Chapter BY Chapter

You could use the pointed end of the stylus to write and the flat end to erase.  These would be good for writing love notes, or even grocery lists.

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So, Zechariah writes “His name is John.”  Immediately, Zechariah opened his mouth and began to speak.  Let’s see what he says.

Verses 67-80,

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And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,

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“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,

    for he has visited and redeemed his people

and has raised up a horn of salvation for us

    in the house of his servant David,

as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,

that we should be saved from our enemies

    and from the hand of all who hate us;

to show the mercy promised to our fathers

    and to remember his holy covenant,

the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us

    that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,

might serve him without fear,

    in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

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,

because of the tender mercy of our God,

    whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high

to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

    to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

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And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

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What does Zechariah prophesy about his son, John?

1. He will be called the prophet of the Most High.

2. He will go before the Lord to prepare his ways.

3. He will give knowledge of salvation to his people.

 

What does Zechariah prophesy about his people, the people of Israel?

1. God has/will visit and redeem his people.

2. God has raised up a horn of salvation.

3. God will show mercy and remember his covenant to Abraham.

4. God will forgive their sins.

5. God will guide them into the way of peace.

 

This is a very important passage.  Some people say that Luke fails to point out that the death of Jesus on the cross was a propitiation for sins.  But you have that right here.  Instead of just proclaiming the idea of propitiation himself, Luke show that is what others believed.  The prophet John will give the knowledge of salvation.  That knowledge will involve redemption and forgiveness of sins.

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So, the clan of Mary’s relative Elizabeth had a big shindig since John got circumcised.  They will have another opportunity to have a big shindig in about 6 months – when Jesus is born.  Maybe some other people will be invited as well.  Let’s see.

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Chapter 2, verses 1-7,

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In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.  This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.  And all went to be registered, each to his own town.  And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.  And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.  And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

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No shindig yet, but let’s see what we can find out from this paragraph.  A decree goes out from Caesar Augustus that everyone should be registered.  Why does Caesar want everyone registered?  The answer was simple – a head tax, a tax per person.  Head taxes can be very brutal.  If there is a drought and people have no income, you still have to pay the head tax.  This was the first registration like this that was done and Quirinius was governor (the actual Greek word here is “hAgemoneuontos,” which is the act of governing.  He may have not had the exact title at the time.  There are two possible times this could have been 6-9 A.D. or, 6-4 B.C..  Only the 6-4 B.C. timeframe fits what else we know about the timeline of Jesus (https://biblehub.com/library/ramsay/was_christ_born_in_bethlehem/chapter_11_quirinius_the_governor.htm).  King Herod died in 4 B.C., so it is most likely that Jesus was born around 6-5 B.C..  So, Joseph and Mary go from Nazareth to Bethlehem to register because he was a descendent of David.  Mary gives birth to Jesus there and wraps him in swaddling cloths.  What are swaddling cloths?  The word for “wrapped in swaddling cloths” is all in just one word.  It is the Greek word “esparganOsen.”  This reminds me of the word for sealing Jesus’ tomb, sphragAganaos, or whatever it was.  It simply means that the baby was tightly wrapped.  I can imagine someone saying, “esparganOsen that child.”  You don’t want to say it again, so you use a word you have to emphasize just to say it. Babies were wrapped tightly for safety.  Furthermore, the baby was lying in a manger.  The Greek word for manger here is “phatnA.”  It means a manger such as a feeding trough.  It is very similar to the word for stall, which is probably what they were staying in.  Why were they there?  There was no place for them at the inn.  The word for inn is “kataluma,” which means “guest room.”  So, they could have been at an inn, or simply at a relative’s house that was already full of guests.  Let’s read on and see if they get to the shindig.

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Verses 8-21,

 

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.  And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

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“Glory to God in the highest,

    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

 

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”  And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.  And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.  And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.  But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.  And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

 

And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

 

What an invitation these shepherds got!  Wouldn’t that be amazing!  The glory of the Lord shined around them!  Imagine that suddenly, you are under this intense spotlights.  And this is in 5 B.C.!  They didn’t even have spotlights back then!  The angel announces that a Savior is born.  What else does the angel say who the Savior is?  1) He is the Messiah!  2) He is the Lord!  They give the shepherds the info – they will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.

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Then suddenly something happens.  What happens?  There was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God!  What does Luke mean by saying a multitude of heavenly hosts?  If there were more angels, why didn’t Luke just say a multitude of angels?  The Greek word here for multitude here is “plethos” where we get our word “plethora” which means an uncountable number.  The Greek words for heavenly hosts is “stratias ouraniou.”  “Stratias” means an army or an organized crowd.  “Ouraniou” is the word for “heavens.”  There is just one other place in the New Testament where “stratias ouraniou” is used.  That is in Acts 7:42-43, where it says, “But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:

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“‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices,

    during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

You took up the tent of Moloch

    and the star of your god Rephan,

    the images that you made to worship;

and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’”

 

Here “the host of heaven” or “stratias ouraniou” refers to false gods that were worshipped.  Moloch and Rephan are given as examples of the “hosts of heaven” that the Jews wrongly worshipped.  Each of these gods had some sort of story behind them.  There have been items that connect these deities with Babylon and even as coming from India prior to Babylon.  For some reason the tent of Moloch has some significance.  For some reason Rephan is associated with a six pointed star that was in a specific part of a constellation of stars.  Both are associated with providing fertility.  Moloch demanded child sacrifice in return for what he provided.

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So, the question becomes this: How can Luke in Luke 2:13 refer to the “hosts of heaven” as praising God, but the same Luke in Acts 7:42 refers to the “hosts of heaven” as false gods that the Jews went astray over and wrongly worshipped?  In Acts 7:42-43 the hosts of heaven are referred to as the false god Moloch, which we know from Leviticus 18:21 that children were being offered up as sacrifices to Molech, which is another spelling for Moloch.  The “star of your god Rephan” most likely refers to Saturn.  It was not unusual for other ancient religion to ascribe deity to a star or a set of stars.  In ancient Egypt, the stars of Orion were regarded as a god, called Sah (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(constellation)#Ancient_Near_East).  Here is a picture of Orion below.