01850
 \\His name was called Jesus\\ (\\kai eklˆthˆ to onoma autou Iˆsous\\).
 The \\kai\\ is left untranslated or has the sense of "then" in the
 apodosis. The naming was a part of the ceremony of circumcision
 as is shown also in the case of John the Baptist
 # Lu 1:59-66

01851
 \\The days of their purification\\ (\\hai hˆmerai tou katharismou\\
 \\aut“n\\). The old manuscripts have "their" (\\aut“n\\) instead of "her"
 (\\autˆs\\) of the later documents. But it is not clear whether
 "their" refers to Mary and Joseph as is true of "they brought" or
 to Mary and the child. The mother was Levitically unclean for
 forty days after the birth of a son
 # Le 12:1-8
 \\To present him to the Lord\\ (\\parastˆsai t“i Kuri“i\\). Every
 first-born son was thus redeemed by the sacrifice
 # Ex 13:2-12
 as a memorial of the sparing of the Israelitish families
 # Nu 18:15
 The cost was about two dollars and a half in our money.

01852
 \\In the law of the Lord\\ (\\en nom“i Kuriou\\). No articles, but
 definite by preposition and genitive. Vincent notes that "law"
 occurs in this chapter five times. Paul
 # Gal 4:4
 will urge that Jesus "was made under the law" as Luke here
 explains. The law did not require that the child be brought to
 Jerusalem. The purification concerned the mother, the
 presentation the son.

01853
 \\A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons\\ (\\Zeugos trugon“n ˆ\\
 \\duo nossous perister“n\\). The offspring of the poor, costing about
 sixteen cents, while a lamb would cost nearly two dollars. The
 "young of pigeons" is the literal meaning.

01854
 \\Devout\\ (\\eulabˆs\\). Used only by Luke
 # Ac 2:5; 8:2; 22:12
 in the N.T. Common in ancient Greek from Plato on. It means
 taking hold well or carefully (\\eu\\ and \\labein\\) and so reverently,
 circumspectly. \\Looking for the consolation of Israel\\
 (\\prosdechomenos paraklˆsin tou Israel\\). Old Greek verb to admit
 to one's presence
 # Lu 15:2
 and then to expect as here and of Anna in verse
 # 38
 \\Paraklˆsin\\ here means the Messianic hope
 # Isa 11:10; 40:1
 calling to one's side for cheer. \\Upon him\\ (\\ep' auton\\). This is
 the explanation of his lively Messianic hope. It was due to the
 Holy Spirit. Simeon and Anna are representatives of real piety in
 this time of spiritual dearth and deadness.

01855
 \\It had been revealed unto him\\ (\\ˆn aut“i kechrˆmatismenon\\).
 Periphrastic past perfect passive indicative. Common Greek verb.
 First to transact business from \\chrˆma\\ and that from \\chraomai\\, to
 use, make use of; then to do business with public officials, to
 give advice (judges, rulers, kings), then to get the advice of
 the Delphic and other oracles (Diodorus, Plutarch). The LXX and
 Josephus use it of God's commands. A Fayum papyrus of 257 B.C.
 has the substantive \\chrˆmastismos\\ for a divine response (cf.
 # Ro 11:4
 See Deissmann, _Light From the Ancient East_, p. 153. \\Before\\
 (\\prin ˆ\\). Classic Greek idiom after a negative to have
 subjunctive as here (only example in the N.T.) or the optative
 after past tense as in
 # Ac 25:16
 (subjunctive changed to optative in indirect discourse).
 Elsewhere in the N.T. the infinitive follows \\prin\\ as in
 # Mt 1:18

01856
 \\When the parents brought in the child Jesus\\ (\\en t“i eisagagein\\
 \\tous goneis to paidion Iˆsoun\\). A neat Greek and Hebrew idiom
 difficult to render into English, very common in the LXX; \\In the\\
 \\bringing the Child Jesus as to the parents\\. The articular
 infinitive and two accusatives (one the object, the other
 accusative of general reference). \\After the custom of the law\\
 (\\kata to eithismenon tou nomou\\). Here the perfect passive
 participle \\eithismenon\\, neuter singular from \\ethiz“\\ (common Greek
 verb, to accustom) is used as a virtual substantive like \\to\\
 \\ethos\\ in
 # 1:8
 Luke alone in the N.T. uses either word save \\ethos\\ in
 # Joh 19:40
 though \\ei“tha\\ from \\eth“\\, occurs also in
 # Mt 27:15; Mr 10:1

01857
 \\Then he\\ (\\kai autos\\). \\Kai\\ as in
 # 2:21
 \\Autos\\, emphatic subject, he after the parents. \\Arms\\ (\\agkalas\\).
 Old Greek word, here only in the N.T. It means the curve or inner
 angle of the arm.

