Esther 4:4-17

4 When Esther’s maids and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed; she sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth; but he would not accept them. 5 Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what was happening and why. 6 Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate, 7 and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews. 8 Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther, explain it to her, and charge her to go to the king to make supplication to him and entreat him for her people.

9 Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said. 10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach and gave him a message for Mordecai, saying, 11 “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law--all alike are to be put to death. Only if the king holds out the golden scepter to someone, may that person live. I myself have not been called to come in to the king for thirty days.” 12 When they told Mordecai what Esther had said, 13 Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father’s family will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this.” 15 Then Esther said in reply to Mordecai, 16 “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will also fast as you do. After that I will go to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.” 17 Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him. (Esther 4:4-17, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated with some editing and supplement here from September 25, 2006 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 21, Year Two):

At the end of yesterday’s reading, we find Mordecai in “sackcloth and ashes,” going through the city, “wailing with a loud and bitter cry” (Esth. 4:1), and settling at “the entrance to the king’s gate . . . clothed with sackcloth” (v. 2). These actions lament the treachery of Haman and the subsequent imperial letters ordering the annihilation of the Jews (3:13). “Sackcloth and ashes were traditional signs of mourning and repentance” (Mary Joan Winn Leith, NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Esth. 4:1).

Today’s reading begins with Esther’s distress upon learning of Mordecai’s condition; “she sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth; but he would not accept them” (4:4). Still unaware of the situation, the threatened genocide of the Jews, she directs Hathach, “one of the king’s eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what was happening and why” (v. 5). He returns with the devastating news, including a copy of the imperial letter given him for Esther by Mordecai (vv. 7-8a) and Mordecai’s charge that Esther should “go to the king to make supplication to him and entreat him for her people” (v. 8b). Up to this point, at least, “Esther, whose Jewish identity is still a secret, is unaware of the edict” (Leith, ibid, on vv. 4-10). Now, according to Leith, she objects, “like others called to save the people (Ex. 3:11; 4:10; 10:28; Judg. 6:15; Jer. 1:6)” (ibid., on v. 11). She does understand that to do what Mordecai asks would put her own life in danger. When someone approaches the king, she says, “inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law–all alike are to be put to death” (v. 11a). The king may extend mercy by holding out “the golden scepter,” but Esther says she has “not been called to come in to the king for thirty days” (v. 11b). According to Adele Berlin,

Esther takes the initiative, hinting at the strategy she will use to carry out Mordecai’s instructions. [The words] man or woman [imply] even a woman of whom the king may be enamored. Esther has no special privilege in this regard. [The words] enters the king’s presence in the inner court [hint at her plan, for] Mordecai said nothing about going to the inner court; this is Esther’s idea. There were other ways to communicate with the king, as we know from 2:2. Esther is not refusing to plead for the Jews. Rather, she is outlining a daring plan to do so. (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, p. 1631, on Esth. 4:11)

The exchange with Mordecai via messengers continues. “Do not think that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter (rH2x1 MOqm0!m9, mimmāqôm ’achēr), but you and your father’s family will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this” (vv. 13-14). Of the words “from another quarter,” Berlin says, ‘In Jewish tradition ‘mi-makom ’acher’ is interpreted as a reference to God, who is called ‘Ha-makom,’ i.e., ‘Omnipresent’ [lit., ‘the Place’], in rabbinic writings. This is as close as the author can get to hinting at divine intervention in a book where God’s name is studiously avoided” (ibid., on v. 14). As Leith observes, “Who knows? often precedes an expression of hope for divine mercy (2 Sam. 12:22; Joel 2:14; Jon. 3:9)” (op. cit., on v. 14).

J. G. McConville says, “Esther’s anxiety . . . was not misplaced. Mordecai responds by reminding her that a higher authority than kings governs in the matter. The issue, he urges, is not the saving of her own skin. She will be as much endangered by her silence as by her intercession. The Jews will be saved whether or not she meets the call of the moment. But her own salvation may depend on whether she accepts the unique opportunity which is hers” (Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, The Daily Study Bible Series, vol. 11, 1985, p. 171 on Esth. 4:1-17). And Esther acts decisively. She directs Mordecai to “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will also fast as you do. After that I will go to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish” (v. 16). She shows determination and courage. “Esther’s request for a community fast foreshadows her authority in 9:29,” says Leith, but she is not sure whether Esther’s words, “if I perish, I perish,” show “resignation or selfless dedication” (op. cit., on vv. 16-17). Mordecai does as she has directed him to do (v. 17).

