Luke
1:1-25
Christmas
Story
Promise Of The Birth Of John The
Baptist
1:1
Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an
account of the things accomplished among us,
2 just as they were handed
down to us by those who from the beginning were
eyewitnesses and servants of the word,
3 it seemed fitting for me
as well, having investigated everything carefully
from the beginning, to write it out for you in
consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus;
4 so that you may know the
exact truth about the things you have been taught.
5 In the days of Herod,
king of Judea, there was a priest named Zachariah,
of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from
the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6 They were both righteous
in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the
commandments and requirements of the Lord.
7 But they had no child,
because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both
advanced in years.
8 Now it happened that
while he was performing his priestly service before
God in the appointed order of his division,
9 according to the custom
of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to
enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
10 And the whole multitude
of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of
the incense offering.
11 And an angel of the
Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the
altar of incense.
12 Zachariah was troubled
when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him.
13 But the angel said to
him, "Do not be afraid, Zachariah, for your
petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth
will bear you a son, and you will give him the name
John.
14 "You will have joy and
gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.
15 "For he will be great
in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine
or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy
Spirit while yet in his mother's womb.
16 "And he will turn many
of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.
17 "It is he who will go
as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power
of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK
TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the
attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a
people prepared for the Lord."
18 Zachariah said to the
angel, "How will I know this for certain? For I am
an old man and my wife is advanced in years."
19 The angel answered and
said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the
presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to
you and to bring you this good news.
20 "And behold, you shall
be silent and unable to speak until the day when
these things take place, because you did not
believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their
proper time."
21 The people were waiting
for Zachariah, and were wondering at his delay in
the temple.
22 But 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.
23 When the days of his
priestly service were ended, he went back home.
24 After these days
Elizabeth his wife became pregnant, and she kept
herself in seclusion for five months, saying,
25 "This is the way the
Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked
with favor upon me, to take away my disgrace among
men."
-
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to
change the way that we think, and the way that
we live.
Commentary
by Bob
Pardue
Elizabeth
Becomes Pregnant
Zachariah was a man who not
only followed the law of Moses, he lived it and
breathed it. His obedience came from within as did
Elizabeth's and so they were called "upright in the
sight of God" and were blessed.
You've most likely heard the
Christmas story of how Jesus was born in a stable
many times and this story will be told later. But,
I wanted to start at the beginning of Luke to give
the timeline of events that take place before the
birth of Jesus. John will later play a very
important role in the unfolding events.
Gabriel is one of only two
angels mentioned by name in the Bible, Michael is
the other so these must have had a high status in
the kingdom.
Zechariah had been praying
for many years to be blessed with a son and had
probably all but given up at this stage in his
life. He and Elizabeth were old and past their
childbearing years. But, this did not stop him from
praying for a miracle; which happened!
God answered the prayers of
Zechariah in His own time which meant He had to
deliver the impossible task of giving an old woman
a child.
But, this was not just any
child. This child would grow to become the
announcer of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior to the
world! Quite an honor! John would also have the
honor of later baptizing Jesus.
This story is the beginning
of the prophesy foretold in the Old Testament about
the coming of the Messiah.
The Names: John And
Jesus
Both of these names were
given by God and have special meaning in the years
to come. John means "the Lord is gracious"
and Jesus means "the Lord saves" so both are
described as they will later become.
John the
Nazarene
No strong drink is one of the
Nazirite vows and was ordered by Gabriel to
Zachariah for his son John. In fact, John would
become almost identical to and Old Testament
prophet when he later directs people to repent and
return to God.
So, you see how all this is
falling into place? It's no coincidence that the
old couple, Zachariah and Elizabeth, were blessed
with a child to tell about Christ who would come
into the world to save us.
Keep these things in mind
this Christmas season and remember the real reason
for the season.
Love in Christ
- Bob
If you have never made the
commitment to receive the love and life-changing
experience of Jesus Christ, please take a moment to
go
here and take the
first
steps to
salvation.
Bob
Pardue is a member of
First
Baptist Church in
Lancaster, SC. He is ordained from Rich Hill
Baptist in Lancaster.
Want
to place this passage and commentary on your
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This article may be freely
reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any
e-zine, newsletter, blog, or website. The author's
name, bio, and website links must remain intact
and be included with every reproduction.
Bob
Regarding Christian Fellowship
There is a lot of talk in the
Christian community about the effect that the
Internet is having on Christian ministries.
Web based ministries like
this one are constantly reminding themselves of
being able to reach vast numbers of young people
who they wouldn't have been able to talk to before
about the Holy Bible and the word of God, all with
the creation of a few simple websites.
There is something to be said
for this type of Christian witnessing. It certainly
is useful to be able to talk to people thousands of
miles away, giving them advice for daily living and
spreading the word of Jesus Christ without even
having to leave the chair. Learning the Bible
couldn't be easier, could it?
Does Cyberspace Lose that
Christian Fellowship Factor?
Something is lost when
communicating online, however. Christianity, you
see, is not simply about preaching a set of
doctrines. It is about Christian fellowship which
means joining with fellow believers, getting
together as a group and dedicated to spreading
Christian values.
Still, there is a place for
online Bible study. It can develop a community and
give those people a guide for daily living that
they otherwise might miss if left to research God's
Word on their own.
Christian living is something
we have to work at and, the people of the
millennium just don't have as much time for weekday
church services so, enter the age of daily Bible
study on the Internet.
So, use all the youth group
resources online, reach the young people on the
Internet but don't lose the main point of all this
... To love God, love each other and make new
disciples of Jesus Christ.
Verses are from Life Application Study
Bible: New International Version
Comments are welcome. Please email
me with any questions or comments you
may have.
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