01858
 \\Now lettest thou\\ (\\nun apolueis\\). Present active indicative, \\Thou\\
 \\art letting\\. The _Nunc Dimittis_, adoration and praise. It is
 full of rapture and vivid intensity (Plummer) like the best of
 the Psalms. The verb \\apolu“\\ was common for the manumission of
 slaves and Simeon here calls himself "thy slave (\\doulon sou\\),
 Lord (\\Despota\\, our despot)." See
 # 2Pe 2:1

01859
01860
 \\Of all the peoples\\ (\\pant“n t“n la“n\\). Not merely Jews. Another
 illustration of the universality of Luke's Gospel seen already in
 # 1:70
 in the hymn of Zacharias. The second strophe of the song
 according to Plummer showing what the Messiah will be to the
 world after having shown what the Messiah is to Simeon.

01861
 \\Revelation to the Gentiles\\ (\\apokalupsin ethn“n\\). Objective
 genitive. The Messiah is to be light (\\ph“s\\) for the Gentiles in
 darkness
 # 1:70
 and glory (\\doxa\\) for Israel (cf.
 # Ro 9:1-5; Isa 49:6
 The word \\ethnos\\ originally meant just a crowd or company, then a
 race or nation, then the nations other than Israel (the people,
 \\ho laos\\) or the people of God. The word Gentile is Latin from
 _gens_, a tribe or nation. But the world-wide mission of the
 Messiah comes out clearly in these early chapters in Luke.

01862
 \\His father and his mother\\ (\\ho patˆr autou kai hˆ mˆtˆr\\). Luke had
 already used "parents" in
 # 2:27
 He by no means intends to deny the Virgin Birth of Jesus so
 plainly stated in
 # 1:34-38
 He merely employs here the language of ordinary custom. The late
 MSS. wrongly read "and Joseph" instead of "his father." \\Were\\
 \\marvelling\\ (\\ˆn thaumazontes\\). The masculine gender includes the
 feminine when both are referred to. But \\ˆn\\ is singular, not \\ˆsan\\,
 the normal imperfect plural in this periphrastic imperfect. This
 is due to the wide space between copula and participle. The
 copula \\ˆn\\ agrees in number with \\ho patˆr\\ while the participle
 coming last agrees with both \\ho pater kai hˆ mˆtˆr\\ (cf.
 # Mt 17:3; 22:40
 If one wonders why they marvelled at Simeon's words after what
 they had heard from Gabriel, Elisabeth, and the Shepherds, he
 should bear in mind that every parent is astonished and pleased
 at the fine things others see in the child. It is a mark of
 unusual insight for others to see so much that is obvious to the
 parent. Simeon's prophecy had gone beyond the angel's outline and
 it was surprising that he should know anything about the child's
 destiny.

01863
 \\Is set for the falling and the rising up of many in Israel\\
 (\\Keitai eis pt“sin kai anastasin poll“n en t“i Israˆl\\). Present
 indicative of the old defective verb appearing only in present
 and imperfect in the N.T. Sometimes it is used as the passive of
 \\tithˆmi\\ as here. The falling of some and the rising up of others
 is what is meant. He will be a stumbling-block to some
 # Isa 8:14; Mt 21:42,44; Ro 9:33; 1Pe 2:16
 who love darkness rather than light
 # Joh 3:19
 he will be the cause of rising for others
 # Ro 6:4,9; Eph 2:6
 "Judas despairs, Peter repents: one robber blasphemes, the other
 confesses" (Plummer). Jesus is the magnet of the ages. He draws
 some, he repels others. This is true of all epoch-making men to
 some extent. \\Spoken against\\ (\\antilegomenon\\). Present passive
 participle, continuous action. It is going on today. Nietzsche
 regarded Jesus Christ as the curse of the race because he spared
 the weak.

