Bible 101 - Luke 1

Presented March 6, 2006 by Phyllis Gilbert

Luke 1: The first four verses form a prologue to the book: here Luke addresses Theophilus assuring his patron that he's done his homework. Luke says he is not the first to present a written record of Jesus' life and work ("many have undertaken to draw up an account") a life and work he describes as "fulfill[ment]" of prophecy "handed down." Luke has studied the Hebrew scriptures; thus, he places Jesus' life within the larger framework of God's plan of redemption. Now, how did Luke compile his information? He's read those accounts, spoken to people who saw Jesus, those he healed and ministered to. All of this is to assure Theophilus that he's not writing a story he's made up, or as Peter tells us "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty" (II Peter 1:16). Further Luke writes: "I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning." Like a good reporter on the trail of the story of his life, Luke has gathered as many details of Jesus' life and ministry as he can find. "It seemed good to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus," Luke writes. An "orderly account" suggests a logically organized, thorough recreation of Jesus' life. And why? "So that you [Theophilus] may know the certainty of the things you have been taught." The man to whom the book is addressed has heard about Jesus and believes in him. But Luke knows that the more he knows the better. The more Theophilus learns of Jesus as God's son, the stronger the foundation his faith will have.

Luke 1:5: Luke begins with orientation in history: "in the time of Herod king of Judea." Herod the Great was king from 37-4 B.C., an Edomite (descendant of Esau), a cruel, tyrannical man who was famous for jealously guarding his throne from any and all competitors. He killed several of his own family whom he suspected of wanting to take his power. He was also a great builder, and it was he who rebuilt the 2nd temple on a grander scale. Luke also clearly identifies John the Baptist's parents: Zechariah a priest was his father, and Elizabeth, also of the priestly tribe, his mother. They are called "upright in the sight of God," individuals who followed the commandments. Their faith and trust in God was exemplary. Nevertheless, they had no children. This is a clue that God was not pleased with conditions in Israel. In Deuteronomy, God promises his people that if they follow the law without deviation, "none of your men and women will be childless" (Deut. 7:14). Nonetheless, because Elizabeth and Zechariah were faithful to God, he was about to bless them - even in their old age (a reminder of Abraham and Sarah).

Luke 1:8: Zechariah was of the priestly division of Abijah, as the Temple priests were still in divisions David had established (II Chron. 23-24). At the time of Jesus, scholars estimate that 20,000 men in Israel were Aaron's descendants and thus eligible to serve as priests. With so many priests and Levites, service at the Temple was assigned by lot. Zechariah had been chosen to burn incense before God - very likely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Incense, according to the Mosaic law, was to be burned in the Tabernacle and then the Temple morning and evening. The incense represented the prayers of the people (Ps. 141:2, Rev. 5:8). As Zechariah is in the Temple with his extended family waiting in the courtyard, he is startled by an angel who says "don't be afraid." The angel Gabriel (whose messages always concern the Messiah), tells Zechariah that his prayer has been heard and he will become a father to a son to be called John. Further, Zechariah is told that John will be a special child "filled with the Holy Spirit from birth," a Nazirite for life, and that he will "turn the hearts of the [people]," in the spirit of Elijah. As we recall, Elijah was the first of the prophets, a dramatic, dynamic man who called Israel to repentance during the time of Ahab. It was Elijah who challenged the people to choose God over Baal after fire fell from heaven on Mt. Carmel. What the angel tells Zechariah is powerful: God's Messiah is about to come and deliver Israel, and Zechariah's son will be the prophet who announces this to the people. Zechariah is an old man, and like Sarah who laughed at the news that she would have a son at age 90, asks the angel how this can be - this birth of a son to an old man. The angel tells him he will be unable to speak until the child is born; his unbelief has caused this. Imagine Zechariah's frustration: he's just had the experience of a lifetime in the Temple at the incense altar and an angel has told him he's to be a father, and he can't tell anyone the good news.

Luke 1:21: Zechariah is in the Temple for an extraordinarily long time and those outside are concerned. But when he comes out, he appears quite different than he did when he entered the Temple, and of course, he can't speak. So the people conclude he's had a vision. He makes signs to them, and they go home. On the way, he's able to tell Elizabeth about the encounter with the angel and the good news about a son who's to be added to their family. He could have written in the dirt, could have had a wax tablet to write on, maybe a laptop computer! In any event, he gets the message to Elizabeth. And sure enough, she becomes pregnant and thanks God for the blessing he's given her.

Luke 1:26: Luke now switches to another family. Elizabeth and Zechariah are at home, she in seclusion (perhaps she didn't want to be seen until her pregnancy showed so that no one could doubt the truth of what she told them), and her cousin Mary is visited by Gabriel in the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy. Once again, Luke locates Mary in history (Herod is still king) and in place: she's in Nazareth, a town in Galilee, and pledged to marry a man named Joseph, a descendant of David (important to Jesus' being accepted as Messiah). And we're told she's a virgin, so when the angel tells her she's to become a mother, her question is logical: "How can this be?" Notice that Mary doesn't reject the angel's message that she's to be the mother of the Son of God; she simply doesn't understand how this will be done. And so the angel explains: "the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you." Mary accepts this and says "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said." Before her final word to the angel, Gabriel tells her that "nothing is impossible with God," and lets her know about Elizabeth's impending motherhood. Mary's complete acquiescence to God's will is a model for us. Her only question is "how" not "if." She knows that an engaged woman is as good as married in her culture; if she is therefore found to be expecting a child, she'll be considered "damaged goods," and according to the law, Joseph would have grounds for divorcing her. She could be killed as an adulterous woman. And she would be left a single mother, no longer eligible for marriage, and without support. All this must have flashed through her mind, but she still said "yes." May we be as ready to do what God asks us to.

