The Book of Luke Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and Prayer

Lesson #7 for May 16, 2015

Scriptures: [Luke 2:25-32; 11:1-4,9-13; 23:46; John 16:5-7; Mark 7:21-23][i].

1.    This lesson focuses on the relationship of Jesus in His humanity with His Father and the Holy Spirit through prayer. In his attempt to carefully represent the details of Jesus’s life on this earth, Luke referred to the Holy Spirit 17 times in his Gospel and 57 times in the book of Acts. In contrast, Matthew only referred to the Holy Spirit 12 times and Mark 6 times.

2.    From before Jesus’s birth, the Holy Spirit was involved in the mission of Jesus. The Holy Spirit came upon Mary, and thus, her Son was truly the Son of God. (Luke 1:35ii) More than that, this divine Baby was already affecting others in His environment. When visited by Mary, the elderly Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. (Luke 1:42iii) Even before He was born, she called Him “Lord.” How did she know that? What did Mary tell her? Did she really believe that God was in her belly?

3.    Read [Luke 24:44-49 and Acts 1:7-9]iv. At every step in His life, Jesus felt the need of planning the day-by-day details of His life in cooperation with the Father and the Holy Spirit. On numerous occasions, Jesus prayed all night consulting with the Father and the Spirit about Their plans for the coming day. (Luke 6:12[v]) If Jesus as the divine-human Son of God felt such a need for prayer, how much more do we need it?

Without unceasing prayer and diligent watching we are in danger of growing careless and of deviating from the right path. The adversary seeks continually to obstruct the way to the mercy seat, that we may not by earnest supplication and faith obtain grace and power to resist temptation.—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 95.0.

4.    As a Greek physician and the only non-Jewish writer in the entire Bible, Luke viewed the life and mission of Jesus as a miraculous, continual cooperation between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Shortly after the birth of Jesus when He was presented at the temple in Jerusalem, Simeon appeared and took the baby in his arms. The Holy Spirit was with him and had assured him that he would not die until he saw God’s salvation with his own eyes. Simeon recognized that This Baby would bring salvation not only to Israel but also to the Gentiles. (Luke 2:25-32vi) Did he realize the implications of what he was saying?

5.    When Jesus was about to begin His ministry, He went to John the Baptist to be baptized. As He came up out of the water, He prayed. Heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit came down upon Him like a Dove, and His Father’s voice was heard from heaven saying: “‘You are my own dear Son. I am pleased with you.’” (Luke 3:22, GNB) The Holy Spirit had revealed to John that Jesus would be coming to him to be baptized, and John announced that to the people.

So John said to all of 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.” (Luke 3:16, GNB)

6.    Read [Luke 4:1; Matthew 4:1-2; and Mark 1:12-13]vii. What was the purpose of Jesus going into the wilderness after His baptism? Was He led into the wilderness so He could be tempted? Not at all! Jesus spent those 40 days without physical food but in close communication with the Holy Spirit and the Father. It was only at the end of those 40 days when He was extremely hungry that the Devil approached Him, hoping for an opportunity to overcome Him. From that time on, the Holy Spirit was intimately connected with the ministry of Jesus. (See Luke 4:1; contrast Matthew 4:1.) It was especially at the end of the 40 days that Satan showed up.

7.    The Devil and his horde of evil angels were determined to: 1) Get Jesus to sin; or 2) Get Jesus to give up and go back to heaven; or 3) Destroy Him, if that was possible, (Matthew 2:13-18viii) such as with the storm on the lake (Luke 8:22-25; Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41)ix or keep Him in the grave. The Devil was working so hard at that task that God decided it was necessary to give Jesus two guardian angels under the control of the Holy Spirit to prevent Satan from taking unfair advantage of Jesus or even killing Him or trying to force Him to do something wrong and prevent Him from carrying out His ministry. (The Desire of Ages 831.1832.1) These two angels (one of them was Gabriel) were the most exalted of the angels; one of them was probably the one who took Lucifer’s place in heaven.