01864
 \\A sword\\ (\\rhomphaia\\). A large sword, properly a long Thracian
 javelin. It occurs in the LXX of Goliath's sword
 # 1Sa 17:51
 How little Mary understood the meaning of Simeon's words that
 seemed so out of place in the midst of the glorious things
 already spoken, a sharp thorn in their roses, a veritable
 bitter-sweet. But one day Mary will stand by the Cross of Christ
 with this Thracian javelin clean through her soul, \\stabat Mater\\
 \\Dolorosa\\
 # Joh 19:25
 It is only a parenthesis here, and a passing cloud perhaps passed
 over Mary's heart already puzzled with rapture and ecstasy. \\May\\
 \\be revealed\\ (\\apokaluphth“sin\\). Unveiled. First aorist passive
 subjunctive after \\hop“s an\\ and expresses God's purpose in the
 mission of the Messiah. He is to test men's thoughts
 (\\dialogismoi\\) and purposes. They will be compelled to take a
 stand for Christ or against him. That is true today.

01865
 \\One Anna a prophetess\\ (\\Hanna prophˆtis\\). The word \\prophˆtis\\
 occurs in the N.T. only here and
 # Re 2:20
 In old Greek writers it means a woman who interprets oracles. The
 long parenthesis into verse
 # 37
 tells of her great age. Montefiore makes it 106 as she was 15
 when married, married 7 years, a widow 84.

01866
 \\Which departed not\\ (\\hˆ ouk aphistato\\). Imperfect indicative
 middle. She kept on not leaving. The Spirit kept her in the
 temple as he led Simon to the temple (Plummer). The case of "the
 temple" (\\tou hierou\\) is ablative. \\Night and day\\ (\\nukta kai\\
 \\hˆmeran\\). Accusative of duration of time, all night and all day.
 She never missed a service in the temple.

01867
 \\Coming up\\ (\\epistƒsa\\). Second aorist active participle. The word
 often has the notion of coming suddenly or bursting in as of
 Martha in
 # Lu 10:40
 But here it probably means coming up and standing by and so
 hearing Simeon's wonderful words so that her words form a kind of
 footnote to his. \\Gave thanks\\ (\\anth“mologeito\\). Imperfect middle
 of a verb (\\anthomologe“\\) in common use in Greek writers and in
 the LXX though here alone in the N.T. It had the idea of a mutual
 agreement or of saying something before one (\\anti\\). Anna was
 evidently deeply moved and repeated her thanksgiving and kept
 speaking (\\elalei\\, imperfect again) "to all them that were looking
 for (\\prosdechomenois\\, as in
 # 1:35
 of Simeon) the redemption of Jerusalem (\\lutr“sin Ierousalˆm\\)."
 There was evidently a group of such spirits that gathered in the
 temple either men around her and Simeon or whom she met from time
 to time. There was thus a nucleus of old saints in Jerusalem
 prepared for the coming of the Messiah when he at last appears as
 the Messiah in Jerusalem (John 2 and 3). These probably all
 passed away. But they had a happy hour of hope and joy. The late
 MSS. have "in Jerusalem" but "of Jerusalem" is correct. What they
 meant by the "redemption of Jerusalem" is not clear, whether
 political or spiritual or both. Simeon was looking for the
 consolation of Israel
 # 2:25
 and Zacharias
 # 1:68
 sang of redemption for Israel
 # Isa 40:2

01868
 \\To their own city Nazareth\\ (\\eis polin heaut“n Nazaret\\). See on
 # Mt 2:23
 about Nazareth. Luke tells nothing of the flight to Egypt and the
 reason for the return to Nazareth instead of Bethlehem, the place
 of the birth of Jesus as told in
 # Mt 2:13-23
 But then neither Gospel gives all the details of this period.
 Luke has also nothing about the visit of the wise men
 # Mt 2:1-12
 as Matthew tells nothing of the shepherds and of Simeon and Anna
 # Lu 2:8-28
 The two Gospels supplement each other.

01869
 \\The child grew\\ (\\ˆuxane\\). Imperfect indicative of a very ancient
 verb (\\auxan“\\). This child grew and waxed strong (\\ekrataiouto\\,
 imperfect middle), a hearty vigorous little boy (\\paidion\\). Both
 verbs Luke used in
 # 1:80
 of the growth of John the Baptist as a child. Then he used also
 \\pneumati\\, in spirit. Here in addition to the bodily development
 Luke has "filled with wisdom" (\\plˆroumenon sophiƒi\\). Present
 passive participle, showing that the process of filling with
 wisdom kept pace with the bodily growth. If it were only always
 true with others! We need not be troubled over this growth in
 wisdom on the part of Jesus any more than over his bodily growth.
 "The intellectual, moral, and spiritual growth of the Child, like
 the physical, was real. His was a perfect humanity developing
 perfectly, unimpeded by hereditary or acquired defects. It was
 the first instance of such a growth in history. For the first
 time a human infant was realizing the ideal of humanity"
 (Plummer). \\The grace of God\\ (\\charis theou\\). In full measure.

