessings and allocations (here: gifts, ministries, etc.). In intercession, the priests are to bring the needs of the people to the High Priest, to God. And in their turn they hand out the blessings they have received from the High Priest-God to others. Well then, everyone is doing priestly work, and thus is a priest; but he also is more or less a king, because he is a child of the great King. All are children of God, but there are princes (here: rulers) among God's children, who, because they are closer to God by their priestly function, are better "media", namely spiritual channels with a pure reception and passing-on of God's wonderful blessings and provisions.
"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light" (1 Peter 2:9). It is a glorious Kingdom, that one day – for all eternity – will stand in the glory of God. It will bear within itself that divine glory, and out of that fullness we will give to others. This way God will dwell in the midst of His children; He will dwell in His priests eternally, and especially in His High Priest. Everyone will be filled, to a certain measure, with the glory of God, and share with others of His grace and His love. In God's Kingdom the motto will be giving; giving to others that those others may be full, just as they are. So love, purity and justice will reign in that Kingdom of God. Let us now look at the basic principles of this Kingdom. Before doing this, let us first read the introductory verses:
Luke 6 verse 17-19: "And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed. And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all."
Here one sees again Jesus' distributing power of grace. Virtue went out of Him. Sometimes He gave that power to the apostles and emissaries, and they in turn gave of it to the people. We see the same picture at the multiplication of the loaves. He handed out the bread and the fish, after having blessed and broken them, to His apostles, and they distributed them to the people.
In the texts of this Gospel a "level place" is mentioned. In the corresponding text of the Gospel after Matthew we know, that He then stood on a mountain. Hence it must have been a mountain plateau. There He addressed a large multitude. Let us dwell on this for a moment. At several occasions He addressed a crowd of thousands of people. At the first multiplication of the loaves He spoke to 5,000 men; not counting women and children. The second time the number of people was 4,000 (Matthew 14:13-21; 15:29-39). Yet everyone could hear Him clearly, although He had no microphone and amplifier at His disposal. Do not we see here the majesty of God, and His mastery over the laws of nature?
Here we see one of the Holy Spirit's gifts revealed; namely that of power. The same gift was revealed (and clearly seen) when He walked over the Sea of Tiberias; also when He calmed the storm there. This gift, which Jesus possessed in all fullness, He also wants to give to His children, anywhere the gift is needed for the increase of His Kingdom and for the glorification (and thus the proclamation) of His Name.

