Lucas 1

William Hendriksen · Citado em PreceptAustin

Lucas 1

Hendriksen comments that "in view of the fact that Jesus himself, in describing the nature of true greatness, always links it with humility (Luke 7:6, 9; cf. Matt. 8:8, 10; Luke 9:46-48; cf. Matt. 18:1-5; Mark 9:33-37; and see also Matt. 15:27, 28), is it not altogether probable that this characteristic which was to mark John is also implied here in Luke 1:15? Without humility would it even be possible for anyone to be "great," especially "in the sight of the Lord"? (Baker New Testament Commentary – Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke) James Smith notes that this phrase great in the sight of the Lord "assures us that he must have been in a condition of—RIGHTNESS WITH GOD. No one can be great in the favour of God who is not right with Him. Reconciliation is needed to acceptance. LIKENESS TO GOD. It is possible to be justified before Him and yet not be fully conformed to Him. He made the first man after His own likeness. The second Man is the Lord from Heaven, after whose likeness we are now to be created by the same Spirit. READINESS FOR GOD. A man entirely separated for Him, with no interest to come between him and his service for God. He was in no way entangled, a free man to do His will. This is greatness. In himself. "He was filled with the Holy Ghost." Not the greatness of his own will, of purpose, or goodness, but the greatness of God dwelling in him. This implies—1 SELF-ABNEGATION. He died to himself that God might live and move in him. Not I, but Christ in me. Man's original greatness was lowered to the dust through sin, and eternally ruined. The way into greatness in the Divine eyes is not by self-reformation, but by self-abnegation. A going out of the ruined nature into the life of God. I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. 2 DIVINE POSSESSION. Filled with the Holy Spirit. Yielded up to the will of God as taught by His Spirit abiding within. Be not drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit. All true greatness comes from Him who alone is great. Great in wisdom, holiness, and power. "Thy gentleness hath made me great" (2 Sam. 22:36). 3. HEAVENLY WISDOM. To be filled with the Spirit is to be filled with the knowledge of His will, so that every thought and act may be in perfect harmony with the mind of God. He worketh in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Ye are wise in Christ. (Great) 3. Among his fellowmen. "Many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God." This greatness then lies in holiness and usefulness. It is not something given us for our own honour, ease, or aggrandisement, but whereby the power of God may come into contact with others. If you would have this greatness you must not seek it for yourself. He will not give His glory to another. Here we see—1. GREAT FAITHFULNESS. His ministry gives abundant evidence of his fearlessness and devotion to the work of God. Like the apostle of the Gentiles he could say, "This one thing I do" (Phil. 3:13) .2. GREAT POWER. Like the greater One who was to come after him, he spoke with power. His word was sharp, and quick, and powerful, because it was a word that burned in his bones. He was in vital sympathy with his message. It was to him no task committed to memory, but the living truth, blazing in a living soul, and dropping from his glowing tongue like coals of fire. 3. GREAT SUCCESS. "Many turned to the Lord." A Holy Ghost ministry is always a success. It is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which is in you. The Spirit of your Father will never speak without telling effect. The secret of his success lay in his exalting the Lord and not himself. He must increase, and I must decrease. "Go thou and do likewise" (Luke 10:37).(Handfuls of Purpose) THOUGHT - Before the face and thus the idea of face to face! Of doing something in someone’s presence - Jesus' entire life was lived as it were "Coram Deo" before the face of His Father. What would happen if we (enabled by His Spirit) were to live our lives with a similar mindset? As Thomas à Kempis once said "What thou art in the sight of God, that thou truly art." The acorn does not fall very far from the tree. Like parents, like son - Parents "both righteous in the sight of God," (Lk 1:6+) and John "great in the sight of the Lord." THOUGHT FROM J R Miller - There are people who are great in their own eyes or in the eyes of their friends—who in God's sight are very small. It is well to have people's approval of us and our work—but it is incalculably better to have God's approval (cf Jn 8:29). We should strive always to be and to do—what Christ would have us to be and to do (ED: Walking Like Jesus Walked). It is well to ask ourselves quite often—what God thinks of us (ED: cf Ps 139:23-24). We like to please men; let us seek to please God (ED: cf Heb 11:6+). (Devotional Hours with the Bible) The description of John the Baptist recalls to mind the OT description of one who took a Nazarite vow...but John does not fulfill all the requirements of the Nazirite vow (e.g., nothing said about not cutting his hair).... (Nu. 6:2-4) “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazarite, to dedicate himself to the LORD, 3 he shall abstain from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, nor shall he drink any grape juice nor eat fresh or dried grapes. 4 ‘All the days of his separation he shall not eat anything that is produced by the grape vine, from [the] seeds even to [the] skin. J