8.    The opening words of His sermon at Nazareth were an application of Isaiah’s Messianic prophecy to Himself: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” (Luke 4:18, GNB) The Spirit was His constant Companion, His affirming strength, and His abiding presence among His followers when Jesus would no longer be in their midst. (John 16:5-7[x]) He told His disciples that it was necessary for Him to go away so that after His departure, they could receive the Holy Spirit. Earlier, He had promised-as recorded in Luke 11: 13xi—that He would give the Holy Spirit to all who in sincerity asked for It. When the Spirit comes, Satan runs.

9.    So, what is the role of the Holy Spirit in our salvation? How are we to relate to Him? The most important thing that the Holy Spirit has done and is doing for us was and is His role as the Inspirer of the Bible writers. Working through the angels, He impresses on our minds and hearts the truths of Scripture.

10.    Read Luke 12:10xii. Why is it so serious if we speak against the Holy Spirit? Because of the work of the Holy Spirit and the angels, we can be forgiven and transformed into the likeness of Jesus. That is God’s plan for each one of us. If we reject God’s plan for our salvation, what other hope could there possibly be?

11.    The Holy Spirit works for us in four ways:

1)    He keeps us alive physically. (Acts 17:25,28xiii)

2)    In association with His angel assistants, He is constantly seeking to woo us into an ever

closer relationship with God.

3)    For those who respond to His wooing, He convicts, converts, and leads them to baptism.

4)    To those who have become true Christians, He gives the gifts of the Spirit. (1Corinthians 12:1-11; Ephesians 4:11-16)xiv

12.    What can we learn from the prayer life of Jesus? Jesus felt such an urgent need for the guidance and moment-by-moment direction of His Heavenly Partners, the Father and the Holy Spirit, that He was almost constantly in prayer. Note these important occasions in His ministry when Jesus felt a need to pray.

1.    As we noted in Luke 3:21xv, He prayed at His baptism. The Father and the Holy Spirit joined Him. “A new and important era was opening before Him. He was now, upon a wider stage, entering on the conflict of His life.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 111.3.

2.    Jesus prayed all night in consultation with His Father and the Holy Spirit before choosing His 12 disciples. (Luke 6:12-13xvi) Don’t you think They considered each name carefully? Jesus was not only selecting followers but also choosing those who would understand and identify completely with His Person and His mission. Although not convinced of His Godhood and not truly committed to the work they were to do until even after His resurrection, most of them would end up being martyrs! “Their office was the most important to which human beings had ever been called, and was second only to that of Christ Himself.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 291.3.

3.    In Caesarea Philippi, in preparation for what He knew was coming, Jesus prayed for His disciples and then asked that crucial question, “Who do you say that I am?” (Luke 9:20)

4.    Read Luke 9:28-36xvii. Before His transfiguration, Jesus took three of His closest disciples with Him up the hill where He asked them to pray with Him. After they had fallen asleep, Jesus was transfigured, awakening them. They heard the voice of God calling Jesus His beloved Son. Peter, speaking about that occasion, later wrote, “With our own eyes we saw his greatness.” (2 Peter 1:16xviii, GNB) Jesus told them not to tell until later. (Mark 9:9xix)

5.    Read Luke 22:39-46xx. Jesus took those same three disciples with Him into the Garden of Gethsemane. While they slept, He prayed fervently to His Father in what is probably the most important prayer in the history of salvation. The entire universe watched the battle between Jesus [God] and Satan in that garden. Jesus was so stressed as He felt His relationship with the Father being broken up that drops of blood came out like sweat, and He finally fell dying to the ground. (DA 693.1) He died of sin. It was necessary for an angel from heaven to come and revive Him, or He would have died right there. (Luke 22:43xxi) In that prayer we learn three important things: 1) God’s will should be our number one priority at all times. 2) Like Jesus, we should be committed to doing God’s will even at the risk of death.

