Matthew 1:18-25

“Notice what you notice.” Verse 25, “…until…”, as in “Joseph … kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a son.” I well remember from my Catholic childhood the phrase, “Blessed Mary ever virgin”. The obvious follow-up to that phrase is that Joseph never consummated his marriage to Mary, Jesus had no “true” brothers or sisters, and any mention of His brothers or sisters simply reflected His cousins. I presume that that Catholic teaching still holds; I went online to four Catholic websites (including one Vatican website) that hold to that doctrine.

But the word “until” is a challenge for them. One argument went something like this: If I say “The Lord bless you until we meet again”, does that mean the blessing stops when we do meet again? That is, the inclusion of “until” does not imply any certainty of any suggested or implied action. I am not a theologian or a rhetorician, so I don’t want to pursue this issue any further. But it’s what I noticed. All I know is that I am on the other side from my Catholic brothers, sisters, and friends!

Slava Bohu!

Matthew 1:1-17

“Notice what you notice.”

Genealogies have always been a challenge to most Bible readers. That’s certainly the case for me, especially when I had prior knowledge that Matthew’s genealogy and Luke’s genealogy were quite different from each other. And after extolling Luke’s virtue a few days ago as a research historian, I found myself casting a wary eye on Matthew’s listing. But I read through his genealogy three times before moving over to Luke’s (Luke 3:23, ff.). And yes, they are very different.

But what I noticed in comparing the two was a major split after David. Matthew traces Jesus’ ancestry through David’s son, Solomon while Luke goes from David to Nathan. The listings are very different after that. The only common name that I saw was Zerubbabel (Mt. 1:12-13; Luke 3:27), the leader of the Jewish return from captivity. I have no idea what to make of it all. Maybe we’ll learn more when we come to Luke’s genealogy two weeks (14 days!) from now. (Sorry, that’s a play on Matthew’s fixation on FOURTEEN!)

One other item that I noticed in Matthew’s listing was my familiarity with all of the names up to Zerubbabel, but a complete blank on every name after that until we get to Joseph, Mary’s husband. That may be my oversight, but it may also be reality. Any Bible scholars out there?

Sorry, not much for today…

Blessings!!

Luke 1:67-80

“Notice what you notice.”

I have probably noticed before, but never really took it to heart how much Zacharias’ prayer/prophecy is more about Jesus than John. Check it out – the only reference specifically to John is contained in one sentence in verses 76 and 77: “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins…”. Earlier, Gabriel’s appearance to Zacharias was almost totally about John. The only reference to Jesus is in verse 17: “…and he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

I can now see something of an RTB meeting with Elizabeth, Zacharias, and Mary chatting together.

Mary: “Well, I have told you what the angel Gabriel told me about my Son who is to be born, whom we are to name Jesus. Zacharias, what exactly did Gabriel say to you about this Son of the Most High?”

Zacharias: “Really, only that he would go before Him and prepare the people for the coming of the Lord, not much more.”

Elizabeth: “Even though I only knew what Zacharias had told me, I felt there was something special going on when you first visited, Mary, because the baby leapt in my womb immediately when I saw you. And in my prayer I referred to the ‘mother of my Lord.’ That must have come from the Holy Spirit.”

They must have continued for hours, days, and weeks trying to figure this thing out! And although they got it right, they didn’t know the half of it…!!

Notice also that John is referred to as the “prophet of the Most High” (v. 76) whereas Gabriel in his visit to Mary earlier referred to Jesus as the “Son of the Most High” (v. 32). Intriguing…!

Blessings!!

Luke 1:57-66

“Notice what you notice.” We’ve heard these birth narratives and read them so many times that they have become so very familiar to us. Sometimes it’s hard to find something new. But I am confident that in reading and re-reading these passages again and again that something will stand out for you. That was the case today for me and what stood out for me was one word, “they”.

The word “they” occurs six times in today’s first seven verses, with “they” referring back in the text to Elizabeth’s neighbors and relatives (v. 58). And what did “they” do? (1) They rejoiced with her. (2) They came to circumcise the child. (3) They would have named him Zacharias. (4) They argued with Elizabeth on her naming him John. (5) They appealed to Zacharias. And finally in verse 63, they all wondered (were astonished) at Zacharias agreeing with Elizabeth. “They” sound like good-hearted, well-intentioned … meddlers!! They come with joy ready to do “the right thing” and are befuddled when Elizabeth and Zacharias have something else in mind. And when their “advice” is rejected, fear (v. 65) and …??gossip??!!! “And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea.”

Is this little caricature relevant to our 21^st century? Have we found ourselves under pressure to do this or that? “Friendly” advice can be difficult enough when we have a good understanding of where we might be headed, but full-bore, pressured, overwhelming advice can be especially difficult if we are uncertain and are still seeking the Lord as to His direction for us. Do this! Do that!

But also, let’s put the shoe on the other foot. Are we the meddlers? Are we the ones liberally sharing our “certain” advice? Maybe especially to our children…? (Personally, I am fully guilty there!) Or do we gossip with our fellow Christians about others’ circumstances or as to what others should do? Guilty, again!!

Let’s not meddle. Let’s pray.

Luke 1:39-56

“Notice what you notice.” Again today it was something really simple that I have read over and over and just never seen it. And again, it was a combination of two verses, 39 and 43. Verse 39 tells us that Mary went “…to the hill country, to a city of Judah” to visit Elizabeth. Simple enough – easily glossed over. However, in verse 43 Elizabeth is struck that Mary has come to visit: “And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (ESV) Why would Elizabeth be so surprised/honored by a visit from Mary? In part I think her reaction was due to the fact that the hill country of Judah was quite far from Mary’s home, Nazareth. The “hill country of Judah” is a mountainous string just west of the Dead Sea, essentially Jerusalem and points south (Bethlehem, Hebron, etc.). This region was some 80 miles from Nazareth “as the crow flies” and more like 120 miles by the most-traveled roads! That’s a long journey for a young woman in her first trimester! No wonder Elizabeth was surprised!

