Preaching Through Luke: The Gospel as Catechism

By James C. Goodloe IV

Luke wrote this Gospel so "that you [Theophilus] may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught [i.e., catechesis]" (1:4). It proceeds with a barrage of questions.
The first comes from Zechariah: "How shall I know?" (1:18). This is a question of knowledge. The angel Gabriel answers that we shall know by the word of God (1:19).
The second comes from Mary: "How will this be?" (1:34). This is a question of agency, of how the Son of God can become human. Gabriel answers that it will be by the power of God (1:35).
The third comes from Elizabeth: "Why me?" (1:43). Why should the gospel of Jesus Christ come to her? Mary answers that it has to do with God's choice, election, mercy, and salvation (1:47-55).
The fourth has to do with John: "What then will this child be?" (1:66). Zechariah answers that he will be a prophet (1:76-79). John is not the Christ, but he will go before the Christ.
Thus begins the catechism according to Luke, a series of questions in order that we may have certainty concerning the things we have been taught.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Release date: Jan 22, 2014
• ISBN: 9781630872632

James C. Goodloe IV

James C. Goodloe IV (PhD, University of Chicago) is a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), having served churches in Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia. He is now the executive director of the Foundation for Reformed Theology (www.foundationrt.org), working to reform and build up the church, especially by helping ministers to be better preachers, better teachers, and better pastors.

Book preview

Preface

I

t was Hughes Oliphant

Old, in his Worship That Is Reformed According to Scripture,¹ who first opened my eyes to the history and importance of lectio continua preaching, which is reading and preaching through the Bible, book by book, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse, in order, without omitting sections. He also gave me courage to pursue such preaching yet today.

Old’s book has been reissued in a revised and expanded edition as Worship Reformed According to Scripture. Here is some of what he has written about our goodly heritage of lectio continua preaching:

Origen (ca.

185

–ca.

254

) . . . preached through the books of the Old Testament one by one. Today we have some twenty of his sermons on Genesis, about fifteen on Exodus, and a similar number on the other historical books. . . . The ministry of Origen was to preach through the whole of the Bible, book by book, chapter by chapter.

John Chrysostom (ca.

347

–

407

) . . . preached through most of the books of the New Testament. We have eighty-nine sermons on the Gospel of Matthew. When we look at these sermons, we discover that he proceeds through the whole of the Gospel explaining the text verse by verse.

Ambrose of Milan (ca.

339

–

97

) . . . preached in Milan, the capital of the Western empire, at the same time John Chrysostom filled the pulpit in Antioch. Ambrose fascinated his congregation with his expositions of the Old Testament.

Augustine of Hippo (

354

–

430

) . . . preached a lectio continua.

Ulrich Zwingli (

1481

–

1531

) . . . started out by taking the Gospel of Matthew and preaching through it verse by verse, day after day for a whole year. To use the technical term, he preached a lectio continua of the Gospel of Matthew. . . . Zwingli began his reform with a return to the classical practice of systematic expository preaching. . . . Like a Swiss John Chrysostom he preached through the Bible, verse by verse, one book at a time.

John Oecolampadius (

1482

–

1531

) . . . became preacher at St. Mark’s Church, where he set to work preaching, just as John Chrysostom had done, through one book of the Bible after another.

Matthew Zell (

1477

–

1548

) . . . began his ministry by preaching through the four Gospels.

Wolfgang Capito (

1478

–

1541

) . . . preached through Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.

Martin Bucer (

1491

–

1551

) . . . did a long series of sermons on the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of John, the first epistle of Peter and the book of Psalms. . . . If the Gospels were preached though in course on Sunday morning, then the New Testament Epistles were preached through either later on Sunday, at vespers perhaps, or else at the daily preaching services. It was the same with the Old Testament books.

