Sunday, March 8th
The Gospel of Luke Revealed

Welcome to The Journey Church. I'm Pastor Paris Pasch.​

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Last week I started a month-long investigation into a great source of truth for every believer to assimilate into their life story.  I called it “The Gospel Revealed”.  I stated that if you grasp the next series, you will have what it takes to share your faith.  We started by asking the question; What is the gospel?

Remember the Greek word: εὐαγγέλιον (pronounced yoo-ang-GHEL-ee-on) meaning good news or good message.  We saw how the good news was simply that God had determined, that to help a confused Jewish nation regarding who He truly was, He decided to enter the sphere of earth, put on a flesh suit and live among human beings for 33 years.  He would show them exactly who the He was and then they would get it.  But did they?

Acts 13:27 (NIV) The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus…

1 John 4:2–3 (NIV) This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

Jesus, GOD, visited mankind in a way that they could have recognized Him, but they chose not to.  Jesus lowered Himself to human status to stand alongside humanity.  He showed humanity who God truly is, what He truly thinks and what God would do in our human situations.  Jesus literally created an 8 by 10 color glossy of God the Father Himself.  Something never done previous in time.  Jesus spoke God’s words, God’s heart and showed God’s actions.  He gave humanity irrefutable evidence, what God calls fruit.  All this and still humanity struggled to adjust their view of God.  They had understood God to be an exacting rule maker who had to be ritualistically followed to the letter regardless of our hearts.  So, when you read the gospels, you are seeing God’s attempt through Jesus, to show human beings who God truly is.  How can you avoid reading that?

Now in the best gospel, the gospel of Luke (I misspoke, they are all great but like I said last week I love the detail of Luke) Let’s read a short paragraph of his.

Luke 19:41–44 (NIV) As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

The religious elite of the local synagogue missed the very visit of God.  The truth was obscured from them because they refused to see outside their experience and long adhered to religious beliefs.  They stuck like glue to their ritual and formality regardless of the fact they had God right in front of them showing them the true path to the Father.  

Do you recognize that Jesus has come?  Do you read the gospels as the irrefutable evidence of God loving mankind, so much, He stepped down on the earth and walked among us in human flesh; feeling what we feel and hearing and seeing what we see and hear?

Luke chapter 1 tells us that he is going to do his very best to tell the story of what he saw and heard right at the beginning of his letter.

Chapter 1 and 2, Luke tells us that Jesus coming to earth was announced by John the Baptist, and how Mary and Joseph checked every Jewish box in his upbringing.  Luke tells Jews that Jesus came through an appropriate lineage for the Messiah to come through in chapter 3.  He tells the reader that Satan did his best to stop God, but Jesus prevailed in chapter 4.  In chapter 5 much is said about the religious leaders rejecting Jesus’ claim of being God’s sent one, but Jesus gave solid proof of God’s power by driving out evil spirits, healing sick people and announcing that God was in love with His people.

In Chapter 6 Luke reminds people that Jesus rules over everything, even the Sabbath instructions, and practiced rituals.  Jesus is documented as stating that His words and instructions need to be put into practice or they are dead words.  Luke then identifies by name each one of Jesus’ disciples whom he later called Apostles.  They were clearly marked and identified as real people.

In chapter 7 He tells us about their error of venerating even the likes of powerful humans like John the Baptist and tells them to see themselves as John’s equal if they serve faithfully.

In chapter 8 Luke tells his readers about planting seeds and reaping harvest.  This is a huge fruit chapter, and you would do well this year to plant all its words in your mind and heart.  He writes about Jesus’ power over death by raising a dead girl.  In chapter 9 and 10 he sends out each of his followers into their respective communities to share the good news they have now encountered.  They have seen and touched God in the flesh and they needed to tell what they saw and heard.  There is no room for just hearing but an absolute call to spreading the gospel is essential to the believer.  He even writes of Jesus announcing his death and the cost that will be demanded on those who choose to follow Him.

