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| Christ with the Doctors Musei Capitolini, Rome |
1. Leviticus 12:3 says that a male child is to be circumcised on the eighth day outside the womb. When God became human, God came to earth as a Jewish male. God did not come as every human, just as none of us are every human. We are specific humans.
So God came to earth as a specific human, just as we all are specific humans. Jesus did not have all eye colors. He had one eye color, although we do not know what it was. In theory, he could have come to earth as a woman, but he came to earth as a man. As a Wesleyan, I believe this choice was practical rather than theological.
And God came to earth as a Jew, in keeping with his use of the Israelite people as the path by which salvation would come to the earth. God did not choose Israel because they were a more numerous people or a better people (cf. Deut. 7:7). God had a relationship with Abraham, and he followed that relationship as a path to bring the Christ to the world.
Luke says nothing about the incarnation. In Luke, the story of Jesus begins with Mary. He does not mention Jesus' existence before he came to earth.
2. The name given him is Jesus, as Gabriel had instructed in 1:31. They follow God's instructions. Luke does not tell us what Matthew 1:21 is more explicit about. Jesus name means "Yahweh saves." Jesus presumably was not circumcised at the temple. A Jewish boy would normally be circumcised locally.
22. And when the days of their cleansing were fulfilled according to the Law of Moses, they led him to Jerusalem to present [him] to the Lord, 23. as it has been written in the Law of the Lord, "Every male opening the womb will be called holy to the Lord."
Leviticus 12:4 goes on to speak of the purification of the mother after childbirth, thirty-three days after the birth. Jesus himself would not necessary be required for presentation at the temple. The purification in question had to do with the woman, but Luke's wording is curious. He says the days of "their" cleansing. Theologically, we know of course that Jesus did not need cleansing, but he fully participates in his humanity.
Luke quotes Exodus 13:12. Every human is supposed to belong to the Lord. Every Israelite is of course especially supposed to be set apart to the Lord. Wesleyans would generally consider the focus on males in the old covenant to be a mixture of ancient patriarchal culture and the unfortunate consequences of the Fall.
Notice how quickly in life all men--in fact all people--become "unholy" to the Lord. The default desire of the Lord it seems is for us all to belong to him from the very beginning. Yet our sin soon separates us from him. "All have sinned and are lacking the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23).
Luke would seem to emphasize conformity to the "Law of Moses" or the "Law of the Lord." We might put this emphasis into a general theme in Luke-Acts that Christians are peaceful, law-abiding participants in the Roman Empire. They are not troublemakers, as rumors around the empire might have suggested. Nero, when he was looking for a scapegoat for the fire of Rome in AD64, thought it would be believable to blame Christians. Yet here we see that these Jewish (Christian) folk are Law-keepers.
Luke also seems to orient his entire telling of the early Christian story around Jerusalem. Luke starts in the temple. Luke ends in Jerualem with them waiting for the Spirit, with Luke not even mentioning the resurrection appearances in Galilee. Acts accordingly begins in Jerusalem, and its first seven chapters are there. Paul goes to Jerusalem five times after believing, before and after every missionary journey. It is from Jerusalem that Paul heads to Rome for the story's end.
24. And to give sacrifice according to what has been said in the Law of the Lord, "a yoke of turtledoves or two younglings of pigeons."
This is a poor person's sacrifice (Lev. 12:8). The clear implication to any Jew is that Jesus did not come from a wealthy family, even if they were in the lineage of David. We have already seen this theme of God elevating the poor and weak while bringing down the rich and the powerful. The type of sacrifice that they offer is fully in keeping with this theme of Luke-Acts.
Notice that they offer sacrifices in the temple. Jesus does not need cleansing, but we note that the earliest Christians participated in the temple even as late as Acts 21 (vss. 24, 26). Clearly Luke has a positive view of the Jerusalem temple. In all of Luke-Acts, only Acts 7:48 gives any hint that the temple might not be an ongoing part of Christian Judaism, including regular sacrifices.
Simeon
25. And behold, a person was in Jerusalem to whom the name [was] Simeon. And this person was righteous and devout, awaiting the encouragement of Israel. And the Holy Spirit was on him.
Joel Green calls the ongoing testimony of individuals like Simeon and Anna, "character witnesses." [1] What especially makes their witness powerful is the fact that they do not know Jesus, Mary, or Joseph. the witness is coming from the Holy Spirit. We remember again that the activity of the Holy Spirit is another one of the major emphases of Luke-Acts.