3) God will provide strength to overcome every temptation that the Devil can bring against us. (1 Corinthians 10:13xxii) Then, Jesus had to go through that awful period of arrest, trials, torture, and crucifixion. Once again, He felt His relationship with the Father breaking up, leading Him to cry: “‘My God, my God, why did you abandon me?’” (Matthew 27:46xxiii, GNB)

6.    But Jesus, exercising His faith, relied upon the evidence which had heretofore been given Him; (DA 756.3) and even though He could not see through the portals of the tomb, (DA 753.1-2) “Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Father! In your hands I place my spirit!’ He said this and died.” (Luke 23:46, GNB)

13.    On two different occasions, Jesus gave us a model prayer to use as an example of how we should pray. Read [Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:1-4]xxiv. It is interesting to note that in the earliest manuscripts, these two versions of the Lord’s prayer were different. In the oldest manuscripts, neither of these prayers closed with the doxology that we usually add. More than that, Luke’s Gospel omits the “Our” and the “in heaven” at the beginning of the prayer. Luke also left out the phrase “may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Do these differences worry you? The two prayers were given at different times in Jesus’s ministry. And those prayers were not intended to be just memorized and repeated verbatim; they were intended to be a model of the things for which we need to pray. Jesus wanted us to remember the closeness that we can experience to the Father. We must, however, recognize that His name is blessed. We may claim to be His followers, even doing miracles in His name; but, if we do not do His will, it is a sin that will not be forgiven. (Matthew 7:21-23xxv)

14.    We should pray for God’s kingdom to come quickly. (Luke 11:2) There are more than 100 references to God’s kingdom in the Gospels. They refer not only to this kingdom of grace in which we live now but also the coming kingdom of glory.

15.    We should also pray, as suggested in Matthew 6:10xxvi, that God’s will be done here on earth just as it is in heaven.

16.    Read Luke 11:3xxvii. God has promised to provide our physical necessities. But, we need to pray for them, recognizing His gifts.

17.    Read Luke 11:9-13xxviii. Jesus went on to promise that if we ask, we will receive; if we truly seek, we will find; if we knock, the door will be opened. And just as parents and grandparents here on this earth love to give good gifts to their children, God will give even better gifts to those who ask Him to give them the Holy Spirit.

18.    Read Luke 11:1-4xxix. Do we use the Lord’s prayer as a pattern on which to base our daily prayers? How many separate issues are dealt with in the Lord’s prayer?

19.    Read Luke 11:5-13xxx. What was Jesus trying to say to us in these verses? God is certainly a very free Giver. So, why was He compared, apparently, in this parable to a man who was very reluctant to give? What are the reasons for being persistent in prayer? Does persistent prayer change God? Or, does it change us? Verses 9-13 seem to make it very clear that God is more than willing to be generous.

20.    Read Luke 18:9-14xxxi. In this parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector, Jesus was picking out the extremes in Jewish society! The Pharisee who faithfully did all the things he thought he was supposed to do was actually certain that He had earned his way to heaven. Furthermore, he was a son of Abraham! He was so proud that he was not like the tax collector.

21.    By contrast, the tax collector was bowing humbly and speaking reverently to God without any thought of how it might impact the people around him. Why do you think Jesus said the tax collector went home in a right relationship with God while the Pharisee did not? Why is humility such an essential part of the Christian experience?

Meekness and lowliness are the conditions of success and victory. A crown of glory awaits those who bow at the foot of the cross.—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 590.2.

22.    Have you ever been tempted to look around the church and compare yourself with others? Does God grade “on the curve”? Or, does it even matter how many other people may truly be worse off spiritually than you are?

