GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
LUKE 1:8-10
8 Once when his division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he happened to be chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole crowd of people were praying outside when the hour came for the incense offering.
The moment came for Zechariah’s division of priests to have their twice-yearly turn at the temple. This meant that he would live there for a week, from Sabbath to Sabbath, and do whatever was required. For the most part, the priests oversaw sacrifices. Plenty of people were making offerings, often buying them in the temple. “Cattle, sheep and doves” were available for sale (John 2:14). The substitution of birds—pigeons or doves—was typical for poorer families. The priest would dispatch the bird according to Moses’ regulations (Lev. 1:14-17), and the worshiper would also offer grain, oil and salt (Lev. 2:1,13), some of which constituted the priest’s pay.
Twice a day incense was offered in the holy place. The honor of burning the incense was accorded by casting lots, and this time the lot fell to Zechariah. Some commentators think that this would only have happened once in a priest’s lifetime. Incense was burned with the morning and evening sacrifice, at dawn and again at about 3:00 in the afternoon (2 Chronicles 13:11). It was at the latter time that people would usually also gather for prayer (“May the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice,” Psalm 141:1).
Luke uses the usual name God’s house, which is “the temple of the Lord.” This is “the temple of the LORD” (or “of the name of the LORD,” 1 Kings 5:3) throughout the Old Testament, with “LORD” capitalized in English to show that God’s name Yahweh was used. In such cases, “LORD” is the name of God, and not merely a title. In the New Testament, the Greek word kyrios (κύριος) takes the place of God’s name. Although translated “Lord,” it conveys all of the meaning which comes with God’s name “I Am.” He is the God of grace, free and faithful; the God who keeps his promises. He is the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Sanctifier. A reader of Luke’s Gospel who was familiar with the Old Testament would not balk at this use of kyrios at all. But when people in the Gospel start using Kyrios “Lord” to describe Jesus, we start to see the full impact of this name. A Greek centurion might use “Lord” as a means of showing respect (7:6), and a tax collector might not be the best theologian in Israel (19:8), but Elizabeth will call Mary “the mother of my Lord” (1:43). And the angels will call Jesus both Christ and Lord (2:11), leaving the shepherds to understand that the message they heard was both from the Lord (2:15) and about the Lord, born as a baby in Bethlehem. This is the mystery and the glory of God which Luke is presenting. We only need to keep our ears and eyes open as he carries us along with the text. Jesus Christ is the Lord God in the flesh, the God of the Old Testament, made manifest in the New Testament. The Creator was entering into his creation to redeem it, and us, from the clutches and the quagmire and quicksand of sin.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Archives by Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel: http://www.wlchapel.org/worship/daily-devotion/
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota