Seeing Salvation

[0:00] Well, we're going to turn to our Bibles now and to Luke's Gospel once again. If you have one of our church Bibles, I think that is page 858. And we're going to be reading chapter 3 and a bit of chapter 4.

[0:15] We've been seeing already in the first two chapters how carefully Luke orders his material. He tells us that right at the beginning. And chapter 3 and chapter 4 are no exception to that.

[0:29] You'll see if you read these chapters, there are four sections really. The preparation for Jesus' ministry from John, the forerunner and the introduction of Jesus.

[0:40] And then the teaching of Jesus himself. So chapter 3 verse 1 down to chapter 4 verse 13. We have first of all John in the desert and at the Jordan.

[0:51] And then we have Jesus at the Jordan and in the desert. And you'll see as we read that that whole section begins with a quotation from Isaiah the prophet. Then if you look at chapter 4 from verse 14 onwards, you'll see what we get there is two sections of Jesus teaching in the synagogues in Nazareth.

[1:11] And again, surprise, surprise, it begins with a quote from Isaiah the prophet. So none of this is accidental. Luke is ordering this very carefully for us.

[1:21] And it's as though in the first two of these episodes he's saying to us, look, do you want to see God's salvation? Well, look at the Son of God. And then in the next two he's saying, well, do you want to hear about God's genuine salvation?

[1:38] Well, listen. Listen to the Son of God as he teaches you the scriptures in the synagogues. So let's read beginning at Luke chapter 3 verse 1, which is all about the announcement of the Savior to the world.

[1:53] In the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Iteria and Trachonitis and Lysianus tetrarch of Abilene.

[2:06] During the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

[2:25] As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet. He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

[2:58] Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.

[3:10] Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. And the crowds asked him, What then shall we do?

[3:23] And he answered them, Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none. Whoever has food is to do likewise. Tax collectors also came to him to be baptized and said to him, Teacher, what shall we do?

[3:36] And he said to them, Collect no more taxes than you are authorized to do. Soldiers also asked him, And we, what shall we do? And he said to them, Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation.

[3:51] And be content with your wages. As the people were in expectation, And all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, Whether he might be the Christ, John answered them all, Saying, I baptize you with water.

[4:07] But he who is mightier than I is coming, The strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor, And to gather the wheat into his barn, But the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.

[4:29] So with many other exhortations, He preached good news to the people. But Herod, the Tetrarch, Who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, That means he had taken his brother's wife and married her, And for all the other evil things that Herod had done, Added this to them all, That he locked up John in prison.

[4:54] Now when the people were baptized, And when Jesus also had been baptized, And was praying, The heavens were opened, And the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove, And a voice came from heaven, You are my beloved son, With you I am well pleased.

[5:16] Jesus, when he began his ministry, Was about thirty years of age, Being the son, as was supposed, Of Joseph, The son of Hila, The son of Mahat, The son of Levi, And so on.

[5:27] Verse thirty-one, The son of David, Notice, The son of Jesse. Verse thirty-three, The son of Judah, The son of Jacob, The son of Isaac, The son of Abraham.

[5:40] And notice the last verse thirty-eight, The son of Enos, The son of Seth, The son of Adam, The son of God. And Jesus, Full of the Holy Spirit, Returned from the Jordan, And was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, Being tempted by the devil.

[5:58] And he ate nothing during those days, And when they were ended, He was hungry. The devil said to him, If you are the son of God, Command this stone to become bread. And Jesus answered him, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone.

[6:14] And the devil took him up, And showed him all the kingdoms of the world, In a moment of time, And said to him, To you I will give all this authority, And their glory. For it has been delivered to me, And I give it to whom I will.

[6:27] If you then will worship me, It will all be yours. And Jesus answered him, It is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, And him only shall you serve.

[6:39] And he took him to Jerusalem, And set him on the pinnacle of the temple, And said to him, If you are the son of God, Throw yourself down from here. For it is written, He will command his angels concerning you, To guard you.

[6:52] And on their hands they will bear you up, Lest you strike your foot against a stone. And Jesus answered him, It is said, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.

[7:05] And when the devil had ended every temptation, He departed from him, Until an opportune time. Amen. And may God bless to us this, His word.

[7:18] Well, turn with me, If you would, Back to Luke's Gospel, Chapter 3, Page 858, If you have one of the church visitors' Bibles.

[7:35] Some years ago, At the turn of the millennium, There was a very significant exhibition, In the National Gallery, In Travagas Square, Called Seeing Salvation. It was all about the depiction in Christian art, Of the person of Jesus Christ.

