Tiberius becomes colleague of Augustus

In the beginning of Church History: Tiberius becomes colleague of Augustus (A.D.12)
In 6 BC, on the verge of accepting command in the East and becoming the second most powerful man in Rome, Tiberius suddenly announced his withdrawal from politics and retired to Rhodes. The precise motives for Tiberius's withdrawal are unclear.9 Historians have speculated a connection with the fact that Augustus had adopted Julia's sons Gaius and Lucius, and seemed to be moving them along the same political path that both Tiberius and Drusus had trod. Tiberius thus seemed to be an interim solution; he would hold power only until his stepsons would come of age, and then be swept aside. The promiscuous, and very public, behavior of his unhappily married wife, Julia,10 may have also played a part;8 indeed Tacitus calls it Tiberius' intima causa, his innermost reason for departing for Rhodes, and seems to ascribe the entire move to a hatred of Julia and a longing for Vipsania.11 Tiberius had found himself married to a woman he loathed, who publicly humiliated him with nighttime escapades in the Forum, and forbidden to see the woman he had loved.
Whatever Tiberius's motives, the withdrawal was almost disastrous for Augustus's succession plans. Gaius and Lucius were still in their early teens, and Augustus, now 57 years old, had no immediate successor. There was no longer a guarantee of a peaceful transfer of power after Augustus's death, nor a guarantee that his family, and therefore his family's allies, would continue to hold power should the position of princeps survive.
Somewhat apocryphal stories tell of Augustus pleading with Tiberius to stay, even going so far as to stage a serious illness; Tiberius's response was to anchor off the shore of Ostia until word came that Augustus had survived, then sailing straightway for Rhodes.12 Tiberius reportedly discovered the error of his ways and requested to return to Rome several times; each time Augustus refused the request.

Succession of Priests and procurators

In the beginning of Church History: Succession of Priests and procurators: A.D.9-A.D.26
As told By Josephus in (Antiquities book.18 chapter 2.1-2)
1. When Cyrenius had now disposed of Archelaus's money, and when the taxing were come to a conclusion, which were made in the thirty-seventh year of Caesar's victory over Antony at Actium, he deprived Joazar of the high priesthood, which dignity had been conferred on him by the multitude, and he appointed Ananus, the son of Seth, to be high priest; while Herod and Philip had each of them received their own tetrarchy, and settled the affairs thereof. Herod also built a wall about Sepphoris, (which is the security of all Galilee,) and made it the metropolis of the country. He also built a wall round Betharamphtha, which was itself a city also, and called it Julias, from the name of the emperor's wife. When Philip also had built Paneas, a city at the fountains of Jordan, he named it Cesarea. He also advanced the village Bethsaids, situates at the lake of Gennesareth, unto the dignity of a city, both by the number of inhabitants it contained, and its other grandeur, and called it
by the name of Julias, the same name with Caesar's daughter.

2. As Coponius, who we told you was sent along with Cyrenius, was exercising his office of procurator, and governing Judea, the following accidents happened. As the Jews were celebrating the feast of unleavened bread, which we call the Passover, it was customary for the priests to open the temple-gates just after midnight. When, therefore, those gates were first opened, some of the Samaritans came privately into Jerusalem, and threw about dead men's bodies, in the cloisters; on which account the Jews afterward excluded them out of the temple, which they had not used to do at such festivals; and on other accounts also they watched the temple more carefully than they had formerly done. A little after which accident Coponius returned to Rome, and Marcus Ambivius became Procurator (A.D.9) in that government; under whom Salome, the sister of king Herod, died, and left to Julia, [Caesar's wife,] Jamnia, all its toparchy, and Phasaelis in the plain, and Arehelais, where is a great plantation of palm trees, and their fruit is excellent in its kind. After him came Annius Rufus, (about A.D. 13) under whom died Caesar, the second emperor of the Romans, the duration of whose reign was fifty-seven years, besides six months and two days (of which time Antonius ruled together with him fourteen years; but the duration of his life was seventy-seven
years); upon whose death Tiberius Nero, his wife Julia's son, succeeded. He was now the third emperor; and he sent Valerius Gratus in (A.D.14). to be procurator of Judea, and to succeed Annius Rufus This man deprived Ananus of the high priesthood, and appointed Ismael, the son of Phabi, to be high priest. He also deprived him in a little time, and ordained Eleazar, the son of Ananus, who had been high priest before, to be high priest; which office, when he had held for a year, Gratus deprived him of it, and gave the high priesthood to Simon, the son of Camithus; and when he had possessed that dignity no longer than a year, Joseph Caiaphas was made his successor in (A.D.25). When Gratus had done those things, he went back to Rome, after he had tarried in Judea eleven years, when Pontius Pilate came as his successor in (A.D. 26).

The registration, or "taxing."

In the beginning of Church History: Cyrenius (Quirinius), Governor of Syria (for the second time). The registration, or "taxing." Acts 5:37. Revolt of "Judas of Galilee." Coponius Procurator of Judaea.
Cyrenius, or Quirinius, was not governor of Syria until twelve or fifteen years after the birth of Jesus. Jesus was born during the reign of Herod. At that time Varus was president of Syria. Herod was succeeded by Archelaus, who reigned eight or nine years; and after he was removed, Judea was annexed to the province of Syria, and Cyrenius was sent as the governor (Josephus, Antiquities, book xvii. chapter 5). "This was the first census of Cyrenius, governor of Syria." It is called the first to distinguish it from one afterward taken by Cyrenius, Acts 5:37. It is said to be the census taken by Cyrenius, governor of Syria; not that he was then governor, but that it was taken by him who was afterward familiarly known as governor. Cyrenius, governor of Syria, was the name by which the man was known when Luke wrote his gospel, and it was not improper to say that the taxing was made by Cyrenius, the governor of Syria, though he might not have been actually governor for many years afterward. Thus Herodian says that "to Marcus the emperor were born several daughters and two sons," though several of those children were born to him before he was emperor. Thus it is not improper to say that General Washington saved Braddock's army, or was engaged in the old French war, though he was not actually made general till many years afterward. According to this Augustus sent Cyrenius, an active, enterprising man, to take the census. At that time he was a Roman senator. Afterward he was made governor of the same country, and received the title which Luke gives him.2
Acts 5:37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the census, and drew away many people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed.
Judas of Galilee. Josephus has given an account of this man, (Antiquities book.17. chapter 10.5,) and calls him a Galilean. He afterwards calls him a Gualonite, and says he was of the city of Gamala, (Antiquities book 18, chapter 1.1.) In this place, he says that the revolt took place under Cyrenius, a Roman senator, who came into "Syria to be judge of that nation, and to take account of their substance." "Moreover," says he, "Cyrenius came himself into Judea, which was now added to the province of Syria, to take an account of their substance, and to dispose of Archelaus's money." "Yet Judas taking with him Saddouk, a Pharisee, became zealous to draw them to a revolt, who both said that this taxation was no better than an introduction to slavery, and exhorted the nation to assert their liberty," etc. This revolt, he says, was the commencement of the series of revolts and calamities that terminated in the destruction of the city, temple, and nation.2
In the days of the taxing. Or, rather, the enrolling, or the census. Josephus says, it was designed to take an account of their substance. Compare
“all the world should be taxed” Luke 2:1-2.
"he also perished" Luke 13:1-2
"let them alone" Proverbs 21:30; Isaiah 8:10; Matthew 15:13

Christ Visits The Temple At Twelve Years Of Age.

