Luke 1:1-4. Introduction _Forasmuch as_ This brief preface is in several respects most interesting and important. i. It is the only personal introduction to any historic book in the Bible except the Acts. It is specially valuable here as authenticating the first two Chapter s and shewing that Marc... [ Continue Reading ]
_many_ Whether the Gospels of St Matthew and St Mark had been written when St Luke's appeared is a question which cannot be answered with certainty; but it _is_certain that he does not here allude to those Gospels, and that he did not make any use of them (see Introd. p. 9). These many attempts to... [ Continue Reading ]
_even as they delivered them unto us, which_ The English version is here ambiguous; and the way in which it is often read shews how completely it is misunderstood. It does not mean -that the writers of these narratives delivered them to St Luke and others who were eyewitnesses, &c.," but that -since... [ Continue Reading ]
_having had perfect understanding_ Rather, HAVING ACCURATELY TRACED OUT OR FOLLOWED UP. See the same word in 1 Timothy 4:6; 2 Timothy 3:10. St Luke modestly puts himself exactly on the same footing as these narrators in not having the primary apostolic qualification, but claims continuous and comple... [ Continue Reading ]
_mightest know_ Rather, MAYEST FULLY KNOW. _of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed_ Rather, OF THOSE ACCOUNTS IN WHICH THOU WAST ORALLY INSTRUCTED. Galatians 6:6. From the word κατηχεῖν -to teach orally" comes our - _catechise_," &c. Oral instruction (_katechesis_) flourished especially... [ Continue Reading ]
The Announcement of the Birth of the Fore-runner 5. _There was in the days_ The elaborate style of the Preface is at once replaced by one of extreme directness and simplicity, full of Hebraic expressions; shewing that here St Luke begins to use, and probably to translate, some Aramaic document whic... [ Continue Reading ]
_righteous_ One of the oldest terms of high praise among the Jews (Genesis 6:9; Genesis 7:1; Genesis 18:23-28. See Psalms 37:37; Ezekiel 18:5-19, &c.). It is used also of Joseph, Matthew 1:19; and is defined in the following words in the almost technical sense of strict legal observance which it had... [ Continue Reading ]
_And they had no child_ This was regarded as a heavy misfortune because it cut off all hope of the birth of the Messiah in that family. It was also regarded as often involving a moral reproach, and as being a punishment for sin. See Genesis 11:30; Genesis 18:11; Genesis 30:1-23; Exodus 23:26; Deuter... [ Continue Reading ]
_executed the priest's office_ The priest who had the highest functions allotted to him was called -the chief of the course." There are said to have been some 20,000 priests in the days of Christ, and it could therefore never fall to the lot of the same priest _twice_to offer incense. Hence this wou... [ Continue Reading ]
_his lot was to burn incense_ Rather, HE OBTAINED BY LOT THE DUTY OF ENTERING AND BURNING INCENSE. This was the loftiest and most coveted of priestly functions, Exodus 30:1-10; Numbers 16:1-40. King Uzziah was smitten with leprosy for trying to usurp it (2 Chronicles 26:18). Incense was a symbol of... [ Continue Reading ]
_the whole multitude_ This seems to shew that the vision took place either on a sabbath, or some great feast-day. _praying_ The Temple was mainly used for sacrifice. Prayer in the Tabernacle is only once mentioned in the Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 26:12-15). But the Temple had naturally become a -Hous... [ Continue Reading ]
_an angel_ St Luke dwells more than any of the Evangelists on the ministry of angels, Luke 1:26; Luke 2:9; Luke 2:13; Luke 2:21; Luke 12:8; Luke 15:10; Luke 16:22; Luke 22:43; Luke 24:4; Luke 24:23 [ Continue Reading ]
_he was troubled_ Such is the effect always recorded of these supernatural appearances. See Judges 13:22; Daniel 10:7-9; Ezekiel 1:28; Mark 16:8; Revelation 1:17.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Fear not_ The first utterance of the Dawn of the Gospel. St Luke begins with this angelic encouragement, and ends with the Apostles -blessing and praising God;" see the beautiful remarks of Bengel ad loc. _thy prayer is heard_ Rather, THY SUPPLICATION WAS HEARD. Δέησις implies a special prayer, an... [ Continue Reading ]
