A World Turned Upside Down, Part 2

Hello everyone.

I want to continue to examine Mary's song of praise from Luke 1.  I want to offer an alternate title for this post: Strong and Really Strong. This is what Mary has to say about God in her song. I looked primarily at verses 46-49 in my previous post.  I will try to look at more of it today.  Here is my translation of verses 49-52:

49 For the Mighty One has done great things for me, 

       Holy is his name. 

50 His mercy reaches into each generation

       To those who fear him. 

51 He has performed powerful acts with his arm;

       He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts in their hearts. 

52 He has removed powerful people from thrones,

       And he has lifted up the humble. 

Mary follows what she says about how God has done for her with a simple statement about God, “Holy is his name.”  Robert Stein says this in regard to this Mary's statement, “God’s holiness here refers not simply to his moral perfection but even more to his acts of righteousness and justice by which he fulfills his covenantal promises to the humble and lowly and brings judgment on the haughty and righteous.” (p. 92.) This idea of fulfilling the promises to the humble and bringing judgment on the arrogant is largely what the rest of the song is about.

In verse 50, Mary uses the word, ἔλεος (eleos) which is defined as mercy, compassion, pity or clemency.  Mercy is good.  People want and need mercy.  Mary tells each generation how to get it. Her word is  φοβουμένοις (phoboumenois) means “those who fear.” AlanThompson describes Mary’s use of this word like this, “that reverence which is appropriate before a holy and sovereign God.” (p. 30.)

Mary talks of God’s arm strength.  This time using the word “κράτος (kratos).”  This is a different word used to show God’s strength and power. It is defined as “the ability to exhibit or express resident strength.” This is different from the word “δυνατός,” (dynatos) that Mary had used before. Whereas dynatos can be translated to show that someone is able to do something, kratos is more about just being really strong.  God is both dynatos and kratos.  Mary is saying that her God is able to do the imppossible and is also really, really strong. 

In his strength he scatters those who are proud.  This is a direct contrast to the mercy that is shown to those who fear him.  Mary’s vision is starting to become clearer.  Good things happen to those who humble themselves before God, and bad things happen to those who do not. 

The phrase “the strength of his arm,” also alludes to the Old Testament. Reading Ex. 6:6 or 15:16, or Deut. 4:34 one can see that God used his arm to rescue the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. Now God was going to use the strength of his arm for a different kind of rescue, the salvation of mankind.  Isaiah had said in Isa. 59:1 that God’s arm was not too short to save (TNIV). Indeed. The strength of God was at work making salvation for the lowly and humble possible.  Where the proud may be scattered, the humble now can be saved.

Verse 51, Mary tells more about the actions that God performed through the strength of his arm.  Not only has he scattered the proud, he brings down the powerful.  Those who sit on thrones are perhaps among those most proud in their hearts.  They may be powerful, but they are not as powerful as the Mighty One.  Their power is limited to whatever power the Mighty One allows them to have, and only for as long as he allows them to have it.  God can bring down kings.

He can and will lift up the lowly. God has demonstrated this within the immediate context, lifting up the lowly Mary to be the mother of his child.  It would be difficult to find someone who came out of more humble origins, and yet she has been called blessed throughout the generations. 

Mary sees God as the ultimate power.  He is greater than those who seem powerful in the moment, because His power is absolute and eternal, and He can do whatever He wants. But not only is Mary’s God powerful, but he is a God that is aware of and concerned about her needs, and He meets them.  He is also a merciful God, offering mercy to her, to Israel and to those throughout the generations who fear Him.  To be continued. 

Tom 

Stein, Robert H. The New American Commentary: Luke. Nashville, Tenn. B& H Publishing Group, 1992. 

Thompson, Alan J. Exegetical Guide to the Greek: Luke.  Nashville, Tenn. B & H Academic. 2016. 

A World Upside Down

 Hello everyone.

