Luke 2:41-52 Commentary

The Boy Jesus at the Temple
41 Every year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Festival, according to the custom. 43 After the Festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."

49 "Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" [e] 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And as Jesus grew up, he increased in wisdom and in favor with God and people.


Dig Deeper
A few years ago a friend of mine and I were doing some simple car work on a car in the street in front of my house. We each have two children who were outside playing for awhile. After a time, the three older children went inside while his two year old son remained outside playing in the front yard. After a couple of minutes we looked up and didn’t see his youngest in the front yard where he had just been and assumed that he had gone inside by the older kids but went in just to check. We were surprised to find that he hadn’t gone inside after all and so we made a quick search of both the inside and the outside of my house and yet he was nowhere to be found. I walked by my mini-van that was in the driveway and found that the doors were locked so I knew he couldn’t be in there so we immediately went to the next level. We called the police and began to check the entire neighborhood. Within minutes the police had arrived and there were a number of neighbors helping us look, some on foot and some on motorcycles or in their car. The panic that you experience when your child or a child close to you is missing is nearly indescribable unless you’ve felt it yourself. As I completed a circle of our block looking for my friend’s child and calling out his name, my brain was already in organization mode. A few years earlier I had been closely involved with the immediate response and search for a six year old girl who went missing. A girl in our town was reported missing so the next day I heard about it on the morning news and took my history to class to help look. Because they didn’t know any better, the family had lost some important opportunities in the first few hours and never found the girl (who is still missing to this day), so I had learned some important things about how to respond properly. Just as I was organizing all of my thoughts on what we would do next, my oldest son ran up and told me that he had been found. Apparently he had gotten tired, crawled in my mini-van, locked the doors and laid down to take a little rest. We were relieved, to say the least, and the frantic search to find him was over.

One of the things that you have hopefully noticed by now is Luke’s unique ability to convey God’s larger activities and purposes through the very real and human stories that he is reporting. This is another of those stories that has larger theological purposes for Luke as he continues to demonstrate how God is going to work out the promises that he made going all the way back to Abraham. These things are immensely important and yet, we can see Luke’s masterful ability as a writer, as these larger purposes never overshadow the very real and raw emotions behind something like these two devout and loving parents who have lost Jesus, their son.

It was quite common for Jewish people of this time to make at least one trip to Jerusalem per year for the Passover and many often went more often for other important Jewish festivals. Only men were required to go to Jerusalem for Passover but most pious families took everyone along with them. As we read this story of a Jewish family going to Jerusalem for Passover and returning home, however, we have to wonder how they could possibly have lost their son for an entire day of travel and not known it. The most likely answer has to do with Jesus’ age. Passover pilgrims would travel in large caravans for safety, and usually the men and women would travel in separate groups though still in close proximity. Being a twelve year old boy, Jesus was in that middle area where he could have been considered close enough to a man to be allowed to travel with the men, or still a child enough to travel with the women. Thus, it is likely that Joseph assumed Jesus was with the women while Mary assumed that he was with the men.

Whatever the cause, their response was one of extreme anguish and panic (the meaning of the words translated “anxiously” in verse 48). Luke paints a heart-rending picture of two loving parents who have discovered, to their horror, that they have left their beloved oldest son in Jerusalem, a place full of travelers, revolutionaries, bandits, and dark alleys, not the place where you would want to leave a child unattended. The thought of what they must have been going through on the day that it took them to get back to Jerusalem and the day that they spent searching in Jerusalem is crushing and is only balanced by the realization that they did eventually find him unharmed. We can certainly understand their reaction when, after two days of furiously searching for their child, their reaction is to let off a bit of steam in a mixture of relief and the mild anger that usually follows extreme fear as they ask Jesus how he could have possibly treated them in such a way. Jesus’ response is a mixture of respect, an intense focus on his vocation in life, and a gentle rebuke for his parents.

Luke doesn’t give us all of the details that we might like, here and surely we have questions like where did Jesus stay during those wayward days but Luke is not concerned with details that aren’t directly related with his theological purposes. And as usual when it comes to biblical texts, if the questions we want to ask aren’t being answered, we’re probably asking the wrong questions.

What Luke really wants to tell us about as it relates to his overall purposes in his gospel is to see the young Jesus hinting at what will be the singular focus of his life. Jesus’ question as to why they were searching for him doesn’t imply that he would have been just as well if they had continued on home and not come to get him. His point was that they need not have searched through Jerusalem. They might have known precisely where he would be. He would be in his Father’s house. Luke, no doubt, found this interaction quite remarkable on many levels, not the least of them being the hint here that part of Jesus’ vocation that he understood for himself was to be the Son of God. In the Old Testament this moniker could be given to Israel (Ex. 4:22) and even to God’s messengers, the angels (Job 2:1). But by the time of Jesus, the term “Son of God” had come to be applied virtually exclusively to the promised Messiah. Jesus was telling Mary and Joseph that above all else, he was wholly focused, in essence, on doing the will of God. Thus, Luke sees in this account, the seeds of Jesus’ mission in doing God’s will above all else and his identity in being the Son of God, which meant that he was not only the Messiah but the representative of Israel and the one through whom God would fulfill all of his ancient promises.

Luke, in recording that Jesus referred to God as his father, was also hinting at the redefinition of family that Jesus will bring as part of the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham to bless the world through one family of many nations. Jesus would define this new family of God not through ethnic descent or a Jewish birth but those in the family of God would be those who hear God’s word and put it into practice. In other words, those who followed Christ as his disciples would be the family of God. God is his Father and part of his work would be to form this new family. Jesus would align himself with his Father’s will even it appeared to compromise his relationship with his earthly parents.

There is little doubt that Luke also found this story significant in that we find Jesus in the Temple. Jesus’ relationship with the Temple will become a vital theme for Luke as he unfolds his gospel. We have already been taken to the Temple with Zechariah’s vision, with the encounter with Simeon and Anna, and now with Jesus himself amazing the learned teachers of the law of the Temple with his acuity and knowledge of God and the Scriptures. As we follow Luke’s narrative, this will not be the last time the Temple will take center stage. Much of the Gospel follows Jesus’ resolute march towards Jerusalem and the Temple, a theme which will take on increasing importance. Some of Jesus’ harshest warnings and most defiant acts will take place when he finally does reach the Temple, and the Gospel will come to a close with Jesus’ disciples in the Temple praising God for all that he had done. It is, in fact, difficult to overstate the importance of the Temple for Luke as he infuses the historical events of Jesus’ life with their theological significance.

Yet, in all of the mind-blowing theological significance that we find in pieces of Luke’s narrative like this one, he never loses sight of the human details and neither should we as relate these accounts to our own walk as disciples. At it’s core, we find a story of two people puzzled and anguished over the fact that they have lost Jesus (a phenomenon that is echoed and balanced at the end of the Gospel by two people who are on their way to Emmaus and who are also puzzled and anguished over the fact that they seem to have lost Jesus). It should cause us to reflect on the fact that there are times when we can be busy, scurrying around and taking care of our business that can fill our days so quickly, only to find out that we haven’t had Jesus’ presence with us for quite a while. Maybe it’s only been a few days, maybe much longer. We assumed that he was with us, but somewhere along the line we left on our journey and realize that he is longer with us. What is our response? What would you be willing to do in order to search for him and find him again? Would you drop everything and search for Jesus with the same passion, anguish, and determination that Joseph and Mary did (or that we did when we thought my friend’s child was missing) or that you would if it was your own child that came up missing? Would you even be alarmed at all? When we find those times that we have drifted away from Jesus we need to be prepared to search for him in prayer, in the Scriptures, in our fellowship with his people, and not give up until we find him. And when we do find him, don’t be surprised to find him doing exactly what Mary and Joseph found him doing. He will be about his father’s business waiting for us to join him. In fact, when we find that Jesus isn’t accompanying us the way we might have thought, it’s almost always because we went off doing our business rather than our Father’s. Jesus knew that he needed to be about his Father’s business and so do we.

As Luke brings this section to a close he notes that Mary once again treasured these things up in her heart, not fully understanding their meaning at the time, but understanding nonetheless that they were important. We have already discussed that Luke has made clear that his gospel was based in large part on eyewitnesses of Jesus’ life. Could this second reference of Mary storing things up in her heart indicate that Mary was somehow one of Luke’s sources? It’s not, of course, something that we can say for certain, but it is surely a distinct possibility and it’s just plain fun to speculate over.

