Luke Chapter 1, Verse 14-23, Bible Study

14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

The Angel of the Lord, who we know has been sent to represent the pre-incarnate Jesus, is continuing to proclaim the Word of God. He is announcing the forerunner, the very one who will usher in the incarnate savior. It's interesting to note here that the Angel is telling him that John would go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah. In Malachi 4:6 we have this prophecy; "Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse." John would fulfill this prophecy in his baptism ministry of warning and repentance to the people of Israel.

Zechariah, the one receiving the prophecy, has already been introduced as a righteous man, in high favor with God. This symbolises that God's plans for redemption are through righteousness and obedience to him, similarly to that of Noah and his family. The promise that their son, John, will also be righteous and filled with the Holy Spirit from the beginning must have been encouraging. As opposed to the Old Testament prophets who received the Spirit at some point later in life, God has chosen John to be filled since birth. The people of Israel who are hearing this prophecy are aware that this means something big is happening. John was spoken of by the great prophet Isaiah, as the one who cries out in the wilderness, who prepares the way for the Lord (Isaiah, 40:3). Wine and grape products were thought of to be a blessing in Old Testament days, a gift in moderation from the Lord that gladdens a man's heart (Psalm 104:15, Proverbs 3:10). John's denial of these blessings showed a special anointing, he was to be consecrated to God as a Nazirite for His purposes, to prepare the people for the greatest blessing of all time.

18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.
19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.
20 And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.
21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.
22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.
23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.

Though Zechariah was a faithful and righteous man in the eyes of God, he was still human and shows it in verse 18. Expressing doubt, he questions the angel sincerity, expressing that he and his wife are aging. This is reminiscent of Abraham, laughing and doubting the sincerity of God when He appeared to him promising his wife, Sarah, would bear him a son (Genesis 17:17). Hastily, the angel responds to his unbelief by announcing his name and position; for his message was to be accepted as authoritative, direct from the throne of God. As a discipline for his unbelief, or moment of unfaithfulness, Gabriel proclaims to him that he will temporarily be unable to speak, or function in society until these things have come to pass. God uses these disciplines in our lives sometimes to allow us to reflect on our hearts, and to correct our behavior or unfaithfulness. When he came out of the temple, he was unable to express to the people what he had seen, for he was speechless.  He attempted to gesture out a message to them of what he had seen, but it is unclear how much of this message the people understood. However, the people knew that he had received a vision from Heaven and that it would be brought to pass. Zechariah then heads back to his home, still under the discipline of the Lord administered by the angel, and has time to consider what he had learned before his blessings will be brought to pass.

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Luke Chapter 1, Verse 1-13, Bible Study

The Gospel of Luke, Chapter 1

1 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,
2 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
4 That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

The author of this book, Luke, a native of the Hellenistic city of Antioch, Syria, addresses this piece, as he does in his other work, The Acts of the Apostles, to the honorary Theophilus. The word, Theophilus, literally means "friend of God." So he is basically addressing the Church, the body of believers in Christ Jesus. Luke is claiming here in verses 1 through 4 a divine inspiration, and an authority to address the believers, laying out certain doctrines and beliefs necessary as a basis for Christianity. Through this claim of perfect understanding since the beginning, as well as being an eyewitness, and minister of the word, this work stands as authoritative, in perfect unison with other Scriptures, as canonical in our Bibles. With this foundation, he can now claim that those who believe what he writes can know with certainty the things he presents throughout the rest of his Scripture.

5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,
9 According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.
11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

Herod, known as Herod the Great, was the Roman king of the southern mountainous region of ancient Israel, known as Judea. During his reign, about 74 B.C. to 4 B.C., there was a priest and prophet (Luke 1:67-79) by the name of Zechariah, and his wife Elizabeth, who were in good favor with God. They had no children since Elisabeth was unable to have children, and yet, they were continuing to age. As someone who was committed to the Lord and loved the Lord, he must have wondered why he had never been blessed with a child at all, much less a son. Yet, Zechariah remained faithful to God.

As a priest, he had the opportunity to burn incense which represented God's intercession when he went into the temple of the Lord, and while he did this, multitudes of people were praying. Then at that time, while he was in the temple, an angel of the Lord, bringing a Word of God (pre-incarnate Jesus) appeared to him. Sensing the presence the Lord Jesus Christ must have been a harrowing incident for a lowly priest. It was unusual for a father to receive a message announcing the birth of a child. For someone who was righteous, and blameless before the Lord, Zechariah was surely someone who knew Christ through his Word. So seeing this angel, later revealed as Gabriel, standing before him, he knew exactly who he represented, the Holy and Righteous God. The fear he must have felt would have been immense.  It would have made him feel so worthless, for he knew he was a sinner and deserving of God's wrath. But God, with all his power, and might, and wrath, is also merciful, and graceful, and in his infinite wisdom, he pours out his mercy and grace on Zechariah and his wife, and answers their prayers. The angel tells him that his wife shall bear him a son, and his name shall be John. The mighty God has chosen Zechariah to be the father of John the Baptist.

Remaining faithful to God, even when there is doubt or no understanding, has more than benefits. Our trust should be placed fully in God and his purpose. We at times, as did Zechariah, probably have our doubts, but trusting in the Lord to provide, and aligning our will with His is key to a relationship with Christ. For without that trust, that He will provide what he has decided, in his perfect wisdom, what we need, then we cannot have that relationship with him.

Next >> Luke 1:14-23

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