Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 1:5

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abijah: and his wife [was] of the daughters of Aaron, and her name [was] Elisabeth.

5 25. The Announcement of the Birth of the Fore-runner

5. There was in the days ] The elaborate style of the Preface is at once replaced by one of extreme directness and simplicity, full of Hebraic expressions; shewing that here St Luke begins to use, and probably to translate, some Aramaic document which had come into his hands. The remainder of this chapter is known as the Protevangelium the Gospel History before the Birth of Christ. The sweetness and delicate reserve of the narrative, together with the incidents on which it dwells, have led to the not unreasonable conjecture that the Virgin Mary had written down some of those things which she long ‘kept in her heart.’

of Herod, the king ] Towards the close of the reign of Herod the Great. The true sceptre had departed from Judah. Herod was a mere Idumaean usurper imposed on the nation by the Romans. “Regnum ab Antonio Herodi datum, victor Augustus auxit.” Tac. Hist. v. 9.

of Judea ] Besides Judaea, Samaria, and Galilee, his kingdom included the most important regions of Peraea (Jos. Antt. xv. 5, 6, 7; B. J. i. 20, 3, 4).

Zacharias ] The common Jewish name Zachariah (2Ki 14:29; Ezr 8:3; Ezr 8:11; Zec 1:1; 1Ma 5:18 , &c.) means ‘remembered by Jehovah.’ The Jews highly valued the distinction of priestly birth (Jos. Vit. 1). The notion that Zacharias was a High Priest and that his vision occurred on the great Day of Atonement is refuted by the single word “his lot was,” Luk 1:9.

of the course ] The word ephemeria means first ‘a daily ministry’ (Heb. Mishmereth) and then a class of the priesthood which exercised its functions for a week. Aaron had four sons, but the two elder Nadab and Abihu were struck dead for using strange fire in the sanctuary (Leviticus 10). From the two remaining sons Eleazar and Ithamar had sprung in the days of David twenty-four families, sixteen from the descendants of Eleazar, and eight from those of Ithamar. To these David distributes by lot the order of their service from week to week, each for eight days inclusively from sabbath to sabbath (1Ch 24:1-19; 2Ch 31:2). After the Babylonish exile only four of the twenty-four courses returned a striking indication of the truth of the Jewish saying that those who returned from the exile were but like the chaff in comparison of the wheat. The four families of which the representatives returned were those of Jedaiah, Immer, Pashur, and Harim (Ezr 2:36-39). But the Jews concealed the heavy loss by subdividing these four families into twenty-four courses to which they gave the original names, and this is alluded to in Neh 13:30 (“I appointed the wards of the priests and the Levites, every one in his business”). This arrangement continued till the fall of Jerusalem a. d. 70 at which time, on the ninth of the month Ab (Aug. 5), we are told that the course in waiting was that of Jehoiarib (Jos. Bell. Jud. vi. 5), Taanith, iv. 6: Derenbourg, Palest. p. 291. Reckoning back from this we find that the course of Abijah went out of office on Oct. 9, b.c. 6, a.u.c. 748 (but see Lewin, Fasti Sacri, p. 191). The reader should bear in mind that our received era for the Birth of Christ (a.u.c. 753) was only fixed by the Abbot Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, and is probably four years wrong.

of Abia ] 1Ch 24:10, “the eighth [lot came forth] to Abijah.” This was not one of the four families which had returned, but the name was soon revived (Neh 12:4). Josephus tells us that he enjoyed the high distinction of belonging by birth to the first of the twenty-four courses ( Vit. 1).

Elisabeth ] The same name as Elisheba (‘one whose oath is by God,’ comp. Jehoshebah, 2Ki 11:2), the wife of Aaron, Exo 6:23; mentioned by name according to Ibn Ezra as ‘the mother of the priesthood.’

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

In the days of Herod – See the notes at Mat 2:1.

Of the course of Abia – When the priests became so numerous that they could not at once minister at the altar, David divided them into 24 classes or courses, each one of which officiated for a week, 1 Chr. 24. The class or course (shift) of Abia was the eighth in order, 1Ch 24:10. Compare 2Ch 8:14. The word course means the same as class, or order. The Greek-based word Abia is the same as the Hebrew-based word Abijah.

His wife was of the daughters of Aaron – A descendant of Aaron, the first high priest of the Jews; so that John the Baptist was descended, on the fathers and the mothers side, from priests. Our Saviour was not on either side. John would have been legally entitled to a place among the priests; our Saviour, being of the tribe of Judah, would not.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Luk 1:5

A certain priest named Zacharias.

–Mark how immediately the historian betakes himself to the collateral line. Something very suggestive in this. No one life independent of other lives. As every text has its context, so every life has relationships and associations which must in some degree be understood before itself can be made altogether intelligible. Hence we find that biography is much indebted to its background of contemporary and incidental events. The particularity of Lukes statements is noticeable. He does not hurry his reader over names and circumstances which a critical inquirer would like to know something about. On the contrary, he sets down the names of kings, priests, and others, and so gives the critic the utmost opportunity of testing his accuracy by the light of collateral history. (Dr. Joseph Parker.)

The priestly descent of the Forerunner

Whereas, alike in narrative and apostolic argument, the Lord Himself is separated in His lineage from the priestly race (see Heb 7:14), it is otherwise with John the Baptist. By father and by mother he was descended in the priestly line. This twofold fact seems to me worth accentuating in three elements of it.

1. It strikingly differentiates historically the priesthood of our Lord from the ancient priesthood, which was a thing simply of inheritance by blood.

2. It is to be emphasized in that John the Baptist never claimed that priestly succession that he might have done as the son of Zacharias and Elisabeth. Surely this declinature to enter himself heir to so august an office is extremely noticeable! It was self-chosen, but also Divinely ordered, seeing that John was to usher in that very kingdom of grace that was destined to unconsecrate and abolish the old order of things.

3. I call attention to it further, because it could scarcely fail that the blue blood of the priesthood in John would have its influence in winning him audience and giving him authority with the multitudes who flocked (later) to his imperious summons. (Dr. Grosart.)

Priesthood in the davis of our Lord

As the office was hereditary, the number of the priesthood had become very great in the days of our Lord, so that, according to the Talmud, in addition to those who lived in the country, and came up to take their turn in the temple services, there were no fewer than 24,000 settled in Jerusalem, and half that number in Jericho. This, however, is no doubt an exaggeration. Josephus is more likely correct in estimating the whole number at somewhat over 20,000. But even this was an enormous proportion of clergy to the population of a country like Judaea. They must have been a more familiar sight in the streets of Jerusalem, and in the towns and villages, than the seemingly countless ecclesiastics in the towns and cities of Spain or Italy at this time. (Dr. Geikie.)

Of the course of Abia

Abia–Abijah in the Old Testament. When the priests had become numerous, David divided the whole body into twenty-four classes or courses, which were appointed to do service in weekly rotation, so that each of the courses had to attend at the temple twice in the year for a week each time. Of the twenty-four courses that of Abijah was the eighth. Of the number that went into captivity only four of the courses returned, and that of Abijah was not one of them. But these four were divided into twenty-four, in order to reproduce the former distribution; and, to render the analogy more complete, they received the same names as the original courses. (Dr. Kitto.)

The priestly orders

The word ephemeris means first a daily ministry (Hebrews Mishmereth), and then a class of the priesthood which exercised its functions for a week. Aaron had four sons, but the two elder, Nadab and Abihu, were struck dead for using strange firs in the sanctuary (Lev 10:1-20.). From the two remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, had sprung in the days of David twenty-four families, sixteen from the descendants of Eleazar, and eight from those of Ithamar. To these David distributes by lot the order of their service from week to week, each for eight days inclusively from sabbath to sabbath (1Ch 24:1-19; 2Ch 31:2). After the Babylonish exile only four of the twentyfour courses returned–a striking indication of the truth of the Jewish saying, that those who returned from the exile were but the chaff in comparison of the wheat. The four families of which the representatlves returned were those of Jedaiah, Immer, Pashur, and Harim (Ezr 2:36-39). But the Jews concealed the heavy loss by subdividing these four families into twenty-four courses, to which they gave the original names, and this is alluded to in Neh 13:30 (I appointed the wards of the priests and the Levites, every one in his business). This arrangement continued till the fall of Jerusalem (A.D. 70), at which time, on the ninth of the month Abib (August 5th), we are told by Josephus that the course in waiting was that of Jehoiarib. Reckoning back from this, we find that the course of Abijah went out of office on October 9, B.C. 6. The reader should bear in mind that our received era for the birth of Christ was only fixed by the abbot Dionysius Exiguus in the sixth century, and is probably foul years wrong. (Archdeacon Farrar.)

There may be succession in a forsaken Church. It remained when Christ was crucified, the Spirit quenched. (Van Doren.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 5. In the days of Herod, the king] This was Herod, surnamed the Great, the son of Antipater, an Idumean by birth, who had professed himself a proselyte to the Jewish religion, but regarded no religion, farther than it promoted his secular interests and ambition. Thus, for the first time, the throne of Judah was filled by a person not of Jewish extraction, who had been forced upon the people by the Roman government. Hence it appears plain that the prophecy of Jacob, Ge 49:10, was now fulfilled; for the sceptre had departed from Judah: and now was the time, according to another prophecy, to look for the governor from Bethlehem, who should rule and feed the people of Israel: Mic 5:1-2. See a large account of the family of the Herods, in Clarke’s note on “Mt 2:1“. This was before Christ six years.

The course of Abiah] When the sacerdotal families grew very numerous, so that all could not officiate together at the tabernacle, David divided them into twenty-four classes, that they might minister by turns, 1Ch 24:1, c., each family serving a whole week, 2Kg 11:7; 2Ch 23:8. Abiah was the eighth in the order in which they had been originally established: 1Ch 24:10. These dates and persons are particularly mentioned as a full confirmation of the truth of the facts themselves; because any person, at the time this Gospel was written, might have satisfied himself by applying to the family of John the Baptist, the family of our Lord, or the surrounding neighbours. What a full proof of the Gospel history! It was published immediately after the time in which these facts took place; and among the very people, thousands of whom had been eye-witnesses of them; and among those, too, whose essential interest it was to have discredited them if they could; and yet, in all that age, in which only they could have been contradicted with advantage, no man ever arose to call them in question! What an absolute proof was this that the thing was impossible; and that the truth of the Gospel history was acknowledged by all who paid any attention to the evidences it produced!

Of the daughters of Aaron] That is, she was of one of the sacerdotal families. This shows that John was most nobly descended: his father was a priest and his mother the daughter of a priest; and thus, both by father and mother, he descended from the family of Amram, of whom came Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, the most illustrious characters in the whole Jewish history.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

The Holy Ghost, for infinitely wise reasons, giveth us here an account both of the time when John the Baptist was born, and also of his parentage. It was

in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, that is, he who was the son of Antipater: not Herod the tetrarch of Galilee, of whom you read Luk 3:1, who put John Baptist to death, that was thirty-one or thirty-two years after this. He is usually called Herod the Great; who fought his way to the government of the Jews under the Romans, and came to his throne by the slaughter of the Jewish Sanhedrim; by which means he also extinguished all the government, which till his time held in the tribe of Judah, though not in a single person, (for that was destroyed in John, soon after the time of Judas Maccabeus), yet in a select number out of that royal tribe. So that in this Herods time the prophecy of dying Jacob, Gen 49:10, was fulfilled. The sceptre, that is, the government, departed from Judah, and the lawgiver from his feet, which was a certain sign (in order to the fulfilling of that prophecy) that Shiloh, that is, the Messias, was coming. This for the time.

A certain priest, named Zacharias; some will have him to have been the high priest, or his deputy, but that cannot be, for the high priest was but one, and so not within the courses of the priests, but of the eldest family from Aaron; and though it be said, Luk 1:9, that his lot was to burn incense, yet it must not be understood of the incense mentioned Lev 16:12, to be burned upon the yearly day of expiation, (which indeed none but the high priest might do), but of the daily incense mentioned in the law, Exo 30:7,8, which any of the priests did in their courses. This Zacharias was

of the course of Abia. The eldest son of Aaron was always the high priest; his other sons were priests. In a long course of time, their descendants so multiplied, that they were too many all at the same time to minister in the temple. David therefore divided them into courses; each course waited their month. 1Ch 24:4,5, there is an account of the distribution of the priests into twenty-four courses. In Davids time the eighth course was the course of Abijah. It appeareth by Neh 12:1-47, that after the captivity they kept the denominations of these courses, but it is probable the order of them was altered. We read of Abijah in Neh 12:17, but whether his was then, or at this time when Luke wrote his Gospel, the eighth course I cannot tell. It is enough for us that Zacharias was one of the ordinary priests of the course of Abia; whose office it was to serve in the temple in his course, which was the course of such as derived from the Abijah mentioned in 1Ch 24:10.

And his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. This is added not to signify Zachariass obedience to the Divine law, which obliged the priests to marry within their own tribes; for the reason of that law being only to prevent the confusion of the inheritances, which fell by lot to the several tribes, and by the will of God were to be so kept distinct, the tribe of Levi having no such inheritance, might intermix with any other tribe, and did so; the high priest only was obliged to marry one of his own people, Lev 21:14, and Jehoiada, 2Ch 22:11, married one of the tribe of Judah; but it is added to show the honourableness of Elisabeths stock. Moses and Aaron were the two first governors of the Israelites. Elisabeth was not only of the tribe of Levi, but descended from Aaron, whom God made the noblest family of the Levites. Her name was Elisabeth. It is a Hebrew name, Exo 6:23, and (as you may see there) was the very name of Aarons wife, the daughter of Amminadab, and sister of Naashon. As it may be variously written it signifieth, the rest, or the oath, or the rod of my God.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

5. Herod(See on Mt2:1).

course of AbiaorAbijah; the eighth of the twenty-four orders of courses into whichDavid divided the priests (see 1Ch 24:1;1Ch 24:4; 1Ch 24:10).Of these courses only four returned after the captivity (Ezr2:34-39), which were again subdivided into twenty-fourretainingthe ancient name and order of each. They took the whole templeservice for a week each.

his wife was of the daughtersof AaronThe priests might marry into any tribe, but “itwas most commendable of all to marry one of the priests’ line”[LIGHTFOOT].

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea,…. This was Herod, the son of Antipater, sometimes called Herod the Great, and is rightly here said to be the king of Judea; for, by deputation from the Roman emperor, he had the government of all Judea, which upon his death was divided among his sons. The phrase, “in the days of”, is an eastern way, of speaking; see Ge 14:1; and intends the time of his reign; in which there was

a certain priest named Zacharias: a name famous among the Jews, for an high priest, who was slain by them the court of the temple,

2Ch 24:20, and for one of the later prophets, Zec 1:1, who were of this name. This man, the father of John the Baptist, was not an high priest, as this character of him, and the work afterwards ascribed to him, show; though he has been thought to be so by some; and John himself is so called by the Jews n: he was

of the course of Abia. The Ethiopic version reads, “in the days of Abia”: and it has been the opinion of some, that Zacharias and Abia were two priests, who performed their ministry in succession, one after another; one ministered one time, and another at another time; but such betray their ignorance both of Scripture, and of Jewish affairs. In David’s time, there was a division of the sons of Aaron into “twenty four” orders, or courses; and this of Abia was one, and the “eighth” of them; see 1Ch 24:1. The account the Jews o give of this matter, and in which they are not agreed, is this;

“says Rab Chama bar Guria, says Rab, Moses ordered for the Israelites eight courses, four from Eleazar, and four from Ithamar; Samuel came and made them “sixteen”; David came and made them twenty four.–It is a tradition, that Moses ordered for the Israelites sixteen courses, eight from Eleazar, and eight from Ithamar; and when the children of Eleazar increased above the children of Ithamar, they divided them, and appointed them twenty four.”

The account, as given by Maimonides p, is as follows:

“Moses, our master, divided the priests into eight courses, four from Eleazar, and four from Ithamar, and so they were until Samuel the prophet; and in the days of Samuel, he and David, the king, divided them into twenty four courses; and over every course one head was appointed, and they went up to Jerusalem to the service of the course every week; and from sabbath to sabbath they changed; one course went out, and another came in, till they finished, and returned again.”

Now of these there were but four courses returned from the Babylonish captivity, as appears from Ezr 2:36 and with this the Jewish accounts agree q.

“The Rabbins teach, that four courses came up from the captivity, Jedaiah, Harim, Pashur, and Immer; the prophets that were among them stood up, and divided them, and appointed four and twenty lots, and put them into a box: Jedaiah came and took his lot, and the lot of his companions, six; Harim came and took his lot, and the lot of his companions, six; and so Pashur and Immer: and so the prophets that were among them taught, that if Jehoiarib, the first course, came up from captivity, he should not drive away Jedaiah out of his place; but Jedaiah should be the principal, and Jehoiarib an appendix to him.”

Now, though the course of Abia did not return from captivity, yet its order and name were retained as the rest of the courses, being divided between these four by whom they were supplied; and therefore Zacharias is not said to be of the posterity of Abia, but of his course. To these courses there were added as many stations; and what they were, and their use, may be learnt from what follows r.

“The former prophets offered four and twenty courses; and to every course there was a station at Jerusalem; consisting of priests, Levites, and Israelites: and when the time came for the course to go up, the priests and Levites went up to Jerusalem, but the Israelites, which were in that course, gathered themselves to their cities, and read in the history of the creation; and the men of the station fasted four days in the week, from the second day, to the fifth.”

The sense of which, according to their commentators s, is, that these stations were substituted in the room of, and represented all Israel; and their business was to give themselves up to divine worship, prayer, and sacrifices; and such of them as were near Jerusalem, when the time of their course came, assisted at the sacrifices; and such as were afar off, betook themselves to the synagogues in their cities, and there fasted, prayed, and read. And so another of their authors t says,

“there were twenty and four courses of the priests, and so twenty and four courses of the Levites; and every week the course of the priests and Levites goes to Jerusalem; and the twenty and four stationary men, half of them go thither, and half are left in their houses, and pray over the offerings:”

for they had their stationary cities, where these men dwelt u. Jericho was one: they say w,

“Jericho was able to produce a complete station itself; but because of dividing the glory to Jerusalem, it furnished out but half an one:”

hence you need not wonder to hear of a priest and Levite on the road to Jericho from Jerusalem, as in Lu 10:31 for they say, in the same place, that twenty four thousand, a station consisted of at Jerusalem, and there was half a station at Jericho: as for the heads of the courses of the houses of their fathers,

“there were in a course five, six, seven, eight, nine of them; a course which had five (heads) in it, three offered three days, and two offered four days; a course in which were six, five offered five days, and one offered two days: a course in which were seven, every one offered on his day; a course in which were eight, six offered six days, and two offered one day; a course in which were nine, live offered five days, and four offered two days: and there were some that fixed themselves for ever; and a course that was (or began) on a sabbath day, was always on a sabbath; and that which was at the going out of the sabbath, was always at the going out of the sabbath: and there were some of them that offered at every course: and there were some that cast lots at every course x.”

But to say no more of these courses and stations, I conclude with what Maimonides y says of them:

“it is not possible, that a man’s offering should be offered up, and he not stand by it; but the offerings of the congregation are the offerings of all Israel; and it is not possible that all Israel should stand, in the court at the time of sacrifice: wherefore the former prophets ordered, that they should chose out of Israel men that were fit, and feared to sin, that they may be the messengers of all Israel to stand by the offerings, and these are called the men of the station; and they divided them into twenty and four stations, according to the number of the courses of the priests and Levites; and at every station one of them was appointed over them all, and he called the head of the station; and every week the men of the station of that week gather together; and such of them as are in Jerusalem, or near to it, go into the temple, with the course of the priests and Levites of that week; and they who are in that station, that are at a distance, when their station comes, they gather together to the synagogue, which is in their place.”

Then he goes on to give an account, as before, how often they fast in that week, how many prayers they say, and what they read.

And his wife was of the daughters of Aaron. It is a saying of R. Jochanan z;

“he that would be rich, let him join himself to the seed of Aaron; so it is, that the law and the priesthood make rich.–R. Idi bar Abin married a priestess, and from him proceeded that were made doctors, R. Shesheth, the son of R. Idi, and R. Joshua, the son of R. Idi.”

This is not so much said in commendation of Zacharias, that he took a wife of the same tribe, and of the priestly line: for it was lawful for the tribe of Levi to take a wife of any other, because it did not make any alteration in the inheritances of tribes; and it a rule with the Jews a, that priests, Levites, and Israelites, might marry with one another; as Mary, who was of the tribe of Judah, was akin to Elizabeth: but to point the original of John, and show of what extraction he was, his father and mother being both of the family of Aaron.

And her name was Elizabeth; the same name with . “Elisheba”, the wife of Aaron, Ex 6:23, and whom the Septuagint interpreters there call, as here, Elisabeth: and this being the name of Aaron’s wife, it is very probable it might be a common name among the daughters of Aaron, in succeeding generations.

n Ganz. Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 25. 2. o T Bab. Taanith, fol. 27. 1. p Hilch. Cele Hamikdash, c. 4. sect. 3. q T. Bab. Taanith, fol. 27. 1, 2. Eracin, fol. 12. 9. & 13. 1. T. Hieros. Taanioth, fol. 68. 1. r Misn. Taanith, c. 4. sect. 2. 3. s Maimon. & Bartenora in ib. t Piske Toseph. Moed Katon, art. 62. u Misn, Biccurim, c. 3. sect. 2. & Maimon. & Bartenora in ib. w T. Hieros. Taaniot, fol. 67. 4. x Ib fol. 68. 1. y Hilch. Cele Hamikdash, c. 6. sect. 1, 2. z T. Bab. Pesachim, fol. 49. 1. a Misn. Kiddushin, c. 4. sect. 1.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

The Appearance of an Angel to Zacharias; The Birth of John Foretold; The Unbelief of Zacharias.

      5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Juda, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.   6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.   7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.   8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course,   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.   10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.   11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.   12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.   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.   14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.   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.   16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.   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.   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.   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 show thee these glad tidings.   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.   21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.   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.   23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.   24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,   25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

      The two preceding evangelists had agreed to begin the gospel with the baptism of John and his ministry, which commenced about six months before our Saviour’s public ministry (and now, things being near a crisis, six months was a deal of time, which before was but a little), and therefore this evangelist, designing to give a more particular account than had been given of our Saviour’s conception and birth, determines to do so of John Baptist, who in both was his harbinger and forerunner, the morning-star to the Sun of righteousness. The evangelist determines thus, not only because it is commonly reckoned a satisfaction and entertainment to know something of the original extraction and early days of those who afterwards prove great men, but because in the beginning of these there were many things miraculous, and presages of what they afterwards proved. In these verses our inspired historian begins as early as the conception of John Baptist. Now observe here,

      I. The account given of his parents (v. 5): They lived in the days of Herod the king, who was a foreigner, and a deputy for the Romans, who had lately made Judea a province of the empire. This is taken notice of to show that the sceptre was quite departed from Judah, and therefore that now was the time for Shiloh to come, according to Jacob’s prophecy, Gen. xlix. 10. The family of David was now sunk, when it was to rise, and flourish again, in the Messiah. Note, None ought to despair of the reviving and flourishing of religion, even when civil liberties are lost. Israel enslaved, yet then comes the glory of Israel.

      Now the father of John Baptist was a priest, a son of Aaron; his name Zacharias. No families in the world were ever so honoured of God as those of Aaron and David; with one was made the covenant of priesthood, with the other that of royalty; they had both forfeited their honour, yet the gospel again puts honour upon both in their latter days, on that of Aaron in John Baptist, on that of David in Christ, and then they were both extinguished and lost. Christ was of David’s house, his forerunner of Aaron’s; for his priestly agency and influence opened the way to his kingly authority and dignity. This Zacharias was of the course of Abia. When in David’s time the family of Aaron was multiplied, he divided them into twenty-four courses, for the more regular performances of their office, that it might never be either neglected for want of hands or engrossed by a few. The eighth of those was that of Abia (1 Chron. xxiv. 10), who was descended from Eleazar, Aaron’s eldest son; but Dr. Lightfoot suggests that many of the families of the priests were lost in the captivity, so that after their return they took in those of other families, retaining the names of the heads of the respective courses. The wife of this Zacharias was of the daughters of Aaron too, and her name was Elisabeth, the very same name with Elisheba the wife of Aaron, Exod. vi. 23. The priests (Josephus saith) was very careful to marry within their own family, that they might maintain the dignity of the priesthood and keep it without mixture.

      Now that which is observed concerning Zacharias and Elisabeth is,

      1. That they were a very religious couple (v. 6): They were both righteous before God; they were so in his sight whose judgment, we are sure, is according to truth; they were sincerely and really so. They are righteous indeed that are so before God, as Noah in his generation, Gen. vii. 1. They approved themselves to him, and he was graciously pleased to accept them. It is a happy thing when those who are joined to each other in marriage are both joined to the Lord; and it is especially requisite that the priests, the Lord’s ministers, should with their yoke-fellows be righteous before God, that they may be examples to the flock, and rejoice their hearts. They walked in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless. (1.) Their being righteous before God was evidenced by the course and tenour of their conversations; they showed it, not by their talk, but by their works; by the way they walked in and the rule they walked by. (2.) They were of a piece with themselves; for their devotions and their conversations agreed. They walked not only in the ordinances of the Lord, which related to divine worship, but in the commandments of the Lord, which have reference to all the instances of a good conversation, and must be regarded. (3.) They were universal in their obedience; not that they never did in any thing come short of their duty, but it was their constant care and endeavor to come up to it. (4.) Herein, though they were not sinless, yet they were blameless; nobody could charge them with any open scandalous sin; they lived honestly and inoffensively, as ministers and their families are in a special manner concerned to do, that the ministry be not blamed in their blame.

      2. That they had been long childless, v. 7. Children are a heritage of the Lord. But there are many of his heirs in a married state, that yet are denied this heritage; they are valuable desirable blessings; yet many there are, who are righteous before God, and, if they had children, would bring them up in his fear, who yet are not thus blessed, while the men of this world are full of children (Ps. xvii. 14), and send forth their little ones like a flock, Job xxi. 11. Elisabeth was barren, and they began to despair of ever having children, for they were both now well stricken in years, when the women that have been most fruitful leave off bearing. Many eminent persons were born of mothers that had been long childless, as Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Samson, Samuel, and so here John Baptist, to make their birth the more remarkable and the blessing of it the more valuable to their parents, and to show that when God keeps his people long waiting for mercy he sometimes is pleased to recompense them for their patience by doubling the worth of it when it comes.

