Isaiah 1-39: 1st Isaiah, Later the World.

Presented to Swift Current Corps on January 10, 2010
By Captain Michael Ramsay

Today we return to more of a ‘teach’ than the traditional ‘preach’ that we usually see here.[1] We have been looking at Luke throughout the Christmas season and that is inherently more ‘preachy’ than some texts in the Bible in its very open egalitarian or even anti-wealth and privilege presentation of the gospel.[2] It is very much good news to the poor (cf. for example Luke 10:20-34, 18:22-25).[3] It is the social justice gospel.[4]

Today we are leaving Luke’s teaching about the proleptic fulfillment of the social justice prophecies (cf. Luke 1: 46-56, Luke 18:18-19). Today we are looking at one of the prophets who longed for the advent of the era that Luke heralded and Christ proclaimed (cf. esp. Isaiah 7-9, 61). Today we are looking at ‘First Isaiah’. But first we are going to have a sword drill. Who can find…make sure that everyone has a Bible…who can find…when you find the passage just read it out…who can find:

Genesis 12:1-3: 1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

2 Samuel 7:12: When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.

Romans 3:3-4: What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? 4Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.”

Genesis 6:3: Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

Isaiah, the book:

One last sword drill: ready? One, two, three, who can find First Isaiah first? Psst, there isn’t a book called First Isaiah. I will get someone to find and read Isaiah 1:1, though: “The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.” This is what we are speaking about over the next few weeks.

Susan taught us last week a bit about Isaiah and the historical context leading up to the time of the prophet last week. We are going to build on that somewhat today.

To review: there is only one book actually called ‘Isaiah’ in our Bible but it was probably written over a period of up to four hundred years and scripture (Genesis 6:3), reason, tradition, and experience all lead us to the conclusion that Isaiah did not live to be 400+ years old. When was the last time you met a 400 year-old? The book of Isaiah speaks about three successive superpowers: Assyria, Babylon, Persia. The first 39 chapters of this book were written when Assyria was the superpower.

As a bit of a reference point, in recent history the last three significant world superpowers have spanned a comparable time period to date: the USA, 1945-Present; England, 1588-1945; Spain, 1493-1588.[5] I don’t know about you but I haven’t met anyone who has been alive since Spain ruled the world. No one since the time of Noah, the scriptures state, has lived to be 400 years old (Genesis 6:3). This is the same scenario as with the book of Isaiah: for the prophet Isaiah (who was dead before the existence of the Babylonian or Persian empires) to write the whole book it would be as if someone from the Spanish Empire wrote a book as if they lived in present day America. This is one reason among many, that many (but not all) scholars in this day and age believe that Isaiah was written by up to three groups of people.[6]

Isaiah has three distinct divisions that academics often refer to as 1st Isaiah (Chapters 1-39), 2nd or Deutero-Isaiah (Chapters 40-55), and Third or Trito-Isaiah (Chapters 56-66). Second and Third Isaiah were probably composed by his disciples after the prophet Isaiah’s death (cf. Isaiah 8:16).[7] You will note as we read through Isaiah together as a congregation that there is a significant stylistic difference between Chapters 1-39 and Chapter 40 onwards. Another key difference between the sections, as Susan told us last week, relates to the conquest of Judah and the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. The first temple was probably destroyed (586 BCE) about one hundred years after the prophet Isaiah was dead (690 BCE) and it is still recorded in the book of Isaiah as both an impending event (Isaiah 1-39) and an accomplished fact (Isaiah 39-66). It was certainly destroyed after 1st Isaiah was written and probably long before 2nd and 3rd Isaiah’s composition.[8] However, even though this book likely has two or even three sets of authors, it is important to read it through as whole.[9] After all it is contained in our Bible as one entity. That being said, today we are looking primarily at the life and times of the author of so called ‘First Isaiah’. We are looking at Isaiah the prophet, Isaiah the son of Amoz (Isaiah 1:1).

Isaiah, the person:

Does anyone know how, according to tradition, the prophet Isaiah died? Have you ever seen some of those live magic/illusionist shows where everything appears one way but it is really something entirely different? There is this one act where inevitably the magician/illusionist climbs into a box and is cut in half and then his assistant puts the box back together and the magician/illusionist gets out and walks around perfectly in tact. Isaiah’s adversaries – King Manasseh of Judah et el. (cf. 2 Kings 21; 2 Chronicles 33) – pulled off the first part of this trick perfectly, sawing him in half, but all the king’s horses and all the king’s men didn’t bother to try to put Isaiah back together again. Isaiah, according to tradition, was captured and then killed by being sawed in half with a wooden saw by the King of Judah (cf. Hebrews 11:37). This probably happened around 690 BCE (cf. Ascension of Isaiah, Martyrdom of Isaiah 5:1-15, Lives of the Prophets 1.1).[10]

Isaiah was most likely somewhat educated as he had knowledge of history, economics and religion. He was probably born in Jerusalem -which was the capital city of the country of Judah, which was just south of Israel - around 760 BCE.

Isaiah entered into ministry after experiencing a vision in the Temple in the year 740 BCE, the year King Uzziah died (Isaiah 6).[11] Isaiah 1:1 states that he ministered during the reigns of the Kings Uzziah (AKA Azariah, 2 Kings), Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah. Manasseh, the king who traditionally had him cut in half, was King Hezekiah’s son. He was the longest reigning monarch of Judah and it seems, the most evil (cf. 2 Kings 21; 2 Chronicles 33).

Isaiah’s dad:

Isaiah 1:1 tells us that Isaiah’s father’s name was Amoz but nothing else is really known about his father. (Amoz, by the way is not the same person as the prophet Amos whose prophecy is also included in the Bible.) Jewish tradition declares Isaiah to be of royal stock. Tradition claims that Isaiah’s father was a brother of Amaziah, the king of Judah; this would make Isaiah part of the royal family.[12] While this claim cannot be substantiated, Isaiah may have been an aristocrat or he may have had the support of a powerful aristocrat for he seemed to have ready access to kings of Judah (Isaiah 7:3; 37:21-22, etc.).[13]

Isaiah’s wife and children:

Isaiah had a wife who was a prophetess, as recorded in Isaiah 8:3. This is neat: this is similar to our Salvation Army where the husband and wife are in ministry together. Isaiah was a prophet and his wife was a prophetess.[14] They had children whose lives were wrapped up in the ministry as well, not unlike the Salvation Army, and just like many Salvationists have a habit of naming their children something to do with the Army: William, Catherine, Evangeline, Bramwell, etc.; Isaiah and his wife’s children were named according to their ministry. The prophets’ children’s names were prophetic (reminiscent of Hosea; see Hosea 2:1-11): they were named Maher-shalal-hash-baz, meaning ‘the spoil speeds, the prey hastens’ or ‘Quick loot, fast plunder’, and Shear-jasub, meaning ‘a remnant shall return’ (Isaiah 7:3; 8:3, 18; cf. Isaiah 1:9, 7:1-4, 8:1-4, 10:20-23). These names refer to the Assyrian invasion and the survival of a faithful remnant.[15] These were his children’s names. This is Isaiah, the person. He and his family were prophets and he ministered from about 740 BCE until his death around 690 BCE.

What does the world look like at this time?

The maps are of Assyria and The Mediterranean today.

In sports and entertainment: the first Olympics are held in 776 BCE in Greece.[16] The game of chess is arguably invented by Palamedes in 680 BCE.[17] In urban development, the city of Rome, which would eventually conquer Israel (63 BCE) along with the rest of the Mediterranean world, is founded in 753 BCE. In science, Babylon and China are starting to understand and track planetary movements around this time and Assyria itself invents the water-wing (so to speak) or the first PFDs (life jackets): Assyrians begin to use animal bladders filled with air as swimming aids.[18]

Palestine -including Israel, Judah, Philistia, Syria (Aram), and many other states- was often seen as an Egyptian protectorate throughout its early history – or at least well within (what we would call during the Cold War) Egypt’s sphere of influence. Palestine, in the time of the prophet Isaiah, is now being threatened by Assyria: the new and upcoming superpower.

