Please pray for our service on Sunday as we resume our study of Dr. Luke’s Gospel, which we began during Christmas season. In our last time in Luke (12/26/10) we saw the 12 year old Jesus being gradually prepared for the task which the Father had assigned. His divine nature didn’t need preparation but his human nature was in need. This period of preparation is now at its end. As we pick up in Luke 3, its been some 18 years since we last heard from Jesus.
But before Luke even gets to Jesus’ public ministry, he turns to the forerunner for 2 reasons: (1) John must introduce Messiah (3:15-17). The "voice" crying in the wilderness was the prophetic hope (Isa 40:1-5). 2nd, John was the divine instrument in preparing hearts for the Messiah (3:1-14). The principal way to prepare for Messiah was to call people to repentance.
What is repentance? Repentance is a saving grace (Acts 11:28), where a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin (Acts 2:37, 38), and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ (Joel 2:12; Jer 3:22), does, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God (Jer 31:18, 19; Ez. 36:3 1), with full purpose of and endeavour after new obedience (Baptist Catechism).
As we consider this passage, please pray that God the Spirit will bring about this necessary repentance so that we can behold "the horn of salvation" (Luke 1:69) and so that we "might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days" (Luke 1:74b-75).
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