The Cosmic Drama

Hundreds of people from our community went out 
to see the "Bethlehem Star." A cosmic event, 
that we wanted the chance to experience. 

Scripture:

Luke 3:1    In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, ² during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. ³ He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, ⁴ as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight.

⁵ Every valley shall be filled,

and every mountain and hill shall be made low,

and the crooked shall be made straight,

and the rough ways made smooth;

⁶ and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

Observation:

Luke again places the narrative in historical context. What we discover is that the messages of both Jesus and John the Baptist are not just for a local region or politic, but reach beyond to Luke’s entire world. It is also important for Luke to show that the political powers of the day are not at the center of “salvation history. They are present; they have obvious influence; but they are subordinate to God’s power and plan. Luke’s references to political entities deal with the ultimate issue of true power in the affairs of the world. God remains finally and fully in control of the cosmic drama” (Neale, NBBC). 

One interesting catch here is that he mentions both Annas and Caiaphas as the high priest, but there cannot be two high priests. Officially, Caiaphas is the high priest, but Annas had been and was now supposed to be retired. He happened to be the father-in-law of Caiapahas, and wielded undue influence on his son-in-law. This is a bit of tongue-in-cheek commentary by Luke, showing that he understood who was pulling the strings in the background. 

John the Baptist’s ministry was around the Jordan, and often on the eastern side. Jews traveling from the north to the south often crossed over onto the eastern side of the Jordon so that they wouldn’t have to travel through Samaria. What we see is that the power of the Empire is placed against the wilderness. They are not one and the same, and what was necessary was repentance in the wilderness, not political restoration. 

Chrysostom comments on the words from Isaiah: 

Do you perceive how the prophet anticipated all by his words—the concourse of the people? Thus, when he says, “Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the rough ways shall be made smooth,” he is signifying the exaltation of the lowly, the humiliation of the self-willed, the hardness of the law changed into easiness of faith. For it is no longer toils and labors, says he, but grace and forgiveness of sins, affording the way to salvation. Next he states the cause of these things, saying, “All flesh shall see the salvation of God.” No longer Jews and proselytes only, but also all earth and sea and the whole race of people may be saved. By “the crooked things” he signified our whole corrupt life, publicans, harlots, robbers and magicians, as many as having been perverted before, afterward walk in the right way. As Jesus himself likewise said, “Tax collectors and harlots go into the kingdom of God before you,” because they believed (HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 10.3).

All flesh would have the opportunity to turn to God in this cosmic drama. 

Application:

We continue to live in the cosmic drama of our day. Christianity has always been tempted to look for human and political solutions to the challenges. The Jews of the first century were looking for the restoration of Israel and a political leader who bring about victory. They had no idea that the cosmic drama was far greater than what they could see with their own eyes. God’s stage is far larger than what we can begin to imagine and the parts that we play are small, but yet vital to the ultimate victory, which has already been won in Christ. 

If we had been present in the wilderness, listening to the preaching of John, how would we have responded? We see the power that was at play, even in the religious leaders. There is an elderly priest who simply can’t trust the next generation, and so he has to continue to exert his influence. The religious leaders were not trusting God for deliverance, but were trying to manipulate their own solutions to the perceived problems. That’s the issue isn’t it? It’s the perceived problem — which was not the real problem. All of humanity was and is in need of a Savior, and that is in the cosmic realm, not the political. 

The conclusion of the cosmic drama is for all flesh to turn toward God. This is the call to repentance and submission to God in our own wilderness. This cosmic drama calls for a response from every one of us. As we embark on the year 2021, this may be a good time to recommit ourselves in full service to the Lord. This includes every area of our lives, even if we don’t understand what is happening in our world. 

Prayer:

Lord, day by day my heart turns to you. Help me to seek you and find you when I seek for you with all my heart. Amen.