John Calvin (

1509

–

64

) introduced [this approach] to Geneva and . . . those who were exiled during the reign of Queen Mary (

1553

–

58

) took [it] with them when they returned to England and Scotland. The exposition of Scripture in course became one of the biggest planks in their platform of Christian revival. To them it was an essential component of Christian worship that was according to Scripture and after the example of the early church. . . . Sunday morning Calvin normally preached through the Gospels or the Acts of the Apostles. At Sunday vespers he would preach through the Psalms or perhaps a New Testament epistle. On weekday mornings he preached through Old Testament books. . . . Calvin preached through most of the books of the Bible, and he preached his way slowly through each book. Normally, he took three to six verses at a time. This system produced, for example,

123

sermons on Genesis,

200

sermons on Deuteronomy,

159

sermons on Job,

176

sermons on

1

and

2

Corinthians, and

43

sermons on Galatians. . . . His life’s work was to preach through the whole Bible.

John Knox (

1513

–

72

) . . . became preacher at St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh. There he exercised as dramatic and powerful a preaching ministry as any preacher in the history of Christendom. . . . He did this in the course of expository preaching, never departing from the text of Scripture.²

How could I do any other? So it was that at Gilwood Presbyterian Church, in Concord, North Carolina, I began preaching through the books of the Bible, particularly the New Testament. I spent more than five years going through Matthew (1991–1992), Mark (1992–1993), Luke (1993–1995), and John (1995–1996). I can honestly say that it was the most important thing I have ever done in regard to preaching. After that, I preached through some of the shorter letters. I am very grateful to Gilwood for the opportunity and privilege of doing this.

Subsequently I was called to be the pastor of Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, in Richmond, Virginia. In addition to preaching through Matthew (1999–2001), Mark (2002–2003), Luke (2004–2006), and John (2006–2007) again, I also preached through the Acts of the Apostles (2001–2002), Romans (2003–2004), Philippians (1999), 1 and 2 Timothy (2006), Titus (2006), Philemon (2006), 1, 2, and 3 John (1999), and Jude (2006), as well as substantial portions of other letters. Again, I am very grateful to Grace Covenant for the opportunity and privilege of doing this.

Most recently, it has been my privilege to supply the pulpits of Mattoax and Pine Grove Presbyterian Churches of Amelia County, Virginia. My wife, Deborah Campbell Goodloe, who is a deacon and a Christian educator, grew up in the Pine Grove Church. Her father, William Wallace Campbell, who was an elder, is buried there. It has been good for us to reconnect with these churches, and the sermons in this volume were preached there. I am grateful to Mattoax and Pine Grove for the opportunity and privilege of revisiting 1, 2, and 3 John, Jude, and Philemon, and now also Luke, preaching from all of them yet again.

The following collection of sermons could be titled Questions for Theophilus. Luke notes in 1:4 that the volume had been written that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught [i.e., catechesis]. The rest of the gospel contains a barrage of questions, almost catechetical in nature. Many of those are reflected in the titles of these sermons. The questions usually point to what is important in the passage, both for Theophilus and for us.

For instance, the very first question in the gospel and, not insignificantly, in response to gospel, comes from Zechariah: How shall I know this? (1:18). This is a question of knowledge, particularly of the basis of saving faith. It would be a good first question for Theophilus and for us. The answer given by the angel Gabriel is that we shall know by the word of God (1:19). Even with Gabriel no longer present, that continued to be the case for Theophilus and continues to be so for us.

The second question comes from Mary: How will this be? (1:34). This is a question not so much of biology as of theology. The issue is not so much virgin birth as incarnation. The question is how the Son of God can become human. That would be a good second question for Theophilus and for us. The answer, again from Gabriel, is that it will be by the power of God (1:35). Again, this continues to be valid for us.

The third question comes from Elizabeth: Why me? (1:43). Why should the gospel of Jesus Christ come to her, or to Theophilus, or, even more strangely, to us yet today? Why? As Mary answers in her song, it all has to do with God’s choice, election, mercy, and salvation (1:47–55). It has nothing to do with us, our deservingness, or even the lack thereof. It is sheer grace.

