The Origin of John the Baptist and Jesus

The Origin of John the Baptist and Jesus
(Luke 1)

Against this background of the role of women in Luke, one can examine in more detail passages unique to Luke that focus on women.
Three women appear in this section (Elizabeth, Mary of Nazareth, and Anna) in roles far more powerful than the roles of women in the rest of the Gospel. This is the only section in which women are given speeches that are not followed by the women being corrected. It is likely that Luke has permitted powerful women characters here in the narrative mainly because the context is the traditional women’s role of bearing and raising children. However, even here, in the parallel accounts of the birth, circumcision, naming, and maturing of John the Baptist and of Jesus, the major focus of Luke’s interest is the sons, not the mothers…