What about Assyria, the Superpower of Isaiah’s day?

Assyria was named for its first capital city, Ashur, which was founded ca. 2000 BCE on the banks of the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia. (You remember that Abraham of Genesis came from the city of Ur, which is also in Mesopotamia, at about the same time as Ashur was founded; Genesis 11:28-30). The Assyrians later moved their capital to Nineveh and started to grow into an empire in the mid-ninth century BCE (see Genesis 2:14, 10:11-12).[19]

Now, we recognize the city of Nineveh, the capital city of Assyria, don’t we? We’ve heard of it before. Can anyone think of a famous story in the Bible that revolves around Nineveh and the salvation of the people of Nineveh? (Jonah) Can anyone tell me what book of the Bible we would find the story of Jonah in? (Jonah) Remember that it was to Nineveh that God sent Jonah and he didn’t want to go and preach there because then the people of Nineveh, whom Jonah hated, might actually be saved. Jonah even went so far as to board a boat to run away from this landlocked city – Nineveh is not on the Ocean! - but God sent a whale (a giant fish) to swallow him and then spit him up on shore again so that he could bring the message of salvation to the Ninevites around this same period of time (ca.786-746 BC).[20]

International Relations:

In the context of the prophet and story of 1st Isaiah, there are some other important international events involving Assyria – not the least of which is the Syro-Ephraimitic War (734-732 BCE, Isaiah 7:1-8:21). (Ephraim was one of the tribes of Israel and at this time the names were interchangeable.) This war occurs when Ahaz is King of Judah (2 Kings 15:38 - 2 Kings 16:20). Assyria, from the East, is threatening the countries in Palestine. Israel and Syria (Syria, a.k.a. ‘Aram’, is not Assyria and Nineveh: Syria is north of Israel; Assyria is near present-day Iraq) wants to form a ‘coalition of the willing’ to withstand a possible invasion by Assyria, the superpower.

Judah, with the blessing of the Lord and at the prompting of the prophet Isaiah, refuses to join this ‘coalition of the willing’ (cf. Isaiah 7:5-9). As a result Syria (Aram) and Israel join forces in an attempt to impose a ‘regime change’ on Judah. Judah, following the Lord and Isaiah’s counsel, defeats the coalition forces. It is in this context that we will be introduced to many Messianic prophecies that are fulfilled with the advent of Christ (see Isaiah 7-9). Israel and Syria (Aram) will later fall to Assyria. Judah, after the death of the prophet Isaiah but before the end of the book of Isaiah, will also fall. Judah will fall to Assyria’s successor, Babylon; who will in turn fall to the Medes and Persians.

Judah is spared conquest by Assyria. The Lord spares them as they pay tribute to Assyria. (You know what tribute is, right? Tribute is like in the mob movies where they pay ‘protection money’ to the mob so that the mob won’t beat you up or kill you.) As long as Israel continues to pay Assyria, Assyria has no reason to invade them.[21] The Philistines, who also live in Palestine, at the encouragement of the Egyptians, another regional superpower, also formed part of a ‘coalition of the willing’ to resist Assyrian hegemony (Isaiah 20). Hezekiah’s refusal to join this coalition serves him well for this rebellion is crushed in 711 BCE by the Assyrians.[22]

This is not the end though: the lesser power of Egypt continues to try and gain control over the Palestinian kingdoms and later Babylon – an enemy nearer to the heart of Assyria – tries to entice Judah to resist the Assyrians. Contrary to the advice of Isaiah, this time they give in and begin preparing the country for war and war they get. Sennacherib, King of Assyria (704-681 BCE), invades (2 Kings 18:13-19:37; 20:12-19). Judah does not put up much of a resistance. By 701 BCE Assyria has taken 47 Judean cities and Sennacherib has laid siege to Jerusalem, trapping Hezekiah, “like a bird in a cage”. King Hezekiah then empties the treasury and he even strips the Temple of God of its gold to raise enough funds to pay off King Sennacherib (2 Kings 18; Isaiah 36). Sennacherib then leaves for home where he is assassinated by two of his own sons (2 Kings 19:1-7, 36-37; Isaiah 37:1-7, 37-38). Assyria would return to the area later. They defeat Israel, Syria, Philistia, and even Egypt. When Israel falls that is the last time in history that Israel (786 BCE) is an independent nation (except for briefly under the Hasmoneans, 141-63 BCE). Judah is just a tributary (a puppet government?) of Assyria. This is the world at the time of the prophet Isaiah.

After the death of Isaiah but before the completion of the book of Isaiah, Judah too, in 586 BCE, is conquered. They are conquered by Assyria’s successors, the Babylonians. Judah then rebels against Babylon and so the Babylonians destroy both Jerusalem and the Temple of God that is in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is in ruins; there is no more Temple and there are no more descendants of David sitting on the throne. Judah and Israel as independent nations are finished.[23]

The Messiah and the World.

Let us jump ahead to Isaiah Chapters 7-9, which those of you who have been following our reading plan have read by now. It is in the context of the destruction of Israel, and the impending destruction of Judah, Jerusalem, and the Temple (which some people thought could never be destroyed because that is where they believed that God Himself dwelt); it is in this context that God -through Isaiah- tells us about Jesus, about Immanuel, who is ‘God with us’ (Isaiah 7:14, 8:8; see also Matthew 1:23). God - through Isaiah - tells us that in His impending society, when the Messiah comes, those who oppose God (and do not love their neighbour and stand up for the disenfranchised) will be brought low (Isaiah 9:8-11:16; see also Isaiah 3:14, 15, 10:2, 11:4, 26:6, 32:7, 41:17, 58:7, 61:1).[24] They shall stumble on the Messiah. To them he will be a stumbling block and stone of offence (Isaiah 8:15, 28:16; See Romans 9:33; 1 Peter 2:8; See also Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17) but for the rest of us who do serve Jesus, the Messiah, we will experience His Salvation.

The nations of Israel and Judah are finished by the time the book of Isaiah is finished but in Isaiah’s future he sees not only Israel’s but the whole world’s salvation (See Isaiah 42:12, 49:6, 49:13, 57:18, 60:1-3, 61:2, Zechariah 8:20-23; Luke 2:30-32; Acts: 13:47;cf.also Matthew 4:16; Luke 17:24; John 1:4-9, 3:19-21, 5:35, 8:12, 9:5, 11:9-10, 12:36, 12:46; Acts 26:23; Romans 2:18; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 2 Corinthians 4:4-6; Ephesians 4-5; Colossians 1:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:5; 1 Timothy 6:16…). It is in this context that Isaiah proclaims that very famous prophecy that we quote every Christmas (Isaiah 9:6-7 ESV):
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”

This is the good news and this good news is the same for us today. When we are in our darkest spots; when we have placed our faith in our country, our rituals, our laws, our humanity, or whatever other else we are tempted to erroneously place our faith in and when that all comes crashing down – which it inevitably will; when all else fails and the days seem dark and our struggles seem immense; we, like Isaiah, can look to Immanuel; we, like Isaiah can look to the Jesus. Isaiah looked forward to and foretold Jesus’ birth to the virgin Mary and the proleptic proclamation of his Kingdom to come (Isaiah 7:14; see Matthew 1:23 and Luke 1:27-34).[25] We can now look back with certainty upon that fulfilled prophecy, as Jesus has already come, and we can also eagerly look forward to Jesus’ coming again because our Lord who promised never to leave us nor forsake us (Romans 3:3,4; see also Judges 2:1), our Lord who has given us his comfort, our Lord Jesus Christ is coming back and He’s coming back soon (see Revelation 22:20) and this is good news.

Let us pray.