The soul that turns to God for its help, its support, its power, by daily, earnest prayer, will have noble aspirations, clear perceptions of truth and duty, lofty purposes of action, and a continual hungering and thirsting after righteousness. By maintaining a connection with God, we shall be enabled to diffuse to others, through our association with them, the light, the peace, the serenity, that rule in our hearts. The strength acquired in prayer to God, united with persevering effort in training the mind in thoughtfulness and care-taking, prepares one for daily duties and keeps the spirit in peace under all circumstances.—Ellen G. White, Thoughts from the Mount of Blessings 85.2.

In calling God our Father, we recognize all His children as our brethren. We are all a part of the great web of humanity, all members of one family. In our petitions we are to include our neighbors as well as ourselves. No one prays aright who seeks a blessing for himself alone.—Ellen G. White, Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, p. 105.1.

23.    In this lesson we have seen that Luke went out of his way to make it clear that the Holy Spirit was intimately involved with the lives of Jesus and His apostles. The end of the book of Luke (Luke 24:49xxxii) talks about power coming from heaven while in [Acts 1:7-8 and Acts 2]xxxiii, the second book in Luke’s series, he continued to tell about the Holy Spirit.

24.    Do we spend enough time in prayer? Does our prayer experience bring us closer to God? Do our prayers sound more like the Pharisee? Or, more like the tax collector?

i-Luke 2:25 At that time there was a man named Simeon living in Jerusalem. He was a good, God-fearing man and was waiting for Israel to be saved. The Holy Spirit was with him 26 and had assured him that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's promised Messiah. 27 Led by the Spirit, Simeon went into the Temple. When the parents brought the child Jesus into the Temple to do for him what the Law required, 28 Simeon took the child in his arms and gave thanks to God:

29 “Now, Lord, you have kept your promise,

and you may let your servant go in peace.

30 With my own eyes I have seen your salvation,

31     which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples:

32 A light to reveal your will to the Gentiles

and bring glory to your people Israel.”

11:Jesus' Teaching on Prayer

11 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

2 Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this:

‘Father:

May your holy name be honored;

may your Kingdom come.

3 Give us day by day the food we need.[a]

4 Forgive us our sins,

for we forgive everyone who does us wrong.

And do not bring us to hard testing.’”

9 And so I say to you: Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For those who ask will receive, and those who seek will find, and the door will be opened to anyone who knocks. 11 Would any of you who are fathers give your son a snake when he asks for fish? 12 Or would you give him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? 13 As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

23:46 Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father! In your hands I place my spirit!” He said this and died.

John 16:5 But now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me where I am going. 6 And now that I have told you, your hearts are full of sadness. 7 But I am telling you the truth: it is better for you that I go away, because if I do not go, the Helper will not come to you. But if I do go away, then I will send him to you.

Mark 7:21 For from the inside, from your heart, come the evil ideas which lead you to do immoral things, to rob, kill, 22 commit adultery, be greedy, and do all sorts of evil things; deceit, indecency, jealousy, slander, pride, and folly— 23 all these evil things come from inside you and make you unclean.”

ii-Luke 1:35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and God's power will rest upon you. For this reason the holy child will be called the Son of God.

iii-Luke 1:42 and said in a loud voice, “You are the most blessed of all women, and blessed is the child you will bear!

iv-Luke 24:44 Then he said to them, “These are the very things I told you about while I was still with you: everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the writings of the prophets, and the Psalms had to come true.”

45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “This is what is written: the Messiah must suffer and must rise from death three days later, 47 and in his name the message about repentance and the forgiveness of sins must be preached to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And I myself will send upon you what my Father has promised. But you must wait in the city until the power from above comes down upon you.”

