Well the last couple of days have been spent in Marmaris. No, we haven't seen any ancient ruins, but we have become well aquatinted with beach life. Lounging in the sun and swimming in the sea is a great way to recover from two weeks of intense travel. Now we're ready to move on to part 2 of our adventure. Just when I started learning some Turkish words it's time to turn off the Turkish and turn on the Greek. What jolly fun.
Luke chapters one and two describe the books mission to compile eyewitness accounts of the things that have passed for a person named Theopolis. Luke starts out this narrative with the story of John the baptist and the events surrounding his birth. After John the Baptist, Luke describes the coming of Jesus and the events which led up to his birth. I find it really interesting that Luke starts off with John and not Jesus. I suppose this might be because John later prepares the way for Jesus and baptized him. Clearly John plays a very important role in the gospel story, and the actual historical events surrounding the coming of Jesus are very important.
Recently we visited the ancient city of Priene, and at this site there is a very interesting inscription called the Priene calendar inscription. This inscription tells of the coming of Augustus in terms that are very similar to the Luke account. Both Augustus and Jesus are predicted to be saviors who would bring peace to their people. Their births are both described as blessings for the world and cause for celebration. They were both sent by a divine figure to earth.
There are also some differences between these two accounts. The Luke account is far more detailed than the Priene calendar description. From Luke we learn not just how Jesus was born, but also how his cousin John was born. Unlike Augustus, Jesus was born into humble circumstances. He was born into an ordinary family, and his first crib was an animal manger. These accounts predict two very different types of kings. One is an earthly king, and one is an eternal king sent to conquer death.
I like your point that Jesus was born into humble circumstances. Not many people anticipated that baby Jesus, son of a carpenter, would be the Messiah, savior of the world. Just look at how surprised the people were when 12 year old Jesus sat with the Jewish teachers at the temple (Luke 2:46-7)!
ReplyDeleteThanks David :) in my opinion, the gospel is so beautiful because it is so simple. I love that God uses ordinary people and circumstances to fulfill his will.
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