Meditations on the Life of Jesus – A Contemporary Application[1]
(by James R. Hughes)
(In Eternity and Time, Jn 1.1, 2)
All four of the Gospels provide an account of the life of Jesus, and each opens by placing Jesus within his historical context. The Gospel of John, however, begins not at a later point in his life (e.g., at the time of his conception or at the beginning of his teaching ministry) but rather at the beginning. John sets the stage for the words and work of Jesus by presenting him first as the eternal God through whom all created things came into existence and then as the ultimate and complete revelation of God as the Word in a human nature (Heb 1.1-4; Col 1:15-20).
The Beginning – John starts his account at the point when everything created began—time and history, and the universe of space, matter and life. He takes us back to a point ‘before’ (it is necessary for us to use a temporal term because of our finite understanding) creation when God existed in eternity (Ps 90.2; Prov 8.23; 1 Cor 2.7). He wants us to understand that the Word was present at creation (Gen 1.1). However, the Word was not created before the rest of creation. He was, he did not become. There was never a time when the Word was not. He shares a continuous, timeless, existence with God and is therefore not part of the creation (i.e., not a created being). Rather, he is the one who created the physical realm (3) and creates a new spiritual reality (4).
The Word – When John calls Jesus the ‘Word’ he points to an attribute of God (i.e., wisdom), but he means more. He informs us that Jesus is the living communication or revelation of the God who communicates. The Word is the faithful and true (v.17; 14.6) witness of the mind of God. This tells us that communication and self-revelation are an essential part of God’s nature (i.e., it is necessary for God to communicate).
With God – The Word did not just exist in eternity—he was with God. This tells us that there are (at least) two persons existing eternally who comprise the divine nature—God (i.e., God the Father; see 2 Cor 13.14) and the Word (i.e., the Son, the second person of the Trinity). These two, however, do not exist independently. The Greek word translated ‘with’ is not the common word; and means literally “towards” and suggests “in the company of.” By his choice of word John tells us that there is a special face-to-face relationship between the Father and the Son. Since nothing can be before (Ex 20.3), or face-to-face with, God (except the true God) this means that the Word is fully God. He is co-existent with the Father—in essence, presence, and purpose. There is no disunity in the divine nature.
God was the Word – John leaves no doubt. He tells us explicitly that Jesus, the Word, is God. The Word is not a god; that would be polytheism and an abomination (Dt 6.4). Nor is he just endowed with divine attributes. The word order in the Greek is emphatic: “God was the Word.” This speaks of more than just a relationship such as when we say that “an apple is a fruit.” It speaks of identity, in which the Word is absolutely and fully God—in essence, attributes, and character. In just ten words (in English; eleven in Greek) John tells us that the Father and Jesus are separate persons but one God.
The Trinity (i.e., three persons in the divine nature) is not yet introduced to us by John. We learn of the Holy Spirit (the third person in the Trinity) later (see 32-34). But in his opening words, John makes it clear that although God is one, he is not a single person. To Jews this would have been a staggering concept; to Gentiles foolishness. We are finite creatures and cannot fully grasp the concept of the Trinity. But we must not err on either side—by making the members of the Trinity nothing more than modes of God’s existence or by thinking of Jesus as less than the Father.
He Was – John adds (2) another key point when he refers to the Word as ‘he’ and not as ‘it.’ The Word is a person, not a concept or attribute. This tells us that God has (is) personality and that Jesus is a distinct person in the divine nature.
At no time in the history of the written word has anyone ever before or since said so much with so few, and such simple, words. The opening two sentences of the Gospel of John teach very profound truths that are almost beyond our comprehension. But thankfully we can learn from these words that Jesus is:
(In Eternity and Time, Jn 1.3, 4)
Augustine in the City of God (book 10, chapter 29) says that he often heard the holy old man Simplicianus, who was bishop of the Church in Milan, tell of a certain Platonic philosopher who said that “this passage [Jn 1.1-5] should be inscribed in letters of gold and set up in the most prominent place in every church.” We learn in this passage that Jesus is:
Creator – Through him all things were created (Col 1.16, 17). Nothing, that was created is excluded, including angels (both the sinless and fallen ones); the universe (time, space, matter and energy); animals and plants; and man. Only God himself is excluded (compare 1 Cor 15.25-28). It is clear from the parallel between Genesis 1.1-3 and John 1.1-5 that John is equating the Word (Jesus) with God. Jesus is the Son, the second person in the Divine nature, but he is not less than the Father. The order in the Trinity is not temporal or causal, or one of superiority—it is logical.
Starting with matter, time, and chance (naturalism) men are unable to answer the eternal questions such as: Why does anything exist at all? Why are we here? What is right and wrong? Why do bad things happen? What happens to us at death? Yet for about the past 150 years men have challenged the fact that God, in Jesus, created all things and have instead believed the myth of evolution. They would rather live in painful ignorance than profess the truth.
We must start where Genesis and John start: first with God (in the beginning God/Word), then move to the fact of creation … then we can present the law and sin … and then we can offer salvation. It is a tragedy that so many in the Church compromise with the world and reject the explicit facts about God the creator. Their attempts to reach pagan unbelievers are severely hindered because they refuse to stand with Paul on the rock of truth (Acts 17.24) that presents Jesus first as the creator and lawgiver, and then as the saviour.
God – John seems to repeat himself in the second part of verse 3. But by recasting the message in the negative (“not one thing which became”) he focuses on some profound realities. Jesus is: 1) Infinite: because he is not part of the ‘something that came into existence,’ 2) Eternal: since everything other than God came into being with time (in the beginning), 3) All Wise: (Prov 8.22-36), because only a person with all wisdom can create perfectly (Gen 1.31), and 4) All Powerful: since nothing created came into existence without him. Whoever has these attributes must be equal to God (Heb 3.4). Therefore Jesus is God.
Life-Giver – Jesus is credited with having life in himself. This does not mean just that he is alive. Men and woman are alive, but man had life breathed into him and he became a living being. But John tells us that Jesus is self-existent—no one breathed life into him. He had life in himself. John tells us again that Jesus is truly God, for only God exists without becoming.
What kind of life does Jesus have in himself? The following dimensions, at least, can be considered: 1) Existence: God exists as the “I Am” (Ex 3.14), 2) Eternal: he has always existed (Ps 90.1, 2), 3) Spiritual: God is Spirit (Jn 4.24), 4) Rational: as a member in the Divine nature he communicates with the other persons in the Trinity (e.g., “Let us create …”), wills to action, and formulated the order and design of the created cosmos, 5) Divine: a nature that is not shared with any part of the creation, and 6) Human: Jesus became a man and took upon himself a human nature.
Because he has life in himself, the implication is that he is a life-giver. Contrary to the popular teachings of evolution, that which has no life cannot give life; in other words, inanimate matter cannot spontaneously bring about life. Nor can derived life create life. We have derived life—we do not have life in ourselves—and thus cannot give life. Men will never be able to create life (either in the form of artificial intelligence or in a test tube).
Just as God gave a kind of life (physical) to the animals and another kind to man (Gen 1.27, 2.7; Acts 17.25), so he grants eternal life in Heaven to everyone who believes in Jesus and repents of his sins.
Light-Giver – Throughout the Bible light is a symbol for God (Ex 3.2; Ps 76.4; 89.15; 104.2; 1 Tim 6.15, 16; Rev 4.5). He is the source of physical light (Gen 1.3; Rev 21.23) and spiritual light, in salvation from sin (Ps 118.27; Is 9.2; Mt 4.16, 17). As the light-giver, Jesus also gives the light of true wisdom and understanding (Ps 19.8; 43.3; 119.105) and quality to our lives in a renewed meaning and purpose (Ps 36.9; 56.13).
We have barely scratched the surface of this part of John’s prologue and the profound concepts that are communicated in it. Without doubt, Simplicianus, was right—these letters should be inscribed in gold!
(In Eternity and Time, Jn 1.5a)
The opening five verses of John’s Gospel contain three themes that John develops later: life[2], light[3], and darkness[4]. We will consider the contrast between light and darkness today and the impotence of natural human intellectual abilities and spiritual darkness in our next meditation.Living Light – We noticed previously that Jesus appeared on earth as the light-giver (1.4). In the Bible light is a symbol for God. As God the Creator, Jesus is the source of physical light; and as the Saviour, he is the source of spiritual light. He also is the source of light in the sense of true wisdom, and the provider of a renewed meaning and purpose for our lives. But the light is not just concepts or ideas. False religions present ideas and feelings as inner ‘light’. But Christianity is different: it presents the light as a living person.
Sustained Shining – The light from Jesus ‘shines’ continuously. The form of the word used by John gives the idea of a present, continuing, reality. This sets up a contrast with the past tense (‘was’) used previously (4) when the Word was said to be the light of men. John expands on his previous statement to make sure that we don’t misunderstand him. Since he is writing his Gospel after the death and resurrection of Jesus he wants us to know that the glory of Jesus continues to shine on the earth.
This teaches us that the Word is a living subsistence. He is the source of light, salvation and eternal life, for all mankind—past, present, and future. As the light shone in the person of Christ while he was on earth, it continues to shine today—through the Holy Spirit, the Church, and individual Christians (Mt 5.14-16; Eph 5.8) living out their calling to present the truth about Jesus by word and works. Those who have met Jesus in salvation shine with a permanent afterglow. They reflect the light they receive from Jesus, much like Moses’ face shone after he came down from the mountain after his visit with God (Ex 34.29-35).
Dispelling Darkness – What is the purpose and nature of light? Why do people ask us to turn on a light? Light’s purpose is to dispel darkness. Light by its nature floods out darkness and makes itself known. Light can be stopped or hidden by solid objects, but not by darkness. Light overcomes darkness; darkness alone cannot overcome light.
When we compare Genesis 1.1-3 with John 1.1-5 we see that John connects the appearance of Jesus with the creation of physical light on the first day. In the verse we are addressing, John speaks of darkness as ‘not understanding.’ By personifying light and darkness we understand him to be referring to spiritual realities. Just as God dispelled the physical darkness with light, so he dispels spiritual darkness with light. The light of Jesus clearly reveals our sin and guilt.
Jesus’ appearance on earth dispelled the darkness that has engulfed the earth since the time of Adam’s first sin. This does not mean that God’s light had never appeared on earth before—it had, for example, at Mt. Sinai in the Ten Commandments. But with the appearance of Jesus in human form, Light came into the world in a way never seen before.
As the image of God (Col 1.15) Jesus shone with the glory of God (Jn 1.14). As the Word of God (Jn 1.1; Mt 4.15-17) Jesus enlightened men’s hearts and minds with eternal light. The shadows of the OT types and figures of the ceremonial economy were also dispelled (Col 2.16, 17; Heb 8.5; 10.1), and we now have their full meaning revealed in Jesus. And at sunrise on the day of Jesus’ resurrection the darkness of death was conquered forever.
