Luke (Teach the Text Commentary Series)

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• Publisher: Baker Books
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781441241719
• Topic: Théologie et religion
• Subtopic: Commentaire biblique

The Teach the Text Commentary Series utilizes the best of biblical scholarship to provide the information a pastor needs to communicate the text effectively. The carefully selected preaching units and focused commentary allow pastors to quickly grasp the big idea and key themes of each passage of Scripture. Each unit of the commentary includes the big idea and key themes of the passage and sections dedicated to understanding, teaching, and illustrating the text.

Luke 1:5–25*

A Special Child Promised

Big Idea The promise of the birth of a special child shows that a new age is dawning: John the Baptist will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord.

Key Themes of Luke 1:5–25

• John the Baptist is to fulfill the role of Elijah, preparing for the “day of the Lord.”
• He is to be born into a pious, priestly family.
• His birth to aged parents, beyond normal expectation, is by God’s special power.

Understanding the Text

The Text in Context

We have considered Luke’s introductory statement of intent (1:1–4) in the introduction (“Luke the Historian: Luke 1:1–4”), and I will not comment further on it here. The story then begins, to the reader’s surprise, not with Jesus but with the promise of the birth of John the Baptist. The reader will be invited to compare the origins of the two men, both born by the special power of God, both heralded by the same angelic messenger, both named by the angel, and both called to fulfill a key role in the working out of God’s purpose of deliverance for his people.

Chapters 1–2 (Luke’s “infancy narrative”) stand apart from the rest of the Gospel in that they do not derive from the same sources used by Matthew and Mark, and indeed they overlap with Matthew’s opening chapters only in the minimal data of Jesus’s birth to a virgin mother in Bethlehem in the time of King Herod, his parents’ names, Joseph’s Davidic descent, the angelic announcement of the name “Jesus,” and the location of Jesus’s childhood in Nazareth. The focus on Mary and her family in these chapters (as opposed to the focus on Joseph in Matt. 1–2) suggests that they may originate in Mary’s own reminiscences. They are full of the atmosphere of traditional Jewish piety and are notable for the sequence of psalm-like declarations by Mary, Zechariah, and Simeon (1:46–55, 68–79; 2:29–32), which, together with the angels’ song in 2:14, locate the events of the Gospel firmly in the trajectory of prophetic fulfillment.

The prominence of John the Baptist in this introductory section (as indeed in the rest of the Gospel [3:1–20; 7:18–35; 9:7–9, 19; 16:16; 20:1–8]) warns us against the common tendency to treat him merely as a “warm-up act” before the main character comes on the stage. John himself is the fulfillment of prophecy, and his ministry begins the work of deliverance that Jesus will continue.

Historical and Cultural Background

Herod the Great (1:5) died probably in 4 BC; the births of John and Jesus are thus dated several years before the traditional beginning of the “Christian era.”

John the Baptist and Jesus were born near the end of the reign of Herod the Great, who was appointed as King of Judea by the Romans and ruled Palestine from 27 BC until his death in 4 BC. Herod the Great was buried at the Herodium, one of his palace fortresses. This photo shows the remains of his tomb, which were discovered in 2007.

By the first century there were several thousand priests, organized in twenty-four “divisions,” each of which was allocated two weeks of temple duties in the year. Since there was only one temple and only two daily sacrifices, the privilege of offering incense was a rare one. As Luke points out (1:9), priests were chosen by lot (a practice similar to casting dice) to offer incense; according to Jewish tradition, only those who had not offered incense before were eligible to cast lots (m. Tamid 5:2). So this was Zechariah’s big day, perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Interpretive Insights

1:6 Both of them were righteous. Readers of the Gospels sometimes gain the impression that Jewish religion at the time of Jesus was corrupt and superficial. But Luke introduces us to ordinary, pious people, faithfully following God’s call to holy living. In the case of Zechariah and Elizabeth there was the added dimension that both came from priestly families. There is thus a direct continuity between Old Testament piety and the dawning age of salvation.

1:7 Elizabeth was not able to conceive. Throughout this chapter we are reminded of Hannah (1 Sam. 1) and her son Samuel, also born against natural expectation. A special birth presages a special life in God’s service. For God’s preparation of his special servant even before birth, see Jeremiah 1:5.

1:9 to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. Incense was offered with both the morning and evening sacrifices each day, on the incense altar inside the sanctuary (the holy place behind the first curtain, not the most holy place, or holy of holies). Worshipers could watch the animal sacrifices on the great altar in the courtyard, but they could only wait while the chosen priest went into the sanctuary to burn incense and then came out to pronounce the priestly blessing (see 1:21).

1:11 an angel of the Lord appeared to him. The angel identifies himself in 1:19 as Gabriel, one of only two angels who are named in the Old Testament (Dan. 8:16; 9:21), the other being Michael (Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1). These two are regularly included in later Jewish accounts of the four “archangels.” Whereas Michael appears in Daniel as a warrior, Gabriel comes to reveal secret knowledge to the prophet. Gabriel will also declare God’s purpose to Mary (1:26–27). He is not mentioned by name again in the New Testament, but in Matthew 1:20; 2:13, 19 an unnamed “angel of the Lord” guides Joseph in his dreams. Here Zechariah apparently is awake.