[7:51] Depictions of his birth, His life, His death, And indeed his resurrection, And ascension to glory. And it was mostly masterpieces of Renaissance art, That dominated the exhibition.

[8:05] Of course, While some of the portraits were, Quite carefully informed by the biblical picture, Others were much more shaped by, Medieval Catholic tradition.

[8:17] But it was a title, That I thought was quite brilliant, Seeing Salvation. Because according to Luke, Our Gospel writer, To behold the true portrait, Of Jesus Christ, Is, To see God's salvation.

[8:36] That's what Simeon said, We saw last time, Wasn't it? In chapter 2, Verse 30, For my eyes have seen, Your salvation. As he saw the infant Jesus. And now, Having set the scene, In the first two chapters of the Gospel, With the arrival of the Savior, What we have in chapters 3 and 4, Is the public announcement, Of Christ the Savior to the world.

[8:57] So that, If you look at chapter 3, Verse 6, All flesh, Will see, The salvation of God, In the person, Of the Savior, Jesus Christ.

[9:08] So the question is, What is the authentic portrait, Of Jesus, That truly reveals, The nature, Of what God's salvation, Really means?

[9:20] That's the $64,000 question. Because today, Just as in the first century, People have, Very different impressions, About what salvation, Actually means. Just as artists, Have very different impressions, About what Jesus, Was really like.

[9:37] People have their own idea, Of what salvation, Really is. But what is, Biblical salvation? What is the real message, Of salvation, According to the orthodox, Christian faith, That was once for all, Delivered to the saints, And handed down, To the church, For all time.

[9:57] Put it another way, What is the genuine, Christian gospel? The good news, That verse 18 here, Tells us that John, Was proclaiming. The good news of great joy, As the angels called it, Remember.

[10:10] The good news, Of the kingdom of God, As Jesus himself, Will call it, In chapter 4, Verse 43. Well if we want to find, The answer to that question, We will find it, Authoritatively, Not, I'm afraid, In the National Gallery, In that exhibition, Wonderful as those paintings were, But we will find it, In the definitive portrait, That Luke gives us, Right here, In the ministry, Of the Lord Jesus Christ, In the testimony of John, In the testimony of God himself, About Christ, The Savior, Who has arrived, In the world, We will see, In what we read here, The true portrait, Of salvation, So what does it mean, That all flesh, Will see, The salvation, Of God, Well look first, At the beginning of chapter 3, The first couple of verses, Are very impressive, It's a very significant opening, Isn't it, I'm sure they remind you,

[11:11] If you know your Bibles, Of the opening of some of the great, Prophetic books, Of the Old Testament, Isaiah, And Jeremiah, And so on, Who are announced, With all this kind of talk, About the kings, And so on, And it's a very significant, Announcement, Because, There had been, No great prophet like that, In Israel, In living memory, The last prophet, Had been, The prophet Malachi, Nearly 500 years, Before this, Then there had been, A period of darkness, And silence, And so this was, A momentous thing, Signifying the return, Of the word of God, Into the midst of his people, In fact, The return of God himself, Into the midst of his people, But notice how Luke tells us, That this is not just something, For Israel, God's word thunders, Into the midst, Of the domain, Of the world emperor, Tiberius,

[12:12] And all his governors, All his tetrarchs, His sub kings, As well, As the high priest, Representing, The religious establishment, Of Israel, It's something that comes, To the world, But what is, This announcement, Well, This extensive quote, Right here, From the beginning, In the beginning, From the book of Isaiah, Makes very clear, That this announcement, Is the ultimate, Intervention of God, Into his world, By which at last, He will bring, All wrongs to right, He will deliver his people, He'll destroy, All of his enemies, That's what Isaiah 40, Is talking about, Now of course, Isaiah's prophecy, Had originally come to Israel, In exile, And it had promised them, A new exodus, Just like when God, Redeemed his people, Out of the bondage of Egypt, Through the desert, And into the promised land, That's the language, That Isaiah is using here, And he would once again, Lead them back, Redeeming Jerusalem,