Devotional Thought
When you drift in your relationship with Christ are you anguished? Do you search for his presence again like you would a lost child or do you treat it with little urgency? Take stock of your spiritual status right now. Is Jesus truly with you or have you wandered off on your own business and haven’t even noticed that you have left Jesus behind to do the work of his Father without you? If so, what are you prepared to do to find him again?

Luke 2:21-40 Commentary

Jesus Presented in the Temple
21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.
22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord" [a]), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons." [b]
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

29 "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you may now dismiss [c] your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel."

33 The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."
36 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then had been a widow for eighty-four years. [d] She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.


Dig Deeper
I mean no offense if you happen to be in the medical profession, but the fact remains that I just do not like going to the doctor. If I can at all avoid going I will in a hot minute. In fact, the only reason that I usually go to the doctor is that my wife has made an appointment for me without my knowledge or consent, then springs it on me shortly before the appointment, and puts pressure on me until I go. It doesn’t always work that way, but it’s usually something along those lines. There are a lot of reasons that I don’t really care to go to the doctor but one of them is the way that most of them communicate. I’m not at the doctor’s office for small talk. I’m not there so that you can dance around things and make me feel better and feel positive about something. I want a straight shooter. I want someone that’s going to get down to business and tell me the real deal, whether good or bad. A few years back when we were living about 100 miles from where we currently live, my wife found a doctor through her interaction with him as a nurse and thought I might like him. I went and she was right. He was great. He didn’t try to tell me jokes or set the stage to make things palatable. If things were good, he said so. If they weren’t, he said so. When my cholesterol level went up a little he said “It can’t be your activity level, what do you eat?” I told him that I ate a couple pounds of sausage and cheese each week. He then responded by saying, “That’s fine, that’s fine, if you’d like to die soon.” I like that. Tell me like it is. That will get my attention and let me know the truth without wasting my time.

Maybe it’s because Luke was apparently a doctor, at least most historians believe that to have been the case, but Luke is a little like that doctor. He’s a straight shooter. After setting the stage and letting his readers know that there is a new king who is about to make claims as the rightful ruler of the world, we might expect some flowering language about how mighty, loveable, and successful this king is going to be. Yet, he doesn’t do that. Instead he gives it out straight. This will be the king of the world but his life won’t be a bed of roses and not everyone is going to love him. As bluntly honest as Luke has already been about the humble and unimpressive circumstances of Jesus’ birth, perhaps we should have expected more straight talk. Luke has definitely told it like would be. I like that. It gets our attention without wasting our time.

The opening verses of this section demonstrate to the reader that Mary and Joseph were not wild-eyed revolutionaries bent on raising a child that was going to be groomed to overthrow the status quo. They were God-fearing and law-abiding Jews who followed the customs and laws of the Jewish people. They had Jesus circumcised on the eighth day as was prescribed by the law (Lev. 12:3). They also likely took place in three separate ceremonies as verse 22 likely describes a trip to Jerusalem that would have taken place over a month after verse 21. The three ceremonies that they likely would have been a part of were the purification of a woman after forty days of the birth of a child (Lev. 12:2-4, 6); the presentation of the firstborn to God (Ex. 13:2, 12, 16; 34:19; Num. 18:15-16) and the dedication of the firstborn into the service of the Lord (1 Sam. 1-2). Luke’s detail that they offered doves also demonstrates that Joseph and Mary were of modest means (Lev. 12:8).

As they bring him into the city, much to their surprise, they find that Simeon had been waiting for them his entire life. He longed to see the Lord act on his promises and send his Messiah and the time had now come. We aren’t told much about Simeon himself other than that he was a faithful, God-fearing man. He knew that the hope of Israel and the world would only come through the sovereign work of the almighty God. Simeon was waiting for the Messiah because he knew that God was faithful. When he finally lays his eyes on Jesus, he knows that God has finally fulfilled His promises. The Messiah is here and Simeon feels like he’s seen all he has to in this world. Yet, he doesn’t just get to see the Messiah, the Spirit inspires and allows Simeon to hold the Messiah in his arms and to deliver an incredible prophecy concerning the life of this unique baby. This was no doubt a point of marveling to those who heard him that day and something that must have encouraged the Joseph and Mary to all the more wonder who and what he would be. Yet, Simeon’s words still ring true today and challenge us to see the same things that he saw in the life of Jesus.

Simeon declares six important truths about the Messiah that he was now holding in his arms. First, that he would bring deliverance and salvation as Simeon declared that “my eyes have seen your salvation.” The time had come for God to deliver his people from their true slavery of sin. Second, that he would fulfill the ancient promises to Abraham that his descendants would be bring blessing to all people of all nations and would dispel the darkness of being separated from God. He would be a light to the Gentiles and the glory of Israel. God came as a man to demonstrate what a life of genuine humanity, free from sin, would look like. All people will be judged based on whether they reject or accept his life as their own.

Not everything about this child would bring joy though. Those who would harden themselves to the way that God’s kingdom would break into the present age would find themselves quite opposed to God’s Messiah. The third specific thing that Simeon declared to Mary and Joseph was that this child would provoke derision and be rejected by his own people as many would speak against him. Fourth, he would cause the falling and rising of many in Israel. Jesus would be “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense” (Isa. 8:14). Although some would rise on this stone, many would stumble against it and be crushed by it. This is not a popular message in world that wants desperately to value every point of view so that none might be seen as the one truth. The danger of truth is that it shows all other options to be false. Fifth, because he was the truth revealed by God, this child would determine the destiny of the whole world (v. 34). Those who embraced him would become part of the family that God had promised to Abraham, but those who rejected him would be outside of God’s family forever. This child would not only cause division among his own countrymen and, indeed all people, but the sword of anguish over her son’s ministry and message would pierce the world of his own mother.

The stark fact for every human being is that what we do in our lives with that baby that Simeon held in his arms over 2,000 years ago, determines our eternity. This is what Simeon meant with the sixth reality of the Messiah which is the fact that by his life “the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.” Perhaps the most amazing aspect of Simeon’s prophecy is that his words not only were fulfilled during the life of Jesus, they remain as true for people today as they were true during Jesus’ lifetime.

Luke, always the careful reporter, gives us a second witness from this witness to the Temple. Anna is a devout woman who had dedicated the balance of her life to praying and fasting for the arrival of God’s redemption of his people. She had suffered through Israel’s barrenness for long enough and longed desperately for the time to come for God to give birth to his plan to fulfill his promises.

Apparently Luke couldn’t help but see obvious connections between his account of Jesus here at the Temple and the account of Samuel’s birth in 1 Samuel and is eager to bring out the parallels at several points. Luke, no doubt, felt that, like so many other Old Testament accounts, the birth of Samuel pointed ahead to the coming of God’s Messiah. The parallels between these opening chapters and the birth of Samuel are many. We are told of the presentation of the child in both accounts (1 Sam. 1:22; Lk. 2:22). Hannah sings praises of thanksgiving (1 Sam. 2:1-10), while Anna (which is the same name in Hebrew as Hannah) praises God and gives thanks. Eli blesses Samuel’s parents (1 Sam. 2:20) and Simeon, we are told, blesses Jesus’ parents (Lk. 2;34). We are told in both accounts of the boy continuing to grow in stature and in their grace and favor with the Lord (1 Sam. 2:21; Lk. 2:40). The Temple plays a major role in both accounts as both boys are in the Temple without their parents (1 Sam. 3:1-18; Lk. 2:41-51). Finally, both accounts come to a close with similar words about the importance of God’s word, his wisdom, in the continued growth of the child (1 Sam. 3:19; Lk. 2:52).

As we reflect back on Luke’s telling of Jesus’ first visit to the Temple we cannot help to think of his last trip there in the days before his death. Simeon’s dark words, and Luke’s blunt telling of those words, remind us that opposition, division, suffering, and death will be part of Jesus’ vocation and life. This is what happens when the kingdom of God clashes with the kingdoms of the world. The kingdoms of the world are defeated through suffering and death. Let us, as followers of Jesus, constantly remember that we are called equally to confront the kingdoms of the world and that we are called by the master to follow his example of victory through death (Lk. 9:23-26). The strongholds of the world are defeated and demolished when we lay down our own lives and walk as Jesus walked (1 Jn. 2:6). May we never back down from that challenge.


