Luke 1:1-38
March 25
Reading: Luke 1:1-38
1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.
13 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will 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 for the Lord a people prepared."
18 And Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years."
19 And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time."
21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 "Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people."
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary.
28 And he came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!"
29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.
30 And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."
34 And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?"
35 And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy-- the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God."
38 And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
Luke was a learned man, a physician, and an occasional travelling companion to the Apostle Paul. You can tell from the first four verses what Luke is doing as he writes this gospel. His is the longest of the four gospels. Though Luke has but 24 chapters to Matthew’s 28, Luke’s chapters are longer. Luke is also careful to date the events in this record according to other events in the world, reigns of kings and officials. In verses 2-3 he tells us that he has done his research, talked to eyewitnesses, and written this account of Jesus “in consecutive order.”
Luke addresses his gospel to a man named Theophilus, a Greek name which means “lover (or friend) of God.” Luke wants Theophilus to know “the exact truth” about the things he has been taught about Jesus. In the book of Acts (Luke’s second volume) Luke tells Theophilus about all the things that Jesus continued to do, after His death and resurrection, through His disciples.
One of the people that Luke has spoken with to get his facts straight about Jesus was Mary, Jesus’ mother. We can tell that this is so from the details of chapter 1. Only Mary could have known these things. Luke actually gives us a little commentary on this in Luke 2:19, “But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.” Indeed she did, and Luke noticed.
In this first half of the first chapter of Luke we read of the angelic visits to Zacharias and then Mary. In both cases Gabriel says to these people, “Be not afraid.” Apparently angelic visits can be terrifying.
In both cases the angel is announcing the birth of a baby, two different babies. One is born to a barren woman, the other to a virgin girl. God is letting us all know that He can do anything. (vs. 37) It is interesting how often in the Bible that God’s miracles involve babies. God is really good at babies!
In both cases Gabriel is speaking in the language of the Old Testament Scriptures with connections to Numbers 6 and the Nazarite Vow, Elijah, Malachi 4:6, 2 Samuel 7, Isaiah 9, Daniel, Psalms, Jeremiah, and Genesis 18:14. Scripture helps us to recognize the handiwork of the Lord.