Here is a teaching on chapter 2 of the book of Luke. If you want to check out previous Bible studies and chapters going forward, join our group here. Once you get added into that Facebook group, you can go to the "units" tab and you'll see all of the chapters and their study guides as they are being taught.
First I want to say a quick prayer... Lord, I pray that you lift up every single person reading this right now. Please open up our eyes, our ears, our minds, and our hearts to you Lord. I pray that you give us knowledge and understanding to know exactly what it is that we're reading and the wisdom to implement it in our daily lives. Holy Spirit, please help us to see the truth, know the truth, discern the truth, and live by the truth. I pray that whatever it is that each person is supposed to receive from this Bible study, they receive it and they implement it in their daily lives. I love you with every ounce of my being. In Jesus' name, Amen
Luke Chapter 2:
1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to his own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.
5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Alright, so I'm going to stop right there and discuss these verses with you guys here. So, I'm sure most of you are familiar with the story of the birth of Jesus. So all of this probably sounds very familiar to you, but there's just a couple of things that I want to point out here. First, I just want to go into the book of Micah into chapter 5 and read verses 2-5 with you guys here. 2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though
you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler of Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. 3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. 4 He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. 5 And he will be their peace." So here it's talking about Jesus Christ coming from Bethlehem and being the ruler of the people and he will stand and shepherd his flock. We are his flock, he's our shepherd, he watches over us, he is our Savior, and he gives us peace. So in that chapter in the book of Micah, it was prophesied that Jesus Christ was going to be born in Bethlehem. So the census had to happen so that Mary and Joseph could travel to the hometown of David, and that's where Jesus would be born.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 "Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told about this child, 18 and all who heard about it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Alright, so all these things are pretty self-explanatory. The angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds and told them about the great news of Christ, our Savior, the Messiah being born in Bethlehem and then the heavenly host came and praised God and said "Glory to God in the highest." Then once the angels left the shepherds they went and found Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus, and then they went and told everyone the news that this child was the Christ, the Messiah, their Savior,
that was born in Bethlehem and they praised God for all the things that they had heard and seen.
21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus,
the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.
22 When the time of their purification according to the law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be concentrated to the Lord"), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29 "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."
33 The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."
36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord,
they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.
Alright, so I'm going to stop right there and discuss these verses with you guys here. Verse 23 where says "every firstborn male is to be concentrated to the Lord," that is in Exodus chapter 13 verses 1-2. Also in verse 24 where it says to "offer a sacrifice of a pair of doves or two young pigeons," that's from Leviticus chapter 12 verse 8. So Jesus' parents were doing all of these things for Jesus according to the Law of the Lord.
In verses 29-30 when Simeon saw Jesus, he knew that he was the Christ and he said to the Lord that now he can go in peace because his eyes had seen his salvation. He had seen Jesus Christ, our Savior. And in the verses above it said that the Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon that he wouldn't die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. So at that moment when he saw Jesus, he knew that he was the Lord's Christ and that he was the light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory for the people of Israel. In verses 34-35, Simon told Mary that her child would be destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel. She didn't know it at the time, but he would go around performing miracles and teaching the people of Israel, and some people would believe in him and others would not believe in him, and there would be the Pharisees that would try to kill him and people that thought he was a liar, and through all of that the thoughts of many hearts would be revealed. Simeon also tells Mary that a sword will pierce her own soul too, because while Jesus suffers through everything that he goes through, (which we'll get into all of that more in these Bible studies in luke,) she will also suffer for him as well. Mary is Jesus's mother, so when he's suffering and he's going through hard times, she's going to suffer also. So there will be joy and suffering in the time of Jesus walking on the earth. In verses 36-38, a prophetess Anna came up to Mary and Joseph and gave thanks to God for Jesus. She also knew that he was the Savior and the christ that had been prophesied in the Bible in the Old Testament.
41 Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. 43 After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."
49 "Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
Alright, so those are all the verses of chapter 2 of the book of Luke, but I'm going to discuss these verses with the guys here. So in verse 49 when Jesus asked why were they searching for him, and didn't they know that he had to be in "his father's house," Jesus Christ is the Son of God the Father. His earthly father was Joseph, but his true father was God the Father. In our bible study in part 1 of chapter 1 of the book of Luke, we went over where the angel told Mary that the power of the Most High will overshadow her and the holy one to be born would be the Son of God, which was Jesus. But we can see here in verse 50 that Mary and Joseph didn't fully understand because they didn't understand what Jesus is saying to them, that he had to be in his father's house. The temple was the house of God, the temple was for God, and so of course Jesus is going to be in the temple courts and listening to the teachers and gaining that wisdom and understanding even as a boy. Jesus was fully human and fully God. So then in verses 51-52, Jesus went down with Mary and Joseph to Nazareth and was obedient to them and he continued to grow in wisdom and stature and had favor with God and man.
Here are 3 takeaways to write down:
1. Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world was born in Bethlehem the town of David
- Just as was promised from God and to fulfill the words of the prophet Micah.
2. Jesus Christ was destined to cause the falling and rising of many people in Israel
- Jesus Christ didn't come to condemn the world, but to save it.
- Through all the things that he did, a lot of people believed, and then a lot of people also didn't believe and so there was falling and rising for many different people in Israel, and their hearts were revealed.
3. Jesus Christ is the Son of God the Father
- We saw that in part 1 of chapter 1 of the book of Luke and then also in this bible study in verse 49 where he said "didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?"
- It's the Holy Trinity; God the Father, God the Son (which is Jesus Christ,) and God the Holy Spirit (which is within us once we ask for forgiveness from Jesus Christ and he saves us.)
Luke Ch 2 Study Guide
Why was Jesus born in Bethlehem?
Why did Simeon praise God when he saw Jesus?
In verse 35, why did Simeon tell Mary that a sword would pierce her soul?
What did Jesus mean by what he said in verse 49?
What is your biggest takeaway from this Bible study?
So that concludes this Bible Study on chapter 2 of the book of Luke. Tomorrow we're going to be going over chapter 3, so make sure you stay tuned for that.
I love you guys so much.
Never forget to choose faith over fear.
-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)
p.s. If you'd rather listen to Faith-based, spiritual growth, mindset, and mental health tips, then check out my podcast. There I will share my personal experiences, stories I've never told before, and bring you along with this hot mess life of mine. New episodes daily.
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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights
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