01-04A

The opening verses of John tell us of Christ's preexistence. The opening verses of Matthew tell us of Christ's genealogy. The opening verses of Luke tell us of the months leading up to Christ’s birth.

Luke 1:1 Since many took in hand to draw up an account concerning the matters which have been borne out among us,

Luke 1:2 even as those who from the beginning delivered to us, becoming eye-witnesses and ministers of the Word,

Luke 1:3 it seemed good to me also, following all things accurately from the very first, to write to you in order, most excellent Theophilus,

Luke 1:4 so that you might know the certainty of those things in which you have been instructed.

Who was Theophilus? Some feel that this is an individual. Others think that, since the word translates to "lover of God", this book is written generically to anyone who loves God. The book of Acts is addressed to the same person.

Act 1:1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,

But here in Luke, he says "Most excellent" which could possibly be the title of a Roman official. It could be that, by the time Acts was written, Theophilus was converted. That would explain why the honorific Roman title is dropped. Festus is addressed by Paul in a similar manner:

Act 26:25 But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness.

Luke and Acts may have been written together at the same time prior to Paul's trial and as part of his defense. Acts ends with Paul in prison. Paul spent 4 years in prison, so Luke may have seen the necessity of writing a history to be used in Paul's defense.

In any case, no one knows for sure who Theophilus was other than that he was the recipient of this letter. So the book of Luke is an epistle. This means that 24 of the 27 books of the NT are epistles, leaving only Matthew, Mark, and John that are not.

Although Acts is the sequel to Luke, Acts is written in a less formal style than Luke.

Luke does not claim to be an eyewitness to the events he relates. Rather, he claims to have had access to the eyewitnesses. Luke was a physician, and it's possible that he was Paul's physician. He traveled extensively with Paul. His gospel is the result of paying careful attention to the eyewitness accounts.

Luke claims to have had perfect understanding of the events he records from the beginning. Possibly this is because he had the benefit of the retrospect of the apostles, along with the understanding of Paul to explain the events as they related them.

Luke says the purpose is to give the reader a certainty of the historical facts of the events, and that Theophilus was already instructed in those events. This book was to reinforce Theophilus' certainty of those events.

Luke is at pains to show how historical the events are.

Luke 1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zechariahs, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

This verse pinpoints a particular period in time.

Luke 3:1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,

Notice the pains Luke goes to in order to locate these events in history. He wants to nail down the time period. This is very particular and detailed historical information. As it turns out, it is also possesses a great deal of historical credibility. Historians have striven to find errors in Luke's account, but history bears out Luke’s account. Luke wanted his reader to be absolutely certain, and for his story to have credibility.

Luke goes back further into this historical record than any other gospel writer except John. Luke's genealogy even goes back further. Luke claims that he's had perfect knowledge from the first, and it is to the very first that he takes us.

All 4 gospels agree that the first part of the story is John the Baptist. JTB’s story is clearly the beginning of the story of Jesus. Mary and Elizabeth were related.

Luke 1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zechariahs, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

Luke 1:6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

Luke 1:7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

Here we're presented with an aged and barren couple. This may remind us of several other notable aged and barren ladies in scripture.

Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Hannah.

God seems to want it known that the birth of certain people are not simple matters of biology taking its course, and this is also the case with JTB.

Since the New Covenant doesn't really start until Jesus’ death, the events of the gospels are occurring in an OT environment. So JTB is an OT character. Like so many other OT characters, JTB is perhaps a symbolic type of things to come. John was born of an elderly woman who had been barren. The barrenness of these women in the OT are types.

Isa 54:1 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.

Isa 54:2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;

Isa 54:3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

Many of the turning points in Israel's history came from men who were born of elderly women who had been barren.

This “barren one” who is going to bring forth more children is a reference to the gentile nations (see Gal 4:27).

The gentile nations were barren in terms of bringing forth children of God. This can be construed as the gentile nations bringing forth more children for God than Israel, which certainly seems to be the case today. It's possible that the barren wombs of women (especially Elizabeth) were a symbolic representation of the prophecy that the barren Gentile nations were about to bring forth fruit.

Both of JTB's parents were from the priestly line. Zechariahs was not the high priest, but a priest. One of, perhaps thousands. John’s parents were of impeccable pedigree.

Luke 1:6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

Not only were they of impeccable pedigree, they were also of impeccable character. "Blameless" does not mean that there was never sin in their lives. Job is given similar endorsement. What this means that God had nothing against them. They were people of faith, and that faith was imputed as righteousness. So blameless does not mean sinless, it just means that their sins weren't held against them; that they couldn't be blamed for their sins.

However, this is not necessarily a reference to their inner, spiritual life. They were still under the OT covenant, and it was measured against that standard that they were considered blameless. This simply means that they were scrupulous in their keeping of the law. No one could find fault with them. This is discussing their outward conduct.

The bottom line is that JTB had some outstanding parents.

Zechariahs was of the line of Abia, which is the same as Abijah mentioned in Chronicles.

1Ch 24:10 The seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah,

There was a division of labor for the burning of the incense. This was chosen by casting lots. (v. 9) There were so many priests, and only 2 weeks that a particular priest's division, was up for it. It was a rare privilege. Once the lot indicated that a particular priest was chosen, he would do it every day for a week, and after that he couldn't do it again. It was literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

So we assume that God influenced the casting of the lots.

Pro 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.

Solomon seems to be saying that there is no such thing as mere chance, but that God's sovereignty is supreme. When the disciples needed to find a replacement for Judas, they used lots to select from the available candidates.

We can be fairly certain that there was more than mere chance at work in the lot falling to Zechariahs for the burning of the incense.

Zechariahs is a common biblical name. There are about 36 of them in the bible.

Luke 1:10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

Incense and prayer are often associated with each other in the bible.

Psa 141:2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

Rev 5:8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

Rev 8:3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

Burning of incense corresponds to the prayers of the saints. The smoke of incense was symbolic to the rising of prayers.

So here is Zechariahs who has this rare privilege of burning the incense, and here's this large group gathered outside praying, and it is at this time that the Angel appears to announce the answer to a particular prayer.

Luke 1:11 And an angel of the Lord appeared to him as he was standing on the right of the altar of incense.

Luke 1:12 And seeing this, Zacharias was troubled, and fear fell on him.

Luke 1:13 But the angel said to him, Do not fear, Zacharias. For your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

This is a common formula progression. 1) Angel appears 2). Person is afraid 3) Angel says "Don't be afraid". Almost always the first thing angels says is "Don't be afraid".

Luke 1:13 …For your prayer is heard, …

Zechariahs and Elizabeth were praying for a son. It appears they were praying even into their old age, and perhaps, Zechariahs was praying this even while he was offering the incense. This indicates that they were very full of faith. Abraham and Sarah laughed, because the possibility seemed ridiculous. But Zechariahs may have continued in this prayer even in to his old age. If so, he must not have seen it as ludicrous.

It would reasonable enough for them to have stopped praying for a son once they got past normal child-bearing age... and it may be that they did. If this is the case, then it suggests that God remembers our prayers even long after we've given up hope for them coming true.

Either case is an instructive indicator of how God answers prayer. God waited until, humanly, it seemed to be too late.

Everything about JTB's birth is exceptional.

Luke 1:15 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.

The Holy Spirit was made accessible even under the old covenant.

The name John is a very common name for us to use these days, but in the bible, JTB is the first one we know of called by this name. It doesn't appear in the OT.

The mention of wine and strong drink is an indication that JTB was, from his birth, considered a Nazarite. A Nazarite was not a place of origin, but rather, a group of people who dedicated themselves to serving the Lord by taking a Nazarite vow. The word "Nazarite" means "separated". A description of the requirements is found in Number 6.

1) No produce of the vine 2) No contact with a dead body 3) Couldn't cut their hair.

Samson was a Nazarite, as was Samuel, and this it seems reasonable to suppose that JTB was as well.

The hair is shaved at the beginning of the vow, and then not cut during the time period of the vow was completed. They then shaved again at the end of the vow, and the hair was burned. It was called "The hair of your separation". Sometimes the Nazarite vow was for a period of time, and sometimes for a lifetime.

2Ki 1:8 And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.

It's possible that Elijah and taken a Nazarite vow, and certainly there are parallels drawn between JTB and Elijah.