Acts 1:7 Jesus said to them, “The times and occasions are set by my Father's own authority, and it is not for you to know when they will be. 8 But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 After saying this, he was taken up to heaven as they watched him, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

v-Luke 6:12 At that time Jesus went up a hill to pray and spent the whole night there praying to God.

vi-Luke 2:25 At that time there was a man named Simeon living in Jerusalem. He was a good, God-fearing man and was waiting for Israel to be saved. The Holy Spirit was with him 26 and had assured him that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's promised Messiah. 27 Led by the Spirit, Simeon went into the Temple. When the parents brought the child Jesus into the Temple to do for him what the Law required, 28 Simeon took the child in his arms and gave thanks to God:

29 “Now, Lord, you have kept your promise,

and you may let your servant go in peace.

30 With my own eyes I have seen your salvation,

31     which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples:

32 A light to reveal your will to the Gentiles

and bring glory to your people Israel.”

vii-Luke 4:4 Jesus returned from the Jordan full of the Holy Spirit and was led by the Spirit into the desert,

Matthew 4:4 Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the Devil. 2 After spending forty days and nights without food, Jesus was hungry.

Mark 1:12 At once the Spirit made him go into the desert, 13 where he stayed forty days, being tempted by Satan. Wild animals were there also, but angels came and helped him.

viii-Matthew 2:The Escape to Egypt

13 After they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said, “Herod will be looking for the child in order to kill him. So get up, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you to leave.”

14 Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and left during the night for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until Herod died. This was done to make come true what the Lord had said through the prophet, “I called my Son out of Egypt.”

The Killing of the Children

16 When Herod realized that the visitors from the East had tricked him, he was furious. He gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its neighborhood who were two years old and younger—this was done in accordance with what he had learned from the visitors about the time when the star had appeared.

17 In this way what the prophet Jeremiah had said came true:

18 “A sound is heard in Ramah,

the sound of bitter weeping.

Rachel is crying for her children;

she refuses to be comforted,

for they are dead.”

ix-Luke 8:Jesus Calms a Storm

22 One day Jesus got into a boat with his disciples and said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they started out. 23 As they were sailing, Jesus fell asleep. Suddenly a strong wind blew down on the lake, and the boat began to fill with water, so that they were all in great danger. 24 The disciples went to Jesus and woke him up, saying, “Master, Master! We are about to die!”

Jesus got up and gave an order to the wind and to the stormy water; they quieted down, and there was a great calm. 25 Then he said to the disciples, “Where is your faith?”

But they were amazed and afraid, and said to one another, “Who is this man? He gives orders to the winds and waves, and they obey him!”

Matthew 8:23 Jesus got into a boat, and his disciples went with him. 24 Suddenly a fierce storm hit the lake, and the boat was in danger of sinking. But Jesus was asleep. 25 The disciples went to him and woke him up. “Save us, Lord!” they said. “We are about to die!”

26 “Why are you so frightened?” Jesus answered. “What little faith you have!” Then he got up and ordered the winds and the waves to stop, and there was a great calm.

27 Everyone was amazed. “What kind of man is this?” they said. “Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

Mark 4:35 On the evening of that same day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” 36 So they left the crowd; the disciples got into the boat in which Jesus was already sitting, and they took him with them. Other boats were there too. 37 Suddenly a strong wind blew up, and the waves began to spill over into the boat, so that it was about to fill with water. 38 Jesus was in the back of the boat, sleeping with his head on a pillow. The disciples woke him up and said, “Teacher, don't you care that we are about to die?”

39 Jesus stood up and commanded the wind, “Be quiet!” and he said to the waves, “Be still!” The wind died down, and there was a great calm. 40 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Why are you frightened? Do you still have no faith?”

41 But they were terribly afraid and began to say to one another, “Who is this man? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

x-John 16:5 But now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me where I am going. 6 And now that I have told you, your hearts are full of sadness. 7 But I am telling you the truth: it is better for you that I go away, because if I do not go, the Helper will not come to you. But if I do go away, then I will send him to you.

xi-Luke 11:13 As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

xii-Luke 12:10 “Whoever says a word against the Son of Man can be forgiven; but whoever says evil things against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

xiii-Acts 17:25 Nor does he need anything that we can supply by working for him, since it is he himself who gives life and breath and everything else to everyone.