Prior to the appearance of Jesus, God’s light was seen only in the distance. There were sporadic flashes of ‘lightning’ at significant points in history through revelation and miracle. But with the appearance of Christ, the anointed one, the whole earth was flooded with the glorious light of God. John summarizes the purpose of the Gospel by showing that Jesus, as the Light, came to dispel spiritual darkness and to reveal the glory of Christ.
When John says that the light “shines in the darkness” he is informing us that it is dark where man dwells. From birth he lives in the land of spiritual darkness. His conscience and will, since the Fall, are in darkness. The light of nature shines, but not brightly enough to dispel the darkness (Rom 1.19, 20). The appearance of the Word is needed to overcome the darkness. When we pray “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth” we tell God that we desire to see the Light shining in all spheres of life (family, government, arts, business, education, science, courts), both extensively and intensively.
(In Eternity and Time, Jn 1.5b)
In our previous meditation we considered the contrast between light and darkness. Today we will look specifically at the darkness. First we have to determine what the darkness is that John speaks of. Since he uses the word ‘understood’ he is probably not speaking of physical darkness. Although nature can be personified in poetry (e.g., Ps 19.1, 2, 4) John is not speaking of natural darkness; he is speaking of human intellectual and spiritual darkness.
Elsewhere John uses ‘darkness’ as the antithesis of three things:
Every use of the word ‘darkness’ in John’s writings can be considered as the antithesis of the Logos—Jesus Christ. He is God (Jn 1.1, 2), as the God-man he reveals truth—a key attribute of God’s character (Jn 1.14; 14.6), and he lived a perfect life without any sin (Jn 1.29; 8.46; 1 Jn 1.7; 3.5).
Men from conception and birth exist in a state of rebellion against God. They do not want to retain their innate knowledge of God (Rom 1.21), they suppress truth (Rom 1.18), and they desire to do every kind of evil (Rom 1. 28, 29). This is the darkness John is speaking about.
Because men exist (by nature) in intellectual and spiritual darkness, all human attempts to find light fail miserably. Darkness permeates all of their systems and every aspect of their existence, including:
All of man’s systems are mere imitations of God’s perfect order. The light of nature shines in the spiritual darkness, but it is not enough to dispel man’s dependence on his faulty systems (Rom 1.19, 20). Without the work of the Holy Spirit who enlightens the minds and changes the hearts of men and women, they will not receive the truth; so they remain in darkness and cannot understand the light.
The Greek word used in John 1.5 can be translated as ‘understand’ or ‘comprehend’. But it can also be translated as ‘found’ (Acts 25.25), ‘caught’ (Jn 8.3), ‘grasp’ (Eph 3.18), or ‘overtake’ (Jn 12.35). A possible translation for John 1.5b is: “and the darkness has not overcome it.” Darkness is impotent, passively, because it cannot comprehend the light. But it is also weak in an active way—its attempts at overpowering the light are useless.
Darkness therefore is no threat to the light. The darkness can never engulf, eclipse, or extinguish the light. The darkness has tried, and failed, many times. For example:
This is a great encouragement to those who are walking in the light (i.e., those who are Christians). We can be confident that darkness will never overpower the light. So our purpose, in Christ, is to shine brighter and brighter like the stars on a Muskoka night (Dan 12.3; Php 2.15), until the morning star (Rev 22.16), the Sun/Son of Righteousness, arises. The light of the Bible, the Church, and Christ’s reign over the nations will grow brighter and brighter until that glorious day when Jesus returns from Heaven to be revealed in all the glory of his eternal and infinite light.
(Nazareth, about 4 B.C. Lk 1.26-38)
The life of Jesus did not begin with his birth.
As God, Jesus’ personality existed with a divine nature from all eternity. But as a man, there was a specific point when his human life began. This occurred when Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit in Mary. We have all heard many times of the virgin birth. But it would be more appropriate to speak first of the virgin conception.
If Jesus was not a person until birth, what was the significance of the virgin conception? Why was it that the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary at Jesus’ conception? If human life does not begin until 24 weeks after conception or at birth, then why was it necessary for the Holy Spirit to be involved before one of these points?
On this subject Jonathan Edwards said: “To be the son of woman, is to receive being in both soul and body, in consequence of a conception in her womb. ... It is agreeable to a law of nature, that where a perfect human body is conceived in the womb of a woman ... a human soul should come into being: and conception may as properly be the cause whence it is derived. ... The soul being so much the principal part of man, a derivation of the soul by conception, is the chief thing implied in a man’s being the son of a woman.” (Works 2.509)
If life begins at a point other than conception, the Holy Spirit could have taken the product of conception of any woman and man, and at the point at which life supposedly begins he could have overshadowed that collection of cells and breathed into it the life of Jesus.
But the reality is that the Holy Spirit had to act at the moment of conception. A person comes into existence at that moment; and if naturally conceived, that person is immediately endowed with a sinful nature. In the case of Jesus, his pre-existent personality took on a human nature at conception and his spirit was in his human body while it was developing.
I know that for most people who are pro-abortion, this wouldn’t be much of an argument because they don’t believe in Jesus. But a person who professes to be a Christian should believe that a person exists from the moment of conception.
Since life begins at conception, abortion cannot be acceptable to a Christian. No man (or woman) has the right to remove the life of another except in self-defense or for a capital crime.
Why are there still Christians who accept abortion as an alternative? If we really believe that abortion is the destruction of human being with a personality, then why are we not doing more to stop it? What can we do?
(Nazareth, about 4 B.C. Lk 1.26-38)
With the conception of his human nature, Jesus became man and yet continued to be God. He now has two natures, yet he is only one person. He is not a god possessing a human body. He is not two personalities in one body. He is one person with two natures—truly and fully God and at the same time truly and fully a man.
At the heart of Christianity are some profound miracles. The virgin conception and the resurrection of Christ are two of the most prominent. These defy explanation through ordinary means, but we can understand them. But the fact that Jesus has two natures not only defies explanation; it is also impossible for us to comprehend!
We can understand the idea of two natures, but only to a limited extent. For example, an insect can have the nature of a caterpillar or the nature of a butterfly at different times. But it is much more difficult for us to understand how Jesus can have both a human nature and a divine nature at the same time. Can you imagine being a man and a dog at the same time—not a man possessing a dog’s body but being a man and a dog at the same time?
Why is it so important that we emphasize this truth about Jesus? Because, if he is not God, then he is only a man. But no mere man can pay the debt of sin owed to God—the debt is infinite! If Jesus is not God, then there is no solution to the problem of sin. And, if he is not man, then a man has not paid the debt for sin. Only a man could pay man’s debt. If Jesus is not man, then there is no solution to the problem of sin.
Men reject this doctrine. For example in a review of The Myth of God Incarnate we read: “Christian tradition holds that Christ is the second Person of the Trinity, who became God in human flesh. The seven theologians [authors of the essays in the book] consider this belief ‘a mythological or poetic way of expressing [Jesus’] significance for us,’ not literal truth. The old doctrine was formulated to express faith in Jesus within a Greco-Roman culture, the authors contend, but in modern times it just will not do.” (Time 1977/08/15)
Jesus is the central point of contact for the supernatural with the creation. He is where God meets man. This presents the greatest challenge to our age—belief in the God-man! Men may believe in the supernatural and God. They may believe that a man named Jesus walked the earth 2000 years ago. But if they don’t believe that Jesus is God and man, they believe essentially nothing.
Why do men reject either his divine nature or his human nature (or both)? Because, if they believe that he is truly God, then they have to reckon with his teachings and have to acknowledge that he has a right to demand obedience. They don’t want Jesus as their Lord. And if they believe that he is truly man, then they have to reckon with his death on the cross and confess that they cannot solve the problem of sin themselves. They don’t want Jesus as their saviour.
Jesus is both God and man, both Lord and Saviour. Every Person who comes to Jesus must deal with the pride that keeps him from believing that Jesus is both God and man. Pride does not want Jesus to be King. Pride does not want Jesus to be a sacrifice. Have we dealt with our pride and with the God-man, the Lord and Saviour of mankind?
(Nazareth, about 4 B. C. Mt 1.18-25)
We cannot understand how God became man, but we can consider what the Holy Spirit teaches us about the announcement of the incarnation to Joseph:
Annulled Agreement (18-19) – At this time Joseph and Mary were engaged but not married. In Jewish custom, engagement was more formal than today. Couples who were pledged in marriage lived apart for a year to provide assurance that the bride was not pregnant through an unfaithful relationship.
Joseph probably did not discover Mary’s pregnancy as she began to show. We can believe that Mary, full of faith in Gabriel’s announcement and a morally upright woman, told Joseph that she was pregnant—immediately after the announcement that the Holy Spirit would come upon her (Lk 1.35). She did not worry about what shame might be associated with being thought pregnant by another man. She trusted God to work out all things (Lk 1.38).
Joseph appears to have had difficulty believing Mary’s account, and he must have been devastated when he was told of her pregnancy. Nevertheless he thought about ending their marriage agreement quietly. Do not consider this a selfish act on Joseph’s part. In his cultural context, as a righteous Jew, it would have been ‘impossible’ for him to marry a woman who was pregnant by another man. He showed his love and concern for Mary by proposing, in his mind, to end the marriage contract quietly. She would then have been treated as a single woman who had been promiscuous rather than as an adulteress who could have been stoned to death (Dt 22.23-24).
Angelic Appearance (20-21) – Before he could act on his idea, an angel appeared to him in a dream and convinced him that the pregnancy of Mary really was from the Holy Spirit. God worked to: i) protect the honorable institution of marriage that he established in the Garden, ii) save the reputation of the woman he had highly favoured (Lk 1.28), iii) ensure that Jesus was not considered the son of a promiscuous woman, and iv) provide for Jesus to be adopted into the kingly line of David (Lk 3.23).
God graciously comforted Joseph when he was distressed and perplexed through the dream. Its message informed Joseph of the following:
Accomplished Announcement (22-23) – Most translations of this passage end the angel’s statement after verse 21. This is likely correct since Matthew refers to the fulfillment of prophecy many times (e.g., 2.15, 17, 23; 3.15; 4.14; 5.17; 8.17; 12.17; 13.14, 35; 21.4; 27.9). In the original Greek there are no quotation marks as we have in English; so it is possible that the angel quoted from Isaiah (7.14). In either case, Matthew’s account confirms:
Affectionate Acquiescence (24-25) – The dream confirmed Mary’s account. Like her, Joseph did not concern himself with the misunderstanding and gossip that would arise from Mary’s pregnancy, but acquiesced in the will of God. He broke tradition and immediately ended the betrothal in marriage. He did what was best for Mary and began to care for her as a husband. Contrary to the teachings of Jerome and the Roman Catholic Church, we believe that the Bible teaches that Joseph and Mary had other children together (Mt 13.55, 56). We do not accept the supposed ‘perpetual virginity’ of Mary. But Joseph did not exercise his marital rights until the holy child was born.
