Jesus’ birth was a deeply subversive affair in at least a few ways. Last time, we looked at how Luke and the angels subvert Roman authority and emperor cult, but the Incarnation was also deeply subversive to Jewish hopes and expectations, particularly for national hopes of rebellion. This subversion of expectations and hopes comes fromContinue reading “Taxes and Death: Incarnation and Subversion (Luke 2)”
Tag Archives: Luke
Gods, Angels, and Emperors: Subversion and Incarnation (Luke 2)
Jesus’ birth was a deeply subversive affair in at least a few ways. Perhaps most obviously, the proclamation of the angels recorded by Luke was a direct assault upon the power of the Roman Emperor. When Augustus was finally crowned in 9 BC, the assembly explains their reasoning thus: Divine providence which orders our livesContinue reading “Gods, Angels, and Emperors: Subversion and Incarnation (Luke 2)”
Animals and Babies, Homes and Barns: Why Modern Perceptions Conceal the Point of the Nativity
When Luke sets out to tell the story of Jesus’s life in his gospel, he includes a well-known description of his birth. The ESV (which I normally like!), reads: In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governorContinue reading “Animals and Babies, Homes and Barns: Why Modern Perceptions Conceal the Point of the Nativity”
Recovery of Sight to the Blind: Luke, the MT, and the LXX
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4.18–19).Continue reading “Recovery of Sight to the Blind: Luke, the MT, and the LXX”
Midrashic Reading and the Temptation of Christ in Luke (Power and Authority)
One of the most famous stories in the Gospels is Satan’s testing of Christ in the wilderness (Luke 4.1–13). Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from his baptism at the Jordan and was led by the Spirit through the wilderness for forty days, tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, soContinue reading “Midrashic Reading and the Temptation of Christ in Luke (Power and Authority)”
Ben Neviim 