Luke 1-5: MacArthur New Testament Commentary (MNTC)

Top Highlights

“Jesus’ point was clear and unmistakable. God has brought salvation by His arrival—but, as always, it is only for those who know they are spiritually poor, prisoners, blind, and oppressed. Unless His hearers were willing to humble themselves like that outcast Gentile widow and that Syrian leper terrorist did and admit their spiritual need, they could not be saved.” (Page 276)

“The Lord’s point is that the gospel cannot be patched into Judaism (or any other system of salvation by work)” (Page 341)

“Jesus’ point, which must have shocked and outraged the audience, was that God would save an outcast Gentile woman who admitted her poverty, bondage, blindness, and oppression (cf. 1 Kings 17:18), but not a Jew who would not. The implication was that if they refused to abandon their self-righteousness and admit their desperate spiritual need they could not be saved.” (Page 276)

“No angels appeared, as they later would to the shepherds. No heavenly trumpets rang. No voice from heaven announced the birth of the Son of God. Alone except for her young husband, far from her family and friends, in the most primitive of conditions, a young girl gave birth. Thus did the second person of the Trinity step from eternity into time and space.” (Pages 148–149)

“Shepherds were, however, lowly, humble people; they certainly were not the ones who would be expected to receive the most significant announcement in history. That they were singled out to receive this great honor suggests that these shepherds were devout men, who believed in the true and living God.” (Page 155)