Let us, like Joseph, act in the will of God obediently and without delay as we receive Jesus as our lord and saviour.
(Judean Hills, about 4 B. C. Lk 1.39-45)
While Paul was in prison in Caesarea for over two years (Acts 24.27), Luke, who had accompanied him to Judea, would have had an opportunity to do original research into the background for his gospel. He probably looked up Mary, and she told him of the events recorded here. This account provides a touching, human, moment from her life; but the Holy Spirit moved Luke to include this story in Scripture, not because of what it tells us about Mary but because of what it teaches about Jesus.
Seclusion – Shortly after the conception of Jesus, it appears that Mary went into seclusion, like her cousin Elizabeth had after her conception (Lk 1.24). Mary chose to leave Nazareth for a time and go to the home of Elizabeth in the hilly region south of Jerusalem, probably near Hebron, a town that had been designated for the priests (Josh 21.10, 11). It was appropriate that Mary and Elizabeth be brought together by the Holy Spirit at this time:
Salvation – At Mary’s greeting, John (he had been named: Lk 1.13) leaped in Elizabeth ’s womb. This was not an ordinary sensation a mother feels when her baby moves, nor was it like the jostling of Jacob and Esau in Rebecca (Gen 25.22), even though the Greek version of the OT uses the same word as Luke. John’s leap was neither natural nor a sign of the conflict between two nations (Israel/Edom) representing good and evil. John’s leap resulted from his being filled with the Holy Spirit (Lk 1.15); it was a sign of universal joy because salvation had come to the world (Is 35.6; Ps 98.8, 9; 114.6).
Service – Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit for the prophetic task of proclaiming a blessing from God, since her husband was still mute (Lk 1.20). Her blessing was given in a loud voice, indicating that it was from God (Dt 5.22; 1 Ki 8.55; Jn 7.37; Rev 21.3). It consisted of two parts: a blessing on Mary herself, and a blessing on Jesus in the womb of Mary.
We are not to understand Mary’s blessing to be in the future. Her blessing was not, ofr example, that she would become recognized as a mediatrix between men and Jesus, as many Roman Catholics believe. Her blessing was in the call to service for God. She was blessed in that she was the vessel through whom the human nature of Jesus Christ came into the world.
The blessing Elizabeth pronounced on Jesus probably relates to his call to serve as Saviour (Mt 1.21; Ps 96.2), as well as in his exaltation as Sovereign.
Sovereign – Elizabeth ’s own son, to be born in about three months, was a child of destiny. Yet, he would be overshadowed by the son of Mary. She did not envy Mary for being chosen to bring the Messiah into the world (the desire of every Jewish woman) or the role Mary’s son would play. Instead she rejoiced with Mary that the Messiah had arrived. She considers herself honoured that the mother of the Messiah would come to stay with her for the period of her seclusion. It was not that Elizabeth considered Mary to have special status in herself. During the Middle Ages a belief developed that gave Mary special status—she was viewed as being without sin. This belief is not correct. Mary was nothing more than a humble woman who was honoured by God by being commissioned to bear his son.
Notice that Elizabeth refers to the child in Mary’s womb as “my Lord.” She believed personally that Jesus was her Saviour and her Sovereign. Elizabeth refers to the Messiah as ‘Lord’ and appears to use the word in the same way that David uses it in Psalm 110.1. Elizabeth understood that the Son of David would be the eternal Sovereign.
Submission – Although the NIV and NKJV have Elizabeth calling Mary ‘blessed’ (45) for believing what the Lord, through the angel, had told her would be accomplished, the Greek uses a different word (from that used in 42) that can be translated as ‘happy’. Mary was not skeptical about what Gabriel had reported to her. Because she accepted his words as God’s, she could rejoice and be happy. This reminds us that, to the extent we believe and accept the word of God, we will be happy in the Lord. The single biggest failure in the Church today is that Christians don’t really believe what God says in his Word, and thus in general are not happy in the Lord.
(Judean Hills, about 4 B. C. Lk 1.46-56)
Mary offered up this prayer-psalm after she had been greeted by Elizabeth and had heard her words of blessing. It is a rich tapestry of OT quotations and allusions that stands as a masterpiece to God’s grace. In it we learn of:
Praise (46, 47) – Mary refers to God at least 15 times in this Psalm and uses the following names and titles: LORD, God, Saviour, Mighty One. For Mary the name of God is holy (49) and worthy of all praise, blessing, and glory. When we pray: “hallowed be your name,” we offer God the same praise. We are not suggesting that God’s awesome splendour can be enhanced in any way. Rather we are reflecting his glory and asking him to make it known throughout the inhabited world. Mary shows us how we should pray. The focus of our prayers should be first on rendering praise to God. With God as the controlling context for our prayers we can consider three aspects of God’s care: 1) his provision in our personal circumstances, 2) his universal providences, and 3) his particular promises for the Church.
Provision (47-49) – Mary knew the state of her own heart and confessed her need of God as her saviour. This corrects the mistaken belief that Mary was without any sin—for only a sinner needs a saviour. She rejoiced first in the spiritual provisions from God and then in the physical provisions. God sees the humble state of his servants and provides “every good and perfect gift” (James 1.17). The humble state of God’s children is both subjective and objective. They have humble, repentant, hearts and are blessed accordingly (Mt 5.3-8). They also are in a low state in the eyes of the world because of rejection and ridicule for the sake of Christ (Mt 5.10-12).
It is true that Mary was blessed in a special way because she was given the privilege of bringing the human nature of Jesus into the world. But there was nothing special in Mary that caused God to bless her—rather she became special because she was blessed. God’s blessing encompasses all the gifts he gives his children. Each person who has repented of his sins and received Jesus as his saviour, is blessed by God (Mt 5.3-10; 25.34). No one of us, if we have been saved by Jesus, has any reason to complain. Instead we should be full of thanksgiving and praise for all the provisions that we have from God—in this life and stored up in eternity (Mt 6.20; Col 1.5; 2 Tim 4.8).
Providence (50-53) – Mary looks beyond herself to find additional reasons for praise. She acknowledges that God is Sovereign over the kings and nations of the earth. No president or prime minister, dictator or terrorist, works of his own accord. Each is under the superintending providence of God who works out all things for the good of his people (Rom 8.28). We can rely upon God. What he has done is what he will do. He has performed mighty deeds as he has ruled the world. He will do the same again every day.
We enjoy reading a story about a poor boy who wins the hand of the princess, or of a girl who is oppressed by her step-sisters and becomes the prince’s bride. This reversal of fortunes stirs our spirits. How much more should we rejoice when we see God’s mercy poured out on rebels who have asked for pardon and, in addition to being granted pardon, have been given status by the King? Mary reminds us that it does not matter what our station is in this life, if we fear God he will provide for us forever.
Promise (54-55) – God is faithful to his covenant promises even when we break his holy law. Over and over again the Bible tells us that God fulfilled the promises that he had made to Abraham, Israel, Moses, or David. Mary’s particular focus was on the promise of a redeemer that was made to her Jewish ancestors. She knew that the child conceived in her was the promised Messiah. Those promises are ours also: 1) because the promise to Abraham was a promise to all nations (Gen 22.18), and 2) because God promised our first parents Adam and Eve, in the midst of the curse on the woman, that he would send a redeemer who would conquer sin and death (Gen 3.15).
Psalms (46, 56) – Note that this prayer-psalm is one of the few portions of the Bible written by a woman (see also Judges 5). Did Mary spontaneously voice it right after Elizabeth greeted her, or did she compose it during the time she stayed with Elizabeth (until the birth of John)? We cannot determine which, but in either case the presence of the Magnificat in the Bible shows us how saturated our minds should be in the Bible, and especially the Psalms. Mary, as a young Jewish woman, would have had less formal training in the Scriptures than a typical Jewish male. Yet she shows a remarkable understanding of the teachings of the OT as she skillfully weaves this magnificent composition.
Rejoice with Mary in the character of God who: is the personal saviour (46, 47), blesses his people (48), and performs miracles (49); and who is: holy (49), merciful (50), powerful (51), just (51), sovereign (52), compassionate (53), and faithful (54, 55). Hallelujah!
(Mt 1.1-17; Lk 3.23b-38)
You might think that a list of names would not have much to tell us. But the Holy Spirit included all genealogies in the Bible for a teaching purpose. The genealogy of Jesus, in particular, can teach us a lot. From it we can learn of:
Accuracy – The ancient people from before the Flood until the time of Christ often kept complete records of their ancestors. Extensive ancient genealogical records are found in societies from the Middle East, Northern Europe and the Orient. It is amazing to consider that these records were handed down for over 4,000 years. In many societies the records were probably kept for the wrong reasons (e.g., ancestor worship), and in other societies the recorders could not have given a succinct reason for keeping the records. There are a number of evidences that this ancient practice was ultimately under the direction of God’s providence—for the purpose of demonstrating the origin of the Messiah:
Ancestors – Jews reckon a person to be Jewish through the mother. Luke writes his account of the birth of Jesus from the perspective of Jesus’ mother, Mary. It also appears that his genealogy provides the account of Mary’s descent. Matthew, in contrast, writes from Joseph’s perspective and seems to trace Joseph’s lineage. If this interpretation is correct, then it reminds us that Jesus was qualified as the Messiah through Mary his blood relative and also through Joseph (since he was the oldest legal heir).
Adam – Luke’s genealogy follows the line of descent back to Adam. Jesus is declared to be a son of Adam, a member of the human race. This proclaims the universal offer of salvation to all people—Jews and Gentiles (Lk 2.32).
Abraham – Matthew’s account starts with Abraham. This reminds us that Jesus is the mediator of the covenant that would bring blessing to all nations on earth (Gen 12.3).
Adoption – Some scholars believe that both genealogical accounts trace the line of Joseph (Mt 1.14; Lk 3.23). If this is the case, Matthew’s account gives the royal descent of Joseph, whereas Luke’s account provides the natural descent. This interpretation could help explain the convergence/divergence that occurs around Shealtiel and Zerubbabel (Mt 1.12; Lk 3.27). Under this scenario Jesus obtains his position as the Messiah through adoption. In the ancient world adoption provided status as absolutely as did biological descent. The adoption of Jesus into the line of David and Joseph validates our adoption into God’s household through faith in Jesus Christ.
Accomplishment – God promised that David’s kingdom would be perpetual (1 Ki 11.36; 2 Ki 8.19). In Jesus this promise is fulfilled in an unexpected way—the final king in David’s line is an eternal king. Matthew’s account focuses on the realization of this eternal kingdom. His Gospel is the only one that uses the phrase ‘kingdom of heaven,’ which he uses 32 times. To focus attention on the glory of the Messiah’s kingdom he groups the genealogy into three sets of fourteen names: the first set leads from Abraham to the foundation of David’s kingdom, the second set covers the decline of the kingdom to the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC, and the third set recounts the names of a kingdom in obscurity. With the birth of Christ, the kingdom bursts forth gloriously in its new, eternal form. To achieve his stylistic structure Matthew had to drop three names from the record of the kings. The missing names are the son (Ahaziah), grandson (Joash), and great-grandson (Amaziah) of wicked Athaliah who brought the idolatry of Ahab into the house of David. God punished this wickedness to the fourth generation (Ex 34.7). This serves as a witness to the purity of Christ’s eternal kingdom in which no idolaters are permitted (Rev 22.15).
