Luke 2:22-40

Luke 2:22-40 (NRSV)

²² When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), ²⁴ and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. ²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. ²⁷ Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, ²⁸ Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,

²⁹ “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,

according to your word;

³⁰ for my eyes have seen your salvation,

³¹      which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles

and for glory to your people Israel.”

³³ And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed ³⁵ so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

³⁶ There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, ³⁷ then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. ³⁸ At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

³⁹ When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. ⁴⁰ The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

  

2:21-40, Circumcision and Manifestation of Jesus with Nunc Dimitus  

 

         Luke 2:21-40 presents the story of the presentation of Jesus in the Temple, his circumcision, and manifestation of Jesus, with the Nunc Dimitis. It is an independent unit of tradition that Luke has incorporated into his infancy narrative. The prophecy provides the chief motif.[1]

The Infancy narrative continues in the spirit of traditional Jewish piety. Luke provides the setting for this episode in the infancy narrative by bring two requirements of Tora observance together. 

         The issue of identity of Jesus is a recurring theme in the infancy narrative of this gospel. This issue arises at least in part from a concern found in each of the canonical gospels to clarify the relationship between Jesus and John the Baptist. Only here in Luke is there any indication that the two were in some way relatives. However, the concern with the identity of Jesus for this Gospel goes far beyond competing claims between disciples of Jesus and John. Here the concern is to relate Jesus not only to the religious and political aspirations of the Jews, but to show that through him the promise that Abraham’s descendants would bring blessing to all peoples would find their fulfillment (Genesis 12:1-3; cf. Luke 2:30-32).    

This episode in the infancy narrative moves toward the message contained in the statements of Simeon and Anna. To do that, the Holy Family needs to meet them. The first prelude to their message occurs in verse 21, eight days after the birth of Jesus, as the parents have their child circumcised. Luke has recorded the celebration that occurs with the birth of the Baptist. The celebration will be greater here. The second prelude occurs in verses 22-24. ²² When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, a puzzling reference, since Torah required only the purification of the woman after she gave birth. The parents brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, (as it is written in the law of the Lord, based upon the instruction in Exo 13:20, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”). Factually, again, the redemption of the child did not require the presence of the child. Luke does not mention the payment of five shekels, or 20 denarii, which would be the requirement according to Num 18:15-16. They do not buy him back from service to God, which may well be the point of Luke, for the life of Jesus will render that service. The pattern here is the presentation of Samuel at the sanctuary in I Samuel. Curiously, nowhere in the Old Testament or Mishnah is there evidence for the presentation of the firstborn. However, the point Luke may make is that with the coming of Jesus, such setting apart for the service of God is the responsibility of all believers. Further, ²⁴and they offered a sacrifice in accord with Lev 16:6, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, one of which was a sin offering. Luke is stressing that Mary and Joseph carry out all things the Torah required, as Luke understood them. Some of his information may be inaccurate. Such minor deviations from the usual Jewish practice of the time may hint at the Gentile origin of the author of this Gospel. He has accurately separated the rite of circumcision in verse 21 from the rite of purification and redemption in verses 22-24. His primary goal, however, is to get the Holy Family into the presence of Simeon and Anna. 

         Luke 2:25-35 tell the story of the manifestation to Simeon as he encounters the infant Jesus. ²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, a reference to Isaiah 40-55. Significantly, the Holy Spirit rested on him. The same was true in II Isaiah. It will be true of Jesus in 4:16-21. The writings of Luke will make special note of the role of the Holy Spirit throughout the story of Jesus and the early church. ²⁶ It had been revealed (κεχρηματισμένον, divinely revealed as an oracle in an intimate encounter with God) to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah (τὸν χριστὸν κυρίου). Thus, as the Holy Family is fulfilling the requirements of Torah, ²⁷ Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, He sees the Holy Family doing for their child what the law required, ²⁸Simeon took him in his arms and praised God. Simeon reminds us of Eli with Samuel and Zechariah with the Baptist. The content of his praise, the Nunc Dimitis, recognizes the new form of salvation in the birth of this child. Jesus is the promised bearer of messianic peace, salvation, and light. It takes us beyond what the angels proclaimed to the shepherds as it moves beyond the welfare of Israel to the welfare of all persons. His first canticle (verses 29-32) is a song of praise directed to God. The Lord can dismiss him in peace. ²⁹ “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; ³⁰ for my eyes have seen your salvation (σωτήριόν),³¹which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, ³² a light for revelation (ἀποκάλυψιν) to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” The offer of salvation challenges the imperial ideology of Rome. Clearly, Jesus is not just another in a lengthy list of Jewish prophets and teachers. Simeon can depart because Jesus has come.^[2] The fulfillment of the time of Israel has come and a new time, which fulfills the previous time, has come.^[3] Of course, ³³ And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them, but said to his mother Mary, in imitation of Hannah in I Samuel, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, suggesting that there will be division among the whole people in Israel,[4] and to be a sign that will be opposed ³⁵ so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed (ἀποκαλυφθῶσιν)—and a sword will pierce your own soul (ψυχὴν) too.”This ominous message looks to the cross. It looks ahead to the later fate of Jesus and to the maternal sorrow that Mary will not be spared but which will not lead her astray from the gracious guidance of God.[5] “Savior” was the title Augustus applied to himself. Those who recognize salvation in only political terms will oppose Jesus. Mary will witness the uniting of political powers in their opposition to this Savior. 

