Commentary

Isaiah 43:1-7
The words of the prophet tell us that the country/people of Israel have nothing to
fear since they were named and saved by God. One can see an image of a father
naming a new born baby and keeping the child in the family rather than letting it
die from exposure. Water, floods, and fire will not prevail against Israel. God has
paid the price for Israel’s redemption.

Isaiah 43:1 he who created you . . . he who formed you – These words bring to
mind the creation accounts.
I have redeemed you – Even though the L ORD created humanity, the people
have gone and sold themselves into slavery. The only One who can pay the
price for their freedom is the L ORD.
I have called you by name, you are mine. – In the society of the time, at
birth the father named the infant. Only then was it allowed to survive. The
L ORD gave these people a name. He let them live. This is why they are His.

Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you – Of course
this text could refer to the perils of crossing oceans, lakes, and rivers but
given the imagery of childbirth that just occurred it seems more likely that
is another reference to birth. The L ORD is with you even before your earthly
father names you. He stays with you no matter what happens.
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not
consume you – Some followers of the L ORD take these words literally. They
also could refer to the men in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3).

Isaiah 43:3 I give Egypt as your ransom – The other countries of the world are
used by the L ORD as payment for Israel.

Isaiah 43:4 I give people in return for you – Once again, the author explicitly
states the L ORD’s priorities of Israel first. Christians need to remember this.

Isaiah 43:5 I will bring your offspring from the east – Even those children who
wandered off in search of a better life will be brought back home.

Isaiah 43:6 I will say to the north – To the four corners of the world, the L ORD
goes in search of His people Israel.

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 Isaiah 43:7 everyone who is called by my name – The ones that the L ORD has
adopted, specially the Israelites, are saved by the L ORD.

Psalm 29
The psalmist reminds his audience of the L ORD’s attributes. He has glory, strength,
a name that surpasses others, and a great voice that knocks down trees and also
causes animals to play. Included is a prayer that asks for strength and blessing.

Psalm 29:1 Ascribe to the L ORD, O heavenly beings – Even the angels know of
the L ORD’s glory.

Psalm 29:2 Ascribe to the L ORD the glory of his name – The name of the L ORD
is so honored that it is not used for fear that it might be misused.

Psalm 29:3 The voice of the L ORD is over the waters – Invoking the image of
creation, the L ORD speaks to the water’s of chaos and they obey Him.

Psalm 29:4

Psalm 29:5 The voice of the L ORD breaks the cedars – One example of the
strength of the L ORD is that His speech causes the mightiest trees to fall.

Psalm 29:6

Psalm 29:7 The voice of the L ORD flashes forth flames of fire – The world is lit
by the L ORD’s Word.

Psalm 29:8

Psalm 29:9 The voice of the L ORD causes the oaks to whirl – Trees twist and
turn when the L ORD speaks.

Psalm 29:10 L ORD sits enthroned as king for ever – The reign of the L ORD is
not limited even by time.

Psalm 29:11 May the L ORD give strength to his people! – The psalmist asks that
some of the L ORD’s attributes are given to the people of Israel.

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Acts 8:14-17
The author of Luke/Acts tells of the prayer by Peter and John that others might be
given the Holy Spirit.

Acts 8:14 Samaria had accepted the word of God – Rather than listening to
the wise man/magician named Simon, the people who the Israelites saw as
outcasts heard about Jesus.

Acts 8:15 The two went down – This would be Peter and John.

Acts 8:16 for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them – The baptism did
not explicitly ask for the gift of the Spirit.

Acts 8:17 they received the Holy Spirit – God listened to the prayers of His
people and blessed them with His Spirit.

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Epiphany means making known. The First Sunday after Epiphany is always the
the Baptism of Our Lord.

Luke 3:15 whether he might be the Messiah – The author of Luke/Acts wants
everyone to know that John is not the messiah. John does not “command”
the Holy Spirit and fire to come down. John is not even worthy to do menial
labor for Jesus. Finally, John does not separate the bad from the good.

Luke 3:16 Holy Spirit and fire – This is a prediction of what happens at Pente-
cost.1 It is not a call for destruction but instead it speaks of a gift that the
body of Christ uses to save the world.

Luke 3:17 His winnowing fork – Is this Law or Gospel? Is Jesus tossing out the
bad people into the fire or instead is He separating the hard parts that are
found in each of us?

Luke 3:18 proclaimed the good news to the people. – What then does the au-
thor see as Good News? Is it the economic behavior? If so, this would be
what Lutherans call the “third” use of the Law. Is it the destruction of the
1
Luke Timothy Johnson; Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., editor, The Gospel of Luke, Volume 3,
Sacra Pagina, (The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1991), p. 66.

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 evil in the world? It would be difficult to support this point since the author
of Luke/Acts does not attack the atrocities practiced by the Roman govern-
ment.

Luke 3:19 John rebuked Herod – Even the “sanitized” John found in Luke of-
fends some people.

Luke 3:20 shutting up John in prison. – The beheading of John happens some-
time after John’s disciples question Jesus (Luke 7:18-24a) since in Luke 9:9
Herod comments that he beheaded John.
Luke leaves out the beheading of John (Mark 6:17-29; Matthew 14:3:12)
but makes an .

Luke 3:21 when all the people were baptized – The structure of this phrase inserts
distance between John’s form of baptism and what Jesus commands His
disciples to do.2
Jesus also had been baptized – Remember in Luke’s account John, is in
prison (3:20). John’s inability to baptize Jesus completely removes the ques-
tion of greater and lesser between Jesus and John. In fact, the author never
says who “baptized” Jesus.
was praying – The important junctures in Luke/Act in Christ’s ministry,
such as the transfiguration, are “punctuated by prayer.” (Luke 3:21; 5:16;
6:12; 9:18, 28-29; 11:1; 22:41, 44-45; 23:46)3
Because of the narrator, we can share in Christ’s prayer.4
Luke leaves out any detail that concerns Jesus leaving the water. The author
wants to make statements about Jesus and not the baptism.

Luke 3:22 the Holy Spirit – This force has already been active in the story (Luke
1:15, 35, 31, 67; 2:25, 26).5
in bodily form like a dove – The author of Luke/Acts talks about the physical
form of the Holy Spirit.6 This trend continues in Acts in the tongues of fire.
The nature of the symbol of a dove has at the very least overtones of God’s
2
Johnson, Luke, p. 69.
3
Ibid.
4
Ibid.
5
Ibid., p. 66.
6
Ibid., p. 69.

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 Spirit moving over the waters in creation and the dove after the flood. The
Spirit never leaves Jesus. Does this mean that others could see a dove on
Christ?
And a voice came from heaven – God’s Word is for the Son.
well pleased – Is the pleasure because Jesus prays? Is it about what will
happen?

References
Johnson, Luke Timothy; Harrington, S.J., Daniel J., editor, The Gospel of Luke,
Volume 3, Sacra Pagina, (The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN: The
Liturgical Press, 1991).