Luke 1.5-2.52: A New Tabernacle

Luke 1.5-2.52: A New Tabernacle What follows is an exploration of Luke 1.5-2.52’s flow and OT allusions. In 1.5-2.52, Luke interweaves his account of John the Baptist’s appearance in Israel with Jesus of Nazareth’s to great effect. The two characters come face to face in ch. 3, at which point an old era in Israel’s history comes into contact with a new one. Luke pays particularly close attention to the narratives of 1 Sam. 1-4 and Zech. 1-6, which portray the events of 1.5-2.52 as the inauguration of a new phase in ‘tabernacle history’.1 The silence is broken Luke 1.5-2.52 describes the appearance and subsequent growth of two hugely significant figures in Israel’s history: John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth. The two men’s birth-narratives are closely intertwined. First, they are connected historically: Mary, the mother of Jesus, conceives in the 6th month of the pregnancy of Elizabeth, the mother of John. Second, they are connected thematically. Both John and Jesus’s arrival is announced by the angel Gabriel, whose words ‘trouble’ those who hear them; furthermore, both men are begotten by women who (in human terms) are very unlikely to conceive; both men are greeted with praise and prophecy as they emerge from the womb, as well as with the activity of the Spirit (a word mentioned ten times in our text); both men are given significant and divinely-ordained names;2 both men are circumcised; both men are destined for ‘greatness’;3 and, despite their miraculous arrivals, both men are left to grow up in obscurity—John in the desert and Jesus in Nazareth.4 The backdrop of our text (1.5-2.52) adds colour and context to these events. 1.512 describes the first historical event of the NT. As such, it is set against the 1 My thoughts in the present paper have been influenced by those of Alastair Roberts here: «www.alastairadversaria.com/2014/04/24/luke2acts-some-notes-on-luke-1-and-2/» «www.alastairadversaria.com//2014/04/26/luke2acts-some-notes-on-luke-3-and-4/» and a sermon by Steve Jeffery here: «www.northlondonchurch.org/eec/talk/luke-21-21-the-glory-returns/». 2 1.59-64, 2.21. Consider also how the name John and Hannah derive from the same root, namely «H . NN». 3 1.15, 1.32. 4 1.80 and 2.40 also share textual similarities: “And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel” (1.80); and “the child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon him” (2.40). 1 backdrop of a long and barren period in Israel’s history. That silence finds an echo in our text’s main characters and events. Both Zechariah and Elizabeth are “advanced in years”, as is Anna;5 and many people have waited for redemption to arrive in Israel for a long time.6 Furthermore, Zechariah is struck dumb due to his unbelief—a picture of the silence of Israel’s inter-testamental years—and is delayed in the Temple, much to the confusion of the people. After his birth, John then finds himself isolated in the wilderness, where he will later be joined by Jesus himself. (Zechariah’s prophecy answers to the final prophecy of the OT,7 namely Mal. 4.5-6; John is ‘the Elijah due to come’.8 ) As such, the backdrop to 1.5-2.52 is characterised by a sense of despondency, which is an important point to note. Luke’s ‘canvas’ is characterised by a barrenness, a spiritual dryness, and much unanswered prayer. The name Mary (‘bitter’) adds a further note of discontent to the narrative and, by its allusion to Naomi’s statement (“Do not call me Naomi, but Mara, for...I went out full, but the LORD has brought me back empty”), to Elizabeth’s barren state. But the backdrop to our text is not characterised by unalloyed despondency. It is punctuated by signs of hope and anticipation. A number of people have begun to look for the Messiah. A sense of hope and expectation has risen up in Israel, and Simeon has been told (most likely unbeknown to anyone else) he will not depart from life until he has seen the LORD’s Messiah.9 Israel longs for deliverance.10 These hopes and dreams are not merely wishful thoughts; they are grounded in God’s covenantal promise to Abraham, which is hinted at throughout our text.11 The parallels between the state of Zechariah and Elizabeth and the state of Abraham and Sarah (prior to the birth of Isaac) adds a further Abrahamic element to Luke’s narrative, as does the ‘new name’ given to John.12 Against the backdrop of all these dreams and disappointments comes a new move of God’s Spirit. The Spirit begins to stir in men’s hearts and speak to his people, and miraculous deeds begin to unfold in Judah once again. Israel’s frustrations and expectations are simultaneously answered by the gracious initiative and mercy of God. The names recorded in our text underscore the point—notably, ‘My God has sworn’ (Elizabeth), ‘YHWH has remembered’ (Zechariah), ‘a gracious 5 1.7, 1.18, 2.36 2.25, 2.38. 7 as it is arranged in the LXX 8 1.17 cf. Matt. 11.14, Mark 9.13. 9 Luke 2.26. 10 1.71 cf. Psa. 106.10, the context of which is deliverance from Egypt. 