I am having so many technical issues with this blog site, this will be the last post of the Commentary on Luke.  If anyone is interested in this commentary, leave me a comment and I will email you the entire Luke file.
Paul Austin

Luke 4.13

WITH THE TEMPTATIONS OVER, Jesus is filled with the Spirit almost like a celebration. He does not return to Bethlehem but to Galilee. This region is northeast of Jerusalem, higher in altitude, softer in climate and rich in trees, fruit, streams and easy breezes. It is the perfect place to rest.
Luke says an interesting thing in 4.14--news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. What news was that? That He had defeated the devil? Did they see Jesus on the pinnacle of the temple, did they see Him confronting the devil with the Word of God? Shepherds might have been in the wilderness, close enough to see Jesus confront the devil, but we may never know what news of Him spread after the temptations.

What we do know that Luke reports--He began teaching in their synogogues and was praised by all, 4.15. He began in the small places where the lowest people congregate, the synogogues. He began among the meek, the lowly, the quiet of the land. He was praised by all, in fulfillment of 2.52. Here in Galilee He began His ministry; it would end in Jerusalem.

He came home to Nazareth, where he was brought up, where everyone knew Him as a boy and now as a man. Luke leaves the impression those in Nazareth did not witness the temptations in the wilderness. As was the custom of every Jewish man, He entered the synogogue on the Sabbath, reading from the scrolls, Isaiah 61, Luke says--he found the place where it was written--as if Jesus rolled the scrolls until He found Isaiah 61. This passage is about the kingdom of God.

Whenever Jesus was asked to signify His message and ministry, He always did so with words which echo this passage. He says He came to preach first of all, and first to the poor. When John's disciples come to Jesus in Matthew 11.5, He says the same thing in reverse order: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleanse, the deaf hear, the dead are raised--and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

This is His attack on the devil. Jesus has announced He will unravel the work of the devil, beginning with the most defenseless, the poor--to set free those who are downtrodden, 4.15. He sits down, with all eyes fixed on Him. That may mean more than just eyes were fixed on Him. Everyone there marveled at his gracious words, but they wondered where He got them. They knew He was merely the son of a carpenter; did He go off somewhere to be educated? They were nearly sarcastic with Him.
 
Then Jesus turns against those in the synogogue. He accuses some of them of taking Him too commonly, as if what He did at Capernaum (healed the royal official's son) He would surely do in His own home town. His answer isn't what they wanted. He says God's kingdom is not for everyone. Jesus uses two examples everyone knew: Elijah and the famine and Elisha and the lepers, 4.25, 26. Luke says--all in the synogogue were filled with rage as they heard these things.

The men rose up, threw Him out of the synogogue, out of the city shoving Him to the brow of a hill over a cliff, to cast Him down. But Jesus, using His supernatural powers, passed through them all. The image of being thrown off a cliff is striking. Jesus will cast demons out of a man into swine which He casts off a cliff. Judas will cast himself off a cliff, as if shoved. In Revelation 12.9 the devil and Satan were thrown out of heaven, cast down to the earth.

Simeon had predicted that Jesus would be appointed for the--fall and rise of many in Israel. John had said--the axe is laid to the root. Jesus will not make life comfortable in Israel, especially among the religious, He will call whom He will call.

Luke 4

LUKE THEN WRITES that Jesus, having come up from the Jordan full of the Spirit, is led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. His life is so predestined. Luke tells us Jesus lived in the wilderness 40 days without eating; he does not mention drinking. Evidently, Jesus was communing with God the Spirit and God the Father, a communion of God's word. We see the devil waits until Jesus is weak in the body to approach Him.

The devil says three things:
If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread

if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours (the world and its wealth)

If You are the Son of God, cast Yourself down from here

The three temptations are thought to be about hunger, the world's wealth, and testing God. In the first temptation Jesus answers the devil with Deuteronomy 8.3--Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word which proceeds from the mouth of God. In other words, every human being is a spirit, made in the image of God and not just a body which becomes hungry. The devil can tempt the body but not the spirit, which belongs to God Almighty. Scholars have noted for years that Jesus answers the devil as every Christian can, using the Word of God.

Then the devil shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. He says the kingdoms of the world have been handed over to him; he will give them to Jesus if He will bow down and worship the devil. Jesus answers with the first of the 10 Commandments--you shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only, 4.8. This tells us the 10 Commandments were not just for Israel or the world, but for the angels in heaven and hell.

We might note in passing that the glory of all the kingdoms of the world will be brought to God in the new Jerusalem, Revelation 21.24.

The devil has failed twice, so he hurls the greatest temptation upon Jesus he can. He puts Jesus on the pinnacle of the temple to say--If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down from here, then quoting Psalm 91.11 that the angels in heaven would guard Him. What the devil does not quote is 91.2--My God in whom I trust. Jesus then answers with Deuteronomy 6.16--You shall not force a test on the Lord your God.

We might note that the three temptations might very well be the devil's acts of rebellion against God that make him what he is. These would be the devil separating himself from God, ruling the world without God, and testing God.

The devil left but Luke notes, he will return--until an opportune time.

This was the challenge of the devil against God, which was foretold in Genesis 3.15, the bruising the devil on the head. The devil is not dead--that will come in Revelation 20--but he knows his time is short. We can notice these three challenges are temptations for Jesus, not real confrontations like Achilleus and Hector in The Iliad. These temptations are readily defeated by the Word of God, seeming almost easy for Jesus. His power is so great that He can cast out demons by His finger, Luke 11.20, Exodus 8.19.