01870
 \\Every year\\ (\\kat' etos\\). This idiom only here in the N.T., a
 common Greek construction. Every male was originally expected to
 appear at the passover, pentecost, and tabernacles
 # Ex 23:14-17; 34:23; De 16:16
 But the Dispersion rendered that impossible. But pious
 Palestinian Jews made a point of going at least to the passover.
 Mary went with Joseph as a pious habit, though not required by
 law to go.

01871
 \\Twelve years old\\ (\\et“n d“deka\\). Predicate genitive. Luke does not
 say that Jesus had not been to Jerusalem before, but at twelve a
 Jewish boy became a "son of the law" and began to observe the
 ordinances, putting on the phylacteries as a reminder. \\They went\\
 \\up\\ (\\anabainont“n aut“n\\). Genitive absolute with present active
 participle, a loose construction here, for the incident narrated
 took place _after_ they had gone up, not _while_ they were gong
 up. "On their usual going up" (Plummer).

01872
 \\When they had fulfilled the days\\ (\\telei“sant“n tas hˆmeras\\).
 Genitive absolute again, but aorist participle (effective
 aorist). "The days" may mean the full seven days
 # Ex 12:15; Le 23:6-8; De 16:3
 or the two chief days after which many pilgrims left for home. \\As\\
 \\they were returning\\ (\\en t“i hupostrephein antous\\). The articular
 infinitive with \\en\\, a construction that Luke often uses
 # 1:21; 2:27
 \\The boy, Jesus\\ (\\Iˆsous ho pais\\). More exactly, "Jesus the boy."
 In verse
 # 40
 it was "the child " (\\to paidion\\), here it is "the boy" (\\ho pais\\,
 no longer the diminutive form). It was not disobedience on the
 part of "the boy" that made him remain behind, but intense
 interest in the services of the temple; "involuntary
 preoccupation" (Bruce) held him fast.

01873
 \\In the company\\ (\\en tˆi sunodiƒi\\). The caravan going together on
 the road or way (\\sun, hodos\\), a journey in company, then by
 metonymy the company itself. A common Greek word (Plutarch,
 Strabo, etc.). The women usually went ahead and the men followed.
 Joseph may have thought Jesus was with Mary and Mary that he was
 with Joseph. "The Nazareth caravan was so long that it took a
 whole day to look through it" (Plummer). \\They sought for him\\
 (\\anezˆtoun auton\\). Imperfect active. Common Greek verb. Note
 force of \\ana\\. They searched up and down, back and forth, a
 thorough search and prolonged, but in vain.

01874
 \\Seeking for him\\ (\\anazˆtountes auton\\). Present participle of the
 same verb. This was all that was worth while now, finding the
 lost boy.

01875
 \\After three days\\ (\\meta hˆmeras treis\\). One day out, one day back,
 and on the third day finding him. \\In the temple\\ (\\en t“i hier“i\\).
 Probably on the terrace where members of the Sanhedrin gave
 public instruction on sabbaths and feast-days, so probably while
 the feast was still going on. The rabbis probably sat on benches
 in a circle. The listeners on the ground, among whom was Jesus
 the boy in a rapture of interest. \\Both hearing them and asking\\
 \\them questions\\ (\\kai akouonta aut“n kai eper“t“nta autous\\). Paul
 sat at the feet of Gamaliel
 # Ac 22:3
 Picture this eager boy alive with interest. It was his one
 opportunity in a theological school outside of the synagogue to
 hear the great rabbis expound the problems of life. This was the
 most unusual of all children, to be sure, in intellectual grasp
 and power. But it is a mistake to think that children of twelve
 do not think profoundly concerning the issues of life. What
 father or mother has ever been able to answer a child's
 questions?

