In Luke's writing, the presence of the Holy Spirit, typically referred to as "filling" the person, was always in preparation for declaring His Word. The section of text here offers three such declarations. Again, we note Luke's subtle emphasis: The people are not themselves somehow inherently worthy of such expressions of faith, but are made usable by the presence of the Holy Spirit. Ordinary people do extraordinary things when God wants it.
When Mary heard from Gabriel her relative Elizabeth was pregnant, she prepared herself to visit. Luke notes merely the location is in the hilly area of southern Judea, one of the larger cities. Upon coming through the gate into the outer courtyard, Mary called out a joyful greeting. The sound of her voice stirred the boy in Elizabeth's womb, who recognized his Master's mother. The experience pushed Elizabeth outside her fleshly self, as she erupted in a poetic expression typical of Hebrew culture.
She chanted quite loudly, so the entire household could hear. First, she rejoiced in the chosen role of her niece, Mary. Elizabeth knew by revelation Mary was pregnant with the Messiah. Contrary to any embarrassment this would normally bring, it was cause for ecstatic celebration. Elizabeth notes immediately she is unworthy to be in such an august presence. She confirms her knowledge by describing how her own unborn son reacted in such an obvious way. She's left with nothing but to praise Mary for acting in faith and making herself available.
There is a lot of shared ground. Mary will face a lot of shame for being pregnant too soon, and Elizabeth faced decades of shame for not ever getting pregnant. From the context of the passage, it appears she didn't tell anyone at all outside the household, and waited for the birth announcement itself to let people know. All of this is contrary to typical Jewish behavior.
Mary responds with her own song of rejoicing. Luke does a fine job of translating something from a much older culture into the common language of the Roman Empire. Mary is quite happy to risk social embarrassment for the sake of God's plans. As with Elizabeth, she makes much of her unworthiness, something foundational to spiritual understanding. Instead of being shamed, she could expect people in the future to speak her name with reverence. Commenting on God's nature as all powerful, she draws a picture of a mighty king who welcomes the needy to His gates with provisions, but sends away the greedy. He turns the human establishments upside down, implying the world at large cannot comprehend His ways. Finally, He remembers His promise to Israel, made long ago to Abraham first.
Readers unfamiliar with the Old Testament, but with a decent education, would recognize this type of literary reference to some ancient and revered national founder. They would have read over such poetry several times, trying to absorb the imagery and mystical references.
Luke notes Mary stayed until shortly before Elizabeth was due to give birth. She returned to Nazareth just before beginning to show herself, ready to face the social pressures it would surely bring, even in her tiny village. Meanwhile, the birth of a baby to old Zacharias and Elizabeth was remarkable news in their area. The celebration signaled a sort of social restoration for Elizabeth, for she bore a son. The celebration climaxed on the eighth day, something educated Gentiles had already noticed among Jews scattered across the Roman Empire. It was noteworthy when so few cultures practiced circumcision, a ritual almost incomprehensible to Gentiles, aside from the term for it becoming the basis for Jewish arrogance at times. Given the law of primogeniture, no one is surprised when the relatives tried to name this son after his father. But Elizabeth insisted on a different name, a name not among those of anyone in the clan. In most cultures, that would signal something auspicious, for names were often viewed as destiny.
Poor Zacharias, all these months unable to speak. From the context, it appears he was deaf, as well, for they had to use hand signals to ask him what his son should be named. Taking the usual note tablet of that day -- a thin wood plaque layered with wax, used for temporary writing -- he wrote the boy's name would be John. The crowd of relatives were quite surprised, for a stodgy old priest would be the last to break with Jewish tradition. Obviously this was not your ordinary circumcision rite. Indeed not, for immediately Zacharias regained his facility for communication and his first words were another bit of Hebrew poetry. The whole thing was just the sort of thing folks would talk about for days around the water wells in towns all over the region. It was obvious this was some omen, and the boy would be something completely out of the ordinary. Needless to say, the boy was under public scrutiny from day one, and everyone could see his life reflected the presence and power of God.
What Zacharias had to say that first day he spoke again was a prophecy about his son. He spoke of the promised redemption, of the fresh revelation of God's power working in the House of David. This promise of redemption went back to the first prophets. Typical of an educated priest, Zacharias spoke in terms of national redemption and vanquishing of enemies, and a renewal -- perhaps completion -- of His Covenant with Abraham. Pointedly referring to his son, John, Zacharias notes he would be the herald of the Messiah. His mission would manifest as a call to repentance, for God would hardly act to redeem the hardened sinners. He refers to the Messiah as "Dayspring" -- a term for a mystical Dawn of a new age. This Messiah would teach accurately what God had meant to say all along.
For biblical scholars, this is the last of the Old Covenant prophecies. The terminology is full of the standard mystical symbols. While even Theophilus must have known many Jews took these things literally, Luke was about to explain how it was all purely spiritual. He notes John bore a singular spiritual inclination, an ability to think and operate on a spiritual level altogether uncommon even among adults, much less children. All this spiritual emphasis drove John into a solitary existence, often away from people in the open areas. Such was his typical haunt until the day he began his public ministry.
Even without a background in Hebrew History, it becomes obvious already from the symbolic references this signals the end of the Old, and a birth of the New. While a common enough feature in Eastern literature, as well as many Western societies, Luke points out this is backed by the subtle actions of the One True God. No other religion made such a claim as this, that God would work through ordinary people. When He comes Himself to redeem all things, He still comes by a fairly mundane path. If you know the details surrounding His birth, you know it all signals something totally unique. But if you aren't paying attention with a heart of faith, it would be easy to dismiss the wild stories in a day and age when quite a few folks claimed to be the Messiah with far more dramatic proofs. A Roman official would want to know how this one was different from several others the government had dealt with in the past, and would again.
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By Ed Hurst
07 June 2008
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