the existence of Israel is threatened, God must stretch out his hand of deliverance to make good on his promise (Exod 2:24–25; Ps 105:8–9).
Third, serving as prophet of the Most High, John will awaken God’s people to be ready for their mighty savior (1:17a, 76). The task of preparation for the Messiah’s coming hearkens back to the words of the prophets: “A voice cries out: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God’” (Isa 40:3); “See, I am sending a messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple” (Mal 3:1a). In these passages, the coming one is God himself. But the uniqueness of Jesus as the agent of salvation and Son of God conceived by the Holy Spirit makes it fitting to identify him as “the lord/Lord” of these passages. The role of the forerunner remains unchanged. John is the eschatological messenger who “will go before the Lord—[Jesus]—to prepare his ways” (1:76b; cf. 3:4; 7:27). John’s mission is reconciliatory, for he will turn many in Israel back to God (1:16), which is what the eschatological Elijah will do when he appears (Mal 4:5–6). Turning is an image of repentance, used by the prophets to persuade Israel to turn from their evil ways (Isa 31:6; Jer 18:11). Now John will again urge Israel to repent. He is to “give knowledge of salvation to [God’s] people by the forgiveness of their sins” (1:77; cf. 3:3). Israel’s preparation is not military but spiritual. The Messiah will be greeted not by an army thirsty for bloodshed, but by a lowly people, humble in heart and grateful for God’s mercy. Redemption here is rescue not from the Romans but from sin (Ps 130:7–8).
Fourth, God’s redemption results in peace and life for all Israel (1:78–79). The English translation, “By the tender mercy (dia splanchna eleous) of our God, the dawn (anatolē) from on high will break upon (epeskepsato) us” (1:78 NRSV), obscures the richness of the images that are loaded with messianic significance. God’s splanchna refers to God’s “heart” or “gut” in anthropomorphic terms. They are the “inner organs” in which God’s deepest emotions reside. God’s saving actions are motivated by his most tender, loving, and sympathetic compassion for his own (cf. 7:13; 10:33; 15:20). The dawn or sunrise is only one meaning of anatolē (cf. Isa 60:1; Mal 4:2), which fits well with its goal “to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death” (1:79a). Light is a common metaphor to denote God’s presence (Exod 13:21; Ps 27:1). Salvation is described as moving from darkness into light (Isa 9:2; 42:7). Another meaning of anatolē is shoot, sprout, or branch, which reminds us of depictions of the Davidic Messiah as “a righteous Branch” (Jer 23:5), “[God’s] servant the Branch” (Zech 3:8), “a man whose name is Branch” (Zech 6:12), “a shoot [that comes] out of the stump of Jesse” (Isa 11:1), and “the root of Jesse” (Isa 11:10). All these layers of meaning for anatolē converge at the Davidic Messiah who leads God’s people into “the way of peace” (1:79b; cf. Isa 9:6–7; 59:8).45 It is noteworthy that the glorified Jesus in the book of Revelation makes this claim: “I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star” (Rev 22:16; cf. Num 24:17)!46
The last verse of chapter 1 fast-forwards through the childhood and youth of John with a summary of his physical and spiritual maturity (1:80). This statement is reminiscent of similar ones said of Samson (Judg 13:24–25) and Samuel (1 Sam 2:26; 3:19). Both, like John, were born of mothers who were once barren until God opened their wombs and were dedicated by those mothers to God’s service.
16. Cf. Josephus Ag. Ap. 1.1–5; Polybius 2.37; Diodorus Siculus 1.3. Alexander (1986: 48–74) notes similarities with prefaces in scientific works, and Moles (2011: 1–82) with those found in Greek decrees.
17. For the value placed on eyewitnesses in ancient historical writing, see Josephus Ag. Ap. 1.53–56; Eusebius Hist. eccl. 3.39. See Bauckham 2006: 21–30 on eyewitnesses as a “living and surviving voice.” The work should be useful, instructive, important, and truthful.
18. The Greek word asphaleia may be translated as “certainty,” “surety,” or “assurance.” “Truth” (NRSV) is less specific but communicates credibility and theological significance. Strelan (2007: 163–71) adds “soundness in argumentation,” the ability to stand up to challenges.
19. Green 1997: 44.
20. Cf. the time formula, “In the days of King ‘X’” (Isa 1:1; Jer 1:2; Amos 1:1).
21. Ford (1984: 1–12) describes first-century Palestine as a “seething cauldron.”
22. Bond 2013: 380.
23. 1 Chr 24:6–19; Neh 12:1–7; Josephus Ant. 7.363–66.
24. Gen 15:6; Ps 17:15; Isa 32:17.
25. Gen 20:18; Lev 20:21.
26. Gen 29:31—30:23 (Rachel); 1 Sam 1:1–20 (Hannah); Judg 13:2–24 (Manoah and his wife).
27. Exod 29:38–42; 30:7–8; m. Tamid 5:1—7:3. So Hamm 2003: 220–21.
28. Fitzmyer 1981: 324–25.
29. Gen 21:17; Judg 6:23; Luke 1:30; 2:10.
30. In Luke John is identified with the eschatological Elijah of Mal 3, whereas the depiction of Jesus frequently contain allusions to the historical Elijah of 1–2 Kgs (e.g., 4:24–26; 7:11–17; 9:52–55). See Miller 2007: 1–16.
31. 1 En. 20:1–7; 40:1–10; T. Levi 3:5–8.
32. Sitting in the shadow of nearby Sepphoris, the capital of Galilee, Nazareth was small and poor. Cf. John 1:46.
33. Matt 1:18; m. Ketub. 4:5; Brown 1993: 123–24. Ancient betrothal was not analogous to the modern notion of engagement, it served an economic function for the two families to finalize the dowry (Hanson 2008: 31, 34–35).
34. Exod 4:22; Isa 63:16; 64:8; Jer 31:20.
35. Isa 9:6–7; 11:1–10; Jer 23:5; 33:15; Ezek 34:23–24; 37:24–25; Amos 9:11; Mic 5:2; Zech 6:12–13; 9:9–10; 4Q174 3 I, 11; 4Q252 V, 3–4; 4Q285 V, 2–4; 4 Ezra 12:32; Pss. Sol. 17–18.
36. Landry 1995: 72–76.
37. The Greek words eulogēmenē (1:42) and