The fourth question comes from the neighbors of Elizabeth and Zechariah, through all the hill country of Judea, in regard to the birth of their child of the Lord’s great mercy, strangely named John: What then will this child be? (1:66). This time Zechariah, who once again can speak, gives the answer that he will be a prophet of God (1:76–79). John is not the Christ, but he will go before the Christ. No one else, prophet or apostle, priest or preacher, is the Christ. Jesus alone is Christ.

Thus begins the catechism according to Luke, a series of questions for Theophilus and so for us, in order that both he and we may have certainty concerning the things we have been taught. The catechism continues to the end of the gospel, with the risen Lord Jesus Christ himself asking the last questions. See Appendix A below for additional consideration of the questions in Luke.

Note that these first four questions in Luke have to do with epistemology, agency, election, and identity. These lay the groundwork for everything else. Moreover, the answer to the first question (How shall I know?) is the word of God; how very interesting that the first chapter of the Westminster Confession of Faith is on the Bible. The answer to the second question (How Will This Be?) is the power of God; the second chapter of Westminster is on God. And the answer to the third question (Why Me?) is divine election; the third chapter of Westminster is on God’s eternal decrees. I am not suggesting that Westminster consciously followed the order of Luke. I am saying that this is a good order in which to treat these questions.

Through most of the years of my preaching, I have used the Revised Standard Version of the Bible. After years of anticipation, I used the New Revised Standard Version briefly. In fact, I was reading Mark 8 the day I put it down. Verse 34 reads, according to the NRSV, If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Besides being perfectly barbarous English (how many people would be on that cross?), using plurals to avoid male pronouns, those very evasions made it also seem to me to fall under the condemnation of the subsequent verse 38: Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels (NRSV, again with the unwarranted plurals). By the time I preached the following sermons, I had begun to use the English Standard Version (ESV), which I have found to be a most faithful and felicitous translation.

I should note that in my studies of the Bible I have learned much from the commentaries of John Calvin. I should also note that in my study of theology I have learned much from John Calvin and from John H. Leith. The latter also did much to encourage my preaching.

As I have continued forward in lectio continua preaching, I have been much encouraged by the preaching ministries of my colleagues David Wood and Steve Bryant, who joined me along the way in this adventure. I have recently learned of others who also preach lectio continua: Ron Scates, Jeffrey Wilson, Louis Williams, and Bob Fuller. I am also grateful for help and encouragement not only from Hughes Oliphant Old but also from Stan Hall (now deceased) and Richard A. Ray. In fact, following the publication of a few articles about this in Presbyterian Outlook, I identified more than fifty ministers who preach in this way. I would appreciate hearing from others who do so.

My daughter, Campbell Goodloe Hackett, was a student at Princeton Theological Seminary. One of her New Testament professors, the late Dr. Donald Juel, once introduced a text from Mark to the class and suggested that almost no one had ever heard a sermon on it. My daughter put up her hand. He was dubious, but Campbell said that she had grown up in a church where the minister preached straight through the books of the Bible, including Mark. Juel was shocked that anyone did that. My question is, why is such preaching unusual? It could and should be the norm.

I am more keenly aware of the shortcomings of the following sermons than are any who heard them or any who will read them. I offer them here less for any illusions I have about the value of their content and more for the importance of the substantive and historic pattern of preaching the Bible lectio continua, submitting ourselves to the authority of the Word. That can still be done today! Here is the proof. It is my prayer that others will be made bold to follow in this way and to do better than I have done.

Dr. James C. Goodloe IV

Executive Director

Foundation for Reformed Theology

4103 Monument Avenue

Richmond, VA 23230

www.foundationrt.org

August 2, 2013

1. Old, Worship That Is Reformed, Ministry of the Word,

57

–

85

.

2. Old, Worship Reformed,

63

–

78

, emphasis added. For a fuller treatment, see Old, The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures, seven volumes.

1

How Shall I Know?

❃

Luke 1:1–25; Daniel 9:1–15, 20–23

"

Inasmuch as many have

undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught."