01876
 \\Were amazed\\ (\\existanto\\). Imperfect indicative middle, descriptive
 of their continued and repeated astonishment. Common verb
 \\existˆmi\\ meaning that they stood out of themselves as if their
 eyes were bulging out. The boy had a holy thirst for knowledge
 (Plummer), and he used a boy's way of learning. \\At his\\
 \\understanding\\ (\\epi tˆi sunesei\\). Based on (\\epi\\), the grasp and
 comprehension from \\suniˆmi\\, comparing and combining things. Cf.
 # Mr 12:33
 \\His answers\\ (\\tais apokrisesin autou\\). It is not difficult to ask
 hard questions, but this boy had astounding answers to their
 questions, revealing his amazing intellectual and spiritual
 growth.

01877
 \\They were astonished\\ (\\exeplagˆsan\\). Second aorist passive
 indicative of an old Greek word (\\ekplˆss“\\), to strike out, drive
 out by a blow. Joseph and Mary "were struck out" by what they saw
 and heard. Even they had not fully realized the power in this
 wonderful boy. Parents often fail to perceive the wealth of
 nature in their children.

01878
 \\Son\\ (\\teknon\\). Child, literally. It was natural for Mary to be the
 first to speak. \\Why\\ (\\Ti\\). The mother's reproach of the boy is
 followed by a confession of negligence on her part and of Joseph
 (\\sorrowing\\, \\odun“menoi\\). \\Thy father\\ (\\ho pater sou\\). No
 contradiction in this. Alford says: "Up to this time Joseph had
 been so called by the holy child himself, but from this time
 never." \\Sought\\ (\\ezˆtoumen\\). Imperfect tense describing the long
 drawn out search for three days. \\How is it that\\ (\\Ti hoti\\). The
 first words of Jesus preserved to us. This crisp Greek idiom
 without copula expresses the boy's amazement that his parents
 should not know that there was only one possible place in
 Jerusalem for him. \\I must be\\ (\\dei einai me\\). Messianic
 consciousness of the necessity laid on him. Jesus often uses \\dei\\
 (must) about his work. Of all the golden dreams of any boy of
 twelve here is the greatest. \\In my Father's house\\ (\\en tois tou\\
 \\patros mou\\). Not "about my Father's business," but "in my
 Father's house" (cf.
 # Ge 41:51
 Common Greek idiom. And note "my," not "our." When the boy first
 became conscious of his peculiar relation to the Father in heaven
 we do not know. But he has it now at twelve and it will grow
 within him through the years ahead in Nazareth.

01879
 \\They understood not\\ (\\ou sunˆkan\\). First aorist active indicative
 (one of the k aorists). Even Mary with all her previous
 preparation and brooding was not equal to the dawning of the
 Messianic consciousness in her boy. "My Father is God," Jesus had
 virtually said, "and I must be in His house." Bruce observes that
 a new era has come when Jesus calls God "Father," not \\Despotes\\.
 "Even we do not yet fully understand" (Bruce) what Jesus the boy
 here said.

01880
 \\He was subject unto them\\ (\\ˆn hupotassomenos autois\\). Periphrastic
 imperfect passive. He continued subject unto them, this wondrous
 boy who really knew more than parents and rabbis, this gentle,
 obedient, affectionate boy. The next eighteen years at Nazareth
 # Lu 3:23
 he remained growing into manhood and becoming the carpenter of
 Nazareth
 # Mr 6:3
 in succession to Joseph
 # Mt 13:55
 who is mentioned here for the last time. Who can tell the wistful
 days when Jesus waited at Nazareth for the Father to call him to
 his Messianic task? \\Kept\\ (\\dietˆrei\\). Imperfect active. Ancient
 Greek word (\\diatˆre“\\), but only here and
 # Ac 15:29
 in the N.T. though in
 # Ge 37:11
 She kept thoroughly (\\dia\\) all these recent sayings (or things,
 \\rhˆmata\\). In
 # 2:19
 \\sunetˆrei\\ is the word used of Mary after the shepherds left.
 These she kept pondering and comparing all the things. Surely she
 has a full heart now. Could she foresee how destiny would take
 Jesus out beyond her mother's reach?

01881
 \\Advanced in wisdom and stature\\ (\\proekopten tˆi sophiƒi kai\\
 \\hˆlikiƒi\\). Imperfect active, he kept cutting his way forward as
 through a forest or jungle as pioneers did. He kept growing in
 stature (\\hˆlikia\\ may mean age, as in
 # 12:25
 but stature here) and in wisdom (more than mere knowledge). His
 physical, intellectual, moral, spiritual development was perfect.
 "At each stage he was perfect for that stage" (Plummer). \\In\\
 \\favour\\ (\\chariti\\). Or grace. This is ideal manhood to have the
 favour of God and men.