And to take Elizabeth’s reaction one step further, how did Elizabeth know that her relative, Mary was to become “the mother of my Lord”? Especially when news does not travel fast over an 80-120 mile distance…! We had an angel appearing to Zacharias with news of John’s birth, but there is no mention of Jesus’ origin, only of John’s future ministry preparing the way for Jesus. So how has news of Mary’s role as “the mother of our Lord” come to Elizabeth? How does she know? My only answer comes from verse 37, “For with God nothing will be impossible.” Nuff said…

Blessings!!

Luke 1:26-38

“Notice what you notice.” Today it was something really simple, really mundane that I had never seen before. It was a combination of two phrases, “…the angel Gabriel was sent…”, but more importantly, “And having come in…”. Simple, but previously lost on me. I’ve always imagined Gabriel appearing to Mary, hovering above her like the picture in our Chronological Bible shows. But here we have Gabriel essentially coming through the front door, not unlike the Lord vising Abraham (Genesis 18:1-2) or the angel who visited Gideon (Judges 6:11). These were real “people” in real earth time. The same for Gabriel’s visit to Mary…!

Previously we saw that “…an angel of the Lord appeared…” to Zacharias (v. 11). Then later we will see an angel appearing to Joseph in a dream (Matthew 1:20). But Mary has a personal, front-door encounter. She MUST be special, fully worthy of the honor so many Christians bestow on her.

Have angels come through our front doors, unannounced, or suddenly appeared in our lives, unknown and unexpected? I can detail for you a number of spiritual encounters that have happened to me that are inexplicable in their occurrence and their timing. Angels…? Or the Holy Spirit, as I discussed yesterday…? Certainly not beyond the bounds of my faith!!

Slava Bohu, indeed!!

Luke 1:5-25

“Notice what you notice.” Today it was “He will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb.” When I think of the Holy Spirit’s activity in this world I often have Pentecost in mind or a few phrases in the Gospels of Jesus’ being “filled with the Spirit”. For me, the Holy Spirit is the least understood of the three members of the Trinity (not that I claim such extensive knowledge of the Father or the Son!). No doubt He was present at creation and I presume He was at work in the Old Testament. And at one time I underlined every occurrence of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts. But if you had asked me where we read of the Holy Spirit in the Gospels, I would probably not have thought of Luke chapter 1, except for verse 35 with Gabriel speaking to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you.” Surprisingly though, we also see Elizabeth filled with the Holy Spirit in verse 41 and Zacharias in verse 61. I expect I’ll be watching for Holy Spirit activity as we continue to work our way through the Gospels.

One other bit of research that I followed up on – that Zacharias was of the “division of Abijah” (v. 5), that he was away from home doing his biannual service in the temple (v. 8, 23), and that he was chosen “by lot” (v. 9) to enter the temple and burn incense. Way back in King David’s time priests from the tribe of Aaron were divided into 24 divisions (see I Chronicles 24) and assigned a week’s service in the temple twice a year. Because they were chosen by lot within each division to burn the incense it is likely that some of these priests never served in some of those special duties. But Zacharias was chosen by lot this one time. It makes me pause, pondering how all these incidents/activities/happenings were working out together in God’s great plan of salvation for us… We’re blessed!

Luke 1:1-4

“Notice what you notice.” I’m taking those words to heart this year, especially when we have really short readings like today. So my first “notice” today was “many”, as in “…many have written…” or “…many have compiled…”. I have always heard that Luke had copies of Mark and Matthew in front of him as he wrote – and possibly other letters or synopses from other sources. Luke confirms that himself in his own writing. But he goes on to say (or imply) that he had also interviewed primary sources and searched historical records, probably even speaking at length with Jesus’ mother, Mary. His intent was to write an “orderly account” – to get it right, if you will.

Luke has always been my favorite Gospel. He has always seemed so much more down-to-earth, not excessively wordy. He also had more to say about money, riches, and poverty than all the other Gospels – that’s the economist in me coming out. But maybe my attraction to Luke is his “orderly account” focus; maybe that’s what appeals to the academic, the teacher in me, to provide an orderly account of the world around us.

So, can each of you provide an orderly account of the Good News that’s been handed down to you?

John 1:1-18

Today we begin another journey, different than those roads we have taken in the past. Yesterday John suggested that our old RTB bus analogy falls short, that actually we are all on mopeds, traveling on our own, each guided differently than the others. We found John’s analogy both humorous and intriguing. But to his moped analogy I would suggest that we all have the same roadmap and that we start at the same beginning point each day and end at the same end point each day. But “all roads lead to Rome” and there are many ways in which we can get from A to B. So we move as the Spirit leads us.

So what did I notice today? (“Notice what you notice.”) What struck me was “…we beheld His glory…”. I thought of John the Apostle as writing those words literally. John was present at the Transfiguration and the Ascension, both occasions when Jesus’ glory was made most manifest to His followers than at any other time. There were also miracles that were beyond human explanation, but I have in mind only those two “glory sightings”, and the second, if you will, “completes” the first. Jesus’ glory as revealed at the Transfiguration was “completed” with His Ascension. So just ponder those two events with me in your own mind. Real “glory sightings”… GLORY!!

Blessings on your new year!!