28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.

All three of the Synoptic Gospels place Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain after Peter’s confession of faith. This confession takes place on their way to Caesarea Philippi. Luke says “about eight days” with Matthew and Mark saying “after six days” with the differences of the Greco-Roman time keeping sytem (days ending at midnight) and the Hebrew time keeping system (days ending at 6pm.) Luke was not a personal witness of the events but did interview eye witnesses. So the phrasing “about eight days” keeps him within margin of error depending on what system of time keeping was kept.

Church tradition since about the 4th century has held that the Mountain in this verse is Mount Tabor, Church’s have been built there and it has been place of pilgrimage and devotion since. All the devotion is genuine and God can work through human mistakes but geographically speaking this does not actually make much sense as the location. They are on their way to Caesarea Philippi, this is quite far off into the North of the region whereas Mount Tabor is southwest of the Sea of Galilee, about 60 miles away. In the region of Caesarea Philippi however is a very significant Mountain in Second Temple Judaism, Mount Hermon.

Mount Hermon was the location of the Hebrew and Early Church interpretation of Genesis 6:1-4. It was considered a second Fall event of humankind. What affected our nature in the first Fall in the Garden of Eden, was made worse through the second Fall on Mount Hermon. Considering Jesus’ mission to fix through typological fulfilment, i.e. becoming a new Adam, to succeed where the old Adam failed, it logically follows that a glorification event on Mount Hermon would fix the second Fall as well. It fits geographically and typologically though I am standing in a very minority position on this.

Jesus brings with him on the mountain his inner circle of apostles. Peter, James and John. The chief apostle and the two siblings. This mirrors Moses bringing with him the High Priest Aaron and his two Sons.

29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his countenance was altered, and his raiment became dazzling white.

Praying on mountains is ancient and universal among near east religions, . The great peaks are seen as stairways to God or the gods as they literally “touch” the heavens themselves. Jesus also follows this tradition of praying on Mountains but typically he does this to get away from others and recuperate spiritually and commune alone with his Father in Heaven. This time however he is going to participate in a sign for his inner group of apostles.

The “appearance of his countenance was altered”. The literal meaning of “countenance” prosopon in Greek is the “face”. It can mean general appearance or a persons presence. Like the previous verse this is a typological fulfilment of an event in the life of Moses. The Book of Exodus records Moses’ face being radiant after speaking to God in Exodus 34:29-35. Moses’ face reflected the glory of God whereas Jesus radiated his own divine glory as God made Man.

His clothing also changed, “his raiment became dazzling white.” A physical transformation of his very clothing has taken place along with his face. Divinity is manifesting itself visually to his inner group of apostles. In the ancient interpretation of Genesis 6:1-4, the “Sons of God” also showed off their divinity, by trespassing that is, and committed a divine infraction. According to the apocryphal second temple Jewish work 1 Enoch, it consisted of a leader Semjaza and his 200 “watchers” a term used by the prophet Daniel to describe angelic beings. Here we see the Son of God being obedient to the Father by appearing and displaying God’s divinity in visual form as a hope of fixing what was broken in Genesis.

30 And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Elijah,

31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem.

Whilst Jesus is radiating his divine glory, two men also appear in glory, which would be some time of glorified or purified state. These men are Moses and Elijah. Moses held in high esteem and almost existed as a quasi-divine figure by some Jew’s of Jesus’ day because of his proximity to God. He also was the conduit for the Law that all Hebrews held to. He as a person symbolises the Law. Elijah is considered by many as the greatest prophet of God and in the same way Moses is a symbol of the Law, Elijah was considered the personal symbol of the Prophets. This would be two thirds of the Hebrew canon, the Law and the Prophets but if we take Jesus to be the Word, which he is, Wisdom, which he is…then we have the entire distribution of the Word of God on Mount Hermon. The Law, The Prophets and The Writings. But it doesn’t end there of course.

Moses and Elijah appear in “glory” they are resembling something of a divine nature, that being spiritual, I’m not calling them God. They do however reflect him. They appear bodily though, at least that is how the text reads it. Even Peter assumes so in the following verses. According to 2 Kings 2:11 Elijah was assumed in Heaven, or at least one of the heavens.

“And as they still went on and talked, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.”

St. Thomas Aquinas argues that Elijah and Enoch were taken to a hidden terrestrial paradise, awaiting Christ’s redemptive work. I’m inclined to assent to Saint Thomas’ understanding. Moses although not explicitly described in the same way as Elijah, much of tradition holds to Moses’ body being taken into God’s presence in some manner.

Saint Jude’s epistle has a curious reference to Moses’ body:

“But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’”

Saint Thomas argued that Moses’ body was assumed after death as a prefiguration of the resurrection of the body that all the righteous will experience. Similar to that of Elijah, he was not taken to the Beatific vision but to some other hidden paradise. It’s not just that these men were symbols of something that they appear as they do in this passage, its because they were preserved in a special way by God maybe for the typological fulfilment of the Descent on Mount Hermon by the rebellious angels that I spoke about before. They watchers descend and appear, in their glory, with their leader, physically. Here we see the leader, the true Son of God with two others who have descended from the lesser heavens and natural paradises in order to mend that previous infraction. It is all so fitting.

Our English translation unfortunately obscures a word for us that would make a lot of this divine mission a little clearer. “Departure” in my opinion should be scrapped in verses like these. The Greek is “Exodus”, the English completely hides the theological messaging. Jesus is being positioned the entire time as a new Moses but that could be lost on you if it wasn’t explained and you were very fluent in the Old Testament but if we simply used the Greek word “Exodus” everyones ears would prick up because of the Book of Exodus, which of course this is referencing. Jesus is the New Moses and there is going to be a new Exodus that he will accomplish at Jerusalem.

Although not being in the Beatific Vision, and just being in some lesser yet still heavenly paradise, both Elijah and Moses seem to have a keen awareness of what is going on in the Land of Living, more so that the Apostles who have been following Jesus around all this time. The presumption that many man-made churches have about the dead in the beatific vision not being able to be aware of things is scripturally unfounded. These men aren’t even in the highest heaven yet they know what is going on on earth and what is being planned.