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[1] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, ‘What’s the Point: an Introduction to Hebrews’, Presented to Swift Current Corps, 05 September 2009 for another such ‘teach’.
[2] Walter L. Leifeld, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Ed. Frank E. Gaebelein. Pradis CD-ROM:Luke/Introduction to Luke/Themes and Theology of Luke/Themes and Theology of Luke: Discipleship and the Christian in the world, Book Version: 4.0.2
[3] God has always had a concern for the vulnerable even as is recorded in the OT: Deut 15:4 says, “However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you,” Cf. also: Exod. 23:6,11, Lev. 19:10,15, 23:22, 27:8, Deut. 15:7, 15:11, 24:12-15, 1 Sam 2:8, Pss. 22:26, 34:6, 35:10, 82:3, Isa. 61:1, Eze. 16:49, 18:12, 22:29, Amos 2:7, 4:1, 5:11-12, 8:4-6, Zec. 7:10.
[4] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, ‘Good News to the Poor: Comparing a Christian Worldview as expressed in Luke’s Gospel to Marx’, Presented to William and Catherine Booth College March 2009. Available on-line: http://sheepspeak.com/Michael_Ramsay_History_TSA.htm#Marx
[5] The Key events I picked to signify the power shifts were the detonation at the first atomic bomb, the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and Papal decree of 1493 by Pope Alexander VI, written up one year later in the Treaty of Tordesillas.
[6] Cf. Gene M. Tucker, ‘The Book of Isaiah 1-39’ in NIB VI: Isaiah – Ezekiel (Abingdon Press: Nashville, Tenn., 2001), 32-35.
[7] Cf. D. R. Jones, ‘The Tradition of the Oracles of Isaiah of Jerusalem’, ZAW 67:226-46 (1955). Cited in Ronald E. Clemens, ‘The Unity in the Book of Isaiah’, Interpretation 36 no 2 April 1982, pp. 117-129.
[8] Cf. Walter Brueggemann, ‘Isaiah 1-39,’ Westminster Bible Companion (Westminster John Knox Press: Louisville, Kentucky, 1998), 3-4.
[9] Ronald E. Clemens, ‘The Unity in the Book of Isaiah’, Interpretation 36 no 2 April 1982, pp. 117-129.
[10] Cf. Raymond C. Ortlund Jr., Introduction to Isaiah in ESV Study Bible. (Crossway Bibles: Wheaton, Illinois: 2007), page 1233. Available on-line: http://www.esvstudybible.org/search?q=Isaiah+1
[11] Edward Dalglish ‘Isaiah’ in Holman Bible Dictionary, Editor, Trent C. Butler, (Holman Bible Publishers: Nashville, Tenn., 1991), 716-717.
[12] Cf. Raymond C. Ortlund Jr., Introduction to Isaiah in ESV Study Bible. (Crossway Bibles: Wheaton, Illinois: 2007), 1233. Available on-line: http://www.esvstudybible.org/search?q=Isaiah+1
[13] Geoffery W. Grogan, The Expositor's Bible Commentary Pradis CD-ROM:Isaiah/Introduction to Isaiah/Background of Isaiah/The life of Isaiah, Book Version: 4.0.2
[14] But Cf. John H. Tullock and Mark MacEntire, The Old Testament Story, (Pearson Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ: 2006) 214 where they argue that Isaiah 8:3 may not be designating his wife as a prophet but rather as the wife of a prophet.
[15] Edward Dalglish ‘Isaiah’ in Holman Bible Dictionary, Editor, Trent C. Butler, (Holman Bible Publishers: Nashville, Tenn., 1991), 717.
[16] Stephen M. Miller, Who`s Who and Where`s Where in the Bible (Barbour Publishing Inc.: Uhrichville, Ohio, 2004), 9.
[17] The Timechart of Biblical History, (Third Millennium Press Ltd.: Chippenham, UK :2003), 8.
[18] Bernard Grun, The Timetables of History: New Third Revised Edition, (Simon & Schuster, Touchtone: New York, USA: 1991), 7-8.
[19] See Daniel C. Browning Jr., ‘Assyria, Religion and History of’ in Holman Bible Dictionary, Editor, Trent C. Butler, (Holman Bible Publishers: Nashville, Tenn., 1991), 120.
[20] Another interesting note until just recently, Nineveh was one of the longest running Christian communities in the world. The Christians have almost all fled to Syria since the American re-conquest of Iraq though.
[21] There was a period though early in King Hezekiah’s reign when he refused to pay his protection money; see 2 Kings 18:1-12
[22] John H. Tullock and Mark MacEntire, The Old Testament Story, (Pearson Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ: 2006) 217.
[23] Ofri Ilanit, Ha’aretz Newspaper. ‘Shattering a National Mythology’ (Wednesday 25 November 2009: Jerusalem, Israel). Available on-line: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/966952.html It is interesting too that many of the current ‘Jewish’ inhabitants of Israel are probably not of Jewish ethnicity at all where as many so-called ‘Palestinians’ on the other hand probably are.
[24] Cf. Walter L. Leifeld, The Expositor's Bible Commentary Pradis CD-ROM:Luke/Notes to Luke/Luke 2 Notes/Luke Note 2:25, Book Version: 4.0.2. Note on 25: The "consolation [paravklhsi", paraklesis] of Israel" refers to the time when, according to Isa 40:12, God would end Israel's time of alienation and suffering through the advent of the Messiah
[25] Cf. Raymond C. Ortlund Jr., Note on Isaiah 7:14 in ESV Study Bible. (Crossway Bibles: Wheaton, Illinois: 2007), page 1254. Available on-line: http://www.esvstudybible.org/search?q=Isaiah+7 : Although some claim that the word translated virgin (Hb. ‘almah) refers generally to a “young woman,” it actually refers specifically to a “maiden”—that is, to a young woman who is unmarried and sexually chaste, and thus has virginity as one of her characteristics (see Gen. 24:16, 43; Ex. 2:8, “girl”). Thus when the Septuagint translators, 200 years before the birth of Christ, rendered ‘almah here with Greek parthenos (a specific term for “virgin”) they rightly perceived the meaning of the Hebrew term; and when Matthew applied this prophecy to the virgin birth of Christ (see Matt. 1:23), it was in accord with this well-established understanding of parthenos (“virgin”) as used in the Septuagint and in other Greek writers.

Luke 2: 21-39: Harold, Harold, and Jesus

Presented to Swift Current Corps on December 27, 2009
By Captain Michael Ramsay

To view the October 26, 2014 version of this sermon, click here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2014/10/luke-221-39-harold-harold-and-jesus.html

Those of you who know Rebecca know that she reads a lot of books. She loves reading. The other day she shared with us a short chapter book that she read in school. I believe it is called ‘Harold and Harold’ but I could find no record of it on-line – it is a Canadian book anyway. I believe that it is set on the east coast. There is a family. The father is a fisherman. They live by an area of the ocean that can be particularly treacherous for boats in a storm near a place called Ledgy Island. One day – as I understand the story having only heard it second hand – a young boy named Harold and his pet parrot, who is also named Harold, get up early. The boy Harold goes to play in the attic and the parrot Harold flies to the dangerous Ledgy Island. As the other members of the family wake up and get going for the day a family member calls out, “where’s Harold?” and the voice from the attic replies, “on Ledgy Island” – the parents start to panic. There is a storm brewing and Ledgy Island is a very dangerous place in the storm so they call out the search parties to look for him on and off the island, they call all their relatives, they call the RCMP, they call the coast guard, they call everyone they can think of to help find Harold the boy whom they fear must be lost in the storm. Now of course, it is Harold the bird who did leave for the island but arrived there without incident: he is fine. The community is searching high and low for Harold the boy however, who never did leave the safety of his own home. At some point during the day, Harold the boy, who is playing in the attic hears all the noise as the searchers are gathering below and decides to come down and check it out – it sounds like a party – he walks into the midst of everyone and no one notices him. He sees people watching TV with his face on the TV, he sees the RCMP running around the living room. He sees people everywhere and He sees neighbours bringing over food and Harold figures this definitely must be a party. He stays in the middle of all this activity as – unbeknownst to him – everyone is looking for him and then Harold notices that everyone looking and sounding sad. Nobody is having fun at this party. Some people are crying; nobody looks happy so he pipes up in the middle of this crowd and says, “Some party this is!” It is only then – when they take a break from what they were doing that they see what is right in front of their eyes and they notice that Harold is actually standing in their midst – He was never really lost.