01882
 \\Now in the fifteenth year\\ (\\en etei de pentekaidekat“i\\). Tiberius
 Caesar was ruler in the provinces two years before Augustus
 Caesar died. Luke makes a six-fold attempt here to indicate the
 time when John the Baptist began his ministry. John revived the
 function of the prophet (\\Ecce Homo\\, p.
 # 2
 and it was a momentous event after centuries of prophetic
 silence. Luke begins with the Roman Emperor, then mentions
 Pontius Pilate Procurator of Judea, Herod Antipas Tetrarch of
 Galilee (and Perea), Philip, Tetrarch of Iturea and Trachonitis,
 Lysanias, Tetrarch of Abilene (all with the genitive absolute
 construction) and concludes with the high-priesthood of Annas and
 Caiaphas (son-in-law and successor of Annas). The ancients did
 not have our modern system of chronology, the names of rulers as
 here being the common way. Objection has been made to the mention
 of Lysanias here because Josephus (_Ant_. XXVII. I) tells of a
 Lysanias who was King of Abila up to B.C. 36 as the one referred
 to by Luke with the wrong date. But an inscription has been found
 on the site of Abilene with mention of "Lysanias the tetrarch"
 and at the time to which Luke refers (see my _Luke the Historian
 in the Light of Research_, pp. 167f.). So Luke is vindicated
 again by the rocks.

01883
 \\The Word of God came unto John\\ (\\egeneto rhˆma theou epi I“anˆn\\).
 The great epoch marked by \\egeneto\\ rather than \\ˆn\\. \\Rhˆma theou\\
 is some particular utterance of God (Plummer), common in LXX,
 here alone in the N.T. Then John is introduced as the son of
 Zacharias according to Chapter 1. Matthew describes him as the
 Baptist, Mark as the Baptizer. No other Gospel mentions
 Zacharias. Mark begins his Gospel here, but Matthew and Luke have
 two Infancy Chapters before. Luke alone tells of the coming of
 the word to John. All three Synoptics locate him "in the
 wilderness" (\\en tˆi erˆm“i\\) as here,
 # Mr 1:4; Mt 3:1
 (adding "of Judea").

01884
 \\All the region round about Jordan\\ (\\pƒsan perich“ron tou\\
 \\Iordanou\\). The wilderness was John's abode
 # 1:80
 so that he began preaching where he was. It was the plain
 # Ge 13:10
 or valley of the Jordan, El Ghor, as far north as Succoth
 # 2Ch 4:17
 Sometimes he was on the eastern bank of the Jordan
 # Joh 10:40
 though usually on the west side. His baptizing kept him near the
 river. \\The baptism of repentance unto remission of sins\\ (\\baptisma\\
 \\metanoias eis aphesin hamarti“n\\). The same phrase as in
 # Mr 1:4
 which see for discussion of these important words. The word
 remission (\\aphesis\\) "occurs in Luke more frequently than in all
 the other New Testament writers combined" (Vincent). In medical
 writers it is used for the relaxing of disease.

01885
 \\As it is written\\ (\\h“s gegraptai\\). The regular formula for
 quotation, perfect passive indicative of \\graph“\\. \\Isaiah the\\
 \\prophet\\ (\\Esaiou tou prophˆtou\\). The same phrase in
 # Mr 1:2
 (correct text) and
 # Mt 3:3
 Mark, as we have seen, adds a quotation from
 # Mal 3:1
 and Luke gives verses 4 and 5 of
 # Isa. 40
 not in Matthew or Mark
 # Lu 3:5,6
 See
 # Mt 3:3; Mr 1:3
 for discussion of Luke 4:4.