32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, and when they wakened they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.

Peter the chief apostle and those with him, James and John are, as usual in such mystical situations, are heavy with sleep. Mount Hermon unlike Mount Tabor is VERY tall and climbing it would be exhausting. Once they’re all awake they saw Jesus’ glory first and the two men with him. This really does impress upon the reader a physical manifestation of divinity, a theophany is occurring and the two men are seen as men, not spirits. They are physically present also.

33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said.

Peter, not even suspecting them as spirits, says that its good timing that they are here, they being himself and the sons of Zebedee because they can prepare a tent for the two men. The passage also illustrates for us that Peter is able to recognise who they are and doesn’t really seem to be too shocked by their bodily appearance. Peter is the previous event of todays readings confessed who Jesus was and Jesus told him that flesh and bone did not tell him but his Father in heaven. Peter might have a supernatural ability, possibly as apart of his Office as Chief apostle, to recognise people by their very nature.

34 As he said this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.

As Peter is speaking a “cloud came and over shadowed them”. A cloud descending on a mountain? Moses references? Exodus references? This is the shekinah, the glory cloud that descends on the Tabernacle when God comes to his people. The “overshadow” language is used earlier in Luke’s Gospel in references to the Holy Spirit who will overshadow Mary, by which she will conceive the baby Jesus. Yet the earlier references of this term in Greek go back to the Greek Old Testament as it is how the glory cloud is described.

35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”

A voice, an audible voice apparently, comes out of the cloud. It tells those in attendance that Jesus is his Son, his chosen and they are to listen to him. This glory cloud is by some understanding a vehicle of God the Fathers voice. Just like how He communed with Moses all those centuries ago, he now communes with his Son, the New Moses on the mountain.

36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silence and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

When God the Father finishes speaking, only Jesus remains. Nothing else, Moses and Elijah have been taken back up, the cloud has gone. Jesus is who we need to listen to as the Father has said. Peter, James and John keep silence on this event but Peter will reference it in his second Epistle. The secrecy was obviously that of only pre-resurrection importance. If they told everyone what had happened, the Messianic secret would have been hard to keep.

29 When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah.

After Jesus’ altercation with the Pharisees about the origin of his power in exorcism, the crowds increase in number around Jesus. At this point in his ministry Jesus is getting surrounded by crowds in the multiple hundreds so we should be envisioning something like that here.

He refers to those surrounding him as an “evil generation”. This is the language used to describe the stiff necked people of the Old Covenant out in the wilderness. Those that did not trust in God but themselves. They murmured against Moses and refused to take the Promised Land even though God said he would be with them. Those around Jesus are similar, yes, many are taken in by the miracles and exorcisms but it does not cause faith in them. They are essentially being entertained, like those in the wilderness, they were amazed by God’s deeds but did not put faith in him.

This generation “seeks a sign”. Signs were very important in ancient Judaism. It has a variety of meanings, it could be miracles, it could be celestial abnormalities but the substance of its meaning is “something obviously being done by God”. Jesus compares them to the faithless generation, unless something is done blatantly in their face, they will not believe. Such acts don’t cause the virtue of faith but an intellectual acknowledgement of reality. This generation will not receive a sign that nurtures faith but the last act of mercy by God. A call to repentance.

30 For as Jonah became a sign to the men of Nineveh, so will the Son of man be to this generation.

Most assume that when Jesus says “the sign of Jonah” he is referring to three days dead in the whale and being raised as it is a prefiguring of the resurrection but Jesus explains in verse 30 that “as Jonah became a sign to the men of Nineveh” so will he, Jesus, the Son of Man, be a sign to this evil generation. The Ninevites didn’t witness the miracle of Jonah rising from Sheol by God’s power after being dead for three days in the big fish. All they witnessed was Jonah’s mission from God, to call the Ninevites to repentance.

The only “sign” or “act of God” the faithless evil generation will receive is Jesus’ message “repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand”. The Resurrection will be a sign for those open to faith but many, especially the faithless of this evil generation will not. They endure in their denial of it to this day, Jews are still around.

31 The queen of the South will arise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

Jesus hearkens back to another Old Testament story, like the Ninevites , it is also about Gentiles accepting the Word of God. In this case he speaks of the Queen of the South or Queen of Sheba. Jesus then talks about “the judgement” this would be the Final Judgement, the Great Assize. A divine cosmic court proceeding where all the living and dead are judged. Everyone is raised but the righteous are raised in glory, the unrighteous raised in disgrace. Jesus is using a past Gentile monarch as a polemic against the faith of the current evil generation of Jews.

This Gentile Monarch, the Queen of Sheba went to the ends of the earth to hear the “wisdom of Solomon”. Solomon’s wisdom was granted to him by God. It is in a sense, God’s wisdom in the body of a man. A broken man with concupiscence but still God’s wisdom. By extension, this Gentile Queen sought out the Wisdom of God. When she rises at the Final Judgement, she will condemn this generation since the righteous, as we have read elsewhere are at the “right hand” of the Son of Man. They share his authority and rule.

All of this props up the wisdom of Solomon but Jesus caps it with “something greater than Solomon is here”. He is the fulfilment of God’s wisdom in Man because he is the Word Made Flesh.

32 The men of Nineveh will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

Back to his words about Jonah and the Ninevites. The Gentile Ninevites actually accepted the prophet Jonah’s call to repentance, the “sign” from God. They covered themselves in ashes and fasted. They, like the Queen of Sheba, acknowledged God through the virtue of faith and in the final Judgement will rise and condemn this evil generation. Again Jesus puts all of this into its correct order, placing himself as an even greater prophet than Jonah. “Something greater than Jonah is here”. So Jesus positions himself as the greater version of God’s wisdom in man (Solomon) and the prophet who died from three days, rose and preached repentance to the Gentiles (Jonah).

1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit

Luke has just concluded his infancy narrative, Jesus’ baptism and ending on the Genealogy of Jesus. He is “full of the Holy Spirit”. This phrasing alludes back to Old Testament prophetic designation. Examples like Bezalel in Exodus and Moses along with the Elders in Numbers.

