The Bryce Crawford Podcast - Luke Series Chapter 3 (EP 57)

Episode Date: December 3, 2024

In this video, Bryce breaks down Luke 3. Filmed By; Josh Rodriguez @whitehorse.studios MERCH👉 https://www.jesusinthestreet.com subscribe for more! Sow Into My Ministry One-Time or Monthly! Visit 👉 https://www.equipnet.org/missionaries/bcrawford   (all donations are tax deductible) Download Our FREE Bible Plan https://growinfaith.readytoconnect.com/join-the-one-year-bible-challenge  follow me on other platforms! Podcast Instagram 👉https://instagram.com/brycecrawfordpodcast Personal Instagram 👉 https://instagram.com/brycecrawford Merch Instagram 👉 https://instagram.com/ilovejesus Tiktok (main) 👉https://www.tiktok.com/@brycecrawford  Tiktok (2nd) 👉 https://www.tiktok.com/@adventuresofbryce  Snapchat https://snapchat.com/add/brycecraww  Twitter 👉 https://twitter.com/ibrycecrawford #christianity #christian #Jesus #BryceCrawford #christiantiktok #christianvideos #holyspirit #Jesusheals #viral #christianvideo #venicebeach #evangelism

What's going on, guys. Welcome back to another episode of the Bryce Crawford podcast. I'm Bryson. Today, we're on the third day of the 24-day Luke challenge series. We're every day of December. We're going to read a chapter of Luke so that by the time we get to Christmas Eve, you will have read the whole story of Luke. If you guys want a free printout or picture that you can track that you're both reading it on your own

and listening to these verse-by-verse breakdowns, go to Jesus in the street. org slash Luke, enter your email and you will get access to download the free PDF. It's going to be powerful. But Luke chapter 3, we got some interesting stuff here. We're about to see the lead up to Jesus' ministry. We're going to look at John the Baptist walking in his calling. We're going to look at Jesus briefly getting baptized. And then there's a genealogy at the end of Luke chapter 3.

And we're going to identify the importance of the genealogy. Why is there a genealogy in Luke chapter 3? Let's get into it. In the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Ponni's pilot being governor of Judea and Herod being tetriarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip, tetriarch of the region of uteria and trachonitis and Lysanis. and Lysanius tetrarch of Abilene. During the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,

the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. Luke is painting the picture of both the governmental corruption and the religious corruption at the time. Caiaphas was the high priest at the time, but Anas actually had the religious influence at the time. And if you look back in history on both these religious figures and over the government figures that we see, Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate.

I mean, Pontius Pilate was known towards his kind of hard heart towards the Jews. So, I mean, you've got Luke displaying the corruption in both areas of life at this time period because he's preparing the way of Jesus Christ to heal all things. So he's setting the scene here going, it's extremely corrupt.

And he went into all region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. So John the Baptist message here is one of her. repentance. John isn't preaching feelings here. He's not preaching. Say sorry and keep doing what you're doing because that's not repentance. That's abusing God's grace. And a lot of people do that today. They go, oh, well, God's going to forgive me so I can do whatever I want. And then when I feel sorry about it, I'll say I'm sorry, God will forgive me, and then I can keep doing what I'm wanting. No, the message of repentance that John is preaching is this. You're walking towards sin and you finally get

convicted and realize that the lifestyle of sin that you're living is one that you weren't originally designed to make. You were designed in the image of God. And this lifestyle of sin is not your original design. You fall on your knees out of conviction. You cry out to the Lord and you say, God, I repent. Forgive me of my sins. After you ask for forgiveness, you do a complete 180. You turn around from walking towards sin and you start running and chasing after the goal of Jesus Christ because that's the goal of repentance, changing you from your old way of life and giving you a completely new way of life in Jesus Christ, your original design. Verse four, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, the prophecy of

