The Song of Mary 
Luke 1: 46-56

The song of Mary DIG: For what does Mary glorify God in this song? What contrasts does she make in verses 51-53? How do these reflect her feelings about ADONAI? About herself? Who are the proud, the rulers and the rich, whose overthrow she celebrates? How will Jesus fulfill the themes of this song? What would a diary from this three-month visit reveal?

REFLECT: Of the attributes of ADONAI celebrated in Mary’s song, which do you appreciate the most? Which challenges you the most? Why? How does your life reflect God’s concern for justice, mercy and deliverance? Would the Lord consider you His humble servant or a proud, rich ruler? Why? If you were to write a song today, what words and phrases would you want to use?

After the angel Gabriel had spoken to her, Mary, or the equivalent of the Hebrew Miryam, had gone to visit her relative Elizabeth. Her secret, scarcely believing it herself, was that she would give birth to the Messiah. When Elizabeth heard Miryam’s greeting, suddenly the baby leaped in her womb, and Elisheva was filled with the Holy Spirit. Consequently, Elizabeth cried out: Blessed are you among women. In other words, the Anointed One’s birth was assured. Mary must have stopped in her tracks. She could hardly believe it. She could not speak. Elizabeth knew! Elizabeth knew the secret! Elizabeth said: As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that ADONAI would fulfill His promises to her (Luke 1:41-45)! Elizabeth assured Miryam that the message revealed to her by the angel Gabriel would come true. When Elisheva said that, it erased all the doubt from Mary’s mind.

Overjoyed, a wave of jubilation must have filled Mary’s heart. The young girl no longer wondered about her part in God’s will, Elizabeth confirmed it. As she stood before her relative Elisheva, probably arms outstretched, eyes closed with tears streaming down her face, filled with the Holy Spirit she spontaneously sang her song. These verses are known in the western world as the Magnificant, from the section’s first word in the Vulgate, Jerome’s translation of the Bible into Latin around 400 AD.⁶⁶ This is the first of four songs recorded in Luke, here by Mary in 1:46-66, Zechariah in 1:68-79, a choir of angels in 2:14, and Simeon in 2:29-32.

There are three great thoughts that the song of Mary emphasizes. First, she thanks God for having favored her, a humble maid of Isra’el, in such an extraordinary way (Luke 1:46-50). Mary started by singing: My soul praises the Lord (Luke 1:46; First Samuel 2:1; Psalm 34:2 and 35:9; Isaiah 61:10). It is obvious that Miryam’s young heart and mind were drenched with the Scriptures. She saw herself as part of the godly remnant that had served God. The song does not glorify Mary, but rather glorifies the Lord. She not only included parts of two of Hannah’s prayers (First Samuel 1:11 and 2:1-10), but, also several other references to the Torah, the psalms and the prophets. He is worthy to be praised.

Mary continued: and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior (Lk 1:47; Isa 12:2 and 45:21). Only a sinner needs a Savior. There is no hint in the song that Mary thought the privilege was given to her because she was sinless. However, the Roman Catholic Church teaches that Miryam herself was born without sin, that from the very first moment of her existence she was free from the taint of original sin. It holds that while all the rest of mankind are born into an inheritance of original sin, Mary alone, by a special miracle of God, was exempted.

The original decree, or Holy See, setting forth this doctrine was issued by pope Pius IX, on December 8, 1854. He wrote, “We declare, pronounce and define that the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, at the first instant of her conception was preserved immaculate from all stain of original sin, by the singular grace and privilege of the Omnipotent God, in virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind, and that this doctrine was revealed by God, and therefore must be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful” (from the papal bull, Ineffabilus Deus, quoted in The Tablet).⁶⁷

No less than Pope John Paul II declared his total devotion to Mary. He dedicated his whole pontificate to her and had an M for Mary embroidered on all his papal garments. He prayed to her, credited her with saving his life, and even left the care of the Roman Catholic Church to her in his will. Rome has long fostered the worship of Mary and superstition about her is more popular today than it has ever been. So much homage is paid to Mary in Catholic churches around the world that the worship of Christ is often completely overshadowed by the worship of His mother.⁶⁸

But, the Scriptures clearly state: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and that includes Mary (Romans 3:23); For just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men because all have sinned (Romans 5:12); For in Adam all die (First Corinthians 15:22); If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. . . If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives (First John 1:8-10); There is no one righteous, not even one (Romans 3:10). That should settle once and for all whether or not a believer should pray to Mary. She was a very godly woman to be sure. But she was not sinless. She was only human. So it was necessary for her to be born again of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh and to participate in the redemption provided by her Son.⁶⁹

Then Mary used the word “for” three times, emphasizing that she was praising ADONAI “because of” what God had done for her. First, she sang: “For” He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant (Luke 1:48a; First Samuel 1:11; Psalm 102:7 and 136:23). The servant was Miryam herself. She was of low estate because, on the economic scale, she was on the poverty level. But, in spite of her low estate financially and living in Nazareth, a town that had a poor reputation, nevertheless, Ha’Shem had looked upon her with grace.⁷⁰ Mary emphasized her humility, not her exaltation. This was a purposeful decision by ADONAI, and He makes no mistakes. Her child would also share this humble state, who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness (Philippians 2:6-7).

Secondly, Mary continued to sing, “For” behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed” (Luke 1:48b ESV; Genesis 30:13; Malachi 3:12). She recognized the unique privilege that was being given to her by being the mother of the Messiah, for she saw that all generations would call her blessed. However, Miryam would not be called blessed because of any intrinsic personal worth or holiness on her part, but, because of the child she would bear. We don’t make her a goddess and kneel down before her, but, we do need to call her blessed. It was her glorious privilege to be the mother of the Son of God, to bring Him into the world. We should not minimize it, but neither should we embellish it. She was a wonderful person, and it was no accident that she was chosen by God.⁷¹

Thirdly, “For” the Mighty One has done great things for me (Luke 1:49a; Psalm 71:19 and 126:3). As affirmed in Deuteronomy 10:21, God does great things. Whereas in Deuteronomy this refers to God’s having worked His wonders for Isra’el in leading them out of Egypt, here the greatest thing was that she was going to be the mother of the Meshiach, who in His ministry would bring about the events described below.

And holy is His name (Luke 1:49b; First Samuel 2:2; Isaiah 57:15). This is just another way of saying He [God] is holy. Ha’Shem’s holiness here refers not simply to His moral perfection but even more to His acts of righteousness and justice by which He fulfills His covenant promises to Isra’el.⁷²  He provided redemption for His people; He ordained His covenant forever – holy and awesome is His name (Psalm 111:9). As a result, all the veneration of Miryam is to no avail and entirely without any biblical support. In fact, it is completely contrary to what the Bible teaches.

God will show His mercy forever and ever to those who worship and serve Him (Luke 1:50 NCB; Psalm 103:11 and17; Isaiah 51:8). She acknowledged that Isra’el did not deserve this blessing from the LORD. In fact, Isra’el had turned its back on Him. In Deuteronomy 28, ADONAI had warned that if the people walked in disobedience they would be disciplined by subjugation by the Gentiles. At that time Rome dominated Isra’el. But, God had also promised that if the people turned to Him and confessed their sins, He would return to them in blessing. The fact that He had not cut Isra’el off from this blessing after generations of unbelief gave evidence of His patience and mercy.⁷³

God does not save us because of what we’ve done. Only a puny god could be bought with tithes. Only an egotistical god would be impressed with our pain. Only a temperamental god could be satisfied by sacrifices. Only a heartless god would sell salvation to the highest bidder. And, only a great God does for His children what they can’t do for themselves.

ADONAI’s delight is received upon surrender, not awarded upon conquest. The first step to joy is a plea for help, an acknowledgement of moral destitution, and admission of inward insufficiency. Those who taste the LORD’s presence have declared spiritual bankruptcy and are aware of their spiritual crisis. Their pockets are empty. Their options are gone. They have long since stopped demanding justice; they are pleading for mercy.⁷⁴

Secondly, she praises God for resisting the haughty, the proud, and the self-righteous, and for aiding the poor, the lowly, that is, humble sinners (Luke 1:51-53). Then Mary dwells on the work that her Son will do. She speaks in past tense here, following the expressions of the prophets of the TaNaKh who often use the past tense in describing future events, thereby declaring that what is predicted is as sure as if it were already fulfilled. She continued to sing: He has performed mighty deeds with His arm (Luke 1:51a; Psalm 89:13 and 98:1; Isaiah 52:10). In Isaiah 53:1 the prophet said: Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of ADONAI been revealed? Then Isaiah immediately begins to reveal the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). The LORD has shown the strength of His arm and revealed His power and love in the salvation He has given to us.⁷⁵

He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts (Luke 1:51b; Psalm 89:10; Genesis 8:21). The proud are those who do not fear God (Luke 1:50), who are not hungry (Luke 1:53), or not humble (Luke 1:48 and52). Their inmost thoughts are literally hearts. Luke understood the difference between the humble poor and the proud rich (Luke 6:20-26). Obviously this is not always the case, but frequently the rulers are rich and the humble the oppressed are poor.

God will dethrone all His enemies. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble (Luke 1:52; First Samuel 2:6-8; Job 34:24). The rulers are identified with the proud of Luke 1:51 and the rich of Luke 1:53. When Yeshua comes to rule in His new messianic Kingdom, He will turn the world on its head. But many who are first will be last, and the last first (Mark 10:31). Lifting up the humble is most easily seen in the selection of Mary to be the mother of Jesus. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty (Luke 1:53; First Samuel 2:5; Psalm 72:11-12; Psalm 34:10, 107:9 and 141:6). As is often the case in the TaNaKh, the future acts of ADONAI are viewed as already accomplished.

In Luke 1:52-53 we find an example of chiasmic parallelism in an A-B-b-a fashion.

A He has brought down rulers from their thrones

B but has lifted up the humble

b He has filled the hungry with good things

a but has sent the rich away empty

Thirdly, Mary glorifies the name of God because He fulfills the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant that He made to the nation of Isra’el.⁷⁶ While God might have removed Isra’el from a place of blessing because of her disobedience, He had remained faithful to His Covenant (see my commentary on Genesis, to see link click Dt –I Will Bless Those Who Bless You and Whoever Curses You I Will Curse). This was the foundation of Israel’s hope and her expectation of the coming Messiah. He has helped His servant Isra’el, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as He promised our ancestors (Luke 1:54-55; Exodus 2:24; Psalm 98:3; Isaiah 44:21; Micah 7:20; Psalm 105:6). The birth-narratives often connect the coming Meshiach with the various Jewish covenants. She acknowledged that her Son would be the One in whom, and through whom, all the blessings that ADONAI promised to Abraham and his descendants would come to her people.

Those who pray to Mary would do well to learn from the example of Miryam’s song. God is the only one lifted up. Notice how she praised His glory and majesty while repeatedly acknowledging her lowliness. She took no credit for anything good in herself. But she praised the LORD for His attributes, naming His power, His mercy, and His holiness. She freely confessed Ha’Shem as the One who had done great things for her, not the other way around. The song is about God’s greatness, His glory, the strength of His arm, and His faithfulness across the generations.

This was not the prayer of one who claimed to be without original sin. On the contrary, it was the prayer of one who knew God as her Savior. She could celebrate the fact that ADONAI’s mercy is on those who fear Him, because she herself feared Him and had received His mercy. And she knew firsthand how the LORD lifts up the humble and fills the hungry with good things, because she herself was a humble sinner who had hungered and thirsted after righteousness, and was filled.⁷⁷

The two of them most likely embraced and Mary probably knew that the Ruach Ha’Kodesh inspired the words she had just sung. The young girl stayed with Elisheva for about three months. Then her parents probably sent word that she should come home (1:56) and prepare for her wedding. Ah yes . . . the wedding. She was three months pregnant and still not married, though engaged to Joseph. Elizabeth now enjoyed Miriam’s complete confidence and it stands to reason the two of them wondered if Yosef knew about Mary’s pregnancy. It was important that he knew what was about to happen and to understand. She left just before the birth of the forerunner, Yochanan the Baptizer.⁷⁸

The Infancy and Childhood of Jesus
Luke 2:21-40 and Matthew 2:1-23

Though Christian tradition and art have frequently portrayed both the shepherds and the magi visiting the newborn Yeshua simultaneously, they are never associated or mentioned in the same breath within the gospels. Luke shows no hint of knowing about the wise men, and Matthew never mentions the shepherds. When the wise men come to visit Jesus in a house, they saw the child with His mother (Matthew 2:11a). Only Mattityahu describes Joseph and Mary’s escape to Egypt to avoid the murder of their son at the hands of Herod the Paranoid (Mattityahu 2:13-18), and then their return to Nazareth where Jesus spent His childhood growing up (Matthew 2:19-23). The shepherds worshiped Messiah in a manger (Luke 2:16); but, the magi worshiped Christ in a house (Matthew 2:11). Consequently, the accounts of the shepherds and the magi are separated by at least two years.

Except for the escape to Egypt, it is important to note that the gospels have no record whatsoever on Christ as a child. For Mark and John it is Messiah’s adult public ministry, ending in His death and resurrection, which make up the gospel. Nowhere in the gospels does the adult Jesus refer directly to His own childhood in His teaching. Matthew and Luke, however, contain stories about Yeshua’s birth and infancy.

Yet the four gospels stand in stark contrast with those that come to us from the mid-second century onwards – the apocryphal stories about Jesus’ so called “missing years” before His baptism.¹²⁴ For example, the false gospel of Thomas was discovered in 1945. It was part of the popular genre at that time, written to satisfy a hunger among early believers for more miraculous and anecdotal stories of the childhood of Christ. In this false gospel, Yeshua supposedly breathes life into birds made from clay, curses a boy who becomes a corpse, and curses another boy who falls down dead and whose parents become blind.

As believers we should restrain from this kind of desperate search. God has not left us as orphans. He has given us everything that we need for victorious living today. As Rabbi Sha’ul said: Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror. Once we are in heaven, we shall see the Lord face to face and understand more of this life than we do at this time. Now we know in part; but then we shall know fully (First Corinthians 13:12). ADONAI is not holding anything back on us. What we don’t know now, will be revealed to us at the proper time. He has provided for us fully and completely.

The Birth of Jesus Foretold to Mary
Luke 1: 26-38

The birth of Jesus foretold to Mary DIG: How does Gabriel’s word to Mary compare with what he said to Zechariah in Luke 1:13-17? How does Miryam, in Luke 1:34 and 38, respond differently than Zechariah did in Luke 1:12 and 18? What truths are emphasized about Jesus here? What expectations would naturally accompany the honor of giving birth to the Messiah? How did Elizabeth’s pregnancy encourage Mary?

REFLECT: What do you think it means to doubt and fear the Lord? When was the last time you were fearful but believing? How did He meet you in your fears? In what area of your life do you need to believe that nothing is impossible with God? What keeps you from believing this? What do you learn about faith from Miryam? Who are the women of faith that you consider your role models? Are any of them younger than you? Are any of them teenagers? What other words come to mind when you hear or speak the name Jesus? What moods or emotions bubble up to the surface? What hopes does He stir up in your spirit?

It seems most fitting that the Good News would have its beginning within the Sanctuary, and at the time of sacrifice. Six months had elapsed after the vision of Zachariah in the Temple. The scene now shifts from the Temple in Jerusalem to a town in Galilee, from the Forerunner to the Messiah, from the common priest to the common family of a young girl named Mary who lived in Nazareth. Mary, of course, is an Anglicized form of her actual Hebrew name, Miryam. The Greek text reflects that Hebrew name. It was translated from the Hebrew to the Greek, to the Latin Maria, and finally to the English Mary. The name she would have responded to was Miryam. Art by Sarah Beth Baca: see more information on Links and Resources.

The highlands that form the central portion of Palestine are broken by the wide, rich plain of Jezreel, which severs Galilee from the rest of the Land. This was always the great battlefield of Isra’el. It appears shut in between two mountain walls. The mountains of Lower Galilee form the north wall, and in the middle of that range set in a slight depression overlooking the vast Jezreel Valley. It seemed to be one of God’s own sanctuaries. As in an amphitheater, fifteen hilltops rose around it, the highest being about 500 feet. On its lower slope nestled the little town of Nazareth, its narrow streets arranged like terraces.⁴⁹

Miryam may be derived from the Hebrew word for bitter. Born and raised in the town of Nazareth, she was the child of an average family. She played on the streets, as the other children did, and she was subject to parental discipline. Joseph knew her, even though he was older than she was, probably around eighteen to twenty. All the houses in Nazareth were in the same neighborhood because it was a small town of roughly two hundred people. The biggest event that could occur in Nazareth was for a father to take his children to the nearby Greek city of Sepphoris to shop. The people were closely knit in their daily lives, and the women met in the morning at the village well.

The Jews of the first-century Palestine saw marriage as a joining of two families. And because the stakes were so high, they never would have entrusted such an important decision to the whims of teenage emotions. So, the parents arranged the marriages of their sons and daughters. While the children were not given the final word in the matter, their personal desires were usually taken into account.⁵⁰ When Mary reached her thirteenth birthday, usually around the time she reached puberty, it was permissible to ask for her hand in marriage. The proper form was followed: Yosef first asked his parents if he could marry her. He was a humble apprentice carpenter in the neighborhood, probably more than a year away from having his own shop. Young men were expected to begin adult responsibilities around the age of thirteen, so at his age he had likely already saved some money for his marriage.⁵¹

No doubt Joseph’s parents discussed the matter of marriage and, in time, paid a formal call on Miryam’s parents, as was the custom. The entire neighborhood knew in advance what negotiations were going on, and, from draped doorway to draped doorway, the women discussed it as they washed their clothes on the stones in front of their houses. Mary was not supposed to know of the matter, but of course she did, having made her wishes known to her mother and father.

The Jewish wedding ceremony was broken into four distinct stages, two of which can still be observed in the modern Jewish wedding. The parents normally engaged in their formal discussion. Once they agreed, the first stage called the shiddukhin, meaning the arrangement/engagement, took place. This would normally happen at a very young age, with hopes of joining two families for the common good. If they had some trouble making the proper match, families might enlist the services of a shadkhan or matchmaker, for the purpose of finding a future mate. When a successful match was made, it was necessary, as was the custom, to talk of a dowry, but Mary’s family had none. Their economic status was no better, no worse, than Joseph’s. As long as the man of the house remained in good health they would not starve, and Yosef was a healthy young carpenter.

As time passed, there would come a point when the couple was old enough to confirm their desire to be married. This is known as the erusin, or engagement. Our modern understanding of engagement does not fully capture its meaning for the people of the New Covenant times. Today, an engaged couple may break off their commitment with no legal ramifications, but a couple in first-century Judea were bound together with a much stronger agreement. To enter into this erusin period, the couple would have a public ceremony, under a huppah, or canopy, and sign a written contract called a ketubah. In this document, both parties would stipulate what they were agreeing to bring into this new household. After culminating this beautiful ceremony, the bride would prepare her dowry that she would bring into the marriage, while the groom would prepare the future home for the couple, often as a room addition on the father’s house (John 14:1-3).

When the ketubah was signed, the first cup of the ceremony was blessed, thus declaring publicly their sincere intentions. This is a formal one-year betrothal, and much more binding than any other. It was the finality of marriage. Once the marriage contract was negotiated, even though the marriage ceremony had not occurred, the groom–to-be could not rid himself of his betrothed except through divorce. Based upon the requirements for divorce in Deuteronomy 24:1-4, the couple would be obligated to obtain a Get or Sefer Keritut, Hebrew for bill of divorce, a procedure that is still followed in Orthodox Jewish law to this day. In other words, a couple who entered into the erusin stage were, in fact, considered completely married, although they were not living together yet.

Still, if Joseph had died between the erusin and marriage, Mary would have been his legal widow. If, in the same period, another man had sex with her, Miryam would have been punished as an adulteress. The waiting time was spent, according to custom, for the groom to prepare a place for them to live. When the one-year erusin came to an end, the nisuin, or marriage, would take place.

Eventually the second stage would come, and it was known as the fetching of the bride. At that time the groom’s father would sound the shofar or the ram’s horn. He determined when the fetching would occur (to see link click Jw – The Parable of the Ten Virgins). Then the groom would fetch, or take his bride, and she would literally be carried (the meaning of the Hebrew root nasa, from where the word nisuin comes) back to his home, the place of the ceremony.

Then came the third stage, which was the marriage ceremony, and only a few were invited. This was preceded by a ritual immersion for cleansing. Once again, under the huppah or canopy, the couple would affirm their intention to enter the blessings of full marriage. This was done as the second cup of wine was blessed with the beautiful sheva b’rakhot, or seven blessings.

