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<DIV><FONT color=black size=2 face=arial><FONT color=black size=2
face=arial><FONT size=4>Forwarded, for Luke 2:1-20 - Part 1 of
3</FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=black size=2 face=arial><FONT color=black size=2
face=arial> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: helvetica,arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><FONT
size=4 face="Times New Roman">-----Original Message-----<BR>From: </FONT><A
href="mailto:bstoffregen@roadrunner.com"><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman">bstoffregen@roadrunner.com</FONT></A><BR><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman">To: </FONT><A
href="mailto:brian.stoffregen@gmail.com"><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman">brian.stoffregen@gmail.com</FONT></A><BR><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman">Sent: Wed, Dec 16, 2009 11:46 pm<BR>Subject: Luke 2:1-20;
2:41-52<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt"><TT><FONT size=4 face="Times New Roman">Attached are
notes on the Christmas Text: Luke 2:1-20; and for the 1st Sunday </FONT>after
<FONT size=2>Christmas</FONT>: Luke 2:41-52.Brian<FONT size=2></FONT></TT></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT
size=4><TT></FONT></FONT>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>December 25: The Nativity of Our Lord:
Exegetical Notes on Luke 2:1-20</FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>An outline of these verses is offered by
Brown (<I>The Birth of the Messiah</I>, p. 410. Much of the following
information comes from his book.)</FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>Setting (1-7)</FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>a) The occasion of the census brings Joseph
with Mary to Bethlehem (1-5)</FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>b) While there, May gives birth to Jesus;
she swaddles him and lays him in a manger (6-7)</FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>Annunciation
(8-14)</FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>a) Nearby, an angel of the Lord announces to
shepherds the birth of the savior, Messiah, and Lord, giving them the sign of
the baby in the manger (8-12)</FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>b) A multitude of the heavenly host appears
and recites the <I>Gloria</I> (13-14)</FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>Reactions (15-20)</FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>a) The shepherds go to Bethlehem to see the
sign; and finding it verified, they make known what was told them
(15-17)</FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>b) The hearers are astonished; Mary keeps
these events in her heart; the shepherds return, glorifying and praising God
(18-20)</FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>CAESAR AUGUSTUS</FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>Luke sets the birth in the days of Caesar
Augustus. His name was Octavian, the great-nephew of Julius Caesar. After the
assassination of Julius in 44 B.C., he ruled with Lepidus and Mark Anthony. He
became the sole ruler after defeating Lepidus in 36 B.C. and Anthony in 31 B.C.
He was given the title "Augustus" by the senate in 27 B.C. (Our month of August
gets its name from Octavian.) Before dying in A.D. 14, he had designated his
stepson, Tiberius, as his successor. It is in the fifteenth year of Tiberius
Caesar that Jesus began his ministry (Luke 3:1).</FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>Augustus was remembered as the founder of
the empire that brought peace to the world. There is an inscription at
Halicarnassus that calls him "<B>savior</B> of the whole world". Brown writes:
"It can scarcely be accidental that Luke's description of the birth of Jesus
presents an implicit challenge to this imperial propaganda, not by denying the
imperial ideals, but by claiming that the real peace of the world was brought
about by Jesus" [p. 415]</FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>Culpepper (<I>Luke, </I>New Interpreter's
Bible) notes some contrasts:</FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>The Savior of all people was born under the
reign of Caesar Augustus, whose peace paled before that announced by the angels.
The Messiah born under Roman oppression, which was so evident in the forced
registration, would overthrow the powerful and raise up the oppressed. [p.
63]</FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>THE CENSUS</FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">There is much discussion about when (or if) a census of
"all the world" (ο</FONT></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">ἰ</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">κουμένη - <I>oikoumenē</I>) occurred. There are no other
records of such an event during the reign of Augustus, nor of any census that
required people to be registered in their ancestral cities. There is a record of
a Judean census (which did not include Galilee) in 6-7 A.D. when Quirinius
became governor of Syria. This took place ten years after King Herod had died,
who was reigning when the birth announcements took place (Luke
1:5).</FONT></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>Within Luke's narrative, the census serves
to move the holy family from Nazareth to Bethlehem. If it were known that Jesus
grew up in Nazareth and that he was born in Bethlehem, there needs to be some
connection between the two cities. Matthew's (ch. 2) approach is to have Jesus
born in Bethlehem, presumably in the family's house, and then they are forced to
flee to Egypt during the massacre of the children. When they return, they settle
in Nazareth (to fulfill an unknown scriptural passage).
</FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>Theological, we see that the Roman emperor,
the mightiest figure in the world is serving God's plan by issuing an edict for
the census of the whole world. Bethlehem will be the place where the savior of
the whole world will be born. Craddock (<I>Luke</I>, Interpretation
Commentaries) says more about this: </FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>Beyond any argument as to Luke's historical
sources is his basic conviction that emperors, governments, and laws serve the
purpose of God, often without knowing it. In this, Luke agrees with Isaiah 45:1.
Caesar Augustus is more than a date for the story; he is an instrument of God's
will. There does not have to be a miracle or an unusual event for God to be at
work. God works miracles in Luke, to be sure, but God works without them, too.
[p. 34]</FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>There may also be symbolic meanings behind
the census. </FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>Augustus may represent the Roman background
of the birth, and a census the Jewish background. King David ordered a census (2
Sam 24) and incurred God's wrath in the form of a pestilence. But, in accord
with God's ability to bring good out of evil, the place in Jerusalem where the
pestilence stopped became the spot for the building of the Temple (2 Chr. 3:1).
Jesus is born in the city of David. The temple plays a prominent role in the
opening chapters of Luke. </FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>The census of Quirinius (mentioned above)
provoked the rebellion of Judas the Galilean, the founder of the Zealot
movement. Part of the charges against Jesus was that he refused to pay Roman
taxes (Luke 23:2), of which Pilate declares Jesus innocent. Ironically, Jesus
birth happened in Bethlehem, because his parents were obedient to the Roman
census edict to go there and pay their taxes.</FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4 face="Times New Roman"></FONT><BR> </DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>A Greek version of Psalm 87:6 attested in
Eusebius' <I>Commentary on the Psalms</I> reads: "In the <B>census</B> of the
peoples, this one will be born there." While we don't know for sure whether this
version of Psalm 87 predates Luke or if it was influenced by Luke's story, it is
possible that Luke was influenced by this version of the psalm and thus expanded
the census taken by Quirinius of Judah to include the whole
world.</FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></DIV><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"></FONT>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT">
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT size=3><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Brian Stoffregen</FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT size=3><FONT
face="Times New Roman">pastor, Faith Lutheran Church, 2215 S 8th Avenue, Yuma,
AZ 85364</FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman">e-mail: <A
href="mailto:brian.stoffregen@gmail.com">brian.stoffregen@gmail.com</A></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
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