Aliens – The exclusion of idolaters from the Kingdom of Heaven does not mean that repentant sinners are forever shut out. In Matthew’s account four women are mentioned: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba (the wife of Uriah). Three of these women were adulteresses and two (Rahab, Ruth) were foreigners from excluded nations (Dt 7.1-3, 23.3). The inclusion of these names teaches us that Jesus came to earth to bring sinners into his kingdom.
Anointed – These genealogies are not just a list of names. They focus all of history on Jesus Christ (the anointed:Messiah) and give us hope for eternity.
(Nazareth, about 4 B.C. Lk 2.1-7)
We have reached, and passed, the year 2001. 2001 years from what?
Almost everywhere in the world business, schools, the military and so on, operate on the Gregorian Calendar which calculates all dates from the birth of Jesus. The world does not use the Jewish Calendar which dates everything from their calculation of when creation occurred (3761 B.C.), nor does it use the Muslim calendar which dates everything from Mohammed’s flight from Mecca on July 16 th, 622 .
At the centre of history is Jesus Christ. All of history before him, counted down to his first coming. This is the reason that all dates prior to his coming are rendered with B.C., which means ‘Before Christ’. Since then all dates have been rendered with A.D., which means ‘annoDomini’ (the Latin for ‘in the year of the Lord’).
If you ever get a chance to read historical anthropology or palaeontology articles, you will notice that many of them no longer refer to the past using the modifier B.C. Instead, you will notice that they often use B.P., which means ‘Before the Present’. In the thinking of modern ‘scientists’, Jesus is no longer the measure or the focal point of history. He is of no current consequence. What instead is the focal point? It is the present. Man—not just any man, but ‘Modern Man’—becomes the measure of all things. All of time is measured relative to the present. Is this pride or not?
In Star Trek—the Next Generation dates are given in the captain’s log as ‘star Date’. Yet when dates are used in the dialogue, reference is made to the 24 th century. Even science fiction cannot get away from measuring time from the birth of Christ.
But B.P. will not win out, nor will ‘star Date’—even if they survive in the backwaters of the pagan materialistic culture. The Jewish calendar continues to survive in a ghetto, and the Moslem calendar is still kicking. But Jesus Christ the Lord of the Universe will not be relegated to obsolescence. In spite of their rebellion against him, men every day and everywhere on earth will complete monetary transactions, send messages via satellite, or watch the news, while a reminder of Jesus’ birth slaps them in the face.
Next time you write a letter, fill in a form, deposit a coin in a Coke machine or ... whatever, stop for a moment. Pause as you write down a date, or take time to look at the year inscribed on your coins. Think about what the year means. Think about why this particular year. Think about the year of the Lord.
(Near Bethlehem, about 4 B.C. Lk 2.8-20)
Angels and shepherds, the heavenly and the earthly, two extremes, two worlds, but a common response and one example for us.
The angels saw the birth of their Lord. They knew him in Heaven before he became a man. They were the heralds of his purpose for coming to earth. They announced his conception, and then they were the first witnesses to his birth.
A baby was born. His mother wrapped him in cloths and set him in a manger. The angels looked over Joseph’s shoulder. They saw Jesus and were filled with wonder at the plan God was working out. Then what did they do? Their response was twofold: they went and told the world what they had seen, and they worshipped God.
They went out and found the first people they could tell. The doors in town were bolted shut, the shutters in the country hamlets were drawn tight, everyone was fast asleep. Almost everyone! On the hillside nearby were a few shepherds keeping watch over their flocks. The angels had to tell someone, anyone, about the most amazing birth. They found the shepherds awake, and they made their announcement.
They could not contain their amazement—it burst through. The heavens opened, and there appeared a great company of angels worshipping God. Rarely in history has Heaven been opened to the eyes of men, but this was one time that Heaven could not be kept shut. It burst at the seams with the volume of the rejoicing.
The shepherds didn’t waste any time. It isn’t often that angels appear to men. They hurried to find Mary and Joseph and the baby. And they also looked at their Lord. Then what did they do? Their response was twofold: they also went and told the world what they had seen, and they worshipped God.
They hurried off just as the angels had done and found the first people they could. They spread the word about Jesus. And then they returned praising God for all the things they had heard and seen. The rational creatures of the universe are called to see Jesus: to look at him and to look to him. The angels saw, and they went out and told others what they had seen—and they worshipped. The shepherds saw, and they went out and told others what they had seen—and they worshipped.
The order of events is interesting for us to consider: see Jesus and believe, confess with the mouth to those nearby, and then worship. We also have seen Jesus, but what is our response? It saddens me when I see that the Church and most of us who call ourselves Christians do not have this spontaneous desire to rush out and tell others about him whom we have seen. It saddens me when I see so little in our ‘worship’ services which can be called ‘praising and glorifying’.
Have you seen Jesus? Then there are two things you should do to follow the example given here: announce Jesus and praise God.
(Jerusalem, about 4 B.C. Lk 2.21)
This is a simple verse, but one which is loaded with information about how God is fulfilling his Covenant. In it we find the circumcision of Jesus on the eighth day as a sign that Jesus came to fulfil the law: to keep it completely in all its exhaustive detail—all aspects of the law, moral, civil, and ceremonial. His circumcision as a child (like his Baptism as an adult) indicated that he was under the obligations of the Covenant which God made with his people: “I will be your God and you will be my people.” But it is only Jesus who has kept all the Covenant regulations. All the rest of us (whether or not we have the sign of the Covenant upon us through Baptism) break the Covenant.
Jesus came to keep the law so that he could become a perfect sacrifice. But why did God ask for a sacrifice? Actually, God didn’t want a sacrifice. He wanted obedience. But where there is disobedience—sin—his justice demands that there also be punishment.
Since any (all) sin is lethal, everyone deserves the punishment of eternal death. The result would have been the total extermination of the human race. But God is not only a God of justice, but also a God of love; so he planned that a person who had not sinned could act as a substitute for sinners and receive their punishment, and thus free them from eternal death. Jesus offered his perfect life as a perfect substitute for his own people.
This is why he was given the name Jesus. The Hebrew word Joshua is the same as the Greek name Jesus, and both mean saviour. The name Jesus is his personal name (in modern terms, his first name). As was often the practice in the Middle East (and especially in the Bible) the names that were given to people had significance beyond just being an identifier. As we are told by Matthew, he was named Jesus “because he will save his people from their sins.” (Mt 1.21)
Notice that he was given this name by the angel before he was conceived. With the invention of ultra-sound scanning of the uterus it is possible for parents to know the gender of their child and name him or her before birth. But have you ever heard of any of your friends naming a child before he or she was conceived!? Like Isaac, Jesus was announced by angels and was named before he was conceived. And like Isaac, he was the seed of the promise, the heir to the Covenant.
As the heir of the Covenant, he was circumcised on the eighth day. This was in keeping with the commands given to Abraham and Moses. But why the eighth day? Is it possible that this was typical of the new Sabbath which would come with the New Covenant Mediator—Jesus? The seventh day was the Old Covenant Sabbath. But it was on the eighth day that Jesus rose from the dead and removed (cut away) sin and death forever.
Today the New Covenant Sabbath is the Lord’s Day. It is on the Lord’s Day (Sunday) that you are called in a special way to turn to Jesus, the perfect law keeper, your saviour.
(Jerusalem, about 4 B.C. Lk 2.22-38)
Here we see Jesus, who came to observe and keep the law perfectly, being presented in accordance with the requirements of the Ceremonial Law. But there is a surprise in store for his parents. At the temple they are met by two believers who were looking for their Messiah to come.
They were looking for the Messiah (Hebrew word for anointed), just as a believer today looks for the same person. They looked forward to the coming of the Messiah. We look back to the coming of Christ (Greek word for anointed). Both the believing Jews and Gentiles before the coming of Christ and the believing Jews and Gentiles after his coming look to the same person and the same events—his birth as the prophet/king and his death as our priest/sacrifice.
Believers before the coming of Jesus to earth, looked forward in expectation for their salvation. We look back in thankfulness for our salvation. One Lord, one Saviour, for all men—Jew and Gentile.
The Jews at this point in history had been waiting for a long time for their Messiah. They had not heard a word from a prophet of God for almost four hundred years. It seemed as if the heavens had gone silent. People may have been asking “where is this coming that was promised.” True religion was being subjected to pressures from Greek culture, Roman rule, unbelief among the Jewish leaders and falsehood among the popular religious movements of the day.
But there were some, like Simeon and Anna, who were looking for the consolation and the redemption of Israel . They probably did not have a complete understanding of what they were waiting for. They may have been looking forward to the establishment of an earthly kingdom as did many of their neighbours and friends. But one thing stood out about their expectation: they really believed that God was faithful to his promises—his Messiah, the anointed one, the Christ, was coming!
Believers today are in somewhat similar circumstances. It has been a long time since the promise of the coming of Christ was given—almost 2000 years. “Where is this promised coming,” some say, “What is keeping him? Do you really believe that he is going to come?” In addition, true religion is being subjected to pressures from North American culture: too much government, unbelief among the leaders in the Church, and falsehood among many popular religious movements of our day. It is not a happy situation in which to be a believer waiting for our Messiah to come.
This is where we need to learn a lesson from the faith and patience of Simeon and Anna. They were faithful in their day. They were waiting with expectation. They looked forward to a better kingdom (the consolation of Israel).
Are you a Simeon or Anna waiting for the coming of your Lord? And, do you understand that you cannot put your hope in anything in this decaying universe? Are you looking forward to the establishment of a better kingdom? He will come!
(Jerusalem & Bethlehem, around 4 B.C. Mt 2.1-12)
Jesus was probably a few months old when the Magi began looking for him, although we are not told in the Bible what his age was at this time. We do know, however, that the Magi did not show up at the inn on the night of his birth—contrary to almost all popular portrayals of the ‘Christmas’ story.
We are told in the account in Matthew that the Magi saw his star appear when he was born and then followed the star from their homeland to Jerusalem to enquire about his birth. This journey would have taken at least two weeks, and possibly longer than a month. When they were directed to Bethlehem they followed the star until it stopped over the house (not the inn) where Jesus lived with his parents.
The Magi (Greek word for an astronomer/astrologer who interprets dreams) probably lived in the region of what today we call Iraq . They were likely aware of the Hebrew Scriptures and the specific prophecy in the book of Numbers that had been delivered by one of their own forefathers—Balaam. Balaam had been a famous fortune teller in that region. Other of his prophecies, beyond those given in the Bible, were recorded for his disciples. Recently some of these prophecies have been discovered in Aramaic texts found near the Jordan River .