11 Luke 1.54-55, 1.72-73. 12 1.59-63. 6 2 petition’ (Anna), and ‘heard with acceptance’ (Simeon). Streams of revival are about to break forth in a dry and barren desert in fulfilment of Isa. 35.6 (“Waters will break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the Arabah”), in which passage Isaiah also declares, “The tongue of the mute will shout for joy”, as will now happen in Zechariah’s case.13 The long silence between God and Israel is about to be broken. Israel has been ‘in exile’ long enough—a fact emphasised by numerous mentions of ‘the completion of days’.14 She has received “double for all her sins”,15 and the time for a new start has arrived. The shape of Luke’s narratives While the birth narratives of John and Jesus are similar to one another in certain respects, they are also different from one another in at least one important way. The birth of John is set against the backdrop of the wilderness and of life in Judah’s hillside.16 As such, it is a ‘low key’ narrative—a ‘ground up’ account of a new move of God. It begins out in the sticks with two apparently insignificant individuals in the midst of a godless nation and describes the rise of a figure of hope.17 (The godlessness of Zechariah and Elizabeth’s generation is hinted at by 1.6’s allusion to the days before the flood: like Noah, Zechariah and Elizabeth are said to be ‘righteous’ and ‘blameless’ and to ‘walk faithfully with their God’.18 ) At the same time, Luke’s narrative has a specifically religious flavour. In contrast to the illegitimacy and wickedness and Herod (Judah’s local king),19 Zechariah are Elizabeth have a pure and priestly pedigree, and they are righteous observers of the law. Furthermore, John is born in answer to the ascent of prayers in and around Jerusalem’s temple. By way of contrast, Jesus’ birth is set against the backdrop of the might of Rome—in particular, “in [the] days...[of] Caesar Augustus” when “Quirinius [is] governor of Syria”.20 It is a ‘top down’ narrative. It begins with a statement of the region’s supreme power, and then moves on to Quirinius (the head of Syria) 13 1.64. 1.23, 1.80, 2.6, 2.22. 15 Isa. 40.2 cf. 40.3-5’s employment in Luke 3.4-6. 16 1.39-40, 1.80. 17 As Roberts writes, “The focus upon women, [here Elizabeth],...goes together with a focus upon the ‘gestation periods’ of God’s salvation. God’s salvation doesn’t begin in the glare of public life, but in the quiet prayers of an ageing couple and in the hiddenness of a young woman’s womb. Thirty or more years will pass before that salvation comes to fruition”. 18 1.6 cf. Gen. 6.9. A similar allusion is present in the statement, “[Mary] found favour with God” (1.30 cf. Gen. 6.8). 19 Herod an Idumean (i.e., a ‘half Jew’) with no right to sit on Judah’s throne; he was also a notorious murderer and a rogue. 20 2.1-2. 14 3 and Joseph (the head of his family). A casual reader would, therefore, expect Jesus to be a less significant figure still. But he would be very much mistaken, as Jesus’ angelic herald point out. “Today in the city of David”, the angel proclaims, “...has been born...a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord”.21 A further contrast can be noted in 1.5-2.20’s treatment of John and Jesus. John the Baptist’s arrival revolves around ‘horizontal movement’. It is set against the backdrop of a long journey in the wilderness; that is to say, it looks back over Israel’s long period of silence, and concludes with John’s wilderness years. Furthermore, it concerns a forerunner who is ‘sent ahead’ of the LORD in order to prepare his way.22 By way of contrast, 2.1-20 is more concerned with ‘vertical movement’. Jesus is described as the ‘daybreak’ due to descend from on high; Mary is overshadowed with ‘power from on high’; Jesus’ birth is accompanied by the declaration “Glory...in the highest!”, with which the earth must be brought into harmony; and, afterwards, God’s angels are said to depart into the heavenly realms.23 The next time the heavenly realms are mentioned by Luke, the Holy Spirit will descend and baptise in order to baptise Jesus himself with power.24 Hence, while John’s birth describes a journey across the often wilderness-like climes of Israel’s history, Jesus’ birth describes a descent from heaven and earth—a temple-like intersection of the realms of God and man. The declaration recorded in 2.11 (“Today in the city of David”...has been born...a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord”) stands at the centre of a chiasmus.25 Insofar as it issues a challenge to Caesar’s authority, it marks the high-point of Luke’s narrative. In the days of Rome’s might, a Jewish king is about to arise, who happens to be the Lord of all Creation. The text’s temporal location underlines the point, as we will now discuss. Biblical history is not measured by an abstract metric; it is measured relative to the reign—and hence to the authority—of particular people. The same principle remains true today. As I write, for instance, it is the 2017th year of our Lord’s 21 2.11. 