Actually the Scripture that pre-dates the ones you (Uncle Chip) have offered is in the first chapter of Luke, verses 68-79, which is often referred to as the “little Gospel”.
“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
He has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty Savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets He promised of old
that He would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers:
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath He swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship Him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of death
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Mark, I understand and commend you for bringing in the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes. I feel confident that you already understood/understand the Gospel as presented in Luke 1, and that your references are from the OT teaching of God’s laws, the first teaching from the Lord and his revelation of the need for us to live by the Beatitudes that He taught us as a response to his Gospel.
It’s a more excellent way for all of us to acknowledge the good meaning of others who post, and to make the effort to see the good intentions of others.
So-—the “little Gospel” is given to us when Joseph and Mary presented Jesus to Simeon in the temple, according to Hebrew law. And St. Paul comes much later to explain it more fully to the early Church.
ROE
Thank you very much. I hadn’t considered this.
A conversation often teaches more than contentious debate.