Balaam had made a specific prophecy (under the direction of God) about a star which would come in the future out of Israel : “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a sceptre will rise out of Israel ...” (Num 24.17). The Magi who probably lived in the same land as Balaam, were students of ancient writings, and they followed the same disciplines as did Balaam. They watched the sky and read from the events among the stars and planets. Although the celestial objects were given by God as signs for people on the earth (Gen 1.14) they are generally misread by people who believe that they control the ‘fates’.
When a new star appeared in the East, the Magi were led by God to interpret this sign as the fulfilment of the prophecy which Balaam had given. Various explanations for this star have been given. “Of all the explanations for the star, most scientists favour the ‘conjunction’ theory—a close pairing of planets that gives the appearance of a single bright star. Astronomers have zeroed in on the triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn and the Venus-Jupiter conjunction, both thought to have taken place at the time of Christ’s birth, as possible Star of Bethlehem candidates.” (Fred Schaff, “Continuum”, Omni, January 1992.) Others suggest the ‘star’ was a supernova which for a brief period would be brighter then the other stars, and then would gradually dim. Apparently, Chinese astronomers did record an exploding star about the time of the birth of Christ. But I believe, as the Revell Bible Dictionary says, that “Whatever the case, Matthew’s Gospel indicates that the guiding star was a supernatural phenomenon, prompted by God.” (Italics added.)
It seems that Jesus and his parents stayed in Bethlehem after his birth and did not return to Nazareth once the census had been completed. No reason for this is given, although since Joseph (and probably Mary) were from the tribe of Judah, they may have had relatives in Bethlehem, and may have been visiting with them. Whatever detained them, it was clearly by the providence of God that they stayed. And thus when the Magi (sometimes referred to as the ‘three kings’, although we do not know the exact number of them) arrived and they fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” (Is 60.3)
The Magi/kings were looking for the Messiah/Christ who was born to be King of kings, and their king. Thus, the nations came to his light. And since that great event, Gentiles from all nations on earth have been streaming into Zion . You as a gentile, have come to Zion, to the City of the Great King. What do we offer as a gift to him? What he desires is our love and obedience. He delights to be worshipped in Spirit and in Truth.
(Bethlehem and Egypt, around 4 B.C. Mt 2.13-18)
God’s purposes stand firm. His plans cannot be diverted. His goals cannot be missed. He rules the universe. He rules over the nations of the earth. He is the supreme sovereign!
Thus, we are not to understand this passage as pointing to an event that was outside of God’s plan. It was not that God overheard the plotting of Herod, was shocked and surprised, and then decided that Jesus had better be moved to a safer locale. The point of the quotation from Hosea (11.1) in verse 15 (of Mt 2) is to remind us that even the escape to Egypt was within the careful plan of God laid down before creation. Man is not controlling history. God is!
Herod proudly considered himself to be “King of the Jews.” But he was hated by them. Even though he lavished great sums of money on the re-construction of the Temple and married Mariamne, a daughter of a Jewish priest, the Jews could not tolerate an Edomite ruling over them. They also hated him for having wiped out the Hasmonean (Jewish) family who had ruled in Judea before him, and for his obeisance to Rome . And their hatred increased when he murdered his own children, born to him through Mariamne. He did everything he could, militarily, politically, economically, and criminally, to entrench his reign. Nothing was going to get in his way. Or so he thought!
Then the Magi came seeking the true King of the Jews. It was no surprise that Herod sought to destroy even that little one. He would do anything to preserve his throne and power. The slaughter of the infants was for the sake of self—Jesus was a threat to his luxury and status. (I couldn’t help noticing the similarity with our society. It does something similar with abortion. Thousands of little ones are slaughtered for the sake of self and the preservation of luxury and status.) Note the irony: the petty earthly king kills his subjects to protect his life and status. Christ in contrast, who is the true eternal king, gives up his own life and status to save the lives of his subjects.
This scene, unfolding on earth, reflects a raging battle in the spiritual realm. Herod, a vile man, was acting as a minion of Satan. The battle was between Satan and Christ. Satan tried again to snuff out the Messiah. He had tried with Cain’s murder of Abel, with Esau’s threat to Jacob, with Judah ’s sons dying childless, and with Athaliah’s assassination of Judah ’s royal family. In each case, God intervened in a most interesting way and worked events to ensure that the line from Adam to the Messiah would not be broken. And in Bethlehem also, God was in control—Jesus was in Egypt ! Herod the Proud was outwitted by the Magi and by God. Note a second irony: it was shortly after this slaughter of the children that Herod himself died. He could not keep death from coming. He could not protect his reign!
Friedrich Nietzsche writes on behalf of Satan and Herod: “For the old Gods came to an end long ago. And verily it was a good and joyful end of Gods! That came to pass when, by a God himself, the most ungodly word was uttered, the word: ‘there is but one God! Thou shalt have no other gods before me’. ... An old grim beard of a God, a jealous one, forgot himself thus. And then all the Gods laughed and shook on their chairs and cried: ‘Is godliness not just that there are Gods, but no God?’ Whoever hath ears let him hear. Thus spake Zarathustra. ... Dead are all Gods; now we will that superman live.” (Thus Spake Zarathustra)
In contrast, R. C. Sproul presents the Biblical balance: “The irony of humanism, which seeks the deification of man, is that it has its origin not in the creed of the ancient agnostic philosopher Protaforas, Homo mensura (‘Man is the measure of all things’), but in the promise of a serpent, Sicut erat dei [you will be like God]. Humanism was not invented by man, but by a snake who suggested that the quest for autonomy might be a good idea. The promise of the serpent was not fulfilled. Adam and Eve did not become gods. Autonomy was not found. ... The quest for autonomy, however did not cease. It continues even to this day, east and west of Eden ” (If There’s a God Why are there Atheists?)
The account of the escape into Egypt reminds us that no one—no matter how he sets up himself, no matter how much he entrenches his position, no matter what actions he takes—can thwart the plans of God.
(Egypt and Nazareth, around 3 B.C. Mt 2.19-23; Lk 2.39)
Why is there more than one Gospel? When we read the Synoptic (from synopsis) Gospels we find that the three writers (Matthew, Mark and Luke) give us very similar accounts of the life of Jesus. But when we look closely, we find that each writer adds a bit to Jesus’ story, and in total we have a more complete picture of his life on earth.
So it is with the entire Bible. Many parts present similar truths, and all parts add a bit more to our knowledge and understanding of God and how he acts in history. The similar parts in the legal, historical, prophetical, and poetic portions of the OT all add more information to the total revelation about God. If we only pay attention to one part of the Bible, we can become unbalanced in our understanding of God or in our application of his principles for life.
Thus the Bible, in its entirety, teaches us that there is often more than one side to any story and that we should not listen to only one side. If we do, we will probably be getting only part of the truth.
This principle is illustrated by the account of the return to Nazareth . In this account, written by Matthew, we have a practical example of how important it is for us to take into account all of the Bible. Matthew tells us that Jesus was taken to Nazareth by Joseph and Mary and that in this manner God fulfilled a number of the prophecies of Isaiah. Isaiah 9.1 tells us that “ Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea” (that is Nazareth) would be blessed by the coming of the Messiah, and Isaiah 11.1 tells us that the Messiah would be the righteous Branch (the Hebrew word for branch is nezer in which you can hear a similar sound to ‘Nazarene’).
If you read the Bible selectively like most people did in Jesus’ day, and continue to do today, then you will miss the power of what Matthew is telling us. He is explaining how it was that the Messiah came from Nazareth to fulfil precisely the OT. The Jews, generally, didn’t understand this. With Nathaniel they asked: “ Nazareth ! can anything good come from there?” They did understand that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5.2 and Mt 2.4, 5) but they didn’t connect him with Egypt (Hosea 11.1 and Mt 2.13-18) or with Nazareth . They read selectively!
Too many people today claim to be New Testament Christians. What they are really saying is that they are not Whole Bible Christians. There are large numbers of Christians today who will tell you that we don’t have to observe the Law and that it certainly doesn’t apply to the civil government, because after all, it was given to the Jews and so doesn’t apply to us. Then there are others who will tell you that many of Paul’s instructions (for example, regarding women’s roles in the Church and home, or about sexual morality) are only intended for the situation in which they were written. They have value only as historical statements, and we don’t really have to observe them. Others will tell you that the Bible isn’t a science book and we can ignore it (especially Gen. chapters 1-11) when it contradicts the ‘facts’.
In this line of thinking, John Henry Newman said: “Experience proves surely that the Bible does not answer a purpose for which it was never intended. It may be accidentally the means of the conversion of individuals; but a book, after all, cannot make a stand against the wild living intellect of man.” (Apologia pro Vita Sua)
In contrast, the Westminster Confession of Faith says: “The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men.” (I.VI)
We are taught by this example from Matthew, the importance of seeking to understand and apply every portion of the Bible to our lives. A Roman census, an Edomite murder threat, and a Nazarite carpenter all work together to bring to fulfilment the total promise of a son who would be from Bethlehem, Egypt and Nazareth . Listen to every side of a story before you come to a conclusion. Listen and apply all of Scripture in your life!
(Nazareth, 3 B.C. - 8 A.D. Lk 2.40)
There is a parallel to the first clause of this verse, “and the child grew and became strong”, in the identical words used by Luke to describe the growth of John the Baptist (1.80). This points to a key theme which Luke communicates in his Gospel: the humanity of Jesus Christ. Luke shows more than any of the other Gospels that Jesus is truly a man—a humble man, a human like us. It is his Gospel which:
Luke wishes to demonstrate that Jesus is the man of men. He is with us in our weaknesses (e.g., a helpless infant, a man subject to physical needs and a man able to be tempted) and with us in our strengths (he grew and became strong just like his cousin).
As a child he grew—he wasn’t created as an adult, as was Adam. He had to go through the stages of dependency that we all must go through. This was truly an act of humility for the one who in his divine nature created the universe. But it points to more than his act of humility: it provides a sign of his solidarity with us.
Thus, this verse confronts us with the humanity of Jesus. Yet, some in the early Greek Church (e.g., Marcion, Cyril, Eutyches) denied his true humanity. The Council of Chalcedon in 451 grappled with the human and divine natures of Christ and stated clearly that Jesus is truly God and truly man. It is this confession that we hold today: “Following the holy fathers we confess the Son our Lord Jesus Christ to be one and the same, and with one voice we all teach that he is perfect in deity, perfect in manhood, truly God and truly man, with a rational soul and body, co-essential with the Father according to his deity and co-essential with us according to his manhood, in all things like us, apart from sin.” (Confession of Chalcedon)
There are still cults today, such as Christian Science and Spiritualism (based on the ancient Gnostic heresy), which deny the humanity of Jesus. Those who hold to the Reformed confessions disavow these cults. Yet there are many today in these churches who deny indirectly the humanity of Christ, by undermining the humanity of man. They look with scorn on emotion (Jesus wept—do you think he ever laughed?), they disregard the creative talents God has given to men, they accept some form of mechanistic evolution, and they show little concern for the unborn which are being slaughtered by the thousands.