01886
 \\Valley\\ (\\pharagx\\). Here only in the N.T., though in the LXX and
 ancient Greek. It is a ravine or valley hedged in by precipices.
 \\Shall be filled\\ (\\plˆr“thˆsetai\\). Future passive indicative of
 \\plˆro“\\. In 1845 when the Sultan visited Brusa the inhabitants
 were called out to clear the roads of rocks and to fill up the
 hollows. Oriental monarchs often did this very thing. A royal
 courier would go ahead to issue the call. So the Messiah sends
 his herald (John) before him to prepare the way for him. Isaiah
 described the preparation for the Lord's triumphal march and John
 used it with great force. \\Hill\\ (\\bounos\\). Called a Cyrenaic word
 by Herodotus, but later Greek writers use it as does the LXX.
 \\Brought low\\ (\\tapein“thˆsetai\\). Future passive indicative of
 \\tapeino“\\. Literal meaning here of a verb common in the
 metaphorical sense. \\Crooked\\ (\\skolia\\). Common word, curved,
 opposite of \\orthos\\ or \\euthus\\, straight.

01887
 \\All flesh\\ (\\pƒsa sarx\\). Used in the N.T. of the human race alone,
 though in the LXX brutes are included. \\The salvation of God\\ (\\to\\
 \\sotˆrion tou theou\\). The saving act of God. This phrase aptly
 describes Luke's Gospel which has in mind the message of Christ
 for all men. It is the universal Gospel.

01888
 \\To the multitude that went out\\ (\\tois exporeuomenois ochlois\\).
 Plural, \\Multitudes\\. The present participle also notes the
 repetition of the crowds as does \\elegen\\ (imperfect), he used to
 say.
 # Mt 3:7-10
 singles out the message of John to the Pharisees and Sadducees,
 which see for discussion of details. Luke gives a summary of his
 preaching to the crowds with special replies to these inquiries:
 the multitudes,
 # 10,11
 the publicans
 # 12,13
 the soldiers
 # 14
 \\To be baptized of him\\ (\\baptisthˆnai hup' autou\\). This is the
 purpose of their coming.
 # Mt 3:7
 has simply "to his baptism." John's metaphors are from the
 wilderness (vipers, fruits, axe, slave boy loosing sandals, fire,
 fan, thrashing-floor, garner, chaff, stones). \\Who warned you?\\
 (\\tis hepedeixen humin;\\). The verb is like our "suggest" by proof
 to eye, ear, or brain
 # Lu 6:47; 12:5; Ac 9:16; 20:35; Mt 3:7
 Nowhere else in the N.T. though common ancient word
 (\\hupodeiknumi\\, show under, point out, give a tip or private
 hint).

01889
01890
01891
 \\Asked\\ (\\epˆr“t“n\\). Imperfect tense, repeatedly asked. \\What then\\
 \\must we do?\\ (\\ti oun poiˆs“men;\\). Deliberative aorist subjunctive.
 More exactly, \\What then are we to do\\, \\What then shall we do?\\ Same
 construction in verses
 # 12,14
 The \\oun\\ refers to the severe things already said by John
 # Lu 3:7-9

01892
 \\Coats\\ (\\chit“nas\\). The inner and less necessary undergarment. The
 outer indispensable \\himation\\ is not mentioned. Note the specific
 and different message to each class. John puts his finger on the
 weaknesses of the people right before him.

01893
 \\Also publicans\\ (\\kai tel“nai\\). We have had the word already in
 Matthew
 # Mt 5:46; 9:10; 11:19; 18:17; 21:31
 and Mark
 # Mr 11:15
 It is sometimes coupled with harlots and other sinners, the
 outcasts of society. The word is made up from \\telos\\, tax, and
 \\“neomai\\, to buy, and is an old one. The renter or collector of
 taxes was not popular anywhere, but least of all when a Jew
 collected taxes for the Romans and did it by terrible graft and
 extortions. \\Extort\\ (\\prassete\\). The verb means only to do or
 practice, but early the tax-collectors learned how to "do" the
 public as regular "blood-suckers." Lucian links them with crows
 and sycophants.