      II. The appearing of an angel to his father Zacharias, as he was ministering in the temple, v. 8-11. Zechariah the prophet was the last of the Old Testament that was conversant with angels, and Zacharias the priest the first in the New Testament. Observe,

      1. How Zacharias was employed in the service of God (v. 8): He executed the priest’s office, before God, in the order of his course; it was his week of waiting, and he was upon duty. Though his family was not built up, or made to grow, yet he made conscience of doing the work of his own place and day. Though we have not desired mercies, yet we must keep close to enjoined services; and, in our diligent and constant attendance on them, we may hope that mercy and comfort will come at last. Now it fell to Zacharias’s lot to burn incense morning and evening for that week of his waiting, as other services fell to other priests by lot likewise. The services were directed by lot, that some might not decline them and others engross them, and that, the disposal of the lot being from the Lord, they might have the satisfaction of a divine call to the work. This was not the high priest burning incense on the day of atonement, as some have fondly imagined, who have thought by that to find out the time of our Saviour’s birth; but it is plain that it was the burning of the daily incense at the altar of incense (v. 11), which was in the temple (v. 9), not in the most holy place, into which the high priest entered. The Jews say that one and the same priest burned not incense twice in all his days (there were such a multitude of them), at least never more than one week. It is very probable that this was upon the sabbath day, because there was a multitude of people attending (v. 10), which ordinarily was not on a week day; and thus God usually puts honour upon his own day. And then if Dr. Lightfoot reckon, with the help of the Jewish calendars, that this course of Abia fell on the seventeenth day of the third month, the month Sivan, answering to part of May and part of June, it is worth observing that the portions of the law and the prophets which were read this day in synagogues were very agreeable to that which was doing in the temple; namely, the law of the Nazarites (Num. vi.), and the conception of Samson, Judg. xiii.

      While Zacharias was burning incense in the temple, the whole multitude of the people were praying without, v. 10. Dr. Lightfoot says that there were constantly in the temple, at the hour of prayer, the priests of the course that then served, and, if it were the sabbath day, those of that course also that had been in waiting the week before, and the Levites that served under the priests, and the men of the station, as the Rabbin call them, who were the representatives of the people, in putting their hands upon the head of the sacrifices, and many besides, who, moved by devotion, left their employments, for that time, to be present at the service of God; and those would make up a great multitude, especially on sabbaths and feast-days: now these all addressed themselves to their devotions (in mental prayer, for their voice was not heard), when by the tinkling of a bell they had notice that the priest was gone in to burn incense. Now observe here, (1.) That the true Israel of God always were a praying people; and prayer is the great and principal piece of service by which we give honour to God, fetch in favours from him, and keep up our communion with him. (2.) That then, when ritual and ceremonial appointments were in full force, as this of burning incense, yet moral and spiritual duties were required to go along with them, and were principally looked at. David knew that when he was at a distance from the altar his prayer might be heard without incense, for it might be directed before God as incense, Ps. cxli. 2. But, when he was compassing the altar, the incense could not be accepted without prayer, any more than the shell without the kernel. (3.) That is not enough for us to be where God is worshipped, if our hearts do not join in the worship, and go along with the minister, in all the parts of it. If he burn the incense ever so well, in the most pertinent, judicious, lively prayer, if we be not at the same time praying in concurrence with him, what will it avail us? (4.) All the prayers we offer up to God here in his courts are acceptable and successful only in virtue of the incense of Christ’s intercession in the temple of God above. To this usage in the temple-service there seems to be an allusion (Rev 8:1; Rev 8:3; Rev 8:4), where we find that there was silence in heaven, as there was in the temple, for half an hour, while the people were silently lifting up their hearts to God in prayer; and that there was an angel, the angel of the covenant, who offered up much incense with the prayers of all saints before the throne. We cannot expect an interest in Christ’s intercession if we do not pray, and pray with our spirits, and continue instant in prayer. Nor can we expect that the best of our prayers should gain acceptance, and bring in an answer of peace, but through the mediation of Christ, who ever lives, making intercession.

      2. How, when he was thus employed, he was honoured with a messenger, a special messenger sent from heaven to him (v. 11): There appeared unto him an angel of the Lord. Some observe, that we never read of an angel appearing in the temple, with a message from God, but only this one to Zacharias, because there God had other ways of making known his mind, as the Urim and Thummim, and by a still small voice from between the cherubim; but the ark and the oracle were wanting in the second temple, and therefore, when an express was to be sent to a priest in the temple, an angel was to be employed in it, and thereby the gospel was to be introduced, for that, as the law, was given at first very much by the ministry of angels, the appearance of which we often read of in the Gospels and the Acts, though the design both of the law and of the gospel, when brought to perfection, was to settle another way of correspondence, more spiritual, between God and man. This angel stood on the right side of the altar of incense, the north side of it, saith Dr. Lightfoot, on Zacharias’s right hand; compare this with Zech. iii. 1, where Satan stands at the right hand of Joshua the priest, to resist him; but Zacharias had a good angel standing at his right hand, to encourage him. Some think that this angel appeared coming out of the most holy place, which led him to stand at the right side of the altar.

      3. What impression this made upon Zacharias (v. 12): When Zacharias saw him, it was a surprise upon him, even to a degree of terror, for he was troubled, and fear fell upon him, v. 12. Though he was righteous before God, and blameless in his conversation, yet he could not be without some apprehensions at the sight of one whose visage and surrounding lustre bespoke him more than human. Ever since man sinned, his mind has been unable to bear the glory of such revelations and his conscience afraid of evil tidings brought by them; even Daniel himself could not bear it, Dan. x. 8. And for this reason God chooses to speak to us by men like ourselves, whose terror shall not make us afraid.

      III. The message which the angel had to deliver to him, v. 13. He began his message, as angels generally did, with, Fear not. Perhaps it had never been Zacharias’s lot to burn incense before; and, being a very serious conscientious man, we may suppose him full of care to do it well, and perhaps when he saw the angel he was afraid lest he came to rebuke him for some mistake or miscarriage; “No,” saith the angel, “fear not; I have no ill tidings to bring thee from heaven. Fear not, but compose thyself, that thou mayest with a sedate and even spirit receive the message I have to deliver thee.” Let us see what that is.

      1. The prayers he has often made shall now receive an answer of peace: Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard. (1.) If he means his particular prayer for a son to build up his family, it must be the prayers he had formerly made for that mercy, when he was likely to have children; but we may suppose, now that he and his wife were both well stricken in years, as they had done expecting it, so they had done praying for it: like Moses, it sufficeth them, and they speak no more to God of that matter, Deut. iii. 26. But God will now, in giving this mercy, look a great way back to the prayers that he had made long since for and with his wife, as Isaac for and with his, Gen. xxv. 21. Note, Prayers of faith are filed in heaven, and are not forgotten, though the thing prayed for is not presently given in. Prayers made when we were young and coming into the world may be answered when we are old and going out of the world. But, (2.) If he means the prayers he was now making, and offering up with his incense, we may suppose that those were according to the duty of his place, for the Israel of God and their welfare, and the performance of the promises made to them concerning the Messiah and the coming of his kingdom: “This prayer of thine is now heard: for thy wife shall shortly conceive him that is to be the Messiah’s forerunner.” Some of the Jewish writers themselves say that the priest, when he burnt incense, prayed for the salvation of the whole world; and now that prayer shall be heard. Or, (3.) In general, “The prayers thou now makest, and all thy prayers, are accepted of God, and come up for a memorial before him” (as the angel said to Cornelius, when he visited him at prayer, Act 10:30; Act 10:31); “and this shall be the sign that thou are accepted of God, Elisabeth shall bear thee a son.” Note, it is very comfortable to praying people to know that their prayers are heard; and those mercies are doubly sweet that are given in answer to prayer.

      2. He shall have a son in his old age, by Elisabeth his wife, who had been long barren, that by his birth, which was next to miraculous, people might be prepared to receive and believe a virgin’s bringing forth of a son, which was perfectly miraculous. He is directed what name to give his son: Call him John, in Hebrew Johanan, a name we often meet in the Old Testament: it signifies gracious. The priests must beseech God that he will be gracious (Mal. i. 9), and must so bless the people, Num. vi. 25. Zacharias was now praying thus, and the angel tells him that his prayer is heard, and he shall have a son, whom, in token of an answer to his prayer, he shall call Gracious, or, The Lord will be gracious,Isa 30:18; Isa 30:19.

      3. This son shall be the joy of his family and of all his relations, v. 14. He shall be another Isaac, thy laughter; and some think that is partly intended in his name, John. He shall be a welcome child. Thou for thy part shall have joy and gladness. Note, Mercies that have been long waited for, when they come at last, are the more acceptable. “He shall be such a son as thou shalt have reason to rejoice in; many parents, if they could foresee what their children will prove, instead of rejoicing at their birth, would wish they had never been; but I will tell thee what thy son will be, and then thou wilt not need to rejoice with trembling at his birth, as the best must do, but mayest rejoice with triumph at it.” Nay, and many shall rejoice at his birth; all the relations of the family will rejoice in it, and all its well-wishers, because it is for the honour and comfort of the family, v. 58. All good people will rejoice that such a religious couple as Zacharias and Elisabeth have a son, because they will give him a good education, such as, it may be hoped, will make him a public blessing to his generation. Yea, and perhaps many shall rejoice by an unaccountable instinct, as a presage of the joyous days the gospel will introduce.

      4. This son shall be a distinguished favourite of Heaven, and a distinguished blessing to the earth. The honour of having a son is nothing to the honour of having such a son.

      (1.) He shall be great in the sight of the Lord; those are great indeed that are so in God’s sight, not those that are so in the eye of a vain and carnal world. God will set him before his face continually, will employ him in his work and send him on his errands; and that shall make him truly great and honourable. He shall be a prophet, yea more than a prophet, and upon that account as great as any that every were born of women, Matt. xi. 11. He shall live very much retired from the world, out of men’s sight, and, when he makes a public appearance, it will be very mean; but he shall be much, he shall be great, in the sight of the Lord.

      (2.) He shall be a Nazarite, set apart to God from every thing that is polluting; in token of this, according to the law of Nazariteship, he shall drink neither wine nor strong drink,–or, rather, neither old wine nor new; for most think that the word here translated strong drink signifies some sort of wine, perhaps those that we call made wines, or any thing that is intoxicating. He shall be, as Samson was by the divine precept (Judg. xiii. 7), and Samuel by his mother’s vow (1 Sam. i. 11), a Nazarite for life. It is spoken of as a great instance of God’s favour to his people that he raised up of their sons for prophets, and their young men for Nazarites (Amos ii. 11), as if those that were designed for prophets were trained up under the discipline of the Nazarites; Samuel and John Baptist were; which intimates that those that would be eminent servants of God, and employed in eminent services, must learn to live a life of self-denial and mortification, must be dead to the pleasures of sense, and keep their minds from every thing that is darkening and disturbing to them.

      (3.) He shall be abundantly fitted and qualified for those great and eminent services to which in due time he shall be called: He shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb, and as soon as it is possible he shall appear to have been so. Observe, [1.] Those that would be filled with the Holy Ghost must be sober and temperate, and very moderate in the use of wine and strong drink; for that is it that fits him for this. Be not drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit, with which that is not consistent, Eph. v. 18. [2.] It is possible that infants may be wrought upon by the Holy Ghost, even from their mother’s womb; for John Baptist even then was filled with the Holy Ghost, who took possession of his heart betimes; and an early specimen was given of it, when he leaped in his mother’s womb for joy, at the approach of the Saviour; and afterwards it appeared very early that he was sanctified. God had promised to pour out his Spirit upon the seed of believers (Isa. xliv. 3), and their first springing up in a dedication of themselves betimes to God is the fruit of it, Luk 1:4; Luk 1:5. Who then can forbid water, that they should not be baptized who for aught we know (and we can say no more of the adult, witness Simon Magus) have received the Holy Ghost as well as we, and have the seeds of grace sown in their hearts? Acts x. 47.

      (4.) He shall be instrumental for the conversion of many souls to God, and the preparing of them to receive and entertain the gospel of Christ, Luk 1:16; Luk 1:17.

      [1.] He shall be sent to the children of Israel, to the nation of the Jews, to whom the Messiah also was first sent, and not to the Gentiles; to the whole nation, and not the family of the priests only, with which, though he was himself of that family, we do not find he had any particular intimacy or influence.

      [2.] He shall go before the Lord their God, that is, before the Messiah, whom they must expect to be, not their king, in the sense wherein they commonly take it, a temporal prince to their nation, but their Lord and their God, to rule and defend, and serve them in a spiritual way by his influence on their hearts. Thomas knew this, when he said to Christ, My Lord and my God, better than Nathanael did, when he said, Rabbi, thou are the king of Israel. John shall go before him, a little before him, to give notice of his approach, and to prepare people to receive him.

      [3.] He shall go in the spirit and power of Elias. That is, First, He shall be such a man as Elias was, and do such work as Elias did,–shall, like him, preach the necessity of repentance and reformation to a very corrupt and degenerate age,–shall, like him, be bold and zealous in reproving sin and witnessing against it even in the greatest, and be hated and persecuted for it by a Herod and his Herodias, as Elijah was by an Ahab and his Jezebel. He shall be carried on in his work, as Elijah was, by a divine spirit and power, which shall crown his ministry with wonderful success. As Elias went before the writing prophets of the Old Testament, and did as it were usher in that signal period of the Old-Testament dispensation by a little writing of his own (2 Chron. xxi. 12), so John Baptist went before Christ and his apostles, and introduced the gospel dispensation by preaching the substance of the gospel doctrine and duty, Repent, with an eye to the kingdom of heaven. Secondly, He shall be that very person who was prophesied of by Malachi under the name of Elijah (Mal. iv. 5), who should be sent before the coming of the day of the Lord. Behold, I send you a prophet, even Elias, not Elias the Tishbite (as the LXX. has corruptly read it, to favour the Jews’ traditions), but a prophet in the spirit and power of Elias, as the angel here expounds it.

      [4.] He shall turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, shall incline their hearts to receive the Messiah, and bid him welcome, by awakening them to a sense of sin and a desire of righteousness. Whatever has a tendency to turn us from iniquity, as John’s preaching and baptism had, will turn us to Christ as our Lord and our God; for those who through grace are wrought upon to shake off the yoke of sin, that is, the dominion of the world and the flesh, will soon be persuaded to take upon them the yoke of the Lord Jesus.

      [5.] Hereby he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, that is, of the Jews to the Gentiles; shall help to conquer the rooted prejudices which the Jews have against the Gentiles, which was done by the gospel, as far as it prevailed, and was begun to be done by John Baptist, who came for a witness, that all through him might believe, who baptized and taught Roman soldiers as well as Jewish Pharisees, and who cured the pride and confidence of those Jews who gloried in their having Abraham to their father, and told them that God would out of stones raise up children unto Abraham (Matt. iii. 9), which would tend to cure their enmity to the Gentiles. Dr. Lightfoot observes, It is the constant usage of the prophets to speak of the church of the Gentiles as children to the Jewish church, Isa 54:5; Isa 54:6; Isa 54:13; Isa 60:4; Isa 60:9; Isa 62:5; Isa 66:12. When the Jews that embraced the faith of Christ were brought to join in communion with the Gentiles that did so too, then the heart of the fathers was turned to the children. And he shall turn the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, that is, he shall introduce the gospel, by which the Gentiles, who are now disobedient, shall be turned, no so much to their fathers the Jews, but to the faith of Christ, here called the wisdom of the just, in communion with the believing Jews; or thus, He shall turn the hearts of the fathers with the children, that is, the hearts of old and young, shall be instrumental to bring some of every age to be religious, to work a great reformation in the Jewish nation, to bring them off from a ritual traditional religion which that had rested in, and to bring them up to substantial serious godliness: and the effect of this will be, that enmities will be slain and discord made to cease; and they are at variance, being united in his baptism, will be better reconciled one to another. This agrees with the account Josephus gives of John Baptist, Antiq. 18. 117-118. “That he was a good man, and taught the Jews the exercise of virtue, in piety towards God, and righteous towards one another, and that they should convene and knit together in baptism.” And he saith, “The people flocked after him, and were exceedingly delighted in his doctrine.” Thus he turned the hearts of fathers and children to God and to one another, by turning the disobedient to the wisdom of the just. Observe, First, True religion is the wisdom of just men, in distinction from the wisdom of the world. It is both our wisdom and our duty to be religious; there is both equity and prudence in it. Secondly, It is not possible but that those who have been unbelieving and disobedient may be turned to the wisdom of the just; divine grace can conquer the greatest ignorance and prejudice. Thirdly, The great design of the gospel is to bring people home to God, and to bring them nearer to one another; and on this errand John Baptist is sent. In the mention that is twice made of his turning people, there seems to be an allusion to the name of the Tishbite, which is given to Elijah, which, some think, does not denote the country or city he was of, but has an appellative signification, and therefore the render it Elijah the converter, one that was much employed, and very successful, in conversion-work. The Elias of the New Testament is therefore said to turn or convert many to the Lord their God.

      [6.] Hereby he shall make ready a people prepared for the Lord, shall dispose the minds of people to receive the doctrine of Christ, that thereby they may be prepared for the comforts of his coming. Note, First, All that are to be devoted to the Lord, and made happy in him, must first be prepared and made ready for him. We must be prepared by grace in this world for the glory in the other, by the terrors of the law for the comforts of the gospel, by the spirit of bondage for the Spirit of adoption. Secondly, Nothing has a more direct tendency to prepare people for Christ than the doctrine of repentance received and submitted to. When sin is thereby made grievous, Christ will become very precious.

      IV. Zacharias’s unbelief of the angel’s prediction, and the rebuke he was laid under for that unbelief. He heard all that the angel had to say, and should have bowed his head, and worshipped the Lord, saying, Be it unto thy servant according to the word which thou hast spoken; but it was not so. We are here told,

      1. What his unbelief spoke, v. 18. He said to the angel, Whereby shall I know this? This was not a humble petition for the confirming of his faith, but a peevish objection against what was said to him as altogether incredible; as if he should say, “I can never be made to believe this.” He could not but perceive that it was an angel that spoke to him; the message delivered, having reference to the Old-Testament prophecies, carried much of its own evidence along with it. There are many instances in the Old Testament of those that had children when they were old, yet he cannot believe that he shall have this child of promise: “For I am an old man, and my wife hath not only been all her days barren, but is now well stricken in years, and not likely ever to have children.” Therefore he must have a sign given him, or he will not believe. Though the appearance of an angel, which had long been disused in the church, was sign enough,–though he had this notice given him in the temple, the place of God’s oracles, where he had reason to think no evil angel would be permitted to come,–though it was given him when he was praying, and burning incense,–and though a firm belief of that great principle of religion that God has an almighty power, and with him nothing is impossible, which we ought not only to know, but to teach others, was enough to silence all objections,–yet, considering his own body and his wife’s too much, unlike a son of Abraham, he staggered at the promise,Rom 4:19; Rom 4:20.

      2. How his unbelief was silenced, and he silenced for it.

      (1.) The angel stops his mouth, by asserting his authority. Doth he ask, Whereby shall I know this? Let him know it by this, I am Gabriel, v. 19. He puts his name to his prophecy, doth as it were sign it with his own hand, teste meipso–take my word for it. Angels have sometimes refused to tell their names, as to Manoah and his wife; but his angel readily saith, I am Gabriel, which signifies the power of God, or the mighty one of God, intimating that the God who bade him say this was able to make it good. He also makes himself known by this name to put him in mind of the notices of the Messiah’s coming sent to Daniel by the man Gabriel,Dan 8:16; Dan 9:21. “I am the same that was sent then, and am sent now in pursuance of the same intention.” He is Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, an immediate attendant upon the throne of God. The prime ministers of state in the Persian court are described by this, that they saw the king’s face, Esth. i. 14. “Though I am now talking with thee here, yet I stand in the presence of God. I know his eye is upon me, and I dare not say any more than I have warrant to say. But I declare I am sent to speak to thee, sent on purpose to show thee these glad tidings, which, being so well worthy of all acceptation, thou oughtest to have received cheerfully.”

      (2.) The angel stops his mouth indeed, by exerting his power: “That thou mayest object no more, behold thou shalt be dumb, v. 20. If thou wilt have a sign for the support of thy faith, it shall be such a one as shall be also the punishment of thine unbelief; thou shalt not be able to speak till the day that these things shall be performed,” v. 20. Thou shalt be both dumb and deaf; the same word signifies both, and it is plain that he lost his hearing as well as his speech, for his friends made signs to him (v. 62), as well as he to them, v. 22. Now, in striking him dumb, [1.] God dealt justly with him, because he had objected against God’s word. Hence we may take occasion to admire the patience of God and his forbearance toward us, that we, who have often spoken to his dishonour, have not been struck dumb, as Zacharias was, and as we had been if God had dealt with us according to our sins. [2.] God dealt kindly with him, and very tenderly and graciously. For, First, Thus he prevented his speaking any more such distrustful unbelieving words. If he has thought evil, and will not himself lay his hands upon his mouth, nor keep it as with a bridle, God will. It is better not to speak at all than to speak wickedly. Secondly, Thus he confirmed his faith; and, by his being disabled to speak, he is enabled to think the better. If by the rebukes we are under for our sin we be brought to give more credit to the word of God, we have no reason to complain of them. Thirdly, Thus he was kept from divulging the vision, and boasting of it, which otherwise he would have been apt to do, whereas it was designed for the present to be lodged as a secret with him. Fourthly, It was a great mercy that God’s words should be fulfilled in their season, notwithstanding his sinful distrust. The unbelief of man shall not make the promises of God of no effect, they shall be fulfilled in their season, and he shall not be for ever dumb, but only till the day that these things shall be performed, and then thy lips shall be opened, that thy mouth may show forth God’s praise. Thus, though God chastens the iniquity of his people with the rod, yet his loving kindness he will not take away.

      V. The return of Zacharias to the people, and at length to his family, and the conception of this child of promise, the son of his old age.

      1. The people staid, expecting Zacharias to come out of the temple, because he was to pronounce the blessing upon them in the name of the Lord; and, though he staid beyond the usual time, yet they did not, as is too common in Christian congregations, hurry away without the blessing, but waited for him, marvelling that he tarried so long in the temple, and afraid let something was amiss, v. 21.

      2. When he came out, he was speechless, v. 22. He was now to have dismissed the congregation with a blessing, but was dumb and not able to do it, that the people may be minded to expect the Messiah, who can command the blessing, who blesseth indeed, and in whom all the nations of the earth are blessed. Aaron’s priesthood is now shortly to be silenced and set aside, to make way for the bringing in of a better hope.

      3. He made a shift to give them to understand that he had seen a vision, by some awful signs he made, for he beckoned to them, and remained speechless, v. 22. This represents to us the weakness and deficiency of the Levitical priesthood, in comparison with Christ’s priesthood and the dispensation of the gospel. The Old Testament speaks by signs, gives us some intimations of divine and heavenly things, but imperfect and uncertain; it beckons to us, but remains speechless. It is the gospel that speaks to us articulately, and gives us a clear view of that which the Old Testament was seen through a glass darkly.

      4. He staid out the days of his ministration; for, his lot being to burn incense, he could do that, though he was dumb and deaf. When we cannot perform the service of God so well as we would, yet, if we perform it as well as we can, God will accept of us in it.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

There was (). Not the usual for “was,” but there arose or came into notice. With this verse the literary Koine of verses 1 to 4 disappears. To the end of chapter 2 we have the most Hebraistic (Aramaic) passage in Luke’s writings, due evidently to the use of documents or notes of oral tradition. Plummer notes a series of such documents ending with Luke 1:80; Luke 2:40; Luke 2:52. If the mother of Jesus was still alive, Luke could have seen her. She may have written in Aramaic an account of these great events. Natural reserve would keep her from telling too much and from too early publicity. Luke, as a physician, would take special interest in her birth report. The supernatural aspects disturb only those who do not admit the real Incarnation of Jesus Christ and who are unable to believe that God is superior to nature and that the coming of the Son of God to earth justifies such miraculous manifestations of divine power. Luke tells his story from the standpoint of Mary as Matthew gives his from the standpoint of Joseph. The two supplement each other. We have here the earliest documentary evidence of the origins of Christianity that has come down to us (Plummer).

Herod, King of Judea (H ). This note of time locates the events before the death of Herod the Great (as he was called later), appointed King of Judea by the Roman Senate B.C. 40 at the suggestion of Octavius and Antony. He died B.C. 4.

Of the course of Abijah ( ). Not in old Greek, but in LXX and modern Greek. Papyri have a verb derived from it, . Daily service (Neh 13:30; 1Chr 25:8) and then a course of priests who were on duty for a week (1Chr 23:6; 1Chr 28:13). There were 24 such courses and that of Abijah was the eighth (1Chr 24:10; 2Chr 8:14). Only four of these courses (Jedaiah, Immer, Pashur, Harim) returned from Babylon, but these four were divided into twenty-four with the old names. Each of these courses did duty for eight days, sabbath to sabbath, twice a year. On sabbaths the whole course did duty. At the feast of tabernacles all twenty-four courses were present.

Of the daughters of Aaron ( ). “To be a priest and married to a priest’s daughter was a double distinction” (Plummer). Like a preacher married to a preacher’s daughter.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

King. A title decreed to Herod by the Roman Senate on the recommendation of Antony and Octavius. The Greek style now gives place to the Hebraized style. See Introduction.

Course [] . Lit., daily service. The college of priests was divided into twenty four courses. Each of these did duty for eight days, from one Sabbath to another, once every six months. The service of the week was subdivided among the various families which constituted a course. On Sabbaths the whole couse was on duty. On feast days any priest might come up and join in the ministrations of the sanctuary; and at the Feast of Tabernacles all the twenty four courses were bound to be present and officiate. The course of Abijah was the eith of the twenty four. See 1Ch 24:10.

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

ANNOUNCEMENT TO ZACHARIAS V. 5-25 (Birth, John the Baptist Foretold)

1) “There was in the days of Herod,” (egeneto en tais hemerais Herodou) “There existed or lived in the days of Herod;” Herod the Great, Mat 2:1, during the reign of Herod, who ruled over Galilee, Samaria, and most of Peraea.

2) “The king of Judea,” (basileos tes loudaias) “Who was king of Judea,” at that time. He was the first king of Judah who was not of Jewish extraction or race. Therefore with him the sceptre had departed from Judah, for “Shiloh”, the peace giving one had come, Gen 49:10.

3) “A certain priest named Zacharias,” (hiereus tis onomati Zacharias) “A particular (certain special) priest known by name as. Zacharias,” which means “whom Jehovah remembers,” and He did.

4) “Of the course of Able:” (eks ephemerias Abia) “Out of or from the course, order, or lineage of Abia,” a course of daily service for a week; Abia also known as Abijah was eighth of the twenty-four classes of priests instituted by David, 1Ch 24:10.

5) “And his wife was of the daughters of Aaron,”(kai gune auto ek ton thugateron Aaron) “And his wife was out of the line of the daughters of Aaron,” also a priestly lineage, as well as Zacharias.