         Luke 2:36-38 relate the manifestation to Anna (Hanna), continuing the parallels between the story in I Samuel of Hannah and Samuel on the one hand and the story of Mary and Jesus on the other. ³⁶ There was also a prophet, a woman dedicated to God, qualified to interpret divine intentions, and had the gift of foreseeing and foretelling the future,[6] Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, ³⁷ then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. in never remarrying, she chose to take up residence in the Temple. Her love for God and worship of God filled her waking moments. Her commitment was to prayer, fasting, and worship. ³⁸ At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption (λύτρωσιν, also 1:68) of Jerusalem. The messianic deliverance of the chosen people primarily affected their capital city. Jerusalem is the divinely chosen center from which will spread salvation from God.

         The conclusion of this episode in Luke 2:39-40 rounds out the connection with the story of Hannah and Samuel. We receive affirmation of the interest of Luke in forming this episode. ³⁹ When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. With this simple statement, Luke tells us that with all this celebration that God is present at the beginning of the life of Jesus, the Holy Family must return to the unnoticed task of being a faithful and loving family. Like I Sam 2:26 and its description of Samuel, we learn that ⁴⁰ The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. Further, the favor of God was upon him. Luke portrays Jesus, in the words of the creed, as “very man,” struggling to obey, seeking, and finding. He will need to grow. Mary and Joseph will help their child grow into adulthood. Though unnoticed, this time is vital to the family of Jesus and vital to us as well. The drama of the past several months is over. The parents of Jesus must get back to the reality of raising a child. They were back to waiting for the child to grow up and become an adult.  They dedicated themselves to the task of raising their child in faithfulness and love.  These are the kinds of things which often go unnoticed, even as it does in the biblical story.  Yet, they are vital to the family.  

Interestingly, Jesus as an adult will say that if people want to enter the rule of God they will need to become like children (Luke 18:17). God sent Jesus in order that we might receive adoption as children of God (Galatians 4:4-7). Yes, we need to grow and become strong, independent persons, as did Jesus. Yet, consider the possibility that there are no grownups in heaven. In all our desire to be adult, we dare not forget the playful child who is still within us.  Maybe accepting the responsibilities of life leads us toward the illusion that we are in control. For many of us adults, the Christmas and New Year time is an opportunity to express that inner playfulness that needs to express itself. 

Charles Tazewell tells the story of "The Littlest Angel."  The little angel was a nuisance to everyone because of his pranks and the sound of his voice.  When the child Jesus was born, the angels collected their gifts.  The littlest angel did not know what to give, but he thought of his small wooden box.  He put it among all the nice gifts, but when God came, he wanted to hide it.  Yet, when the hand of God came, God picked out the box.  Inside was a butterfly, a skyblue egg, two white stones, an old dog collar.  This is what pleased God.  The box began to glow and suddenly it became the star of Bethlehem.  Maybe there are no grownups in heaven because children remind us that none of us, even the most wise and responsible among us, have much to offer to God. 

Anthony Campolo was at a Junior High camp.  Each cabin had responsibility for devotions for the whole camp.  One cabin had a physically deformed boy with them.  They made fun of him unmercifully as he struggled around the camp.  When it was their turn, they had him get up to the stage to give their devotional.  It took him 15 minutes to get there.  Everyone was giggling and laughing at him.  Finally, he struggled out the few words of his devotional: "Jesus loves me, this I know."  There was a change in that room as tears formed in the eyes of those Junior Highs.  The adults of that camp could not have taught a lesson any better.  God used what was weak in the eyes of everyone to speak a powerful truth.

---

[1] (Bultmann, The History of the Synoptic Tradition, 1921, 1931, 1958), 299-300.

[2] (Barth K. , Church Dogmatics, 2004, 1932-67)IV.2 [64.3], 160)

[3] (Barth K. , Church Dogmatics, 2004, 1932-67)III.2 [47.1], 481)

[4] J. Jeremias, TDNT, VI, 541.

[5] Michaelis, TDNT, VI, 995.

[6] Friedrich, TDNT, VI, 836.

Galatians 4:4-7

Galatians 4:4-7 (NRSV)

⁴ But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. ⁶ And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” ⁷ So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

In 4:4-7 there is of the most elegant expressions of incarnational faith in the New Testament. I begin with a theological consideration of the text. 

