|
Macedonia Tradition
tells us that Luke was from Macedonia, perhaps Philippi.
We will be flying into Thessalonica and will visit Philippi which
is not very far away.
It
is interesting that Luke refers to women in a more kindly light than any
of the other gospel writers.
Even the birth of our Lord is from Mary’s point-of-view. He
refers to Elizabeth, Anna, the widow at Nain, the woman who anointed
Jesus’ feet in the home of Simon the Pharisee, Martha and Mary, and
Mary Magdalene. Why
was he so sensitive to women?
It is probably because there was no other place in the ancient
world where women were respected to a great degree and had liberties
than Macedonia. When
we think of the liberating effect the Gospel had and has on women (in
redemption there are no male or female distinctives) and see pictures of
Muslim women in Afghanistan wearing the confining burqa, we can praise
God for the liberating Gospel of Christ. It
is also interesting to remember that Philippi was named after Philip of
Macedonia, the father of Alexander the Great.
It was Philip who united the Greek city-states and had his great
son tutored by Aristotle.
Alexander believed that Greek philosophy and thought were so
superior to any in the ancient world that he set out conquer the world
and spread this knowledge.
Most significant to us would be the Greek language, common Greek
to be exact, not classical Greek, which was the tool of the scholar.
It was this common Greek that the Jewish scholars in Alexandria,
Egypt, used to translate the Old Testament into what was the lingua
franca of the ancient world.
It was this Septuagint, as we call it, which was widely used in
the synagogues of the Roman world and was largely used by our Lord
during His ministry. So,
Greece, or Macedonia to be more exact, is very important to us as
Christians.
We will be thrilled to be in this place that was so important to
the spread of the Gospel. O THE JOY OF ANTICIPATION!!!!!! Notes
above were written by Dr. Earl Fries prior to his leading a Steps of
Paul and John Tour.
|