Luke 1

This is a long one today, but Luke is a great source for in-depth study.

Theophilus, in Greek, means “friend of God,” “lover of God,” or “beloved by God.” It comes from theos (“God”) + philos (“friend,” “lover,” or “beloved”). There's conjecture as to whether Luke was writing to a specific benefactor who might have funded his work, or if Luke is addressing all believers with a respectful title. Nobody knows for sure, but it's a common curiosity.

But Luke is clear in the purpose for his writing - "that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught." Luke's goal is to compile a well researched, authoritative account of facts for the purpose of teaching the truth about Jesus.

Luke is a skilled writer, and shows evidence of being an excellent historian. His gospel gives special focus to including those who would have been outcast or marginalized by other writers (women, the sick, the elderly, gentiles, sinners, etc...). Luke's tone in presenting Jesus is compassionate and inclusive.

Notice the contrast between Matthew and Luke. Where Matthew talked about Joseph and his point of view, Luke talks about Mary and her point of view. While Matthew focused on the Messiah/Kingship aspect of Jesus, and Mark focused on the suffering servant aspect of Jesus, Luke focuses on the humanity of Jesus - He's one of us.

Luke starts out with a story about an elderly couple who could not have children. They were Levites, and Zechariah was serving at the temple when he was chosen to enter the temple to burn incense. The angel Gabriel appeared to him and told him that his wife would bear him a son. This has echos of when three angels came to Abraham and told him that Sarah would bear him a son in their old age (Gen 18).

When Zechariah questioned Gabriel, Gabriel gave him a sign of the power of God. To show him that God could control Elizabeth's body, he demonstrated His power by controling Zechariah's body and making him mute until the promise was fulfilled. Zechariah would not need to question God's power once he had experienced it for himself.

Then God sent Gabriel to Mary with a similar message - that she would bear a son - but this was something different, and even more miraculous. Her son would be conceived by the Holy Spirit, and she would bear the Son of God.

The Bible does not specify how Mary and Elizabeth were related - only that they were "realtives" (Luke 1:36). The KJV misinterpreted the Greek as cousin, which scholars agree is too specific for the general term "relative." Plus Mary was of the line of Judah, and Elizabeth was of the line of Levi, so they would only have been related by marriage.

Mary lived in Nazareth, but Elizabeth lived in the hill country of Judah. That means Elizabeth lived near Qumran - where they found the Dead Sea Scrolls. Some speculate that John may have been raised near, or even by, the Essenes. There's no hard evidence for this, but the more I dig into it, the more it makes sense to me.

It's curious that Mary went to a relative who lived so far away. The Bible says that Gabriel told her about Elizabeth, and Mary submitted faithfully to what Gabriel told her, so it's likely that she took it on herself to go to Elizabeth to both witness the miracle God performed in her as well as to help her in her pregnancy.

Mary's song emphasizes how good God is to the lowly, and how He brings down the rich and powerful. It's right in line with Luke's focus and flavor throughout his gospel.

Then John is born, and Zechariah is able to speak again, and he sings a song prophecying that the saviour is coming and that John will be the prophet that goes on to announce His coming. It's a powerful blessing over the ministry of his son.

I know I wrote a lot here, but it feels like I glossed over so much at the same time. This is a great book to really dig into.