Thursday, September 19, 2013

Jesus Was

Luke 3:23 - Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli…

Many people will resist believing in Jesus because it seems so uncertain that such a person ever lived. Others may acknowledge the possibility of a First Century Palestinian Jew named Jesus gathering a following, but they cannot accept he was who he claimed to be. Doctor Luke seems to anticipate this skepticism. All through these first three chapters of his gospel and on through the rest of the gospel and the Book of Acts, Luke brings up evidence again and again that Jesus was and that he was who he claimed to be.

His introduction culminates with this genealogy. It contains real names of real people who really lived. Contemporary readers were invited to check out its validity. Notice, though, Luke gives credence to the virgin birth story he recorded a few pages ago: Jesus was “supposed” to be the son of Joseph. Enomizeto in Greek has two major ideas that both relate here: The first is thinking and considering – in other words, people “thought” Jesus was the son of Joseph. The second is the fact that the root of enomizeto is the root of the word that means law. In other words, Joseph was Jesus’ legal father. In both cases, Luke provides solid evidence of Jesus’ reality without denying his virgin birth and divinity.

Jesus was. He was a real person. However, he was unlike any other person who ever lived. In fact, he still lives. He still works. He still changes lives. If you have not yet come to trust him, I encourage you to do so. He will change your life.

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