_gladness_ Rather, EXULTATION, Luke 1:44; Acts 2:46; Hebrews 1:9. _many_ The Pharisees and leading Jews did not accept John's baptism (Luke 7:30; Matthew 21:27), and his influence, except among a few, seems to have been shortlived. "There burst he forth: -All ye whose hopes rely On God, with me a... [ Continue Reading ]
_great in the sight of the Lord_ See Luke 7:24-30; Matthew 11:11. _shall drink neither wine nor strong drink_ He shall be a Nazarite (Luke 7:33; Numbers 6:1-4); like Samson (Judges 13:2-7); and the Rechabites (Jeremiah 35:6). -Strong drink" (_Sikera_from Heb. _Shakar_-he is intoxicated") was also fo... [ Continue Reading ]
_many … shall he turn_ Ezekiel 3:19; Isaiah 40:3; Matthew 3:3-6. The word for - _turn_" is sometimes rendered - _convert_" as in Luke 22:32, -when thou art converted." These words resume the thread of prophecy which had been broken for three centuries (Malachi 4:6).... [ Continue Reading ]
_And he shall go before him_ Shall go before the Messiah. The English version should have added, "in His (God's) presence" (ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ). _in the spirit and power of Elias_ From the last words of Malachi (Luke 4:4-6; Luke 3:1), the Jews universally believed (as they do to this day) that Elijah wou... [ Continue Reading ]
_for I am an old man_ So "Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred years old?" Genesis 17:17. But he had believed the original promise (Genesis 15:6) though he asked for a confirmation of it (Luke 1:8). "He believed … God who qu... [ Continue Reading ]
_Gabriel_ The name means -Hero of God." He is also mentioned in Luke 1:26, and in Daniel 8:16; Daniel 9:21-23 (-idem Angelus, idem negotium," Bengel). The only other Angel or Archangel (1 Thessalonians 4:16; Judges 9) named in Scripture is Michael (-Who is like God?" Daniel 10:21). In the Book of En... [ Continue Reading ]
_thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak_ He receives the sign for which he had unfaithfully asked (Matthew 12:38), but it comes in the form of a punishment. This positive and negative way of expressing the same thing is common, especially in Hebrew literature, 2 Samuel 14:5; Exodus 21:11; Isaiah... [ Continue Reading ]
_he tarried so long_ Priests never tarried in the awful precincts of the shrine longer than was absolutely necessary for the fulfilment of their duties, from feelings of holy fear, Leviticus 16:13, "that he die not" (T. B. _Yoma_f. 52. 2.) See Excursus VII.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And when he came out_ The moment of the priest's reappearance from before the ever-burning golden candlestick, and the veil which hid the Holiest Place, was one which powerfully affected the Jewish imagination, Sir 50:5-21. _he could not speak unto them_ They were waiting in the Court to be dismis... [ Continue Reading ]
_the days of his ministration_ They lasted from the evening of one Sabbath to the morning of the next. 2 Kings 11:5.... [ Continue Reading ]
_hid herself_ We can only conjecture her motive. It may have been devotional; or precautionary; or she may merely have wished out of deep modesty to avoid as long as possible the idle comments and surmises of her neighbours.... [ Continue Reading ]
_to take away my reproach_ So Rachel, when she bare a son, said, "God hath taken away my reproach," Genesis 30:23. See Isaiah 4:1; Hosea 9:11; 1 Samuel 1:6-10. Yet the days were coming when to be childless would be regarded by Jewish mothers as a blessing. See Luke 23:29.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Annunciation 26. _in the sixth month_ i. e. after the vision of Zachariah. This is the only passage which indicates the age of John the Baptist, as half a year older than our Lord. _Galilee_ Thus began to be fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 9:1-2. Galilee of the Gentiles (_Gelîl haggoyîm_), one... [ Continue Reading ]
_espoused_ Rather, BETROTHED. The betrothal, which is in the East a ceremony of the deepest importance, usually took place a year before the marriage. _Joseph, of the house of David_ We are nowhere told that Mary was of the house of David, for both the genealogies of the Gospels are genealogies of... [ Continue Reading ]
