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Luke Writes About the Life of Jesus1 1Most Honorable Theophilus:
Many others have tried to give a report of the things that happened among us to complete God's plan. 2What they have written agrees with what we learned from the people who saw those events from the beginning. They also served God by telling people his message. 3I studied it all carefully from the beginning. Then I decided to write it down for you in an organized way. 4I did this so that you can be sure that what you have been taught is true.
Zechariah and Elizabeth 5During the time when Heroda ruled Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah. He belonged to Abijah's groupb. His wife came from the family of Aaron. Her name was Elizabeth. 6Zechariah and Elizabeth were both good people who pleased God. They did everything the Lord commanded, always following his instructions completely. 7But they had no children. Elizabeth could not have a baby, and both of them were very old.
8Zechariah was serving as a priest before God for his group. It was his group's time to serve. 9The priests always chose one priest to offer the incensec, and Zechariah was the one chosen this time. So he went into the Temple of the Lord to offer the incensec. 10There was a large crowd outside praying at the time the incense was offered.
11Then, on the right side of the incense table, an angel of the Lord came and stood before Zechariah. 12When he saw the angel, Zechariah was upset and very afraid. 13But the angel said to him, "Zechariah, don't be afraid. Your prayer has been heard by God. Your wife Elizabeth will give birth to a baby boy, and you will name him John. 14You will be very happy, and many others will share your joy over his birth. 15He will be a great man for the Lord. He will never drink wine or beer. Even before he is born, he will be filled with the Holy Spiritd.
16"John will help many people of Israele return to the Lord their God. 17John himself will go ahead of the Lord and make people ready for his coming. He will be powerful like Elijahf and will have the same spirit. He will make peace between fathers and their children. He will cause people who are not obeying God to change and start thinking the way they should."
18Zechariah said to the angel, "How can I know that what you say is true? I am an old man, and my wife is also old."
19The angel answered him, "I am Gabriel, the one who always stands ready before God. He sent me to talk to you and to tell you this good news. 20Now, listen! You will not be able to talk until the day when these things happen. You will lose your speech because you did not believe what I told you. But everything I said will really happen."
21Outside, the people were still waiting for Zechariah. They were surprised that he was staying so long in the Temple. 22Then Zechariah came outside, but he could not speak to them. So the people knew that he had seen a visiong inside the Temple. He was not able to speak, so he could only make signs to the people. 23When his time of service was finished, he went home.
24Later, Zechariah's wife Elizabeth became pregnant. So she did not go out of her house for five months. She said, 25"Look what the Lord has done for me! He decided to help me. Now people will stop thinking there is something wrong with me."
The Virgin Mary 26-27During Elizabeth's sixth month of pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to a virginh girl who lived in Nazareth, a town in Galilee. She was engaged to marry a man named Joseph from the family of Davidi. Her name was Mary. 28The angel came to her and said, "Greetings! The Lord is with you; you are very special to him."
29But Mary was very confused about what the angel said. She wondered, "What does this mean?"
30The angel said to her, "Don't be afraid, Mary, because God is very pleased with you. 31Listen! You will become pregnant and have a baby boy. You will name him Jesus. 32He will be great. People will call him the Son of the Most High God, and the Lord God will make him king like his ancestor David. 33He will rule over the people of Jacobj forever; his kingdom will never end."
34Mary said to the angel, "How will this happen? I am still a virgin."
35The angel said to Mary, "The Holy Spiritd will come to you, and the power of the Most High God will cover you. The baby will be holy and will be called the Son of God. 36And here's something else: Your relative Elizabeth is pregnant. She is very old, but she is going to have a son. Everyone thought she could not have a baby, but she has been pregnant now for six months. 37God can do anything!"
38Mary said, "I am the servant of the Lord God. Let this thing you have said happen to me!" Then the angel went away.
Mary Visits Zechariah and Elizabeth 39Mary got up and went quickly to a town in the hill country of Judea. 40She went into Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the unborn baby inside her jumped, and she was filled with the Holy Spiritd.
42In a loud voice she said to Mary, "God has blessed you more than any other woman. And God has blessed the baby you will have. 43You are the mother of my Lord, and you have come to me! Why has something so good happened to me? 44When I heard your voice, the baby inside me jumped with joy. 45Great blessings are yours because you believed what the Lord said to you! You believed this would happen."
Mary Praises God 46Then Mary said,
| 47"I praise the Lord with all my heart. I am very happy because God is my Savior.
48I am not important, but he has shown his care for me, his lowly servant.
From now until the end of time, people will remember how much God blessed me.
49Yes, the Powerful One has done great things for me. His name is very holy.
50He always gives mercy to those who worship him.
51He reached out his arm and showed his power. He scattered those who are proud and think great things about themselves.
52He brought down rulers from their thrones and raised up the humble people.
53He filled the hungry with good things, but he sent the rich away with nothing.
54God has helped Israel - the people he chose to serve him. He did not forget his promise to give us his mercy.
55He has done what he promised to our ancestorsk, to Abrahaml and his children forever." | |
56Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then went home.
The Birth of John 57When it was time for Elizabeth to give birth, she had a boy. 58Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord was very good to her, and they were happy for her.
59When the baby was eight days old, they came to circumcisem him. They wanted to name him Zechariah because this was his father's name. 60But his mother said, "No, he will be named John."
61The people said to Elizabeth, "But no one in your family has that name." 62Then they made signs to his father, "What would you like to name him?"