Paul utilizes the metaphor of slavery and freeing a slave to express his notion that our relationship to God has radically changed. The distinction between slave and child is a relational one. Both are under the authority of the head of the household, but they have a different status. Through Jesus Christ, the legal relationship of slave to the master is no longer binding. Paul uses imagery for the messianic/eschatological era, the fullness of time (χρόνου), suggesting that one period has ended so that another can begin, such as the transition from childhood to adulthood, or the transition of the slave to freedom. They have a new status, and a new era begins. The Moment arrived for God to transition to a new era in the plan of reconciling and redeeming the world, and humanity, which had been a minor and had various tutors, transitions into a mature age. The mission of the Son is to bring this fullness of time and has become the Lord of time. The sending of the Son is the event that gives time its fullness by being the agent of redemption and adoption. All time becomes fulfilled time. As understood by science, space/time is moving toward a void, toward emptiness and nothingness, but as understood through the Son, space/time is moving toward fullness.^[1] This event gives the Old Testament promises of the people of God expanding to embrace all nations, that God established a covenant with all peoples, that transformations of Torah need to occur for those promises to find their fulfillment. The promises and hopes of the Old Testament are without content apart from the coming rule of God in Jesus. Apart from their relation to this event, the law and the prophets are defective because of unresolved tensions that the event of Jesus of Nazareth resolves. In an analogous way, time is defective as it hastens toward the time of Jesus and moves away from this time, but this event of Jesus gives time its fullness, for time has its purpose because of this event.^[2] Regarding human experience, most of us assume that our time has meaning, but our moments of boredom, the despair of lost love, of lost passion for life and vocation, can lead to an experience of lost time. The present becomes futile without its connection to a positive future. Our time is meant for us to enjoy and live fully, embracing the brief time we have. Theologically, the sending of the Son is the origin of the doctrine of the Trinity, having its counterpart in the sending of the Spirit, for such sending implies pre-existence.^[3] This sending involves the cooperating will of Father, Son, and Spirit, expressing the love of God toward the cosmos and toward humanity. This sending involves God in a form of self-abasement and self-emptying. The Son came under the Law, stepping into the heart of the conflict between the faithfulness of God and the unfaithfulness of humanity. He took the conflict within divinity. Obviously, human sin offends by God, but God also threatens divinity with death. In this way, God enters solidarity with humanity.^[4] Paul stresses that the Son was born of a woman, bringing the sending of the Son into an intimate connection with his birth, which in the context of the canon, is striking, as Paul expresses no interest in how Mary conceived and gave birth to Jesus. In fact, his point is that the birth of Jesus was natural. We to think of Jeremiah 1:4, where the Lord set the prophet apart in the womb of his mother. In an analogous way, God set apart Jesus from his birth to fulfill his mission as the Son. The point is that the Son has entered the sphere of earthly existence with its conditions and relations. This applies to his entire earthly course that we find mention not only of his birth but also of the subjection of his earthly course to the Mosaic Law.^[5] Law had worked out its educational purpose and God now superseded it with the sending of the Son.  Negatively, it was the purpose of the Law to deepen the conviction of sin and thus to show the inability of all existing systems to bring people near to God.  Positively, it assumes a moral and spiritual expansion. This was the path God chose to rescue those under the law, giving the gift of adoption as children. They are free from slavery, but even more, have brought into the family of God, giving the children the Spirit of the Son that allows the intimacy of relating God as Abba (daddy), Father, even as Jesus taught in the Lord’s Prayer. The freedom and the adoption into the family of God is expressed in prayer. They receive in their own subjectivity before God a filial relation that expresses itself as spontaneity in relation to the Father and hence also to all creaturely reality. Putting Aramaic and Greek forms together symbolized Jewish and Gentile unity. These verses remind the believer of the basics of faith in which they stand and offer the good news that anyone who calls God "Abba" is part of the family. The abolition of the Law and rescue from bondage was a prior condition of the universal fellowship of God family. The presence of the Spirit is thus a witness to being children of God. the gift of the Spirit is the result of adoption as children. The mission of the Son is to give the rights of being in the family of God and the mission of the Spirit is to give the power of using them.^[6]H. Schlier (1971) said that God bestows on us not only the status of children through the sending of the Son, but also the character and knowledge of children through the sending of the Spirit. God bestows on us the character and knowledge of children because we are already in the status of children. This passage shows that reconciliation occurs as God takes up humanity into fellowship with the Father of the Son, a taking up that occurs through the Spirit, who assures that this reconciliation is no longer coming solely from the outside. We ourselves enter it. We find the goal of the sending of the Son is in others. As Paul sees it, a special link exists occurs with the death of Jesus by which God liberates believers from the dominion of sin, Law, and death. Therefore, the sending of the Son aims at the reconciliation to God of the world. The claim of Christian proclamation that this took place in the history of Jesus needs fuller exposition and demonstration, however, if it is to hold good. Note the connection between the sending of the Son and the function of the Messiah relative to the fellowship and renewal of the people of God. This passage shows that fellowship with God brings distance from self, enabling the people of God to fulfill their individual callings in service to God and to the world, to which God addresses divine love. Paul is describing the freedom of a new immediacy to God that believers have as children, mediated by the sending of the Son. The Spirit brings the mission of the Son to its completion. Where this freedom of the Spirit is, our reconciliation to God has reached its goal. The Old Testament could call all the people children of God.  The new thing for Paul is the inclusion of non-Jews in this filial relation and the linking of the relation to the gift of the Spirit and to fellowship with Jesus Christ, the Son, through whom believers receive the Spirit of adoption as children. For Paul, then, only in Jesus Christ has the basic filial relationship for which we are destined come to full and definitive manifestation. This passage was among the keys for the Reformation to emphasize the immediacy of relationship to God.^[7] Freedom and immediacy to God have an intimate connection.^[8]

In verses 4-7, Paul shifts the metaphor to deepen his crucial point that the human relationship to God has radically changed. Now he uses the metaphor of slavery and freeing a slave. Through Jesus Christ, the legal relationship of slave to the master is no longer binding.