Devotional Thought
You may well have already made your decision of what to do with Jesus Christ but have you really taken stock of the ramifications of the fact that every single person will face eternity based on the decision that they have made to seek salvation and embrace Christ or to reject him? Do you have an urgency about that fact when it comes to sharing your faith with those around you? Who can you share your faith with today?

Luke 2:1-20 Commentary

The Birth of Jesus
1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

The Shepherds and the Angels
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 "Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.



Dig Deeper
History tells us that long there was a very special child that was born about 2,000 years ago. The Father of this child was known to some as the potential savior of the world who would bring peace to all mankind. He was god and so his son would be known as the son of god. This son was the Lord and master of all and was the one who would carry out the saving activity of the Father and truly bring the peace that his Father desired for the world. Some were skeptical that the son was divine but as he grew older and more powerful, more and more people came to worship him as the savior of the world. An ancient writing that hailed the good news or the gospel of this savior on the occasion of his birthday, read: “The providence which has ordered the whole of our life, showing concern and zeal, has ordained the most perfect consummation for human life by giving to it [our savior], by filling him with virtue for doing the work of a benefactor among men, and by sending in him, as it were, a deliverer for us and those who come after us, to make war to cease, to create order everywhere. . . . ; the birthday of the god was the beginning for the world of the gospel that has come to men through him.” This was, in other words, no ordinary human but the son of god that should be hailed, celebrated, and worshipped.

But here is the catch. You might have thought that I was describing the birth of Jesus, which would make sense seeing as how we are reading an account of the birth of Jesus. Yet if you really did think that the above paragraph was written about Jesus in the first century you would be wrong. It was describing someone from the first century alright but not Jesus, and the father mentioned was not the Creator of the universe. In fact I was writing about Caesar Augustus and his adoptive father, Julius Caesar. In fact, as we read this account of Jesus’ birth it can be striking how similar it sounds to the things written about Caesar Augustus and that is exactly the point. Luke is announcing the birth of the new and rightful king of the entire world and to do so, he will use the language and descriptive terms of the most powerful pretender to the throne. The very announcement of Jesus as the Messiah and the true King necessitates the idea that not only is he King but that all others are not. So Luke has quite intentionally and provocatively taken Caesar’s words and titles from the pretender and given them to the one that he believes really is the Savior of the world.

From the opening verse of this chapter Luke has set up a tale of two kings. But the tales could not hardly be any more divergent than these two. Everything about Caesar Augustus was impressive from a worldly point of view. He was the emperor of the mighty Roman Empire, the adopted son of Julius Caesar. He was feared wherever he went and worshiped as a god by more people every day. He had all of the might and power of Rome behind him. So much so that Augustus flicked his finger and could send people half a world away on a trip to register for the census to pay taxes that would further support his lifestyle. One could see why announcements about his birthday or great victories were given by messengers who went around the kingdom and declared the good news, or the gospel

On the other hand, we have the king that Luke wishes to present to the world. There is nothing attractive or impressive about his king. His king was born to a lowly and unimportant couple that was at the mercy of the might Caesar. This is not the kind of story you would make up if you were trying to show people that this king is more powerful and worthy to be followed than the might Augustus. There was no pomp, no circumstance, and certainly no wealth or worldly power. There was just nothing impressive at all about this small, helpless baby lying in an animal’s feeding trough.

His parents were under the power of Augustus like everyone else and when he declared a census, Joseph went. It is likely that the Jewish people registered for their taxes for their census in their hometown as a part of a Roman attempt to be sensitive to Jewish customs and the importance they placed on inheritance land. Only Joseph would have had to go, but for reasons unknown to us, his young betrothed wife-to-be accompanied him (we can speculate that being pregnant and unmarried, she may have felt unsafe without Joseph nearby to protect her from those who might be very upset by her situation).

There is much that has grown up about the night of this young king’s birth that has more to do with legend than reality and we should take it seriously to get rid of the myths. The nativity scenes that we see so often today have more to do with tradition than reality. Luke makes no mention of any magi as they likely didn’t arrive (as told by Matthew) until Jesus was close to two years old. We also are never told that there were any animals that were actually present although they might have been. They did put Jesus in a feeding trough which has probably led to the presumption that there were animals around but the text doesn’t tell us one way or another. The language used in verse 7 has several possibilities about where Mary actually had her baby but putting together the possible meanings of the word “katalyma” (often translated “Inn”) and what we know of the history of the area at the time of Jesus’ birth, means that the most plausible option, in my opinion, is that they had traveled to the ancestral family home of Joseph and found that there was no room for them in the normal family lodging quarters (another possible translation for “katalyma”) which would have been on the second floor. So they were sent to the first floor where supplies could be kept and where animals could be brought in if the weather were particularly cold (which it would not have been at this time of year). This would have given them ample shelter and privacy and it was likely a place like this that this young king was born. Whatever the exact situation was, it is clear that it was not at all impressive when set in contrast with the mighty Augustus.

Yes, there was no comparison from a worldly perspective between these two kings. There was no servants to be ordered to go around the kingdom and tell all of the important people that a new king had come. But there was a gospel announcement for Luke’s king and it was given by messengers that even Augustus could not muster up. Augustus’ father was the mighty Julius Caesar, whom he claimed to be divine and whom many people worshiped, but the father of Luke’s king was none other than Yahweh, the almighty God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The fact that a host of the Lord’s own messengers burst forth to declare the gospel of of the birth of the Savior might have been a hint of his true greatness and identity. He was the real Savior. He was the long-promised Messiah. And he was the true Lord of the world. He didn’t come in impressive worldly power but he was the real deal of which Augustus, Luke wants us to see, was only the pale worldly shadow.

And yet, just as we begin to catch a glimpse of greatness, Luke brings us right back to the humility of the moment surrounding the birth of Jesus. His gospel messengers didn’t go to the powerful, the mighty, or the influential. They went to a bunch of shepherds. Perhaps it was because shepherds were among the lowest rungs of the social order by the time of Jesus and this moment was all about humility and lowliness. Perhaps is was because this was the promised heir of David, who was himself just a shepherd boy before becoming the mighty king of Israel. Perhaps it was because God had often been described in the Old Testament as being like a shepherd (Ps. 23; 28:9: 100:3) and had promised through the prophet Ezekiel that he would return one day and would be a shepherd to his people, searching for them, rescuing them, binding up the injured, tending to them, and shepherding his flock with justice (Ezek. 34:11-15). Perhaps it was for all of those reasons that God chose to send his messengers to the shepherds who were out spending the night with their sheep in the field.

The shepherds are given a sign that will demonstrate to them that they have found the right child, the true Messiah. He will be wrapped in cloth and laying in that manger. He will not be wrapped in king’s clothes and set in the finest crib, just simple cloths. When they see a baby wrapped in cloth in that unimpressive manger they will know that he is the king that God had promised. The next time we see him wrapped in cloth, it will be our sign to know that he really is the king that has fulfilled all that God said he would accomplish one day, so keep your eyes open for that.

Luke has laid out a stark contrast. The birth of this insignificant little baby, in an insignificant backwater part of the world, to insignificant parents is the opening shot in a confrontation between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of the world. The kingdom of God has come, says Luke, in seeming weakness, frailty, and vulnerability, not much more significant than a tiny mustard seed. One day, though, and in a way that will seem just as weak, frail, and vulnerable the kingdom of God would flourish like the biggest of all trees and completely overshadow all of the kingdoms and all of the kings that the world could offer.


Devotional Thought
Luke has given us the picture of God working through small, insignificant, and humble means. God always works that. Are you willing to realize that God wants to use you in mighty ways even though you might not be impressive from the world’s point of view? Are you willing to truly step back and unleash the kingdom of God in your life and in the lives of those around you?

Luke 1:57-80 Commentary

The Birth of John the Baptist
57 When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.
59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, 60 but his mother spoke up and said, "No! He is to be called John."
61 They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who has that name."
62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. 63 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he wrote, "His name is John." 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. 66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, "What then is this child going to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him.

Zechariah's Song
67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
68 "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
69 He has raised up a horn [c] of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71 salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to show mercy to our ancestors
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79 to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace."
80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit [d]; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.