_highly favoured_ marg. "graciously accepted" or "much graced." Literally, HAVING BEEN GRACED (by God). Ephesians 1:6, "accepted." Not as in the Vulgate "Gratiâ _plena_" but "gratiâ _cumulata_." "Not a mother of grace, but a daughter." Bengel. _blessed art thou among women_ These words are of dubio... [ Continue Reading ]
_And when she saw him, she was troubled_ Rather, BUT SHE WAS GREATLY TROUBLED.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Jesus_ The Greek form of the Hebrew name Jehoshua (Numbers 13:8), Joshua, Jeshua (Zechariah 3:1), which means -The salvation of Jehovah" (Philo, 1:597). It was one of the commonest Jewish names. Jesus is used for Joshua (to the great confusion of English readers) in Acts 7:45; Hebrews 4:8. St Matth... [ Continue Reading ]
_shall be called_ i. e. shall be. The best comment on this verse is furnished by the passages of Scripture in which we find the same prophecy (Micah 5:4; 2 Samuel 7:12; Isaiah 9:6-7; Isaiah 11:1; Isaiah 11:10; Isaiah 16:5; Jeremiah 23:5; Jeremiah 30:9;... [ Continue Reading ]
_reign … for ever_ Daniel 2:44, "a kingdom which shall never be destroyed … it shall stand for ever." (Comp. Daniel 7:13-14; Daniel 7:27; Micah 4:7.) "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever" (Psalms 45:6; Hebrews 1:8). "He shall reign for ever and ever," Revelation 11:15. In 1 Corinthians 1 [ Continue Reading ]
_How shall this be_?] Mary does not doubt the fact as Zacharias had done; she only enquires as to _the mode_of accomplishment. The village maiden amid her humble daily duties shews a more ready faith in a far more startling message than the aged priest in the Holy Place amid the Incense.... [ Continue Reading ]
_shall overshadow thee_ as with the Shechinah and Cloud of Glory (see on Luke 2:9; Luke 9:34). See the treatise on the Shechinah in Meuschen, pp. 701 739. On the high theological mystery see Pearson _On the Creed_, Art. iii. See on Luke 2:9. _that holy thing_ "Holy, harmless, undefiled, separate fr... [ Continue Reading ]
_thy cousin_ Rather, "_thy kinswoman_." What the actual relationship was we do not know. It is a mistake to infer from this, as Ewald does, that Mary too was of the tribe of Levi, for except in the case of heiresses there was free intermarriage between the tribes (Exodus 6:23; Judges 17:7; Philo _De... [ Continue Reading ]
_nothing_ Rather, NO WORD. For the thought see Genesis 18:14; Matthew 19:26. "There is nothing too hard for thee," Jeremiah 32:17.... [ Continue Reading ]
_be it unto me according to thy word_ The thoughts of the Virgin Mary seem to have found their most natural utterance in the phrases of Scripture. 1 Samuel 3:18, "If it be the Lord let Him do what seemeth Him good." For Mary too was aware that her high destiny must be mingled with anguish. _And the... [ Continue Reading ]
The Visit of Mary to Elizabeth 39. _in those days_ Rather, THESE. Probably within a month of the Annunciation. _went into the hill country_ Palestine west of the Jordan lies in _four_parallel lines of very different formation. 1. The coast. 2. The _Shephçlah_, or maritime plain, broken only by the... [ Continue Reading ]
_leaped_ The same word is applied to unborn babes in Genesis 25:22, LXX.... [ Continue Reading ]
_with a loud voice_ For - _phonç_," voice, B has the stronger word - _kraugç_," cry. _Blessed art thou among women_ i. e. preeminently blessed, as "fairest among women," Song of Solomon 1:8. Similar expressions are used of Ruth (Ruth 3:10), and, on a far lower level of meaning, of Jael (Judges 5:24... [ Continue Reading ]
_the mother of my Lord_ The words shew a remarkable degree of divine illumination in the mind of Elizabeth. See John 20:28; John 13:13. Yet she does not address Mary as _Domina_, but as -mater Domini" (Bengel); and such expressions as _Theotokos_and -Mother of God" are unknown to Scripture.... [ Continue Reading ]
_for joy_ Rather, IN EXULTATION.... [ Continue Reading ]
