Luke
Chapter
1
Luke
1:1-4
1 Forasmuch
as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things
which are most surely believed among us,
2 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning
were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding
of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
4 That thou mightest know the
certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
This is the preamble to the Gospel according to Luke. Luke was a Gentile by birth, and converted to
Judaism prior to turning to Christ.
Luke is the only writer in the New Testament who was born as
a Gentile. He wrote both this and Acts
as personal letters to Theophilus. Luke wrote as a
reporter and not as an eye witness to the life of Christ.
Luke
1:5-15
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a
certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia:
and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was
Elisabeth.
6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the
commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren,
and they both were now well stricken in years.
8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's
office before God in the order of his course,
9 According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was
to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
10 And the whole multitude of the people
were praying without at the time of incense.
11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing
on the right side of the altar of incense.
12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and
fear fell upon him.
13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy
prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt
call his name John.
14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall
rejoice at his birth.
15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall
drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy
Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the
Lord their God.
17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of
Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient
to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby
shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife
well stricken in years.
19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that
stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee,
and to shew thee these glad tidings.
20 And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak,
until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their
season.
21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.
22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and
they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto
them, and remained speechless.
23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his
ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid
herself five months, saying,
25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me
in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.
As with most of the gospels, Luke begins at the beginning. But for Luke,
the beginning is not the birth of Christ, or the creation of the world. Each of the gospels presents a differing view
of Christ.
Here, we find that Luke begins with Christ’s forerunner, John the
baptizer. We begin not with John’s
birth, but his conception.
We were called and chosen to serve Christ. That is very important! Many
have been called, but at this time only a limited number has been chosen!
While Christ Jesus was born into the tribe of Judah, John the baptizer
was born into the tribe of Levi. Being a Levite by birth, John had the priestly
right to preach righteousness in Judea!
The days of John’s birth were politically dominated by
Herod, the king of Judaea. In those days, a certain priest named Zacharias, who
was born into the family of Abia.
Both of John’s parents were from the tribe of Levi! The
“course of Abia” pointed to Zacharias being a Levite,
and serving in the Temple. In fact, both of John’s parents were born into the
priestly tribe of Levi. Being “of the course” of Abia
points to Zacharias’ time of service in the Temple.
John did not follow his father in Temple service at a
special time of year. Instead, John was called
to announce the coming of the Messiah, Messiach ben Yoseph, or the Messiah the Son of Joseph. He announced the coming of the “suffering
servant” Messiah! Jesus Christ comes as two Messiahs! The first time as the
suffering servant Messiah! When Christ returns, it shall be as Messiach ben David, the conquering King Messiah, Son of David!
Both Zacharias and Elizabeth were righteous before God! That adds to John’s credentials as the proclaimer
of Christ. They lived according to all the commandments and ordinances of the
Lord! In other words, they were
blameless before God!
The Church is made up of saints! The NT saints have been imputed with God’s
grace through Christ Jesus indicating that we too are blameless before God the
Father!
Luke’s reference to “the course of Abia”
indicates the probable birth time of both John and Jesus.
The “course of Abia”
was the 8th of the priestly courses or times of service appointed to
the sons of Aaron within the tribe of Levi to serve or minister in the Temple
in Jerusalem.
The “courses” or times of service
rotated each week.
Those “courses” are given in 1st
Chronicles.
1 Chron 24:10
The seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah,
Abia is the NT
reference to Abijah!
Zacharias was serving in the Temple
in modern-day early June. It was during that time that John’s birth and name
were announced to his father.
As Zacharias was serving in his priestly duties in the
Temple, it became his turn to burn incense in the Temple in Jerusalem. As was
normal, a crowd had gathered to pray in the Temple during the time of incense.
We are told that an Angel Gabriel appeared to him. Zacharias fell down before the Angel due to
fear. At that time, the conception of John was given. The angel told him, “Fear
not, Zacharias, because your prayer has been heard; and you wife Elisabeth
shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.”
Further, the angel told Zacharias, “You shall have joy and
gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth. Because, he shall be great in
the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he
shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And, many
children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And, He shall go before
him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the
children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just to make ready a people
prepared for the Lord.”
At that Zacharias asked the angel, “How shall I know this,
since both I and my wife are old.”
Zacharias responded in a normal fashion for those who feel
themselves to be too old to serve God.
That is a misconception. None is
too old!
