Friday, June 27, 2008
"Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted, and mistreated – the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground" (Hebrews 11:36-38).
IDEA: To understand parts of the New Testament, we must understand both the Old Testament and the period between the two testaments.
PURPOSE: To help listeners understand that the New Testament not only refers back to the Old Testament but takes for granted a knowledge of what happened between the testaments.
Whenever you state an idea, there are only three things that you can do to develop it, answering these questions: "What does it mean? Is that true? So what?"
When we think of the question, "What does that mean?," we often have to explain to our listeners things they don't understand but the biblical writers take for granted.
I. In the story of the birth of Jesus, Luke says, "In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary" (2:1-5a, NIV).
What is it that Luke explains to Theophilus about the birth of Jesus?
He's explaining the time it took place—it was during a particular census.
What is it that Luke assumes that Theophilus would know? He would know that it was common for the Caesars to have a census for the purpose of taxing. This particular census was the first one of many done during the time that Quirinius was the governor of Syria. Luke also assumes that Theophilus would understand what Syria was.
II. What do we have to explain to readers or listeners to understand this same passage?
There are several things that Luke takes for granted:
Who is Caesar Augustus?
What is this census he was taking?
Who is Quirinius and what does it mean that he was the governor of Syria?
Joseph and Mary went from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in Judea. Where did these names come from?
Conclusion: All of this requires an understanding of what took place in the 400 years between the close of the Old Testament and the opening of the New Testament.