Today we begin a new series on the Gospel of Luke. Last year we went through the Book of Acts, also written by Luke. So we are doing these in “reverse order.” I figure if it worked out for Star Wars, and apparently, will work out for The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings, it should work out OK for us.
I want to briefly mention some of the things we learned about Luke from the book of Acts. There we saw that Luke was painstakingly careful with accuracy and, often, but not always, detail. He did not sugar-coat things, and he did not make the Apostle Paul out to be a superhero – in fact, he was careful to lay out the good as well as the bad. He never tried to defend the early church, but simply to say what had happened.
It also appears, because of his use of the word “we” at several places in Acts that he went physically with Paul and others of the early church in portions of their journeys (Acts 16 and Acts 20). And there is good reason to suspect that Acts was completed prior to 70 A.D.; the date that the Temple was destroyed. We suspect this because he would have almost certainly have included this momentous event if it had already happened. The way the introduction to Acts is written, it appears that the Gospel of Luke was written first; Acts begins, “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven…” Thus we see that the Gospel of Luke was written earlier, although probably not a lot earlier, than Acts.
From recorded sources going back to 120 AD, we know that the church has always believed that Luke is the author of the Gospel of Luke, even though he doesn’t actually sign his name anywhere.
We also know that Luke was a Physician. Col. 4:14 says, “Luke, the beloved physician, sends you his greetings, and also Demas.” Luke is also mentioned as someone sending greetings (although not specifically as a physician) in Philemon 23-24. Many of the same people are given in both lists, as well as in Acts, and so this gives further evidence that Doctor Luke was there in some of the events in Acts.
A number of early church documents talk about Luke. One of the earliest, from the second century, says this: “Luke is a Syrian of Antioch, a physician by profession. Having been a disciple of the apostles and later having accompanied Paul until his martyrdom, he served the Lord without distraction, unmarried, childless, and he fell asleep at the age of eighty-four in Boeotia, full of the Holy Spirit.”
One more thing I will mention is that the Gospel of Luke is written in very high quality Greek, a sign of someone who had had plenty of education, a fact consistent with being a doctor.
Here is how the Gospel of Luke begins:
Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. – Luke 1:1-4
Luke here tells us that his is not the first gospel account, and he tells us that some of the other accounts were written by eyewitnesses, meaning disciples. We have three of these other gospel accounts today, all viewed by the early church as completely trustworthy. There are also other so-called gospel accounts that fail trustworthiness for many reasons, including questions about authorship, questions about accuracy, and questions about the date of their writing.
In addition to calling these early account writers (the trustworthy ones) eyewitnesses, he also calls them “servants of the word.” Literally, this is “servants of the logos,” a reference to Jesus Christ (see John 1).
Luke also tells us he is writing this (and Acts) to someone named Theophilus, presumably someone of high rank and standing, based on the “most excellent” part. And Luke gives us the reason for writing this “orderly account” – so that he (and by extension, we) may know the certainty of the things he (and we) have been taught. The Greek word for certainty is the Greek noun asphaleia, which comes from the Greek verb sphallo, which means to make someone trip or fall. The “a” in front is a prefix that makes it the opposite, so asphallo means to provide security against stumbling or falling. Do you know what English word we get from this? Asphalt. Asphalt is a covering placed over a dirt road to make it smoother so that people who go on the road do not trip or fall. Luke, inspired by the Holy Spirit, has written this to us to be like an asphalt road for us – so that we are secure in our walk of faith.
Luke’s gospel gives us security. The message of the gospel – that there was this man named Jesus, but who was actually God, and who was sentenced by the Romans to die, but was actually not only innocent but absolutely sinless, and who was killed by the Romans by crucifixion, but who actually allowed this to happen so that he could be a way of salvation for us, and who the Romans buried in a tomb but who actually rose from the dead, and who says that we too can have eternal life if we believe and have faith in Him – this fantastic story, is actually true! Luke’s gospel says, look, this is all absolutely trustworthy! It really happened. And here, most excellent Theophilus, which is a very interesting name by the way – Theo means God, and philus means lover – and some have suggested that perhaps Theophilus was not an actual person, but Luke’s way of addressing this account to all who say they love God, here is an account that can give you security and faith and confidence that it is all true. This is Luke’s gospel. If you ever struggle with faith, Luke’s gospel is for you, most excellent God-lover!