After this part of the nisuin ceremony, the family and guests would be invited to the fourth stage, or the marriage feast. They would celebrate their marriage with a joyous feast that would last for as long as seven days. Many others not invited to the ceremony were invited to the feast. After the marriage feast the newlyweds would live together at the place prepared by the groom.⁵²

The similarity to the Jewish wedding ceremony is crucial to understanding the relationship of Jesus Christ to His bride, the Church (see my commentary on Revelation Fg – Blessed Are Those who are Invited to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb). Several times in both the TaNaKh and the New Covenant, parallels are drawn between marriage and the relationship between the believer and God. The love stories in both Hosea and the Song of Solomon point to that fact. Interestingly enough, both Jesus and Rabbi Sha’ul refer to marital terms such as the arrangement in Second Corinthians 11:2 and Ephesians 1:3-6, engagement in John 14:1-4, and the fetching of the bride in Second Thessalonians 4:13-18. To be sure, the details of the ceremony picture many exciting truths about how the LORD views followers of Yeshua, the Groom sent from the Father.

This is the context for the birth of Jesus. We are told that Mary was pledged to be married, meaning that the couple had entered into the erusin, or engagement stage of the ceremony. Throughout the engagement, Miryam, of course, lived with her parents and accepted the daily chores set out for her. In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee (Luke 1:26), to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David.

Mary had not yet had sexual contact with a man, for Luke calls her a virgin, using a Greek term that allows for no subtle nuance of meaning. The virgin’s name was Miryam and she was probably about thirteen years old (Luke 1:27). Two times here she is called a virgin. It should be remembered that Luke was a doctor, and he gives the most detailed account of the virgin birth.

At a time about midway between engagement and formal marriage, Mary was alone one day and was visited by the angel Gabriel, who went to her and said: Greetings, you who are highly favored! Miryam is described as receiving grace, not as endowed with the power to give grace. She had not been chosen for this task because she possessed a particular holiness of life that deserved this privilege. The words of Gabriel suggest no special worthiness on Mary’s part.⁵³ The Lord is with you (Luke 1:28). With those words, Miryam lost her reputation and her dreams. There was the very real possibility that she would have been ostracized from the Jewish community for the rest of her life. At least initially, she lost the trust of her husband-to-be. And what of her parents? Did they believe her preposterous story of miraculous nonsexual pregnancy? It is unlikely her family fell for such an outrageous tale. Mary’s decision to embrace God’s purposes unleashed an avalanche of difficulties and drew her into a disorienting mix of breathtaking privilege and unspeakable pain.⁵⁴ We are reminded that a life of significance is most often preceded by a heart eager to surrender to the will of ADONAI regardless of the cost.

The gospel writers attribute to her none of the special titles credited to her by the Roman Catholic Church. The worship of Mary is not called for by the simple greeting given by the angel recorded here. The “Ave Maria,” which is the daily prayer of millions and has no biblical basis. As much as we admire and honor the virgin Mary, we should not pray to her or worship her in any way. To do so is merely idolatry in another form. The mother of our Lord deserves all honor, but the Son deserves our worship.⁵⁵

Miryam was thoroughly confused by his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be (Luke 1:29). Why would she, a little country girl, be blessed beyond all women? Did it mean she was about to die? Was she to be taken, perhaps, to a far-off place, never again to see her mother and her father . . . and Joseph?

Mary said nothing. She probably tried to look away, not only because of her terror but because it was considered bad manners in Judea for one to stare directly into the eyes of another, but her eyes were magnetized on Gabriel. She almost certainly stared, lowered her eyes, and stared again.

Gabriel’s announcement was the same as it was to Zechariah. His voice softened: Do not be afraid, Mary, he said, for you have found favor with God. As with John the Baptist, the naming was done by an angel. You will conceive and give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, which is also an Anglicized form of His actual name. The name He would have responded to was Yeshua. The Hebrew name Yeshua was translated into Greek as Ieisous, then to Latin, and then to English as Jesus. His actual name was, Yeshua, a name that means to save, salvation or Savior (Luke 1:30-31). As Joseph would be told, the child was to have the name salvation because He would save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21b). He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High (Genesis 14:18-20). Even though groups like the Jesus Seminar discount the virgin birth, it is still one of the fundamental beliefs of Judaism and Christianity. In fact, to deny the deity of Christ is one of the easiest ways to recognize a cult.

ADONAI’s covenant with David promised three eternal things. First, it promised an eternal throne. The Lord, God Himself, will give Him the throne of His forefather David. This was promised for the Messiah to King David in Second Samuel 7:12-13. Secondly, it promised an eternal house,and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever. And thirdly, it promised an eternal kingdom, His Kingdom will never end (Luke 1:32-33). God made those same three promises to David: Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before Me; your throne will be established forever (Second Samuel 7:16). Here is the fulfillment of the second of the two requirements in the TaNaKh: divine appointment. When Gabriel said: The Lord, God Himself, will give Him the throne of His forefather David, Jesus received divine appointment. He is the only One who fulfilled both conditions of the TaNaKh (see Ai – The Genealogies of Joseph and Mary). Since He, by virtue of His resurrection, now lives forever, He can have no successors.⁵⁶

Jesus will reign on David’s throne forever and ever. This prophecy is fulfilled in Peter’s sermon in Acts on the day of Shavu’ot. He quoted Psalm 16 when he said: Therefore, my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay (Acts 2:26-27). Peter goes on to explain that even though David wrote that Psalm, he was not referring to himself because David’s tomb is still with us today. This was a prophecy by David about his greater Son, the Messiah, who would be resurrected to sit on the right hand of God the Father’s throne in heaven forever and ever (Acts 2:34).

Seemingly, Gabriel’s words did not calm Mary. Her mind was swirling. Vaguely, she understood that she was to be the mother of the King of kings, but who might this be and how could it occur when she was not even married? The emphasis here is on her virginity. “How will this be,” Miryam asked the angel, “since I am a virgin,” or literally, since I do not know a man (Luke 1:34)? Many Roman Catholic scholars have argued that the phrase expresses a vow of virginity, saying something to the effect of, “I have resolved not to know a man.” But, it is impossible to see how the verse can have this meaning. No Jewish girl in her right mind would ever take a vow of perpetual virginity during her betrothed period.⁵⁷ To have no children was a disgrace. There are no grounds for the doctrine of perpetual virginity in this verse. Mary simply meant that she was not yet married to Yosef her betrothed. Miryam did not doubt as Zechariah had, she merely wanted to know how the miracle would be accomplished.

Mary’s question was a good one. So, it was Gabriel’s turn to be specific. He knew the Trinity would accomplish this miracle. So, standing tall, he answered: The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High God will overshadow you, as the Sh’khinah glory had rested on the Tabernacle in the wilderness. The overshadowing of the Holy Spirit meant that Jesus was born without a sin nature, thus fulfilling the prophecies in the TaNaKh (Genesis 3:25; Isaiah 7:14). The overshadowing of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh would bypass the sin nature of both Joseph and Mary. The union of a man and a woman can only produce a child with a sin nature. The miracle was not of Meshiach’s birth, because He was born like any other baby. The miracle was the conception. There will be two results: He will be holy and He will be God. So the holy One to be born will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). It was during the betrothal period, between the vows and the home-taking, that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb.

Because of what is said here, a common misconception has arisen. There is a teaching that the necessity of the virgin birth was that this was the only possible way of keeping Yeshua from inheriting a sin-nature. The implication is that the sin-nature is only transmitted through the male. Since the Lord did not have a human father, He was sinless. But actually, the Bible doesn’t teach that. In fact, the Scriptures sometimes emphasize that the female side of it more than the male side. For example, in Psalm 51:5 David said: Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. If God wanted to, He could have produced a sinless Son from a sinful male seed and sinful female egg. But, ADONAI chose to have the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit be the means of conception. As a result, Yeshua would be holy, that is, sinless, and He would also be the Son of God, that is, deity.⁵⁸

She probably understood the words, but they must have only added to her confusion. What the angel was saying, she reasoned, was something that the Jews had been waiting for centuries; a Messiah, a Savior, God come to earth as He had promised long ago. But this miracle would happen through her! It was hard to get her mind around it.

Gabriel could sense that Mary needed more assurance, so he said: Even Elizabeth your relative, the one who was called “the barren,” is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For with God, nothing is impossible (Luke 1:36-37). ADONAI responded to Sarah in a similar manner when she laughed after hearing that she would bear a son in her old age. The LORD said to Abraham: Is anything to hard for God (see my commentary on Genesis Et – I Will Surely Return This Time Next Year and Sarah Your Wife Will Have a Son)?

There is nothing impossible with Ha’Shamayim when He has determined to do something, but, He is not obligated to do the impossible when we ask Him. If He did anything we asked of Him then we become gods and He becomes our servant. Some things we might ask of Him are outside of His plan for our lives. Yes, nothing is impossible with God, but there is a great deal that is impossible with us.

Her eyes must have lowered to the dirt floor. She got it. But she also understood that Gabriel had told her about her old relative Elizabeth, who she had not seen in a long time. Her pregnancy would be an earthly seal of assurance to the angel’s heavenly words. She, a young virgin, was to be blessed by the Holy Spirit and she would bear a male child who would be God. It was hard for her to believe that the Lord had chosen her, of all women! But she had been taught to accept and obey the will of Elohim from childhood. Therefore, she humbly submitted to God’s plan. It was an honor too wonderful to describe, but, as is often the case, obedience to ADONAI requires great sacrifice.

Common sense suggests that Miryam must have anticipated all these difficulties the moment the angel told her she would conceive a child. Her joy and amazement at learning that she would be the mother of the Redeemer might therefore have been tempered significantly at the horror of the scandal that awaited her. Still, knowing the cost and weighing it against the immense privilege of becoming the mother of the Meshiach, Miryam surrendered herself unconditionally.

In the simple faith of a child Mary presented herself to ADONAI.  She was remarkably prepared for the job ahead of her. One wonders how she became so steeped in God’s Word, so bold in her faith, a girl who never owned or even held a copy of the Scriptures in her hands. Somehow, Miryam didn’t let that stand in her way. Unaware of what was coming, she had been prepared for this daunting assignment since she was a little child soaking up the truth about ADONAI from what she heard in the Temple and from the lips of her parents and other faithful Israelites. She didn’t know it at the time, but, she was arming herself for the battle of a lifetime.⁵⁹

Obediently, Mary said: I am the servant of ADONAI. The word servant, or doule, can be translated bond-slave. The term refers to someone who voluntarily sells himself or herself into slavery. May it happen to me as you have said (Luke 1:38a CJB). She was His bondslave to do with as He saw fit, whatever came her way. Even death. Unfaithfulness during the formal betrothal period was punishable by stoning. She was not ignorant of that fact, and knew full well what her pregnancy would look like. Although she had remained totally and completely chaste, the world was bound to think otherwise. She could hardly have had a more godly response to the announcement of Yeshua’s birth. It demonstrated that she was a young woman of mature faith and one who worshiped the true and living God. Her great joy over the Lord’s plan for her would soon be very evident.⁶⁰

As quickly as he had come, the angel vanished from her sight (Luke 1:38b). Her first impulse must have been to run and find her mother. She must tell someone! She must ask for counsel! Mary must convince her mother that she was not inventing this story! She vacillated from excitement to anguish. But, the more she thought of it, she decided not to tell her mother. If the angel had wanted her mother to know, he probably would have come when her mother was at home, so that both of them could hear this message together (no one ever talks about Miryam’s parents. What would it have been like to have Jesus as your grandson?). But, Gabriel had deliberately chosen a time when she was alone. Therefore, Mary must have concluded that it was the LORD’s desire that she keep the secret. Anyway, if anyone else knew the secret they would tell her mother, and thus she would know who God had selected and, therefore, to know of her honor.

Surely, Miryam must have concluded that Joseph would know. He was her intended husband. The angel would just have to tell Yosef. If he didn’t know, what would he think when she began to show. He would know the baby was not his. Oh yes, she was quite sure the angel would tell Joseph!⁶¹

Mary Visits Elizabeth
Luke 1: 39-45

Mary visits Elizabeth DIG: How might Mary have felt when her relative Elizabeth greeted her like this? What was Miryam surprised about? How is Mary blessed and encouraged?

REFLECT: Who do you call first when you have special news to share? How does Mary’s faith serve as a model for you? Has God ever provided you someone to share your joy in the impossible or to understand the peculiar place you find yourself in? How did that impact you? Can ADONAI use you to be that person for someone else?

Within a few days, Mary probably asked permission to visit her relative Elizabeth. Her mother most likely thought it was a touching sign of devotion, and sent her off with others traveling south to Judea. The young virgin said nothing about her secret. At that time Mary left Galilee, got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea (Luke 1:39). She was obedient to Gabriel’s message (Luke 1:36). Judea was about a 100 miles to the south of Nazareth, and would be a four or five day journey according to their mode of travel.⁶² When she arrived, she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elisheva (Luke 1:40).

Elizabeth was a remarkable person. She had faith while her husband Zachariah did not. He was struck dumb because of his unbelief, while Elizabeth spoke freely and encouraged Mary. Elisheva was gray and wrinkled, much older than Mary, and she had spent many years in the synagogue asking God for a child. Elisheva’s husband was a priest who was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the Temple of the LORD and burn incense (Luke 1:9). He loved his wife and understood her anguish of barrenness. In addition to feeling the loss of not being able to bear a child and all the joy that that would bring, barrenness was also seen by the community as ADONAI’s punishment for sin. He had also prayed again and again for a child.

As Miryam came up the path, Elisheva was probably standing at the door. It was as though she had expected the visit. Elizabeth’s immediate response to the sound of Mary’s voice gave the old woman immediate confirmation of all that the angel had told her. When Elisheva heard Miryam’s greeting, suddenly the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:41). This is another good verse against abortion. That which is in the mother’s womb is treated as being a person in Scripture. While John will be a prophet of the Most High (Luke 1:76), Jesus is the Son of the Most High (Luke 1:32). While John’s birth to a barren woman was indeed miraculous, Yeshua’s birth to a virgin was, and is, unprecedented.⁶³

What was promised to Zechariah (Luke 1:15) was then fulfilled. John and Elizabeth were filled with the Ruach Ha’Kodesh even before his birth. They were the first people to realize that Mary’s child was the Meshiach.⁶⁴ Already the fetus in Elizabeth was performing the function to which he was born, being the herald of the King.

Then there was a special blessing upon Miryam because she believed the message of the angel, whereas Elizabeth’s husband, Zacharias, did not believe, and it resulted in him being stricken mute. In a loud voice Elisheva cried out: Blessed are you among women (Luke 1:42a). Notice that Mary was blessed among all women, not above all women. And blessed is the child you will bear, literally, the fruit of your womb (Luke 1:42b, also see Genesis 30:2; Lamentations 2:20)! In other words, the Messiah’s birth was assured. Mary must have stopped in her tracks. She could hardly believe it. She couldn’t speak. Elizabeth knew! Elizabeth knew the secret!

Elisheva probably wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to smile. But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to visit me. As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that ADONAI would fulfill His promises to her (Luke 1:43-45)! Elizabeth was a remarkable person. She was a righteous woman, and like her husband, part of the Jewish believing remnant of their day. She then encouraged Miryam because she had walked with God for many years. Elisheva assured Mary that the message revealed to her by the angel Gabriel would come true.

When Elizabeth said that, it erased all the doubt from her mind. Mary had not doubted. She believed Gabriel’s words, but, she could not convince herself that she was the one, of all the women on earth, selected to bear the Baby of the Most High. But, now she was convinced. She no longer tried to separate herself from the prophecy. She had told no one about the secret, and Elisheva not only knew about it, but her pregnancy was exactly as the angel had said it would be.⁶⁵

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
Luke 1: 5-25

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold DIG: What stands out to you about Zechariah and Elizabeth? Barrenness was seen as a sign of God’s disfavor and a legitimate reason for divorce. How do you think Elizabeth felt about herself? How do you think Zechariah felt about her? Why? What were the odds that Zechariah would be chosen to offer the incense on the golden altar in the Holy Place? How, then, did it happen? How would the birth of this son impact Z’kharyah and Elisheva? How would you describe his mission in your own words? Why might Zechariah doubt?

REFLECT: How has ADONAI kept His oath or promise to you? Do you feel spiritually barren in any way? How might this account of Elizabeth and Zechariah affect your feelings of barrenness? Of the major characters in this account – John, Z’kharyah and Elisheva – which one do you identify with the most? Why? With whom do you identify with the least? Why? How is John’s mission a model for your mission today? How might you “prepare people for the Lord?” When was the last time you doubted God? What caused your doubt? How did you overcome it?

It was the time of the morning sacrifice. As the massive Temple gates slowly swung on their hinges, three blasts from the silver trumpets of the priests seemed to waken the City, as if the voice of God, to the life of another day. The ministering Levites, who acted as the representatives of Isra’el, hurried to their duties. For already the first blush of dawn, for which the priest on the highest pinnacle of the Temple had watched as a signal to begin the morning sacrifice, could then be seen. Within the courts below all had long been busy. There were probably about fifty priests on duty each day. First, they divided into two parties to make an inspection of the Temple by torchlight well before dawn. Then, they all met at the well-known Hall of Polished Stones where the Sanhedrin met, and there they drew lots for their sacred duties for that day.

In First Chronicles 24, King David divided the Tribe of Levi into twenty-four divisions. Each division would take turns for a period of two weeks to take care of the daily functions of the Temple rituals twice a year. During the major pilgrimage festivals of Pesach, Shavu’ot, and Sukkot, all the divisions served.There was one high priest, below him were twenty chief priests and under them were the members of the twenty-four courses, who were the common priests. Zechariah was a common priest who belonged to the priestly course of Abijah. The duties of the common priests were chosen by lot. There were so many Levites, however, that they usually had only one chance in their whole lifetime to serve. Nevertheless, Z’kharyah went up from his home to take part in the sacred tasks of service five times each year at the Temple.³⁸

Lots were drawn four times that day, twice before the great Temple gates were opened and twice afterwards. This arrangement had been made necessary because of the over zealousness that some of the priests had demonstrated for service. This is how the lots were chosen: the common priests stood in a circle around the high priest, who for a moment removed the headgear of one of their number, to show that he would begin counting. Then all held up one, two or more fingers – since the Oral Law (to see link click Ei – The Oral Law) said it was unlawful to count persons – and the high priest called out a random number, say sixty, and began counting fingers until he reached that number, which meant that the lot had fallen on that particular priest.³⁹

The first lot chosen was for the cleansing and preparation of the bronze altar in the courtyard (see my commentary on Exodus Fa – Build an Altar of Acacia Wood Overlaid with Bronze). This was done before dawn as the priests stirred the coals on the altar and added new wood so the flame would not go out (Leviticus 6:12-13).

It was barely dawn when the priests met again in the great Hall of Polished Stones to draw the second lot. Some of those who were chosen would take part in the burnt offering sacrifice on the bronze altar (see my commentary on Exodus Fe –The Burnt Offering), while the others trimmed the golden lampstand and made ready the golden altar of incense in the Holy Place (see my commentary on Exodus Fn –The Lampstand in the Sanctuary: Christ, the Light of the World). Once the bronze altar and the altar of incense were ready, dawn had broken and nothing more remained before the gates to the Temple were opened and the worshipers entered the Temple courts.

Once the sacrifice was made, all was ready for the most solemn part of the day’s service – the offering of incense on the golden altar within the Holy Place. The priests meet again for the third lot. It was the most important lot of the day because it determined who was to offer the incense on the golden altar (see my commentary on Exodus Fp – The Altar of Incense in the Sanctuary: Christ, Our Advocate with the Father). Only once in a lifetime might any one enjoy that privilege.

Once the incense was burned, the priests met one last time in the Hall of Polished Stones. The fourth lot fixed those who were to burn the pieces of the slaughtered lamb on the altar, and to perform the concluding portions of the service. Except for burning the incense, the morning lots also held good for the evening service.⁴⁰

God’s announcement to Z’kharyah took place in the time of Herod the Great, king of Judea, who died in 4 BC. The political condition of the people of Isra’el was deplorable and their spiritual condition was in decline. Herod, a monster of crime, oppressed them, and their faith under pharisaic Judaism had become an empty system of ceremonies and rituals. But, in the midst of that spiritual drought there was a priest from the tribe of Levi named Zechariah, and his wife Elizabeth who was also a descendant of Aaron (Luke 1:5).⁴¹ Great care was taken in the selection of wives for the priests, so that the family line might be kept unblemished in every respect.⁴² So, Z’kharyah was doubly blessed because the rabbis taught that to be a priest was an honor, but to be married to the daughter of a priest was a double honor. Yochanan, therefore, was a priest by lineage. Zechariah means God remembers, and Elisheva means the oath of God. So, together their names mean God remembers His oath. Art by Sarah Beth Baca: see more information on Links and Resources.

