Luke

2:8-21

The mission of the Messiah, 1:5-9:50

1. Prophecies concerning the coming messiah, 1:5-2:40

v] The vision glorious, 2:1-21

b) The vision of the shepherds

Having related the story of Jesus' birth, Luke now tells of the manifestation of divine glory to a group of poor and insignificant shepherds, who, having been told of the messiah's birth, rush off to Bethlehem to witness for themselves the wonder of God's promised intervention into human affairs.

The appearance of the angels heralds the dawning of the messianic era; they testify that Jesus is the long-awaited messiah.

i] Context: See 1:5-25. The Vision of the shepherds is part of the fifth episode covering the dawn of the messianic age, 1:5-2:40.

ii] Structure: The vision of the shepherds:

iii] Interpretation:

iv] Sources: See 2:1-7.

v] Exposition: A simple exposition of this passage may be found in the linked pew-level Sermon Notes.

The vision of the shepherds, v8-21: Drawing on the Magnificat, Luke describes the revelation of divine glory, not to the rich and powerful, nor the supposedly righteous, but to the poor and outcast.

i] The angels announce the birth of Jesus, v8-14. a) Setting, v8-9: For centuries, the people of Israel had waited patiently for God's salvation, they had waited for the day when God's messiah would save his people, save them from the powers of darkness, from powers both secular and spiritual. Now that day had dawned, but the news is not announced to the spiritual authorities of the day, but to a group of lowly shepherds. It is night-time, and the shepherds are out in the fields. Faced with the angelic apparition, they are filled with fear, but they are told not to fear for the news is good.

kai "and" - and. We may have expected a transitional de to introduce an new episode, but Luke ties this narrative to v1-7 with a coordinate kai.

poimeneV (hn enoV) "shepherds" - shepherds. Nominative subject of the verb to-be Not referring to owners of property, sheep-runs, etc., but nomadic herdsmen who were usually very poor and often prone to criminal behaviour (stealing from the rich!!!).

en + dat. "in [the fields nearby]" - [were] in [the same district, region, country]. Local, expressing space; "in the fields near Bethlehem", CEV.

argaulounteV (agraulew) "abiding in the field" - passing the night in the open. The participle here, as with "keeping", is adjectival, limiting "shepherds"; "shepherds who were living out in the open and keeping watch over their sheep at night." A periphrastic construction is possible given the verb to-be h\san; "and ...... there were shepherds out in the field and they were keeping watch over their flock ...."

fulakaV (h) acc. "[keeping] watch" - [and keeping] watch. The participle "keeping" is nominative, while "watch" is accusative, here a cognate accusative, cf. Zerwick #62, ie., functioning as the direct object of a verb (here a participle) which expresses a similar verbal idea. Note the plural, possibly indicating that the were keeping watch in shifts, so Fitzmyer.

thV nuktoV (nux nuktoV) gen. "at night" - of night. A genitive of time, "time within which", or better adjectival, limiting the "keeping watch", ie. a night-time keeping watch; "night watches", Fitzmyer. "Keeping watch over their flock during the night", Cassirer.

epi + acc. "over" - upon [the flock of them]. Spatial, metaphorical; "the shepherds were guarding their sheep", CEV.

aggeloV "an angel" - [and] a messenger. Nominative subject of the verb "to appear." Possibly Gabriel.

kuriou (oV) gen. "of the Lord" - of lord. The genitive is probably ablative, expressing source / origin; "an angel from the Lord."

epesth (efisthmi) aor. "appeared" - set over, came upon, stood by, approached (suddenly and unexpectedly). So, with the sense "appeared". The word is often used by Luke to refer to "angelic or supernatural appearances", Bock. What we have here is an angelic epiphany, a coming to a group of shepherds on earth.

autoiV dat. pro. "to them" - them. Dative of direct object after the epi prefix verb "to set over."

kuriou (oV) gen, "of the Lord" - [and the glory] of the lord. Again, the genitive "of the Lord" expresses source / origin. A descriptive for the divine presence.