1.17, 1.76. 23 1.32, 1.35, 1.78, 2.14, 2.15. 24 3.21-22. 25 of the form: «A» The Israelites return to their hometowns (2.1-3) «B» Mary and Joseph arrive in Bethlehem, where Jesus is born (2.4-7) «C» An angel appears to the shepherds (2.8-12) «D» A whole host of angels appear: “Glory to God in the highest!” (2.13-14) «C» The angel departs from the shepherds into the heavens (2.15a) «B» The shepherds arrive in Bethlehem, where they find Jesus (2.15b-19) «A» The shepherds return to their original location (2.20). 22 4 reign, and the 57th of Queen Elizabeth II, and so on. To enter into history is, therefore, to take up a position in the world of human affairs. In our text, Jesus takes up a position ‘under the authority’ of Caesar Augustus. As such, he steps into world history in the days of Nebuchadnezzar’s colossus. (The presence of Gabriel underscores the ‘international’ nature of 1.5-2.52’s events, since Gabriel is connected with the activity of the Gentile nations in Daniel’s prophecies.) Ever since the days of Nebuchadnezzar, Judah has been in Gentile hands—those of the Babylonians, the Medo-Persians, the Greeks, and now, most recently, the Romans. Consequently, the post-exilic books in Scripture are dated in relation to the reigns of Gentile kings like Nebuchadnezzar and Darius and Artaxerxes and the like. And, in the same fashion, 3.1 is dated in relation to Tiberius Caesar.26 Jesus is, therefore, born into the final era of Colossus’s lifespan, namely its ‘legs of iron’. He can legitimately be seen as the stone ‘hewn without hands out of a mountain’ appointed to bring the whole Gentile artifice to its knees—a Jewish man of divine origins, born of a virgin and apparently of little significance (i.e., made of stone rather than expensive gold), yet destined to topple the might of Rome. Suffice to say, then, the text of ch. 2 is rich with irony. In 2.1, Caesar decrees a census of Israel to be taken. Why? Because he can. As far as he is concerned, Israel is his possession. He ‘numbers’ the Israelite for the same reason a person might count up how much money he has in his piggy bank. With a word of command, he sets the whole world in motion and causes men and women all over Israel (and the wider world) to return to their hometowns. Yet, behind the scenes, it is the God of Heaven who is in control of world history. He will employ Rome’s might in order to ensure the very Messiah destined to topple Rome’s might is born in precisely the right town, namely Bethlehem.27 When God’s plans encounter a ruler who exerts significant influence over his people, God generally selects one of two courses of action: i] he overpowers the ruler in question (as in the case of Pharaoh and Belshazzar) or, ii] he turns the rulers’ decrees to his own ends (as in the case of Cyrus and, soon, Caesar too). Either way, God’s will is inevitably done. At the conclusion of 1.5-2.52’s events, the two ‘strands’ of Luke’s narrative come together. The ‘ground up’ priestly narrative of John the Baptist’s emergence meets the ‘top down’ royal narrative of Jesus’.28 In the reign of Tiberius Caesar 26 viz., to “the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar” in fulfilment of Mic. 5.2 28 3.1-22. 27 5 (whom Jesus has been born to replace) and the priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas (whom John has been born to replace), the word of God is revealed to John in the wilderness. And, soon afterwards, the word of God himself goes out to John, at which point God’s spirit powerfully descends on him. John and Jesus, priesthood and kingship, water and spirit, and heaven and earth all come together in the wilderness as a new move of God bursts forth from the dry ground. A new kind of tabernacle Luke’s narratives are not only about ‘politics’; they are also rich with theological import, which Luke hints at by a whole range of OT allusions. Hays’ thoughts on the matter are worth reproduction in full: Luke’s diction and imagery repeatedly evoke fragmentary [OT] prefigurations of the story of Jesus. ...It is as though the primary action of the Gospel is played out on centre stage in front of the [spotlights], while a [screen] at the back of the stage displays a kaleidoscopic series of...sepia-toned images from Israel’s Scripture. The images can flash by almost unnoticed [at times], [but], if the viewer pays careful attention, [he will notice] many moments [when] the words or festures of the characters onstage mirror something in the...backdrop—or possible the other way around. At such moments of synchronicity, the viewer may experience a flash of hermeneutical insight as the ‘live action’ recapitulates a scene from the older story [and] the two narrative moments to interpret one another. But it is not Luke’ style to develop sustained sequences in which the pattern coincide and run [in] parallel; rather, almost as soon as we recognise one...narrative convergence, the moment has passed and a different image appears on the backdrop, [suggestive] of an entirely different set of linkages. For [the] purposes of analysis, we can freeze the action and study it slowly, but that is not the effect created for the reader or hearer of Luke’s narrative. The story keeps moving and leaves us with a powerful but indistinct sense of analogy between God’s [salvation of] Israel in the past and the new [liberation God will effect] in the story of Jesus.29 29 Hays 2016:193. 