Live your life chapter by chapter as you discover God's guide for life chapter by chapter.
When: Sundays at 5:00 PM Where: Follow the Map >>>>>>>>>
Or join our Bible Study via video conference with this link: https://join.skype.com/KTORY1RedNI7
Luke 1:5-56 – Prophesies of John and Jesus
​
This passage is as follows:
​
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. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
​
Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 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. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 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. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 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.”
​
And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 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. 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.” And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 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. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
​
After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
​
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 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, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
​
And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
​
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. 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. For nothing will be impossible with God.” 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.
​
In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
And Mary said,
​
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
and his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
​
And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.
​
(End of passage)
​
In the last passage, we noted that the purpose of Luke’s gospel is so that Theophilus may know the certainty of the things that he was taught about the gospel. This exemplifies the purpose of all of the scriptures. The Greek word for “taught” is “katAchAthAs.” This is where we get the Latin word Catechism from. It connotates a very thorough instruction or training. This is an example of the discipleship and teaching that fulfills the great commission of Jesus Christ. Now, another ancient witness is the so-called Anti-Marcionite Prologue to the Gospel of Luke, written around A.D. 160 to 180 to refute the heretic Marcion. It introduces the third gospel this way (http://btsfreeccm.org/local/lmp/lessons.php?lesson=GOS4text):
​
Luke, an Antiochian of Syria, a physician by profession, was a disciple of the apostles. At a later date he accompanied Paul ...Luke, under the impulse of the Spirit, composed his entire gospel in the region of Achaia.
​
Now, this is one reason I believe that the Gospel according to Luke was written earlier and written for the Antiochan Theophilus. Here is a map of Achaia:
Luke would have written his gospel while he was accompanying Paul in Athens and Corinth, or shortly thereafter, which precedes Paul’s mission to Rome.
​
Marcionites believed Jesus was the savior sent by God, and Paul the Apostle was his chief apostle, but he rejected the Hebrew Bible and the God of Israel. Marcionists believed that the wrathful Hebrew God was a separate and lower entity than the all-forgiving God of the New Testament (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcionism).
​
Now, one of the things that Luke shows is that the belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God is purely a continuation of the Hebrew religion and worship of Jesus Christ was worship of the Hebrew God. Luke also seeks to show that the belief in Jesus is for the whole world. This makes his gospel a perfect refutation of Marcionism. It also makes it a perfect defense for Paul in his trial at Rome. Judaism was an approved religion in Rome. If an astute lawyer could prove that believing in Jesus Christ was a continuation of the true Hebrew religion, then Paul will be set free. The use of the Gospel according to Luke, as well as the Acts of the Apostles, were already available for the Theophilus of Rome to use in his defense of Paul. It is most likely that Theophilus of Rome was a Christian as well.
​
Now, in showing that belief in Jesus Christ is a continuation of the true Hebrew religion, Luke would have to show how people believed before the ministry of Jesus. He does this by showing the events that lead up to his birth.
​
First, Luke tells of the prophesy of the birth of John the Baptist in verses 5-15,
​
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. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 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. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 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. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 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.”
​
And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 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. 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.” And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 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. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
​
After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
​
So Zechariah was offering incense at the time of incense in the Temple. This is from Exodus 30:7-8,
​
And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it, and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the Lord throughout your generations.
​
Notice that Luke notes that the whole multitude of people were outside the temple praying. What does incense represent in the Bible?
Prayers.
​
What else can you find in the foretelling of John’s birth ties it to the Old Testament?
​
Verses 16-17,
​
And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 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.”
​
This is a fulfillment of Malachi 4:5-6,
​
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”
So, Zechariah doesn’t believe the angel. What happens next?
​
The angel curses Zechariah with muteness until the birth of his son.
​
Now why did Elizabeth keep herself hidden for five months?
​
I really don’t know the answer for this one. Perhaps a woman might know why.
​
Now let’s look at the foretelling of the birth of Jesus.
​
Verses 26-38,
​
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 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, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
​
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. 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. For nothing will be impossible with God.” 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.
​
What can we find in this prophecy that is linked to the Old Testament?
​
And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
​
Is prophesied in Isaiah 7:14,
​
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
“the child to be born will be called holy - the Son of God.”
​
Is prophesied in Psalm 2:7-8,
​
I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
“the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David.”
Is prophesied in Psalm 110:1,
The Lord says to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.”
​
So, what is going to happen now that Mary finds out that Elizabeth is with child?
​
Verses 39 – 56,
​
In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
​
And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.
This part is written more for the Greeks and Romans. It shows that even before Jesus was born, it was believed that he is God. Elizabeth says, “And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”
Notice that John, a baby at 6 months gestation recognizes the Messiah, Jesus, and Jesus has only been in the womb for a month.
Elizabeth is amazed that there is a fulfillment of what was spoken by the Lord.
Mary is amazed about how blessed she is. Mary alludes to help for Israel and how that there is blessings for the descendants of Abraham. Mary talks about some things that appeal to the whole world, equality between rich and poor for example. Mary mentions mercy twice. Mercy is for them that fear him. This shows that Mary believed in the forgiveness of sins that would come about from the work of the Messiah, who was now in her womb.