Paul begins by pointing in the direction of a Christology from above.[9] Jesus is pre-existent as the Son of God.[10] God sends the Son in order to break the curse and power of the Law and to allow the community to live through the substitutionary death of the Son. The community now exists as sons and daughters of God, in which they cry, “Abba,” the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic, They are no longer slaves. They are free. The basis for being sons and daughters of God is the sonship of Jesus, the Spirit of the Son effecting this change in relationship, believers already living in this new creation.[11] He at least presents a version of the Adam-Christ theology of Paul. Jesus shared human frailty as a child of Eve and bondage to the Jewish law. As Adam was a son of God destroyed by the fall, Israel was son of God who became a slave to the law, while God sent Jesus to liberate humanity.[12]

However, the point may not be speculation about pre-existence, but that the historical mission of Jesus rests upon divine initiative.[13] One can understand the verse against the background of the tradition about Jesus, who thought of himself as the Son sent by God (Mk 9:37, 12:6, Mt 15:24, Lk 4:18, 10:16). Paul and his readers may well have thought of the man Jesus whose ministry was commissioned by God and whose unique relationship with the Father was assured by his resurrection and despite his rejection of those who were stewards of the law. The point of the passage is redemption and thus does concern itself with the Incarnation.[14]

I want to pause with each phrase. We need to take our time here.

In verse 4, when the fullness of time (χρόνου) had come, This fulfillment points to the end of the temporal course of human history,^[15] referring to the messianic or eschatological era that completes the long wait of centuries.  One might translate it more precisely, as “when the time had reached its full term.” "Fullness" has much more meaning than an end of a period. "Fullness" suggests that one period has ended so that another can begin. It can denote the legal transition from childhood to adulthood. Furthermore, as slaves fulfill the time of their service, they become free. They take on a new status as a new era begins. First, it was the fullness of time in relation to the giver.  The moment had arrived in God's plan.  Second, it was the fullness of time about the recipient.  Humanity had to reach a mature age. A time existed when humanity was in the position of a minor.  Humanity had tutors and governors, the stoicheia. Humanity was a slave among other slaves. This fulfilled time is before or after all other time. It makes all time chronologically understood also fulfilled time. Time may appear to move toward a void, but it is moving toward this fullness. All time is fulfilled time.^[16] The entire notion of the fullness of time pictures time as an empty vessel, not yet filled, but waiting for a particular time to fill it.  “Fullness” suggests something filling a vessel, plan, concept, or form full. The Old Testament promises are without content apart from the coming of the reign of God in the man, Jesus, and therefore defective in themselves, yet, being related to this event, they are not for nothing. Time has a similar character. It has the defect and advantage of being a time hastening toward the time of Jesus and is then destined to move away from His time. There is no fulfillment of time without the time of fulfillment. The specific word kairos does not occur here. However, the decisive significance of the concept expressed by kairos receives its definition by the opening of the verse. The new age brought in by Jesus is not a refutation of the old age. The old age had fulfilled its time, its purpose. All time from the moment of creation was moving toward this new time of redemption and release. A new age has begun. The Law holds sway no longer. The season of grace has come! Christ has inaugurated a new regime.^[17]

Continuing in verse 4, God sent his Son, time achieving its full measure in content as well as extent in the sending of the Son, the saving work of God entering history in the earthly Jesus as an eschatological act.^[18] The fullness of time suggests that God sent the Son to humanity. With the Son came the fullness of time arrived, that is, the mission of the Son is to bring the fullness of time. The Son has become Lord of time, a free person. This event gives time its fullness. Of course, behind all of these meanings lies the rich and evocative theological truth that with the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the old age is over, and a new age has begun. God has brought all things together in Christ and through Christ. 

This statement shows signs of being pre-Pauline. God is the subject who sends the already developed out of Wisdom speculation pre-existent Son. In Wisdom 9:10, the writer asks God to send wisdom from the holy heaven and the glorious throne to teach him what is pleasing to God, identifying in verse 17 wisdom with the sending of the Holy Spirit in order to learn the divine counsel. This closeness of the Son to God is decisive and constitutes of the significance of the sending, distinguishing it from the sending of prophets.^[19] Even when Paul uses wisdom terms like this that has its origin a primal mythical event, as applied to Jesus he turns it into a unique and definitive act.^[20] The pre-existent Son bound himself to Jesus of Nazareth,^[21] this sending connected closely to the commissioning of Jesus,^[22] “Son” expressing his relation to the Father, a relation of obedience, trust, and mission.^[23] God sent Jesus when the time was right to serve as the agent of redemption and adoption. Theologically, this notion of the sending of the Son is the New Testament origin of the notion of the Trinity, and it has its counterpart in the sending of the Spirit that we find in the Gospel of John. "Sent" includes concept of pre-existence.  