perielamyen (perilampw) aor. "shone around [them]" - shone around [them]. The presence of the divine glory shines around the shepherds, ie. the shekinah glory, evidencing the divine presence and once confined to the temple, radiates upon common shepherds out in a field.

fobon megan "terrified" - [and they were afraid] a fear great. The accusative noun "fear", modified by the adjective "great", serves as a cognate accusative, as above, "they feared a great fear" = they were filled with fear". Given that a cognate accusative intensifies, it may be better to translate it adverbially here, "they were greatly afraid", TNT; "terrified", NRSV.

b) The announcement, v10-12: The angel, who is probably Gabriel, announces the epiphany of God's saviour, the long awaited Davidic messiah, the Mighty One. The sign that Gabriel's words are true can be found in Bethlehem, for there the shepherds will find a newborn babe laying in an animal's feeding trough.

autoiV dat. pro. " to them" - [and the angel said] to them. Dative of indirect object.

mh fobeisqe (fobew) pres. pas. imp. "do not be afraid" - do not be afraid. The negation possibly prohibits an action in progress, although this classification is no longer widely held. "Fear" is a proper response for those confronted by the divine, but fear must move to faith, which in the case of the shepherds is what happens.

gar "-" - because. Introducing a causal clause explaining why they have no need to be afraid, namely, "because" the news is joyous; it's good news.

idou (eidon) "-" - behold. As an emphatic interjection.

euaggelizomai pres. "I bring [you] good news" - i proclaim, announce (important news). The "important news" is only good for those who believe.

caran megalhn "of great joy" - joy great. Accusative direct object of the verb "to announce important news." The shepherds do not need to fear because the Angels bring news of a joyful event. "What I have to proclaim to you is joyful news", Cassirer.

uJmin dat. pro. "-" - to you. Dative of indirect object.

h{tiV (o{stiV) ind. fem. pro. "that" - which [will be]. Obviously here taking the place of the simple feminine relative pronoun h{, ie., an example of the neglect of exclusive distinctions between pronouns; "This /which [ie. the joyful news] will be for all the people."

tw/ law/ (oV) "for [all] the people" - to [all] the people. Dative of interest, advantage, as NIV. "The joy it [the announcement, news] brings will be shared by all people", Cassirer. The "all" is obviously the "all" who are waiting for the coming of God's salvation, ie., seekers. Most likely Jewish seekers, rather than Jews and Gentiles as "the relationship of Jesus' coming for Gentiles is something that Luke presents later in his two volumes, especially in Acts", Bock.

The epiphany of God's promised saviour is announced.

oJti "-" - that / because. Introducing a dependent statement, direct speech, expressing the actual news conveyed by the angel, although possibly causal explaining why this is joyful news, as AV, "for unto you is born."

en polei Dauid "in the town of David" - in city of david. Local, expressing space; identifying where the birth takes place in fulfilment of scripture.

swthr (hr hroV) "a saviour" - a saviour. Nominative subject of the verb "to bear children." The era of salvation has dawned in the birth of Jesus, an era in which God sets out to save humanity, which salvic activity is realised in Jesus. Serving as the first of three key Christological terms; "Jesus is Savior, Christ / Messiah and Lord."

uJmin pro. "to you" - [was born] to you [today]. Dative of interest, advantage.

cristoV kurioV "[he is] Christ the Lord" - [who is] christ, lord. "Christ" is the nominative predicate of the verb to-be, while "the Lord", also nominative, stands in apposition to "Christ". As it stands, the text means that Jesus is both "Christ" and "Lord", but there is a variant cristoV kuriou "Christ of Lord" = "the Lord's Christ" = "the Lord's anointed". That Jesus is both the messiah and the Lord is regarded as the better reading by Metzger. If "Lord" is being applied to Jesus, in what sense is it being used? Luke does not explain, but "the term will clearly come to refer to the absolute sovereignty and divine relationship that Jesus possesses as the one who brings salvation", Bock. At least the term "underscores the exalted status Jesus has in God's purpose and within the community of God's people", Green.