“And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship.” (Exodus 31:3)

“I will take some of the Spirit that is upon you and put it upon them.” (Numbers 11:17)

Jesus has been anointed (baptised by John) and is filled with the spirit, he leaves the location of his anointing and is “led by the spirit”. Although we acknowledge the Trinity as a relationship of persons we rarely notice particular elements of this relational communion except between The Father and The Son. Here we see the Spirit utilise its guiding role and leads The Son out to the wilderness.

2 for forty days in the wilderness, tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing in those days; and when they were ended, he was hungry.

Jesus following his anointing as a prophet will endure 40 days of fasting in the wilderness. This reflects Moses’ fasting on Mount Sinai in Exodus 34:28 and Elijah’s journey in 1 Kings 19:8. Jesus is marked out as the fulfilment of Moses and Elijah.

He is tempted by “the devil” diabolou in Greek, which is singular, indicating a personal adversary. When referring to unclean spirits Luke uses plurals like daimonia. This informs the reader that this entity is the singular Evil One and not just a lesser evil spirit.

3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

The Evil One says to Jesus that if he is the Son of God he should simply command the stones around him to turn into food. Jesus has been fasting, denying physical nourishment as a component of his preparation for his mission, the devil does not understand this and seeks to tempt him using both his divine identity and hunger. Basically if you have power, use it. This temptation to usurp divine authority in order to eat something should cause echoes of The Fall in Eden.

4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’ ”

Jesus responds by quoting scripture, specifically Deuteronomy 8:3 where Moses reminds Israel that their sustenance is rooted in God, not the bread itself. God is the source of it all, the thing itself is not its own source of nourishment.

5 And the devil took him up, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time,

6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory; for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.

7 If you, then, will worship me, it shall all be yours.”

Not being able to win Jesus over with food, the Evil One now tempts Jesus with power. He takes him “up” we should probably interpret this as to one of the “Heavens” like what is found in the Pseudoepigraphical work The Ascension of Isaiah as what the Devil shows Jesus is “all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time”. He’s showing Jesus the height of empires that didn’t co-exist, this is a vision. The Devil also acknowledges that he, as of right now, has the legitimate authority of the earthly kingdoms. This is true but incomplete. Yahweh disinherited the nations at Babel, putting them under the control of lesser elohim, the Devil props himself up as the leader of these lesser elohim but this disinheritance was only temporary and Yahweh was always above those other gods.

Just like the previous temptation this also follows the Edenic blueprint, except where man failed, the God-man prevails. The Serpent in Genesis promises our first parents that if they eat of the Tree of Knowledge they would “be like God”, therefore have glory and power but that would require disobeying God and obeying the temptation of the serpent a type of worship. Here we see that same old evil entity promise a God-like power, dominion over all Kingdoms, if Jesus worships him.

8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’ ”

Once again, Jesus responds with scripture, quoting Deuteronomy 6:13. It is a part of the Shema which is essentially the Hebrew Creed and it was recited daily. Jesus rejects the shortcut to earthly kingship, remaining obedient to God The Father.

9 And he took him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here;

10 for it is written, ‘He will give his angels charge of you, to guard you,’

11 and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”

Not convincing Jesus with having a lesser kingship over all the nations, the Devil takes Jesus to the top of the Temple in Jerusalem. Telling him that if he is the Son of God he should throw himself off because God will save him. The Devil, noticing that Jesus uses scripture as his rebukes, uses scripture to justify the action, he quotes from Psalm 91:11-12. This shows that Sacred Scripture can be abused with false interpretation, purposefully ignoring the context of Sacred Tradition.

This also finds it’s allusion back to the Fall in Genesis where the Serpent distorts God’s command about the Tree of Knowledge.

“Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1)

He then tempts our first parents with divine status, in the Gospel reading the Devil switches the order, If you are of divine status you can do my interpretation of scripture (God’s Command).

12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”

Again Jesus succeeds where our first parents failed, this time hearkening back to something elusive to many man-made churches. There is more than just Sacred Scripture, there is Sacred Tradition that instils a framework of correct interpretation of said scripture. “It is said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ “

In the previous cases, the rebukes from Jesus have been quotes of Scripture but now the Devil seeks to use scripture against him, Jesus refers to the Tradition of said scripture. “It is said”. Without a divinely instituted framework of Tradition hand-in-hand with Scripture we could abuse it like the Devil does here. Jesus specifically refutes the Devils sola scriptura with sacred tradition.

13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

After all of the failures of the old Adam are fixed by the New Adam, Jesus, the Devil gives up, temporarily. Luke tells us it is “until and opportune time” this is likely when goes into Judas, in order to betray Jesus and cause our Lord’s Passion but he is unaware that this event will be his undoing.

27 After this he went out, and saw a tax collector, named Levi, sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, “Follow me.”

28 And he left everything, and rose and followed him.

Jesus has just demonstrated his authority to forgive sins with a miraculous sign of healing the man let through the roof by his companions. Then Luke narrates Matthew’s calling by Jesus. “After this he went out, and saw a tax collector, named Levi”. We can assume this is still in Capernaum which did have it’s own Roman tax office where the Rome took her taxes from the Jews. We are told his name is Levi but elsewhere he is called Matthew. Some assume simply that Matthew was his Greek name and Levi his Hebrew name but it might be a little more complex than that.

Matthew appears to be his Greek name originally Matthaios and Levi, his Hebrew name. Levi means “Joined” or “attached” and is the name of one of the Tribes but Mattaios is actually a Greek version of the Hebrew name Mattityahu which means “Gift of Yahweh”. Considering Levi was a tribal name, his full name was likely Mattityahu of the Tribe of Levi, he Greco-fide his first name to sound more Greek because he was typically working with Romans who spoke that language. If he was of the tribe of Levi that would have meant he was of priestly lineage, this means his occupation as a tax collector was even more of a betrayal than it was perceived to be.

Jesus simply tells him to follow him and he simply does. He drops everything he is doing in order to do so.

29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house; and there was a large company of tax collectors and others sitting at table with them.