6 But what about the text presently under consideration? In the case of 1.5-2.52, I am particularly struck by Luke’s allusions to the concept of a new start in Israel—in particular, of the return of God’s glory and the inauguration of a new tabernacle in the person of Christ. Consider, by way of illustration, the text of 2.1-20. The text begins with an authorative announcement—a call which echoes throughout the land and commands all men and women to return to their homeland. As such, 2.1-20 narrates a ‘Jubilee moment’. Reverberations of the same theme can be found in the vicinity. In 2.36, we encounter a widow of the age of 84 (12x7 years), who calls on God’s name in the Temple and who is introduced against the background of a seven-year week.30 Ch. 3 is set in a 99th year (the 84th year of Anna’s life plus the 15th of Caesar’s reign31 ), which marks the completion of a double-Jubilee and the start of a new cycle. And, in ch. 4, Jesus announces the inauguration of his ministry with an announcement of a Jubilee year, i.e., “the year of the LORD’s favour”.32 2.1-20 therefore has to do with a new start. But what kind of new start? A new start to what exactly? The answer, I submit, is as follows: a new start to the manifestation of God’s glory in the earth—or, to put the point more precisely, the inauguration of a new phase in the life of Israel’s tabernacle. Luke 1.5-2.52 contains a number of allusions to 1 Sam. 1-4. Like 1 Sam., it is set in Israel’s hill country;33 furthermore, it is set in a time when God’s word is a rarity in the land, when a barren woman gives birth, when a song of vindication is sung (cf. “Those who were hungry cease to hunger; even the barren gives birth to seven”, etc.34 ), when a woman named Hannah (Gr. ‘Anna’) serves in the Temple night and day, and when a young child ‘grows up before the LORD’.35 1.5-80 should also, therefore, remind us of the Ichabod moment when God’s glory departs from Israel.36 That departure (in Samuel’s day) is only a temporary departure. But, sadly, in Ezekiel’s day, a longer-term departure takes place. Israel’s single greatest glory has always been—and will always be—the presence of God in her midst. Consider the big picture of Israel’s history. From Sinai onwards, Israel is distinguished from every other nation on the face of the earth by one simple distinctive: the presence of YHWH. YHWH permanently dwells be30 2.36-37. 2.36-37, 3.1. 32 4.18-19 cf. Isa. 61.1-2 as discussed in «www.academia.edu/33664758/» 33 1.39, 1.65 cf. 1 Sam. 1.1. 34 1.48-55 cf. 1 Sam. 2.1-10; 1.68-69. 35 1 Sam. 3.1; Luke 1.80, 2.40, 2.52 cf. 1 Sam. 2.26, 3.19. 36 1 Sam. 4.21-22. 31 7 tween the cherubim in either the Tabernacle or the Temple.37 Yet, in 591n /590n ,38 God’s glory leaves the Temple more permanently; and, when the Temple is later rededicated (in Zechariah’s day), no cloud descends in order to signify the return of God’s presence (in contrast to the situation with Solomon’s temple).39 Yet, as has already been suggested, one of 1.5-2.52’s important themes is the initiation of a new phase in Israel’s history. 2.1-20 describes a Jubilee moment—the inauguration of a new era. Furthermore, its events are set in 3n /2n BC,40 588 years ago after the departure of God’s glory in Ezekiel’s day, i.e., exactly 12 Jubilee cycles after God’s departure in 591n /590n , which resonates with the 12 ‘weeks’ (12x7 years) for which Anna has awaited Jerusalem’s redemption.41 But 1.5-2.52’s specific concern (I submit) is Israel’s tabernacle. Consider, by way of illustration, some of our present text’s allusions to it. In 2.8, we are introduced to a number of “shepherds” in Israel whose task is to ‘keep watch’ over their flock by night. In Scripture, the term ‘shepherd’ is often employed to describe a ‘leader’ in Israel—a ‘priestly’ role of sorts.42 The allusion to a priesthood is enhanced by Luke’s employment of the verb ‘to keep watch’—a key word in the ministry of the Tabernacle.43 Like the priests, the shepherds ‘keep watch’. And they do so at night, which raises the question, ‘What is the primary duty of the priests at night?’. The answer is to keep the Tabernacle’s lamp aflame.44 In light of these considerations, the scene described in 2.9, where a bright light suddenly shines forth in the darkness, takes on particular significance. It is as if the shepherds, even as they stand on Judah’s hillside, have found themselves enveloped by the Tabernacle and subsumed within its four walls, before the ‘continual flame’. The text of 2.10-14 develops the theme further. The shepherds suddenly find themselves surrounded by angelic hosts, which is another allusion to the Tabernacle. Why? Because the insides of the Tabernacle’s walls are embroidered with hundreds of cherubim.45 Any priest who steps within the Tabernacle’s walls finds 37 Exod. 25.22, Num. 7.89, 1 Sam. 4.4, Psa. 80.1, etc. more precisely, in the 6th month of the year 592t /591t cf. Ezek. 8.1, as discussed in «www.academia.edu/32993087/» 39 1 Kgs. 8.10-12. 