Luke 1

CHAPTER 1THEME: The purpose of the gospel; Gabriel appears to Zacharias and announces the birth of John; Gabriel appears to Mary and announces the virgin birth of Jesus; Mary visits Elisabeth; birth of JohnHistorically Dr. Luke begins his Gospel before the other synoptic Gospels. Heaven had been silent for over four hundred years when the angel Gabriel broke through the blue at the golden altar of prayer to announce the birth of John the Baptist. Luke gives us the background as well as the births of John and Jesus. Three songs are in this chapter: (1) Elisabeth’s greeting of Maryverses Luk_1:42-45;2 Mary’s magnificatverses Luk_1:46-55; and (3) Zacharias’ prophecyverses Luk_1:68-79.

Luke 1:1

THE PURPOSE OF THE GOSPELTwo words are important in this passage and should not be passed over. “Eyewitness” is the Greek word autoptaiauto meaning “that which is of itself,” and opsomai meaning “to see.” “To see for yourself” would be an eyewitness. It is a medical term which means to make an autopsy. In fact, what Dr. Luke is trying to say is, “We are eyewitnesses who made an autopsy, and I am writing to you about what we found.” The second important word Dr. Luke uses is ministers, which is the Greek huperatai, meaning “an under-rower on a boat.” In a hospital the “under-rower” is the intern. Dr. Luke is saying that all of them were just interns under the Great Physician. What Dr. Luke is telling us is that as a physician and a scholar, he made an autopsy of the records of those who had been eyewitnesses. The first four verses of this chapter form a tremendous beginning. Luke wrote his Gospel to give people certainty and assurance about the Lord Jesus Christ. My friend, how much assurance do you have? Do you know that you are a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ? Do you know that the Bible is the Word of God? I feel sorry for the person who is not sure about these things. Do you wobble back and forth and say, “I am not sure about my salvation or the Bible. I guess I do not have enough faith.” Not having enough faith may not be your problem. Your problem may be that you do not know enough. You see, “…faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom_10:17). If you really knew the Word of God, you would believe it. Those who are ignorant of the Bible have the problems. The problem is not with the Bible or with the Lord Jesus Christ; the problem lies with us.

Luke 1:5

GABRIEL APPEARS TO ZACHARIAS AND ANNOUNCES THE BIRTH OF JOHNGod breaks through after 400 years of silence. Chronologically Dr. Luke begins the New Testament. He goes back to the birth of John the Baptist, to where the angel Gabriel appeared to John’s father as he served in the temple. John’s parents were Zacharias and Elisabeth. Zacharias means “God remembers,” and Elisabeth means “His oath.” Together their names mean, “God remembers His oath.” When did God take an oath?

Psa_89:34-37 records God’s oath: “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.” God swore an oath to David that one of his descendants would have an eternal reign. Christ is that descendant. “God remembers His oath!” God is ready to break through into human history after 400 years of silence. Notice that the Scripture tells us both Zacharias and Elisabeth were righteous. That is, they were right. How were they right? They recognized they were sinners and brought the necessary sacrifices.

Luke 1:6

Their walk commended their salvation. When they committed a sin or made a mistake, they brought the proper sacrifice. However, there was tragedy in their lives because they had no child.

Luke 1:7

Here was an old couple who did not have a child. To be childless was practically a disgrace for a Hebrew woman, and Elisabeth had no children. Zacharias, belonging to the tribe of Levi, served in the temple.

Luke 1:8

Zacharias was serving at the golden altar, the place of prayer. It was the time of the evening sacrifice, and in this particular part of the service he placed incense upon the altar. Suddenly an angel appeared. If you saw an angel, what would you do? Your reaction would be the same as this man’s. You would be troubled and fearful.

Luke 1:13

Zacharias was praying for a son. Elisabeth was praying for a son. I think that many people were praying that they would have a son. How do I know he is praying for a son? Because the angel said, “Your prayer is heard.”