Levi despite his ostracization from polite Jewish society, he was well accepted and richly rewarded by the gentile one. He has a house large enough to host feasts with “a large company of tax collectors and others”. Although his apparent distance from Jewish covenantal practices, he does make this great feast for Jesus. In Jewish culture, to eat with someone was to say “this is my family”. Levi dropped everything to follow Jesus and now he shows just how far he accepts him, by bring him into the meal. Everything in Jewish life was religious, we might see a list of do’s and dont’s and purity laws but the reason why was that everything essentially was liturgical because everything comes from God. A meal meant a lot more then than now.

30 And the Pharisees and their scribes murmured against his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

The Pharisees, the dominant sect of Second Temple Judaism and occupiers of Moses’ seat of teaching, along with their scribes see this feast going on. They “murmured” against his disciples, this should take us back to the Exodus where the people murmured against Moses. Ironic, those who now occupy Moses’ seat murmur against the New Moses. It might seem odd in how they saw this going on so we should probably explain some ancient activities that were common then and unheard of now.

There was a lack of entertainment in ancient days but something rather common in both the Greco-Roman and Judaic world was a type of meal where the public were onlookers. This still might sound weird but it was common especially among Greek philosophers, you’d have an impressive meal, talk about all your big brain ideas and the public could watch and listen. They weren’t involved in the meal but could watch. Considering the Greco-fied Matthew, this might be what’s happening and would explain how passers by could know what was happening, because anybody could.

The Pharisees with their purity legalism and tunnel vision observations cannot understand why you would ever eat with such people, as the Jewish notion we’ve explained already means you’re incorporating these people into your family in a sense by doing this.

31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick;

32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Jesus makes it incredibly clear, he is here to help and those who are broken are the ones who need him. He refers to himself as a physician, once you perceive sinners as people who are sick instead of people who are stains on purity your obligations shift. Jesus is not here for those who are righteous but those who need to repent of their sins.

22 saying, “The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

According to Luke’s more chronological narrative of events, Jesus has just fed the five thousand Israelites and Peter has made his confession of faith. Both a demonstration of Jesus’ divine identity and an acknowledgement of it. The further mystery is what is to happen to the God-Man. The reason it is a mystery is because as Saint Paul says it is folly to the pagans and scandalous to the Jews. Jesus outright says what is to happen and the Hebrew Scriptures themselves testify to it. The Messiah must be “cut off” as the Prophet Daniel tells us.

The title Son of Man itself is a call-back to the Prophet Daniel as well, further cementing this point. The old wineskins will break if they are filled with new wine so the old must be replaced. How could the Old Covenant be replaced, destroyed even without infringing on free will though? That’s a good question. You have to take on an ancient worldview, what we would call the “natural model”. In the natural model, a nation is a body with figures in its elite operating as the head. When a head rejects something, the body rejects it, it has no will of its own. God the Father provides an ultimatum, his Son. If they accept well all is good but we know from history that they didn’t and thus rejected God himself. This is why when the elders, chief priests and scribes reject Jesus, the Old Covenant people reject it. These are the heads of the body of Israel, even though some members accept Jesus, when the head says no, the body is forced to comply.

It might seem odd to explain all of that in this section but this is why Jesus explains it in these terms, if we do not take on their worldview we’d be left stumped at why their rejection does anything. Their rejection and command to kill Jesus enables Jesus to conquer death. God uses the wickedness of man to demonstrate the Good News. There is a New Covenant, a new body and the head of it conquers death by rising on the third day.

23 And he said to all, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Although he is explaining essentially everything, conversion is an act of the heart. So Jesus explains what it will take in order to comprehend, at least in human terms, what he is doing. They will have to deny themselves, meaning to submit entirely unto God, not their inclinations. In order to follow him they have to take up their cross daily.

Although in our time the cross is a symbol of love and holds many positive connotations, in Jesus’ time it was the most horrific, humiliating and torturous death known to man. Successively “improved” over many centuries in various cultures it finally landed in the hands of the Romans as the perfect method to publicly humiliate and execute someone in the most painful way possible. Your dignity was removed as your clothes were stripped from you, then you are whipped to near death, forced to carry the cross beam through the public square to your execution spot and then nailed to or hung from the beam until you slowly asphyxiate to death in front of everyone. Barbaric to the gentiles, rejected by the Greeks for being to cruel it was kept by the Romans explicitly for slaves and rebels. To the Hebrews, on top of all this horror it was also the symbol of a curse. As scripture says any man hung from a tree is cursed.

When we take all of this in, and re-read the what Jesus is saying, we can understand just how extreme this is. This is what they must willingly endure daily in order to follow him.

24 For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it.

In the context given previously, these sayings make a lot of sense. If imitating Christ, laying your life out like him who is raised from the dead then if you try to avoid doing that, you do not get eternal life. If you run away from the cross you will die permanently but if you lose your life for him you will gain life in the resurrection. This level of loyalty Jesus is expecting is, as we have noted else in these commentaries is unique. No king or general ever speaks in these extremes yet Jesus does. Suddenly the “just believe you’re saved” folks seem a little lack lustre and the “Jesus is just a wise teacher” crowd go very quiet at these words.

25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?

All the material things you gain in this life you will not carry with you when you die so if the cost of having those things temporarily is your eternal soul, what does it profit you? By turning mortality into a simple financial question, the true answer becomes very clear.

39 He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?

The Parables in Luke:39-45 come after Luke’s rendition of the Beatitudes, essentially an instruction manual in how to act as Jesus wants us to. The parables in todays readings are not simply a thematic edition as some commentators assume but are directly related. Jesus gives instruction on how the adherents of his New Covenant community are to act. Then with the use of parables proposed as questions, Jesus explains how if they don’t abide by the rules he has set out they will be of no use to those in need. They are to be lights of the world, they have to act like it in order to be it.

The first parable, can a blind man lead a blind man? In context, can people who reject God’s revelation lead others to God’s revelation? No. He uses physical senses, something we do understand, as a symbol of the invisible senses of faith. Those that do not abide by Jesus’ words cannot lead other people into it, they will both fall in the pit. What’s interesting in this particular line is the possible additional meaning of “pit”. This was a colloquial term for Sheol, the land of the dead.

