Numbers 1:1

Numbers 1:1 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying,  We are given the date that the LORD spoke to Moses this time, which was two years and a month after God delivered the people of Israel out of Egypt.  Matthew Henty points out that of the first five Books of the Bible, this is the only one to be called by its English title and not its Greek.  Verse two adds, Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls;  God told Moses to number, or count, the males of Israel, by family and the house of their fathers.  This was a census to show how God was fulfilling His promise to Abraham.  We may not live to see all of God's promises fulfilled, but they will always be fulfilled.  Verse three continues, From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies.  The males were to be counted from the age of twenty, because they were the ones who would be able to make up the armies of Israel, and Aaron was to number them by armies.  We as men who are followers of Christ today should be on the front lines in the army of God.  Verse four concludes, And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one head of the house of his fathers.  They were to be counted by tribes and not just as a total number of men.  God always brings more order, not less, to those who follow Him.  Verse five states, And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you: of the tribe of Reuben; Elizur the son of Shedeur.  From here through verse sixteen we have the names and what tribe or family group the people were from.  Verse six adds, Of Simeon; Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.  Verse seven continues, Of Judah; Nahshon the son of Amminadab. Verse eight says, Of Issachar; Nethaneel the son of Zuar.  Verse nine adds, Of Zebulun; Eliab the son of Helon.  Verse ten continues, Of the children of Joseph: of Ephraim; Elishama the son of Ammihud: of Manasseh; Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.  Verse eleven states, Of Benjamin; Abidan the son of Gideoni.  Verse twelve adds, Of Dan; Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.  Verse thirteen says, Of Asher; Pagiel the son of Ocran.  Verse fourteen adds, Of Gad; Eliasaph the son of Deuel. Verse fifteen continues, Of Naphtali; Ahira the son of Enan.  Verse sixteen states, These were the renowned of the congregation, princes of the tribes of their fathers, heads of thousands in Israel.  These people represented the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham at that time, and we as followers of Christ are still counted in that promise today.

Luke review concluded

We also have the account of Jesus making religious leaders angry, on many, many occasions.  These were not the religious leaders of other religions, but of the people of Israel, who were supposed to represent God to His people.  There are still religious leaders today who claim to be God's representatives who do not believe that Jesus is Who He says He is, which is the only way to salvation.  We have the account of Jesus's betrayal by one of His closest disciples, one of the twelve, and we need to make sure that as followers of Christ that we never betray Him in any of our thoughts or actions.  We certainly should never betray Him for material gain.  Also, we soon see all His disciples  disassociate themselves from Him.  We can never do this and truly be saved.  Then, we have the record of the crucifixion of Jesus, when He willingly laid down His life for the sins of everyone.  We only have to accept this by faith, as the one thief being crucified with Jesus did, in order to have everlasting life.  We also have the account of the women going to the tomb of Jesus on the third day and finding it empty.  They were the first ones to hear the good news from the angel that Jesus had risen from the dead.  This is our message to the world today.  We don't really need to take them to the tomb of Jesus, because it is empty.  We just need to point them to the resurrected Lord.  We then have the account of the disciples feeling defeated, until Jesus appears to them.  We will always be defeated by the sins of this world until we meet Jesus and accept the truth of His victory over sin and death if we will put our faith in Him.  Finally, we have the glorious news of Jesus ascending back to heaven, where He had come from and where He remains today, unti He returns in victory to claim His people.  Next, we are going to look at the book of Numbers.