Date: A.D. 8
In the beginning of Church History: Christ Visits The Temple At Twelve Years Of Age. Luke 2:41–52.
His parents went - every year - This was their constant custom, because positively enjoined by the law, Exodus 23:17. But it does not appear that infants were obliged to be present; and yet all the men-children are positively ordered to make their appearance at Jerusalem thrice in the year, Exodus 34:23. And our Lord, being now twelve years old accompanies his parents to the feast. Probably this was the very age at which the male children were obliged to appear before the Lord at the three public festivals - the feast of unleavened bread, of weeks, and of tabernacles. According to the Jewish canons, it was the age at which they were obliged to begin to learn a trade.1
When the service of the temple ended, they return home to Nazareth. That is, Joseph and Mary returned home, the child Jesus, unknown to them, stays behind. Their back was no sooner turned upon the temple, but his face was towards it; Christ had business in that place which his parents knew not of. Missing him, they assumed that he was with their friends and relatives. Men and women marched in separate companies on these occasions, which are very likely; and that sometimes the children kept company with the men, sometimes with the women. This might have led to what otherwise seems to have been inexcusable carelessness in Joseph and Mary. Joseph, not seeing Jesus in the men's company, might suppose he was with his mother in the women's company; and Mary, not seeing him with her, might imagine he was with Joseph.
They went a day's journey: They probably returned by the way of Jericho to avoid passing through Samaria, because of the hatred existing between Jews and Samaritans. In more moderns times the first day's journey is a short one, and it was probably so then. It was made so in order that the travelers might return to the city where they had departed from, should they discover that they had forgotten anything, should they find that they had forgotten a sack of meal, a blanket, or a child.
And they sought for him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. Those with whom he was most likely to have traveled during the day. And when they found him not, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for him. Parents who have temporarily suffered the loss of their children can easily imagine their feelings. Christ, though a divine gift to them, was lost. So may we also lose him, though he is God's gift to us.
After three days, The first day was spent in their journey, the second, in their return to Jerusalem: and the third, in searching for him there: they found him in the temple, In an apartment of it: sitting in the midst of the doctors. Not one word is said of his disputing with them, but only of his asking and answering questions, which was a very usual thing in these assemblies, and indeed the very end of them. And if he was, with others, at the feet of these teachers (where learners generally sat) he might be said to be in the midst of them, as they sat on benches of a semicircular form, raised above their hearers and disciples.2 It is not difficult to ask hard questions, but this boy had astounding answers to their questions, revealing his amazing intellectual and spiritual growth.
And when they Saw him, they were astonished. Mary and Joseph stood as much in awe of these renowned national teachers as peasants do of kings, and were therefore astonished that their youthful son presumed to speak to them.
And his mother said to him, Son, why have you dealt with usthis way? Her language implies that Jesus had been fully instructed as to the time when his parents and their caravan would depart for Galilee, and that he was expected to depart with them. Obedience to his higher duties constrained him to appear disobedient to his parents.
Behold, thy father. As legal father of Jesus, this expression would necessarily have to be used when speaking of Joseph. But Jesus does not accept Joseph as his father, as we see by his answer. And he said unto them, How is it that you sought me? knew you not that I must be about my Father's business? He does not blame them for losing, but for thinking it needful to seek him: and intimates, that he could not be lost, nor found anywhere, but doing the will of a higher parent.4 They understood not, It is remarkable that they did not understand Jesus in this, but it shows how slow persons are to believe. Even his parents, after all that had taken place, did not seem to comprehend that he was to be the Savior of men, or if they did, they understood it in a very imperfect manner.2
The peculiar character of Mary's feelings towards her infant son is beautifully intimated to us in these and similar expressions, which show the strong affection of the mother, repressed and controlled by the mysterious sacredness with which the subject of it was invested. She observes everything, watches everything, but is silent in respect to what she sees, laying it up in her heart. It seems as if the sacred writers perceived the peculiar dramatic interest of her position; for every allusion to her is in keeping with it, and heightens the effect. Wherever she appears, on this occasion, at the marriage in Cana of Galilee, in her attendance upon Jesus in his journeying, and at his last hour, standing by his side, at the cross, we seem to see in her look, her attitude, her tone of voice, and in the meaning of the few words she utters, that mingling of maternal pride and maternal anxiety,--of motherly fondness for a son, and of religious veneration for a Savior,--which we might almost have supposed to have been inconsistent with each other. Silent, unobtrusive, and retiring, but ever watchful, ever at hand, we know not which most to admire, the ardent affection which kept her near her son, even in his greatest dangers, or the singular quietness of spirit and reserve, through which she always keeps, in every scene, a position so becoming to the gentleness and modesty of woman.
Jesus increased in wisdom, As to his human nature, and in favor with God - In proportion to that increase. It plainly follows, that though a man were pure, even as Christ was pure, still he would have room to increase in holiness, and in consequence thereof to increase in the favor, as well as in the love of God.