I. The attitude of the priest towards God.
Luke 6 verse 20-26: "And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their (fore)fathers unto the prophets. But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation (see also Luke 16:25). Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their (fore)fathers to the false prophets."
We learn here how the attitude of the priest and child of God must be towards his God and Father, in spite of the sinful people around him. In the verses 20-21 there is mention of a "Lazarus attitude". Surely you heard the parable of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31). Lazarus was poor; he begged and asked. Anyone would understand that this is meant spiritually, and not literally: not every poor beggar goes to heaven, and not every rich man goes to hell. On the face of it this seems to be expressed in this parable. But the Holy Spirit refers here to the "Lazarus attitude", and the "rich man's attitude" of our heart. I already stated that the first two texts of this part of the bible renders the "Lazarus attitude" of the heart of a good servant of God; while the verses 24-26 render the "rich man's attitude" of the heart of a bad servant of God. This last (inner) attitude is caused by that feeling of self-satisfaction, which is sinful in God's eyes; that feeling of being more righteous and holier than other sinners; a feeling that the Pharisee had towards the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14).
Spiritually seen the rich man brought a rich meal on the table. The ones that were invited admired his wealth and generosity; and the rich man felt flattered by that admiration which he was after. But Lazarus was conscious of the wounds of his soul, and his sins, and of his spiritual poverty. Someone with a "Lazarus attitude" soon will pray: "Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner!" And he begs God for food, for spiritual food. A person with such an inner attitude will be saved by God; he will receive grace. However, a servant with a "rich man's attitude", someone who pretends to be one rich inwardly, is doomed (condemned to hell) by God. Why? Because he is proud of his self-righteousness, which means that he never really had any part in God and Jesus Christ.
A true servant of God will always have a "Lazarus attitude"; his heart will always sincerely long for grace and for the full relationship with that great God. In his life there will be moments of great (spiritual) refreshment, but these will be followed by periods of great (spiritual) hunger and thirst for God! This great (spiritual) hunger and thirst will always mark the true child of God. These "poor in spirit" will have the Kingdom of God within themselves and will inherit it. One poor in spirit will always ask, and will always open his heart to receive grace. But in order to receive, he must be able to give himself to God from the heart; that the Lord God, through Jesus Christ, may completely change (renew) his carnal thinking and inner being by His Word and the Holy Spirit, to NEW LIFE, after His will. He must be able to do this after His will and not after ours. The prayer, deep in the heart of such a child of God is: "Break me, make me, mould me completely after Your will, O God!" In accordance with that inner hunger and thirst, God will satisfy His hungry and thirsty child with His justice, His love, and His blessings; and will use him for priestly labor for others by means of His anointing of Spiritual power.
If you have the right spiritual attitude that spiritual hunger should be present any moment of the day; then God will give His manna (spiritual food) also each day again; not once for all, but each day anew; a new portion for that day. And the next day the hunger will be there again, which must be satisfied by God. Seen in this light, our morning prayers therefore are so important. For we are to receive through these prayers: new manna; new strength to walk the way of victory that day; to go from grace to grace; to walk with Jesus!
In verses 22 and 23 we are shown the hatred satan has towards those with a "Lazarus attitude". Satan reveals this through worldly people, but also through the unconverted and partly converted Christian. They will reject you; will separate themselves from you; they will call you a "goody two shoes". They know you do not belong with them in your thinking and feelings. Your presence alone in their midst condemns their actions, walk and speech; therefore people in society, in your office or in the factory do not like you. They want nothing to do with you. But why should we fear? The Lord overcame the world! And He has the last word! He will keep you in His omnipotence as long as He can maintain you as His child. And if the Lord has not preserved us, then something might be wrong with our kinship, and we should examine ourselves in the light of His Word.
In verses 24-26 we read about that "rich man's attitude". Such people are praised by the world (read: satan). Between the lines of verses 25 and 26 we can hear satan laugh and praise such people, saying: "Good on you, boy, you are headed the right way!" The worldly men agree with this, and one hears them say: "You are a wonderful person, just and good and very praiseworthy!" Beloved, if this is happening to you, then mostly something is wrong with you!
We read in this Scripture part about the "Lazarus" and the "rich man's attitude"; about the attitude we are to have before God. I pray God that you may always have this "Lazarus attitude"; the attitude of the "poor in spirit", that God may give you His rich gracious blessings.

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study (Chapter 6) – that is to long for the Blog.

By E. van den Worm

LUKE (Chapter 5) - The Church, a royal priesthood, people won out of sin

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Sinners are cleansed by the Word of the cross, and sanctified to be members of the Body of Christ that they may bear fruit (1 Corinthians 1:18).
Luke 5 verse 1-4: "And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesareth, And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught (of fish)."
Here Jesus Christ brought God's Word to the gathered people listening to Him. He brought this Word in the power of the Holy Spirit. It was like a fire that burned away the sins, and renewed man, and changed him (inwardly) according to His will. When the basic principles of the Word have also been established in us, then He will also say to us that which He said to Simon: "Launch out into the deep, and cast out your nets for the catch." For we, after we have received the basic principles of Christianity in our heart and in our thoughts, must obey the following command: "Launch out into the deep", "Give also the depths of your own heart over to the Son of the living God". He wants to cleanse of all carnal and spiritual pollution also the depths of our inner being. He wants us to come to the prayer: "Search my inner being, Lord, that by You all darkness in me be truly removed, and I be purified of all carnal and spiritual defilement(s)!" A hunger, a thirst must arise in your and my inner being to be completely delivered from all that is not from and of Him. This with the purpose to, in priestly service, "cast out our nets" to "catch" people in His Name.

