Luke 1 People's New Testament

People's New Testament

Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,

1:1 The Birth of John

SUMMARY OF LUKE 1:

Preface. The Announcement to Mary. The Visit of Mary to Elisabeth. The Prophecies of Mary and Elisabeth. The Birth of John. The Prophecy of Zacharias. The Child in the Deserts.

Forasmuch as many. Lu 1:1-4 are an introduction. They explain that already many narratives of Christ had been written, that these were by eye witnesses and ministers of the word, that Luke had made a careful examination of all these sources of information, and thought it good, having traced all things accurately from the first, to write them out in order (Lu 1:3). We thus learn that at least as early as twenty-seven years after the death of Christ (see Introduction to Luke) many histories of eye witnesses and ministers had already written, of which only two, Matthew and Mark, have come down to us.

Luke 1:2

Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;

Luke 1:3

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,

1:3 Most excellent Theophilus. The name means A lover of God. He is named in Ac 1:1, but of him nothing more is known.

Luke 1:4

That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

Luke 1:5

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.

1:5 There was in the days of Herod. For Herod, see PNT Mt 2:1.

A certain priest. Not a chief priest, but one belonging to the courses.

The course of Abia. All the priests were divided into twenty-four courses, or classes. That of Abijah was the eighth course (1Ch 24:10); each course took charge of the temple worship in succession, for a week at the time, beginning on a Sabbath. The heads of these twenty-four courses are the chief priests so often spoken of in the New Testament.

His wife was of the daughters of Aaron. Elizabeth also was of priestly family.

Luke 1:6

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

1:6 They were both righteous. Almost invariably great men of God are born of parents eminently pious. Augustine, Luther, Wesley, and Campbell are examples.

Luke 1:7

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

Luke 1:8

And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,

1:8 While he executed the priest's office. His course came on duty once in twenty-four weeks, and then he repaired to Jerusalem to remain his week.

Luke 1:9

According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

1:9 His lot. In the service of the sanctuary nothing was left to accident or to human arrangement. The lot determined who was to perform each separate portion of the sacred service, and especially who was each morning and evening to burn incense before the Lord.

To burn incense. Burned on the altar of incense in the Holy Place morning and evening. To burn the incense was an office held so honorable that no one was allowed to perform it twice, since it brought the offering priest nearer the divine presence in the Holy of Holies than any other priestly act, and carried with it the richest blessing from on high, which all ought to have a chance of thus obtaining.

Luke 1:10

And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

1:10 Praying without. The incense itself was a symbol of prayer (Ps 141:2 Re 5:8), and when offered by the priest a bell was rung as a signal to the people in the courts without, who all engaged in prayer in deep silence.

Luke 1:11

And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

1:11 An angel. His name was Gabriel (Lu 1:19). This is the first messenger of the New Dispensation.

The altar of incense. It was of cedar, overlaid with gold (1Ki 6:20; 1Ch 28:18), was a cubit (about two feet) in length and breadth, and two cubits high; it stood in the Holy Place before the veil which separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies.

Luke 1:12

And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

Luke 1:13

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.

1:13 Fear not. This first celestial message at the dawning of the New Testament dispensation is one of cheer.

Thy prayer is heard. The childless old priest had prayed for offspring.

Shalt call his name John. That is, the God-given.

Luke 1:14

And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.

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.

1:15 Shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. No kind of intoxicant. Like the Nazarites (Nu 6:3).

Luke 1:16

And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

Luke 1:17

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.

1:17 In the spirit and power of Elijah. The likeness of John the Baptist to Elijah strikes us not only in his outward appearance, his clothing and way of living, but in his spirit and character as a preacher of repentance.

Turn the hearts of the fathers. These are the last words of the Old Testament, there uttered by a prophet, here expounded by an angel; there concluding the law, and here beginning the gospel (Mal 4:6).

To make ready a people prepared for the Lord. This was his mission, but it was only partially successful. The common people, who heard him gladly, received with gladness the Messiah; the scribes and Pharisees, who rejected the forerunner, rejected also the King.

Luke 1:18

And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.

1:18 By what shall I know this? He wanted a sign.

Luke 1:19

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.

1:19 I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God. The word of such a messenger was sign enough. He is named also in Da 8:15-18. Seven angels stand before God (Re 8:2).

Luke 1:20

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.

1:20 Thou shalt be dumb. His power of speech taken away shall be a sign.

Luke 1:21

And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.

1:21 The people waited for Zacharias. Those who were praying without waited until the incense offering priest came out and dismissed them with a benediction.

Luke 1:22

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.

Luke 1:23

And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.

1:23 To his own house. To his own city and home.

Luke 1:24

And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,

1:24 Hid herself. Did not go into society, both from delicacy and that she might have more time for devotion.

Luke 1:25

Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

1:25 To take away my reproach. To be childless was regarded a great calamity in Israel. Compare Ge 16:1-3 30:1.

Luke 1:26

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

1:26 Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee. Nazareth, the home of Mary. Matthew (Mt 1:20) gives an account of this visit, but does not give the angel's name.

Luke 1:27

To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

1:27 To a virgin. She was espoused; that is, formally engaged to Joseph, but not yet married. Compare with Mt 1:18-25.

Luke 1:28

And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

Luke 1:29

And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

Luke 1:30

And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

1:30-33 Fear not. In the angel's message we have, (1) An assurance, Fear not. (2) A promise, Thou shalt bring forth a son (Lu 1:31). (3) A command, Thou shalt call his name JESUS (Lu 1:31). (4) A prophecy, He shall be great, the Son of the Highest, sit on David's throne, reign forever (Lu 1:32).