28 as someone has said,

‘In him we live and move and exist.’

It is as some of your poets have said,

‘We too are his children.’

xiv-1Corinthians 12:Gifts from the Holy Spirit

12 Now, concerning what you wrote about the gifts from the Holy Spirit.

I want you to know the truth about them, my friends. 2 You know that while you were still heathen, you were led astray in many ways to the worship of lifeless idols. 3 I want you to know that no one who is led by God's Spirit can say “A curse on Jesus!” and no one can confess “Jesus is Lord,” without being guided by the Holy Spirit.

4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. 5 There are different ways of serving, but the same Lord is served. 6 There are different abilities to perform service, but the same God gives ability to all for their particular service. 7 The Spirit's presence is shown in some way in each person for the good of all. 8 The Spirit gives one person a message full of wisdom, while to another person the same Spirit gives a message full of knowledge. 9 One and the same Spirit gives faith to one person, while to another person he gives the power to heal. 10 The Spirit gives one person the power to work miracles; to another, the gift of speaking God's message; and to yet another, the ability to tell the difference between gifts that come from the Spirit and those that do not. To one person he gives the ability to speak in strange tongues, and to another he gives the ability to explain what is said. 11 But it is one and the same Spirit who does all this; as he wishes, he gives a different gift to each person.

Ephesians 4:11 It was he who “gave gifts to people”; he appointed some to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, others to be pastors and teachers. 12 He did this to prepare all God's people for the work of Christian service, in order to build up the body of Christ. 13 And so we shall all come together to that oneness in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God; we shall become mature people, reaching to the very height of Christ's full stature. 14 Then we shall no longer be children, carried by the waves and blown about by every shifting wind of the teaching of deceitful people, who lead others into error by the tricks they invent. 15 Instead, by speaking the truth in a spirit of love, we must grow up in every way to Christ, who is the head. 16 Under his control all the different parts of the body fit together, and the whole body is held together by every joint with which it is provided. So when each separate part works as it should, the whole body grows and builds itself up through love.

xv-Luke 3:21 After all the people had been baptized, Jesus also was baptized. While he was praying, heaven was opened,

xvi-Luke 6:Jesus Chooses the Twelve Apostles

12 At that time Jesus went up a hill to pray and spent the whole night there praying to God. 13 When day came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he named apostles:

xvii-Luke 9:The Transfiguration

28 About a week after he had said these things, Jesus took Peter, John, and James with him and went up a hill to pray. 29 While he was praying, his face changed its appearance, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly two men were there talking with him. They were Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in heavenly glory and talked with Jesus about the way in which he would soon fulfill God's purpose by dying in Jerusalem. 32 Peter and his companions were sound asleep, but they woke up and saw Jesus' glory and the two men who were standing with him. 33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, how good it is that we are here! We will make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (He did not really know what he was saying.)

34 While he was still speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them with its shadow; and the disciples were afraid as the cloud came over them. 35 A voice said from the cloud, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen—listen to him!”

36 When the voice stopped, there was Jesus all alone. The disciples kept quiet about all this and told no one at that time anything they had seen.

xviii-2 Peter 1:16 We have not depended on made-up stories in making known to you the mighty coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. With our own eyes we saw his greatness.

xix-Mark 9:9 As they came down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Don't tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has risen from death.”

xx-Luke 22:Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives

39 Jesus left the city and went, as he usually did, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples went with him. 40 When he arrived at the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”

41 Then he went off from them about the distance of a stone's throw and knelt down and prayed. 42 “Father,” he said, “if you will, take this cup of suffering away from me. Not my will, however, but your will be done.” 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 In great anguish he prayed even more fervently; his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.[a]

45 Rising from his prayer, he went back to the disciples and found them asleep, worn out by their grief. 46 He said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you will not fall into temptation.”

xxi-Luke 22:43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.

xxii-1 Corinthians 10:13 Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.

xxiii-Matthew 27:46 At about three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud shout, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why did you abandon me?”

xxiv-Matthew 6:9 This, then, is how you should pray:

‘Our Father in heaven:

May your holy name be honored;

10 may your Kingdom come;

may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us today the food we need.[a]

12 Forgive us the wrongs we have done,

as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us.

