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To: Texas Eagle; Klondike; The Ghost of FReepers Past
Here is the Scripture from Luke:

to show mercy to our fathers and to be mindful of his holy covenant
73
and of the oath he swore to Abraham our father, and to grant us that,
74
rescued from the hand of enemies, without fear we might worship him
75
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76
And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord 21 to prepare his ways,
77
to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,
78
because of the tender mercy of our God by which the daybreak from on high 22 will visit us
79
to shine on those who sit in darkness and death's shadow, to guide our feet into the path of peace."
80
The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.

33 posted on 12/31/2007 6:24:31 PM PST by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Texas Eagle; Klondike; The Ghost of FReepers Past

And all the footnotes for the passage posted above:

10 [26-38] The announcement to Mary of the birth of Jesus is parallel to the announcement to Zechariah of the birth of John. In both the angel Gabriel appears to the parent who is troubled by the vision (Luke 1:11-12, 26-29) and then told by the angel not to fear (Luke 1:13, 30). After the announcement is made (Luke 1:14-17, 31-33) the parent objects (Luke 1:18, 34) and a sign is given to confirm the announcement (Luke 1:20, 36). The particular focus of the announcement of the birth of Jesus is on his identity as Son of David (Luke 1:32-33) and Son of God (Luke 1:32, 35).

11 [32] Son of the Most High: cf Luke 1:76 where John is described as "prophet of the Most High." "Most High" is a title for God commonly used by Luke (Luke 1:35, 76; 6:35; 8:28; Acts 7:48; 16:17).

12 [34] Mary's questioning response is a denial of sexual relations and is used by Luke to lead to the angel's declaration about the Spirit's role in the conception of this child (Luke 1:35). According to Luke, the virginal conception of Jesus takes place through the holy Spirit, the power of God, and therefore Jesus has a unique relationship to Yahweh: he is Son of God.

13 [36-37] The sign given to Mary in confirmation of the angel's announcement to her is the pregnancy of her aged relative Elizabeth. If a woman past the childbearing age could become pregnant, why, the angel implies, should there be doubt about Mary's pregnancy, for nothing will be impossible for God.

14 [43] Even before his birth, Jesus is identified in Luke as the Lord.

15 [45] Blessed are you who believed: Luke portrays Mary as a believer whose faith stands in contrast to the disbelief of Zechariah (Luke 1:20). Mary's role as believer in the infancy narrative should be seen in connection with the explicit mention of her presence among "those who believed" after the resurrection at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:14).

16 [46-55] Although Mary is praised for being the mother of the Lord and because of her belief, she reacts as the servant in a psalm of praise, the Magnificat. Because there is no specific connection of the canticle to the context of Mary's pregnancy and her visit to Elizabeth, the Magnificat (with the possible exception of v 48) may have been a Jewish Christian hymn that Luke found appropriate at this point in his story. Even if not composed by Luke, it fits in well with themes found elsewhere in Luke: joy and exultation in the Lord; the lowly being singled out for God's favor; the reversal of human fortunes; the fulfillment of Old Testament promises. The loose connection between the hymn and the context is further seen in the fact that a few Old Latin manuscripts identify the speaker of the hymn as Elizabeth, even though the overwhelming textual evidence makes Mary the speaker.

17 [57-66] The birth and circumcision of John above all emphasize John's incorporation into the people of Israel by the sign of the covenant (Genesis 17:1-12). The narrative of John's circumcision also prepares the way for the subsequent description of the circumcision of Jesus in Luke 2:21. At the beginning of his two-volume work Luke shows those who play crucial roles in the inauguration of Christianity to be wholly a part of the people of Israel. At the end of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 21:20; 22:3; 23:6-9; 24:14-16; 26:2-8, 22-23) he will argue that Christianity is the direct descendant of Pharisaic Judaism.

18 [59] The practice of Palestinian Judaism at this time was to name the child at birth; moreover, though naming a male child after the father is not completely unknown, the usual practice was to name the child after the grandfather (see Luke 1:61). The naming of the child John and Zechariah's recovery from his loss of speech should be understood as fulfilling the angel's announcement to Zechariah in Luke 1:13, 20.

19 [68-79] Like the canticle of Mary (Luke 1:46-55) the canticle of Zechariah is only loosely connected with its context. Apart from Luke 1:76-77, the hymn in speaking of a horn for our salvation (Luke 1:69) and the daybreak from on high (Luke 1:78) applies more closely to Jesus and his work than to John. Again like Mary's canticle, it is largely composed of phrases taken from the Greek Old Testament and may have been a Jewish Christian hymn of praise that Luke adapted to fit the present context by inserting Luke 1:76-77 to give Zechariah's reply to the question asked in Luke 1:66.

20 [69] A horn for our salvation: the horn is a common Old Testament figure for strength (Psalm 18:3; 75:5-6; 89:18; 112:9; 148:14). This description is applied to God in Psalm 18:2 and is here transferred to Jesus. The connection of the phrase with the house of David gives the title messianic overtones and may indicate an allusion to a phrase in Hannah's song of praise (1 Sam 2:10), "the horn of his anointed."

21 [76] You will go before the Lord: here the Lord is most likely a reference to Jesus (contrast Luke 1:15-17 where Yahweh is meant) and John is presented as the precursor of Jesus.

22 [78] The daybreak from on high: three times in the LXX (Jeremiah 23:5; Zechariah 3:8; 6:12), the Greek word used here for daybreak translates the Hebrew word for "scion, branch," an Old Testament messianic title.

New American Bible Copyright © 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.


34 posted on 12/31/2007 6:25:39 PM PST by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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