40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but every one when he is fully taught will be like his teacher.

We will be like Jesus if we abide in him, we will never outrank him because we will always be his students but if we fully take in his teachings we will be able to imitate him. We shouldn’t let the parable limit us to just the consumption of knowledge, that would be heretical, the parable of learning knowledge as a student from a teacher in order to be like the teacher is again a more understandable framework to our small minds. It is a sign pointing toward a greater divine truth beyond our regular senses.

41 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

42 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

If we fully understood sin as it is we would notice the glaringly more obvious sins of our own doing before we ever noticed others. It doesn’t mean we can’t help people despite ourselves being sinful but if we truly want to help people we must be more aware of our own sins than others. We cannot correct another of a lesser sin than we ourselves commit without being a hypocrite. If we are to make war with sin we must acknowledge it fully in ourselves first.

43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit;

44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.

Using trees and their fruit, something his audience will definitely understand, Jesus applies it to the model of the human person. We all understand that good trees make good fruit. Bad trees make bad fruit or no fruit at all. We have to be good people in order to make other people good. Changing the label on a pine tree does not make it an apple tree, the tree itself must be good. We have to be good to bear good fruit.

45 The good man out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil man out of his evil treasure produces evil; for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

A good person produces only good things from his heart because his substance is in itself good. Like the one Saint Paul speaks of, one who abides by the Spirit lives in the Spirit. No bad works, mistakes sure, but nothing intentionally evil. Jesus uses a persons heart as symbolic store room of our intent. If we only have good intentions store there, only good actions can come from it.

All of this relies on our adherents to his instructions on the Sermon on the Mount/Plain. We have to be like God in our own capacity in this life. We can’t fall into our own broken inclinations.

27 “But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

The lectionary inserts a phrase at the beginning that reads “Jesus said to his disciples” but his words begin with “But I say to you that hear”. It is important to note that Jesus is actually speaking to everyone that can hear. This also implies that these instructions, which are Luke’s rendition of the Beatitudes are not for a specific group of people, locked into a certain time. This is a lesson that applies to all, even those in our own day.

Jesus first says to “Love” your enemies the Greek word agapaō is used here. This is not the typical filial love of family and friends or the mutual appreciation between companions but the selfless love. Jesus then follows with what loving your enemies means, “Do good to those who hate you”. To love your enemies is will and do the good to and for them. This is difficult lesson in our own time but especially a difficult one for the Jews of Jesus’ time. This is somewhat of a new teaching, although charity was always to be expressed to your fellow Hebrew, the orphan, the widow, those in need, even the stranger. It was not extended towards outright enemies.

28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

Blessings in exchange for curses and praying for your abusers seems counterintuitive but God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and he sends the rain on good and bad alike. Although this teaching seems like folly to our fallen human nature, that’s because within it is hiding the mysteries of God himself. God gives life to those who act in evil ways, we are to act as his children by extending that same patience from ourselves. God wills for all men to be saved, even those who do horrific harm and sin that would make us shudder but he still loves them and this teaching that we are to take on is a part of his Divine Condescension, He is inviting us to be like Him.

29 To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.

Following the same pattern, if someone strikes your cheek, offer him the other one, if they steal from you, give them more of what you have. God cannot be wounded, and nothing can be taken from him. When understood correctly, this passage is God inviting us to be like Him. Yes we have physical bodies that makes this difficult but that is one small part of why the Incarnation of the Word happened. To show us that even He can endure this and still act the right way. It is possible even if our fallen nature pigeonholes us into thinking it is not.

30 Give to every one who begs from you; and of him who takes away your goods do not ask them again.

God answers the prayers of those who beg him and nobody, despite what they think, owns anything he has created. Regardless of what manmade rules imply such, they’re really His at the end of the day. Again this tough calling of giving to those who beg and letting go of what has been perceived to be as stolen from you is an invitation to be like God.

31 And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.

The Golden Rule, very simply, treat others as you wish to be treated. Does not need much explanation but at the time, this was difficult for the ancients to understand, they had lived by the rule of eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. If someone steals they are to make good with those he has stolen from with interest. What seems like giving into to evil and like folly is again, to be like God.

32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

Jesus asks three rhetorical questions to make further his statement, illuminating the teaching as clearly as possible. If you only love those who love you, do good to those who do good to you and lend because you know you’re going to be paid back, you’re actually living by the standards of a much lesser person. Sinners and Gentiles do all these things but we are called to be Sons and Daughters of God, we are called to a higher standard because we are called to be like Him.

35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish.

Now Jesus summarises all these lessons by explaining that they will be rewarded, it will even be a great reward and they will also, as I have pointed out multiple times by now, clarifies that they will be “Sons of the Most High” because…He does all of these things. This is an invitation to be like God and as sons, we are heirs, the least we can do is try to be like Him.

36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

One of the most difficult lessons is to be merciful to others but God is merciful. When we do not extend mercy, we are breaking several rules, we are usurping the authority of God. He is merciful but we think we are above that and treat others without mercy. We do not forgive when we should even though God is will to forgive all. When we reject this teaching we place ourselves above God. We aren’t just breaking “one rule” that Jesus gave at some point, we are committing the sin that led the Evil One to where he is. We act like the devil, not God. Which would make us sons of his instead of God.

17 And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases;

Jesus has just appointed his twelve apostles according to Luke’s more detail and chronologically oriented Gospel. He proceeds to give what scholars call the Sermon on the Plain, Luke’s rendition of the Sermon on the Mount. The lectionary skips a few verses to focus on the blessing’s and woe’s that Jesus teaches when coming down from the mountain. Catholic teaching is not strict on whether the Sermon on the Mount or the Sermon on the Plain are the same event or different teaching moments in Jesus’ ministry. I think it is most likely the same story told from a different perspective.

Jesus’ audience as illuminated by Luke is not just a Jewish audience as inferred by some according to Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has attracted crowds from Judea, Jerusalem and Tyre and Sidon, the two famous Phoenician cities and therefore Gentile. Luke’s specification of “level ground” implies flat ground that is not the normal ground, so Jesus is still technically on the mountain just a level part of it, a natural pulpit from which to teach those at the foot of the mountain. The whole position reflects Moses’ bring of the Law to the people from Mount Sinai.