But for the devil, he knows he cannot harm God by fighting Jesus; he will have to deal with the followers of Jesus.

John 3.10

John knows he is not the Christ. His time in the desert may have told him that, contemplating Isaiah 40.3, over and over. He may have thought, leveling the mountains, filling the valleys, making the land flat enables the whole world to see the glory of God when He comes. These images are pictures of a world seeing the glory of God at the same time, all over the world.

So John says to them all at once--I baptize you with water...He Himself with baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Interestingly, the Holy Spirit and fire were both present at the creation of the universe, Genesis 1.2, 3. Truly, the Holy Spirit and fire can enable one to be born again, as with a new creation. But John also preaches the message of judgment of that same fire when he says--God will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire, 3.17. As in creation, with light comes fire.

This can cause us to contemplate this universe. It is not a flawless valley in which no one ages, no one sins, no one has emotions and ambitions. It is a world which deteriorates if the Lord does not uphold it. It is a universe in which those who believe in God must act in holiness and faith. After all, darkness came before light. Darkness surrounds but light illuminates the soul. This is the world in which we live.

But John's preaching of God's winnowing fork in His hand struck against the wicked acts of Herod and Herodias, his brother's wife. Luke does not narrate the account of Herod's brother Philip, married to Herodias, the daughter of Herodias asking for John's head at the birthday party of Herod, and the imprisonment of John. The situation was probably well known.

Luke wants to end chapter 3 with the family history of Jesus, how Jesus was the descendant of Adam, who was the first son of God. It's important to show that Jesus is in the line of Abraham and David. Therefore, Luke puts the baptism of Jesus last in the chapter, although it probably happened before. Putting the baptism of Jesus like this enables Luke to link the Holy Spirit and fire of John with Jesus' baptism of the Holy Spirit and the dove. That recalls the two doves which were sacrificed when Jesus was at the temple in 2.24.

The dove reveals to everyone there that the Holy Spirit has come to fill Jesus. This pronounces to everyone that the upbringing, the training of Jesus is over. He is now filled with the Spirit, meaning the Trinity is in Him. The voice of the Father comes out of heaven, saying--Thou art My beloved Son in Thee I am well-pleased, 3.22. Luke does not say anything about the voice of the Father heard by everyone there. He does not say how cataclysmic this is that those living standing at a river hear the voice of the Lord God Almighty.

We might remember the role of the dove when Noah sends the dove out after the flood to find dry land. When the dove does not return, Noah knows the dry land is supporting growth. As Noah was a savior for the world at the flood with the dove symbolizing the land is at peace, Jesus will be the savior of the world with the dove symbolizing God is at peace with the world.

Genealogies are significant in the Bible to establish the family and the time from one event to another. For Christians, it is interesting to see how many names we can identify and describe in the family tree of Jesus.

Luke 3

THIS chapter begins with the date, as we've seen Luke use before. Luke locates the rulers who surround Jerusalem and the Jordan River where John will preach and baptize. Tiberias Caesar is in Rome, Pilate is in Judea north of Jerusalem, Herod is in Galilee northeast of Jerusalem, with his brother Philip in Ituraea and Lysanias in Abilene. Meanwhile, in Jerusalem Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests who ruled over the religious life of the city.

We notice the Word of God came to John. The angel had told Zacharias that John would be filled with the Holy Spirit, 1.15, and so he is. John comes to the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. This in itself is significant because this means salvation comes to the Jews through repentance and forgiveness, not through just being born a Jew. John has thrown Israel out of a unique relationship to God, saying the Jews come to God as anyone else does, through forgiveness of sins.
John quotes Isaiah 40.3 as meaning that God is coming as a king comes, so that the people must make a way for Him. This will be fulfilled in the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem years from now. Then John says it plainly--all flesh shall see the salvation of God, 3.6. Salvation is not just for Israel, but for all flesh. God is showing Himself through Israel to all men and women.

John's sermon extract which Luke has preserved makes all of this obvious. It is not being one of the offspring of Abraham which commends a man to God, it is bringing forth fruit in keeping with repentance. Sin has alienated Israeal from God; they are outside the tabernacle, outside of God. Then John warns the people that the other side of forgiveness is judgment--the axe is already laid to the root of the trees, 3.9. This might remind some of those there at the Jordan of Deuteronomy 28.13-15, where God offers blessings for obedience but curses for disobedience. The axe is already laid at the root.

When those there question John honestly, he tells them what fruit of repentance to bring. This is the application of the Law to the individual, in the spirit of the Law. Many proverbs could be listed to show that John is speaking what God has said before. For instance, when John tells the tax-collectors to take no more than what they have been ordered to, we might recall Proverbs 20.4--

The king gives stability to the land by justice,but a man who takes bribes overthrows it.

Evidently the people took this to heart as fulfilling God's covenant with Israel through repentance and the forgiveness of sins because they became excited over John. They whispered among themselves as to whether John might be the Christ, the Messiah. They recognized that what John was preaching was what the Messiah was expected to say. But John has to tell them all who he is.

