Greatness [Luke 1:1-38]
This week, we’re journeying through Luke 1:1-38. Lots for you to read, study & reflect on to hear God speak to you through this wonderful piece of Scripture. Listen to Sunday’s sermon on this passage first (if you haven’t already), as it’ll provide some context for you. Here’s some further thoughts, some things that I didn’t have time to cover in the message, but how God really spoke to me personally through His Word about what it means to be “great” in God’s eyes.
HEROD “THE GREAT”
As we get past the introduction to the recipient (Theophilus, “lover of God”) and purpose of the gospel of Luke (“that you may have certainty concerning the things you’ve been taught” [Luke 1:4]), Luke 1:5 opens with a throwaway line: “In the days of Herod, king of Judea…” Herod was appointed by the Roman emperor to be one of 4 sub-kings, who rule a province under Caesar. His domain stretches across much of the Middle East, covering Judea, Galilee, Samaria, Perea & Idumea, which makes him the provincial “King of the Jews.” Herod is an Edomite, a descendant of Esau (the combative brother of Jacob, forefather of Israel), and not true Israel (God’s people), & is pretty much a puppet of the Roman government. Edomites were always trying to kill Israelites, and Herod continues the tradition, as he sets out to kill any potential rival (slaughtering all the boys in Bethlehem under the age of 2 [predicted in Jeremiah 31:15] when he learns of the prophesied birth of the coming Messiah King [Matthew 2:1-16]).
He had a nickname for himself, which caught on with the population (because if you’re the king, & you say that’s your name, nobody in their right mind is going to disagree): “Herod the (wait for it)… Great.” And he was (pretty great), in a worldly sense: He raised tons of money, built lots of marvels, invented a quick-dry cement to build a harbor where there was none (in Caesarea). He didn’t really care for Jewish people (nor did they care much for him), but he rebuilt God’s temple… marking every 36 x 12 ft stone with his insignia (as archaeologists discovered), so if you were a 1st century Jew, every time you go up to the temple, you’re reminded whose magnanimous power built your place of worship. And he also went & built his palace next door to the temple, so in this neighborhood, there’s only two homes: God’s house, and His only neighbor on the block, Herod. The ego on this guy: “You can rule the people spiritually, God; I rule them politically & economically.” His paranoia wasn't limited to murdering infant boys in Bethlehem (as if that wasn't maniacal enough), he also outlawed free speech & free assembly, had secret police spying throughout cities for dissidents, & made people he didn't like “disappear.” When complaints arose, he had another palace constructed with an amazing fresh-water pool on a salt-water beach. Since he took a lot of heat every time opposition voices were killed off, he started inviting political enemies to his home & they’d “accidentally drown” in his pool. Pastor Mark Driscoll paraphrases it this way:
Public outcry: “You need to stop murdering people!”
Herod: “I don’t murder anyone; I just have a very dangerous pool, & friends who can’t swim.”
I guess it’s easy to have high self-esteem and call yourself “the Great” if you have lots of accomplishments, wealth, recognition, influence, authority. None of those are bad things per se, but Herod is both brilliant & fairly evil. And he uses all these potential blessings to feed an insatiable, insecure ego that sacrifices everyone & everything around him to worship at the altar of "self." Great? I don’t know about that.
JOHN THE GREAT
Back to Luke 1:5… From Herod the Great, the story flips to a nobody priest & his wife, from a nowhere-town that’s not even mentioned, who wins the big ticket lottery for small-time priests of God: He gets to do the temple service he’s been waiting for his whole life, into his old age [Luke 1:7]. And we’re told this faithful couple loved God, served God, walked with God, even as their 2 prayers remained unanswered for a long, long time: For a child of their own, and for the Messianic King to come and redeem, save, liberate, set free God’s people under the oppression of empire after empire. Then, God answers both requests through a chain of events: Win the lotto for priestly service, send an angel with good news: You'll have a son [1:13], you (& many others) will rejoice [1:14], for “he will be great before the Lord” [1:15]. How will he be great?
He won’t be rich, successful or powerful. He’ll give up alcohol (which is not sinful when consumed in moderation so that it doesn’t cause yourself or others to stumble) as a sacrificial way of honoring God and being set apart for Him… And he will be really connected to God by being filled with His Spirit, and he’ll do ministry like the prophet Elijah (as prophesied 400 years earlier in Malachi 4:5-6) to call people to repentance & prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. "He will be great before the Lord"... in his personal lifestyle of worship, his relationship with God, and in the way he serves God. Herod “the Great”? The angel basically says, “No, not really. John will be great. Herod will make more money, build more monuments, rule more people, have more followers… but he won’t give his life to humbly serve God. Your son will; he’ll be the great one.” Don’t let greatness be defined by the standards of the world or people like Herod. “Before the Lord”: If you love God and serve God and walk faithfully & obediently with Him, you are great in the sight of God, the only important measure that really matters.