6) “And her name was Elizabeth.” (kai to onoma autes Elisabet) “And the name of her was Elizabeth,” which means “worshipper of God.”

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

Luke very properly begins his Gospel with John the Baptist, just as a person who was going to speak about the daylight would commence with the dawn. For, like the dawn, he went before the Sun of Righteousness, which was shortly to arise. Others also mention him, but they bring him forward as already discharging his office. Luke secures our respect for him, while he is yet unborn, by announcing the miracles of divine power which took place at the earliest period of his existence, and by showing that he had a commission from heaven to be a prophet, ere it was possible for men to know what would be his character. His object was that John might afterwards be heard with more profound veneration, when he should come forth invested with a public office to exhibit the glory of Christ.

5. In the days of Herod This was the son of Antipater, whom his father elevated to the throne, and labored with such assiduity and toil to advance, that he was afterwards surnamed Herod the Great Some think that he is here mentioned by Luke, because he was their first foreign king; and that this was a suitable time for their deliverance, because the scepter had passed into a different nation. But they who speak in this manner do not correctly understand Jacob’s prophecy, (Gen 49:10,) in which the advent of the Messiah is promised not merely after the royal authority had been taken from the Jews, but after it had been removed from the tribe of Judah. The holy patriarch did not even intimate that the tribe of Judah would be stripped of its supremacy, but that the government of the people would steadily remain in it until Christ, in whose person its permanency would at length be secured. When the Maccabees flourished, the tribe of Judah was reduced nearly to a private rank; and shortly afterwards, John, the latest leader of that race, was slain. But even at that time, its power was not completely annihilated; for there still remained the Sanhedrim, or Council selected out of the family and descendants of David, which possessed great authority, and lasted till the time of Herod, who, by a shocking slaughter of the judges, revenged the punishment formerly inflicted on himself, when he was condemned for murder, and forced to undergo voluntary exile, in order to escape capital punishment.

It was not, therefore, because he was of foreign extraction, that the reign of Herod broke the scepter of the tribe of Judah, (Gen 49:10😉 but because whatever relics of superior rank still lingered in that tribe were entirely carried off by his robbery. That its royal dignity had crumbled down long before, and that by slow degrees its supremacy had nearly given way, does not imply such a discontinuance as to be at variance with Jacob’s prophecy. For God had promised two things seemingly opposite; that the throne of David would be eternal, (Psa 89:29,) and that, after it had been destroyed, he would raise up its ruins, (Amo 9:11😉 that the sway of his kingly power would be eternal, and yet that there should come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, (Isa 11:1.) Both must be fulfilled. That supremacy, therefore, which God had bestowed on the tribe of Judah, was suffered by him to be broken down for a time, that the attention of the people might be more strongly directed to the expectation of Christ’s reign. But when the destruction of the Sanhedrim appeared to have cut off the hope of believers, suddenly the Lord shone forth. Now, it belongs to the arrangement of history to mark the date of the transaction; but for no light reason did the word king mark, at the same time, the wretchedness of that period, in order to remind the Jews, that their eyes ought now to be turned to the Messiah, if they would sincerely keep the covenant of God.

Zacharias, of the course of Abia We learn from sacred history, (1Ch 24:3,) that the families of the priests were arranged by David in certain classes. In this matter David attempted nothing contrary to what the law enjoined. God had bestowed the priesthood on Aaron and his sons, (Exo 28:1.) The other Levites were set apart to inferior offices, (Num 3:9.) David made no change in this respect; but his object was, partly to secure that nothing should be done in tumult and disorder, partly to oppose ambition, and at the same time to provide that it should not be in the power of a few persons, by taking the whole service into their own hands, to leave the greater number unemployed at home. Now in that arrangement, Abijah, son of Eleazar, held the eighth rank, (1Ch 24:10.) Zacharias, therefore, belonged to the priestly family, and to the posterity of Eleazar who had succeeded his father in the high priest’s office, (Num 20:28.) In what manner Elisabeth, who was of the daughters of Aaron, could be Mary’s cousin, ( v. 36,) I will explain in the proper place. It is certainly by way of respect that Luke mentions the genealogy of Elisabeth; for Zacharias was permitted by the law to take to wife a daughter of any private Levite. From the equal marriage, therefore, it is evident that he was a man respected among his own rank.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

CRITICAL NOTES

Luk. 1:5. Herod, the king of Juda.He also ruled over Galilee, Samaria, and the greater part of Pera. He was the son of Antipater, an Edomite, and had been imposed upon the Jewish nation by the Romans. The sovereignty of Herod and the enrolment under Csar Augustus (Luk. 2:1) are indications of the fact that the sceptre had departed from Judah (Gen. 49:10), and that the appearance of the Messiah might now be looked for. A certain priest.Not the high priest. Of the course of Abia.The priests descended from Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron, were divided by David into twenty-four courses, each of which ministered in the Temple for one week (1Ch. 24:1-19). Only four of the twenty-four returned from exile in Babylon; these were again divided into twenty-four classes, and the original names were assigned to them. This is alluded to in Neh. 13:30. Course. is properly a daily service, but came to denote the class which served in the Temple for a week.

Luk. 1:6. Commandments and ordinances.It seems arbitrary to distinguish between these as some do, and to understand them to denote moral and ceremonial precepts respectively,

Luk. 1:7.Childlessness was regarded among the Jews as a great misfortune. It is several times spoken of in the Old Testament as a punishment for sin (see Luk. 1:25).

Luk. 1:9. His lot.The various offices were distributed among the priests by lot: the most honourable was this of burning incense, the act being a symbol of acceptable prayer rising to God, no priest was allowed to perform it more than once. This day, therefore, would have been a most memorable one in the life of Zacharias, even apart from the vision. The temple.I.e. the sanctuary, in which was the altar of incense, as distinguished from the outer court, in which the people were praying.

Luk. 1:10. The time of incense.Probably at the time of the morning sacrifice.

Luk. 1:11. An angel.St. Luke both in this Gospel and in the Acts dwells frequently on the ministry of angels. The right side.A circumstance which seems to have no more significance than as marking the definiteness of the vision.

Luk. 1:13. Thy prayer.For a son; a prayer formerly offered, but to which he had now ceased to expect an answer. John.Jehochananthe favour of Jehovah.

Luk. 1:15. Shall drink neither wine nor strong drink.He shall be a Nazarite (Num. 6:3), separate from the world to God like Samson and Samuel. Cf. Eph. 5:18 for a similar contrast between the false excitement of drunkenness and spiritual fervour.

Luk. 1:17. Before Him.I.e. before the Lord their God, manifest in the flesh. A very clear testimony to the divinity of Christ. The angel making no express mention of Christ in this passage, but declaring John to be the usher or standard-bearer of the eternal God, we learn from it the eternal divinity of Christ (Calvin). Spirit.Disposition. Power.Zeal and energy, or mighty endowments. There is one point of difference between Elijah and John BaptistJohn did no miracle.

Luk. 1:18.Grotius here remarks on the difference in the cases of Abraham (Gen. 15:8) and Zacharias, as to the same action. The former did not ask for a sign from distrust in the promise of God, but for confirmation of his faith; whereas the latter had no true faith at all, and did not as the former turn from natural causes to the great First Cause. Hence, though a sign was given to him, it was a judicial infliction likewise, for not believing; though wisely ordained to be such as should fix the attention of the Jews on the promised child (Bloomfield).

Luk. 1:19. Gabriel.Name means man of God; appeared to Daniel (Dan. 8:16; Dan. 9:21), and to the blessed Virgin (Luk. 1:26). Only two angels are mentioned by name in Scripture: Gabriel and Michael (Dan. 9:21; Jud. 1:9)the one announces Gods purposes, the other executes Gods decrees. Stand in the presence of God.I.e. in attendance, or ministering to: a figure derived from the customs of Oriental courts. He says this to accredit himself as a Divine messenger, and to assure Zacharias that the promise would be performed. To shew glad tidings.Or, to preach the gospel. St. Luke uses the word more than twenty times in his Gospel and in the Acts, and it is common in the Pauline writings; but it is only found elsewhere in the New Testament in 1Pe. 1:12; Mat. 11:5.

Luk. 1:21. He tarried so long.It was customary for the priest at the time of prayer not to remain long in the holy place, for fear the people who were without might imagine that any vengeance had been inflicted on him for some informality, as he was considered the representative of the people.

Luk. 1:22. He beckoned unto them.R.V. he continued making signs unto them.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Luk. 1:5-25

Human Life at its best.We see here

I. Human life at its best.

1. A devout and blameless course of conduct.
2. Honourable descent.
3. Sacred calling.
4. The enjoyment of high privilegethat of being chosen to offer the incense which symbolised the prayers of the nation.

II. Yet at its best human life is compassed about with sorrows and weaknesses.Sorrows:

1. The heart of the man is troubled by his own personal affliction, especially as childlessness was regarded in Israel as an indication of Divine displeasure.
2. The heart of the priest could not but be wrung by the sinful state of the nation of whom he was the representative before God. Weaknesses:
1. He is overcome by fear at the sight of a messenger from the God whom he served so zealously.
2. He is slow of heart to believe the promise made to him, though it was but the fulfilment of his own prayers.

III. The Divine compassion.

1. Towards this lonely pair in filling their hearts with joy and gladness.
2. Towards the nation in sending one who would prepare them to receive their Redeemer.
3. In inflicting merely a transitory punishment for unbelief.

SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Luk. 1:5-25

Luk. 1:5. A certain priest.One of the special purposes of St. Lukes Gospel is to display the sacerdotal office and sacrificial efficacy of Christ, the true priest, and victim of the whole human race; and he aptly begins his Gospel by showing that the Levitical priesthood and sacrifices were imperfect and transitory, but had a sacred purpose as preparatory and ministerial to the priesthood and sacrifice of Christ.Wordsworth.

In the days of Herod.It makes a great deal of difference in what times and amid what circumstances and influences a man lives. In godly days it is not remarkable that one should live righteously; but when the prevailing spirit is unrighteous, the life that is holy and devout shines with rare splendour, like a lamp in the darkness. Such were the times and the spirit of the days of Herod, and such were the lives of the blameless old pair here mentioned. Amid almost universal corruption, they lived in piety and godly simplicity. The lesson is, that it is not necessary for us to be like other people, if other people are not what they ought to be. The darker the night of sin about us, the clearer should be the light that streams from our life and conduct.Miller.

Luk. 1:6. A Definition of a Holy Character and Life.

1. Piety towards God: it is a real and not an apparent goodness, for it is an omniscient Judge who here pronounces sentence of approval: it is manifested in a habitual obedience to all the various commandments and ordinances of God (walking describes habitual action).

2. Good repute with men: irreproachable or blameless. Both elements are essential to a perfect character, and it is to be noted that righteousness towards God will always, where it is genuine, include blamelessness towards men. A man may win the approval of his fellows, and yet be neglectful of his duties towards God; but no one can be approved of God, and yet fail to deserve the respect of all who know him.

Both righteous.The peaceful, pious home of the old priest is beautifully outlined. Somewhere in the hill country, in quiet seclusion, the priestly pair lived in cheerful godliness, and their content marred only by the absence of child voices in their quiet house. They presented a lovely example of Old Testament piety in a time of declension. Inwardly, they were righteous before God; outwardly, their lives were blamelessly conformed to His commandments and ordinances, not in absolute sinless perfection, but in the true spirit of Old Testament religion. Earth shows no fairer sight than where husband and wife dwell as heirs together of the grace of life and fellow-helpers to the truth. The salt of a nation is in its pious home life.Maclaren.

Before God.It is not enough to have human commendation. How do we stand before God? How does our life appear to Him? No matter how men praise and commend, if as God sees us we are wrong. We are in reality just what we are before Godnothing less, nothing more. The question always to be asked is, What will God think of this?Miller.

A Righteous Life.Zacharias is the first man of whom the Gospels tell us. He was righteous before God. This was shown by

1. His blameless life.
2. His faithful service as Gods priest.
3. His prayerful spirit.
4. His heartfelt praise.

Luk. 1:8. While he executed the priests office.How solemnly, how divinely, the holy drama of a new revelation opens! An angel from heaven, a man on earth,these are invariably the two chief characters in the sacred story; heaven acting upon earth, man brought into contact with the beings of the invisible world. On one hand, an Israelite,one of the peculiar people to whom the promises belong; more, one of its priests appointed to plead for God to man, and for man to God; one specially chosen out of the chosen nation. On the other, I, Gabriel, that stand before the presence of God. The scene is the most sacred spot of the whole earth, of the Land of Promise, of the city of the great Kingnamely, the sanctuary of Gods house; and here, in the most holy retirement, an announcement is made, a dialogue held between the two by the altar of incensetype of the worship of the saintsin the hour of public prayer, while Israel is imploring the blessing of Jehovah. Could the opening of the Divine New Testament drama be more solemn, more appropriate, more Israelitish, more sacred, either as regards person, place, time, or action?Pfenninger.

Luk. 1:10. At the time of incense.The offering of incense was simultaneous with the prayer of the people assembled in the court of the Temple. There was a close relation between these two actions. The one was symbolical, ideal, and therefore perfectly holy in its character: the real prayer offered by the people was of necessity imperfect and tainted by sin. The former covered the latter with its holiness: the latter communicated to the former reality and life. The one was, therefore, complementary to the other.Godet.

Luk. 1:11-79. The Last Messianic Prophecies.The last of the long series of prophecies that foreannounced the Redeemer were in their substance and form unlike any that had preceded, thus marking the advent of a new order of things. St. Luke presents them to us in three most vivid groups, ascending in their gradation of tribute offered to the dignity of Christ.

I. An angel breaks the silence of ages by predicting the birth of the forerunner, but in such a manner as to make the coming of the Lord Himself the burden of his prophecy (Luk. 1:11-20).

II. Then follows the central announcement by an angel to the virgin mother, in which the supremacy of the Saviours personal dignity and kingly rule is testified in terms that are never surpassed in Holy Scripture (Luk. 1:26-38).

III. Finally, the Holy Ghost Himself, taking the angels place, proclaims by Zacharias, the last of the prophets, the future and eternal dominion of the Christ (Luk. 1:67-79).Pope.

Luk. 1:11. An angel.The third Gospel is throughout a gospel of the holy angels, i.e. we read more of their ministry in connection with Jesus than elsewhere. This is especially marked at the outset (Luk. 1:11-26; Luk. 1:35; Luk. 2:9-16). Our most complete revelations, whether of the functions of the holy angels towards the Saviour during His life-walk on earth, or of their relation to us, are to be found in St. Luke. His narrative shows us in detail the living and continuous realisation of the most beautiful vision of the Hebrew storythe angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.Alexander.

On the right side of the altar.The Temple from which the prayers of the people ascended to God is the place where the first sign is given of the coming fulfilment of the national desire and hope of a Deliverer: here in the presence and message of the angel the first rays of light begin to break through the darkness.

Luk. 1:12. He was troubled.Yet the angel had come on an errand of love. All through the Bible we find that people were afraid of Gods angels. Their very glory startled and terrified those to whom they appeared. It is ofttimes the same with us. When Gods messengers come to us on errands of grace and peace we are terrified, as if they were messengers of wrath. The things which we call trials and adversities are really Gods angels, though they seem terrible to us; and if we will only quiet our hearts and wait, we shall find that they are messengers from heaven, and that they have brought blessings to us from God.Miller.

Fear fell upon him.He that had wont to live and serve in presence of the Master was now astonished at the presence of the servant. So much difference is there betwixt our faith and our senses, that the apprehension of the presence of the God of spirits by faith goes down sweetly with us, whereas the sensible apprehension of an angel dismays us. Holy Zachary, that had wont to live by faith, thought he should die when his sense began to be set on work. It was the weakness of him that served at the altar without horror to be daunted with the face of his fellow-servant.Hall.

Luk. 1:13. Fear not.The first recorded words are thus those that banish fearan appropriate prelude to the gospel of peace. St. Lukes last sentence tells of the apostles blessing and praising God (Luk. 24:53).

Soothing Words.The angels message begins, as heavens messages to devout souls ever do, with soothing wordsthe very signature of Divine appearances both in Old and New Testaments. It is like a mothers whisper to a terrified child, and is made still more caressing and assuring by the use of the name Zacharias, and by the assurance that his prayer is heard. Note how the names of the whole future family are in this verse, as token of the intimate and loving knowledge which God has of each.Maclaren.

Thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son.What other home in Israel could have been the training-ground of the prophet? What more fitting nursery for a personal force, inspired by and steeped in the Scriptures, unindebted and indeed hostile to contemporary urban authority and petrified traditionalism? The prophet did not owe all his originality and unique moral force to himself. His character owed its primary development to the home of a devout priest, blessed by an immediate Divine revelation, and living in the light of a recognised Divine purpose.Vallings.

Prayer granted at last.Thy prayer is heard. That this prayer was not one which Zacharias had offered that day is quite evident; for when the angel told him that it was to be granted to him he was surprised, and doubted as to the possibility of its being granted. It was, therefore, a prayer which he had offered years before, and which now perhaps he had forgotten, until the angel brought it to his remembrance. At any rate, for some time, perhaps for a long time past, he had given up all thoughts of receiving an answer. Yet though he may have forgotten it, God had it in remembrance. In a general way we all believe and admit that the omniscient God is acquainted with all our thoughts, and with the circumstances of our lives; but we can scarcely help being surprised at every new proof we receive of the fact that God knows our individual desires, and the trials and difficulties of our individual lot. Such wonderful acquaintance and sympathy with the sorrow that lay beneath the surface of Zacharias life is now shown in the message sent to him. From it he might learn, and we may learn, three great lessons:

I. That delay is not necessarily refusal.There may be delay in answering prayer, which simply means that God is postponing, and not refusing, the gift of those things which we ask from Him. We should, indeed, be prepared for this; but in our actual experience we are often surprised and perplexed by it. The spiritual blessings of pardon and of help in time of need are, we believe, instantly given. God would no more delay giving them than a parent would delay giving food to his hungry child. But other thingsthings which we believe would be for our present advantage and comfortHis higher wisdom may lead Him to withhold, or to delay giving.

II. That God is not strict to punish our loss of faith.Our ceasing to offer the prayer which has not been granted, and even our becoming incredulous as to the possibility of receiving it, do not necessarily preclude our getting the benefit we desire. God does, indeed, require us to manifest faith in order that we may receive; but He is merciful towards our spiritual infirmities, and is not strict to withhold what we may have become unworthy to receive. The strong faith we once had may receive its rewarda reward which rebukes the unbelief into which we may have fallen, and arouses us out of it.

III. That the purpose of the delay may have been to give a fuller and more satisfying answer to our prayer.Thus was it in the case of Zacharias. The son for whose birth he had longed was predestined to be the forerunner of Christ. It was only now, when the angel appeared to him, that the fulness of time was drawing near for the incarnation of the Son of God, and with this great event the birth of John the Baptist was associated in the counsels of God. Zacharias and Elisabeth were not only blessed with a son, but with a son who was to be the herald of the great King. In this way both the prayer which Zacharias offered this day on behalf to the people that God would hasten the coming of the Messiah, and that which in former years he had offered for himself, were simultaneously granted: both found their fulfilment in what was communicated by the angel. St. Luke elsewhere, in the parables of the selfish neighbour and of the unjust judge, commends importunate prayer, as having power to prevail with God. The example of the fulfilment of Zacharias prayer is full of encouragement for those who cannot, by reason of spiritual infirmity, manifest heroic faith, and take the gate of heaven by storm.

Luk. 1:15. Great in the sight of the Lord.How true this prediction is Christs eulogium witnesses, who declared that no greater had been born of women. Greatness, prophesied by an angel, and attested by Jesus, is greatness indeed. Greatness in the sight of the Lord is measured by very different standards from the worlds. It does not lie in the qualities that make the thinker, the artist, or the poet, but such as make the prophet and the saint. The true ambition is to be great after this patterngreat in dauntless witness for God, in self-suppression, in yearning towards the Christ, in pointing to Him, and in lowly contentment to fade in His light, and decrease that He may increase.Maclaren.

Great in the sight of the Lord.The annunciation of the forerunner by an angel, an honour which he shares with other elect servants of Gods will, derived all its meaning from the glory of the Being whose herald he was. The greatest of the children of men was raised up in this preternatural way, and amidst these circumstantials of dignity, not for His own sake, but that His whole life and mission might proclaim to Israel, Thy King cometh!Pope.

Great in the sight of the Lord.Truly great, then; for just what a man is in Gods eyes that is he indeed, neither more nor less. A silent hint also that no earthly greatness is to be expected; for that which is highly esteemed before men is an abomination in the sight of the Lord.Lange.

He shall drink neither wine nor strong drink.The strongly marked features in the habits of the Nazarite should be viewed as typically teaching that not only the ministers, but all the people of God, should abstain from sin, be temperate in all things, be superior to earthly pleasures and cares, and be altogether a peculiar people, distinguished from men of the world.Foote.

Filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mothers womb.As the more plentiful influence of the Spirit was in John an extraordinary gift of God, it ought to be observed that the Spirit is not bestowed on all from their very infancy, but only when it pleases God. John bore from the womb a token of future rank. Saul, while tending the herd, remained long without any mark of royalty, and when at length chosen to be king was suddenly turned into another man (1Sa. 10:6). Let us learn from this example that, from the earliest infancy to the latest old age, the operation of the Spirit in men is free.Calvin.

Luk. 1:16. Many shall he turn to the Lord their God.The word of John was one of preparation and turning mens hearts towards God. It was a concentration of the spirit of the law, whose office it was to convince of sin, and he eminently represented the law and the prophets in their work of preparing the way for Christ.Alford.

Luk. 1:17. The spirit and power of Elias.I.e. after the model of that distinguished reformer, and with like success in turning hearts. Strikingly, indeed, did John resemble Elias: both fell on evil times, both witnessed fearlessly for God; neither was much seen, save in the direct exercise of their ministry; both were at the head of schools of disciples; the result of the ministry of both might be expressed in the same termsmany of the children of Israel did they turn to the Lord their God (Brown).

Turn the hearts of the fathers to the children.The true sense of these words seems to me to be indicated by other prophetic passages, such as Isa. 29:22, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale, when he seeth his children [become] the work of Mine hands; Isa. 63:16, Though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not, thou, O Lord, art our father. Abraham and Jacob, in the place of their rest, blushed at the sight of their guilty descendants, and turned away their faces from them; but now they will return with satisfaction towards them, in consequence of the change produced by the ministry of John. The words of Jesus, Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it, and was glad (Joh. 8:56), prove that there is some reality beneath these poetic images. In this sense we can easily explain the modification introduced into the latter part of the passage: the children who return to their fathers are the Jews of the time of the Messiahthe children of the obedient, who return to the wisdom of the holy patriarchs.Godet.

And the disobedient to the wisdom of the just.The very substitution of this clause for the original of Malachi, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, seems suggestive at least of the connection between filial estrangement and a general ungodlinessbetween a heart undutiful and a heart irreverent, a son alienated from his father and a man alienated from his God. He shall turn the hearts of the children to their fathers is, in other words, he shall turn the disobedient to the wisdom of the just. It is remarkable, in this connection, that we do not find any express mention, in the Baptists ministry, of a special appeal to parents and children, such as he addressed to the soldiers, the publicans, the Pharisees, or the people at large. Parental and filial discord was not so much one single example, it was a general description rather, of the dislocation and disorganisation of society which the Baptist was sent to remonstrate with and to heal.Vaughan.

Luk. 1:19-20. I am Gabriel thou shalt be mute.In comparison with the angels man in his present state seems but a feeble creature. He is subject for the time being to their control, and they rule over him. In all their communications with men they show that they mean to be believed and obeyed. They are not to be trifled with, any more than physical nature itself, and cannot leave the authoritative station in which the eternal Word has ranged them.Mason.

Luk. 1:20. Thou believest not.In the words actually employed by Zacharias, and the blessed Virgin Mary, respectively (see Luk. 1:34), there does not seem to be much difference; but the speakers were very diversely affected. While hers was the hesitation of faith (see Luk. 1:45), which timidly asked for explanation, his was the reluctance of unbelief, which required a sign. Hence her doubt was solved, his punished.Burgon.

Luk. 1:22. Remained speechless.Origen, Ambrose, and Isidore see in the speechless priest vainly endeavouring to bless the people a fine image of the law reduced to silence before the first announcement of the gospel.Farrar.

Beckoned unto them.The sign given to Zacharias was one that both chastised and humbled him. His infirmity becomes a sign to him of the power of God. In like manner Jacob was lame after he had wrestled with the angel and prevailed: Saul was blind after he had been overcome by the Lord Jesus on the way to Damascus (Luk. 1:24-25).

Luk. 1:24. Hid herself.The reason for Elisabeths seclusion is doubtless that given by Godet. From the fifth month the fact of a womans pregnancy can be recognised. She will remain in seclusion until it becomes evident that God has indeed taken away the reproach of childlessness. As he points out, the combination of womanly pride and of humble gratitude to God is a very natural trait of character, and one not likely to occur to a forger of a later age, who might be supposed to have invented these incidents.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Butlers Comments

SECTION 3

Preparing for the Redeemer (Luk. 1:5-25)

5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9according to the custom of the priesthood, it fell to him by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.

13But the angel said to him, Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

14And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth;

15for he will be great before the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mothers womb.

16And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God,

17and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.

18And Zechariah said to the angel, How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years. 19And the angel answered him, I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news. 20And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time. 21And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they wondered at his delay in the temple. 22And when he came out, he could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he made signs to them and remained dumb. 23And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she hid herself, saying, 25Thus the Lord has done to me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

Luk. 1:5-12 Persons: God chose the days of Herod (the Great) to send the Redeemer of mankind to the world. Herod was made king of the Jews by the Roman emperor. He was not a Jew but an Idumean (Edomite) a descendant of Esau. Ethnically he was what we would think of today as an Arabian. The Roman conquest of Palestine was repugnant to most Jews to begin with. But their bitterness was even more agitated when the Romans appointed an Arab to rule over them. Herod was an able administrator, promoter of extravagant public building projects (which required exorbitant taxation), and a crafty politician. He was also cruel, sadistic and suspicious. He had ten wives and many children. He nearly succeeded in obliterating the Jewish royal family (Hasmoneans) through assassinations and executions. He ordered the execution of the wife he loved most, Mariamne (a Hasmonean princess). Then he had her two sons slain along with five sons of his by various other wives. He heard rumors they were trying to wrest his throne from him. The Roman emperor Augustus (Octavian) said, It is better to be Herods pig than his son. He was joking that Herod would have more scruples against violating Jewish tradition than murdering his relatives! When Herod was about to die, he ordered that all the most important men of the kingdom be executed to insure that there would be mourning during his funeral. He was the Herod who ordered the slaughter of the babies of Bethlehem (Mat. 2:16-23). He reigned from 37 B.C. to 4 B.C.

