Traces of Bar Kochba in the Lukan Prenatal Jesus Narrative (Luke 1)

It is my theory that the Lukan Prenatal and expanded Nativity/Early Childhood Jesus Narratives (Luke 1-2) each contain carefully calculated references to the aftermath of the Bar Kochba Wars. There appear to be contrasting comparisons between the state of Israel at the time of the writing itself, and the vision for better times which the author maintains in the light of messianic hopes attached to the birth of Jesus. 

The subtext seems to be that the downtrodden people of the diaspora should take solace in the thought that Jesus would succeed where Bar Kochba had failed. Now, among the survivors of the Bar Kochba War were those who had at one time pinned their hopes on the success of the militarized Jewish Independence Movement; only to be deported from their homeland after the Roman Army crushed the rebellion. The notion then that a baby born to a people in such desperate circumstances would somehow resolve their destitute situation must have initially seemed somewhat far fetched and fanciful. 

Yet the Lukan author carefully contrasted an underlying theme of despair and hopelessness; which included direct references to hunger, homelessness, and a diaspora, to a "with God nothing shall be impossible" theme (1.37), which in turn was demonstrated by the pregnancies and successful deliveries of an elderly barren woman (1.7,24-25,36,57); and a virgin (1.34-35; 2.5).

The very idea that God could bring forth life in such seemingly impossible circumstances would likely have been a message well received by the people of the post 135 CE Jewish diaspora; who were themselves without a homeland, helpless, and seemingly beyond hope. In the midst of such misery and despair, the promise of a messiah who would succeed where Bar Kochba had failed is a message which would surely been marketable to the downtrodden and defeated refugees of the diaspora. 

In this regard, Gabriel's speech to Mary (Luke 1.32-33)  may in fact have been a contrasting comparison between the defeated and deceased Bar Kochba and the soon to be born messiah Jesus:

-Jesus would be great; Bar Kochba was thought to be great until he was defeated

-Jesus; was the Son of the Highest; whereas Bar Kochba was called the Son of the Star

- Jesus would reign over the kingdom forever; whereas the reign of Bar Kochba was only 3 years 

Again, Mary seems a metaphor for post diaspora Israel (1.48-54); whose praise for God's mercy seems a mirrored mirage of the reality of their state of being after the Bar Kochba war:

- God's strength is demonstrated; Bar Kochba's weakness was revealed 

- God scatters the proud; the poor Jews were scattered after 135 CE

- God puts down the mighty from their seats; the mighty put down Bar Kochba and reassumed the seat of authority in Jerusalem 

- God exalts them of low degree; whereas the displaced Jews of the post Bar Kochba War diaspora, are at their lowest point since the Jewish Independence Wars had commenced in the 60's.

- God fills the hungry; many starved to death in the aftermath of the Bar Kochba War.

- The rich he hath sent away empty; those were sent away empty in 135 CE were the ones who became poor and destitute. 

- God has mercifully helped Israel; the homeless and nationless post 135 CE Israel was badly in need of merciful help wherever they could secure such. 

And again, the sentiment of nationalism in a state of exile seems to have been expressed in Zechariah's speech after his son John's birth (1.67-79):

- He praises God for visiting and redeeming his people.

- He references their enemies and all people that hate them.

- He refers to their state of being as sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death. 

Zechariah's statement that God would redeem his people could be the author's efforts to encourage the disenfranchised Jewish diaspora, whose desperate circumstances as exiled refugees is described as sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death.  As strangers in foreign lands, they would surely have been regarded as enemies and hated by many.   

Viewed as a collective then, these three speeches of the Lukan Prenatal Narrative seem to make calculated references to the destitute circumstances of the surviving diaspora of the Bar Kochba War. The underlying message being that of a reason to rejoice in spite of their seemingly dire straits by hinging their hopes upon a  messiah whose nature and whose destiny would differ significantly from that of the dead and departed failed messiah Simon Bar Kochba.

The Lukan Prenatal and Expanded Early Childhood Jesus Narratives: 2nd Century Early Christian Literature (I)

The Lukan Prenatal (Luke 1) and expanded Nativity/Early Childhood Narratives (Luke 2) seem to be supplemental material to the embryonic earthly Jesus tale. As such it should by no means be surprising that the content of such contains traces of later authorship. 

Consider the active influence of the Holy Spirit in each respective writing. Since no such doctrine is known of until mid to late 2nd Century, then there is no reason to assume an earlier date for the following material:

- John was filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb (1.15,41)

- Mary was impregnated by the Holy Spirit (1.35)

-  Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and then prophesied (1.41)

- Zechariah  was filled with the Holy Spirit, and then prophesied (1.67)

- Simeon received revelations from, was directed by, and prophesied by the Holy Spirit (2.25,26,27)

It is difficult to date this material earlier than the mid 2nd Century since there is no evidence of the doctrine of a personal, directly influential Holy Spirit in Church writings before that time.

The emphasis within each such narrative as to ritual and obedience would likewise indicate a similar dating, for the concept of Christian Orthodoxy is also not known to have developed any earlier than the mid to late 2nd Century:

- Zechariah was a Priest who performed priestly duties (1.5,8-9,23)

- He and his wife Elizabeth walked in the commandments and ordinances of God blamelessly (1.6)

- They circumcised John on the eighth day (1.59)

- Joseph obeyed the command to appear in his home city in order to be taxed, along with his impregnated spouse Mary (2.1-5)

- They circumcised Jesus on the eighth day (2.21)

- Mary was obedient to the purification laws (2.22)

- Then they brought Jesus to Jerusalem to do the sacrifices according to the law of Moses (2.22-24)

- While there, they performed all things according to the law of God (2.39)

- They obeyed the command by appearing in Jerusalem each year (2.41)

- Reemphasized (2.42)

These several references to a compulsive and consistent obedience to routine and detailed ritual imply the structure and hierarchy which was developing within the Orthodox branch of Christianity from the mid to late 2nd Century. As such it would be difficult to date these passages any earlier.

Finally, the blending of the direct operation of a personal Holy Spirit and that of obedience and ritual seems representative of the latter 2nd Century struggles between the gnostic and orthodox branches of early Christianity. The very fact that such experiences and exercises are shared by the same characters within each narrative would further indicate a Catholicizing agenda by the author; for gnostic Christians claimed direct revelation as their basis of knowledge, while the Orthodox Church maintained written law and hierarchy as the foundation for faith and order. 

That each such narrative portrayed Orthodox believers operating by the direct influence of the Holy Spirit would only further seem to date this material to the later development within that struggle when the Orthodox Church was attempting to Catholicize both branches of faith into one united body.

And so the incorporation of the direct influence of the Holy Spirit and the emphasis upon ritual and obedience into each of the  Prenatal (Luke 1) and expanded Nativity/Early Childhood Narratives (Luke 2), and  even more so the portrayal of each in common characters therein likely dates this material even later in the 2nd Century historical development of early Christianity.

The catholic nature of these introductory narratives not only dates such as mid to late 2nd Century material, but remains consistent throughout the Luke-Acts corpus itself. 

Dave Henderson

Denison, Texas