I had hoped to get to the birth of Jesus in my exegesis of Luke by Christmas.  But I haven't gotten that far just yet.  However, I have reached Mary's song of praise, recorded in Luke 1:46-55.  Last spring I took a course in Hermeneutics and Exegesis.  I was assigned this passage to write a paper on.  I probably would not have chosen it, but researching and doing exegesis on it was a great learning experience for me.  There is a lot that we can learn from Mary's song of praise.  I will do my best to boil my lengthy paper down to just give you the highlights. 

Here is my translation of the first few verses:

46  Mary said, 

    “My soul magnifies the Lord,

47 My spirit has rejoiced in God, my savior.

48 For he has looked upon the lowly state of his servant.   

       Indeed, from now on all generations will call me blessed.

49 For the Mighty One has done great things for me,        

Holy is his name. 

The first word in Greek, Μεγαλύνει (megalunay) is a form of the word μεγαλὑνω (megalunoe).  Alan Thompson, author of Exegetical Guide to the Greek: Luke, gives several potential translations of the word, 'make or declare great,' 'magnify,' 'exalt,' 'glorify.' (p. 28.) Most translations that I have seen translate it as 'magnify.'  The Greek word ψυχή (psyche)  is the subject of the sentence and is doing the magnifying. This word can mean “soul” or “life.” Within the context, the word “soul” makes more sense.  So Mary’s soul is exalting, glorifying or magnifying the Lord. 

In the second line Mary uses the words “πνεῦμά μου,”  (pneuma mou) which means 'my spirit' and ἠγαλλίασεν (aygalliasen) a form of the word ἀγαλλιἁω (agalliaoe), which means rejoice.  'My spirit rejoices.' Mary has used different words to say the same thing twice. This repetition reinforces the joy that she expresses to God for what he has done. That this praise is coming from her soul and spirit tells us that this is not mere lip service, but from her complete and inmost being.  

In verse 48, Mary uses the word ἐπέβλεψεν (epeblepsev), to describe God’s action.  The word means, 'look upon,' but is sometimes translated as 'looked upon with favor.' (NRSV.)  God has looked upon Mary’s ταπείνωσις (tapeinosis). According to Greek-English Lexicon of New Testament Words, the word can mean, 'lowliness', 'humble station,' or even 'humiliation.' I went with 'lowly state.'  God is aware of Mary’s lowly status.  He is not oblivious to her difficult situation.  Also of note is Mary's use of the word, 'δούλης,' (doulays) or 'slave,' rather than 'διάκονἡ, (diakonay) 'servant.' Mary is wholehearted in her devotion and willing to do whatever God requires of her.  

Because of her full devotion, now all generations are going to call her blessed.  A statement that can be looked upon two thousand years after the fact and we would all agree that it is true.  In verse 49 we can see why all generations are going to call Mary blessed.  It is because of what the 'Mighty One' has done for her.  Her reference to God she uses the word 'δυνατός.' (dynatos) This is generally used as an adjective, meaning “able, capable, powerful.”  But here it is used as a noun, signifying 'one who is mighty."  The word itself has to do with the ability to do something, but in God, that ability to accomplish things extends into the impossible.  He is more than able or capable.  His ability to do anything makes Him mighty.  He is the Mighty One, and Mary recognizes that the Mighty One has done great things for her.  

Here is where an upside down world begins to appear in Mary’s song.  She is in a lowly state, yet God has done great things for her.  Within her lowliness, wonderful things are happening to her and for her. 

I know I threw a lot of Greek at you this time, but each of these Greek words tells us a lot about Mary and her Mighty God. To be continued.

Tom 

Thompson, Alan J. Exegetical Guide to the Greek: Luke. Nashville, Tenn. B & H academic. 2016.

Blessings

Hello everyone.

I'll continue my exegesis of Luke 1 with the story of a meeting between two pregnant women, neither of whom should be pregnant.  One is past child-bearing years and the other is a virgin.  Two miracles.  

So after the news from Gabriel, Mary goes immediately to the Judean hill country to see Elizabeth and to see the sign that God had given her of His ability to do the impossible. Upon entering the house, Mary offers Elizabeth her greeting, and this greeting brings responses from both Elizabeth and the child inside of her.  