Judith 7:1-7, 19-32

The Campaign against Bethulia

7:1 The next day Holofernes ordered his whole army, and all the allies who had joined him, to break camp and move against Bethulia, and to seize the passes up into the hill country and make war on the Israelites. 2 So all their warriors marched off that day; their fighting forces numbered one hundred seventy thousand infantry and twelve thousand cavalry, not counting the baggage and the foot soldiers handling it, a very great multitude. 3 They encamped in the valley near Bethulia, beside the spring, and they spread out in breadth over Dothan as far as Balbaim and in length from Bethulia to Cyamon, which faces Esdraelon.

4 When the Israelites saw their vast numbers, they were greatly terrified and said to one another, “They will now strip clean the whole land; neither the high mountains nor the valleys nor the hills will bear their weight.” 5 Yet they all seized their weapons, and when they had kindled fires on their towers, they remained on guard all that night.

6 On the second day Holofernes led out all his cavalry in full view of the Israelites in Bethulia. 7 He reconnoitered the approaches to their town, and visited the springs that supplied their water; he seized them and set guards of soldiers over them, and then returned to his army. (Judith 7:1-7, NRSV)

The Distress of the Israelites

19 The Israelites then cried out to the Lord their God, for their courage failed, because all their enemies had surrounded them, and there was no way of escape from them. 20 The whole Assyrian army, their infantry, chariots, and cavalry, surrounded them for thirty-four days, until all the water containers of every inhabitant of Bethulia were empty; 21 their cisterns were going dry, and on no day did they have enough water to drink, for their drinking water was rationed. 22 Their children were listless, and the women and young men fainted from thirst and were collapsing in the streets of the town and in the gateways; they no longer had any strength.

23 Then all the people, the young men, the women, and the children, gathered around Uzziah and the rulers of the town and cried out with a loud voice, and said before all the elders, 24 “Let God judge between you and us! You have done us a great injury in not making peace with the Assyrians. 25 For now we have no one to help us; God has sold us into their hands, to be strewn before them in thirst and exhaustion. 26 Now summon them and surrender the whole town as booty to the army of Holofernes and to all his forces. 27 For it would be better for us to be captured by them. We shall indeed become slaves, but our lives will be spared, and we shall not witness our little ones dying before our eyes, and our wives and children drawing their last breath. 28 We call to witness against you heaven and earth and our God, the Lord of our ancestors, who punishes us for our sins and the sins of our ancestors; do today the things that we have described!”

29 Then great and general lamentation arose throughout the assembly, and they cried out to the Lord God with a loud voice. 30 But Uzziah said to them, “Courage, my brothers and sisters! Let us hold out for five days more; by that time the Lord our God will turn his mercy to us again, for he will not forsake us utterly. 31 But if these days pass by, and no help comes for us, I will do as you say.”

32 Then he dismissed the people to their various posts, and they went up on the walls and towers of their town. The women and children he sent home. In the town they were in great misery. (Judith 7:19-32, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here from September 25, 2006 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 21, Year Two):

Holofernes’ army has defeated many powerful nations, and now proceeds to attack “the tiny Israelite town of Bethulia” (Linda Day, NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, Introduction to Judith). Achior, who had been seized by the Assyrians for giving them “bad advice” not to attack Israel, is rescued by the Israelites (Judith 6:20). When Holofernes orders his army to “move against Bethulia, and to seize the passes up into the hill country and make war on the Israelites” (7:1), this and further preparations for war, the Israelites are terrified. “When the Israelites saw their vast numbers, they were greatly terrified and said to one another, ‘They will now strip clean the whole land; neither the high mountains nor the valleys nor the hills will bear their weight’ ” (v. 4). So they seize their weapons and remain “on guard all night” (v. 5). As if to terrify the Israelites by displaying his power, “on the second day Holofernes led out all his cavalry in full view of the Israelites in Bethulia” (v. 6). Adopting a strategy to “seize Bethulia’s water supply” (Day, ibid., on vv. 6-18), Holofernes “reconnoitered the approaches to their town, and visited the springs that supplied their water; he seized them and set guards of soldiers over them, and then returned to his army” (v. 7).