Simeon was a righteous person. Again, it is worth pointing out that for Luke this is real righteousness, not imputed righteousness. By this word Luke suggests that Simeon was a person who actually did the right thing. He kept the Jewish Law. His presence at the temple emphasizes this fact. He is also "devout"--he carefully follows the righteous rituals and practices of Israel.
He is waiting for the "consolation" or "encouragement" of Israel. Obviously, this "consoling" of Israel will involve the coming of its Messiah, its promised king. However, given what Luke says elsewhere (e.g., Acts 1:6), it likely also includes the restoration of Israel as a people and "nation." [2] He is waiting for Israel to be freed from Roman domination and rule.
26. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit not to see death before he would see the Messiah of the Lord [3]
Notice the role of the Holy Spirit in revelation. It is the Holy Spirit that most often brings God's word to his people. Simeon has been promised that he will not die before "the Christ of the Lord" arrives. He is thus awaiting the "anointed one" to come, the promised king who will rule in the liberated Israel to come. Messiah is a word based on the Hebrew for anointed one (meshiach), while Christ is based on the equivalent Greek word (christos).
27. And he came by the Spirit into the temple and when the parents led in the child Jesus so that they might do according to the thing having been customed by the Law concerning him,
Again, we see the leadership of the Spirit. Simeon is clued in by the Spirit that it is time for him to go to the temple for the fulfillment of the promise to him. All these miraculous events are signs that testify that Jesus will be someone very great because his birth and youth were surrounded by spectacular signs and wonders.
Many Christians can attest to this sort of leadership of the Spirit. They are led to pray for someone just as--as they later find out--that person is undergoing a particular trial. Christians regularly attest to being told by the Spirit to go talk to someone at just the right needed moment. Christians can attest to feeling like they should go somewhere, later to believe it was the prompting of the Spirit.
Simeon thus arrives at the temple in time to meet Jesus and his parents. They are, again, fulfilling the expectations of the Law. They are Law-observant. They are law-keeping and respectable people.
28. ... even he himself received it into the arms and blessed God and said, [4]
29. "Now you release your servant, Master,
according to your word, in peace...
So Simeon takes Jesus into his arms and sings or at least goes poetic. Simeon's song is parallel to Zechariah's song. The song is often called the "Nunc Dimittis" after the first words of the poem in Latin: "Now you send away." The "Master" in question is God the Father, since Simeon is holding the baby Jesus. God is our Father to be sure. God is also our Master and us his servants.
Many Christians operate with this sense that God has called them to some work or some task. They keep at that ministry or vocation until they feel "released" by God. Simeon had a promise from God. He did not feel like he could depart from this world until it was fulfilled. There was a part of his soul that was burdened, worried about his people. Now he can depart in peace. The burden has been lifted. The Lord has released him.
30. ... for my eyes saw your salvation,
31. which you prepared in the face of all the peoples,
32. a light for revelation of the Gentiles
and glory of your people Israel.
Jesus will bring about the salvation of Israel and the whole world. Salvation for Luke is not merely a spiritual or eternal salvation. It is healing. It is restoration. It is wholeness. It relates to Israel collectively. It relates to each individual as a whole person--physically and economically. The poor are no longer poor. They are saved. The lame are no longer lame. They are saved.
God has prepared this "rescue" for all people, not just for Israel. Luke 2:32 is one of the clearest indications of the theme that the gospel is for the whole world. Assuming that Theophilus was a Gentile, it was for him as well. If Luke was truly the author of Luke-Acts, then he was a Gentile too. The gospel was for him. In Acts, the gospel goes "to the ends of the earth," which they would have conceptualized as Rome, the end of the civilized world.
Even though the gospel is for all nations and all peoples, it is good news that brings glory to Israel as God's special people. Since God has used them as the vessel to save and restore the whole world, they receive special honor. Glory is honor-shame language, a way of thinking that is often foreign to us. We are taught to be true to ourselves and not worry about what other people think. In the biblical world, honor and glory meant something.
33. And his father and mother were marveling at the things that had been spoken concerning him. 34. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this [one] is set for the falling and rising of many in Israel and as a sign that will be spoken against 35. --and even your soul itself a sword will pierce--so that the thoughts from many hearts might be revealed."
You can know something without really knowing it. Mary and Joseph "know" that Jesus is going to be great. They have been told he will be called the Son of the Most High. With our hindsight, we know a great deal more about the scope of this greatness than they understood at the time. Despite what they know, they "marvel."
Simeon blesses Mary, Jesus, and Joseph. He "honors" them. Right now, it would be easy for Joseph and Mary to think that they were superior to Jesus, a baby. But Simeon looks into the future and sees that Jesus will be a bone of contention among Jews. Paul himself will give inspired musings on the fact that most of Israel had not believed in their Messiah. Many "spoke against" Jesus and the Jesus movement.
