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[It is important to remember that the Gospel accounts were never intended to be biographies of Yeshua. Rather, they were intended to be theological treatises. Of the four Gospel accounts, only Lukas attempts to present “a chronological record” (see note 3), so I have used his timeline as the primary basis for my one-year chronological harmony. The dates I have added are approximate and are based on a one-year ministry. (per Luke 4:19)]
I. Introduction (1:1-4)[1]
II. The Birth of Yochanan the Immerser and the Pregnant Virgin (1:5-80)
1Dear Theophilus:[1a]
Many people have undertaken the task of composing a narrative about those events which have occurred among us, 2just as they were delivered to us by those who were eyewitnesses and servants of the Word from the very beginning. 3So it seemed appropriate, your Excellency, since I have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, that I should to write to you a chronological record,[3] 4so that you might know the full truth about the things you have been taught.
[Shavuot, 4 BCE]
A. Gavri'elGabriel appears to Z'kharyahZacharias and announces the birth of YochananJohn (1:5-25)
5In the days when Herod
was king of Y'hudahJudea, there was a
priestcohen named
ZechariahZ'kharyah, who was assigned
to the Aviyah division of
priestscohenim.[5a]
His wife’s name was
ElizabethElisheva, and she was a
also descendant of AaronAharon.[5b]
6They were both righteous before Godtzadikim[6a],
faithfully observing all the
mitzvotcommandments[6a] and ordinances of
Yehovah[6b].
7But they were childless, because
ElizabethElisheva was barren[7], and they both were well
along in years.
8One day while he was performing the duties of
priestcohen during his division’s time of service
before God,[8]
9he was chosen by drawing lots, as was his division’s practice, to
perform the incense offering in the Temple of Yehovah.[9]
10All the people
were praying outside at the hour of incense.
11An angel of
Yehovah
appeared to him, standing on the right side of the
altar of incense.
12Z'kharyahZachaariah became very anxious when he saw him; he was
terror-stricken.[12]
13But the angel said to him,
“Don’t be afraid, ZechariahZ'kharyah,
because your entreaty has been heard[13a],
and your wife
ElizabethElisheva will bear you a
son, and you name him YochananJohn.[13b]
14You will have joy and gladness;
and many will rejoice at his birth.
15For he will be great in the sight
of Yehovah, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will
be filled with Ruach HaKodeshthe Holy Spirit,
even from his mother’s womb.
16He will turn many of the children
of Israel to Yehovah, their God.
17He will go before Yehovah
in the spirit and power of EliyahuElijah[17a], ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the
children’[17b], and the disobedient to the wisdom
of the just; to make ready a people prepared for Yehovah.”
18ZechariahZ'kharyah said to the angel, “How can I be
sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” 19The angel answered him,
“I am Gabriel, warrior of GodGabriel,
who stands in the presence of God. I was sent to speak to you, and to bring
you this good news.
20HinnehBehold,[20a]
you will be deaf[20b]
and unable to speak until the day that these
things will happen, because you didn’t believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper
time.” 21The people were waiting for
ZechariahZ'kharyah, and they
marveled that he delayed in the temple.
22When he came out, he
could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in
the temple. He continued making signs to them, and remained mute.
23When the period of his
Temple service were completed,[23]
he went home. B. Gavri'elGabriel appears to
MiryamMary and announces the virgin birth of Yeshua
(1:26-33)
29But when she
saw him, she was greatly troubled at his, and wondered what kind of
greeting this might be.
30The angel said to her, “Don’t
be afraid, MiryamMary, for
you have found favor with God.
31HinnehBehold: Pay attention to this, because it’s very important!, you will conceive,
have a son, and name Him
‘YeshuaSalvataion.’
32He will be great, and will
be called the Son of Ha‘Elyonthe Most High.
Yehovah Eloheinuour God
will give Him the throne of His father, David,
33and He will reign over
the house of Ya'akovJacob
forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.” C. The Miraculous Conception of the Son of Man
(1:34-38) 34MiryamMary asked
angel, “How can this be possible, since I’m a virgin?” 35The angel
answered her, “Ruach HaKodeshthe Holy
Spirit will come upon you, and the power of
Ha`Elyonthe Most High
will overshadow you. Therefore, your holy child will be called the
Son of God.
36HinnehBehold: Pay attention to this, because it’s very important!, your relative
ElizabethElisheva has
also conceived a son in her old age; everyone says whe was barren,
but she
is now six months pregnant.[36]
37For nothing is impossible
with God.” 38MiryamMary said,
“HinnehBehold: Pay attention to this, because it’s very important!,
I am the servant of Yehovah; let it happen to me as
you have said.”