This is not unlike the world and 1st century Israel with the Advent of Jesus. The Israelites, the priests and the Pharisees were actively looking for their Messiah (Cf. Matthew 11:1-11 and Luke 23); they were actively looking for the Christ who would deliver them from the evils of oppression (Cf. Psalms of Solomon 17-18 and Genesis 49:10; Psalm 22; Isaiah 6:9-10; 7:14; 9:5-7; 40:2-5; 53:1-12; 61:1-3; Micah 5:2; Hosea 11:1; etc.).[1] Israel in Palestine had been militarily occupied by a number of different countries now for much, much, much longer than it was ever an independent united Kingdom. They were constantly looking for the leader who would deliver the people from the consequences of their sins – which is exactly what a number of the prophets said would lead to this occupation (Jeremiah, Isaiah, Amos, etc.; see also Leviticus 26:14-46).

Israel under the Maccabees had earlier successfully rebelled gaining temporary independence from their previous occupiers (140-37 BCE), the Selucid Greeks, because of the desecration of the Temple (The Second or Herodian Temple; cf. Ezra 6:3-4; 1 Esdras 6:24-25; Ant. 11.4.6; 99; Apion 1.22,198-99; cf. also 1 Maccabees 4.36-51 and Antiquities 12.317-18). And after the death and resurrection of Christ, some Israelites would launch a serious revolt against the Roman occupiers who, being the world’s foremost superpower, put it down in the violent ways that superpowers tend to put down revolts, resulting in the ultimate destruction of the new Temple (70 AD).

Even at the time that Jesus was alive, people were actively looking for someone who would be their deliverer, their Messiah. There were failed revolts. They even asked John the Baptist if he was the Messiah (Mathew 11:1-11).[2] Remember? There were four primary religious classifications of Judaism at this time (Five, if you include the political Herodians; see Matthew 22:5-22; Mark 3:6; 8:15; 12:13-17). There were the Pharisees who were evangelistic and believed in the resurrection (see Philippians 3:4-6, re: Paul and John 3, re: Nicodemus);[3] there were the Sadducees who did not (see Luke 20:27-40; Acts 4:1-2, 5:17-18, 23:6-10); there were the Essenes and there were the Zealots or the fourth philosophy (cf. Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 18.23ff. See also Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:8; Luke 6:15; John 18:14; Acts 1:3). This last group advocated a violent overthrow of Rome.[4] Members of their group (the Sicarii) would walk around crowded marketplaces in the occupied territory looking for their mark much like suicide bombers today. They would then pull out a concealed dagger, kill their target and try to escape into the crowds.[5] Israel was occupied. Israel was looking for its deliverer. The deliver arrived in the midst of all this activity of people looking for him – and like Harold’s searchers - many didn’t even realise he was there (cf. Isaiah 1:3).[6] They were too busy focussing on the problems of their day and chasing their own Harold the parrot to notice and herald the King who has arrived in their midst.

In our own world today this happens a lot as well. There is no excuse for not recognizing our saviour, however. Paul says in Romans 1:20-22:
For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools

When Paul was speaking (or writing) these words he was speaking to a people who did not necessarily know as much about God and certainly did not know Christ in the way that our culture does today.[7] Paul says that even they are without excuse. How much more are we without excuse when we do not see Christ in the midst of the chaos going on? There are wars. There are rumours of wars. There are more wars than ever before in our world with all the death and destruction that come with them. If I recall correctly, in the decade of the 1990s after the Berlin Wall fell there were more wars than in the entire 20th century before then. The scriptures tell us that there will be wars and there will be rumours of wars (Matthew 24:6, Mark 13:7). In the scriptures, in the Pentateuch, in Genesis it records how even the Canaanites who brought destruction upon themselves through their wickedness were graciously saved for an extra 400 years (during which time they presumably had the opportunity to repent) before they received the due penalty for their wickedness. God had extended them 400 years of patience and grace before destroying them because they had not reached the full extent of their wickedness (Genesis 15:16).[8]

The English speaking empire which is now controlled firmly by Washington really started to come into its own 400 years ago and we don’t have to look too far to see how we seem to be ignoring Christ in our midst and foolishly turning to pride, wealth, and violence instead as ways to seek our own salvation. How much more patience will God have with us? When will we finally have reached the full extent of our wickedness (Cf. Genesis 15:16)? When will He return from the attic to our living room here and tell us to stop it? Societally, when will we stop chasing parrots of Christ and just notice that he is right here in our attic waiting for just the right time to return to the living rooms of our lives? Individually have you and I, have we stopped and looked and noticed that Jesus is standing in our midst - or are we just bemoaning the state of the world like the searchers in the story of ‘Harold and Harold’ weeping at the tragedies on the TV.

This is what the world was like when Simeon and Anna stopped, looked up and noticed that the Messiah had arrived (Luke 2:25-38). This is interesting because Jesus didn’t exactly sneak into the world. There were angels and shepherds (Luke 2:8-20; Matthew 1:18-25) and stars and Magi (Matthew 2:1-13) but even before the Magi we have this scene in our text today, Mary and Joseph bring their son to be presented at the Temple (Luke 2:22).

Now the temple is in Jerusalem and we remember that Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:1-7; Matthew 2:5,6) and Jerusalem was roughly 8 km west of Bethlehem. It wasn’t that far. Nazareth – where they lived - on the other hand was up to 140 km and up to a week’s walk away.[9] Mary and Joseph stay in the Bethlehem/Jerusalem area for the forty days until they are purified as per Jewish custom; (Leviticus 12:1-5; cf. re circumcision Genesis 17:12)[10]; they then go down to present Jesus to the temple to dedicate Jesus and pay their fees (see Numbers 18:15, 1 Samuel 1:24-28; see also Exodus 13:2,11-16).[11] It is interesting too that there is a discount rate for those who can’t afford the full purification price (Leviticus 12:6-8)[12] – Mary and Joseph pay the discounted rate.[13] They must have just been one couple of many in the outer courtyard of the temple that day with their child when by the power of the Holy Spirit, Simeon and Anna notice that the Messiah is standing in their midst.[14]
Luke 2:25-33:Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel."
The child's father and mother marvelled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

Simeon, who was righteous and devout, was waiting for the Saviour of his people and the Holy Spirit revealed to him that he had arrived (Luke 2:26). God brought Simeon into the outer courts of temple[15] and revealed to him Jesus who was among all the other people young and old who were there that day (Luke 2:27). And the Holy Spirit revealed to Simeon as well that this saviour who is before him would be for the glory of Israel but he would in no way be limited by that (Luke 2:31-32; see Isaiah 42:12, 49:13, 57:18, 60:1-3, 61:2, Zechariah 8:20-23).[16] Indeed he would be a light unto the Gentiles (Luke 2:32; Acts: 13:47; Isaiah 49:6; cf. Matthew 4:16; Luke 17:24; John 1:4-9, 3:19-21, 5:35, 8:12, 9:5, 11:9-10, 12:36, 12:46; Acts 26:23; Romans 2:18; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 2 Corinthians 4:4-6; Ephesians 4-5; Colossians 1:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:5; 1 Timothy 6:16…). Jesus is saviour of the world (Luke 2:30-32). In the midst of the busyness of the Temple, in the courtyard, in all that is going on Simeon listens to the Holy Spirit and notices the bringer of his salvation who is right in front of him.