Herod was the personification of the condition of the world when God began to make preparations for His Redeemer to be sent. Herods world was cruel, materialistic, hateful, exploitative, cynical and filled with despair. The Jewish people suffered much at the hands of their rulers. When Herod and the Romans were not oppressing them, their own religious leaders were. The religious life of the Jews (an integral part of their social and political life) had lost its vitality and helpfulness. The Pharisees had made their traditions a burden almost impossible to bear; the Sadducees were using religion to amass personal fortunes.
The prophets of the Old Testament had spoken concerning an age of glorious righteousness and abundant spirituality for the Jewish people. But the last prophet had spoken 400 years earlier and Jehovah had not said anything to His people since then. The days of Herod were most unlikely days for God to begin preparations for the Redeemer! Modern man with his Madison Avenue techniques would not have planned it so. But Gods ways are higher than mens. It is all the more significant that in such a condition and time God chose to act in history for the accomplishment of His eternal redemptive purpose. God was ready to demonstrate His sovereignty. The time (Gal. 4:4) had come! And despite a people and a religion saturated with materialism, cynicism and despair, there was still a faithful remnant, a few godly, obedient, believing people Jehovah could use to be the instruments of His will.

An aged priest and his wife were chosen by Jehovah to become parents of a son who would later be called the greatest of all those born of woman (Mat. 11:11), and he would be the Way-Preparer for the Messiah. Zechariah means, Jehovah remembers, and Elizabeth means, the oath of God. God had solemnly promised to send the Redeemer, and He remembered His oath. Zechariah was a priest and his wife, Elizabeth, was a daughter of a priest.

There were twenty-four courses (shifts) of priests, that of Abijah was the eighth shift. There were some twenty thousand priests altogether taking turns at officiating at the temple in Jerusalem. This would mean there were about 900 priests in each shift. Each shift served for a week twice a year burning incense, sacrificing, caring for the showbread and scores of other duties. Not all the priests lived in Jerusalem. Some lived in villages and cities scattered throughout Judea and came to Jerusalem only when they were on duty. The various duties were rotated among the shifts and on Sabbaths the whole shift served. During the three great feasts, Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles, all 24 shifts served.
Zechariah and Elizabeth had taken the law of the Lord seriously all their lives. They loved it and obeyed it. Undoubtedly they had been reared in godly homes. The Greek word for blameless is amemptoi and literally means, unblamed ones. It is the same word the apostle Paul used of himself in Php. 3:6. There is another word translated unblemished and that is amomos, used in Eph. 5:27. Of course, these two were not sinless. Any man who says he is without sin (Rom. 3:23; 1Jn. 1:10) contradicts the Word of God. But this good man and his wife believed the sweet singer of Israel (Psa. 119:1-176) and delighted to walk in the law of the Lord. Yet in spite of their superlative spiritual qualifications, how will God be able to use them as His instruments for the birth of the Way-Preparer? Elizabeth was barren and they were both beyond the normal age for child-bearing. The Greek word for barren is steira from which the English word sterile comes. Elizabeths sterility cannot thwart the Lord God Almighty. God has two willing, obedient people and He can carry out His will through them. He is sovereign Lord of all that is. The Bible is a historical record of Jehovahs countless supernatural interventions in His creation to carry on redemptions work. The whole Jewish nation came into being when God gave Abraham and the barren Sarah a child.

It was Zechariahs turn to burn incense. The inside of the Temple-building was exactly like the inside of the Tabernacle. The Holy Place contained the Table of Showbread, the Menora (candelabra), and the Altar of Incense. Outside the Temple-building was the Altar of Burnt Offering and the Laver. Inside the Holy of Holies was where the Ark of the Covenant was supposed to be. Only the High Priest could enter there and only once a year on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). Incense was burned on this altar (which stood just in front of the veil which separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies) every morning and every evening so that it was literally, perpetual (cf. Exo. 30:8). It was customary for the Jews to stop whatever they were doing each day at these times of burning the incense in the temple and pray. Many made a special trip to the Temple courts to pray at those hours. It was one of the greatest experiences in the life of an ordinary priest of the Jews to be chosen to burn the incense. But this day was going to be much greater than Zechariah expected.

Suddenly there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar. Zechariahs reaction was trouble and fear (phobos, in Greek). What would you do if an angel appeared to you? Daniel fainted (Dan. 10:8-9). God used angels many times in ages past to assist Him in His redemptive work, Sometimes they appeared as men (Gen. 18:1-33). God is able to make His angels wind and fire (Heb. 1:7), and sends them forth as ministering spirits to serve for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation (Heb. 1:14). Angels do not necessarily have to take human form to do Gods service. Some, entertaining strangers, have entertained angels unawares (cf. Heb. 13:2). Perhaps God still sends angels occasionally to protect or serve His saints. The book of Revelation seems to indicate angels were active in the service of God to bring about the downfall of the Roman empire (the great harlot, Babylon). Luke, cautious, discriminating and diligent scientist-historian was convinced of the reality of angels. There is no valid reason for us to dispute Lukes research. Thus the scene is set for Gods first announcement concerning the Redeemer since the days of Malachi the prophet, 400 years ago.

Luk. 1:13-17 Pronouncement: Zechariah may have feared the angel was to signal some judgment from God. But the angel had news that would bring great joy to Zechariah and his wifetheir prayers for a child were to be answered with a Yes! Their child would be no ordinary child. His whole life was to be totally dedicated to Gods service. First, they were to give the child a name already selected in heaven. John means gift of God, or Gods grace. This child was the gift of Gods grace to more people than Zechariah and Elizabeth. He would cause many to rejoice at his birth. The ministry of John the Baptist was cause for great excitement in the Jewish nation (cf. Mat. 3:5; Mar. 1:5; Luk. 3:15; Joh. 1:19-28). He was fearless in his attacks upon ungodliness in places both high and low. He preached with authority and eloquence. He lived a life of righteous austerity quite unlike the indulgent, self-serving living common among the religious leaders of that day. But more important, he heralded the coming of the Messiah! He was filled with the Holy Spirit, from the day of his birth. It is interesting that John the Baptist, so far as the inspired record goes, worked no miracles. He healed no ones illnesses, he spoke in no foreign language (tongues), he raised no one from the dead, and worked no miracles upon nature, yet he was filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit filled John to give him divine guidance in identifying and testifying to the work of the Messiah (cf. Joh. 1:6; Joh. 1:29-42). God distributed His miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His will (cf. Heb. 2:1-18; 1Co. 12:4-6). And John the Baptist proves conclusively that being filled with the Spirit does not necessitate speaking in tongues!

This child to be born of these aged, godly people would begin the fulfillment of Malachis prophecies (cf. Mal. 3:1-5; Mal. 4:5). Malachi predicted both the Messiah (Messenger of the Covenant) and the Way-Preparer (Elijah). The prophecies of Malachi (and Isa. 40:1-8) should be read in connection with this lesson. Johns mission was much broader than merely reuniting families. He would aim at reuniting the whole nation of Israel with the doctrines and practices of its godly forefathers (Abraham, Moses, David, the prophets). The prophecy of Luk. 1:17 must be understood in this sense. Godet says, It will be Johns mission . . . to reconstitute the moral unity of the people by restoring the broken relation between the patriarchs and their degenerate descendants. G. Campbell Morgan states it, In other words, he will come to restore primal ideals . . . to turn these renegade people back to the patriarchs . . . and to the things for which they stood. The heart of Abraham, friend of God (Rom. 4:1-25; Jas. 2:21-26), the heart of Moses, in fact, the heart of all the faithful (Heb. 11:1-40) is what John would try to put within the children of Israel. The Greek word epistrepsai is translated turn and is sometimes translated converted. It means literally, to turn toward, to turn oneself around, to return. Another interesting word in the Greek text is kateskeuasmenon, translated prepared. It is a perfect tense verb meaning, already having been prepared. In other words, John is to prepare a people who have already been prepared to some extent. Their entire history was that of preparation for one great eventthe producing of the worlds Savior. The birth of one in the spirit and power of Elijah signals that event is imminent! An aged priest and his barren wife from a little village of the hills of Judea are announced as the instruments of Jehovah to give birth to Elijah!

Luk. 1:18-25 Phenomenon: Zechariah cannot believe all this. A son, perhaps, but the Elijah predicted by Malachithat is too much! Hobbs notes, And it has ever been thus when men look at God through their problems rather than to view their problems through the power of God. If we have seed-like faith (living, germinating faith) no obstacle is too overpowering to keep us from doing the will of God. It is not quantity but quality of faith that Jesus seeks (Mat. 17:20; Mat. 21:20-22). After all, the power is not in us or even in our faith, but in the object of our faith, Almighty God.

G. Campbell Morgan does not believe the angel intended to punish Zechariah in making him deaf and dumb for a season, but merely gave him the sign he asked for. Gabriel is one of two angels named in the Bible (cf. Luk. 1:26; Dan. 8:16; Dan. 9:21), the other is Michael (Jud. 1:9; Rev. 12:7; Dan. 10:13; Dan. 10:21; Dan. 12:1). There appears to be some rebuke in the words, . . . because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, so we believe Zechariah was being chastened, at least, while also being given proof that this messenger is declaring the word of God and what he says will indeed come to pass! The affliction of Zechariah was also a sign to the worshipping crowd that he had seen a vision. Zechariah had been in the temple longer than usual. The Talmud says that even the high priest did not tarry long in the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement. The people customarily waited in the outer court for the priest burning incense to come out and dismiss them with a blessing. Zechariah apparently signaled the blessing with his hands only or indicated that the blessing would not be said that day. Zechariah continued ministering in the temple until his shift was over unable to hear or speak, then he and Elizabeth returned to their village in the hills of Judea.

Shortly after their trip home, Elizabeth conceived. Zechariah probably found some way to communicate to Elizabeth what had happened to him in the temple. While the conception took place by natural means and was quite different than Marys conception by the Holy Spirit, Elizabeths was still supernatural in the contravening of her sterility. Elizabeth hid herself from the public (known to Mary, of course) until time for the birth of her son. Some think her reticence was due to embarrassment over pregnancy at her advanced age. Others think she wanted solitude due to the sanctity of the entire experience. Still others think she was afraid to let it be known until she was sure she could prove it. We dont really know why she hid herself.
Morgan summarizes, Human failure everywhere, but the Divine victory is clearly seen . . . . in the midst of human failure, God needed, and He found, loyal souls as His vantage ground . . . all members of an elect remnant, living in the remembrance and truth of the past. There God found vantage ground, set down His foot, and marched on toward the great event; the coming into human life in the Person of His Son, and all that followed thereupon.

STUDY STIMULATORS:

1.

Is it important to know the historical background of cultural, political and social events and persons surrounding the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus? What were they?

2.

Do you think it was coincidence or providence that Zechariah was chosen to burn incense during his course at the temple?

3.

Why didnt God choose a younger priest whose wife was not sterile to give birth to the Way-Preparer for the Messiah?

4.

Did Zechariah really see an angel? How can we be sure?

5.

What is so unique about John the Baptists being filled with the Holy Spirit?

6.

How is John to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children? Did he do it? How many and what kind of people gave attention to Johns preaching?

7.

Did Zechariah believe the angel? How did the angel help him believe? How much faith does one need to overcome and be powerful?

8.

What do you think Lukes purpose was in tracing the gospel all the way back to this experience of Zechariah and Elizabeth?

Appleburys Comments

CHAPTER ONE

The Promise of the Birth of John

Scripture

Luk. 1:5-25 There was in the days of Herod, king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abijah: and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

8 Now it came to pass, while he executed the priests office before God in the order of his course, 9 according to the custom of the priests office, his lot was to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: because thy supplication is heard, and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name Joh. 14:1-31 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. 15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mothers womb. 16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn unto the Lord their God. 17 And he shall go before his face in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to walk in the wisdom of the just; to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him. 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. 19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak unto thee, and to bring thee these good tidings. 20 And behold, thou shalt be silent and not able to speake, until the day that these things shall come to pass, because thou believedst not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. 21 And the people were waiting for Zacharias, and they marvelled while he tarried in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: and he continued making signs unto them, and remained dumb. 23 And it came to pass, when the days of his ministration were fulfilled, he daparted unto his house.

24 And after these days Elisabeth his wife conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, 25 Thus hath the Lord done unto me in the days wherein he looked upon me, to take away my reproach among men.

Comments

in the days of Herod.This is Herod the Great, king of Judea. He died shortly after the birth of Jesus. He was an Idumean, that is, a descendant of Esau. Luke also mentions Herod the king in Act. 12:1 without saying that he was the grandson of this one mentioned in Luk. 1:5. Theophilus must have been aware of these details and did not need to have them pointed out to him. His full title was Herod Agrippa I. He was the father of King Agrippa before whom Paul made his defense. Another son of Herod the Great was Archelaus who ruled in Judea after the death of his father (Mat. 2:22). Herod the tetrarch, another son of Herod the Great, ruled in Galilee and figured in the trial of Jesus (Luk. 23:7-12). This whole family from the grandfather who slew the babes at the birth of Jesus to the king before whom Paul made his defense seems to be arrayed against Christ and His church.

Herodias was the daughter of Aristobulus, another son of Herod the Great. She married her uncle, Philip I, but left him to marry another uncle, Herod the tetrarch. John the Baptist was beheaded by this Herod at the request of Salome the daughter of Herodias, because he condemned the marriage.

the course of Abijah.In the days of David the priests were organized into twenty-four groups, the eighth of which was that of Abijah. Each group in turn performed the functions of the priesthood. The arrangement was still in force in the days of Zacharias.

Zacharias . . . Elizabeth.This childless old couple were descendants of Aaron. They were righteous before God. Luke says that in Gods sight they lived a blameless life in accord with all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. He doesnt say that they had never committed a sin, but they were not habitually sinning for they were blameless in the sight of the Lord.

John the Baptist had the good fortune to have parents who set the proper example for him. Every child has the right to have such a background, but, unfortunately, very few do. Timothy, devoted servant of the Lord that he was, had two generations of faithful ones back of him (2Ti. 1:5). How we should thank the Lord for our godly parents! The return to Gods standard for the home is one of the crying needs of this day.

It has been said repeatedly that no one could live up to the requirements of the law, but Luke affirmsand he had researched these reports so that he was sure of his groundthat the parents of John did. God has not required us to do the impossible, and all of us at all times should try to do all things He has told us in His Word to do. See Jas. 1:18-25.

his lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.the altar of incense stood before the curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. While the priest was burning the incense, the people were outside praying. Some believe that a priest got to perform this task only once in a lifetime.

there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord.Zacharias was greatly disturbed when he saw the angel standing at the right side of the altar. But the angel spoke reassuringly to him and told him that his prayer had been heard and that Elizabeth would bear a son and that he should name him John.

In the days of the fathers, God spoke on many occasions in many ways as He revealed His will to them. For example, the angel of the Lord spoke to Gideon in the days of the Judges (Jdg. 6:11-12). He does not speak to us in this manner, for at the end of these days of revelation He spoke with finality and completeness and authority in the One who bears the name Son (Heb. 1:1-2). We have that messagea message that is just as up-to-date now as it was when first spokenin the Bible.

he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit.What is said about John who was to be great in the sight of the Lord and drink no wine or strong drink reminds us of the Nazarite vow. The law of the Nazarite is given in Num. 6:1-8. Samson was a Nazarite; he was to be dedicated to the Lord all the days of his life (Jdg. 13:7). Hannah promised the Lord that she would give her son, Samuel, to the Lord all the days of his life and that no razor should touch his head (1Sa. 1:11). Apparently, John also conformed to this law, for he dedicated himself to the Lord all the days of his life.

This background sheds light on the meaning of the words about Johns being filled with the Holy Spirit from the time of his birth. Note the difference between this and what is said about Elizabeths being filled with the Holy Spirit (Luk. 1:41). She was given power by the Holy Spirit to speak words of praise. The same is true of Zacharias (Luk. 1:67) and of the apostles and prophets (Act. 2:1-4; 2Pe. 1:21). But it cannot be said that John was inspired by the Holy Spirit to speak from the time of his birth. His inspiration as a prophet is accounted for in Joh. 3:34. But John was filled with a spirit of dedication and consecration to the Lord from the time of his birth.

Luke says that Barnabas was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith (Act. 11:24), but this does not indicate that he was inspired like Elizabeth or Zacharias. This may be the reason he went to Tarsus and found Saulan inspired apostleand brought him to Antioch where for a whole year they taught the people. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the believer, in all probability, implies not miraculous power but consecration to the Lord, for every baptized believer in the Lord is to live a life of dedication from the time of his new birth.

in the spirit and power of Elijah.The prophecy of Elijahs coming is found in Mal. 4:5. When the Jews asked John, Art thou Elijah? he said, I am not for he was not literally Elijah. See Joh. 1:21. But Jesus indicates that the prophecy of Malachi was fulfilled in Johnthat is, figuratively, he was Elijah. See Mat. 11:14; Mat. 17:10-13. Luke says that John came in the spirit and power of Elijah and this explains why Jesus said he was Elijah. John was like Elijah in life and mission.

turn the hearts of the fathers to the children.Johns mission in preparing a people for the Lord involved turning the interest of the fathers to their children (Deu. 6:6-9) and the children to obey their parents (Exo. 20:12; Eph. 6:1-4; Mal. 4:4-6). Many people were turned to the Lord by Johns preaching.

Whereby shall I know this?Zacharias is not the only one to ask for evidence on which to base his belief: Gideon did; Thomas did. See Jdg. 6:36-40 and Joh. 20:24-29. But since Zacharias didnt believe the word of the angel Gabriel, he was given a sign that would not only establish it in his mind but also cause the people to see that something unusual had happened while he was in the temple. John was a man sent from God (Joh. 1:6).

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(5) There was in the days of Herod.The writer begins, as he had promised, with the first facts in the divine order of events. The two chapters that follow have every appearance of having been based originally on an independent document, and that probably a Hebrew one. On its probable sources, see Introduction. On Herod and this period of his reign, see Notes on Mat. 2:1.

Zacharias.The name (= he who remembers Jehovah, or, perhaps, he whom Jehovah remembers,) had been borne by many in the history of Israel, among others by the son of Jehoiada (2Ch. 24:20), and by the prophet of the return from the Babylonian Captivity.

Of the course of Abia.The Greek word so translated implies a system of rotation, each set or course of the priests serving from Sabbath to Sabbath. That named after Abia, or Abijah, appears in 1Ch. 24:10 as the eighth of the twenty-four courses into which the houses of Eleazar and Ithamar were divided by David. On the first return from the Captivity only four of these courses are mentioned as having come back to Jerusalem (Ezr. 2:36-39), and the name Abijah is not one of them. It appears, however, in later lists (Neh. 10:7; Neh. 12:4; Neh. 12:17), and the four-and-twenty sets were probably soon re-organised.

His wife was of the daughters of Aaron.The priests were free to marry outside the limits of their own caste under certain limitations as to the character of their wives (Lev. 21:7), and the fact of a priestly descent on both sides was therefore worth noticing.

Her name was Elisabeth.The name in its Hebrew form of Elisheba had belonged to the wife of Aaron, who was of the tribe of Judah (Exo. 6:23), and was naturally an honoured name among the daughters of the priestly line. It appears in an altered form (Jehovah being substituted for El) in Jehosheba, the wife of the priest Jehoiada (2Ki. 11:2).

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

3. ELISABETH’S CONCEPTION, Luk 1:5-25 .

Luke now opens his gospel history with the striking scene which announced the approaching birth of John, the harbinger of Jesus.

During the 400 years preceding the account now to be narrated, neither vision nor miracle had been vouchsafed by God to his people. As the old canon closed with the prediction by Malachi that the coming of Elijah should precede the advent of the Messiah, so the first action of the new is to announce the true Elijah’s birth. God did but honour the ordinances of his own appointment when he made his temple the place, his priesthood the instrument, and his service the time of the initial movement.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

5. Days of Herod Herod, surnamed the Great. See note on Mat 2:1.

Course of Abia Abijah. See 1Ch 24:3 ; 1Ch 24:10; 1Ch 24:19; also, Neh 12:1; Neh 12:4; Neh 12:17. When the sons of Aaron became too numerous, David divided them into twenty-four courses, or classes. Each class had supervision of the daily service of the temple for a week. The priests for each day of the week were selected from the class by lot. On the return from the captivity but four courses were left, which were again divided into twenty-four. The course of Abia, being the eighth, it has been calculated officiated April 17-23, and in October 3-9.

His wife was of the daughters of Aaron Both John’s parents were of priestly rank, the most honourable nobility among the Jews. It is a saying of R. Jochanan, “He that would be rich, let him join himself to the seed of Aaron; for so it is, that the law and the priesthood make rich. R. Idi bar Abin married a priestess, and from him proceeded those that were made doctors, namely, R. Shecheth, and R. Joshua.” And so Josephus says, “As among different nations there are different sorts of nobility, so with us the sharing of the priesthood is token of illustrious rank.” And so the learned Greek Jew of Alexandria, the celebrated Philo, a contemporary of Jesus, loftily said, “As far as God surpasses man in greatness, so far the high-priesthood surpasses the royalty; for the former is the service of God, the latter the care of men.” The two illustrious births now about to be announced were to be from the daughters of the sacred line of Aaron and the royal line of David.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘There was in the days of Herod, king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abijah: and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.’

Herod, king of Judaea (this is to be seen as Judaea in its widest sense, the lands of the Jews, including Samaria, Galilee and Peraea – compare Act 2:9; Act 10:37), otherwise known as Herod the Great, reigned from c. 37 BC to around 5 to 1 BC. The latter dating depends mainly on whether the coins issued by his sons were ‘optimistically’ dated or not, and on which eclipse of the moon Josephus was referring to. These are the main bases for dating the time of Herod’s death. If the enrolment of Joseph at the time of Jesus’ birth was that of the celebration of the 25th year of Augustus’ reign, when a decree went out that all men of quality should declare their loyalty to Caesar, it occurred in 3 BC which would suggest that 1 BC may well be correct for the death of Herod, and would indicate that his death occurred shortly after his slaughtering of the innocent babes in Bethlehem, which took place within the two years after Jesus’ birth (Mat 2:16).

But for Israel those were dark days. They did not relish being under the Roman yoke, nor did they like having an Idumaean king. He may have commenced the rebuilding of the Temple, but he was only a ‘half-Jew’ (descended from the Edomites who had been forced to be circumcised under John Hyrcanus), and he had also built pagan temples and other pagan buildings in the land. Furthermore he was a bloodthirsty tyrant, as dangerous to his wife and children as to anyone else. He was, of course, submissive to Rome, for it was from Rome that he gained his authority. He would not have been king otherwise. And that too would put him in disfavour. Thus Luke is stressing that it was in the days of such a king, tyrannical, bloodthirsty, treacherous (in Jewish eyes), and totally worldly, that God revealed His plan to raise up the true ‘son of David’ promised by the Scriptures. There could have been no greater contrast.

Zacharias was a priest of the course of Abijah. Since the time of David the priesthood had been split into twenty four courses, one of which was the course of Abijah. History had to some extent decimated those courses, but they had been re-established again from what remained. These ‘courses’ took it in turns to staff the Temple services, each course being on duty for a week twice a year, with all present for the great feasts, and because there were so many priests, lots would be cast to see who should perform what ritual. Because there were so many priests, officially no priest ever had the opportunity to offer the incense more than once in his lifetime. (Those who had done so would be excluded from the lot). Thus what was about to happen to Zacharias was a once in a lifetime sacred moment. Zacharias’ wife was also a daughter of Aaron, called Elisabeth. So both were of priestly families. It was considered a blessing to a woman of Israel to be married to a priest, and for a priest to marry a wife of priestly descent was seen as a highly respected and honoured thing, and as revealing his dedication to God. So these two, although unknown and living in ‘the hill country of Judaea’, were both seen in Israel as being the salt of the earth.

‘And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.’ This really indicates that they were good living people who sought as best they could to observe God’s requirements. It is not saying that they were perfect. But it demonstrates that their desire was always to please the Lord, and that they were careful to obey His word. In the Old Testament the idea was used in this way of Noah (Gen 6:9).

‘Righteous before God.’ From a human point of view they could not be faulted in their fulfilment of what He required. ‘Ordinances’ – ‘dikaiomasin’ – were something declared to be right.

The name Zacharias (Hebrew Zechariah) means ‘YHWH remembers’. It was very appropriate here for what is about to happen demonstrates that God has not forgotten His people. We do not know the meaning of Elisabeth although attempts have been made.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Zacharias Goes Up to the Temple and Is Promised a Son Who Will Prepare the Way for God’s Messiah, and He is Made Dumb in God’s Presence (1:5-25).

From this point on until the end of chapter 2 all is written in Aramaic Greek in vivid contrast to the classical Greek of Luk 1:1-4, and the more general Greek that follows. This may partly reflect Luke’s sources, but he later has no difficulty in turning his Aramaic sources into more general Greek. Thus we must see the Aramaic Greek here as deliberately retained and expanded on in order to give atmosphere to the story. It reflects the old from which the new will come.

For four hundred years there had been no prophet in Israel. Heaven had been silent, and the people had been waiting for the fulfilment of the last words of the last of the prophets, who had declared on God’s behalf, “Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. And he will turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse” (Mal 4:5-6). And now it is being clearly indicated that those dark days were ended, and God was about to act. Another has come ‘in the Spirit and power of Elijah’ to fulfil the words of Malachi.

It is indeed interesting that those words were spoken by a man who was called Malachi – ‘My messenger’. And now another will arise of whom it is said that he is ‘My messenger’ (Luk 7:27; compare Mat 11:10; Mar 1:2). In the purposes of God, after the passage of the silent years, one messenger takes up where another has left off.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The Vision of Zacharias Regarding the Birth of John the Baptist In Luk 1:5-25 we have the testimony of Zacharias regarding the birth of John the Baptist. The testimonies that Luke compiles in these first two chapters regarding Jesus’ birth and childhood very likely came from the lips of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Thus, Luke reaches as far back in time to record the earliest eye-witness testimonies of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Outline: Here is a proposed outline:

1. A Description of Zacharias and Elisabeth Luk 1:5-7

2. The Angelic Prophecy Given to Zacharias Luk 1:8-20

3. The Fulfillment of the Divine Prophecy Luk 1:21-25

Luke’s Emphasis on Jewish Customs – Luke, a Gentile, in writing to Theophilos, a Roman leader, places a tremendous emphasis upon the customs of the Jews in the story Zacharias and the angel in the Temple predicting the birth of John the Baptist (Luk 1:5-25). Luke’s description of these customs in this passage of Scripture is presented in a way that shows that the Jews held tremendous respect for God. Luke seems to be making an effort to present the Jews as a devout people and not as a cult.