Augustus Emperor of Rome

In the beginning of Church History: Augustus Emperor of Rome, (B.C. 27-A.D. 14).
Augustus, The name by which Caius Julius Caesar Octavianus, the first Roman emperor, in whose reign Jesus Christ was born, is usually known; born at Rome, 62 B.C.; died A.D. 14. It is the title which he received from the Senate 27 B.C., in gratitude for the restoration of some privileges of which that body had been deprived. The name was afterwards assumed by all his successors. Augustus belonged to the gens Octavia and was the son of Caius Octavius, a praetor. He was the grand-nephew of (Caius) Julius Caesar, and was named in the latter's will as his principal heir. After the murder of Julius Caesar, the young Octavianus proceeded to Rome to gain possession of his inheritance. Though originally in league with the republican party, he eventually allied himself with Mark Antony. Through his own popularity, and in opposition to the will of the senate he succeeded (43 B.C.) in obtaining the consulate. In the same year he entered into a pat with Antony and Lepidus by which it was agreed that for five years they would control the affairs of Rome. This (second) Triumvirate (tresviri reipublicae constituendae) so apportioned the Roman dominions that Lepidus received Spain; Antony, Gaul; and Augustus, Africa, Sicily, and Sardinia. The first concerted move of the Triumvirate was to proceed against the murderers of Caesar and the party of the Senate under the leadership of Brutus and Cassius. A crushing defeat was inflicted on the latter at the battle of Philippi (42 B.C.), after which the fate of Rome rested practically in the hands of two men. Lepidus, always treated with neglect, sought to obtain Sicily for himself, but Augustus soon won over his troops, and, on his submission, sent him to Rome where he spent the rest of his life as pontifex maximus.
A new division of the territory of the Republic between Antony and Augustus resulted, by which the former took the East and the latter the West. When Antony put away his wife Octavia, the sister of Augustus, through infatuation for Cleopatra, civil war again ensued, whose real cause is doubtless to be sought in the conflicting interests of both, and the long-standing antagonism between the East and the West. The followers of Antony were routed in the naval battle of Actium (31 B.C.), and Augustus was left, to all intents and purposes, the master of the Roman world. He succeeded in bringing peace to the long-distracted Republic, and by his moderation in dealing with the senate, his munificence to the army, and his generosity to the people, he strengthened his position and became in fact, if not in name, the first Emperor of Rome. His policy of preserving intact the republican forms of administration and of avoiding all semblance of absolute power or monarchy did not diminish his power or weaken his control. Whatever may be said in regard to the general character of his administration and his policy of centralization, it cannot be denied that he succeeded effectually in strengthening and consolidating the loosely organized Roman state into a close and well-knit whole. He was a patron of art, letters, and science, and devoted large sums of money to the establishment and enlargement of Rome. It was his well-known boast that he "found it of brick and left it of marble". Under his management, industry and commerce increased. Security and rapidity of intercourse were obtained by means of many new highways. He undertook to remove by legislation the disorder and confusion in life and morals brought about, in great measure, by the civil wars. His court life was simple and unostentatious. Severe laws were made for the purpose of encouraging marriages and increasing the birth-rate. The immorality of the games and the theatres was curbed, and new laws introduced to regulate the status of freedmen and slaves. The changes wrought by Augustus in the administration of Rome, and his policy in the Orient are of especial significance to the historian of Christianity. The most important event of his reign was the birth of Our Lord (Luke 2:1) in Palestine. The details of Christ's life on earth, from His birth to His death, were very closely interwoven with the purposes and methods pursued by Augustus. The Emperor died in the seventy-sixth year of his age (A.D. 14). After the battle of Actium, he received into his favor Herod the Great, confirmed him in his title of King of the Jews, and granted him the territory between Galilee and the Trachonitis, thereby winning the gratitude and devotion of Herod and his house. After the death of Herod (750 A.U.C.), Augustus divided his kingdom between his sons. One of them, Archelaus, was eventually banished, and his territory, together with Idumaea and Samaria, were added to the province of Syria (759 A.U.C.). On this occasion, Augustus caused a census of the province to be taken by the legate, Sulpicius Quirinius, the circumstances of which are of great importance for the right calculation of the birth of Christ.

The People Rebel Against Archelaus – Part 7

In the beginning of Church History: How The People Raised A Rebellion Against Archelaus, and How He Sailed To Rome.
As told by Josephus in Jewish Antiquities Book 17 Chapter 9.

7. Now when Nicolaus had laid these things before Caesar, he ended his plea; whereupon Caesar was so obliging to Archelaus, that he raised him up when he had cast himself down at his feet, and said that he well deserved the kingdom; and he soon let them know that he was so far moved in his favor, that he would not act otherwise than his father's testament directed, and then was for the advantage of Archelaus. However, while he gave this encouragement to Archelaus to depend on him securely, he made no full determination about him; and when the assembly was broken up, he considered by himself whether he should confirm the kingdom to Archelaus, or whether he should part it among all Herod's posterity; and this because they all stood in need of much assistance to support them.

The People Rebel Against Archelaus – Part 6

In the beginning of Church History: How The People Raised A Rebellion Against Archelaus, and How He Sailed To Rome.
As told by Josephus in Jewish Antiquities Book 17 Chapter 9.

6. So when Antipater had made this speech, and had confirmed what he had said by producing many witnesses from among Archelaus's own relations, he made an end of his pleading. Upon which Nicolaus arose up to plead for Archelaus, and said, "That what had been done at the temple was rather to be attributed to the mind of those that had been killed, than to the authority of Archelaus; for that those who were the authors of such things are not only wicked in the injuries they do of themselves, but in forcing sober persons to avenge themselves upon them. Now it is evident that what these did in way of opposition was done under pretense, indeed, against Archelaus, but in reality against Caesar himself, for they, after an injurious manner, attacked and slew those who were sent by Archelaus, and who came only to put a stop to their doings. They had no regard, either to God or to the festival, whom Antipater yet is not ashamed to patronize, whether it be out of his indulgence of an enmity to Archelaus, or out of his hatred of virtue and justice. For as to those who begin such tumults, and first set about such unrighteous actions, they are the men who force those that punish them to betake themselves to arms even against their will. So that Antipater in effect ascribes the rest of what was done to all those who were of counsel to the accusers; for nothing which is here accused of injustice has been done but what was derived from them as its authors; nor are those things evil in themselves, but so represented only in order to do harm to Archelaus. Such is these men's inclination to do an injury to a man that is of their kindred, their father's benefactor, and familiarity acquainted with them, and that hath ever lived in friendship with them; for that, as to this testament, it was made by the king when he was of a sound mind, and so ought to be of more authority than his former testament; and that for this reason, because Caesar is therein left to be the judge and disposer of all therein contained; and for Caesar, he will not, to be sure, at all imitate the unjust proceedings of those men, who, during Herod's whole life, had on all occasions been joint partakers of power with him, and yet do zealously endeavor to injure his determination, while they have not themselves had the same regard to their kinsman [which Archelaus had]. Caesar will not therefore disannul the testament of a man whom he had entirely supported, of his friend and confederate, and that which is committed to him in trust to ratify; nor will Caesar's virtuous and upright disposition, which is
known and uncontested through all the habitable world, imitate the wickedness of these men in condemning a king as a madman, and as having lost his reason, while he hath bequeathed the succession to a good son of his, and to one who flies to
Caesar's upright determination for refuge. Nor can Herod at any time have been mistaken in his judgment about a successor, while he showed so much prudence as to submit all to Caesar's determination."

The People Rebel Against Archelaus – Part 5

In the beginning of Church History: How The People Raised A Rebellion Against Archelaus, and How He Sailed To Rome.
As told by Josephus in Jewish Antiquities Book 17 Chapter 9.

