We now turn to the text of the Gospel according to Luke. Excluding the first four verses, (which constitute Luke's introduction and dedication to Theophilus, and which we considered in the first, introductory, lesson), Chapter One of the Gospel sets forth several events preceding the birth of Jesus. This is significant for more than one reason. In the first place, it was necessary to give the setting for the Advent, what events preceded it, and some details about other persons directly involved. Then in the second place, we can clearly see the hand of God at work. His detailed planning, His arrangement of the concatenation of circumstances, His dealings with individuals selected by Him, and their varied responses, show to us not only His controlling hand but also the excellent timing of His program. And in a third place, we can be led to perceive, not only God's supremacy in it all, but also to know and worship the Divine Being Who was always behind all the activities of the One He sent into the world, even Jesus. I. THE FIRST EVENT: THE PROMISE OF THE FORERUNNER. (1:5-24). When Herod the Great was officially (by authority of Rome) the king of Judea, God had plans for another King. And just as kings, nobles, and so-called holy men in olden times had one or more men to run before them and announce their coming, so God laid plans for Jesus to have a forerunner. Back in the days of Moses, Aaron, the older brother of the lawgiver, was chosen by God to be the high priest of the people of Israel, and his sons were to be his assistant priests. Originally there were four sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. But Nadab and Abihu were put to death for their evil. (See Numbers 3:1-4). In due course, Aaron died, and Eleazar succeeded to the office of High Priest. As time went on, and the centuries rolled by, the descendants of Aaron became great in number. So in the days of David the king it was determined to organize the priesthood. By this time, the number of priests probably numbered into the hundreds. So they were divided into twenty-four groups, or "courses," named after senior members of their respective families. The head of one such course (the eighth) was named Abijah. (See I Chronicles 24:1-19). Each course served in the temple for a week at a time, twice a year. Nearly a year and a half before the birth of Jesus, there was a old priest, of the course of Abijah (spelled "Abia" in KJV), named Zechariah. During his week of duty, his assignment (drawn by lot) was to burn incense on the altar of incense inside the Holy Place of the temple. His wife, Elizabeth, like him was old, and they had no children. Zechariah had long prayed for a son, but to no avail. But on this occasion the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah while he was at the altar of incense. He promised Zechariah a son, to be named John, to be filled from birth with the Holy Spirit, to be a forerunner of the Messiah, and to prepare a special people for Him. Zechariah could not believe his ears! Expressing his doubt and disbelief to the angel, he demanded proof. (He should have remembered the story of Abraham and Sarah.) Like him, we are often slow to believe, when God would promise us great things. (See Luke 24:25). Therefore the angel struck the old priest dumb, so that he could not speak. (There is also an hint that he could not hear.) When his week's tour of duty had ended, he went home to his wife Elizabeth, and in due course she became pregnant. II. THE ANNUNCIATION TO MARY (Luke 1:26-38). Between five and six long months went by, during which, except for Elizabeth's pregnancy advancing, nothing else seemed to happen. But then, some seventy miles to the north, in a little village in Galilee named Nazareth, Gabriel, under the direction of God, called on a certain young lady. Probably in her "teens," unmarried but engaged to be married to a young carpenter in the village, Mary was startled; but listened carefully to the words of the angel. Although being willing to believe the promise, she could not figure out how this could be accomplished and she bear a son without being married. But patiently Gabriel explained the work of the Holy Spirit in her behalf, told her the child was to be named Jesus, promised great things about Him, and by way of evidence stated that her relative Elizabeth was already six months pregnant: Elizabeth, by natural means too old to bear children. With meekness, humility, and great faith, Mary acknowledged her place as a maid-servant of God, and accepted the assignment. Now of at least passing interest, it was noted that Elizabeth was a kinswoman of Mary (1:36). But we were previously told that Elizabeth was a daughter of Aaron, of the tribe of Levi (1:5). We have traditionally thought of Mary as being of the royal tribe of Judah, but here is evidence that she was at least partially from the tribe of Levi. Either (1) Mary was herself totally Levite, but engaged to marry Joseph, of the tribe of Judah; or, (2) one of Mary's parents may have been from Levi and the other parent from Judah. Since Jesus has been spoken of as "prophet, priest, and king," perhaps this lineage of Mary may be of significance. III. MARY VISITS ELIZABETH (Luke 1:39-56). Filled with awe, excitement, and wonder, Mary lost no time in leaving Nazareth and traveling the 70-odd miles to the home of Elizabeth, in Judaea. Picture in your mind, if you will, the two ladies, one a teen-aged girl, the other a mature woman, relatives (cousins - ?), both now pregnant, greeting each other with pleasure, excitement, and joy for the promises of God to each of them! Mary, it is written, walked into the house and greeted her kinswoman. At the sound of Mary's voice, Elizabeth felt the surge of motion of the foetus in her womb, which she interpreted as "leaping for joy." But thrilled as she was to see Mary for familial reasons, Elizabeth also found herself controlled by the Holy Spirit, as she three times gave her blessing: (1) "Blessed art thou among women"; (2) "Blesed is the fruit of thy womb"; and (3) "Blessed is she that believed." (For unlike her husband, Zechariah, who did not believe, Elizabeth noted that Mary had believed what the angel Gabriel had told her.) Many Christians have since referred to Mary as the "Blessed Virgin Mary." Verses 42-45, as well as Verse 48 soon to follow, constitute the scriptural authority for that designation. Let us observe the blessing upon belief. Zechariah had not believed and so had to endure more than nine months of silence. Mary did believe, and received a three-fold blessing, inspired by the Holy Spirit. Will you, like Mary, be ready to believe? IV. THE MAGNIFICAT Filled