[13:14] Bringing comfort to Israel, Forever, And of course, The exiles had returned, Centuries before, The prophets words, Had been fulfilled, In a measure, But it was only, A pale shadow, Of what God, Had actually promised, Through these prophets, Like Isaiah and Jeremiah, If you read Isaiah 40, Right to the end of Isaiah, Chapter 66, You'll see that, So very clearly, God promised, Far, Far more, Than just the return, Of Israel, To the good old days, In their land, The redemption, The salvation, That he is talking about, Is nothing less, Than the restoration, Of the entire universe, He's talking about, A new heavens, And a new earth, He's talking about, The end of all evil, He's talking about, The glorious reign, Of God's peace, Throughout the world, Well that clearly, Had not yet happened, That's why Luke told us, In chapter 2, That people like, Simeon and Anna,

[14:14] Were longing, For the consolation, Of Israel, Longing for the true, And ultimate, Redemption, Of Jerusalem, They were waiting, For everything, That God, Had promised, Of his great salvation, Salvation, For the entire world, But now, Says Luke, It is nothing less, Than that, That John the Baptist's, Ministry, Is saying, Is about to unfold, This at last, Is the great day, Of the Lord, That's about to dawn, And that's what explains, The seeming paradox, In this passage, Before us, I'm sure you recognize it, When we read it together, John in verse 18, Says that, He is proclaiming good news, As verse 6 says, It's about salvation, To all flesh, But look at verse 7, John's first words, Are about wrath,

[15:15] To come, There's no doubt, That John is a preacher, Full of fire, And judgment, So how on earth, Does that fit, With this idea, Of salvation, Well of course, The answer is, That according to the prophets, The day of the Lord, Would be a great, And awesome day, It would be the day, Of final judgment, Upon this world, And the whole world, Would be purged, In the fires of judgment, And that it would be, Through that great fire, That God's people, Would be saved, I will redeem you, With an outstretched arm, And with great acts, Of judgment, That's what God said, Through Moses, To Israel, Way back at the time, Of the exodus, And that redemption, That exodus, From Egypt, That redemption, Was a foreshadowing, Of the ultimate redemption, Of God's people, From the bondage of sin, By God's judgment, Upon sin,

[16:18] That's why we're told, So clearly, That John's message, Was to prepare people, For that coming day, Of judgment, That he was to point them, To a salvation, That could only come through, The forgiveness of sins, So that that day, Would be a day of joy, For people, And not a day of calamity, To remember, Zechariah, Had prophesied, In his song about John, In chapter 1, Verse 77, You will go before the Lord, To prepare his way, To give knowledge of salvation, In the forgiveness, Of their sins, That's what the angel, Had said to Zechariah, John would do as well, He will turn, The disobedient, To the wisdom, Of the righteous, To make ready, For the Lord, A people who are prepared, Prepared, To face, The judge, Of all the earth, And that's why, Verse 3 says, John came, Proclaiming, A baptism, Of repentance, For the forgiveness, Of sins,

[17:20] Now if you read, The very last chapter, Of the prophecy, Of Isaiah, You'll see very clearly, What is true, Right through the Old Testament, And indeed right through, The New Testament, That the great, And glorious day, Of the Lord, Is both, The day of restoration, Of all things, Yes, God's glory, Being declared, Among the nations, All flesh, Coming to worship him, But it is also, The great day of wrath, For by fire, Will the Lord, Enter into judgment, With all flesh, Isaiah 66, Verse 16, And it is the sunrise, Of that day, That John's, Ministry, Marks, And that Jesus coming, Begins, For the world, It's the return, Of the Lord, To Zion, That the prophet, Spoke about, That Israel longed for, It's the good news, That God comes to reign,

[18:21] But God's reign, Will bring both, Restoration, And wrath, He bears his holy arm, In judgment, And only then, Will all flesh, See the salvation of God, And it's both, Of these things, That Luke therefore, Emphasizes for us, Right here, At the start of Jesus' ministry, It is a coming day, Of wrath, And so there is a need, For repentance, Towards God, But it is also, The great day, Of restoration, And so there is a need, For real renewal, And without both, Of these things, No one, Will see, God's salvation, So let's look, Firstly, At chapter one, At chapter three, Verses one to twenty, Which emphasizes, The coming of Jesus' kingdom, Means for all flesh, A day of wrath, Which means, That there must be, Real repentance, John's message,

[19:21] Is very clear here, Turn, Turn, From the sin, That can only lead, To everlasting ruin, For all humanity, John's message, Wants to make us, See what we really are, But what we cannot remain, If we are to be, At peace with a holy God, If we are to be, Citizens of his, Holy kingdom, And that's always, What the gospel does, And so whenever, That true gospel message, Is proclaimed, When it faces people, With the truth, About God's salvation, It provokes a crisis, It provokes, Division, Because, In a very real sense, The judgment, The separation, Of the last day, Is brought right, Into the present day, In the proclamation, Of the gospel of Jesus, In both the revelation, Of the truth, And, In people's response, To the truth, And Luke records for us here, Both the revelation, Of John's message,

[20:21] And the response to it, You see verses 7 to 9, And verses 16 to 18, We get the revelation, Of John's message, He preached good news, Says verse 18, Gospel, Literally, He gospeled them, He announced, God's day of salvation, As verse 6 says, The same gospel, Of the kingdom, That Jesus himself, Would proclaim, The imagery here, Comes from Isaiah chapter 52, Where God tells, His people, To wake up, Jerusalem, Awake, Why?