Dig Deeper
"But you promised.” I’d be willing to bet if you’re a parent you’ve heard those words more than a couple of times. It seems that there is nothing more important to a child than if they believe that you promised something to them. In fact, I’ve learned to be very careful with anything that you tell them will happen or that you will do later because they are likely to take it as a promise, and to children a promise is a promise, end of story. You will not find any mercy in the heart of a five-year old when it comes to extenuating circumstances. If you said it, you had better come through. Adults are much more forgiving when you think about it. You can promise something to an adult and then apologize your way out of the situation pretty easily and most adults will let it go without much of a second thought. Perhaps we don’t hold others to their promises so much because we don’t want others to hold us to ours. When you think about it, maybe the kids are on to something. Maybe we should take promises more seriously. Kids seem to know that when it comes down to it you are only as good as your promises. If you keep them you can be trusted. If you don’t then you can’t and someone who doesn’t keep their promises cannot be trusted for anything important.

The first couple of chapters of Luke set the stage for the remainder of the gospel of Luke but also for the second half of his extended work, the book of Acts. The primary theme of these early chapters has everything to do with promises. Going all the way back to Genesis, God made some pretty lofty promises to Abraham and his descendants. Those promises weren’t just left with Abraham either. They were passed down from generation to generation and held on to tightly. The Israelites believed God’s promises and they held him to them. They absolutely expected him to come through on them and make good. After all, they knew that it wasn’t only people that were as good as their promises and their ability to keep them. That applied to God as well. That’s one of the main themes in the gospel of Luke and Acts. God gave very serious promises to bless the entire world and deal with sin through Abraham’s seed and God has finally acted. In a sense, Luke’s gospel is an answer to a question. You want to know what kind of God you have? Look at his promises and then look at how he gave a resounding yes to every single promise through the life of the Messiah (2 Cor. 1:20). This is the kind of God that we have.

Luke has subtly set the pattern for John’s role as a forerunner to the Messiah as he has consistently set a pattern of John first, then Jesus. First came the birth announcement of John and the reaction to that. Then came the birth announcement of Jesus and the reaction to that. Now we have the birth of John the Baptist and the reaction to that. Luke has not only given us certain historical facts in a fairly chronological manner but he has prepared us for the coming birth of Jesus as well as preparing us for the concept of John coming first as a sign that Jesus would soon follow.

The birth of John the Baptist shows us through Zechariah’s actions that even righteous men need to learn new things constantly from God. When Gabriel first came to him his response was one of skepticism and questioning God’s word. Now he has learned his lesson well. He had learned from his long period of silence and was now ready to burst forth in belief and praise of what God was doing. I think it’s a fair assumption to believe that Luke wants us to see that in some ways Zechariah is representative of what had been happening to Israel as a whole. Prophecy had been absent from Israel for some time by Zechariah’s day. God had been silent for hundreds of years but now he was acting and fulfilling all of the promises from long ago. How would Israel respond? Would they burst forth in jubilant praise of God and embrace that although he was working in a way that they never expected, this is how he was undeniably working?

Zechariah demonstrates that he has learned to trust the promises of God. Even though the people that have gathered around fully expect Zechariah to contradict Elizabeth’s puzzling name choice of John, he does not. It would have been unusual and quite against custom and their culture to choose a name that was not from their family ancestry but Zechariah has had enough of going with the expected norm. No one would have expected him and Elizabeth to be blessed by God with a child at such an advanced age, so if God wanted the child named John, then John it would be. Immediately following this demonstration of faith, the silence ends. Again, we can’t help but see a hopeful expectation that the same will be true for Israel. For those who respond in faith, the silence will be over. Zechariah’s faith led to his immediate praise of God, which was quite likely the song of praise that Luke gives us after giving us the response of those who heard it. Zechariah’s song is in response to John’s birth fills the crowd with awe and wonder at what God is going to do next.

If we look at the world of Zechariah’s time from his perspective the content of his song takes on fuller meaning. Things in the world were just not right. Israel had passed down the ancient promises from God that Abraham’s descendants would be his people and that someday the whole world would be blessed through that family. But Israel was hardly experiencing anything of that nature. God’s people were being oppressed at the hands of the pagans. How could that be right or just? Israel had been sent off into exile hundreds of years earlier and even though they had returned to their physical land they knew that the presence of Yahweh had not returned to the Temple. They were still in a spiritual exile and were waiting for God to return to his people. When you’re under the thumb of oppression like that, the only thing that keeps you going is hope. Hope that one day things will change; the wrongs will be righted and the upside down will be turned right-side-up.

As Zechariah looks down at this baby all of that hope that he had been storing up, pondering, and wrestling to maintain comes bursting forth through the inspiration of the Spirit. This song is all about God finally acting. The promises that God had given Abraham were so important to the Hebrew people, that those who responded in faith and saw in the birth of this child and the one to come the very movement of God fulfilling his promises, couldn’t help but respond in joy.

We simply don’t know how much of this speech was of Zechariah’s own understanding and how much came from the inspiration of the Spirit but we do know that most Jews of Zechariah’s time were looking for a political and military Messiah. They wanted someone who would, like Maccabeus a century before, raise up an army and gloriously defeat the Romans, bringing freedom to Israel and hoping that God would again return to Israel to set up his kingdom. Zechariah’s song certainly speaks of being redeemed and receiving salvation from enemies but his song repeatedly looks beyond the normal expectations and hints at something more. God would deliver his people and make good on his promises. He would raise up a mighty horn (a symbol of power) to save his people. He would answer the promises made to Abraham and through the prophets long ago. He would remember his holy covenant.

But Zechariah looks deeper than the normally expected solution of his day. God’s mercy would extend to rescue his people from the real enemies of sin and death. It wouldn’t be the Romans who would be defeated but death itself. God’s people would be rescued and able to stand in his presence without fear. What God was about to do would bring lasting holiness and righteousness to the people of God. At long last God would have a people who would truly keep his covenant and whose sins would be forgiven.

The prophets had declared that when God did finally act and send a new David, one that would enact an everlasting kingdom, that a prophet would come and prepare the way for him. John would be that prophet to make way for the Messiah. It is in God’s actions through these two boys that the ancient promises and the coming fulfillment would be held together. This would not be just a temporary action on God’s part but the Messiah’s coming will have everlasting implications. John will prepare the way for the rising sun (literally “morning star” which is likely an allusion to Num. 24:17 and Isa. 11:10) and so the Messiah will not just be a king but will be light. He will be powerful, yes, but more important than that, he will be the light of the world (Lk. 2:32).

Luke ends this section with a personal note about John. Once again, he has not lost sight of the intimate human stories encapsulated within the larger picture of God at work in the world. John was a real person. He was a joy to his parents who, no doubt, took great pleasure in watching him grow in stature and in the way of the Spirit. The fact that he lived in the wilderness demonstrate that John was likely very connected with people of Israel. Just as they were led through the wilderness following God’s Spirit, so was John. He could identify with Israel. Some have claimed that his location in the wilderness might be a clue that John was part of the Essene community at Qumran, at least for a time. It is quite possible that the Essenes of John’s time believed that they were the last generation before the Teacher of Righteousness came, so this group could very well have been a good training ground for John and his coming role in God’s redemption plan but there is no hard evidence of that and even if John was part of the Essene community that does not limit him or Jesus to their peculiar beliefs. These little personal touches and glimpses, however, constantly remind us that is not just some dry religious tale but the very real story of God coming himself as a baby to rescue his people.


Devotional Thought
Zechariah learned obedience, trust, and submission to God’s will even in his old age. What lessons do you need to learn today from God? Are you open and ready to whatever God might call you to do? Are you pushing your expectations aside and waiting for God to work in your community in whatever ways he desires to work through you? Pray this week to be humble and to be open to God’s will in your life and see if he doesn’t call you to do something you never expected.

Luke 1:39-56 Commentary

Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!"

Mary's Song
46 And Mary said:
"My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,

49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.

50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.

51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.

53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.

54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful

55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors."

56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.