Luk 1:5-7 A Description of Zacharias and Elisabeth Luk 1:5-7 provides the context of the eye-witness account of the angel appearing to Zacharias to announce the birth of his son John the Baptist. These opening verses describe the two main characters involved in this narrative, and the setting in which the vision took place.

Luk 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.

Luk 1:5 “There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea” Comments – Luke is the only Evangelist that calls King Herod by his full title as “the king of Judaea.” Matthew and Mark simply call him King Herod. Luke was placing this title in perspective of the Roman politics of his day. In fact, Luke-Acts is dated and framed around the Roman political system, unlike the other evangelists. Luke asks his reader, Theophilus, to enter his story from a political view, thus alluding to the possibility that Luke wrote his Gospel and Acts as a legal brief.

Luke, a Gentile convert, is probably writing to a Roman government official. Therefore, he begins his narrative by describing the time and setting in a way that an educated Roman would understand. This Roman official would have been familiar with King Herod and the approximate period of his reign over the Jews. He would have some working knowledge of Jewish customs and temple worship.

Smith tells us that Herod the Great, whose name means, “son of a hero,” “was the second son of Antipater,” an Idumean, “who was appointed as procurator of Judea by Julius Caesar” in 47 B.C. Josephus tells us that Antipater appointed his son, Herod, over Galilee shortly thereafter at the age of fifteen (15), and later over Coele-Syria ( Antiquities 14.9.2). However, scholars suggest he was slightly older, since Herod the Great died in 4 B.C. at the age of 69 or 70. In 41 B.C. Mark Antony appointed Herod as tetrarch of Judea. After being forced to flee from Judea the following year, Herod made his way to Rome where he then received the title as king of Judaea ( Antiquities 14.4.4). This is the title that is used in Luk 1:5. With the aid of Roman soldiers Herod the Great took control of Jerusalem in 37 B.C. where he reigned with corruption and cruelty until he died of a terrible illness of body and mind at Jericho, in April, B.C. 4, at the age of sixty-nine (69), after reigning thirty-seven (37) years over Judaea. He is believed to have died the year of Jesus’ birth and to have slaughtered the babies in Bethlehem shortly before his death. Perhaps his greatest accomplishment is the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, called Herod’s Temple. This work began in 20 B.C. and continued after his death.

Luk 1:5 “a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia” Comments – The name Abia is a variant reading of the Hebrew name “Abijah,” which name is used twenty times in the Old Testament to refer to at least six men and two women. We find in 1Ch 24:1-19 how King David organized the priesthood by dividing it into twenty-four courses among the sons of Aaron. The order of Abia was given the eighth having been divided by lot. Thus, Zacharias would have been a descendent of Abia in order to serve under his order.

Luk 1:5 “and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth” Comments – Although a Levite priest could marry from any tribe of Israel, Zechariah’s marriage to a woman of the tribe of Levi, and particularly, from the family of Aaron, reflects his deep devotion to his office as a priest unto the Lord.

The fact that Elisabeth’s genealogy can accurately be traced back fifteen centuries to Aaron, who was the brother of Moses, is supported by the genealogies found in Matthew (Luk 1:1-17) and Luke (Luk 3:23-38). In addition, Josephus tells us that there were indeed public tablets of Jewish ancestry ( The Life of Flavius Josephus 1). Josephus also tells us of the painstaking care that the Jews have taken to keep records as old as two thousand years of their ancestry. All Jews of the Diaspora kept accurate records, which were sent to Jerusalem for safekeeping ( Against Apion 1.7). Eusebius (A.D. 260 to 340), the ancient church historian, testifies to the Jewish tradition of keeping accurate records of their ancestry ( Ecclesiastical History 1.7.13-14).

Luk 1:6  And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

Luk 1:7  And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

Luk 1:6-7 Comments Barrenness Under the Law – Under the Mosaic Law, barrenness was considered a curse, so that a woman without children often felt the reproach of her family and friends, as is mentioned in Luk 1:25. However, Luk 1:6 proclaims her and her husband’s righteousness immediately before describing her barrenness in Luk 1:7, which serves to foreshadow a divine intervention in this couple’s life. Two examples of Old Testament narrative material that begins with similar statements are found in the life of Samson (Jdg 13:2) and Samuel (1Sa 1:1-2), where both mothers were barren, yet gave birth to famous men of God through divine interventions.

Jdg 13:2, “And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.”

1Sa 1:1-2, “Now there was a certain man of Ramathaimzophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite: And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.”

Luk 1:8-20 The Angelic Prophecy Given to Zacharias Luke opens his testimony with a Jewish priest receiving a divine oracle from the Lord through the angel Gabriel.

Oracles in the Ancient World – The concept of a priest receiving a divine oracle was not new to the ancient Greco-Roman world. The classical writers reveal that the concept of sacred mysteries being utters as divine oracles was practiced in the ancient world. Regarding the use of oracles, the ancient Greeks regarded divine oracles as a form of worship until the time of the Persian war (490-479 B.C.). [137] The temple of Apollo located at Delphi was famous in the ancient world for delivering oracles to men by those in a trance, or they interpreted dreams or patterns in nature. [138] The Greek historians Herodotus (484-425 B.C.) [139] and Plutarch (A.D. 46-100) [140] mention this place of oracles in their writings. While the Romans as a nation did not regard oracles as a religious practice, this custom continued within the Empire, but not without the contempt of the Romans. [141] This practice was later outlawed under the Roman emperor Theodosius (A.D. 379-385). [142] King Saul’s visit to the witch of Endor shows its popularity among ancient eastern cultures (1Sa 28:7-25). The damsel who prophesied over Paul and Barnabas in Philippi is an example of the proliferation of divination in the New Testament times (Act 16:16-24). The Sibylline Oracles, [143] a collection of Greek oracles compiled by Jews and Christians in the early centuries before and after Christ, reflect the widespread popularity that the Sibyl prophetesses held in ancient Greek and Roman history. Regarding the concept of “mysteries” ( ) revealed through oracles, Plutarch, writing about the Pythian priestesses who prophesied at Delphi, speaks of “interpreters of the sacred mysteries.” [144] Thus, when Paul refers to the mysteries hidden from the ages being revealed to the Church (Rom 16:25, 1Co 2:7, Eph 1:9; Eph 3:3-4; Eph 3:9; Eph 6:19, Col 1:26; Col 2:2; Col 4:3, 1Ti 3:9), or when Luke, Paul, and Peter speak of the “oracles” ( ) (G3051) of God (Act 7:38, Rom 3:2, Heb 5:12, 1Pe 4:11), they are speaking in a cultural language that the Greeks and Romans understood, where pagans frequently sought oracles through divine utterance at the temples to reveal hidden mysteries for their lives.

[137] C. H. Prichard, “Oracle,” in A Dictionary of the Bible, vol. 3, ed. James Hastings (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1901), 629.

[138] R. F. Youngblood, F. F. Bruce, R. K. Harrison, and Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary, rev. ed. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995), in Libronix Digital Library System, v. 2.1c [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp., 2000-2004), “Oracle.”

[139] Herodotus writes, “and he [Dorieus] asked the Spartans for a company of folks, whom he took away as colonists; he neither enquired of the oracle at Delphi in what land he should plant his settlement, nor did aught else that was customary” ( Histories 5.42) See Herodotus III, trans. A. D. Godley, in The Loeb Classical Library, eds. T. E. Page, E. Capps, and W. H. D. Rouse (London: William Heinemann, 1938), 46-47.

[140] Plutarch tells us that the Sibylline prophetesses of Delphi used poetic verses with their prophecies, saying, “for when we drew near that part of the rock which joins to the senate-house, which by common fame was the seat of the first Sibyl that came to Delphi from Helicon, where she was bred by the MusesSerapio made mention of certain verses of hers, wherein she had extolled herself as one that should never cease to prophesy even after her death” ( Wherefore the Pythian Priestess Now Ceases to Deliver Her Oracles in Verse 9) He later writes, “but I am constrained to claim your first promise, to tell me the reason wherefore now the Pythian prophetess no longer delivers her oracles in poetic numbers and measuresand also the temple of Tellus, to which the oracle appertained, and where the answers were delivered in verses and song.” ( Wherefore the Pythian Priestess Now Ceases to Deliver Her Oracles in Verse 17) See William W. Goodwin, Plutarch’s Essays and Miscellanies, vol. 3 (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1911), 77, 86-87.

[141] The Roman poet Lucan (A.D. 39-65) reflects the contempt for such oracles by the Romans when he writes, “They had now come to the Temple, the only one which among the Libyan nations the uncivilized Garamantes possess. There stands Jupiter, the foreteller of destiny, as they relate; but not either brandishing the lightnings or like to ours, but Ammon with crooked horns.” ( Pharsalia 9.593-598) See H. T. Riley, The Pharsalia of Lucan (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1853), 359.

[142] C. H. Prichard, “Oracle,” In A Dictionary of the Bible, ed. James Hastings (), 629.

[143] The Sibylline Oracles, trans. H. C. O. Lanchester, in The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament in English With Introductions and Critical and Explanatory Notes to the Several Books, vol. 2, ed. R. H. Charles (electronic edition), in Libronix Digital Library System, v. 2.1c [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp., 2000-2004).

[144] Plutarch writes, “The interpreters of the sacred mysteries acted without any regard to us, who desired them to contract their relation into as few words as might be, and to pass by the most part of the inscriptions.” ( Wherefore the Pythian Priestess Now Ceases to Deliver Her Oracles in Verse 2) See William W. Goodwin, Plutarch’s Essays and Miscellanies, vol. 3 (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1911), 70.

Rom 16:25, “Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,”

1Co 2:7, “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:”

Eph 1:9, “Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:”

Eph 3:3-4, “How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)”

Eph 3:9, “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:”

Eph 6:19, “And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,”

Col 1:26, “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:”

Col 2:2, “That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;”

Col 4:3, “Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:”

1Ti 3:9, “Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.”

Act 7:38, “This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:”

Rom 3:2, “Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.”

Heb 5:12, “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.”

1Pe 4:11, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”

The reference to pillars and foundations of the Church in 1Ti 3:15 suggests that Paul had in mind the ancient Greek and Roman temples with their practice of divination, and that he compares this pagan scene of worship to the New Testament Church and the Holy Scriptures, which serve as its pillars and foundation.

Luk 1:8  And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course,

Luk 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.

Luk 1:8-9 Comments – The Order of the Levitical Priestly Service – The order of the Levitical priestly service was established during the time of Moses and the building of the Tabernacle, when the Levites were set apart from the other tribes for divine service (Num 3:5-10; Num 8:6-26). When King David built the Temple in Jerusalem he further organized these priestly duties (1Ch 24:1-19), which order was continued by Solomon (2Ch 8:14), Hezekiah (2Ch 31:2; 2Ch 31:19), and Ezra (Luk 6:18). The Scriptures tell us there were twenty-four orders of priests (1Ch 24:1-19), with Zechariah being of the eighth order of Abijah (1Ch 24:10, Luk 1:5).

1Ch 24:19, “These were the orderings of them in their service to come into the house of the LORD, according to their manner, under Aaron their father, as the LORD God of Israel had commanded him.”

2Ch 8:14, “And he appointed, according to the order of David his father, the courses of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their charges, to praise and minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required: the porters also by their courses at every gate: for so had David the man of God commanded.”

2Ch 31:2, “And Hezekiah appointed the courses of the priests and the Levites after their courses, every man according to his service, the priests and Levites for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister, and to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the tents of the LORD.”

2Ch 31:19, “Also of the sons of Aaron the priests, which were in the fields of the suburbs of their cities, in every several city, the men that were expressed by name, to give portions to all the males among the priests, and to all that were reckoned by genealogies among the Levites.”

Ezr 6:18, “And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses.”

Luk 1:10  And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

Luk 1:10 “And the whole multitude of the people were praying without” – Comments – One thing that the people were praying during this period of history is for the Messiah to come and deliver them from the oppression of the Roman Empire.

Luk 1:10 “at the time of incense” – Comments – The offering of incense represented men’s prayers unto God (Psa 141:2, Rev 5:8; Rev 8:3-4).

Psa 141:2, “Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.”

Rev 5:8, “And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.”

Rev 8:3-4, “And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.”

Luk 1:11  And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

Luk 1:11 Comments – If Theophilus was not familiar with the angelic visits recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures, he was certainly familiar with the mythological visitations described in Roman-Greco mythology.

Luk 1:12  And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

Luk 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.

Luk 1:13 Comments – Zacharias and Elisabeth were now beyond the age of childbearing (Luk 1:7). Luk 1:13 reveals that they had prayed earnestly for a child when they were younger. They had probably long abandoned their hope and earnest prayer for a child because of their old age.

Sometimes our prayers are not answered immediately within the time frame that we want them answered. We see in verse 20 that God did not answer the prayers of this old couple until the time in which they were to be “fulfilled in their season.”

Luk 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 .”

Yet, because Zacharias had sown seeds of prayer for the people of his nation by offering incense in the Temple, he placed himself in a position to receive a blessing. In the fullness of time, their seed produced a harvest.

Luk 1:14  And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.

Luk 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.

Luk 1:15 “and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink” – Comments – The angel’s description of person abstaining from drinking wine nor strong drink is found in the law of the Nazarite (Num 6:1-20) which explains how a man or a woman separates themselves unto the Lord. Zacharias well knew that the angel was telling him that his son would be separated unto God for a special purpose. He knew from Mat 1:16 that this purpose would be to bring the children of Israel back unto their God.

Luk 1:15 “and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb” Comments – Luk 1:15 describes the anointing of John the Baptist from the womb. This is a unique statement in the four Gospels, supporting the secondary theme of Luke, which declares the prophetic utterances of eye-witnesses who testify of the deity of Jesus Christ through the anointing and empowering of the Holy Spirit, which reflects the office and ministry of the prophet. We see this emphasis of the anointing of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ ministry in Luk 4:1, “And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan.” Luke the Evangelist will emphasize this theme at the end of his Gospel when Jesus commissions His disciples in Luk 24:48-49, saying, “And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”

Luk 4:1,”And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,”

Luk 24:48-49, “And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”

Luk 1:15 Comments The experience of an individual being filled with the Holy Spirit was new to mankind, since they were only empowered by the Holy Spirit under the Old Covenant. The Holy Spirit had never dwelt permanently inside a person until the institution of the New Covenant. Samson was a Nazarite with whom the Holy Spirit came upon for a season to empower him to do the work of God, but the Holy Spirit would leave before coming again. In contrast, John the Baptist would be the first to have this type of permanent anointing, followed by Jesus Christ, then the one hundred twenty in the upper room, and the New Testament Church.

Luk 1:16  And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

Luk 1:16 Comments – Luk 1:16 reflects the primary theme of Luke’s Gospel, which declares the deity of Jesus Christ through eyewitnesses. John the Baptist will turn the hearts of many people through his testimony of the deity of Jesus Christ. The phrase “the Lord their God” specifically refers to Jesus Christ, since the next phrase in Luk 1:17 says that John the Baptist will “go before Him,” that is, John will go before and prepare the way for the arrival of Jesus Christ.

Luk 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.

Luk 1:17 “And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias” Comments – As with the statement in the previous verse (Luk 1:15), “and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb,” this statement supports the secondary theme of Luke’s Gospel, which declares that we are to be witnesses of Jesus Christ through the anointing and empowering of the Holy Spirit.

Luk 1:17 “to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children” Comments – One of the characteristics of a depraved society is child abuse. Even today in some of the most wicked societies there is abusive child labour, child trafficking, child slavery, child sex slavery and child sacrificing.

Luk 1:17 Comments Luk 1:17 is a paraphrased quote from Mal 4:5-6.

Mal 4:5-6, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”

As an historian, Luke begins where the Old Testament ends. He breaks four hundred years of silence by announcing the fulfillment of the last prophecy of the Old Testament. Since the Gospel of Luke is built upon prophetic fulfillment, Luke must tie his recorded prophecies to Old Testament prophecies.

Luk 1:17 refers to the anointing of John the Baptist, which reflects the secondary theme of Luke’s Gospel, which states that we are to be witnesses of Jesus Christ through the anointing and empowering of the Holy Spirit. This anointing that Elijah walked in was an anointing that brought the nation of Israel into a time of national repentance. In like manner, John the Baptist called the nation of Israel into repentance, and the people of that nation followed his call of repentance through water baptism.

Luk 1:16-18 Comments The Character of John the Baptist The description of John the Baptist in Luk 1:16-18 suggests that God forms the character of individuals even while they are in the womb. Any parent knows that each child has a unique character, with different gifts and interests, although they are raised in the same home by the same parent. God gives every person a unique profile and character as a part of His wonderful plan of creation for the human race.

Luk 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.

Luk 1:18 Comments Zacharias responded to Gabriel’s prophecy by asking for a sign to prove that what the angel was telling him was the truth. Thus, the angel met him at his point of faith by giving him a sign, which was to strike him dumb until the day of John’s birth. Zacharias would believe because of this sign. In contrast, the virgin Mary would respond to Gabriel’s prophecy by asking how she would conceive (Luk 1:34), and he responded to her point of faith by explaining how the Holy Spirit would descend upon her so and bring about a miraculous conception. Jesus rebuked the people for seeking after a sign (Mat 12:39; Mat 16:4, Mar 8:12, Luk 11:29). Paul tells us that the Jews required a sign (1Co 1:22).

1Co 1:22, “For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:”

Luk 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.

Luk 1:19 Comments The angel Gabriel appeared to three people in the Scriptures: Daniel (Dan 8:16; Dan 9:21), Zacharias (Luk 1:19), and Mary, the mother of Jesus (Luk 1:26). These are the only times Gabriel is mentioned in the Scriptures. In all three appearances he comes to men and women of God to bring them a message from the Lord.

Luk 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.

Luk 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” Comments We note that Mary believed the words of the angel Gabriel, while Zachariah doubted. As we get older, we tend to become more skeptical in life, while youth tend to be more teachable and easily believe what adults tell them. Zachariah was struck dumb because of his unbelief. Perhaps his unbelief would have brought many negative confessions from his lips, thus hindering the fulfillment of this prophecy from the angel of the Lord. Note the power of the tongue:

Jas 3:6, “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.”

Luk 1:20 “which shall be fulfilled in their season” Comments Each of these eye-witness testimonies leading up to Jesus’ birth contain prophetic utterances. Prophecy, which is the aspect of 5-fold ministry underlying Luke’s Gospel, follows a redemptive timeline that God the Father alone has planned. The phrase “which shall be fulfilled in their season” indicates that not even Gabriel the angel knew the time of their fulfillment.

Luk 1:20 Comments The angel Gabriel struck Zechariah speechless as a sign and confirmation to him that the prophetic word was genuine because of his doubt. In contrast, the angel gave Mary a confirmation when he informed her that her cousin Elisabeth was with child.

Luk 1:21-25 The Fulfillment of the Divine Prophecy Luk 1:21-25 records the fulfillment of the angel Gabriel’s divine prophecy as Zechariah was struck dumb and Elisabeth conceived.

Luk 1:21  And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.

Luk 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.

Luk 1:22 Comments According to Luk 1:22, the people were anticipating Zacharias to speak to them. The Jewish Tamid (7.2) instructs the priest to offer a blessing over the people according to Num 6:24-26 on the steps that ascended to the Sanctuary after the daily sacrifice. [145] Some scholars suggests the possibility that Jesus’ final blessing in Luk 24:50 fulfilled the priestly blessing that Zecharias was not able to perform because the angel struck him with dumbness in the opening passage of Luke’s Gospel (Luk 1:21-22). [146] This blessing would make an appropriate closing to the Gospel, and it alludes the fact that Jesus Christ is now our Great High Priest.

[145] Esther G. Chazon, Ruth A. Clements, and Avital Pinnick, eds, Liturgical Perspectives: Prayer and Poetry in Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls; Proceedings of the Fifth International Symposium of the Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Associated Literature (Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill, 2003), 122.

[146] David L. Allen, “Class Lecture,” Doctor of Ministry Seminar, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 25 July to 5 August 2011; John Nolland, Luke 1:1-9:20 , in Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 35A (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002), in Libronix Digital Library System, v. 2.1c [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp., 2000-2004), comments on Luke 1:22.

Luk 24:50, “And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.”

Num 6:23-27, “Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.”

Luk 1:23  And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.

Luk 1:24  And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,

Luk 1:24 Comments Elisabeth was able to hid her pregnancy for the first five months. However, during the sixth month the angel appears to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and tells her about Elisabeth (Luk 1:26-38). This means that Elisabeth was no longer hidden.

Luk 1:25  Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

Luk 1:25 Comments The Jews of this day believed that a woman was barren because of divine judgment. This is because the blessings and favor of God described in the Mosaic Law promised to bless the fruit of the womb. The word “men” is used in Luk 1:5 to refer to men and woman, especially to her immediate relatives and friends.

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Prophetic Witnesses Predicting the Birth of Jesus ( Luk 1:5-80 ) – Luk 1:5-80 gives three testimonies as prophecies predicting Jesus’ divine birth and His predestined office and ministry as Saviour of the world.

1. The Vision of Zacharias ( Luk 1:5-25 ) Luk 1:5-25 contains the vision of Zacharias, in which the angel Gabriel gives Zacharias a prophecy of the birth of his son, who will go forth as a herald of the coming of the Lord. This passage concludes with Zacharias and Elisabeth awaiting the fulfillment of this prophecy after having conceived (Luk 1:24-25).

Luk 1:24-25, “And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.”

2. The Prophecies of Gabriel, Elisabeth, & Mary ( Luk 1:26-56 ) Luk 1:26-56 contains three prophecies of Gabriel, Mary, and Elisabeth predicting the birth of the Saviour, who is to be named Jesus. This passage concludes with Mary awaiting this birth in fulfillment of prophecy (Luk 1:56).

Luk 1:56, “And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.”

3. The Prophecy of Zacharias ( Luk 1:57-80 ) Luk 1:57-80 contains the prophecy of Zacharias, who offers praise for the coming Saviour and a prediction of the office and ministry of his son John the Baptist. This passage concludes with the child in the desert awaiting his manifestation to Israel in fulfillment of this prophecy (Luk 1:80).

Luk 1:80, “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.”

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Prophetic Witnesses of Jesus’ Birth (God the Father’s Predestination) ( Luk 1:5-80 ) and Infancy and Childhood (God the Father’s Calling) ( Luk 2:1-52 ) – Luk 1:5-80 gives three testimonies of prophecies predicting Jesus’ divine birth and His predestined office and ministry as Saviour of the World, while Luk 2:1-52 gives three prophetic witnesses of Jesus’ infancy and childhood. These six prophetic witnesses of His birth and childhood reveal the fact that Jesus Christ has been predestined to His divine office as the Saviour of the World. In contrast, Matthew’s parallel account emphasizes the birth of the Messiah as a King. Matthew’s Gospel introduces the King in a way that follows proper protocol for royalty. Matthew reveals Jesus as a descendent of the royal lineage of King David and the fulfillment of the promises that God made to Abraham. Luke’s genealogy reveals Him as the promised seed of woman.

Outline Here is a proposed outline:

A. Three Prophetic Witnesses of Jesus’ Birth Luk 1:5-80

1. The Vision of Zacharias Luk 1:5-25

2. The Prophecy of Mary Luk 1:26-56

3. The Prophecy of Zacharias & Elisabeth Luk 1:57-80

B. Three Prophetic Witnesses of Jesus’ Infancy & Childhood Luk 2:1-52

1. The Prophetic Witness of the Shepherds at His birth Luk 2:1-20

a) The Birth of Jesus Luk 2:1-7

b) The Witness of the Shepherds Luk 2:8-20

2. Two Prophetic Witnesses in the Temple at His Dedication Luk 2:21-38

a) The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple Luk 2:21-24

b) The Witness of Simeon Luk 2:25-35

c) The Witness of Anna Luk 2:36-38

d) Jesus Returns to Nazareth Luk 2:39-40

3. The Prophetic Witness of the Jesus’ Childhood in the Temple Luk 2:41-52

Luke’s Prophetic Witnesses – After four hundred hears of silence, God was not speaking to His people through the office of the prophet, but through simple Jewish men and women of God regarding the coming of the Messiah. In Luk 1:5 to Luk 2:52 God gave directly to Mary, the mother of Jesus, many witnesses to confirm that this divine birth was a fulfillment of prophecy.

1. Gabriel – Luk 1:26-38

2. Elizabeth – Luk 1:39-45

3. The Shepherds – Luk 2:16-17

4. The Three wise men – Mat 2:1-11

5. Simon – Luk 2:25-35

6. Anna – Luk 2:36-39

Mary was a very probable source that Luke used when compiling these witnesses of Jesus’ birth and childhood. Luk 1:5 to Luk 2:52 gives three testimonies of prophecies predicting Jesus’ divine birth and three testimonies from His childhood of His office and ministry as Saviour of the World.

Luke’s Emphasis on Prophecy – It is important to note how these stories place emphasis in the narrative material upon the work and empowerment of the Holy Spirit to enable these people to declare their testimonies through prophecy. The secondary theme of Luke/Acts states that those who testified of Jesus Christ did so through the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Regarding the three testimonies that prophesied the births of John and Jesus, in the Witness of Zacharias (Luk 1:5-25) the angel tells Zacharias that his son would be filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb. In the Witness of Mary (Luk 1:26-56) the angel tells Mary that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and overshadow her, and the babe leaped in Elisabeth’s womb as she was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied. In the Witness of Zacharias and Elisabeth (Luk 1:57-80), Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied. In the story of Jesus’ birth, Simeon came by the Spirit and prophesied what was revealed to him by the Spirit about the child Jesus, and Anna the prophetess also came and gave her prophecy under the unction of the Spirit.

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

The Announcement of John the Baptist’s Birth.

The parents of John:

v. 5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia; and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

v. 6. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

v. 7. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

There was or lived in the days when Herod the Great was king of Judea. Luke is very careful and exact in all his references to secular history, and therefore his statements are so generally trustworthy, aside from the fact that they are inspired by God. It was then that a priest by the name of Zacharias (which Luther renders proclamation, remembrance of the Lord) was living in Judea, in one of the cities set aside for the use of the priests. He belonged to the order, class, or division of Abia. All the priests of the Jews, numbering about 20,000 at the time of Christ, were divided into certain sections, named according to their week’s service. These classes or orders followed each other in due rotation for the Temple-service in Jerusalem. There were twenty-four classes, of which that of Abia was the eighth, 1Ch 24:1-31. The wife of Zacharias was also of the descendants of Aaron, the daughter of a priest. Her name was Elisabeth, which Luther explains as God’s rest, or ceasing from work, a rest given by God. John the Baptist was thus descended from priestly parents on both sides.

