Thoughts for the Day

John 8: 58 -59a “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”  At this they picked up stones to stone him … [Away from Luke for a few days, but we’ll be back!]  Alongside being fully man, Jesus was fully God, and he knew it.  How he came to know…

Luke 2:51 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men. I can imagine the sort of evidence that would have allowed Luke to describe Jesus as growing “in favour with men”, but I wonder what was the evidence that led him to say, “in favour with God”.  Ah well,…

Luke 2:50 Then he went down to Nazareth and was obedient to them [Mary and Joseph]. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. This is the second time that Luke refers to Mary treasuring events in her heart.  Perhaps it points to her being the direct source of much of the material…

Luke 2:49-50 “Why were you searching for me? [Jesus] asked.  “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”  But [Joseph and Mary] did not understand what he was saying to them. Luke records just one episode while Jesus is growing up.  He is twelve.  After making their annual Passover visit to Jerusalem…

Luke 2: 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. Only Luke records anything of Jesus’s childhood, and even he only gives us a handful of verses.  This one covers Jesus’s first 12 years.  What can we make of it?  By way…

Luke 2:38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she [Anna] gave thanks to God and spoke about the child [Jesus] to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. Two people come up to Mary, Joseph and Jesus while they are in the temple fulfilling this Levitical requirement of Purification, one…

Luke 2:21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived. This Lent series picks up Luke’s gospel narrative after the birth of Jesus – the incarnation – an event that was miraculous, unique, foretold by prophets, heralded…