[20:53] Because the messenger, Comes and brings good news, Good news, Of peace, Of salvation, Saying, Your God reigns, That's what the kingdom, Of God coming means, It means the reign, Of God, On earth, But you see, The prophet there, Is very clear, What that means, It means, God has raised, His mighty arm, And wherever you read, In the Bible, Of God's arm, Being raised, It is his arm, That bears his sword, Of judgment, And we can't miss, Can we, That John's message here, Is not any different, From that, His gospel, His good news, Look at verse nine, Verse seven, It speaks of wrath, To come, Verse nine, It speaks of the fire, Of God's punishment, Indeed verse 16, Do you see, He says that the Christ, Who will follow him, Baptizes with the Holy Spirit, And fire, That's not two separate things,

[21:54] It's just one, It's the image, Of God's presence, All through the Bible, To encounter God, Is to encounter fire, And for God to come, Means a baptism of fire, Now John, Recalls the prophet Malachi here, The very last, Of the Old Testament prophets, And God said through him, My messenger will come, To prepare the way for me, And the Lord, Whom you long for, Will suddenly come, To his temple, But who can endure, The day of his coming, It will not be, What you want it to be, For he, Is a refiner's fire, And he will purify, He will draw near to you, Said Malachi, In judgment, That, Is John the Baptist's revelation, That is his good news, That is his gospel, Do you want to see, Genuine salvation, Says John,

[22:54] Well this, Is a very real part of it, That's what Luke's, Telling us here, Now you might be sitting there, And I wouldn't be surprised, If you're not sitting there, Thinking, Well I'm not too keen, On the side of that gospel, And maybe you're thinking, Well this is John the Baptist, Anyway, John the Baptist, Wasn't really there, He didn't have the full story, This isn't, This isn't really, The proper New Testament gospel, Yet is it, Well there is some truth in that, But only half truth, Because I'm afraid on this aspect, John did have the whole story, You can't read through Luke's gospel, And his second volume, Acts of the apostles, And be in any doubt about that, Listen, Don't turn up, Just listen, What Peter says in Acts chapter 10, When Cornelius asks him, The genuine gospel message, That God commanded him to speak, Jesus commanded us, Says Peter, To preach, And to testify,

[23:56] That he is the one, Appointed by God, To be the judge, Of the living, And the dead, That is the apostolic, New Testament gospel, According to Peter, And it is so, Because according to Revelation 14, Verse 6, It is the eternal gospel, The gospel for every nation, And tribe, And people, Fear God, And give him glory, For the hour of his judgment has come, That's what John's saying, Isn't it?

[24:31] Jesus comes, As a refiner's fire, To purify, To sift, To separate people for eternity, Look at verse 17, The Messiah has a winnowing fork in his hand, That's to toss up the grain, And the chaff into the sky, So that it falls and separates, The wheat, And the chaff, And the wheat, Will be saved, But the chaff will be, Burnt with unquenchable, Never ending fire, Now John is very clear, Verse 16, He says, I am not the Messiah, I can only warn you about this, I can only pour water on you, And call you to repent, But he who comes, He will do, All that I speak of, And in case you doubt, Read later on in Luke chapter 12, You'll see that Jesus uses exactly, The same language of his own ministry, I came, He said, To cast fire, On the earth, That's my baptism,

[25:32] That I will accomplish, I will not bring peace, But division, Father from son, Mother from daughter, In-law from in-law, Division, Even within households, People will be divided, In their response, To the gospel of Jesus, And their verdict, On Jesus and his gospel now, Is what determines, Jesus' verdict on them, For all eternity, Whether they are found to be wheat, Or chaff, And that was John's message, And for his generation, Do you see verse 8, Which was full of presumption, In their privileged pedigree, Descended from Abraham, For that generation, There was a deadly, Deadly warning, Verse 9, Do you see, The axe is already at the root of the tree, Ready to chop it down, And cast it in the fire, Something that we see all the way through Luke,

