Luke 24:36-39, “36 While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be to you.” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. 38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”

• In verse 38 we see Jesus has entered into Jerusalem, been put to death on a cross, resurrected from the dead, and in verse 38 Jesus says, “Why are you troubled?” What’s up with that?
• In verse 39 you need to circle those words, “See My hands, My feet, touch Me, see Me. Those words are important. In verse 39 Jesus is pointing the disciples to verifiable evidence of His resurrection.

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Luke 22:39-42, “39 And He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. 40 When He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41 And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, 42 saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.”

• Notice the phrase, “remove this cup from Me.” The word “cup” is a reference to Jesus’ death. In Isaiah 51 Isaiah is speaking of Israel facing God’s judgment and drinking His judgment as a “cup of wrath.” (Isaiah 51:17)  Jeremiah 25, Jeremiah is speaking of God’s judgment as a “cup of wrath” (Jeremiah 25:15). Throughout Scripture the word “cup” is often associated with “God’s judgment” therefore, when Jesus prays the phrase, “remove this cup from Me” Jesus is speaking about the “cup of wrath” that is going to be poured out on to Jesus at the cross.

Luke 22:43-46, “43 Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. 45 When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, 46 and said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

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Luke 22:14, “14 When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him.”

• Through the life of Jesus we constantly see Jesus saying “My hour has not come, My time has not yet come” and in verse 14 the hour has come, and Jesus reclines at the table with the apostles to celebrate Passover.

Luke 22:15-16, “15 And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

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Luke 19:28, “28 After He had said these things, He was going on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.”

• In verse 28 we see the phrase, “After He had said these things” and this is a literary cue to say, “What things?”
• In the previous verses Jesus presents a parable about the urgency of living in His Kingdom on earth, and then in verse 28 Jesus makes His way to Jerusalem.

Now you need to know the context of Luke 19 is taking place during the Passover season. Passover goes back to Exodus when Moses leads Israel out of bondage in Egypt, when the angel of death passes over every house covered by the blood of the lamb, and in Luke 19 everyone, possibly millions of people, are headed to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover.

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Luke 12:13, “13 Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”

• In verse 13 it appears there is some tension around who inherits what, and I don’t know how many of us have been in those conversations about inheritance when someone passes away in the family, but they are really uncomfortable.

Luke 12:14-15, “14 But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”

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Luke 10:25-26, “25 And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?”

• In verse 25 a lawyer stands up, and asks Jesus, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” First, you need to know the lawyer in verse 25 isn’t like a lawyer for personal injury like Funk and Associates. This lawyer is an expert in biblical law. Write that in your notes, “This lawyer is a religious scholar, expert in biblical law.”

Luke 10:27, “27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”

•  Verse 27 is impossible!.  Who on earth can love the God of Scripture with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and your neighbor as yourself.

Luke 10:28-29, “28 And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” 29 But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

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Luke 9:28, “28 Some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.”

• The phrase “some eight days” is a strange description, but the intent is to connect these words to the words of Jesus in verse 18, which is what we looked at last Sunday, “Who do people say that I am?”
• In verse 20 Peter responds, “Jesus, you are the Christ.” In verse 27 Jesus says, “Some of you will not taste of death until you see the kingdom of God” and in verse 28 Jesus takes Peter, John, and James up on the mountain to see the glory of God revealed in Jesus known as the transfiguration.
• The transfiguration gets very little attention in the local church in the United States. We talk about the incarnation of Jesus (His birth), the resurrection of Jesus (His death), but the transfiguration is a moment in the life of Jesus where His glory is revealed.

Luke 9:29, “29 And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming.”

• The word, “different” in the original language means “different.” I don’t fully understand what takes place in this moment, but in this moment Jesus goes from a caterpillar to a butterfly times a gazillion.
• Verse 29 is the opposite of Philippians 2:7 that describes the glory of Jesus taking on flesh, “Emptying Himself, being made in the likeness of men” but now the “likeness of men” is being pulled back and the glory of Jesus is bursting forth with blazing light.

Luke 9:30-31, “30 And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, 31 who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.”

• Moses and Elijah would have been the two key figures of the Old Testament.
• Elijah is most known for his resistance against false teaching, so that Moses is a representative of the law, Elijah is a representative of the prophets, but in this moment all the attention is on Jesus, because Moses and Elijah are “speaking of His departure.”
• The word, “departure” in the original language is the word, “exodus.”

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Luke 9:23, “23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”

• First we see the identity of Jesus established in verses 21-22, Jesus is the One with final authority in heaven and on earth to remove guilt once and for all.
• In verse 23 Jesus lifts up His eyes to all the people and says, “Take up your cross and follow Me.”
• The invitation of Jesus is not to intellectually describe how Jesus removes our guilt. The invitation of Jesus is not a pop quiz. The invitation of Jesus is to live as new people in Jesus, free from guilt, with heaven on earth.
• So many times the local church presents Jesus as your ticket to heaven, but in verse 23 Jesus is saying, “Heaven on earth begins today. Take up your cross and follow Me.”
• The phrase, “take up your cross” means “die to yourself.” These words are from Jesus to put our fleshly desires of the world to death, and follow Jesus by faith in His authority.

That is why Jesus is asking, “Who do you say that I am?” The answer to that question makes all the difference. Jesus is the Christ! Jesus the One who holds all authority in heaven and on earth, therefore, by grace through faith in Jesus we die to our flesh and obey Him. 