As events continue, Edomites and Moabites advise Holofernes not to march in formation against the Israelites on the mountains (vv. 8-11), but to take possession of the valleys and the Israelite water supply (vv. 12-15), a plan he has already initiated (v. 7). The result is increasing fear on the part of the Israelites, who feel surrounded and trapped. “The Israelites then cried out to the Lord their God, for their courage failed, because all their enemies had surrounded them, and there was no way of escape from them” (v. 19). And the attack on their water supply was succeeding. “The whole Assyrian army,” says the author, “their infantry, chariots, and cavalry, surrounded them for thirty-four days, until all the water containers of every inhabitant of Bethulia were empty” (v. 20). As a result, “their cisterns were going dry, and on no day did they have enough water to drink, for their drinking water was rationed” (v. 21). As one might expect, the effect on the children, as well as the others, was devastating. “Their children were listless, and the women and young men fainted from thirst and were collapsing in the streets of the town and in the gateways; they no longer had any strength” (v. 22).

In their distress and fear, the people of Bethulia come to believe that the best course would be surrender to the Assyrians. So “all the people, the young men, the women, and the children, gathered around Uzziah and the rulers of the town and cried out with a loud voice, and said before all the elders” (v. 23). The Uzziah to whom the people complain, is a local leader, the “son of Micah” (6:15), not King Uzziah (a.k.a. Azariah), the son of Amaziah (2 Kgs. 15:1; Isa. 6:1). He and the rulers are blamed for the present distress. “Let God judge between you and us!” they cry. “You have done us a great injury in not making peace with the Assyrians” (v. 24). “For now we have no one to help us,” they complain. “God has sold us into their hands, to be strewn before them in thirst and exhaustion” (v. 25). According to Day, “though the readers have been told that God has heard the people’s prayers (4:13), the Israelites themselves do not know of God’s attention” (ibid., on v. 25). And the people demand surrender. “ Now summon them and surrender the whole town as booty to the army of Holofernes and to all his forces. For it would be better for us to be captured by them. We shall indeed become slaves, but our lives will be spared, and we shall not witness our little ones dying before our eyes, and our wives and children drawing their last breath” (vv. 26-27). Toni Craven, revised by John J. Collins, says, “Crisis and confusion make slavery to Assyria look appealing” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Jdt. 7:27). They “call to witness against you [leaders] heaven and earth and our God, the Lord of our ancestors, who punishes us for our sins and the sins of our ancestors; do today the things that we have described!” (v. 28). According to Day, “the Israelites blame themselves for their predicament; cf. Judith’s interpretation in 8:18, 27” (op. cit., on v. 28). This lamentation continues, as “great and general lamentation [that] arose throughout the assembly, and they cried out to the Lord God with a loud voice” (v. 29); but Uzziah urges them to be courageous, at least for a little longer. “Courage, my brothers and sisters! Let us hold out for five days more; by that time the Lord our God will turn his mercy to us again, for he will not forsake us utterly. But if these days pass by, and no help comes for us, I will do as you say” (vv. 30-31). And he disperses the crowd. “Then he dismissed the people to their various posts, and they went up on the walls and towers of their town. The women and children he sent home. In the town they were in great misery” (v. 32). It is not yet clear that they will be saved from the Assyrians.

Acts 18:1-11

Paul in Corinth

18:1 After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them, and they worked together-by trade they were tentmakers. 4 Every sabbath he would argue in the synagogue and would try to convince Jews and Greeks.