[26:35] Jesus challenging that generation, Could there have been, A more privileged generation, In history, To see literally, With their own eyes, The salvation of God, In the person of Jesus Christ, But again and again, Jesus says, This is an evil generation, A generation worse, Than the Ninevites, That we'll be hearing about tonight, Because they repented, At the warning of Jonah, And one greater than Jonah is here, And they have not repented, And John warns, That privileged generation, He warns them not to presume, On their pedigree, Repent, He says, Turn, And bear genuine fruits of repentance, Blessed as God had said, Through Malachi, If they do not turn, At the preaching of the Elijah figure, Whom John fulfills, God will strike the whole land,

[27:36] With a curse, And the truth of scripture friends, And the truth of history, Is that that generation, Did not repent on mass, Instead they, They crucified, The son of God, And so as Jesus himself, Had prophesied, Before that generation, Passed away, Their city, Jerusalem, And their temple, Was utterly destroyed forever, In AD 70, By the Romans, John warned, His generation, But you see, If Revelation 14, Is true, This gospel, Is an eternal gospel, It's a gospel, For every generation, Including our generation, The message of Jesus, Brings the judgment, Of the last day, Right into the present day, And it confronts, Men and women, Like you and me, With the truth, About God's salvation, That it is salvation,

[28:39] And that it is the only salvation, From the fire, Of God's judgment, Upon sin, And if John's message, Was fearsome, Announcing, That Jesus the judge, Was coming, How much more fearsome, Is the message, That the apostles, Themselves, Proclaimed after Jesus, Had risen, Saying, This Jesus, Whom you crucified, Has been raised, And appointed Lord, And Christ, Or as Paul said, To the people of Athens, He has fixed a day, When he will judge the earth, In righteousness, And so he commands, All men, Everywhere, To repent, To repent, To repent, Friends, Not only is, Judgment day coming, The date is fixed, Says the New Testament, And it is most certainly, A lot nearer now, Than when Paul first spoke those words, And moreover, If we believe Jesus,

[29:40] And his words, That day is not only fixed, For the world, But that day is fixed, For every single human being, And none of us knows, How close that day might be, When we get to chapter 12, We'll see Jesus, Speaking to a man, Who thought he had it all, And thought he had plenty of time, To think about those things, Later on, And God said to him, You fool, Because this night, You will stand before your judge, Friends, Are we ready for that?

[30:11] I don't think, There could be any more, Important question, In the whole world, Or in your life, Than that question, Could there? That was John's question, That was John's message, And he was clear, You are not ready, His revelation, Demanded a response, From people, To make them ready, You must repent, He said, Because without that, Forgiveness is not possible, And it must be real, Verse 7, Do you see, Not just like snakes, Fleeing away from a fire, But still being snakes, No, You are to bear fruit, In keeping with repentance, And again, John's call, Is just that, That is echoed, By Jesus, And by all his apostles, Jesus constantly said, To pious people, Religious people, Who thought they were alright, Who thought, Oh no, We don't need to repent, No, You're wrong, He said, You have to get real, It's not just about words,

[31:12] It's about actions, Hear my words, And do them, Said Jesus, Bear fruit, And prove to be my disciples, He says in John 15, Verse 8, He says exactly that, Doesn't he, In Luke chapter 10, To that lawyer, Who tests him, And he gives Jesus, Just the right answer, In words, About how you inherit, Eternal life, Remember, It's about inheriting life, It's not about earning life, At all, But Jesus says, Yes, You're right, Love the Lord your God, With all your heart, And soul, And mind, And strength, And your neighbor, As yourself, That is the wisdom, Of righteousness, That is the way of life, But it's got to be, A reality, Not just a pretense, And he exposed, That man, Didn't he, By telling the story, Of the good Samaritan, And it was the Samaritan, The scumbag, To the Israelites, Not the pious, Priest of Israel, Who proved, To be, A neighbor, And showed in his life,

[32:14] That he really did love the Lord his God, With all his heart, And therefore his neighbor is himself, And Jesus said to that man, Go, And do, Likewise, Bear fruit, In keeping, With real repentance, Stop being proud, Stop being presumptuous, About your spiritual pedigree, Stop being a viper, Talking a lot of piety, But actually, Full of poison, Well, John's preaching, Was pretty fearsome, And verse 10 tells us, That many in the crowd, Were cut to the heart, By his message, They say, What must we do?

