Chapter 1 Luke 1
I. Prologue (vv. 1-4)
1 Dear Theophilus:
a Many people have done their best to write a report of the things that have taken place b among us. 2 They wrote what we have been told c by those who saw these things from the beginning and who proclaimed the message. 3 And so, Your Excellency, d because I have carefully studied all these matters from their beginning, I thought it would be good to write an orderly account for you. 4I do this so that you will know the full truth about everything which you have been taught.
Interesting Stuff:
a ‘Theophilus’ means ‘one who loves God’.
b These refer to the things prophesied in the OT that had been fulfilled.
c The phrase used in other translations is ‘handed down’. This is a technical term for passing on information which is regarded as authoritative.
d The use of the term ‘Excellency’ shows that Theophilus was probably a Roman official or at least someone of wealth and power. Paul used this term for governors Felix (Ac 24:2) and Festus (Ac 26:25).
Questions:
- To whom was this book dedicated (v. 1)?
2. Who had given Luke all his information (v. 2)?
3. What did Luke do before he wrote down all his information (v. 3)?
4. What was Luke’s purpose in writing to Theophilus (vv. 3-4)?
Summary of Section:
- Luke begins his book by addressing the recipient of his writing, Theophilus.
- He mentions that other people had done their best to write a report of all the things that had been fulfilled among them.
- What they wrote were similar to what Luke and others had been told by those who had been eyewitnesses from the beginning and who themselves preached the Good News of Jesus.
- Because he had carefully examined all these reports and eyewitness accounts from the beginning, Luke thought that it would be good for him to write an orderly account for Theophilus. 5. He wanted Theophilus to know the full truth about everything that he had been taught.
- He wanted Theophilus to know the full truth about everything that he had been taught.
Nuggets of Wisdom
- It was a common practice of the great Greek and Jewish historians of those times to write an introduction to explain their work. This was to reassure their readers that their work had been thoroughly researched and was completely reliable.
- Luke begins his book with a formal introduction, common to historical works of that time, in which he states his purpose for writing and identifies his recipient. He acknowledges other reports on the subject, shows the need for this new work of his, and states his method of approach and his sources of information.
- The name ‘Theophilus’ means ‘one who loves God’. Theos is the Greek word for ‘God’; philos means ‘beloved’ or ‘loving’ in Greek. The use of the term ‘Your Excellency’ indicates that Theophilus might be a Roman official or at least someone of high position and wealth. He was possibly either a recent convert or Luke’s patron, i.e., someone who was responsible for seeing that his writings were copied and distributed.
- It would seem that Theophilus was familiar with some of the events that had taken place but that he required additional instruction in order to know their truth. Luke thus writes to provide a more complete account of Jesus and what he had done in order to persuade Theophilus of the certainty of what he had come to believe in and to encourage faith in him.
Announcing the Birth of John the Baptist (vv.5-25)
5 During the time when Herod e was king of Judea, f there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. g His wife’s name was Elizabeth; she also belonged to a priestly family. 6 They both lived good lives in God’s sight and obeyed fully all the Lord’s laws and commands. 7 They had no children because Elizabeth could not have any, and she and Zechariah were both very old.
8 One day Zechariah was doing his work as a priest in the Temple, h taking his turn in the daily service. 9 According to the custom followed by the priests, he was chosen by lot i to burn incense j on the altar. So he went into the Temple of the Lord, 10 while the crowd of people outside prayed during the hour when the incense was burned. 11 An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar where the incense was burned. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was alarmed and felt afraid. 13 But the angel said to him,
“Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son. You are to name him John. k 14 How glad and happy you will be, and how happy many others will be when he is born! 15 He will be a great man in the Lord’s sight. He must not drink any wine or strong drink. l From his very birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, 16 and he will bring back any of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.
17 He will go ahead of the Lord, strong and mighty like the prophet Elijah. m He will bring fathers and children together again; he will turn disobedient people back to the way of thinking of the righteous; he will get the Lord’s people ready for him.”
18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know if this is so? I am an old man, and my wife is old also.”
19“I am Gabriel,” n the angel answered. “I stand in the presence of God, o who sent me to speak to you and tell you this good news. 20 But you have not believed my message, which will come true at the right time. Because you have not believed, you will be unable to speak; you will remain silent until the day my promise to you comes true.”