Luke review continued

We have the facts about the life of John the Baptist, whose birth was also foretold by an angel to his parents, Zacharias and Elisabeth.  God is the source of all life, which begins at conception.  We have the account of John's lifestyle and preaching, in which he called for for people to repent and prepare for the coming Messiah, Who was already there, but he didn't know it.  As followers of Christ, we are to tell people today to be ready for His return, but when this happens, everyone will know it.  We also have the account of John the Baptist baptizing Jesus, and of the heavenly Father's approval of it.  Jesus set the example for us to be baptized, and even though it isn't a requirement for salvation, I believe that God expects us to follow the example that Jesus set as a sign of obedience.  Then, we learn of John the Baptist being beheaded because he made Herod’s wife angry by pointing out her sin.  We must always point out sin when we see it, even if it leads to our death.  Then we learn ofcthe birth of Jesus.  Once again, an angel told Mary and Joseph of His birth, and the nature of that birth.  Mary's Son was to be the only begotten Son of God and the Savior of mankind.  We either believe that today, or we never claim the salvation that Jesus made available to us.  We learn of the temptation of Jesus by Satan as Jesus was ready to begin His ministry.  We should always be ready to face the temptation of  Satan and the world as we begin to follow Jesus.  We have the account of Jesus calling the disciples, and of them leaving everything to follow Him, which we still must do today. We have many accounts of  Jesus teaching, performing miracles, and healing.  We as Christians are to be doing the same thing today, for God's glory and to spread His word to the world.  We may not always recognize a miracle or even a healing when it happens, but we must always have faith that God can provide both when it is in His will to do so.

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Luke Review

First, we see that Luke was told by eyewitnesses about the things that he was writing.  The facts about Jesus's life were not just stories someone had heard, but were reported by those who had witnessed them.  We must acknowledge them as truth and not just made up stories if they are to have meaning to us.  We then see that God not only spoke to Mary and Joseph, but to Zacharias and Elisabeth before them about the coming birth of a son.  No birth is accidental, but is from God.  Zacharias, being old doubted the angel and asked for a sign, and the sign was that he as made mute until the baby was born.  We should never doubt God and ask for signs.  Their son was to be called John, who became John the Baptist.  We have the facts of Mary becoming pregnant before Joseph and she were married, and the angel appearing to her to tell her to not be afraid, that she had been chosen to be the mother of the Messiah.  Still, we must acknowledge that she was but a woman, and was not some sort of god herself.  Joseph was also given assurance that Mary had done nothing wrong and that he was to marry her and become the earthly father of Jesus.  They both put their faith in what God had told them, and so must we.  After the birth of John, Elisabeth and Zacharias both said that he would be named John, as they had been instructed to do.   Zacharias had to write it on a tablet because he was still mute, but as soon as he did, he could speak again.  When we obey God, He will always fulfill His promises to us.  We learned that God could move a nation to fulfill His word, since He used Caesar to get Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus.  We also have an account of the lowly shepherds being the ones who were told of Jesus's birth and them coming to find out for themselves about the truth of what they were told,and we must do the same if we are to become followers of Christ.  Then, we know of the purification of Jesus according to the law of Moses and the proclamation of Simon, a devout man of God, about what Jesus was to do, and that was to bring salvation to all who believed in Him, both Jew and Gentile.  God sent Jesus to redeem not just certain people, but all who put their faith in Him.  We only have one account of Jesus when He was growing up, and that was when He was about twelve and Mary and Joseph lost Him, only to find Him in the temple.  If we lose sight  of Jesus today because we are so busy, hopefully we can find Him in God's house if we go there.