As for John.  We are told by Gabriel in verse 15 that this child would be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.  Here is evidence that John bares the Holy Spirit, because upon hearing Mary’s voice, John leaped within his mother’s womb. Implied here is that the Holy Spirit in the fetus was so excited that it jumped for joy. 

Elizabeth also responds to the greeting: It mentions that Elizabeth is also filled with the Holy Spirit here.  She states that Mary is blessed among women, implying all women, as the one who would give birth to the Lord.  She mentions the blessedness of Mary’s baby, as well, then wonders aloud why someone so important, the mother of her Lord, would be visiting her.  She also blessed Mary for her faith.  

Mary, as we have seen, has chosen to believe the impossible, that God would miraculously impregnate her with His son.  Elizabeth commended her for such faith.  

I notice that in English, Elizabeth uses the word ‘blessed’ three times. Two Greek words are often translated to ‘blessed.’  Εὐλογέω (eulogeo) is a verb that can mean to praise or to provide with benefits.  Both times Elizabeth uses the word here as participles, describing both Mary and Jesus as 'blessed.'  But which definition for a participle of Εὐλογέω does Elizabeth mean? Are they praiseworthy, or have they been provided with benefits?  The context would seem to indicate that that they praiseworthy. 

The other word that is often translated as 'blessed.' is μακαριον (makarion), which means ‘happy or fortunate.’ Μακαριον is used in verse 45.  So Elizabeth is saying something like, "Fortunate (or happy) is she who has believed that what the Lord has spoken will be fulfilled." Mary, in faith, has chosen to believe the impossible.  That makes her blessed in more ways than one. Elizabeth counts both Mary and Jesus as praiseworthy for the role that each would play in the redemption of humankind, and she, Mary, fortunate (makarion) for her faith. 

Ok, so what?  Well, we will not be blessed (eulogeo) in the way that Mary or Jesus were in their unique roles in salvation, but we can be blessed (makarion) like Mary.  She was called blessed because she believed that what God said would be fulfilled.  That, we can do. God calls on us to believe that His promises will be fulfilled in our own lives.  And if we do, we will be called 'fortunate,' as well. 

Tom 

Highly Favored, Part 2

 Hello everyone. 

In this post, I want to finish the story of Mary and the appearance of the angel Gabriel.  In part 1, I talked about how Mary was κεχαριτωμένη (kekaritomenay), one who was highly favored, and I asked the question, ‘Why was Mary so favored by God?’ So far, I have shared that Mary was favored because she was so willing to believe that God could and would do the impossible.  I shared this with my wife, Wendy, and she had a new insight for me that I will share with you before moving on to my second point.  She said that Mary was also favored because God said she was.  Mary is told that God had chosen her for a unique and wonderful task and she accepted Gabriel’s words at face value.  How often do we struggle with the idea that God has chosen us? (as His chosen people, as God’s special possession, I Peter 2:9)  Something to think about. 

This brings me to my second point as to why Mary was so highly favored by God.  Her response to Gabriel was, “I am a servant of the Lord.  May it happen to me according to what you have said.” (v. 38, my own translation.) What I want to point out is that the word we translate as ‘servant’ here doesn't necessarily mean ‘servant.’   

Mary responds that she is God’s δούλη (doulay).  However, according to the Greek- English Lexicon of New Testament Words, what the word really means is ‘female slave or bondwoman.’   It further defines the adjective form of the word δούλος (doulos) like this: pertaining to being under someone’s complete control, slavish, servile. Mary has made herself completely subject to the will of the Lord. She submits to the will of the Lord, no matter what she is being asked to do, because she is his ‘slave,’ and is completely subservient to Him. By agreeing to God’s will for her, Mary places herself at risk. She does not know how Joseph will respond to this.  She does know how her reputation will suffer because of this.  Darrell Bock says this: ``There is risk in agreeing to go God’s way, but as the Lord’s servant, she willingly goes.” (p. 127.) 

I see two things that lead Mary to a highly favored status.  She believes that God can accomplish the impossible, and she is willing to do whatever is asked of her.  May we all have the same heart.