Luke 5 verse 5-11: "And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both their ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him."
The Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Word of God, is brought to (the people of) the world, and it builds a pure and spiritual body out of sinners, a new humanity, of which each person has an active part in the whole. Each member of the Body of the Lord Jesus Christ shares in the work in the divine Kingdom, great and small, from apostle to the smallest helping hand; all help with the calling, after the inner working of the Spirit of God and His gifts, to come to the fulfillment of what God wants; of that which He intends. A (large) army of witnesses must be created (here: be prepared).
Do not all members of our natural body work together for the maintenance and perfecting of this body; unto the finest muscular tissues, no matter how simple each part's function? In the same way each person in the Body of Jesus has his own work. But all and all things work – and work together – to perfect the Body of Jesus by the power and wisdom Christ gave us. Each one must come to active co-operation under the mighty leadership of God's Holy Spirit, namely to witness. In our profound joy we can't help witnessing. The verb says: What the heart thinks, the mouth speaks. Is it not the most natural thing for an apple tree to bring forth apples, and a cherry tree cherries? In the same way, by the inner working of the Spirit, this testimony life will grow naturally in a healthy Christian life, and we will bring forth fruit, and help to form the Body by the power of Jesus Christ, by the inner working of the Spirit, and by the gifts He gives. So we "catch" people and lead them into the Kingdom of God; each one after the calling and after the measure of the gift of Christ.
Beloved, let us have an active part in this Kingdom of God. Let us be prepared to lose (the power of) the old and sinful in our heart and life by the power of the Word of the living God and the blood of the Lamb. By this Word let Jesus Christ truly come alive in us. Let His Kingdom in us be formed by the justifying power of no one less than Himself! When we discover something within us which is not entirely according to His will, let us then hand it over to Jesus Christ that He may completely purify and sanctify us, and baptize us with His Holy Spirit, and fill us to all His fullness.
In the preceding part we viewed the Body of Christ as a whole; namely the Body consisting of many members, each with his own calling and work; now we will have a close look at such a member; at the justification of his soul, his body, and his spirit.

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study (Chapter 5) – that is to long for the Blog.

By E. van den Worm

LUKE (Chapter 2) - The birth of Jesus Christ and our NEW LIFE

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The birth of the NEW LIFE
The previous chapter ended with the circumcision of John the Baptist, the symbol of a willing entering (on our side) of the Blood-covenant with Christ: a willing surrender unto God, that all of the process of God's work on the cross, unto the annihilation of our old life, might be done unto us. After the promises without repentance of God's Word the NEW LIFE of God, which will then be poured into us, will follow such faith and attitude of life. In this light it is understandable, that in this new chapter the NEW LIFE of God is depicted in the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. God's profound wisdom lies herein: John the Baptist had to be born earlier, and only thereafter God's Christ: first heartfelt repentance and surrender must be born in us before NEW LIFE of God can be produced in us; because, as we saw, this NEW LIFE could only develop within us on the pure and holy foundation of Jesus Christ.

The birth of Jesus Christ.
Luke 2 verse 1-3: "And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria). And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city."
Here is a brief report of the first census in the Roman empire. This census had taken quite a lot of doing: everyone had to be registered in the town or place of origin of the family. This most probably had to do with civil rights. In any case, this registration was done in connection with taxes, that were to be charged. Thereafter such censuses were to take place once every 14 years in the Roman empire.
Luke 2 verse 4-5: "And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem (because he was of the house and lineage of David); To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child."
Obeying the command of the emperor of Rome, because Israel in those days was under the dominion of the Roman Empire, Joseph, too, went with Mary to whom he was to be married, to Bethlehem, the city of the origin of the entire house of David, unto which Joseph as well as Mary belonged. Mary then was in an advanced state of pregnancy of the Child Jesus: it was about the time that she should deliver. One understands how difficult that must have been. This gives us a striking idea, how a Christian who is truly full of Jesus, often has to suffer painfully the things of this world. Here Mary already stood in the adumbration (the most central, darkest part of the shadow)(or foreshadow) of the cross, which would also crucify her own life, her "I"/self, completely. Quietly, and without grumbling, with a patient heart, Mary must have gone this for her difficult way beside Joseph.
Luke 2 verse 6-7: "And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger (i.e. a feeding trough for animals!); because there was no room for them in the inn."
He, Who is the NEW LIFE, the Resurrection Life, Himself, was born in a manger, in a stable for animals. He must be born there. God had determined that. That stable was the place predetermined by God. In that dirty stable for animals, where also was dung, He must be born; because the human heart into which He must be born in the Spirit, is also dirty, like a stable for animals, because of all the sins of the people. This explains why He had to be born there, exactly there. He was laid in a manger, because He was to be food, the Bread of Life, for us. When we eat Him in the spirit; i.e. when we open our heart unto Him, and allow Him (access) into our heart and life, then we will receive NEW LIFE. I repeat: Jesus Christ can only really become the Bread of Life for us, when we, in answer to the call of the preacher unto repentance (in those days John the Baptist), repent sincerely. If we thus have communion with Him, as our Prince of Life, by accepting His Word and by having all His promises in our life fulfilled by Him, then we know, by our faith, that the ETERNAL LIFE, the Kingdom of God, enters into our heart and life.