13 Do not bring us to hard testing,

but keep us safe from the Evil One.’[b]

Luke 11:Jesus' Teaching on Prayer

11 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

2 Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this:

‘Father:

May your holy name be honored;

may your Kingdom come.

3 Give us day by day the food we need.[a]

4 Forgive us our sins,

for we forgive everyone who does us wrong.

And do not bring us to hard testing.’”

xxv-Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who calls me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only those who do what my Father in heaven wants them to do. 22 When the Judgment Day comes, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord! In your name we spoke God's message, by your name we drove out many demons and performed many miracles!’ 23 Then I will say to them, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you wicked people!’

xxvi-Matthew 6:10 may your Kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

xxvii-Luke 11:3 Give us day by day the food we need.

xxviii-Luke 11:9 And so I say to you: Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For those who ask will receive, and those who seek will find, and the door will be opened to anyone who knocks. 11 Would any of you who are fathers give your son a snake when he asks for fish? 12 Or would you give him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? 13 As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

xxix-Luke 11:Jesus' Teaching on Prayer

11 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

2 Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this:

‘Father:

May your holy name be honored;

may your Kingdom come.

3 Give us day by day the food we need.[a]

4 Forgive us our sins,

for we forgive everyone who does us wrong.

And do not bring us to hard testing.’”

xxx-Luke 11:5 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Suppose one of you should go to a friend's house at midnight and say, ‘Friend, let me borrow three loaves of bread. 6 A friend of mine who is on a trip has just come to my house, and I don't have any food for him!’ 7 And suppose your friend should answer from inside, ‘Don't bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.’ 8 Well, what then? I tell you that even if he will not get up and give you the bread because you are his friend, yet he will get up and give you everything you need because you are not ashamed to keep on asking. 9 And so I say to you: Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For those who ask will receive, and those who seek will find, and the door will be opened to anyone who knocks. 11 Would any of you who are fathers give your son a snake when he asks for fish? 12 Or would you give him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? 13 As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

xxxi-Luke 18:The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

9 Jesus also told this parable to people who were sure of their own goodness and despised everybody else. 10 “Once there were two men who went up to the Temple to pray: one was a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood apart by himself and prayed,[a] ‘I thank you, God, that I am not greedy, dishonest, or an adulterer, like everybody else. I thank you that I am not like that tax collector over there. 12 I fast two days a week, and I give you one tenth of all my income.’ 13 But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even raise his face to heaven, but beat on his breast and said, ‘God, have pity on me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you,” said Jesus, “the tax collector, and not the Pharisee, was in the right with God when he went home. For those who make themselves great will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be made great.”

xxxii-Luke 24:49 And I myself will send upon you what my Father has promised. But you must wait in the city until the power from above comes down upon you.”

xxxiii-Acts 1:7 Jesus said to them, “The times and occasions are set by my Father's own authority, and it is not for you to know when they will be. 8 But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 2:2 When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers were gathered together in one place. 2 Suddenly there was a noise from the sky which sounded like a strong wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire which spread out and touched each person there. 4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

5 There were Jews living in Jerusalem, religious people who had come from every country in the world. 6 When they heard this noise, a large crowd gathered. They were all excited, because all of them heard the believers talking in their own languages. 7 In amazement and wonder they exclaimed, “These people who are talking like this are Galileans! 8 How is it, then, that all of us hear them speaking in our own native languages? 9 We are from Parthia, Media, and Elam; from Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia; from Pontus and Asia, 10 from Phrygia and Pamphylia, from Egypt and the regions of Libya near Cyrene. Some of us are from Rome, 11 both Jews and Gentiles converted to Judaism, and some of us are from Crete and Arabia—yet all of us hear them speaking in our own languages about the great things that God has done!” 12 Amazed and confused, they kept asking each other, “What does this mean?”

