In this section Luke details how an angel announced the birth of the last Old Testament prophet, John the Baptist and the birth of the Messiah in fulfillment of all the Old Covenant prophecies;
Luke 1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the priestly division of Abijah. He had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.
7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years.
8 Now while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his division 9 according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 The whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.
As an accurate reporter of the facts surrounding Christ, Luke was concerned with details such as specific names and events – names and events which could be corroborated to confirm the truthfulness of his testimony.
Luke begins by recounting two birth stories, the birth of the prophet John in Jerusalem and the birth of the Messiah, Jesus, in Nazareth.
Zacharias was a priest who was chosen by lot, Proverbs 16:33 for the frightening and awesome, once-in-a-lifetime honor of burning incense at the altar that stood before the Holy of Holies in the presence of God. Exodus 30:6 While burning the incense, which represented the prayers of the people rising up to God on his heavenly throne, Psalm 141:2, Revelation 8:4 the angel Gabriel suddenly appeared to Zacharias standing beside the altar of incense.
Luke 1:11 An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard. Your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. Malachi 4:2 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, Malachi 4:6, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to prepare a people prepared for the Lord.”
When Zacharias saw Gabriel, like all of the prophets before him in the Scriptures who had encountered an angel, he was in great fear for his life. Genesis 15:1 Gabriel immediately tried to help Zacharias feel at ease, promising him that his prayer had been heard and would be answered.
What prayer?
As Zacharias had stood before the altar interceding and praying for the people of Israel he had also prayed that his wife would bear a son. He was assured that his prayer had been answered. But more than that, this son, who is to be named John, will be the long awaited prophet who will prepare the way the for the Lord. Isaiah 40:3, Micah 2:13 He will call the nation to repentance in preparation for the Lord’s appearance. He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, Malachi 4:6, Matthew 11:14 The angel repeated to Zacharias the last words spoken by Malachi, the last prophet of Israel, 400 years earlier.
Luke 1:18 Zacharias said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”
19 The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God. I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 Behold, you will be silent and not able to speak until the day that these things will happen, because you didn’t believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”
Zacharias had just been informed by an angel, in the holy Temple of the Lord, that his prayer had been answered. And not only that, but his son would be the fulfillment of prophecies that were established before the foundation of the world. Ephesians 1:4
What was Zacharias’ response?
He doubted and questioned Gabriel.
Can you hear Gabriel’s disgust with Zacharias’ question? When will you humans ever learn? Zacharias, I cannot lie because I stand in the presence of God who sent me to speak to you and to bring you this goods news. Because you didn’t believe my words… you will be silent and not able to speak until the day that these things will happen.
When Zacharias left the temple, Zacharias was unable to speak, just as Gabriel had said. Despite his disability, Zacharias continued to serve out his term at the temple. After returning home his wife, Elizabeth conceived a son, just as Gabriel had foretold.
Luke 1:21 The people were waiting for Zacharias, and they marveled that he delayed in the temple. 22 When he came out, he could not speak to them. They perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple. He continued making signs to them, and remained mute. 23 When the days of his service were fulfilled, he departed to his house. 24 After these days Elizabeth his wife conceived, and she hid herself five months, saying, 25 “Thus has the Lord done to me in the days in which he looked at me, to take away my reproach among men.”
Next Luke tells the parallel story of the conception of Jesus. Gabriel is again dispatched from the Throne Room of God.
Luke 1:26 Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 Having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!”
29 But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered what kind of salutation this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 Behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and shall name him ‘Jesus.’ 32 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, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.”
34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?”
Gabriel appeared to Mary with amazing words of comfort, “Rejoice, highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.” Despite Gabriel’s assurances, Mary was greatly troubled. After calming her fears Gabriel explained to her that she would bear a son, and her son would be the long-promised Messiah, Isaiah 9:6-7, 2 Chronicles 7:16 who would occupy the throne of his father David… reigning over the house of David forever and reigning over the house of Jacob forever. Unlike Zacharias, Mary did not doubt Gabriel’s amazing promise. But she was curious, asking, “How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?”
Luke 1:35 The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God.
Because we have all inherited our sin nature from our first father Adam, (through one man sin entered the world and death through sin, Romans 5:12) in order to be the sinless, spotless, Lamb of God, the Messiah could not have a human father with a sin nature. That is why Gabriel explained that the Holy Spirit would implant heavenly DNA into Mary. The first man, Adam, became a living soul. The Last Adam, became a life-giving Spirit. The first man is from the earth, the Second Man is from heaven. 1 Corinthians 15:45-47
In parting, Gabriel informs Mary that her relative, Elizabeth, in answer to a promise of God, is six months pregnant.