Jesus is a true man. But we must not forget that he didn’t grow up as any normal child. His growth was not identical to John’s or to yours and mine. His growth was under ideal conditions. He didn’t inherit or acquire personality or moral defects, and God overshadowed his life in an extra-ordinary way to ensure that he would be kept from sin and would mature into the one who could proclaim the kingdom with wisdom and a final authority.
A lesson that we can draw from this verse is that Jesus has gone before us. He has experienced life as a man in all of its difficulties. He truly knows what it is like to be a child subject to parental authority. He knows what teenagers go through as they grow from youth to adulthood. He knows the challenges of hard work and sleepless nights. He knows our struggles with temptation and what it means to face death. May we, like him grow and become strong.
(Jerusalem, 8 A.D. Lk 2.41-50)
This passage shows us what kind of historian Luke is. He is not content just to give the public account of the life of Jesus. As a true biographer he goes into detail about the family, birth, and childhood of his subject, Jesus. Here he records an incident from the life of Jesus during his late boyhood (at the age of twelve), when he went on his first annual pilgrimage to the temple in Jerusalem .
When a boy in Jewish society reached the age of thirteen he was considered to be a man. At that point he was expected to take his place in society and the synagogue. He was also expected to observe all of the Ceremonial Laws given to the Jews by Moses. As his thirteenth birthday approaches we find Jesus preparing to take his step into manhood, and we see him placing himself under complete obedience to the Ceremonial Law.
We should note that there were no ‘teenage’ years in Jewish society. A boy became a man, not a teenager. He was expected to take his place as a responsible adult, and to obey the Law. This says a lot about our society. We indulge teenagers and treat them as if they are big kids. We don’t expect much in the way of responsible behaviour (consider, for example, the concept of Juvenile Court), and we let them drift through years of rebellion and indifference. It would be wise for the Church and society to look at Jesus at the age of twelve speaking with the teachers in the temple and preparing to become a man.
In this passage we find the first recorded words of Jesus. These are given in response to his mother’s question and statement. Note that Jesus responds with a question. This is a technique that we see Jesus use a lot later during his public ministry. In his question, he refers to his Father’s house. By this he makes an indirect statement about his deity. It is appropriate that Luke follows verse 2.40, where he makes explicit reference to Jesus’ humanity, with Jesus’ own words where he reminds his parents, and us, of his divinity.
We are not told when Jesus came to a conscious realization of his dual nature and that he was in fact the one and only son of God, who was born of a virgin. We don’t know whether his mother told him of it, or if the Holy Spirit communicated it directly to him, or if in some way the veil over his divine nature was lifted temporarily. But we see here that by the time he was twelve he was conscious of who he was and what his mission was.
His statement reminds us that one of the reasons he came to this earth was to be in his Father’s house. This obviously means that he was to attend worship services at the Temple and was to be attentive to the teaching provided there. But it means more than this. He came to be both the priest and the sacrifice. He came to earth to undertake the work of Salvation.
This provides us with an example. If we are brothers or sisters of Jesus then we also should have as one of our purposes in life to be in our Father’s house. This means that we should serve the Father by worshipping him in the ‘temple’ among fellow Christians and that we should be attentive to the teaching. But it also means we should make the mission of the Kingdom one of our personal priorities.
This does not mean that we are to do nothing else but evangelize and witness. But it does mean that we are to live our lives so that in everything we do we can lead people to the priest and the sacrifice.
Our purpose in life is not to be that defined by Epicurus a Greek philosopher who lived from 341-270 B.C.: “Pleasure is the beginning and the end of living happily. ... It is impossible to live pleasurably without living wisely, well, and justly, and impossible to live wisely, well, and justly without living pleasurably.’ (Diogenes Laertius)
Rather, our purpose in life is to be that defined by the Westminster Shorter Catechism: “What is man’s primary purpose? Man’s primary purpose is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” (Question 1)
(Nazareth, 8 - 26 A.D. Lk 2.51-52; Lk 3.23a)
The period of Jesus’ life from the age of 12 until he was about 30 are called the silent years. We don’t know much about what Jesus did during these years but we can determine from Luke 2.51-52 (and some other verses) a few things about Jesus’ life during this period:
(In the Judean Hill Country, about 4 B.C . Lk 1.5-15)
Minister – Zechariah and his wife were descended from Aaron in the tribe of Levi. Of course, Zechariah and Elizabeth were not sinless; but they were sincere in their belief in God, trusting in the coming Messiah, and devout in their life of obedience (Dt 6.1-3). As a priest, Zechariah was set apart as a symbol of God’s holiness and of God’s holy people. To keep the priestly line pure, without mixture, he had married a Levite, symbolizing that Christians are to marry only in the Lord (1 Cor 7.39; 2 Cor 6.14). It is fitting that the prophetic spokesman who would announce the coming of the Messiah would be born to this couple who were set apart from the world.
Mercy – Elizabeth was barren, and both she and Zechariah were too old to have children naturally. God reaches down in mercy and picks as his instruments of mercy those who naturally have no power or ability. He chooses the weak things of the world to shame the strong (1 Cor 1.27). The selection of this barren couple places John in a special class along with Isaac, Joseph, Samson, and Samuel. This tells us that something important is going to happen in God’s redemptive plan. After 400 years of silence, the heavens have opened and God is going to work the ‘impossible’ (Gen 18.14; Mt 19.26). God does not perform miracles for no reason. He performs them to signal significant events, or to validate the ministry of key individuals. God’s selection of this couple points to the significance of John and the events surrounding his ministry, but it also reminds us that God does the ‘impossible’ by selecting barren sinners for his kingdom. In God’s mercy there is hope for the world.
Method – God revealed his plans for John in the temple. This is where he had chosen to make his name and glory known (1 Ki 9.3). These events probably took place on the Sabbath, since there was a crowd of assembled worshippers. Also, we note that the angel appeared at the time when incense and prayers were being offered up (Ps 141.2; Rev 5.8; 8.3, 4). God honours his temple, his day, and the prayers of his people. So it is today. It is through the work of the Church (the living temple) and the preaching of the word on the Lord’s Day (the Christian Sabbath), supported by the prayers of God’s people, that Christ the Savior is announced.
Messenger – In this instance the ‘preacher’ was an angel from Heaven. God uses many means for declaring his presence and will, including the heavens, small voices, a ball or tongues of fire, and dreams. At times he sends angels (angelos in Greek means messenger) to make announcements. Only two angels are mentioned by name in the Bible (Gabriel and Michael). It is possible that Gabriel, along with Michael, is an archangel, and among the highest rank. He may be one of the Seraphim (radiant ones) that may have a human form, but have six wings (Is 6.2). Gabriel appeared to Daniel (Dan 8.16; 9.21) and also announced the birth of Jesus to Mary. Gabriel’s announcement to Daniel relates to the coming of the Messiah (Christ) in the last days. His announcements about John and Jesus tell us that the prophecies are being fulfilled—the last days have arrived.
Message – Gabriel reassures Zechariah (who was gripped with fear) with the words “do not be afraid.” This is a common message from God, occurring over sixty times in the Bible (e.g., Gen 15.1; Jn 14.27). Those who are favored by God do not need to be afraid of his awesome majesty or of the radiance of his spiritual messengers. Instead, they can listen to his announcements with joy; for everything is under his control and their prayers are heard. Gabriel told Zechariah that his son was to be named John, which means ‘God is gracious.’ John signifies the grace of God that comes through salvation in Christ to those who seek God (Mal. 1:9).
Marked – John was set apart by God for the great task of announcing the coming of the Messiah. To prepare him for his mission, he was marked in two ways: 1) he was filled with the Holy Spirit from (lit.) his mother’s womb (he was double-born: born spiritually before he was born physically), and 2) he was a Nazarite (Num 6.1-12) who did not drink wine or any other fermented drink. He was a joy and a delight to his parents who had the honour of having a son who was great in the sight of the Lord. John’s life, as well as his message, pointed to Christ. Jesus would also be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb, and be a Nazarite.
John was the fulfillment of hope for his parents. The announcement of his birth also pointed to the fulfillment of hope for Israel and the nations of the world. The announcement about John prepared the way for the Messiah.
(In the Judean Hill Country, about 4 B.C . Lk 1.16-25)
We saw that the announcement of John’s birth fulfilled the hope of his parents, and that he was marked as the one who would prepare the way for the Messiah (Lk 1.5-15). As we consider further the announcement of his birth, we note his:
Mission – John was to be given a multifold glorious task:
Mark – Zechariah asked for a sign that would prove to him that what the angel said about John would come true. His request appears to be in accord with biblical practice (Gn 15.8; Judges 6.36; 2 Ki 20.8); and, at times God himself gives signs (Ex 3.12; Is 7.11; Mk 16.20). Why then is Zechariah punished (20) for asking for a sign? Because God does not approve of our asking for signs (Mt 16.4). Even though God tolerated these requests during the period of his unfolding revelation, Jesus said: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (Jn 20.29). Zechariah should have believed that God could provide him and Elizabeth with a son in their old age because he had ample evidence in the OT (from Sarah to Hannah).
By striking Zechariah deaf (Lk 1.62), God indicates that we are not to ask for miraculous signs. Rather, we should be like Mary who did not ask for a sign but humbly accepted the angel’s explanation (Lk 1.38), even when faced with a miracle that had never been heard of before.
God opened the final era of redemptive history with a sign. He sent his messenger to silence a priest in the Temple . This indicates that the era of the Aaronic priesthood and sacrificial system was at an end—to be replaced by a greater priesthood (Heb 7, 8), and the greatest sacrifice—Christ.
Miracle – As he had promised, God worked a miracle: Elizabeth became pregnant, even while too old to bear children and while disgraced with barrenness in the eyes of her neighbors (25). This is God’s way; he works the ‘impossible’ and removes disgrace. This miracle was a foreshadow of greater miracles to come: First, the miracle of the virgin conception of the Son of God to remove disgrace from his enslaved people. Second, the miracle of the gift of salvation, through the death of Jesus on the cross, to remove our disgrace in sin. And third, the miracle of God’s conquering death forever, through the resurrection, to remove ultimately the disgrace of decay from the created realm (Rom 8.21).
Messiah – The events recorded here are rooted in history. They occurred in a real country, in real time, to real people. This tells us that the arrival of the Messiah would not be a mystical vision lost in the mists of ancient myth, but would be documented by credible eye-witnesses (Lk 1.2). Their record tells us that Herod was king of Judea (Lk 1.5). This means that an Edomite, a usurper, was on the throne in the kingdom of David . The scepter had temporarily departed from Judah (Gen 49.10). But it was time now for the Messiah, David’s son, to come as the true King of the Jews (Lk 23.38); to live, die, and arise gloriously and thereby to dethrone Satan.