The significance of this passage is that Christology begins with the primitive Christian interpretation of the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ. Messiah implies the thought of divine sonship. It early had the sense that in the man Jesus the preexistent Son of God came to earth. Only God could be behind this event, namely, the sending of the Son into the world. Yet, we can know that it happened only as it took place on the plane of our human, creaturely reality. This sending involves the totality of his life, including his birth.^[24] This sending has its ground in the free will of the Father and the Son in fulfillment of the divine love toward the cosmos and the world of humanity. God exposed divinity to an imposition. Speaking in an all too human way, God has been hard on Himself. God is stern toward Himself in this self-abasement and self-emptying. The Son came under the Law, stepping into the heart of the conflict between the faithfulness of God and the unfaithfulness of humanity. He took the conflict within divinity. Obviously, human sin offends by God, but God also threatens divinity with death. In this way, God enters solidarity with humanity.^[25]

Continuing in verse 4, the Son was born of a woman, denoting the incarnation as a whole,^[26] designating the situation common to all humanity,^[27] the phrase evoking the fullness of body as well as the completion of the time of a woman's pregnancy. These verses show that for Paul the issue of how Mary conceived and gave birth to Jesus was not as important as the fact that Jesus was born to save. Furthermore, the stress is not on the supernatural birth of Jesus but the very natural process of being born of a woman. The sending of the Son coincides with his birth from a woman. We are to think of Jeremiah, the servant of the Lord, and Paul as he describes himself in this letter. Only here do we find in Paul an express relating of the sending to the birth of Jesus, and even here the reference is not simply to the beginning of his course. The point is that the Son has entered the sphere of earthly existence with its conditions and relations. This applies to his entire earthly course that we find mention not only of his birth but also of the subjection of his earthly course to the Mosaic Law.^[28]

The Son was born under the law, designating the situate common to all humanity,^[29] the primary reference is to the Mosaic Law, though Gentiles also have undergone elementary discipline.  Law had worked out its educational purpose and God now superseded it with the sending of the Son.  Negatively, it was the purpose of the Law to deepen the conviction of sin and thus to show the inability of all existing systems to bring people near to God.  Positively, it assumes a moral and spiritual expansion.

Jesus is not some celestial god (familiar to the Greeks) who is above the Law; he is fully human who is born under the Law, a Jew. Jesus came not to provide a new moral law or philosophy; he came with a specific function of freeing slaves and spreading the boundary of family to include Gentiles. 

In verses 5-7, in his being Son, all others receive a share in that intimacy of relation to the Father. Becoming children of God through Jesus, the Father sent the Spirit into our hearts, who inspires us to cry, Abba, Father. the new human being lives based upon a new relation to the Father.^[30] He begins by expressing the saving mission of the Son: in order to redeem (ἐξαγοράσῃ, rescue from loss) those who were under slavery to the law, so that, adding another concept to help his readers understand who Jesus is, we might receive adoption (υἱοθεσίαν) as children, thereby becoming part of the family of God. In verses 6-7, through the Spirit the Christian has been lifted into the freedom of being a child of God:[31] And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. Filling with the Spirit making being children of God possible.[32] The goal of the work of Christ is forming sons and daughters of God by the Spirit into the new life of a community. This new life finds expression in the community crying, "Abba! Father!" Freedom and immediacy to God have an intimate connection.^[33] This passage was among the keys for the Reformation to emphasize the immediacy of relationship to God.^[34] God now sends the Spirit of his Son, showing the intimate connection of what church teaching would call the Trinity. The sending of the Son and the Spirit have the goal of the intimacy of this relationship.

We need to pause again and reflect upon the significance of addressing God in this way. Their reconciliation with God was complete without the Law. The intimacy finds expression in the new Father-child relationship of the community. the Spirit who effects this new Father-child relationship impels the community to cry out in this way. The Spirit is a living reality who becomes the basis for a new kind of prayer. It expresses the certainty and joy expressed by one whom the Spirit moves to turn to God.[35] Jesus regularly addressed God as Father in prayer, and this passage, with Rom 8:15-16, is evidence that the early Christian communities continued the practice.[36] As God redeems and adopts the believer, he or she can call God, the Almighty, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, "Abba, Father." "Abba" is an Aramaic word best translated "Daddy." "Abba" originated among Jews in Palestine. It relates Jesus referring to God in this way, and possibly to the Lord’s Prayer. The point is the freedom such adopted children can have in prayer. It suggests the power of response to divine love in prayer issuing forth in freedom related to adopted children. They receive in their own subjectivity before God a filial relation that expresses itself as spontaneity in relation to the Father and hence also to all creaturely reality. Putting Aramaic and Greek forms together symbolized Jewish and Gentile unity. Jesus used this word about God. The word became significant to later generations of those followed Jesus. Through the grace of Jesus Christ, believers are heirs of the riches of the Kingdom of God. These verses remind the believer of the basics of faith in which they stand and offer the good news that anyone who calls God "Abba" is part of the family. The abolition of the Law and rescue from bondage was a prior condition of the universal fellowship of God family.  Though Mosaic Law is uppermost in his mind, Paul extends it to all systems.  The negative aspect of redemption is freedom from slavery.  The positive is adoption as children.  However, it is not just an inheritance, but new life, in which Paul associates the Trinity.  The presence of the Spirit is thus a witness to being children of God.  We should note that here, the gift of the Spirit is the result of adoption as children. The mission of the Son is to give the rights of being in the family of God and the mission of the Spirit is to give the power of using them.^[37] H. Schlier (1971) said that God bestows on us not only the status of children through the sending of the Son, but also the character and knowledge of children through the sending of the Spirit. God bestows on us the character and knowledge of children because we are already in the status of children. 