JESUS THE GREAT
Then, we jump next into Mary’s parallel story… this wonderful, uneducated, peasant teenager from Nazareth (another rural nowheresville town; population: 50-100 people; a pit-stop between 2 other cities) will conceive (as a teen virgin) & give birth to a Son they’ll call Jesus or Y’shua, which means “God is salvation” [Luke 1:31]. And… “He will be great” [1:32]. How will He be great?
He will be “called Son of the Most High” [Luke 1:32b], i.e., the Son of God. In ancient near-Eastern culture, family ties are viewed a little differently than ours; a son represents the very essence of his father, in character, authority. He is the fulfillment of a prophecy 700 years old, of a son born from a virgin, who will be called “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14). He’ll be great because He will be a descendant in the line of King David as the prophesied Messiah or Christ King [Luke 1:32c], who won’t just rule for a little while, but “will reign over the house of Jacob forever, & of His kingdom there will be no end” [Luke 1:33], fulfilling the prophecies in Daniel 2:44 & Daniel 7:13-14. Where John the Baptizer will be “great before the Lord”, the Lord Himself surpasses John; Jesus is simply “great”, without condition or limitations. He’s great as God, as prophesied Savior King, & as one who rules an everlasting Kingdom. Let’s unpack that a little bit more:
He's God, and He does stuff that surprises us as God. Where “religion” teaches people if you try hard enough to be a good person, by your own efforts live up to impossible standards of righteousness, maybe you can reach up to Heaven, Jesus is GREAT because He is God who reached down from Heaven & came to us, to draw us to Him. He’s the God who meets us where we are, in our hurts, brokenness, & sinfulness (all the junk that we choose that separates us from Him). Because He led a sinless life & is a Savior King, He’s GREAT because He can (& chooses to) take all our baggage on His own shoulders, pay for our consequences, & suffer so we can be with Him… because He loves you and values you; you’re worth it to Him. He’s GREAT because through Him, He fulfills all the biblical prophecies of the coming Messianic King, validating all of the Word of God as true. [Sidebar: The biblical (& rational) test for prophecy in Deuteronomy 18:22 [paraphrase]: “Does it come true? Then it really is prophecy from God; if it doesn't, it's not.” (duh)] And He’s GREAT because He’s not a temporary fix-it, He is an everlasting King whose goodness, righteousness, justice & mercy reign eternal without end. That gives us a future hope we can bank on, to help us persevere when life today (a drop in the bucket of the ocean of time & eternity) seems hard. There are no outsiders with Him; anyone & everyone who genuinely turns to Him as God, King & Savior is welcome into His everlasting Kingdom. He’s the good news, and He’s genuinely great, in every sense of the word!
Reflection Questions:
(1) Do you define greatness as Herod?
What makes you feel great? Would your life be great if you had lots of money or stuff? What about lots of accomplishments, recognition, pleasure, influence? Would you feel great if lots of people looked up to you or had to do what you say? What if you left a lasting mark on the world or even history, but without Jesus in the picture?
(2) Do you define greatness as John?
Is your greatness defined by being “before the Lord”? Do you value & express a lifestyle of worship? Do you put your relationship with Jesus first? What if your deepest pleasure & fulfillment in life is supposed to come from Him? Are you willingly, humbly & intentionally serving Him with your whole life (not just at church, not just in “compartments” of your life)? Are you willing to give up all the things that the world or people like Herod define as a great life (comfort, security, etc) to pursue greatness in God’s eyes?
(3) Do you define greatness as Jesus?
Do you recognize Jesus for who He is? Not simply a nice religious figure, a good moral teacher, or a homeless preacher born of questionable parentage; do you know why He’s so great? Dwell for a few moments on these qualities about Him: Consider Him as (a) mighty Creator-God; (b) as the fulfillment of hundreds of years of prophecies forged out of love for you, to reach you, to rescue you from sin & death, to restore you in relation to Him; (c) as a good, loving, perfect King. Do we treat Him with the honor due someone so great? What does that imply for your life?
For further reflections, also read the gospel of Mark 9:33-37 to discover a hilarious squabble amongst Jesus' disciples about "who's greatest", & Jesus' amazing, humbling rebuke, and another definition of greatness in His eyes. BE GREAT!