(In the Judean Hill Country, about 4 B.C . Lk 1.57-66)
Childbirth – God showed how great his mercy is by providing a son for Zechariah and Elizabeth. By fulfilling his promise to this couple, who were beyond human hope, God directs our attention to the promise of another birth that was about to be fulfilled. The Messiah was first promised 4,000 years before these events (Gen 3.15). Now, God was about to show the real greatness of his mercy by sending his Son, the saviour of the world.
At the birth of a child, neighbours and relatives assemble to celebrate with the parents. At John’s extra-ordinary birth there was a greater degree of celebration than usual. But we must not stop with the celebration over a mere human. We must look forward three months to the birth of the God-man. At his birth the entire host of Heaven rejoiced (Lk 2.13).
Circumcision – On the eighth day (Lev 12.3) after John’s birth Zechariah and Elizabeth brought him to be circumcised. We are reminded of their obedience as they place their child under the sign of the Covenant. Scrupulous obedience to God’s Law is not something that people like to hear about today. They claim that such a requirement is legalistic and contrary to the ‘law of love.’ But, instead, we see in this observance an example of the general principle that when parents keep the ‘least’ commands (Mt 5.19) in the Law, they set an example for their covenant children and can trust that the Lord’s hand will be on them (66).
Called – When God gave Abram the covenant-sign of circumcision he also gave him a new name—Abraham (Gen 17). Jewish parents followed this example and announced the name of their son, at the time of circumcision. The friends attending the circumcision expected that one of their customs would also apply—the naming of the first-born son after the father. However, Zechariah and Elizabeth followed the instruction of the angel (Lk 1.13) and called their son John, which is derived from the Hebrew for ‘Jehovah is gracious.’ It is significant that we see God overruling the traditions of men (Mk 7.8), while making a powerful statement about his work of redemption through grace. The sign of the covenant—Baptism—is placed on covenant children, as it was on John. When, in God’s grace, the child is born-again (Jn 3.3) he is given a new name (Rev 3.12).
Completion – The angel had told Zechariah that he would be unable to speak until the day that the foretold events were completed (Lk 1.20). This promise was fulfilled despite the lack of belief on Zechariah’s part. In the ancient world people scoffed at Noah’s prophecy about a flood that would cover the world; and they laughed at the prophecy that God would send his Son into the world. Today, the scoffers are still with us. They ridicule the idea that God will judge the world by his Son. Let us understand the completion of the prophecy to Zechariah and pay attention. It teaches us not to despise the promises of God. If we do, we will be silenced; not for nine months—but forever (Rom 3.19).
Curiosity – The neighbours and relatives were astonished at the change of practice. It was strange to them that John was not named after his father. But the miraculous restoration of Zechariah’s speech and hearing (they had to make signs to him to ask the child’s name, 63) confirmed that their practice was not essential and that the child’s God-given name was John.
Both the naming of the child and the miraculous sign filled the people with awe, and the events that happened that day were talked about throughout the hill country near Jerusalem (i.e., near Bethlehem). Three months later there would be another child born in the same region who would not be named after his human father, but rather would be given the name Jesus, announced by an angel (Mt 1.21). The events around the birth of this child would also fill the people with awe, and his birth would become the talk of the whole region (Lk 2.17, 18). John, even in his birth, prepared the way for Jesus, the Messiah (Lk 1.76; 3.3). His birth directs us to Jesus.
Confirmation – These events confirmed that John was an unusual child, and they raised questions about his future. Many people probably were asking, even at this early stage, if he was the Messiah, the Prophet, or Elijah who was to come (Jn 1.19-24). It is possible that the memory of these events led the people of Jerusalem to go out to the wild regions of the Jordan to hear his preaching and to be baptized by him (Mt 3.5, 6). It is also quite likely that when Luke did his research in preparation for writing his gospel account he spoke with people who, reflecting back on the events surrounding the birth of John, were able to confirm that “the Lord’s hand was with him.”
John’s birth points to the Messiah and prepares the way for his coming. It also assures us that God cares for his own. Even from their infancy, God is preparing his children, called by his name, for their work in his kingdom.
(In the Judean Hill Country, about 4 B.C . Lk 1.67-80)
The Psalms were often written to commemorate deliverances from physical or spiritual danger, and to pour out thankfulness for God’s mercies. For many centuries the Holy Spirit had not empowered men to compose new Psalms. Now, on the eve of the greatest act of redemptive history, God breaks about 400 years of silence, opens the mouth of a deaf-mute, and breathes into him a prophetic utterance that anticipates a great victory. This Psalm is no mere human composition; it is the work of the Holy Spirit (67) who teaches us to reflect on the marvel of God’s salvation:
Redeemer (68-70) – As we review God’s work of redemption we can cry with Zechariah: “Blessed be God, praise him!” We have the advantage of the complete revelation of God. We have the eye-witness accounts of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus in the Bible. We know with certainty that Christ abolished the curse of sin and death on the Cross. Zechariah had nothing more than what appeared to be obscure prophecies. But without seeing with the physical eye, he saw with the spiritual eye of faith. To him, the words of the ancient prophecies were more real than what we might watch on a live news broadcast. He knew the promises from the first one given in the midst of a curse in the Garden (Gen 3.15) to the last one that promised the messenger (Mal 4.5, 6). Zechariah trusted these promises so fully that he treated them as completed (68, 69) thirty years before they would be fulfilled, and even months before the miraculous incarnation of Jesus Christ had actually taken place.
The kingly redeemer from the line of David has come (Ps 132.17). He has shown his power, like a wild ox rushing with thrusting horns (Ps 92.10). He has come to redeem his people. He has come to redeem us, if we trust him. Why do we not trust the promises of God as Zechariah did?
Rescue (71-74) – The salvation that Jesus provides rescues us from our enemies. The historical context implies that Zechariah was thinking of a rescue from Roman oppression. He was likely hoping that the Messiah would lead his people to freedom, like Moses led the Israelites from Egypt . But just as the rescue from Egypt, as a figure, points to salvation from sin; so the rescue mentioned in this Psalm can be thought of in a spiritual sense.
God the Father has enacted an eternal, holy covenant of grace with the Son. This covenant has been re-stated with human mediators (i.e., Adam, Noah, Moses, Abraham, David). Because God remembers his covenant (Lev 26.42) he not only protects his people from earthly enemies as they travel through this life (Ps 91), but also delivers them from Satan and sin (Mt 6.13), the consequences of sin, and death (Ps 23.4; 1 Cor 15.54, 55).
Righteousness (74-75) – The reason that God rescues us is not so that we can live another day in sin (Rom 6.1, 2). The reason is so that we can serve God without abject fear, in holiness and righteousness. We do not serve to be saved. We have been saved to serve (Eph 2.10). We must live out our lives on this earth, before the Holy God, offering service to him out of thankful obeisance and reverential love.
Ready (76-77) – Zechariah changes the focus of his Psalm at this point, from the work of the Messiah to the herald of the Messiah. He clearly understood the message of Gabriel (Lk 1.15-17) about John. He knew that God’s time had arrived and that his son would be a prophet to prepare the way an to make ready a people for coming of the Messiah (Is 40.3, 4; Mal 3.1). It is no different today. A herald must still go out to prepare the way for Christ. Gospel preachers (Rom 10.14-15) call people to repent of their sins and present to them the way of salvation through the forgiveness of sin.
Rising (78-79) – When the gospel is preached, and believed, a light shines into hearts of darkness. People who have lived with no hope or joy, ruled by ‘chance’, as products of chaos, wake-up to the glory of God’s light. Over and over again, the Holy Spirit takes people from a path of despair and disaster and turns their lives around. A junkie becomes a joyous worshiper, a pan-handler becomes a deacon, a wanton wastrel bows in prayer, a ‘self-realized’ materialist becomes a servant of Christ, a proud anti-theist studies his Bible. The Light of Truth leads people from death to life, from wandering to purposeful direction, from greed to selfless service. This is the result of the Gospel John was born to preach. Men seek for signs of God’s power. If they looked, they would see them in God’s mercy in the miracle of salvation!
Reason (80) – John’s parents were beyond normal child-bearing age at his birth. It is possible that he was orphaned, and entrusted to the community of Essenes near the Dead Sea . There he prepared for his mission. Though the son of a priest, he never served in the Temple . But as the herald of the New Covenant he shows us how all believers are to serve God as priests (1 Pet 2.9) by giving the reason for the hope they have in Christ (1 Pet 3.15).
(Judean Desert at the Jordan, 25 A. D. Mt 3.1-6; Mk 1.1-6; Lk 3.1-6)
Context – The Gospel writers place John’s ministry into both an historical and a Biblical context. By naming the civil and religious rulers at the time John began his ministry, Luke reminds us that the Jews were subject to the pagan government of the Romans and that it was time for the Messiah to come to establish his eternal kingdom. He also informs us that there were two corrupt high priests. The Romans had deposed Annas and replaced him with his son-in-law, Caiaphas. The Jews recognized both men as high priest, rather than just one as God required. It was time for the Messiah to come and cleanse his Church.
Luke dates the arrival of the Messiah’s messenger from the beginning of the reign of the Roman emperor (Tiberius Caesar). Thus, the arrival of the King of kings was established relative to the reign of an earthly monarch. But Christ would gain the supremacy over earthly thrones (Ps 110.1). Now, every memorable event, the induction of all rulers, and every economic transaction, are dated from the birth of the eternal King.
The arrival of John was also placed in its Biblical context. By the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the writers blended two OT passages (Mal 3.1, Is 40.3-5) to declare John to be the ultimate fulfillment of the prophecies. The choice of the passage from Isaiah is significant. Isaiah wrote about God’s plans to smooth the way for his exiled people by using a contemporary metaphor. In the ancient world servants would prepare the road before a king traveled along it. John prepared the way for Jesus in two ways: he prepared the people’s hearts (Lk 1.17) for the arrival of the King, and he showed them the way, through Jesus, to return to God from exile in sin.
John appeared in clothes made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt; and his food was locusts and wild honey. We are told these things so that we can place John in the correct historical-biblical context—as a prophet (Zech 13.4) and as the final OT prophet (Lk 16.16) who came in the spirit of Elijah (2 Kings 1.8) to announce the arrival of the Messiah (Lk 7.24-28).