Then the angel left her. D.
MiryamMary visits
ElishevaElizabeth
(1:39-45)
1. The “Magnificat” of
MiryamMary (1:46-56, cp.
1Sam. 2:1-10) 46MiryamMary said,
56MiryamMary stayed with her
about three months, and then returned to her home. E. Birth and B'rit-milahcovenant of circumcision of
YochananJohn (1:57-66)
61They said
to her, “You have no relatives with this name.”
62They made motions to his
father, what he would have him named.[62] 64His
ability to speak was immediately restored and his first words were a
b'rakhahblessing to God.
65All the neighbors were awestruck,
and news of this spread throughout all the hill country of Y'hudahJudea.
66Everyone who heard this
wondered, “What is this child going to be?” for it was evident that
the hand of Yehovah was with him. 1. The “Benedictus” of
Z'kharyahZacharias
(1:67-80) 67His
father
ZechariahZ'kharyah was filled
with Ruach HaKodeshthe Holy Spirit,
and prophesied
1. In the 2,000 or so years
since these events, the Church has really lost sight of what these
accounts are all about. We get the word “Gospel” from the Old
English god [good, not deity] spel [news],
and the concept of “Good News” is not at all new to the writers of the Apostolic
Scriptures that Christians call “the New Testament.” The Hebrew word with the same
meaning is בּשַׂר (basar) and it is used frequently throughout the Tanakh, or Hebrew
Scriptures. For example: Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of
good news [basar], Lift up your voice mightily, O Jerusalem, bearer of
good news
[basar]; Lift it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” (Isa.
40:9) How lovely on the mountains Are the
feet of him who brings good news
[basar], Who
announces peace And brings good news
of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, "Your God
reigns!" (Isa.
52:7) The Spirit of Adonai ELOHIM is upon me, because Yehovah[GN] has anointed me to announce good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted; to proclaim freedom to the captives, to let out into light those bound in the dark;
to proclaim the year of the favor of Yehovah … (Isa.
61:1-2) “The year of the favor of Yehovah”
is the Messianic Kindgom Age, and the basar is that Yehovah
reigns as King! The “Good News” that was preached by
Jochanan the Immerser [John the Baptist], Yeshua, and the Apostles
was “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is now here!” While individual
salvation is certainly an important part of Yeshua’s earthly
mission, His primary stated purpose was to bring about the Kingdom
of God. See also the Introduction to the Gospels and Acts.
[BACK] 1a. This letter is the longest of the four
Gospel accounts and was written to someone named Theophilus (Θεόφιλος),
which means “friend of God” or “lover of God” — hence, “God-lover.” Conventional scholarship
has long held that Theophilus was a prominant Greek individual, probably an executive at
some level of the Roman government, because of the way Lucas addresses him as “most
excellent Theophilus” or “your excellency” in Lk. 1:3. Recent scholarship (Barag, D., and D.
Flusser, “The Ossuary of Yehohana Granddaughter of the High Priest Theophilus,” Israel
Exploration Journal 26, no. 1/2 (1986) 39-44) has discovered that archeological evidence
found among the Herodian Mansions in the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem, and supported by
Josephus (Antiquities XVII, 78, 164-165), show that Theophilus ben Ananus was High
Priest from 37 to 41 C.E. (see a list of
High Priests). Rav Shau'ls
active ministry was 48-61, but his encounter with Yeshua was in
36, so it is likely that Sha'ul
and Theophilus were in the Sanhedrin together, so Dr. Luke may well have known him at the time.
That Theophilus may very well have been the original recipient of these two letters. I think, however, that it is also possible that he wrote the letter
primarily to the Goyim (Greeks, Gentiles) that he and Rav Sha'ul had discipled on their
missionary journeys that he discusses in his work “The Acts of the Apostles.” Goyim (Gentiles) who accepted the “yoke of Torah” — i.e. a
Torah-pursuant Jewish lifestyle” — but who had not gone through a process of formal
“conversion” to Judaism were called “God-fearers.” HaDerek, or The Way, as the
early Messianic sect of Judaism was known, especially in the Diaspora, consisted primarily
of “God-fearers,” and I consider it appropriate that Dr. Lucas might write a global letter
addressing these people as “Excellent God-Lover.”
[BACK] 3. Of the four Gospel
writers, only Dr. Lukas attempts to record a chronological narrative of events,
which he does as as an extremely careful investigative reporter.
