Luke - Book Of Luke 1
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Luke 1:1-25
Luke 1:1-25
Overview/Background Of Luke
Luke was a physician, a medical doctor.
He is regarded as a historian
Luke was highly educated and who appreciated both historical context and artistic elegance.
Luke is the longest book in the New Testament. Luke also wrote the book of Acts
Luke displays the richest vocabulary of any author in the Bible.
Luke-Acts utilizes some eight hundred words not found anywhere else in the New Testament.
Luke was not a disciple/Apostle (One of the twelve).
Scholars have no idea where this Gospel was written, but it was intended for widespread publication.
As for when it was written, the book appears to come form a generation after that of Jesus first disciples.
Luke admits that he is reporting matters that were “handed on” by others.
Scholars believe that he also had a copy of Mark’s Gospel and Matthew.
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
ZACHARIAS, belonged to the section of Abia.
Every direct descendant of Aaron was automatically a priest. That meant that for all ordinary purposes there were far too many priests.
They were therefore divided into twenty-four sections. Only at the Passover, at Pentecost and at the Feast of Tabernacles did all the priests serve.
For the rest of the year each course served two periods of one week each.
Priests who loved their work looked forward to that week of service above all things; it was the highlight of their lives.
A priest might marry only a woman of absolutely pure Jewish lineage.
And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.
But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
The Bible presents all forms of fertility as a gift from God.
Pregnancies occur when Yahweh “remembers” women and “opens their wombs.”
Biblical women who experience periods of barrenness often understand their inability to conceive as a divine withholding of blessing, a punishment, or even a curse.
Sarah understands her barrenness to be the result of God withholding the gift of pregnancy: “Yahweh has prevented me from bearing children” (Gen 16:2; see also Gen 30:2)
Rebekah, Rachel, Samson’s mother, Hanna —were all described as barren, and each became pregnant through divine intervention.
In the Rachel and Leah saga, the narrator tells us “When Yahweh saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb; but Rachel was barren” (Gen 29:31).
He later “remembers” Rachel and “opens her womb,” allowing her to conceive and bear her son Joseph (Gen 30:22-24).
Socially, barrenness as presented in several biblical stories caused a woman to experience reproach and even a form of social death.
Sarah and Rachel found barrenness so stigmatizing that each offered her handmaid as a surrogate to her husband in the hopes that she might be built up through a son born through surrogacy.
Rachel understood conception as her only path toward life, crying out to her husband, “Give me children, or I shall die!
Only through through fervent prayer could they believe their barrenness could be reversed.
Two things I want us to look at.... Barren and Advanced In Years
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”
And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”
He was a Priest
He was righteous
Blameless
He kept the commandments
Advanced In years!
But he was having a battle with His Faith!
When your Faith Is in a Battle with God’s Word!
After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying,
Even though he was MUTE! It still took an action for her to conceive.....
Grace!!!!!!!! God knows how to shut our mouth but not shut what we need to be productive with!
“Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
God is going to remove your feeling of reproach!
You may feel barren..... unproductive
You may feel advanced in years.. Like your time has passed you.
But your prayer has been heard!!
Your will be productive
Your time is not up.....