Luke 1:14

The son of Elisabeth and Zacharias was to be a Nazarite. One of the things the Nazarite vowed was that he would not drink strong drink or wine. He was to find his joy in the Holy Spirit and in God. That is the reason Paul, in Eph_5:18, says, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.” Get your joy from God, not from a bottle. There are a lot of bottle-babies today. I am not speaking of crib babies but of adult babies hanging over a bar. And there are some Christians today who have to be pepped up and hepped up in order to face life. We need to recognize that the Holy Spirit of God can give us the strength to face life.

Luke 1:16

Let us understand clearly that although John the Baptist went forth in the spirit and power of Elijah, he was not Elijah. John would turn the hearts of the fathers to the children. He was to bridge the generation gap. Our problem today is not so much that there is a gap between the adults and youth but that there is a gap between adults and God. If adults had a proper relationship with God, they would not have the problem with young people that exists.

Luke 1:18

I cannot help but laugh at a verse like this. A great many people do not find humor in the Bible, but there isand this verse gives us a taste of it. Here is a man, a priest, who has gone to God in prayer. At the altar of incense he says, “Oh, God, give me a son.” Now when God says through the angel Gabriel, “I am going to give you a son,” Zacharias replies, “How do I know?” He says, “My wife is old and I am old, and I do not think we can have a child.” Yet he was praying for a son! Have you ever prayed like that? You ask God for something, but you really do not believe He is going to give it to you. This is one reason we do not receive answers to our prayers. We have no faith at all. This man Zacharias is quite human, and I cannot help but laugh at him because that’s the way I pray sometimes.

Luke 1:19

The Word of God has the seal of God upon it. The Word of God carries authority. What Vernon McGee says is not important, but what the Word of God says is important. God speaks to us through His Word.

Luke 1:20

Zacharias, who has been so vocal, will be dumb for a period of time. Unbelief is always dumb. That is, it never has a message. I agree with Elizabeth Barrett Browning who said that one without faith should be silent. There are many babblers around who are everlastingly spouting off about their unbelief. If they haven’t anything to say, they should keep quiet. Let the man speak who believes in God and has something to say.

Luke 1:21

This passage also strikes me as being funny. God, after 400 years of silence, once again breaks through to the human race, but the very man that He communicates with does not believe Him. And now he is made dumb. Can you imagine his trying to explain to the people that he is dumb? How would you make known to people that you had seen an angel and could not talk? It would not be easy. Think about the gyrations Zacharias must have used trying to make known his predicament. It must have been comical.

Luke 1:23

Long ago king David had arranged that the priests in the temple would serve a certain period of time, then have a vacation. One priest would serve, then have some time off, and another priest would serve. This is what happened with Zacharias, but he had to finish his term of office without speaking. When his vacation time came, he still had to keep quiet; so I imagine he went home and listened to Elisabeth.

Luke 1:24

This is an interesting situation. Zacharias cannot talk. Elisabeth, because of her condition, remains in seclusion for several months. I imagine she talked his arm off for that period of time and constantly reminded him, “Zacharias, we are going to have a son!”

Luke 1:26

GABRIEL APPEARS TO MARY AND ANNOUNCES THE VIRGIN BIRTH OF JESUSWe move now from Jerusalem to Nazareth. Six months after the angel Gabriel appeared to Zacharias, he appears to Mary. Two times in one verse she is called a virgin. Do you know what a virgin is? I ask this because many folks do not seem to know. A virgin is a woman who could never have a child in a natural way because she has never had a relationship with a man that would make the birth of a child possible. Someone needs to talk rather plainly today because there are men saying that the virgin birth is biologically impossible. When I hear a man make that statement, I always feel like calling him up and saying, “I would like to have lunch with you and tell you about the birds and the bees because you do not seem to know much about them.” The Scripture makes it clear that the Lord Jesus Christ was virgin born. I do not object to an unbeliever saying that he does not believe in the virgin birth, but when he makes the statement that the Bible does not teach it, I object. I say very plainly that one who makes this statement must have something wrong with his intellect or is ignorant of the birds and the bees. It should be remembered that Luke was a doctor, and he gives the most extended account of the virgin birth.