The angel responded, “I am Gabriel who stands in the
presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you, and to show you these
glad tidings. “Behold, you shall be dumb, not able to speak, until the day that
these things shall be performed, because you did not believe me! My words shall
be fulfilled in their season.”
The people gathered at the temple waited to hear from
Zacharias. They were amazed that his “service” took so long.
When Zacharias came out of the Temple, he could not speak to
those gathered there. And, they perceived that he had seen a vision in the
temple. That vision was the angelic
message. Zacharias motioned to them, but
remained speechless.
As soon as the days of his work in the Temple were
accomplished, Zacharias went home.
Shortly afterward, his wife Elisabeth conceived, but hid the
fact of her pregnancy for five months.
According to Elisabeth, The Lord had “dealt” with her in
that He has taken away her reproach, lack of children. She considered her
pregnancy a miraculous event.
Luke
1:26-28
26 And
in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee,
named Nazareth,
27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of
the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou
that art highly favoured, the Lord is with
thee: blessed art thou among women.
29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his
saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast
found favour with God.
31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring
forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the
Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and
of his kingdom there shall be no end.
34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How
shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost
shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee:
therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the
Son of God.
36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived
a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called
barren.
37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto
me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
Approximately six months later, the angel Gabriel was sent
by God to the city of Nazareth in the Galilee area, to a virgin espoused to a
man whose name was Joseph, who was a descendent of David. Her name was
Mary.
The angel came to her proclaiming that she was highly
favored, and blessed among women. When she saw the angel, it was was troubling, because she did not understand
what was happening.
Gabriel spoke to Mary telling her, “Don’t be afraid! You have found favor
with God! You shall conceive and give birth to a son. And you shall name Him
Jesus (Heb. Yahshua)!
“Your son shall be great!
He shall be the Son of the Most High, and the Lord shall give Him the
throne of David. He shall rule over the house of Jacob evermore, and His
kingdom shall not end!”
Mary asked the angel how that would happen since she had not
engaged in sexual intercourse.
At that the angel responded, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon
you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you! Therefore, that which
shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God! And, your cousin Elisabeth
has also conceived a son in her old age. This is the sixth month of her
pregnancy. Nothing is impossible to God!”
At that Mary’s attitude changed to meek submission! She told the angel, “Let it happen according
to thy word.”
Then, the angel left her!
Luke
1:39-56
39 And
Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a
city of Juda; 40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted
Elisabeth. 41 And it came to pass, that, when
Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and
Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: 42 And
she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art
thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. 43 And whence is this to me, that
the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For,
lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe
leaped in my womb for joy. 45 And blessed is
she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were
told her from the Lord. 46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, 47 And
my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. 48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden:
for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. 49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and
holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is on them
that fear him from generation to generation. 51 He
hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered
the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He
hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low
degree. 53 He hath filled the hungry with good
things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. 54 He
hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his
mercy; 55 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
56 And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned
to her own house.
Mary then went to see Elisabeth at her home in
Galilee.
As she entered Elisabeth’s home and spoke to her,
the child within Elisabeth started kicking, because he was filled with the Holy
Spirit. And the Spirit was worshipping Christ, God the Son!
Elisabeth then spoke loudly and authoritatively, “Blessed are you among
women! Blessed is the child within you. Who am I that the mother of my Lord
should come to me? As soon as I heard your voice, the child within me jumped
with joy. You are blessed because you heard the word of the Lord and did as He
instructed you.”
At that Mary spoke what has come to be known as “the Magnificat!”
The language of the KJV is so poetic that I will not attempt to bring it
into modern English.
“My soul doth magnify the Lord, And,
my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. For He hath regarded the low estate
of His handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me
blessed. For He that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is His name. And, His mercy is on them that fear Him from
generation to generation. He hath
showed strength with His arm! He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of
their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the
hungry with good things; and the rich He hath sent empty away. He hath holpen [helped] his servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our
fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.”
Mary stayed with Elisabeth for about three months, and then
returned to her own home.
Luke
1:57-66
57 Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered;
and she brought forth a son.
58 And her neighbours and her
cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy
upon her; and they rejoiced with her.
59 And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to
circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his
father.
60 And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he
shall be called John.
61 And they said unto her, There is
none of thy kindred that is called by this name.
62 And they made signs to his father, how he would have him
called.
63 And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His
name is John. And they marvelled all.
64 And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed,
and he spake, and praised God.