Dig Deeper
Just this morning as I was studying over this passage and considering it, I looked down at my dog who was half-sitting, half-crouched at my feet. He was waiting in eager anticipation for me, looking for any little sign that I might be moving. This is actually not weird behavior for him in the mornings. I usually get up long before he does because he is lazy but when he finally does get up he comes to my feet while I’m working and he waits. He watches my every move, looking for some sign that it might be his time to go outside and take care of his business. It’s amazing how he sits and studies me so carefully and seems to be at the point when he knows my every move. He knows the difference between me simply adjusting my sitting position or even getting up to get a different book. But if I make even the slightest move that he interprets to mean that his time has come, he gets unbelievably excited. He begins to celebrate in his own little doggy way as he spins around in circles and jumps up and down. He waits for that moment so intently that when it finally comes he can hardly contain himself. The time he has been waiting for has finally arrived and he has no thoughts of all that time that he might have waited. He’s just full of doggy joy.

Not to demean the biblical story at all by comparing it to my dog, a rather ignoble dog at that, but it does make a certain point. Quite frankly, this story doesn’t make a lot of sense if you don’t understand the incredible anticipation behind it. Mary and Elizabeth certainly have the joy of learning that they will have babies that will be very special in God’s purposes somehow, but they don’t have many details beyond that. So why the incredible excitement and joy that clearly extends beyond the normal joy of having a child? It is because even though they might not understand everything or have all the details, they know that they, and all of Israel with them, have been waiting for a very long time for God to act on the promises that he gave to Abraham so long ago. They’ve been waiting in eager anticipation looking for the slightest sign that it is finally that time. These dual birth announcements have given them that sign. God has finally acted to fulfill their expectations. And they are full of joy.

As Luke describes the intensely personal scene between Elizabeth and the arriving Mary, he seems to stress the relationship between Jesus and John. Normally, because she was older, Elizabeth would receive the honor and respect, but instead it is Elizabeth who honors and gives a blessing to Mary. Inspired by the Holy Spirit she recognizes the significance of the baby that Mary is carrying. Elizabeth’s child will play an important role in God’s salvation purposes but Mary’s child will be even greater. Even her baby, again inspired by the Holy Spirit (This is of the same type of Spirit action as in the Old Testament when the Spirit would “come upon” someone and should not be confused with the New Covenant actions of the Spirit or the indwelling of the Spirit that someone receives when they enter into Christ.), leaps with joy, showing that the baby Mary is carrying is even greater than he. There seem to be echoes here of Genesis 25:22-26, but in that this passage is like the film negative opposite of that passage. Rather than battling in the womb for supremacy as Jacob and Esau did, John is inspired by the Spirit to recognize and rejoice in the supremacy of his younger cousin.

Immediately following Elizabeth’s blessing, Luke gives us Mary’s song. This doesn’t, however, imply that Mary uttered these words right at the moment of this meeting. Luke is not writing an historical account but is, rather, ordering historical events in such a way as to explain their theological significance. The song itself is known as the Magnificat which is the first word of the Latin translation of this passage. As we look at her song, however, it seems out of place at first glance. It is all about the mighty God of the universe overthrowing the powerful and the mighty and exalting the humble. It is a fiercely nationalistic song. But what has this got to do with the coming birth of her son?

It only makes sense if we understand the underlying anticipation. Mary and Elizabeth shared the anticipation that had been passed down in Israel since at least the time of the prophets. God had promised Abraham that he would have a family of many nations and that one day the entire world would be blessed through his descendants. Mary, like her fellow Israelites, knew that the prophets had spoken of a time when God would finally act and would deal with the evil that was in the world. He would bring a time of mercy, justice, reversal, freedom, and victory over evil.

This all comes bursting forth in Mary’s song as nearly every line is an allusion or a direct quotation from the Old Testament Scriptures. Mary’s song has many scriptural predecessors of hymns sung to praise God in response to his merciful actions, including the song of Moses (Exod. 15:1-18); the song of Miriam (Exod. 15:19-21); the song of Deborah (Judges 5:1-31); and the song of Asaph (1 Chron. 16:8-36). The clearest echo, though, comes from Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel 2 as she rejoiced at the coming of her son Samuel. Hannah, Elizabeth, and Mary all shared in common an overflow of joy and anticipation of what God was going to do. We shouldn’t, however, read anything into Mary’s song beyond what is there. She was in great anticipation that God had finally acted but this doesn’t mean that she knew exactly what he was going to do. Luke has set the stage that these two boys really would be God’s agents to fulfill his promises of long ago but no one, including Mary, could have anticipated what Jesus was going to do and how incredibly God would bring his great reversal. Not even Mary likely understood that the great power that would be upended was not the Roman Empire but sin and death itself.

The song itself is full of a typical Hebrew parallelism in which the first line in a stanza is explained further by the second line. Thus: “Her soul glorifies the Lord,” and her “spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” As we go throughout this song we see that v. 49 echoes v. 48; v. 51b echoes v. 51a; v. 52 b echoes v. 52a; v. 53b echoes v. 53a; v. 55b echoes vv. 54 and 55a. The song is split somewhat in half as we see that the first half in vv. 46-50 deals primarily with Mary while vv. 51-55 have to with Israel. There is a clear parallel given between the role of Mary as God’ servant and Israel’s role as God’s servant. There are a number of repeated ideas and terms in the two halves of the song (such as “his servant; the object of his favor/ mercy; humble servant; and God’s ongoing mercy) that demonstrate the connection that God’s work in Mary’s life and God’s work in Israel will come through the same child that she is carrying

That is all coming soon but for now we are left with a story of an older woman showing humility and honoring her younger relative and the the young girl showing that she deeply clings to the word of God. What I love personally about this story is the way that we can begin to see that these two boys will reflect the characters of their mothers. John would carry with him the type of humility that his mother displayed as we can see when, many years later, he said of Jesus “he must become greater, I must become less” (John 3:30). John, like his mother, understood and embraced his role in God’s plan with no hint of selfish ambition. But it isn’t just John. If we look at the life of Jesus we see that much of his teaching echoes the sentiments of Mary’s song. Yes, this coming son would be the Son of God, but he was very much a human child who sat and listened like all Jewish children would as his mother taught him of God’s word and his promises. He listened and learned carefully that the rich and powerful should not trust in themselves and that God’s kingdom would be given to those who understood that they were poor in God’s sight.

What we see most clearly in Mary’s song is the hope that bursts forth in each word. Nothing had actually changed in the world but devout Jews like Mary had waited in such anticipation that at the first sign of God’s action, the hope bursts forth like a flood. God will perform mighty deeds with his arm, which was Old Testament language meaning that God’s power would be displayed in the world. The cause of all this excitement was that God had taken the initiative and had acted.

Perhaps the key to this whole section is verses 54 and 55. In many ways this is the thesis statement for Luke’s entire writing which spans the gospel of Luke as well as the book of Acts. God has finally acted and has remembered his servant Israel. His mercy to the world will be on display. God had given Abraham promises which he is now about to fulfill. It is the mark of biblical faith, as Paul declares in Romans 4:21, to believe and live as though God’s promises will be fulfilled. God’s promised one family through whom sin would be deal with and the world would be blessed has arrived. The coming birth of these two boys is the opening salvo of God’s mighty arm reaching into his creation and showing that he has not forgotten his promises. It is our task to follow Luke as he describes the significant details of the lives of John and ultimately Jesus and even beyond that to the family of believers that Jesus creates to see how this all works out. We would do well, however to pay attention to these two immanently important details. The journey on which we are about to embark is about God fulfilling his long-ago promises and they will be fulfilled through the descendant of Abraham’s family to create the ultimate covenant family that God had always promised.


Devotional Thought
Do you so well know God’s promises for his people that it could honestly be said that you wait in eager anticipation for them to be fulfilled? Do you so early await the expansion of God’s Kingdom that you burst forth in jubilant praise at the slightest signs of it moving forward towards God’s final destination of filling the whole earth with his presence when Christ returns and the resurrection comes?

Luke 1:26-38 Commentary

The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

34 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called [b] the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail."

38 "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me according to your word." Then the angel left her.