The shepherds are given a sign that will confirm that the day of salvation has dawned in the coming of his messiah.

touto "this" - this. The nominative demonstrative pronoun serves as the subject of an assumed verb to-be, "this will be ..." Referencing forward to the newborn baby to be found in a feeding trough.

to shmeion (on) "a sign" - will be the sign, distinguishing mark. Nominative predicate of the assumed verb to-be. Variant "a sign", but properly "this shall be the sign for you", ie., a sign which confirms the message of the angel that the era of salvation has dawned in the birth of the Davidic messiah. The sign is a new born babe lying in a manger (not a new babe wrapped up). The sign certainly fits the category of the unusual, since one would not expect to find God's messiah using a feeding trough as a cot.

uJmin dat. "to you" - to you. Dative of interest, advantage, "for you".

esparganwmenon (sparganow) perf. pas. pat. "wrapped" - [you will find an infant] having been wrapped in strips of cloth [and lying in a feeding trough]. This participle, as with "lying", is probably best viewed as adjectival, attributive, limiting "baby"; "You will find a baby who is wrapped in swaddling cloth strips and lying in a manger." Culy suggests that a better classification would be that of an accusative complement of the direct object "infant", standing in a double accusative construction; "you will find a baby (accusative object), wrapped and lying (accusative coordinate complement)". The wrapping of a newborn was a traditional act, repeated at the person's death.

c) Praise on high, v13-14: Gabriel's news is so wonderful that the heavens are rent asunder and the heavenly host bursts into praise. "Majesty in the heavens with God and peace upon earth with those on whom his favour rests." Of course, we do well to remember that God's favour rests on those who seek his favour. Given the significance of the birth of God's messiah, the heavens erupt with joy.

exaiqnhV adv. "suddenly" - [and] immediately. Temporal adverb expressing a moment in time. The word is often used of a theophany, or divine manifestation, and so is not so much "suddenly" as "unexpectedly", Bock. In fact, we are best to view this event as a theophany, a manifestation of divine glory in which God's new initiative is praised by the heavenly host, so Nolland, unlike the appearing of the angel which is properly an epiphany, so Marshall.

stratiaV (a) gen. "[a great] company" - [there was with the angel a multitude] of [heavenly] army, host. The genitive is adjectival, partitive; "a multitude forming [a particular] part of", Plummer. Taken as partitive, the sense is that all the heavenly host, of which this group was but a small part, were praising God. The company functions as "God's royal entourage", Green.

sun + dat. "with [the angel]" - with [the angel]. Expressing association.

ainountwn (ainew) pres. part. "praising [God]" - praising [god and saying]. This participle, as with "saying", is adjectival, attributive, limiting the "great company", "who were praising God and saying." Both participles are plural, although modifying "heavenly host" singular (collective). This is an ad sensum construction, see BDF#134.1b, a construction in accordance with the sense, the "army, multitude", being a singular, but collective noun.

The hymn of the heavenly host adopts poetic parallelism, although this is somewhat disturbed if the variant nominative eudokia is read, ie., the sentence then takes three lines:

"Glory to God on high;

And on the earth peace,

Good will among men!", Torrey.

The genitive is usually preferred. It should also be noted that there is no verb, which means we must assume the mood. A doxology is usually in the form of a statement addressed to God, so indicative, but a wish could also be intended, ie., optative. See TH. A statement seems best, introduced by "There is ...", Jeremias, which is then followed by the parallel statements:

"Majesty in the heavens with God [and]

peace upon earth with the favoured."