_blessed is she that believed_ Perhaps Elizabeth had in mind the affliction which had followed her husband's doubt. Comp. John 20:29. _for there shall be a performance_ The words may also mean -she _that_believed that there shall be," &c.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Magnificat 46. _And Mary said_ This chapter is remarkable for preserving a record of two inspired hymns the _Magnificat_and the _Benedictus_which have been used for more than a thousand years in the public services of Christendom. The Magnificat first appears in the office of Lauds in the rule o... [ Continue Reading ]
_hath rejoiced_ Rather, EXULTS. In the original it is the _general_, or _gnomic_aorist. _in God my Saviour_ Isaiah 45:21, "a just God and a Saviour." Comp. Isaiah 12:2; Isaiah 25:9. The expression is also found in the later Epistles of St Paul, "God our Saviour," 1 Timothy 1:1; Titus 3:4.... [ Continue Reading ]
_he hath regarded_ Rather, HE LOOKED UPON. _the low estate_ So Hagar (Genesis 16:11) and Hannah (1 Samuel 1:11; cf. Psalms 138:6; Psalms 102:17). The word may be rendered HUMILIATION, Acts 8:33; Isaiah 1:9-10. The reader will notice in this hymn more than one anticipation of the Beatitudes. _all ge... [ Continue Reading ]
_he that is mighty El Shaddai_, Job 8:3; also _Gibbôr_, Psalms 24:8. See Pearson _On the Creed_, Art. i. _great things Gedolôth_, Psalms 71:21; Psalms 126:3. _holy is his name_ Psalms 111:9; "Thou only art holy," Revelation 15:4. _Shem_, -name," is often a reverent periphrasis in Hebrew for God Him... [ Continue Reading ]
_his mercy_ Psalms 89:2-3 and passim. _From generation to generation_ Rather, UNTO GENERATIONS AND GENERATIONS; _ledôr vadôr_, Genesis 17:9, &c. See Deuteronomy 7:9.... [ Continue Reading ]
_with his arm_ "Thou hast a mighty arm," Psalms 89:13. The nearest parallel to the remainder of the verse is Job 5:12.... [ Continue Reading ]
_He hath put down the mighty from their seats_ Rather, HE PUTS DOWN POTENTATES FROM THRONES. The aorists throughout are _gnomic_, i. e. they do not express single but _normal_acts. The thought is common throughout the Bible, e. g. Luke 18:14; Dan 4:30; 1 Samuel 2:6-10; Psalms 113:6-8; 1 Corinthians... [ Continue Reading ]
_filled the hungry with good things_ "My servants shall eat but ye shall be hungry, &c.," Isaiah 65:13; Isaiah 25:6; Psalms 34:10, and the Beatitude Matthew 5:6. (See Luke 18:14, the Publican and the Pharisee.)... [ Continue Reading ]
_hath holpen_ Literally, "took by the hand." Isaiah 41:8-9, LXX. The proper punctuation of the following words is TO REMEMBER HIS MERCY ( EVEN AS HE SPAKE TO (πρὸς) OUR FATHERS) TO (τῷ) ABRAHAM AND HIS SEED FOR EVER. Micah 7:20, "Thou wilt perform … the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto o... [ Continue Reading ]
_about three months_ As this would complete the nine months of Elizabeth's -full time," it might seem probable that the Virgin Mary at least remained until the birth of the Baptist. _returned_ The word used _hupestrepsen_is a favourite word of St Luke, and almost (Galatians 1:17; Hebrews 7:1) pecul... [ Continue Reading ]
The Birth of John the Baptist 58. _her cousins_ Rather, HER KINSFOLK, which was the original meaning of the word _cousins_(_con-sobrini_). See Luke 1:36.... [ Continue Reading ]
_on the eighth day_ According to the ordinance of Genesis 17:12; Leviticus 12:3; Philippians 3:5. The name was then given, because at the institution of circumcision the names of Abram and Sarai had been changed, Genesis 17:15. The rite was invested with extreme solemnity, and in later times a chair... [ Continue Reading ]
_none of thy kindred_ We find a John among hierarchs in Acts 4:6; Acts 5:17. Those priests however who passed the High Priesthood from one to another a clique of Herodian Sadducees the Boethusîm, Kamhiths, Benî Hanan, &c. were partly of Babylonian and Egyptian origin, and had been introduced by Hero... [ Continue Reading ]
_made signs_ The discussion whether Zacharias was deaf as well as mute is a very unimportant one, but the narrative certainly seems to imply that he was.... [ Continue Reading ]
_table_ Rather, TABLET. A small wooden tablet (_abacus_) either smeared with wax, or with sand sprinkled over it, on which words were written with an iron _stylus_. Thus -John," -the grace of Jehovah," is the first word _written_under the Gospel; the aeon of the written Law had ended with _Cherem_,... [ Continue Reading ]