Those who believed in him would rise in the kingdom. Those who did not would fall. The acceptance or rejection of Jesus would reveal the true thoughts and intentions of their hearts.
We do not know anything really about Mary in the early church. There are legends of her going to Ephesus with John, the beloved disciple. There are the ruins of a very early church there. But such traditions go well beyond Scripture, and it is hard to know for sure what happened.
Luke may hint that at some point she herself would face some struggle of faith over Jesus. The tone of the passage suggests that she would emerge from that "piercing" of her soul with faith.
Anna
36. And Anna was a prophetess, daughter of Phanuel, from the tribe of Asher. This [woman was] advanced in many days, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity.
The second "character witness" at the temple is named Anna. In her is an intersection of two themes in Luke-Acts. Luke highlights the role, value, and full participation of women in the gospel, and Luke emphasizes God's care for widows and the poor. God takes those on the margins and brings them into the main.
She only lived with her husband for seven years before he died. She was a virgin when she got married, and she remained an unmarried widow from then until her advanced age. Both of these facts were considered virtuous. In 1 Corinthians 7:40, Paul considers a widow who remains unmarried the more desirable option. 1 Timothy 5:11-12 similarly imply the virtue of a widow who does not remarry.
Luke gives details, which adds to the concreteness of these events. We know who her father was. We know what tribe she was from. Asher was of course one of the "ten lost tribes" of the northern kingdom, which was destroyed in 722BC by the Assyrians. This is perhaps another hint of the coming restoration of all Israel.
Like Mary and Elizabeth, Anna is another example of a woman of great virtue and honor. She is also a prophetess. Luke-Acts has no problem whatsoever with a woman who prophesies. One of the indications of the age of the Spirit is that the daughters of Israel will regularly prophesy along with the sons (cf. Acts 2:17; Joel 2:28).
Of course, there are important female prophets in the Old Testament as well. Deborah is the highest political authority in Israel as well as being a prophetess (Judg. 4:4-5). Huldah is a higher spiritual authority than the high priest in 2 Kings 22:13-14.
Acts 21:9 mentions the four virgin daughters of Philip the evangelist, who were prophetesses. 1 Corinthians 11 assumes that ordinary women in a local congregation like Corinth will prophesy in the normal course of weekly worship. The very reason that Paul instructs them to wear a veil in worship is to keep social and cosmic order while they are prophesying.
Prophesying in these contexts is like preaching. It is bringing a direct word from the Lord to the audience of the prophecy. It suggests that nothing stands in the way of women being preachers in the church today. Indeed, the age of the Spirit, where all believers are filled with the Holy Spirit, removes all the barriers of our physicality to preaching. [5]
37. And she herself [was] a widow until eighty-four of years, who was not departing from the temple, with fastings and prayers worshiping night and day
She is eighty-four years old. The centrality of temple for Luke is again confirmed. Just as the apostles will be at the temple daily after Pentecost, she apparently spends the vast majority of her time, even at night, at the temple. What does she do there? She prays. She fasts. She worships. She is thus a model for what we do in worship today.
38. And at that hour having come, she confessed in response to God and was speaking concerning him to all those awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem [6]
Like Simeon, she arrives just in time, presumably by God's prompting. She also recognizes that Jesus represents the "redemption" or liberation of Jerusalem from bondage. While this is certainly a spiritual liberation, it seems more than just that. Anna is looking for the liberation of Israel as a political entity also. This concrete liberation was presumably also part of God's plan. Paul sees this political redemption in the future as well (Rom. 11:26).
Perhaps Acts implies that the reason it did not happen back then was the disbelief of the Jews of that day. This is at least what seems to happen repeatedly in Acts (e.g., 13:46). We should not see this as a permanent turn away from Israel. We are rather in the "times of the Gentiles" (Luke 21:24) until times of refreshing come (Acts 3:20).
Return to Galilee
39. And as they completed all the things according to the Law of [the] Lord, they returned to the Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth.
Luke again reiterates that the story of Christ is a story that is Law-observant and law-keeping. Christians at heart, when they are doing what Christians do by nature, are not troublemakers. Mary and Joseph stay in Jerusalem long enough to fulfill all the rightful aspects to childbirth.
In Luke's story, again, Mary and Joseph begin in Nazareth, to to Bethlehem for the census, then return to Nazareth in the northern region of Galilee. If all we had were Matthew's Gospel, we would assume that they all started out in Bethlehem and only went north to escape Herod's son Archelaus.