21 In the meantime the people were waiting p for Zechariah and wondering why he was spending such a long time in the Temple. 22 When he came out, he could not speak to them, and so they knew that he had seen a vision in the Temple. Unable to say a word, he made signs to them with his hands.
23 When his period of service in the Temple was over, Zechariah went back home. 24 Some time later his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and did not leave the house for five months. 25 “Now at last the Lord has helped me,” she said. “He has taken away my public disgrace!”q
Interesting Stuff:
e This was Herod the Great (refer to ‘The Family of Herod the Great’, p. viii) who reigned from 37– 4 B.C.
f Judea here refers to the whole land of Palestine (refer to ‘Map of Palestine’ on p. xxv). Normally Judea refers to the southernmost province in Palestine where Jerusalem was situated.
g Both Zechariah and Elizabeth were descended from the family line of priests, going all the way back to Aaron (the brother of Moses) who was the first high priest chosen by God. From the time of King David, the priests were divided into 24 divisions or sets, each serving at the Temple twice a year, a week each time. Abijah was one of the heads of the priestly families.
h This is the Temple in Jerusalem where the Israelites went to worship God and to offer their sacrifices. It was built by Herod the Great (refer to ‘The Temple’, p. x for the history of the Temple).
I Casting lots was a common practice among many nations during that time. It was used to determine God’s will on certain matters, although how the lots were cast is not known. There were many priests and not enough sacred duties for them all. So lots were cast to see who would perform each duty.
j One of the priest’s duties was to keep the incense burning on the altar in the Holy Place, in front of the veil that separates it from the Most Holy Place, also called the Holy of Holies (refer to layout of f the Temple, p. xi). The Holy of Holies was where God’s glory dwelt and could be entered only one day each year, the Day of Atonement, and then only by the high priest.
The priest would put fresh incense before the morning sacrifice and again after the evening sacrifice. Offering incense was regarded as a great privilege. A priest could not offer incense more than once in his lifetime and some priests never did receive this privilege because of the large number of priests.
k The name ‘John’ comes from a Hebrew word which means ‘The Lord is gracious’.
l It appears that John was to be subject to the Nazirite vow of not taking any alcoholic drinks (see Nu 6:1-4). A Nazirite was an Israelite who consecrated himself to God and took a vow of absti- nence (from 30 days to a lifetime) for the purpose of some special service. The three main marks of a Nazirite were abstaining from alcoholic drinks, from the cutting of hair, and from touching a dead body. Whether John was to be a Nazirite for life is not certain because there is no reference to his hair. Samson and Samuel are the only people mentioned in the Bible who were Nazirites for life.
m The prophet Malachi prophesied (Mal 4:5-6) that Elijah would come to bring fathers and children together again and to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. John was not Elijah returning in the flesh but his role was to fulfil this prophecy of Malachi by being like Elijah who, filled with God’s Spirit and power, prepared God’s people for the coming of the Lord, Jesus himself.
n The name ‘Gabriel’ can mean ‘God is my hero’ or ‘mighty man of God’. Only two angels are identified by name in the Bible: Gabriel (Da 8:16; 9:21) and Michael (Da 10:13, 21; Jude 9; Rev 12:7).
o Gabriel’s place in the presence of God shows something of his dignity and importance.
p The people were waiting for Zechariah to come out and pronounce the Aaronic blessing (see Nu 6:22-27).
q The Jews believed that not having children was a sign of God’s disapproval. Such parents were looked down upon in Jewish society.
Questions:
- Who were Zechariah and Elizabeth (vv. 5-7)?
2. What was Zechariah doing when the angel appeared to him (vv. 8-11)?
3. What good news did the angel Gabriel bring to Zechariah (vv. 13-15)?
4. According to Gabriel, what would John do when he grew up (vv. 15-17)?
5. How did Zechariah react to the news (vv. 18, 20)?
Why do you think he reacted this way?
6. What judgment did Gabriel pass on Zechariah for his unbelief (v. 20)?
7. How were the words of the angel fulfilled (vv. 22-25)?
Summary of Section:
Luke claims that he had checked out Jesus’ story from the very beginning. Thus he starts his Gospel with events before Jesus’ birth. Luke’s Gospel is the only Gospel that has events that took place before Jesus was born. He begins with a sequence of four separate incidents which led up to the birth of Jesus. God had already been at work in preparing the way for the coming of Jesus.
