Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Friday, January 4, 2013 Read – Psalm 144 Luke has softened Mark’s story of the baptism of Jesus. Psalm 144 was probably more in Mark’s mind than Luke’s, nonetheless, verses 5-8 of Psalm 144 have meaning for both Mark and Luke. In Psalm 144:5 we hear the words, “Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down; touch the mountains so that they smoke.” As Luke tells the story of Jesus, he tells it as “the visitation of God to his people.” The tragedy is that many people did not recognize this coming – many did not welcome God’s visitation. The wonder is that some did recognize and did welcome him! The concept of God’s “bowing of the heavens and coming down” is a prominent theme in the OT. Of course it has allusions to God’s coming at Mount Sinai and giving the Ten Commandments to Moses. Isaiah will also use this image. Luke’s story of the baptism of Jesus is part of his understanding that in Jesus, God is visiting his people – bringing them hope and deliverance. Luke will now tell his readers the genealogy of Jesus, tracing it back to Adam. Readers will notice that Luke’s genealogy is significantly different from the genealogy with which Matthew begins his gospel. Neither can be matched with the genealogy we can derive from the rest of the Bible. It is not necessary for us to plow through this genealogy – reading lots of names is not easy and unless we were to take time to explore each name not very useful for our discussion. But we should note Luke’s reaching all the way back to Adam. Clearly his gospel is meant for the whole world.