Both of them were members of the believing Jewish remnant of that day; and therefore, righteous in the sight of God. As evidence of their righteousness they observed all of ADONAI’s commands and decrees blamelessly (Luke 1:6). They loved the LORD, their fellow man, and they trusted in His Word. But they had no children because Elisheva was barren. Barrenness was seen as a sign of Ha’Shem’s displeasure and would have been a constant embarrassment to Elizabeth as is evident from her statement that the LORD had taken away her disgrace when she finally gave birth to John (Luke 1:25). In the Jewish culture the wife was always blamed for barrenness because at that time they did not understand that the male could be the infertile spouse. Because barrenness was a legitimate reason for divorce, we can only surmise that Z’kharyah loved her very much. Most likely he felt more sorry for her than he did for himself that she was disgraced. And they were both very old, which meant that they were probably over sixty years old (Luke 1:7), and they probably prayed year after year after year for a child. Thus, the stage was set for another series of miraculous births of important men that began with Isaac to 100-year-old Abraham and 90-year-old Sarah (Genesis 18:1-5, 21:1-7), Sampson to Manoah and his wife (Judges 13) and Samuel to Elkanah and Hannah (First Samuel 1:1 to 2:10). After the birth of Yochanan to Elizabeth, the series concludes with the birth of Yeshua the Messiah to the virgin Miryam. But, on that bright autumn morning in the Temple, Z’kharyah had something more pressing to think about.⁴³

Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God. For the first and only time in his life he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the Temple of the LORD and burn incense before Him (Luke 1:8-9). What were the odds that he would be chosen? The sovereignty of Ha’Shem was clearly in control of this event. All his attention needed to be focused on the task at hand.

For two weeks, twice a day, Zechariah’s duty was to take a burning coal from the bronze altar in the courtyard into the Holy Place within the Temple, and place it on the altar of incense that stood before the curtain (see Lw – Accompanying Signs of Jesus’ Death) that separated the Most Holy Place from the Holy Place. After setting the coal down upon the golden altar of incense, he would then drop some of the incense on it causing a sweet-smelling smoke of incense to rise and penetrate through the thick curtain into the Most Holy Place to be a sweet-smelling aroma, a sacrifice to ADONAI.

Because of an incident that occurred in Leviticus 10 when the two sons of Aaron burned the incense improperly and were struck dead on the spot, the rabbis taught that if the priest burned the incense improperly, he would also die on the spot. But before death, an angel, the angel of Death, would appear standing on the right side of the altar of incense. Z’kharyah was not to use strange fire for his sacrifice or he would be killed instantly. Consequently, if God accepted the offering, Zechariah would come out of the Holy Place alive, if not, he would die right where he was standing.

And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside (Luke 1:10). At that moment Zechariah was the focal point of the entire Jewish nation. Then, just at the climax of his priestly life, as the cloud of incense began to rise an angel of ADONAI appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar. When Z’kharyah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear, literally fear fell on him. But, the message of the angel was not one of judgment and death, but of blessing and a new life to come. The angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elisheva will bear you a son, and you are to call him Yochanan” (Luke 1:11-13). The Hebrew word for John means grace, pointing to the new Dispensation of Grace (see my commentary on Hebrews Bp – The Dispensation of Grace). The angel Gabriel not only gave the name of the son, but also detailed six aspects of John’s character:

1. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth (Luke 1:14). Luke frequently uses the word joy and links it to salvation. In Luke 15, he used the words joy and rejoicing three times when something that was lost had been found, a picture of salvation. Thus, Yochanan’s ministry would bring joy to the Israelites who would have faith in his message of repentance for the forgiveness of their sins.

2. He will be great in the sight of ADONAI. The expression enopion, or: in the sight of, is typical of Luke. Although it appears thirty-five times in Luke and Acts, John 20:30 is the only other time it is used in the gospels.

3. He will be a Nazirite from birth (Numbers 6:1-21), and will never take wine or other fermented drink to perhaps show the urgency of his message. Normally a person would choose this for himself, but, in the TaNaKh, God chose two men to be set apart as a Nazirite from birth: Samuel and Sampson. Samuel was faithful but Sampson was not. Later, Yochanan voluntarily took the Nazirite vow upon himself and refused to drink anything fermented, because those who are Nazarites had to totally abstain from anything having to do with grapes. Another way he emphasized the urgency of his message was to dress, act and eat like the prophet Elijah (Second Kings 1:8; Matthew 1:8).

4. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born (Luke 1:15). When Mary visited Elizabeth before John was born, the baby leaped in her womb. The ministry of the Ruach ha-Kodesh was important to Luke, and he often went to great lengths to show His empowering and enabling ministry. Both Z’kharyah and Elisheva were filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:41 and67). Sometimes people make a big deal between being filled or baptized (Luke 3:16b) with the Ruach ha-Kodesh, as opposed to being filled by the Spirit, or in the Spirit. They might say, “Well, you might be filled by the Spirit, but are you filled with the Spirit.” Those distinctions, however, are not seen in the original language. The phrase, en pneumati, has a semantic range that can be translated, in, by or with the Ruach ha-Kodesh. Therefore, New Covenant believers are baptized in/by/with the Holy Spirit only one time in their lives at the moment of conversion (see Bw – What God Does For Us at the Moment of Faith).

5. He will bring back many of the people of Isra’el to the LORD their God (Luke 1:16). His special task was to prepare the people of Isra’el for the Messiah and many of them did turn back to God through Yochanan’s ministry (Matthew 3:5-6; Mark 1:4-5).

6. He will go on before ADONAI (Is 40:3-5), in the spirit and power of Elijah. He is not Elijah, but would minister in the spirit and power of Elijah. Evidently Z’kharyah understood that the angel Gabriel was identifying his future son with the messenger of Malachi 3:1, for in his song of praise he noted that John would go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him (Lk 1:76, 3:4-6). He would turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous – to make ready a people prepared for the LORD (Lk 1:17). John was not Elijah, but he functioned with the same power and authority to prepare the way. Jesus affirmed that John was the fulfillment of Malachi 3:1 in Mat 11:10, and stated that John would have fulfilled Malachi 4:4-5 if the nation of Isra’el had accepted his message (Mt 11:14).

Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this?” This question was cloaked in doubt. Faced by this astounding message, Z’kharyah responded like Abraham with a request for a sign (Genesis 15:8). He could not believe the message, saying: I am an old man and my wife is well along in years (Luke 1:18). Sometimes you need to be careful before you ask for something because you just may get it. In this case he got his sign and was struck deaf and mute because of his unbelief (Luke 1:22).

The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel,” who foretold of Christ’s coming (Dan 9:25). “I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this Good News” (Luke 1:19). It is interesting to note that here Muslims teach that the Bible contradicts itself. They quote Matthew 1:18 where it says: Mary was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit, but here they say that Gabriel impregnated her. Which is obviously false. But, the things of the Lord are spiritually discerned. This just goes to show how far Muslims really are in spiritual darkness. Later the angel Gabriel will tell Mary, “The Ruach ha-Kodesh will come over you, and the power of Ha’Elyon will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy child born to you will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35 CJB).

As a result of his lack of faith, the angel Gabriel told him, “And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time” (Luke 1:20). Zechariah’s inability to speak until the fulfillment of Gabriel’s message was, to some degree, a punishment for his unbelief. But, it was also a sign (Ezeki’el 3:26 and 24:27). A sign in the TaNaKh was often associated with a confirming, observable occurrence that accompanied a word of prophecy. Subsequently, for the next nine months Z’kharyah’s attempts to speak would prove the reliability of Gabriel’s message.⁴⁴

The scene then shifted to the huge crowd waiting outside in the courts of the Temple. The conversation between Zechariah and the angel had delayed him from coming out of the Holy Place in the normal amount of time. Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Z’kharyah and wondering why he stayed so long in the Temple (Luke 1:21). The prayers of the people had been offered, and their anxious gaze was directed towards the Holy Place. At last Zechariah emerged and stood on top of the steps that led from the porch to the court of the Priests, waiting to lead the priestly benediction which preceded the daily burnt offering (see my commentary on Exodus Fe –The Burnt Offering) and the chant of the Psalms of praise, accompanied with the joyous sound of music, as the drink offering was poured out.

The sign of Z’kharyah, however, was also to be a sign to the nation of Isra’el as well. The pieces of the sacrifice had already been arranged in the proper order on the bronze altar, the priests stood on the steps of the porch, and the aged priest had the attention of the nation as he came out of the Holy Place.⁴⁵ The rabbis teach that the priest coming out of the Holy Place was expected to pronounce a blessing upon the people (Num 6:24-26). But when he came out, he could not speak to them. The people realized, however, that he had seen a vision in the Temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak (Lk 1:22).

Zechariah was not one of the “learned” priests, nor was he what the rabbis would call a model priest. They would have described him as an idiot priest. When the term idiotis mentioned in conjunction with the word priest, it usually means a common priest, in distinction to the high priest. However, the word unquestionably also signifies someone who is vulgar, ignorant, and illiterate.⁴⁶

When his time of service was completed, he returned home to the hill country of Judah. But ADONAI had fulfilled the word that He had spoken by His angel. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and for the last five months of her pregnancy, she remained in complete seclusion (Luke 1:23-24). This secrecy ensured that the revelation of her pregnancy would first be made to Mary five months later (Luke 1:26, 36 and 56). As a result, the divine timetable was maintained.⁴⁷ Elisheva interpreted her pregnancy as a gracious act of God. ADONAI has done this for me, she said: in these days He has shown His favor and taken away my disgrace among the people (Luke 1:25). The perfect tense used here indicates a completed action with continuing results. Elizabeth brought into play the words of Rachel, another woman of the Scriptures whose barrenness was also ended by Ha’Shem’s direct involvement (Genesis 30:22-23).⁴⁸ And, like Rachel, there can be no doubt that Elisheva was overjoyed that her and her husband’s prayers were answered. After many years they were finally able to have a baby.

For many of us, trusting in ADONAI is fine as long as our trust is something you believe can actually happen. It’s funny that sometimes we find ourselves content to let God handle the ordinary things in life like giving us an opportunity to do well on a job interview or score well on a test. But, when it really comes to the hard things, the things that really seem impossible, many times our faith shrinks and we are often tempted to trust our own means rather than give the problem up to God (like Sarai suggesting that Abram have a child with Hagar to be her own). Being content to wait on the Lord for the impossible is something that most believers just simply have a hard time doing. We can all relate.

Why are we so reluctant to give God the impossible things and then sit back and wait for an answer? We know that Ha’Elyon has done the impossible in the past. He created something from nothing (Genesis 1:1). How impossible can you get? Even the simpler things like parting the waters of the Red Sea and sending manna and quail to His children in the desert were accomplished without so much as a bat of a Holy eyelash. Yet, when it comes to our impossible, the things that have us so stymied that we are at a total loss for a solution, we often find ourselves thinking that intellectually we know the LORD could do it, but it seems so far-fetched that He would. So we fight on alone, trusting that somehow luck or pluck will get the job done.

Perhaps it’s just because we might feel we don’t want to bother God with hard tasks. Perhaps it’s because we feel foolish asking for really “big” things. More likely, however, it’s because we have a schedule for things to happen and the hard things, the impossible things, need to be gotten out of the way quickly so that we can move on with our lives. We know that ADONAI has a solution for every problem in life. The problem is we often find ourselves reluctant to match our schedules with His timetable. It’s like the man who fell off a cliff, but managed to grab a tree limb on the way down. He looks upward and yells: “Is anyone up there?” Then he hears a voice.

“I AM here. I AM the Lord. Do you believe me?”

“Yes, Lord, I believe. I really believe,” the man says earnestly.

“But, I can’t hang on much longer.”

“That’s all right,” came the Lord’s reply. “If you really believe you have nothing to worry about. I will save you. Just let go of the branch.”

There was a pause for a moment, and then he said, “Is anyone else up there?”

Zechariah found out the hard way that Ha’Shem answers prayer as long as we are willing to leave the hard things, the impossible things, totally up to Him. Z’kharyah and his wife Elisheva had prayed for a child for a long time and now they were elderly and her womb was shut up. Yet, she bore a child because of God’s willingness to grant the impossible if only we relegate the impossible to Him in the first place. The LORD is willing and able to reach down and make the impossible happen in our lives as well. It is easier said than done, but we need to believe God is willing and, most importantly, we need to be willing to endure what might be a wait in order to see the fruits of our prayers. When faced with the impossible it is often best to let go of our reluctance to trust in ourselves and give ADONAI the space He needs to work the miracles that He is so willing to do in our lives.

The Genealogies of Joseph and Mary
Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23b-38

The genealogies of Joseph and Mary DIG: What is the need for two genealogies? What line does Matthew trace? What line does Luke trace? Why? What was the requirement for kingship in the northern kingdom of Isra’el? What was the requirement for kingship in the southern kingdom of Judah? Why were there women in Matthew’s account? What problem did Mattityahu’s genealogy present? How did he solve it? What people do you recognize in these two genealogies? What do you remember about them? What can you conclude about Yeshua’s “earthly ancestry” from what you know about these people?

REFLECT: What does it mean to you that ADONAI’s promises are trustworthy over the generations? At what point in your life have you felt Jesus’ presence the most? Who are the significant people in your spiritual upbringing? What has been passed on to you spiritually from your parents or family members? If nothing was passed on, what spiritual mentors have helped you grow spiritually?

The vast majority of information in this file came from Arnold Fruchtenbaum’s tape series on the Life of Christ. Of the four gospels, only Mattityahu and Luke actually deal with the birth of Jesus. But, while both Matthew and Luke tell the story of His birth, they tell it from two different points of view. Mattityahu tells the story of the birth of Yeshua from Joseph’s perspective. In the gospel of Matthew, Joseph plays the active role while Mary plays a passive role; angels appear to Yosef, but, there is no record of angels appearing to Miryam. The text reveals what Joseph is thinking, but, nothing is said of what Mary is thinking. On the other hand, Luke tells the same story from Mary’s perspective. In the gospel of Luke, Mary plays the active role while Joseph plays the passive role; angels appear to Mary, but, there is no record of angels appearing to Yosef. The text reveals what Miryam is thinking, but, nothing is said of what Joseph is thinking.

The question arises, “Why is there a need for two genealogies? Especially since Jesus was not the “real” son of Joseph anyway?” The answer usually goes something like this, “Matthew’s genealogy gives the royal line, while Luke’s genealogy gives the legal line.” What people mean by this is that, according to Mattityahu’s account, Joseph was the heir-apparent to David’s throne. Since Yeshua was the “adopted” son of Yosef, He could claim the right to sit upon the throne of David by virtue of that adoption. But, the exact opposite is true. On the other hand, Luke traces his genealogy through Mary, which qualifies Jesus as the legal representative of the human race. People who support this view believe that what man forfeited in the garden of Eden, Yeshua, the man-God, had to gain back. But, once again, this was not why Luke’s genealogy showed why Jesus could be King Messiah.

To understand the need for two genealogies, you must first understand that there were two requirements for kingship in the TaNaKh. One was applied to the southern Kingdom of Judah, with its capitol in Jerusalem, while the other requirement was applied to the northern Kingdom of Isra’el, with its capitol in Samaria.

1. The Requirement for Kingship in the southern Kingdom of Judah:

The first requirement was that of Davidic descent. Unless you were a member of the house of David, you could not sit upon the throne in Yerushalayim. When there was a conspiracy to do away with the house of David and set up a completely new dynasty as in Isaiah 7, Isaiah warned that any such plan was doomed to failure because no one outside the house of David could sit upon the throne in Jerusalem.

2. The Requirement for Kingship in the northern Kingdom of Isra’el:

The second requirement was that of divine appointment or prophetic sanction. Unless you had divine appointment or prophetic sanction, you could not sit upon the throne in Samaria. If anyone tried to do so, he would end up being assassinated. For example, God told Jehu that his line would be allowed to sit upon the throne of Samaria for four generations, and they did. When the fifth generation tried to gain the throne, he was assassinated because he did not have divine appointment. Both Davidic descent and divine appointment will be seen in the need for two genealogies, leading to a legitimate king.

The Genealogy in Matthew 1:1-17:

Looking at Matthew’s account of Joseph’s line, Mattityahu broke with Jewish tradition and custom in two ways: first, he skipped names; and secondly, he mentioned the names of women. The four women he mentioned were Tamar (Matthew 1:3), Rahab (Matthew 1:5a), Ruth (Matthew 1:5b), and the phrase: whose mother had been Uriah’s wife refers to Bathsheba (Matthew 1:6). Not only that, the women he named were not the most significant in the line of the Messiah. For example, he left out a woman like Sarah, who was far more significant. Yet there is a reason for naming these four and not others. First, all four of these women were Gentiles. Early in his gospel, Mattityahu hinted at a theme that he developed in greater detail later: although the main purpose of Jesus’ coming was for the lost sheep of Isra’el, the Gentiles would also benefit from His coming. The second thing about the women is that three of them were involved in sexual sin: Tamar was guilty of having sex with her father-in-law Judah (Genesis 1-30); Rahab was guilty of prostitution (Joshua 2:1b); and Bathsheba was guilty of adultery (Second Samuel 11:1-27). Again, Matthew foreshadowed a theme that he would bring out more clearly later: that Yeshua came for the purpose of saving sinners. But, these are not the main points of his genealogy.

In tracing his genealogy, Matthew went back in time and began with Abraham (Matthew 1:2), and traced the line to King David (Mattityahu 1:6). From David’s many sons, he showed that the line went through Solomon (Matthew 1:6). From Solomon the genealogy came to Jeconiah (Mattityahu 1:11-12). This was a critical turning point, as Matthew traced Jeconiah down to Joseph (Matthew 1:16), who was the stepfather of Jesus. According to Matthew, Yosef was a descendant of David through Solomon, but also through Jeconiah. This meant that Joseph could not be the heir-apparent to David’s throne.

We learn this from Jeremiah 22:24-30, where we read: “As surely as I live,” declares ADONAI, “even if you, Coniah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on My right hand, I would still pull you off. I will hand you over to those who seek your life, those you fear – to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to the Babylonians. I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there you both will die. You will never come back to the Land of Judah that you long to return to. Is this man Coniah a despised broken pot, an object no one wants? Why will he and his children be hurled out, cast into the land they do not know? O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of ADONAI”(Jeremiah 22:29)! This is what ADONAI says: Record this man as if childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper, none will sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah (Jeremiah 22:28-30).

The name Coniah is a shortened form of Jeconiah. Also called Jehoiachin (see my commentary on Jeremiah, to see link click Du – Jehoiachin Ruled For 3 Months in 598 BC), was one of the last kings of Judah before the Babylonians took Judah into captivity. The LORD’s patience with the Jews had about run its course when Jeconiah became king at the age of 18 (Second Kings 24:8-16a). This young king did evil in the sight of God because he resisted Babylonian control of Judah that ADONAI had commanded (Jeremiah 27:5-11). For this, he was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar, who carried him away to Babylon together with all the treasures of the Temple. There he remained in prison for 37 years before he was released and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king’s table (Jeremiah 52:33; Second Kings 25:29).

Ha’Shem pronounced a curse upon him in the days of Yirmeyahu. The curse has several facets to it, but the last one is so significant that God called the whole earth three times over to hear it (Jeremiah 22:29). Then the curse is spelled out: No descendant of Jeconiah will ever have the right to sit upon the throne of David (Jeremiah 22:30). Until Jeremiah, the first requirement was membership in the house of David. But, with Yirmeyahu, that requirement was limited even further. One still had to be a member of the house of David, but he had to be apart from Jeconiah. Yosef was a descendant of David, but in the line of Jeconiah; therefore, he was disqualified from the throne of David. If Jesus had been the real son of Joseph, He too would have been disqualified from ever sitting on the throne of David. If a Jew looked at Matthew’s genealogy, he would have thought to himself, “If Yeshua really was Joseph’s son, He couldn’t be the Meshiach.” That is why Matthew begins his gospel with the genealogy, addressed the “Jeconiah problem,” and solved it by means of the Virgin Birth (Mattityahu 1:18-24).³⁴

The book of [origin] of Jesus the Messiah the Son of David, the Son of Abraham (Matthew 1:1). The first two words of Matthew’s gospel are literally book of genesis. The effect on the Jewish reader would be comparable to that of John’s opening phrase: In the beginning . . .  The theme of the fulfillment of Scripture is signaled from the very start (Genesis 1:1), and these opening words suggest that a new creation was taking place.³⁵

Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers (Matthew 1:2),

Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram (Matthew 1:3),

Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon (Matthew 1:4),

Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse (Matthew 1:5),

and Jesse the father of King David, David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife (Matthew 1:6),

Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa (Matthew 1:7),

Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah (Matthew 1:8),

Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah (Matthew 1:9),

Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah (Matthew 1:10),

and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon (Matthew 1:11).

