Luke

1:39-56

The mission of the Messiah, 1:5-9:50

1. Prophecies concerning the coming messiah, 1:5-2:40

iii] The prophecy of Mary

The first literary unit of Luke's gospel, 1:5-2:40, consists of prophecies about the coming Messiah. The messianic age is about to dawn and so Luke shapes the opening of his gospel into a series of prophecies concerning the coming kingdom. In this third prophecy, Luke has Mary speaking of Israel's deliverance. God "has manifested his supreme strength" to redeem "his servant" Israel, and this in the terms of the promise made to Abraham: "I will give to you and to your descendants..... the land...... for an everlasting possession." Mary rejoices for she is to share in this deliverance, yet even more so, because God has chosen her as the mother of the Deliverer.

The Lord has revealed to Mary the wondrous blessing visited upon her relative and so, in response, she rushes off to witness God's word realized in Elizabeth, as well as to tell Elizabeth of her own joy (wonder, shock, horror, ....!).

en taiV hJmeraiV tautaiV "at that time" - in those days. For Luke, possibly a connective, or just expressing a short interval, "not long after this", Weymouth.

anastasa (anisthmi) aor. part. "got ready" - having arisen. Attendant circumstance participle identifying action accompanying the main verb "went". There are numerous possibilities, since the word is often used to express the commencement of an action, eg. "set out", NJB, although literally, "got up", Williams.

eporeuqh .... meta spoudhV "hurried" - travelled with haste. "Went as quickly as she could", NJB; possibly "with eagerness", Nolland.

eiV polin Iouda "to a town [in the hill country] of Judea" - The destination is unknown. Some commentators have suggested that the reference is to an actual town, but that the text was corrupted.

hkousen (akouw) aor. + acc. "heard [Mary's greeting]" - "Heard" with the accusative refers to the thing spoken, as here; with the genitive "heard" would refer to the speaker.

eskirthsen (skirtaw) aor. "leaped" - leaped, jumped, sprung. There is nothing unusual in fetal movement, but Elizabeth takes it as a sign, given that her unborn child has sensed the presence of Mary, God's "blessed" one. "The baby stirred in her womb", Barclay.

eplhsqh (pimplhmi) aor. pas. "was filled" - The aorist indicating immediate action. As is typical of Luke/Acts, a person filled with the Spirit proclaims, preaches. This very much reflects a momentary divine empowering for prophetic utterance, a "filling" common to the Old Testament. A regenerative filling of the Spirit is not intended.

anefwnhsen kraugh/ megalh/ "in a loud voice she exclaimed" - she cried out with a cry loud. Possibly Elizabeth's words are in the form of a hymn, but more likely an enthusiastic declaration. "Burst into speech", Barclay.

euloghmenh (eulogew) perf. pas. part. "blessed" - having been blessed. The predicate participle may express a wish, but more likely a statement of fact. The perfect tense expressing a past action with ongoing consequences. Possibly in a state of divine grace, but more likely having been divinely favored, in this case, given the honour to bear the messiah. A similar sense for "the child" as well; divinely favoured = set apart as the messiah - the divine Son.

en gunaixin (h aikoV) "among women" - in women. A Hebraic superlative, although a comparative is possible. "You are the most favored of women", Goodspeed.

toqen "why" - from where, where. Possibly introducing a question, as NIV, or expressing surprise, "what an honour it is to have the mother of my Lord come to see me", Phillips.

iJna + subj. "that" - Forming an appositional (possibly epexegetic, less likely, purpose or consequence) clause, "that/namely."

tou kuriou mou "my Lord" - the lord, master of me. Expressing respect, not divine status, so "mother of the messiah."

proV eme "to me?" - Emphatic.

gar "-" - for. Introducing an explanation of why Elizabeth is amazed.

idou "-" - behold. Serving to introduce an important statement. "I tell you", REB.

hJ fwnh "the sound" - Mary's voice stirred the fetus, not the greeting itself.

en agalliasei (iV ewV) "for joy" - in extreme gladness, exultation. Interestingly, this emotion is attributed to the fetus, rather than the mother. This has prompted debate as to whether John has knowingly responded to Mary's presence.

makaria adj. "blessed" - blessed, happy. Favoured, "fortunate", Nolland.

hJ pisteusasa (pisteuw) aor. part. "she who has believed" - the one having believed. The participle functions as a substantive. Referring to Mary's response as an example of faith, of taking God at his word.

oJti "that" - that. Possibly introducing the reason for her present "blessed" state, ie. causal, "because", or introducing a dependent statement expressing the content of her blessed state, namely "who believes that fulfilment will come", Bock.

teleiwsiV (iV ewV) "accomplished" - a fulfillment (as in the execution of a plan), completion (as in nothing need be added, or of something finished). "Because you believed that he will keep his promise", CEV.