Nuggets of Wisdom
- This is the first of many instances in Luke’s Gospel where prayer is the context in which God makes His purposes known, either through visions, angelic visitations such as happened here, or through the voice of the Holy Spirit.
- The phrase ‘Don’t be afraid’ appears in other places in Luke also. It shows how much God cared about His people and wanted them to be assured that His message was for the purpose of providing comfort and good news, not judgment.
- John’s birth would be an occasion for rejoicing because, together with Jesus’ birth, it marked the coming of salvation for the people of Israel.
- Here in v. 15 is Luke’s first mention of the Holy Spirit. The phrase ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’ occurs repeatedly in Luke’s Gospel and Acts. John would be Spirit-empowered from his very birth (other translations have ‘even before his birth’) because only the authority and power of the Holy Spirit would make possible his ministry as a prophet.
- John’s primary mission was to call Israel to repentance and turn them back to their God so that they would be prepared for the coming of Jesus.
Announcing the Birth of Jesus (vv. 26-38)
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee named Nazareth. 27 He had a message for a girl promised in marriage r to a man named Joseph, who was a descendant of King David. The girl’s name was Mary. 28 The angel came to her and said, “Peace be with you! The Lord is with you and has greatly blessed you!”
29 Mary was deeply troubled by the angel’s message, and she wondered what his words meant. 30 The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary; God has been gracious to you. 31 You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. s 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. t The Lord God will make him a king, as his ancestor David u was, 33 and he will be the king of the descendants of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end!”
34 Mary said to the angel, “I am a virgin. How, then, can this be?” v
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and God’s power will rest upon you. For this reason the holy child w will be called the Son of God. 36 Remember your relative Elizabeth. It is said that she cannot have children, but she herself is now six months pregnant, even though she is very old. 37 For there is nothing that God cannot do.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” said Mary; “may it happen to me as you have said.” And the angel left her.
Interesting Stuff:
r A Jewish engagement or pledge of marriage was much more binding among Jews of those days than in this modern age. It usually took place a year before marriage and could be broken only by divorce.
s The name ‘Jesus’ comes from the Hebrew name ‘Joshua’ which means ‘The Lord is salvation’ or ‘The Lord saves’.
t This title has two meanings: (i) the divine Son of God (ii) the Messiah. ‘Most High’ is a title that is frequently used of God in both the OT and NT.
u Mary was a descendant of David, as was Joseph. So Jesus could rightly be called a son or descendant of David.
v Mary did not ask in unbelief or doubt as Zechariah did. See v. 45. She only wondered how it could be accomplished.
Questions:
- To whom did God send the angel Gabriel during the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy (vv. 26-27)?
2. Where was Mary when the angel Gabriel appeared to her (v. 26)?
3. What was the message that Gabriel brought to Mary (vv. 30-32, 35)?
Summary of Section:
- The second incident took place in Galilee, in the town of Nazareth, during the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy.
- God sent the same angel Gabriel to Mary, who was promised in marriage to Joseph, a descendant of King David.
- Gabriel told Mary that God was with her and had greatly blessed her. But Mary was deeply troubled by the message.
- The angel reassured her, as he had done with Zechariah, by telling her not to be afraid.
- He told her that God had been gracious to her and she would become pregnant and give birth to a son, whom she was to name Jesus. As with Zechariah, the angel gave her the name for her son.
- The following things were said about Jesus by Gabriel:
a) He would be great and would be called the Son of the Most High God
b) God would make him a king like David, his ancestor
c) He would be king of the descendants of Jacob forever
d) His kingdom would never end - Mary asked the angel how this would be possible since she was a virgin.
- Gabriel answered that the Holy Spirit would come on her and God’s power would rest upon her. Thus the child born would be called the Son of God.
- He reminded her that nothing is impossible for God to do. Even her relative Elizabeth who could not bear children and was past child-bearing age, was now six months pregnant.
- Mary responded by humbly submitting herself to God’s will. “I am the Lord’s servant, may it happen to me as you have said.”
- Then the angel left her.
Nuggets of Wisdom
- This incident took place most likely in the home of Joseph since Mary was already betrothed or engaged to him.
- Gabriel said that John would be great. Here with Jesus, he used the same word ‘great’ but with a fuller meaning – he would be called the ‘Son of the Most High God’. He would also become king like his ancestor King David except that his kingdom would be forever.