1:13 you are to call him John. Jesus’s name likewise will be supernaturally revealed (1:31). This is a further indication that God has a special role for this child, and the name is symbolic. The name Jesus, a common Jewish name (the Greek form of Joshua), is explained in Matthew 1:21 as declaring his saving role. John, also a common name, is not explicitly interpreted in that way, but it represents the Hebrew Yohanan, meaning “God has been gracious,” and 1:14–17 (and still more 1:68–79) will spell out how God’s grace (“the tender mercy of our God” [1:78]) is to be exercised through John’s ministry.

1:15 He is never to take wine or other fermented drink. John’s ascetic lifestyle, which is described in Mark 1:6, is based on what looks like a lifelong Nazirite vow. Abstinence from alcohol was a key feature of the Nazirite life (Num. 6:1–21), but whereas this was normally understood to be a voluntary and temporary adult commitment, for John it was to be from birth and for life. In this he conforms to the image of Samson, another special child born to a supposedly barren mother (Judg. 13:2–7); compare also Samuel (1 Sam. 1:11). John’s adherence to this ascetic model was to mark him out in distinction from Jesus, who, as Luke will later note, was known to enjoy eating and drinking wine (7:33–34).

1:17 in the spirit and power of Elijah. The return of Elijah was widely expected in Jewish circles as the prelude to God’s coming to judgment. The angel’s words closely echo the prophecy of Malachi 4:5–6 (cf. Mal. 3:1–5), but whereas Malachi places the primary emphasis on Elijah’s role of family reconciliation in preparation for the “day of the Lord,” the angel here speaks more broadly of John as “bringing people back to God,” “turning the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous,” and “a people prepared for the Lord.” John’s mission was to bring about a comprehensive religious revival. His appearance signals the dawn of the new era that the prophets foretold.

1:20 you will be silent and not able to speak. For Zechariah’s understandable “disbelief” in the face of such an extraordinary promise, compare the reaction of both Abraham and Sarah to God’s similar promise in Genesis 17:17–18; 18:10–15. Zechariah’s skepticism stands in contrast with Mary’s acceptance of Gabriel’s word (1:38), and it is severely punished. God expects his people to take him at his word. But as well as punishment, Zechariah’s loss of speech serves as the “sign” of God’s miraculous power that he has requested (1:18). From a literary point of view, Zechariah’s loss of speech provides the basis for the striking scenes of the people’s recognition of his “vision” (1:21–22), of his dramatic intervention in the naming of his son (1:59–63), and of the fluent outpouring of praise as soon as his speech is restored (1:67–79).

Zechariah offered incense in the holy place while worshipers stood in the courtyard to watch and pray. Zechariah would have entered the temple building, shown here, which housed the holy place and the most holy place. This model is part of the 50:1 scale reproduction of the first-century AD city of Jerusalem now on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

1:25 The Lord has done this for me. Elizabeth’s reaction reminds us of Hannah’s great prayer of thanksgiving in 1 Samuel 2:1–10, which also expresses the relief of one who has been rescued from the social stigma of barrenness. A much fuller echo of that prayer will he heard in 1:46–55. Compare Sarah (Gen. 21:1–7), Rebekah (Gen. 25:21), and Rachel (Gen. 30:22–23). God overturns situations of human helplessness and despair.

Theological Insights

The main theme is the dawning of the age of fulfillment. Echoes of the Old Testament throughout this passage combine with the angelic pronouncement to inform us that when Elizabeth’s child has grown up and begins his mission of spiritual restoration, the long-promised “day of the Lord” will have arrived. Christians naturally think of John the Bap...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Welcome to the Teach the Text Commentary Series
• Introduction to the Teach the Text Commentary Series
• Abbreviations
• Introduction to Luke
• Luke 1:5-25*
• Luke 1:26-38
• Luke 1:39-56
• Luke 1:57-80
• Luke 2:1-20
• Luke 2:21-40
• Luke 2:41-52
• Luke 3:1-20
• Luke 3:21-38
• Luke 4:1-13
• Luke 4:14-30
• Luke 4:31-44
• Luke 5:1-11
• Luke 5:12-26
• Luke 5:27-39
• Luke 6:1-16
• Luke 6:17-26
• Luke 6:27-38
• Luke 6:39-49
• Luke 7:1-17
• Luke 7:18-35
• Luke 7:36-8:3
• Luke 8:4-21
• Luke 8:22-39
• Luke 8:40-56
• Luke 9:1-17
• Luke 9:18-36
• Luke 9:37-56
• Luke 9:57-10:12
• Luke 10:13-24
• Luke 10:25-37
• Luke 10:38-11:13
• Luke 11:14-36
• Luke 11:37-54
• Luke 12:1-21
• Luke 12:22-40
• Luke 12:41-59
• Luke 13:1-17
• Luke 13:18-35
• Luke 14:1-14
• Luke 14:15-35
• Luke 15:1-32
• Luke 16:1-18
• Luke 16:19-31
• Luke 17:1-19
• Luke 17:20-37
• Luke 18:1-14
• Luke 18:15-34
• Luke 18:35-19:10
• Luke 19:11-27
• Luke 19:28-48
• Luke 20:1-19
• Luke 20:20-40
• Luke 20:41-21:6
• Luke 21:7-36
• Luke 21:37-22:16
• Luke 22:17-34
• Luke 22:35-53
• Luke 22:54-71
• Luke 23:1-25
• Luke 23:26-49
• Luke 23:50-24:12
• Luke 24:13-35
• Luke 24:36-53
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Image Credits
• Index
• Back Cover