Luke 24:40

Luke 24:40 says, And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.  As the disciples continued to question if He were just a spirit, Jesus showed them His hands and feet.  I believe that we will always be given enough proof or understanding to know that Jesus is Who He says He is when we encounter Him if we come to Him by faith.  Verse forty-one adds, And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?  Like the disciples then, even when we are offered proof instead of believing in joy, we may yet doubt the reality of Jesus Christ dying and rising from the dead so that we might have salvation.  Verse forty-two continues, And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.  Jesus had asked the disciples for some meat, and they gave Him some broiled fish and honeycomb.  If we are ever to understand Who Jesus is, we must be willing to obey His commands, the first being to come to Him.  Verse forty-three concludes, And he took it, and did eat before them.  Jesus took the food and ate it, which a spirit couldn't do.  Verse forty-four states, And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.  Jesus told them that He had warned them that all the things that the scriptures said about Him must be fulfilled, and that included His death, burial, and resurrection.  We cannot believe in Jesus without believing in all of God's word about Who He is.  Verse forty-five adds, Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,  Jesus opened their understanding so that they might believe the scriptures.  He will also do this for anyone today who is willing to listen to His call to salvation.  Verse forty-six continues, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:  Jesus said that it was written in the scripture that it was necessary for Christ to willingly suffer and die on the cross and be raised from the dead in order to bring salvation to those Who put their faith in Him.  Of course,  He really brought salvation to everyone, but only those who put their faith in Him will benefit from it.  Verse forty-seven says, And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  Jesus said that the gospel must be preached in all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.  This is what the disciples were supposed to be doing then and what we as followers of Christ are supposed to be doing today.  Verse forty-eight adds, And ye are witnesses of these things.  Jesus reminded the disciples that they were witnesses to all these things, and by faith so are all Christians today.  If the world is to know about Jesus, it is our responsibility to tell them.  Verse forty-nine declares, And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.  Jesus told the disciples that He sent the promise of the Father upon them, but that they were to remain in Jerusalem until they received this power, which comes from the Holy Spirit.  As followers of Christ, we always need to wait until God sends us empowered by the Holy Spirit before we go anywhere and share the gospel.  Verse fifty adds, And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.  Jesus led them to Bethany, then lifted up His hands and blessed them.  When we follow Christ today as He leads us, He will also bless us.  This does not mean that we will become rich materially though.  Verse fifty-one says, And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.  As Jesus blessed the disciples, He departed from them and ascended into heaven.  Though Jesus remains in heaven, if we put our faith in Him, we will join Him there one day.  In the meantime, the power that Jesus said that the Heavenly Father would send, the Holy Spirit, dwells within us if we are Christians.  Verse fifty-two adds, And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy:  The disciples worshipped Jesus then,and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.  Once we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we need to go wherever He sends us with great joy.  Verse fifty-three continues, And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.  The disciples were then continually in the temple praising and blessing God.  We need to be praising God today anywhere we go as followers of Christ. 

Luke 24:25

Luke 24;25 says, Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:  Jesus called these disciples fools because they were slow to believe what the prophets had predicted about the Messiah.  Anyone who refuses to believe the truth about Jesus being that Messiah, or Christ, today, is still a fool. Verse twenty-four adds, Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?  Jesus asks them if according to scripture should not Christ have suffered these things.  They were still looking at Jesus as an earthly ruler, and because of that they believed that He had failed.  If we look at the plan of salvation in earthly terms, it will look like a failure still.  Verse twenty-seven states, And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.  Starting From Moses and going through all the prophets, Jesus expounded to them the teachings about Himself.  Jesus's sacrifice on the cross was not just some new plan plan that God came up with after everything else failed to bring salvation, but was the plan in place from the time Adam and Eve xinned.  It is still the only way to salvation today.  Verse twenty-eight adds, And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.  When these disciples got near to where they were going, Jesus appeared to be ready to go on.  When we encounter Jesus, He will never force us to invite Him to stay.  Verse twenty-nine continues, But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.  They urged Jesus to stay with them, since it was late, and He stayed.  They still hadn't recognized Jesus for Who He really was, but they were interested in what He was saying.  When we first encounter the resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ, we may not immediately understand Who He is, but hopefully we will invite Him to stay for awhile so we can learn more about Him.  Verse thirty says, And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.  While Jesus sat to eat with these two disciples, He took the bread, blessed and broke it and gave it to them, as He had done with the twelve disciples at His last supper with them.  Verse thirty-one adds, And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.  After Jesus did this, their eyes were opened and they knew Who He was, and He vanished out of their sight.  Once we know Who Jesus is, we cannot expect Him to just stay with us alone, though when we do accept Him as our Savior and Lord the Holy Spirit is always with us.  Verse thirty-two states, And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?  Like these disciples, our heart needs to burn within us when we understand Who Jesus is and as we learn more about what the Bible has to say about Him.  Verse thirty-three adds, And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,  They didn't wait, but rose up that same hour and returned to Jerusalem to tell the eleven disciples about what had happened.  Once we recognize Who Jesus is, we should feel the same urgency to share the gospel with others.  Verse thirty-four continues, Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.  They said Jesus was risen indeed, and had already appeared to Peter.  Jesus has made Himself known to everyone at some point in their life, but often those who should find it easiest to understand this are the ones who are hardest to reach.  Verse thirty-five concludes, And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.  They told the eleven what had occurred up through the breaking of the bread.  We need to tell others about what has occurred with us that led us to put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.   Verse thirty-six declares, And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.  While these two disciples were telling the eleven what had happened, Jesus appeared in the midst of them.  When we are telling others about Jesus, He will be workng to reveal Himself to them as well.  Verse thirty-seven adds, But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.  Instead of being thrilled to see  Jesus, they were terrified, thinking they were seeing a ghost.  Verse thirty-eight continues, And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?  Jesus asked the disciples why they were troubled and why they were having these thoughts about Who they were seeing.  When we encounter Jesus, we do not need to be afraid nor do we need to question if He is really the only Savior of mankind.  Verse thirty-nine concludes, Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.  Jesus invited them to touch His wonded hands and feet, and they would know that He was not just a spirit, since spirits have no flesh.  Though we will never be able to touch Jesus in the flesh in this lifetime as the disciples were invited to do, we must accept that what the Bible says happened to Him for our sakes is true.  Jesus really did live, die, and rise from the dead to bring everlasting life to those who put their faith in Him.