Luke 2.52

Finally Luke ends chapter 2 with an amazing statement. Jesus grew in stature with God and with man, 2.52. Many can grow in stature with God by being solely religious, such as John in the desert. Many can grow in stature with men as Alexander the Great did under the tutelage of Aristotle. But now, to do both is quite rare. It means Jesus was not a young man of compartments in which God is here and man is there. He was a young man who saw how much of God is in man and how much of man fufills our concept of God. He seemed to know what it meant to be the image and likeness of God.

Verse 52 could not be possible if Jesus were not God and man, both and yet without shearing the other's nature. This will not be understood until centuries later. It's no wonder Joseph and Mary did not understand what Jesus said; the Pharisees would not, and the priests would arrange his crucifixion when they realized what He had said of His heavenly Father.

THIS has been a long chapter in which Luke compiled everything known for sure about the upbringing of Jesus. Luke does not say if Jesus traveled or what scrolls He read or if He had close personal friends. Luke is focused on Jesus and the growing relationship to His heavenly Father. This relationship to God the Father may have been greatly aided by His relationship to Joseph. I would imagine God chose Joseph in order to teach the young Jesus that God in heaven is His Father. Joseph must have been a man of great maturity in the faith, as Mary was great in her trust of God.

But how does Luke describe a boy who is God? The very thought is bizarre. What was it like to be with Him? When John Milton wrote the poem Paradise Lost, he asked the Holy Spirit to help him:

And chiefly Thou, O Spirit, that dost prefer
before all Temples the' upright heart and pure,
Instruct me, for Thou knowest...

And in another passage, Milton asks of God:

thou celestial light,
shine inward and the mind through all her powers
irradiate, there plant eyes, all mist from thence
purge and disperse, that I may see and tell
of things invisible to mortal sight.

Luke has described in some details the people around Jesus--mother and father and cousin John and Simeon and Anna, the shepherds, Elizabeth and Zacharias, and those in the temple. He has written down the OT prophecies of Jesus, the talk of those around Joseph and Mary. He said very little of Jesus Himself except that He grew in wisdom and that the grace of God was upon Him.

Luke 2.39
JOSEPH AND MARY then returned with Jesus to their own city. They must've passed through a long line of eyes and those who could have cared less. In the quietness of Nazareth, young Jesus grew up--increasing in wisdom and the grace of God was upon Him, 2.40. Like John in the desert, Jesus belonged to God. Undoubtedly, Joseph had much to teach him about His heavenly Father. Jesus learned to work with his hands as well as with the scrolls about Israel.

The grace of God was upon Him, v.40. Luke does not elaborate on the statement, indicating many stories and incidents might be behind the verse. Luke might be describing what everyone in the village had come to know and accept about Him...that He was not like his father as to being just a carpenter, but that He belonged to God.


The next verse begins with 'And,' but it is not a continuation of the previous verse. This is the narration of an incident in which family and God meet and tangle. When Jesus was 12 years old, Joseph and Mary took Him to Jerusalem for the Passover. The implication was that He did not go to the Passover in Jerusalem before this particular year. The family celebrated the Feast there in a crowded, dust-breathing city full of the smells of animals to be sacrificed, foreigners, high priests and scribes, swindlers, sellers and buyers and an army of children.

Families would gather in groups on the roads to Jerusalem, traveling together for their own protection and sharing food and water. Inside the city gates they might scatter to their own business and manner of worship. After the Feast, the families would leave in wide groups, adults walking together, kids playing all around, yelling, animals snorting and bleating with a humorous chaos of journeying. It would not be unusual for a family to expect their children to be among the other children, since there were so many. So, Mary and Joseph don't miss seeing Jesus for the first day.

Jesus, knowing who He is by now, stays behind in the city as if it were home.

Joseph and Mary go back to the city, now desperate to see his head among the crowd. After two days of frantic searching they find Him in the temple; He had probably been there all along. He might have been with Anna or Simeon or another priest. His parents then see Him among the teachers, listening and asking. As He had grown up in Nazareth under the grace of God, so now everyone is amazed at His understanding and answers.

Joseph and Mary were astonished at Him, evidently not realizing He was destined for the life of a teacher and rabbi.

His mother berates Him with her impatience. When Luke writes of this, he uses the word for 'child,' when he narrates that Mary said--Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you, 2.48. It is the same word Luke used in 2.27 and 2.40. This might imply that Joseph and Mary still thought of Him as a boy, to inherit His father's carpentry business. They thought He was one of them when He was not.

When Jesus says--Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father's house...this indicates He has already left Joseph's home for His Father's home, the temple at Jerusalem. Still, He was only 12; He must return to Joseph's home for a few years more. Joseph and Mary did not understand what Jesus said, but Mary kept His words in her memory.


 

Luke 2.21

AFTER 8 DAYS, the child was circumcized. It was the first time the name of Jesus was spoken outside his mother and father. In the temple where he was circumcized, His name must've resounded from wall to wall, hallowing the room, the name above every name, the name out of Heaven, the name of Jesus Christ. According to Luke's text, His name of Jesus was not given to the shepherds, only that He was Christ the Lord. But Mary knew. She was told His name before she even conceived. No man's life was so predestined as that of Jesus of Nazareth.

When the day for purification according to the Law came, He was presented in Jerusalem. This rite comes from Exodus 13.2, 10. Two turtledoves were sacrificed for Jesus. This must've made a deep impression in His young eyes, in the city which would be His destiny. Did He hear the voice of the Spirit, explaining why a sacrifice must be made? When He will be baptized, the Spirit comes to Him in the form of the same dove which was brought by His father. He will cleanse the same temple in which He makes His purification.