Where does Luke begin? Not with His lineage, like Matthew. Not with His adult life, like Mark. Not with His metaphysical nature as the Logos of the Universe, like John. Instead, Luke begins with this:
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years. – Luke 1:5-7
Isn’t that a fascinating place to begin? It seems so non-central, so “background.” It reminds me of the beginning of J. R. R. Tolkien’s grand work: “Concerning Hobbits.” What is Luke doing? He is nailing down reality. He is laying asphalt.
We know the place and time – Judea, Herod king of Judea. He gives the “full” names of a priest and his wife. He describes them quite positively – as following the law “blamelessly.” The Greek word here does not mean they were perfect, but that they were respectable and respected – no Jew could say anything negative about them. But they were childless and now, too old to have children.
In the common Jewish culture, this lack of children was viewed as a disgrace. Never mind that the Old Testament had other example of godly people being without children – even the patriarch Abraham – they were not able to command respect because of this. By now, they were resigned to it – after all, Elizabeth was too old to have children now.
Part of the year they lived in the hill country of Judea (vs 39) and part of the year they went to Jerusalem so that Zechariah could fulfill his priestly responsibilities at the temple.
Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. – Luke 1:8-10
My first thought is to compare this to jury duty, something I recently had a taste of. I must confess I sincerely hoped while there that I would not be picked to be on a case. (And I wasn’t.) But this was almost certainly not how Zechariah felt. It was a great honor, and because of the large number of priests in the various rotations – based on I Chron. 10, probably twice a year for a week at each time – it was a rare thing to happen. Other sources say that once a priest did this, he would never be picked to do it again in his lifetime. His job was to place incense on the altar and then bow or lie prostate before God in prayer. Outside, others would pray that God would enter His holy place and accept the offering of His people. And so there is Zechariah bowing down in prayer. We do not know what he prayed, but based on the following verses, it may have included something like this: “O God, hear my prayer. I and my wife have tried to serve you faithfully all these years. May I ask, why have You not blessed us with children? Have I done something to make You angry with me? Forgive me if I have. If not, why, Lord? It has been so hard all these years. And now we are getting old and will die soon. Why, Lord?”
Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." – Luke 1:11-17
What was it like to see an angel? Terrifying! You suddenly know that God is real, that He is not an abstract idea, but a Person. You suddenly know that He is watching you, and has watched you, and knows you. Isaiah’s response is appropriate: Woe to me! Can you picture Zechariah there? Praying, then looking up, and there, a holy, otherworldly, impossible, terrifying angel!
But the angel steadies him and gives him remarkable news. He and Elizabeth are to have a son! And not just any child, but someone remarkable, great in the sight of the Lord, filled with Holy Spirit even from birth! Look at this from Zechariah’s perspective. He knows the Old Testament (the Law and the Prophets). Nothing new has been added for hundreds of years. Just like us today, he likely viewed those kinds of miraculous things as things of the past. There weren’t any more prophets, not like back then. There weren’t any more judges, or kings. Herod was in charge, and he was making a run on being as bad as Pharaoh. And filled with the Holy Spirit from birth? Was Moses like that? No. Was David like that? No. Was Samuel like that? No. Was anyone like that? No.
And he would go in the spirit and power of Elijah! I don’t have time to do this justice, but Elijah did some pretty spectacular things. Most of all Elijah was a prophet who turned people back towards God. And remember how he left earth – not dying, but in a whirlwind. People had long believed that some day, in the days of the coming Messiah, who would restore Israel to be like it was in the days of David, that Elijah would return as a herald to those times. And here, Zechariah is being told, he is going to have a son, and this son will be this prophet!
Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years." The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time." – Luke 1:18-20
What would you do? Would you believe it? I think this is just one of those times it is better not to throw stones. And his response was not much different from many Old Testament encounters with God. Look at Moses and the burning bush, for example. Or Gideon and his fleece.