After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel (Matthew 1:12),

Zerubbabel the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor (Matthew 1:13),

Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Elihud (Matthew 1:14),

Elihud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob (Matthew 1:15),

and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah (Matthew 1:16).

Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah (Matthew 1:17).

The Genealogy in Luke 3:23b-38:

Turning to Luke’s genealogy we see that Luke (a Hellenistic Jew), unlike Matthew, had no problem with Jeconiah, so he begins his gospel with the virgin birth and gave his genealogy later in Chapter 3. Luke followed strict Jewish custom and procedure in that he mentions no women and he skipped no names. The rule against naming women in a Jewish genealogy would raise a question: “If you wished to trace a woman’s line but could not use her name, how would you do it?” Jewish custom said, “You would use the name of her husband.”

The Talmud states: “A mother’s family is not to be called a family.” In the TaNaKh, there were two cases where a woman’s line was traced by the name of her husband: Ezra 2:61 and Nehemiah 7:63. Likewise, Luke was following the strict Jewish practice of not mentioning the names of women. He wanted to trace Mary’s line but couldn’t mention her name, so he mentions Yosef (Luke 3:23b). But to show he doesn’t mean Yosef, he excludes the Greek definite article from Joseph’s name and adds it to all the other names.

Unlike Matthew, Luke began his genealogy during his own day and worked backward into history. He started with the name Yosef as a substitute for Mary and traced it to Nathan, the Son of David (Luke 3:31). According to this verse, Miryam, like Joseph, was a descendant of David. However, unlike Joseph, Mary did not have the blood of Jeconiah running through her veins. She was a descendant of David, apart form Jeconiah, through Nathan, not Solomon. This meant that Jesus fulfilled the first requirement in the TaNaKh for kingship: He was a member of the house of David, apart from Jeconiah.

However, that would not solve the whole problem. At this point in Jewish history, there were a great number of other Jews who were descendants of David, apart from Jeconiah. So Yeshua was not the only one to fulfill the first requirement. Why should He be the king and none of the others? The answer lies in the second requirement in the TaNaKh, which was that of divine appointment in Luke 1:30-35, especially verse 32. But Jesus alone fulfilled the second requirement of the TaNaKh. By virtue of His resurrection the Lord now lives forever, and He will have no successors. If a Jew looked at Luke’s genealogy, he would have thought to himself, “This genealogy follows strict Jewish custom and procedure. It mentions no women, skips no names, and is apart from Jeconiah.” Luke’s genealogy showed why Jesus could be King Messiah.

He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph,

the son of Heli, also spelled Eli (Luke 3:23b), the son of Matthat: Because Luke has to mention Yosef instead of Mary to maintain the integrity of a proper Jewish genealogy, he says the son of Heli, who was Miriam’s father. This implies that Yosef was the son-in-law of Heli. It is no accident that the Jewish writings of the first and second century mention Jesus as the son of Heli because they recognized that the line was really being traced through Mary and not Joseph.

the son of Levi, the son of Melki,

the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph (Luke 3:24),

the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos,

the son of Nahum, the son of Esli,

the son of Naggai (Luke 3:25), the son of Maath,

the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein,

the son of Josech, the son of Joda (Luke 3:26),

the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa,

the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel,

the son of Neri (Luke 3:27), the son of Melki,

the son of Addi, the son of Cosam,

the son of Elmadam, the son of Er (Luke 3:28),

the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer,

the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat,

the son of Levi (Luke 3:29), the son of Simeon,

the son of Judah, the son of Joseph,

the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim (Luke 3:30),

the son of Melea, the son of Menna,

the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan,

the son of David (Luke 3:31), the son of Jesse,

the son of Obed, the son of Boaz,

the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon (Luke 3:32),

the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram,

the son of Hezron, the son of Perez,

the son of Judah (Luke 3:33), the son of Jacob,

the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham,

the son of Terah, the son of Nahor (Luke 3:34),

the son of Serug, the son of Reu,

the son of Peleg, the son of Eber,

the son of Shelah (Luke 3:35), the son of Cainan,

the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem,

the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, (Luke 3:36),

the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch,

the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel,

the son of Kenan (Luke 3:37), the son of Enosh,

the son of Seth, the Son of Adam,

the Son of God (Luke 3:38).

Lastly, these two genealogies contain four of the many titles of the Meshiach. In Matthew 1:1, He is called the Son of David and the Son of Abraham, it means that Yeshua is a Jew. In Luke 3:38, He is called the Son of Adam and the Son of God. Each title emphasizes a different aspect of His personality.

Calling Him the Son of David means that Yeshua is a King, and calling Him the son of Abraham means that Yeshua is a Jew. Not coincidentally, these are the same two themes that Matthew emphasizes – the Jewishness and kingship of Jesus: He is the King of the Jews. That is why Mattityahu alone records the coming of the Magi (see Av – The Visit of the Magi), asking the question: Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?

His third title is the Son of Adam. This title emphasizes that fact that Yeshua was a man. Once again, it is no accident that this happens to be the theme of Luke’s gospel, who emphasizes that Messiah is the Son of Man (see Co – Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man). That is why Luke, not Matthew, Mark or John, records His human development in much more detail. Luke describes how He grew up; how He gained His knowledge; and His subjection to parental authority. Luke, more than the others, emphasized how He was hungry and how He was tired, all of which are trademarks of humanity. Yeshua is the Son of Adam, which means that He is a Man.

His fourth title is the Son of God. This means that Jesus is God. Being the Son of God, the righteous of the TaNaKh believed that He was God Himself. That happens to be the theme of the gospel of John, who emphasized that Yeshua is the Meshiach, the Son of God. This is why John began his gospel with the words: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. At the end of his gospel, John noted the incident with “doubting” Thomas who finally saw the truth and declared to Yeshua, My Lord and my God (John 20:28). Between those two passages, John emphasized the deity of Christ again and again – the fact that Jesus is God.

These four titles picture the Messiah, the Jewish God-Man, and King.³⁶

The Boyhood of Jesus
Luke 2: 41-52

Jesus’ visit to Jerusalem as a twelve-year-old boy is the only account of His boyhood found in the four gospels. The purpose is to transition into Yeshua’s ministry by demonstrating His exceptional spiritual growth. The account reveals His two themes. The first theme is Jesus’ growing awareness of His unique relationship with God the Father. This theme climaxes in Luke 2:49 when Jesus announces that He stayed in the City of David because He had to be in His Father’s house. Although Yeshua continued to be in submission to His human parents (Luke 2:51), His obedience to His heavenly Father surpassed all earthly commitments. The second theme is Jesus’ growth in wisdom, as revealed in His dialog with the Jewish rabbis in the Temple (Isaiah 11:2). Consequently, Yeshua demonstrated His messianic credentials at an early age.¹⁸⁹

The scarcity of the records of the silent years in Nazareth stands in stark contrast to the high state of physical, mental and spiritual development that we find in Yeshua when He began His public ministry. We are left largely to conjecture as to how He must have exercised His gifts of teaching and preaching during the years of His youth. Ultimately, we must conclude that He not only interacted with the current issues of His times, but, that He had given long hours of meditation to the great theme that became the core of the message of His public ministry. Many a time, He must have climbed the stony path that led to the hilltop above Nazareth, and remained for hours in meditation and prayer. When He emerged on our horizon in His ministry at a wedding in Cana (to see link click Bq – Jesus Changes Water Into Wine), it was with the full splendor of spiritual power.¹⁹⁰

The Birth of King Messiah

One thing to notice about the birth and early life of Jesus is that all we can know is found only in Matthew and Luke. Not Mark or John. Only Mattityahu and Luke actually give us the story or the birth and early life of Christ. They tell the story, however, from two different viewpoints. Matthew tells us the story from Joseph’s point of view, while Luke tells the same story from Mary’s perspective. In Mattityahu, Yosef plays the active role while Miryam plays a passive role. Mattityahu records what Joseph is thinking, but, not what Mary is thinking. It is recorded how angels came to Yosef, but, not angels appearing to Mary. Conversely, Luke’s gospel tells the story from Miryam’s perspective. In the gospel of Luke, Miryam plays the active role while Yosef plays the passive role. It is recorded how angels appear to Mary, but, not to Joseph. Luke reports what Miryam is thinking, not what Joseph is thinking.³⁷

The Memra of God
John 1: 1-18

The Memra of God DIG: How is the Memra like Christ? How is Jesus like the Tabernacle? What is Yochanan the Baptist’s role as a witness? Who or what fails to comprehend the light? Why? How would someone full of grace and truth treat others? Why are John and Moses not our primary focus here? From this passage, how can a person know God? Why couldn’t the Pharisees and Sadducees see that Yeshua was the memra?

REFLECT: Have you been adopted into the family of ADONAI? Do you view yourself as God’s child? Would the Lord ever disown any of His children? Are you keeping Him at the door? Or in the living room? Or even given Him the keys? Why? What strikes you most about Yeshua in this passage?

The New Covenant was written in Greek, and the Greek word for Word is Logos. Most people concentrate on the Greek philosophical concept of the Logos that meant two things: reason, the idea of God, and speech, the expression of God. The Greeks were hung up on philosophy. They believed in a supreme power whose mind, reason, will and emotion were displayed in an impersonal way through the Logos. But, John was not a Greek philosopher, he was a Jewish fisherman. This does not mean that John was not talking to the Greeks because he was fond of deliberately using expressions with more than one meaning. It is his way of bringing out the fuller meaning of whatever term he was using. But here, John was saying something specifically to the Jews.

Jewish theology deals with the Memra. It is an Aramaic term that means the Word. In Hebrew the word is Davar. Therefore, Logos, Memra and Davar all mean the same thing . . . the Word. By the time of Christ, the TaNaKh had been translated into Aramaic, which was one of the major languages of the Jews of Jesus’ day. Whenever the TaNaKh used the word Davar, the Aramaic version used Memra. These were called the Targumin, meaning Aramaic translations. But, they were really more than translations, they were interpretive translations. For example, in the Hebrew text, Isaiah 52:13 says . . . My Servant will prosper. However the Aramaic translation that the Jews made, said . . . My Servant the Messiah will prosper. As a result, out of the Aramaic translation the Jewish theologians developed a whole scale theology regarding the Memra.¹⁸

Everything that the rabbis taught about the Memra is true of Jesus Christ. The rabbis had seven things to say about the Memra. First, the rabbis taught that the Memra was a person. Isaiah 45:23 says: By Myself I have sworn, My mouth has spoken in all integrity a Word that will not be revoked. They taught that the Memra had intellect, will and emotion (Isaiah 9:8, 55:10-11; Psalm 147:15). So John would write: The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His Sh’khinah glory, the Sh’khinah glory of the One and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

Secondly, the rabbis taught that the Memra was the means by which God made His covenants (Genesis 15:4). Therefore, the Holy Spirit would declare through His apostle: For the Torah was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Yeshua Messiah (Yochanan 1:17).

Thirdly, they taught that the Memra was the means of salvation (Hosea 1:7 NKJ). So John would write: Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12).¹⁹ In effect, John was saying, “I’m not writing merely to inform you, and I’m not writing to entertain you. I am writing to you so that you might believe! The Greek word for faith is pisteuo, and means to trust in, to believe in or to have faith in. John used this word ninety-eight times in his gospel. It never refers merely to intellectual agreement with a proposal. Belief involves a personal response of reliance and commitment. Faith involves receiving Christ (Yochanan 1:12), obeying Christ (Yochanan 3:36), and abiding in Christ (John 15:1-10 and First John 4:15). What does that look like? I’m glad you asked!

Around 1900, before the days of rock stars and sports heroes, some of the most famous people were known for daring feats, like climbing mountains, escaping from chains and vaults, and swinging on the flying trapeze. None was more famous than the great Charles Blondin of France, the greatest tightrope walker in the world. One time he walked the tight rope across Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada. He would walk across with a balance bar, he would ride across on a unicycle, and sometimes, with someone that believed in him, he would carry a trusting soul across on his shoulders. One day he wheeled a boy across in a wheelbarrow. The crowd saw it and cheered. The boy put his life into Blondin’s hands. That is what faith is, putting our life in Christ’s hands. When Blondin got to the other side of Niagara Falls, he asked the crowd if they believed he could do it again and go back across. They cried out, “Yes, we believe you can do it.” At that he said, “Then get in the wheelbarrow.” That is trust. As far as Messiah is concerned, are you in the wheelbarrow?

Once we have trusted in Christ, the most important belief about ourselves is that we are adopted into the family of God (to see link click Bw – What God Does For Us at the Moment of Faith) and have become a child of God with all the privileges and responsibilities that come with being a son or a daughter. At that point, the issue really isn’t if we can hang on to Him, the question really is, will ADONAI ever leave us? The inspired writer to the Hebrews answers that question by reminding us: God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5b).

Therefore, we are not saved by how we behave; we are saved by what we believe. The Apostle John wrote: How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies themselves, just as He is pure (First John 3:1-3). These important verses drive home how critical it is to know who we are as children of God, since that belief serves as the basis of how we live our lives. No one can live in a way that conflicts with how they view themselves.

Fourth, the rabbis taught that the Memra was the means of revelation and that God revealed Himself by means of the Memra (Genesis 15:1; Ezeki’el 1:3). John would write: No one has ever seen God, but the One and only Son, who is Himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made Him known (Yochanan 1:18).

Fifth, the rabbis taught that the Memra was the agent of creation; everything He created, He created by means of the Memra (Psalm 33:4-6). Thus, the Holy Spirit inspired the human author to write: He was with God in the beginning (John 1:2).

Sixth, the rabbis taught that the Memra was, at times, the same as God, while at other times, distinct from God. Yochanan would announce: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (Yochanan 1:1).

Lastly, the rabbis taught that the Memra was the agent of the theophanies in the TaNaKh. As a result, John disclosed: The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His Sh’khinah glory, or the visible manifestation of ADONAI’s presence, the Sh’khinah glory of the One and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). How did Yeshua do that? He dwelt, or literally tabernacled among us (see my commentary on Exodus Eq – Christ in the Tabernacle).²⁰

The first two verses emphasize that Jesus Christ is eternal; He has no beginning and He will have no end. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). Nothing higher could be said. Before any conceivable point in the eternal past, the Word already existed. ADONAI began by revelation to build a bridge between Himself and people.²¹ So the Memra has no beginning. He was with God in the beginning (Yochanan 1:2). The Greek word for with, or pros, when used in this way, signifies familiarity. The Word and God the Father existed together, sharing place, intimacy and purpose (Psalm 90:1-2). In fact, they were so close that the Word was God. They share the same essence and all that is true of Ha’Shem is true of the Word.²²

Yeshua Messiah is the Creator; all things were made by Him. In the previous verse, John stated that the Word is God from the perspective of time. Only God is eternal; and because the Word is eternal, He is God. Now he establishes His deity from another point of view: creation. From both the Jewish and Gentile perspectives anything not created is deity. With this ancient worldview in mind, John wrote: Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made (1:3). Why is this so important? Because starting in John’s day and until today, false teachers claim that Jesus is not God. Arius, a third-century false teacher, loved to say, “There was a time when He was not.” But John points to the moment of creation to say that before anything existed, Christ, who is the Creator, spoke all things into existence.

Jesus Christ is the Source of life; nothing remains alive apart from Him. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. Our spiritual and physical life come from Him. Light’s nature is to shine and drive out the darkness. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:4-5). In the end, the darkness could not overcome the Light even by placing the Light in a tomb. This summarizes John’s gospel message in one verse. The Word will be victorious despite the opposition of Satan and the kingdom of darkness. The closer you are to God, the farther you are from the devil.²³

There was a man sent from God whose name was John. The phrase sent from God is in the perfect tense, indicating the permanent character of His mission. He was only the forerunner who came as a witness to testify concerning that Light, so that through Him all might believe. He himself was not the Light; he came only as a witness to the Light (Yochanan 1:6-8). But, even John, the one Jesus called the greatest of all the prophets (Matthew 11:9-13), was no match for the darkness. Like Moshe, Samuel, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Hosea, Zechariah and all the other prophets before him, he failed to enlighten the world. After all, they were only human. The single hope for us is the Source of light who can enlighten every heart and mind, because He is more than human.

Yeshua Ha’Meshiach is the Light; but the darkness did not receive Him. The true Light that gives light to everyone was not hidden. On the contrary, the true Light came into the world in human flesh (John 1:9). Therefore, just as He revealed Himself through His creation (Romans 1:18-20), no one can claim ignorance. He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to that which was His own, the nation of Isra’el, but, they did not receive Him (John 1:10-11). In rejecting Him, they refused to accept Him as the revelation sent by the Father and refused to obey His commands.²⁴ When the light is turned on, who are the ones that are unconscious of that fact? Who needs to be told the light is on? That’s right, the blind!²⁵ In this case the spiritually blind because the world did not recognize Him. In the end, darkness could not suppress the Light even by placing the Light in a dark tomb.²⁶

The most important belief about ourselves is that we are children of God and that being His child is a right given to us by the LORD Himself. Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12). The Greek word pisteuo, translated believe, appears 98 times in the gospel of John. It has a wide semantic range and can be translated as trust, faith, belief. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, how did He start? He started with: Our Father (Mattityahu 6:9a). That is the most important inward, personal thing we can say when we talk to ADONAI. Since He is our Father, then we must be His children. Do you have that assurance? If not, why not settle it today? Pray the prayer at the bottom of this file. God has given you the right to be His child through faith in His Son. It’s not a right you have earned. Here, the Bible says He gave it to you!

We are children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will. The piling up of these expressions is to be understood in the light of Jewish pride of race. The Jews believed that because of their Jewish “Fathers,” their great ancestors, ADONAI would favor them. But John emphatically denies such an idea. The birth of a child of God is not a natural birth; it is a supernatural work of the LORD through regeneration. All human initiative is ruled out because believers are born of God (Yochanan 1:13).²⁷

Jesus Christ, though completely human, fully reveals the Father. The Word, the living Torah, became flesh and made His dwelling (or tabernacled) among us. In this verse we discover that the Memra is the Messiah Himself. This was not a man named Jesus, who grew up in Nazareth and one day decided that he was God; this was God the Word who decided to become a man.²⁸ We have seen His Sh’khinah glory, the Sh’khinah glory of the One and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). He couldn’t bear to live without us, so He gave His greatest gift – Himself.

The essence of Yochanan’s message about the Memra can be seen when we combine the first and fourteenth verses. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us; and the Word was with God, and we have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father; and the Word was God, full of grace and truth (Yochanan 1:1 and 14).

The prologue ends with three points underlining the uniqueness of the Messiah. First, we are reminded of His superiority to John the Baptist. Yochanan testified continually concerning Him. He cried out, saying: This is the One I spoke about when I said: He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me (Yochanan 1:15). Yeshua was younger than John and began His ministry later than John. But, because of Christ’s preexistence, Yochanan said He has surpassed me.

Second, He supplies the needs of all those who are His. Out of His fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given (John 1:16). The grace of God comes to believers like waves continually coming to the shore. The believer constantly receives evidence of God’s grace in place of grace He has already given us. For the Torah was given through Moses (Second Corinthians 3:6-16); grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (Yochanan 1:17). It is sometimes thought that this verse demeans Moses, but nothing could be further from the truth. The fact that a mere man, for whom no claim of divinity has ever been made, should even be compared with the Word of God shows how highly the Holy Spirit regards Moses. Nor does it demean the Torah, ADONAI’s eternal teaching about Himself, by comparing it to grace and truth. Matthew tells us that Yeshua Himself declared that He did not come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets, but to fulfill them. In fact, He then proceeded to interpret the Torah in ways that made its meaning and commands even clearer (Mattityahu 5:17-48). Grace and truth are personal attributes of God that Yeshua not only revealed during His public ministry, but, has been continually giving mankind since the beginning of creation.

