Prophecy
“What do you think, Simon?” Jesus asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”
“From others,” Peter answered.
Matthew 17:25–26 (NIV)
Now there was a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish kin. For there were those who said, “With our sons and our daughters, we are many; we must get grain, so that we may eat and stay alive.”
There were also those who said, “We are having to pledge our fields, our vineyards, and our houses in order to get grain during the famine.”
And there were those who said, “We are having to borrow money on our fields and vineyards to pay the king’s tax.
Now our flesh is the same as that of our kindred; our children are the same as their children; and yet we are forcing our sons and daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have been ravished; we are powerless, and our fields and vineyards now belong to others.”
I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these complaints
After thinking it over, I contended with the nobles and the officials; I said to them, “You are all taking interest from your own people.”
And I called a great assembly to deal with them and said to them, “As far as we were able, we have bought back our Jewish kindred who had been sold to other nations, but now you are selling your own kin, who must then be bought back by us!”
They were silent and could not find a word to say.
Nehemiah 5:1–8
Economic Crisis and Social Injustice
Soon after they had returned from exile, the Jewish people were facing a severe economic crisis which included social injustice. Impoverished people, heavily burdened by debt and famine, had to mortgage their lands and vineyards, and even to sell their children into slavery to pay taxes and buy food.
Wealthier members of the community exploited this hardship by charging exorbitant interest and taking advantage of their fellow countrymen. Gone was the compassion towards their fellow Israelites that God had written into the Torah.
Jesus was born into a similar world of wealthy opportunists, fellow Jews who cooperated with Rome in exploiting their own people. Sanctioned and protected by Rome, Jewish tax collectors were well-known to overcharge so they could get rich from the difference. In addition, the temple elite endorsed inflated prices for sacrificial animals and for changing foreign currency into temple coin for the yearly head tax. Whichever way they turned, the people found themselves without recourse, being bled dry by their own countrymen.
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”
O come, O come, great Lord of might,
who to your tribes on Sinai’s height
in ancient times did give the law
in cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.
trans. J. M. Neale (1851)
Prayer: O Lord, be my strength and shield against those who betray me, who exploit me, who leave me on the margin, unsheltered. Be my shelter when I tremble with horror and fear. (From Psalm 55)
Mighty Magnificat
Mary’s and Joseph’s parents would have remembered when the last Hasmonean ruler had been executed and replaced with Herod the Great in 37 BCE. Bronze coins still circulated that bore the Hasmonean emblems, reminding the people of a time when, not long before, Israel had been free.
To solidify his power, Herod had married and then murdered the beloved Hasmonean princess, Mariamne. His celebrated building projects cost vast sums of money and labor, extracted in taxes and in conscripted service. As with the lords in Nehemiah’s time, the people of Judea, Galilee, and Samaria suffered under the cruelty of their rapacious Idumean king, and longed for the overthrow of Rome and the Herodians.
So when Mary learned that she would give birth to the heir of King David’s throne, her heart exulted. Her understanding of who Jesus was destined to be would develop as her Son grew, but for now, she rightly understood he would bring mercy and justice.
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant.
Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name;
indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty.
He has come to the aid of his child Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”Luke 1:46–55
Mary’s Magnificat lifts up the hearts of those who feel hopeless and powerless under callous regimes.
The story of Christmas honors people who feel despair over their government.
After rejoicing in the blessing Holy God had rested upon her, Mary alluded to a number of foundational scripture passages on the nature of God, God’s character, and God’s values. Consider these inferences from her Magnificat in Luke 1.
The Lord is Holy
Mary referred to God’s instruction to the people that the LORD was to be sanctified among the people (Leviticus 22:32).
The Lord is Merciful
She sang of the Lord’s revelation to Moses, that God would be merciful and gracious, slow to anger yet abounding in steadfast love. God would forgive the people’s transgressions (Exodus 34:6–7).
The Lord is Righteous
She spoke from the words of the prophet Isaiah, that God would bring down those with haughty eyes, and the pride of the people would be humbled, for the Lord alone would be exalted (Isaiah 2:11–12). Mary touched on many of the innumerable proverbs and prophets who spoke of pride, that God would tear down the house of the proud, but maintain the widow’s boundaries (Proverbs 15:25).
The Lord Will Keep God’s Covenant Promises
Mary remembered God’s covenant promise to Abraham, that God would bless Abraham and all of his descendants, that God would make Abraham’s name great and bless all the families of earth through him (Genesis 12:1–3).
Imagine the young Mary, rocking her son and singing the Magnificat to him as his cradle song. Her teaching, her longing for righteous government, her love for God and her stalwart faith in God’s covenant and promises were the foundation of Jesus’s upbringing.
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