13 But others made fun of the believers, saying, “These people are drunk!”

Peter's Message

14 Then Peter stood up with the other eleven apostles and in a loud voice began to speak to the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, listen to me and let me tell you what this means. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose; it is only nine o'clock in the morning. 16 Instead, this is what the prophet Joel spoke about:

17 ‘This is what I will do in the last days, God says:

I will pour out my Spirit on everyone.

Your sons and daughters will proclaim my message;

your young men will see visions,

and your old men will have dreams.

18 Yes, even on my servants, both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days,

and they will proclaim my message.

19 I will perform miracles in the sky above

and wonders on the earth below.

There will be blood, fire, and thick smoke;

20     the sun will be darkened,

and the moon will turn red as blood,

before the great and glorious Day of the Lord comes.

21 And then, whoever calls out to the Lord for help will be saved.’

22 “Listen to these words, fellow Israelites! Jesus of Nazareth was a man whose divine authority was clearly proven to you by all the miracles and wonders which God performed through him. You yourselves know this, for it happened here among you. 23 In accordance with his own plan God had already decided that Jesus would be handed over to you; and you killed him by letting sinful men crucify him. 24 But God raised him from death, setting him free from its power, because it was impossible that death should hold him prisoner. 25 For David said about him,

‘I saw the Lord before me at all times;

he is near me, and I will not be troubled.

26 And so I am filled with gladness,

and my words are full of joy.

And I, mortal though I am,

will rest assured in hope,

27 because you will not abandon me in the world of the dead;

you will not allow your faithful servant to rot in the grave.

28 You have shown me the paths that lead to life,

and your presence will fill me with joy.’

29 “My friends, I must speak to you plainly about our famous ancestor King David. He died and was buried, and his grave is here with us to this very day. 30 He was a prophet, and he knew what God had promised him: God had made a vow that he would make one of David's descendants a king, just as David was. 31 David saw what God was going to do in the future, and so he spoke about the resurrection of the Messiah when he said,

‘He was not abandoned in the world of the dead;

his body did not rot in the grave.’

32 God has raised this very Jesus from death, and we are all witnesses to this fact. 33 He has been raised to the right side of God, his Father, and has received from him the Holy Spirit, as he had promised. What you now see and hear is his gift that he has poured out on us. 34 For it was not David who went up into heaven; rather he said,

‘The Lord said to my Lord:

Sit here at my right side

35 until I put your enemies as a footstool under your feet.’

36 “All the people of Israel, then, are to know for sure that this Jesus, whom you crucified, is the one that God has made Lord and Messiah!”

37 When the people heard this, they were deeply troubled and said to Peter and the other apostles, “What shall we do, brothers?”

38 Peter said to them, “Each one of you must turn away from your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven; and you will receive God's gift, the Holy Spirit. 39 For God's promise was made to you and your children, and to all who are far away—all whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

40 Peter made his appeal to them and with many other words he urged them, saying, “Save yourselves from the punishment coming on this wicked people!” 41 Many of them believed his message and were baptized, and about three thousand people were added to the group that day. 42 They spent their time in learning from the apostles, taking part in the fellowship, and sharing in the fellowship meals and the prayers.

Life among the Believers

43 Many miracles and wonders were being done through the apostles, and everyone was filled with awe. 44 All the believers continued together in close fellowship and shared their belongings with one another. 45 They would sell their property and possessions, and distribute the money among all, according to what each one needed. 46 Day after day they met as a group in the Temple, and they had their meals together in their homes, eating with glad and humble hearts, 47 praising God, and enjoying the good will of all the people. And every day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.

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