TRANSCRIPT: Hello my friends, and welcome to the gospel of Luke. My name is Kris Langham, and I will be your guide as we walk through the story of Jesus, as recorded by the good doctor Luke. Luke was in fact a medical doctor, and a good friend of the apostle Paul, having joined Paul on several missionary adventures in the book of Acts.
Luke explains that “many [had] undertaken to draw up an account” of Jesus’ life at that time (1:1). And being not only a believer but also a man well-versed in research and reason, Luke “carefully investigated everything from the beginning” and “decided to write an orderly account” (1:3) for his friend Theophilus, whose name means friend of God. Luke did so, in verse 4:
“So that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:4).
That purpose is key. Lots of stories were going around about Jesus. Some true, some not. The four gospels of the Bible were recorded and kept with the express purpose of accuracy—so we would know truth. Matthew and John were eyewitnesses. Mark likely recorded Peter’s eyewitness account. Luke gives us an intriguing balance because he investigated. He gathered stories, conducted interviews, and asked many eyewitnesses. His gospel includes many repeated stories, but also a great many parables and teachings of Jesus that the others don’t share because people remembered them and recorded them. He delivers far more detail on the Christmas story, which says to me that he took time to speak to people like Mary, and even got personal stories from John the Baptist’s parents. And what a treasure for us—to learn how it all came about.
And though Jesus is very much the same person here, Luke’s perspective on Him emphasizes the humanness of Christ. Still Son of God, but Luke is particularly intrigued that Messiah was also the Son of Man—that He was one of us.
Now Luke opens his account a short time before Jesus, with the very human story of an elderly husband and wife with no children. They were two people desperately in need of hope. Verse 5:
“In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old” (Luke 1:5-6).
Sometimes life is rough on the nice guys. Two godly believers enduring one long trial. Infertility. It’s a hard trial for any couple. In that day, people treated you like you were cursed. Yet Zechariah and Elizabeth served God faithfully, and their heart’s one desire just never happened.
Zechariah is a Jewish priest, and we catch up with him serving in the temple of the Lord at the altar of incense. The incense in the temple represents prayer—and we see prayer happening everywhere in this story—both inside and outside the temple. Zechariah himself has been praying for one thing for a long time. There inside the temple, Zechariah is surprised by an angel named Gabriel. Let’s read at verse 12:
“When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard’” (Luke 1:12-13a).
Now there’s an encouraging message: Your prayer has been heard. Which prayer? The prayer to have a child, of course. But Zechariah has been saying that prayer for years—praying, and hoping. God listened faithfully all those years, and His answer arrives at last in verse 13:
“Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John” (Luke 1:13b).
This baby named John will become the man we know as John the Baptist. This is not the disciple John who wrote a gospel; this John is a prophet—one of the most important prophets in all the Bible. His job description is given in verses 16 and 17—and it’s a whole lot more than just baptizing:
“He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:16-17).
Now that’s a powerful ministry! Imagine that was your calling today—bringing many back to God, turning fathers’ hearts to their kids, turning rebellious hearts to hear true wisdom—and above all, making ready a people prepared for Jesus.
So after years of praying for a baby, Zechariah gets his answer, and it’s almost too good to be true. So good that Zechariah has trouble believing it! And because he won’t believe, he goes dumb. Not dumb as in stupid, dumb as in can’t speak—because God takes his voice away. There’s a lesson here—unbelief makes you dumb. When you don’t trust God’s Word, it will keep you quiet and hold you back from sharing the good news.
So Zechariah can’t tell anyone what he’s heard, but the angel Gabriel still has more to say. Six months later, Gabriel shows up again, this time to visit a young Jewish woman named Mary who is engaged to a young Jewish man named Joseph. Gabriel’s message to Mary begins in verse 30:
“Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; His kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:30-33).
That is quite a prophecy. You may have heard it before with the Christmas story, but look at the words carefully. The promise is made of a King. Jesus was born to be King, on the throne of King David, and His Kingdom will last forever.
But consider it from Mary’s perspective: at this point the throne of David hasn’t been occupied for centuries. The Jews have a king, a tyrant named Herod who rules the Jews ruthlessly. And he serves under Caesar Augustus in Rome—a cruel and wicked man who calls himself a god.
So this prophecy to Mary is a promise of hope, and it is a long time coming. Don’t miss this—the Kingdom of God and the King who will rule it are at the heart of all Bible prophecy; it is what all of history is leading up to. That Kingdom will change the world, and it will last forever. Here in Luke, the archangel Gabriel just named the King, and His name is Jesus. This is big.
Now Mary’s response to this massive prophecy is beautiful, honest, and very human. Verse 34:
“‘How will this be,’ Mary asked the angel, ‘since I am a virgin?’” (Luke 1:34).
You gotta love this. Mary skips past all the everlasting kingdom stuff and says, “Wait a second! I’m a good Jewish girl. How am I gonna have a baby when I’m just engaged?”
So Gabriel explains that the Holy Spirit will make it happen, so that the child will be called the “Son of God.” As he says in verse 37:
“For no word from God will ever fail” (Luke 1:37).
I like that. The angel reminds Mary that God’s Word comes with power. Nothing is impossible for God, and His Word will not fail. The same is true for us. Our hope rests in the power behind every promise from God’s Word.
And Mary believes. Where Zechariah had trouble believing and so couldn’t speak, Mary can’t wait to tell someone! Ironically, Mary runs off to tell Zechariah’s wife, who is also Mary’s cousin—Elizabeth. Elizabeth is quite pregnant by this time, and excited to see Mary. In verse 45, she exclaims,
“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill His promises to her!” (Luke 1:45)
Elizabeth knows that there is a special blessing for Mary’s faith, for simply trusting God at His Word.
So Mary and Elizabeth are both in on the excitement now. This is that big moment when you have the most amazing news, and you finally get to share it with someone—someone who gets it. Mary is overflowing with joy, and her joy turns into a song. See the promise of God always comes with hope, but that hope is only enjoyed when you receive it with faith. Mary enjoys it, so she sings it. The song is known as the Magnificat (which I have to admit sounded to me like a feline superhero). But Magnificat is simply Latin for “glorify”—because Mary’s soul is glorifying the Lord. And what a beautiful thing that is.
After the song, we move on to the birth of John the Baptist, and at long last Zechariah gets his voice back, and he breaks into song! The joy of believing has finally struck the old priest, and we nearly have a musical here in chapter 1. Both of these songs are glorious and brimming with hope. So I encourage you to read Luke 1 for yourself today. You can even sing the songs if you like. They are spontaneous songs written by hearts overflowing with joy, because hope is on the horizon at last.
And as we get ready to journey through Luke’s gospel, hold onto God’s promises, hold onto hope—and maybe take a cue from John the Baptist, and prepare a clear path for Jesus in your heart.