The witnesses to His birth.
Now we shall have a close look at the witnesses at His birth. Projected unto the inner life of our heart, the birth of the NEW LIFE knows similar witnesses. God's Word is unfailing and wonderful. As He came among witnesses in those days, so it is with the coming of the NEW LIFE into our heart.
God's Word mentions three kinds of witnesses around His birth. Shortly after His birth: the shepherds. Forty days after His birth: two old, faithful souls: Simon and Anna. The third group of witnesses are the three wise men, who came to witness to the birth of the "born King of the Jews" about two years after His birth. Alleluia! And so it is in the deep center of our own being. Let us learn to see this, as we study the relating Scripture parts in the light of the birth of the NEW MAN in us. For you already know that the Gospel after Luke is the Gospel which announces the NEW MAN in God, who as a matter of course is a priest of God; all this because this Gospel mentions Jesus Christ as God's NEW MAN and High Priest. By Him alone we could be a NEW CREATION, and priests of the most high God.

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study (Chapter 2) - that is to long for the Blog - further.[1]

By E. van den Worm

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[1] For part 1, see our Blog at 10 November 2009

LUKE (Chapter 1) - The gate of repentance unto the NEW LIFE in Christ

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Part I:
The court-life of the believer

Introductory words:
In the Gospel after the evangelist Luke we see the Lord Jesus portrayed as the Son of man (after the flesh: from the seed of David – Romans 1:3), as the NEW MAN in God, as the New Creature. And, of course, each new creature is a priest of God, because he enters into, and is in, a relationship with God. It is exactly this relationship which issues the new creation. And by and in that relationship with God the new creature is a priest, who stands between God and fallen man. Therefore the Gospel after Luke is, in the first place, a revelation of Jesus Christ as the wonderful High Priest of God, because He is revealed here as the Son of man, the First among the new creations of God. Spiritually, what applies to the Head (i.e. Jesus), also applies to the Body (the Christians). It is therefore also a book of the Christian as a royal priest, who can be a priest, because He, Jesus Christ, is the High Priest. It is the book of the NEW MAN, because he lives in unity with that wonderful High Priest and Savior, whereby the NEW MAN can also be a channel of God's streams of mercy on behalf of God's people.
This first chapter shows us in particular the gate of repentance opening unto the NEW LIFE. We will look at this Bible-book in the light of the Tabernacle. Would it have been possible for us to approach that holy place of that time, we would first have had to enter a gate in order to come unto holy ground. This is also the case if we begin to read this Gospel prayerfully and with proper respect.
The colors of Jesus' Being are displayed by this gate: scarlet, blue, purple, and white. Especially the white typifies purity, characteristic for the NEW MAN. The purple signifies the Kingship of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is expressed in the Gospel after Matthew. The scarlet signifies God's Son as a servant, His willingness to die for fallen humanity, as the Father asked it of Him, already before the foundation of the world. This is told unto us in the Gospel of Mark. The blue tells us of Jesus as the Son of God, which is described in the Gospel of John. The color of Jesus, as described by Luke in his Gospel, is therefore white. He is that pure NEW MAN and High Priest.

Luke 1 verse 1-4: "Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in (good) order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee, in order, most excellent Theophilus, That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed."
Luke, the doctor and later evangelist, wrote to a certain Theophilus. This last name may be a fictitious name, as "Theophilus" in Greek means "son of God". Therefore he directed this Gospel to each son of God, to each perfect (read: sincere) child of God. And the purpose of the evangelist is to bring religious security in the heart of each child of God.

