"You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." then the Spirit drives Jesus to the desert: Epiphany 3, Jan 26-27/2013[Type text] Page 1

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Aubrey Collins
5 years ago
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1 I am struck this morning by the differences among the Gospels as they each attempt to prove the origin of the authority of Jesus and what legitimatizes his ministry and teaching. Matthew starts off with the genealogy of Jesus: who begot who, starting with Abraham through David, ending with Jesus thru Joseph. He is unique in telling us the infancy stories, then talks about John, the Baptism of Jesus and the 40 days in the desert. Mark starts off with the adult ministry of John, the Baptizer. He highlights the Baptism of Jesus because God outs Jesus during the Baptism as His Son: Mark 1:11-12 "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." then the Spirit drives Jesus to the desert: 12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness to pray, fast and be tempted. Epiphany 3, Jan 26-27/2013[Type text] Page 1

2 Luke begins with the family background of John the Baptist. He details the depression of the childless Elizabeth and the angels visit to Zachariah to announce John s future birth and mission as the forerunner of the promised Messiah. Luke actually is the heaviest hitter in authenticating the origin and mission of Jesus. In the first 3 chapters of his Gospel he offers eight stories he uses to underline the authority of Jesus.. There is 1) the announcement to Zachariah in the temple and his prayer at the circumcision of his son John, 2) The angels announcement of the birth of Jesus to the shepherds in these words: Luke 2:11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord 3) The acknowledgement of Simeon and the prophet Anna in the temple when Jesus is brought there for the rite of purification Epiphany 3, Jan 26-27/2013[Type text] Page 2

3 4) The amazement of the teachers in the Temple at the wisdom of this boy when Jesus remains there when he is twelve. 5) John s foretelling his coming and the Baptism story in Luke 3:22 And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." 2 6) In Luke 3:23-38 we have a genealogy that traces Jesus lineage thru David but past Abraham all the way back to Adam and God. 7) His fast in the desert and struggle with Satan. All this and we are only up to the beginning of Chapter 4 in Luke. Finally we have our Gospel reading today. Jesus authenticates his own authority, basically he outs himself. He reads from Isaiah: 18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Epiphany 3, Jan 26-27/2013[Type text] Page 3

4 Jesus sits down to explain what the reading means and says: "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." Here we have the reason and focus of his life. He says: to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. That is his job description. Does it have anything to do with us? We say we follow Jesus, so it does have a message for us. We could debate who are the poor in our midst? We can question how do people in our lives need to be set free? To what mission are we called? What we can not do is skip the first words Jesus reads from Isaiah: Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. If we are to follow Jesus, The Spirit, through whom God is active in the world, who is God s Epiphany 3, Jan 26-27/2013[Type text] Page 4

5 presence in the world, must be the instigator and focus of how we act, how we live and how we minister. It is important to notice that despite the order of their stories, Matthew, Mark and Luke all get to the Baptism of Jesus and all state that Jesus is driven or led to the desert experience by the Spirit. We also have all been baptized and received the fullness of the Spirit thru that sacrament. We come here to Grace (think about the significance of those five words) and we are fed by: o the word of God o the bread and wine of communion and Epiphany 3, Jan 26-27/2013[Type text] Page 5

6 o By each other. Is that enough to let the Holy Spirit be the driving force or the battery of our lives? I would suggest not. We charge our phones more frequently than once a week. Our young people keep their relationships alive by incessant texting. I do not suggest that the only place we recharge is here. I do suggest that relationships need time and communication and that our relationship with the Holy Spirit needs the same. It needs us placing ourselves in the presence of the Other. Taking our lives, our work, our loved ones, our troubles and joys into the minutes of quiet we can carve in our day, offering them, asking for guidance, for wisdom for hope and joy. Asking to be one with this Spirit of God. That is all God requires. Epiphany 3, Jan 26-27/2013[Type text] Page 6

BTH-108 GOSPEL OF MATTHEW SPIRITUAL LIFE BIBLE COLLEGE WINTER 2019 MIDTERM EXAM PLEASE INDICATE WHETHER THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS ARE TRUE OR FALSE

BTH-108 GOSPEL OF MATTHEW SPIRITUAL LIFE BIBLE COLLEGE WINTER 2019 MIDTERM EXAM NAME: PLEASE INDICATE WHETHER THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS ARE TRUE OR FALSE 1. Scripture absolutely tells us that Matthew was