John the Baptist in Isaiah, the voice of the one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, every mountain and hills shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways. So Isaiah is actually prophesying what Jesus will do. there's no valley low point in someone's life that Jesus can't heal there's no extremely high extreme point in people's life that Jesus can't mend or heal or be there for he's actually going to do everything Jesus has the ability to heal every heart and then in verse six it says and all flesh shall see the salvation of God salvation isn't just for people who go to seminary school salvation isn't just for people that say how holy they are. Salvation isn't just for the Israelites. Salvation is for all people. And that's what John the Baptist is preaching here. And that's what is prophesied that he will preach. Verse seven. And therefore, he said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him. You brood of

vipers. Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? So John the Baptist is giving his first big message here. Imagine the president giving his first big speech in front of a crowd. And he looks at the crowd that are all there to support him, and he calls them a group of snakes. He calls them a bunch of snakes. This is John the Baptist's big moment here, okay? And he says, you brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come. John the Baptist, in this context, is actually speaking to the religious leaders at the time. He says, bear fruits in keeping with repentance.

He says, show me the fruit of your repentance. He says, the outside of your cup looks clean, and that's what the Pharisees did. They always talked about how holy they are, but their hearts were far from God. And he says, look, I don't care about what you're saying. You're a bunch of snakes. He says, you talk about how close you are to God, but your actions are far from it. He says, keep, bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And you can tell someone, you can tell the legitimacy of someone's faith based off the fruit they bear.

That's how the Bible tells us we identify false teachers. That's how the Bible tells us that we identify true believers and followers of Jesus. Christ is the fruit they bear. And one of those fruits being love, which these Pharisees had little to none inside of them. They cared about themselves, the perception of themselves, and Jesus is giving a call here. Through John the Baptist. I mean, John the Baptist is preparing the way. He says, you brew to vipers, bear fruits and keep them with repentance. And then he says, and don't begin to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father. Because these Pharisees who were so focused on keep the law, had all of their salvation and hope in the merits and laws of Abraham.

And that's what he's saying. He says, don't even begin to start off with saying Abraham, we have Abraham as our father. Because Abraham's merits can't offer salvation. Only Jesus Christ can. He says, for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree, therefore, that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. And we're about to see, I'm about to explain that verse later on in verse 16 when we get there what that verse means because John is going to explain the role of Jesus, one of the roles of Jesus Christ in a minute. So the crowd then goes now mixed into these religious leaders, all regular people, but he's calling the religious leaders a brute of vipers.

So now these regular people, they go, what shall we do then? And he gives him very practical advice. whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none and whoever has food is to do likewise tax collectors also came to be baptized and said teacher what shall we do he said to them collect no more tax than you are authorized to do soldiers asked them and we what shall we do he said to them do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation and be content with your wages john the baptists giving commandments of integrity the commandments that John the Baptist is giving, serving, having a sharing heart, having integrity, these are characteristics that adults teach their children. And I think it's very important to recognize because Jesus says, let the children come to me.

We're all children of the Lord. And these are not just elementary principles. I mean, these are things that daily human beings forget to do. and John the Baptist says, you want to walk this thing out? If you have food, don't just tell someone to get money to get food. Be the solution. Share. Give food.

He's giving a call to integrity here. And as the people were in expectation and all were questioning their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ. Now, this is important. People mistook John the Baptist because they thought he was the Christ. But he was not the hope. He just had the hope. And oftentimes in today's day and age, we have the hope.

And people can look at us and can glorify man and think that we're some awesome holy people group. But no, don't be mistaken, my friend. You are not the hope. Don't let people put their hope in you. You just have the hope. And that's the purpose of our life is to live a lifestyle of one that honors God so that we can point people to Jesus Christ based on our actions. Verse 16.

This is going to answer that verse before where it talks about every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. John answered all of them saying, I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming. The strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. This is important. John is now saying, look, I'm just baptizing you with water, all right? The thing that I'm doing for you guys is an outward expression of an inward heart change. It is symbolism that you're going down old and coming up new. But he says, look,

he who is mightier than I, the one that I'm preparing the way for, he goes, the strap of whose sandals I'm not worthy to untie. A rabbi in that day and age would teach their students and disciples to do everything except untie the shoes of the rabbi because that was such an embarrassing act to do. It was the dirtiest part of the body and no disciple would do that. It just wasn't taught. But John the Baptist is saying the thing that isn't taught, the thing that's the most embarrassing thing to do, the dirtiest part on the Messiah's body, I'm not.

worthy to touch. That's how holy he is. And then he says, he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. So he says, this is the promise of the new covenant. Covenant, you get a helper to bring conviction and teach you things to Holy Spirit. But then the baptism of fire is one of purification. That when we actually receive the Holy Spirit, he convicts our lives and changes our lifestyle. He purifies us from the inside out. He changes our actions and motives and our desires to align of the Lord. And those that don't have a pure heart, actually it's either like purification.