Zacharias and Elisabeth are given the highest praise by the evangelist. Righteous they both were before God, their manner of living was of a nature to stand the scrutiny of God, they were models of civic righteousness. They walked in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord without reproach. From the standpoint of human judgment their piety and goodness was blameless. But in spite of all this there was one great sorrow that burdened their lives. No child had been given them to brighten their home, and childlessness, from the Jewish and Biblical point of view, was a calamity. And this was not a matter of their own choice or wish, but it happened so, inasmuch as Elisabeth was barren. The Lord had denied her the privilege of motherhood. And at this time they were both far advanced in age, beyond the days when, according to the course of nature, they might expect the blessing of children. They felt this childlessness as a deep reproach, as a heavy cross. “For the barren were considered cursed people. For Gen 1:1-31, when God created them male and female, He said: ‘Be fruitful and multiply!’ These words the Jews diligently urged. He that had no issue was not blessed. Therefore a man or woman without children must be cursed and unblessed. Thus Elisabeth might also have complained that she was rejected and mocked by the world, since she was barren. Now people consider it a blessing when they have no children,” more’s the pity!

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Luk 1:5. In the days of Herod, &c. See on Mat 2:1. The descendants of Aaron multiplied to such a degree, that they could not all do duty in the temple at once; David therefore divided them into twenty-four courses, who ministered weekly in their turns. The time of their ministration was, called , as was likewise the course itself; but the name belonged originally to the Athenian magistrates, called Prytaneis, who, being fifty men chosen by lot out of a tribe, and each man governing the city a single day, the days which any tribe governed, as well as its fifty Prytaneis succeeding one another, were called . Hence, because the Jewish courses of priests resembled the Athenian Prytaneis in several respects, they had their name applied to them by those who wrote in Greek. The course of Abia, to which Zacharias belonged, was the eighth in David’s regulation; but whether the courses were the same now as at the first institution, it is impossible to determine. Comp. 1Ch 23:6; 1Ch 24:10 and see Potter’s Antiquities.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Luk 1:5 . The periodic and Greek style of the preface gives place now to the simple Hebraizing mode of presentation in the preliminary history, a circumstance explained by the nature of its Jewish-Christian sources, which withal were not made use of without being subjected to manipulation, since Luke’s peculiarities in expression pervade even this preliminary history. How far, however, the lofty, at times truly lyrical beauty and art of the descriptions are to be reckoned due to the sources themselves or to Luke as working them up, cannot be decided.

Observe, moreover, how the evangelical tradition gradually pushes back its beginnings from the emergence of the Baptist (Mark) to the of Jesus (Matthew), and even to the conception of His forerunner (Luke).

] extitit , emerged in history. Comp. on Mar 1:4 .

] therefore not high priest.

On the twenty-four classes of priests ( , in the LXX. , also , in Josephus also ), which, since the time of Solomon, had the temple-service for a week in turn, see Ewald, Alterth. p. 315; Keil, Archol. I. p. 188 f.

] 1Ch 24:10 . From this successor of Eleazar the eighth had its name.

The chronological employment of this notice for the ascertaining of the date of the birth of Jesus would require that the historical character of the narratives, given at Luk 1:5 ff., Luk 1:26 ff., should be taken for granted; moreover, it would be necessary withal that the year and (as every class came in its turn twice in the year) the approximate time of the year of the birth of Jesus should already be otherwise ascertained. Then, in the computation we should have to reckon, not, with Scaliger (de emendat. tempor.), forward from the re-institution of the temple-service by Judas Maccabaeus, 1Ma 4:38 ff., because it is not known which class at that time began the service (see Paulus, exeg. Handb. I. p. 83; Wieseler, chronol. Synopse, p. 141), but, with Salomon van Til, Bengel, and Wieseler, backward from the destruction of the temple, because as to this the date (the 9 Abib) and the officiating class of priests (Jojarib) is known. Comp. also Lichtenstein, p. 76.

] (see the critical remarks) scil. .

. .] John’s descent on both sides was priestly. Comp. Josephus, Vit. v. 1. See Wetstein.

] Such was also the name of Aaron’s wife, Exo 6:23 ( , Deus juramentum).

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

PART FIRST

The Miraculous Birth and Normal Development of the son of Man

_____________
FIRST SECTION
EVENTS PREPARATORY TO THE BIRTH OF CHRIST

Luk 1:5-80

A. Annunciation of the Birth of His Forerunner Luk 1:5-25

5There was, in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias,13 of the course of Abia: and his wife was [he had a wife]14 of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. 6And they were both righteous before God, walkingin all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren; and they both were now well stricken [far advanced] in years. 8And it came to pass, that, while he executed the priests office [ ] before God in the order of his course, 9According to the custom of the priests office [of the priesthood, ],15 his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 10And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time 11[the hour, ] of incense. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. 13But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thoushalt call his name John 14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoiceat his birth. 15For 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 mothers womb. 16And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 17And he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias [Elijah], 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.

18And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken [far advanced] in years. 19And 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 show [bring] thee these glad tidings. 20And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not [didst not believe, ] my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

21And the people waited [were waiting, ] for Zacharias, and marvelled 22[wondered, ] that he tarried so long in the temple. 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. 23And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished [completed], he departed to his own house. 24And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, 25Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein He looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Luk 1:5. In the days of Herod.See remarks on Mat 2:1.

A certain priest.Zachariah has been supposed, on insufficient grounds, to have been the high-priest. It is worthy of remark, how the meaning of both the names (Zachariah, i.e., the Lord remembers; and Elisabeth, i.e., Gods oath) was explained and fulfilled by what happened to those who bore them.

Of the course (class) of Abijah.The descendants of Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron, were exclusively called to the service of the sanctuary, and divided into four and twenty classes or orders (1 Chronicles 24), each of which ministered in the temple during a week. The descendants of Eleazar, the elder son, formed sixteen of these classes or courses; those of Ithamar, the younger, only eight,that of Abijah being (1Ch 24:10) the eighth. From the days of Solomon, these four and twenty courses relieved each other weekly in the temple-service; it is, therefore, not to be wondered at, that attempts have frequently been made to ascertain the exact time of the year at which the Lord was born, by means of the chronological date of the week of the course of Abijah. The result of these researches, made chiefly by Scaliger, Solomon van Til, and Bengel, is communicated and criticised by Wieseler (Chronologische Synopse, pp. 140148). It is, however, self-evident, that all such calculations must be uncertain and rash, until it can first be proved that the pregnancy of Elisabeth commenced immediately on the return of Zachariah, and that the several courses continued, each suo loco et tempore, to perform their services in unintermitted succession.

Luk 1:6. Righteous before God.A declaration not only of their truly Israelitish and theocratic character, but also that they were persons to whom the divine approval pronounced upon Noah, Gen 7:1, might rightly be applied, and who knew, from their own experience, the blessedness of which David sung in Psalms 32. When the promise made to Abraham is on the point of fulfilment, we suddenly find that the true Abrahamic character (Gen 15:6; Gen 17:1), however rare, has by no means utterly disappeared in Israel.

Luk 1:9. According to the custom of the priesthood.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. This office was considered exceedingly important and honorable. According to Josephus (Antiq. Jud. xiii. 10), a heavenly vision was also vouchsafed to John Hyrcanus during its performance. It seems impossible, however, to determine whether the vision of Zachariah took place at the time of the morning or evening offering.

Luk 1:10. Were praying.The pious were accustomed to unite in the outer court () in silent supplication, while the priest in the sanctuary offered the incense, which was ever regarded as the symbol of acceptable prayer. Comp. Psa 141:2; Rev 5:8; Rev 8:3-4.

Luk 1:11. There appeared unto him.It may be taken for granted, that the quiet and solitary sojourn of Zachariah in the Holy Place had both quickened and elevated his susceptibility for beholding the angelic appearance; yet the narrative certainly bears no traces of any ecstatic state, properly so called. Indeed, the fact which he must have told himself, that he saw the angel, standing at the right side of the altar of incense (which he may have considered a good omen), vouches for his clearness of perception, and sobriety of mind.

Luk 1:13. Thy prayer is heard.It is generally thought, that the secret prayer of Zachariah for a son, known to God, and long uttered in vain, is here intended. But would the aged Zachariah have limited himself to this request? Did no higher aspiration, than a merely personal one, arise from the heart of a priest in the Holy Place? Must not Zachariah have been among the , spoken of Luk 2:38? And is it not therefore probable, that the chief matter of his prayer might be expressed by the words of the Psalmist (Psa 14:7): Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Sion? For all these reasons, we conclude, with Meyer, that the prayer of the priest had special reference to the coming of Messiah. A twofold answer to this prayer is promised: first, that Messiah shall indeed appear in his days; and secondly, that he shall himself be the father of the forerunner, who was to prepare His way (Malachi 4)an honor he could not have ventured to anticipate. Zachariah sought first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all other thingsearthly joy of a father, etc.are added to him (Mat 6:33).

John.Hebr.: Jochanan (i.e., God is gracious; equivalent to the German Gotthold). According to an old Greek glossary: , . The name of the forerunner, as well as that of Jesus (Mat 1:21), was prescribed before his birth. Was this distinction vouchsafed also to the mother of our Lord, whose name has since been so idolized?

Luk 1:15. He shall be great in the sight of the Lord.Truly great, then; for just what a man is in Gods eyes, that is he indeed, neither more nor less. A silent hint also, that no earthly greatness is to be expected; for that which is highly esteemed before men is an abomination in the sight of the Lord.

He shall drink neither wine nor strong drink.Plainly referring to the condition of the Nazarites, for the origin and laws concerning whom, see Numbers 4. Act 21:24 shows that such vows were not unusual in Israel in New Testament times. This appointment places the forerunner, in this respect also, on a level with Samson and Samuel, who, as well as himself, were born to their parents contrary to all natural hopes and expectations.

From his mothers womb;i.e., not merely inde a puero, according to Kuinoels lax interpretation, but before he shall have seen the light of life (comp. Luk 1:41), from his earliest origin.

Luk 1:17. In the spirit and power of Elijah.An evident reference to the last of the prophets, Mal 3:1; Mal 4:5-6, whose words are thus endorsed by the angel. The expression, the Lord their God, Luk 1:16, alludes not exclusively to the Messiah, but to the Jehovah of Israel, of whom it is said, that He Himself should appear in glory when the divinely commissioned Messiah should come into the world. The true subjects of Messiah are also the people prepared for the Lord the God of Israel.

To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children.The feeling of the paternal relationship had grown cold in many hearts, in the midst of the moral corruption of Israel: when the forerunner lifts up his voice, the ties of family affection shall be strengthened. Others interpret this, to restore to the children the devout disposition of their fathers.

Luk 1:18. For I am an old man.According to the law of Moses the Levites were not permitted to serve beyond their fiftieth year, Num 4:3; Num 8:24. But this law did not apply to the priests, and Zachariah was probably much older than fifty. His objection seems, in itself, as natural as that of Mary, Luk 1:34; but the Lord, who sees the heart, knows how to distinguish between the objections of unbelief, and the natural questionings of innocence.

Luk 1:19. I am Gabriel.An answer full of dignity, and at the same time perfectly intelligible to a priest well instructed in the Holy Scriptures, who would recognize, by this name, the heavenly messenger, revealed to Daniel (Luk 8:16; Luk 9:21) as one admitted to very intimate relations with the Godhead. The belief in different classes of angels, though a development of later days, was the fruit of direct revelation. They who look on the Book of Daniel as the invention of a later age, cannot credit his angelology; and the angelic world, which was opened to Zachariah and to Mary, is closed to them, as a punishment of their unbelief.

Luk 1:20. Thou shalt he dumb, and not able to speak.This is no mere repetition, but the first member of the sentence is the consequence of the second. The notion, that a natural dumbness, arising from an apoplectic stroke, is here meant, is one of those curiosities of Rationalism, which have only an antiquarian interest.

Luk 1:21. And the people were waiting for Zachariah.According to many interpreters, they were waiting to receive the blessing. It does not, however, appear that this was always the office of the priest who offered incense. It seems more probable, that, not being accustomed to find the priest remain longer in the sanctuary than was strictly necessary, some might have feared, when Zachariah had been some time expected in vain, that some misfortune, or sign of the divine displeasure, had befallen him.

Luk 1:22. They perceived that he had seen a vision.Dumbness having fallen upon him in the temple, it was a natural supposition, that this might be the result of an angelic appearance. Zachariah makes signs that the supposition is correct. Interpreters have given due prominence to the symbolic signification of this moment in the sacred history. Bengel says: Zacharias, mutus, excludebatur tantisper ab actionibus sacerdotalibus. Prludium legis ceremonialis finiend, Christo veniente.Chemnitz: When the voice of the preacher (Isaiah 40) is announced, the priesthood of the Old Testament becomes silent. The Levitical blessing is silenced, when the Seed comes, in whom all the families of the earth are blessed.

Luk 1:24. And she hid herself five months.Neither, as it seems to us, from shame on account of her advanced age, nor to secure rest, nor from unbelief, nor for the sake of observing an ascetic retirement, and then suddenly making her situation known; but to leave to God, through whose extraordinary intervention she found herself in this condition, the care of making it manifest, and of taking away her reproach among men (comp. Luk 1:25). There is a remarkable coincidence in the frame of mind of Elisabeth and Mary, under similar circumstances. Elisabeth was to Mary, not merely , but also .

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. Introite, et hic Dii sunt, seems to resound in the ear of the believer, as Luke leads him into the sanctuary of the gospel history. We are indebted to the fact, that he begins his previous narrative at an earlier period than Matthew, for the advantage of recognizing fresh proofs of the manifold wisdom of God, in the course of events which preceded the birth of the Lord. The new revelation of salvation begins in the days of Herod, when sin and misery had reached their climax, and when the yearning for Messiahs appearance was more intensely felt than ever. The temple, so often the scene of the manifestation of the glory of the Lord, becomes again the centre, whence the first rays of light secretly break through the darkness. Every circumstance, preceding the birth of John, testifies to a special providence of God. He is born of pious parents, and of priestly blood, that the genuine theocratic spirit may be awakened and produced in the forerunner of the Lord. He is trained for his high destination, not in corrupt Jerusalem, but in the retirement of a remote city of the priests (Luk 1:39). It is not revealed to all, that the voice of him that crieth shall soon resound over hill and valley. The first witness to this is only the pious old man, who greets the prophet as his child. An angel assures Zachariah of the distinction conferred upon him. What human tongue could have foretold, it to him; or how could he have ventured to hearken to the voice of his own heart, without direct revelation? The angel appears to him in the retirement of the sanctuary, while he is employed in the faithful discharge of his priestly office, and standing on the right side of the altar, he intimates that the days are past in which the appearance of beings from another world betokened death and destruction to mankind. To enhance his enjoyment of it, the blessing is announced as an answer to prayer; and the very name given to the child, speaks to him of the graciousness of his God. As a son begotten in old age, John ranks with Isaac; as granted to the barren in answer to prayer, with Samson and Samuel. His office and mission are stated in words which must have recalled to Zachariah the prophecy of Malachi; while the description of his habits, as those of a Nazarite, and of his character, as in the spirit of Elijah, must have pointed out to his father a life of sorrow and strife. And when the astonished priest desires a sign, his want of faith is visited with a proof of the severity, but at the same time of the goodness, of God. As faith is to be the chief condition of the new covenant, it was needful that the first manifestation of unbelief should be emphatically punished; but the wound inflicted becomes a healing medicine for the soul. Zachariah is constrained to much silent reflection, and, according to the counsel of God, the secret is still kept for a time. The sight of the priest struck dumb, awakens among the people an expectation of some great and heavenly event; and soon will the things done in the priests house be noised abroad throughout all the hill-country of Juda (Luk 1:65).

2. So many traces of divine wisdom are apparent in the narrative, that scepticism itself has no exceptions to make, but to its miraculous character. In this case the appearance of an angel is especially offensive to the tastes and notions of modern criticism. This being the first account of the kind, which we meet with in Lukes Gospel, we may be allowed the following remarks. The existence of a higher world of spirits, can as little be proved, as denied, by any a priori reasoning; experience and history can alone decide the point. Now it is certain, on purely historical and critical grounds, that angels have been both seen and heard by well known and credible individuals; and if this be so, a higher world of spirits must exist. It has, indeed, been said (by Schleiermacher), that belief in the existence of angels has no necessary basis and support in the religious self-consciousness (or subjective experience) of the believer;16 but the question here is merely concerning the historical truth of biblical angelology, and not concerning the subjective experience it produces. Angels are not merely transient emanations and effulgences of the divine essence (Olshausen); but personal, conscious, holy beings, related, like men, to the Father of spirits. God, being the supreme and absolute Spirit, is able to employ such in His service; and man, having received a spiritual element from God, cannot lack the ability of perceiving, with an enlightened eye, the appearance of beings so nearly related to himself. It is not when the bodily eye has been directed to the material world, but when a higher and more spiritual organ has been developed, and the ear opened to the voice of God, in the hours of prayer and solitude, that angelic appearances have been perceived. This power of perception, produced by God Himself, must be distinguished from the trance or vision, properly so called, wherein angels have sometimes, but by no means always, been perceived. Comp. Act 10:10; 2Co 12:1 ff. The angelic apparitions were by no means the fruit of an overstrained imagination, but objective revelations of God, by means of personal spirits; yet only capable of being received under certain subjective conditions. With respect to the angel who appeared to Zachariah, if unbelief, on hearing his name, should cavil, and doubt whether such definite names are borne in heaven, this conclusion cannot be escaped under the pretext, that Gabriel (the hero of God) is no nomen proprium, but merely an appellativum; and we have only to answer, neganti incumbit probatio.

3. There is a remarkable coincidence between Zachariah and Abraham on the one side, and Elisabeth and Sarah on the other; not only in the fact of their unfruitfulness during so many years, but also in the frame of mind in which they at length received the glad tidings. But in these parallel histories, it is, in the Old Testament, the man who is strong, the woman weak, in faith (Gen 18:12); while here, on the contrary, it is the man whose faith falters. Even in the very first chapter of Luke, woman, who had so long been thrown into obscurity in the shadow of man, begins, in the persons of Mary and Elisabeth, to take her place in the foreground, by the heroism of a living faith; as if to show that she is no longer the slave of man, but a fellow-heir with him of the grace of life (1Pe 3:7). It is, however, quite in keeping with divine wisdom that in this case unbelief in view of the rising sun of the gospel salvation is much more severely punished than under the old dispensation. The clearer the light, the more intolerable the shade in the eyes of God. On the psychological ground of the doubt of Zachariah, compare the fine remarks of Dr. Lange, Leben Jesu, ii. 1, p. 65 (German ed.).

4. It is a striking proof of the divine wisdom, that John is announced as the second Elijah. This name gives the earliest indication of his mission, as reformer, in an extremely corrupt nation; of his struggle, in resisting single-handed the false gods of his age, as Elijah did Ahab and Jezebel; of his fate, in being first persecuted and rejected, but afterward honored. 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. The difference between themconsisting chiefly in the fact, that the second Elijah performed no miraclesis explained by the peculiarity of his relation to the Messiah. If the latter were to appear as a prophet mighty in word and deed, His forerunner could do no miracles, without dividing the attention, and provoking a comparison, which must have been to the prejudice of one or the other. He who would cavil because the head of the greatest of the Old Testament prophets is encircled by no halo of miracles, will find his answer, Joh 10:41.

5. On the formerly often-questioned genuineness of the two first chapters of Luke, comp. Credner, Einleitung in das N. T. p. 131; on the whole of Lukes narrative of events preceding the birth of Christ, J. P. Lange, On the Historical Character of the Canonical Gospels, especially on the History of the Childhood of Jesus, Duisburg, 1836; and (though with critical discrimination) Die Jugendgeschichte des Herrn, by Dr. E. J. Gelpke, Bern, Chur (Coire), and Leipzig, 1842.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

The announcement of the birth of John the Baptist, appointed by divine wisdom, received in human weakness, confirmed by striking signs, crowned with surprising results.Gods way in the sanctuary: 1. The dark sanctuary, or dwelling-place of the Infinite; 2. the divine, where His glory is manifested.The answer to the prayer of Zachariah was: 1. Earnestly desired, 2. long delayed, 3. promised in a surprising manner, 4. incredulously waited for, and 5. gloriously vouchsafed.The happiness of pious couples, even when the blessing of children is denied.The high value of tried fear of God in the eyes of the Lord.The life of faith a continual priesthood.A lonely old age cheered up and made serene by the light of the Lord.Gods revelation hidden from the eye of the world.The holy angels present, even now, in the Lords house.The fear with which the revelation of great joy fills the heart of a sinner.John a gift of God.The birth of John still a matter of rejoicing to many.John, the second Elijah: their similarity and dissimilarity.John, great in the sight of the Lord: his superiority to all the Old Testament prophets, his inferiority to our Lord.The gift of abstinence even under the new covenant.No meetness for the kingdom of heaven, without sincere repentance.The desire to see signs and wonders: 1. Easily explicable; 2. very reprehensible; 3. entirely superfluous, where a greater sign has already been vouchsafed.The angel who stands in the presence of God: his mysterious name, exalted work, and hidden origin.Zachariah dumb, yet preaching to believers and unbelievers.The announcement of the birth of John the Baptist, a proof of the truth of the prophetic word (Isa 45:15): 1. God, a God that hideth Himself; 2. the God of Israel; 3. the Saviour.Elisabeth, a type of the faith which receives Gods blessing, enjoys Gods peace, and waits Gods time.When the reproach of his people is taken away, the Lord has been looking down on them favorably.The Lords second coming is, like His first, openly announced, incredulously doubted, patiently expected.The Lord will give more to His people than He withholds from them.Does Zachariah tremble at the sight of an angel? Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear, when the Lord cometh with ten thousand of His saints?The punishment of unbelief is in the end a blessing.The less, the preparation for the greater.Who hath despised the day of small things? Zec 4:10.Children are an heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is His reward.Gabriel standing in the presence of God in heaven, and John great in the sight of the Lord on earth.The interest of the angels in the coming of Gods kingdom on earth.Even in times of the greatest corruption, there are still houses which are temples of God.The vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Hab 2:3.

Starke:In prayer, we should remember the presence of angels.Even one of the holiest of men cannot stand before an angel.Even the true servants of God are not without infirmities.Nothing is great, but what is great before God.God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, Eph 3:20.The more intimate the communion of a Christian with his God, the more certain his chastisement when he offends Him.He who sins with his mouth, is punished in his mouth.God has an eye upon His people, though no one else should see them.There are times when the children of God bear reproach; there are also times when God takes away their reproach before men: in both His grace is shown.

Footnotes:

[13]Luk 1:5.As a question of principle, I would advocate a uniform spelling of Scripture names, conforming Hebrew names as much as possible to the Hebrew, and Greek names to the Greek original. This would require an alteration of Zacharias into Zachariah, Abia into Abijah, Elias into Elijah, Jeremy into Jeremiah, etc. But as Zacharias occurs so often in this chapter, I left it undisturbed. Comp. my Critical Note to Commentary on Matthew, 1:16, vol. i. p. 48.

[14]Luk 1:5.The E. V. follows the textus rec. and Cod. A.: (uxor illius). But the best uncial MSS. (Sinait., B., C.*, D., L., X.), and the modern critical editions of Lachmann, Tischendorf, Alford, and Tregelles, read (without the article) , uxor illi, he had a wife; and so also van Oosterzee in his German Version: er hatte ein Weib. The received text is a correction for perspicuity sake. The other differences of reading in this section are still less insignificant and not worth mentioning in this Commentary, as they are also passed by in the original. See the Critical Apparatus in Tischendorfs Greek Testament, editio septima of 1859, and Tregelles Greek Testament, Part ii., containing Luke and John.

[15]Luk 1:9.Van Oosterzee likewise observes the (unessential) distinction between , Luk 1:8, and , Luk 1:9, and renders (with Luther) the first Priesteramt, the second Priesterthum. The Latin Vulgate, however, has in both cases sacerdotium, and de Wette Priesteramt. The E. V. renders , which occurs twice in the Greek Testament, the priests office, Luk 1:9, and the office of the priesthood, Heb 7:5, and , priesthood, 1Pe 2:5; 1Pe 2:9.P. S.]

[16][It should not be inferred from the text that Schleiermacher denied the existence of angels altogether. He only denied the existence of Satan and the evil angels.P. S.]

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

(5) There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. (6) And they were both righteous before G o d, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. (7) And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. (8) And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, (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. (10) And the whole multitude of the people were praying without, at the time of incense. (11) And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. (12) And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. (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. (14) And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth. (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. (16) And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord, their God. (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. (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. (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. (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. (21) And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. (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. (23) And it came to pass, that as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. (24) And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, (25) Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

Here Luke, begins his relation of the wonderful events concerning the Person, Character, Offices, and Relations of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he begins the subject with the date of those transactions, which was in the days of One of the Herods. And it is worthy the Reader’s remark, that as this Herod, who was at this time deputy King, under the Roman Emperor, the prophecy of Jacob when a dying was now to be fulfilled. He had said, that the sceptre should not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come. Gen 49:10 . And here we find the sceptre indeed departed, for Herod, a foreigner, was King. Deu 17:15 .

The birth of John, though singularly accomplished, differed widely from that of the Lord Jesus; for though wonderful, it was not miraculous. And the introduction in the opening of this Gospel, in the particulars of it, appears to have been on purpose to mark the striking dissimilarity. We shall have occasion in the course of this chapter to notice this. In the mean time, let us observe the method the Lord was pleased to adopt to bring Zacharias acquainted with it. He was in the course of his ministry, attending the temple service, when an angel appeared to him. This is the first open vision which the Holy Ghost had favored the Church with, from the close of the Old Testament prophecy by Malachi. Zacharias, astonished at the sight and message of the angel, is tempted to doubt, and is struck dumb for his unbelief. But what I particularly request the Reader to remark, in proof that the birth of John differs altogether from that of the Lord Jesus Christ, is, that though the wife of Zacharias was indeed now aged, and had been hitherto barren, yet the event of John’s birth was altogether the result wholly of natural causes, and from natural means; and though John was a child of promise, as Isaac was, yet in his conception and birth there was nothing miraculous, or contrary to the ordinary course of nature more than his. Gen 18:10-14 ; Gal 4:28 .

When the Reader hath properly noted this, that no more honor be given to the servant than the Lord hath given him, the Reader may properly pause, and consider the greatness of the Man, and the greatness of the Office, in the which he was designed to minister. Like Jeremiah, ordained from the womb, he was filled with the Holy Ghost, for the purpose of this office, in ministering to the Lord Jesus Christ. Jer 1:5 . And when it is said, as that it is said, that he should be great in the sight of the Lord, plainly this means, that he was so in the sight of Him to whom he became a forerunner. And hence we find the Lord Jesus bearing testimony to his character, that he was not only a Prophet, and more than a Prophet, but that among them born of women, none had been greater than he. Mat 11:11 . See Joh 1:23 , etc.