Cleansing – In this context, and in those days, John came proclaiming, as a herald, the message of repentance and forgiveness of sins. The response of his hearers was sealed with baptism. Ceremonial washing was practiced by the Jews (Jn 2.6) and was applied to new converts, but John’s use of it as a sign for the cancellation of the debt of sin was an innovation. His use of baptism pointed to the coming cleansing of the nations that would be provided by the Messiah (Is 52.15; Num 8.7). This is why we are told that ‘everyone’ went out to John to confess his or her sins and be baptized; and why Luke, a Gentile writing to Gentiles, includes the prophecy: “all mankind [will] see God’s salvation.” (3.6) The Gospel writers are using hyperbole to point to the universal application of Christ’s life, teaching, and death on the cross, to all nations (Lk 2.31, 32; Mt 28.18-20).
Conversion – John announced the arrival of the universal kingdom that was foretold in the OT (Dn 2.34, 35). Admission to this kingdom would not be through human lineage or natural birth, but through eternal lineage (Jn 1.13) and spiritual birth (Jn 3.3). The Jews thought that as descendants of Abraham they would automatically be granted entrance into Messiah’s kingdom. John, however, made it clear—admission to the kingdom requires a change of mind and heart through conversion that results in repentance.
Covenant – The reason John gave for calling the people to repentance was that the “kingdom of heaven is near.” Heaven’s rule was about to be extended directly to the earth as the Messiah began his work of subduing his enemies and establishing his universal reign.
John’s message about the kingdom was not a surprise; it was a prevailing theme of OT prophecy. The people were expecting God’s kingdom to appear and were waiting for him to save them from the oppressive weight of foreign rulers. But the kingdom came in an unexpected way; in a new covenant administration that requires repentance and heart-obedience (Jer 31.33, 34; Mt 5.27-30). This change of heart results in a true righteousness that must surpass a mere outward religious observance (Mt 5.20).
We are in the last days, the era of the New Covenant that was initiated with the arrival of the one whom John announced and that will reach its glorious climax with his second coming. Luke omits the line: “the glory of the Lord will be revealed” (Is 40.5). This may be because at the commencement of Jesus’ ministry it was not yet time for him to reveal his glory. His glory would be shown later; for example, in Cana (Jn 2.11), at the transfiguration (Lk 9.31), and at the ascension (Lk 24.26). We expect the glory of Jesus to be revealed fully on the last day when he returns to earth to establish the final phase of his eternal reign (Col 3.4). The Kingdom of Heaven is near!
(Judean Desert at the Jordan, 25 A.D. Mt 3.7-10; Lk 3.7-14)
John’s message was simple: “If you do not repent of your sins you will be sent to Hell. If you really have repented of your sins, your works will provide evidence of the change in your heart.” We can consider his message under two headings:
Coming Wrath – All people know that they must be prepared to face the wrath of God that will be fully revealed on the Day of Judgment. John asks, sarcastically, those who came out to see him: “Why are you fleeing from God’s wrath?” He knew that if they did not have Christ as their saviour they depended on false hopes to get through that Day: mere religion, their own works, or a supposed birthright. John speaks to each of these false hopes.
First, John rebuked any who came to him for baptism thinking that by just going through a religious ritual they could appease God’s wrath. Matthew tells us that among those who were baptized by John were those who were scrupulously pious (the Pharisees) and also those who made religion into a philosophical or intellectual exercise (the Sadducees). Neither approach to religion pleases God. Only a change of heart through conversion (belief in Jesus and repentance) is the religion that God accepts.
Second, he told them to produce fruit that was consistent with repentance. This means that their own ‘fruit’ (works) was not of a proper type or quality to be sufficient to please God. Since their fruit-tree produced only bad fruit, it was going to be cut down. Jesus also teaches that the Jews (as a nation) had their chance to receive himself as the Messiah while he was on earth. If they rejected him they would no longer be considered the people of God. Instead they would be cut down and the Kingdom given to the Gentiles who would produce fruit (Mt 8.11, 12; 21.33-46).
Third, he warned them not to delude themselves with the belief that their natural descent from Abraham provided them with citizenship papers for the kingdom of Heaven . God could raise up new spiritual descendants of Abraham. He would do this when he brought the Gentiles with ‘stony’ hearts into his kingdom by renewing their hearts.
John’s message also warns us. Our religious observances (e.g., attendance at worship or participating in the Lord’s Supper), our ‘good’ works and our membership in the Church are only dust if we have not believed in Jesus as our saviour and repented of our sins. If we are like many of those who went to John, we need to flee from the coming wrath (Zeph 1.14-16).
Convincing Works – John was a ‘Hell-fire’ preacher and it had results. Many of his hearers asked for instruction in the way of life. Once they had been baptized for repentance they were taught how to live in a way that was consistent with their repentance. This sequence foreshadows the fuller model that would be revealed by the Messiah (Mt. 28.19, 20).
John taught that works must follow true repentance. The Bible never teaches that we can be saved by our works, but it consistently teaches that our works will show if we are saved. By a person’s works we become convinced that a spirit of eternal life is present (Mt 7.15-20; James 2.17).
All three of the examples that John gives for how to show true repentance deal with money or possessions. This does not mean that controlling other types of sins is excluded from the fruits of repentance (compare Gal 5.19-26). Rather, it is clear that we all are prone to sin in the area of possessions and need instruction about how to use them rightly. It is especially so in this materialistic age where ‘success’ is measured by the size of our house, the brand of car we drive, or the number of mechanical or electronic devices we have. John’s challenge to our attitude about possessions can be summed up in three words: generous (Lk 3.11), honest (13), and content (14). True spirituality is practical spirituality.
John indirectly teaches two additional lessons (but not about revolution, pacifism, or socialism; as some suggest): 1) God requires personal obedience in whatever role he has placed us. This is why John guides the tax collectors and soldiers to righteous behaviour but does not tell them to leave their jobs. 2) God can save anyone, not just those who are religious. The tax collectors were notorious for their dishonesty, and soldiers were known for extortion. Yet, by God’s grace, sinners like them can also repent of their sins and come into the kingdom (Mt 3.2).
John presented the Gospel in simple terms: mankind has sinned and cannot please God without true repentance that is made evident by good works. If you are truly sorry (repentant) for your sins you will work hard at overcoming them and will try to replace each sin with a good work that pleases God.
(Judean Desert at the Jordan, 25 A. D. Mt 3.11-12; Mk 1.7-8; Lk 3.15-18)
The last portion of John’s message is a response to those who thought that he might be the Messiah (Christ). Because prophets had not been heard or seen in Israel for hundreds of years, when John appeared as a prophet with many disciples following him, people began to wonder who he was. There arose a general sense of anticipation (Lk 3.15) among the people that something important was about to happen. But John made it clear that he was not the Messiah; the one he came to announce, who would be greater than himself, was the Messiah. John, like all true prophets preached Christ, and did not claim for himself honor that was not his. False prophets and cult leaders claim to be anointed (Mt 24.24); but John showed, in three ways, that he was nothing compared with the Christ (Jn 3.27-30):
Sandals – John placed himself below even a slave when compared with the Messiah. Hebrew slaves were not expected to undo the sandal-straps of their masters. John didn’t consider himself worthy even to perform this task for the Messiah. It is sad to see many teachers/preachers in the Church who rather than being humble servants of Christ (Mt 20.26, 27) expect people to cater to them as if they were multi-billionaires. We need to be humbled by John’s attitude. He was given the honor of announcing Jesus Christ to the world. If he considered himself so unworthy that he couldn’t even untie shoe laces, should we not be more humble than we are?
Spirit – John baptized with water, but the Messiah would baptize with the Spirit (Acts 1.5). Pastors have the privilege of administering the sign of the Covenant and admitting believers, and their children, into the visible Church. Yet, as John’s contrast reminds us, water baptism is an outward sign that does not, of itself, confer grace. The powerful work of dispensing the grace of eternal life is the sole prerogative of Christ, through the pouring out of the Holy Spirit.
John appears to refer to fire as the sign of baptism with the Spirit (Mt 3.11), as an anticipation of the day of Pentecost (Acts 2.1-4). But he probably also uses this symbol as a reference to tell us that God was present in the Messiah. Fire accompanied many of the theophanic appearances of God in the OT economy (e.g., Gen 15.17; Ex 3.2; 13.21; 2 Chron 5.14; Ezk 1.4); so it validated Jesus as the Son of God. Fire is also a symbol of God’s judgment (Gen 3.24) and the purification of the world from sin (2 Pet 3.7). John’s reference points to the Jesus as the judge of the earth (Acts 17.31).
Sifting – John extends the theme of judgment with his next contrast—he came empty-handed; the Messiah would come with a winnowing fork (or shovel). Farmers used this implement to toss grain into the air. The grain fell to the ground, while the chaff was blown by the wind to the edge of the threshing floor. The chaff was later gathered and burned. This is a symbol for the final day of judgment in which the wheat (saints) will be gathered into God’s barn (Heaven) and separated from the chaff (reprobate sinners) that will be burned in Hell-fire (Mal 4.1).
A threshing floor often consisted of a large flat rock on an elevated site where the wind would blow strongly to clear away the chaff. It is note- worthy that the Temple was built on Araunah’s threshing floor where the sword of the angel ceased executing judgment (2 Sam 24). It may be that the choice of this site serves as a symbol for the visible Church. If so, the Church is Christ’s threshing floor on which he separates mankind (Mt 16.18-19). There is a day of judgment coming when the threshing floor will be purged, and the wheat and chaff shall be separated forever. We must not lose sight of the fact that John announced the coming of the Messiah in terms of salvation (Lk 3.6) and in terms of eternal judgment.
We are told that John exhorted the people and preached continually (per the Greek verb tense) the good news of salvation to them. But, other than his announcement of the Messiah, we are told very little about the contents of his sermons. He was a preacher of righteousness and of judgment like Isaiah or Jeremiah, but little of his message is recorded. This is consistent with his position as the forerunner of the Messiah. It was no longer necessary to hear the voice of a mere man when the living Word was now on the earth. As John himself would say later: “He must become greater; I must become less.” (Jn 3.30)
We consider it disappointing when God calls home ‘prematurely’ a great teacher such as a Gillespie, McCheyne, or Bahnsen. What then should we think about the loss of this humble preacher—John. He likely spent only a single year preaching before he was confined to a jail cell for two years. But his life and early death should be an encouragement for us. Once he had finished his role as the Messiah’s messenger he was taken into glory.
(Judean Desert at the Jordan, Spring 26 A. D. Jn 1.6-18)
John, in this part of his Gospel presents seven contrasts—most between John the Baptist (representing the OT prophets) and Jesus the greatest prophet— that essentially cover the complete spectrum of Biblical doctrine:
Creator vs Creature – John emphasized the deity of Jesus, the Word (Jn 1.1-5). Now, with the words “There (be)came a man…” he emphasizes the difference between the Messiah and John. Jesus has a human nature and is a man (1 Tim 2.5) but he is more than a mere man; he is the God-man. While Jesus was John the Baptist became. John may be reinforcing the creator/creature distinction that is taught in Genesis 1.
Light vs Light Bearer – John 1.1 reminds us of the opening words of Genesis. In the same way, John may be reminding us that light (Gen 1.2) can exist