5. Now when Archelaus had sent in his papers to Caesar, wherein he pleaded his right to. the kingdom, and his father's testament, with the accounts of Herod's money, and with Ptolemy, who brought Herod's seal, he so expected the event; but when Caesar had read these papers, and Varus's and Sabinus's letters, with the accounts of the money, and what were the annual incomes of the kingdom, and understood that Antipas had also sent letters to lay claim to the kingdom, he summoned his friends together, to know their opinions, and with them Caius, the son of Agrippa, and of Julia his daughter, whom he had adopted, and took him, and made him sit first of all, and desired such as pleased to speak their minds about the affairs now before them. Now Antipater, Salome's son, a very subtle orator, and a bitter enemy to Archelaus, spoke first to this purpose: That it was ridiculous in Archelaus to plead now to have the kingdom given him, since he had, in reality, taken already the power over it to himself, before Caesar had granted it to him; and appealed to those bold actions of his, in destroying so many at the Jewish festival; and if the men had acted unjustly, it was but fit the punishing of them should have been reserved to those that were out of the country, but had the power to punish them, and not been executed by a man that, if he pretended to be a king, he did an injury to Caesar, by usurping that authority before it was determined for him by Caesar; but if he owned himself to be a private person, his case was much worse, since he who was putting in for the kingdom could by no means expect to have that power granted him, of which he had already deprived Caesar [by taking it to himself]. He also touched sharply upon him, and appealed to his changing the commanders in the army, and his sitting in the royal throne beforehand, and his determination of law-suits; all done as if he were no other than a king. He appealed also to his concessions to those that petitioned him on a public account, and indeed doing such things, than which he could devise no greater if he had been already settled in the kingdom by Caesar. He also ascribed to him the releasing of the prisoners that were in the hippodrome, and many other things, that either had been certainly done by him, or were believed to be done, and easily might be believed to have been done, because they were of such a nature as to be usually done by young men, and by such as, out of a desire of ruling, seize upon the government too soon. He also charged him with his neglect of the funeral mourning for his father, and with having merry meetings the very night in which he died; and that it was thence the multitude took the handle of raising a tumult: and if Archelaus could thus requite his dead father, who had bestowed such benefits upon him, and bequeathed such great things to him, by pretending to shed tears for him in the day time, like an actor on the stage, but every night making mirth for having gotten the government, he would appear to be the same Archelaus with regard to Caesar, if he granted him the kingdom, which he hath been to his father; since he had then dancing and singing, as though an enemy of his were fallen, and not as though a man were carried to his funeral, that was so nearly related, and had been so great a benefactor to him. But he said that the greatest crime of all was this, which he came now before Caesar to obtain the government by his grant, while he had before acted in all things as he could have acted if Caesar himself, who ruled all, had fixed him firmly in the government. And what he most aggravated in his pleading was the slaughter of those about the temple, and the impiety of it, as done at the festival; and how they were slain like sacrifices themselves, some of whom were foreigners, and others of their own country, till the temple was full of dead bodies: and all this was done, not by an alien, but by one who pretended to the lawful title of a king, that he might complete the wicked tyranny which his nature prompted him to, and which is hated by all men. On which account his father never so much as dreamed of making him his successor in the kingdom, when he was of a sound mind, because he knew his disposition; and in his former and more authentic testament, he appointed his antagonist Antipas to succeed; but that Archelaus was called by his father to that dignity when he was in a dying condition, both of body and mind; while Antipas was called when he was ripest in his judgment, and of such strength of body as made him capable of managing his own affairs: and if his father had the like notion of him formerly that he hath now showed, yet hath he given a sufficient specimen what a king he is likely to be, when he hath [in effect] deprived Caesar of that power of disposing of the kingdom, which he justly hath, and hath not abstained from making a terrible slaughter of his fellow citizens in the temple, while lie was but a private person.

The People Rebel Against Archelaus – Part 4

In the beginning of Church History: How The People Raised A Rebellion Against Archelaus, and How He Sailed To Rome.
As told by Josephus in Jewish Antiquities Book 17 Chapter 9.

4. At the same time also did Antipas, another of Herod's sons, sail to Rome, in order to gain the government; being buoyed up by Salome with promises that he should take that government; and that he was a much more honest and fitter man than Archelaus for that authority, since Herod had, in his former testament, deemed him the worthiest to be made king, which ought to be esteemed more valid than his latter testament. Antipas also brought with him his mother, and Ptolemy the brother of Nicolaus, one that had been Herod's most honored friend, and was now zealous for Antipas; but it was Ireneus the orator, and one who, on account of his reputation for sagacity, was intrusted with the affairs of the kingdom, who most of all encouraged him to attempt to gain the kingdom; by whose means it was, that when some advised him to yield to Archelaus, as to his elder brother, and who had been declared king by their father's last will, he would not submit so to do. And when he was come to Rome, all his relations revolted to him; not out of their good-will to him, but out of their hatred to Archelaus; though indeed they were most of all desirous of gaining their liberty, and to be put under a Roman governor; but if there were too great an opposition made to that, they thought Antipas preferable to Archelaus, and so joined with him, in order to procure the kingdom for him. Sabinus also, by letters, accused Archelaus to Caesar.

The People Rebel Against Archelaus – Part 3

In the beginning of Church History: How The People Raised A Rebellion Against Archelaus, and How He Sailed To Rome.
As told by Josephus in Jewish Antiquities Book 17 Chapter 9.


3. Now, upon the approach of that feast of unleavened bread, which the law of their fathers had appointed for the Jews at this time, which feast is called the Passover and is a memorial of their deliverance out of Egypt, when they offer sacrifices with great alacrity; and when they are required to slay more sacrifices in number than at any other festival; and when an innumerable multitude came thither out of the country, nay, from beyond its limits also, in order to worship God, the seditious lamented Judas and Matthias, those teachers of the laws, and kept together in the temple, and had plenty of food, because these seditious persons were not ashamed to beg it. And as Archelaus was afraid lest some terrible thing should spring up by means of these men's madness, he sent a regiment of armed men, and with them a captain of a thousand, to suppress the violent efforts of the seditious before the whole multitude should be infected with the like madness; and gave them this charge, that if they found any much more openly seditious than others, and more busy in tumultuous practices, they should bring them to him. But those that were seditious on account of those teachers of the law, irritated the people by the noise and clamors they used to encourage the people in their designs; so they made an assault upon the soldiers, and came up to them, and stoned the greatest part of them, although some of them ran away wounded, and their captain among them; and when they had thus done, they returned to the sacrifices which were already in their hands. Now Archelaus thought there was no way to preserve the entire government but by cutting off those who made this attempt upon it; so he sent out the whole army upon them, and sent the horsemen to prevent those that had their tents without the temple from assisting those that were within the temple, and to kill such as ran away from the footmen when they thought themselves out of danger; which horsemen slew three thousand men, while the rest went to the neighboring mountains. Then did Archelaus order proclamation to be made to them all, that they should retire to their own homes; so they went away, and left the festival, out of fear of somewhat worse which would follow, although they had been so bold by reason of their want of instruction. So Archelaus went down to the sea with his mother, and took with him Nicolaus and Ptolemy, and many others of his friends, and left Philip his brother as governor of all things belonging both to his own family and to the public. There went out also with him Salome, Herod's sister who took with her, her children, and many of her kindred were with her; which kindred of hers went, as they pretended, to assist Archelaus in gaining the kingdom, but in reality to oppose him, and chiefly to make loud complaints of what he had done in the temple. But Sabinus, Caesar's steward for Syrian affairs, as he was making haste into Judea to preserve Herod's effects, met with Archclaus at Caesarea; but Varus (president of Syria) came at that time, and restrained him from meddling with them, for he was there as sent for by Archceaus, by the means of Ptolemy. And Sabinus, out of regard to Varus, did neither seize upon any of the castles that were among the Jews, nor did he seal up the treasures in them, but permitted Archelaus to have them, until Caesar should declare his resolution about them; so that, upon this his promise, he tarried still at Cesarea. But after Archelaus was sailed for Rome, and Varus was removed to Antioch, Sabinus went to Jerusalem, and seized on the king's palace. He also sent for the keepers of the garrisons, and for all those that had the charge of Herod's effects, and declared publicly that he should require them to give an account of what they had; and he disposed of the castles in the manner he pleased; but those who kept them did not neglect what Archelaus had given them in command, but continued to keep all things in the manner that had been enjoined them; and their pretense was, that they kept them all for Caesar.

