Lk. 1:26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city in Galilee named Nazareth,
Lk. 1:27 To a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Miriam.
Lk. 1:28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.”
The meaning of the name Miriam is obscure. (Mary is the Greek translation.) The name was given, not because of its meaning, but because of the person it recalled — “Miriam” — Moses’ sister. A Jewish tradition says that Miriam means “bitterness since the Miriam of the book of Exodus (15:20, 21) was born at the time the Egyptians began to persecute the children of Israel.
Source: Exodus 15:20, 21
At the time of Gabriel’s visit to Miriam, we read that she was a “virgin” espoused to a man whose name was Joseph. This betrothal (Erusin) was sealed by the use of a contract (Kethubbah). The actual wedding (Nissu’in) was to take place at a later date. Under Jewish law, a young man was considered ready for marriage at age 18, and a girl at age 12 and a day. The espousal or engagement was considered so binding that it as practically equivalent to marriage. An engagement could only be broken only by means of a bill of divorcement (get). The Bible mentions a bill of divorcement (Sefer Kerithuth) on two occasions (Isa. 50:1; Jer. 3:3). While the prophets used the expression figuratively, the Torah presents a law concerning an actual bill of divorcement when it forbids the husband to remarry his divorced wife if, in the meantime, she has been the wife of another man (Deut. 24:4). The divorce document is needed to dissolve a marriage, though a “get” is not necessary where a man and his concubine wish to annul their relationship. The Bible describes the divorce document as a “book of separation” which the husband must write for his wife and give into her hand before sending her out of his house.
Source: Deut. 24:4; Isaiah 50:1; Jeremiah 3:3
The marriage contract (kethubbah), containing the mutual obligations between husband and wife prerequisite to marriage, has been regarded as a safeguard against a hasty divorce. The term “Kethubbah” is used for the document in which the groom pledges himself to assign a certain amount of money to the bride in the event of his death or of his divorcing her. The minimum settlement for a virgin is, according to Rabbinic Law, two hundred zuz, and for a widow remarrying a hundred zuz. A “zuz” is a small coin equivalent to approximately a penny. Its origin goes back to the “marriage price for virgins” which, in Biblical times, the bridegroom paid the father of the bride.
Lk. 1:29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his sayings, and considered what manner of greeting this was.
You might keep in mind that Miriam had never seen an angel before. Just the sight of him could have been very frightening to this young girl who was probably only about 13 years old at this time.
Lk. 1:30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Miriam, for you have found favor with God.”
Lk. 1:31 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Yeshua.”
Gabriel informs Miriam that she is to give birth to a son and she is to call His name “Yeshua.” It should be remembered that when Gabriel is speaking to Miriam he is not speaking in English or Greek, but in Hebrew. In Hebrew the name Jesus is pronounced “Yeshua”, which has for its root meaning “to save” or “salvation.”
Lk. 1:32 “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.”
King David had been promised the throne rights, or rulership, to Israel’s kingdom forever (II Samuel 7:12-17). This promise assured David that members of his family would be kings of Israel. After had been without a king for over 500 years, Miriam was told that God would fulfill His promise to David through her. We know that Yeshua did fulfill the first O.T. requirement for kingship in that He was a member of the house of David apart from Jeconiah. The problem is that He is not the only one, and that there were a good number of male Jews living at this time who were descendants of David apart from Jeconiah. And on that grounds alone any one of them had the right to claim David’s throne. Now we have the second element coming in that of Divine appointment. It is to this particular One that is given the Divine appointment — “and the Lord shall give unto Him the throne of His father David.” The second requirement for the Kingship of Israel has now been met. It will be made official publicly a little later. Here also we are seeing an example of what is called the Righteousness of God that Paul spoke about in Romans 1:17. The “Righteousness of God” is God’s faithfulness in fulfilling the promises that He made in His covenants. In this verse Gabriel is speaking of the Davidic Covenant.
Source: II Samuel 7:12-17: Romans 1:17
Lk. 1:33 “And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.”
Gabriel then points out several things concerning the Son of Miriam, which can be summarized in five points. First, the Incarnation would be in man. God is going to become man in the person of Yeshua. Secondly, as to His name, it was Yeshua (Salvation). Thirdly, as to His essential nature, He is to be Great. Fourthly, He would be the Son of God by virtue of His unique relationship to God the Father. Fifthly, He would fulfill the Davidic Covenant. God promised David four eternal things: an eternal house, an eternal throne; an eternal kingdom; and an eternal descendant. All four areas are brought out in this passage.
Lk. 1:34 Then Miriam said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
Miriam also raises a question, but unlike Zacharias, her question does not arise out of unbelief; but merely a question of how.
Lk. 1:35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”
Gabriel gave the explanation that Yeshua would not have a natural father. He would be supernaturally conceived through the Holy Spirit. Only pure, untainted blood could be shed for the sins of man. Blood of the baby comes from the genes of the father and there was only one Father who was without sin. The way this is going to be accomplished is by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, it is not the birth of Yeshua that is the miracle, since He was born like any other baby. The miracle is in the conception. By the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit she is going to conceive. Because the conception comes by means of the Holy Spirit, two things will result: (1) the product will be sinless. He shall be Holy. And (2) Deity. He shall be called the Son of God.
A very common misconception has been made because of what is said here and needs to be corrected. It was propagated in some circles that the reason for the necessity of the divine conception (parthenogenesis) was that this was the only possible way of keep Yeshua from inheriting the sin nature. Parthenogenesis is the division of the female egg without the introduction of the male sperm. They go on to teach that the sin nature was transmitted through the male only. Since Yeshua did not have a human father He was sinless. He only had a human mother and the sin nature is not transmitted through the mother.
Actually, no where in the Bible does it say the sin nature is transmitted through the male only. Sometime, in fact, the Bible emphasizes the female side of it more than the male side. What kept Yeshua from inheriting the sin nature was not the absence of the male seed, but the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. We should remember that God, being God, was not suddenly stuck with only one way of doing things. If God wanted to, He could have produced a sinless being using both the male sperm and the female egg. The reason for the divine birth is that this is the way God chose to do it, not because this was the only way. He chose to do it this way, and in doing so fulfilled prophecies that He stated in the O.T.
Lk. 1:36 “Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who is called barren.”
A sign of confirmation was given to Miriam — the pregnancy of Elizabeth. Beyond the childbearing age, Elizabeth was now in her sixth month. This was to be a sign to Miriam that God could do anything that He wanted to. She may not understand it, but she would accept it by faith.
Lk. 1:37 “For with God nothing is impossible.”
Lk. 1:38 Then Miriam said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
The angel’s message and sign satisfied Miriam. But, she must have been very much aware of the ridicule she was going to open herself up to. It is to her credit that serving God was far more important that the accusations of men. At this point, Miriam totally submits herself to the will and care of God. And well she might in the light of three things. First, the O.T. penalty for a betrothed virgin suddenly found with child was execution by being stoned to death. Miriam had to trust God that when it became more and more apparent that she was with child and not yet married to Joseph that God would protect her so that she would not be executed. Secondly, she had to trust God for the reaction of the community. She had to believe God would protect her from being totally ostracized from the community, and, therefore, her child being forever labeled illegitimate. Unfortunately, Yeshua is referred to in several places in the Talmud as a mamzer (bastard). Thirdly, she needed to trust God for her relationship with Joseph. This was a truly great concern because he would seriously consider starting divorce proceedings against her pregnancy.
No comments:
Post a Comment