_he spake_ Rather, HE BEGAN TO SPEAK (imperfect), the previous verb -was opened" being an aorist.... [ Continue Reading ]
_fear_ The minds of men at this period were full of dread and agitated expectancy, which had spread even to the heathen. Virg. _Ecl._iv.; _Orac. Sibyl._iii.; Suet. _Vesp._4; Tac. _Hist._v. 13; Jos. _Bell. Jud._vi. 5, § 4.... [ Continue Reading ]
_What manner of child_ Rather, WHAT THEN WILL THIS CHILD BE? _And_ Rather, FOR INDEED, with א, B, C, D, L, which read καὶ γάρ. _the hand of the Lord was with him_ The turn of expression is Hebraistic, as throughout the chapter. Comp. Luke 13:11; Acts 11:21. "Let thy hand be upon the man of thy rig... [ Continue Reading ]
_Blessed_ This hymn of praise is hence called the Benedictus. It has been in use in Christian worship perhaps as far back as the days of St Benedict in the sixth century, and it was early recognised that it is the last Prophecy of the Old Dispensation, and the first of the New, and furnishes a kind... [ Continue Reading ]
_a horn of salvation_ A natural and frequent metaphor. Ezekiel 29:21, "In that day will I cause the horn of the house of Israel to bud forth." Lamentations 2:3, "He hath cut off … all the horn of Israel." Psalms 132:17; 1 Samuel 2:10, "He shall exalt the horn of His anointed." A Rabbinic writer says... [ Continue Reading ]
_by the mouth of his holy prophets_ namely "in the Law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms," see on Luke 24:44. _since the world began_ Rather, OF OLD (ἀπ' αἰῶνος). "At sundry times and in divers manners" (Hebrews 1:1) but even "in old time" (2 Peter 1:21) and dating back even to the pr... [ Continue Reading ]
_That we should be saved_ Rather, SALVATION referring back to "a horn of salvation," to which it is in apposition. The previous verse is a parenthesis. _from our enemies_ No doubt in the first instance the "enemies" from which the prophets had promised deliverance were literal enemies (Deuteronomy... [ Continue Reading ]
_To perform the mercy promised to our fathers_ It is simply TO DO MERCY TOWARDS OUR FATHERS. The "promised" is a needless addition of the E.V.... [ Continue Reading ]
_mercy … remember … oath_ These three words have been thought by some to be an allusion to the three names John (-Jehovah's _mercy_"); Zacharias (- _remembered_by Jehovah"), and Elizabeth (see p. 45). Such _paronomasiae_, or plays on words, are exceedingly common in the Bible. For similar possible i... [ Continue Reading ]
_The oath which he sware_ Genesis 12:3; Genesis 17:4; Genesis 22:16-17; comp. Hebrews 7:13-14; Hebrews 7:17.... [ Continue Reading ]
_In holiness_ towards God, _and righteousness_ towards men. We have the same words contrasted in 1 Thessalonians 2:10, "how holily and righteously;" Ephesians 4:24, "in righteousness and holiness of the truth." Ὅσιος, -holy," is the Hebrew _Châsîd_, whence the -Chasidîm" (Pharisees); and δίκαιος th... [ Continue Reading ]
_child_ Rather, LITTLE CHILD (_paidion_) "quantillus nunc es," Bengel. _To prepare his ways_ An allusion to the prophecies of the Forerunner in Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1.... [ Continue Reading ]
_knowledge of salvation_ A clear proof that these prophecies had not the local and limited sense of national prosperity which some have supposed. _By the remission_ Rather, IN REMISSION. Comp. Acts 5:31, "to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Through the tender mercy of our God_ Literally, "_Because of the heart of mercy_." Σπλάγχνα (literally -bowels") is favourite word with St Paul to express emotion (2 Corinthians 7:15; Philippians 1:8; Philippians 2:1; Philemon 1:7; Philemon 1:12; Philemon 1:20, &c.). The expression is common to Jew... [ Continue Reading ]
_in the shadow of death_ The Hebrew _Tsalmaveth_. Job 10:21; Job 38:17; Psalms 23:4; Psalms 107:10; Isaiah 9:2; Matthew 4:16, &c.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit_ The description resembles that of the childhood of Samuel (1 Samuel 2:26) and of our Lord (Luke 2:40-52). Nothing however is said of -favour with men." In the case of the Baptist, as of others, -the boy was father to the man," and he probably shewed from... [ Continue Reading ]