Luke 1

Let us start in Luke chapter 1.

Luke 1

 ¹Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,

 ²Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;

 ³It 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,

 ⁴That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

This is an introduction by Luke about why he decided to write the gospel of Luke. This of course still does not change the truth that “holy men of God spake [as they were] moved by the Holy Ghost” that it came not by the will of man “but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.” And all scripture is “God breathed or came by inspiration of God”.

In verse 3 the words having had perfect are the Greek word akribōs and means exactly, accurately, diligently. it is used in Matthew 2:8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently  for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

It is used in Ephesians 5:15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

 ⁵THERE 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.

When I was a child going to church I would ask my mother who was the person that saw to it I was taught the word at least to the best of her understanding  “if Herod is the King then how can Jesus be the king?”

Herod was a king who had been appointed by the Roman Senate. Now whenever a country was conquered at this time it was a common practice to get rid of the king and replace them with someone with a more lenient attitude towards the conqueror. This is exactly what had happened here. Herod was not a king by birth. Jesus had legitimate claim to the throne. We already looked at the blood line of Jesus in the last teaching that it went from David to Solomon and so forth. The king’s bloodline came from Mary not Joseph. If you look at Joseph’s blood line it did go through David the king but not the royal bloodline.

⁶And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
 ⁷And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
 ⁸And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,
 ⁹According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
 ¹⁰And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.
 ¹¹And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
 ¹²And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
 ¹³But 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.
 ¹⁴And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
 ¹⁵For 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.
 ¹⁶And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
 ¹⁷And 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.
 ¹⁸And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.

So Zacharias and his wife did not have any children but the angle said they were about to have a child. Now Zacharias did something so human in nature he did not think it was possible for he and his wife to have a child at their advanced age.

¹⁹And 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.
 ²⁰And, 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.
 ²¹And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.
 ²²And 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.
 ²³And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
 ²⁴And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
 ²⁵Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

So Elisabeth had a different reaction from her hubby. She didn’t see this as difficult thing but saw it as God removing her reproach. At the time this all happened it was considered a curse to not have children. Now God never said that, in fact earlier in the chapter Zach and Lizzy were both called upright before the lord so there was no curse of God upon them.

²⁶And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
 ²⁷To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
 ²⁸And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
 ²⁹And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

Now this is a normal human reaction as well she didn’t understand what was going on. The difference here is in how she handled that doubt vs how Zach did.

³⁰And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

What a comfort. When we have doubt God’s clarion call to us is “fear not”. God will always provide for us and strengthen us if we need it, he will never, never, never forsake us no matter what may happen. On top of that she is told she found favor with God. How does one find favor with God? All you have to do is to follow what the Word of God teaches us.

³¹And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
 ³²He 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:
 ³³And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
 ³⁴Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

Again seems like doubt. Having a doubt by its self is not wrong it is how we react to it. Do we allow that doubt to stop us or do we take the promise of God and go forward.

 ³⁵And 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.
 ³⁶And, 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.
 ³⁷For with God nothing shall be impossible.
 ³⁸And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

“Behold the handmaid of the Lord be it unto me according to thy word.” This is where Mary ended up not doubt and full of fear. Mary was not stupid she knew the kinds of things that were going to be said by the neighbors. She would be accused of adultery. She knew she would be looked down on made fun of and thought to be a loose women. Yet what did Mary say? How many of us would have had the courage she did to take on this kind of a thing from God? Ever wonder why Mary? This is why this verse 38 she just said okay so be it and she believed it. How many women had there been between Eve and Mary and all of them had the ability to be the one but it was Mary. She must have been remarkable women. God knew he could trust her and Joseph to do that which needed to be done in raising his son.

³⁹And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;
 ⁴⁰And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

So Mary goes to see her cousin who lives in Judea which is near where Bethlehem is located.  This is important to understand and I’ll show you why.

⁴¹And 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:
 ⁴²And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
 ⁴³And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
 ⁴⁴For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
 ⁴⁵And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
 ⁴⁶And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
 ⁴⁷And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
 ⁴⁸For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
 ⁴⁹For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
 ⁵⁰And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
 ⁵¹He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
 ⁵²He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
 ⁵³He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
 ⁵⁴He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
 ⁵⁵As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

As Mary heard this prophecy can you imagine the comfort it brought to her? She knew God was at work at this point.

An now we get another prophecy.

 ⁵⁶And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.
 ⁵⁷Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.
 ⁵⁸And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.
 ⁵⁹And 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.
 ⁶⁰And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.
 ⁶¹And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.
 ⁶²And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.
 ⁶³And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.
 ⁶⁴And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.
 ⁶⁵And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.
 ⁶⁶And 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.
 ⁶⁷And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
 ⁶⁸Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,
 ⁶⁹And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
 ⁷⁰As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
 ⁷¹That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
 ⁷²To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
 ⁷³The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
 ⁷⁴That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
 ⁷⁵In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
 ⁷⁶And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
 ⁷⁷To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,
 ⁷⁸Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
 ⁷⁹To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Prophecy will always build up or edify, exhort and comfort the body of the believers and you have both elements in this section of scripture. I would say that as well as in this case speaking of future events it did just that.

 ⁸⁰And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.


So there you have John the Baptists birth. So Next time we will go onto chapter 2.