[32:53] They say, Just exactly, What they said to Peter, On the day of Pentecost, What must we do? And so John helps them, To see what it means, To turn from their sins, They must, Truly love God, Above all things, And therefore, Truly love their neighbor, As themselves, That means, Repenting of worldly, And selfish attitudes, Verse 10, Loving themselves, More than God, Greed for themselves, Instead of pleasing God, And sharing his gifts, With others, Well, Is that really us?

[33:25] They're to repent, Verse 12, Of worldly, And selfish ambition, Seeking wealth, And glory, For themselves, The wrong way, Sinfully, Worshipping wealth, Worshipping authority, Which is idolatry, They're to repent, Verse 14, From worldly, And selfish attitudes, Misusing power, For self gain, And being discontented, With what God has given us, In other words, They're to turn, From the sin, That is behind all sin, Which is a rebellion, Against God's created order, For us as human beings, Putting ourselves, At the center, Of the universe, And demanding that God, Serves us, Instead of us, Serving him, Who is the center, Of the universe, As Paul says, In Romans 1, Turning the truth of God, Into a lie, And worshipping, And serving the creature, Not the creator, And real repentance, Means turning,

[34:28] Decisively, Away from disobedience, And towards the wisdom, Of true righteousness, Turning from, Our fractured, And fallen humanity, Which can only bring us, To everlasting ruin, Under God's wrath, But there's the problem, Isn't it?

[34:50] John, Says it himself, John can only do, What Moses, And all the other prophets, Could do, He can declare, God's righteousness, He can expose sin, And he can promise, That salvation, Can only come, From God himself, All John can do, Is baptize with cold water, He can call people, To repent, He cannot impart, Forgiveness, And restoration, To sinful people, But John's unique, Ministry, Which made him, The greatest of all, The prophets, According to Jesus, Was that he, Could point people, Quite literally, To the one, Who could do that, And who now, Would do that, For all, Who would trust in him, And abandon their pride, And presumption, And turn to him, In obedient faith, John's message, Was just as Paul says, In Romans chapter 3, That no one is righteous, And therefore, All have to repent, And can't be righteous,

[35:52] But that now, Our righteousness of God, Has been manifested, In the flesh, The law, And the prophets, Bear witness to it, But now, It's here in Jesus, For all, Who believe, Or to use Luke's language, For all who truly, Repent, And that's why, Luke, Concludes, John's ministry, Of repentance here, And then immediately, Shows us Jesus, In his baptism, And his genealogy, And his temptation, Because Luke is telling us, That not only, Does the coming of God's kingdom, Mean that the day of wrath, Has begun, And it demands, Real repentance, A turning from sin, That leads only, To everlasting ruin, But also, He's telling us, That the coming of Jesus, Means that the day of, Ultimate restoration, Has also begun, And that it delivers, Real renewal, And Luke's message,

[36:54] In this second section, Is equally clear, He's saying, Turn to the son, Who alone, Can bring, Everlasting renewal, For all humanity, Luke wants us to see, What we are not, But what we must become, If we are to be at peace, With a holy God, And he wants us to see, That true salvation, Is not simply, An undoing, Of the ruin of sin, But it is the restoration, Of the beauty of holiness, That is human life, As God purposed it to be, True, Earthly sons, Of the heavenly father, I could spend weeks, On this passage alone, But I want you to see, The message that Luke, Is telling us, By grouping these things, Together right here, I'm sure you can see, The starkness, Of the contrast, Having confronted, Proud and, And presumptuous, And unholy humanity, In its sin, He now turns us,

[37:55] To something totally different, The humble, Obedient, Holy, Humanity, Of Jesus, The true son of the father, Look at the events, Of Jesus' baptism, He's saying, Look, Jesus is the true, Heavenly son of God, Matthew gives us, Lots more detail, About the events of the baptism, But all of Luke's focus, Is on verse 22, Do you see, On heaven's verdict, On Jesus, Here is one, Who is called, God's beloved son, He's quoting, From Psalm 2, About God's Messiah king, But notice, The absolute uniqueness, Of this, The holy spirit of God, The one who conveys, God's own holy presence, Descends upon him, In bodily form, The fullness, Of God himself, Dwells in this man, Bodily, He is pleased, To dwell in him, As Paul says, To the Colossians, Here is a man,

