understanding the gospel of Luke

So far we have seen the significance of the angel Gabrielle being sent to Zachariah and what thoughts that would have stirred up in the Hebrew reader's mind. The whole thing of Israels restoration would have come rushing to mind. The other significant marker on the map of salvation is that the prophet who comes in the spirit of Elijah who will appear before the day of the Lord, is about to appear on the scene.This would have meant that God Himself would soon come and that judgement on the wicked would soon take place,where the wrongs would be put right and the wicked paid back
The next extremely significant thing that happens is that the angel Gabrielle is sent to one from the line of King David. What is more is that God promises Mary that the child she will bear will be called Jesus and he will be great and be called the Son of the most high ie son of God and that The Lord God will give him the throne of His father David,and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever and that reign of His kingdom will have no end. Let me just say a big stop right here!!!!! This may not be glanced over,this may not be overlooked,this must be dealt with as it will greatly influence our understanding of Jesus and the scriptures. If we don't understand this, we won't be able to understand the meaning of Christs resurrection and ascension. Because in Acts 2 which leads on from the gospels and the promised redemption of Jerusalem. In Acts 2 we are told categorically that Jesus is Israels Christ because he has ascended to the throne of David at the right hand of God. It is because Jesus has occupied Davids throne by the resurrection from the dead and ascension to the right hand of God to take Davids throne, that Jesus is indeed declared in Jerusalem to be The Christ, ie The King of Israel. What we are witnessing here is God bringing to pass the promises he made on oath to David in 2 Samuel 7. It is crucial that you understand all that this means. It is well documented in the scriptures and in the time of the Old testament after David that the Christ would be a descendant of David. Let us look at that promise and also the whole concept of the title "Son of God" and what that means. lets go to 2 Samuel 7:12-17:
In 2 Samual 7 we find that God tells David on oath, that from his offspring will come one whose throne and Kingdom God will establish forever.In otherwords this son of David will rule on Davids throne in the time of the Kingdom, because the son of Davids throne will be established forever!! In other words God promises to be his father as well as the descendant of David, His sons father. Look at these words and think on them.!!!! We know it wasn't Solomon who took the throne that would be established forever., because he died and His Kingdom wasn't established, but rather it was divided. So it was for all the kings of Judah, none continued but all died and their kingdoms were not established forever. So here in Luke it says all these things of Jesus, that he will sit on Davids throne and that His kingdom will know no end. Besides that He will rule over Jacob, in other words he is the King of Israel. The alarm bells should be ringing loud, Gods promised Christ is about to arrive on the scene in Israel!!!!!!. In otherwords the Kingdom of God is about to come to pass. For Israel this meant they were indeed in the last hour and that they would at last be ruled in righteousness by the true King of Israel from the house of David. This was to happen in the time when these things were spoken to Mary!!!
The picture is becoming even clearer now ,first we have the angel who brought understanding as to when Israel would be restored,then the prophet who comes in the spirit of Elijah just before the great "day of The Lord" is declared and now Gods Christ who will save Israel and deliver her from her enemies and bring in Gods Kingdom is to arrive on the scene in Israel. If Davids throne is to be reoccupied then Israel will be delivered from her enemies and Gods Kingdom would begin,because Davids throne and Kingdom would be established forever. In otherwords the Kingdom of God is about to appear,hallelujah!!
Luke has indeed set the stage for us that God is about to act, to bring salvation to Israel and to deliver her from her enemies and bring in His Kingdom that will last forever. For the believing Jew indeed the time was short before God would act and come to save them.
The next scene that Luke leads us to is the temple in Jerusalem, just after Jesus birth and circumcision. Next We see that while Mary took Jesus to the temple to do all that was required in Moses law after giving birth. We see that that Simeon a devout and righteous man met them there. It is said of Simeon that he was a devout and righteous man who was waiting for the "CONSOLATION OF ISRAEL". It was promised to him,that he'd see the Lords Christ, before he died. Luke takes us to this snapshot in the temple ,to show us that people in Israel were waiting for there salvation and restoration as promised them by Gods holy prophets. Then also we are given a snapshot of of the prophetess Hannah who we are told was waiting for the "REDEMPTION OF JERUSALEM". We really need to grasp why Luke introduces these people here. After all, to most of us 20th century christians,we ask what's this about the redemption of Jerusalem and the consolation of Israel. To be honest we must admit that its a totally alien and foreign theme to us. We will have to become familiar with Gods promises for the consolation of Israel and the redemption of Jerusalem. The reason Luke introduces this hope of the Hebrews to us ,is because later in the gospel he shows us how Jerusalem is redeemed and how Israel is saved. He then carries this theme on into the book of Acts.We will refer back to this when we see Jesus ministry in Jerusalem. We will need to read Isaiah 51-53 and specifically isaiah 51-52. Where the redemption of Jerusalem and the consolation of Israel are spoken of. It is in these days that God will visit Zion, just before Isaiah 53, which is about His Christs cross and Israels and the rest of the worlds salvation.
I think it is important at this point to say that in the book of Isaiah 50-53 the redemption of Jerusalem and the consolation of Israel are promised when God returns to Zion to save them. the rest of the gospels show exactly how God has consoled Israel and takes us to Isaiah 53 that shows when God returns to Zion to save Israel and redeems Jerusalem,he does this through His suffering servant who bears Israels sins and punishment upon Himself. So then now to add to the angel who showed Israel when she'd be restored and to Gods prophet who comes in the spirit of Elijah, just before the day of the Lord and Gods Christ who will deliver Israel from her enemies and take the throne of David over Israel and then have His Kingdom established forever.We are then taken to people who are waiting and expecting Israels consolation and Jerusalems redemption.Luke does this to show us that this was the hope of Israel and that what she was hoping for was about to take place. all this put together concludes that the Kingdom of God is about to come!!! Now that we have the stage set for what was about to happen and what the hope of Israel was. Luke then takes us forward 30 years to the baptism and temptation of Jesus.