"The phrase emphasises God's initiative and purpose in salvation rather than human merit", Thompson, so Nolland.

doxa (a) "glory" - glory. Nominative subject of an assumed verb to-be. Here of an affirmation of divine majesty, so Marshall ("the visible majesty of God which is based ultimately on the graciousness of his character"), but "praise" is possible, so Bock.

qew/ "to God" - to god. Dative of interest, advantage.

en + dat. "in" - in, on [highest]. Here expressing space, locative. The link is unclear; is it en God", denoting that the dwelling place of God is in heaven, "glory/majesty in/on/with God who lives in the highest", or is it en "highest", denoting where the divine majesty is found, ie., "glory / majesty in the highest with God"? Using the parallelism of the doxology, it would be "glory / majesty en the highest (ie., in heaven)", aligning with "peace epi earth (ie., upon earth)".

epi + gen. "on" - [and] upon, on, in [earth]. Here spatial.

eirhnh (h) "peace" - wellbeing, peace. "The full some of the blessings associated with the coming of the messiah", Marshall; "The harmonious relationship that can exist between God and humans", Bock. "Peace" as of the Biblical shalom, cf., Nolland.

en + dat. "to" - in = among [men]. The second use of this preposition is dubious, not being found in some texts, but is usually read. The dative sense of association is surely intended, "with / among". The dative phrase "men of favour" is probably technical and implies the action of an agent, namely God; "those upon whom God's will / favour rests", Marshall, cf., Fitzmyer, Bock. Note how this is brought out in the NIV by the addition of "on whom his [favour] rests." So, divine peace rests "with men of [his] favour" = the elect.

eudokiaV (a) gen. "on whom his favour rests" - of goodwill, approval, favour. Divine favour is best. The genitive certainly presents as adjectival, attributive, limiting "men", but of course, "men" is dative. This has probably prompted the variant eudokia, with the genitive treated as adjectival, verbal, objective, "goodwill toward men." Greek scholars now tend to think that the phrase is a technical one meaning "to people he favours." Peace is for the favoured ones, a statement which serves to remind us that "for all the people", v10, is not a universal statement of God's favour. God's favour rests with the elect, and the elect are the humble, those who are aware of their brokenness and loss before God and so seek his mercy. Jesus comes to call sinners to repentance, not the (self) righteous.

ii] Luke now describes the faith-response of the shepherds, v15-17. The shepherds, on hearing the news, rush off to Bethlehem, confirm the sign, and tell all those in the stable, in fact probably everyone who would listen to them, what they had just seen and heard.

kai egeneto (ginomai) aor. "-" - and it came about. Transitional, see 1:8. "And it came to pass", AV.

wJV + ind. "when" - when [the angels]. Temporal conjunction introducing a temporal clause, as NIV.

ap (apo) + gen. "-" - [departed] from [them into heaven]. Expressing separation.

elaloun (lalew) imperf. "said" - [the shepherds] were saying [toward one another]. The imperfect may be used here to indicate the commencement of speech, inceptive, "they began to speak", Nolland, although an imperfect can simply be used of speech because it is durative in nature.

dielqwmen (diercomai) aor. subj. "let's go" - let us go. Hortatory subjunctive.

dh "-" - now, therefore. Here probably temporal, expressing urgency; "Come, let us go straight to Bethlehem", REB.

e{wV "to" - as far as, up to [bethlehem]. Locative.

to hJrhma (a atoV) "thing" - [and let us see this] word, thing. Accusative object of the verb "to see." Best understood as a stated happening, "event", Marshall. The shepherds have been told of "this stated happening" and want to go and see it for themselves.

to gegonoV (ginomai) perf. part. "that has happened" - having become, come about. The participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting "thing"; "this stated happening which has become". The perfect tense serves to indicate that the action of "the thing = the stated happening", is complete, it has become, but its consequence remains. "We must go over to Bethlehem and see what has happened", Barclay.

o} pro. "which" - which [the lord]. Here introducing a relative clause further limiting "the thing = the stated happening", ie., the thing being referred to is that which the Lord (via the angel) told the shepherds about.

uJmin dat. pro. "[has told] us" - [made known] to us. Dative of interest, advantage.

kai "so" - and [they came, went]. Coordinative; "and they came", AV.

speusanteV (speudw) aor. part. "hurried" - having made haste. The participle is adverbial, modal, expressing the manner of the action "came / went".