Third, at first glance John 1:18 may seem to have very little to do with the preceding verses. But, in reality, it forms the climax to the entire prologue, stressing that the Messiah is in the closest relationship with God the Father whom no one has ever seen (John 1:18a). Yet the multitudes that saw Yeshua saw ADONAI. Furthermore, Moshe saw God’s back (Exodus 33:19-23), Isaiah saw the LORD seated on a throne, high and exalted (Isaiah 6:1). The seventy elders of Isra’el also saw the God of Isra’el . . . and they ate and drank with Him (Exodus 24:9-11). Therefore, this passage must mean that the ultimate glory and essential nature of Ha’Shem are hidden from sinful humanity.²⁹ Then John ends his prologue by bringing us back to the truth of the first verse that the Word is God. Jesus is unique, the One and only Son, who is Himself God and is in closest possible relationship with the Father, has made Him known (John 1:18b). The verb has made Him known, is translated recognized in Luke 24:35, where the two on the road to Emmaus recognized Yeshua when He broke bread with them. It means that Jesus has revealed God the Father to us in such a way that all can recognize Him. As the Meshiach Himself would say at the end of His ministry: Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father (Yochanan 14:9b). So, if you want to know who God is and what He is like, look to Jesus and you will know Him.

What does it mean to be a genuine believer whose life is characterized by authentic faith? John describes five practical qualities that can be seen in the lives of His holy ones (Deuteronomy 33:2-3; Job 5:1; Psalms 16:3 and 34:9; Zechariah 14:5; Jude 1).

First, genuine believers are not too independent to admit their own needs. Only when we trust the Lord enough to admit our weaknesses and our inadequacies will we be able to enjoy intimacy with our family and friends. While pride keeps us trapped in our sin, vulnerability gives Yeshua the opportunity to work in our lives for our own benefit, and the benefit of others.

Secondly, genuine believers are not too busy to know people around them. Authentic trust in Messiah recognizes the value of others, despite their failures or their shortcomings, and devotes adequate time to knowing them well. People, not tasks, are their top priority as they live out their faith.

Thirdly, genuine believers believe in God’s Word. Genuine faith craves to know as much about God’s Word as possible, because it doesn’t trust in its own wisdom. True believers are more devoted to knowing what ADONAI thinks about life and how we should live, than what the world(First John 2:15-17) thinks about life and how we should live.

Fourthly, genuine believers don’t rely solely on their own perspective. Faithful believers have no trouble admitting the continuing impact of their sinful natures (Psalm 51:1-5; Romans 3:23), and they do whatever they can to negate its influence when making decisions. They seek the truth in God’s Word, they pray for the leading of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh, they submit to the wisdom of mature counselors, and they remain sensitive to the constructive criticism of others.

Fifthly, genuine believers don’t take themselves (or life in this fallen world) too seriously. That’s not to suggest that life isn’t serious or even dismal at times. Life in a fallen world is hard! Nonetheless, genuine believers keep a light touch on the things of this world. They realize that injustices, abuses and setbacks are all a result of being a foreigner in this world because their real citizenship is in heaven as we eagerly await the Deliverer, the Lord Yeshua Messiah (Philippians 3:20 CJB). They maintain a composed perspective, they refuse for anyone or anything to steal their joy. Yeshua said that He came so that we might have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). So, they laugh at every opportunity.³⁰

If you have never made certain your relationship with God let me encourage you to pray this way: Dear heavenly Father, thank You for dying on the cross, taking my place and taking my sin upon Yourself. I realize that I could not have any relationship with You on the basis of my works. But, I thank You that in Messiah I am forgiven, and right now, if I have never done so before, I receive You into My life. I understand that its not the words of this prayer that save me, but my faith in You that saves. I believe that Yeshua died for my sins, was raised on the third day, and I confess now with my mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord.

I come to You as Your child. I thank You for giving me eternal life. I renounce any lie of Satan that I have no right to be called Your child, and I thank You that You have given me that right. I no longer put any confidence in myself; my confidence is in You and the fact that I am saved, not by what I have done, but, by what You have done through Christ on the cross. I now accept myself as a child of God because of the free gift You have given to me. I gladly receive it and accept it for all eternity. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.³¹

Now, why should God let you into His heaven?

That’s right, because Jesus died for your sins.

The Arrival of King Messiah

Historically, Luke begins his book before the other three gospels. Heaven had been silent for over four hundred years when the angel Gabriel pierced the darkness of this world at the golden altar of incense in the Temple to announce the birth of the forerunner of the Messiah, John the Baptist, to an elderly priest named Zechariah. Christ is the English translation, and Messiah is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew title Meshiach, meaning anointed One. It was used specifically of the Deliverer anticipated in the Jewish world who would be God’s Agent in fulfilling prophecies of the TaNaKh such as Genesis 49:10; Psalm 2 and 110; Isaiah 9:1-7 and 11:1-9; and Zechariah 9:9-10. The anticipated Messiah is Yeshua Ha’Meshiach.³³ There are three songs in this section: Elizabeth’s greeting of Mary (to see link click Am – Mary Visits Elizabeth); Mary’s song (see An – The Song of Mary); and Zechariah’s prophecy (see Ao – The Birth of John the Baptist).

The Introduction of King Messiah

Because of the unique nature of the gospels one must do two things when interpreting or reading the gospels, you need to think horizontally and also think vertically. To think horizontally means that when reading or studying different files in the Life of Christ, one should be aware of the different parallel accounts in the other gospels. To be sure, this point must not be overdrawn, since none of the evangelists intended his Good News to be read in parallel with the others. Nonetheless, the fact that ADONAI has provided four gospel accounts in the canon of Scripture means that they cannot legitimately be read in total isolation from one another. I have made this easy for you to do because I have already harmonized the four gospels into one Life of Christ narrative.

It is interesting to note the material particular to each gospel. Using a percentage basis B. F. Westcott, in his book An Introduction to the Study of the Gospels, tabulated the similarities and differences of the four gospels:

Gospel                            Differences                    Similarities

Mark there is only 7% that is different, but 93% of Mark is found in the other gospels

Matthew there is 42% that is different, but 58% of Matthew is found in the other gospels

Luke there is 59% that is different and 41% is found in the other gospel accounts

John there is 92% that is different than the other gospels, and 8% that is the same

Therefore, it seems that Matthew and Luke received most of their information from Mark; and that John represents a clearly independent story. It’s as if John, under the inspiration of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh, merely filled in the details that the other accounts didn’t mention or develop as fully as they could have.

To think vertically means that when reading or studying a narrative or teaching in the gospels, one should try to be aware of both historical contexts, that of Yeshua, and that of the evangelist (to see link click Ac – The Introduction to The Life of Christ: Introduction to the Individual Gospels).³² We need to be aware that many of the gospel stories were written from the point of view of the first-century evangelist, and that we may need to consider the text in its original historical context before we can apply it to our lives today. For example, we cannot understand Messiah’s adversarial relationship with the Jewish religious leaders in Judea in His day unless we understand the Oral Law (see Ei – The Oral Law).

Introduction to The Life of Christ
from a Messianic Jewish Perspective

To my faithful wife Beth. I wanted to marry someone who loved the Lord and His Word,
someone who would be my partner in life and in ministry. God gave me the best of both.
We’re in this together, we are a team; I couldn’t love you more.

Dear loving Heavenly Father, What a joy it is to look ahead from life’s trials to our eternal inheritance and blessing you have for all your children. The Ruach Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, also heirs – heirs of God and joint-heirs with Messiah – if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us (Rom 8:16-18). The joy of heaven will be forever and life’s trials will all be over. I desire to bless you with my life in earth. In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

The Use of the New International Version

Because I am writing this commentary on The Life of Christ from a Jewish perspective, I will be using the New International Version unless otherwise indicated. There will be times when I substitute Hebrew for English names using the Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) by David Stern. But generally I will be using the NIV translation for the Jewish perspective.

The use of ADONAI

Long before Yeshua’s day, the word ADONAI had, out of respect, been substituted in speaking and in reading aloud for God’s personal name, the four Hebrew letters yud-heh-vav-heh, variously written in English as YHVH. The Talmud (Pesachim 50a) made it a requirement not to pronounce Tetragrammaton, meaning the four-letter name of God, and this remains the rule in most modern Jewish settings. In deference to this tradition, which is unnecessary but harmless, I will be using ADONAI where YHVH is meant.¹ In ancient times when the scribes were translating the Hebrew Scriptures, they revered the name of YHVH so much that they would use a quill to make one stroke of the name and then throw it away. Then they would make another stroke and throw that quill away until the name was completed. His name became so sacred to them that they started to substitute the phrase the Name, instead of writing or pronouncing His Name. Over centuries of doing this, the actual letters and pronunciation of His Name were lost. The closest we can come is YHVH, with no syllables. The pronunciation has been totally lost. Therefore, the name Yahweh is only a guess of what the original name sounded like. Both ADONAI and Ha’Shem are substitute names for YHVH. ADONAI is more of an affectionate name like daddy, while Ha’Shem is a more formal name like sir.

The use of TaNaKh

The Hebrew word TaNaKh is an acronym, based on the letters T (for “Torah”), N (for “Neviim,” or the Prophets), and K (for “Ketuvim,” or the Writings). It is the collection of the teachings of God to human beings in document form. The term “Old Covenant” implies that it is no longer valid or, at the very least, outdated. Something old, to be either ignored or discarded. But Jesus Himself said: Don’t think I have come to abolish the Torah and the Prophets, I have not come to abolish but to complete (Matthew 5:17 CJB). I will be using the Hebrew acronym TaNaKh instead of the phrase the Old Testament, throughout this devotional commentary.

The Use of the phrase, “the righteous of the TaNaKh,”
rather than using Old Testament saints

Messianic synagogues, and the Jewish messianic community in general, never use the phrase Old Testament saints. From a Jewish perspective, they prefer to use the phrase, “righteous of the TaNaKh.” Therefore, I will be using “the righteous of the TaNaKh,” rather than Old Testament saints throughout this devotional commentary.

The Use of Disciple and Apostle

Luke indicates that Jesus chose twelve from among His disciples, and that these He named apostles. Consequently, I will be using the word disciples as a general term for those who were committed to following their Master to learn from Him. And I will be using the word apostles for the Twelve in whom Messiah invested His time and sent out with His delegated authority. Obviously, Yeshua chose twelve special disciples to be His apostles. I will also be using the Hebrew word talmid (singular) or talmidim (plural), which means student or learner, to refer to His Twelve apostles. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, they carried on His ministry after He had ascended back to the Father in heaven.

The Historical Context of Jesus’ Teaching

It is crucial to the understanding of Yeshua’s teaching that you immerse yourself in the first-century Judaism of which He was a part. There are two concepts that lay at the heart of understanding The Life of Christ. The first concept is the Kingdom of God, and is absolutely essential to the whole of Jesus’ teaching and ministry. It answers the question, “Why did He come?” The second concept is the Oral Law. I dare say you cannot understand the interaction between Yeshua and the religious leaders of His day unless you understand the Oral Law (to see link click Ei – The Oral Law). It answers the question, “Why was He rejected?”

Introduction to the Individual Gospels

It is profitable to view the gospels from both a harmonistic and individual point of view. Each gospel was written and intended to be read as an independent work. Each is a separate and distinct witness to the life of Christ. When there is a need, I will be pointing out different themes and points of view of each individual author under the inspiration of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh. The more you thoroughly understand each individual gospel the more profitable the study of the life of Messiah.

The Gospel According to Matthew

1. The Author of Matthew: Matthew was a Jewish talmidim of Jesus who once earned a living as a tax collector, an official of the Roman government. Moved by the Holy Spirit, he wrote a biography of Yeshua from a Hebrew perspective, emphasizing the regal rights of Jesus as the long awaited Meshiach and legitimate King of Isra’el.² Early believers uniformly attributed this gospel to Matthew, and no tradition to the contrary every emerged. This book was known early and accepted quickly. In his Ecclesiastical History (AD 323), Eusebius quoted a statement by Papias (AD 140) that Mattityahu wrote Yeshua’s sayings in Aramaic; however, no Aramaic gospel of Matthew has ever been found. Some believe that Matthew wrote an abbreviated version of Jesus’ sayings in Aramaic before writing his gospel in Greek for a larger audience.

2. The Date of Matthew: According to the writings of early believers, Mattityahu was the most widely and frequently used of any of the gospels. This is why it is arranged first. But, like all the gospels, Matthew is not easy to date and suggestions have ranged from AD 40 to 140. The two expressions to this day (Mattityahu 27:8) and to this very day (Matthew 28:15) indicate that a substantial period of time has passed since the events described in the book, but, they also point to a date prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. Yeshua’s answers to the apostle three questions in Matthew Chapters 24 and 25 also anticipates this event. The strong Jewish flavor of this gospel is another argument for a date prior to AD 70. Since a majority of Mark’s gospel is found in Matthew it seems likely that Mattityahu depended on Mark’s Gospel as a source. Therefore, the date of Mark would determine the earliest date for Matthew. The likely date for this book being written is around AD 65. It may have been written in Palestine or in Syrian Antioch.

3. The Audience of Matthew: Matthew is a gospel written by a Jew to Jews about a Jew. Thus, it has long been recognized as the “Jewish Gospel.” Because the Church was first comprised of Jewish believers (Acts 2:1-47), Matthew’s gospel became very popular and is probably the reason it is listed first among the gospels. Mattityahu is the writer, his countrymen are the readers, and Yeshua ha-Meshiach is the subject. Matthew wrote, “This is King Messiah – worship Him.”

4. The Christ of Matthew: Matthew presents Jesus as Isra’el’s promised King Messiah (1:23, 2:2 and 6, 3:17, 4:15-17, 21:5 and 9, 22:44-45, 26:64, 27:11 and 27-27). The phrase the kingdom of heaven appears thirty-two times in Matthew like nowhere else in the New Covenant. To show that Yeshua fulfills the qualifications for the Messiah, Matthew uses more quotations and illustrations (almost 130) from the TaNaKh than any other book. Often used in this gospel is the revealing phrase: So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet, which appears nine times in Matthew and not once in the other Gospels. Jesus is the climax of the prophets (12:39-40, 13:13-15 and 35, 17:5-13). And the messianic term Son (meaning descendant) of David occurs nine times in Mattityahu, but only six times in all of the other gospels.

5. The Purpose of Matthew: Matthew’s purpose is to present Yeshua as the King of the Jews, the long-awaited Meshiach. Through a carefully selected series of quotations from the TaNaKh, Mattityahu documents Yeshua’s claim to be the Messiah. His genealogy, baptism, messages, and miracles all point to the same inescapable conclusion: Jesus is King Messiah. Even in His death, seeming defeat is turned to victory by the resurrection, and the message is the same, King Messiah lives.

6. The Central Theme of Matthew: Yeshua, the Jewish Meshiach, the climax of salvation history, has come.

7. The Key Verses of Matthew: Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied: Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by My Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven (Matthew 16:16-19).³

The Gospel According to Mark

1. The Author of Mark: The second gospel, like the others, contains no statement of authorship. But, the uniform tradition of early believers attributes it to John Mark, John was his Jewish name and Mark was his Latin name (Acts 12:12). Papias, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen are among the Church fathers who affirmed that the author was Mark. He was not one of the Twelve, but the son of a follower named Mary (Acts 12:12), who had a large house that was used as a meeting place for believers in Jerusalem. Peter apparently went to this house often because the servant girl recognized his voice at the gate (Acts 12:13-16). Barnabas was Mark’s cousin (Colossians 4:10), but Peter may have been the person who led him to Christ (Peter called him: my son Mark in First Peter 5:13). It was this close association with Kefa that lent apostolic authority to Mark’s Gospel, since Peter was evidently Mark’s primary source of information. It has been suggested that Mark was referring to himself in his account of a young man, wearing but a linen garment, who was following Jesus (Mark 14:51) in Gethsemane. Since all the apostles had abandoned Yeshua (Mark 14:50), this little incident may have been a firsthand account.

2. The Date of Mark: Most scholars believe that Mark was the first of the four gospels, but there is uncertainty over its date. Because of the prophecy about the destruction of the Temple (Mark 13:2), it should be dated before AD 70, but, early traditions disagree as to whether it was written before or after the martyrdom of Peter in AD 64. Because ninety-three percent of Mark is found in the other gospels, it seems likely that it was the first gospel written. The probable date for this book is in the late 50s AD. Early tradition indicates that it originated in Rome.

3. The Audience of Mark: Mark wrote for Gentile readers in general and Roman readers in particular. Some indications of this are that the genealogy of Jesus is not included (meaning little to Gentiles); Aramaic phrases are translated at least five times (3:17; 5:41; 7:34; 14:36; 15:34); Latin equivalents for terms and amounts (Mark 12:42 says copper coins for the Greek two lepta); in the story of the Canaanite woman there is no saying about Jesus’ lost sheep of the house of Isra’el (Mark 7:24-30); and finally, the apostles are not forbidden to go on a mission among the Samaritans or Gentiles. Mark wrote, “This is the Servant who served humanity – follow Him.”

4. The Christ of Mark: The shortest and simplest of the four gospels, Mark gives a crisp and fast-moving look at the life of Christ. With few comments, Mark lets the narrative speak for itself as the Lord is presented as an active, compassionate, and obedient Servant who constantly ministers to the physical and spiritual needs of others. Because this is the story of a Servant, Mark omits Jesus’ ancestry and birth and moves right into His busy public ministry. Mark is primarily concerned with relating the actions of Yeshua without neglecting His teachings. The distinctive word of this book is euthus, translated immediately or straightaway, and it appears more often in this compact gospel (forty-two times) than in the rest of the New Covenant. Christ is constantly moving toward a goal that is hidden to almost all. Mark clearly shows the power and authority of this unique suffering Servant, identifying Him as no less than the Son of God (Mark 1:1 and 11, 3:11, 5:7, 9:7, 13:32, 14:61, 15:39).

5. The Purpose of Mark: With the action orientation of the Romans, Mark wrote a gospel that emphasizes the actions of the Messiah. Mark’s gospel emphasizes the servant nature of Christ; therefore, we can say that to show Christ the Servant (Mark 10:45) is the purpose of this gospel.

6. The Central Theme of Mark: Yeshua, the Son of God, came to seek, serve and save. He obediently suffered as the Servant of the Lord to pay the ransom price for sins, and as a model of suffering and sacrifice for His disciples to follow.

7. The Key Verses of Mark: Jesus called His apostles together and said: You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave to all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:42-45).⁴

The Gospel According to Luke

1. The Author of Luke: Luke was a doctor (Colossians 4:14), probably born and raised in Macedonia. He was a Hellenistic Jew; therefore, the entire B’rit Chadashah was written by Jews. He does not claim to be an eyewitness of what he wrote in his gospel, but rather to have thoroughly investigated the events before writing them down. It is generally recognized among biblical scholars today that when Luke wrote his Gospel, he already had the writing of Acts in mind. The two form a two-volume work. It is clear from the beginnings of both Luke and Acts that they were addressed to the same man named Theophilus, meaning lover of God, as a two-volume work. He was probably the patron who sponsored Luke’s writing. The book of Luke is the longest of all the gospels. Matthew has more chapters, but, Luke has more verses and words. And the combined work of Luke and Acts comprises the largest amount of material from any single human author in the New Covenant, including Rabbi Sha’ul. Acts begins with a summary of Luke and continues the story from where the Gospel of Luke ends. The style and language of both books are quite similar. The Church throughout the ages has attributed this book to Luke.

2. The Date of Luke: The date of the Gospel is closely tied to its companion volume Acts. Since Paul was in prison in Rome at the end of Acts (AD 62), Luke may have finished Acts before Paul’s release and later martyrdom. This would place Acts around AD 62, and his gospel was probably written in the early 60s.⁵

3. The Audience of Luke: In his two-volume Luke-Acts set, Luke, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, desires to reach the world. He wrote to neither the spiritually privileged Jew nor the politically privileged Roman, but, to common Greeks, most of whom had no power, no wealth and no hope. His Gospel is grounded his in Judaism, and even though his message starts in the heart of Judaism, in Jerusalem and the Temple, his audience is the whole world. Luke shattered cultural boundaries, ethnic boundaries, and racial boundaries because it includes humanity. He wrote, “This is the only Man among men without sin – emulate Him.”

4. The Christ of Luke: The humanity and compassion of Jesus are repeatedly stressed in Luke’s Gospel. Luke gives the most complete account of Christ’s ancestry, birth and development. He is the ideal Son of Man who identified with the sorrow and plight of sinful mankind in order to carry our sorrows and offer us the priceless gift of salvation. Jesus alone fulfills the Greek ideal of human perfection, and yet, the Savior of all the people of the world.

5. The Purpose of Luke: Luke wanted to create an accurate, chronological and comprehensive account of the unique life of Jesus Christ (Luke 1:3-4) to strengthen the faith of Gentile believers and stimulate saving faith among nonbelievers. Luke also had another purpose, and that was to show that Christ was not only divine, but, also human. Luke pictures Christ in all of His humanity by devoting more of his inspired writing to Christ’s feelings and humanity than any other Gospel.

