Biblical commentary on the New Testament - The Christian ...

—
Luke I. 16, 17. 209
uational God of the Hebrews ; it teaches only, that it hath pleased
the one true God, the maker of heaven and earth, to bring Israel
Sirach xxiv. 13), and
into special relation with himself (Lev. xx. 26 ;
in Israel again, certain individuals. The angel speaks here, certainly,
in a human and Jewish manner i. e., so as men and Jews
could understand ;
—
but, at the same time, in a divine manner, since
it is purely divine determinations to which his words refer, and with
which are connected new divine ordinances.
Yer. 17. Lastly, The appearance of the new prophet is shewn
to be connected with the Messiah, as projDhesied by Malachi (iv. 5, 6);
according to which passage, Elijah was to precede the Messiah, ex-
ercising a preparatory influence (Matth. iii. 3, ff.
—
Jlpoepxeodai, go
he/ore, involves preparation.) But the expression : ev -rrvsvuarc koc
dvvdnEL 'HAiov, in the spirit and poiver of Elijah, gives this passage
an explanatory character, John was not to be Elijah raised from
the dead, but his antitype ; being of a like spiritual nature, he was
to exercise a kindred influence. While "spirit" (nvevim) has a
more general application, indicating his general characteristics, as
controlled by the quickening principle from on high— "power"
(dvvaiug) denotes rather what is special and extraordinar)^ In
Elijah, the idea of divine 2^oioer, and that in its sterner features, is,
as it were, personified ; the same is the spiritual character of John.
(Comp. more particularly in note on Matth. xi. 14.) The angel's re-
ferring to the language of Scripture, is parallel with the quotation
from Scripture in Christ's temptation, on the part of the devil.
(Matth. iv. 6.) Passages like these are erroneously employed for
the purpose of assailing the historical reality of angelic appearances.
The true conception is not that the angels formally quote the Scrip-
tures ; but that the language of the Scriptures themselves origin-
ates in the counsels of that heavenly world to which these spir-
itual personages belong. The attaching of the thought to the
words of Scripture, is to be viewed as merely clothing them in
the form familiar and intelligible among men. Angels do not,
therefore, quote the words of Scripture, because they wish to derive
from the Bible a proof or an illustration of what they say ; but
the thoughts expressed by them are in the Bible, because they
contain a truth, which stands good, as well in heaven as in earth.*
This verse is, further, of the highest importance on account of the
expression, h'6-iov avrov, hcforc him, which refers grammatically to
Kvpiov ruv Oebv avrojv, the Lord their God, ver. 16, so that God him-
* It is difficult to see why an angel, in holding communication with men, should not
quote Scripture in the same direct and formal way, and for the same purposes of " proof or
illustration" as did the Saviour, or the Holy Spirit speaking through those whom he in-
spired. That angels do not avail themselves of the Scriptures as one means of " looking
into" the gracious dispensations of God (see 1 Peter i. 12), can be neither proved nor ren-
dered probable.—K.
Vol. L—14