GD on Luke 2:1-21
Luke 2:1-21
A humble birth and great glory to God
#teaching
#children
#christmas
Published April 9th, 2021
Phrase
Notes
Phrase
NT
Luke 2:1-20
esv
A Humble Birth
A Decreed Journey to David's City
In those days
Temporal
a decree went out
from Caesar Augustus
Source
that all the world should be registered.
Content
This was the first registration
when Quirinius was governor
of Syria.
Subordination
And all went
to be registered,
Purpose
each
Explanation
to his own town.
Destination
And Joseph also went up
from Galilee,
Separation
from the town
of Nazareth,
Epexegetical
to Judea,
to the city
of David,
Descriptive
which is called Bethlehem,
because he was
Ground
of the house
and lineage
of David,
Possessive
to be registered
with Mary,
Accompainment
his betrothed,
who was with child.
A Lowly Birth in David's City
And while they were there,
the time came
for her to give birth.
Result
And she gave birth to her firstborn son
and wrapped him
in swaddling cloths
Means
and laid him
in a manger,
Locative
because there was no place
for them
Reference
in the inn.
Glory to God in Heaven and on Earth
In Heaven: The Angels Glorify God
And in the same region
there were shepherds
out in the field,
keeping watch
Manner
over their flock
by night.
And an angel ... appeared
of the Lord
to them,
and the glory ... shone
of the Lord
around them,
and they were filled
with great fear.
And the angel said
to them,
“Fear not,
Content #1
for behold, I bring you good news
of great joy
Attributive
that will be
for all the people.
Advantage
For ... is born this day ... a Savior,
Content #2
unto you
in the city of David
who is Christ the Lord.
And this will be a sign
Content #3
for you:
you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths
and lying
in a manger.”
And suddenly there was ... a multitude
with the angel
Accompaniment
of the heavenly host
Partitive
praising God
Explanation #1
and saying,
Explanation #2
“Glory
Content #1
to God
in the highest,
and ... peace
Content #2
on earth
among those
with whom
he is pleased!”
On Earth: The Shepherds Glorify God
When the angels went away
from them
into heaven,
the shepherds said
to one another,
“Let us go
over to Bethlehem
and see this thing
that has happened,
which the Lord has made known
to us.”
And they went
with haste
and found Mary
and Joseph,
and the baby lying
in a manger.
And when they saw it,
they made known the saying
that had been told them
concerning this child.
And all ... wondered
at what the shepherds told them.
who heard it
But Mary treasured up all these things,
pondering them
in her heart.
And the shepherds returned,
glorifying
Manner #1
and praising God
Manner #2
for all they had heard
and seen,
as it had been told them.
Comparison
This phrase is one adjective in Greek ( ἐσπαργανωμένον ) , so I didn't divide it.
"Over to" is a translation of one Greek preposition (ἕως), so I didn't divide the phrase here.
"Gave birth to" is one verb in Greek (ἔτεκεν), so I didn't divide it.
This genitive articular infinitive (τοῦ τεκεῖν) has a result function (see GGBB 610). I think this governs the whole clause (starting with "for" in English).
This is a difficult usage! ἐπῖ here is used as a "marker of power, authority, control of or over someone or something" (BDAG, s.v. ἐπί, 9.a).
phrasing
Notes
FB Live on Dec. 29, 2020: To teach children the main points of the passage, I'd try to zoom in on the main points. I'd say that verses 8-20 are emphasized, since verses 1-7 are setting the stage, and Luke himself zooms in on the one scene of the angel's announcement. Within that, the lengthy statement of the angel has the emphasis, since long speeches are emphasized in narrative literature. So you could focus especially on verses 10-12. What you focus on could differ from me, but I'd emphasize the "good news of great joy" in verse 10, and the descriptions of the Saviour in verse 11.
notes
Comments
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