Continuing with verse 7, So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God. The coming of the Son changes everything. The distinction between slave and child is a relational one. Both are under the authority of the head of the household, but they have a different status. Our work does not lead to faith. Moral character is not the goal of faith. Rather, righteous living, the life that pleases God, is a means to an end. Our changed lives are the means. The worship of God and advancing the earthly divine mission are the end.^[38] Rules have much to say about our actions, but rarely do they shape our attitudes, thoughts, and emotions. A relationship is a far more influential force on the whole of how we live. When work of Christ replaces our work, slaves become children, and relationship guides us instead of rules. A clear result happens as we internalize the heart of God into our own.

---

[1] (Barth, Church Dogmatics, 2004, 1932-67)III.2 [47.1] 358-9).

[2] (Barth, Church Dogmatics, 2004, 1932-67)III.2 [47.1] (p. 461-2)

[3] (Pannenberg, Systematic Theology, 1998, 1991)Vol II, 277, 316).

[4] (Barth, Church Dogmatics, 2004, 1932-67)II.1 [30.2], 397).

[5] (Pannenberg, Systematic Theology, 1998, 1991)Vol II, 302).

[6] H. B. Swete (The Holy Spirit in the New Testament, 1909, p. 204).

[7] (Pannenberg, Systematic Theology, 1998, 1991)III, 128.

[8] (Pannenberg, Systematic Theology, 1998, 1991)Vol II, 316, 321, 436, 450).

[9] (Pannenberg, Jesus -- God and Man, 1964, 1968) 33.

[10] (Pannenberg, Jesus -- God and Man, 1964, 1968) 118.

[11] Schweizer, TDNT VIII, 391-2.

[12] (Dunn, Christology in the Making: A New Testament Inquiry into the Origins of the Doctrine of the Incarnation, 1980, 1989) 112.

[13] (Fuller, The Formation of the Resurrection Narratives, 1971) 195.

[14] (Dunn, Christology in the Making: A New Testament Inquiry into the Origins of the Doctrine of the Incarnation, 1980, 1989) 38-44.

[15] (Pannenberg, Jesus -- God and Man, 1964, 1968) 380.

[16] (Barth, Church Dogmatics, 2004, 1932-67), III.2 [47.1] 358-9).

[17] (Barth, Church Dogmatics, 2004, 1932-67)III.2 [47.1] (p. 461-2)

[18] Delling, TDNT VI, 305.

[19] Schweizer, TDNT VIII 374-6.

[20] Schneemelcher, TDNT VIII, 383.

[21] (Pannenberg, Jesus -- God and Man, 1964, 1968) 143.

[22] (Pannenberg, Jesus -- God and Man, 1964, 1968) 152.

[23] (Pannenberg, Jesus -- God and Man, 1964, 1968) 159.

[24] (Pannenberg, Systematic Theology, 1998, 1991), Vol II, 277, 316).

[25] (Barth, Church Dogmatics, 2004, 1932-67), II.1 [30.2], 397).

[26] Schneemelcher, TDNT VIII, 383.

[27] (Pannenberg, Jesus -- God and Man, 1964, 1968) 142.

[28] (Pannenberg, Systematic Theology, 1998, 1991)Vol II, 302).

[29] (Pannenberg, Jesus -- God and Man, 1964, 1968) 142.

[30] (Pannenberg, Jesus -- God and Man, 1964, 1968) 346.

[31] (Pannenberg, Jesus -- God and Man, 1964, 1968) 177.

[32] (Pannenberg, Jesus -- God and Man, 1964, 1968) 172.

[33] (Pannenberg, Systematic Theology, 1998, 1991)Vol II, 316, 321, 436, 450).

[34] (Pannenberg, Systematic Theology, 1998, 1991)III, 128.

[35] Grundmann, TDNT III, 902-3.

[36] (Dunn, Christology in the Making: A New Testament Inquiry into the Origins of the Doctrine of the Incarnation, 1980, 1989) 26-7.

[37] H. B. Swete (The Holy Spirit in the New Testament, 1909, p. 204).

[38] N. T. Wright, After You Believe.

Isaiah 61:10-62:3

Isaiah 61:10-62:3 (NRSV)

¹⁰ I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,

my whole being shall exult in my God;

for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,

he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,

as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,

and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

¹¹ For as the earth brings forth its shoots,

and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,

so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise

to spring up before all the nations. 

 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,

and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,

until her vindication shines out like the dawn,

and her salvation like a burning torch.

² The nations shall see your vindication,

and all the kings your glory;

and you shall be called by a new name

that the mouth of the Lord will give.

³ You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,

and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

Isaiah 61:10-62:3 addresses the future of Zion and the role of the Anointed One. 

Introduction

The central theme is Zion’s restoration after exile through God’s saving action. Isaiah 61:10–62:5 is presented as a movement from devastation, shame, and perceived abandonment toward righteousness, public vindication, renewed identity, and covenant intimacy.