Luke 24:10

Luke 24:10 says, It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.  We have three of the women who brought the news to the apostles identified here, but some are just called other women.  As we serve God, some of us will be known by name by people of the world, but others will not.  Yet, we equally important.  Verse eleven adds, And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.  Though Jesus had told the disciples what was going to happen to Him, when the woman told them it had happened, it seemed foolish to them and they didn't believe them.  The gospel still sounds like foolishness to many, many people today, and they refuse to believe it.  Verse twelve states, Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.  Here, we are told that Peter rose and ran to the tomb and looked down and saw the linen clothes laying by themselves, and he departed wondering what had happened.  He still had not accepted the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ as having occurred.  Until we accept the reality of this ourselves, we will always go away wondering.  Verse thirteen adds, And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.  Two disciples were going to Emmaus that day, about a seven mile journey.  We are not told why they were going, but Matthew Henry says perhaps they were giving up on Jesus and going home.  No matter how hopeless things in life become, we as Christians should never give up in Jesus Christ.  Verse fourteen says, And they talked together of all these things which had happened.  They were talking about everything that had happened to Jesus, but they still did not truly understand it.  We can talk about what happened to Jesus all day long, but until we understand what really happened and accept His sacrifice on the cross for our sins and His resurrection to defeat the power of death, it will do us no good.  Verse fifteen adds, And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.  While they were taking,  Jesus drew near and walked along with them.  We do not have Jesus walking with us, but we have the Holy Spirit.  Verse sixteen continues, But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.  Though Jesus was walking along with them, they did not know Him.  Too often today, even if Jesus were to be physically walking along with people, they would not recognize Him. Verse seventeen states, And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?  Jesus asked them what they were talking about that made them so sad.  If they had really understood what Jesus had been telling them they would have been rejoicing.  We may at times be down and out because we fail to acknowledge God's work in the world.  Verse eighteen adds, And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?  Cleopas, who we know was not one of the twelve disciples, but was still a disciple,  asked Jesus if He didn't know what had been happening in Jerusalem these past few days.  We should never become so focused on things around us that we question whether or not Jesus knows what is happening in the world.  Verse nineteen says, And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:  Jesus asked them what things, and they said things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, Whom they called a mighty prophet in deed and the word of God.  They still didn't recognize Jesus, and until we do, we can never be saved.  Verse rwehty adds, And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.  They told about Jesus's death, but not His resurrection, which is the message we needcto share with the world.   Verse twenty-one states, But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.  They said they had thought Jesus was the One to redeem Israel, but today was the third day since He had been crucified, but were still not seeing the significance of that fact.  They should have been looking by faith, and so must we today as followers of Christ.  Verse twenty-two adds, Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;   Cleopas said certain woman got them excited after going early to the tomb, but evidently not excited enough to go see if what thay said was true or not.  Being excited about Jesus is not enough unless we know the truth about Who He is.  Verse twenty-three says, And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.  Cleopas said the women failed to find Jesus's body, and they had seen a vision of angels who said Jesus was alive.  The implication seemed to be that they didn't believe them.  Until we acknowledge that Jesus died, was buried and rose again as the truth, the gospel will be just a story someone has told.  Verse twenty-four adds, And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.  Cleopas said certain of them went to the tomb and found things to be as the women said, but they did not see Jesus.  They were looking in the wrong place and didn't even recognize Him as He walked with them.  We will never find Jesus in an empty tomb,and so many fail to recognize Him even when He walks beside them.