6. The Central Theme of Luke: Luke presents Jesus as the Perfect Man who came to seek and save both Jews and Gentiles alike. It shatters cultural boundaries, ethnic boundaries, and racial boundaries because it cuts across the human condition.

7. The Key Verse of Luke: For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost (Luke 19:10).⁶

The Gospel According to John

1. The Author of John: The author and apostle Yochanan is the talmidim whom Jesus loved (John 13:23, 19:26, 20:2, 21:7, 20 and 24). He was prominent in the early Church but is not mentioned by name in this Gospel – which would be natural if he wrote it, but would be hard to explain otherwise. The author knew Jewish life well, as seen from references to popular messianic speculations (for example: John 1:20-21; 7:40-42), to the hostility between Jews and Samaritans (Yochanan 4:9), and to Jewish customs, such as the duty of circumcision on the eighth day taking precedence over the prohibition of working on the Sabbath (John 7:22). He knew the geography of Palestine and particularly the city of Jerusalem, mentioning such incidental details such as Cana, a village not referred to in any earlier writing known to us (2:1, 21:2). The gospel of John touches on many things that were obviously based on the recollections of an eye witness – such as the house at Bethany being filled with the fragrance of the broken perfume jar (Yochanan 12:3).⁷ Early Church tradition affirms that it was written by John the apostle. Irenaeus (130-200 AD) wrote, “John, the disciple of the Lord, who leaned on his breast, also published the gospel while living at Ephesus in Asia.” Irenaeus said that he received this information from Polycarp, a disciple of Yochanan himself. So, both the internal and external evidence confirms John the apostle as the human author.

2. The Date of John: Since the eighteenth century, it was common among critical scholars to date Yochanan as being written late in the second century, assuming its high view of Jesus was a late development in the Church. However, the discovery of the John Rylands manuscript (p52, 135 AD), a small papyrus fragment of John, as well as the other discoveries at Qumran (which show the Jewishness of the Gospel) have forced scholars to abandon this late date. Since John’s three epistles and Revelation were written after his Gospel, most scholars today date the Gospel from AD 80 to 90.

3. The Audience of John: John certainly knew of the synoptic Gospels and probably taught from them for many years before deciding, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, that the biography of Jesus remained incomplete. All believers knew Him as King of the Jews, Yeshua as Servant and Yeshua as the Son of Man, but there remained a need for the theme, Jesus as the Son of God. John wrote his Gospel so that we would know that the Son of Man is God in human flesh – completely human, yet no less God than when, in the beginning, He spoke the universe into existence. John wrote, “This is God in human flesh – believe in Him.

4. The Christ of John: This book presents the most powerful case in the entire Bible for the deity and incarnate Son of God. The man they call Jesus (John 9:11) is also Christ, the Son of the Living God (John 6:69 NKJ). The deity of Christ can be seen in His seven I AM statements: I AM the bread of life (Yochanan 6:35), I AM the light of the world (John 8:12, 9:5), I AM the gate (John 10:7 and 9), I AM the Good Shepherd (John 10:11 and 14), I AM the resurrection and the life (John 11:25), I AM the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6) I AM the true vine (Yochanan 15:1-5). The seven signs or miracles: Changing Water to Wine (2:1-12); Healing the Officials Son (John 4:43-53); Healing at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-15); Feeding the 5,000 (Yochanan 6:1-24); Walking on Water (John 6:16-24); the Healing of a Man Born Blind (John 9:1-44); and also Raising Lazarus (Yochanan 11:1-44) point to His divine character. The Word was God (John 1:1), but the Word also became flesh (John 1:14).⁸

5. The Purpose of John: John’s Gospel contains a clear statement of purpose. Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of His apostles, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name (John 21:30-31). This may indicate that the gospel’s primary purpose is evangelistic, to bring unbelievers to faith in Christ. On the other hand, the interpretation of the phrase: that you might believe, is disputed. Some early manuscripts view this as in the present subjective, and thus could be translated: that you might continue to believe. Therefore, the purpose could be to assure believers in their faith. These two purposes of evangelism and assurance are not mutually exclusive. Both could be aspects of John’s purpose for writing. The theme of light and darkness is a minor motif in John’s Gospel.

6. The Unique Material and Theological Themes of John: The central theme of John is that Jesus is the divine Son of God who reveals the Father, providing eternal life to whosoever believes in Him.

a. The gospel of John is unique. Although it is written in a simple style, and with simple vocabulary, it displays a deeper level of theological meaning and implication behind the words and deeds of Jesus.

b. John omits much material included in the Synoptics (Matthew, Mark and Luke). He provides no genealogy, illustrating the fact that deity has no beginning. John offers no childhood details and retells no parables, perhaps to emphasize His transcendent nature as God. Yochanan bypasses Jesus Christ’s temptation in the wilderness, His transfiguration on the mountain, His commissioning of the apostles after His resurrection, and His ascension from the earth.⁹ Most of the teaching of Jesus in John is unique. Ninety-two percent of John is unique to his Gospel, with only 8 percent found in the Synoptic Gospels (this is almost exactly opposite of Mark). Five of the seven miracles do not occur in other gospels. The Sadducees are not mentioned nor is Jesus’ fellowship with sinners and tax collectors. Many events important in the Synoptics are also omitted, including birth stories, genealogies, Jesus’ baptism, the temptation, the transfiguration and the ascension. The key Synoptic phrase, the Kingdom of God, occurs only twice. Evidently John avoided repetition with the Synoptics unless it fulfilled his purpose.

c. Yochanan is the only writer to report Jesus’ extensive Judean ministry. From the Synoptics alone it is impossible to tell how long Messiah’s public ministry lasted. They mention the Passover, but, only when Yeshua died. John supplements this material by letting us know that there were four Passovers during Christ’s public ministry; thus, we know it lasted for three-and-a-half years.

d. John repeatedly describes Jesus’ contacts with those around Him, like Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman. When people came in contact with Jesus, they either accepted or rejected His person and His message. But, either way, a response was necessary. From these personal interviews, we gain great insight into Yeshua’s identity.

e. Lastly, there is more extended teaching by Yeshua about the Ruach Ha’Kodesh than in any other.

7. The Key Verses of John: For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).¹⁰

The Outline of the Life of Christ

The basis for this commentary and outline is taken from the Life of Christ book, Tape and DVD Series from Arnold Fruchtenbaum and Ariel Ministries in San Antonio, Texas.

Table for Finding Any Passage in Matthew (Ab1)

Table for Finding Any Passage in Mark (Ab2)

Table for Finding Any Passage in Luke (Ab3)

Table for Finding Any Passage in John (Ab4)

Life of Christ from a Jewish Perspective (Ac)

THE PREVIEW OF KING MESSIAH (Ad) Para 1-2

A. The Purpose of Luke’s Gospel (Ae) Para 1

B. The Memra of God (Af) Para 2

I. THE INTRODUCTION OF KING MESSIAH (Ag) Para 3-27

A. The Arrival of King Messiah (Ah) Para 3-19

1. The Genealogies of Joseph and Mary (Ai) Para 3

2. The Birth of King Messiah (Aj) Para 4-11

a. The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold (Ak) Para 4

b. The Birth of Jesus Foretold to Mary (Al) Para 5

c. Mary Visits Elizabeth (Am) Para 6

d. The Song of Mary (An) Para 7

e. The Birth of John the Baptist (Ao) Para 8

f. Joseph Accepts Jesus As His Son (Ap) Para 9

g. The Birth of Jesus (Aq) Para 10

h. The Shepherds and the Angels (Ar) Para 11

3. The Infancy and Childhood of Jesus (As) Para 12-17

a. On the Eighth Day He was Circumcised and Named Yeshua (At) Para 12

b. Jesus Presented in the Temple (Au) Para 13

c. The Visit of the Magi (Av) Para 14

d. Herod Gave Orders to Kill all the Boys in Bethlehem (Aw) Para 15

e. He Will Be Called a Nazarene (Ax) Para 16

f. The Child Grew and the Grace of God was Upon Him (Ay) Para 17

4. The Boyhood of Jesus (Az) Para 18-19

a. The Boy Jesus at the Temple (Ba) Para 18

b. And Jesus Grew in Wisdom and in Favor with God (Bb) Para 19

B. The Herald of King Messiah (Bc) Para 20-23

1. The Word of God Came to John in the Wilderness (Bd) Para 20

2. John the Baptist Prepares the Way (Be) Para 21

3. You Brood of Vipers, Who Warned You to Flee the Coming Wrath (Bf) Para 22

4. I Will Baptize You With Water But He Will Baptize With the Spirit (Bg) Para 23

C. The Approval of King Messiah (Bh) Para 24-27

1. The Baptism of Jesus (Bi) Para 24

2. Jesus is Tempted in the Wilderness (Bj) Para 25

3. John the Baptist’s Testimony about Jesus (Bk) Para 26-27

a. John the Baptist Denies Being the Messiah (Bl) Para 26

b. John Identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God (Bm) Para 27

II. THE AUTHENTIFICATION OF KING MESSIAH (Bn) Para 28-56

A. The Acceptance of King Messiah (Bo) Para 28-36

1. John’s Disciples Follow Jesus (Bp) Para 28

2. Jesus Changes Water Into Wine (Bq) Para 29

3. Jesus’ First Stay in Capernaum (Br) Para 30

4. The First Cleansing of the Temple (Bs) Para 31

5. Jesus’ Acceptance in Judea (Bt) Para 32

a. The Early Response to Jesus’ Miracles (Bu) Para 32a

b. Jesus Teaches Nicodemus (Bv) Para 32b

c. What God Does For Us at the Moment of Faith? (Bw)

6. John Testifies Again About Jesus (Bx) Para 33

7. Herod Locked John Up in Prison (By) Para 34

8. Jesus’ Acceptance in Samaria (Bz) Para 35

a. Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman (Ca) Jn 4:1-26

b. The Apostles Rejoin Jesus (Cb) Jn 4:27-38

c. Many Samaritans Believe (Cc) Jn 4:39-42

9. Jesus’ Acceptance in Galilee (Cd) Para 36

B. The Program of King Messiah (Ce) Para 37-56

1. Jesus Returned to Galilee in the Power of the Spirit (Cf) Para 37

2. Jesus Heals an Official’s Son (Cg) Para 38

3. The Spirit of the LORD is On Me (Ch) Para 39

4. Jesus’ Headquarters in Capernaum (Ci) Para 40

5. Come, Follow Me, and I Will Show You How to Fish for People (Cj) Para 41

6. Jesus Drives Out an Impure Spirit (Ck) Para 42

7. Simon’s Mother-in-Law Was in Bed with a High Fever (Cl) Para 43

8. Jesus Traveled Throughout Galilee, Proclaiming the Good News (Cm) Para 44

9. The First Messianic Miracle: Jesus Heals a Jewish Leper (Cn) Para 45

10. Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man (Co) Para 46

11. The Calling of Matthew (Levi) (Cp) Para 47

12. Jesus Questioned About Fasting (Cq) Para 48

13. The Power of Christ Over the Sabbath (Cr) Para 49-51

a. Jesus Heals a Man at the Pool of Bethesda (Cs) Para 49

b. The Authority of the Son (Ct) Para 49

c. If You Believed Moses, You Would Believe Me (Cu) Para 49

d. The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath (Cv) Para 50

e. Jesus Heals a Man With a Shriveled Hand (Cw) Para 51

14. God’s Chosen Servant (Cx) Para 52

15. These are the Names of the Twelve Apostles (Cy) Para 53

16. Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount (Cz) Para 54

a. The Sermon on the Mount (Da) Mt 5:3-16

(1) Blessed are the Poor in Spirit, Theirs is the Kingdom (Db) Mt 5:3-12

(2) But Woe to You Who Are Rich (De) Lk 6:24-26

(3) You are the Salt of the Earth and Light of the World (Df) Mt 5:13-16

b. The Completion of the Torah (Dg) Mt 5:17-20

(1) You Have Heard That It Was Said: Do Not Murder (Dh) Mt 5:21-26

(2) You Have Heard It Said: Do Not Commit Adultery (Di) Mt 5:27-30

(3) It Has Been Said: Do Not Divorce (Dj) Mt 5:31-32

(4) You Have Heard It Said: Do Not Break Your Oath (Dk) Mt 5:33-37

(5) You Have Heard It Said: An Eye for an Eye (Dl) Mt 5:38-42

(6) You Have Heard It Said: Love Your Enemies (Dm) Mt 5:43-48

c. What True Righteousness Looks Like (Dn) Mt 6:1-18

(1) When You Give, Do Not Do It to Be Honored by Others (Do) Mt 6:1-4

(2) When You Pray, Go Into Your Room, Close the Door (Dp) Mt 6:5-15

(3) When You Fast, Put Oil on Your Head (Dq) Mt 6:16-18

(4) Store Up Treasures in Heaven (Dr) Mt 6:19-24

d. Warnings About True Righteousness (Ds) Mt 6:25-7:27

(1) Do Not Worry About Your Life (Dt) Mt 6:25-34

(2) Do Not Judge and You Will Not Be Judged (Du) Mt 7:1-6

(3) Ask and It Will Be Given; Seek and You Will Find (Dv) Mt 7:7-12

(4) The Narrow and Wide Gates (Dw) Mt 7:13-14

(5) Watch Out for False Prophets (Dx) Mt 7:15-23

(6) The Wise and Foolish Builders (Dy) Mt 7:24-27

e. When Jesus Had Finished, the Crowds Were Amazed (Dz) Mt 7:28-8:1

17. The Faith of the Centurion (Ea) Para 55

18. Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son (Eb) Para 56

III. THE CONTROVERSY OVER KING MESSIAH (Ec) Para 57-71

A. John the Baptist Questions Jesus (Ed) Para 57

B. Come to Me, All Who are Weary, and I Will Give You Rest (Ee) Para 58

C. Jesus Anointed by a Woman Who Led a Sinful Life (Ef) Para 59

D. Mary Magdalene Supported Jesus Out of Her Own Means (Eg) Para 60

E. Jesus is Officially Rejected by the Sanhedrin (Eh) Para 61-62

1. The Oral Law (Ei)

2. The Point of No Return For Israel (Ej) Para 61

a. Second Messianic Miracle: Jesus Heals Blind Mute (Ek) Mt 12:22-24

b. Every Kingdom Divided Against Itself Will Be Ruined (El) Mt 12:25-29

c. Whoever Blasphemes Against the Holy Spirit (Em) Mt 12:30-37

3. Four Drastic Changes in Christ’s Ministry (En) Para 62

a. The Sign of the Prophet Jonah (Eo) Mt 12:38-41

b. Queen of the South Will Condemn This Evil Generation (Ep) Mt 12:42-45

F. Revelation After the Rejection of King Messiah (Eq) Para 63-68

1. That Same Day He Spoke to Them In Parables (Er)

2. The Public Parables of the Kingdom by the Sea (Es) Para 64a

a. The Parable of the Soils (Et) Mt 13:3-23

b. The Parable of the Seed Growing By Itself (Eu) Mk 4:26-29

c. The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds (Ev) Mt 13:24-30

d. The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Ew) Mt 13:31-32

e. The Parable of the Leaven (Ex) Mt 13:33-35

3. Jesus’ Mother and Brothers (Ey) Para 63

4. The Private Parables of the Kingdom in the House (Ez) Para 64b

a. The Parable of the Weeds Explained (Fa) Mt 13:36-43

b. The Parable of the Hidden Treasure (Fb) Mt 13:44

c. The Parable of the Pearl (Fc) Mt 13:45-46

d. The Parable of the Net (Fd) Mt 13:47-50

e. The Parable of the Houseowner (Fe) Mt 13:51-53

5. Jesus Calms the Storm (Ff) Para 65

6. Jesus Heals Two Demon Possessed Men (Fg) Para 66

7. Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman (Fh) Para 67

8. Jesus Heals the Blind and Mute (Fi) Para 68

G. Isn’t This the Carpenter’s Son? Aren’t Theses His Brothers? (Fj) Para 69

H. Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles (Fk) Para 70

I. John the Baptist Beheaded (Fl) Para 71

IV. THE TRAINING OF THE TWELVE BY KING MESSIAH (Fm) Para 72-95

A. Jesus Feeds the 5,000 (Fn) Para 72

B. Jesus Rejects the Idea of a Political Messiah (Fo) Para 73

C. Jesus Walks on the Water (Fp) Para 74

D. Jesus’ Reception at Gennesaret (Fq) Para 75

E. Jesus the Bread of Life (Fr) Para 76

F. Why Do Your Disciples Break the Tradition of the Elders? (Fs) Para 77

G. The Faith of a Canaanite Woman (Ft) Para 78

H. Jesus Heals a Deaf Mute and Feeds the Four Thousand (Fu) Para 79

I. The Pharisees and Sadducees ask for a Sign (Fv) Para 80

J. The Leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees (Fw) Para 81

K. On This Rock I Will Build My Church (Fx) Para 82

L. Jesus Predicts His Death (Fy) Para 83

M. Instruction About the Kingdom of God (Fz) Para 84-85

1. If Anyone is Ashamed of Jesus, He Will Be Ashamed of You (Ga) Para 84

2. Jesus went up a High Mountain and was Transfigured (Gb) Para 85

N. Elijah Has Already Come, and They Did Not Recognize Him (Gc) Para 86

O. Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy (Gd) Para 87

P. Jesus Predicts His Death a Second Time (Ge) Para 88

Q. Jesus and the Temple Tax (Gf) Para 89

R. The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven (Gg) Para 90

S. If Anyone Causes One of These Little Ones to Stumble (Gh) Para 91

T. If a Brother or Sisters Sins, Go and Point Out Their Fault (Gi) Para 92

Luke is the only Gospel writer who claims to have written his account in a chronological order: Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught (Luke 1:3-4). The phrase orderly account is the Greek word kronos, which means chronology. A. T. Robinson deviated from Luke’s sequence here, but, we will continue with Luke’s chronological order in paragraphs 94, 95 and then 93.