Tradition says that he interviewed nearly all of the original
witnesses to the life of Yeshua that he could. Though
this letter to “Theophilus” does, indeed, contain a biography of the Master, it
is primarily a theological treatise presenting Yeshua as Ben
Adam, the Son of Man,
the perfect human. The reason that Ruach HaKodeshthe Holy Spirit provided us with four
different Gospel accounts is to provide us with different theological aspect
of the Person and work of Yeshua HaMashiach: 5a. See
Divisions of the Aaronic Priesthood and
Yeshua’ Birth Date Calculated from the Scriptures.
[BACK] 5b. AharonAaron was
the first Cohen HagadolHigh Priest under MosheMoses (Exod
28:41). Since then every descendant of Aaron has been a cohenpriest, though only the men serve in the Temple. All the
descendants of Levi are Levites, whose responsibility it is to
support the work of the cohenimpriests (Num
1:47-54).
[BACK] 6a. Tzadikim: people who are righteous before God.
Contrary to some Christian theologians, the New Testament
teaches that the Torah of Moses offers righteousness. To be considered
“righteous before God,” Z'kharyah and Elisheva had to love God and
fellowman, trust God and believe His word. As evidence of this love and trust, they
observed all the rules of behavior God had revealed, including those which demanded
repentance and a blood sacrifice as a sin offering when they fell short of full
obedience. [Stern, David H.
Jewish New Testament Commentary. Clarksville, MD: Jewish New
Testament Publications, Inc., 1996, p. 103.]
[BACK] 6b. The word “Yehovah”
literally translates as “Lord”, but is used as a
circumlocution
to avoid uttering the unspeakably holy Name of God revealed to Moshe by the four Hebrew letters
hvhy (yod-hey-vav-hey). It is used to
signify the Name of God appears in the original text. (See
“Some Thoughts on the Sacred Name” and
“Where Did the Word “Jehovah” Come From?”)
[BACK] 7. Barrenness
was considered to be a sign of God’s great disfavor, and was a mark
of shame, especially so for the righteous.
[BACK] 8. The Aviyah division
began their service on the seventh Sabbath day from the
Firstfruit offering. The following morning, the Shabbat
of the Feast of Shavuot (Pentecost), the Abiyah Division
was responsible for the Temple service.
[BACK] 9. There were many
thousands (at least 24,000) of priests who served in the Temple, so this
was a very high honor for a priest, and was usually experienced only once
in a lifetime. This was probably the very pinnacle of Z'kharyah’s career.
The Incense Altar stood in the Holy Place just outside the veil to the
Most Holy Place. Except for the one time a year on Yom Kippur when the
High Priest entered the Most Holy Place to pour out the blood of atonement
on the Mercy Seat, this was as “close to God” at it was possible for a
man to ever get.
[BACK] 12. If we read
casually through the Scriptures we might be inclined to think that
the appearance of angelic messengers was a relatively common event.
We must remember, however, that the Scriptures span a period of
about four thousand years and in four millennia we have recorded
only about 25 separate appearances of angels (listed
here). This was an extremely unusual event and Z'kharyah was
rightfully terrified.
[BACK] 13a. Apparently
Z'kharyah had been praying for a child, and HaShem heard and
answered that prayer; and in a very remarkable way. Yeshua was later
to say of His cousin, “among those born of women there has not arisen
anyone greater than YochananJohn.”
The miraculously-conceived son of Z'kharyah and Elisheva was to be
the first prophet in Israel since the death of Mal'akhi over 500 years
earlier. For reasons that I will discuss later (see note
on 3:21), I believe that YochananJohn
was in fact the rightful High Priest of Israel.
[BACK] 13b. YochananJohn
is a shortened form of the
name Yehohanan, which means “Yehovah has graced.”
[BACK] 17a. “Look, I will send
to you EliyahuElijah [Elijah] the prophet before the coming of the great and
terrible Day of Yehovah. He will turn the
hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to
their fathers; otherwise I will come and strike the land with complete
destruction.”
(Mal 4:5-6) The Day of Yehovah
will have two aspects: There will be the establishment of the Messianic
Kingdom (the Kingdom of God on earth); but there will also come judgment of the
unrighteous and terrible destruction.
In Matthew’s account of the Good News, he quotes Yeshua as
suggesting very strongly that if Israel had repented corporately,
YochananJohn would have indeed fulfilled the prophecy of Elijah’s return
and the Kingdom of God would have been established on earth in their
lifetime. “For all the prophets and the Torah prophesied
until YochananJohn. Indeed, if you are willing to accept it, he is
EliyahuElijah, whose coming was predicted. If you have ears, then
hear!” (Matthew
11:13-15)
[BACK] 17b. Quoting
Malachi 4:6.
[BACK] 20a. Behold, Hebrew הִנֵּה, hinneh.
“Look here,” but not just look; “Really pay attention to this,
because it’s very important!”