5 When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with proclaiming the word, testifying to the Jews that the Messiah was Jesus. 6 When they opposed and reviled him, in protest he shook the dust from his clothes and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7 Then he left the synagogue and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God; his house was next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the official of the synagogue, became a believer in the Lord, together with all his household; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul became believers and were baptized. 9 One night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you, for there are many in this city who are my people.” 11 He stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. (Acts 18:1-11, NRSV)

On August 6, 2007 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 3, Year One) some comments were repeated with editing and supplement from September 25, 2006 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 21). The revised comments are repeated here:

After limited success in Athens (cf. the reading and comments for last Saturday, September 20, 2008), Paul moves on to Corinth (Acts 18:1), where he finds “a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome” (v. 2a). Claudius was emperor of Rome from AD 41-54. In his biography of Claudius, ca. AD 120, the Roman historian Suetonius includes the following: “Since the Jews were constantly causing disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he [Claudius] expelled them from Rome” (Lives of the Caesars Claudius 5.25.4, trans., Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D., “Paul’s Relationship with the Corinthian Christians,” on his web site: http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/Paul-Corinth.htm#Claudius, accessed again Sept. 20, 2008). Since this comes “near the middle” of the biography, Just dates the “incident involving the Jews of Rome [as] probably around the year 49 AD” (on the web site cited). He offers a few observations on this statement of Suetonius, including the following:

It is debated how many "Jews" would have been expelled from the city of Rome as a result of this edict: (a) all Jews and Christians; (b) all Jews, including Jewish Christians but not Gentile Christians; (c) only those Jewish-Christian preachers and/or other Jewish leaders involved in the public disturbance.

In any case, the edict would have gone out of effect at the death of Claudius in 54 AD; since the following emperor (Nero) did not renew the edict, those expelled could have returned to Rome after 54 AD. (ibid)

Luke informs us that the Jews brought Paul before the tribunal of Gallio in Corinth, “who was proconsul of Achaia” (Acts 18:12-17). According to Christopher R. Matthews, “I. Junius Gallio, older brother of the philosopher Seneca, [was] proconsul of Achaia about 52 CE. The dating of Gallio’s proconsulship is crucial for the chronological reconstruction of Paul’s career” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., on Acts 18:12). Beverly Roberts Gaventa reports that “An inscription at Delphi referring to Gallio allows his proconsulate in Corinth to be dated ca. 51-52 CE and thus may indicate that Paul began the church in Corinth during that period” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Acts 18:12). If Paul was present in Corinth in AD 51 o 52, Aquila and Priscilla, expelled in Rome in or soon after AD 49, would have been there when Paul arrived. Gaventa cautions, “Luke may have consolidated several of Paul’s journeys to Corinth, however, making the connection between the reference to Gallio and Paul’s activities uncertain” (ibid.). But the indication of more occasions when Paul was in Corinth come later, based on references in his Epistles to the Corinthians, and would not affect the conclusion that his initial arrival in Corinth was in AD 50 or 51. Visits to Corinth subsequent to his initial visit would include the “painful visit” (2 Cor. 2:1); and we note that he had planned to visit them on one occasion, but changed his plan (2 Cor. 1:15-17).

So Paul, now in Corinth, pays a visit to Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:2b), and joins them in their common trade, for “because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them, and they worked together–by trade they were tentmakers” (v. 3). Paul would work at his trade during the week, but, as Luke informs us, “Every sabbath he would argue in the synagogue and would try to convince Jews and Greeks” (v. 4). This would present the Gospel to Jews, which, as Luke continually reminds us, was a priority and first matter of business in each city. But the “Greeks” in the synagogue would be Gentiles interested in Judaism and of varying degrees of commitment to Judaism. Lydia of Philippi, for example, is described as “a worshiper of God” (Acts 16:14). Paul’s ministry continued in this fashion until “Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia(18:5a). Because Paul thanks the Philippian church, located in Macedonia, for financial help for his ministry on more than one occasion (Phil. 4:15-18; cf. v. 10 and 1:5), it is likely that when “Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia” (as noted above), they brought financial assistance to Paul that released him from the need to practice his tent-making trade, and allowed him to engage in ministry on a full-time basis. So then, “Paul was occupied with proclaiming the word, testifying to the Jews that the Messiah was Jesus” (Acts 18:5b).

