Luke 1:5 - 25
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,[a] of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 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.”
18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
Questions:
ReplyDelete1. v6 - Why does it say "walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord"? I thought no one did that?
2. v17 - What does it mean that John shall go in the spirit and power of Elijah?
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/luke/1-6.htm says:
ReplyDeleteThat they were not righteous by a perfect legal righteousness, being not guilty of any sin, is certain, for so there is none righteous, no, not one; but so righteous, as that God accepted them, and looked upon them as righteous; as Abraham believed, and it was imputed to him for righteousness, though he sinned in the denial of his wife, &c.; or as it is said of David, 1 Kings 15:5, He did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him, all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah.
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/luke/1-6.htm continued:
ReplyDeleterighteous] One of the oldest terms of high praise among the Jews (Genesis 6:9; Genesis 7:1; Genesis 18:23-28. See Psalm 37:37; Ezekiel 18:5-19, &c.). It is used also of Joseph, Matthew 1:19; and is defined in the following words in the almost technical sense of strict legal observance which it had acquired since the days of the Maccabees. The true Jashar (upright man) was the ideal Jew. Thus Rashi calls the Book of Genesis ‘the book of the upright, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’
http://www.ukapologetics.net/17/blamelessornot.htm says:
ReplyDeleteFirstly, don't we all use words or expressions in a slightly differing way at times? Why should the Bible writers be any different?
Zechariah and Elizabeth were a fine, righteous couple, careful to meticulously obey the laws of Moses which, of course, they lived under; they were good people, that is all this is saying,
Jesus makes it plain that simply obeying the requirements of the law in all detail was insufficient.
So Zechariah and Elizabeth were indeed a fine, righteous couple; they indeed manifested this through obedience to the law, a full obedience down to the detail which was required of them as Israelites living under the old covenant, and with Zechariah himself being a priest, of course. However, obeying the laws of Moses could never make a person righteous in the way that God is looking for; greater knowledge brings greater responsibility, God expects more of people who live with the knowledge of Jesus Christ and what He would later teach!
https://www.wearefaith.org/blog/was-john-the-baptist-elijah/ says:
ReplyDeleteWAS JOHN THE BAPTIST ELIJAH?
n John 1:19-28, John the Baptist is asked if he is Elijah, and he denies that he is Elijah (or the Prophet or the Christ). Yet in Matthew 11:14, Jesus says that John the Baptist is the “Elijah who is to come,” referring to the promise of Elijah to come before the day of the Lord in Malachi 4:5-6.
How do we reconcile these two statements?
The issue does not seem to be John’s understanding of his own role but rather people’s understanding of Elijah. Jewish people at the time of Jesus were looking for a promised figure, an Anointed one (the term “Christ” or “Messiah” simply refers to one who is anointed), who would make the world right once again. If you look at Jewish writings at the time of Jesus, you will see that they had different names for this figure – sometimes they saw him as a king like David, sometimes a priest, sometimes a prophet. Jesus is all three of these, but we know this by looking back on what Jesus did; when people were still looking forward to Jesus’ arrival, some wondered if there might actually be multiple figures – a king, a priest, a prophet, etc.
Therefore, when the priests and Levites ask John if he is the Christ in John 1 and he says no, they wonder if maybe he is the anointed figured at the end but not the kingly one – which is one reason they ask if he is the Prophet, as Deuteronomy 18:15-18 talked about a prophet to come. Similarly, when they asked if he was Elijah, they were not asking him if he was Elijah who comes before the Messiah as we understand now, but rather if he was really Elijah, who some saw coming back (literally even since Elijah never died!) at the end of time as the figure who makes things right. Their view of Elijah thus was not that Elijah was a preparer/supporting actor but rather that he was the star of the show. Therefore, when John says he is not Elijah, he is not contradicting the other gospels but rather rejecting a false title given to him – he was not the star!
While we are talking about Elijah, however, something I find remarkable is that people often saw Elijah coming before God Himself and the day in which He would come to restore his kingdom. Therefore, when Jesus says John is Elijah, Jesus is saying that he is God has come and has come to established his kingdom! This potentially confusing point should be another way in which we see the greatness of Jesus, that He is greater than us and that he should increase (and us decrease) because He is God in the Flesh!
https://www.gotquestions.org/John-Baptist-Elijah.html says:
ReplyDeleteWas John the Baptist really Elijah reincarnated?
According to Malachi 4:5, this messenger is “the prophet Elijah,” whom Jesus identifies as John the Baptist. Does this mean that John the Baptist was Elijah reincarnated? Not at all.
First, Jesus’ original hearers (and Matthew’s original readers) would never have assumed Jesus’ words to refer to reincarnation. Besides, Elijah did not die; he was taken to heaven in a whirlwind as he rode in a chariot of fire (2 Kings 2:11). Arguing for a reincarnation (or a resurrection) of Elijah misses that point. If anything, the prophecy of the Elijah “to come” would have been viewed as Elijah’s physical return to earth from heaven.
Second, the Bible is quite clear that John the Baptist is called “Elijah” because he came in the “spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17), not because he was Elijah in a literal sense. John the Baptist is the New Testament forerunner who points the way to the arrival of the Lord, just as Elijah filled that role in the Old Testament (and might again in the future—see Revelation 11).
Third, Elijah himself appears with Moses at Jesus’ transfiguration after John the Baptist’s death. This would not have happened if Elijah had changed his identity into that of John (Matthew 17:11–12).
Fourth, Mark 6:14–16 and 8:28 show that both the people and Herod distinguished between John the Baptist and Elijah.
Finally, proof that this John the Baptist was not Elijah reincarnated comes from John himself. In the first chapter of John the Apostle’s gospel, John the Baptist identifies himself as the messenger of Isaiah 40:3, not as the Elijah of Malachi 3:1. John the Baptist even goes so far as to specifically deny that he was Elijah (John 1:19–23).
John did for Jesus what Elijah was to have done for the coming of the Lord, but he was not Elijah reincarnated. Jesus identified John the Baptist as Elijah, while John the Baptist rejected that identification. How do we reconcile these two teachings? There is a key phrase in Jesus’ identification of John the Baptist that must not be overlooked. He says, “If you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah.” In other words, John the Baptist’s identification as Elijah was not predicated upon his being the actual Elijah, but upon people’s response to his role. To those who were willing to believe in Jesus, John the Baptist functioned as Elijah, for they believed in Jesus as Lord. To the religious leaders who rejected Jesus, John the Baptist did not perform this function.
Summary of questions and findings:
ReplyDelete1. v6 - Why does it say "walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord"? I thought no one did that?
(Credit to Mark): Paul mentioned how he also walked blamelessly in the commandments: Philippians 3:4b - 7 - "If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law,[c] blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ."
So, what it means is that Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in the eyes of their fellow Israelites under the Law. How they became reckoned through Jesus (for everyone must be), that's a topic for another day.
2. v17 - What does it mean that John shall go in the spirit and power of Elijah?
I thought the most likely answer to the conundrum is that John was not actually Elijah, but that he was the "Elijah" who was to come to prepare the way for Jesus. That "Elijah" came in the same spirit and power of the original Elijah. That's why John said he was not Elijah, because the particular Elijah that the pharisees were referring to (in their minds) was incorrect.
I think it is worthy of noting what John was to do and why. "And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 ... 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.” There is heart and life preparation needed if we are to be ready to see the Lord. I find this help/hopeful in how to pray for those who don't currently believe or are spiritually immature. There is also a key emphasis on fatherhood and obedience - which current understanding confirms as so powerful in shaping a young person's attitude toward God.
ReplyDelete