Luke’s rendition of the Beatitudes is shorter than Matthew’s and there are a variety of explanations why. We know from ancient historical sources that Matthew wrote his Gospel from his own memory and a collection of sayings written down that recorded Jesus’ sayings. He would write the narrative as he remembered and when he could he would supplement speech from other parts of Jesus’ ministry for thematic purposes. If he had loose sayings that matched a moment, he would put them in there as the Spirit guided him to write it.

Luke however is writing as a historian, one of the highest calibre with a precise attention to detail. His account is most likely the most literal rendition of the event as he interviewed a variety of witnesses in order to write his Gospel. But this is all just my opinion on why they are different.

20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

Jesus looks to his newly appointed apostles along with his other disciples and told them “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” The term “Blessed” is used repeatedly here so we’ll explain it once in this section. The Greek word is Marakios the connotation is favoured, in this context, favoured by God. The poor although in our initial reading will simply seem to be talking of those who are materially poor the ancient perspective implies both poor of material and Matthew’s rendition “poor in spirit”. Not a contradiction, the ancient terminology just meant both whereas now we see it as separate. This comes from the fact that those who were physically poor were considered cursed in someway, the physical aspects of their life was intimately determined by the spiritual. Someone who is poor physically is also poor in spirit.

Jesus corrects the interpretation or more likely, Jesus is saying how it will be from now on in the New Covenant. Those who are poor (in spirit as well) well inherit the Kingdom of God. They are not rejected by God, but their way of life can serve as a purpose to receive the Kingdom of God.

21 “Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. “Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh.

Those who suffer from hunger now in this world, will be satisfied, that is they will not hunger in the fullness of life in Heaven. Those who weep, that is sorrowful for the sin of the world, you will laugh and feel joy in Heaven.

22 “Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man!

23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.

Those who are cast out as evil and excluded and hated because of their faith in Jesus, the Son of Man, will be favoured by God. These are all things that will occur in the future. Especially by the Jews, up until the formation of “Rabbincal Judaism” which is the foundation of Modern Judaism, Christianity or “the Way” or the “Nazarenes” were considered a sect of Yahwahism but they were cut off and Christians were considered heretics. Jesus is pointing out that this cutting off actually makes them favoured by God.

Gentiles will also persecute the Christians later as well, especially the Roman emperors who will enact horrific genocides of Christians up until its legalisation in the 4th century. All these horrors will in fact be a sign that they are blessed.

They should all be filled with joy even in these tribulations because their treasures are in heaven and that they should not be surprised by the tribulations either because, now Jesus lets you know who he is focusing on as the persecutors, their fathers also did the same to the Prophets. This means Jesus has the Jews in mind as the main persecutor of his followers which history attests to.

24 “But woe to you that are rich, for you have received your consolation.

25 “Woe to you that are full now, for you shall hunger. “Woe to you that laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

26 “Woe to you, when all men speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

Now Jesus declares the woes on the rich, the satisfied and those who are spoken well of in this world. It is not a definite damnation of these things but it is absolutely true that physical wealth and consolations make a person blind to the spiritual life. If you don’t have anything, its easier to turn to God but if you think your wealth, food and status grant you your contentment then you simply won’t turn to God.

Jesus highlights a historical truth of false prophets as well. Throughout the Old Testament their are false prophets who actually say “good things” to the Jewish leadership, they are praised by said leadership and elevated over true prophets whose true message was not accepted because it didn’t sound very positive. Being spoken of badly by the world is a good indicator that you not on side with it and we’re called to a much higher world than this one.

1 While the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret.

Continuing the events from the end of chapter four we can assume that Jesus is still in Capernaum, the mainly Jewish fishing town on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. His preaching and miracles at this early point of his ministry has attracted large crowds following him from place to place. Gennesaret is simply another name for the Sea of Galilee, it was also known as the Sea of Tiberias, depending on who you ask.

There are so many people that despite Jesus being in a rather open place, they are pressed up against him in order to “hear the word of God.” We should not take this phrasing lightly, the crowds are not pressing against him for healing or wisdom seeking although that is an extension of God’s word. Luke articulates their focus as being when they hear Jesus, they hear the word of God. This is profound and acts as a hint toward Jesus’ divine identity, Jesus is not reading the scriptures to them, he is teaching his own wisdom, not that it is in opposition to the scriptures that is.

2 And he saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.

3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

Almost like he is looking for escape route, Jesus looks around to find two boats by the lake that are left empty of the fishermen who are performing maintenance on their equipment. Jesus wants to take his attention from the crowds and give it to a particular person, that person being Simon Peter. Considering his future role Jesus wants to extend a hand to him specifically out of the crowds pressing up against him though he doesn’t do it immediately.

He gets into Simons boat, asking him to push them a little way out from the land so he could, for the moment, continue teaching the crowds. The human voice travels quite well over the water and as you approach the land it naturally rises up so this creates an organic amphitheatre for Jesus’ preaching.

4 And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”

Jesus finishes his teachings to the crowds and turns his attention to Simon Peter specifically, telling him to them out to the deep abyss of the waters, they are to lower their nets because Jesus is going to direct them in catching fish. Simon Peter, a professional fisherman by life and trade in this verse refers to him as epistates translated in English as “master”, literally a common form of “overseer” and tells him they fished all night and caught nothing but because of Jesus’ word, he will let down the nets. We’re making note of what Peter calls Jesus’ here for a reason, the terminology changes after the miracle.

6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking,

7 they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

After following Jesus’ instruction they let down their nets from their boats into the deep sea and suddenly, by miraculous intervention, they catch so many fish that their nets are breaking from the size of the catch. They call to their co-workers in order to help them and so many fish brought on board it cause the ships to begin to sink.

8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

Remember the term Simon Peter used toward Jesus? After ignoring his own perception and senses, trusting in the word of Jesus, hauling so many fish their boats began to sink, Simon Peter falls at Jesus feet, prostrating, as one does with a King or God and tells him “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O LORD.” At the power of Jesus is in this relatively simple miracle (compared to what Jesus will do later) Peter prostrates before Jesus, acknowledges his sins and called Jesus “Kyrios” The Greek rendition of God’s name the Greek Old Testament. A divine admission and confession of faith.