likewise with the Holy Spirit, Mary burst forth into that great hymn of praise known as "The Magnificat" (from the first word of the Latin translation of this poem.) It exalts not herself (Mary), but the God who has begun so signally to bless her. The nine verses of this psalm of praise constitute a magnificent example of Hebrew poetry. It seems to divide itself into four sections. The first two verses (vss. 46 and 47) are Mary's general statement of praise to God, in which her whole being, both soul and spirit, unite in undiluted adoration. It reminds one of the opening verse of the 103rd Psalm, in which David declared, "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name." But whereas David had to command his entire inner self to join in praise to God, Mary found her own devotion welling up from within her and gushing forth without urging on her part. The second section (vss. 48-49) gives the reason for her praise. Acknowledging her own unworthiness, she appreciates God's hand in exalting her: from her own lowly status as God's slave-girl she perceives that God has bestowed upon her an age-long blessing. This is not to boast of her new status, but to ascribe all appreciation, and all praise and gratitude to God. And when she says, "holy is His name," she perceives that God's blessing to her is but the outworking of His total self and personality. In the third stanza (vss. 50-53) Mary looks beyond herself and God's dealing with her personally, to perceive that God's dealings are always ("unto generations and generations") in grace to those who humbly ("of low degree") acknowledge their need("the hungry") and in gratitude worship Him ("them that fear him"); but on the other hand that God in almighty power ("showed strength with his arm") negated the plans, purposes, and pride of all who stood up against Him ("the proud in the imagination of their heart"; "princes from their thrones"; and "the rich he hath sent empty away.") Finally, in the fourth stanza (vss. 54-55) there is the acknowledgement that God is fulfilling for Israel His own promises to the patriarchs, starting with Abraham, and this promise is being fulfilled in the soon-to-come Messiah, Who is the seed of Abraham. (See Galatians 3: 16: "to thy seed, which is Messiah.") Do we praise God? Do we praise God enough? Do we even know how to praise God? We would do well to memorize, to study, and to master this Magnificat, that therein we might learn new ways to praise Him. Praise, so conceived and so expressed, is thereby the effulgence of our faith in Him: the faith which is our only righteousness. And Mary stayed with Elizabeth three months, until Elizabeth's time was almost up. What did the two ladies talk about during that time? What encouragement did they give each other? And Zechariah was in the house: he the silent one, he who could contribute nothing, for he had not believed. Why is it that often we cannot speak when we know we should? Is it because of our unbelief? And at last Mary returned to Nazareth. V. THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST (vss. 57-80). At last came the birth of the Baptist. And with the birth came rejoicing, not only by Elizabeth but by her neighbours as well. And they rejoiced in God, for He had "magnified His mercy towards her." But when it came time to circumcise and name the infant, the neighbours tried to dominate the choice of name. And even when Elizabeth tried to insist that "he shall be called John," they tried to argue tradition, family heritage, and reliance upon old ways of doing things. How often does God call us to new concepts, new ideas, new ways of doing things, and we fall back upon the old and the familiar? And when they called in Zechariah, they "made signs to him." Was he deaf as well as dumb? Perhaps. But this is the only intimation of such lack of hearing. Did the neighbours, like us, assume a greater handicap than the one given Zechariah by the angel? But the priest wrote down, not "he shall be called John"; but the note of authority, the note of finality, the note of ultimate decision: "his name IS John." And with the name of the infant came speech, and the speech was Holy Spirit inspired. It, like that of Mary, was full of praise to God and a recital of His blessings. Note the repeated use of words, such as "redemption," "salvation," and "deliverance." Note the references to God's covenant and oath, and the promises of the prophets. And whereas Mary had made reference to God's covenant and oath to Abraham, Zechariah spoke of the eternal promise to David. And finally he made prophecy concerning John, that he was to be a prophet of "El Elyon" ("God most high": see Genesis 14:18-20), that he was to run in front of the coming Messiah, that he should enable men to know God through the remission of their sins, and that both Jews (vs. 78) and Gentiles (vs. 79) should experience "the tender mercy of God" in "the way of peace." Like the Magnificat of Mary, the prophecy of Zechariah merits our careful study. And through it all: through all this first chapter of Luke, in fact, we see the omnipotent hand of God. He has planned everything in preparation for the advent of His Messiah. Not only planned everything, but in perfect logistical sequence He has worked out every detail with precise and perfect timing. Let us praise God that likewise in our lives He controls with perfect timing the events of our lives. Let us rely upon Him more, and trust in His judgment more than our own. QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW, STUDY, AND DISCUSSION 1. Review of preceding text: In reviewing the preceding discussion, what point or points have gripped your thinking? Discuss, comment upon them. The following questions are based on Luke Chapter Two: 2. Consider the disruption of many lives (not just Mary and Joseph) by the decree of Caesar Augustus. When our lives are disrupted by some event or regulation outside ourselves, how can we praise God for some plan of His that we do not like or understand? 3. It is written that Jesus "came unto His own (things), and His own (people) received Him not." (John 1:11.) List some ways in which Jesus came into the world in the most humble of circumstances. (See e.g. Matthew 2:3; Luke 2:18; 2:19, 2:24.) 4. List the prophecies of Simeon to Mary and Joseph (2:34-35.) What do you interpret they mean? 5. It is said that all things were accomplished according to the Law. (2:39). How does this become of importance to us as Christians? 6. List the various persons and/or beings who gave their evidence to the Divine Being Jesus came into the world to be. 7. Try to memorize Micah 5:2.
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