Luke 3:23-38
Thursday, September 17th, 2009After writing about the baptism of Jesus, and His anointing by the Holy Spirit, it would seem natural for Luke to transition immediately into the ministry of Jesus. But instead, he records the genealogy of Jesus. Issues as to why Luke does this, and how to understand this genealogy abound. The approach here will be [...]
Luke 3:1-6
Saturday, July 4th, 2009Luke now transitions from writing about the birth and early years of Jesus, to the events immediately preceding the beginning of His mission (Luke 3:1–4:13). Continuing the pattern of alternating between Jesus and John, Luke now turns to talk about mission of John in preparing the way for the Messiah. John’s message is one of [...]
Luke 1:67-80
Friday, April 10th, 2009The song of Zacharias begins to provide an answer to the question asked by his friends and relatives in verse 66: “What kind of child will this be?” The song of Zacharias, like the song of Mary in verses 46-55, has traditionally been named after the first word in the Latin: Benedictus, which means “Blessed.” [...]
Luke 1:57-66
Wednesday, April 1st, 2009The narrative now shifts back to Elizabeth and the birth of her son and how the birth of John removes shame from both her and Zacharias. Their reversal foreshadows that of Israel under the ministry of John and the Messiah that would follow. However, the unique circumstances of the naming of their child hints that redemption may come in an unexpected manner.
1:57. Just [...]
Luke 1:39-45
Thursday, March 5th, 2009Verses 39-45 reveal the confirmation that both Mary and Elizabeth received about the divine origins and purposes for their sons. They receive this confirmation through the testimony of two sources that would be surprising for Luke’s first century readers: an unborn child and a woman. Such unconventional methods would cause the reader to wonder what sort of life [...]
Luke 1:11-17
Thursday, January 22nd, 20091:11-12. In light of all this, Zacharias probably expected the worse when an angel of the Lord appeared to him. It is understandable that he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. He probably thought that he was about to be struck dead.
1:13. The angel Gabriel (cf. v. 19) immediately tries to calm Zacharias’ fears [...]