Luke’s geographic emphasis leads the reader from Galilee to Jerusalem and in Acts leads the reader from Jerusalem to the end of the world

• More specifically, Luke is leading the readers to the !

Luke’s emphasis on the temple communicates both and messages:

• Implicit:
  • As the emphasis on women, the temple is present in many narratives but is not the point of the narrative itself
  • As the emphasis on the Sabbath, healing, and the poor, the temple was less about its literal value and more about what it implicitly represented
• Explicit:
  • Jesus tossed the money changers in the temple
    • Luke 19:45-47
  • Jesus promises the destruction of the temple
    • Luke 22:5-6

Understanding Luke’s emphasis on the temple is essential for understanding Luke’s emphasis on:

THE ENTIRE MESSIANIC

• 1. The Temptations of Jesus
     1. Luke 4:1-13 – Temptation of Christ
        1. Christ would receive the glory, worship, and authority WITHOUT
     2. Luke 22:39-46 – Praying at the Garden of Gethsemane
        1. “Gethsemane” means “Olive Press”
           1. Like an olive press, Christ is pressed 3 times with more pressure each time
           2. Like the wilderness temptation, Christ is tempted 3 times and the angels “tend to him” (Luke 22:43 also see Matthew 4:11)
     3. The veil in the temple is torn
        1. Luke 23:44-45
  2. Sacrifice
     1. Luke 1:9 – Zechariah giving sacrifice in the temple on the day of Atonement
     2. Luke 2:4-21 – Shepherds knew: This baby was born to die
     3. Luke 2:27-37 – Simeon and Anna warned Mary about the sacrifice of Jesus would make

What was Jesus focused on during this time?

• 1. !!!
     1. Access to the “tree of life” to the east entrance of Eden
        1. Genesis 3:24
     2. Entrance to tabernacle must always face east
        1. Exodus 27:13
     3. Temple entrance faced east
     4. Garden of Gethsemane sits on the east side of Jerusalem at the base of the Mount of Olives
  2. Entrance to temple meant access to God, as Jesus prayed before He is arrested, He can stare up at the entrance of the temple
     1. Until this point, Luke’s audience knows that Jesus would die, but why?

Christ came to set the conditions and make a way to give us to our redemption and our mission!

The Beauty of the

1. Gospel Emphasis:
   • 1. Modern Christianity highly emphasizes what Jesus
     2. Luke highly emphasized what Jesus
        1. Luke 1:21-22
        2. Luke 23:45
2. Healing
   • 1. Luke’s “High Physician” healed us from what nobody else could:
        1. The Mikveh (Baptism) to be made clean
        2. The sacrifice
        3. The Prayer (burning incense)
3. Poverty
   • 1. In an instant, the poorest became the on planet earth!

The Power and Privilege to receive the

1. Joy
   • 1. One priest, one day a year, after many rituals and sacrifice, could receive access to the Spirit
     2. Now, all receive it who believe, and that should be
     3. The Gospel ends with Jesus’ disciples celebrating in the temple!
        1. Luke 24:52-53
        2. Reality flipped upside down:
           1. Go to the temple to be close to God
           2. Now, they have the Spirit and bring God to the temple!

We take our privilege and the power of the Spirit .

1. Witness
   • 1. We are unqualified for the witness of God’s gospel, but God is qualified
     2. We don’t work for God, God works through us via the Spirit
        1. Acts 1:7-8

How does this make me a better man?

1. We have direct access to the
2. We have access to all we need not just to survive, but to
   1. More so, we have all we need not just to make it through, but to do so with joy
3. We have access to the same power that, , and the priests in the temple, prophets, John the Baptist, disciples, and even Jesus
   1. We are not qualified for the task God has given us, but God is qualified.
      1. You don’t lead your family, God leads your family through you!
4. Do NOT miss the
   1. It not just about the Mercy of what we do not receive (Hell), but the Grace of what we do receive (Access)