40. And the child grew and was getting strong, being full of wisdom, and [the] favor of God was upon it.
As John the Baptist grows as a young man (Luke 1:80), Jesus also grows. He grows physically. We will learn in 2:52 that he also grows in wisdom. This concept may be difficult for many of us, because almost think of Jesus as a divine mind in a human body. As we will mention in that verse below, this sense of Jesus was declared a heresy in the first few centuries of Christianity. Jesus was fully human, which meant that he learned and grew in wisdom as he grew.
Clearly, the favor of God (the Father) was upon Jesus as he grew. I left the translation as "it" here since the word for child in Greek is neuter. But, of course, Jesus was no "it." The word for favor here is "grace." Theologically, we would say that any favor on Jesus was deserved, so "favor" is a better translation in this instance. Words take on different meanings in different contexts.
The Temple at Twelve
41. And his parents used to go yearly to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. [7] 42. And when he became of twelve years, when they were ascending according to the custom of the feast,[8]
Luke only mentions two times that Jesus was in Jerusalem for Passover: at the age of twelve and the week of his crucifixion. The Gospel of John will add two more during Jesus' earthly ministry, giving us the sense that Jesus ministered on earth from two to three years. The trip to Jerusalem was an "ascent" because Jerusalem is on Mt. Zion, surrounded by hill country.
This is the only record we have in any of the Gospels or the New Testament about Jesus' childhood. There are apocryphal "infancy Gospels." There is the Infancy Gospel of Thomas [9], in which Jesus has bears kill children making fun of him. There is also the "Proto-Gospel of James," the earliest attestation of the perpetual virginity of Mary. Neither of these likely second century works likely have any historical value.
43. ... and after having completed the days, when they were returning, Jesus the boy remained in Jerusalem, and his parents did not know. [10] 44. But, considering him in the company, they went a journey of a day, and they were seeking him among the relatives and the acquaintances. 45. And not having found [him], they returned to Jerusalem looking for him.
The first thought many of us have when we read that Joseph and Mary left Jesus behind is that this was an instance of horrible parenting. When they later punish him for it, we are even more puzzled. We may even picture a "nuclear family" of two parents and 2.5 kids.
However, the family of the first century was an extended family rather than a nuclear family. Aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins were part of the basic family unit. Even more, the whole village of Nazareth and its surrounding village may have had individuals in the company. In short, this was a large group of people traveling together, and it would have been assumed that Jesus was somewhere in their company. In the perspective of Luke, it was the child's responsibility to be in this group.
It thus takes them a day's journey to realize that Jesus is not in their company. "Have you seen Jesus?" "No, is he with Aunt Hannah and cousin David?" A day's journey would normally be about twenty miles, although possibly less with such a group. On a good day, that would be about a third of the way back to Nazareth. They likely would have traveled up the plain by the Jordan River.
To their horror, they finally come to the conclusion that he is not with Aunt Martha and Cousin Isaac. They turn around and go back.
46. And it happened after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the middle of the teachers and listening to them and inquiring of them. 47. And all the ones who heard him were amazed at the understanding and his answers.
They do not immediately know where to find him. No doubt they began in whatever home in which they had stayed. John 19:25 mentions that Mary had a sister. If she was the wife of Clopas, then it is at least possible she lived in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12). Whoever it was, Jesus is not there.
Presumably, they look at the home of every acquaintance they know in Jerusalem. Perhaps they go the the authorities of Jerusalem, both Jewish and Roman. There was probably little interest on their part to help an insignificant Galilean, let alone a child. Or maybe they go to the temple because they are finally seeking these authorities out as a long shot.
Finally, they go to the temple, where they should have gone first--at least if they truly understood. The fact that it is three days might be significant. Jesus will rise from the dead in three days. He will rebuild this temple in three days (cf. Mark 14:58).
Jesus is in the middle. This position suggests that he is the main teacher in this group. He is asking them questions. They answer. He listens. He asks a follow-up question.
You can tell by a person's questions how deep their understanding of a subject is. Jesus amazes them with his understanding. It is not just that he is only twelve years old. We might assume that he is asking questions on a level equal to their own understanding.
48. And having seen him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, "Child, why have done thus to us? Behold, your father and I, being in torment, were seeking you."
From an earthly perspective, from a parent's perspective, we totally understand Mary's frustration and concern. From the standpoint of an ordinary child, he has not honored his parents. He has caused them great torment, not to mention whatever expense might have been associated with extra time in Jerusalem.
If he were an ordinary child, he would have failed his duties as a child. Of course Jesus is not an ordinary child. Jesus is the heir apparent to the throne of Israel. He will be called the Son of the Most High. Theologically, we have to assume that he had not sinned. The proper perspective on the event is a heavenly one, not an earthly one.