Luke 1:36 “Behold, Elizabeth your relative also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing spoken by God is impossible.” 38 Mary said, “Behold, the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
Though perhaps not as dramatic as angels announcing the fulfillment of long-prophesied promises, God is at work in the lives of every believer to accomplish His purposes. Are you willing to say with Mary,“Let it be done to me according to your word?” No matter how God directs our steps or weaves the tapestry of our lives, all believers should be the willing servants of our Lord.
Hearing the news of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, Mary sets out to visit her.
Luke 1:39 Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah, 40 and entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 She called out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy! 45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!”
When Mary arrived at Elizabeth’s house Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and began to prophesy. Her fetus, John, also filled with the Holy Spirit from conception, Luke 1:15, leaped in Elizabeth’s womb. John’s appointed task was to prepare the way of the Lord, Isaiah 40:3, and upon hearing Mary’s voice, he leaped for joy in the presence of the unborn Messiah. And Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, recognized that the only weeks-old fetus within Mary, was the Lord.
There is much contention in the world today about when life and personhood actually begin. Abortion advocates falsely teach that the infant is not a person until after birth. They downplay the miracle of life, falsely claiming that because the child is just a mass of cells or even a parasite in the host mother’s body, their infant may be sacrificed for the sake of convenience, economics, health or a myriad of other reasons. But nothing could be further from the truth.
God reveals through Luke that each child is a unique and valuable individual made in God’s image. During Elizabeth’s second trimester, John the Baptist, within his mother’s womb, filled with the Holy Spirit, hearing Mary’s voice and knowing that he was in the presence of the embryo Messiah, leaped for joy. Not only Elizabeth and Mary, but every mother is carrying in her womb a unique human being of inestimable value with an immortal soul.
Satan always attacks God’s plan. For example in Genesis we see that God made both man and woman in his image and gave them different roles. Women have the unique ability to conceive, carry, bear, nurture, and raise the next generation, bringing life, glory, and worth into the world. Today women are told that their dignity as image bearers and their unique God-given abilities are actually traps that they must escape if they are to reach their full potential.
Women were made to be women, not a different kind of man. The stubborn fact of nature, almost never mentioned, is that men cannot do the one thing most necessary and most miraculous in our existence: they will not nurture life in the womb; they will not give birth to the propagation of the species; they will not nurse an infant from their own flesh.
(Kevin DeYoung, Death to the Patriarchy?, desiringgod.org)
A woman raising her children is not only shaping the next generation, she is also shaping little humans who are going to live forever. The souls she gave birth to are immortal. Immortal. And somehow, our culture looks at a woman who treats that as if it might be an important task and says, “It’s a shame she’s wasting herself. She could be doing something important – like filing paperwork for insurance claims.”
(Rebecca Merle, Eve in Exile: the Restoration of Femininity, Canon Press)
Perhaps you have had an abortion, or maybe you know someone who had an abortion. You cannot go back in time and correct past mistakes, failures, and sins, but the good news is that you can be forgiven. Jumping way ahead in the story we learn that Jesus made an incredible offer to everyone who is carrying the burdens of their past.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:28-29
In all of the other religions in the world you are required to do good works in a futile attempt to atone for your sins so that you may somehow earn the favor of the gods. In Christianity the One True God, your Designer and Creator, has atoned for your past, covering your sins, freely offering those who repent both forgiveness and life.
Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. 1 Peter 3:18 He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; By his wounds you have been healed. 1 Peter 2:24
There is nothing you can do to change the past but through the grace of God you can be forgiven andfind rest for your souls.
Those seeking to normalize abortion frequently use the deceptive slogan, “Abortion is health care,” however:
The mother has no right to kill her son or daughter. She has been given the blessing and responsibility of raising and nurturing that child whether or not she perceives he or she may have a difficult life (she’s not a prophet). And by the very definition of healthcare, abortion is antithetical to that definition, which is to prevent and treat illness. Burning or dismembering a living child is not healthcare, it’s murder.
There is forgiveness for mothers who have done this, but there is no forgiveness outside of repentance and faith in Christ, meaning, you must first see this sin for what it truly is, murder. And then turn from your sin to Christ in faith believing that he can even save murderers. (Dave Griffin, TruthandGrace.net)
No matter who you are and no matter how you have rebelled against the design of your Creator, no sin is beyond the reach of Christ’s love. Christ’s offer to forgive always remains the same for those willing to confess their sins:
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:28-29