[38:56] Here is the true, Son of God, Utterly at peace, With God, He is not under, God's wrath, Remember the angels, Proclaimed, Peace on earth, Towards men, With whom God, Is well pleased, He says, With this one, I'm well pleased, The only man, If John is right, Who can be at peace, With God, And absolutely, At one with him, The only man, For whom heaven is open, And there is perfect communion, With the father's dwelling place, Adam, Do you remember, Closed Eden, Forever, To Adam and his progeny, Shut out, From God's presence, But here Jesus, Is opening heaven, By his prayer, What none of us, Are or can be, Jesus is, He is a true, Heavenly son of God, And yet he is also, A true, Human son of God,

[39:56] That's the whole point, Of Luke putting this long, Genealogy here, Where he places it, And especially, The message that he gives us, By focusing on that, Very last verse, Do you see, Verse 38, He's the son of Adam, The first son of God, And that's Luke's whole point, Yes, Jesus is the legitimate, Son of David, And of Abraham, Yes, He's the true king, He's the true Israelite, But much more than that, Luke is flagging up, He's the true human, This, Is the second Adam, He's saying, To the fight, And to the rescue, Come, And he comes to restore, Man, In his true humanity, As man, He comes to reverse, The terrible unmanning of man, Through the disobedience of sin, Luke's just showing us, Graphically here, What Paul says to us, In Romans chapter 5, Just as by one man, One man's disobedience, Many were made sinners, So by one man's obedience,

[40:59] The many will be made righteous, And that obedience, Is what we see, Displayed in the temptation, The truly heavenly son of God, Who is the truly human, Son of God, The new Adam, Is proven to be, The truly holy, Son of God, You can't miss, Can you, In this story, Of the temptations, The allusions, To the garden of Eden, And to the first Adam, Who so miserably failed, Adam, Was tempted by food, He was tempted, By worldly selfish appetites, Just as Israel was as well, In the wilderness, When God called Israel, His son, And said he was testing him, But where Adam failed, And where Israel failed, Here Jesus, The true son, Prevails, And Adam also was tempted, With worldly and selfish ambition, You'll be like gods, He says, And so Jesus, Is likewise tempted, To glory and honor, Through idolatrous worship, But again, Where Adam failed,

[42:00] And where Israel failed, Jesus triumphs, And Adam was tempted also, Wasn't he, With worldly and selfish attitudes, Putting God's word, To the test, Has God really said that?

[42:12] Demanding more from God, Than God had provided him with, And so Jesus here, Is severely tempted, Satan even uses God's own words, Against him, Just the same way, But again, This true son of God, The second Adam, Triumphs, In obedient faith, And he's shown to be, The truly heavenly, Human, And holy, Son of God, I wonder if you noticed, How similar, The three temptations, That Jesus resists, So powerfully are, To the three areas, Of repentance, That John calls his listeners to, In chapter 3, Verses 10 to 14, It's only Luke, Who records those verses, And he's so careful, He cannot be doing it, For any other reason, I think, Than to drive home, This extraordinary contrast, Look, Look what you are not, And what you need to be, Look what you need to repent of,

[43:13] And look at him, And see what he is, And see what you must be, If you are to be holy, If you are to be, At peace with God, If you are to escape wrath, If you are to be, Pleasing, To your heavenly father, But the question is, Friends, How does that, Help us, To see that Jesus, Is all of these things, The son of God, Who is truly holy, Truly human, Who is totally, In touch with heaven, Everything that we are not, Doesn't that just make, All the more obvious to us, That we are not that, Doesn't that drive us, To despair, That we will never, See his salvation, Well it would be that, If Luke had not told us, Two crucial things, Look at verse 22, Of chapter 3, The first words,

[44:17] Spoken from heaven, Do come from Psalm 2, About God's king, But that last part, With you I am well pleased, That comes, From Isaiah chapter 42, The first of, The servant songs, Where God speaks, Of his coming servant, With whom he is well pleased, The savior, Through him, His salvation, Will come to the ends, Of the earth, The servant, Who himself, Will suffer, For his people's sins, He, He was numbered, With the transgressors, He, Will bear, The sins of many, Says Isaiah 53, And God delights, In his heavenly son, Because, He is the one, Who will bear away, His people's sin, He is the one, Who will cause many, To be counted righteous, Do you see the other thing, In verse 21, When Jesus also, Had been baptized, Doesn't that strike you,