Tom 

Highly Favored

 Hello everyone.

The story in Luke now shifts from the temple to a small town in Galilee. Gabriel now appears to a young woman, who is pledged to be married to a descendant of David, named Jospeh.  Her name is Mary and Luke specifically makes the point that she was παρθένον (parthenon) - a virgin.  He doesn't mention Isaiah 7:14 specifically here, but certainly some who read this must have made the connection.  Isa. 7:14 says, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will concieve and give birth to a son." 

Anyway, Garbriel appears to Mary and says to her, "Χαῖρε, κεχαριτωμένη ὁ Κύριος μετὰ σοῦ." (Kaire, kekaritomenay ho Kypios meta sou.) "Greetings, you who are highly favored.  The Lord is with you." It is an interesting greeting, coming from an angel, and the Bible that Mary was perplexed as to what exactly it meant. I want to focus in Gabriel's second word, κεχαριτωμένη. It is a participle of the word χαριτόω (Karito-ō) which means, according to the Greek-English Lexicon of New Testament Words, 'to cause to be the recipient of a benefit, bestow favor on , favor highly, bless,' but the root word of all of this is χἁρις (Karis), the word we usually translate as 'grace.'  So this participle κεχαριτωμένη, it often translated as 'you who are highly favored.' We can see that Mary carried God's favor.  That is followed by the rest Gabriel's greeting, "The Lord is with you."  

So why Mary?  Why is Mary so highly favored?  There are two things in Mary's response that may help us understand why she was so favored. Mary asks a question of Gabriel after he informs that she is going to have a child.  She asks how it is possible for her to have a child since she is a virgin.  So, like Zechariah, Mary wonders how this could be possible since she had never been intimate with a man. Ἄνδρα οὐ γινώσκω (andra ou ginosko) are words she uses. Which basically translated to ‘I don’t know a man.’ The word Γινώσκω generally means ‘know’, but it can also mean to have sex with or to have a marital relationship with.  So Mary understands how this works and wonders she could have a child without ever having sex with a man. In my translation, I went with “I have never been intimate with a man.’ 

Well, why was Mary not punished, like Zechariah? Bock says that she was not punished because she was not asking for a sign.  That is possible.  It seems she is asking for an explanation, rather than a sign.  Zechariah wants to know how he can be certain that what he is being told is true.  Mary doesn’t seem to be asking that.  Never-the-less. Mary, without asking for a sign is given one: her relative, Elizabeth, who was old beyond child-bearing years, was now in the sixth month of her pregnancy. 

Then, Mary gets her answer. The Holy Spirit would come upon her and Δύναμις Ὑψίστου ἐπισκιάσει. (Dynamis Hypsistou episkiasei) Gabriel's explanation was that the power of the Most High would overshadow her. God’s creative power was going to come and create life within her, as His creative power had created life from nothing in the beginning.  

In verse 36, Gabriel gives Mary the sign of Elizabeth’s pregnancy and in verse 37 tells her that nothing is impossible with God.  He is now referencing two miraculous pregnancies, one to a woman beyond normal child-bearing years, something that is highly improbable, and one to a woman who has never had sex with a man, something that is not possible, except that the impossible becomes possible with God. She responds, "I am the Lord's servant. May it happen to me according to what you have said." Gabriel has just told her that she knows is impossible, but she buys into it.  She believes it. 

Wouldn't it be great if we all had that  κεχαριτωμένη (highly favored) status. Well, God hasn't decreased in power, and still can perform the impossible, although it can be challenging to believe it sometimes. I think that one of the reasons that Mary is so highly favored by God is her quick acceptance of the idea that God could and would do something inspite of the fact that it is impossible.  I will share the second reason that I think led to Mary's favored status in my next.

Tom 

Signs

 Hello everyone. 

Today, we will continue the story of the message that the angel Gabriel has for Zechariah the priest.  He has told Zechariah that in their old age, he and his wife Elizabeth will have a son who will be given a very special mission from God. Zechariah’s response to Gabriel’s message is somewhat understandable: 

18 Then Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be certain of this?  I am an old man.  My wife has advanced in years, too.” 19 The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, one who stands before God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to proclaim this good news to you. 