U. Even Jesus’ Brothers Did Not Believe in Him (Gj) Para 94

V. As the Time Approached, Jesus Set Out for Jerusalem (Gk) Para 95

W. The Son of Man Has No Place to Lay His Head (Gl) Para 93

V. THE OPPOSITION TO KING MESSIAH (Gm) Para 96-111

A. Conflict at the Feast of Booths (Gn) Para 96

1. Jesus Teaches at the Feast of Booths (Go) Jn 7:11-36

2. On the Last and Greatest Day of the Feast (Gp) Jn 7:37-52

B. The Woman Caught in the Act of Adultery (Gq) Para 97

C. I AM the Light of the World (Gr) Para 98

D. Before Abraham Was, I AM (Gs) Para 99

E. Third Messianic Miracle: Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind (Gt) Para 100

F. The Good Shepherd and His Sheep (Gu) Para 101

G. Jesus Sends Out the Seventy (Gv) Para 102

H. The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Gw) Para 103

I. Jesus in the Home of Martha and Mary (Gx) Para 104

J. Lord, Teach Us to Pray (Gy) Para 105

K. Jesus Drives Out Another Mute Demon (Gz) Para 106

L. Six Woes (Ha) Para 107

M. Jesus’ Instruction in View of His Rejection (Hb) Para 108-110

1. Warnings and Encouragements (Hc) Para 108

2. The Parable of the Rich Fool (Hd) Lk 12:13-34

3. The Parable of the Watchful Servants (He) Lk 12:35-48

4. Not Peace But Division (Hf) Lk 12:49-53

5. You Know How to Interpret the Weather, but Not Times (Hg) Lk 12:54-59

6. Unless You Repent, You Will Perish (Hh) Para 109

7. Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman on the Sabbath (Hi) Para 110

N. Then Came Hanukkah at Jerusalem, and It Was Winter (Hj) Para 111

VI. THE PREPARATION OF THE APOSTLES BY MESSIAH (Hk) Para 112-127

A. Then Jesus Went Back Across the Jordan (Hl) Para 112

B. Instruction Concerning Entrance into the Kingdom (Hm) Para 113

1. Enter Through the Narrow Door (Hn) Lk 13:22-30

2. No Prophet Can Die Outside Jerusalem (Ho) Lk 13:31-35

C. The Parable of the Great Banquet (Hp) Para 114

D. If Anyone Does Not Hate His Father and Mother (Hq) Para 115

E. The Parables of Luke 15 (Hr) Para 116

1. The Parable of the Lost Sheep (Hs) Lk 15:1-7

2. The Parable of the Lost Coin (Ht) Lk 15:8-10

3. The Parable of the Lost Son and His Jealous Brother (Hu) Lk 15:11-32

F. The Parables of Luke 16 (Hv) Para 117

1. The Parable of the Shrewd Manager (Hw) Lk 16:1-15

2. The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Hx) Lk 16:19-31

G. Things That Cause People to Sin are Bound to Come (Hy) Lk 17:1-6

H. The Parable of the Obedient Servant (Hz) Lk 17:7-10

I. The Resurrection of Lazarus: The First Sign of Jonah (Ia) Para 118

J. The Plot to Kill Jesus (Ib) Para 119

K. Instruction In Light of the Rejection of the First Sign (Ic) Para 120

1. Jesus Heals Ten Men With Leprosy (Id) Lk 17:11-19

2. The Coming of the Kingdom of God (Ie) Lk 17:20-21

3. For the Son of Man in His Day Will Be Like Lightening (If) Lk 17:22-37

L. The Parables of Luke 18 (Ig) Para 121

1. The Parable of the Persistent Widow (Ih) Lk 18:1-8

2. The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Ii) Lk 18:9-14

M. Is It Lawful for a Man to Divorce His Wife? (Ij) Para 122

N. The Little Children and Jesus (Ik) Para 123

O. The Rich Young Ruler (Il) Para 124

P. The Son of Man Gave His Life as a Ransom for Many (Im) Para 125

Q. Bartimaeus Receives His Sight (In) Para 126

R. Instruction Concerning the Kingdom (Io) Para 127

1. Zacchaeus the Tax Collector (Ip) Lk 19:1-10

2. The Parable of the Ten Minas (Iq) Lk 19:11-28

VII. THE OFFICIAL PRESENTATION OF KING MESSIAH (Ir) Para 128-138

A. Jesus Came to Bethany, Where Lazarus Lived (Is) Para 128a

B. Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Tziyon as the Passover Lamb (It) Para 128b

D. Jesus Curses a Fig Tree (Iu) Para 129

C. Jesus Drove Out All Who Were Buying and Selling (Iv) Para 130

E. Jesus Predicts His Death (Iw) Para 131

F. The Examination of the Lamb (Ix) Para 132-135

1. By What Authority Are You Doing These Things? (Iy) Para 132

2. Is It Right For Us to Pay Taxes to Caesar or Not? (Iz) Para 133

3. Whose Wife Will She Be at the Resurrection? (Ja) Para 134

4. Which is the Greatest Commandment? (Jb) Para 135

G. Whose Son is the Messiah? (Jc) Para 136

H. Seven Woes on the Torah-teachers and the Pharisees (Jd) Para 137

I. The Widow’s Offering (Je) Para 138

VIII. THE PREPARATION FOR THE DEATH OF MESSIAH (Jf) Para 139-152

A. The Prophecies of King Messiah (Jg) Para 139

1. The Three Questions (Jh) Lk 21:5-7

2. Watch Out That You Are Not Deceived (Ji) Lk 21:8-9

3. Nation Will Rise Against Nation (Jj) Lk 21:10-11

4. Everyone Will Hate You Because of Me (Jk) Lk 21:12-19

5. Jerusalem Will Be Trampled Until the Times of the Gentiles (Jl) Lk 21:20-24

6. A Time of Trouble for Jacob (Jm) Mt 24:9-28

a. Events During the First Half of the Great Tribulation (Jn) Mt 24:9-14

b. Events During the Second Half of the Great Tribulation (Jo) Mt 24:15-28

7. The Earth Will Mourn When They See the Son of Man Coming (Jp) Lk 21:25-28

8. The Parable of the Fig Tree (Jq) Lk 21:29-33

9. The Day and Hour Unknown (Jr) Lk 21:34-36

10. The Parables Urging Watchfulness and Readiness (Js) Mt 24:43 to 25:30

a. The Parable of the Watchful Porter (Jt) Mk 13:32-37

b. The Parable of the Owner of the House (Ju) Mt 24:43-44

c. The Parable of the Faithful and Wicked Servants (Jv) Mt 24:45-51

d. The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Jw) Mt 25:1-13

e. The Parable of the Bags of Gold (Jx) Mt 25:14-30

11. The Sheep and the Goats (Jy) Mt 25:31-46

B. The Preparation for King Messiah’s Death (Jz) Para 140-148

1. The Plot Against Jesus (Ka) Para 140

2. Jesus Anointed at Bethany (Kb) Para 141

3. Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus (Kc) Para 142

4. The Last Passover in the Upper Room (Kd) Para 143-148

a. Go and Make Preparations for the Passover (Ke) Para 143

b. I Desire to Eat the Passover With You Before I Suffer (Kf) Para 144a

c. The First Cup of Sanctification (Kg) Para 148a

d. Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet (Kh) Para 145

e. I Tell You the Truth, One of You is Going to Betray Me (Ki1) Para 146

f. Breaking of the Middle Matzah (Kj) Para 148b

g. The Third Cup of Redemption (Kk) Para 148c

h. I Am Among You As One Who Serves (Kl) Para 144b

i. Three Times You Will Deny That You Know Me (Km) Para 147

C. The Promises and Warnings of King Messiah (Kn) Para 149-150

1. The Upper Room Discourse (Ko) Para 149

a. In My Father’s House Are Many Dwelling Places (Kp) Jn 14:1-4

b. No One Comes to the Father Except Through Me (Kq) Jn 14:5-14

c. The Holy Spirit Will Teach You All Things (Kr) Jn 14:15-31

2. The Walk to Gethsemane (Ks) Para 150

a. I Am the True Vine (Kt) Jn 15:1-17

b. If the World Persecuted Me, They Will Persecute You (Ku) Jn 15:18 to 16:4

c. The Spirit Will Guide You Into All Truth (Kv) Jn 16:5-15

d. Your Sorrow Will Turn To Joy (Kw) Jn 16:16-33

D. The High Priestly Prayer (Kx) Para 151

1. Father, The Hour Has Come (Ky) Jn 17:1-5

2. Your Word Is Truth (Kz) Jn 17:6-19

3. Jesus Prays for All Believers (La) Jn 17:20-26

E. The Garden of Gethsemane (Lb) Para 152

IX. THE REJECTION OF KING MESSIAH (Lc) Para 153-168

A. Rise! Let Us Go! Here Comes My Betrayer! (Ld) Mt 26:45-46

B. Jesus Betrayed, Arrested and Forsaken (Le) Para 153

C. The Religious Trial (Lf) Para 154-158

1. The Great Sanhedrin (Lg)

2. The Laws of the Great Sanhedrin Regarding Trials (Lh)

3. Annas Questions Jesus (Li) Para 154

4. Jesus Before the Sanhedrin in the Upper Story of Caiaphas’ House (Lj) Para 155

5. Peter Denies Jesus Three Times (Lk) Para 156

6. Jesus Formally Condemned by the Sanhedrin in the Royal Stoa (Ll) Para 157

7. Judas Hangs Himself (Lm) Para 158

D. The Civil Trial (Ln) Para 159-162

1. Jesus Before Pilate (Lo) Para 159

2. When Herod Saw Jesus He Was Greatly Pleased (Lp) Para 160

3. Jesus Sentenced to Be Crucified (Lq) Para 161

4. The Soldiers Mock Jesus (Lr) Para 162

E. Then They Brought Jesus to Golgotha, the Place of the Skull (Ls) Para 163

F. The Crucifixion (Lt) Para 164-166

1. Jesus’ First Three Hours on the Cross: The Wrath of Man (Lu) Para 164

2. Jesus’ Second Three Hours on the Cross: The Wrath of God (Lv) Para 165

3. The Accompanying Signs of Jesus’ Death (Lw) Para 166

4. The Burial of Jesus in the Tomb of Joseph of Arimathea (Lx) Para 167

G. The Guard at the Tomb of Jesus (Ly) Para 168

X. THE RESURRECTION OF KING MESSIAH (Lz) Para 169-184

A. Mary Magdalene Brought Spices to Anoint Jesus (Ma) Para 169

B. The Angel of the LORD Rolled Away the Stone (Mb) Para 170

C. The Resurrection of Jesus: The Second Sign of Jonah (Mc) Para 171

D. The Empty Tomb (Md) Para 172

E. Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene (Me) Para 173

F. The Appearance of Jesus to the Other Women (Mf) Para 174

G. Some of the Guards Report to the Jewish Rulers (Mg) Para 175

H. On the Road to Emmaus (Mh) Para 176

I. It Is True! The Lord Has Risen (Mi) Para 177

J. Jesus Appears to His Apostles (Mj) Para 178

K. Jesus Appears to Thomas (Mk) Para 179

L. Christ Appearing to His Own (Ml) Para 180

1. Jesus and the Miraculous Catch of Fish (Mm) Jn 21:1-14

2. Jesus Reinstates Peter (Mn) Jn 21:15-25

M. The Great Commission (Mo) Para 181

N. Then Jesus Appeared to James (Mp) Para 182

O. Jesus Opened Their Minds So They Could Understand (Mq) Para 183

P. The Ascension of Jesus (Mr) Para 184

The Eternal Security of the Believer (Ms)

The Destruction of Zion and the Temple on Tisha B’Av in 70 AD (Mt)

365 Prophecies Fulfilled by the Messiah (Mu)

The Jewish Concept of Two Messiah’s (Mv)

The Odds of Eight Messianic Prophecies Coming True (Mw)

Glossary (Mx)

End Notes (My)

Bibliography(Mz)

Table for Finding Any Passage in John

Chapter 1, verses 1-18 (Af)

Chapter 1, verses 19-28 (Bl)

Chapter 1, verses 29-34 (Bm)

Chapter 1, verses 35-51 (Bp)

Chapter 2, verses 1-11 (Bq)

Chapter 2, verse 12 (Br)

Chapter 2, verses 13-22 (Bs)

Chapter 2, verses 23-25 (Bu)

Chapter 3, verses 1-21 (Bv)

Chapter 3, verses 22-36 (Bx)

Chapter 4, verses 1-26 (Ca)

Chapter 4, verses 27-38 (Cb)

Chapter 4, verses 39-42 (Cc)

Chapter 4, verses 43-45 (Cd)

Chapter 4, verses 46-54 (Cg)

Chapter 5, verses 1-15 (Cs)

Chapter 5, verses 16-30 (Ct)

Chapter 5, verses 31-47 (Cu)

Chapter 6, verses 1-13 (Fn)

Chapter 6, verses 14-15 (Fo)

Chapter 6, verses 16-21 (Fp)

Chapter 6, verses 22-71 (Fr)

Chapter 7, verse 1 (Fs)

Chapter 7, verses 2-9 (Gj)

Chapter 7, verse 10 (Gk)

Chapter 7, verse 11-36 (Go)

Chapter 7, verses 37-52 (Gp)

Chapter 7, verse 53 to Ch 8 verse 11 (Gq)

Chapter 8, verses 12-20 (Gr)

Chapter 8, verses 21-59 (Gs)

Chapter 9, verses 1-41 (Gt)

Chapter 10, verses 1-21 (Gu)

Chapter 10, verses 22-39 (Hj)

Chapter 10, verses 40-42 (Hl)

Chapter 11, verses 1-44 (Ia)

Chapter 11, verses 45-54 (Ib)

Chapter 11, vs 55 to Ch 12 vs 1 & 9-11 (Is)

Chapter 12, verses 2-8 (Kb)

Chapter 12, verses 12-19 (It)

Chapter 12, verses 20-50 (Iw)

Chapter 13, verse 1 (Ke)

Chapter 13, verses 2-20 (Kh)

Chapter 13, verses 21-30 (Ki1)

Chapter 13, verses 31-38 (Km)

Chapter 14, verses 1-4 (Kp)

Chapter 14, verses 5-14 (Kq)

Chapter 14, verses 15-31 (Kr)

Chapter 15, verses 1-17 (Kt)

Chapter 15, verse 18 to Ch 16 verse 4 (Ku)

Chapter 16, verses 5-15 (Kv)

Chapter 16, verses 16-33 (Kw)

Chapter 17, verses 1-5 (Ky)

Chapter 17, verses 6-19 (Kz)

Chapter 17, verses 20-26 (La)

Chapter 18, verse 1 (Lb)

Chapter 18, verses 2-12a (Le)

Chapter 18, verses 12b-14 and 19-24 (Li)

Chapter 18, verses 15-18 and 25-27 (Lk)

Chapter 18, verses 28-38 (Lo)

Chapter 18, vs 29 to Ch 19 vs 1, 4-16a (Lq)

Chapter 19, verses 2-3 (Lr)

Chapter 19, verses 16b-17 (Ls)

Chapter 19, verses 18-27 (Lu)

Chapter 19, verses 28-30 (Lv)

Chapter 19, verses 31-42 (Lx)

Chapter 20, verse 1 (Mc)

Chapter 20, verses 2-10 (Md)

Chapter 20, verses 11-18 (Me)

Chapter 20, verses 19-25 (Mj)

Chapter 20, verses 26-31 (Mk)

Chapter 21, verses 1-14 (Mm)

Chapter 21, verses 15-25 (Mn)

Table for Finding Any Passage in Luke

Chapter 1, verses 1-4 (Ae)

Chapter 1, verses 5-25 (Ak)

Chapter 1, verses 26-38 (Al)

Chapter 1, verses 39-45 (Am)

Chapter 1, verses 46-56 (An)

Chapter 1, verses 57-80 (Ao)

Chapter 2, verses 1-7 (Aq)

Chapter 2, verses 8-20 (Ar)

Chapter 2, verse 21 (At)

Chapter 2, verses 22-38 (Au)

Chapter 2, verse 39 (Ax)

Chapter 2, verse 40 (Ay)

Chapter 2, verse 41-50 (Ba)

Chapter 2, verses 51-52 (Bb)

Chapter 3, verses 1-2 (Bd)

Chapter 3, verses 3-6 (Be)

Chapter 3, verses 7-14 (Bf)

Chapter 3, verses 15-18 (Bg)

Chapter 3, verses 19-20 (By)

Chapter 3, verses 21-23a (Bi)

Chapter 3, verses 23b-38 (Ai)

Chapter 4, verses 1-13 (Bj)

Chapter 4, verses 14-15 (Cf)

Chapter 4, verses 16-30 (Ch)

Chapter 4, verses 31-37 (Ck)

Chapter 4, verses 38-41 (Cl)

Chapter 4, verses 42-44 (Cm)

Chapter 5, verses 1-11 (Cj)

Chapter 5, verses 12-16 (Cn)

Chapter 5, verses 17-26 (Co)

Chapter 5, verses 27-32 (Cp)

Chapter 5, verses 33-39 (Cq)

Chapter 6, verses 1-5 (Cv)

Chapter 6, verses 6-11 (Cw)

Chapter 6, verses 12-16 (Cy)

Chapter 6, verses 17-19 (Da)

Chapter 6, verses 20-23 (Db)

Chapter 6, verses 24-26 (De)

Chapter 6, verses 27-30, 32-36 (Dm)

Chapter 6, verse 31 (Dv)

Chapter 6, verses 37-42 (Du)

Chapter 6, verses 43-45 (Dx)

Chapter 6, verses 46-49 (Dy)

Chapter 7, verses 1-10 (Ea)

Chapter 7, verses 11-17 (Eb)

Chapter 7, verses 18-35 (Ed)

Chapter 7, verses 36-50 (Ef)

Chapter 8, verses 1-3 (Eg)

Chapter 8, verse 4 (Es)

Chapter 8, verses 5-18 (Et)

Chapter 8, verses 19-21 (Ey)

Chapter 8, verses 22-25 (Ff)

Chapter 8, verses 26-39 (Fg)

Chapter 8, verses 40-56 (Fh)

Chapter 9, verses 1-6 (Fk)

Chapter 9, verses 7-9 (Fl)

Chapter 9, verses 10-17 (Fn)

Chapter 9, verses 18-21 (Fx)

Chapter 9, verses 22-25 (Fy)

Chapter 9, verses 26-27 (Ga)

Chapter 9, verses 28-36a (Gb)

Chapter 9, verse 36b (Gc)

Chapter 9, verses 37-43a (Gd)

Chapter 9, verses 43b-45 (Ge)

Chapter 9, verses 46-48 (Gg)

Chapter 9, verses 49-50 (Gh)

Chapter 9, verses 51-56 (Gk)

Chapter 9, verses 57-62 (Gl)

Chapter 10, verses 1-24 (Gv)

Chapter 10, verses 25-37 (Gw)

Chapter 10, verses 38-42 (Gx)

Chapter 11, verses 1-13 (Gy)

Chapter 11, verses 14-15 (Ek)

Chapter 11, verses 16-36 (Gz)

Chapter 11, verses 37-54 (Ha)

Chapter 12, verses 1-12 (Hc)

Chapter 12, verses 13-34 (Hd)

Chapter 12, verses 35-48 (He)

Chapter 12, verses 49-53 (Hf)

Chapter 12, verses 54-59 (Hg)

Chapter 13, verses 1-9 (Hh)

Chapter 13, verses 10-21 (Hi)

Chapter 13, verses 22-30 (Hn)

Chapter 13, verses 31-35 (Ho)

Chapter 14, verses 1-24 (Hp)

Chapter 14, verses 25-35 (Hq)

Chapter 15, verses 1-7 (Hs)

Chapter 15, verses 8-10 (Ht)

Chapter 15, verses 11-32 (Hu)

Chapter 16, verses 1-15 (Hw)

Chapter 16, verse 16 (Ed)

Chapter 16, verse 17 (Dg)

Chapter 16, verse 18 (Dj)

Chapter 16, verses 19-31 (Hx)

Chapter 17, verses 1-6 (Hy)

Chapter 17, verses 7-10 (Hz)

Chapter 17, verses 11-19 (Id)

Chapter 17, verses 20-21 (Ie)

Chapter 17, verses 22-37 (If)

Chapter 18, verses 1-8 (Ih)

Chapter 18, verses 9-14 (Ii)

Chapter 18, verses 15-17 (Ik)

Chapter 18, verses 18-30 (Il)

Chapter 18, verses 31-34 (Im)

Chapter 18, verses 35-43 (In)

Chapter 19, verses 1-10 (Ip)

Chapter 19, verses 11-28 (Iq)

Chapter 19, verses 29-44 (It)

Chapter 19, verses 45-48 (Iv)

Chapter 20, verses 1-19 (Iy)

Chapter 20, verses 20-26 (Iz)

Chapter 20, verses 27-40 (Ja)

Chapter 20, verses 41-44 (Jc)

Chapter 20, verses 45-47 (Jd)

Chapter 21, verses 1-4 (Je)

Chapter 21, verses 5-7 (Jh)

Chapter 21, verses 8-9 (Ji)

Chapter 21, verses 10-11 (Jj)

Chapter 21, verses 12-19 (Jk)

Chapter 21, verses 20-24 (Jl)

Chapter 21, verses 25-28 (Jp)

Chapter 21, verses 29-33 (Jq)

Chapter 21, verses 34-36 (Jr)

Chapter 21, verses 37-38 (Jy)

Chapter 22, verses 1-2 (Ka)

Chapter 22, verses 3-6 (Kc)

Chapter 22, verses 7-13 (Ke)

Chapter 22, verses 14-16 (Kf)

Chapter 22, verses 17-18 (Kg)

Chapter 22, verse 19 (Kj)

Chapter 22, verse 20 (Kk)

Chapter 22, verses 21-23 (Ki1)

Chapter 22, verses 24-30 (Kl)

Chapter 22, verses 31-38 (Km)

Chapter 22, verses 39-46 (Lb)

Chapter 22, verses 47-53 (Le)

Chapter 22, verses 54a, 63-65 (Lj)

Chapter 22, verses 54b-62 (Lk)

Chapter 22, verses 66-71 (Ll)

Chapter 23, verses 1-7 (Lo)

Chapter 23, verses 8-12 (Lp)

Chapter 23, verses 13-25 (Lq)

Chapter 23, verses 26-31 (Ls)

Chapter 23, verses 32-43 (Lu)

Chapter 23, verses 44-45a, 46 (Lv)

Chapter 23, verses 45b, 47-49 (Lw)

Chapter 23, verses 50-54 (Lx)

Chapter 23, verses 55-56 (Ly)

Chapter 24, verses 1-8 (Mc)

Chapter 24, verses 9-12 (Md)

Chapter 24, verses 13-32 (Mh)

Chapter 24, verses 33-35 (Mi)

Chapter 24, verses 36-43 (Mj)

Chapter 24, verses 44-49 (Mq)

Chapter 24, verses 50-53 (Mr)

Table for Finding Any Passage in Mark

Chapter 1, verse 1 (Bd)

Chapter 1, verses 2-6 (Be)

Chapter 1, verses 7-8 (Bg)

Chapter 1, verses 9-11 (Bi)

Chapter 1, verses 12-13 (Bj)

Chapter 1, verse 14 (By)

Chapter 1, verse 15 (Cf)

Chapter 1, verses 16-20 (Cj)