But the Jews of Corinth, though not forming a mob as did those of Thessalonica (Acts 17:5), “opposed and reviled him,” so he turned to the Gentiles. “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles” (18:6). Even so, by moving in next door to the synagogue, with Titius Justus (v. 7), he was able to win over “Crispus, the official of the synagogue [who] became a believer in the Lord, together with all his household” (v. 8). “Unlike earlier departures from the synagogue,” says Gaventa, “Paul does not leave the area but remains very close by. Presumably Titius Justus, a Gentile who nevertheless worships God . . . has become a Christian” (op. cit., on Acts 18:7-8). The conversion of Crispus . . . indicates that Paul continues to preach among Jews, despite v.6, and that his proclamation meets with success even among synagogue leaders” (ibid.). The baptism of Crispus, as we know, “is mentioned as an exceptional case in 1 Cor. 1:14” (Matthews, op. cit., on v. 8). Paul is reassured by the Lord in a night vision: “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you, for there are many in this city who are my people” (vv. 9-10; cf. 23:11; 27:23-26). So he stayed in Corinth for “a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them” (v. 11). We have evidence of his success there in the two Epistles to Corinth.

Luke (1:1-4) 3:1-14

Dedication to Theophilus

1 Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, 3 I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed. (Luke 1:1-4, NRSV)

The Proclamation of John the Baptist (Mt 3.1-12; Mk 1.1-8; Jn 1.19-28)

3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight.

5 Every valley shall be filled,

and every mountain and hill shall be made low,

and the crooked shall be made straight,

and the rough ways made smooth;

6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ “

7 John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 9 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” 11 In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” 12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.” (Luke 3:1-14, NRSV)

The following comments on Luke 1:1-4 are based on comments selected from comments on Luke 1:1-15 of December 24, 2007 (Monday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year Two), comments that were repeated from December 19, 2005 (Monday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year Two). The comments below on Luke 3:1-14 are based on those of April 19, 2007 (Thursday in the week of the Second Sunday of Easter, Year One), comments that were based on comments from April 7, 2005, (Thursday in the week of the Second Sunday of Easter, Year One), comments on Matthew 3:1-12 from September 9, 2005 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 7, Year One), from Dec. 16, 2004 (Thursday in the week of the third Sunday of Advent, Year One) and from December 21, 2006 (Thursday in the week of the third Sunday of Advent, Year One) For parallel texts from the Synoptic Gospels on John the Baptist and his preaching, see the separate file John the Baptist.

On Luke 1:1-4

Luke begins his Gospel with a dedication to Theophilus. He says he “decided . . . to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus” (Lk. 1:3). Marion Lloyd Soards reminds us that “Theophilus means ‘friend of God’ and may address a person of prominent social standing, since Theophilus is designated ‘most excellent,’ terminology typically applied to persons of high official or socioeconomic status.” Soards explains further, “While the address may be to a particular person, the symbolic sense of the name may designate any ideal Christian, as it has been understood since the earliest interpretations of Luke’s Gospel” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Lk. 1:3). Luke states his purpose in presenting this “orderly account”: “so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed” (Lk. 1:4). This instruction refers of course to instruction in Christian faith and living based on the contents of the Gospel to follow, and eventually, the story of the beginnings of the Christian movement as reported in Acts, which is also dedicated to Theophilus (cf. Acts 1:1-5).

Luke also tells us about his method in writing this “orderly account.” He acknowledges that there have been earlier Gospel accounts, for “many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us” (v. 1). Luke explains that these earlier accounts were (or we based on) those “handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word (aujtovptai kai; uJphrevtai . . . tou: lovgou, autoptai kai hypēretai . . . tou logou)” (v. 2). Various theories are held about those to whom the term “many” (polloiv, polloi) refers. Some would suggest that the author(s) of the Gospel of Matthew or an early version of it are meant, perhaps including bearers of the “oral traditions” about the sayings and deeds of Jesus. A common view among scholars is that the Gospel of Mark and a hypothetical collection, with some narrative, but mainly sayings and parables of Jesus called “Q,” were Luke’s principal sources, though some suggest that Luke had a preliminary draft, a so-called “Proto-Luke,” based on his own investigations, which he combined with material from Mark and “Q.” Some read this prologue as indicating that Luke himself was a “third generation” Christian, two stages removed from the primary sources, the “eyewitnesses” (v. 2; cf. Helmut Koester, History and Literature of Early Christianity, Introduction to the New Testament, vol. 2, 2^nd ed., 2000, p. 49, available on the internet, found at this address:

http://books.google.com/books?id=thXUHM5udTcC&pg=PA49&lpg=PA49&dq=Koester+third+generation&source=web&ots=_HAYqwsHCj&sig=kIKdbteJyg5T5cKByDiJlQYgDKA&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result; found through Google, with advanced searching for “Koester third generation”). But we may assume that Luke’s investigation was careful and thorough, as he says, “I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write and orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus” (v. 3). Some have suggested that Luke, who was with Paul at his final arrival in Jerusalem (Acts 21:17) and later–still?–with him on the voyage to Rome (cf. “we,” Acts 27:1; 28:14), would have had the two years when Paul was in custody at Caesarea (cf. Acts 26-27) to conduct these investigations. Richard Heard, citing Vincent Taylor, suggests the following about opportunities for Luke to have conducted his investigations:

On the other hand Luke himself writes with a certain authority. Although he was a Gentile, and does not seem to have spent more than a few weeks at most in Jerusalem (Acts 21:17 ff.), he stayed some time in Caesarea (Acts 27:1) and had met many men who were closely connected with the Christian communities in Palestine, e.g. Mark, Silas (Acts. 15:40, 16:10 ff.), Philip (Acts 21:9-10) Mason (Acts 21:16), not to mention his close association with Paul and the possibility of his having been a member of the church at Antioch. It would be too much to claim for his gospel complete accuracy and freedom from exaggerations and mistakes, but the claim of his Preface (Lk.1:1-4) is at least partly justified. (An Introduction to the New Testament, 1950, prepared for the Internet web site Religion-Online by Ted and Winnie Brock, at http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=531&C=553, accessed Sept. 21, 2008).

On Luke 3:1-14

As this part of the reading begins, Luke carefully sets the account of Jesus’ ministry in its historical context, “the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius” (Lk. 3:1a). He further indicates the time as during the periods of various officials and “client kings,” or rather tetrarchs (tetravrcai, tetrarchai, i.e., lesser “kings”) in the Herodian family, “when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene” (v. 1b). He also notes that this was “during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas” (v. 2a). According to Marion Lloyd Soards,

Annas was high priest 6-15 CE [i.e., AD 6-15] when the Romans deposed him. He was followed by relatives; initially by his son, Eleazar; then by his son-in-law Caiaphas (18-36 CE), and thereafter by four more sons. Because Jewish custom was for the high priest to serve for life, even when out of office, Annas’s influence and authority continued to be recognized by the population [cf. Jn. 18:13; Acts 4:6]. (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Lk. 3:2)

All of these references set the context for Luke’s main point, to introduce the ministry of John the Baptist. Luke apparently omits Mark’s description of John’s appearance (Mk. 1:6; cf. Mt. 3:4), but he continues saying, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness” (v. 2b). Luke then describes John’s activity. “He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (v. 3). John seeks to call Israel back to true obedience to God’s will and commandments, as Jesus would later do (cf. Mk. 1:14-15; Mt. 4:12-17). John supports his message by citing Isaiah 40:3-6 (Lk. 3:3-6; cf. Mt. 3:3; Mk. 1:2-3). Luke’s Gospel has the most complete account of John the Baptist’s preaching of repentance to Israel. John’s Gospel has an extensive account of John’s preaching, but it appears as John’s witness to the identity of Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29, cf. v. 36). But in Luke, John the Baptist has a message for each of several groups. The crowd in general he calls, “you brood of vipers!” and asks, “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (v. 7; cf. Mt. 3:7). Anticipating a possible “excuse,” John says to the crowd, “Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham” (Lk. 3:8; cf. Mt. 3:8-9). John warns of fiery judgment to come for those who do not repent. “Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Lk. 3:9; cf. Mt. 3:10).

As noted, some of John’s message is presented in Matthew, but specific advice for the crowds, the tax collectors and soldiers is found only in Luke. When “the crowds asked him, ‘What then should we do?’ in reply he said to them, ‘Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise’ ” (Lk. 3:10-11). “Even tax collectors came to be baptized,” says Luke, “and they asked him [i.e., John], ‘Teacher, what should we do?’ ” (v. 12). John’s reply to the tax collectors is, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you” (v. 13, cf. Zacchaeus’s offer to “pay back four times as much” (19:8). And to the soldiers who asked, “And we, what should we do?” John says, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages” (3:14). Avoid brutalizing oppression! Be honest in your financial dealings! Who can argue against that?

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net