Luke 1:31

And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

Luke 1:32

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

Luke 1:33

And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Luke 1:34

Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

Luke 1:35

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Luke 1:36

And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

Luke 1:37

For with God nothing shall be impossible.

Luke 1:38

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:39

And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;

1:39 Arose. In consequence of the angel's words.

Went into the hill country. The central plateau of Judea, containing the cities of Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Hebron. Hebron was a Levitical city (Jos 21:11). Whether the city was Hebron, Juttah, or some other, is only conjecture.

Luke 1:40

And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

Luke 1:41

And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:

Luke 1:42

And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

1:42 Blessed art thou among women. The language of Elizabeth, Oriental poetry, is that of an inspired prophet.

Luke 1:43

And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

1:43 Mother of my Lord. Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

Luke 1:44

For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

Luke 1:45

And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

Luke 1:46

And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,

1:46-55 Mary said. Mary also is filled with the spirit of prophecy. These two godly women are the first human prophets of the New Testament. Mary's language is in part drawn from the Psalms. This hymn is divisible into three parts: (1) recognition of God's strange grace upon her own humble person and character (Lu 1:46-49); (2) a recognition that it is ever thus that God exalts the humble, and brings low the proud (Lu 1:50-53); (3) the result is that humble Israel is now to be exalted according to God's promise to Abraham (Lu 1:54,55).

Luke 1:47

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

1:47 My Saviour. Mary, by this word, reckons herself among that which was lost. She obtained salvation, not from herself, but from Jesus. (Bengel).

Luke 1:48

For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

1:48 Call me blessed. Pronounce me highly favored, or happy in being the mother of the Messiah. Abraham was blessed in being the father of the faithful; Paul in being the apostle to the Gentiles; Peter in first preaching the gospel to them; but who would think of worshiping or praying to Abraham, Paul, or Peter?

Luke 1:49

For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.

Luke 1:50

And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.

Luke 1:51

He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

Luke 1:52

He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.

Luke 1:53

He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

Luke 1:54

He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;

Luke 1:55

As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

1:55 To Abraham. See Ge 12:1-3 13:14-17 15:5.

And to his seed. The seed promised to Abraham was to be a blessing to the whole world. Compare the hymn of Hannah (1Sa 2:1).

Luke 1:56

And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

Luke 1:57

Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.

Luke 1:58

And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.

Luke 1:59

And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.

1:59 On the eighth day. On the eighth day male Jewish children were circumcised and named (Ge 17:12). The kinsmen present called the child after his father's name, a common Jewish custom, but Elizabeth protested that his name should be John, that given by the angel. The matter was referred to the father.

Luke 1:60

And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.

Luke 1:61

And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.

Luke 1:62

And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.

Luke 1:63

And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.

1:63 Asked for a writing tablet. Because his tongue had not yet been loosed.

Luke 1:64

And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.

Luke 1:65

And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.

1:65 Fear came on all. On account of so many marvels.

Luke 1:66

And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.

Luke 1:67

And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,

1:67 Zacharias... prophesied. As soon as his tongue was loosed it was employed to praise the Lord. All inspired utterances are called prophesying, but in the present case there was clearly inspired prediction. In the Old Testament spirit the kingdom of Christ in the future is described in general terms.

Luke 1:68

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,

Luke 1:69

And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;

1:69 An horn of salvation. An allusion to the Savior (2Sa 22:3 Ps 18:2). The horn was a symbol of power (Jer 48:25 La 2:3 Da 7:24 Zec 1:19).

Luke 1:70

As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:

1:70 As he spke by the mouth of his holy prophets. Of him have all the prophets borne witness (Ac 10:43). The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Re 19:10). Bishop Brownrig says:

The whole volume of Scripture did prophesy of him. He was the sum and scope of all their predictions. He was Abraham's promised seed, Abraham's Isaac, Jacob's Shiloh, Moses' Great Prophet, Esaias' Immanuel, Ezekiel's Shepherd, Daniel's Holy One, Zechariah's Branch, Malachi's Angel; all of them predictions to foretell his coming. All their types and ceremonies pointed at him. He was Abel's Sacrifice, Noah's Dove, Abraham's First Fruits, Aaron's Rod, the Israelites' Rock, the Patriarchs' Manna, David's Tabernacle, Solomon's Temple; all these prefigured his incarnation. They were the folds and swathing of the this babe Jesus.''

Luke 1:71

That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;

1:71 From our enemies. The priest is, at the same time the patriot in the best sense of the term, deeply moved by the sight of Roman tyranny.

Luke 1:72

To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;

Luke 1:73

The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

1:73 The oath. This oath is recorded in Ge 22:16-17. It was an oath in which God swore by himself, because he could swear by no greater (Heb 6:13,14), that he would surely bless Abraham and his posterity; that promise was now to be entirely fulfilled by the coming of the Messiah.

Luke 1:74

That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,

Luke 1:75

In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

Luke 1:76

And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

1:76 Thou, child. The babe, John, before him.

The Highest. The Most High is an epithet in Scripture only of the supreme God.

Luke 1:77

To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,

1:77 By the remission of their sins. The remainder of the sentence embodies the gospel in brief. It promises (1) salvation, (2) not merely political but spiritual. A remission of, and redemption from sin, (3) indicates the cause--the divine mercy (compare Joh 3:16; Eph 2:4-8), and (4) promises the result, like to eyes in darkness, and peace to feet straying in paths of sorrow and perplexity.

Luke 1:78

Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

1:78 The dayspring. Christ is the morning light, the rising sun (Mal 4:2). The gospel brings light with it (Joh 3:19).

Luke 1:79

To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Luke 1:80

And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

1:80 The child... was in the deserts. In the wilderness of Judea where he could have ample opportunity for communion with God.

The People's New Testament by B.W. Johnson [1891]

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