Dig Deeper
I knew a guy many years ago who could tell some incredible stories. He had experienced an incredible life and so, his stories were just as incredible. He could keep anyone mesmerized for hours as he told stories of his adventurous childhood, growing up with parents that sounded so wise, loving, and even exciting. He had been born, he told us, in a small village in Africa while his parents were there on a mission trip. The entire story that surrounded that whole event was interesting enough but that was just the beginning of his incredible life. He had traveled the globe with his parents and seen so many countries and fascinating places that I just couldn’t believe that one person had experienced so much. We all were impressed and respected this guy a great deal if, for nothing else, all the things that he had seen and done in his life. Then one day I met his cousin who had briefly come to town to visit him. He seemed reluctant for me to spend time with her but eventually it worked out that we had a little time alone and began to talk. I was eager to here her perspective on my friend’s parents and their many adventures but quickly found out why he was so reluctant for us to spend any time together. None of what he had told us about his life was true. He had actually experienced a rather tough life. He never knew his father, his mother abandoned him at three and he spent the rest of his life bouncing between foster homes and the houses of relatives. He spent his childhood reading and dreaming of a life that he could only imagine. So, when he had a chance to start over he did. He created a new narrative of his life and just edited out all of what he thought were the embarrassing details of his life and substituted impressive ones instead.

That’s generally the way it is when people make up stories, especially important ones. When people lie, make up a story, or even just embellish one to look more impressive than it is, they don’t include the embarrassing details. Those are edited out. This is one of the sure markers of determining whether an account is true or not. Does it have those little details that aren’t always the type of thing you would want others to know or does everything fit together impressively and beautifully? This is one of the things that just makes it nearly impossible to believe that the gospel of Luke is an invented or embellished story meant to make Jesus out to be something that he was not. Oh sure, there are critics who claim that, but those claims just don’t hold water when we actually look at Luke’s Gospel. There are too many embarrassing details that someone in the first century just would not make up if they were creating a story that they wanted others to believe. Not the least of those components is the role of women in the Gospel of Luke. Some of Jesus’ most loyal followers are women and they will be the ones to discover and be the first witnesses of his resurrection. That’s not something a first century writer would have made up unless it was true because women weren’t considered reliable witnesses. As we go through Luke we will find many such details like that. We are given details of Jesus showing emotion and weakness, his disciples abandoning him, and here an insignificant young virgin from the middle of nowhere giving birth to the one who would be the Messiah and true King of the universe. It would just be too much to make up. It would actually harm your story . . . unless it was true.

If Luke were inventing a story about the Messiah who would one day claim the allegiance of the entire world to his eternal kingship, this is hardly the way he would start it out. There is no pomp, no circumstance, and nothing about his earthly circumstances that are befitting a king. How could this child possibly be offered as an alternative to the mighty and powerful Caesar? How could this impress anyone? Perhaps that is the entire point as everything about this coming birth echoes Paul’s description of Jesus’ incarnation: “have the same attitude of mind Christ Jesus had: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (Phil. 2:5-7).

There was nothing about Mary that would distinguish her in the eyes of the world as worthy of the vocation that Gabriel brings to her. She was a young Jewish girl of marrying age which would probably put her somewhere in the range of 12-16 years old. She was from Galilee, a region that was, at best, a backwater part of Israel, which was itself a backwater part of the territory of the Roman Empire. Mary was betrothed to Joseph who was a handyman day-laborer, so there was nothing particularly distinct about him either, save for his status as a descendant of David (which would make Jesus, even if not his biological son, a rightful heir in the descendancy line of David).

Jewish marriage involved a formal engagement including a contract and exchange of bridal price, and then a year’s preparation period after which came the formal wedding. The engaged couple would not engage in sexual relations until the formal wedding so Gabriel came to this young lass while she was still a virgin. It has become quite popular in the last century or so to claim that the original biblical writers only intended to describe Mary as a young unmarried girl but the clear implication of both Luke and Matthew, in their separate accounts, are that Mary was indeed a virgin. This is confirmed by Mary’s response in verse 34 which would be virtually pointless if the idea that Luke was conveying was that she was simply a young maiden. It only makes sense if she had followed Jewish custom and was a complete virgin.

One of the most striking things about Mary was her response to the vocation that the angel laid out to her. When Gabriel came to Zechariah his response stood in a long line of humans who were called by God for his purposes only to initially argue that they weren’t up to such a task. Moses was called by God to free his people from Egypt but Moses argued about his capabilities for such a task (Ex. 3:10-13; 4:1, 10-17). Gideon was called by God to lead his people against their enemies but Gideon questioned his worth and ability (Jud. 6:10-18; 26-38). Saul was chosen to be the King of Israel but questioned his worthiness and even tried to hide (1 Sam. 9;17-21). Mary, however, stands in stark contrast to all of that. She certainly had many reasons that could have made her feel unworthy or incapable of such a task. Yet, she doesn’t argue. She doesn’t claim to be incapable. She trusts God’s ability and power more than her own inability and impotence. Mary understood that the role of true faith in the life of one committed to God is to trust in God’s ability and not our own weaknesses. She seems to have grasped the fact that she was not chosen by God because of her own merit or ability but simply that she was chosen by God. She is, in fact, the first in a line of faithful and honorable women that Luke will highlight in his Gospel, something that wouldn’t really have helped his case, as we’ve already mentioned, in the eyes of his first-century readers and thus has the ring of truth to it. Truly the obedient humility of Mary is a constant call for us to echo her heart and willingness to be used despite our lack of earthly credentials.

Some have wondered about a seeming parallel between her response and that of Zechariah’s but a closer look reveals the important difference. Zechariah’s response is one of doubt. He just doesn’t see how it is possible for such a thing to happen and Gabriel responds sharply with a sign that will serve the dual role of a punishment. Mary, however, doesn’t display a lack of faith but a simple and faithful question. How is this all going to work out? It is a question of clarification not of doubt. Gabriel’s response is a clear indicator that her question was a humble request for information not an expression of faithlessness. Gabriel doesn’t give her all the details but it is enough to know that she doesn’t need to lie with Joseph, the power of God will work out the details. And to verify all this, she will be given a sign even though she didn’t ask for it. She will go to her aged cousin, Elizabeth. Her pregnancy will be the sign for Mary that God certainly has the power to fulfill his promises.

This scene continues the pattern of echoes that Luke has already established for his account. This story certainly echoes the previous one of John’s birth announcement, but Luke also wants to establish the concept that John will be important but Jesus’ role will be far more important. The clearest echoes, however, seem to clearly go back to 2 Samuel 7 where David is promised that his throne and kingdom would be established forever (although certainly this is not the only OT passage that Luke wants us to hear echoed in this passage as is demonstrated by a quick perusal of Isaiah 7:10-17). The promises to David are consistently picked up and echoed here, and dare we even say, in Luke’s mind, fulfilled by the coming of Jesus. David is told that his name would be great (2 Sam. 7:9) and we are told that the coming Messiah will “be great” (v. 32) David is promised that the throne of his kingdom will be established forever (2 Sam. 7:13) and here we are told that “the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David” (v. 32). The Lord promises David that his descendant will be his son (2 Sam. 7:14), and Luke declares that he will be called “the Son of the Most High” (v. 32). Your house and your kingdom, David is told, will be established forever (2 Sam. 7:16) and Luke writes that “he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end” (v. 33). Surely Luke saw the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, as the fulfillment of the promise and the hope that someday a descendant of David would lead his people in a new Exodus to their eternal promised land (Gen. 49:10; 2 Sam. 7:9-16; Isa. 9:1-7; 11:1-3).

Again, as in the previous section, we shouldn’t lose sight of either the very real human story of the obedience of Mary despite the coming ridicule that an unmarried pregnant woman would receive (Her faith continues to challenge Christians 2,000 years later), or the larger story of which Mary’s personal story is but one thread. The child to be born will be the Messiah of the house of David and will somehow be God’s own Son. All of the promises that God had given that had been hanging unfulfilled have finally been answered. When we really boil down the gospel of Luke to its simplest terms, it is the account of God fulfilling all of the promises that he had given to his people. God would heal the world and deal with evil and he would do so through something so unimpressive as a baby.


Devotional Thought
When you are called to serve God in different ways, what is your usual reaction? Do you try to think of all the reasons why you cannot or do you humbly trust God to provide you with the resources to do what he has called you to? Make a decision right now that when God calls you to do something (through prayer or through another Christian) that you will be willing no matter how incapable you feel of doing it on your own. Remember, that’s exactly the point: You’re not on your own.

Luke 1:5-25 Commentary

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commands and decrees blamelessly. 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both well advanced in years.