The People Rebel Against Archelaus – Part 2

In the beginning of Church History: How The People Raised A Rebellion Against Archelaus, and How He Sailed To Rome.
As told by Josephus in Jewish Antiquities Book 17 Chapter 9.

2. So when the king had suggested these things, and instructed his general in what he was to say, be sent him away to the people; but they made a clamor, and would not give him leave to speak, and put him in danger of his life, and as many more as were desirous to venture upon saying openly anything which might reduce them to a sober mind, and prevent their going on in their present courses, because they had more concern to have all their own wills performed than to yield obedience to their governors; thinking it to be a thing insufferable, that, while Herod was alive, they should lose those that were most dear to them, and that when he was dead, they could not get the actors to be punished. So they went on with their designs after a violent manner, and thought all to be lawful and right which tended to please them, and being unskillful in foreseeing what dangers they incurred; and when they had suspicion of such a thing, yet did the present pleasure they took in the punishment of those they deemed their enemies overweigh all such considerations; and although Archelaus sent many to speak to them, yet they treated them not as messengers sent by him, but as persons that came of their own accord to mitigate their anger, and would not let one of them speak. The sedition also was made by such as were in a great passion; and it was evident that they were proceeding further in seditious practices, by the multitude running so fast upon them.

The People Rebel Against Archelaus – Part 1

In the beginning of Church History: How The People Raised A Rebellion Against Archelaus, and How He Sailed To Rome.
As told by Josephus in Jewish Antiquities Book 17 Chapter 9.

1. AT this time also it was that some of the Jews got together out of a desire of innovation. They lamented Matthias, and those that were slain with him by Herod, who had not any respect paid them by funeral mourning, out of the fear men were in of that man; they were those who had been condemned for pulling down the golden eagle. The people made a great clamor and lamentation hereupon, and cast out some reproaches against the king also, as if that tended to alleviate the miseries of the deceased. The people assembled together, and desired of Archelaus, that, in way of revenge on their account, he would inflict punishment on those who had been honored by Herod; and that, in the first and principal place, he would deprive that high priest whom Herod had made, and would choose one more agreeable to the law, and of greater purity, to officiate as high priest. This was granted by Archelaus, although he was mightily offended at their importunity, because he proposed to himself to go to Rome immediately to look after Caesar's determination about him. However, he sent the general of his forces to use persuasions, and to tell them that the death which was inflicted on their friends was according to the law; and to represent to them that their petitions about these things were carried to a great height of injury to him; that the time was not now proper for such petitions, but required their unanimity until such time as he should be established in the government by the consent of Caesar, and should then be come back to them; for that he would then consult with them in common concerning the purport of their petitions; but that they ought at present to be quiet, lest they should seem seditious persons.

Judea made a Roman Province (A.D. 6)

In the beginning of Church History: Archelaus Deposed and Judea made a Roman Province (A.D. 6)
Biography Herod Archelaus (23 BC – c. 18 AD) was the ethnarch of Samaria, Judea, and Edom from 4 BC to 6 AD. He was the son of Herod the Great and Malthace, the brother of Herod Antipas, and the half-brother of Herod Philip I. Archelaus received the kingdom of Judea by the last will of his father, though a previous will had bequeathed it to his brother Antipas. He was proclaimed king by the army, but declined to assume the title until he had submitted his claims to Caesar Augustus in Rome. Before setting out, he quelled with the utmost cruelty sedition of the Pharisees, slaying nearly three thousand of them. In Rome he was opposed by Antipas and by many of the Jews, who feared his cruelty; but in 4 BC Augustus allotted to him the greater part of the kingdom (Samaria, Judea, and Idumea) with the title of ethnarch until 6 AD when Judaea was brought under direct Roman rule (see Census of Quirinius).
He married Glaphyra, the widow of his brother Alexander, though his wife and her second husband, Juba, king of Mauretania, were alive. This violation of the Mosaic law along with Archelaus' continued cruelty aroused the ire of the Jews, who complained to Augustus. Archelaus was deposed in the year 6 and banished to Vienne in Gaul; Samaria, Judea, and Idumea became the Roman province of Iudaea.
Archelaus is mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew. According to Matthew 2:13-23, Joseph, Mary and Jesus fled to Egypt to avoid the Massacre of the Innocents. When Herod the Great died, Joseph was told by an angel in a dream to return to Israel (presumably to Bethlehem). However, upon hearing that Archelaus had succeeded his father as ruler of Judaea he "was afraid to go thither" (Matthew 2:22), and was again notified in a dream to go to Galilee. This is Matthew's explanation of why Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judaea but grew up in Nazareth.
The beginning and conclusion of Christ's Parable of the Talents in the Gospel of Luke may refer to Archelaus's journey to Rome, in that Jesus' parables and preaching often made use of events familiar to the people as examples for bringing his spiritual lessons to life:
"A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return…But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to reign over us.'… 'But as for these enemies of mine,' [said the nobleman] 'who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.'" (Luke 19:12, 14, 27 ESV)

Herod the Great – Biography

In the beginning of Church History: Herod I. (Herod the Great) Biography Achievements and His Death (B.C. 4).
Biography
Herod the Great was born around 73 BC. He was the second son of Antipater the Idumaean, a high-ranked official under Ethnarch Hyrcanus II, and Cypros, a Nabatean.3 A loyal supporter of Hyrcanus II, Antipater appointed Herod governor of Galilee at 25, and his older brother, Phasael, governor of Jerusalem. He enjoyed the backing of Rome but his excessive brutality was condemned by the Sanhedrin.
In 43 BC, following the chaos caused by Antipater offering financial support to Caesar's murderers, Antipater was poisoned. Herod, backed by the Roman Army, executed his father's murderer. Afterwards, Antigonus, Hyrcanus' nephew, tried to take the throne from his uncle. Herod defeated him and then married his teenage niece, Mariamne (known as Mariamne I), which helped to secure him a claim to the throne and gain some Jewish favor. However, Herod already had a wife, Doris, and a three-year-old son, Antipater III, and chose to banish Doris and her child.
In 42 BC, he convinced Mark Antony and Octavian that his father had been forced to help Caesar's murderers. Herod was then named tetrarch of Galilee by the Romans. However, many of the Jews were very upset by this since most Jews did not consider Herod to be a true Jew. The Idumaean family, successors to the Edomites of the Hebrew Bible, settled in Idumea, formerly known as Edom, in southern Judea. When the Maccabean John Hyrcanus conquered Idumea in 140–130 BC, he required all Idumaeans to obey Jewish law or to leave; most Idumaeans thus converted to Judaism. While King Herod publicly identified himself as a Jew and was considered as such by some,4 this religious identification notwithstanding was undermined by the Hellenistic cultural affinity of the Herodians, which would have earned them the antipathy of observant Jews.5
In 40 BC Antigonus tried to take the throne again with the help of the Parthians, this time succeeding. Herod fled to Rome to plead with the Romans to restore him to power. There he was elected "King of the Jews" by the Roman Senate.6 In 37 BC the Romans fully secured Judea and executed Antigonus. Herod took the role as sole ruler of Judea and took the title of Basilius for himself, ushering in the Herodian Dynasty and ending the Hasmonean Dynasty. He ruled for 34 years.