Here in the first sentence of the Gospel according to Luke we have a statement of the purpose of the book: it was written in order that you—which at the time referred to Theophilus but which now includes all of us who read the gospel—may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. This whole book is here today for us to know the gospel of Jesus Christ, for us to know the content of the Christian faith, for us to know the good news of God, and for us to believe it and to obey it. Thanks be to God!

Given this purpose of the Gospel according to Luke, it is no accident that the first question asked in this book, by the first person we meet in this book, is simply, How shall I know this? How shall I know? Zechariah asks this in regard to what Gabriel has told him, but it also has a broader meaning and application. Luke records it because it is a good and important question for Theophilus. More than that, Luke records it because it is a good and important question for us. The purpose of the book is for us to have certainty, and the first question is, How? How shall we know? How shall we know the gospel of Jesus Christ? How shall we know the good news of God? How shall we know the content of the Christian faith? How shall we know? This is still our question. We need an answer, here at the beginning of the gospel, before we go any farther. How shall we know? We need an answer, on this day in our lives, so that we may move forward in the faith. How shall we know?

The answer is swift. The angel answered him, ‘I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.’ It is as if Gabriel was astonished at the question. His answer, in effect, is, I just told you! That is how you will know. And yet, there is much more going on here. And even if Gabriel was astonished at Zechariah’s question, we are not, because his question is our question, and we want to know the answer. So what is this answer?

The word angel means messenger. A messenger is someone who carries and delivers a message for someone else. A messenger does not invent the message. A messenger does not write the message. A messenger is not to interpret the message. A messenger is not to tamper with the message. A messenger carries and delivers a message for someone else. This is what the word angel means.

In this case, Gabriel is an angel of the Lord. That is different. Gabriel stands in the presence of God. Gabriel is sent from God to speak to Zechariah, just as he had been sent to speak to Daniel. That is who Gabriel is. That is what Gabriel does. He is an angel of the Lord who carries a message from the Lord to the people of God. On the one hand this sounds fantastic. Very few people have contact with angels. And yet on the other hand, this very device, this very method of delivering the message, plays down the importance of the messenger and plays up the content of the message itself. That is, the angel is not the point of the story. The message that the angel brings, the word from God to the people of God, that is the point of the story. And we have the message. It would not matter if we never had access to an angel again. What the angel brought is the word of God, and that, my friends, we still have today. That is what we have in this very gospel. That is the answer to our question. That is how we shall know. We shall know by the word of God. Thanks be to God!

It has been observed that angels appear in connection with the birth of Jesus Christ and in connection with the resurrection of Jesus Christ, before his resurrections appearances. In the time between his birth and resurrection, and in the time of his resurrection appearances, it is Jesus himself who speaks for, and on behalf of, God. Thus we have not only the word of angels who as messengers bring the word of God, but we have also and even more the word of Jesus Christ himself. Again, none of us has ever met him in the flesh. It appears that Theophilus had not done so. And yet, we still have the teachings of Jesus Christ. We have his words. We have what he said. We have his gospel. That is what is written down in this book through which we are about to read, hear, preach, and listen. It is not the "Gospel of Luke. Instead, it is the Gospel according to Luke." That is because it is the gospel of Jesus Christ! This is the word we have. This is how we shall know.

Short of meeting Jesus Christ in the flesh, short of receiving a visit from Gabriel, how are we to know that the word of Scripture is the word of God? This is an extraordinarily important question and one that has engaged the church for centuries. Several possible answers have been considered and then set aside as inadequate. For instance (1), we do not regard the Bible as the word of God simply because it is ancient. Other writings are as old or older. And there was a day, of course, when the Bible was brand new. So, its antiquity does not establish that it is the word of God. Again (2), we do not regard the Bible as the word of God simply because the church says so. That would be to get things backwards. It was the word of God, communicated through the Bible, which called the church into existence. The church acknowledges the Bible as the word of God, but the acknowledgment does not make it so. And the church’s authority is not sufficient to make it so. Moreover (3), we do not regard the Bible as the word of God because of its internal coherence, though it does demonstrate a remarkable coherence for a document written by many human hands over several centuries in at least three different languages. Finally (4), we do not regard the Bible as the word of God because it measures up to any outer standard, for that would in and of itself acknowledge something else as a higher standard than the word of God, which would be a contradiction.

