Luke 1
Posted: October 9, 2014

1-4    Each person must make their own careful search in order to discover the truth.  Since God reveals himself through His Word, the person seeking Christ will find Him revealed there.  In study our faith is increased.

5-25  Zechariah and Elizabeth were both godly and "blameless" and yet she was still barren.   Looking back we know why, but it must have been frustrating to be a young woman and not know why you couldn't have children.   Children took care of their parents in old age, but this was not the case for Zechariah.  Shouldering their own burden must have been part of the sacrifice they made for God.     Zechariah was chosen by lot, but God was really in charge of it...there are no coincidences with God.
John was filled with the Spirit from birth.   Several men have been set apart in a similar fashion.  This "higher calling" was referred to as the Nazarite vow.   More information on it is found in Numbers 6.   Samson was a Nazarite, but he broke the vow by touching dead things, drinking wine and having his hair cut.
John's purpose is not have superhuman powers like Samson, but rather to have a powerful message that stirs a community back to serving God.  The Spirit settles upon people differently to effect his purpose.
John is to be filled with "the spirit and power of Elijah".   This is prophesied in Malachi 4:5-6, although I think it will be fulfilled again just prior to the second coming.
Zechariah doubted, and that earned him almost a year of silence.  But God used the silence (or the breaking of the silence) to further underscore that this child is special.   I suspect that Zechariah looked back at his life and considered that "it was worth it all".
Elizabeth felt that having the child "took away her disgrace"  but in fact she had never been disgraced.  It only seemed that way because she hadn't seen the end of the story.   I think that we also draw incorrect conclusions before we have heard the whole story.    Who's to say what the impact and effect of someone's life has been?  How can we possibly know that, given the number of people who could have been helped by any one of us?    Maybe we should be careful about drawing conclusions like Elizabeth ...when we don't know the whole story.

26-38    Mary doesn't doubt...although I can't imagine why.  It's easier for me to believe that an old man and his wife will have a child than it is to believe that a woman will have a virgin birth.   Of course, Zechariah wasn't given the choice of what to believe, and of the two, he had the easier scenario.   It all serves to underscore what deep faith Mary must have had.

39-56     In this passage Mary isn't directed to go and visit Elizabeth.  Maybe since the angel mentioned it, Mary decides to see for herself.   That would certainly encourage and bolster the faith of a young pregnant woman.   It would be a life changing experience to sit with Elizabeth while she shared experiences from a life filled with disappointment (barren) and the questions that would naturally come from that.   Listening to her while she is pregnant, and hearing her testify that God is faithful would certainly help Mary deal with the difficulties that lie ahead of her.  
Mary's song (the Magnificat) has been set to music by some of the worlds greatest composers, such as Bach and Mozart.  It is a clear and powerful hymn of praise and faith.  It also tells us that Luke spent time interviewing Mary, because that's the only way he would have this kind of detail.  He wouldn't know what Mary was thinking, or what the angel said to her when she was alone unless he spoke to her personally.    What a conversation that would have been.  Mary would have a perspective that no one else could share.

57-80  Zechariah remains faithful to name his child as he was told.  The crowd doesn't understand, because the crowd rarely understands.  They want to do what has always been done, having not been part of the revelation, Zechariah and Elizabeth's actions don't make sense to them.
Zechariah shares his own powerful statement of faith, but for some reason it isn't as popular as Mary's.   However, since it came from the same Holy Spirit, it should be.
Since Zechariah and Elizabeth were old when John was born, I wonder how long it was before they died and John as on his own?  Who raised him?   Did they survive until he was a teen and able to fend for himself?   I wonder why we don't have any details on the childhood of either John or Jesus.   That would be so interesting to know.


PR