The birth announcement of John the Baptist.
We will now have a close look at the birth announcement of John the Baptist. John the Baptist was a preacher of repentance. He called to repentance the people of Israel, that is to say the Jews (namely the tribe of Judah, wherein is also included the tribe of Benjamin[1]). He came in the spirit of Elijah, the prophet that called Israel to repentance, after it had strayed (spiritually), and had served Baal through the doing of queen Jezebel, the wife of king Ahab of Israel. The Baal religion in fact is a nature worship. On closer consideration the Baal religion wants to let itself go in worldly lusts, the worldly ways are indulged. The Baal cult (i.e. the worship of Baal, an idol) had a licentious character, whereby the fertility was idolized.
Elijah called Israel away from Baal – away from the loose worldly lifestyle that Israel had fallen into – back to YaHWeH. He called them to the living God and Lord, the God of purity, modesty and justice. This was Elijah's manner, and so was this John the Baptist also.
We read, that God announced the birth of this John the Baptist. Everything right and good comes from God. It is God, Who calls us unto repentance. We can't come unto God without this call to repentance; and He uses the mouth of the preacher of repentance for this. The preacher of repentance is a gift of a loving God, to people who are lost in sin. God in His compassion filled him with the Spirit, Who calls unto repentance. He is a sounding board of the call which comes from the heart of God.
The birth of God's instrument, which would sound forth this call, was announced here. Again: the call to repentance must come from God into the heart and being of the sinner. Without this voice of the Spirit, Who also was in Elijah, no sinner will repent. This we read in John 6:44 "No one comes to Me (i.e. Jesus) unless the Father, Who sent Me, draw him..."

Luke 1 verse 5: "There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zechariah, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth."
Zechariah was a priest, and his name means "God remembers" or "God is mindful (of)". From him this preacher, who preached repentance, was born. Zechariah had prayed for this son, who was given to him and his wife in their old age. Let us understand the spiritual meaning of this. As Zechariah prayed for a son and prayed for his people, so also must we pray God to let His call unto repentance be heard on behalf of sinners, whom we love, and whom we would love to see "in Christ". If we pray in this way God will hear, and will send that call unto repentance through the mouth of one of His serving children. So also was this John the one asked by God, who had to sound forth the call unto repentance to the faithless people of Judah.
This priest (Zechariah) was of the course of Abia. In his time David had established 24 divisions (see 1 Chronicles 24:1-19). Such division consists of a chief priest with his helping co-priests. As one would understand, with the growth of the generations the number of priests had increased greatly, but the number of divisions remained 24. Twice a year a certain division had a chance to serve in Jerusalem in the temple. Zechariah was of the eighth division, namely the division Abia had when he was chief priest. God chose for this John the Baptist to be born, a man of the eighth division. We see how wonderfully God worked, because the symbolic worth of the number 8 is that of the new beginning, of the resurrection. He also chose Zechariah, because he and his wife were righteous in His eyes. We read this in the following verses:

Luke 1 verse 6: "And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless."

Luke 1 verse 7-9: "And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord."
We know that such a division counts many priests. The task to burn incense among all religious acts the priests are to perform, is a holy task. Incense was to be laid on the altar of incense, after it had been cleansed of the ashes, and whereon new coals had been laid, after which the assembled people were to be blessed. It was a wonderful, holy task in their eyes: it was the most holy task the priests of such a division had during that week. Because it was such an extraordinary task lots were drawn. During such a week only seven priests of an entire division were appointed by lot for this work. It was customary that the one on whom the lot had fallen, withdrew from further lot drawing for the rest of his life; the reason being that such a division was especially large in number. It so happened that the lot fell on the priest Zechariah... After the altar of incense was cleansed of the ashes of the offering of the previous day, and new coals had been laid on it, he entered. Quietly he came near, knowing what holy task was awaiting him; namely to offer incense unto that great God, to bring Him honor, and praise and worship.

Luke 1 verse 10: "And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense."

They waited outside for this priest's blessing.

Luke 1 verse 11-12: "And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zechariah saw him he was troubled, and fear fell upon him."

When he was thus occupied with the offering of incense, to then worship God, and afterwards to exit backwards, keeping his face towards the altar of incense, he suddenly noticed the angel! Fear came over him!

Luke 1 verse 13: "But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zechariah: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John."
John means: "God is merciful", "God gives grace".

Luke 1 verse 14-15: "And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb."