Chapter 1, verses 21-28 (Ck)

Chapter 1, verses 29-34 (Cl)

Chapter 1, verses 35-39 (Cm)

Chapter 1, verses 40-45 (Cn)

Chapter 2, verses 1-12 (Co)

Chapter 2, verses 13-17 (Cp)

Chapter 2, verses 18-22 (Cq)

Chapter 2, verses 23-28 (Cv)

Chapter 3, verses 1-6 (Cw)

Chapter 3, verses 7-12 (Cx)

Chapter 3, verses 13-19 (Cy)

Chapter 3, verses 20-22 (Ek)

Chapter 3, verses 23-27 (El)

Chapter 3, verses 28-30 (Em)

Chapter 3, verses 31-35 (Ey)

Chapter 4, verses 1-2 (Es)

Chapter 4, verses 3-25 (Et)

Chapter 4, verses 26-29 (Eu)

Chapter 4, verses 30-32 (Ew)

Chapter 4, verses 33-34 (Ex)

Chapter 4, verses 34-41 (Ff)

Chapter 5, verses 1-20 (Fg)

Chapter 5, verses 21-43 (Fh)

Chapter 6, verses 1-6a (Fj)

Chapter 6, verses 6b-13 (Fk)

Chapter 6, verses 14-29 (Fl)

Chapter 6, verses 30-44 (Fn)

Chapter 6, verses 45-46 (Fo)

Chapter 6, verses 47-52 (Fp)

Chapter 6, verses 53-56 (Fq)

Chapter 7, verses 1-23 (Fs)

Chapter 7, verses 24-30 (Ft)

Chapter 7, verses 31 to Ch 8 verse 9a (Fu)

Chapter 8, verse 9b-12 (Fv)

Chapter 8, verses 13-26 (Fw)

Chapter 8, verses 27-30 (Fx)

Chapter 8, verses 31-37 (Fy)

Chapter 8, verse 38 to Ch 9 verse 1 (Ga)

Chapter 9, verses 2-8 (Gb)

Chapter 9, verses 9-13 (Gc)

Chapter 9, verses 14-29 (Gd)

Chapter 9, verses 30-32 (Ge)

Chapter 9, verses 33-37 (Gg)

Chapter 9, verses 38-50 (Gh)

Chapter 10, verses 1-12 (Ij)

Chapter 10, verses 13-16 (Ik)

Chapter 10, verses 17-31 (Il)

Chapter 10, verses 32-45 (Im)

Chapter 10, verses 46-52 (In)

Chapter 11, verses 1-11 (It)

Chapter 11, verses 12-14 (Iu)

Chapter 11, verses 15-19 (Iv)

Chapter 11, verse 20 to Ch 12 verse 12 (Iy)

Chapter 12, verses 13-17 (Iz)

Chapter 12, verses 18-27 (Ja)

Chapter 12, verses 28-34a (Jb)

Chapter 12, verses 34b-37 (Jc)

Chapter 12, verses 38-40 (Jd)

Chapter 12, verses 41-44 (Je)

Chapter 13, verses 1-4 (Jh)

Chapter 13, verses 5-7 (Ji)

Chapter 13, verse 8 (Jj)

Chapter 13, verses 9-13 (Jk)

Chapter 13, verses 14-23 (Jo)

Chapter 13, verses 24-27 (Jp)

Chapter 13, verses 28-31 (Jq)

Chapter 13, verses 32-37 (Jt)

Chapter 14, verses 1-2 (Ka)

Chapter 14, verses 3-9 (Kb)

Chapter 14, verses 10-11 (Kc)

Chapter 14, verses 12-16 (Ke)

Chapter 14, verse 17 (Kf)

Chapter 14, verses 18-21 (Ki1)

Chapter 14, verse 22 (Kj)

Chapter 14, verses 23-25 (Kk)

Chapter 14, verse 26 (Kr)

Chapter 14, verses 27-31 (Km)

Chapter 14, verses 32-40 (Lb)

Chapter 14, verses 41-42 (Ld)

Chapter 14, verses 43-52 (Le)

Chapter 14, verses 53, 55-65 (Lj)

Chapter 14, verses 54, 66-72 (Lk)

Chapter 15, verse 1a (Ll)

Chapter 15, verses 1b-5 (Lo)

Chapter 15, verses 6-15 (Lq)

Chapter 15, verses 16-19 (Lr)

Chapter 15, verses 20-23 (Ls)

Chapter 15, verses 24-32 (Lu)

Chapter 15, verses 33-37 (Lv)

Chapter 15, verses 38-41 (Lw)

Chapter 15, verses 42-46 (Lx)

Chapter 15, verse 47 (Ly)

Chapter 16, verse 1 (Ma)

Chapter 16, verses 2-8 (Mc)

Table for Finding Any Passage in Matthew

Chapter 1, verses 1-17 (Ai)

Chapter 1, verses 18-25 (Ap)

Chapter 2, verses 1-12 (Av)

Chapter 2, verses 13-18 (Aw)

Chapter 2, verses 19-23 (Ax)

Chapter 3, verses 1-6 (Be)

Chapter 3, verses 7-10 (Bf)

Chapter 3, verses 11-12 (Bg)

Chapter 3, verses 13-17 (Bi)

Chapter 4, verses 1-11 (Bj)

Chapter 4, verse 12 (By)

Chapter 4, verses 13-16 (Ci)

Chapter 4, verse 17 (Ce)

Chapter 4, verses 18-22 (Cj)

Chapter 4, verses 23-25 (Cm)

Chapter 5, verses 1-2 (Cz)

Chapter 5, verses 3-12 (Db)

Chapter 5, verses 13-16 (Df)

Chapter 5, verses 17-20 (Dg)

Chapter 5, verses 21-26 (Dh)

Chapter 5, verses 27-30 (Di)

Chapter 5, verses 31-32 (Dj)

Chapter 5, verses 33-37 (Dk)

Chapter 5, verses 38-42 (Dl)

Chapter 5, verses 43-48 (Dm)

Chapter 6, verses 1-4 (Do)

Chapter 6, verses 5-15 (Dp)

Chapter 6, verses 16-18 (Dq)

Chapter 6, verses 19-24 (Dr)

Chapter 6, verses 25-34 (Dt)

Chapter 7, verses 1-6 (Du)

Chapter 7, verses 7-12 (Dv)

Chapter 7, verses 13-14 (Dw)

Chapter 7, verses 15-23 (Dx)

Chapter 7, verses 24-27 (Dy)

Chapter 7, verse 28 to Ch 8 verse 1 (Dz)

Chapter 8, verses 2-4 (Cn)

Chapter 8, verses 5-13 (Ea)

Chapter 8, verses 14-17 (Cl)

Chapter 8, verses 18 and 23-27 (Ff)

Chapter 8, verses 19-22 (Gl)

Chapter 8, verses 28-34 (Fg)

Chapter 9, verses 1-8 (Co)

Chapter 9, verses 9-13 (Cp)

Chapter 9, verses 14-17 (Cq)

Chapter 9, verses 18-26 (Fh)

Chapter 9, verses 27-34 (Fl)

Chapter 9, verse 35 to Ch 11 verse 1 (Fk)

Chapter 11, verses 2-19 (Ed)

Chapter 11, verses 20-30 (Ee)

Chapter 12, verses 1-8 (Cv)

Chapter 12, verses 9-14 (Cw)

Chapter 12, verses 15-21 (Cx)

Chapter 12, verses 22-24 (Ek)

Chapter 12, verses 25-29 (El)

Chapter 12, verses 30-37 (Em)

Chapter 12, verses 38-41 (Eo)

Chapter 12, verses 42-45 (Ep)

Chapter 12, verses 46-50 (Ey)

Chapter 13, verses 1-3a (Es)

Chapter 13, verses 3b-23 (Et)

Chapter 13, verses 24-30 (Ev)

Chapter 13, verses 31-32 (Ew)

Chapter 13, verses 33-35 (Ex)

Chapter 13, verses 36-43 (Fa)

Chapter 13, verse 44 (Fb)

Chapter 13, verses 45-46 (Fc)

Chapter 13, verses 47-50 (Fd)

Chapter 13, verses 51-53 (Fe)

Chapter 13, verses 54-58 (Fj)

Chapter 14, verses 1-12 (Fl)

Chapter 14, verses 13-21 (Fn)

Chapter 14, verses 22-23 (Fo)

Chapter 14, verses 24-33 (Fp)

Chapter 14, verses 34-36 (Fq)

Chapter 15, verses 1-20 (Fs)

Chapter 15, verses 21-28 (Ft)

Chapter 15, verses 29-38 (Fu)

Chapter 15, verse 39 to ch 16 verse 4 (Fv)

Chapter 16, verses 5-12 (Fw)

Chapter 16, verses 13-20 (Fx)

Chapter 16, verses 21-26 (Fy)

Chapter 16, verses 27-28 (Ga)

Chapter 17, verses 1-8 (Gb)

Chapter 17, verses 9-13 (Gc)

Chapter 17, verses 14-20 (Gd)

Chapter 17, verses 22-23 (Ge)

Chapter 17, verses 24-27 (Gf)

Chapter 18, verses 1-5 (Gg)

Chapter 18, verses 6-14 (Gh)

Chapter 18, verses 15-35 (Gi)

Chapter 19, verses 1-12 (Ij)

Chapter 19, verses 13-15 (Ik)

Chapter 19, verse 16 to ch 20 verse 16 (Il)

Chapter 20, verses 17-28 (Im)

Chapter 20, verses 29-34 (In)

Chapter 21, verses 1-11 (It)

Chapter 21, verses 12-17 (Iv)

Chapter 21, verses 18-19a (Iu)

Chapter 21, verses 19b-43 (Iy)

Chapter 22, verses 1-14 (Hp)

Chapter 22, verses 15-22 (Iz)

Chapter 22, verses 23-33 (Ja)

Chapter 22, verses 34-40 (Jb)

Chapter 22, verses 41-46 (Jc)

Chapter 23, verses 1-39 (Jd)

Chapter 24, verses 1-3 (Jh)

Chapter 24, verses 4-6 (Ji)

Chapter 24, verses 7-8 (Jj)

Chapter 24, verses 9-14 (Jn)

Chapter 24, verses 15-28 (Jo)

Chapter 24, verses 29-31 (Jp)

Chapter 24, verses 32-35 (Jq)

Chapter 24, verses 36-42 (Jr)

Chapter 24, verses 43-44 (Ju)

Chapter 24, verses 45-51 (Jv)

Chapter 25, verses 1-13 (Jw)

Chapter 25, verses 14-30 (Jx)

Chapter 25, verses 31-46 (Jy)

Chapter 26, verses 1-5 (Ka)

Chapter 26, verses 6-13 (Kb)

Chapter 26, verses 14-16 (Kc)

Chapter 26, verses 17-19 (Ke)

Chapter 26, verse 20 (Kf)

Chapter 26, verses 21-25 (Ki)

Chapter 26, verse 26 (Kj)

Chapter 26, verses 27-29 (Kk)

Chapter 26, verse 30 (Kr)

Chapter 26, verses 31-35 (Km)

Chapter 26, verses 36-44 (Lb)

Chapter 26, verses 45-46 (Ld)

Chapter 26, verses 47-56 (Le)

Chapter 26, verses 57, 59-68 (Lj)

Chapter 26, verses 58, 69-75 (Lk)

Chapter 27, verse 1 (Ll)

Chapter 27, verses 3-10 (Lm)

Chapter 27, verses 2, 11-14 (Lo)

Chapter 27, verses 15-26 (Lq)

Chapter 27, verses 27-30 (Lr)

Chapter 27, verses 31-34 (Ls)

Chapter 27, verses 35-44 (Lu)

Chapter 27, verses 45-50 (Lv)

Chapter 27, verses 51-56 (Lw)

Chapter 27, verses 57-60 (Lx)

Chapter 27, verses 61-66 (Ly)

Chapter 28, verse 1 (Ma)

Chapter 28, verses 2-4 (Mb)

Chapter 28, verses 5-8 (Mc)

Chapter 28, verses 9-10 (Mf)

Chapter 28, verses 11-15 (Mg)

Chapter 28, verses 16-20 (Mo)

The Purpose of Luke’s Gospel
Luke 1: 1-4

The Purpose of Luke’s Gospel DIG: What do you learn from these verses about Luke? What do you learn about why he wrote this gospel? What do you learn about where he got his sources?

REFLECT: How much assurance do you have? Do you know that you are saved through faith in Jesus Christ? Do you know that the Bible is the Word of God? If you really knew the Word of God, would you believe it?

Luke was a Hellenistic Jew. He displays detailed understanding of the Hebrew Scriptures, as well as expressing an understanding of the God-fearers (Gentiles who attended synagogues and lived lives informed by Judaism, but did not convert). Moreover, he addresses both his Gospel and Acts to a Hebrew high priest, Theophilos, who held that office between 37 and 41 AD. He begins his gospel with a formal prologue similar in style to other writers of the first century, most notably Josephus in his book Contra Apionem, a work written in two parts with a preface to the whole work at the beginning of the first book and a brief review at the beginning of his second book.¹⁴ He is the only one of the four gospel writers that stated his purpose at the beginning of his book. Being familiar with other writings about the life of Christ and the message of the Good News, these verses contain some of the finest literary Greek in the first century. Dear Theophilos: Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Obviously, an educated and skilled writer, Luke stressed the historical reliability of his book, claiming to have received information from eyewitnesses.¹⁵

It is almost certain that in the process of writing his gospel, Luke sought details about Jesus’ birth and life from Mary. Since Luke included several details that only Mary could have known, we can be fairly sure that Miryam herself was one of Luke’s primary sources. Luke’s inclusion of several facts from Yeshua’s early life (Luke 2:19, 48, 51), suggests that this was the case. Mary’s own eyewitness testimony must also have been Luke’s source for the account of Simeon’s prophecy (Luke 2:29-32), for who but she could have known and recalled that incident? Apparently, the old man’s prophecy never left her mind.¹⁶

Two words are important in this passage that we should not overlook. The first is the word eyewitness. It comes from the Greek word autoptai – auto meaning that which is of itself, and opsomai meaning to see. To see for yourself, would be an eyewitness. It is a medical term that means to make an autopsy. So, it is as if Doctor Luke is saying, “We are eyewitnesses who made an autopsy, and I am writing to you about what we found.” The second important word is servants, which is the Greek word huperati, meaning an under-rower on a boat. In a hospital the under-rower is an intern. What Luke is saying is that all of them were just interns under the Great Physician. As a physician and a scholar, Luke said that he made an autopsy of the records of those who had been eyewitnesses.¹⁷

Ancient writers customarily gave some statement concerning their qualifications for writing. So here Luke states his credentials. He said: With this in mind, I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning. Luke carefully investigated all accounts to ensure their truthfulness, and produced an orderly account of the Messiah’s earthly ministry. We do not know all the resources Luke had at his command. It is clear, however, that aside from the Holy Spirit, the inspired gospel of Mark was his main source. He does not criticize his predecessors, but, wanted to write Luke and Acts to provide sound biblical teaching on the part of those who had already been taught, but perhaps imperfectly or incompletely, in the life of Christ. Luke wanted his audience to be able to sift out what was reliable from what was uncertain.

It seemed good also to me and to the Rauch Ha’Kodesh (Acts 15:28), to write an orderly historical account for you. The Greek word for an orderly account means a chronological account; therefore, Luke is the only gospel writer that claims to write his book in a chronological manner.

The purpose of Luke’s gospel is to confirm for Theophilus, whose name means lover of God, the truth of the Good News, and to reassure him of the things he had learned. Luke shows him that all along, ADONAI had a plan to include Gentiles. This was a polite form of address used for lofty persons, and found only here in the gospels, and in Acts 23:26, 24:3 and 26:25.18 Luke wanted Theophilus to know that the faith that he had embraced had a secure historical foundation. So that you may know the certainty, the exact truth, of the things you have been taught. It is the same for us today. Doctor Luke wrote his gospel to guarantee us of the certainty and assurance about Christ. Although the gospel of Luke was originally written to an individual (or at least dedicated to him), in time it was circulated to others as a presentation of Yeshua and His ministry.

Christ, Where Life and the Bible Meet . . .

1. My suggestion is to look at the outline (Ab), and the Introduction (Ac) before starting on the commentary itself.

2. The DIG and REFLECT questions are in bold blue, and will help give you a deeper understanding of the book and make it more personal to you. Go slowly and give yourself time to answer these questions. They really strike at the heart of the commentary. What are the DIG questions for? To dig into the Scripture “story” is to find out what’s going on, to figure out the main idea, the plot, the argument, the spiritual principle, and so on. What are the REFLECT questions for? To apply the “story” in the scripture to your own life; to take personal inventory and to decide what you are going to do about it! All DIG and REFLECT questions are taken from the Serendipity Bible.

3. I would strongly suggest that you look up the references that are given in each section. Many times this will greatly enhance the background, and hence, your understanding of the scriptures that you are reading on a particular day. Take your time, read only as much as you can digest.

4. All scripture is in bold print. The NIV 2010 is used unless indicated otherwise. However, sometimes the purpose of the bold print is merely for emphasizing a certain point. When bold maroon is used, it is for special emphasis. The words of Jesus are in bold red.

5. When bolded teal is used, it is quoted from one of the two Jewish commentaries listed in the bibliography. This will give you the moderate Orthodox Jewish interpretation. It is useful for word studies, but its Christology is obviously entirely wrong. Where rabbinical interpretation is cited, I will add, “The rabbis teach. . .” in front of the passage. Although it is not a Christian interpretation, I think it is interesting to see how the rabbis interpret these passages.

6. Read the Scriptures for a particular day from your Bible, then skim the DIG and REFLECT questions, read the commentary and reflect on it; answer the DIG and REFLECT questions, then read your Bible again. Hopefully, it will have greater meaning and understanding for you the second time you read it. Then live it out.

7. If you come to a Jewish word or phrase you do not understand see the Glossary (see Mx – Glossary).

8. To download a pdf file, click on the red rectangle on the top of any page.

9. You can download anything you want from this devotional commentary, but it is to be used for devotional or Bible study only and not for prophet, all rights reserved 2015 by Jay David Mack, M. Div. 

A Preview of King Messiah

John’s prologue is not unlike a Rubik’s Cube, the exasperating puzzle-toy of the 1970s. You can’t change one sentence of the prologue without causing logical problems with the others. Joseph Smith (the founder of Mormonism, for example, altered John’s prologue in his “Inspired Version” of the Scriptures to support the notion that Christ is not God, but rather an exalted figure created by God before anything else. He failed, however, to account for verse three: Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made (John 1:3). According to Smith’s Inspired Version, the word created all things. Furthermore, anything that had a beginning was created by the word. But, if there was a time when Christ was not, if He came into being at some point in time, then Jesus had to have created Himself before He existed. If that sounds like nonsense, you’re right. It is nonsense! Thus, on this point we can agree: without Him nothing was made that has been made. Messiah could not have made Himself; therefore, He is God and He created all things.¹¹

The Jehovah’s Witnesses have the same problem. Their translation of John 1:1 says: In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was a God (New World Translation). The reason they give for translating the end of the verse: a God, is that God does not have the definite article in front of it. But, definite nouns in the New Covenant that precede the verb, literally God (noun) was (verb) the Memra, regularly lack the definite article (to see link click Af – The Memra of God). In other words, both the Mormons and the Jehovah’s Witnesses violate basic Greek grammar to make their point. Once again, the Rubik’s Cube principle comes into play. The Watchtower teaches that Christ was the first “thing” God ever brought into existence. So they teach that Jesus is not God. Not only is He not God, they teach that He is Michael the Archangel. They believe that the personality of Michael the Archangel was somehow transferred to the womb of Mary, was born as a human to be the man, Jesus, and then when Christ returned to heaven at the end of His earthly ministry, He became Michael the Archangel again, but, in a more exalted position.¹²

Wow! I think it is best if we just believe what the apostle John wrote about the Memra: Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made (John 1:3). John’s prologue is structured as a chiasm. There is a parallelism, where the first letter is parallel to the second letter, and so on, with the letter D being the turning point.¹³

A  The identity and mission of the Memra (John 1:1-5)

B  The testimony of John the Baptist to the Memra (John 1:6-8)

C  The incarnation of the Memra (John 1:9-10a)

D  The response to the Memra (John 1:10b-13)

C  The incarnation of the Memra (John 1:14)

B  The testimony of John the Baptist to the Memra (John 1:15)

A  The identity and mission of the Memra (John 1:16-18)

The rabbis teach that seven things were created before the world was created: Torah, repentance, the garden of Eden, Gehinnom, the throne of glory, the Temple, and the name of the Messiah (Tractate Pesachim 54a).