9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the catch of fish which they had taken;

10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men.”

Peter is beyond shocked at how many fish were taken in, as were those with him along with the sons of Zebedee who were apart of their local fishing co-operation. Jesus says directly to Peter, “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men.” This young fisherman is being personally called to task to be the leader of the Apostles in this scene, it appears to be Luke’s rendition of Peter’s call to leadership typically only thought to be in Matthew 16.

Jesus was teaching, he brings the crowds attention to Peter’s boat, then uses Peter to do the miracle before all, demonstrating in the process the limitations of the material vessel they use, if they want to catch bigger things like men, they will need a bigger vessel, Jesus’ body will provide the vessel, acknowledged as divine by Peter himself after witnessing the miracle directly engineered by Jesus to frame Peter as the leader.

11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

After all is done, they take their boats back to land, abandon everything and following their Lord.

22 And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord

Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus have travelled North to Jerusalem, this would be Jesus’ first time in the Temple. We typically think of the Cleansing of the Temple being Jesus’ first time or maybe people would think of the earlier Finding in the Temple when Jesus is 12 years old but here is the first time that God comes back to the Temple. The reason for their going is the purification rites that were required by the Law of Moses, typically this was only applied to women, because of the uncleanness that giving birth causes (bodily fluids) but Luke notes a plural “their” purification. Some stricter rabbi’s held that both the mother and father became unclean from the birthing of a child, Luke might be referencing that.

Mary herself is obviously not actually unclean, physically or spiritually. She may not have known that but she is simply being obedient to the Law. Examples given to us by Jesus in his ministry point to the idea of doing what is according to the Law in order to “not give offense.” He did not need to do certain things but did them as to not scandalise or cause unneeded commotion among the people. Mary is either knowingly or unknowingly doing this.

23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”)

As the first born son Jesus was to be presented to the Lord in the Temple as according to the Law of Moses, mentioned in Exodus 13, all first born males of man and beast alike are to be offered to the Lord. This is in reference to the saving of the first born of the Hebrews and death of the first born Egyptians during the first Passover. In response the Hebrew people are to consecrate their first born sons to God to be “redeemed”. As with Mary, Jesus is not in need of redeeming or purifying, this is done in accordance to the Law and also acts as a fulfilment of the Prophets call that the Lord would return to his Temple.

24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”

Sacrifice was necessary in the Temple rituals for basically everything, also the Temple itself was needed for the sacrifices to take place (This is why Jews can’t do sacrifices anymore, no temple, no sacrifices.) The requirement for the redemption of a first born man was actually a lamb but the poor were given an allowance by the Law of Moses to provide a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. This immediately gives us the economic state of the Holy Family, they are the poorest of the poor. This is the maximum sacrifice that they can offer in their obedience to the Law.

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

Church tradition as attached many things to the man known as Simeon, like the presumption of him being in the Temple making him a priest and although I am inclined to believe that myself, the biblical text does not tell us his office or station. He is an elderly holy man in the Temple, there were many people who as pious Hebrews simply spent a lot of time there without such an office. He was a citizen of Jerusalem and his name is actually the same as Simon or “Shim’on” it means “he who listens.” A fitting name considering the Holy Spirit speaks to him.

Simeon is looking for the consolation of Israel, many assume that the Second Temple Period was the peak of Judaism but we forget they were a people in expectation, waiting for the Messiah to arrive. Though those in their own ranks may have been content with how things were spiritually and just wanted to be free of the Romans; the Prophets and Patriarchs all expected something better to come.

26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

The Holy Spirit reveals to He Who Listens that he will not see death before he has seen the Lord’s Christ. Christos or Christ is Greek for Anointed, it is the same as the Hebrew derived term Messiah. It has both royal, priestly and prophetic connotations as all three of these offices required anointing in order to be “official” in the eyes of God.

27 And inspired by the Spirit he came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law,

Simeon is not actually in the Temple at the time but the Holy Spirit inspires him to come to the Temple on the same day that the baby Jesus is brought their for his consecration to the Lord. This is a point of evidence I’d say in opposition to the extra-biblical tradition that he was a Priest, since priests lived in the Temple complex but it is not impossible, Zechariah had priestly duties and did not live there. He Who Listens, listened to the Holy Spirit and goes into the Temple.

28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

29 “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word;

30 for mine eyes have seen thy salvation

31 which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples,

32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to thy people Israel.”

Simeon picks up the young Jesus and blesses God, some people find this odd because in the modern context blessing have a connotation of being top-down but in the ancient world view they did not perceive blessings they way we do. He is giving thanks, offering God what is owed to him.

The Holy Spirit told him that he would not see death until he had seen the Lord’s Anointed so Simeon, inspired by the Spirit is basically prophesying his own death but in a happy glorious way. He may depart in peace. His prayer known as the Nunc Dimittis is the Canticle said the Compline (Night Time Prayer) of the Liturgy of the Hours. It has become in the Church the proclamation of departure for Death and the little death (sleep).

In the person of Jesus, Simeon sees the Salvation that was promised by God to the Prophets and Patriarchs. It is not the action that is salvation but the Person, Jesus. He IS Salvation not only to the people of Israel but also to the Gentiles which will glorify the people of Israel. A light to the Gentiles who have up until this point lived in darkness because they did not have divine revelation that was extended to God’s chosen people, the descendants of Abraham.

33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him;

Both Joseph and Mary, marvel at what was said about him. They received messages from angels and dreams before at Jesus’ birth but there definitely was a notion of secrecy amongst these messages, they did not expect a public declaration from a stranger at the Temple and for the expectations of Jesus to be so great.

34 and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against

35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed.”

Simeon then extends his blessings to the Joseph, Mary and Jesus but says to Mary, alone, of the foreboding aspects of Jesus’ destiny. Not everyone is going to accept him, those that do will rise but those that do not, will fall. A turning of the tables will occur in all of Israel because of this one child. He will be sign that will contradicted by people especially the authorities of Israel but because of that the unknown inner thoughts of people, the intentions of their hearts will be revealed. For the good, the good intentions exposed but for the prideful and wicked, many who occupied prized ranks in Jewish society, they will be revealed as what they are.