40 cf. «www.academia.edu/24267678/» 41 2.36-38. 42 Isa. 63.11, Jer. 3.15, 23.1-6, etc. 43 The most distinctively priestly ‘root word’ in the OT is «ŠMR» (Lev. 8.35, 22.9, etc., tr. as phylassō in the LXX), from which šimur (‘observance’: Exod. 12.42) and mišmeret (‘priestly duty’: Lev. 8.35, Num. 1.53, 3.7-8, etc.) derive. 44 Exod. 27.20-21. 45 Particular credit goes to Steve Jeffery here (cf. above). 38 8 himself surrounded by hundreds of angelic figures, since he has entered the very presence of God,46 just as the shepherds do in 2.10-14. Indeed, the shepherds find themselves in exactly the same position as Zechariah does in 1.5-23—in the presence of God, surrounded by worshippers and overawed by mighty angel(s).47 In 2.16, the shepherds then arrive at what lies at the very centre of the Tabernacle, namely God veiled in human flesh.48 In Jesus is the very fulness of God. Heaven’s glory has emerged in and from the midst of a fallen creation, and it has done so in human form. Similar allusions to a new phase in the Tabernacle’s lifespan can be found elsewhere in the text of 1.5-80. Much of 1.5-2.52 is set in and around the Temple. Zechariah’s ministry in the Temple is particularly noteworthy.49 In a distinctly Sinai-esque moment, Zechariah emerges from his people and ‘ascends’ into God’s presence as the rest of the people remain at a distance. Surrounded by ‘clouds of incense’,50 Zechariah does business with God alone in the presence of the angels, as per Moses’ ascent of Sinai.51 As such, the text of 1.8-11 alludes to the moment when God first takes up residence within Israel’s community. The allusion is reinforced in 1.35, where, just as the cloud overshadows the Tabernacle after its inauguration (as God’s spirit comes to indwell it52 ), so “the power of the Most High” comes to “overshadow” Mary.53 Further allusions to a new phase of God’s presence with his people are evident in the text. Luke’s mention of a “6th month” (here in reference to Elizabeth) is loosely indicative of God’s presence in the Temple.54 A ‘raised up horn’ is inaugural imagery insofar as it resembles a horn of oil about to be poured out in the coronation of a king.55 And Zechariah’s inscription of his son’s name on a tablet alludes to Isaiah’s inscription of his son’s name on a tablet, which looks forward to the sign of Immanuel56 46 Exod. 36.8 cf. 2 Chr. 3.7. Luke 1.8-11. 48 e.g., on the day of Atonement, when God ‘appears’ in the cloud (of incense) above the ark (Lev. 16.2) 49 1.8-11. 50 depicted by the ascent of prayer (1.10 cf. Psa. 141.2, Rev. 5.8) 51 cf. the presence of angels on mount Sinai mentioned in Gal. 3.19, Heb. 2.2 52 cf. kataskiazō in Heb. 9.5 53 episkiazō: 1.35 cf. Exod. 40.35. 54 In Scripture, the only events located in the 6th month of the Hebrew calendar are the ‘Ichabod moment’ of Ezek. 8.1 and the promise of God’s presence when the Temple is rebuilt (Hag. 1.1-15 cf. 1.13). 55 1.69 cf. 1 Sam. 16.1-13, 1 Kgs. 1.39. 56 1.63 cf. Isa. 7.14, 8.1-4, 9.6. 47 9 (‘God is with us’), and is emphasised by subsequent allusions to Isaiah (the ‘light about to dawn on the nations in darkness’).57 The text’s geographical and temporal details are equally relevant. When David first seeks to build Israel’s temple, he orders the ark to be brought into the Judean hillside on a newly-made cart, where it remains (in Obed-Edom’s house) for three months.58 Soon afterwards, he brings it into “the city of David” (in preparation for it to be housed in the Temple) as he dances and leaps before it.59 In a similar fashion, Mary (‘a new cart’ ?) travels into the Judean hillside to see Elizabeth, where John ‘leaps’ within Elizabeth’s womb and where Mary remains for three months before she returns to Joseph’s hometown (“the city of David”)60 and finally heads to Jerusalem (to the Temple).61 All of the above details point in a similar direction. The manner in which God is present among his people is about to undergo a major change, and a new era in the history of the tabernacle is about to begin. God will no longer indwell a tabernacle of animal skins or a sanctuary of gold; he will instead tabernacle within a sanctuary of human skin, and will be present with his people via the ministry of the Spirit within their hearts. And with the new presence of God will come a new priesthood, as is intimated by the experience of the ‘shepherdpriests’ of 2.1-20. Hence, Luke describes the apostles in priestly terms at the outset of the book of Acts. Just as Zechariah is chosen by lot, so the apostles choose a new ‘member’ by lot.62 Just as John baptises his disciples with water, so Jesus baptises the apostles with the Spirit and with fire,63 and hence, just as the “Spirit and...power of the Most High” overshadows Mary, so power comes from ‘on high’ upon the apostles as (like Zechariah) they are enveloped by a cloud and surrounded by angels.64 And, just as John the Baptist is told to drink no wine or liquor because he will be filled by the Holy Spirit from the womb onwards, so the apostles do not drink wine, but (like Hannah, whose song is echoed by Mary) are mistaken for drunkards because they are filled with the Holy Spirit.65 57 1.79, 2.32 cf. Isa. 9.2. 