20 So understand this, you will not have the power of speech.  You will be silent, until the day this all happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true in their proper time. 

     21 While the people waited for Zechariah, they began to wonder why he was in the temple so long. 22 When he came out, he did not have the ability to say anything to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. He made motions to them, but remained unable to speak. 23 When his time of service came to an end, Zechariah went to his home. 

24 After some time, his wife Elizabeth conceived.  She kept herself in seclusion for five months saying, 25 “This is what the Lord has done for me in these days, He has watched over me, and removed my disgrace from among the people.”

He asks, ‘How can I be certain of this?’ and acknowledges the advanced ages of both he and his wife. Two different commentaries on Luke, (Darrell Bock’s and Robert Stein’s) indicate that Zechariah’s question is asking for some kind of sign to confirm that what Gabriel is saying is true.  Of course, we can see in the story that Zechariah is given a sign, but not necessarily one that he would have chosen. Gabriel tells him that he will be unable to speak until the child is born.  

To me, it seems Gabriel might be a little annoyed by Zechariah’s question.  He informs Zechariah of his standing.  He had left God’s presence to come and deliver this message. He had been sent ἀπεστάλην (apestalane) to Zechariah for the specific purpose of declaring this good news to him. Darrell Bock says this about Zechariah; ‘It is better to say that Zechariah leans toward unbelief here, rather than that he is entirely unbelieving. His asking for a sign suggests that he is attempting to respond positively to the angel’s message, though he has grave doubt  and needs prodding.  Thus the angel’s reply calls Zechariah to faith instead of doubt.' (Bock, 92)  So, Zechariah is given a sign, and this sign would be a constant reminder of his unbelief.  

Gabriel expected Zechariah to believe this message.  After all, Gabriel was here to tell him that his prayer had been heard and was now being answered. (We shouldn’t be surprised when our prayers are answered, even if it is not the way we expect it to be answered, or not on the timetable we were expecting.)  I think that Zechariah and Elizabeth had probably prayed diligently for children when they were younger, but likely had stopped praying this in their old age.  The fact that their prayers seemed unanswered did not mean that they went unheard. 

So, Zechariah finishes his priestly responsibilities, in spite of his new infirmity, then returns home to his wife, Elizabeth.  He impregnates Elizabeth and she consciously secludes herself for the next five months.  It is not clear why she does this.  The one thing that Luke says about it is that Elizabeth spends the time praising God for this blessing. God had removed the unnecessary reproach that she had felt due to her lack of children.  God was not only blessing her with a child, but a very special one.  So old prayers are answered and a woman who should not have been pregnant is with child, to the glory of God. 

Tom 

Unexpected

Hey everyone. 

I want to continue to story of Zechariah and his encounter with the angel Gabriel in Luke 1. Here is my tranlation of verses 8-17:

8 As Zechariah’s priestly division was on duty in the temple and in the presence of God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the customs of the priesthood,  to enter the temple of the Lord and offer the incense.  10  An entire multitude of people were praying outside when the time came to offer the incense. 
11 An angel of the Lord appeared, standing to the right side of the altar of incense. 12 Zechariah trembled when he saw the angel and he was quite overcome by fear. 13 But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard, and your wife, Elizabeth, will give birth to a son, and you will call him John. 14 He will be a joy and a great delight to you. And many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of  the Lord. He must never drink wine or other alcoholic drinks, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 He will cause many of the children of Israel to return to the Lord their God. 17 He will go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers toward their children, and the disobedient toward a righteous way of thinking, to prepare people, who are ready for the Lord." 

Here, Zechariah was one of hundreds of priests serving at the temple for this special time., and Zechariah is chosen by lot for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make the offering.  This, honestly, would be the high point of his career as a priest.  It was this moment, the high point of his career that God chose to appear to him. 