Instead, we do acknowledge the Bible as the word of God because, and only because, it produces within us the inner conviction that it is the word of God. Yes, that is circular. But it is also personal. The word of God is self-authenticating. Either it convinces us, or it does not. If it does, nothing can take that away from us. If it does not, nothing else can give that to us. In that division of humanity, between those who acknowledge the Bible as the word of God and those who do not, lays a great mystery. The division does not have to do with intelligence. It does not have to do with prior faith. Faith comes from the word of God, not the other way around. It does not have to do with our deserving, for then none of us would receive the word. The mystery seems, instead, to have to do with the election of God, with the free and not outwardly determined choice on the part of God alone as to whom he wishes to hear and to believe.

That is to say, the word of God is independent. It is outside and beyond our control. It cannot be tamed. It cannot be domesticated. It can, perhaps, be used and abused, but not for long. It will not tolerate such foolishness. The word of God is a great and consuming fire, and it is also a spring of living water. It is an absolute standard which humbles us, and it is a word of grace which lifts us up and makes us alive. If you know it, you know what I am talking about.

As for the personal aspect of the word, consider these parallels: If your wife tells you that she loves you, either she convinces you of that or she does not. No one else can convince you of it. If your husband tells you that he loves you, either he convinces you of that or he does not. There are outward patterns of behavior that tend to confirm that or not, that are consistent or not, that are supportive or not, that are appropriate or not. Those are extraordinarily important. And some of us men are not too bright! And yet, a profession of love either awakens a corresponding awareness of love or it does not. Thus, a profession of love is personal. It is not academic. It is not scientific. It is not political. It is personal. And it is either convincing or not. The word of God is at least somewhat like that. Either you hear the word of God as the word of God, or you do not. Either you hear the voice of our creator, or you do not. Either you hear the grace of our redeemer, or you do not. If so, you know it is the word God, more surely than you know anything else. If not, there is nothing else I can do to convince you. I can only encourage you to keep listening. God is good. God is gracious. Many millions before you have listened and heard. Many millions before you have heard and believed. Many millions before you have believed and obeyed. Keep listening.

How shall we know? How shall we know the gospel of Jesus Christ? How shall we know the good news of God? How shall we know the content of the Christian faith? There is only one way. We shall know by the word of God alone. That does not mean that we have to see an angel. That does not mean that we have to meet Jesus Christ in the flesh. And it does not mean that we can put it into a test tube and measure it. It is not that kind of knowing. But it does mean that we will be encountered by God as God has chosen to make himself known in and through the word of God as revealed to the prophets, as embodied in Jesus Christ, as entrusted to the apostles, as written and recorded in the Bible. Thanks be to God!

The Gospel according to Luke was written in order that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. This whole book is here today for us to know the gospel of Jesus Christ, for us to know the content of the Christian faith, for us to know the good news of God, and for us to believe it and to obey it. If that is of interest to you, you are in the right place. If you want to know all of these things, the first question is, How shall we know? And the answer to that question, given in the text itself, is, We shall know by the word of God alone. That is where we start. There are many more questions and answers. Luke has them all lined up for us, like a catechism. We will face them one by one. I invite you and urge you to immerse yourself in hearing this word, in being engaged by this word, and so in making it your very own.

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

To God be the glory forever and ever! Amen.

2

How Will This Be?

❃

Luke 1:26–38; Job 38:1–11

T

he angel Gabriel said

to Mary, Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. And Mary said to the angel, How will this be? That is a very good question! How will this be? At one level, the question is, How will a virgin conceive? And yet, at another level, the question is, How will the Son of God become human? That is far more difficult and far more interesting. Thus does Mary pose to the angel a profound question, How will this be?