8 Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

18 Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years."

19 The angel said to him, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time."

21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22 When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.

23 When his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24 After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25 "The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people."


Dig Deeper
I enjoy watching movies and I always have, although admittedly, I don’t get a big chance to watch that many anymore these days. I enjoy them so much, though, that I’ve always kept in my mind somewhat of an informal, flexible list of my five favorite movies of all time. That list changes from time to time but it almost always includes “Red Dawn,” “White Christmas,” and “Armageddon.” One thing that hasn’t changed on that list for the last 13 or so years is the top movie. In my personal opinion, “Independence Day” is the greatest and most entertaining movie that I have ever seen. I never get tired of watching that movie. One of the things that I really enjoy about that movie is how different and yet how familiar the story is all at the same time. In fact, that is one major aspect of the movie that most people miss. There are allusions, moments of homage, and echoes everywhere in that movie. It echoes everything from classic books like “War of the Worlds,” and cultural myths like “area 51,” to movies like “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” “Alien,” “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” and many more. There are so many little intentional echoes and parallels in the movie that includes character lines, special effects, plot lines, and even things on TV and computer screens in the background. The overall effect is that the movie is a brand new and creative piece of entertainment but one that stands firmly as a continuation and completion of sorts of all of the other science-fiction-type movies that preceded it.

Luke’s gospel reminds me a little of that. It is full of echoes, allusions, and parallels. Especially in the opening few chapters, it seems that nearly every verse harkens us back to an older story or passage in the Old Testament. At times, like the movies, the allusions are intentionally woven in by the author. Most of the echoes, though, are much more profound and of a quite different nature than a simple story or movie could ever accomplish. In a movie, the writers look back into the past and directly echo an older story to show respect or to connect their new story to that older one. Luke certainly wants to do that at times and, as stated, does connect it to older Scriptural passages. But far more often in the gospel of Luke, the echoes work exactly the other way. A God who stands outside of time has gently influenced history knowing that his plan has always been to reveal himself through the life of Jesus Christ. Rather than echoing the older stories of the Old Testament, those older stories are actually shadows of what was to come all along. With all of that said, however, the overall effect and what Luke assuredly wanted his readers to see is that the account of Jesus that he is recording is a continuation of the covenant story of God and his people.

Luke’s language here echoes language from the beginning of many Old Testament prophetic books (Isa. 1:1; Jer. 1:2-3; Hos. 1:1; Amos 1:1; Mic. 1:1; Zeph. 1:1) signaling that in the account he is about to give there is a continuity with the ongoing story of God and his covenant with his people. As mentioned previously, there are numerous echoes and allusions to Old Testament Scriptures in this passage (and throughout Luke). So many, in fact, that we cannot possibly begin to discuss them all here. But certainly anyone who has a basic familiarity with the Old Testament would see another obvious echo. The main point of this opening passage is that a child is coming. The birth of this child to a formerly barren couple is nothing new when God works among his people. It is, in fact, similar to other births to formerly barren women or other announcements of the birth of a special child (Gen. 16:1-11; 17:15-17; 18:10-15, 20, 23; Gen. 21; 30:35; Judges 13:3-21; 1 Sam. 1:1). The most obvious connections are to the birth of Isaac to Abraham and Sarah and of Samson and Samuel. No, this is not a strange new thing that God is doing, rather the point is clear that this will take place in the long sequence of God’s purposes. The child who will be born to Abraham and Sarah will play a key role in the fulfillment of God’s promises.

But certainly Zechariah and Elizabeth were hardly expecting this. They were simple, righteous Jews in God’s sight, meaning they followed the law as a sign of their gratitude and devotion to God. They were going about their normal lives, not dreaming that anything like this was about to happen to them. Zechariah was a member of the priestly order of Abijah (1 Chron. 24:10) and had been chosen by lot to carry out the role of officiating at the sacrifice. Priests served at the temple for two one-week periods throughout the year but because there were approximately 18,000 priests throughout Israel, they would usually be able to officiate only one time in their life.

The angel Gabriel (Dan. 9:21) comes to Zechariah (echoing language from Gen. 15:1, Malachi 3:1; 4:5) and tells him that he will have a son named “John,” which was no small detail because generally when God specifically named a child it was because he was to have a significant role in God’s salvation history (Gen. 16:11; 17:19; Isa. 7:14). This child would be set apart from his birth and would be used by God in a unique way. He would not take any alcoholic drink which was typically a associated with being separated from normal life for a divine task. He would not be filled with wine but would lead a life that was filled with the Holy Spirit, enabling his role as a prophet and forerunner to the Messiah.

We are told that Zechariah was a righteous man but that doesn’t mean that he wasn’t a very real human being. And it is the human aspect of this story that makes it so compelling. Sometimes righteous people do have disappointments in life. Elizabeth was old and had no children. This would have been viewed by those around her as a curse of sorts, as a sign of God’s displeasure. This is why Luke makes it very clear that this was not the case. They were righteous and yet life hadn’t quite worked out the way they had surely hoped. This couple had surely prayed (cf. 13) about their personal situation as well as God’s overall purposes for his people so when the angel appears, God was, in effect, answering two prayers at the same time.

It’s not difficult to relate to the fact that Zechariah was not prepared for anything like this and he needs some sort of a sign. The implication is that the appearance of the angel itself should have been enough of a sign. Zechariah doubts the message that is being given to him. How can this work, since his body is virtually dead? What he needed was the kind of resurrection faith that Abraham had when God told him that he would also experience his “dead” body come to life and produce a son (cf. Rom. 4:18-25). In effect, the angel tells Zechariah to “be quiet for a little and watch God work.” God will bring his promises to bear as he always does. What Zechariah needs to learn is to listen to God and trust that he will do what he has promised, so he will be given a sign that will also serve as a bit of a punishment. He will not speak for a time, he will only listen. This left Zechariah unable to give the customary blessing as he emerged so the crowd immediately knows that something unusual has taken place. He frantically tried to communicate to the crowd what had happened which was, no doubt, somewhat of an amusing scene as we picture this stately old gentleman trying to use his hands to communicate that he has just seen an angel.

Elizabeth’s response is different from that of her husband. As a result, we never get any indication that Elizabeth acted like a victim for her circumstances or became bitter at God or her situation. She took her burden to God but didn’t let her burden embitter her. It was God’s life to do with as he saw fit. Because of this attitude of heart in accepting her lot and serving God faithfully despite what her personal preferences might be, we see that when her burden was lifted she rejoices and sees herself as the undeserving object of God’s personal concern and work. There is no “it’s about time” or “what was he thinking in the first place” attitudes. She is a beautiful picture of someone who took her burden to God and was quite willing to serve God regardless of her personal situation, but who rejoiced genuinely when God blessed her.

This account reminds us that God often works through people who want to be faithful to him but are a jumbled mix of weak faith and devotion, yet who are constantly prepared to be used by God for whatever purposes he has in mind even though they may feel not up to the task on their own strength or understanding. Luke has written this story to show that God’s covenant promises to his people have not been forgotten. Abraham would have a family of many nations who would be reconciled to God and through whom the world would be blessed (cf. Gen. 12:1-5; 17:1-3; Rom. 4) but within the context of fulfilling those large promises, God has not forgotten the needs, hopes, and prayers of ordinary people. This is Israel’s God, YHWH, that can fulfill his promises to the world and bring joy and personal fulfillment to woman who could have easily thought of herself as forgotten. When this God acts on a large scale, he doesn’t ignore the smaller human needs. He is a God who can and does accomplish both. This doesn’t mean that God will always work the way that we would like or expect him to but we can be sure that he is working.

Yes, the personal story has been tended to in a beautiful way but we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that the primary purpose of this incredible conception story is to point to an even more remarkable one to come.


Devotional Thought
What is your reaction to personal disappointments? Do you get angry and bitter and constantly question God or are you more like Elizabeth who went about life not being bitter and when God did finally act, showed no kernel of bitterness but instead only joy and gratitude? What can you learn from Elizabeth that will help you today as you work through the situations in your life?

Luke 1:1-4 Commentary

Introduction
1 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled [a] among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3 With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.



