Man it has been a good minute since I've had some time to sip on some tea and chop it up! I have had a chance to partake a study of Abraham's life in relation to Christ and the gospel. I mentioned it in the last post, going through a rosy book entitled, "Living in the Gap Between Promise and Reality: The Gospel According to Abraham", by Iain M. Duguid. And let me just sprinkle you with this, this book is just one fat beauty of Jesus! I encourage you to check it out; you can cop it here.
Biblical theology is essential to the vitality of the church but also to the health of a believer and his/her understanding and relationship with Christ as seen in Scripture. What I mean is that seeing the Bible as a redemptive story, or narrative account, of Adonai's interaction with His people is tantamount to see the Gospel's in its' fullness; the pinnacle of history.
Luke's account in his gospel is extremely interesting and his introduction of what seems to be a new story actually validates the aforementioned. The Old Testament is alluded to by Luke with many echos in 1:5-2:38, evidencing the continuity of his account of Jesus' birth as one story, the Old and New Testaments, of Adonai's missional interaction with His covenant people. As we will see, Luke parallels the events of Abraham and his life to introduce the narratives proper beginning [of Jesus' mission]: In the past, in Adonai's redemptive purpose as set forth in the Scriptures. Luke therefore is not introducing a new story as many Evangelical Christians see, a dichotomy between Testaments, but an old whose real beginning is the Septuagint.
Chronological and Geo-political markers
"In the days of Herod, king of Judea..." (Luke1:5)
"...in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar..." (Gen 14:1)
Righteousness before God
"They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly..." (Luke 1:6)
"Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness." (Gen 15:6)
"the Lord appeared to Abram and said...Walk before Me, and be blameless." (Gen 17:1)
Barren Women
"But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years." (Luke 1:7)
"Sarai was barren; she had no child." (Gen 11:30)
Appearance of a divine messenger
"And an angel of the Lord appeared to him..." (Luke 1:11)
"...the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him..." (Gen 17:1)
Promise of a son and instructions to his name
"...your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John." (Luke 1:13)
"..."No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac..."" (Gen 17:19)
Objection to this promise
"Zacharias said to the angel, 'How will I know this for certain...I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years'" (Luke 1:18)
"Then Abraham...laughed, and said...'Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?'" (Gen 17:17)
Report of conception
"After these days Elizabeth his wife became pregnant..." (Luke 1:24)
"So Sarah concieved and bore a son to Abraham in his old age..." (Gen 21:2)
Removal of their shame
"...He looked with favor upon me, to take away my disgrace among men." (Luke 1:25)
"...God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me." (Gen 21:6)
The Lord's assurance of His power
"For nothing will be impossible with God." (Luke 1:37)
"Is anything too difficult for the Lord?" (Gen 18:14)
Promise to Abraham remembered
"As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever." (Luke 1:55)
"I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly" (Gen 17:2) cf. Gen 15:5, 13-14, 18-21; 17:4-8
Blessing of deliverance
"To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies..." (Luke 1:74)
"And blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand..." (Gen 14:20) cf. 15:13-14
These O.T motifs, or thematic elements, are to introduce us to Scripture as the Lord's great story and how He intends and reveals His marvelous work; to "hear" and appreciate the wealth. But what is more is the way Luke tells his readers the introductory account of the Messiah's birth. Luke 1:34 reads, "Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" Here again is another reverberation of God's doings in the past. Seen in the Scriptures, hero's were born of women who were barren:
- Sarai to Issac
- Rebekah to Jacob
- Rachel to Joseph
- Manoah's wife to Samson
- Hannah to Samuel
- Elizabeth to John
- Mary to Jesus
But what is the connection with all of these barren women and their birth to hero's in God's redemptive story? Sarai, Rebekah, Rachel, Manoah's wife, Hannah and Elizabeth all had husbands to give birth. Not so with Mary. Mary was betrothed to Joseph, young, probably around the age of 12-15 years and a virgin. With no husband to go into her to birth the Son of the Most High, Gabriel responds to Mary's question that, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God...For nothing will be impossible with God." (vv.35, 37). Mary has to be the climax of the motif, in that, she is a virgin - the most barren of the barren women!
Be encouraged. God has been sovereign in His doings as the Alpha and Omega. His story is the greatest and the Messiah, Second Person of the Trinity, is the climax, pinnacle and consummation of all things to this story. Let us see through the lens of the God-Man, the Man Christ Jesus.
Grace and Peace