Several related themes reinforce that core idea:

• Salvation as clothing: God covers Zion’s shame with “garments of salvation” and a “robe of righteousness.” Clothing signifies both divine protection and the new identity the people are expected to embody.
• Renewal from the inside out: Political or material reconstruction is treated as insufficient without restored righteousness and spiritual identity.
• New creation: Garden growth, dawn, fire, wedding imagery, and a new name all portray restoration as more than a return to the past—it is a divinely generated new beginning.
• Public vindication: Zion’s transformation is not private. The nations and kings witness its righteousness and glory.
• Covenant restoration: Bride-and-groom imagery recasts the relationship between God and Zion from separation or abandonment to delight, commitment, and intimacy.
• The mission of the Anointed One: The document connects Isaiah 61–62 with the Servant Songs, presenting the prophetic speaker as empowered by God’s Spirit and committed to proclaiming and advancing Zion’s restoration.
• Contemporary hope: The final paragraphs broaden Zion’s experience into a pastoral message for individuals and communities experiencing devastation, abandonment, or longing for renewal.

 

We now approach the third major portion of Isaiah's scroll, chapters 56-66. While the first two sections of Isaiah drop enough historical hints to locate them in the specific periods of Israel's history (e.g., chapters 1-37 during the reign of Ahaz; chapters 40-55 during the exile), this third unit is not so forthcoming. Some scholars have insisted that these texts represent postexilic sentiments and scenarios. Others argue that we best interpret the intentional dearth of datable references in this unit suggests as eschatological visions. The final chapters of Isaiah occur in a context after God has rescued the people from Babylon using Cyrus' hand (chapters 40-48), and after the Lord has redeemed them from their sins through the salvific acts of the Suffering Servant (chapters 49-55). The people of Judah had been in oppressive captivity for many years, ever since forces of the Babylonian empire under Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem in 586 B.C. The word of the prophet now promises deliverance to those imprisoned captives and restoration to Zion (Jerusalem, the Holy City of God — see 52:1 ff. and 62:1 ff.). III Isaiah uses echoes of the Servant Songs, suggesting he saw himself as the fulfillment of them.  God directs the mission of the Servant to Israel, but only to the devout ones who are poor, broken-hearted, captives, and imprisoned. Scholars often associate this passage with the four passages in Isaiah which they call “servant songs” (see 42:1 ff.; 49:1 ff.; 50:4 ff.; and 52:13-53:12), because they refer to “the servant of the LORD.” This servant song has a special resonance with Isaiah 42 and 49.  

The promise of this "Anointed One" bolsters the hopes of those who, while God has returned them from exile and redeemed them, the people are still waiting for the glory of a new creation.  There are many obvious similarities between the "Anointed One" and the better-known "Suffering Servant."  This Anointed One is endowed with the Lord's spirit (61:1)--as is the Suffering Servant (42:l).  The Anointed One offers comfort (61:2-3)--as does the Suffering Servant (51:3,12).  

Verse-by-verse study

Isaiah 61:10-62:7 proclaim Triumph for Zion. The prophet speaks on behalf of the people. Royal motifs are applied to the prophet, to Zion, and thus to the nation, as in Psalm 132:9-18. 

In Isa 61:10-11, Zion speaks. It responds to what the Lord has said with gladness. The world will see the saving act of the Lord in the vindication of Israel. The oracle ends with expressions of exuberant joy and praise in response to hearing the good news. Can the believing community offer such words of thanksgiving sincerely, even if it does so with more reserve than we find here? The salvation event that comes to the community and individual is the act of God clothing them anew, an act in which God covers human shame.[1] ¹⁰ I (Zion^[2]) will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God. It shall receive the tangible manifestation of salvation for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, which Zion needs in its present desperation, and he has covered me with the robe of righteousness (61:3), which Zion needs to express toward God. In Gen 3:21, the Lord clothed Adam and Eve. That sure sounds like protective clothing. God has provided the garments of salvation and robes of righteousness for the whole people of Judah. The Lord gathered them, following the end of the Babylonian exile, back into their homeland. But why did the people need protective clothing? Because they understood the collapse of their nation and the long exile that followed as judgment from God for their sins. In fact, Isaiah spoke of that coming disaster and captivity and said people would “enter the caverns of the rocks and the clefts in the crags, from the terror of the Lord, and from the glory of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth” (Isa 2:21). God is dangerous in that way, for the holiness of God demands judgment of sin. Hence, the anger of God will flare up for a moment as human beings behave in the self-destructive forms sin takes. That catastrophe was in the past, and if the people were to recover in any meaningful way, they needed to believe that when God looked at them now, he saw not their sins, but their righteousness. And, according to the prophet, to make sure that happened, God, the divine clothier, gave them robes of righteousness. The people of God are to put on their clothes and allow their message in infuse their lives. Putting on such clothes is the business of the people of God throughout their lives, becoming what the clothes are supposed to be.^[3] Such clothing is a reminder of a wedding, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland and a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Rev 21:2 has New Jerusalem descending from heaven adorned as a bride for her husband. The bride and groom demonstrate their intentions and commitment through their appearance. Actions previously ascribed to the Lord (59:16-17) this author now completely transfers--as raiment--to the Anointed One himself.  The text's reference to the bridegroom and bride suggests this Anointed One may also have a covenanting function.  However, the most obvious reason for the bridegroom and bride images here is that they, like the Anointed One, are known to the world by the special adornments they wear.  On the wedding day, the bride and groom demonstrate their intentions and commitment through their appearance.  Their dress is their address. The conclusion involves several analogies that continue the sense of overflowing joy. ¹¹For as the earth brings forth its shoots. Thus, the natural fertility of the earth, which spontaneously brings forth new shoots of life, provides the first analogy.  Further, and as a garden, reminding us of Eden, causes what someone sows in it to spring up. Thus, the carefully cultivated growth that springs up from a garden provides the second analogy. In an analogous way, the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations. The righteousness that emerges is likewise a product of both spontaneous divine growth and the nurturing care of the promises of the Lord. Zion shall soon enjoy salvation and received recognition among the nations for her newly redeemed condition. In Isaiah 45:8, the Lord will shower righteousness from heaven, and will cause salvation and righteousness to spring up.  