Anna too, Luke 1:36-38:There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
Anna spent day and night at the Temple worshipping God (Luke 1:37). She sees Simeon with the child and recognizes what the Lord is doing. She sees in her midst the Christ child and immediately she thanks God and she shares the good news of our salvation with everyone she finds there (looking for the redemption of Israel; Luke 1:38).

Today, on this Sunday after Christmas, we are called to be like Simeon and like Anna. The Lord has revealed to us through His Holy Spirit Christ our Lord. All we need to do is look up and see that today in essence Christ is here standing in our midst and then when we see him we must like Anna go forth and proclaim his salvation to all who will hear us. It is my prayer today that we will all look up, like the party around Harold, like Simeon, and like Anna. It is my prayer that today we will all look up and recognize that our Salvation is at hand. Jesus truly is standing in our midst.

Let us pray.
http://www.sheepspeak.com/

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[1] Cf. Ralph P. Martin, ‘Messiah’ in Holman Bible Dictionary, Editor, Trent C. Butler, (Holman Bible Publishers: Nashville, Tenn., 1991), pp. 592-597.
[2] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, ‘Are You The One To Come Or Should We Expect Someone Else? (Matthew 11:1-11)’ presented to Nipawin and Tisdale Corps on December 16, 2007. Available on-line at http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2007/12/are-you-one-to-come-or-should-we-expect.html and 'Luke 23: Who do you say He is?' Presented to the Community Good Friday Service in Nipawin, Saskatchewan. Available on-line at http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/04/luke-23-who-do-you-say-he-is.html
[3] Paul, Timothy and Nicodemus were all Pharisees. For a good argument about Timothy as a Pharisee see Fred B. Craddock, Luke (Interpretation: a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: John Knox Press: Louisville, Ken., 1990), 37.
[4] Cf. The Radical Reformation, ‘Four Types of Judaism at the Time of Jesus’. Available on-line at: http://www.theradicalreformation.com/media/audio/worldview%20class/lecture%2010%20--%20five%20types%20of%20judaism%20at%20the%20time%20of%20Jesus.pdf
[5] Cf. Clayton Harrop, ‘Jewish Parties in the New Testament’ in Holman Bible Dictionary, Editor, Trent C. Butler, (Holman Bible Publishers: Nashville, Tenn., 1991), pp. 791-794.
[6] Cf. R. Alan Culpepper, Luke (NIB 8: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1995), 63.
[7] Cf. James D.G. Dunn, Romans 1-8 (WBC 38A: Word Books: Dallas, Texas, 1988), xiv.
[8] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, ‘When God is Bound: a look at Genesis 15:7-21’ in the Journal of Aggressive Christianity’, Issue 52. (December 2007-January 2008), pp. 5-9.
[9] Cf. Walter L. Leifeld, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Luke/Exposition of Luke/II. Birth and Childhood Narratives (1:5-2:52)/C. Jesus' Early Years (2:21-52)/1. Presentation of Jesus in the temple (2:21-40), Book Version: 4.0.2
[10] Cf. R.C.H. Lenski, Interpretation of St. Luke’s Gospel (Augsburg Publishing house: Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1946), 141.
[11] Cf. R. Alan Culpepper, Luke (NIB 8: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1995), 63: the purification rite did not need to be performed at the temple. Cf. Fred B. Craddock, 38. Luke combines the two separate regulations: the purification of the mother and dedication of the firstborn son. There is no mention here of Mary and Joseph redeeming their son but cf. Nehemiah 10:35-36. This is reminiscent of Samuel (cf. 1 Sam 1:24-28, 2:20-22). Cf. R.C.H. Lenski, pp. 142-143 re: the dedication rite and its roots in the Exodus
[12] Cf. William Hendricksen, Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke (NTC: Baker Academic: Grand Rapids Michigan, 2007), 164 and Hendricksen, Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew (NTC: Baker Academic: Grand Rapids Michigan, 2007),301 Footnote 290.
[13] Walter L. Leifeld, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Luke/Exposition of Luke/II. Birth and Childhood Narratives (1:5-2:52)/C. Jesus' Early Years (2:21-52)/1. Presentation of Jesus in the temple (2:21-40), Book Version: 4.0.2: Luke, conflating the performance of these OT obligations into this single narrative, shows how Jesus was reared in conformity with them. His parents obeyed the Lord (1:31) in naming him. The offering of birds instead of a lamb shows that he was born into a poor family. Perhaps this helped him identify with the poor of the land (cf. 6:20).
[14] Cf. R.C.H. Lenski, 147.
[15] Cf. Fred B. Craddock, 39, where he argues that this scene must have taken place in the outer courts because women were not allowed in the inner courts.
[16] Cf. Walter L. Leifeld, The Expositor's Bible Commentary Pradis CD-ROM:Luke/Notes to Luke/Luke 2 Notes/Luke Note 2:25, Book Version: 4.0.2. Note on 25: The "consolation [paravklhsi", paraklesis] of Israel" refers to the time when, according to Isa 40:12, God would end Israel's time of alienation and suffering through the advent of the Messiah

Luke 1:46-56: Christmas is Coming

Presented to Swift Current Corps, 20 December 2009, 21 Dec. 2014; 22 Dec. 2024
By Captain Michael Ramsay

To read a revised 2014 version click here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2014/12/luke-146-56-christmas-is-coming-2014.html

To read a revised 2024 BC version click here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2024/12/luke-139-56-rejoice-smoke-will-clear.html

Advent, as we have said before, is a time of waiting. We are waiting for Christmas to come. Advent is when we remember the first coming of Christ and we are also awaiting the second coming of Jesus, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). One of the key elements of our wait (or of any wait for that matter) is faith (see Matthew 17:20 and Hebrews 11:6). Whenever we wait for something we have to have faith that it is worth the wait. I don’t know about you but more than once I have not gone through a drive through, not made a deposit at the bank, or not picked up that one item at the store because I didn’t want to wait in a long line; I did not have faith that the item I was getting was worth the wait in the line-up. With that in mind, as we wait for Christmas, I thought we could start off by looking at some definitions of Faith:

There is the classic definition from Hebrews of course. Hebrews 11: 1: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

Martin Luther says: “Faith is God's work in us, that changes us and gives new birth from God (John 1:13). It kills the Old Adam and makes us completely different people. It changes our hearts, our spirits, our thoughts and all our powers. It brings the Holy Spirit with it. Yes, it is a living, creative, active and powerful thing, this faith. Faith cannot help doing good works constantly.”[1]

The ultimate example of faith that I found in my research was this: Faith is a belief in the seemingly impossible. Faith is a belief in what the natural man only sees to be impossible. Faith is a belief that you will come home and find that your children have cleaned their rooms or done the dishes all on their own.

Actually, they recently conducted a global fictitious survey on faith and found out that some of the people with the most faith in the whole world actually live in Canada. They are a group of people mostly found in the Toronto area – though they do live elsewhere in Canada (I have actually known one or two of these people with unfathomable faith). They are known as the Toronto Maple Leafs fans. Holding onto that thought-defying belief that they will win the cup again before Christ returns. They may have a long wait but Christmas is coming; it is Advent season now and waiting is what Advent is all about.

The Toronto definition of faith actually has something to do with the Biblical definition though: “The Greek word, which is translated as faith, is pistis (noun) and believe, is translated from pistevo (verb). The word believe (Greek verb "pistevo"), according to Strong's Greek Dictionary, means: to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), i.e. credit; by implication, to entrust, (especially one's spiritual well-being to Christ.) believe, commit, (to trust), put in trust with.”[2] It is to adhere to, to trust in, to rely on.