Simeon was there. He was an old man, having waited long for the consolation of Israael. A strange old man, he was filled with the Holy Spirit as John will be and Jesus is. The Spirit of God told Simeon he would not die until he had seen the Lord's anointed, the savior of Israel.
Simeon came into the temple--in the Spirit, 2.27. Did he know this would be the day, this would be the child? If he didn't know coming into the temple, he did know when he saw the Child. When Luke uses the phrase--he took Him into his arms and blessed God--this conveys to us the gentle care with which Simeon held the baby. Simeon looks at the Child, but speaks to God.

What we might notice is what the shepherds noticed: Simeon praises God for His Word coming true--Thou does let Thy servant depart in peace according to Thy word, 2.29. The shepherds recognized this new child, this new age, this peace with God on the basis that the angel told the truth, that Simeon had been told the truth. It is this Word which is truth that is different from any other age or time or epoch.

Simeon says--mine eyes have seen Thy salvation. Quite a statement saying that a person is salvation. This would never be said of a general, senator, philosopher. To say that someone is salvation is to say the world isn't just the way it is, but that the world should not be like this. It is to say there is some gulf between the way the ancient world was--dicatators, starvation, wars for economics, old age diseases, birth defects--and that this world could or should be different. Anyone else would say, some future idealistic world is not possible, only a dream of the idle rich.


And then to say that this person Jesus is a revelation to the Gentiles as well as the Jews, that is rare. It implies the Gentiles will be shown something which they could never have known otherwise. Certainly, in the ancient world it is the Jews who were considered unlearned compared to the Greeks, lacking in political power compared to the Romans, with little or no history compared to the Egyptians or Chinese. And yet it is to the Jews that the light of this revelation has comee.

All of this is stated well by Isaiah 42.6-13 in prophetic language. Notice as you read Isaiah, the very beginning of v.6--I am the Lord. It is He the Lord who has come in Luke 2.


All of this and much more were being said about the Child. Priests and wise men and shepherds and those holding scrolls, those awaiting Israel's history and restoration to glory, those from other countries, those who sit in the street, they all were speaking of this Child. Mary and Joseph heard this, and they took it all in as much as they could.

Simeon then says gravely--this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed...and a sword will pierce even your own soul..to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed, 2.34, 35.

One wonders if Jesus was Joseph's first born. Other passages in the NT imply Jesus had brothers and sisters. If He is first-born, this scene with Simeon is a close, intense one, a private scene. If He is not Joseph's first child, His sisters and brothers could have been here, experiencing mixed emotions about who their brother Jesus really was.

The old lady Anna (or Hannah) came up to the family. She lived in the temple, serving day and night with fastings and prayers. Would she have approached Joseph and Mary if Jesus was their only child, or would she have deferred to Joseph as father? It may be that Anna was willing to approach the child if Joseph had other children there or it may not. Certainly the text we have from Luke says nothing either way.

Anna gave thanks to God for Jesus, seemingly to realize who He was. She seems to have turned round to speak to everyone about Him, everyone who was interested in the redemption of Jerusalem. Evidently there were many there in the temple who were looking for and expecting to see the redemption of Jerusalem or the consolation of Israel. Surrounded by those who were of this opinion and desire, word could easily have spread throughout the temple and the city and along the roads leading outward. When God is in your midst, it's hard to stay quiet.

The message of Simeon and Anna seems to be that while they and many with them believed by faith in God's covenant with Israel, they all saw Him.

Luke 2.15

THE SHEPHERDS then come straight to the manger, as the angel told them. They hurried. And yet they knew it was the Lord who had made this known to them. Evidently they knew angels when they saw them. They found their way, possibly by watching the star, possibly by searching around the outskirts of Bethlehem before they saw the candlelight in the manger. Their own sheep might have known of the manger, as it was a place to which animals would be brought in bad weather.

When they saw the baby Jesus in the feeding trough, they knew the angel had told them the truth. They would not have been able to keep from telling Mary and Joseph what happened to them. Probably everyone knew angels were messangers of God. But now to be told a savior has been born, that is something else.

So in turn they leave immediately to tell others the same thing. This would be hard to keep to yourself. For shepherds, telling this good news would give them an acceptability in society they usually wouldn't have.

It is a sign of Christianity that one tells another. The child who was God came into the world, seen by anyone who might have come by, even shepherds and animals. The philosophers in the School at Miletus did not see this; the kings and caesars and pharaohs did not see this. Later on in this gospel Jesus will often thank God that the wisdom of the kingdom was kept from the wise and intelligent but given to the lowly. Certainly, that is the case, here. Wise men from the east, shepherds from the fields, stable animals and the angels from heaven saw this.

As word spread that night by the shepherds, everyone who heard of this birth wondered. Mary pondered over the events which came with her baby. But the shepherds glorified God for all they had heard. Twice Luke mentions the shepherds believed what had been told them, 2.17, 20. The outcasts believed the word of the angel; later in the life of Jesus many will not believe what they are told of Him, but some will.

