God has no different way of salvation for little children or for hardened sinners. How young, then, can a child become conscious of sin and his need and honestly turn his heart from sin to trust in Christ? Some people have set the age as twelve, but there is no Biblical foundation for that. In fact, the Bible sets no age limit. Let us say that as early as the child knows himself to be a sinner and that he needs forgiveness, then he should be taught to look to Jesus and trust Him for forgiveness and salvation. - John R. Rice [Luke, pg. 435]
It is a part of God's plan and promise, "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you" (Jas. 4:8). He said to Israel and He says to every penitent sinner, "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart" (Jer. 29:13).
Was it a happy coincidence that the man who sought Jesus found Him easily? Jesus came to the sycamore tree and stopped and looked up. Ah, it was not only that Zacchaeus sought Jesus but Jesus sought Zacchaeus. He knew his name, knew the hunger of his heart and said, "To day I must abide at thy house." When a sinner seeks the Saviour, he finds that the Saviour has been seeking him, too. - John R. Rice [Luke, pg. 454-455]
All who listened to John [the Baptist] willingly would listen to Jesus. All who trusted in the Saviour John preached, trusted in Jesus and loved Him. So He asked these religious leaders, "The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?" That meant not only John's baptism but his preaching repentance, his announcement of the coming Messiah, the John the Baptist revival. They dared not answer-they would convict themselves. If John's message and announcement and baptizing were from Heaven, why did they not believe John? But they dared not say it was not from Heaven. The overwhelming conviction of the multitude was that John was the prophet of God.
They would reject every proof that Jesus gave, and even when He arose from the dead, they would bribe the soldiers to say that someone had stolen His body (Matt. 28:12-14).
In moral and spiritual matters, the intellect is controlled and blinded by deliberate, wicked rejection of truth. - John R. Rice [Luke, pg. 474]
In wonderful ways, beyond the knowledge of men, the joys, the associations, the fellowships in Heaven will be perfect and complete among sinless beings. Abraham in Heaven will still be "Father Abraham" to Jews (Luke 16:22-24). - John R. Rice [Luke, pg. 484]
So that Sabbath [Luke 23:54] was not the usual weekly Sabbath but the annual Sabbath of the passover, "for that sabbath was an high day" (John 19:31). So, as we understand the Scriptures, Jesus was crucified on Wednesday. He was buried and in the grave Thursday, Friday and Saturday (the day beginning at sundown and ending at sundown). Then sometime Saturday night He arose from the dead and was in the grave, as he had specifically said, "three days and three nights" (Matt. 12:40). - John R. Rice [Luke, pg. 546]
Jesus Himself also said, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life" (John 3:36). When you trusted Jesus Christ, He saved you. I will pray for you that you will believe God and quit depending on your feelings and emotions. It would be wrong for me to be praying for God to give you the kind of feeling you want. That is not the way we are to know we are saved. We know we are saved because God said it and we have faith to believe it. Faith takes God's Word as true and relies upon it. ― John R. Rice, Dr. Rice, Here Are More Questions
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ [Luke 24:1-12]. This story is told also in Matthew 28:1-6; Mark 16:1-8; and John 20:1-17.
Now it is the first day of the week. We understand that Jesus was in the grave Thursday, Friday and Saturday, that is, with the "high Sabbath," the annual Sabbath, on Thursday, and the weekly Sabbath on Saturday. As Dr. R. A. Torrey said, Jesus could have remained in the grave more than seventy-two hours but He could not be in the grave less than seventy-two hours and fulfill literally the exact prophecy of "three days and three nights" of Matthew 12:40. - John R. Rice [Luke, pg. 548]
"Fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken" - Jesus said that. We are reminded that "the fool hath said in his heart, there is no God" (Ps. 14:1; 53:1). So only a fool is slow to believe the Bible, too. The evidences for the supernatural accuracy and authority of the Bible are so obvious to every seeking heart that only a perverse spirit, only a wicked determination to go on in sin, would keep people from knowing that the Bible is the Word of God and that it is true. - John R. Rice [Luke, pg. 555]
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