(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better…and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see why)
Focus Question:
Is Luke contrasting Roman peace?
Intro:
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…peace.
Our focus question today is uber short because we’ve got a lot to get through. And it’s the end of the Christmas season, and we read one of the most famous stories in the Bible, and we will breeze past a bunch of angels praising God and declaring peace, but that’s where we’ll end today — a short bottom line segment that illuminates the idea of peace in a new way.
May we hear from the Lord today.
NEW TESTAMENT SEGMENT:
Passage: Luke 2
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 52
Words: ~1112
Original TESTAMENT SEGMENT:
Yesterday’s OT segment wrapped with Job doing a lot of what sounded like blaming God — something I’m sure you or someone you know struggles with sometimes. But then he drops in a big “but” — I know my Redeemer lives.
The dialogue, if not contention, continues…
e. Zophar: the wicked will die (20:1–29)
f. Job: the wicked prosper (21:1–34)
Passage: Job 20-21
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 63
Words: ~1036
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Here’s one tidbit to remember:
Luke is a careful historian that clearly and repeatedly locates his research in time and space with specific historical, particularly Roman, references. But there’s at least one that may be more implicit:
2:13–14. This choir contrasts with the earthly choirs used in the worship of the emperor. The current emperor, Augustus, was praised for having inaugurated a worldwide peace. The inverted parallelism (God vs. people, and “in the highest” vs. “on earth”) suggests that “in the highest” means “among heaven’s angelic hosts.”(1)
In other words, earthly choirs offering up emperor worship during a time of Pax Romana, the amazing political accomplishment that the Romans achieved through military might, is contrasted with the arrival of a new King — a King who would conquer what military and politics and a legal system could never conquer — the evil in my heart.
I love you!
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
(1) Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Lk 2:13–14.