Luke 2
JOHN is born and so is Jesus. However, the Roman Empire will now cast its' net across Palestine in the form of a census. This census is for the entire Roman Empire, called--all the inhabited earth. It is from Caesar Augustus, presumably to subdue the people, to give Rome an idea of how much they can expect in taxes by knowing the population, and providing Rome the ages of the people in case young men have to be forced into the Roman army. An occupying nation needs to know its' enemy and their number.

What this meant for Joseph and Mary was that they must return to their own city. In Joseph's case this is Bethlehem, the city of David so named becasuse David's father was from Bethlehem, 1 Samuel 16.1, 17.15. Joseph was of the house of David. Isaiah had prophecied a virgin would bear a son from the house of David, Isaiah 6.13.

By now, Mary is showing her pregnancy, it is time for her to give birth. She gives birth in a manger, a shelter for animals against bad weather. Luke says Jesus was born in a feeding trough, implying Mary had Him in swaddling clothes laying down in the bottom of the trough, well out of the winter's cold night.

Around the manger, upon the hilltops some shepherds kept watch over their flock, which would have been laying down on the ground, huddled together for warmth in the night. As the sheep were huddled upon the hilltops, so the stars spread themselves across the spread of the sky.

A glorious angel stood over them, the glory of the Lord shone around them, so of course they were afraid. No one comes out to shepherds at night. Shepherds smell, as they save the pure water for the sheep and do not bathe very often. Shepherds are considered the lowest rank among the Jews, those not worthy of bother. They were nearly all illiterate, not coming to the synogogue very often in their life, so why would an angel come to them?

The angel says He brings good news for--all the people. This may be an indication of how the word of Christ's birth is to be spread: from the shepherds to the laborers to the meek and finally to the rulers. This Jesus will mention in Matthew 11.25, that God revealed the things of the kingdom to babes, not to the wise.

The angel calls Jesus--a savior who is Christ the Lord. That the shepherds were told Jesus was the Lord may be why lepers and the blind call Him the Lord later in His life, in Matthew 8.2. Then the angel tells the shepherds they will find Jesus wrapped in cloths, lying in a manger. It is to be God's sign to them, that everything the angel said about Jesus is to be true.

Suddenly a heavenly host appears all around the shepherds, unapproachable light cascading upon them, a glimpse of heaven come down. Notice in 2.14 the words of praise go up to God first--Glory to God in the highest--and then down to earth and to men--And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased. It is rare that the heavenly host would say God is at peace with men, but this peace is what Jesus brings.

Zecharias has mentioned this very peace when he gave his pronouncement in 1.77-79, ending with--to guide our feet in the way of peace. The only manner in which God could have peace with men is if Jesus were a meeting place of God and man, as He was. By the time of John 14.27, Jesus realizes this is why He came.

NOW it is the proper time for Elizabeth to give birth, as Luke says in 1.57, and it is a son. Their neighbors rejoice when they heard that God has shown mercy to Elizabeth. This may indicate that Elizabeth did not leave their house, so that they did not see that she had delivered but had been told. They then rejoice with Elizabeth, meaning they came to her house with gifts and music and prayers of exultation.

On the 8th day, they come to circumcize the son, intending to call him Zacharias, after his father. But Elizabeth has heard from God. She declares at them all, he will be called John. Those who had come protest that no one in their family had ever been called John, so Zacharias--still mute--writes on a tablet that John will be his name. His name is settled. Immediately Zacharias now can speak--and he immediately speaks in praise of God.

Fear struck all of those who were there. They knew this was from God. Word of what had happened spread all over the hill country from the women to the shepherds to the farmers and traders and camel owners. Everyone was saying--For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him, 1.66. But God was to have the last word.

Zacharias prophecies over the child, by the power of the Holy Spirit. He begins by saying God has accomplished redemption for His people. This is in the future tense, although as with the magnificat the verbs are put in the perfect past. It is as if someone who has been coming for a long time has finally arrived. Zacharias then prophecies his son will be the--horn of salvation for us in the house of David, 1.69. This Zacharias probably remembered from 1 Samuel 2.1, 10.

While the magnificat is judgmental with scattering the proud, bringing down rulers, sending the rich away, in Zacharias' prophecy the emphasis is on Israel's covenant, showing mercy, as the child John will go before the Lord to prepare the way for salvation. The last sentence of the prophecy is typical of the entire message--to guide our feet into the way of peace, 1.79.

Luke then says John grew strong in spirit, living in the desert until his appearance to Israel. This may indicate John stayed in a desert community. The desert communities had the scrolls in Hebrew of the Law, Prophets, Wisdom, and history of Israel. John may have heard these read as the monks preserve and copy them.

WITH the news of Elizabeth's child, Mary goes to her without the mention of Joseph. If they were betrothed Joseph might not be along. The trip was dangerous, as robbers were well known to be along the way. Maybe this is why Luke says--Mary arose and went with haste to the hill country, 1.39.


Zacharias and Elizabeth are there in the house. When Mary enters, the baby in Elizabeth's womb leaps. Elizabeth is then filled with the Holy Spirit. Luke writes this as if the Holy Spirit in Mary was so great it filled the house and Elizabeth like an overflow, as in Ezekiel 10.3,4. Elizabeth cries with a loud voice--an ecstasy--a livid leap of the soul to bless Mary, just as Gabriel had blessed Mary in 1.28.

Mary is not the first woman to be said to be 'blessed among women'. In Judges 5.24 Jael is called blessed--most blessed is she of women in the tent. This is because Jael killed an enemy of Israel, Judge 4.17-21. I assume that Jael is most blessed of women in the tent means in the OT covenant. Mary was not in a tent but a manger.