Luke 1:28

There is a tendency among Protestants to play down the role of Mary, but this verse tells us that she was highly favored. In the same breath, however, let me say that she was blessed among women, not above women. She is not lifted above women; she lifted up womanhood. This is the role she played. It is so easy to say that a woman brought sin into the world, but remember, it was a woman, and not a man, who brought the Savior into the world.

Luke 1:29

Mary was troubled at the sayings of the angel. When the supernatural touches the natural, it always creates fear. Mary also “cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.” I cannot resist saying this, but Mary’s reaction was similar to a black friend of mine in Memphis, Tennessee. Years ago he said to me, “You know, I never believed in ghosts either, until I saw one!” Believe me, friends, when you have seen an angel, you have a right to be afraid. I think I would be afraid if I saw one.

Luke 1:30

This is plain language. There is no way of misinterpreting it. This passage is quite literal. Those folks who deny the virgin birth also do not believe that the Lord is going to sit on the throne of His father David. Apparently it was understood that what Luke is writing about is literal. The virgin’s womb is literal, and the throne of David is literal. He shall literally reign over the house of Jacob, and of His Kingdom there shall be no end. That kingdom is also a reality.

Luke 1:34

Mary was the first one to question the virgin birth. She said, “How can it be?” This is still a good question. Dr. Luke quotes the angel Gabriel and gives us the answer.

Luke 1:35

No man had anything to do with the birth of Jesus Christ. We are told in the Book of Leviticus that the birth of a child caused a woman to be unclean because she brought a sinner into the world. Mary is told that she is not bringing a sinner into the world; He is holy. The union of man and woman can only produce a child with a sin nature. By the virgin birth is the only way God could get that “holy thing” into the human family. In Psa_51:5 David said, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Mary’s Son would be different. He would be virgin born. You can deny the virgin birth if you want to. If you are an unbeliever, I would expect you to deny it. If, however, you write and tell me that you are not a Christian but you believe the virgin birth, I will be terribly upset. If you are not a Christian, of course you don’t believe it. However, you cannot say that the Bible does not teach the virgin birth, because it does. Do you know why this Baby is going to be called the Son of God? Because He is the Son of God. Remember that Dr. Luke approaches his Gospel from the scientific point of view. He states that he examined Jesus of Nazareth, and his findings are that Jesus is God. Luke came to the same conclusion that John came to in his Gospel, but his procedure and technique were different. Dr. Luke has used plain, simple language to present his findings and if we cannot understand his message, we need to go back and learn our ABCs again.

Luke 1:36

The birth of John the Baptist is also miraculous, but it is not a virgin birth. The statement of the angel, “For with God nothing shall be impossible,” is a good one and something we need to hold onto during these days. I want to emphasize, however, that there are folk who have taken this statement and twisted and distorted its meaning. There is nothing impossible with God when He has determined to do it, but He will not necessarily do the impossible we ask of Him. Many people use this verse as a cliche to cover up the fact that they want their own selfish desires. Nothing is impossible with God, but there is a great deal that is impossible with you and me.

When a man says, “Nothing is impossible with God” and fails at some task he claims the Lord gave him to do, it causes unbelievers to ridicule God. Anything God determines to do He can accomplish, because there is nothing impossible with God. But that does not mean He will do everything believers want Him to do, because some things are not included in His plan. Let us put everything in proper perspective before we do a lot of talking that will hurt and harm the cause of Jesus Christ rather than help it.

Luke 1:38

This verse reveals Mary’s submission to the will of God. She told the angel, “Be it unto me according to thy word.” At that very moment a cloud came over her life, and that cloud was there until the Lord Jesus Christ came back from the dead. The resurrection of Christ proves His virgin birth. It was questioned until then. You cannot deny the virgin birth and believe the Resurrection, or vice versa. The virgin birth and the Resurrection go together; they stand or fall together.

Luke 1:39

MARY VISITS ELISABETHAfter a time Mary decided to visit Elisabeth up in the hill country of Judea. What we are dealing with here is miraculous, and there is no use trying to offer a natural explanation. You either believe what happened in these verses or you do not. I am so weary of people today, especially preachers, who try to appear intellectual by attempting to explain away the miracles in the Bible. You either accept the miracles of the Bible or you do not, and what took place in these verses was a miracle. This woman is filled with the Holy Spirit, and the babe leaps in her womb.