The theme of Isaiah 62:1-12 is the salvation of Zion. It has a companion in Chapter 60. The prophet speaks of the promised salvation despite the incredulity of those he addresses. We need to remember that the setting is one of post-exilic Israel, soon after the return of a Jewish remnant from Babylonian exile. The Jewish people have experienced the devastation of an exile that meant physical, social, and political devastation. The exile is the desert. The destruction of Jerusalem, the loss of land, and the recognition that the exile was the judgment of God has shattered the soul of the chosen people. Rebuilding of people and land now needs to take place. The starting point for rebuilding is the recovery of righteousness. We start rebuilding from the inside out.  No political solution alone will suffice.  When we view this text along with the preceding chapter’s message of the Anointed One, we see that righteousness comes from the Lord clothing them with the garments of salvation.  

In Isaiah 62: 1-7, the prophet speaks. III Isaiah promises such rebuilding and renewal. One reason these words are so powerful is that many people in many situations long to hear such a promise. People hunger for renewal in personal lives and community. Sadly, the hunger can render one susceptible to false promises and false messiahs. Such hunger can also make one open to a genuine word from the Lord. Like the Jewish people returning home, we long for spiritual renewal, but we may also long for renewal of a nation to its highest and best ideals. In the case of III Isaiah, a vision of a new landscape is so exciting that he cannot keep from shouting and proclaiming the good news. 

Therefore, as this song continues with the surprising vindication of Israel into 62:1-3, the tone changes significantly. The Anointed One declares that Zion itself shall soon also enjoy salvation and receive recognition in her new redeemed state by all the nations.  This portion of the song has a companion in Chapter 60. The so-called "third song" of the Anointed One. Like the "third song" of the Suffering Servant (50:4-9), this text focuses on the personal commitment necessary for the work of the Anointed One to go forward. Unlike the Servant of Second Isaiah, who earns his title "suffering" by the hardships he endures, the third testimony of the Anointed One is exultant — looking forward with great anticipation at what the ministry of the Anointed One will achieve. The Anointed One, the prophet, speaks of the promised salvation despite the incredulity of his listeners. Thus, to achieve this end, ¹For Zion’s sake, I will not keep silent (be still or inactive) and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest. The Lord is breaking the silence exhibited in the exile, leading to the renewal of the land. This vow to both ceaseless action and ceaseless prayer has a specific objective in mind, until her vindication shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a burning torch. The Anointed One will bring changes in Zion's status. ² The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and you shall receive a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give. The vindication of Zion will occur before the eyes of the world. This work of salvation and redemption transforms Zion so thoroughly that it becomes a new creation.  Note that according to divine privilege, the Lord, not the Anointed One, bestows the new name on Zion and informs it of the reversal of its sad plight. The result is that Zion/Jerusalem ³ shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. They receive salvation in such a way that they will experience safety and protection. ⁴ People shall no more call you Forsaken, and people shall no more call your land Desolate. Rather, people shall call you My Delight (Hephzibah) Is in Her, and your land Married (Beulah); for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married. II Isaiah, in 50:1, asks where the certificate of divorce is, with which the Lord sent away Israel, due to its iniquities and transgressions. The prophet uses the image of marriage earlier.  Here it refers to a remarriage. The theme of a new name is a favorite for these Zion poems. Thus, in 60:14, III Isaiah says the city shall have the name “City of the Lord” and “Zion of the Holy One of Israel.” In 60:18, the walls will have the name “Salvation” and the gates “Praise.” As the prophet continues, ⁵ for as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your builder marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

One reason these words remain so powerful is that people as individuals and communities still go through times of forsakenness and abandonment. If you have not yet had that experience, I think life is such that you will. The power of this passage is the hunger, promise, and hope it expresses of a deeper connection, even the intimacy of marriage, to the Creator of all who has turned toward us with such grace and love to that we can have the privilege of a new creation. If the journey has led us to a place of devastation and forsakenness, the journey does not have to be over. A new journey can begin.

---

[1] (von Rad, Biblical Interpretation in Preaching 1973, 1977) 98.

[2] Some will suggest the Anointed One speaks here, but as I suggest in the exposition, I do not quite see that as a real possibility.

[3] —Rabbi Eliyahu Yaakov, “A Little Give-and-Take with God,” Patheos.com, March 30, 2011.