Today we turn to another of Paul’s brief letters: the Letter to the Colossians. The church in Colosse had some challenges, and Paul takes the time to instruct them both on proper theology and proper practice in following Jesus.
In Colossians 1, Paul offers a positive introduction, and reminds the believers there he is praying for them. He turns immediately to instructing the Colossians in the primacy of Jesus. He is God, and they need to worship Him as God. The chapter closes with Paul reminding the Colossians of how much he was struggling for them and for the sake of advancing the gospel.
In Colossians 2, Paul continues to remind them of his struggle for them and for all the believers he hasn’t met personally. This reminds us we don’t have to meet someone face-to-face to influence them for Jesus. Paul calls the Colossians not to fall for the false teaching that is seeking to infiltrate their city and church. He calls them to remember who they were and who they are now. That’s another important reminder for us. We must always look forward and follow the leading of Jesus, rather than backwards to what we were before Jesus became our Savior and Lord.
In Colossians 3, Paul uses the image of clothing and tells the Colossian believers they must “put on” new characteristics. He offers us a “laundry list” of the sins they used to commit and live out daily. Now they are to put on traits that are similar to the fruit of the Spirit, and over everything to put on love. In this way we will be able to let Christ’s peace rule in our hearts. He then commands them, “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of God the Father, giving thanks to Jesus Christ, through Him.” Paul them moves on to instructions for Christian households. Wives are to submit to their husbands as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands are to love their wives and not be harsh with them. Children are to obey their parents in the Lord, and fathers are not to provoke their children, which will lead to their discouragement. Included in these instructions, are instructions for slaves to obey their masters. As we move to Colossians 4, Paul instructs slave owners to treat their slaves justly and fairly knowing they have a Master in heaven. We could wish Paul would have condemned the practice of slavery, but his words would have helped make the relationship much better than was typical in his or any other day. Paul closes out the letter with final instructions to be steadfast, to pray, and to be watchful. As usual, he offers some closing greetings and salutations.
As we return to Luke 3, Luke tells us of John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus, and of Jesus’ baptism. After this, Luke includes the genealogy of Jesus. A couple points to note concerning this genealogy and that in Matthew’s gospel: The names aren’t exactly the same. Is that a problem? Not a real problem, as in any family line, we can take a different route to get to the same end. The second difference is Matthew traced Jesus’ lineage only back to Abraham. That’s because Matthew was a Jew, and Abraham was the “father” of the Jews. Matthew saw no need to go back farther in the line. Luke, on the other hand, was a Gentile. He traced Jesus’ lineage all the way back to Adam. That means Jesus’ line goes back to the beginning of humanity and therefore, He is “related” to us all.