Luke 1:42

This begins the first song given to us in Luke’s Gospel, and it is lovely. Dr. Luke was the poet who gives us all the songs of Christmas; this is the first one, and it comes from Elisabeth.

Luke 1:43

Little is said in Scripture about Elisabeth. She sang the first song of the New Testament, and when you have a soloist like this, you should not ignore her. She is a remarkable person. She had faith while her husband Zacharias did not. He was struck dumb because of his unbelief, but Elisabeth was not. She believed God. Now she encourages Mary. Mary is a young woman and Elisabeth is an old woman. Elisabeth had walked with God for many years, and she assures her that there would be a performance of those things which had been revealed to her. I would like to give Elisabeth a little credit along with the others. She should not be deified, of course. She was only a woman, just as Mary was only a woman. And Mary needed the encouragement that Elisabeth could give.

Luke 1:46

Now Mary sings a song. This is known as the Magnificat. This song teaches us several interesting things. Mary tells us in her song that she needed a Savior and that she rejoiced in Him. Protestant friend, let us call her blessed. We don’t make her a goddess and kneel before her, but we do need to call her blessed. It was her glorious privilege to be the mother of the Son of God, to bring Him into the world. We should not play it down, but we should not play it up either. She was a wonderful person, and it was no accident that she was chosen by God. It was His definite decision, and God makes no mistakes. Listen as Mary continues to sing her song:

Luke 1:49

Mary sings, “He hath shewed strength with his arm.” In Isa_53:1 the prophet Isaiah said, “…to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?” Then Isaiah begins immediately to reveal the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. God has shown the strength of His arm and revealed His power and love in the salvation He has given to mankind. Mary also mentions Abraham in her song. There is more reference to Abraham than to any other person in the Old Testament. In fact, there is more about Abraham on the human plane than about anyone else in the Bible.

Luke 1:57

BIRTH OF JOHNThe remainder of this chapter records the birth of John the Baptist and the song of Zacharias. I will lift out some of the high points. They named the baby after his father at first. Elisabeth, however, set the record straight and said that he was to be called John.

Luke 1:61

In those days a family name was usually given to a new baby. When the question of naming the baby came along, the relatives assumed he would be called ZachariasZacharias Jr., I guess. Elisabeth made the correction, but they appealed to Zacharias. Since he could not speak, he wrote for them, “His name is John.” He had already been named by God. Those present marveled at the name. After this, Zacharias was able to speak again, and he immediately began to sing praises to God. Although he did not have much faith, when the baby was born he could rejoice in God. Again, the lack of faith displayed by Zacharias is a quality many of us have. When God hears and answers prayer, we really get up and rejoice. I sometimes think that the reason God answers prayer for some of us weaker saints is so that we will have something to rejoice about. As a rule, weaker saints do not do much rejoicing. The stronger saints, with more faith, rejoice in all circumstances.

Luke 1:65

It was quite obvious that John was going to be an unusual child. At John’s birth, Zacharias, who has been dumb for about nine months, is not only able to speak, but he will sing a solo. Elisabeth sang the first song, Mary sang the second one, and now it is quite proper that Zacharias sing a song. His song is one of prophecy. Although Zacharias is not in the line of David, he does recognize that his son is going to be the forerunner of Jesus Christ, as foretold by Malachi and Isaiah. John is to be the one to announce the coming of the Messiah. The presence of the forerunner indicates that the Messiah is not far behind. He is coming soon.

Luke 1:70

God made these promises to Abraham. Mary, Elisabeth, and Zacharias still believed that the promises made to Abraham would be fulfilled. There are some today who have given up and do not believe God will make good His promises to Abraham. Friends, if you believe God is going to make good Joh_3:16 to you, you have no right to discount the promises God made to Abraham.

Luke 1:76

John was to be called a prophet of the Highest. He was to go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways. John knew that the Messiah was in their midst. John the Baptist was a very unusual person. He was prepared to do a special task for God.