[45:17] As odd, Doesn't that strike you, As totally wrong, After everything I've said, John's baptism, Was a baptism of repentance, For sin, But Jesus, Is the perfect, Human, Holy, Son of God, At peace with heaven, He has no sin, He's not under God's wrath, He's well pleasing to God, Why is he being baptized, Well you see, As God's, Servant, Savior, His, Holy, Precious son, Is numbered, With the transgressions, Is numbered, With the unholy, He is baptized, For sins, Not his own, Because he came, To bear sin, That was not his own, But his people's sin, In order that his people, Might be declared righteous, With a holiness, That is not their own, But is his, And Luke is saying to us here,

[46:19] Friends, That in all this, Great contrast, Between us, And the Lord Jesus Christ, He is our substitute, He bore our sin, That led to ruin, And the wrath of God, That we, Might be bequeathed, His holiness, And be restored, To our true humanity, God's everlasting life, And to see salvation, Says Luke, Is to see, Truly, This great, Exchange, And so to turn, From your sins, And the way of wrath, And turn to the Savior, The way of restoration, And renewal, Now when John preached, He called people, To repent, Now, But he said to them, You have to wait, For that new life, Because only Jesus can bring it, He will baptize with the Spirit, But because Jesus did obey, Because he was, God's faithful son, When he prayed, God sent the Holy Spirit,

[47:20] To empower his life, Of perfect human holiness, And when he rose from the dead, And ascended to heaven, Jesus also said to his disciples, Wait, Wait for the promised Holy Spirit, Who will clothe you, With power from on high, And that's what happened, On the day of Pentecost, And that was the beginning, Of the great day of restoration, Of humanity, The restoration of the whole universe, And that means friends, That today, There is no more waiting, In fact on that very day, Peter preached, And said there's no need, To wait any longer, When people said, What must we do to be saved, He said repent, Turn from your sins, And you will receive, The gift of the Holy Spirit, No more delay, And countless Jews, On that day, Received, The gift of the Holy Spirit, And restoration of life, And countless Gentiles, Afterwards also,

[48:21] And the Jews rejoiced, And said, The Holy Spirit, Has been poured out, And upon the Gentiles, Then to the Gentiles also, God has granted, Repentance that leads to, Life, And what that means, Friends, Is that that is true of you, It's true of, Every one of us here today, Who has received, The word of the gospel, With penitence, Not with pride, You are clothed, With the Holy Spirit, Of God's Holy Son, You wear the garments, Of his obedience, And that means that, As you and I, Approach God in prayer, And feel that our sins, Will make him turn away, We hear a voice, That says, No, Come near, You are my beloved son, My daughter, With you, I am well pleased, With you, I am at peace,

[49:22] Because, The Father sees us, Clothed, With the perfect, Holy, Humanity, Of his son, No longer ruined by sin, But completely restored, By Jesus, And of course, Although you do still sin, And you will battle sin, Until finally at last, You enter in your resurrection body, Of the Lord Jesus Christ, His spirit, Will never leave you, Because we pray with Jesus' promise, And you remember what he said?

[49:58] How much more, Will your heavenly father, Give, His Holy Spirit, To those who ask him, He will never, Refuse the prayer, Of his holy and beloved son, And that's the joy, Of those who have seen, His salvation, But as I close, Let me just close, With this warning, None of it's automatic, Is it?

[50:28] That's why Luke includes, Verses 19 and 20, About Herod, Because not all did respond, To John's preaching, Herod met it, With resistance, And rage, For Herod, He refused the word, Because he would not tolerate, The Bible's criticism, Of his own particular, Sexual behavior, That's still the same, Sadly, Very often for many people today, Or it could be a host, Of other things, But Herod, Silenced John the messenger, And three years later, When Herod found himself, Face to face, With the Lord Jesus Christ, Luke chapter 23, Tells us that he was eager, To hear him, And see some sign, And he questioned Jesus, Deeply, But we read these fateful words, Jesus, Made him, No answer, Because it was too late, He had silenced, The message, The word that would have brought him,

[51:30] Restoration to life, Forgiveness of his sins, Repentance, Unto life, And so he was abandoned, To a ruin, Of his own making, And Luke is saying to us, Friends, In this chapter, Don't be, Like Herod, Listen to John, Turn, From your sin, That leads only to ruin, And turn to the son, Who alone, Brings restoration, And renewal, And life, Let's pray, Heavenly Father, Open our hearts, We pray, To receive your word of life, Turn us, To Jesus, Your beloved son, That in him, We might know, The joy, Of your salvation, For we ask it in his name,

[52:32] Amen, Amen, God bless, Amen, God bless, Amen, Let us inhale, Amen, Amen, That in sin, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, See you, Amen, Father, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Holy sano grande, Amen, Amen, Amen,