Elizabeth seems to know by the Holy Spirit which is filling her house that Mary's child is the Lord, 1.43. Not only that, but through Elizabeth the Holy Spirit says from Elizabeth to Mary--Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord. This is believing by the Word of God.


Now comes Mary's magnificat. It is poetry in the style of an OT prophet like Isaiah. It begins with what God has done for Mary and ends with what God will do through Israel as Abraham's offspring.

Luke 1.46-49 mention the Spirit of God and Mary, when she uses a personal pronoun for herself: My soul magnifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God, all generations will count me blessed, the Mighty One has done great things for me... These verses are Mary's song of gratitude and humility of heart.

Then in 1.50 Mary says God will do the same for everyone who fears Him.

And in 1.51 Mary says God the Son (His arm) will bring down those who are proud in the thoughts of their heart, Deuteronomy 10.16. The Jew has expressions like thoughts of their hearts because the Hebrew language had no word for brain or mind. Calling God the Son as the right arm is a common expression in the OT, as in Isaiah 59.16.

Then in 1.52-55 Mary expands the thought to rulers, to the humble of heart, to Israel His servant, to the fathers, to Abraham and his offspring.

This magnificat is quite Jewish in tone and mood. Verses 46-49 could easily be a psalm. It could only be in the context of a covenant with God that Mary knew she was blessed; after all only the God of Israel pours out blessings upon the soul. Her soul exalts the Lord, something a Jewish soul could do; her soul magnifies the Lord, something associated with the devotion of a priest in the tabernacle or the temple of Solomon. Her spirit rejoices that God is her savior, implying she knew she needed a savior, as in Psalm 35.9, 9.14.

After telling Elizabeth of her soul's embrace of God, she then tells what God has done, as if it were already accomplished, in verses 48-55. He has regard for Mary, He--has done great things for me...1.49. Then in v. 51 and following Mary tells of what the Lord has done for Israel. Notice the past perfect tense, as if these things were known and accomplished. He comes as judge who has brought down the rulers, scattered the proud, sent away the rich empty-handed.

For Israel He has given help, He has filled the hungry, He has shown mercy to Abraham's offspring.

We can notice that bringing down the rulers and the proud is an aspect of His holiness, His justice, His rule as perfect king.

Mary spent three months there with Elizabeth and Zacharias. They must've had many conversations in the day when the men were out working. They shared meals, did the washing together, felt their babies move, and slept under the same stars God made in the beginning. Mary returned home.

WHEN Zechariah was at home, Elizabeth becomes pregnant...again at the proper time. She is ecstatic but keeps these things to herself. It is the private joy which comes from waiting on God, and waiting many years. This might reminds us of Rachel's conceiving a child in Genesis 30.23. We notice God's favor then took away her shame from--among men, 1.25. That was probably meant to represent the entire community around Zechariah and Elizabeth. Everyone saw her slim, working as the women did and then the day came when they saw her great with child, beaming, smiling widely because finally God has shown His favor over her.

The proper time was coming, more intense with every day. Israel's reproach would soon be lifted. As the people waited for Zechariah to come out of the temple, so Israel is waiting for God to come from His throne, into their midst. He is about to do so.

We notice that Luke mentions the sixth month in 1.26. This is to locate the time Gabriel came, in the manner of remembering events in Genesis 8.4,13 and other places in the OT narrative. Days and years are associated with secular history; the genealogy of Israel is assocated with Israel's covenant with God.

With that in mind, Luke recites the family history of Joseph, 1.27. Now is the acceptable time, for God has sent Gabriel. Isaiah had prophecied that a virgin would conceive a child in Isaiah 7.14, 9.6. Actually the prediction of a son who will be born to a virgin may even go back to Genesis 3.15. There the Lord God tells the serpent there will be--enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. Women don't have a seed, so why does the passage mention the seed of the woman? Because the father of Jesus is the Holy Spirit, who is not human, not a man who would have a seed. So the seed metaphorically comes from Mary. In truth, the life of Jesus was the most predestined life ever lived.

And Gabriel praises Mary. For centuries Israel praised God in the psalms, in their worship, in the prophets and poetry. Now, Gabriel from God praises Mary. He says--The Lord is with you. It can be translated--The Lord be with you.

Mary does not speak. Instead she takes the angel's words into her heart, pondering them. This is in contrast to Zechariah's skeptical outburst in 1.18. He spoke out, she takes in.

Again Gabriel says to Mary that she has found favor with God. This is also said of Noah in Genesis 6.8. This time Gabriel elaborates, he gives Mary more to hear. The angel is gradually taking Mary into God's plans, one step at a time. We notice that Mary is favored by God as a virgin, while Elizabeth was ashamed being without child. God's view is not the same as that of the neighbors. In 1 Samuel 16.7 the Lord said to Samuel--man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart.

Mary has found favor. Then Gabriel says she will conceive, she will bear a son, she will name Hiim Jesus. He will be great, He will be called Son of the Most High God, He will be given the throne of David. Then Gabriel summarizes what Jesus willl do when he says--His kingdom will have no end, 1.33. Step by step, Gabriel has told Mary what Jesus will do, how to understand her son, and what this means for the world.