Lucas 1

Hendriksen has a good explanation on the meaning of in the spirit (pneuma) and power (dunamis) of Elijah asking "Does this mean that John was Elijah? The answer is both No and Yes. Not literally, as is clear from the fact that when John was asked, Are you Elijah? he truthfully answered, "I am not" (John 1:21+). But figuratively, so that Jesus even calls him Elijah (Mt. 11:13, 14+; cf. Mt 17:12; Mark 9:12, 13+). The solution is given here in Luke 1:17 - The spirit and power of Elijah was going to be clearly displayed in John the Baptist. Compare Elijah's boldness, "I have not troubled Israel but you [Ahab] have" (1Ki 18:18), with the Baptist's (Mt 14:4+), "It isn't right for you [Herod Antipas] to have her [your brother Philip's wife Herodias]." And see also Mt. 3:7+; Lk 3:7+, Lk 3:19+. (New Testament commentary: Exposition of the Gospel) Jesus later said this was fulfilled in John Matthew 11:13-14+ “For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. Matthew 17:11-12 And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” Henry

Lucas 1

Hendriksen has an excellent summary of the words "to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the frame of mind of the righteous" noting that there are two interpretations, the first being very unlikely: (1) . The "fathers" are the patriarchs. The conversion of many people through John's ministry would cause the patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc.—from their heavenly abodes to look down with favor upon their formerly disobedient but now transformed children. Support for this theory, according to which the souls of the departed are spectators who are constantly looking down upon the arena in which their struggling descendants are still living, is found by its proponents in Heb. 12:1 ("the cloud of witnesses"). Comment. We can understand that this type of interpretation would appeal to those who indulge in fanciful speculations concerning the life hereafter. One author points out its weakness as follows: "Some people think this refers to the contrast between a devout ancestry and an apostate posterity. As we see it, this view is incorrect, since on the basis of that interpretation it is impossible to understand how the heart of the fathers, who died long ago, can be turned back to the children." He correctly concludes: "We must think of the relation between parents and their children." And as to the similarly speculative interpretation of Heb. 12:1, for the correct view read F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews (New International Commentary), Grand Rapids, 1964, pp. 345, 346. (2). True conversion results, among other things, in revival of harmonious and loving relationships in the home. Comment. This interpretation fits the historical background in Malachi. As a result of mixed marriages (Mal. 2:11+) and easy divorce (Mal 2:14+) family relationships had become disrupted. Conditions of this character continued into the new dispensation, as is clear from Christ's teaching on divorce and remarriage (Mt. 5:32; Mt 19:9). Nevertheless, family life is of the utmost importance, and this not only for the well-being, both spiritual and physical, of parents and children, but also for the true prosperity of the nation, the church, and society in general. From a spiritual point of view the generation gap is often ruinous. To reverse this situation was one of the purposes of Malachi's preaching during the old dispensation, and of John's preaching at the beginning of the new dispensation. Given believing parents and similarly right-minded children, domestic harmony results; consequently also effective witness-bearing. The end result of this ministry of the way-preparer will therefore be the bringing about of "a people well-prepared," that is, "fit for the Master's use" (2 Ti 2:21). As some see it, the explanation given above is in conflict with the statement of Jesus recorded in such passages as Matt. 10:34-37 (cf. Luke 12:51-53; 14:26): "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother," etc. However, any suggestion of real conflict is baseless. It is, in fact, very easy to conceive of a twofold result of the preaching of the gospel, whether by the Baptist or by Jesus: (a) In many families there