Simeon also prophesies the sorrow and pain that Mary will experience. He is speaking to her alone, Joseph will not witness the contradictions against his foster son nor see his death but Mary will. A sword will pierce her heart but it will be for the good of the whole world that she suffers this.

36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanu-el, of the tribe of Asher; she was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity,

After the episode with Simeon, Luke introduces Anna who is a prophetess. A prophetess might make many shudder with presumptions of paganism but this was a real role within Jewish society documented in scripture and in their non-canonical writings. Miriam in the Book of Exodus and Deborah in the Book of Judges are described this way. It means what it sounds like, they are a woman who receives direct messages from God in order to guide the people.

Her name, Anna, is the Greek rendition of the name Hannah which means “grace” or “favour.” Considering she is an Israelite and in the Temple, we can assume that Hannah is her real name.

She is the daughter of Phanu-el. Phanu-el means “Face of God”. It was very rare for people to have unique names, especially in Second Temple Judaic culture. Phanu-el is unlikey to be the name of her father but Phanu-el is a variation of the spelling of “Peniel” or “pᵊnû’ēl” (same word/meaning just different spelling because standardised spellings of words is a modern invention) This is an interesting detail because this is mentioned in the Old Testament. In Genesis 32:30 Jacob wrestles with a mysterious figure until day break, this figure blesses Jacob and renames him Israel “So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, ‘For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved’” Perhaps this labelling of Anna is that her family come from this place and on top of that, fulfilled Jacob’s incomplete meeting with God.

Anna’s tribal origin is also included, she is of have tribe of Asher. This can be confusing for people as most assume that all the other tribes are gone but suddenly Luke just includes some random person here of a lost tribe. This is a misunderstanding of how this actually worked. There were a minority of surviving peoples descended from the other tribes, but there were no leaders of them and they were massively outnumbered by the Judeans (Tribe of Judah/Benjamin) at the time of Jesus.

Anna is very old, “probaino” is Greek for “advance” and could mean literally “to go forward” but in the context of age it means someone “well on in years”, “advanced in age” which is how it is used here. She lived with her husband from the moment of the consummation of their marriage, this is in line with how Jewish weddings typically went. You did not live together till the wedding night and the wedding night would have marked the consummation of their union therefore “from her virginity”

37 and as a widow till she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.

Anna remains a widow “till she was eight-four”. The till used here is the Greek word “heos“. It does not imply a reversal, she is very much still a widow in the following verses. Heos is a particle that denotes a time limit/frame, Luke is describing the moments from her marriage to the present in his narrative. This might seem like an odd thing to pick on but this is the word many (bad) sola scriptura fundamentalists get their modern idea of Mary conceiving children other than Jesus in Matthew 1:25 “but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus.” They do not understand how the common twenty-first century use of till/until is different to two-thousand years ago but this passage demonstrates it nicely.

Some suggest Anna’s age symbolizes her completeness in devotion to God and her role as a representative of faithful Israel, waiting for the Messiah. In Jewish numerology, numbers often carry symbolic significance. 84 is 7 × 12, combining the perfection or completeness of 7 with the covenantal or tribal significance of 12 (e.g., the 12 tribes of Israel).

She does not depart from the Temple. To be clear, this as, as with most other references in the New Testament, is referencing the Temple Complex. Herod’s Temple complex was built in concentric rectangular courts, increasing with purity and decreasing in access until you reach the center where the actual Temple was. The Temple itself was for priests only (The Court of Priests), outside of this was for ritually pure Jewish men (The Court of Israel), then for the broader Jewish community (The Court of Women) and the outer most court for non-Jewish God fearers (The Court of Gentiles). The Presentation of infant boys would be in the Court of Women, which is where Anna also resides and this episode with her follows Jesus’ presentation in the Temple.

Anna resides in the Temple complex in the Court of Women, permanently as a widow, this speaks to the cultural and religious practices as it pertains to the involvement of women in Second Temple Judaism. It would be the historical root of the Order of Widows that would develop in the Church as the consecrated religious life for women (Nuns). Anna spends her time in fasting and prayer. Many assume such practices are made up traditions by medieval Catholic piety but it’s in fact an ancient practice of repentance. Considering her piety and life story it is not likely that Anna is doing this for her own sins but as a penance for the sins of her people, something that Jews absolutely believed was a fruitful spiritual practice.

38 And coming up at that very hour she gave thanks to God, and spoke of him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

“And coming up at that very hour” is a way of saying “at the same time”. Luke is locking this moment with Anna to that of Simeon’s Song where the Holy Spirit revealed the baby Jesus to him as Savior. Anna gives thanks to God for the revelation of the Messiah and speaks of him (Jesus) to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. Second Temple Judaism in the first century was in a fever pitch of messianic expectation because of the prophecies from the Book of Daniel

39 And when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.

Before they return to region of Galilee and their own city of Nazareth, they “performed everything according to the law of the Lord”. This would be the Mosaic requirements of the first born. According to Exodus 13:2, 12–15 and Numbers 18:15–16, the firstborn male of every family was considered consecrated to the Lord and they had to brought to the Temple for a sacrifice to be made. The general requirement is that of a lamb but poor Jews could offer two turtle doves or two pigeons. The latter is what the Holy Family offer at the Temple. There was also a requirement for a financial offering of five shekels but this is not mentioned in the Gospels. Either this practice fell out of favour, the Holy Family paid it but Luke did not think it significant to mention or because of unique reasons to Jesus, circumstance enabled him to be exempt from such an offering. The second option the most likely in my opinion.

40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

Reflecting the verses about the Prophet Samuel in 1 Samuel we have the first of two growth statements about Jesus by Luke, the second one coming at the Finding in the Temple when Jesus is twelve years old. In this case it is when Jesus is forty days old and he naturally (in the sense of human biology) grew and became strong. He is already, at only forty days old, filled with wisdom and the favor of God is upon him.