‘And an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were very much afraid.' As they sat around talking, and peering every now and again into the darkness for any sign of savage beasts, they must have been greatly astonished when suddenly an angel of t... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people, for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.” ' The angel assured them that they need not be afraid. Rather they should rej... [ Continue Reading ]
“And this is the sign to you, You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger.” And how would this babe be known? By the sign that God had given. That is, by the fact that he was wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger. This was no accident. It was prearranged.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,' And then all Heaven broke loose, for as the shepherds watched in amazement they saw with the angel a whole mass of the heavenly host, praising God for what He was doing. Great legions would be called o... [ Continue Reading ]
“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased (literally ‘among men of favour').” And this was what the angels said, and it is the focal point of the chiasmus. ‘Glory to God in the Highest'. That is ever what they cry whether they are on earth or in heaven (c... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And it came about that, when the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, “Let us now go even to Bethlehem, and see this thing that is come about, which the Lord has made known to us.” ' Once the angels had departed section by section like a marching regiment (the... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger.' So as rapidly as they could they hurried to Bethlehem, and there they ‘searched for and found' (aneurosko) Mary and Joseph with the baby lying in the manger. We are not told how, but, as a midwife had prob... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when they saw it, they made known concerning the saying which was spoken to them about this child, and all who heard it wondered at the things which were spoken to them by the shepherds.' And once they had seen what they saw they went away and continually told everywhere what the angels had tol... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart.' And Mary, to whom the shepherds would have explained everything, kept what they had said, along with what the angel had said to her earlier, and everything else that she heard about those days, and pondered on them regularly in her hea... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, even as it was spoken to them.' And as for the shepherds, they returned to the countryside, and to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen. Such behaviour... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when eight days were fulfilled for circumcising him, his name was called JESUS, which was so called by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.' On the eighth day after His birth Jesus was circumcised, a ritual which had to be undergone by all Jews who did not wish to be cut off from Isra... [ Continue Reading ]
JESUS IS CIRCUMCISED AND PRESENTED AT THE TEMPLE AND IS BLESSED BY SIMON WHO PROPHESIES OVER HIM (2:21-35). The purification of Mary and Jesus from the ritual defilement of child birth was necessary due to the requirements of Jewish Law, something that would take forty days, and offerings and sacrif... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.' We are now introduced to an unofficial representative of the godly in Israel (He was God's choice for the purpose). His nam... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And it had been revealed (communicated) to him by the Holy Spirit, that he would not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Messiah.' And during the course of his spiritual life it had been revealed to him by the Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the coming of the Christ, of... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, that they might do concerning him after the custom of the law.' And the Spirit guided this man into the Temple at the right moment, and when ‘the parents' (for this is how they would be seen in Israel) brou... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Then he received him into his arms, and blessed God. And going over to them he received Jesus into his arms and blessed God. The fact that they yielded Jesus up might suggest that this man was well known for his godliness, or it may simply have been that they recognised in him a man of the Spirit.... [ Continue Reading ]
“Now let your servant depart, Lord, According to your word, in peace, For my eyes have seen your salvation, Which you have prepared before the face of all peoples, A light for revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of your people Israel.” Simon's prayer was one of heartfelt gratitude. He had... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And his father and his mother were marvelling at the things which were spoken concerning him, and Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary his mother,' “Behold, this child is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, And for a sign which is spoken against. (Yes, and a sword will pierce... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher (she was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity, and she had been a widow even unto fourscore and four years), who departed not from the temple, worshipping with fastings and sup... [ Continue Reading ]
ANNA THE PROPHETESS COMES TO WHERE JESUS IS IN THE TEMPLE AND GIVES THANKS TO GOD AND SPREADS THE NEWS AMONG THE GODLY IN ISRAEL (2:36-40). In the larger chiasmus (see on introduction to Luke 1:1) this is in parallel with the revelation to Mary. Here womankind again acknowledge the coming of the Me... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when they had accomplished all things that were according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.' Once they had fulfilled the requirements of the Law they eventually returned to their own town, to Nazareth in Galilee. The emphasis is on the fact that they... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the child grew, and waxed strong, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was on him.' Meanwhile the child Jesus continued to grow. And He grew strong spiritually, and was filled with wisdom (compare Acts 6:3; Acts 6:10). And the gracious activity of God continued on His life. John grew stron... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And his parents went every year to Jerusalem at the feast of the passover.' Year by year Jesus' parents went up to the Passover. This does not mean that they only went up at Passover time, for this is rather an introduction to a particular Passover visit. We in fact know from elsewhere that the fa... [ Continue Reading ]
JESUS GOES UP TO THE TEMPLE AND RECEIVES UNDERSTANDING IN THE THINGS OF GOD IN HIS FATHER'S PRESENCE (2:41-51). We are now given an example of how He has developed through the years, for He meets up as a twelve year old boy with the great teachers of Jerusalem, and they are amazed by His questions... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when he was twelve years old, they went up after the custom of the feast, and when they had fulfilled the days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem, and his parents did not know it.' Every Jewish boy came of age at thirteen from which point on he was looked on as... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But supposing him to be in the company, they went a day's journey; and they sought for him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance, and when they found him not, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking for him.' As both His parents clearly assumed that He was with them, presumably with his cousins, neith... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And it came about, after three days, they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both hearing them, and asking them questions.' It would take the parents all night, and even some of the next day, to get back to Jerusalem and then they began their search. Nor would they find... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.' The Rabbis would each sit with a group of disciples round them. They would themselves ask questions of their listeners, and they would then teach and explain and ask for questions. And all to whom He asked His questions, and... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when they saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you thus dealt with us? Behold, your father and I sought you sorrowing.” ' Once again His parents were astonished. Firstly to see Him standing in the crowd listening to the great Rabbis, secondly that He appear... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he said to them, “How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” ' But Jesus was equally astonished. He too uttered a kind of rebuke. Why had they had to search for Him? Surely they must have known where He was? How could they possibly have needed to look... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they did not understand the saying which he spoke to them.' Meanwhile they did not understand what He was talking about. They could not appreciate the depth of his feeling about being with His Father. It was not surprising. No one else had a son who on coming to Jerusalem spent the week at the... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and he was subject to them, and his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.' Responding immediately to His parents Jesus went down with them to Nazareth (going from Jerusalem is always ‘down', even for those who go up). And there He continued to... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men.' Meanwhile Jesus continued to grow in wisdom and in physical strength, and in favour with God and men. He did not at this stage need to go into the wilderness for He was guided in a way that even John did not know, and His g... [ Continue Reading ]