You take the purification and you walk it out, or you can't handle the heat, you get out of the kitchen, you leave Jesus Christ. He's calling us to a lifestyle of change. His winnowing fork is in his hand, verse 17, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn,

but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. So with many exhortations, he preached good news to the people, but Herod the Tetraarch, been reproved by him for Herodius, his brother's wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, added to them all that he locked up John in prison. So John gets arrested by King Herod. Now this is important. We'll find out later, but sexual sin is what kills John the Baptist. Not that he fell into it, but that spirit of Jezebel, sexual sin came upon Herod and it's a reason that John the Baptist

was beheaded. We'll find out in a couple chapters later. But it says in verse 21, it says, look, he got to rest it, but listen. Now, when all the people were baptized and when Jesus had also been baptized, he baptizes Jesus and it says, look, and the Holy Spirit descended on him and bodily form like a dove and a voice came from heaven, you are my beloved son with you, I am well pleased. So Jesus gets baptized in water and then he starts this ministry. And I think this is important to recognize. Because before Jesus did any miracles in any ministry, God the Father looked at Jesus and said to him, without you having to do anything, you're my beloved son and I'm pleased with you. And I'm pleased with you. And I I think that's the lesson that you and I can learn today. And sometimes that we look at God and we think, oh man, I've got to earn your love. I've got to do this to work for God's love. But no, before you do anything, he's pleased with you. He's made you in his image. He loves you for who you are. You don't have to do anything to earn his love. He's freely giving it to you. He's pleased with you without you having to do anything for him. But the reason that we do things, the reason that John the Baptist says, show me the fruit of your repentance. He's not saying, good works is what get you into heaven.

but our actions and good fruit is how we can identify the genuity the genuity i don't know how you say the word the genuineness of someone's faith is through their fruit and through their actions you can tell someone really believes something that they say when they acted out if i told you i loved you but i kept punching you in the face you probably wouldn't think i loved you but if i told you i loved you you would recognize i loved you based on how i treated you and i think that's important for us to recognize before we've done anything he's pleased with us now look i'm not going to read this whole genealogy but it's verses 23 through 38 but i want to highlight where he starts and where he ends because this is important jesus when he began his ministry was about 30 years of age being the son

as he was supposed of joseph and then the very end it says the son of enos the son of seth the son of adam and the son of god this is important matthew's genealogy in the beginning of Matthew is more of a legal genealogy one that would be seen as a government document to link Jesus to his father Joseph. But Luke takes a different perspective here. When he says, as was supposed of Joseph,

he's implying here, Mary's lineage, the real lineage, which hints at the virgin birth, which affirms Jesus' deity here. And the reason that we need to recognize the last verse of Luke chapter 3, where it says the son of Adam and the son of God, if it connects Jesus Christ all the way back to Adam in the garden, then we know that Jesus Christ,

like it said in the prophecy of Isaiah, salvation is for all people. Jesus came to all people, because every human being is linked back to Adam and Eve. So the reality is this. Jesus Christ is about to start his ministry here in Luke chapter 4. We're about to see some amazing things that Jesus does after John the Baptist is prepared the way, but look.

The reality is that Jesus Christ came for all people. He actually calls us to a lifestyle of change and repentance. And the inward heart change of repentance doesn't come out of one of striving and one out of a place where we have to earn God's love, but we do things not because we have to. We do things because we love Jesus Christ, and that's why we are motivated by it.

I pray that this Luke series is blessing you guys, and I can't wait to see you guys tomorrow to break down Luke chapter 4.