I detain the Reader to make one observation more, in order to have suitable apprehensions of the vast difference between the servant, and Him that sent him. It is said here, concerning the office of John, that he should go before the Lord Jesus Christ, in the power and spirit of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Reader! do not overlook, that all that is here said, is said only of John’s ministry, as an instrument to this blessed work, and no further. John never did, nor could, convert or turn a single soul. This is Creator-work, and not creature. The Lord who made the heart, can only turn the heart. But John, by ministering in the Lord’s name, became the Lord’s instrument in the great work. And I beg the Reader to notice, and with the just attention it deserves, what is said of John, in making ready a people prepared for the Lord. Yes! John’s ministry, like all other servants, could be blessed to no other than the Lord’s people; they whom the Father gave to his dear Son, before the world was formed, and whom God the Holy Ghost had engaged to make willing in the day of his power, were prepared for Jesus as his redeemed; and grace here, and glory hereafter, prepared for them in Christ, from everlasting. How blessedly all the great truths of God harmonize!

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

V

BEGINNINGS OF MATTHEW AND LUKE

Broadus’ Harmony pages 5-6 and Mat 1:1-17 ; Luk 1:5-80 ; Luk 3:23-38 .

We have noted in a previous chapter John’s and Paul’s account of the divine side of our Lord’s existence, personality and activities before he became flesh. Now we consider, in Matthew, Luke, and Paul, his human side, human antecedents, human birth, and early life. We find Matthew’s account in Matthew 1-2, and Luke’s account in Luke 1-2 with the closing paragraph of Luk 3 .

Matthew’s incidents are his genealogy, birth, the visit of the magi, the flight into Egypt, the massacre of the babes at Bethlehem, the return to the land of Israel, and resettlement at Nazareth in Galilee.

Luke’s incidents are the announcement to Zacharias of the birth of his son, John the Baptist, our Lord’s forerunner; the announcement to Mary of the birth of our Lord; Mary’s visit to Elisabeth; the birth of John the Baptist according to announcement; the birth of our Lord at Bethlehem; the announcement to the shepherds of that birth; the circumcision of our Lord; his presentation in the Temple with attendant circumstances ; the return to Nazareth; the development there of his childhood; the visit to the Temple when our Lord was twelve years old; the return to Nazareth and his development; into manhood; and his genealogy.

On this entire section we submit several general observations:

1. Matthew’s entire account is written from the viewpoint of Joseph, and for Jews. His genealogy is the genealogy of Joseph according to the legal Jewish method. Gabriel’s appearance to Joseph is to explain Mary’s condition. Indeed, all the four supernatural directions for the family movements come in dreams to Joseph. Every incident and every Old Testament quotation conspire to prove that Jesus of Nazareth is the foretold and long-expected King of the Jews.

2. Luke’s entire account is written from Mary’s viewpoint and to show our Lord’s broader relations to humanity. His genealogy is real, not legal. It is Mary’s genealogy, not Joseph’s, our Lord’s relations to Joseph being only a Jewish, legal supposition. While indeed it shows that Mary was a Jewess) really descended from David and Abraham, yet her genealogy extends back to Adam, in order to prove that her Son was the second Adam, and literally fulfilled the first gospel promise, “The seed of the woman [not of the man] shall bruise the serpent’s head.”

It is to Mary, Gabriel announces her conception of a Son, by the Holy Spirit, who because thus sired shall be holy, the Son of God.

It is to Mary the angel announces the condition of Elisabeth, and thus prepares the way for Mary’s visit to Elisabeth. All of Luke’s other incidents are those which Mary “kept in her heart.” The conjecture that Luke’s genealogy is also traced through Joseph is puerile in itself, utterly gratuitous, and at war with Luke’s whole plan. It is to invent a difficulty and then invite the harmonists of the two genealogies to settle it. Why should they be harmonized? They have different starting points (a legal son, a real son) and different objectives (Abraham Adam); they are not even parallel lines, since they meet and part.

3. We here confront what Paul calls “the great mystery of Godliness” the incarnation of our Lord. Isaiah, who had already foretold his virgin birth, in a clear prophecy concerning him, says, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa 9:6 ). Quoting Isaiah, and because the virgin mother is with child by the Holy Ghost, Matthew says, “His name shall be called Immanuel (God with us).” In explanation of the way a virgin can become a mother, Luke’s angel says to Mary, “The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also the Holy One who is begotten of thee shall be called the Son of God.”

Mark says, “Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” John says, “The Logos which was God, was manifested and became flesh.” Paul says, “He who was the effulgence of God’s glory and the very image of his substance,” (Heb 1:3 ) “who existed in the form of God . . . was made in the likeness of man (Phi 2:6-8 ) was born of a woman” (Gal 4:4 ). Not otherwise could he escape the hereditary taint of Adam’s sin (Gen 5:3 ); not otherwise could he fulfil the protevangel, “the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent’s head” (Gen 3:15 ); not otherwise could he be the Second Adam, the second head of the race (Rom 5:12-21 ; 1Co 15:45-49 ).

Grant this one miracle, the greatest and most inclusive, and all others naturally follow. Deny this one, and there is no need to deny or even consider others (1Jn 4:1-3 ).

4. Only twice do we find in the Bible the phrase, “The book of the generations” applied respectively to “The first Adam” (Gen 5:1 ), and to the Second Adam (Mat 1:1 ). And concerning this Second Adam, well might Isaiah inquire: “Who shall declare his generation,” (common version, Isa 53:8 ) especially since “His name shall be Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa 9:6 ).

5. Nothing more commends the inspiration of the simplicity and reticence of this account of our Lord’s infancy, childhood and growth to manhood, than to contrast it with the silly and incredible fables invented in the early Christian centuries to gratify a prurient curiosity concerning a long period of our Lord’s life on which, beyond the few incidents recorded, our Gospels are silent. Nature, as well as grace, draws a modest veil over the period of conception, gestation, parturition, and development. Not only have these bald inventions concerning the infancy and childhood of our Lord disfigured the image in the mind naturally produced by the simple Bible story, but tradition, ever-increasing in imposture and lying, ad nauseum, has buried the few real incidents recorded under an accretion of fanciful enlargements, e.g., the incident of the magi, and even the blasphemies subverting the gospel and changing the very plan of salvation, e.g., the Mariology and Mariolatry developed from our simple gospel story of Mary by the Romanists of succeeding centuries.

6. Beyond the few incidents recorded of the first thirty years of our Lord’s preparation for his public work, this is every syllable of the gospel history: Luke puts in four pregnant sentences the whole period, (a) concerning the development of his childhood, “And the child grew and waxed strong, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon him” (Luk 2:40 ). (b) After the consciousness of his messiahship in the Temple, when he was twelve years old, “He went down with them (Mary and Joseph) and came to Nazareth; and he was subject to them” (Luk 2:51 ). (c) Referring back to his habit of attending the house of religious instruction at Nazareth, Luke later says, “He came to Nazareth where he had been brought up: and he entered, as his custom was, into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up to read” (Luk 4:16 ); (d) Concerning his development to manhood: “And Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luk 2:52 ). (e) Mark says that by occupation he was a carpenter (Luk 6:3 ).

These are all the direct references. But we may easily gather from his subsequent history that he had studied the book of nature in its plants, flowers, fruits, birds, animals, soil and its cultivation, its crops, harvests and vintages; that he was a lover of children and close observer of their plays; that he was familiar with the customs of the family and of society; that he was well acquainted with the religious sects and political parties of his country and its relation of subjection to Rome. It is evident also from his movements that he thoroughly understood all the variations of government in the Herod family.

As to literary attainments, apart from the evident religious training of a Jewish child, we know that he could read and speak fluently in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. He read and quoted at will and discerningly from both the Hebrew and the Greek versions of the Old Testament. Mark preserves and interprets many of his Aramaic expressions.

7. We should commence Matthew’s genealogy thus: “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, called Immanuel (God with us).” And, allowing Paul to supplement Luke’s genealogy thus: “The Second Adam, who is the Lord from heaven, Jesus Christ himself (supposed son of Joseph) was the son of Heli,” and so on back to the first Adam.

8. In these two accounts of our Lord’s infancy are eight distinct annunciations, adapted in time, place, medium, means, and circumstances to the recipient, together with eight other supernatural events.

(1) The annunciation by the angel Gabriel, in a vision, to Zacharias, ministering in the Temple, of the birth of John the Baptist, the forerunner of our Lord, and of Zacharias’ dumbness until the event (Luk 1:5 f).

(2) Gabriel’s annunciation to Mary of the birth of our Lord (Luk 1:26 f).

(3) The annunciation to Elisabeth of the presence of the appointed mother of our Lord, by her unborn baby’s leaping for joy (Luk 1:41 f).

(4) The angel’s annunciation to Joseph, in a dream, of the supernatural conception of Mary (Mat 1:18 f).

(5) The angel’s annunciation, in a vision, to the shepherds near Bethlehem, of the birth of our Lord (Luk 2:8 f).

(6) The Spirit’s annunciation to Simeon that he should not see death until he had seen the Christ (Luk 2:26 ).

(7) Simeon’s annunciation, by prophetic inspiration, to Mary concerning her Son, and concerning the sword that would pierce her own soul (Luk 2:34-35 ).

(8) The annunciation to the magi, in the far East, by the appearance of a star, that the foretold and long-expected King of the Jews was born (Mat 2:1 f).

The eight attending supernatural events are, the prophetic utterances by Zacharias, Elisabeth, Mary, and Anna, the three additional dreams of Joseph and the one of the magi. Thus there are three vision to Zacharias, Mary, and the shepherds; five dreams four of Joseph and one of the magi; one annunciation by the Spirit to Simeon, one of Simeon to Mary by inspiration, one by a star, one by the leaping of an unborn babe, besides the prophetic inspiration of four.

9. In Luke’s account of the beginnings are five famous hymns, or the foundations from which they were later developed;

(1) “The Hail Mary,” developed by the Romanists from a combination of the angel’s salutation to Mary (Luk 1:29 ) and Elisabeth’s salutation to Mary (Luk 1:42 ), with some extraneous additions.

(2) “The Magnificat,” or Mary’s own hymn (Luk 1:46-55 ).

(3) “The Benedictus,” or the song of Zacharias (Luk 1:68-79 ).

(4) “Gloria in Excelsis,” developed from the song of the angels (Luke 2-14).

5) “Nunc Dimittis,” developed from the words of Simeon (Luk 2:29-32 ).

10. The gospel histories teach concerning Mary, the mother of our Lord, that she was a modest, pious, but poor Jewish maiden, of the line of David, betrothed to Joseph, a just man, also of the line of David. She was endued with grace, to become the virgin mother of our Lord, and this supernatural conception was by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. Consequently her Son would be God’s Son, and not man’s. Being God’s Son, he would be born holy, unstained through hereditary taint, and as he was the only human being so born, he is called the Only Begotten Son of the Father. Because of her selection to become the mother of our Lord, all generations would call her blessed. Her marriage to Joseph before the birth of this child constituted him legally, though not really, a son of Joseph. In all these things Mary humbly submitted herself to the divine will. She piously kept in her heart all the attending prodigies, circumstances, and prophecies of his nativity and childhood. While married to Joseph, she knew him not until after the birth of her divine Son, but afterward lived with him in all marital relations, bearing four sons, whose names are given, besides daughters not named (Mar 6:3 ). After Joseph’s death, she followed her son, Jesus, with his younger half-brothers and sisters. From the record it is evident that more than once she was not without fault. On the whole, however, the impression left on the mind by the history is most charming. A maiden, chaste, modest, pious, and meekly submissive to God’s will, a true wife, a devoted, self-denying mother, patiently bearing all the sorrows attendant upon being the mother of her Saviour son. Well might Simeon say to her, “Yea, and a sword shall pierce through thine own soul,” on which prophecy has been written a book of merit entitled The Sorrows of Mary.

At the death of Jesus, her other sons being poor and un- believers, she was taken to the home of John the apostle, in Jerusalem. What an unspeakable pity that religious superstition has foisted upon this simple, charming, gospel story of earth’s most honored woman, a monstrous Mariology of human invention, developed later into a blasphemous Mariolatry, which makes her usurp the place of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. As this hideous parasite on the gospel story of Mary roots in our lesson, we here give a summary of the invented.

MARIOLOGY MERGED INTO MARIOLATRY

The exaggeration of the meaning of the words: “All generations shall call me blessed.” This blessedness, because a privilege, was declared by our Lord himself to be inferior to the blessings on personal obedience and service (Luk 11:27-28 ), and because this was a fleshly relation to our Lord, he declared it to be inferior to spiritual relations, which all may share (Mar 3:31-35 ).

Mary was a perpetual virgin, that is, never knowing a man, and being the mother of only one child, Jesus. This was the earliest of the doctrines in point of time, and some Protestants today, for sentimental reasons, hold to it.

Mary free from actual sin. This freedom from actual sin, originally at least, was attributed to the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, supposed to be exerted either after she was conceived or before she was born, as Jeremiah and John the Baptist were supposed to be sanctified, or else at the time the Holy Spirit came upon her at the conception of Christ.

Mary free from original sin. This was a late development of doctrine concerning Mary. There was no official and authoritative form of it before the sixteenth century. The Council of Trent, A. D. 1570, closed its decree on original sin with these words: “This same holy synod doth nevertheless declare that it is not its intention to include in this decree, where original sin is treated of, the blessed and immaculate Mary, the mother of God; but that the constitutions of Pope Sixtus IV, of happy memory, are to be observed, under the pains contained in the said constitutions, which it renews.” This official deliverance is a positive declaration of Mary’s freedom from original sin, and by the term “immaculate,” would seem to declare her exempt from actual sin. The doctrine, however, culminates in positive form in the decree promulgated to the Roman Catholic world by Pope Pius IX, December 8, 1854. In this decree the Pope claims: First, that he pronounces, declares, and defines “under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost;” second, that what he sets forth is by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the blessed apostles, Peter and Paul, and in his own authority. The matter thus decreed and promulgated is as follows:

“The doctrine which holds the blessed virgin Mary to have been, from the first instant of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of mankind, preserved free from all stain of original sin, was revealed by God, and is, therefore, to be firmly and constantly believed by all the faithful.” The decree closes with the double anathema: First, that any who presume to even think in their hearts contrary to this deliverance stand self-condemned, have made shipwreck concerning the faith, and have fallen away from the unity of the church. Second, that they subject themselves to the penalties ordained by law, if by word or writing, or any other external means, they dare to signify what they think in their hearts.

You will observe, particularly, that this decree affirms that the doctrine of Mary’s freedom from original sin was revealed by God. The natural presumption is that this revelation is to be found in the Holy Scriptures. In this document the Pope does not claim that it was a special revelation to him, but that he is inspired to pronounce, declare, and define past revelations.

If God revealed it in the Holy Scriptures, it is strange that we cannot find it.

This doctrine of Mary’s freedom from original sin, which thus culminated, historically, December 8, 1854, may be said to have crystallized July 18, 1870, when the Vatican Council thus declared the infallibility of the Pope:

“It is a dogma divinely revealed: that the Roman Pontiff, when he speaks ex cathedra, that is, when in the discharge of the office of pastor and doctor of all Christians, by virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine regarding faith or morals to be held by the universal church, by the divine assistance promised him in the blessed Peter, he is possessed of that infallibility with which the divine Redeemer willed that his church should be endowed for defining doctrines, faith and morals; and that therefore such definitions of the Roman Pontiff are irreformable of themselves, and not from the consent of the church.”

She is the Mediatrix between Christ and man, as Jesus Christ is the Mediator between God and man. In other words, this element of the doctrines makes Mary take the place of the Holy Spirit) that is, we must reach Christ through Mary The development of the doctrine is shown in various works of art. For example, there are paintings which represent Christ as seated, and Mary below him, then later a painting of Christ and Mary on a level; and finally a painting representing Mary above Christ, who is angry at the world, and Mary is beseeching his favor for the world.

Mary, not Jesus, bruises the serpent’s head, or destroys Satan. As the preceding element of this doctrine puts Mary in the place of the Holy Spirit, so this element makes her take Christ’s office.

Mary the queen of heaven.

Mary the fountain of all grace, received by man and the only hope of salvation. This element puts her in the Father’s place.

Mary an object of worship.

Mary’s body was never allowed to see corruption, but was taken up to heaven, glorified, as the body of Christ, or that of Enoch or Elijah. This last element of the doctrine, the assumption of Mary, has not been formally put forth by Pope or Council, but is propagated and defended in the standard Romanist literature.

Any thoughtful man, considering these doctrines concerning Mary, must see that they made a radical, vital, and fundamental change of the gospel as understood by all Protestants and constitute another gospel, which is not the gospel. It makes the Romanist Church the church of Mary, rather than the church of Christ. Indeed, if we add its traditions concerning the See of Rome and Peter, the name should be: The Romanist Church of the Traditions concerning Mary and Peter. It would be easy to show that each of these elements of doctrine was transferred, for reasons of expediency, from heathen mythology and worship.

The question naturally arises, What scriptures do they cite for these stupendous claims? In support of the perpetual virginity of Mary they cite Eze 44:1-3 : “Then he brought me back by way of the outer gate of the sanctuary, which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. And Jehovah said unto me, This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, neither shall any man enter in by it; for Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it; therefore it shall be shut. As for the prince, he shall sit therein as prince to eat bread before Jehovah; he shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.” They claim that this language is typical of and applicable to Mary’s perpetual virginity. Some of them quote the Song of Son 4:12 , as follows: “A garden shut up is my sister, my bride; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.” So far as I know, these are the only scriptures cited that seem to have a positive bearing on the doctrine.

Negatively, they contend that the brothers and sisters of Jesus mentioned in Mar 6 and other places were not the children of Joseph and Mary, but of Mary’s sister, hence cousins of our Lord. Some Protestants who hold to the perpetual virginity of Mary claim that these were children of Joseph by a former marriage, therefore older than our Lord. Both Romanists and Protestants who hold to this doctrine cite Joh 19:25-27 , where Christ on the cross consigns Mary to John’s are, and argue from this that Mary had no son of her own other than Christ. They forget the extreme poverty of the family of Joseph, including himself, Mary, and all of the children, and that these younger half-brothers of our Lord were not at this time believers in Christ, as is evident from Joh 7:5 . We have already shown that John possessed wealth and a home of his own at Jerusalem, which Mary and her sons did not have.

Of Mary’s freedom from actual sin, they cite the Song of Son 4:7 : “Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee,” and also from the apocryphal book of Wisdom 1:4 : “For wisdom will not enter into the malicious soul nor dwell in a body subject to sins.”

In support of the theory that Mary mediates between man and Christ, they cite Joh 2:3 , where Mary makes known to her Son the need of wine at the marriage of Cana of Galilee.

To maintain that Mary, not Jesus, bruises the serpent’s head, the Romanist Bible, both the Vulgate and their English version, makes Gen 3:15 read: “She shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise her heel.”

To support the doctrine that Mary is the mother and fountain of all grace to man, they quote Luk 1:28 , and render it: “Hail, full of grace!”

In support of the assumption that Mary is the queen of heaven, their commentators cite Rev 12:1 , and claim that it is an allusion to “our blessed lady.”

In replying to these various items of Mariology and Mariolatry, it is fairly to be inferred from Mat 1:25 that Joseph did know Mary as a husband after the birth of Christ, and it certainly best accords with the obvious meaning of Mar 6:3 , and various other references, that the four brothers named are real brothers, and not cousins. That Mary was not free from actual sin is evident by our Lord’s rebuke of her at Luk 2:48-49 ; Joh 2:4 ; Mar 3:21 connected with 31-35. There is no scriptural support at all relevant to the matter in hand of Mary’s freedom from original sin. The quotations cited by Romanists are, on their face, irrelevant. The assumption that Mary is the fountain of all grace evidently misinterprets the words of the angel, “Hail, Mary, endued with grace.” It is grace then and there conferred, and not original source of grace. It indeed shows that she was a daughter of grace, not its mother. That Mary’s body never saw corruption is a fabrication without any foundation whatever. To make the symbolic woman of Rev 12:1 to be a real woman, whether Mary or any other woman, is a gross violation of the law of interpretation of symbols. You might just as well make the woman in purple and scarlet riding upon the seven-headed,

THE MEMBERS OF THE HEROD FAMILY NAMED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT Herod himself is “Herod the king” named in Mat 2:3-19 , ruler of the Jews at Christ’s birth. He was surname’ “The Great” and was really a man of great capacity in public affairs, and in diplomacy successfully overreached both Pompey and Julius Caesar, and both Anthony and Augustus Caesar and thwarted Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt. But he was . monster in cruelty and as bloody a tyrant as ever sat upon throne. His father was Antipater, the Idumean or Edomite, and his mother an Ishmaelite. Thus in the person of Herod, Ishmael and Esau sat upon the throne of Isaac and Jacob. His death is recorded in Mat 2 . He had about ten wives and many children. By his last will, subject to Rome’s approval, he divided his realm among three sons, disinheriting all his other children whom he had not murdered.

His children. Archelaus, named in Mat 2:22 , his son by his fourth wife, was, according to Herod’s will, made king of Judea and Samaria. Rome did not approve of his title of king, but allowed him to be called ethnarch for nine years, and then for good cause removed and banished him, and converted Judea and Samaria into an imperial province under procurators appointed by Caesar. Pontius Pilate, an appointee of Tiberius Caesar, was procurator during the years of our Lord’s public ministry.

Another son, Herod Antipas, older brother of Archelaus, by the same mother, was made tetrarch of Galilee and Perea. (See Luk 3:1 .) This was the Herod that beheaded John the Baptist (Mar 6:17-29 ), whom Jesus called “that fox,” and to whom our Lord was sent for trial by Pilate. He held his office during the whole of our Lord’s life after his return from Egypt. He built the city of Tiberias on the sea of Galilee, and was the second husband of that Herodias who caused the death of John the Baptist. This marriage was a threefold sin – his own wife was yet living, the woman’s husband was yet living, and she was his niece.

The oldest surviving son of Herod was named Herod Philip, disinherited by his father. He lived at Rome. The New Testament makes only an indirect allusion to him as Philip the brother of Herod Antipas, and the husband of Herodias (Mar 6:17-18 ).

Herod’s son by his fifth wife was also named Herod Philip, and he is the tetrarch of the Northern part of Palestine, called in Luk 3:1 “the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis.” He built the cities of Bethsaida-Julius, and Caesarea Philippi. He was the best of all the ruling sons of Herod.

It must be noted how several movements of our Lord were affected by these three sons of Herod. Because of Archelaus his parents took him from Judea to Galilee. Because of the unfriendliness of Herod Antipas he more than once removed from Galilee to the tetrarchy of Herod Philip. This Herod Philip, the tetrarch, married Salome, the dancing girl, who danced off the head of John the Baptist (Mar 6:2-28 ). She was his niece, the daughter of his brother, Herod Philip I, named above.

Herod’s grandchildren. First, Herod Agrippa 1. This is Herod the king, of Act 12:1-4 , who killed the apostle James, John’s brother, and imprisoned Peter, and whose awful death at Caesarea is described in Act 12:19-23 . This Herod ruled over all Palestine like his grandfather.

Second, Herodias, the wicked woman who left her husband, Philip, and married his brother, Herod Antipas, and brought about the death of John the Baptist because he denounced the iniquitous marriage (Mar 6:17-28 ). It is said that when the head of John was brought to her by her daughter, she drove her bodkin through the faithful tongue that had dared to denounce the infamy of her marriage.

Herod’s great grandchildren. First, Salome, the dancing girl named in Mar 6 . Second, Herod Agrippa II. This is the titular king, Agrippa, before whom Paul spoke (Act 25:13 ). Third, Bernice, his sister (Act 25:23 ). Fourth, Drusilla, another sister, who married Festus (Act 24:24 ). Of these the last six named were descended through Herod’s second wife, Mariarnne, the Maccabean princess.

THE NEW TESTAMENT AND CAESAR As in the Old Testament “Pharaoh” is a title of all the Egyptian rulers, so always in the New Testament “Caesar” is a title of the Roman ruler. In the New Testament about twenty-seven times “Caesar” is so used, without the name of the particular Caesar. Twelve Caesars ruled at Rome from the birth of Christ to the close of the canon of the New Testament, and perhaps one more, Trajan, when John the apostle died. The names of the twelve in order, and the dates of their reigns, are as follows:

Augustus 31 B.C. to A.D. 14

Tiberius A.D. 14-37

Gaius A.D. 37-41

Claudius A.D. 41-54

Nero A.D. 54-68

Galba A.D. 68-69

Otho A.D. 69

Vitellius A.D. 69

Vespasian A.D. 69-79

Titus A.D. 79-81

Domitian A.D. 81-96

Nerva A.D. 96-98

Three of these are named in the New Testament: Augustus, Luk 2:1 ; Tiberius, Luk 3:1 ; Claudius, Act 11:28 ; Act 18:2 . Nero is referred to but not named (Act 25:8 ).

QUESTIONS

1. What sections of Matthew and Luke are devoted to our Lord’s early life?

2. What are the incidents given in Matthew?

3. In Luke?

4. From whose viewpoint is written all this section of Matthew?

5. From whose viewpoint Luke’s section?

6. How does this account for the apparent discrepancy between their genealogies?

7. How does Paul characterize the incarnation of our Lord?

8. What passage from Isaiah does Matthew quote and apply to the incarnation?

9. What name of the child does Matthew give as expressive of the mystery?

10. What other passage from Isaiah gives names of the child expressive of this mystery?

11. How does the angel, in Luke, explain the mystery of a virgin becoming a mother and the resultant nature of the child?

12. Give Mark’s name of this wonderful child.

13. How does Paul state the matter?

14. How does such a son escape hereditary depravity?

15. How does this alone fulfil the first gospel promise in Genesis?

16. According to Paul, what is the relation of Adam to Jesus? (See last clause of Rom 5:14 .)

17. Give in brief Paul’s argument on this relation in Rom 5:12-21 . Ans. As through one trespass (not many) of one man (not one woman) sin, condemnation and death came upon all his fleshly descendants. So through one act of righteousness (death on the cross) of one man (the vicarious Substitute) justification, unto eternal life came upon all his spiritual descendants.

18. How does Paul further contrast the first Adam and his image transmitted to his fleshly descendants with the Second Adam and his image borne by his spiritual descendants? (See 1Co 15:45-49 .)

19. What then may we say of this miracle of the incarnation?

20. Give the significant Bible usage of the phrase “The book of the generation.”

21. Contrast the account of our Lord’s infancy and childhood, given by Matthew and Luke, with the human inventions of traditions concerning the same period.

22. What two sentences of Luke, one concerning the development of his childhood, the other concerning his development into manhood, give the record of most of our Lord’s earthly life?