Luke 1:39: Mary immediately leaves her home to visit Elizabeth. Who else would understand what Mary had been told by the angel - or that an angel had visited her at all? Elizabeth was surely God's instrument to give Mary the comfort of a woman's counsel and love at this time. When Mary enters Zechariah and Elizabeth's home, Elizabeth greets her with "Blessed are you among women and blessed is the child you will bear." It's the Holy Spirit who has told Elizabeth that Mary is with child; John, still in her womb, also recognizes Mary as the mother of the Messiah. This entire meeting is one of God's doing. And Elizabeth gives Mary encouragement: "Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished." Again we have Abraham as a model for this. Paul tells us in Romans 4:18ff: "Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, 'So shall your offspring be.' Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead. . . Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised." And when Abraham was 100 years old, 25 years after the original covenant God made with him, Isaac, the son of the promise, was born. Mary has this kind of faith, as does Elizabeth.

Luke 1:46: Here begins the lovely song we know as the magnificat from its first line: "My soul glorifies [magnifies] the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior." Incidentally, this is the first time the word "savior" is used in the New Testament, and Luke uses "salvation" and "savior" more than any other Gospel or NT writer. Mary's prayer is one of gratitude that God is sending the Messiah to his people - the hope of deliverance and of a deliverer they've sustained for generations. Abraham is called by God in Gen. 12, about 2000 B.C. The covenant with Israel was made formal at Mt. Sinai in 1446 B.C. David reigned from 1010-970 B.C., and with him God made a covenant that the Messiah would come from his line ((II Sam. 7). This hope is given even greater detail in Isaiah's prophecy during the 700s B.C., and by subsequent prophets. But it's been 400 years since the last prophet spoke to Israel. God's sending Gabriel to Zechariah and to Mary has ended the silence; the hope of the nation is about to be fulfilled. Mary recalls Israel's history as she praises God for choosing her, and she gives God all the credit - this is nothing she deserved, asked for or can do in her own strength. But God is using her, and she's giving him the glory. We then read that she stays with Elizabeth for about 3 months, and we can infer that she was there for John's birth.

Questions: All the time Mary was with Elizabeth, what did her family think had happened to her? Surely she told them where she was; but they didn't know why she'd gone to Elizabeth, and Joseph must have been, of all men, the most confused by her absence. After all, they were to be married; why would she disappear? God will answer their questions in his time and in his way.

Luke 1:57: John is born to Elizabeth and her great joy is shared by the entire community. At his circumcision, on the 8th day as the law demanded, he was named John, baffling everyone there. They expected he'd be called Zechariah. But it is Elizabeth who says, "his name is John." And Zechariah confirms it. This is the name Gabriel had said he was to have. And with this confirmation, Zechariah can again speak. The clamor must have been great: everyone talking at once about the name, about Zechariah's voice coming back, about his son's special birth and calling. For then Zechariah uses his voice to prophesy - that is, to speak God's message to the people. And notice that it is for the people. The first words of his lovely hymn are: "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and redeemed his people." We'd expect this new father, who'd waited so long for a son, to praise God for the birth of his son, to thank God for this gift to his family. But Zechariah gives thanks for God's plan of redemption in which his son is to play a role. First he makes it clear that the Messiah is about to step into human history; second, he makes it clear that John will prepare the way for him. This is a beautiful hymn, made even more beautiful by the message it carried to a people who'd been convinced that God had forgotten them. Zechariah identifies the Messiah as a descendant of David (v. 69), that he will be the nation's salvation (v. 71), and that he is the fulfillment of the covenant God gave Abraham (vv. 72-73). When he describes John as the prophet who will announce the Messiah's coming, he is recalling Malachi's prophecy of God's arrival as the Messiah: "See I will send my messenger who will prepare the way before me" (Mal.3:1). We see John as Elijah here; Malachi also prophesied: "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers" (Mal. 4:5-6), the same words Gabriel had spoken of John in his appearance to Zechariah.

Luke 1:80: John's birth is greeted with much rejoicing; his parents are happy, the community is once again anticipating the Messiah's coming. And then we read, "and the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel." We can only infer from this that once John was grown into maturity, he left home to become the singular individual whom Mark describes: "John wore clothing made of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts an wild honey." Since Elizabeth and Zechariah were elderly at his birth, it can be assumed that they were dead before he began his public ministry. But we can also assume that before their deaths, they taught him the scriptures and the law.

Next week: we'll read of Jesus' birth and childhood, and meet John the Baptist once again.

Homework for those who want to go deeper:

Let's close in prayer.