Prominent theologians James Dunn and Tom Wright, the Bishop of Durham, drive home the point in many articles and books that faith isn’t just a vague idea of or belief in something. Faith is an action word. Faith and faithfulness are forever intertwined.[3] One cannot say they love God and not show it by loving their neighbour (Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 10:27, 18:18-29). If you have faith in Him, you will be faithful and even when we are unfaithful, Christ’s faithfulness makes our faith(fullness) possible (Romans 3:3,4, see also Genesis Romans 1:16-17, Romans 2:1-16, Hebrews 11). It is the faithfulness of Christ that led to humanity’s salvation. Faith is an action and the action of faith during Advent is waiting. Christmas is coming.

In our story today something very interesting is happening (Luke 1:46-56). A couple of weeks ago we read about how Zechariah found out that his wife Elisabeth (who was barren up to that point in time) is now – in her old age! – going to have a baby (Luke 1:5-25, 68-79; see also Genesis 11:30, 17:15ff and 1 Samuel 1).[4] And now Mary, a much younger relative of Elisabeth’s, has also found out that she is going to have a baby (Luke 1:26-38). It was amazing that Elisabeth is going to have a baby because Elisabeth is barren and well into her old age (Luke 1:35) but it is even more amazing that Mary is going to have a baby not because Mary is old and barren because she isn’t. She is quite young. She is actually a teenager but young Mary – who is now pregnant – young Mary has never been with a man in that way (see Luke 1:34).

Now, of course, we remember that the angel Gabriel came to visit both sets of soon to be expectant parents to tell them that they were going to each be starting a family soon and it is interesting as well that Gabriel visits Mary specifically before she is ‘overshadowed’ by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35). Mary believes the angel; she consents to this. She is honoured to be considered righteous (Luke 1:38). Then the angle even gives Mary a sign that all he has told her will actually happen. Gabriel tells Mary about Elisabeth. He tells Mary that Elisabeth too will be having a child. Mary in her excitement rushes to meet her much older relative and share her good news with Elisabeth (Luke 1:39-40). Elisabeth greets her (Luke 1:41-45) and our text that we are looking at today is Mary’s reply to Elisabeth’s greeting when she does arrive.

Actually before we start getting into the heart of this passage, does anyone remember a couple of weeks ago when we looked at Zechariah’s prophecy (Luke 1:68-79)? It is called the ‘Benedictus’. Does anyone remember why it is called the Benedictus? (Because that is the first word of this passage in Latin.)[5] Does anyone know what the passage we are looking at today is called? (Magnificat) Does anyone know why it is called the Magnificat? (Because that is the first word of this passage in Latin.)

Now let’s look at the passage – it is interesting. Mary has just been greeted at the door by her older relative and this is Mary’s greeting to Elisabeth:

46And Mary said:
"My soul glorifies the Lord
47and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
48for He has been mindful
of the humble state of His servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
Holy is His name.

She speaks about how good the Lord has been to her. She talks about how greatly she has been blessed by the Lord who is her Saviour. She speaks about how He has been mindful of someone such as her. This is neat. This is important that Mary is here praising God.

Mary, the mother-to-be of Jesus, is a teenager in the occupied territory in Palestine at the time of this story. Mary wasn’t married when she found out she was going to be with child. Mary’s partner in today’s vernacular, her husband-to-be, had never been with her in that way: they have never consummated their relationship.[6] Mary had never been with anyone in that way.[7] Can you imagine what people in that day and age would think of Mary who was pregnant without being married? If you were her husband-to-be or if you were her parents what would you think if your teenage daughter came home and told you she was about to have a baby? In those days she could have received the death penalty for that.[8] Mary also wasn’t a wealthy woman and the children’s play that we watched last week also highlighted a very significant detail in the Christmas story – nine months from now, right when Mary is to have this baby, she and Joseph are supposed to load up a pack animal and walk all the way from Nazareth in Galilee down to Bethlehem in Judea to enroll in a census for the purpose of paying their taxes and they are to walk and/or ride on their pack animal all of this distance when Mary is very, very pregnant (Luke 2:1-7). I don’t know how many women here would like to hike from here down to Regina either by foot or on the back of a donkey when they are nine months pregnant and about to give birth?

Mary was a humble peasant girl who wasn’t yet married but was already with child in a time when she could be stoned to death for being found in this condition prior to marriage and she was anticipating a very long journey by foot or on the back of a donkey right around the time she is supposed to give birth, Luke 1:46-49, “And Mary said: ‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for He has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— Holy is His name.’” Mary in this state finds herself blessed. Many friends and acquaintances of mine around town – there are quite a few of us - who have real troubles around this time of year as Christmas is coming; how blessed do we feel? The lead up to Christmas is often a very stressful time. Do we, when our life seems challenging, almost overwhelming, do we –like Mary- consider ourselves blessed?

I know that there are people in this city and this congregation who are going through some really difficult times. I have heard stories recently in our city of addiction struggles, of custody battles, of illness, and life and death battles. I have heard of direct demonic attack. There is a family that has just been broken apart that I know in town who because of restraining orders can’t even see each other when they transfer their children from one home to another – they have a tragically but aptly called ‘broken family’ and Christmas is coming. Both parents will not be spending Christmas with their children - one will have to miss out but Christmas is still coming. One of the ladies who works at our Thrift Store the other week lost her home in a fire. As far as I know she, her husband, and their two very young children lost all of their belongings in the fire. They lost everything and Christmas is coming. This is Advent and Advent is a time of waiting for Christmas. This Christmas will be a very different one than the one they were waiting for just a few weeks ago but Christmas is still coming. I wonder how blessed they feel. How about us? The lead up to Christmas is often a very stressful time. Do we, when our life seems challenging, almost overwhelming, do we –like Mary - consider ourselves blessed?

Mary continues her greeting to Elisabeth praising God in her circumstances this way. Luke 1: 50-55, of God she says:

50His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers."

Mary in the midst of all that she is in the midst of, Mary speaks about God’s mercy to all who fear Him (Luke 1:50); she remembers that He performs mighty deeds with His arm (Luke 1:51). She praises God for remembering to be faithful to his covenant to Abraham that all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him (Luke 1:55, see Genesis 12:3). She praises God for remembering His covenant with Abraham and his descendants. She praises God who faithfully fulfills his covenant to Abraham and Israel even though they – even though we – were faithless over and over again (Romans 3:3,4). Mary’s life is not easy. And Christmas is coming. Her son will be born after a long walk away from home and laid in a manger, an animal’s feeding trough. Her son will grow up and eventually suffer a State execution at the hands of her country’s occupiers and at the urging or her own religious leaders – Christmas is coming.

There is another interesting part of Mary’s song of praise. There is another part of the Magnificat that I think merits attention here and that refers to either just before, just after, or at the very moment when Jesus comes back. We have spoken briefly about Christmas and waiting for the birth of the Messiah, the incarnation of Christ but we are also waiting for Jesus to come back. Mary says that at that time – when he returns the rulers of this age will be brought down (Luke 1:52). There will be no more corrupt politicians. There will be no more ‘in and out’ election fraud scandals; there will be no more bribery scandals or tampering with tapes like with the Grewal and Cadman affairs. There will be no more handing people over to be tortured. There will be no corporate or media or popularity contest control over our nation. We will not have Prime Ministers answering to accusations over things like airbus or sponsorship scandals or Presidents in our world in trouble over imaginary weapons of mass destruction or who pick up peace prizes en route to escalating wars against some of the poorest people on earth. The rulers of our age – it says in verse 52 – the rulers of our age will be brought down from their thrones. Corrupt Presidents and dishonest Prime Ministers will be replaced by the King of Kings and the Prince of Peace whose government will never stop ruling and being peaceful (Isaiah 9:6-7).

