47. See p. 22.
48. See Kuhn 2001: 38–49.
49. Ferguson 2003: 26–30.
50. Grant 1975: 52–80.
51. An example of a Myrian inscription: “Divine Augustus Caesar, Son of a God, Imperator of land and sea, the Benefactor and Savior of the whole world” (Green 1997: 125).
52. Brown (1993: 412–18) provides a thorough discussion of the historical problem. Rist (2005: 489–91) postulates that Luke confused Quirinius with Quintilius Varus. A reference to the latter would have set the date of Jesus’ birth around 6 BCE, in line with the Matthean account given that Herod died in 4 BCE.
53. Garland 2012: 117–19.
54. “The city of David” can also point to Jerusalem (or Mount Zion), the capital from which King David ruled (2 Sam 5:7; 2 Chr 5:2).
55. Green 1997: 129; Marshall 1978: 107.
56. Harris 2012: 18–20.
57. Ibid., 27–30.
58. The title Kyrios (“Lord”) is applied to YHWH in 1:6, 9, 11, 15–16, 25, 28, 32, 38, 45–46, 58, 68, and to Jesus in 1:17, 43, 76. The title Sotēr (“Savior”) is applied to YHWH in 1:47, and to Jesus in 1:69 and 2:11.
59. Verbrugge 2008: 301–11.
60. The translation in the NKJV, “goodwill toward men,” reflects a textual variant that has eudokia (a nominative) instead of eudokias (a genitive). The genitive has stronger textual support among the more reliable manuscripts.
61. Priene Inscription (OGIS 458), cited in Evans 2005: 313. See also Porter 2000: 533.
62. See p. 66, n. 12.
63. The Greek participle kechrēmatismenon (2:26) carries a sense of command. Simeon is ordered by the Holy Spirit to recognize Jesus as the embodiment of God’s salvation. His role is to recognize and bear witness to Jesus. See Soards 1990: 403.
64. See García-Serrano 2014: 468–69 and Thurston 2001: 49–50.
65. If there is symbolism in the number 84, García-Serrano (2014: 470) notes that Anna “lived a perfect married life (seven years) and an even more perfect widowhood (seven times twelve years).”
66. Thurston 2001: 50–52.
67. Philostratus Vit. Apoll. 1.7 (Apollonius of Tyana); Plutarch Alex. 4.4—5.5 (Alexander); Diogenes Laertius 10.14 (Epicurus); Herodotus Hist. 1.114–16 (Cyrus). Billings (2009: 70–89) thinks that Luke’s inclusion of the childhood story of Jesus anticipates the presentation of the adult Jesus as superior to Augustus.
68. In Deut 16:16 these feasts are referred to as Unleavened Bread, Weeks, and Booths, respectively. Passover was immediately followed by the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which lasted a week (Lev 23:5–6; Deut 16:1–4). By the time of Jesus, the names of these two feasts were used interchangeably. See Ferguson 2003: 557–59.
69. Hannah went up to Jerusalem “year by year” with her husband Elkanah (1 Sam 1:3, 7, 21; 2:19), although the text does not specific which feast.
70. Keener 2014: 186.
71. According to the School of Hallel, younger children were permitted to attend the three pilgrimage feasts as long as they could hold their father’s hand and walk from Jerusalem up to the Temple Mount (m. Ḥag. 1:1).
72. See also Pss. Sol. 17:37; 1 En. 49:1–4.
73. The language implies a sense of betrayal. Cf. Gen 12:18; 29:25; Exod 14:11; Num 23:11; Judg 15:11.
74. ESV, NASB, NIV, NRSV.
75. Or “my Father’s business” (NKJV).
76. 4:43; 9:22; 13:33; 17:25; 19:5; 21:9; 22:37; 24:7, 44.
77. Both senses are found in Luke. Worrying will not extend one’s age or lifespan (12:25) and Zacchaeus is short in stature (19:3).
Luke 3
Baptism of John (3:1–20)
The narrative is fast-forwarded by several decades as John, the prophet of the Most High, reenters the narrative stage. Among the prophetic books of the OT, God’s prophets are often introduced by a formulaic statement, “the word of the lord came to [Prophet A] during the reign of [King B].”78 Identifying the sitting monarch allows the reader to situate the proclamation of the prophet within the history of Israel and the people’s spiritual condition in that period. Luke reflects this convention in 3:1–2 by listing seven names that belong to the powers that be. Collectively these figures of authority contribute to the tension-filled picture of the religio-political landscape in the Jewish milieu of John and Jesus.
Tiberius succeeded Augustus as Roman emperor in 14 CE, so the fifteenth year of his reign would be 29 CE when John began his baptizing activities.79 After the death of Herod the Great in 4 BCE, his territory was divided between his sons. Both Herod Antipas and his half-brother Herod Philip II were minor princes carrying the title of tetrarch. Antipas ruled over Galilee until 39 CE and Philip