DAY 182: JOURNEY THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR – LUKE 15-16

June 29, 2024

LUKE 15-16
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DAY 182: JOURNEY THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR

Today, during our journey through Luke 15-16, we shall examine the parables of Jesus.

Ask God for His understanding of Luke 15-16. Read Luke 15-16. Let’s journey!

Luke is the only Gentile author of a Gospel and he was not an apostle of Jesus Christ. Luke was a well-educated doctor, who carried out careful research, gathering first-hand accounts for his narrative, and traveled extensively with the Apostle Paul. It is thought that the Gospel of Luke was written shortly after the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. In addition to writing the Gospel of Luke, he also wrote the book of Acts. Luke wrote in a way that would be accessible for all to read and includes some parables of Jesus Christ not found elsewhere in the Bible. Throughout his Gospel, Luke shows that Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament in His way, which was not the way that many, including the religious leader, thought the prophecies would be fulfilled. The same holds true today; we cannot place our expectations and beliefs on Jesus, rather we must first submit ourselves to Him to understand Him and His word.

Luke 15-16: Our journey today takes us through a series of Jesus’ parables that speak of the joy God and all in heaven experience when a sinner repents. Look at Luke 15:7,  “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” (NIV) Repentance brings joy, not only to God but to all in heaven. The series of parables in today’s reading describes God’s and the heavenly community’s joy for the repentant sinner. These parables of Jesus also ask us to examine what we value the most in life. God will not accept second position to anything. (Luke 15:1-16:31)

As you read today’s reading, make sure that you are not applying the standards and expectations of today’s world to Luke 15 and 16. Rather apply what is written to the standards and expectations of today’s world. Are there areas of your life that are in contradiction to what you have read? Have you truly stopped and meditated upon the meaning of lessons taught in today’s reading? What have you learned?

Godspeace!