In chapter 11 He writes about Jesus teaching them to pray and the forces of evil they will contend with.  In both 11 and 12 he writes about Jesus’ warning of the religious leaders who would persecute any who deviate from their well ordered and carefully structured religious gatherings, and in chapter 13 he writes about Jesus warning them about careful pursuit of the truth because of the narrow access to eternity the Father has designed for all people.

Chapter 15 is more about a focus on the reality that there are clearly those who are lost and those who are found.  The writer reports some of the most powerful parables of Jesus ministry like the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son.  He makes it clear that everyone is lost until they are found.  In chapter 17 and 18 he writes about Jesus speaking of eternity being closed to all human beings apart from salvation through Christ.  Chapter 19 -21 is more of the clarity of what it takes to enter heaven.  22 is about final words and begins the journey of Jesus toward the crucifixion.  Chapter 24 begins telling the story of Jesus resurrected self all the way to the ascension to heaven.

Luke didn’t seem to leave anything out.  He wrote a play by play of the life of Jesus so that you and I could come to know Him personally and without excuse (Chapter 14).

In addition to the Bible there is a great read out there that challenges the theology that Christians are simply called to be faithful to learn more about God so we could answer any inquiry by our world.  The author is Richard Sterns, president of World Vision, writing “The Hole In The Gospel”.  Vicki and I were invited to a house gathering with metro area pastoral heavy hitters.  Richard Sterns was our celebrated guest, and he stated that he sees a hole in today’s gospel that is not missing in any of the four gospels of the Bible.  He told of this hole being that we have learned words without actions (leave without fruit).  This is the essence of this year’s driving focus, that fruit must be on our branches and it is not enough to have many leaves of knowledge.

Today, far too often, our religion has lost the revelation of God with flesh on among the rituals many hold so dearly.  Luke and a number of the other gospels drive this point home.

John 1:1–5 (NIV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Knowing the Bible and the gospel message is for a reason.  Having the exposure to who God truly is, is essential, but it has a purpose beyond mere knowing.  It must transform us into billboards for Jesus, into workman rightly able to handle the word of truth.  Read the next verse and see how it ends.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 (NIV) All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Our lives must produce action, work or fruit.  All the study, all the classes, all the prayer and all the Sunday services must produce fruit.  The gospel is about the fruit of Jesus and His effort to pass that life onto His followers.

Can you tell the gospel in your own words briefly?  You should be able to recite the story with your observations just like John or Mark.  The gospel has power so don’t shrink back.  The gospel message reigns supreme

Romans 1:16–17 (NIV) For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” 

The gospel in plain words written in your bulletin:

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Jesus was sent by God to live among mankind to reveal how much He loved humanity.  He demonstrated every aspect of love from healing sick people to making alive those both dead in their sins and dead in their eternity.  Mankind rejected everything about Jesus to the point of murdering Him through death on the cross.  Jesus died for human beings so the debt could be paid for every mistake we’ve ever made. After killing Christ, they buried Him in a tomb and three days later He rose from the dead to live again as the now and forever resurrected savior of those who acknowledge His birth, life, death and now resurrection. Any person who acknowledges that reality, and invites Jesus to be their personal savior, is born again to eternal life.

Pastor Ben and Pastor Brannen will continue down this line of truth so that none of us will ever be able to say that we didn’t know.  Only you can establish that you heard and obeyed the words of the gospel.

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Next week Pastor Brannen brings The Gospel of Matthew

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Thanks For Joining Us

Connect with us at www.thejourneyhastings.church

Message Questions

1. Why do many people today fail to recognize the works of God in their lives, just as many did not recognize Jesus’ works in His day?

2. What does it mean that there is often a “hole in the gospel” message as it is shared today?

3. How does Jesus reveal the true nature of the Father?

4. Why do you think Jesus used so many parables? (Consult Matthew 13:10-17)

5. What is one step you will take to live out the gospel this week?

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*I encourage you to read through the Gospel of Matthew this week in preparation for the message on 3/15