Dig Deeper
I distinctly remember being in high school and learning how to write introductions for papers. That had always been a weakness of mine and so it was difficult but I got to where I was at least decent at it. Then I got to college and I really started to enjoy writing papers. I went through a period, however, where I really fell in love with descriptive language and metaphors, especially in my introductions. I was learning how to become a better write, at least better than I was, but I got a little carried away, at times, with the flowery language. I had a paper that I had worked quite hard on for a history class that was on the topic of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. I did over a hundred hours of research and began to put the paper together, waiting to write the introduction last. I put together what I thought was beautiful combination of imagery, metaphors, allusions, and word plays. The introduction was masterful in my own mind. Had anything ever been put together that was quite that brilliant? I felt that way at least until I got my professor’s feedback. My score on the paper was very high. I had only lost a few points but quickly opened the paper to find out where. To my horror I realized that I had lost all of my points on the introduction. The teacher’s comments put it all into perspective for me. He said something to the effect that my introduction was a beautiful work of master craftsmanship that was so intricate that he could not tell what my paper was actually about until he began to read the paper itself.

The introduction to any work is important because it alerts the reader as to where they are going on their journey of reading. Well-written introductions are like a road map that tell us what is ahead, what we should be looking for and where we are going. Luke’s introduction to his gospel is no different. As we read this introduction we quickly realize that we are about to read about the new movement of Christ from the perspective of those who personally witnessed the events. Luke has gone to great pains to give us an organized account of things that will lead the reader to be more certain in their faith and understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is where we are heading and as we take this journey we will discover that Luke has masterfully accomplished precisely what he set out to do with his work.

As we begin to read any important work like the Gospel of Luke, some of the first questions that pop up are when was this written and why was it written. Neither of these are easy answers when it comes to Luke. Scholars argue that Luke was written anywhere between the middle of the first century all the way to the beginning of the second century. With that said, the reality is that most scholars who argue for a late authorship for Luke, especially as late as the second century base their theories more on ideologies than facts. Scripturally speaking, the most logical time to place the writing of Luke’s Gospel is the late 50’s or early 60’s AD. If we follow the sections in Acts where Luke includes himself in the action by using the term “we” (Acts 21:17 through Acts 27), we can assume that Luke stayed in Jerusalem for two years without Paul before finally being able to join him on his journey to Rome. During those two years, it seems quite reasonable to assume that Luke did his research for his gospel and wrote it during that time.

The answer of why Luke wrote his gospel is not as simple. It seems quite counter-intuitive to us today, but the fact remains that people in the first century believed that oral histories and eye-witnesses were preferable sources to written histories. Anyone could write something, but if you could hear something from a witness or an expert oral historian, then that was reliable. If that’s the case, however, why would Luke write down his gospel when there would have still been so many eyewitnesses to the life and resurrection of Christ? There were many eyewitnesses but the reality was surely creeping in that they simply didn’t know when Christ would return to restore all things and resurrect his people and there was the very real possibility of those eyewitnesses passing into death. Couple that with the ongoing problems of false teachers and you had a worrisome situation. Jesus promised that there would be false teachers that would come and they had already experienced the dangers of such individuals as a community. Jesus had also warned about many coming claiming to be him or even possibly teaching different versions of who he was. The early Christians understood all of this and clearly began to recognize the need for reliable records of Jesus’ ministry.

Luke asserted that by the time he was writing many had already undertaken to draw up account of the things that had been fulfilled among the community of believers. It is not precisely clear what Luke meant by that, but the word “many” was often used in Luke’s day as a term of hyperbole, so it is likely that he was referring to the existing other three gospels that we have and perhaps a few other attempts that were not finished or did not meet the approval of the apostolic standard. One thing we can be sure of is that Luke was not referring to the much ballyhooed “Gnostic” gospels as those were not penned until the late 2nd and 3rd centuries.

Luke’s intent was to do something that had not been attempted before but to write an orderly account of all that had been passed on down to them. As he opens his narrative, the style of Luke’s introduction, we should note, is very similar to that of serious works of history at the time that Luke was writing. His introduction, in fact, is strikingly similar to the introduction of Josephus, a famous first-century Jewish historian. What that means is that Luke was sending the signal that this was a serious work of investigation, truth, and history. This was no religious fantasy. He had carefully investigated everything that he was writing and it was an orderly account. We would do well to understand, however, that by claiming an “orderly account,” Luke was not primarily referring to chronological arrangement. As much as it offends our chronology-sensitive sensibilities today, chronological ordering was not the most important aspect of ordering a narrative in the first-century mind. Luke’s intent was to present events in thematic order so as to help his readers better understand the full meaning and significance of the events that he was preserving.

Thus, Luke’s Gospel is both a work of history and theology. Many scholars debate as to which of those options the gospel is as though they are mutually exclusive but Luke’s aim was not write a work of theology devoid of the facts of history, nor was it to write a historical biography of the life of Jesus. He has a theological agenda certainly, to demonstrate that Jesus is the promised Messiah of Israel here to usher in the onset of God’s Kingdom in a way that no one expected, but that doesn’t mean that Luke’s work is historically invalid or unreliable. He has infused history with the theological meaning behind it.

Luke opens the door for us to understand that he has based his writing not only on previously written works (likely the Gospels of Mark and Matthew) but also, and primarily, on the very important eyewitnesses who were servants (or ministers) of the word. These eyewitnesses of Jesus were one in the same with the servants of the word, which was a specific and honored role. The word translated “servant” is “hyperetes” in the Greek which is a Greek translation of the Hebrew term “hazzan.” A Hazzan was a paid employee of the Jewish synagogue who was in charge of bringing the scrolls our during services. He was the keeper of the scrolls and the worship leader, and thus, was highly respected (see Luke 4:20 as Jesus hands the scroll back to the hyperetes/ hazzan).

Luke takes this concept and refers to not a hyperetes of the synagogue or even church but a hyperetes of the word. The role of these hyperetes of the word, then, seems to have been as ministers of the word who were eyewitnesses to the events surrounding the life and resurrection of Jesus. These important people were special protectors and preservers of the word which is why they needed also to be eyewitnesses. They did not have a box of scrolls to carry but they carried with them the words and stories of Jesus. They were the protectors of the word and would have taken that role seriously. If, when reciting, they changed anything in their account, they would have been quickly rebuked and corrected by the other hyperetes and others who knew the accounts well. This was not a medium that was open to distortion or intentional changing of facts.

By the time Luke arrived in Jerusalem, however, this hyperetes were getting older and no doubt beginning to die off. They could have passed on the oral tradition but evidently the decision was made that these words and stories of the son of God were too sacred to allow non-eyewitnesses to pass it on. The only other choice was the writing of authorized documents that needed to be written while the hyperetes were still alive so that they could approve these works. For two years Luke worked with these oral sources as a uniquely educated and intelligent writer. The hyperetes would have no doubt served as a board of review of sorts and obviously approved of and endorsed Luke’s gospel or we would not have it. We can assume that some didn’t stand up to the test or possibly that some were made irrelevant by Luke, Matthew, and Mark’s works. Luke’s agenda is represented in his final work; he chose what he thought was important; he polished the language, organized the material, added his own interpretive nuances, and created smooth connectives, but this editing process does not mean that he created the material in any way.

Luke addressed his letter to Theophilus. Some have claimed, because the name means “dear to God,” that this is a generic introduction that is used to address all Christians. It is far more likely, however, that Luke does address a specific person. The term “most excellent” would not have been used if this was a general greeting as it was a title normally reserved for a Roman political official, which is quite feasible to think that Theophilus was a Roman official of some type. We simply do not know if Theophilus was a young Christian who desired more teaching or if he was a skeptic who desired an orderly account in order to make a decision but it seems that the latter is the more likely option. Whatever the case, we know that Luke has laid out the road map for his gospel quite clearly. This is to be an orderly and persuasive work of historical fact that will allow the reader to be certain of the incredible claims of the gospel declaration. He invites us to sit back, buckle up, and find the solid foundation for a mature and lasting faith in the Messiah.



Devotional Thought
The hyperetes were not only eyewitnesses but they served as those who preserved and passed on the accounts of what God had done among them. Are you as committed to serving as a servant of the word of what God has done in your life and the lives of those in God’s family today? Do you serve as a constant witness and one who proclaims what God has done for you? If not, can you really think of a good reason why you haven’t been doing that if you consider yourself to be a disciple of Jesus?