2 Sam. 6.1-11. 59 2 Sam. 6.15-16. 60 a title employed in the NT only in 2.1-11 61 1.39-56. Consider the parallel between David’s exclamation (“How has the ark of the Lord come to me?”: 2 Sam. 6.9) and Elizabeth’s (“Why...has the mother of my Lord come to me?”: 1.42). 62 1.9 cf. Acts 1.26. 63 3.16 cf. Acts 1.6-11. 64 1.35, 1.41, 1.67, Acts 1.6-11. 65 1.15 cf. 1 Sam. 1.14-15, Acts 2.13-17. 58 10 The notion of a new ‘temple era’ is also reflected in various disanalogies between John and Jesus. John arises from the loins of an old married couple and an ‘old priestly order’ (the Levitical priesthood); in addition, he is associated with a baptism of water (a vital component of OT ritual) rather than the Spirit. By way of contrast, Jesus arises from the loins of a young Jewish woman, and his birth is portrayed in terms of a light amid the darkness;66 In addition, he is portrayed as a winnower on a ‘threshing floor’, which alludes to 2 Sam. 24, where David erects an altar on Ornan’s threshing floor after (like Caesar) he has taken a census of Israel.67 With these things in mind, further parallels between 1.5-2.52 and Samuel’s story should also be noted. Just as, in Samuel’s day, the priesthood is in crisis courtesy of the wickedness of Hophni and Phinehas, so the priesthood is in crisis at the outset in Annas and Caiaphas’s day, as is pictured by Zechariah’s inability to speak and Elizabeth’s to bear children. Just as Samuel’s emergence signals the rejection of Hophni and Phinehas and the announcement of God’s promise to raise up a faithful priest for himself, so John and Jesus’s emergence marks the fall of Israel’s old priesthood and the rise of a new one,68 hence Luke’s rather pointed statement, “In the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God [instead] came to John”! And, just as Samuel is dedicated to the Temple as a young child, so Jesus dedicates himself to ‘his father’s business’ in the Temple, where his parents leave him by accident.69 It is high time for a ‘change of guard’, and more besides. The allusions outlined above are not a merely literary or academic detail. In the context of the grand narrative of Scripture, Luke’s portrayal of a new era in ‘tabernacle history’ is no odd or obscure detail; on the contrary, it is a foundational element of the story of Scripture. In the aftermath of the fall, Adam and Eve are driven out of God’s presence. A chasm is thereby opened up between God and man, and the rest of Scripture is a description of how, and on what terms, God will be able to dwell in the midst of his creation once again. At Sinai, God takes up residence among his people within the Tabernacle; Israel experience a closeness and a presence with God unprecedented since Eden. As the nation of Israel becomes more firmly established in the Near East, the Tabernacle is given a more permanent form; to be precise, the ark of God is ‘re-housed’ in Jerusalem’s temple. 66 1.79, 2.32. 3.17 cf. 2 Sam. 24.16-25, 2 Chr. 3.1. 68 in fulfilment of 1 Sam. 2.35 69 2.41-2.52 cf. 1 Sam. 2.31-36. 67 11 But God’s presence is not able to remain in the Temple for long. As life in Judah goes from bad to worse, God’s glory vacates the Temple,70 never to be seen there again. The prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah then hint at a new dispensation in the story of God’s presence with his people. Jerusalem’s city and temple will be rebuilt, but in a slightly different form. “Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls” due to its enormous population and wealth, and YHWH himself will be “a wall of fire around her”, not to mention “the glory in her midst”.71 These promises are partially fulfilled in the days of Zerubbabel and Joshua (in the 6th cent. BC), but never quite ‘take root’ in Jerusalem. Contra Haggai’s words, the glory of the second temple is not ‘filled with God’s glory’ (or, at least, not visibly), nor does it exceed the glory of Solomon’s temple, nor do the nations travel up to it to worship.72 God’s people are therefore left to look for a greater and more permanent fulfilment of Haggai and Zechariah’s words. And the birth of Christ signals precisely such a fulfilment. It is the next phase in tabernacle history. It also signals an era in which the tabernacle will ‘expand’ and Jerusalem will exist ‘without walls’. Why? Because, in the person of Christ and by means of the ministry of the Spirit, all