Zechariah’s reaction to the angel is pretty typical of what we see throughout the Bible, fear. Luke uses these words to describe it: ἐταράχθη (etarachthay), often translated 'he was troubled,' and φόβος ἐπέπεσεν ἐπ’αὐτόν (phobos epepesen ep auton) which means, 'fear fell upon him.'  So we have two words indicating that he was very afraid. Since the normal human response to seeing angels is fear, it seems the normal angelic response is to say, “Don’t be afraid.” I doubt it works. 

The angel is bringing Zechariah good news: His prayer has been heard.  But what was the prayer that had been heard?  I had always assumed that this prayer was a previously offered prayer for a son.  But now that he was an old man, he had probably stopped praying for this. Darrell Bock offers that scholars have presented other possibilities, one of which seems very possible within the context.  Perhaps Zechariah had been offering prayers for the redemption of Israel. (Bock, 82.) While I personally still hold with the first option, I can see within the context the possibility that the second is possible. The first option makes more sense to me, since Gabriel immediately follows the announcement that Zechariah’s prayers had been heard with news of the upcoming birth of a son. (Truth be told, both fit the narrative and both could be true, because this is the beginning of both stories, John’s story and the story of the redemption of all mankind.) 

If we consider that God is answering the prayer for a son, then God is answering Zechariah’s prayer  at an unexpected time (at the high point of his career) and in an unexpected way (when he and his wife have both grown old).  We should not be surprised if He responds to us similarly, answering our prayers in ways that we do not expect, at times when we are not expecting it.  (That's probably the hardest part.  We want God to answer our prayers on our time table.) 

So as Gabriel makes his announcement of a son to Zechaeriah, he tells him that this son would be χαρά (chara) and ἀγαλλίασις (agalliasis) to him.  Χαρά means joy.  Ἀγαλλίασις is often translated as ‘gladness,’ but the word means so much more than that.  It means ‘exultation.' In my own translation, I went with ‘great delight,’ but I am not sure the word is strong enough to convey how great Zechariah's joy was going be over John.  But not only will Zechariah rejoice, many others will rejoice with this birth as well.  As God is beginning to set his plan of redemption, our redemption, in motion. This brings us χαρά (joy) and ἀγαλλίασις (exultation) as well. 

Tom

Never Too Old

 Hey everyone. 

Welcome back.  Luke 1:5-25 tells the story of the priest Zechariah, who, while serving in his priestly duties, is informed by the angel Gabriel that in their old age he and his wife would have a son and that he was chosen by God for a special mission. Here is my translation of verses 5-13: 

5 During the time of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, from the division of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, who was among the daughters of Aaron. 6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all of the commands and requirements of the Lord. 7 However, they had no children, because Elizabeth was infertile, and they had both grown old. 
8 As Zechariah’s priestly division was on duty in the temple and in the presence of God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the customs of the priesthood,  to enter the temple of the Lord and offer the incense.  10  An entire multitude of people were praying outside when the time came to offer the incense. 
11 An angel of the Lord appeared, standing to the right side of the altar of incense. 
12 Zechariah trembled when he saw the angel and he was quite overcome by fear. 13 But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard, and your wife, Elizabeth, will give birth to a son, and you will call him John.

There are many lessons that we can learn from these few verses, and I want to start by understanding who Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth were, and how great it is that they were chosen for this very special event.  We learn from verse 5 that Zechariah was a priest of the division of Abijah, and that Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaron also.  They had a great heritage.  We also learn that they were righteous people.  The word used to describe their walk with God was ἄμεμπτοι (amemptoi) which means 'blameless.' According to Luke they walked 'blamelessly in all of the commands and requirements of the Lord.' So we see that they are a couple with the right bloodline, and they were a couple of the highest spiritual character, but sadly they had not had any children, and now they had grown old, past the normal child-bearing years.  

