From the Cradle to the Cross in Five Days

In one paragraph

The pastor opened the third Sunday of Advent by walking through five scenes in the Gospel of Luke, one for each of the five times Luke uses the word "today" with special emphasis. From the manger to the cross, each scene carries the same weight: something decisive is happening right now, not eventually. Luke uses the word "today" only five times in his Gospel, and the pastor built the entire...

Read together

1. Luke 1:46-49 Mary's song quoted at the opening as an encouraging word to lead into worship
2. Luke 2:8-11 read by Tim Dalton at the Advent candle lighting for the candle of joy
3. Luke 2:8-20 day one of the cradle-to-cross journey, the angel's announcement to the shepherds and their response
4. Luke 4:14-30 day two, Jesus reads from Isaiah in the Nazareth synagogue and declares the scripture fulfilled today
5. Isaiah 61:1-2 the passage Jesus read and quoted in the Nazareth synagogue, read in both its Luke and Isaiah forms
6. Luke 5:17-26 day three, the paralyzed man lowered through the roof, Jesus forgives sins and heals him
7. Luke 19:1-10 day four, Zacchaeus climbs the tree, Jesus comes to his house and declares salvation has come today
8. Luke 23:32-43 day five, the crucifixion and Jesus promising paradise to the repentant criminal today

Talk about it

1. Pastor Nathan walked through five uses of the word 'today' in Luke, from the manger to the cross. Which of those five moments stood out to you most, and why?
2. In Nazareth, Jesus stopped reading Isaiah 61 before the line about 'the day of the vengeance of our God.' Pastor Nathan said the crowd's favorite part was exactly what Jesus left out. Where do you find yourself wanting God to skip straight to judgment, and what does that reveal about your own heart?
3. When Jesus healed the paralyzed man, he said it was the faith of the man's friends that moved him to act. Who in your life are you carrying to Jesus right now, and what does persistent prayer for that person look like for you?
4. Zacchaeus just wanted a glimpse of Jesus and ended up with Jesus in his house. Pastor Nathan pointed out that the religious crowd was the one grumbling while the outsider received salvation. How does that pattern challenge the way you think about who belongs in this church?
5. Pastor Nathan closed by saying we are still living in 'the acceptable year of the Lord,' the age of grace, and asked whether we will let Jesus do his job. What would it look like practically, in your words and in the way you live, to extend that same grace to someone around you this week?