The angel’s response: I am Gabriel. That Gabriel – the one you read about in Daniel, Zechariah. And Gabriel silences Zechariah until the day of John’s birth, because he didn’t believe.
Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak. When his time of service was completed, he returned home. – Luke 1:21-23
What were the consequences of this silence? It’s not as punishing as you might think. One consequence was that it gave him faith! If you were supernaturally made unable to speak, you would have faith too! It reminds me of when God blinded Paul in Acts.
After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. "The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days He has shown His favor and taken away my disgrace among the people." – Luke 1:24-25
Don’t you just feel good for Elizabeth? And her faith is strong. “The Lord has done this for me!”
Now think about Luke’s opening. Isn’t it a fascinating place to begin? If you hadn’t heard the story before, you would not know where he is going, but certainly it is grounded on facts. No doubt the whole town knew about Zechariah’s inability to talk, not to mention all of Jerusalem. There were countless witnesses to both Zechariah’s muteness and Elizabeth’s miraculous pregnancy. Remember, she is too old to have children!
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." – Luke 1:26-28
It is six months later and the angel comes to Mary. Mary was betrothed to Joseph – typically a year-long thing. She was probably quite young, probably a teenager. The angel appears not to a priest in the temple, but to a “nobody” who was not even in Jerusalem. Note that the angel didn’t appear to Joseph, but Mary, a young woman.
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus. He will be great and 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." "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" – Luke 1:29-34
There is so much here – I don’t have time to do it justice. Do you notice that Mary is still trying to parse the first sentence – the part about being with child. How about the “His kingdom will never end” part? How can anyone’s kingdom never end?
The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God." "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her. – Luke 1:35-38
Just compare for a moment the news that Mary receives with the news that Zechariah received. There is just no comparison! And if any of this could be true, it is going to be quite awkward for her. Who is going to believe her? It’s going to look like she has been unfaithful to Joseph. Compare this with Zechariah and Elizabeth – in their case, the only conclusion is that it is a wonderful miracle of God. And yet, Mary says, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be as you have said” which is really what “Amen” means. It is an awesome response, an example for us in faith.
At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!" – Luke 1:39-45
Mary hurried. The angel told her about her relative Elizabeth, and so she rushes to see if it is true, that she is in her sixth month of pregnancy. This was not a small journey – likely 50-100 miles. There is so much about this scene I love. I picture both Elizabeth and her baby leaping for joy. Yahoo! Jesus is near! But wait a minute! Mary can hardly be showing her pregnancy yet. How did Elizabeth know?
It is the Holy Spirit. She is given prophetic knowledge of things that are absolutely impossible to know. And filled with the Holy Spirit, she says that Mary is blessed because God has chosen her, and she is blessed because she has believed that what He has said will come true. And the Holy Spirit reveals to her that the child she bears is the very “Lord” that their child John will “make people ready for.”
And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is His Name. His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and His descendants forever, even as He said to our fathers." Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home. – Luke 1:46-56
And so Mary now also is filled with the Holy Spirit and speaks things she cannot know. Mary both glorifies and rejoices. We have talked about the Greek word for glorifying before. I like the picture of a telescope, which makes something really large appear more like it really is. This is to glorify, or magnify the Lord. And she also rejoices – no false humility here. She knows who she is and where she comes from, a poor teenager from some little hic town, but she knows that the Lord has chosen her, and is bestowing such a blessing on her that it is unimaginable. And filled with the Spirit, she describes some of the good things God has done in the past.
And now Mary returns home. She either stayed until Elizabeth’s baby was born or shortly before that.
When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy. On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and said, "No! He is to be called John." They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who has that name." – Luke 1:57-61
Again, this is a miraculous thing. Her neighbors know it is special. Here is this old lady with a brand new baby! And there was this weird vision thing her husband had at the temple, and now he cannot speak. To me this is a funny scene. “John? What do you want to name your child John for?! Such mishegoss! (Craziness) You don’t have any Johns in your family! How about naming him Zach Junior?”
Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he wrote, "His name is John." Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God. The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, "What then is this child going to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him. – Luke 1:62-66
There is a bit of a mystery here. Was Zechariah just mute, or was he mute and deaf? The angel seemed to only say he was mute, but here it appears he was also deaf. Or maybe the townspeople just thought he was deaf, which would be funny in itself. I can picture all these people shouting out poor Zechariah thinking he didn’t answer simply because he was so hard of hearing. We just don’t know the reality here.
Regardless, Zechariah insisted on the name John, and then, miraculously, he could suddenly speak. He too was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he began praising God. This only added to the excitement about the birth of John. For a people immersed in expectations of a coming Messiah to rescue them from cruel Herod, it looked like things were really about to happen. The Greek word for “awe” in this passage is phobos, which can also be translated “fear.” So the response among the people was a fearful kind of awe, similar to the response one has when seeing an angel.
His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has come and has redeemed His people. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David (as He said through His holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us—to show mercy to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath He swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days. And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him, to give His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace." And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel. – Luke 1:67-80
I just want to highlight some of the words the Spirit-filled Zechariah used in his prophecy: redeemed (brought about deliverance by paying a price), salvation (saving or rescuing from danger or death), to serve without fear (something that had never happened up to this time, even Adam and Eve were fearful before God), in holiness and righteousness (again, something that had not happened ever since Adam and Eve sinned in the garden). The prophecy was 100% true – Jesus has become our redeemer, has saved us, and enables us to serve without fear in the holiness and righteous imputed to us from Christ.
The second half of the passage focuses on Zechariah’s son, John. He would do exactly as the angel foretold, preparing the way for Jesus, leading the people to repent and turn to God. This brings to mind two Old Testament prophecies:
'In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.'" – Isaiah 40:3-5
See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the Lord Almighty." – Malachi 3:1
The rising sun verse reminds me of another Old Testament prophecy:
"... In the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan -- The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." – Isaiah 9:1-2
Let me serve a role like Luke for a moment and remind you that these three passages were undeniably written centuries before Christ. May this be a bit of “asphalt” on your road of faith!
The passage ends with a brief discussion of John: he became strong as he grew, and he lived in the desert. After all this excitement died down, there was quiet and isolation. It was not John the Baptist’s time, yet.
Now I titled this message “Foretelling” because this chapter is filled with the telling of the future in one way or another. The angel Gabriel foretold Zechariah of the coming baby he and his wife would have, and he foretold what he would do. The Gabriel foretold Mary of her coming baby and he foretold who He would be, what He would do, and how Mary would conceive. Then Elizabeth foretold Mary about her baby, Mary foretold about how future generations would call her blessed, and Zechariah, when he could speak again, foretold of John’s future ministry. Even John the Baptist’s future ministry would be a sort of foretelling ministry pointing to the future coming of Christ.
This leads to a natural question: why all this foretelling? Was it necessary? Couldn’t Elizabeth and Mary just have gotten pregnant? There are two reasons for the foretelling that I see. First, it is to comfort and help Mary and Elizabeth. They hear of God’s plan in advance. This will help Elizabeth when John goes off into the desert like some kind of nut. It will help Mary and Joseph to understand what is happening to her – how she became pregnant. And second, it is to build our faith. Luke, inspired by the Holy Spirit, tells us about it to help us have greater faith. Telling what will happen before it happens is something only God can do. It is by definition a miracle. It tells us that God is real and is behind what is happening. Listen to Isaiah:
Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. – Isaiah 46:9-10
There are two applications from this passage that I have struck me. First, may we be a people who live as if we were visited by angels. What do I mean by this? I mean may we live by faith. If we truly do live by faith, then when God “shows up” we will not respond in fear, but in joy. Let us walk by faith, and not by sight.
And second, may we be a people who say, “I am the Lord’s servant.” This should be our response to good news, and it should be our response even to bad news. I think of Job here – “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; blessed be the Name of the Lord.” A person with a servant’s heart does not even think much about their situation; they only think about how to please their Master. May we serve Him wholeheartedly!
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