Luke chapter 1: 1-45
Luke wrote his gospel to Theophilis. His name means “THE ONE WHO LOVES GOD”
We do not know who he was.
It is likely that he was a roman, thou some think that he was not an
individual but a number of people who loved God.
Luke was the only
gentile to write a gospel.
He was a physician. If he were an OM er and had a personality
assessment. We would call him a
detailer. We see that he gives details
of dates,
He has in these verses carried out research
He gives details about illnesses that we only find in LUKE
The purpose of his gospel is that having done the research,
Theophilis may be certain of the things that he has been taught. Luke had interviewed eye witnesses.
Contrary to what some
people may think, our faith is not blind.
God has given us the evidence that we need, he has provided accounts of
those who were actually there.
He then set the scene. He details that it was during Herods
reign in Judea that Zechariah and Elizabeth lived. He was a priest of the Abijah division and
they were both well on in years and were childless.
Note that God regarded them as upright. I doubt if society would have thought
Elizabeth upright as she was childless.
I also expect this was something that both of them had done a great deal
of praying for. Perhaps by now, they
thought it would never happen. I certainly think Zechariah thought that. He could not believe what he was told.
One day he was chosen by lot to go into the temple of the
lord and burn insense. When the time came, everyone else was outside
praying.
To be chosen at all was a great honor. It is likely that many priests never had the
honour going into that inner part of the temple and even if they did, it was
likely to be only once in their lives.
We see that when Zacheriah was in there, he saw an angel
standing by the alter, and was gripped with fear.
Picture the scene. Zachariah would have been pleased that
the lot had fallen upon him do go in and burn the insense, and that feeling of
honour gave way to the grip of fear.
God is merciful. We see that the angel knows that Zacheriah
was afraid, so he says, “Do not be afraid Zachariah, your prayer has been
heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear
you a son.
Is it surprising that after all the years of praying that
Zacheriah has difficulty believing this?
Have you every prayed
for something for a long time, year after year after year, and there is no sign
of it being answered? It does not follow
that it will never be answered. Perhaps it will be answered when you do not
expect it.
If you were praying as they did, you would pray that your
child would be godly and Zachariah is told that his child will be great in the
eyes of God. So that would be an even bigger answer to prayer.
I think that Zacheriah and Elizabeth would have prayed for
years that their people would return to the lord, and here Zacheriah is told
that his son will draw many of the people of Israel back to God. Another answer to prayer.
I think we can also assume that Zachariah and Elizabeth
would also have spent years praying for the messiah who was yet to come.
He was told to call him John. The name means the grace or favour of Jehovah
Zacheriah was told that his son will have the spirit and power of Elijah ( this
had been prophecied in the old testament.) and that he will prepare the way of
the lord. Yet another answer to prayer.
If his son was to prepare the way of the lord, then that
meant that the messiah would also appear very soon.
It was a lot to take
in
He asks the question, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in
years?”
Gabriel says that he is Gabriel and he stands in the
presence of God and has been sent to tell him this good news, but because he
did not believe it, he would be silent until it happened.
V26, notice Lukes attention to detail, it was in the 6th
month that Gabriel was sent to deliver another message. This time to a young woman called Mary who
was betrothed to a man called Joseph, a descendent of David.
Mary, like Zacheriah, was afraid, and once again Gabriel
says, “Do not be afraid, You have found favour with God and will give birth to
a child and you will name him Jesus He
will be called the son of the most high, the lord God will give him the throne
of his father david and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. His Kingdom will never end.
Mary asks how will this be as I am a virgin? Note the contrast with Zacheriah in asking
the question. I do not think Mary did
not believe, she just wanted to know how it would be done.
She is told that the holy spirit will come upon her to do
this impossible thing and to support this she is told that the holy spirit has
come upon her elderly relative and made her pregnant as well. If an elderly woman can be pregnant then she
as a young woman should believe that she will have an immaculate conception.
I wonder if Mary could see the full implication of what she
was told about her son. He would be the
son of the most high and his Kingdom would never end. Perhaps she could see that these were
attributes of the messiah, or perhaps not.
Perhaps she just believed with less understanding than we have with
hindsight.
Elizabeth could see it, for when Mary went to visit her,
“Elizabeth was pleased to see her. She was filled with the holy spirit and said
in a loud voice”Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will
bear, but why am I so favoured that the mother of my lord should come to me?”
The Holy spirit showed both of them what was to come and at
the sound of Marys greeting the child in Elizabeth leapt.
Now ladies, I do not expect to ever be pregnant, but I
understand that you feel the child moving. In this case the movement was
significant.
Blessed is she who has believed that what the lord has said
to her will be accomplished. Although
Elizabeth believed, God had not spoken to her, he had spoken to Zachariah, and
he had not believed. The blessing was to
Mary for the lord spoke to her and she did believe.
This is what we need. We need to believe the things that God
has revealed, and as for the things yet to come, they may come at time and
fashion we cannot imagine, but they will come.
Her reaction is different to Zachariahs. He did not believe. Mary says, “I am the lords servant, may it be
to me, as you have said”.
The lord dealt with them differently, but in both cases he
was merciful. In both cases he reassured
them in their fear, and in both cases, he carried out what he said he would do.
This marks the start of the Christmas story, and I expect
that throughout December we will be told again and again the rest of the story,
so I am not going to go into it here, except to say that it is not likely Jesus
was born on the 25th of December,
but we do know he was born,
we do know that he
sits on the throne of David now,
and we know that his kingdom will never end.
Just as Mary was told all those centuries ago.
Hallelujah.
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