63Zechariah asked for something to write on. Then he wrote, "His name is John." Everyone was surprised. 64Then Zechariah could talk again, and he began praising God. 65And all their neighbors were afraid. In all the hill country of Judea, people continued talking about these things. 66Everyone who heard about these things wondered about them. They thought, "What will this child be?" They could see that the Lord was with him.
Zechariah Praises God 67Then Zechariah, John's father, was filled with the Holy Spiritd and told the people a message from God:
| 68"Praise to the Lord God of Israele. He has come to help his people and has given them freedom.
69He has given us a powerful Savior from the family of his servant Davidi.
70This is what he promised through his holyn prophetso long ago.
71He will save us from our enemies and from the power of all those who hate us.
72God said he would show mercy to our fathersp, and he remembered his holy agreementq.
73This was the promise he made to our father Abrahaml, 74a promise to free us from the power of our enemies, so that we could serve him without fear 75in a way that is holy and right for as long as we live.
76"Now you, little boy, will be called a prophet of the Most High God. You will go first before the Lord to prepare the way for him.
77You will make his people understand that they will be saved by having their sins forgiven.
78"With the loving mercy of our God, a new dayr from heaven will shine on us.
79It will bring light to those who live in darkness, in the fear of death.
It will guide us into the way that brings peace." | |
80And so the little boy John grew up and became stronger in spirit. Then he lived in areas away from other people until the time when he came out to tell God's message to the people of Israel.
aHerod (1) Herod I (the Great), king of Judea and all of Palestine (40-4 b.c.), Mt. 2:1-22; Lk. 1:5; Acts 23:35. (2) Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, tetrarch (ruler) of Galilee and Perea (4 b.c.-39 a.d.), Mt. 14:1-6; Mk. 6:14-22; 8:15; Lk. 3:1, 19; 8:3; 9:7, 9; 13:31; 23:7-15; Acts 4:27; 13:1. (3) Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great, king of Palestine (37-44 a.d.), Acts 12:1, 6-21.
b1:5 Abijah’s group Jewish priests were divided into 24 groups. See 1 Chron. 24.
cincense Special dried tree sap that was burned to make a sweet-smelling smoke and offered as a gift to God.
dHoly Spirit Also called the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, and the Comforter. In union with God and Christ, he does God’s work among people in the world.
eIsrael Another name for Jacob (see Gen. 32:24-28) and for the nation God chose to accomplish his plan of blessing the world through the Messiah (see “Messiah”). The people of Israel were the descendants of Jacob’s twelve sons. In the New Testament this name is sometimes used in a broader sense to mean all of God’s people.
fElijah A very important Israelite leader and prophet who spoke for God during a 25-year period ending about 850 b.c. In the time of Jesus, the Jews were expecting Elijah to come again before the Messiah. See Mal. 4:5-6.
gvision Something like a dream used by God to speak to people.
hvirgin A woman, especially a young woman, who is not married and has never had sexual relations.
iDavid Israel’s greatest king, who ruled about 1000 years before Christ. Besides being a great military and political leader, he was a deeply spiritual man and a gifted musician, who wrote many of the Psalms. He made plans and arrangements for the building of the first Temple in Jerusalem (“the city of David”), which was actually completed by his son Solomon. The Scriptures said that a descendant of David would be God’s chosen messiah (king), who would establish an eternal kingdom. For that reason, Jesus is sometimes called “the Son of David.”
jJacob Or “Israel,” ancestor of the people of Israel (also called Israelites and, later, Jews). See Gen. 32:24-28 for the story of how Jacob was given the name Israel. He was the father of twelve sons from whom the twelve tribes of Israel descended, and the name Jacob continued to be used for the nation or people of Israel.
kancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents, grandparents, and all the other people that person is descended from. In the New Testament it usually refers to people who lived during Old Testament times.
lAbraham The most respected ancestor of the Jewish people. Through him God promised to make a great nation and bless all the people of the earth. Read Gen. 12:1-3.
mcircumcise, circumcision Cutting off the foreskin of the male sex organ. This was done to every Jewish baby boy as a mark of the agreement God made with Abraham. Read Gen. 17:9-14. Sometimes “circumcision” is used with “heart” in the figurative sense of true devotion to God. (See Jer. 9:26; Rom. 2:28.) In the New Testament “circumcision” is also used in a spiritual sense to refer to the changed life of believers who have come to share in the new agreement God gave his people through Jesus. (See Php. 3:3; Col. 2:11.)
nholy When referring to people or things, holy means set apart or chosen for a special use; especially, belonging to God or used only for him. It can also mean pure or perfect, worthy of God and fit for his service. When God is called holy, in addition to the idea of pure and perfect, it often means he is completely separate or different from and above everything else that exists. In the New Testament God’s people are holy because they have been made perfect and pure through Christ and, with the help of the Holy Spirit, keep themselves away from sin and live only for God.
oprophet A person who speaks a message from God. Many of the books in the Old Testament are messages spoken or written by “the prophets,” who were some of those God chose to speak for him. God often used dreams or visions to tell or show his prophets what they should say.
pfathers Important ancestors of the Jewish people, especially the leaders of the tribes of Israel.
qagreement A contract or agreement from God to his people. The agreement that God gave his people at Mount Sinai, based on the Law of Moses, became the most important for the Israelites or Jews. It replaced or renewed all other agreements, such as that given earlier to Abraham. In the New Testament it is referred to as the “old” or “first” agreement. After Jesus Christ came and offered his life as payment for the sins of all people, God was able to offer a “new” and “better” agreement based on Christ’s sacrifice.
r1:78 new day Literally, “dawn,” used here as a symbol, probably meaning the Lord’s Messiah.
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