Before we get to the answer, consider with me the nature and purpose of the question. It is significant that in the first sentence of the Gospel according to Luke we have a statement of the purpose of the book: it was written in order that you—which at the time referred to Theophilus, for whom the book was first written, but which now includes all of us who read the gospel—may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. This whole book is still here today in order for us to know the gospel of Jesus Christ, for us to know the content of the Christian faith, for us to know the good news of God, and for us to believe it and to obey it. That is why it was written, that is why we have it, and that is why we read and preach it today. So let us seek this certainty which it intends.

Given this purpose of the Gospel according to Luke, how does it go about carrying out that purpose? How does it fulfill that purpose? The rest of the gospel, from the first sentence to the end of the book, contains a barrage of questions and answers. It is my contention not only that the questions point to what is important in each part of the gospel story, but also that the questions were of continuing significance to Theophilus, and even that the questions are still of continuing significance to us. That is to say, the book we have before us is not only a gospel story but is also a gospel catechism, a question-and-answer teaching device intended to communicate the Christian faith, intended to be learned and even memorized, intended to engage the learner in the great questions of the faith, an early catechism in the form of a story, indeed a catechism embedded in the gospel.

We have here, in logical order, a series of questions of faith and doubt, life and death, good and evil, truth and falsehood, reality and unreality. We have here the questions that we ask, or that we should ask, about who we are, whose we are, and what we are about. We have here a gift from God, who knows us better than we know ourselves. If we follow these questions, appropriate them as our own, and receive the answers into our hearts and minds, we can have certainty of the truth of the gospel we have been taught. Would you like that?

Given this purpose of the Gospel according to Luke, it is no accident that the first question asked in this catechism, before today’s reading, is simply, How shall I know this? How shall I know? Zechariah asked this in regard to what Gabriel told him, but it has a broader meaning and application. This is a question of knowledge, particularly knowledge of the basis of saving faith. Luke recorded it because it is a good and important first question for Theophilus and also for us. The purpose of the book is for us to have certainty, and the first question is, How shall we know? The answer for Zechariah, for Theophilus, and for us is that we shall know by the word of God, and by the word of God alone. Even with Gabriel no longer present, that continued to be the case for Theophilus and continues to be so for us. Thus begins the catechism according to Luke, a series of questions and answers for Theophilus and for us, in order that he and we may have certainty concerning the things we have been taught. It continues to the end of the gospel, with the risen Christ himself asking the last questions.

In today’s reading, the second question asked in this catechism, by the second person we meet in this book, following Gabriel’s announcement that Mary will bear the Son of the Most High, is simply, How will this be? That is, How will a son of Mary also be the Son of God? How will the Christ enter the world? Mary asks this in regard to what Gabriel has told her, but it also has a broader meaning and application. Luke records it because it is a good and important second question for Theophilus and also for us.

How will this be? This is a question not so much of biology as of theology. The issue is not so much virgin birth as incarnation. The real question is how the Son of God can become human. The whole rest of the gospel depends upon this premise. If the Son of God becomes human, his parables make sense, his healings make sense, his crucifixion makes sense, his resurrection makes sense, his forgiveness of sins makes sense, and his promise of the resurrection makes sense. Apart from his becoming human, none of these would make sense at all. So, How will this be?

The answer comes swift on the wings of an angel. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. . . . For nothing will be impossible with God. Remember that the word angel means messenger. The angels in the Scripture are messengers from God. The significance of this is that the words of the angel are the words of God. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. . . . For nothing will be impossible with God. How will this be? How will a son of Mary also be the Son of God? How will the Christ enter the world? How will the Son of God become human? The answer for Mary, for Theophilus, and also for us is that it will be by the power of God, and by the power of God alone. It will be because God says so. What more explanation could we need?

Job wanted answers about the terrible suffering in his life. For thirty-five chapters Job questioned God. Then in chapter 38, God broke the silence of the heavens:

Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?

Tell me, if you have understanding.

Who determined its measurements—surely you know!

Or who stretched the line upon it?

On what were its bases sunk,

or who laid its cornerstone,

when the morning stars sang together

and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (

38

:

4

–

7

)

This continues through chapters 39–41. God’s answer is, in effect, I am God, and you are not God.

