NOTES for Luk 1:1-25
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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, |
25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men. |
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The Evangelist Luke offers his friend a "firm foundation" for his new faith. This does not mean that he will prove to him the existence of God or the truth of the apostles' witness. He will simply describe for him, in a small book, how God and man together sought a common language, sought a face-to-face meeting, and how they found it. In this sense his Gospel is a kind of "synthesis," a summary of all sacred history.
He begins with the story of the birth of the last prophet, John, but along the way he weaves into the narrative the whole history of God's promises and their fulfillments. It is no accident that this story is so similar to the account of Abraham and Sarah or to the birth of the prophet Samuel to barren Hannah. The shared details - elderly parents, an unbelievable message from an angel, doubt and faith - introduce us into the world of special relations with God, where a new life breaks into ordinary life, a life whose reality is hard to believe at first, a message, or, in Greek, Gospel.
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Readings for 9 July 2025
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