This is how she and Joseph are to understand Jesus, their yet-to-be son. He will be a boy, and yet more than any human boy ever was. These are the things Mary ponders in her heart. At this point, she then questions Gabriel--How can this be, since I am a virgin?


Gabriel takes her question as meaning, How will this birth even happen to me? Evidently she spoke in humility rather than doubt. Gabriel then tells her the Holy Spirit will come upon her, the power of God will overshadow her. This may mean the Holy Spirit will open her womb so that the power of the Most High God will cascade into her. This is God Himself, who will come. For this reason, the child will be called, the Son of God (Luke 4.41, 8.28, 9.35, 10.6, 22).

Then the angel begins his exit. He says even Elizabeth--who was called barren--is pregnant, so that--nothing will be impossible with God, 1.37. Mary then accepts everything Gabriel has said--be it done to me according to your word. She asks for no sign, although having Gabriel the archangel stand there in the room might be sign enough. She says, as Gabriel has said these things, they must be true. Gabriel then departed.

I've decided to begin a new blog on the Biblical gospel of Luke.  This will be simply narration and meditation, not scholarly or critical.

COMMENTARY ON LUKE'S GOSPEL

WHEN LUKE WROTE HIS GOSPEL, he wrote that--many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us. How did they know what they wrote? Luke further says eyewitnesses--and servants of the Word handed them down to us. Luke further says he will write these events down--in consecutive order. This would be the Greek manner of writing history, not the Jewish style of compiling an account.

Evidently other accounts grouped the miracles together, the teaching together, the parables together in the Jewish maanner, by which they could be read and remembered in the synogogue or temple or house meeting.

1

LUKE begins by using the reign of King Herod, whose reign everyone would know. It is reminiscent of the day and year formula in Genesis 8.4. In the reign of this king, this priest Zecharias of the family of Abijah had a wife, Elizabeth. Her family is named as the daughter of Aaron, whose name would have great standing in Israel. However, Elizabeth was barren.

The word barren has a severe picture in it, that of a deserted land, a city lost in ruins, an abandoned place where nothing grows. In 2 Kings 2.19 the King James translation says of Jericho--the water is bad and the land is barren. The NASB uses the word, unfruitful, as if the land were never to be anything but barren. However most uses of barren refer to a woman's capacity to bear children. For instance, Genesis 11.30--for Sarah is barren; she had no child.

Just as only God could create the universe out of nothing, so only God can give a child to a barren women. Although Elizabeth is barren, she is sanctified of the Lord along with her husband Zechariah. They were righteous, blameless in all of God's commandments. This means more than just doing the religious thing; this means understanding what the commandments and requirements of the Lord mean. This is also said of Job, of Noah and Abraham but almost no one else.

Zechariah was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary, in order to perform the priestly duties specified in 1 Chronicles 24.19. Evidently the people admired Zechariah so much they stood in prayer outside the sanctuary until he was finished. These were devout people doing their duty. While they prayed, an angel appeared to Zechariah.

Fear gripped Zechariah, as he knew who the angel was. The angel has to tell Zechariah to--not be afraid Zechariah, for your petition has been heard and your wife Elizabeth will hear you a son and you will give him the name of John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 1. 13,14. This will be no ordinary son.

Evidently Elizabeth and Zechariah have been waiting. Notice that their petition is in the singular, as if they gaive it up to God once and then believed He would answer it. The angel's description of John means his life was entirely predestined for God. He will be the forerunner before Christ in the spirit and power of Elijah, he will turn fathers back to their children, he will prepare the way for the Lord.

But Zechariah says--How shall I know this for certain? Now this is not entirely skeptical; in the Old Testament signs were given when God does great things. But here in the New Testament, God's Word is enough. Zechariah must learn this. So the angel silences Zechariah for a time. Notice that Gabriel says he comes from the presence of God; he says he has been sent to speak to Zechariah, to bring good news. All of this emphacises the Word of God. It must be believed in the kingdom of God.

Gabriel then says his words will be--fulfilled in the proper time, 1.20. The idea that God's actions will occur on the earth at the proper time is one of the underlying themes of the NT. Jesus will be born at the right time; events in His life will occur when God ordains them; all of the actors in His salvation drama will take their places and say their words in the proper time.


Just to provide a small example of the proper time, when Zechariah came out of the temple, he could not speak. He makes gestures and signs to the people of what happened between him and Gabriel, and when his days of service were fulfilled he returned home--at the proper time.

LAST OF THE MOMSTER
Now that my mother is successfully ensconced in a retirement village, this blog will have to come to an end.  I probably won't write any more about my mother.
  However, I am looking for another subject upon which to write on a daily basis. I hope to find a theme soon.
Paul

COMING TOGETHER--85 Good Stuff

It is Tuesday. Yesterday I went over to the retirement village to say hello to Mom and find out if she is adjusting. They tell me she is really getting into events and has an older female buddy.

This is just what I wanted. I can put her off my mind, except for paying bills. We move all of her stuff into her new apt. on Saturday. It's going to be an ordeal, but only once.

Phil--my brother--and I are getting this done together with more harmony than we've ever had. I really like that. I cannot do this by myself and I don't want to.

All these damn change of addresses! I hate this part of moving; this is why I am more into my email address than a physical address.

Mom has so much unnecessary stuff. She has 8 or 10 bottles of the same stuff like vanilla extract, or hand lotion or plastic bowls. I've had to throw out about 50 pounds of stuff she has never used, probably never seen. She had dust everywhere in her bathroom.