We will no longer be subservient to brutal economic systems and corporate leadership in which one man get rich as over 25 000 children die every day and where today nearly 1 billion people have not even been taught how to read a book when the Lord has provided more than enough recourses for the whole world to be fed and clothed and otherwise taken care of many, many, many times over.[9] These systems and oppression will end. The rulers of this world will be brought low. We will no longer see a situation where people become millionaires for appearing on a screen or playing baseball while others cannot afford to clothe themselves in our world. In our world today there is pornography, which horribly is North America’s most lucrative pastime. In the United States, pornography revenue is more than all money made from professional football, baseball and basketball combined. The money made by US pornography exceeds the combined revenues of all their major TV networks (6.2 billion) Child pornography alone generates $3 billion annually.[10] (A small percentage of this will feed and clothe the world.) The rulers of our world who oversee all of this will be brought down.

This will come to an end. The rulers of this age will be brought low and so will the rich who profit from all this, it says. Whether we are wealthy from sports, pornography, or banking, or business, or…it says these rich will be sent away empty (Luke 1:53).

The greatest in this world shall become the least and the least shall become the greatest. Jesus is the great equalizer. When he comes back those in power and luxury (which may be many of us here) will experience His justice and those who are hungry and humbled here will be lifted up and be fed.

This is the second coming. As we do our bit to be like the sheep in Matthew’s parable of the sheep and the goats by giving the hungry something to eat, giving the thirsty something to drink, inviting in the stranger, clothing the naked, looking after the sick and visiting those in prison (Matthew 25:31-40); we look forward to the day when Christ returns and all of the injustice is finally set right. Jesus’ Advent 2000 years ago – that we celebrate at Christmas – was a foretaste of the justice and mercy that lies ahead when he returns and as we show mercy to our neighbours, we show that we belong to his world that is to come rather than to this present evil age – and this is important because as sure as Christmas is coming, Christ is coming back – so as bad as things may seem as we are riding our metaphorical donkeys down to Regina to pay our proverbial taxes, we must remember that just as Jesus was dwelling in Mary’s womb and they were eagerly waiting for him to come so too now we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and we are waiting for Jesus to come back; the world is certainly in its ninth month and Jesus is coming and Jesus is coming soon and then everything will be okay.

Let us pray.

http://www.sheepspeak.com/
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[1] Martin Luther's Definition of Faith: An excerpt from "An Introduction to St. Paul's Letter to the Romans," Luther's German Bible of 1522 by Martin Luther, 1483-1546 Translated by Rev. Robert E. Smith from DR. MARTIN LUTHER'S VERMISCHTE DEUTSCHE SCHRIFTEN.Johann K. Irmischer, ed. Vol. 63 (Erlangen: Heyder and Zimmer, 1854), pp.124-125. [EA 63:124-125] August 1994
[2] Irene Alexandrou, 2000 © Hellenic Communication Service, L.L.C. All Rights Reserved. (Posting date 14 September 2006). Accessed 13 December 2009. Available on-line at: http://www.helleniccomserve.com/wordstudy.html
[3] Cf. NT Wright and James Dunn. An Evening Conversation on Paul with James D.G. Dunn and N.T. Wright Available online at: http://www.thepaulpage.com/an-evening-conversation-on-paul-with-james-d-g-dunn-and-n-t-wright/
[4]Captain Michael Ramsay, 'Luke 1:68-79: Next Year in Edmonton: The Waiting Game' Presented to Swift Current Corps, 06 December 2009. Available on-line at: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/12/luke-168-79-next-year-in-edmonton.html
[5] Fred B. Craddock, Luke (Interpretation: Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox, 1990) p. 32.
[6] Now betrothal is not quite like engagements of today. In those days a man and his wife were committed to each other at the engagement ceremony. They did have a public ceremony with witnesses and the more. They did each gain a marital status, complete with rights and responsibilities and if Joseph had died after their engagement ceremony but prior to their marriage ceremony, Mary would still be considered a widow with all the responsibilities and rights (or lack thereof) of a widow. The betrothal was very different then anything we have today and even though Mary would be Joseph’s legal wife, after this engagement ceremony rather than going off to live with one’s husband, the wife usually returned to her father’s household for a period of up to a year. Cf. E. Earle Ellis, 71 and R. Alan Culpepper, 51. See also Captain Michael Ramsay, Luke 1:26-37: Do You Believe? Presented to the Nipawin Corps 14 December 2008. Available on-line at http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/12/luke-126-37-do-you-believe.html
[7] Cf. Culpepper, 51. Lenski, 69, Ellis, 75.
[8] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, Matthew 1:18-25: Do you believe? Presented to each Nipawin and Tisdale Corps, 24 December 2007 and CFOT chapel in Winnipeg, December 2006. Available on-line at http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/12/matthew-118-25-do-you-believe.html
[9] Global Issues: Social, Political, Economic and Environmental Issues That Affect Us All. Cited December 15, 2009. Available on-line: http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats
[10] Christian Technology Solutions, Pornography Industry Statistics. Cited 21 November, 2009. Available on line: http://christiantechnologysolutions.com/content/view/18/24/

Luke 1:68-79: Next Year in Edmonton: The Waiting Game

Presented to Swift Current Corps, 06 December 2009
By Captain Michael Ramsay

See also Luke 1:68-79: Next Year in Jerusalem. http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2012/12/luke-168-79-next-year-in-jerusalem.html

Advent. Last week was the first week of Advent. Does anyone know what Advent is? Advent is waiting. Who here likes to wait? Our Saskatchewan Roughriders have to wait until next year to play for the Grey Cup in Edmonton. Hopefully they will be playing in the game and hopefully they will be redeemed – next year in Edmonton.

The Israelites during the exile began using an expression in their Passover meal - ‘next year in Jerusalem’ – to express their hope that next year they will no longer be exiled, next year they will be restored to their homeland. “Next year in Jerusalem” was the rally cry of the exiled Hebrews just like “Next year in Edmonton” is becoming the rallying call for avid Roughriders fans. Advent – in the Christian calendar – is a time of waiting for that victory, that restoration. Advent recognizes 2 times of waiting actually: 1) A remembrance of waiting for the arrival of Christ, who was born around 2000 years ago – advent is a waiting for Christmas. 2) It is also a waiting for Jesus to return in all of his glory.

I was at the Advent lunch this week (they’re Thursdays at St. Stephen’s Anglican Church) and Pastor Greg Kiel, one of the Lutheran pastors, was speaking there. He told this joke about waiting:

A fellow was speaking to God and he said, “Lord, I have two questions for you, I was wondering if you could help me. 1) A Millennium, a thousand years, is a long time to us – how long is that time for an eternal God?”
“It is just a second”
2) “God, there is a lottery draw coming up next Saturday and I was wondering if I could help me win the lottery?”
“Just a second.”

Advent is a time of waiting. We are waiting for the new Jerusalem to descend from the heavens to earth as in Revelation 21 (Revelation 21:1-8; see also Matthew 24:29-31, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, Revelation 1:7). We are awaiting Jesus’ return and the resurrection of the dead. We are waiting – maybe next year the earth and the heavens will be made anew (Revelation 21:1-8). Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we spend next year in the new heaven and the new earth with our new bodies in new Jerusalem with our Lord and Saviour? Next year in the NEW Jerusalem? That would be even more wonderful than spending next year in Edmonton watching the Riders hoist the cup, spending next year with Christ at the final victory…but waiting is never easy. And waiting is what Advent is all about.

Today we are looking at a part of scripture referred to as the Benedictus – it is called this because that is the first word of this section in Latin.[1] This section of Luke is quite interesting. The person who is speaking here is Zechariah. Zechariah is John the Baptist’s dad. He is a Levite and he is a priest and - I don’t know if you remember the story (Luke 1:5-25) but he was struck mute and possibly even deaf as well[2] (cf. Luke 1:62; Luke 1:19, 22; Daniel 10:15-16) after he was told that he would have a son and who his son would be. Zechariah remained a deaf mute from the time he found out his wife was pregnant until 8 days after his son was born (Luke 1:59; see Genesis 17:9-14). This Benedictus, this speech, is comprised of Zechariah’s first words not only after the birth of his son but also his first words after he has been cured of not being able to speak and possibly not even able to hear for over half a year. Can you imagine if you or your husband or wife couldn’t speak for almost nine months? What would be their first words? What would be yours? These were Zechariahs’ (He did this by the power of the Holy Spirit, Luke 1:67), Luke 1:68-79:

68"Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come and has redeemed his people.
69He has raised up a horn[a] of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
70(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
72to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
73the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
75in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace."