Darrell Bock tells us that the lack of children was often seen as a reproach from God. (Bock, 78.) In Lev. 20:20-21, the Law mentions some specific sins, that if committed, the couple will be kept childless.  Other OT verses indicate the same thing. Did Zechariah and Elizabeth wonder what they had done wrong that God had chosen not to bless them with children?  It's possible.  Roberts Stein tells us Luke may have told of their righteousness so that readers would understand that their childlessness was not a result of their sin. (Stein, 74)  Now, looking back, we can see that God was not punishing them, but rather holding them for something special.  He was about to take their sad situation, and use it to complete His purposes and bring glory to Himself.  In a situation reminiscent of Abraham and Sarah, God takes a couple who are well past the child-bearing years and give them a baby.  We can now see that they were not under the reproach of God and in fact, were a part of His master plan all along. 

All right. What is our takeaway from this story? Well, first of all, we are never too old, or too broken to be used by God for His purposes.  God performed a miracle for this righteous couple, and they played a part in God's grand design, in spite of their advanced age and the appearance of being punished by Him.  Until Gabriel appears, their story is kind of sad.  For us, no matter how difficult or tragic our story has been, God can still use us for His purposes and His glory. Just let us all walk righteously before him. 

Tom 

Bock, Darrell L. Luke Vol. 1 1:1-9:50. Grand Rapids, Mich. Baker Academic, 2008.

Stein, Robert H. The New American Commentary: Luke. Nashville, Tenn. B& H Publishing Group, 1992. 

Knowing with Certainty

Welcome.  

I have recently started a study of the Gospel of Luke.  I have studied Luke before, but now I am trying to dig deeper to see what more I can learn.  I am translating from the Greek, using Alan Thompson's Exegetical Guide to the Greek: Luke and Darrell Bock's commentary on Luke, which is widely considered to the best commentary available. In this blog, I want to share with you some of what I am learning from Luke. 

Here is my translation of Luke 1:1-3:

1 Since many have attempted to put together an organized account concerning the events that have been fulfilled, 2 just as it has been handed down to us from those who were eyewitnesses and servants of the word from the very beginning, 3 it seemed to me, that I should carefully investigate everything from the beginning and write an orderly account of it, for you, most excellent Theophilus. 4 so that you may know with certainty the things you have been taught. 

Here we go. Luke tells us in 1:1 that many had attempted to put together an account of the events that have been fulfilled in their lifetimes.  Stories were handed down from eyewitnesses and those who served in that mininstry from the beginning (verse 2).  Undoubtedly there were many stories being told about Jesus.  How could one differentiate between what was true and what was some fanciful story about Jesus that had just been made up? 

From what I have read, most historians date the writing of Luke somewhere between 70 and 90 AD. Also, most historians also believe that the Gospel of Mark had already been written. Other written accounts existed as well. Luke, then, conducts an investigation to learn what is true and what is false.  Luke uses the phrase Παρηκολουθηκότι, (parakolouthakoti) which means 'follow closely.' Darrell Bock tells us that are several possible meanings for this word. The context would indicate that the best word to use here is 'investigate.' The next Greek words are ᾃνωθεν (anothen), which means "from the beginning', and πᾶσιν (pasin) which means 'all things.'  ἀκριβῶς (akribos) which means 'carefully,' and καθεξῆς (kathexas) which means 'in order' or 'in sequence."  When we put that all together we can see that Luke conducted an orderly and thorough investigation into all of the stories circulating about Jesus and then wrote them up in an orderly account. 

Awesome.  Then he tells us why.  Luke is writing to someone named Theophilus, which happens to mean 'friend of God.'  It is not known with certainty who Theophilus was.  Luke tells Theophilus in verse 4 that he has conducted this thorough investigation so that he can know with certainty ,ἀσφάλειαν, (asphaleian) the things he had been taught about Jesus.  Bock talks about that word ἀσφάλειαν. He asks  “Does it vouch for the message’s 1) correctness or 2) reliability, or 3) is it giving assurance to the reader?” (Bock, 64). I would say ‘yes’, to all of these.  

OK. So what?  I think that Luke's investigation has meaning for more than just Theophilus.  Luke took the time and put forth the effort in a way that benefits all of us.  We, too, can know with certainty the truth of what we have been taught about Jesus. 

Tom

     Bock, Darrell L. Luke. Vol. 1 1:1-9:50. Grand Rapids, Mich. Baker Academic, 2008.