Tuesday 4th January - Luke 2

You can read Luke 2 here - Luke 2

Tom writes:

This gospel is, as you know, part 1 in Doctor Luke’s 2-part epic of Luke and Acts.  When we think about these books in parallel it adds an extra shot of caffeine to what we imbibe from our bible beverage.  We know that in Acts 1:8 Jesus tells the early church they will be empowered by the Holy Spirit and will carry his gospel to all the world. We know this empowerment happens in Acts 2 in the temple courts with many languages being spoken in the Spirit. In a delicious piece of literary symmetry, we see a very similar “empowering” of Jesus by the Spirit in the temple courts in Luke 2. And we see a very similar consciousness of the nations in the prayer that Simeon prays. What Luke is showing through this structure is that where Jesus went, the church followed; what Jesus did - and how he was able to do it - the church did - and they were able to do it because they had the very same Spirit Jesus had. Jesus was utterly exceptional and amazing but Luke wants us to realise that we can actually do and be so much of what he did and was because of Holy Spirit. The Spirit was the activator and applicator of salvation in Jesus and this very same Spirit is the one who lives in us. That is worth mulling on and thinking through. That is a shot of caffeine so strong it should shake your body for several hours. Particularly because what the Spirit does in our lives is remarkably easy to miss.

Time and again Luke demonstrates how Holy Spirit grubs around in remarkably ordinary moments that draw people into the delight of salvation and yet could, so easily, have been missed. Think about how the Spirit “moves” Simeon to go into the temple courts so that he would come across Mary, Joseph and Jesus (2:25-27). This was what Simeon had been waiting his whole life for and yet, he could so easily have missed it if he had “rationalised” the feeling the Spirit was giving him and just done some shopping instead. And so, what Luke seems to be doing here is giving us heavy, heavy hints that fruitfulness in our faith demands we be filled with the Spirit, that we become such close friends with Holy Spirit that we never miss his promptings and are alert to all he says. Luke wants us to realise that if we do that, not only will we be drawn into the plans of Jesus but we will even end up doing so much of what Jesus did. 

Question for reflection

What would it feel like for the Spirit to “move” you like He moved Simeon?