aneuran (aneuriskw) aor. "found" - [and] they discovered, found. The aorist indicating that what the shepherds sought is found.

te .... kai ..... kai ".... and ..... and ...." - both [the mary] and [the joseph] and [the infant]. The connectives most probably imply the translation offered by the NIV, given that "when te is followed by more than one kai, usually te and the first kai connect concepts which are more closely related to each other than to what follows", TH. Yet, it is possible to translate the clause as if all three were lying in a "manger", manger then being understood as a "bed of hay", CEV, rather than an animal's "feeding trough", Junkins. The presence of the definite articles for Mary, Joseph and the baby, indicates that the shepherd's found "the thing" as stated by the angel, ie., the prophecy was confirmed.

keimenon (keimai) pres. part. "who was lying" - lying. The participle could be treated adjectival, attributive, limiting "baby" / all three, as NIV, although Cully tends to treat this type of participial construction as the complement of the accusative object standing in a double accusative construction and stating a fact about the object, here that the babe / all three is / are "lying" in a feeding trough / bed of hay; "found .... the baby lying in a manger", AV.

idonteV (eidon) aor. part. "when they had seen him" - [but/and] having seen them. The participle is adverbial, best treated as temporal, as NIV. The "him" is added, so possibly "them", or even "it" = "the thing", that which was stated by the angel. "It", RSV, although the NRSV dodges with "this".

egnwrisan (gnwrizw) aor. "they spread the word" - they made known. Luke employs the usual sequence of events: see / hear = amazed / fear = faith = proclaim. "They told everyone", Barclay. Yet, it must also be considered that the indirect object of the making known (unstated) is just Mary and Joseph (and others present in the stable, if any); "they made known to the others what had been told them", Cassirer.

peri + gen. "concerning" - about, concerning. Reference; "with reference to / about the word."

tou rJhmatoV (a atoV) gen. what" - the word, thing. "The stated happening.", this "matter", Creed.

tou lalhqentoV aor. pas. part. "had been told]" - having been made known [to them]. The participle is adjectival, limiting "what / thing / word", which "thing" concerned the child (a different word for "child" is used from that used in 2:12, 16, but this is not significant). "The word which had been spoken to them about the child", Moffatt.

iii] Luke describes two responses to the shepherds account, v18-20. The response of most people who hear the news is amazement, a response that is well short of faith, but Mary takes in the shepherds' words and considers them carefully. As for the shepherds, they return to their flocks and do so praising God. They have certainly moved beyond fear and amazement to faith. "The shepherds return without depreciation of enthusiasm, and add their praises to those of the angels", Danker.

oiJ akousanteV (akouw) aor. part. "[all] who heard it" - [and all] the ones having heard. This common construction can be classified in two ways. The participle may serve as a substantive, modified by the attributive adjective "all, every"; "all those who heard." Of course, if we read the adjective panteV, "all, every", as a substantive, "everyone", then the participle would be classified as adjectival, attributive, limiting "everyone". Note also that the object "it" is supplied, but it may be "them", ie., the shepherds. The "all" refers to those told of "this thing" by the shepherds and as noted above, this may just be all those present in the stable.

eqaumasan (qaumazw) aor. "were amazed" - wondered. A proper initial response to the gospel, but a response which must move on to faith if divine grace is sought.

peri + gen. "at" - about, concerning. Reference; "amazed about ..."

twn lalhqentwn (lalew) gen. aor. pas. part. "what [the shepherds] said" - the things having been said. The participle serves as a substantive.

uJpo "-" - by [the shepherds toward them]. Expressing agency.

de "but" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a change in subject to Mary. Mary seeks to "understand and interpret" the events correctly, Bovon.

sunethrei (sunthrew) imperf. "treasured up" - [mary] was preserving, keeping carefully [all = everything]. The imperfect being durative, may express the idea that Mary continually kept in her mind the prophetic word conveyed to her by the shepherds. "She kept all these things to herself, keeping them deep within herself", Peterson.