And see now what task was awaiting him:

Luke 1 verse 16-17: "And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

I already pointed out to you: Elijah was a preacher of repentance, his task was: to call to repentance. He must sound forth the merciful call, which came straight from the heart of God, to the people of Israel. He was a sounding board for God's grace. It is God, Who always calls to repentance! The repentance unto God, a deed which goes out from us, after God called us thereto, is not only the basis and the beginning of a healthy religious life, but also a new beginning each day. This must be a distinguishing mark of our religious life each day: absolute, wholehearted repentance unto God. Not a single Christian can go on in sincerity for God without this daily mark!
John had to "turn the hearts of the fathers to the children"; he had to move the hearts of the elders to a childlike acceptance of God's will, and a similar approach to God. He had to "turn the disobedient to the wisdom of the just". For disobedience to God's will characterized Israel, and characterizes today's spiritual Israel (the Church)! Repentance shows obedience to God; yes, being willing to obey with all one's heart His entire Word. If, in any way, we are disobedient (or want to be disobedient) to God's will, then there is no repentance in us! If there is a bondage of sin, which keeps us captive, there is a pain in a repentant heart, a wrestling in prayer to God for deliverance and mercy to be able to obey Him! And this wrestling in prayer continues until God pours out His redeeming grace! When we receive God's strength unto deliverance, then again it is up to the Christian himself to show his good will, and break the bondage of sin, in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, himself, in the power of grace he received. God calls us out of the darkness of sin, and we must ourselves be willing to get out of the darkness, in God's strength. So Abram had to leave the people of Ur of the Chaldees, his original dwelling place. God called him hereto in order to bless him; but Abram had to do it himself, he had to leave those people in the strength given him by God. The will to act and to obey must come from deep within ourselves, as a positive answer to God's call, then the strength to obey will issue from Him. God must be able to see in the depth of our heart a sincere repentance life, an sincere longing for that life in His justice. Then He will satisfy such a heart with His justice.
John had to "turn the disobedient to the wisdom of the just". Wisdom is the distinguishing mark of the just. A righteous person will, at each deed he wants to do, ask himself prayerfully: "is this after God's will?"

Luke 1 verse 18-19: "And Zechariah said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings."
When still young, Zechariah had prayed for a son, but he now did not believe the angel's announcement for he and his wife were already old, and, humanly spoken, the fertile period was over; he therefore asked the angel for a miraculous sign. He could not accept God's Word... but God requires of His people that they believe His Word! Then the announcer made himself known: "I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God!" Do you know who Gabriel is? He is the messenger of God's revelations and will; he is the teacher of God's children. So, also Mary received from him the announcement regarding Jesus' birth (see Luke 1:26-35), and, earlier, also Daniel received a revelation from him (see Daniel 8:16-26; 9:21-27). There is but One with God, Who teaches the children of God, and He is the Holy Spirit. Therefore Gabriel is an Old-Testament appearance (revelation form) of Him. He is the third revelation form of the Godhead Himself, and had to condemn Zechariah' unbelief! Zechariah received the sign he asked for; but that sign was at the same time God's judgment over his unbelief:

Luke 1 verse 20-22: "And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. And the people waited for Zechariah, and marveled that he tarried so long in the temple. And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless."

When Zechariah came out, his hands were stretched out to bless, as is customary with all the priests, who perform such a deed, but his mouth remained silent... he could not utter the blessing...
Beloved, let us continue to repent from the heart, and obey Him from the heart, but let us also be willing to believe His Word. These are the pillars on which a blessed, religious life rests!

Luke 1 verse 23-25: "And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach (contempt) among men."

The miracle of Elisabeth's conception (at a very old age) then happened. She kept her joy over this miracle of God to herself for five months. After all, the people would not have believed her, and would have laughed at her... Only when it became visible that she was pregnant, she showed herself to the outside world. God had removed her "reproach among men" by this conception, and that in her old age. A barren woman was someone God did not want to bless. In people's opinion her righteousness must have some hidden sins or shortcomings. But now they could not say or think any such thing of her. God had splendidly made good all defamation she suffered by working this miracle in her!

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study (Chapter 1) - that is to long for the Blog - further.

By E. van den Worm

[1] There is a difference between Israel and Jews, which we like to explain in short. First the people of Israel contains twelve tribes, named after the 12 sons of Jacob (who received the name Israel from God). Later there was a split, and the Bible mentions then the “House of Israel” and the “House of Judah” (the Jews). The “House of Israel” (also named Israel) is the empire of 10 tribes which in history was taken in exile from Canaan by Assyria. After this they mingled with the heathens (originally to Europe etc.) where they now live as an “hidden nation”. Specially the “Christian nations” in the North West of Europe and the countries to which many immigrated, like America, Canada and Australia. The “House of Judah” contains two tribes namely Judah and Benjamin, which lived in the promised land in the days that Jesus walked on earth. The house of Judah (the Jews) is the part of Israel that was hardened (see Rom. 11:25).