- The Jews understood that the kingdom of the Messiah or the Saviour would be an earthly one with a limited time span. Only God’s final kingdom would have no end. Thus Gabriel was saying that this Jesus was more than an earthly king as the Jews would find out later in Jesus’ teachings.
- Gabriel made it clear to Mary that her pregnancy would be a divine activity – the Holy Spirit would come upon her and the power of God would rest on her. Other translations use ‘overshadow’ instead of ‘rest’. This has the sense of the covering of the holy, powerful presence of God, as in the description of the cloud representing the glory of God covering the holy tabernacle in Ex 40:34-35. This would rule out any ideas that the Holy Spirit ‘mated’ with Mary. Thus the child to be born would be holy, called the Son of God. This virgin birth of Jesus is unique to Christianity.
- Mary accepted the purpose of God wholeheartedly without regard to what it would cost her personally. The word she used was ‘slave-girl’ – it expressed her complete submission to God’s purpose as well as her willingness to carry out that purpose.
- We tend to forget how much courage and faith it must have taken Mary to accept God’s plans for her. She would be labelled an adulteress. The death penalty for adultery (Dt 22:20-24) was still there. She could not be sure of Joseph’s reaction (Matthew tells us in Mt 1:19 that Joseph wanted to divorce her), nor of the reactions of her family, Joseph’s family, neighbours, and friends.
- But yet she humbly told God that she was His slave-girl – she was ready to do what He wanted. Thus Mary turned out to be the one favoured by God although she ranked amongst the most unimportant, being young, a female and from a poor background.
Mary Visits Elizabeth and the Magnificat (vv. 39-56)
39 Soon afterward Mary got ready and hurried off to a town in the hill country of Judea. 40 She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby moved w within her. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and said in a loud voice, “You are the most blessed of all women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 Why should this great thing happen to me, that my Lord’s mother comes to visit me? 44 For as soon as I heard your greeting, the baby within me jumped with gladness. 45 How happy you are to believe that the Lord’s message to you will come true!”
46 Mary said, x
“My heart praises the Lord;
47 my soul is glad because of God my Saviour,
48 for he has remembered me, his lowly servant!
From now on all people will call me happy,
49 because of the great things the Mighty God has done for me.
His name is holy;
50 from one generation to another he shows mercy to those who honour him.
51 He has stretched out his mighty arm y and scattered the proud with all their plans.
52 He has brought down mighty kings from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away with empty hands.
54 He has kept the promise he made to our ancestors,
and has come to the help of his servant Israel.
55 He has remembered to show mercy to Abraham and to all his descendants forever!”
56 Mary stayed about three months z with Elizabeth and then went back home.
Interesting Stuff:
w Other versions translate this as ‘leaped for joy’. In some mysterious way, the Holy Spirit produced this remarkable response in the unborn child.
x Mary’s song or hymn of praise has traditionally been called the ‘Magnificat’ because in the Latin Bible the opening word is magnificat which means ‘magnifies’. This is one of four hymns (vv. 68-79; 2:14; 2:29-32) which have been preserved in Luke chap 1-2. There are quite a number of similarities between this song and the song of Hannah (1 Sa 2:1-10).
y This is a figurative description of God’s mighty acts. God does not have a body because He is spirit.
z Mary most likely remained with Elizabeth until John’s birth before she returned home to Nazareth.
Questions:
- Where did Zechariah and Elizabeth live (vv. 39-40)?
2. Describe what happened when Mary greeted Elizabeth (vv. 41-45).
3. Why was Mary rejoicing (vv. 46-49)?
4. Describe the things that were said about the different groups of people mentioned in the Magnificat (vv. 50-55).
5. How long did Mary stay with Elizabeth (v. 56)?
Summary of Section:
- The third incident took place in the home of Zechariah and Elizabeth in a town in the hill country of Judea. Luke does not mention where the town was. His point was to indicate that both Zechariah and Elizabeth were country folk.
- Soon afterwards, Mary hurried off to visit Elizabeth in the hill country of Judea.
- When Mary greeted Elizabeth, the baby within Elizabeth moved. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in a poem (although it is not printed as such in our Bibles).
- She greeted Mary as the most blessed of all women because she was carrying the child who would be Israel’s Saviour.
- Elizabeth told Mary that blessed also was the child whom she would give birth to. She said that as soon as she heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped with gladness.