49. And he said to them, "Why were you seeking me? Did you not know that it is necessary for me to be in the matters of my Father?" 50. And they themselves did not understand the word that he spoke to them.
They still do not seem to understand him. They have the pieces, but they cannot put it together. Even to hear that he was dealing in the matters of his "Father" must have been puzzling, since they would naturally think of Joseph. "The matters of your father were to stay with the group."
The eyes of the Spirit see so much more than our human eyes can see. We can see everything horizontally in front of us and miss the vertical, heavenward dimension of the situation. What is obvious from God's perspective may seem foolish from ours and vice versa. Paul will say that "the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom" (1 Cor. 1:25).
51. And he descended with them and came to Nazareth, and he was subject to them. And his mother stored all these words in her heart.
Mary does not understand, but she remembers. She is open to future understanding. It will eventually become clear. She stores Jesus' words in her heart.
Jesus "was subject to them." This statement suggests that they discipline him. He is punished for the trouble he has caused them. From the standpoint of a human parent, this punishment makes sense. However, again, they do not see the situation from a heavenly point of view.
52. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and maturity and in favor with God and people.
As we mentioned above in 1:40, Jesus grows in wisdom and maturity. The early Christians struggled in the 300s and 400s to figure out how Jesus' humanity and divinity might fit together. The Council of Chalcedon in 451 decided that Jesus was fully human and fully God in such a way that neither his humanity or divinity should be diminished.
Apollinaris argued in the late 300s that Jesus had a human body but a divine mind. This "heresy" is very common in popular Christianity. I've heard a story of a pastor that thought Jesus did not need to sleep. He was pretending in the boat to be sleeping during the storm. This way of thinking was decided against in the year 381 at the Council of Constantinople.
Another wrong idea was proposed by a man named Eutyches. To him, Jesus' human nature was like a drop next to the ocean of his divine nature. You might as well just say he only had a divine nature. Again, the Council of Chalcedon concluded that it was unbiblical to diminish Jesus' human nature. Indeed, Luke does not diminish Jesus' humanity, and in fact Acts 2:22 calls Jesus "a man having been approved by God among you by powers and wonders and signs that God did."
Jesus did not come out of Mary's womb speaking fluent Aramaic. As a full human, he had to learn it. His bodily functions worked just like ours do. Mark 13:32 indicates that he did not access his omniscience while on earth. His human mind did not know everything. He did not fully access his omnipotence but showed us what is possible for humanity through the powers of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:22; cf. Mark 6:5).
It is therefore a legitimate question to ask when Jesus in his human mind realized that he was the Messiah, let alone the second person of the Trinity. At his baptism, God declares to him that Jesus is his beloved Son. Is the the moment. These things are divine mysteries. What we know is that Jesus' wisdom increased as he grew up, as great as it may have been to begin with in comparison to other humans.
He also grew in favor with others. Whatever biases they might have had against him because of suspicions around his birth, those who knew him with an open heart immediately recognized his greatness and that this was a person with a greater destiny than them.
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[1] Joel Green, The Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 145.
[2] We shouldn't think of "nation" in this context as a nation-state of the sort we have today. It is hard to find a good word but what we mean is an independent political entity tied to a specific people group.
[3] pluperfect made with a periphrastic; a prin e construction with an aorist subjunctive and an
[4] temporal infinitive clause, intensive of autos
[5] Two verses are often used to argue against the whole weight of Scripture to the contrary. 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 is completely irrelevant to this question, given that 1 Corinthians 11 assumes women will bring words from the Lord to the church. If these verses were original, they must have had to do with disruptive speech.
So the whole weight of the counterargument falls on 1 Timothy 2:12. The context again pushes in the direction of the husband-wife relationship and the home. It cannot be about prophetic words given the entirety of the rest of Scripture. One verse should never be the basis for a whole theology, especially one that is unclear.
The whole passage is curious, almost sounding like it says wives are saved from Eve's sin through childbirth (2:15). We know, of course, that all sins are redeemed through the blood of Christ, whose death and victorious resurrection have forever undone the curse of the Fall in Genesis 3:16. To perpetuate the wife's subordination to the husband when we can adopt the trajectory of heaven (e.g., Mark 12:25) is to make excuses to unnecessarily perpetuate creation's unredeemed state.
[6] dative of time
[7] iterative imperfect
[8] genitive absolute
[9] Not to be confused with the so-called "Gnostic Gospel of Thomas."
[10] temporal infinitive clause, with genitive absolute continuing
1 comment:
Interesting about Christ's omniscience.
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