Advent Devotional: The Gospel of LukeSample

*Written by Nastia

We are starting the Gospel of Luke on our 24 days before Christmas with Luke chapter 1. As you read the first chapter today, you’ve noticed it is one of the longest chapters in the Bible. It contains the account of foretelling the birth of Jesus and one of his co-laborers, John the Baptist.

It is not mistaken that Luke starts the Gospel account with such a detailed explanation. We know that Luke was one of Jesus' educated disciples, as he was a physician. He was not an apostle, but he learned about Jesus from the apostle Paul, who accompanied him on many journeys. Luke felt prompted to write one of the most universal accounts of Jesus’ life for the Jews and Gentiles.

As Luke starts to write this detailed account of Jesus’ life, his goal in this chapter is to explain that the birth of Jesus is the fulfillment of God's covenant with Abraham to bring salvation to people and forgiveness of their sins so they can turn their hearts towards God.

1. Jesus came to earth as it was foretold by many, according to God’s covenant with His people (Luke 1:73).

Jesus' coming on earth was not an accident or some kind of event that God thought occasionally happened. Jesus coming on earth was God’s plan from the beginning of creation, was predicated by prophets, and foretold by many. We read in Luke 1:126-38 that his birth was foretold to Mary by an angel. As Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth, suddenly, the child inside her leaped for joy (Luke 1:44), which was a sign that Mary had carried the Son of God inside her. As John the Baptist is being born to Elizabeth and Zechariah, we hear Zechariah’s prophecy that speaks about the prophet who will prepare the way for the Messiah to bring salvation and save people from their sins (Luke 1:76-77).

Zechariah’s prophecy speaks about Jesus being born from the house of David (Luke 1:69), so people can be saved from their enemies (Luke 1:71), and experience the mercy of God according to the covenant He made with Abraham (Luke 1:72).

This message is profound for us to understand that Jesus's coming on earth was given to Abraham to bless the entire world through him. This promise includes each one of us. This promise was given to Abraham and got fulfilled through the birth of Jesus.

2. Jesus came to earth to turn our hearts to the Lord (Luke 1:16).

Why did Jesus come to earth? He came to turn our hearts to God and give us peace with Him. In Luke 1:16, the author is talking about John the Baptist turning the hearts of Israelites to God. But ultimately it is through Jesus, whom John walked to prepare the way, hearts of people are able to turn to the Lord.

John’s work was to prepare the hearts of people before the Messiah came to earth. The angel compared John with Elijah, whose main mission was to call Israel to radical repentance. But also, the angel quoted the last words of the Old Testament here (Malachi 4:5- 6) to announce that God is picking up where he left off and that He is in the business of turning people’s hearts towards Him through Jesus, the Son of God.

3. Jesus came to earth to save us from our sins (Luke 1:77).

Frankly, this message is relevant for all of us. We need to remember that Jesus came to earth to bring us salvation and save us from our sins. Because of His mercy (Luke 1:54, Luke 1:72) and the covenant He made with Abraham, the Son of God came to earth to bring salvation to us.

It is not because of our own goodness, or because of anything we have done, or because of anything we will do. But solely because of God’s own desire for humanity to be saved from their sinful nature and restore peace with Him.

As we finish today’s devotion, we want you to focus on Jesus’ purpose in coming to earth. We want you to remember that He didn’t come just for a few of us, but for all humanity to bring salvation to all people and save them from their sins.

Let’s pray: “Dear Heavenly Father, we worship you and give you praise. We thank You today for a reminder that it is only because of Your mercy over us that You gave us one and only Son, who came to earth to bring us salvation and save us from our sins. Forgive us for the times when we take your Son Jesus and salvation through the cross for granted. When we harden our hearts and turn away in our daily lives from You and just pass by without the realization and remembrance of how much You loved us, you worked out this plan of salvation through years and generations. Today, we want to give you praise and all the honor for your wonderful work of salvation. We want to remember and focus our attention on the birth of Jesus in the next few weeks. We want you to reveal yourself to us in a special way. In Your Son Jesus’ name, we prayed, Amen.”

Reflection questions:

1. In what ways could we take the birth of Jesus for granted in our daily lives, and how do we remind ourselves about the significance of the birth of the Son of God?
2. In what areas of your life have you drifted away from God, and how can you turn your heart back to Him today?
3. Think about a few people who need to hear about the birth of Jesus Christ and what it brings. Commit this Christmas to pray for them daily and ask God for opportunities to bring the good news of the birth of Jesus to them.