- She concluded her poem with a further blessing of Mary because Mary believed God’s message to her.
- Then Mary burst into a song of praise called the Magnificat. She rejoiced because God had remembered her, His servant. From then on people would call her blessed or happy because of the great things God had done for her.
- In the ‘Magnificat’, Mary sang the following things about God:
a) His name is holy from one generation to another
b) He shows mercy to those who honour Him
c) He had scattered the proud with all their plans
d) He had brought down mighty kings from their thrones
e) He had lifted up the lowly
f) He had filled the hungry with good things
g) He had sent the rich away with empty hands
h) He had kept the promise He made to their ancestors
i) He had come to the help of His servant Israel
j) He had remembered to show mercy to Abraham and his descendants - Mary stayed three months with Elizabeth before going back home.
Nuggets of Wisdom
- John, we have been told earlier, would be filled with the Holy Spirit even before birth and he would prepare for the coming of the Lord. Here we see the Spirit prompting John to leap for joy in the womb as Mary greeted Elizabeth.
- The same can be said of Elizabeth. The Spirit enabled her to discern the significance of her baby’s movement and to give voice to her baby’s recognition of Mary and her unborn baby. Her speech was inspired speech. She spoke on behalf of God and affirmed what Gabriel said about Mary being blessed and finding favour with God.
- The song of Mary, the ‘Magnificat’, was an outburst of praise. There are two main themes in Mary’s song:
i) The first pictures God as the divine warrior who accomplishes deliverance for His people.
ii) The second portrays God as the merciful God of the covenant who looks with favour upon the lowly and those who fear Him. - Mary praised God for looking with favour on her, who was his lowly servant, and for His mighty acts on behalf of the lowly and the hungry of Israel. She praised Him as the covenant-making God who remembered His promises to Abraham and his descendants and acts in mercy on their behalf.
The Birth of John the Baptist (vv. 57-80)
57 The time came for Elizabeth to have her baby, and she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbours and relatives heard how wonderfully good the Lord had been to her, and they all rejoiced with her.
59 When the baby was a week old, they came to circumcise a’ him, and they were going to name him Zechariah, after his father. b’ 60 But his mother said, “No! His name is to be John.”
61 They said to her, “But you don’t have any relative with that name!” 62 Then they made signs to his father, c’ asking him what name he would like the boy to have.
63 Zechariah asked for a writing pad d’ and wrote, “His name is John.” How surprised they all were! 64 At that moment Zechariah was able to speak again, and he started praising God. 65 The neighbours were all filled with fear, and the news about these things spread through all the hill country of Judea. 66 Everyone who heard of it thought about it and asked, “What is this child going to be?” For it was plain that the Lord’s power was upon him.
67 John’s father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, e’ and he spoke God’s message: f’
68 “Let us praise the Lord, the God of Israel!
He has come to the help of his people and has set them free.
69 He has provided for us a mighty Saviour,
a descendant of his servant David.
70 He promised through his holy prophets long ago
71 that he would save us from our enemies,
from the power of all those who hate us.
72 He said he would show mercy to our ancestors and remember his sacred covenant.
73-74 With a solemn oath to our ancestor Abraham he promised to rescue us from our enemies and allow us to serve him without fear,
75 so that we might be holy and righteous before him all the days of our life.
76 “You, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High God. g’
You will go ahead of the Lord to prepare his road for him,
77 to tell his people that they will be saved by having their sins forgiven.
78 Our God is merciful and tender.
He will cause the bright dawn of salvation to
rise on us
79 and to shine from heaven on all those who live in the dark shadow of death, h’
to guide our steps into the path of peace.”
80 The child grew and developed in body and spirit. He lived in the desert i’ until the day when he appeared publicly to the people of Israel.