01894
01895
 \\Soldiers also\\ (\\kai strateuomenoi\\). Men on service, _militantes_
 rather than _milites_ (Plummer). So Paul in
 # 2Ti 2:4
 An old word like \\strati“tˆs\\, soldier. Some of these soldiers
 acted as police to help the publicans. But they were often rough
 and cruel. \\Do violence to no man\\ (\\mˆdena diaseisˆte\\). Here only
 in the N.T., but in the LXX and common in ancient Greek. It means
 to shake (seismic disturbance, earthquake) thoroughly (\\dia\\) and
 so thoroughly to terrify, to extort money or property by
 intimidating (3Macc. 7:21). The Latin employs _concutere_, so. It
 was a process of blackmail to which Socrates refers (Xenophon,
 _Memorabilia_, ii. 9,1). This was a constant temptation to
 soldiers. Might does not make right with Jesus. \\Neither exact\\
 \\anything wrongfully\\ (\\mˆde sukophantˆsˆte\\). In Athens those whose
 business it was to inform against any one whom they might find
 exporting figs out of Attica were called fig-showers or
 sycophants (\\sukophantai\\). From \\sukon\\, fig, and \\phain“\\, show.
 Some modern scholars reject this explanation since no actual
 examples of the word meaning merely a fig-shower have been found.
 But without this view it is all conjectural. From the time of
 Aristophanes on it was used for any malignant informer or
 calumniator. These soldiers were tempted to obtain money by
 informing against the rich, blackmail again. So the word comes to
 mean to accuse falsely. The sycophants came to be a regular class
 of informers or slanderers in Athens. Socrates is quoted by
 Xenophon as actually advising Crito to employ one in
 self-defence, like the modern way of using one gunman against
 another. Demosthenes pictures a sycophant as one who "glides
 about the market like a scorpion, with his venomous sting all
 ready, spying out whom he may surprise with misfortune and ruin
 and from whom he can most easily extort money, by threatening him
 with an action dangerous in its consequences" (quoted by
 Vincent). The word occurs only in Luke in the N.T., here and in
 # Lu 19:8
 in the confession of Zaccheus. It occurs in the LXX and often in
 the old Greek. \\Be content with your wages\\ (\\arkeisthe tois\\
 \\ops“niois hum“n\\). Discontent with wages was a complaint of
 mercenary soldiers. This word for wages was originally anything
 cooked (\\opson\\, cooked food), and bought (from \\“neomai\\, to buy).
 Hence, "rations," "pay," wages. \\Opsarion\\, diminutive of \\opson\\,
 was anything eaten with bread like broiled fish. So \\ops“nion\\
 comes to mean whatever is bought to be eaten with bread and then
 a soldier's pay or allowance (Polybius, and other late Greek
 writers) as in
 # 1Co 9:7
 Paul uses the singular of a preacher's pay
 # 2Co 11:8
 and the plural of the wages of sin
 # Ro 6:23
 = death (death is the diet of sin).

01896
 \\Were in expectation\\ (\\prosdok“ntos\\). Genitive absolute of this
 striking verb already seen in
 # 1:21
 \\Reasoned\\ (\\dialogizomen“n\\). Genitive absolute again. John's
 preaching about the Messiah and the kingdom of God stirred the
 people deeply and set them to wondering. \\Whether haply he were\\
 \\the Christ\\ (\\mˆpote autos eiˆ ho Christos\\). Optative \\eiˆ\\ in
 indirect question changed from the indicative in the direct
 (Robertson, _Grammar_, p. 1031). John wrought no miracles and was
 not in David's line and yet he moved people so mightily that they
 began to suspect that he himself (\\autos\\) was the Messiah. The
 Sanhedrin will one day send a formal committee to ask him this
 direct question
 # Joh 1:19

01897
 \\He that is mightier than I\\ (\\ho ischuroteros mou\\). Like
 # Mr 1:7
 "the one mightier than I." Ablative case (\\mou\\) of comparison.
 John would not turn aside for the flattery of the crowd. He was
 able to take his own measure in comparison with the Messiah and
 was loyal to him (see my _John the Loyal_). Compare
 # Lu 3:16
 with
 # Mr 1:7
 and
 # Mt 3:11
 for discussion of details. Luke has "fire" here after "baptize
 with the Holy Ghost" as
 # Mt 3:11
 which see. This bold Messianic picture in the Synoptic Gospels
 shows that John saw the Messiah's coming as a judgment upon the
 world like fire and the fan of the thrashing-floor, and with
 unquenchable fire for the chaff
 # Lu 3:17; Mt 3:12
 But he had the spiritual conception also, the baptism in the Holy
 Spirit which will characterize the Messiah's Mission and so will
 far transcend the water baptism which marked the ministry of
 John.

01898
01899
 \\Many other exhortations\\ (\\polla men oun kai hetera\\). Literally,
 many and different things did John \\evangelize\\, \\euaggelizeto\\, to
 the people. Luke has given a bare sample of the wonderful
 messages of the Baptist. Few as his words preserved are they give
 a definite and powerful conception of his preaching.