Job got it. Job realized that God had the power and that he did not. More than that, Job realized that God is good. Even though Job was a good and righteous man, his seeing and realizing the goodness of God was so overwhelming that Job despised his own petty goodness. He repented. That is to say, the power of God is not simply raw power, or sheer power, but is the power of goodness. It is the power that expressed itself in the creation of the world and all that is in it. It is the power that expresses itself in providing for the needs of the world and all its creatures. It is the power that expresses itself in redeeming the world from sin and in saving the world. It is the power by which the Son of God can even become human.

So it was that the angel Gabriel said to Mary, Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. What will the power of God at work here accomplish in all of this? At the center of this angelic announcement of the birth of Jesus Christ stand the words of ancient prophecy, He will reign . . . forever. This announcement offers to us a new and different citizenship and a new and different life. We are invited to acknowledge the eternal reign of Jesus and so to enter his kingdom. We are invited to realize that our home is not here, where the world is fading away, but there, with him, where our life is forever and ever. Are you fearful of the transience of life? Do you want to escape the terror that stalks at night? Do you want to come in out of the cold? Do you want to turn away from decay and from the relentless march toward death, before it is too late to turn away? Do you want to turn toward life and eternity? Are you ready to acknowledge the eternal lordship of Jesus Christ? Or, having already acknowledged him, are you ready to continue to grow in the Christian faith and life?

This is what the angel Gabriel announces to us: Jesus will be the son of Mary, as any mother’s child. And yet, Jesus will be also the Son of God, the mediator apart from whom we have no useful knowledge of, or access to, God, but together with whom we have everything. Just as God created the heavens and the earth by the power of his word, so now does God provide for the incarnation of his eternal Son into this new human life by the power of his word, without the agency of an earthly father. This conception is a new beginning for all the world. In this birth is the rebirth of all of humanity. In this life alone the window is open for us to see God and the door is open for us to return to God. And in his death and resurrection are the forgiveness of our sin and the promise of our eternal life with him.

So it is that Jesus Christ, born of Mary, Son of God, reigns forever and stands over against all the pretenders to lordship. It may appear that violence and terrorism have taken over the lordship of this world, but they shall not reign forever. Military powers can put on impressive shows of force, but they shall not last forever. We may act as if we believe the dollar is almighty, but there shall be an end to this and all other economies. The intellectual and psychological framework of the modern world is largely hostile to the Christian faith, and that of the postmodern world may be even more so, but the announcement that Jesus is Lord and will reign forever gives us the courage to go on.

The Gospel according to Luke was written in order that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. This whole book is here today for us to know the gospel of Jesus Christ, for us to know the content of the Christian faith, for us to know the good news of God, and for us to believe it and to obey it. If that is of interest to you, you are in the right place. The first question is, How shall we know? The answer to that question is, We shall know by the word of God alone. The second question is, How will this be? The answer to that question is, This will be by the power of God. There are many more questions and answers. Luke has them all lined up for us, like a catechism. We will face them one by one. I invite you and urge you to immerse yourself in hearing this word, in being engaged by this word, and so in making it your very own.

How will this be? Gabriel said to Mary, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. . . . For nothing will be impossible with God. Whereupon Mary said, Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word. May God grant us the grace to be so faithful and obedient before the power of the goodness of God.

To God be the glory forever and ever! Amen.

3

Why Me?

❃

Luke 1:39–56; Jeremiah 31:7–14

E

lizabeth was filled with

the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, Why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? Why is this granted to me that . . . my Lord should come to me? Why is this granted to me? Why . . . me? You see, at one level this is a question occasioned by geography: Why was Mary, who was newly pregnant and from Nazareth, in Galilee, visiting her relative, Elizabeth, also pregnant, in the hill country of Judah? Luke does not say. But there is more to this than geography, of course. At another level this is a question of recognition: How did Elizabeth recognize Mary as the mother of her Lord? And how did the unborn John the Baptist know to leap for joy at the approach of the unborn Jesus Christ? That seems peculiar, at best. It is suggested that Elizabeth acted at the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and we can assume that the same was true of young John. So now they have told us who is who. But having said that, what else is to be said?