Getting out of that apartment was good for her; it was a source of old memories and depression and dust and laying around. The new village keeps her moving and busy and doing things. This is good.

Arguments and Settlements

COMING TOGETHER--84

Mom spend the night at the care facility, by herself. She watched a movie, then slept until 10am when I woke her up with a knock on her door.

We went out to eat, paid her previous apartment off, and went back to her care facility. She won't get involved with the activities there, so I will have to go there less and less.

Philip will be there tomorrow. I've told her I won't come around. She cried; I told her to grow up. I told her she had not right to chain me down to her life, she had no right to enslave me. I have a right to my own life.

She says she doesn't care about Philip. I believe they will argue about the paintings and possessions. What she said was insulting to him, but I've always known my mother did not care about her children as much as she did her own life. She may make some sort of demand about leaving but I won't have her living with me.

She's going to have to fit in there, whether she wants to or not.

I've asked God to go before me when I see her on Thursday.

+++

Now it is Wednesday morning, about 4am. I have prayed for Mom and Phil's time together. I hope to God she is sleeping now. I hope this works out, because I don't want to go back to being her care giver. I'm her son, not her care giver.

We had a confrontation yesterday. I told her I wasn't her slave, that she had no right to take my life away from me. I told her I was not taking her away from Signature Pointe. I told her to make my Dad proud of her. I don't know how much of an effect that had on her, I suppose I will find that out after Phil leaves her today.

Coming Together -83

COMING TOGETHER-83

What a day this has been. I am exhausted. I am worn out with dealing with my mother's ways, with this move to a retirement facility. I am worn out with all the driving, with putting up with my mother's emotions, her delays, her reluctance and bad memory and fears, things she forgets, the things she doesn't want to do, the things she will not do.

I should have done this months ago, but no one in the family had gone through this before.

Now that Mom is in a nice retirement facility, I am homeless. I will have to find an apartment soon, and one that's pretty cheap.

My brother wants to come over to inspect things. He believes he needs to give his approval. He thinks he can do better than me; we'll go ahead, Phil, do better. You can do it all if you want.

I am not a health care professional, I can't take care of her 100% of the time, I can 40% of the time but living with Mom and trying to work has ruined my life, it has worn me down.

I have change of address stuff to do, more things to move, more chores with all of this.

COMING TOGETHER--82

Well now, guess what happened. Scorpions came into Mom's apartment, scaring her pretty good, convincing her she needed to move out. I killed one in her kitchen while she was there. I had the apartments call the exterminator, who came out to spray and leave traps.

But then the next night another baby scorpion showed up in one of the bedrooms. Evidently, this one came through the bathroom associated with that bedroom. They are ugly, threatening looking like miniature crabs with a tongue like a cobra.  The exterminator had done the minimum; but not enough to keep Mom from wanting to move.

In a way, I like the result. I am in contact with a lady who specializes in finding accomodations for the elderly. I hope to meet her Sunday. This might just work, even though moving Mom's furniture will be an ordeal.

Maybe living in a retirement apartment complex will enable me to work on days rather than nights.  Maybe I'll get some time away from my mother.  I need it, my friends say they look at my face and can see the stress and discouragement.

Now it is Sunday afternoon. I have met with Ruth, who specializes in finding the right place for people in retirement. We met, had a long talk. She mentioned a place about 2 miles from where Mom and I live. I went over there. I really liked the place, but Mom has been noncommittal. I hope she is willing to move in.

Our immediate problem is the rent is due on Tuesday. She would have to break her lease to move right away; I wish she would move right away but that involves some serious cash. And then we would have to find a place for all of her stuff. I don't think all of her stuff will go into the new apartment, but about 90% of it will.

The new retirement apartment management don't want me living with Mom, which is great! I dont want to live with her any more. It's too stressful to be worried about her 24/7. I probably should just stop worrying but if there's no one to come see her, it's hard to just stop.

This means I will have to get an apartment, back to living on a shoestring and dealing with a tight budget. Oh well, this living well was the best revenge but it's about to end.

COMING TOGETHER--81

Today is Saturday. I left Mom yesterday afternoon with food, which she ate. This is gratifying to me. I am more confident that she will take care of herself with me gone.

This morning she remembered a bill to pay. She got herself up by 930am and ate cereal by herself. So I got her coffee from McDonalds. Now she is watching her new flat screen tv, which she loves. Actually I feel better about what we're doing than I have in some time.

Mom is eating food we have left over from previous days; I think this is a good thing. I am making her get out of her easy chair and prepare her own food. I don't think she wants to do for herself any more.

I gave her a shower today. I mentioned she needs a nurse to do this and she agreed, but more because she doesn't want me to have to do something I don't want. She thinks it is distasteful to me to do this; it is to some degree but not as much as she might think. Still, the fact she acknowledges that she needs a professional nurse is a giant step in the right direction.

One of her favorite tv shows is scheduled for tonight. It has not been on in 2 weeks. She hopes it is tonight. I think that would make the night go better, so I hope it is on, too.

It is very hot outside. Mom no longer walks around the apartment complex. She sits on the steps for a few minutes and then comes in. I wonder if she does this out of depression, or maybe she's just bored, or maybe she is lonely. I can't say. Still, I don't go out there with her and she doesn't ask me to, either.