Achievements
Herod's most famous and ambitious project was the expansion of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. In the eighteenth year of his reign (20–19 BC), Herod rebuilt the Temple on "a more magnificent scale". The new Temple was finished in a year and a half, although work on out-buildings and courts continued another eighty years. To comply with religious law, Herod employed 1,000 priests as masons and carpenters in the rebuilding.7 The finished temple, which was destroyed in 70 AD, is sometimes referred to as Herod's Temple. The Wailing Wall or Western Wall in Jerusalem is currently the only visible section of the four retaining walls built by Herod, creating a flat platform (the Temple Mount) upon which the Temple was then constructed.
Some of Herod's other achievements include the development of water supplies for Jerusalem, building fortresses such as Masada and Herodium, and founding new cities such as Caesarea Maritima. He and Cleopatra owned a monopoly over the extraction of asphalt from the Dead Sea, which was used in ship building. He leased copper mines on Cyprus from the Roman emperor.

The Circumcision Of Jesus

In the beginning of Church History: The Circumcision Of Jesus, And His Presentation In The Temple, Luke 2:21–40
And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, who was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. The law, in respect to these transactions, is recorded in Leviticus 12:1-8: For an account of the original consecration of all the first-born to God's service, see Exodus 13:1-2,14-15. Afterwards the tribe of Levi was substituted for the first-born, in the service of the sanctuary, as shown in Numbers 8:13-18, and provision was made for redeeming the first-born, Numbers 18:15-16.
Among the Hebrews a mother was required to remain at home for about forty days after the birth of a male child and about eighty for a female, and during that time she was considered impure, that is, she was not permitted to go to the temple or to engage in religious services with the congregation, Leviticus12:3-4.
And when the days
of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; Every first-born male child among the Jews was regarded as holy to the Lord, Exodus13:2. By their being holy unto the Lord was meant that unto them belonged the office of priests. It was theirs to be set apart to the service of God -- to offer sacrifice, and to perform the duties of religion. It is probable that at first the duties of religion devolved on the father, and that, when he became infirm or died, that duty devolved on the eldest son; and it is still manifestly proper that where the father is infirm or has deceased, the duty of conducting family worship should be performed by the eldest son. Afterward God chose the tribe of Levi in the place to serve him in the sanctuary, Numbers 8:13-18. Yet still it was proper to present the child to God, and it was required that it should be done with an offering.

The Angels Appear to the Shepherds Of Bethlehem

In the beginning of Church History: The Appearance of the Angels to the Shepherds Of Bethlehem, And the "Gloria In Excelsis,"(Doxology) Luke 2:8–20.
Here we have the official announcement and first publishing of our Savior's birth to the world: The angel said unto the shepherds, I bring you glad tidings, a Savior is born.
The messenger employed by God to publish the joyful news of a Savior's birth; the holy angels, heavenly messengers going about doing a heavenly work: it is worth noticing, how serviceable the angels were to Christ upon all occasions, when he was here upon earth; an angel declares his conception; a host of angels publish his birth; in his temptation, an angel strengthens him; in his agony, an angel comforts him; at his resurrection, an angel rolls away the stone from the door of the sepulchre; at his ascension, the angels attend him up to heaven; and at his second coming to judge the world, he shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. And great reason there is that the angels should be this efficient in their attendances upon Christ, who is a head of confirmation to them, as he was a head of redemption to fallen man.
The persons, to whom this joyful message of a Savior's birth is first brought, are the shepherds; The angel said unto the shepherds, Fear not.

1. Because Christ, the great shepherd of his church, had come into the world.

2. Because he was originally promised to shepherds, the old patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whose occupations were as shepherds.

The time when these shepherds had the honor of this revelation; it was not when they were asleep on their beds of idleness and sloth, but when they were lying abroad, and watching their flocks. The blessings of heaven usually meet us in the way of an honest and industrious diligence; whereas the idle are fit for nothing but temptation to work upon. If these shepherds had been snoring in their beds, they had no more seen angels, nor yet heard the news of a Savior, than their neighbors.
The nature and quality of the message which the angel brought; it was a message of joy, a message of great joy, a message of great joy unto all people. For here was born a Son, that Son a Prince, that Prince a Savior, that Savior not a particular Savior of the Jews only, but a universal Savior, whose salvation is to the ends of the earth. Well might the angel call it a message, or glad tidings of great joy unto all people!
The ground and occasion of this joy, the foundation of all this good news, which was proclaimed in the ears of a lost world; and that was, the birth of a Savior; Unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
Notes:
1. The incarnation and birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, and his manifestation in our flesh and nature, was and is matter of exceeding joy and rejoicing unto all people.

2. That the great end and design of our Lord's incarnation and coming into the world, was to be the Savior of lost sinners; "Unto you is born a Savior, which is Christ the Lord."5

This shall be a sign (or token) unto you - You shall find this glorious person, however strange it may appear, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a stable! It is by humility that Christ comes to reign; and this is the only way into his kingdom! Pride is the character of all the children of Adam: humility the mark of the Son of God, and of all his followers. Christ came in the way of humility to destroy that pride which is the root of evil in the souls of men. And thus, according to the old medical aphorism, "Opposites are destroyed by their opposites."
Suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host had just now descended from on high, to honor the new-born Prince of peace, to give his parents the fullest conviction of his glory and excellence, and to teach the shepherds, who were about to be the first proclaimers of the Gospel, what to think and what to speak of him, who, while he appeared as a helpless infant, was the object of worship to the angels of God.
Glory be to God in the highest; on earth peace; good will toward men - The shouts of the multitude are generally broken into short sentences. This rejoicing acclamation strongly represents the piety and benevolence of these heavenly spirits: as if they had said, Glory be to God in the highest heavens: let all the angelic legions resound his praises. For with the Redeemer's birth, peace and all kind of happiness, come down to dwell on earth: yea, the overflowing of Divine good will and favor are now exercised toward men.
The shepherds no sooner heard the news of a Savior, but they ran to Bethlehem to seek him; and though it was at midnight, they did not wait till morning to go. Those that left their beds to attend their flocks, now leave their flocks to inquire after their Savior. A gracious soul no sooner hears where Christ is, but instantly makes out after him, and judges no earthly comfort too dear to be left and forsaken for him. These shepherds showed that they preferred their Savior before their sheep.
These shepherds having found Christ themselves, made him known to others, When they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying, which was told them concerning this child. Those that have found Christ’s comfort, and tasted that the Lord is gracious to themselves, cannot but recommend him to the love and admiration of others.
What effect did this relation have upon the generality of people that heard it? They were amazed and astonished, but did not have faith: The people wondered, but believed not. It is not the hearing of Christ with the hearing of the ear, nor the seeing of Christ with the sight of the outward eye; neither the hearing of his doctrine, nor the sight of his miracles, will work divine faith in the soul, without the concurring operation of the Holy Spirit; the one may make us marvel, but the other makes us believe. All that heard it wondered at these things.
Lastly, note, the effect which these things had upon Mary, quite different from what they had upon the common people; they wondered, she pondered; the things that affected their heads, influenced her heart: She kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.5
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising - These simple men, having satisfactory evidence of the truth of the good tidings, and feeling a Divine influence upon their own minds, returned to the care of their flocks, glorifying God for what he had shown them, and for the blessedness which they felt. "Jesus Christ, born of a woman, laid in a stable, proclaimed and ministered to by the heavenly host, should be a subject of frequent contemplation to the pastors of his Church. After having compared the predictions of the prophets with the facts stated in the evangelic history, their own souls being hereby confirmed in these sacred truths, they will return to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for what they had seen and heard in the Gospel history, just as it had been told them in the writings of the prophets; and, preaching these mysteries with the fullest conviction of their truth, they become instruments in the hands of God of begetting the same faith in their hearers; and thus the glory of God and the happiness of his people are both promoted." What subjects for contemplation! - what matter for praise!1