In Luke 6 Jesus comes down the mountain from prayer, gathers the Apostles to Himself and as a “great throng of people” gather around and He begins to describe characteristics of what it looks like to become new people in Jesus.

Luke 6:20-22, “20 And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. 22 Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.”

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Luke 2:1, “1 Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.”

• The life of Jesus is surrounded in culture and community.
• Luke doesn’t come from a religious background. Luke didn’t grow up reading the Bible, Luke didn’t grow up going to church, and Luke didn’t walk with Jesus personally.
• If you look at Luke 1, verses 1-4 we see Luke describe himself as an investigative reporter who is tracking down eyewitness testimony from men and women who walked with Jesus, saw Jesus, touched Jesus, and corroborating their story. Luke wants to determine if this life of Jesus is true.

When you are reading the Gospel of Luke you are reading from someone who is concerned with the details and facts. You are reading someone who has asked the hard questions, “Are these claims about Jesus true?” Did Jesus really perform miracles? Is Jesus really God in the flesh? “ You are reading someone who is wanting to know, “Is the life of Jesus true?”

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Proverbs 3:1-2, “1 My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments. 2 For length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.”

Proverbs 3:3-4, ”3 Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man.”

Proverbs 3:5-6, “5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

Proverbs 3:7-8, “7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. 8 It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones.”

Proverbs 3:9-10, “9 Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce; ¹⁰ So your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine.”

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Ecclesiastes 3:9-10, “9 What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils? 10 I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.”

• In verse 9 Solomon asks, “What’s the profit?” In verses 1-8 there are pretty words made into a song in 1965 by the Byrds, “To everything (turn, turn, turn). There is a season (turn, turn, turn). But, Solomon didn’t mean for verses 1-8 to be pretty.
• Solomon is making an observation on the repetitive cycle of life, which never seems to make any progress. There is a time to live, a time to die, a time to laugh a time to mourn, a time for war and a time for peace. The same old thing, “Another day, another dollar.”
• In verse 10, “People have tasks to occupy themselves” (Do you see that phrase in verse 10?) like going to work, mowing the yard, changing diapers, making your bed, and every day you wake up and do these same tasks over and over.
• At first those tasks are exciting when we get a new shirt, a new mower, a new truck, a new relationship, but eventually we do those tasks at 30, 60, 100, 500, 1000 times, and eventually the newness starts to wear off, and human begins start to ask, “What’s the point?”

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Galatians 6:1, “1 Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.

• Galatians is written by the Apostle Paul to a region of churches in Galatia, modern day Turkey, and in verse 1 you see the phrase, “Restore one another in a spirit of gentleness.”
• The word, “restore” in the original language means to “equip.” Write that in your notes, “The word restore means to equip.”
• This isn’t a casual word. It is an “active” word “to equip by exposing rips and tears in our relationships with one another.”   It is to “equip so that we are helping to mend the brokenness of our relationship with Jesus and with one another back together.”
• This is why the Apostle Paul uses the word “caught” in verse 1 because the word “caught” means to be “overtaken by sin” or “ensnared by sin.”

Galatians 6:2-5, “2 Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another. 5 For each one will bear his own load.”

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2 Corinthians 8:1-2, “Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, 2 that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality.”

• The first and second letter to the Corinthians is a real letter to real people from the Apostle Paul, and in verses 1 and 2 the Apostle Paul is speaking to the Corinthian church about the local church in Macedonia (Two churches in modern day Greece).
• The Apostle Paul describes the Macedonian church as a people who are going through a “great ordeal of affliction” vs. 2, and yet they are “overflowing in the wealth of their liberality.”
• The word “liberality” means generous, which means the Macedonians are going through distress, challenges, sick kids, job loss, crazy politics, swings in the stock market, in deep poverty, and yet the Macedonians are generous with money!

2 Corinthians 8:3-5, “3 For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, 4 begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, 5 and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.”

• Do you see that in verses 3 and 4? In verse 3 they are giving according to their ability, and beyond their ability, and then at the end of verse 3 we see they are giving of their own accord.
• Do you see that word at the end of verse 3? The word, “accord” means “by one’s own choice.” It means the Macedonians weren’t giving generously in their poverty because they saw a sad commercial, or because they felt guilty, or because they are trying to gain favor from God, or because someone put up a thermometer on stage with sad faces.
• How did the Macedonians avoid the temptation to horde? How did the Macedonians avoid getting swept away on some cool sandals, or a new camel? Look at the end of verse 5. Do you see the answer? Verse 5 says, “But, they first gave themselves to the Lord.”

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Remember when you were young and adults would always ask us, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” When you were in elementary school you said things like firefighter, professional athlete, rock star, etc. But, as you got older your answers matured to things like teacher, lawyer, author, and for many of us, as we began to work in those careers we have found ourselves losing some optimism about life.

Eventually we learned we weren’t that great of an athlete; and for the majority of us we learned that although we were able to acquire a job as we got older, we also learned about many other areas of our life where we were deficient; health, relationships, finances, friendships, intellect, and over time we started to lose some optimism about life. It happens to all of us. If it hasn’t, just wait.

The yearly rhythms outlined in this book have been established to help us re-capture some youthful optimism about life. It is a chance to return to that aged old question, “What do I want to be when I grow up?” It’s not too late. There are still so many new opportunities in front of us, but for us to make the most of those opportunities then we must know what we are trying to accomplish in life.

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