Joe Humpamonkey
The Clash of the Kingdoms: Exegesis of Luke 1:46-55 and Matthew 3:1-12
As the dawn of a new era was breaking in the Promised Land, the descendants of the
Hebrews of Yahweh were eagerly anticipating the fulfillment of the prophecies of Jeremiah and
Isaiah, counting on Jehovah to bring forth a new king from the line of David to free them from
the yokes of their oppressors. The Jews themselves were divided into countless factions and
sects, marked by differences in religious conviction, social standing and political ideology. Each
of these groups had their own highly contrasting conceptions of what the coming kingdom
should be and how their deliverance would come about. After a brief consideration of what
Mary, Jesus’ Mother would have been likely to have anticipated, both before and after
discovering her own role in the upcoming events, this paper will examine the expectations and
ministry of the man who was charged with paving Jesus’ way, John the Baptizer, and the
Nearly six centuries had passed since God had decided that the conduct of the only two
remaining of the original twelve tribes of Israel had become so unacceptable that not only were
they unfit to possess the land, they were not even worthy to remain on it, and that everything
they had built, including the magnificent city and temple, deserved to be torn to rubble. Where a
secular interpretation of the prophecy of Isaiah, in combination with the cessation of any
communications from God by revelation or through further prophecy leads to the conclusion that
anything less than total compliance with the Word would be catastrophic, the surviving remnant
of God’s ‘chosen people’ remained optimistic that a new messiah would rise among them to free
them from subjugation and restore the nation to the prominence achieved in the days of David
Humpamonkey 2
and Solomon. How these expectations could exist amidst the the continued disregard of warnings
defies conventional logic, yet amidst all the varied cultures that influenced the day to day
realities of a Roman ruled province, the Jewish congregation of peasants, laborers, craftsmen,
farmers and their families of which Mary would have been part, maintained the hope that God
would find them worthy and bring forth a new king to restore them.
One can only speculate as to what Mary envisioned for her future and that of the child
she carried. From her words it can be seen that she felt oppressed by the powerful Roman
overlords, and resentful of the hypocritical Jewish leaders that lived in relative opulence through
taxation of the poor and collaborated with the oppressors. She believed she was a faithful
practitioner of the faith and foresaw her Son rising to bring justice and freedom to the people.
Belief that a new Messiah would come was held all of Jewish faith, but speculation as to how he
would restore Israel varied considerably.1 A pragmatic look at her circumstance would reveal a
very young, perhaps fifteen or sixteen year old pregnant girl, living at home still, who was
contracted to marry a man who knew he was not the father of the child, in a society where the
penalty for such behavior was to have rocks thrown at you until you were dead. It is likely that
her journey to visit Elizabeth was a ‘just in case’ measure while her family worked out a remedy2
but the crisis passed when the marriage to Joseph was finalized. From the words of The
Magnificat she likely daydreamed that her Son would one day rise to power (Luke 1:51), call the
current administration to task (Luke 1:51-52), institute social reform (Luke 1:52-53), and rule as
1
Grand Canyon University, "BIB-502 Lecture 2" (Published lecture, New Testament Foundations, 2014).
2
Elizabeth Fletcher, "Elizabeth," in Women in the Bible (2006), ‘Mary visits her kinswoman Elizabeth’,
accessed March 10, 2015, http://www.womeninthebible.net/2.4.Elizabeth.htm.
Humpamonkey 3
King over all the land (Luke 1:55), as she reaped the benefits of being Queen-Mother (Luke
1:48).
John the Baptizer, on the other hand held a more eschatological message, emphasizing the need
for repentance in expectation of the coming Messiah.3 John’s mission, as foretold in Malachi 3:1, was to
announce the arrival of the Messiah. Jesus refers to John as Elijah (Matt 17:11-13), as a fulfilment of
Malachi 4:5-6, where the coming is referred to a “the great and dreadful day of the Lord”, although John
states that he is not when questioned by Jewish authorities (John 1:19–21). John is know to be steadfast in
his mission, and fearless in delivering his message. Josephus tells of his ministry and how he preached
baptism as a symbolic cleansing of the body for a soul that righteous and just, and how “[t]hey must not
It is often held that John was influenced by the Essene movement that rose along with the more
familiar sects of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Several parallels exist between the ministry of John and the
Essence Manual of Discipline, including the need for repentance before purification by water.5 It is
thought that the Essene movement was founded by the ‘Teacher of Righteousness’ following the
Maccabean Revolt based on Isaiah 40:36, which is mentioned in Mark 1:3, Matthew 3:3, and Luke 3:4 in
relation to John.
3
John C. Hutchison, "Was John the Baptist an Essene from Qumran?,"Bibliotheca Sacra 159, no. 634
(April 01, 2002): 198, accessed March 11, 2015,
http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLA0001
322858&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Flavius Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews, trans. William Whiston, EBook #2848 (Project Gutenberg,
4
5
"Manual of Discipline," The Nazarenes of Mount Carmel, accessed March 11, 2015,
http://www.essene.com/History&Essenes/md.htm.
6
James Tabor, "The Jewish World of Jesus: An Overview," The Jewish Roman World of Jesus, April 10,
2013, Jewish Movements and Groups in Palestine, accessed March 11, 2015,
https://clas-pages.uncc.edu/james-tabor/the-jewish-world-of-jesus-an-overview/.
Humpamonkey 4
John is not afraid to speak his mind, and understands his mission. He holds an eschatological and
somewhat apocalyptic view of the coming Kingdom of God, as can be seen in his admonishment to the
Pharisees and Sadducees in Matthew 3:7-10. Similarities can be seen in this reply and Isaiah 9:16-19, and
he views the priests and leaders responsible for bringing the wrath of God down on the Jewish
congregation. He teaches that righteousness and repentance are inseparable in the coming Kingdom, and
warns that those fail in either measure will be cast into the fire in the coming kingdom.
John’s sense of purpose enables him to preach powerfully and he gains many followers, despite
being well removed from the bustling city. It is his sense of duty in speaking his mind that leads to his
ultimate demise, When Herod marries the wife of his brother, John again sees a failure of those in power
to abide by the law and is publicly critical, leading to his ultimate execution.
Humpamonkey 5
Bibliography
Fletcher, Elizabeth. "Elizabeth." In Women in the Bible. 2006. Accessed March 10, 2015.
http://www.womeninthebible.net/2.4.Elizabeth.htm#Mary visits her kinswoman Elizabeth.
Hutchison, John C. "Was John the Baptist an Essene from Qumran?"Bibliotheca Sacra 159, no. 634
(April 01, 2002): 187-200. Accessed March 11, 2015.
http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rf
h&AN=ATLA0001322858&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Josephus, Flavius. The Antiquities of the Jews. Translated by William Whiston. EBook #2848. Project
Gutenberg, 2009.
Tabor, James. "The Jewish World of Jesus: An Overview." The Jewish Roman World of Jesus. April 10,
2013. Accessed March 11, 2015.
https://clas-pages.uncc.edu/james-tabor/the-jewish-world-of-jesus-an-overview/.