creation will be able to enjoy God’s presence.73 God will no longer dwell in temples made with human hands; indeed, in a sense, he never could, since “heaven together with the highest of heavens” could contain him, “how much less [a mere] house”!74 God will instead be present with—and ‘tabernacle’ with—his people in a new and much more intimate way altogether. Indeed, that fact stands behind the entire artifice of the NT church. Why, as NT believers, are we able to be dispersed throughout the nations and yet to worship God in spirit and truth? Why are we not obliged to travel up to Jerusalem each year? And why would we be no ‘closer’ to God even if we did so? The answer is because of a new era in tabernacle history. Thousands of miles away from Jerusalem, we can experience the presence of God as we meet together to worship and as we return to our homes aftewards. That is a thought which would have stunned the average OT believer, and yet (sadly) it is one to which we may have been so accustomed as to sometimes take it for granted. In the person of Jesus, God ‘presenced himself’ with Mary in a new and radical and intimate way, which signalled the birth of a new era; and, in a day to come, the Church will witness an even more radical closeness with God when they hear God’s own 70 in 591n /590n 71 Zech. 2.4-5. 72 Hagg. 2.7-9. 73 hence Simeon’s words, “My eyes have seen your salvation, [O Lord],...a light for revelation to the Gentiles” (2.30-32) 74 1 Kgs. 8.25-27 cf. Acts 7.47-50. 12 declaration, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and he will tabernacle among them, and they will be his people”!75 Wider OT allusions As we have mentioned above, the text of 1.5-2.52 is littered with OT allusions which suggestively flicker beneath the surface of the text. An exhaustive consideration of them would require a paper three or four times the length of the present one.76 In what follows, I would therefore like to focus my attention on a set of allusions which strike me as particularly relevant to our present considerations, namely allusions to the prophet Zechariah’s first eight visions. The interconnections between Luke 1.5-2.52 and Zech. 1.7-6.8 are many and multifarious, and can easily be multiplied. The particular priest mentioned by Luke (“Zechariah”) is the first clue to a series of allusions to the prophet Zechariah. Just as, in his first vision, Zechariah the prophet encounters an angel who laments the state of the nations (the nations are “at ease”, and, as a result, God’s people are still in exile and the Temple lies rebuilt), so Zechariah the priest is met by an angel.77 Moreover, in 2.1-20, the world is set in a state of flux by Caesar’s decree; the nations begin to move in order for the Messiah to be born in Bethlehem and a new temple to be ‘raised up’.78 Next, Zechariah sees ‘four horns’ which have ‘scattered’ (alt. ‘winnowed’) the Jewish people, and four craftsmen[H.RŠ] raised up to dethrone them. As a faint echo of Zechariah’s prophecy, the four horns can be identified with Caesar’s four henchmen, whom Luke lists in 3.1 (“Pontius Pilate...the governor of Judea, and Herod...the tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip...the tetrarch of...Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias...the tetrarch of Abilene”), while the four craftsmen can be identified with the person of Christ; indeed, Jesus can literally be referred to as a craftsmen[H.RŠ] insofar as the noun «H.RŠ» can refer to a carpenter.79 In Zech. 2, Jerusalem’s expansion is prophesied, at which point YHWH promises to be “the glory in [Israel’s] midst” in the days to come.80 And, in Zech. 3, YHWH promises to raise up a high priest named Joshua (Gr. ‘Jesus’), who is also referred to as “the Branch” (Gr. anatolē).81 The same word is employed in 1.78, 75 Rev. 21.3. not to mention an author three or four times as Biblically literate as the present one 77 1.11 cf. Zech. 1.13-16. 78 2 Sam. 7.12-13. 79 e.g., 2 Sam. 5.11, 2 Kgs. 12.11, etc. 80 Zech. 2.5. 81 Zech. 3.8. 76 13 where Zechariah the priests predicts a visit from “the daybreak” (Gr. anatolē) on high.82 In ch. 4, Zechariah sees a vision of the seven-branched lampstand, which is kept alight by two ‘sons of oil’ (Zerubbabel and Joshua). The importance of God’s Spirit is stressed, and the reconstruction of the Temple is promised. Mountains will be turned into ‘plains’ before Zerubbabel, we are told, who will lay the foundation of a new temple in Jerusalem. Many of these images are taken up by Luke. The lampstand is hinted at in 2.1-20; the role of the Spirit is present throughout Luke’s narrative, as is the concept of a new temple; and the two witness can be identified with the figures of John the Baptist and Jesus, both of whom dispense the Spirit in Israel. As a descendant of Zechariah, John is the priestly figure—the counterpart of Joshua, while, as the Davidic seed born to be “Christ the Lord”, Jesus is the counterpart of Zerubbabel. The image of ‘level ground’ is also evident. The