The point is that at yet another level the real question here is, Why me? The main question for Elizabeth was, Why has the Lord come to me? Indeed, the overwhelming question for Mary was, Why has the Lord come to me? And so the pressing question for Theophilus, for whom the Gospel according to Luke was written, continued to be, Why has the Lord come to me? And yes, the real question for each of us yet today, in all awe and amazement, is still, Why has the Lord come to me? Why has the Lord come to me? Why me?

Before we get to the answer, it is important to understand the significance of the question. The first sentence of the Gospel according to Luke contains a statement of the purpose of the book: it was written in order that you—which at the time referred to Theophilus, for whom the book was written, but which now includes all of us who read the gospel—may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. This Gospel according to Luke is still here today in order for us to know the gospel of Jesus Christ, for us to know the content of the Christian faith, for us to know the good news of God, and for us to believe it and to obey it. That is why it was written, that is why we have it, and that is why we read and preach it today.

Moreover, it is my contention that the Gospel according to Luke carries out its purpose of establishing certainty by posing a series of questions—good questions, serious questions, important questions, questions of life and death, questions for which the gospel is the answer. It does this in such a way that the questions are not only in the story but are also the questions of the story, and are the very questions of human life and existence, so that they engaged Theophilus in the matters of the faith and so that they continue to engage us in the same matters of the faith. That is to say, the book we have before us is not only a story but also a catechism, a question-and-answer teaching device intended to communicate the Christian faith, intended to be learned and even memorized, intended to engage the learner—even each of us yet today—in the great questions of the faith; an early catechism in the form of a story, indeed a catechism embedded in the gospel.

We have here, in logical order, a series of questions of faith and doubt, life and death, good and evil, truth and falsehood, reality and unreality. We have here the questions that we ask, or that we should ask, about who we are, whose we are, and what we are about. Indeed, we have here a gift from God, who knows us better than we know ourselves. If we follow these questions, appropriate them as our own, and receive the answers into our hearts and minds, we too can have certainty of the truth of the gospel we have been taught.

Only two questions in this catechism come before today’s question. Zechariah the priest asked Gabriel the angel the first question in the book, How shall I know? This is a question of knowledge, particularly of the basis of saving faith. It is a good first question for Theophilus and also for us. The answer for Zechariah and for all the rest of us is that we shall know by the word of God and by the word of God alone. Gabriel soon left, of course, but Theophilus still had the written word of God, and so do we. So do we. And it is by this word that we shall know.

It was the virgin Mary who asked Gabriel the second question in the book, How will this be? That is, How will a son of Mary also be the Son of God? How will the Christ enter the world? This is a question of agency. It is a good second question for Theophilus and also for us. It is a question not so much of biology as of theology. The issue is not so much virgin birth as incarnation. The question is how the Son of God can become human. The whole rest of the gospel depends upon this premise. How will this be? The answer for Mary, for Theophilus, and also for us, is that it will be by the power of God, and by the power of God alone. It will be because God says so. What more explanation could we need?

Thus begins the catechism according to Luke, a series of questions and answers for Theophilus and so for us, in order that he and we may have certainty concerning the things we have been taught. It continues to the end of the gospel, with the risen Christ himself asking the last questions. And so it is that today we come to Elizabeth, wife of Zechariah, mother-to-be of John the Baptist, relative of the virgin Mary, the mother of her Lord, who asks for us the third question, Why is this granted to me that . . . my Lord should come to me? Why me? This is not a question of geography. This is not simply a question of recognition. This is a question of divine election. This is a question of divine choice. This is a question of why the grace of God comes to us even though we do not deserve it one tiny bit.¹ This is a question of amazement, joy, wonder, and gratitude. Why has the Lord come to me? Why me?

This time, Mary gives the answer. In a beautiful song, known as the Magnificat because of the first word in the Latin translation, a song reminiscent of Hannah’s song in the Old Testament when she gave her son, Samuel, to the Lord, Mary tells of the grace of God, the