This really addresses who, what, why and how of Salvation. But first we should probably look at salvation in general. What does salvation mean? Salvation means to be saved. Verses 71 and 74 refer to Israel being saved from its enemies. This is what was expected of the Christ: that he would save the people from their enemies.

The people of Israel – who were waiting for the Messiah, of course – have had many enemies through the years. We spoke about the first Diaspora; we spoke of the exile earlier when people were longing to return home. They were longing to have their right to return recognized. They were longing for their conquerors to leave the occupied territories. They were longing to spend next year in Jerusalem. Israel fell to invaders in 720 BCE; Judah fell in 586 BCE. The land of Palestine was conquered by the Assyrians, then by the Babylonians, then by the Persians and in many of these conquests the people were deported. Many people returned as the Hebrews fared well under Persian rule but the Persians were eventually defeated by the Greeks and the Greeks (Ptolemys then Seleucids from 198 BCE) saw the Jews revolt (the Hasmoneans / Maccabees). They weren’t too happy with them and the Greeks (under Antiochus IV) even intentionally defiled the Temple in Jerusalem (The Second or Herodian Temple; cf. Ezra 6:3-4; 1 Esdras 6:24-25; Ant. 11.4.6; 99; Apion 1.22,198-99; cf. also 1 Maccabees 4.36-51 and Ant. 12.317-18). In a violent struggle that followed, the people of Palestine eventually obtained independence for a short time (140-37 BCE) – only to be conquered again this time by General Pompeii (63 BCE) and the Romans and as we all well know from the Christmas story, in the time of our scripture reading today, Palestine is under the authority of Caesar Augustus (AKA Octavius, Julius Caesar’s adopted son) as it is still occupied by the Roman forces (Luke 2:1). Palestine by this time – except for a very few years – has been militarily occupied for four to five hundred years – this is much longer than its whole previous existence as a united kingdom – that only lasted about 100 years (1050 or 1010 to 931).[3]

Israel has been waiting for a leader, known as the Messiah or Christ - to save them from their enemies. It is in the midst of the long, successive occupations that Luke speaks about salvation by not a warrior but a Prince of Peace (Luke 1:79; see Isaiah 9:6).[4] Luke is telling us in his story that this Messiah is Jesus and he has not come to merely free Israel from earthly enemies – as indeed this occupation carried on for millennia after Christ – Jesus came to save Israel and indeed the whole world from sin and death (Genesis 12:1-3, 13:2; Romans 1, 2). That is our real enemy. Our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with principalities and powers (Ephesians 6). This is a glimpse of the history of the expectation of salvation.

God, here in our text before us today, through Luke and Zechariah tells us even more. He tells us what this salvation looks like.[5] With the first coming of Christ, Jesus’ incarnation (birth), death, and resurrection it is the beginning of the Kingdom of God; it is the first blossoms of the spring of salvation (Luke 21:25-26). We are in the Kingdom of God when we are in the presence of Christ and when we experience this salvation, this is what it will look like: God tells us through Luke who tells us through Zechariah that when we are saved we will show mercy to our fathers (Are you listening girls? You should be nice to your dad it says…). When the Kingdom is fully realized we will be freed from our enemies (Luke 1:71,74) SO THAT we can show mercy to our spiritual and covenantal fathers (Luke 1:72; cf. Malachi 3:3); we will be freed from our enemies SO THAT we can serve God without fear (Luke 1:74); we will be freed from our enemies SO THAT we can serve Him in holiness and righteousness all the days of our lives (Luke 1:75). This is what salvation is (in part) and this is what we are waiting for in Advent – be it next year in Edmonton for a foretaste of what victory feels like or next year in the new Jerusalem for the fullness of Christ’s victory. This is what we are waiting for in this Advent season.

When Christ arrived the first time, to a Galilean working class family paying tax in Bethlehem, we saw the first glimpse of this salvation that was definitively won between the cross and the empty tomb and when Jesus returns we will see its final culmination and this is what Zechariah is proclaiming with the birth of his son (Luke 1:68-75). This is what Zechariah has to say after not being able to say or hear anything for months. He tells us of the glory of salvation! This is exciting! And all of this that God has planned since before the creation of the world, Zechariah’s son – that little 8 day old baby who is no doubt crying as he is being circumcised today (Luke 1:59) – that little 8 day old baby is given the privilege to tell the world about Jesus. Little Johnny here, Baby John is to be the Herald of the Good News that goes before the Christ. He is to be the voice from the wilderness proclaiming the word of the Lord (Luke 3:4; see Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1, 4:5; Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:3; John 1:23). Zechariah knows – at least in part – that his baby boy will go in the spirit of Elijah pointing everyone to our Messiah, Jesus, who is the Christ (Luke 1:17; see Matthew 11:14, 17:10-12; Mark 9:11-13). Zechariah is obviously both a proud and humbled papa today as he proclaims the Good News of Salvation to all who will hear him.

He tells us all for the record here what he knows of this baby that is being circumcised today: he says he will be a prophet of the Most High (Luke 1:76). John will let people know of the salvation that they will receive through the forgiveness of our sins (Luke 1:77). John will tell the people of God’s tender mercy through which God sent his own Son to shine as a light in the darkness and even the very shadow of death (see Luke 1:78-79; Isaiah 60:13). Zechariah is honoured here to announce that his son John will declare the arrival of the Lord for whom everyone is waiting. This little baby, John, will announce the impending arrival of the King of Kings, who is indeed the Prince of Peace.

This is not unlike our calling. As we await Christmas this Advent season and celebrate the arrival of Jesus as a baby in a manger, we must not forget our great commission to tell the whole world the glorious news that Jesus lived, died and rose again so that we can all have eternal life if we follow him. Just like John, we are to proclaim the good news of the arrival of our Lord and Saviour and we are to let everyone know the rest of the good news of advent and that is that Jesus is coming back and Jesus is coming back soon (Matthew 28:16-20). Let us this Advent season succeed in that task. While we are waiting, may we be as bold as John (and his father Zechariah) to tell anyone who will listen that indeed Jesus is coming back and he is coming soon.

Let us pray.

http://www.sheepspeak.com/

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[1] Fred B. Craddock, Luke (Interpretation: Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox, 1990) p. 32.
[2] Walter L. Leifeld, The Expositor's Bible Commentary. Pradis CD-ROM:Luke/Exposition of Luke/II. Birth and Childhood Narratives (1:5-2:52)/B. Birth Narratives (1:57-2:20)/1. The birth of John the Baptist (1:57-66), Book Version: 4.0.2: The Greek word for unable to hear (kophos) can also mean "deaf". Cf. R. Alan Culpepper, The Gospel of Luke (NIB IX: Nashville, Tenn., Abingdon, 1995), p. 58 and Wayne Grudem and Thomas R. Schreiner, ESV Study Bible notes (Crossway Bibles: Wheaton, Ill., 2008) p. 1946.
[3] ESV Study Bible on-line. Old Testament Timeline: United Monarchy. Available on-line: http://www.esvstudybible.org/articles/chart-ot-timeline
[4] Cf. R. Alan Culpepper, 60.
[5] Eduard Schweizer, The Good News According to Luke, trans. David E, Green (Atlanta: John Knos, 1984) 43: “The ultimate purpose of God’s salvation presupposes deliverance from the enemy but is in fact undisturbed worship.”