proud will be toppled and the poor lifted up; men will ‘fall and rise’ and Israel; and mountains will be flattened before the Messiah’s arrival.83 In ch. 6, the offices of priest and king are seen to come together in the figure of Joshua (‘Jesus’), which prophecy will come to its fulfilment in the person of Christ, the promised priest of the order of Melchizedek; and, as before, the Temple’s restoration is promised, courtesy of “the Branch”.84 In sum, then, Luke’s narrative is underlain by repeated allusions to Zechariah’s visions. The effect of these allusions is subtle but important. Like Luke’s narrative, Zechariah’s visions revolve around the inauguration of a new temple and priesthood.85 They also pick up on the imagery of ‘shepherd priests’ in later prophecies.86 As a result, they bolster Luke’s central theme, and instill his narrative with a sense of newness and transition. Just as the OT prophet Zechariah stands on the cusp of a new phase in Israel’s history, so does the priest described by Luke (Zechariah). And, just as Zechariah’s prophecies will not unfold in precisely the manner Israel expect, so the new move of the Spirit portrayed by Luke will fulfil OT prophecy in an unexpected manner. The darker side of Luke’s narrative Israel’s new start will not be a casual affair. God cannot simply turn a blind eye to a past rich with sin and failure; Israel’s new start will come at a price. As a result, while Luke’s narrative is full of thoughts of newness, it is underlain by 82 and may be hinted at in the name Nazareth, which is likely to derive from the Heb. nēs.er (‘branch’) 1.52, 2.34-35, 3.5. 84 Zech. 6.11-15. 85 Zech. 3.1-10, 6.9-15. 86 Zech. 11.1-17. 83 14 sinister undertones. Zechariah’s namesake (the OT prophet) is rejected and slain by his people, as Jesus pointedly notes,87 as is a different OT Zechariah.88 Mary stays with Elizabeth from the 6th month to the 9th month of her pregnancy—a possible foreshadow of the darkness due to overtake the land between the 6th and 9th hours of the day as a sword pierces Mary’s heart.89 The name of Jesus’ birthplace (Bethlehem: ‘the house of bread’) looks forward to how Jesus’ body will be broken like bread and given for the life of the world.90 Jesus is found where one would expect to find animals (i.e., in a manger), just as, on the cross, he will later fulfil a role one would expect the Passover lamb to fulfil. After Jesus’ birth, Jesus’ blood is shed (when Jesus is circumcised), as is the blood of two turtledoves (when Mary’s firstborn is redeemed).91 And, at the age of twelve, Jesus is lost for three days at the Passover, just as his disciples will ‘lose him’ (to the heart of the earth) for three days at a future Passover.92 In addition, Luke’s mention of the shepherds (present at Jesus’ birth) together with the sword due to pierce Mary’s heart may be intended to draw our attention to the shepherd mentioned by the prophet Zechariah, against whom the sword of the LORD will be awakened.93 As the LORD’s appointed shepherd, Jesus will be required to bear the “sword” yielded by the Romans in place of his flock.94 These undertones revolve around death and bloodshed. But, of course, they look forward to new life because of the resurrection. Just as blood and water flow forth at Jesus’ birth, so they also do at Jesus’ death (John 19.34), as is depicted in Zechariah, where the death of the one whom Israel ‘pierce’ results in tears of regret followed by a fountain opened to cleanse Israel of her sin.95 Israel will soon emerge in a new era, but, as ever, she will do so by means of death and resurrection. That may not be a pleasant thought, since it is a principle which applies to the Church as much as Israel, but it is the pattern set out in Scripture. It may also explain why modern-day culture tends to dwell so heavily—and to elaborate upon—Luke’s relatively brief birth narrative and yet has very little to say about the more messy and Jewish details of its immediate context. The inexorable progression of God’s eschatological purposes is accompanied by pain and trials (hence Simeon foresees “the fall and rise” of many in Israel rather than 87 Matt. 23.35 cf. Zech. 1.1. 2 Chr. 24.17-25. 89 1.26-57, 2.35, 23.44. 90 1 Cor. 11.24 TR. 91 2.23-24 cf. Exod. 13.12-15, Lev. 12. 92 2.41-52 cf. 24.19-21. 93 Zech. 13.7. 94 Zech. 13.7 cf. 11.17, Rom. 13.4. 95 Zech. 12.10-13.1. 88 15 vice-versa96 ), but the end result will be worth the endurance of the present life’s pains a million times over. “For...the sufferings of the present age are not worthy so much as to be compared with the glory due to be revealed to us”.97 What many believers have been forced to endure in past times (as well as today) beggars belief, and yet Paul can nevertheless say, “Our light [and] momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison”.98 What is in store for us as God’s people will be beyond our wildest dreams. And why? For one simple reason: the presence of God of glory. 96 2.34. Rom. 8.18. 98 2 Cor. 4.17. 97 16