[BACK] 20b. The Greek text
says “silent and unable to speak,” which is redundant. Greek
σιωπῶν, siopon, silent; but Aramaic (and Hebrew חֵרֵשׁ
translates the same) manuscripts say חֵרֵשׁ, kheresh,
blunted in any of the senses,
which can be translated as deaf, dumb, blind, or lame. If he could
not hear, everything would be silent for him. In verse 62
his friends and neighbors communiated to him using signs,
indicating that he could not hear.
[BACK] 23. The Sunday after Pentecost,
the 15th of Sivan.
[BACK] 27. Critics of the virgin birth of Yeshua
argue that the word translated “virgin” in Isaiah 7:14 is the Hebrew word
עַלְמָה (‘almah), which simply means “a young woman of marriageable age.”
Theological Word Book of the Old Testament says, “There is no instance
where it can be proved that this word designates a young woman who is not a
virgin.” Additionally, the Torah requires that any unmarried young woman who
is found to not be a virgin was to be stoned to death (Deut. 22:20-21).
The fact that Miryam had not been stoned to death supports her virginity.
Further, that Miryam was anatomically a virgin is confirmed by whoever rendered Luke’s
letter into Greek (whether Luke himself or another translator) the word was rendered by
the Greek word παρθένος (parthenos), the primary meaning of which is “a person
female or male) who has never had sexual intercourse.” Luke was a
well-educated man, a physician; surely he would have known the difference.
And the Greek version of his letter is considered my most scholars to be
the finest example of the Greek language in all the Apostolic Writings.
Since Luke was very likely a Proselyte (a Gentile convert to Judaism),
a disciple of Rav Sha'ul, Greek was probably his primary language.
[BACK] 36. Elishiva’s pregnancy was thus far a
closely-guarded secret. Miryam was the first family member besides
Z'kharyah to find out.
[BACK] 39. This was a four-
to seven-day journey. [BACK] 62. Although verse 20
does not specifically say that he was deaf (see the note), the fact that these people were trying to “talk” to Z'kharyah using sign language
supports the contention that he was deaf (certainly his friends
thought he was deaf) as
well as mute.
[BACK]
24Shortly afterwards, his
wife ElizabethElisheva
conceived, and she seqjuestered herself for five months, saying,
25“Thus has Yehovah
done to me in the days in which he looked at me, to take away my
reproach among men.”
26When
ElizabethElisheva was in in the
sixth month of her pregnancy, the angel
Gabriel, warrior of GodGabriel
was sent from God to the village of
NatzeretNazareth
in the GalilGalilee,
27to a virgin[27] engaged to be married to a man whose name was
YosefJoseph, of the house of
David. The virgin’s name was
MiryamMary.
28Having come in, the angel
said to her, “Rejoice, you highly favored one! Yehovah
is with you. Blessed are you among women!”
39Then MiryamMary
went right away into the hill country to a city of
Y'hudahJudah,[39]
40and entered the house of
ZechariahZ'kharyah and greeted
ElizabethElisheva.
41When
ElizabethElisheva heard
MiryamMary’s greeting, the
baby leaped in her womb, and
ElizabethElisheva was
filled with Ruach HaKodeshthe Holy
Spirit.
42She called out with a loud voice,
and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your
womb!
43Why am I so favored, that
the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44For
hinnehBehold: Pay attention to this, because it’s very important!, when
I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb
leaped for joy!
45Blessed are you for
believing, because now everything that ADONAI told
you will be fulfilled.”
57When
it was time for ElizabethElisheva
to give birth she had a son.
58Her neighbors
and her relatives heard how good Yehovah had been
to her, and they rejoiced with her.
59On the eighth day they came
for the child’s
b'rit-milahcovenant of circumcision
and they were going to name
ZechariahZ'kharyah, after his father.
60His mother asaid, “No, he will
be named YochananJohn.”63He
motioned for a writing tablet, and wrote, “His name is YochananJohn.”
80The child
grew
and became strong in spirit, and lived in the wilderness until the
time came for him to appear in
public to Israel.
a. Matthew - His Kingship as the promised Messiah
Ben-David, the Lion of Judah
b. Mark - His servanthood, the suffering servant of Isaiah 53
c. Luke - His complete and perfect humanity, the
Son of Man (Ben Adam)
d. John - His absolute Deity,
the Son of God (ben Elohim)
More here.
[BACK]
Mitzvot: commandments, of which
Miamonides (Rambam)
enumerated and
classified 613.
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ANXIOUSLY WATCHING FOR MASHIACH’S RETURN,
SPEEDILY AND IN OUR DAY. MARANA, TA!
