Hello.
Welcome to my Bible readings.
In this sleep series,
I will be looking at the Gospel according to Luke.
In much of the classic literature I read,
There are references to the Bible and religious teachings.
If we wish to educate ourselves fully in a literary capacity,
It makes sense that we should dive into this for reference.
And so here we are.
It is time for sleep.
Close your eyes and take a deep breath in through your nose.
That's it.
Then let it out on a long sigh.
This is your time and your space.
A time where you can relax,
Safe in the knowledge there is nothing to do and nowhere to go.
Happy listening.
Chapter 3.
The Preaching of John the Baptist.
It was the 15th year of the rule of the Emperor Tiberius.
Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea.
Herod was ruler of Galilee.
And his brother Philip was ruler of the territory of Etruria.
At that time,
The word of God came to John,
Son of Zechariah,
In the desert.
So he went throughout the whole territory of the River Jordan,
Preaching,
Turn away from your sins and be baptized,
And God will forgive you.
As it is written in the book of the prophet Isaiah,
Someone is shouting in the desert.
Get the road ready for the Lord,
Make a straight path for him to travel.
Every valley must be filled up,
Every hill and mountain leveled off.
The winding roads must be made straight and the rough paths made smooth.
The whole human race will see God's salvation.
Crowds of people came out to John to be baptized.
You snakes,
He said to them,
Who told you you could escape from the punishment God is about to send.
Do these things that will show you you've turned from your sins and don't start saying among yourselves that Abraham is your ancestor.
I tell you,
God can take these stones and make descendants for Abraham.
The axe is ready to cut down the trees at the roots.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown in the fire.
The people then asked,
What are we to do?
And John answered,
Whoever has two shirts must give one to the man who has none and whoever has food must share it.
Some tax collectors came to be baptized and they asked him,
Teacher,
What are we to do?
Don't collect more than is legal,
He told them.
Some soldiers came and asked,
What are we to do?
Don't take money from anyone by force or accuse anyone falsely.
Be content with your pay,
He said.
As he spoke,
People's hopes began to rise and they began to wonder whether John the Baptist perhaps might be the Messiah.
But he said to them,
I baptize you with water but someone is coming who is much greater than I am.
I am not good enough even to untie his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
He has his winnowing shovel with him to thresh out all the grain and gather the wheat into his barn but he will burn the chaff in a fire that never goes out.
In many different ways John preached the good news to the people and urged them to change their ways but he reprimanded Herod the governor because he'd married Herodias,
His brother's wife and had done many other evil things.
Then Herod did an even worse thing by putting John in prison.
THE BAPTISM OF JESUS After all the people had been baptized,
Jesus also was baptized.
When he was praying,
The Holy Spirit came down upon him in bodily form like a dove and a voice came from heaven and said,
You are my own dear son.
I am pleased with you.
THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS Jesus returned from the Jordan full of the Holy Spirit and was led by the Spirit into the desert where he was tempted by the devil for forty days.
In all that time he ate nothing so he was hungry when it was over.
The devil said to him,
If you are God's son,
Order this stone to turn into bread.
But Jesus answered,
The scripture says human beings cannot live on bread alone.
So the devil took him up and showed him in a second all the kingdoms of the world.
I will give you all this power and all this wealth,
He told him.
It has all been handed over to me and I can give it to anyone I choose.
All this will be yours then if you worship me.
But Jesus answered,
The scripture says worship the Lord your God and serve only him.
Then the devil took him to Jerusalem and set him on the highest point of the temple and said,
If you are God's son,
Throw yourself down from here.
For the scripture says God will order his angels to take good care of you.
And it also says they will hold you up with their hands so that not even your feet will be hurt on the stones.
But Jesus answered,
The scripture says do not put the Lord your God to the test.
When the devil finished tempting Jesus in every way,
He left him for a while.
Jesus begins his work in Galilee.
Jesus returned to Galilee and the power of the Holy Spirit was upon him.
The news about him spread throughout all that territory and he taught in the synagogues and was praised by everyone.
Jesus is rejected at Nazareth.
Then he went to Nazareth where he had been brought up and on the Sabbath he went as usual to the synagogue.
He stood up to read the scriptures and was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written,
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free the oppressed and announce the time has come when the Lord will save his people.
Then Jesus rolled up the scroll,
Gave it back to the attendant and sat down.
All the people in the synagogue had their eyes fixed on him.
The passage of scripture has come true today,
He said,
As you heard it being read.
They were all very impressed and marveled at the eloquent words he spoke.
They said to each other,
Isn't he the son of Joseph?
And Jesus said to them,
I am sure you will quote this proverb to me,
Doctor heal thyself.
You will also tell me to do here in my hometown the same things you heard were done in Capernaum.
I tell you this.
Prophets are never welcomed in their hometown.
Listen to me.
It is true that there were many widows in Israel during the time of Elijah when there was no rain for three and a half years.
A severe famine spread throughout the whole land.
Yet Elijah was not sent to anyone in Israel,
But only to a widow living in Zarephath in the territory of Sidon.
There were many people suffering from a dreaded skin disease who lived in Israel during the time of the prophet Elisha.
Yet not one of them was healed,
But only Nahum the Syrian.
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
They were filled with anger and they rose up and dragged Jesus out of the town and took him to the top of the hill on which their town was built.
They meant to throw him over the cliff,
But he walked through the middle of the crowd and went on his way.
