Who Is Jesus? part 3: The Voice of the Father

 

Please read Luke 1:57 through 3:51 before proceeding. Or you can read each section as you go. 

The father speaks: His name is John 1:57-80

Last time we saw that Luke begins his Gospel with an emphasis on women. Zechariah is silenced until John is born. Joseph is kept out of the loop (apparently for at least three months) when Mary agrees to become the mother of Jesus. In fact, we never read any words of Joseph through the whole book! In an era when women were thought of as property, even more than they are today, this was very subversive. Luke is challenging the cultural norms from the get go. 

But now, Zechariah gets his turn to speak. Notably, his voice is loosed only after he agrees with his wife about the name of their son. Before giving us Zechariah's prophecy about John, Luke notes that people where wondering about John from the time he was born, and as they observed his life. There was something different about him: "the Lord's hand was with him." The angel had told Zechariah that the Holy Spirit would fill him even before he was born (vs. 15). 

Even though John would be a prophet with a special relationship with God, he still was not the Messiah. He was just the forerunner. Never confuse those who are intended to point to Jesus with Jesus Himself. This is a recurrent theme in Luke. 

Some highlights of Zechariah's prophecy:

• God has come to His people to redeemed them. Please note that Jesus has not yet been born, yet the redemption being prophesied is viewed as already accomplished. This is the language of Jubilee, the time when all debts are forgiven. 
• God is coming to fulfill His promises to their ancestors. They will be saved from their enemies so that they can serve God without fear. We will see later that this salvation with be accomplished in ways Israel is not expecting.
• John will prepare the way to show the people God's mercy and forgiveness. He will point them to the light that will shine in the darkness. That Light will give peace even for those living in the "shadow of death." 

The angels and the shepherds speak: Glory to God! 2:1-20

There has been some controversy over this passage of scripture. Was there really a census during the time Luke is describing? Were the conditions really as bad for Mary and Joseph as has been described so often in books and sermons? What exactly was this Inn (KJV)? It is beyond the scope of this blog to address these questions. But I do want to address a couple ideas that Luke seems to emphasize, for what it's worth.

First of all, it is certain that Jesus was born during a time when Rome ruled, and the government was constantly doing things to harass and inconvenience the people they had conquered. Secondly, Luke is very specific about where Jesus was laid. A manger is not a comfortable cradle made for babies. It is, quite simply, a feeding trough. Luke repeats the word manger three times so we don't miss it (vss. 7,12,16).

How could Mary and Joseph treat Jesus so? The answer is not that they were cruel caretakers of the Christ. Even in apparently difficult circumstances, they were prepared enough to bring the standard gear for newborns--what the King James version calls "swaddling clothes." Unfortunately, some of the newer translations, such as the NIV, translate this simply as wrapping Him in "cloths," making it appear to modern readers that He was just carelessly clothed in rags. This is not the case at all. In recent years, the benefits of swaddling have increasingly been noted. The practice was a bit different in the ancient world, but the idea is that swaddling was an evidence that a baby was cared for. 

Luke gives us a glimpse of what life was like when Jesus was born. Israel was under the thumb of Rome, harassed and inconvenienced. Into this environment, the angels announce the birth of a Savior, with an unusual sign: a manger and swaddling bands. Jesus came and identified with their circumstances, but God was also making sure He was being taken care of. The promised peace is come. It will not look like they think it will, but God is showing them He is going to make good on His promises. Glory to God, indeed.

Jesus in the Temple: the Father's business 2:21-51

In Galatians 4:4, Paul reminds us that Jesus was "born under the law." His Jewish "parents" made sure to follow the requirements of the law. He was circumcised, and they presented the required sacrifice. They followed the light they had. One thing I have learned over the years is that when you follow the light you have, God is always ready to step in and give you more light. In the temple passages, Mary and Joseph are surprised. They are learning something knew. God's revelation is not stagnant. Our lives should be filled with learning moments where God is consistently showing us new things. God wants to astonish us (verse 48 NIV). Frankly, if we are not completely taken aback once in awhile, we probably aren't growing. That doesn't mean we don't have to beware of swallowing every new thing that comes out. But we do need to be open to what God is trying to teach us. None of us has arrived. (Philippians 3:12)

Here comes some more prophecy. Simeon reminds them that the salvation coming wasn't just about Israel. Salvation was "prepared in the sight of all nations (verse 31)." This salvation was to be Israel's glory, but its purpose was also to reveal light to the Gentiles. Simeon tells Mary that there is not only peace and salvation coming, but a sword which will pierce her heart. Anna also prophesies, but we only know she was spreading the message to everyone she could--those who were looking for the redemption of Israel. What exactly she had to say Luke does not tell us. The news is getting out that something unusual was afoot. 

Jesus' "parents" didn't stop with just following the the rituals required right after He was born. They continued by going to the Passover Festival every year. Even before Jesus comes of age, He is found in the Temple dialoging with the teachers of the law. His answers amaze everybody even then. 

In the midst of all this, Luke contrasts Mary's question with Jesus response: 

• Why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you. 
• Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?

They didn't understand. They were so used to the relationship of Joseph as the "parent" of Jesus that perhaps they had lost sight of the fact that Jesus needed to learn not only carpentry, but also His true Father's business. There is a gap in the life of Jesus at this point. We are not told much beyond the fact that Jesus maintained an obedient relationship to His parents. We don't know when Joseph died, or how exactly Jesus got His training in the scriptures and Jewish traditions. He will certainly show His knowledge of these in the rest of Luke. 

Even though Jesus was the Son of God, He still "grew in wisdom." He grew in favor with God and man. According to orthodox theology, He is completely God and completely Man. But He grew as a Person.    

The Father speaks: This is My Son 3:1-38

Jesus continued to grow. But His public ministry did not begin until he was "about thirty years old (verse 23)." As prophesied, John the Baptist was not the Messiah, but pointed people to Jesus. Luke uses a passage from Isaiah to show what his vocation was all about. When royalty would travel back then, a large crew of workers would go before them to work on the road so the entourage would have a pleasant experience. The hilly parts and low areas of the roads would be worked on until the roads were as level as possible. The crooked parts of the road would be straightened. John was the messenger going before the caravan telling the people to get the road ready because royalty is coming.   

John's baptism was a sign that people had a transformation of the heart (repentance), and were willing to change their ways. The message was that real transformation will produce evidence (good fruit). It wasn't enough that they were physical children of Abraham. There also needed to have a spiritual transformation. Here are the changes that they needed to make:

• People in general needed to be generous and help the needy.
• Tax collectors should be honest and not take more from the people then the government required.
• Soldiers were to be satisfied with their pay. In other words, they were not to take advantage of their positions to plunder people's livelihoods.  

(John's message was not received by all. Herod became angry about John speaking out about his evils, and had John put in jail. We'll see more about this in chapter 7.)

Jesus Himself was baptized by John, which was the occasion where He was introduced as the Messiah. Everyone thought that Jesus, even though there was something unusual about Him, was just Joseph's son (chapter 4). Joseph is used at the beginning of the genealogy (verses 23-38), even though this probably trances Mary's ancestry, not Joseph's.  But God the Father wanted to use the occasion of His baptism to proclaim that He is the Father of Jesus. The Holy Spirit in the form of a dove is the first sign; His voice is the other: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”  (verse 22 NIV) Quite the endorsement. And He will do it again in chapter 9.