65 And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all
these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.
66 And all they that heard them laid them up in
their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this
be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.
The time of Elisabeth's pregnancy was completed
and she gave birth to a son.
Mary’s neighbors and cousins heard how the Lord had shown
great mercy to Elisabeth, and they rejoiced with her. We need to rejoice when Christ blesses
another member of the body!
On the eighth day, following John’s birth the Rabbis came to
circumcise the child. It was at that
time that they decided to name him Zacharias, his father but Elisabeth
objected, preferring that they name him John. Family members disagreed, “None
of our family is named John.”
As you recall, Zacharias had not been able to speak since
his time or “course” in the Temple. Since Zacharias could not speak those
around him made signs to ask what he thought.
Zacharias asked for a writing table, and wrote, “His name is
John.” All were amazed!
Immediately Zacharias could speak! He began by praising God!
Those around him were a bit unsettled when all that
happened. As if in unison they thought, “What is happening?” Although they had seen a miracle child born,
they still had no concept of miracles.
We would have done the same as they if we were in the same circumstance.
The report of Zacharias’ “healing” soon made the rounds in
the Judean hill country. How did it happen?
The answer was obvious.
The hand of the Lord was with him!
Luke
1:67-80
67 And
his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath
visited and redeemed his people,
69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the
house of his servant David;
70 As he spake by the mouth of his
holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the
hand of all that hate us;
72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and
to remember his holy covenant;
73 The oath which he sware to our
father Abraham,
74 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out
of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of
our life.
76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the
Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the
remission of their sins,
78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring
from on high hath visited us,
79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in
the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in
the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.
Zacharias, being moved on by the Holy Ghost, prophesied
saying, “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed
His people, and raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of His servant David!
Zacharias also recited the words of God’s Prophets! He
related how Israel would be saved from its enemies as the result of the
promises made to their fathers in the Covenant sworn to Abraham saying that He
would deliver them so that they may serve Him without fear.
In response to God’s oath, Israel was to always serve Him!
Part of the promise to Israel is that a prophet shall be born and shall
announce the coming of the Messiah, the Lord for the purpose of salvation!
Psalms
106:10 And he saved them from the hand of
him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
As Christians, we are saved from sin (forgiven) so that we
may properly worship Christ!
John was born for the purpose of being a Prophet of
God! He was to “prepare His ways (Gr. hodos-ὁδός), or highway!”
John
would announce, “Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make
straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Isaiah
40:3)! That was the greatest proclamation that could be made during that
time-frame!
John’s announcement was that the “knowledge of salvation”
would be given to “His people” by means of the remission of their sins!
Within the last few Messianic Psalms 111-117, the word
salvation is found only once.
Psalms
106:4 Remember me, O LORD, with the favour that thou bearest unto
thy people: O visit me with thy salvation;
Salvation (Heb. yeshûʿâ- יְשׁוּעָה) is the Hebrew word from which we get the name Jesus!
Could it
be that since there is only One Messiah, His name appears only once in those Messianic
Psalms?
In the Psalm immediately following
the series from 111-117 we find Jesus, Yahshua
appearing again!
Psalms
118:14-15, 18
14 The LORD is my strength
and song, and is become my salvation.
15 The
voice of rejoicing and salvation
is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly
21 I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art
become my salvation.
Christ Jesus is our salvation! He is the “Right Hand of the LORD!” In His
scourging, death, burial, and resurrection Christ became our salvation!
In His walk on earth, it was the “job” of Christ Jesus to
give those on earth the “knowledge” of salvation, or give Himself!
Gentile inclusion in the plan of salvation was foretold by
Isaiah!
Isaiah 9:2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light:
they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light
shined.
It is now our job to give or teach pure salvation by grace
that is only available in Christ Jesus!
In Him alone that we find remission (Gr. aphesis-ἄφεσις) of sins! God’s grace and forgiveness are the direct result
of His mercy!
Verse 78 closes with the fact, “whereby the dayspring (Gr. anatolē-ἀνατολή) from on high hath visited us,” His visitation was to
impart Light to those of us that sit in darkness and in the shadow of
death, and to guide us into the way of peace.
The phrase “guide us into the way of peace” is accurate.
Until the Holy Spirit leads us we will not find the way of peace!
As John grew, he was strengthened by the Holy Spirit! At the proper time he was revealed to
Israel! He was not revealed to the
spiritual apostates that served as Priests in the Temple!