would be a sharp division, some siding with the truth, others opposing it. (b) In other families, however, those who had been opposed were going to be converted, so that parents and children would become united in spirit, all serving the Lord. (Baker New Testament Commentary – Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke) Spirit (4151) pneuma from pneo = to breath). - Note this is only a summary of the vast amount of material available on Pneuma. Pneuma in NT - 380x in 345 verses and in the NAS is translated breath(3), Spirit(239), spirit(103), spirits(32), spiritual(1), wind(1), winds(1) Power (1411)(dunamis from dunamai = to be able, to have power) power especially achieving power. It is the power to do supernaturally what one cannot do naturally! It refers to intrinsic power or inherent ability, the power or ability to carry out some function, the power residing in a someone or something by virtue of its nature. Dunamis is the word used often by Paul to refer to divine energy, supernatural power. Vine says that dunamis "denotes the ability requisite for meeting difficulties and for the fulfillment of the service committed to us." Dunamis in Luke and Acts - Lk. 1:17; Lk. 1:35; Lk. 4:14; Lk. 4:36; Lk. 5:17; Lk. 6:19; Lk. 8:46; Lk. 9:1; Lk. 10:13; Lk. 10:19; Lk. 19:37; Lk. 21:26; Lk. 21:27; Lk. 22:69; Lk. 24:49; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:22; Acts 3:12; Acts 4:7; Acts 4:33; Acts 6:8; Acts 8:10; Acts 8:13; Acts 10:38; Acts 19:11; Turn...back (1994) (epistrepho from epí = motion toward + strepho = twist, turn quite around or reverse) means to turn around, to return and figuratively to convert. The idea is a definite turn to God in conduct as well as in one's mind, which is a description of conversion which is portrayed in many of the NT uses = Mt. 13:15; Mk 4:12; Acts 3:19; 11:21; 14:15; 15:19; 28:27; 1 Th 1:9-note; Jas 5:19–20. Disobedient (545)(apeithes from a = without + peitho = to persuade) (See related apeitheia; apeitheo) literally describes one who refuses to be persuaded (unpersuadable), thus picturing one who willfully disregards authority. Impersuasible, incompliant, contumacious. Apeithes pictures a stubborn, stiff-necked attitude and speaks of disbelief manifesting itself in disobedience. Apeithes is opposed to pistis or belief (trust). Apeithes describes someone who will not be persuaded, who stubbornly refuses to believe and obey the truth (All the NT uses - John 3:36; Rom. 2:8; 11:30, 31; 1 Peter 2:8; 3:1, 20). Attitude (5428)(phronesis from phroneo = to have understanding, to think <> from phren = midriff, heart, mind, thought) describes practical understanding and discernment of the needs, problems principles of everyday life which leads to right action. This word is used in the Septuagint many times in Proverbs (see here) which is not surprising for this is God's wisdom literature.

Lucas 1

Hendriksen - The visitors had heard “how kind [or merciful] the Lord had been” to Elizabeth. Literally, they had heard “that the Lord had magnified his mercy toward her.” This kind of language clearly shows that Luke is making use of Semitic—that is, Hebrew and/or Aramaic—sources. In the nativity account that is the rule, not the exception. Note also the emphasis, here as well as elsewhere (Luke 1:50, 54, 55, 72, 78) on God’s mercy or lovingkindness in action. (Luke Baker Exegetical Commentary). MUTUAL JOY And they were rejoicing with (sugchairo) her - Recall that Elizabeth was not surprised that she gave birth to a boy and even knew his name would be John, because the angel had foretold this in Luke 1:13+. God is always good to His Word beloved no matter how seemingly incredible His promise may seem to be (cf Ps 111:7)! The removal of social stigma of Elizabeth's barrenness was a cause of rejoicing among the Jews. As discussed below sugchairo uses the prefix sun/syn which signifies that there was a strong element of joint joy. A T

Lucas 1

Hendriksen - "In the old dispensation the naming of the child occurred in connection with its birth (Ge 21:1–3; 25:24–26; etc.). The present passage (and cf. Luke 2:21+) appears to be the earliest witness for the practice of connecting the naming of a child with circumcision." (Luke Baker Exegetical Commentary). Bob