sumballousa (sunballw) pres. part. "and pondered" - pondering, considering, reflecting upon. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "treasured up". Possibly "interpreted", TH; "and mused upon it", Moffatt.

ta pJhmata tauta "them" - these things, words. The initial panta, "all" = "everything", serves as the object of sunethrei, "treasured", while ta pJhmata tauta, "these things, words" serves as the accusative object of the verb sumballousa, "pondered". "Mary treasured all this in her memory, and pondered these words in her mind. "

en + dat. "in" - in [heart of her]. Local, expressing space, metaphorical.

kai "and" - and. Linking the sequence of events, here that the shepherds, having witnessed the fulfilment of the sign, return to their flocks.

doxazonteV (doxazw) pres. part. "glorifying" - [the shepherds returned] glorifying [and praising god]. This, and the following participle, is adverbial, modal, expressing the manner of their returning. Of giving due honour, "acknowledging the glory of God", Zerwick.

epi + dat. "for" - upon [all]. Here expressing cause, denoting the ground of a reaction; "because of ...."

oi|V dat. pro. "that" - which [they heard and saw]. The dative case of the relative pronoun is the product of an attraction to its antecedent pasin, "all [things]".

kaqwV "just as" - as, like, just as. Introducing a comparative clause where what the shepherds glorify God for aligns with what they had been told.

elalhqh (lalew) aor. pas. "they had been told" - was spoken. The aorist has to be translated as a pluperfect since the action proceeds "had heard and seen", both of which are also aorist. Of course, in Gk. tense is more concerned with aspect than time.

proV + acc. "-" - to them. Lukan form for an indirect object; see "they said to her", 1:61.

iv] At this point, Luke notes the naming of Jesus, a name nominated by the angel. Commentators divide on whether this verse concludes the section v8-20, or introduces the next section. It seems best to see it as transitional, so Bock.

o{te "when" - [and] when. Temporal conjunction introducing a temporal clause, although it is a rather awkward one. The lit. sense is "when fulfilled / completed [the] eight days to circumcise him." The only problem being that hJmerai "days" has no article, so "eight days" rather than "the eight days", although oktw, "eight", may take the place of the article (contra Plummer). Note the parallel in v6 where the article aiJ is present. We are best to go with "after eight days had elapsed", Marshall. "When the eight days which must precede circumcision had elapsed, he was named Jesus", Barclay.

tou peritemein (peritemnw) gen. aor. inf. "to circumcise [him]" - [eight day were completed him] to be circumcised. This genitive articular infinitive is usually treated as introducing an independent consecutive clause, although when taken as adverbial, it is usually final expressing purpose, "in order to circumcise", cf., BDF.200.2 (a hypothetical result and purpose are virtually indistinguishable); see Marshall. Culy opts for an epexegetical clause clarifying hJmerai "days"; "the eight days for (requisite before) his circumcision", Zerwick. Most of these constructions in Luke have been epexegetic so far.

kai "-" - and. Used here to introduce a main clause when the sentence has commenced with a subordinate clause, so, "He was named Jesus after the eight days were completed in order (that were necessary) for him to be circumcised." cf., Zerwick #318.

IhsouV "[he was named] Jesus" - [the name of him was called] jesus. Complement of the nominative subject "the name" standing in a double nominative construction and asserting a fact about the subject; see "the Son", 1:32

to klhqen (kalew) aor. pas. part. "the name [the angel] had given [him]" - the name calling [by the angel]. The participle can be viewed as adjectival limiting "the name", "which was so designated by the angel before he was conceived in the womb", Wuest, but also as NIV, a substantive standing in apposition to "the name."

uJpo "-" - by [the angel]. Expressing agency.

pro tou sullhmfqhnai (sullambanw) aor. pas. inf. "before [he] had been conceived" - before to be conceived. This preposition with the genitive articular infinitive is used to introduce a temporal clause, antecedent time, "before"; "before his mother had conceived him", Barclay.

en + dat. "-" - in [the womb]. Local, expressing space.

Luke Introduction

Exposition

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Exegetical Commentaries

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