The Song of Mary is in the form of a hymn of praise directed to God for his kindness toward Mary, with particular reference to remnant Israel. The ongoing debate on source may be of interest, but adds little of substance, cf. Bock 142-145.

megalunei hJ yuch mou "my soul glorifies" - exalts the soul of me. A technical term expressing an act of praise that emerges from deep within our being. Following Hebrew parallelism, the thought is repeated in v47. "With my heart I praise the Lord and am glad", CEV.

hgalliasen (agalliaw) aor. "rejoices" - rejoiced. Unlike "glorifies", v46, which takes the present tense, the verb here is aorist and therefore possibly gnomic, expressing a timeless sense, so Fitzmyer, or better, ingressive, where the emphasis falls on the beginning of the action; "my spirit has begun to delight", Nolland.

oJti "for" - because. Causal.

epebleyen (epiblepw) aor. "he has been mindful" - he looked on with care [upon]. Used of a loving preference toward another person, so another way of saying that God has favoured Mary.

thn tapeinwsin (iV ewV) "the humble state" - humiliation, lowliness, afflicted state. Here probably of Mary's low social position - she was favoured despite her social position.

thV doulhV autou "his servant" - of the bondmaid of him. Further underlining Mary's lowly state.

makariousin (makarizw) fut. "will call me blessed" - will consider blessed. Mary "will be considered favoured by God" because of the "great things" done by God through her, v49.

oJti "for" - because. Mary gives another reason for her praise.

megala oJ dunatoV "the Mighty One" - The God of the impossible; "the one who is able", Nolland.

moi dat. "for me" - to, for me. Dative of advantage.

aJgion to onoma autou "holy is his name" - holy the name of him. God is a unique God, a set-apart God. "He whose name is holy", TH/Brouwer.

An allusion to Psalm 103:17.

to eleoV (oV) "mercy" - compassion, pity. Reflecting the Old Testament sense of God's covenant loyalty and loving kindness toward Israel, his hesed, Heb., "his faithful love", NJB.

toiV foboumenoiV (fobew) dat. pres. pas. part. "to those who fear" - to the ones fearing. The participle functions as a substantive. The word "fear" does not mean "scared", but rather is used of those who "acknowledge God's position and authority", Bock. "Respect / reverence."

eiV geneaV kai geneaV "from generation to generation" - to generations and generations. "His mercy extends to all people in all ages."

Verses 51-52 most likely refers to Israel's enemies.

epoihsen (poiew) aor. "he has performed" - he did, made [might]. The aorist tense, as with the ones that follow in v51-54, has been interpreted variously: i] past (referring to God's past actions); ii] gnomic (expressing a universal truth); iii] parallel to the Heb. iterative perfect (the weight is on the past action rather than the present state); and iv] prophetic (referring to divine action in the last day, although in typical prophetic style, God's salvation is "now", just as much as it is "not yet"), cf. Bock 154. Gnomic (always acts this way), iterative perfect (has acted and continues to act this way), or prophetic (acts and will act this way) seem best. So, best translated with a present tense (although rarely so). Probably "performed", as NIV, but "displayed" / "shown", Phillips, is possible. "He acts mightily with the strength of his arm."

bracioni (wn onoV) "arm" - Of course, a figurative use (an anthropomorphism) is intended, so simply, "he performs mighty deeds."

dieskorpisen (diaskorpizw) aor. "scattered" - Most likely referring to the scattering of Israel's enemies.

uJperhfanouV adj. "those who are proud" - haughty, arrogant, presumptuous. Those "confident in their own achievements", Nolland.

dianoia/ kardiaV autwn "in their inmost thoughts" - in the thoughts of their hearts. Deep seated thoughts, therefore an arrogance that is ingrained. "He has swept away the high and mighty", Phillips.

kaqeilen (kaqairew) aor. "he has brought down" - he brought down, put down, tore down. The verb expresses vigorous action.

uJywsen (uJyow) aor. "has lifted up" - lifted up on high. "Exalted."

tapeinouV (oV) "the humble" - those of low estate. Clearly the remnant of Israel is in mind. It is they who are oppressed by God's enemies - secular authorities, etc.

peinwntaV (peinaw) pres. part. "the hungry" - hungering. Although anarthrous, the participle functions as a substantive. With regard the reversal motif here, is it an actual or spiritual reversal? Probably we have a typical Jewish motif of national reversal to be realized in the blessings of the promised land, which blessings Jesus reinterprets in eschatological terms, cf. Danker (Proclamation Commentaries).

agaqwn gen. adj. "with good things" - of good. Genitive of content, as NIV.

antelabeto (antilambanw) aor. "he has helped" - he helped (in the sense of to lay hold of to assist or support). "He has succored his servant Israel", Moffatt.

mnhsqhnai (mimnhskomai) aor. pas. inf. "remembering" - to remember. The infinitive possibly forms a result clause, "with the result that," but probably causal, "because," "mindful of his faithful love", RJB, possibly even similar to a Hebrew infinitive which expresses a parallel thought, as NIV, but probably not purpose, "so as to remember his mercy", Williams. It seems reasonable to argue that divine action is motivated by divine love.

A syntactical problem exists in handling the two phrases found in the Greek "just as he spoke to our Fathers, to Abraham and his offspring, into the ages." The NIV views "just as he spoke to our Fathers" as a parenthetical remark concerning those who hold the information of God's intention to remember his people, while "to Abraham and his offspring" identifies the one (the people) whom God remembers. The other possible translation is to take both phrases as appositional, "as he promised our forefathers - (that is) To Abraham and his posterity for ever", Weymouth.

tw/ Abraam dat. "to Abraham" - A dative of interest or advantage if the NIV approach is adopted, or if appositional, "spoke" is followed either by pros with the accusative, or as here, by the dative. The Lord remembers his remnant elect, Abraham, his servant Israel, forever, and we share that merciful remembering in Christ.

de "-" - but, and. Serving to define the end of the hymn.

wJV "about" - like. "Approximately" three month, indicating that Mary probably stayed till the birth of John, although Luke doesn't confirm this.

Luke Introduction

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