Interesting Stuff:
a’ It was part of the ceremonial law that a male child should be circumcised on the eighth day of his life (Ge 17:11-12; Lev 12:3). Circumcision was a practice instituted by God as a sign of the covenant or promise between Him and Abraham and his descendants that He would be their God and they, His people.
b’ This was an accepted practice of those times.
c’ In their excitement, they could have forgotten that he was only dumb, not deaf. Another possible explanation is that the word used to describe what happened to Zechariah in v. 22 could mean ‘deaf and dumb’.
d’ This was probably a small wooden board covered with wax.
e’ Both Zechariah and Elizabeth were filled with the Holy Spirit and thus enabled to express both in song and prophecy (speaking God’s message for the present as well as the future) what they normally would not have been able to do.
f’ Zechariah’s song or hymn of praise is traditionally called the ‘Benedictus’, after the opening word for ‘blessed’ in the Latin Bible. Whereas the Magnificat of Mary is similar to a psalm, the Benedictus is more like a prophecy.
g’ John will be called the prophet of the Most High God, whereas Jesus would be called the Son of the Most High God.
h’ Because God is compassionate and merciful, His salvation is also for those who are not part of Israel and are lost (living in darkness).
i’ This is the Desert of Judea which lies between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea (refer to ‘Map of Palestine’, p. xxv). Probably John’s parents, already old at his birth, died when he was young and he grew up in the desert. John was about 30 years old when he began his public ministry, preaching about repentance and announcing the coming of the Messiah (see 3:23 – Jesus and John were about six months apart in age).
Questions:
- Describe what happened when John was born (vv. 57-58).
2. What happened during the time of circumcision when they were going to name the baby (vv. 59-64)?
3. How did the neighbours react to what took place (vv. 65-66)?
4. What enabled Zechariah to prophesy about what God was going to do for His people (v. 67)?
5. What did Zechariah praise and thank God for (vv. 68-75)?
6. What did Zechariah prophesy about the work of his son (vv. 76-77)?
7. What do the words of Zechariah tell us about the Jewish hopes concerning the Messiah and how those hopes would be fulfilled (vv. 69-75)?
8. Why was God bringing His salvation and peace to everyone (vv. 78-79)?
9. Where did John spend most of his time before his public ministry as a prophet (v. 80)?
Summary of Section:
- The fourth incident was the birth of John the Baptist in the same town in the hill country of Judea.
- Elizabeth’s neighbours and relatives came to rejoice with her because they had heard of how wonderfully good the Lord had been to her.
- At his circumcision a week later, they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. But Elizabeth refused, wanting to name him John.
- They told Elizabeth that she did not have any relative with that name. When they made signs to Zechariah to ask him what name he would like to name his son, he wrote down that the baby’s name was John.
- They were all surprised. At that moment, Zechariah was able to speak again and he started to praise God.
- Like Mary, Zechariah was inspired by the Holy Spirit to utter a hymn of thanksgiving, the ‘Benedictus’.
- In the first part, he praised God for
a) Having come to help His people and set them free
b) Having provided a mighty Saviour for His people from the line of David
c) Promising His people through His prophets that He would save them from their enemies
d) Showing mercy to their ancestors by remembering His covenant
e) Promising to rescue them from their enemies so that they could serve Him without fear and live righteous and holy lives - In the second part, Zechariah addressed his son and prophesied about his future. He said that
a) John would be called a prophet of the Most High God.
b) He would go ahead of the Messiah and prepare the way for him by telling God’s people that they would be saved by having their sins forgiven - Zechariah added that God is merciful and tender. He would cause salvation to shine down from heaven on all those who live in the shadow of death and guide them into the path of peace.
- The neighbours were all filled with fear and news spread through all the country of Judea about all these happenings. Everyone wondered about what the child would turn out to be since it was clear that God’s power was upon him.
- John grew and developed both physically and spiritually. He lived in the desert of Judea until the day when he appeared publicly to the Israelites.
Nuggets of Wisdom
- We see the fulfilment of the angel Gabriel’s prophecy (vv. 13-20) when Elizabeth finally gives birth:
i) The promised child was a son
ii) There was much rejoicing amongst the relatives and neighbours
iii) Elizabeth and Zechariah separately chose the name of ‘John’ , although Luke does not make it clear how Elizabeth came by that name
iv) Zechariah regained his voice - The primary response of the people was puzzlement and fear. They knew that something extraordinary was at work but they could not discern what it was. Everyone thus wondered at what the role of John would be in the future.
- Zechariah, like his wife Elizabeth, was filled with the Holy Spirit and inspired to prophesy and praise God. He gave two main reasons for praising God: God had remembered His covenant to His people and had raised up a Davidic Saviour not just for them, but also for the rest of mankind. He also emphasised the significance of John as the prophet who would go before Jesus to prepare the way for his coming. We see all the prophecies fulfilled as Luke continues his Gospel.
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