The Birth of Jesus

In the beginning of Church History: The Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, Luke 2:1–7.
The conclusion of Luke chapter 1 acquainted us with the birth of John the Baptist; the beginning of this chapter relates the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, and the remarkable circumstances which did attend it. The place where he was born was not at Nazareth, but at Bethlehem, according to the prediction of the prophet Micah, Micah 5:2. "And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah, for out of thee shall come a Governor that shall rule my people Israel."
We may suppose, that the blessed virgin little thought of changing her place, but to have been delivered of her holy burden at Nazareth, where it was conceived. Her house at Nazareth was honored by the presence of the angel; yea, by the overshadowing of the Holy Ghost: that house therefore, we may suggest, was most satisfactory to the virgin's desires. But he that made the choice of the womb where his son should be conceived would also choose the place where his son should be born. And this place, many hundred years before the nativity, was foretold should be Bethlehem.
How remarkable the providence of God was in bringing the virgin up from Nazareth the Bethlehem so that Christ, as it was prophesied of him, might be born there. Augustus, the Roman emperor, to whom the nation of the Jews was now become tributary, puts forth a decree, that all the Roman empire should have their names and families enrolled, in order to their being taxed. This edict required, that every family should return to that city to which they did belong, to be enrolled and taxed there.
Accordingly, Joseph and Mary, being of the house and lineage of David, have returned to Bethlehem, the city of David, where, according to the prophecy, the Messiahs was to be born.
Notice how the wisdom of God overrules the actions of men, for higher or nobler ends than what they aimed at. The emperor's aim was by this edict to fill his coffers. God's end was to fulfill his prophecies. Notice how readily Joseph and Mary yielded obedience to the edict and decree of this heathen emperor. It was no less than four days journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem: how just an excuse might the virgin have pleaded for her absence! What woman ever undertook so hazardous a journey so near her delivery? And Joseph, no doubt, was sufficiently unwilling to draw her forth into so manifest a hazard. But as the emperor's command was peremptory, so their obedience was exemplary. We must not plead difficulty for withdrawing our obedience to supreme commands. How did our blessed Savior, even in the womb of his mother, yield homage to civil rulers and governors!
The first lesson which Christ's example taught the world was loyalty and obedience to the supreme magistrate. After many weary steps, the holy virgin comes to Bethlehem, where every house is taken up by reason of the great confluence of people that came to be taxed; and there is no room for Christ but in a stable: the stable is our Lord's palace, the manger is his cradle.
This was an early indication that our Lord's kingdom was not of this world!
Yet some observe a mystery in all this: an inn is domus publici juris, not a private house, but open and free for all passengers, and a stable is the commonest place in the inn; to mind us, that he who was born there, would be a common Savior to high and low, noble and base, rich and poor, Jew and Gentile; called therefore so often the Son of man; the design of his birth being the benefit of mankind.

The Benediction of Zacharias

In the beginning of Church History: The Benedictus (Benediction) of Zacharias, Luke 1:67–80.
No sooner was Zacharias recovered and restored to his speech, but he sings the praises of his Redeemer, and offers up a thanksgiving to God; the best return we can make to God for the use of our tongues, for the giving or restoring of our speech, is to publish our Creator's praise, to plead his case, and vindicate his honor.
What it is that Zacharias makes the subject-matter of his song: what is the particular and special mercy which he praises and blesses God for? It is not for his own particular and private mercy; namely, the recovery of his speech, though undoubtedly he was very thankful to God for that mercy; but he blesses and praises God for catholic and universal mercies bestowed upon his church and people: he doth not say, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, that hath visited me in mercy, that hath once more loosened my tongue, and restored my speech: but, "Blessed be the Lord that hath visited and redeemed his people."
It is both the duty and disposition of a gracious soul, to abound in praise and thankfulness to God, more for universal mercies towards the church of God, than for any particular and private mercies however great towards himself; "Blessed be God for visiting and redeeming his people."
In this evangelical hymn there is a prophetical prediction, both concerning Christ, and concerning John. Concerning Christ, he declares, that God the Father had sent him of his free mercy and rich grace, yet in performance of his truth and faithfulness; and according to his promise and oath which he had made to Abraham, and the fathers of the Old Testament.
He blesses God for the comprehensive blessing of the Messiah; "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who hath visited his people:" namely, in his Son's incarnation. The Lord Jesus Christ, in the fullness of time, made such a visit to this sinful world, as men and angels admired at, and will admire to all eternity.
The special benefit of this gracious and merciful visitation was the redemption of a lost world; he hath visited and redeemed his people. This implies that the bondage, which we were under to sin and Satan, and expresses the great love of Christ, in buying our lives with his dearest blood; and both by price and power rescuing us out of the hands of our spiritual enemies.
The character given of this Savior and Redeemer; he is a horn of salvation; that is, a royal and glorious, a strong and powerful Savior to his church and people. The horn, in scripture, signifies glory and dignity, strength and power; as the beauty, so the strength of the beast lies in its horn: now Christ being styled a horn of salvation, intimates, that he himself is a royal and princely Savior, and that the salvation which he brings, is great and plentiful, glorious and powerful; "God has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David."
The nature and quality of that salvation and deliverance, which the Son of God came to accomplish for us; not a temporal deliverance, as the Jews expected, from the power of the Romans; but spiritual, from the hands of sin and Satan, death and hell: his design was to purchase a spiritual freedom and liberty for us, "that we might be enabled to serve him without fear;" that is, without the servile and offending fear of a slave, but with the dutiful and ingenuous fear of a child: and this in "holiness and righteousness;" that is, in the duties of the first and second table, "all the days of our life."
Believers, who were slaves of Satan, are by Christ made God's free men. Secondly, that as such, they owe God a service, a willing, cheerful, and delightful service, without fear; and a constant, persevering service all the days of their life that "we being delivered out of the hands, of all who hate us."
The source and fountain from which this glorious Savior and gracious salvation did arise and spring; namely, from the mercy and faithfulness of God; "To perform the mercy promised to our forefathers, and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which he swore to our father Abraham."
Learn hence, that the Lord Jesus Christ, the mercy of mercies, was graciously promised, and faithfully performed, by God to his church and people. Christ was a free and full mercy; a suitable, unsearchable, and everlasting mercy; which God graciously promised in the beginning of time, and faithfully performed in the fullness of time. Thus far this hymn of Zacharias respects the Messiah.
How he now turns himself to his child, and prophesies concerning him: And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest: for you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,
The nature of his office, "thou shalt be a prophet;" was not a common and ordinary one, but a prophet of the highest rank; the messenger of the Lord of Hosts. A prophet thou shalt be and more than a prophet.
As the nature of his office was important, so was the quality of his work: "Thou shalt go before the face of the Lord, to prepare his way:" you will be an forerunner to the Most High; you will prepare the way before him, and make men fit and ready to receive this mighty Savior. This, child, shalt be as the morning star, to foretell the glorious arising of this Sun of Righteousness.
It is the highest honor and dignity to serve Christ in the quality and relation of a prophet. It is the office and duty of the prophets of Christ, to prepare and make fit the hearts of men, to receive and embrace him.
Zacharias having spoken a few words concerning his son, returns instantly to celebrate the praises of our Savior, comparing him to the rising sun, which shined forth in the brightness of his gospel, to enlighten the dark corners of the world: "Through the tender mercies of our God, whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness."
From this we can understand that:
1. Jesus Christ is that true Sun of Righteousness, which in the fullness of time did spring from on high to visit a lost and undone world.
2. The great errand of Christ's coming into the world, and the particular end of his appearing in the flesh, was "to give light to them that sit in darkness."
3. It was nothing less than infinite mercy, and bowels of compassion in God and Christ, which inclined him to come from on high, to visit them that sit in darkness: "Through the tender bowels of mercy in our God, whereby his own and only son sprung from on high to visit us here below, who sat in darkness and the shadow of death; and to guide our feet unto the way that leads to everlasting peace."

The Birth of John the Baptist

In the beginning of Church History: The Birth of John the Baptist, Luke 1:57–66.
The angel told Mary, Luke 1:36, that it was then the sixth month with her; after this Mary was with her about three months, which made up her full time; so she delivered, and brought forth a son, to show the truth of God's promises, that we may all learn to give credit to his word. The neighbors and Cousins of Elisabeth came, to rejoice with her, which was according to the custom of friends to this day.3
And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; Circumcision was a religious ceremony, performed, according to the law of Moses, as a rite essential to the admission of any one to the Jewish communion. It was performed upon infant children of Jewish parents, when they were eight days old; and upon those who had not been thus circumcised in infancy, at the time of their conversion to Judaism, at whatever period of their lives this might be. It corresponded, therefore, in many respects, to the baptismal ceremony of the Christian dispensation, as practiced by most denominations. and they called him, after the name of his father; that is, they proposed to call him Zachariah.
And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John. This is the name which the angel desired should be given him, Luke 1:13, and of which Zacharias by writing had informed his wife. And they said to her, There is none of your kindred that are called by this name. The Jewish tribes and families were kept distinct. To do this, and to avoid confusion in their genealogical tables, they probably gave only those names which were found among their ancestors. Another reason for this, common to all people, is the respect which is felt for honored parents and ancestors. They made signs to his father - Who, it appears from this, was deaf as well as dumb; otherwise they might have asked him, and obtained his answer in this way.2 He asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they all marveled.
His mouth was opened, That is, he was enabled to speak. For nine months he had been dumb, and it is probable that they supposed that he had been afflicted with a paralytic affection, and that he would not recover. Hence their amazement when he spoke. For one act of disbelief all this calamity had come upon him and it had not come without effect. With true gratitude he offered praise to God for the birth of a son, and for his restoration to the blessings of speech.2
And fear came - Seeing what they might have thought a paralytic affection so suddenly and effectually healed. The inhabitants of Hebron and its environs, who were well acquainted with the circumstances of Zacharias and Elisabeth, perceived that God had in a remarkable manner visited them; and this begot in their minds a more than ordinary reverence for the Supreme Being. Thus the salvation of one often becomes an instrument of good to the souls of many. The inhabitants of this hill country seem to have been an open, honest-hearted, generous people; who were easily led to acknowledge the interposition of God, and to rejoice in the comfort and welfare of each other. The people of the country are more remarkable for these qualities than those in towns and cities. The latter, through that evil communication which corrupts good manners, are generally profligate, selfish, regardless of God, and inattentive to the operation of his hands.

The Song of the Virgin Mary

In the beginning of Church History: The Magnificat (The Song) of the Virgin Mary, Luke 1:46–56.

This is the first canticles, or song of praise, recorded in the New Testament, composed by the blessed virgin with unspeakable joy, for designing her to be the instrument of the conception and birth of the Savior of the world.
We observe:
1. The manner of her praise; the soul and spirit bear their part in the work of thanksgiving, My soul does magnify, my spirit has rejoiced. As the sweetest music is made in the belly of the instrument, so the most delightful praise arises from the bottom of the heart.

2. The object of her praise; she does not magnify herself, but the Lord; yet, she does not rejoice so much in her son, as in her Savior. She does implicitly own and confess herself a sinner; for none need a Savior, but a sinner. By rejoicing in Christ as her Savior, she declares how she values herself, rather by her spiritual relation to Christ as his member, than by her natural relation to him as his mother; she might have been miserable, notwithstanding she bore him as her son, had she not believed in him as her Savior: therefore she sings, My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

3. How she admires and magnifies God's peculiar favor towards herself, in casting an eye upon her poverty and low condition; that she, a poor, obscure maid, unknown to the world, should be looked upon with an eye of regard by him that dwells in the highest heavens. As God magnified her, she magnified him, giving all honor and glory to him that had dignified and exalted her. He that is mighty hath done for me great things, and glorified be his name.

4. She thankfully takes notice, that it was not only a high honor, but a lasting honor, which was conferred upon her. All generations shall call me blessed. She beholds an infinite, a lasting honor prepared for her, as being the mother of an universal and everlasting blessing, which all former ages had desired, and all succeeding ages should rejoice in, and proclaim her happy, for being the instrument of.

5. How the holy virgin passes from the consideration of her personal privileges, to the universal goodness of God; showing us, that the mercies and favors of God, were not confined and limited to herself, But his mercy is on all them that fear him, throughout all generations. She declares the general providence of God towards all persons, his mercy to the pious, his mercy is on all them that fear him; his justice on the proud, he has put down the mighty from their seats, and scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts; his bounty to the poor, he fills the hungry with good things.
We learn the Excellency and advantageous usefulness of the grace of humility; how good it is to be meek and lowly in heart. this will render us lovely in God's eye, and though the world may trample upon us, he will exalt us to the admiration of ourselves, and the envy of our despisers.
Note, how she magnifies the special grace of God in our redemption; He has helped his servant Israel; that is, blessed them with a Savior, who lived in the faith, hope, and expectation, of the promised Messiah, and this blessing, she declares, was
1. The result of great mercy, He remembering his mercy, has helped his servant Israel.
2. The effect of his truth and faithfulness in his promises, as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed for ever.
The appearance of the promised Messiah, in the fullness of time, in order to the redemption and salvation of a lost world, it was the fruit of God's tender love, and the effect of his faithfulness in the promises made of old, to his church and children: He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our forefathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.