23. What other sentence of Luke tells the whole story of his obedience to the Fifth Commandment?

24. What phrase of Luke discloses a religious habit of all his early life?

25. What question recorded by Mark reveals his occupation in all that early life?

26. What may we gather from the history of his subsequent life, as to his studies, observation and general information?

27. As to his literary attainments, how do you prove that he knew and spoke Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek?

28. How should you commence Matthew’s genealogy (allowing him self to supplement) and Luke’s (allowing Paul to supplement)?

29. In the two accounts of our Lord’s birth and infancy are eight annunciations, with eight other supernatural events, adapted in time, place, medium, means, and circumstances to the several recipients: give them, in order, and then show which three came by vision, which five by dreams, which one by the Holy Spirit, which one by an unborn babe, and which four by inspiration.

30. In Luke’s account alone are five historic hymns, or the foundations from which they were developed. Name them in order.

31. Give the substance of the gospel teaching concerning Mary.

32. Give the several items of the monstrous Mariology and blasphemous Mariolatry developed by Romanists from the simple Bible story of Mary, and the scriptural proof they cite for each, and your reply thereto.

33. If we add to this Mariolatry its inventions concerning the See of Rome and Peter, what should this church be called?

34. Name the member of the Herod family mentioned in the New Testament, citing the passage in each case, and the relationship to Herod the Great, and which of these were descendents of Mariamne, the Maccabean princess?

35. How does the New Testament use the term “Caesar?”

36. How many Caesars ruled at Rome from the birth of Christ to the close of the New Testament canon?

37. Which three are named in the New Testament and where, and which other alluded to and where?

38. It is supposed that John lived to the close of the first century A.D. then what other Caesar must you add to the twelve?

VI

BEGINNINGS OF MATTHEW AND LUKE (CONTINUED)

Scriptures same as for chapter V.

MATTHEW’S Genealogy.

There are three notable peculiarities in Matthew’s genealogy. The first is, he commences with the rare phrase, “The book of the generation,” found nowhere else except in Gen 5:1-3 , concerning the first Adam. The uniqueness of this peculiarity and the correspondence between Mat 1:1 and Gen 5:1 , are of evident design. The proof of the design appears from Paul’s discussion of the matter. First, Paul says there are two Adams, the first a figure or type of the Second (Rom 5:14 ). The first was created; the Second was the only begotten Son. In Rom 5 Paul adds that as through one trespass of one man (the first Adam), sin, condemnation and death came upon all his descendants, so through one act of righteousness (on the cross) of one man, the Second Adam, justification unto eternal life came upon his descendants. The parallel or contrast between the two Adams he further discusses thus: “So also it is written, the first man Adam became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. Howbeit, that is not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; then that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is of heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.”

The second peculiarity of Matthew’s genealogy consists in his division of the time from Abraham to Christ into three periods thus: From the patriarchy (or family rule in Abraham) , to the theocracy (or national rule at Sinai); second, From Abraham to David; from David to the captivity; from the captivity to Christ. Some have managed to find a difficulty in Matthew’s making three sets of fourteen with only forty-one names. But Matthew does not say that there were three sets of fourteen names, but three sets of fourteen generations. The generations here, as many times elsewhere, mean time periods. It is about equivalent to saying from Abraham to the earthly monarchy, first period; from the earthly monarchy to its downfall, second period; from the downfall of the earthly monarchy to the coming of the spiritual King, third period.

This period division suits Matthew’s plan as the book of the King. David, the typical king, is the central figure of three periods, which terminate in the antitypical or spiritual King. Matthew does not give every name, but according to the established method of Bible genealogies, he sometimes passes over a son to the grandson.

Another writer, with a different plan, might make four periods thus: From the patriarchy (or family rule in Abraham), to the theocracy (or national rule at Sinai); second, from the theocracy to the beginning of the monarchy; third, from the beginning of the monarchy to the hierarchy (or high priest rule); fourth, from the hierarchy to Jesus, the true Patnarches, Theos, basileus, hiereus.

Matthew’s third peculiarity is, that contrary to Jewish custom, he names four women: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba. As they are not named in the list of fourteen’s, they must be named in this connection for other reasons. Two facts suggest the probable reason for naming these women. First, three of the four at least were Gentiles, and quite possibly the fourth. Tamar and Rahab were Canaanites, Ruth was a Moabite, Bathsheba, the wife of a Hittite, was a granddaughter of Ahithophel, the Gilonite, and counsellor of David, who sided with Absalom, and afterward hanged himself. It is true that Giloh, his home city, was one of the mountain cities assigned to Judah at the conquest, but that does not prove that all of its inhabitants were Jews. Ahithophel does not act as a Jew, but with many other foreigners he accepted office under David. Eliam, otherwise Ammiel, his son, and father of Bathsheba, with Uriah, another foreigner, was one of David’s mighty men. Bathsheba herself does not act like a Jewess, for she married a Hittite, Uriah, the war comrade of her father. So she probably, as the other three women certainly, was a Gentile. The ending “ite,” as in Gilonite, usually, not always, indicates a Gentile tribe or nation.

The second fact is that only one of the four, Ruth the Moabite, was chaste in life. Tamar, in the garb of harlot, deceived her father-in-law, Judah. Rahab was an open harlot in Jericho, and Bathsheba was an adulteress. The fact of four such maternal ancestors seems to prophesy, in a way, that their coming illustrious Descendant would preach a gospel of mercy to the foreigner and to the fallen.

Some writers have wasted much energy in endeavoring to reconcile Luke’s genealogy with Matthew’s. There is not the slightest reason to attempt it.

Matthew gives our Lord’s legal descent through Joseph’. Luke gives his real descent through Mary. As both Joseph and Mary were descendants of Abraham and David, they will in part coincide and in part diverge. The extent of the coincidence or the divergence is immaterial.

THE ANNUNCIATION TO ZACHARIAS Luk 1:5-25

We have already seen that there were eight annunciations, as follows: To Zacharias, Mary, Joseph, Elisabeth, the shepherds, Simeon, Mary again by Simeon, and the magi. Some of these were by the angel Gabriel, some by the Holy Spirit and one by astronomical phenomenon. It is noteworthy that in every case the time, medium, place, and matter of the announcement are all adapted to the recipient and his or her circumstances. Just here we may note the contrast in the Bible between the offices of the angel Gabriel, and of the arch-angel Michael. Gabriel is sent always on missions of mercy; Michael always for the defense of God’s people, for war and vengeance on their enemies.

In the announcement to Zacharias the time is in the days of Herod the king, the scene is the Temple at Jerusalem, the place is the sanctuary or holy place, the hour is the time of the daily sacrifice. The circumstances of this announcement are: Zacharias, as priestly mediator, is burning the incense at the golden altar in the holy place, while the people outside are offering up the prayers represented by the incense. Twice every day, morning and evening, the people thus come to the Temple at the hour of prayer. (Compare Act 3:1 .) Being only a priest, Zacharias could not enter the most holy place; his ministrations stopped at the veil which hides the mercy seat, which is entered only once a year by the high priest on the great day of atonement (Lev 16 ). The offering of the incense was the highest honor that could come to a priest, and as it was determined by lot, it might not come more than once in a lifetime to the same man. The perpetuity of these mediatorial ministrations was secured by dividing the descendants of Aaron into twenty-four courses, with fixed dates for one course to relieve another. As we see from the text, Zacharias belonged to the course of Abijah, which was the eighth. This division of the priests into courses was established by David, as we learn from 1Ch 24 . Zacharias himself had a burden. His wife was barren, and both were now old. While burning the incense which represented the prayers of the people, he himself was praying for a son. The medium of the announcement to him was the angel Gabriel, who comes with an answer to his prayer while he is yet praying, as he had come on another great occasion to Daniel (Dan 9:20-21 ) The means was a vision. The matter was that not only would a son be born to him and Elisabeth, but his son would be a Nazirite, great in the sight of God, full of the Spirit from his mother’s womb, the forerunner of the Messiah, to make ready a people prepared for him according to prophecy, in the spirit and power of Elijah, turning many of the children of Israel to God and turning the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the justified. This, like the honor conferred on Mary, was unique, occurring only once in the world’s history.

Zacharias was filled with unbelief because of the natural difficulties on account of the impotency of his age and the barrenness of his wife. Why did he not consider the similar cases of Abraham and Sarah, of Isaac and Rebecca, and the case of Hannah, the mother of Samuel? Zacharias might have known from these illustrious incidents of the past history of his people, that the supernatural can overcome the natural. Because of his hesitation to believe the words of the angel, a sign was given unto him he should be dumb until the promise was fulfilled.

THE ANNUNCIATION TO MARY

The time is six months later than the annunciation to Zacharias.

The place is Mary’s home at Nazareth.

The medium is the same angel, Gabriel.

The matter is that she shall bear a Son, named Jesus, who shall also see the Son of the Most High, and who shall sit on the throne of his father David, ruling over an everlasting kingdom.

The explanation of the prodigy of a birth without a human sire is, “The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee.” Because also, God, not man, is the sire, this offspring shall be “holy” in nature, and shall be called the Son of God. In all the human race this is “the Only begotten of the Father,” and hence the only one born in the world without hereditary depravity.

In this way only could be fulfilled the first gospel promise, “the seed of the woman [not of the man] shall bruise the serpent’s head.” Had he been the seed of the man he would have been born condemned on account of a depraved nature. He could not have saved himself, much less others. It is true “he was made under the law,” but not under its condemnation on his own account. Since he was born holy by nature, and never sinned in practice, and obeyed all its requirements, the law could not condemn him except as a legal substitute for real sinners. It is this that made his death under God’s law vicarious (Isa 53:4-12 ). So that one who rejects his birth of a virgin rejects the whole plan of salvation and the whole. Bible as the word of God. On this point there is not space for compromise as large as the point of a cambric needle, nor as broad as the edge of a razor.

When a man says “NO” to the question, “Do you believe our Lord was born of a virgin?” you need not ask him any other question whatever. And if he says, “Yes,” to this incarnation of God, the one supreme miracle, he need not quibble at any other in the gospel record.

This one conceded, the others come like a conqueror, and from necessity. Luk 1:34-35 is the crux, pivot, hinge, and citadel of all controversies on the joined issue, Natural vs. Supernatural; Atheism vs. Christianity. We have already called attention to the monstrous system of Mariology fruiting in Mariolatry. The base of it all is in the angel’s salutation to Mary: “Hail thou that art highly favored thou that hast favor with God.” It is a matter of translation. Shall we render “highly favored” (Greek, kecharitomene ) “mother of grace,” or “daughter of grace”? Does it mean “fountain of grace,” or “endued with grace,” i.e., grace conferred or found”? A Pope has said that Mary is the mother and fountain of all grace and our only hope of salvation.

MARY’S VISIT TO ELISABETH

Here we note the reason of Mary’s visit. The angel had informed her of Elisabeth’s condition. In all the world, Elisabeth was the only being to whom the modest Mary could confide her own extraordinary condition. She needed a woman’s sympathy and support. Never before and never again could two such women meet to confer concerning their unique motherhood. In all the history of the race only one woman could be the mother of the harbinger of our Lord, and only one be the mother of our Lord. The honors conferred on them were very high, and could never be repeated. As with the mothers, so with the sons.

They would forever stand apart from all other men each without a model, without a shadow, without a successor. The visit lasted three months. What the continuation of the intercommunion and holy confidences, what the mutual womanly sympathy and support in these three months we may infer from the beginning.

At the salutation of Mary, -two mighty tokens of recognition came upon Elisabeth. The babe in her womb, the babe who was to be full of the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb, leaped for joy. Upon her also came the power of God and she herself was full of the Holy Spirit. She was thus prepared to give the greeting her visitor most needed to confirm her faith in the embarrassing circumstances of her novel situation: “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a fulfilment of the things which have been spoken unto her from the Lord.” After such greeting, the chastity and modesty of the virgin could no more be embarrassed, but upon her came a flame of inspiration that kindled that great song

THE MAGNIFICAT On this first Christian hymn, note:

Its correspondence with the Old Testament hymn of Hannah, the mother of Samuel (1Sa 2:1-10 ). Hannah’s song is the model of Mary’s. The correspondence is as remarkable in the circumstances as in the matter of the song. Israel under Eli had been brought very low. The barren Hannah prayed for a child and promised that she would dedicate him to Jehovah as long as he lived. Her illustrious son was the last of the judges and the first of the prophets. He reformed Israel and established the monarchy in David. What a solemn historic lesson, God’s preparation of the mothers of the good and the great, and the devil’s preparation of the mothers of the monsters of vice and cruelty! Compare the mothers of Augustine, Washington, Andrew Jackson, S. S. Prentiss, with the mother of Nero. To the question, Where should the education of a child commence, Oliver Wendell Holmes replied, “With his grandmother.” Think of the faith of Timothy, “which was first in his grandmother, Lois, and in his mother, Eunice “

Note the three divisions of Mary’s hymn: First as it relates to herself (Luk 1:46-49 ). Second, as it relates to God’s moral government of the world (Luk 1:50-53 ). Third, as it relates to Israel (Luk 1:54-55 ). The blessing on the individual Christian widens into a blessing on the people of God, and enlarges into a blessing on the world. How minute in application, how comprehensive in scope, and how correlated in all its parts, is God’s moral government of the universe!

Dr. Lyman Beecher, the greatest of all the Beechers, when asked, “How long were you in preparing your great sermon on ‘God’s Moral Government’ ?” replied, “Forty years.” While the hearers were astounded at the greatness of his production, he himself lamented the short time for preparation. Note the expression in Luk 1:50 , “and his mercy is unto generations and generations of them that fear him,” and mark its origin and import in the Old Testament, to wit: While he visits the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generation, he visits his mercy to the thousandth generation on the children of them that fear him.

THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST Luk 1:57-66 Observe the naming of a Hebrew child at his circumcision. Hence pedobaptists, contending that baptism comes in the place of circumcision, name the child at its baptism and call it “christening.”

The great homiletical theme: “What then shall this child be?” (Luk 1:66 .)

The inspired song of the father. This is called THE BENEDICTUS from the first word, “blessed.” This is the second Christian hymn. It is divided into two distinct parts:

First, the ascription of praise to God for his continued mercy to his covenant people, Israel, according to promise and prophecy from Abraham’s day (Luk 1:68-75 ).

This promise was messianic “to raise up a horn of salvation in the house of David,” “horn” meaning a king or kingdom of power, as in Daniel’s apocalypses, and in Revelation. Dan 8:3 , the ram with two horns of unequal length, represented Persia united with Media. Dan 8:5-9 , the one “notable horn” of the he-goat was Alexander the Great, and the “four horns” his four successors. The “little horn” rising later was Antiochus Epiphanes. Dan 7:7-8 , the “ten horns” of this fourth beast were the ten kingdoms into which the fallen Roman empire was divided, and the “little horn” was the papacy.

So when Zacharias says, “Thou hast raised up a horn of salvation in the house of David,” it means the Messiah, David’s greater Son. One of the prophecies to which Zacharias refers 2Sa 7:12-13 , with which compare Isaiah II. It is evident, therefore, that Zacharias speaks his benediction on God because of spiritual messianic mercies.

The second part of the benediction (Luk 1:76-79 ) is spoken to his son, John, because of his relation to the Messiah of the first part. John was to be (1) the prophet of the Most High. (2) He was to go before the coming Messiah and prepare the way for him. (3) His ministry was to give the people “The knowledge of salvation in the remission of their sins.” We shall have much use later for this last item, when we devote a special chapter to John the Baptist, defining his place in the Christian system.

For the present we note that a true disciple of John was saved. He had “knowledge” of his salvation. This knowledge is experimental since it came through the remission of sins. We are not surprised, therefore, that his candidates for baptism “confessed their sins,” nor that his baptism was “of repentance unto remission of sins,” as Peter preached at Pentecost (Act 2:38 ) and was in harmony with our Lord’s great commission given in his gospel: “Repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all nations beginning at Jerusalem” (Luk 24:47 ).

“The Dayspring from on High” (Luk 1:78 ) is our Lord himself, the Sun of righteousness, in the dawn of his rising.

QUESTIONS

1. What is the first peculiarity of Matthew’s genealogy?

2. Give proof that this correspondence with Gen 5:1 was designed.

3. His second peculiarity?

4. Explain three sets of fourteen with only forty-one names.

5. How might another writer, with a different plan, divide the three from Abraham to Christ into four periods, and give their fulfilment in Christ in four Greek names?

6. Matthew’s third peculiarity, and account for it?

7. How do you reconcile Luke’s genealogy with Matthew’*?

8. Including Paul’s contributions, how should Luke’s genealogy com mence? Ans. Jesus himself, the Second Adam, who was the Lord from heaven (supposed son of Joseph) was the son of Heli.

9. Including a statement from Matthew himself, how should his genealogy commence? Ans. “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, called Immanuel (God with us), the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

10. How many annunciations, to whom, by whom or what, and how?

11. How are all these annunciations adapted to the receivers?

12. Contrast the respective missions of Gabriel and Michael.

13. In the annunciation to Zacharias, give time, scene, place, medium, means, and circumstances.

14. Where was the golden altar of incense, the brazen altar of sacrifice, what was their relation to each other, and what was the doctrine?

Ans. The brazen altar of sacrifice was in the outer court, the golden altar of incense in the holy place before the veil hiding the mercy seat in the most holy place. The relation was that expiatory sacrifice must precede offering up incense representing prayer based on expiation. First expiation of sin, then prayer. The incense was kindled by fire from the brazen altar. To kindle the incense with other fire was punished with death (see Lev 10:1-11 ; Num 3:4 ; Num 26:61 ; 1Ch 24:2 ). The doctrine is that prayer must be offered in the name of Jesus the expiatory victim.

15. Why should the people offer their prayers through the medium of a priest? Ans. Being sinners they must approach God through a mediator.

16. Who these mediators? Ans. The sons of Aaron.

17. How was perpetuity in mediation secured and by whom established?

18. Of which course of the twenty-four was Zacharias?

19. Why could not Zacharias offer the incense in the most holy place, who alone could, and when?

20. What prayer did Zacharias offer for himself, was it answered, and how?

21. Crucial test question: Is it the design of prayer to influence God or merely to reflexively influence the petitioner? (Before you answer read Mat 7:7-11 ; Luk 18:1-14 ; Joh 16:23-24 ; and the author’s interpretation of the trumpets of Rev 8:2-10:1 . See his book on Revelation, pp. 131-159.)

22. Give time, place, medium, means, and matter of the annunciation to Mary.

23. How does the angel explain a virgin’s giving birth to a child?

24. How does such a birth alone fulfill the first gospel promise?

25. How does it insure the child against hereditary depravity?

26. What three proofs must be made in order that Jesus escape condemnation on his own account? Ans. (1) He must be born holy holy in nature. (2) He must be free from actual sin in life. (3) He must perfectly obey all the law.

27. These proofs conceded, then if he yet be condemned and die, what follows? Ans. His death was vicarious a substitute for sinners (Isa 53:4-12 ).

28. What then is the effect of denying the virgin birth of our Lord?

29. What is the virtual relation of the incarnation to all other miracles?

30. How then must we regard Luk 1:34-35 ?

31. What is the base of all the Romanist Mariolatry?

32. Does the Greek word rendered “endued with grace,” convey the idea that Mary was the mother of grace or a daughter of grace in other words, that she is the fountain of all grace or the subject of grace conferred?

33. What has a Pope said of Mary?

34. Why did Mary visit Elisabeth?

35. How was it announced to Elisabeth that the mother of our Lord was present?

36. How naturally would Elisabeth’s inspired response comfort and confirm the modest virgin?

THE MAGNIFICAT

37. What is its Old Testament model?

38. What historic lesson suggested, and illustrate.

39. Point out the three divisions of Mary’s hymn.

40. Who preached a great sermon illustrating the second division?

41. What is the origin and meaning of “unto generations and generations” v.50?

BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

42. On what occasion did Hebrews name their male children and why do pedobaptists in imitation christen their children?

43. What great sermon theme here?

THE BENEDICTUS

44. Why song of Zacharias, so called?

45. What two divisions of the song?

46. What the nature of the first part and the relation of second thereto?

47. Meaning of “horn of salvation in the house of David”? Illustrate by “horn” from Daniel and cite two pertinent Old Testament messianic promises.

48. What three things in the second part of the Benedictua said of John the Baptist?

49. What does the last prove of a true disciple of John?

Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible

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.

Ver. 5. In the days of Herod ] Herod a stranger, upon the death of Antigonus, last of the Maccabeans, by Augustus’ favour, was made King of Judea, and reigned 34 years. After his and his son’s death, Judea was again reduced into a Roman province, and the government thereof committed unto Pontius Pilate, then to Petronius, after him to Felix, Festus, Albinus, and Florus, whose cruelty provoked the Jews to rebellion and war, to their utter overthrow.

Of the course of Abia ] According to their weekly waitings at the altar, 1Ch 24:7-18 . God would not have his ministers over wrought, though he require them to labour according to their strength, even to weariness. But how thankless is their labour that do wilfully overspend themselves!

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

5 25. ] ANNOUNCEMENT BY GABRIEL OF THE BIRTH OF JOHN. Peculiar to Luke . The style now totally alters and becomes Hebraistic, signifying that the following is translated or complied from an Aramaic oral narration, or perhaps (from the very distinct character of these two first chapters) document .

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

5. ] . ., which was the eighth of the four and twenty courses of the priests (see ref. 1 Chron.). These courses kept their names and order, though not their descent, after the captivity. The courses, though called , were of a week’s duration each: , Jos. Antt. vii. 14. 7. Meyer observes that if any use is to be made of this note of time of fix the date, our reckoning must be made backward from the destruction of the temple, not forward from the restoration of the courses by Judas Maccabus, because it is not certain what course then began the new order of things; whereas we have a fixed note for the destruction of the temple, that it was on the 9th of Ab, and the course in waiting was that of Jehoiar ib. Comm. ii. p. 194.

With the reading . , we must render, and he had a wife from among

. ] The LXX rendering, Exo 6:23 , of , the wife of Aaron: signifying, Deus juramentum . John was thus of priestly descent by both parents. Cf. Jos. Vit. i. init., , . , .

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Luk 1:5-25 . The birth of the Baptist announced . From the long prefatory sentence, constructed according to the rules of Greek syntax, and with some pretensions to classic purity of style, we pass abruptly to the Protevangelium , the prelude to the birth of Christ, consisting of the remainder of this chapter, written in Greek which is Hebraistic in phrase and structure, and Jewish in its tone of piety. The evangelist here seems to have at command an Aramaic, Jewish-Christian source, which he, as a faithful collector of evangelic memorabilia , allows to speak for itself, with here and there an editorial touch.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

Luk 1:5-7 . The parents of John . , there was, or there lived. ., etc.: in the days, the reign, of Herod, king of Judaea. Herod died 750 A.C., and the Christian era begins with 753 A.C. This date is too late by three or four years. : (a noun formed from – , daily, lasting for a day), not in profane authors, here and in Luk 1:8 in N. T., in Sept [3] , in Chron. and Nehemiah, = (1) a service lasting for a day, or for days a week; (2) a class of priests performing that service. The priests were divided into twenty-four classes, the organisation dating according to the tradition in Chronicles (1Ch 24 ) from the time of David. The order of Abia was the eighth (1Ch 24:10 ). Josephus (Ant., vii., 14, 7) uses and to denote a class. On the priesthood and the temple worship and the daily service, consult Schrer’s History , Div. ii., vol. i., pp. 207 298. a daughter of Aaron; John descended from priestly parents on both sides.

[3] Septuagint.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

Luke

ELIJAH COME AGAIN

Luk 1:5 – Luk 1:17 .

The difference between the style of Luke’s preface Luk 1:1 – Luk 1:4 and the subsequent chapters relating to the Nativity suggests that these are drawn from some Hebrew source. They are saturated with Old Testament phraseology and constructions, and are evidently translated by Luke. It is impossible to say whence they came, but no one is more likely to have been their original narrator than Mary herself. Elisabeth or Zacharias must have communicated the facts in this chapter, for there is no indication that those contained in this passage, at all events, were known to any but these two.

If we were considering a fictitious story, we should note the artistic skill which prepared for the appearance of the hero by the introduction first of his satellite; but the order of the narrative is due, not to artistic skill, but to the divinely ordered sequence of events. It was fitting that John’s office as Forerunner should begin even before his birth. So the story of his entrance into the world prepares for that of the birth which hallows all births.

I. We have first a beautiful outline picture of the quiet home in the hill country.

The husband and wife were both of priestly descent, and in their modest lives, away among the hills, were lovely types of Old Testament godliness. That they are pronounced ‘blameless’ militates against no doctrine of universal sinfulness. It is not to be taken as dogma at all, but as the expression of God’s merciful estimate of His servants’ characters. These two simple saints lived, as all married believers should do, yoked together in the sweet exercise of godliness, and helping each other to all high and noble things. Hideous corruption of wedlock reigned round them. Such profanations of it as were shown later by Herod and Herodias, Agrippa and Bernice, were but too common; but in that quiet nook these two dwelt ‘as heirs together of the grace of life,’ and their prayers were not hindered.

The most of the priests who appear in the Gospels are heartless formalists, if not worse; yet not only Annas and Caiaphas and their spiritual kindred ministered at the altar, but there were some in whose hearts the ancient fire burned. In times of religious declension, the few who still are true are mostly in obscure corners, and live quiet lives, like springs of fresh water rising in the midst of a salt ocean. John thus sprang from parents in whom the old system had done all that it could do. In his origin, as in himself, he represented the consummate flower of Judaism, and discharged its highest office in pointing to the coming One.

This ‘blameless’ pair had a crook in their lot. Childlessness was then an especial sorrow, and many a prayer had gone up from both that their solitary home might be gladdened by children’s patter and prattle. But their disappointed hope had not made them sour, nor turned their hearts from God. If they prayed about it, they would not murmur at it, and they were not thereby hindered from ‘walking in all God’s commandments and ordinances blameless.’ Let us learn that unfulfilled wishes are not to clog our devotion, nor to silence our prayers, nor to slacken our running the race set before us.

II. We are carried away from the home among the hills to the crowded Temple courts.

The devout priest has come up to the city, leaving his aged wife in solitude, for his turn of service has arrived. Details of the arrangements of the sacerdotal ‘courses’ need not detain us. We need only note that the office of burning incense was regarded as an honour, was determined by lot, and took place at the morning and evening sacrifice. So Zacharias, with his censer in his hand, went to the altar which stood in front of the veil, flanked on the right hand by the table of shewbread, and on the left by the great lamp-stand. The place, his occupation, the murmur of many praying voices without, would all tend to raise his thoughts to God; and the curling incense, as it ascended, would truly symbolise the going up of his heart in aspiration, desire, and trust. Such a man could not do his work heartlessly or formally.

Mark the manner of the angel’s appearance. He was not seen as in the act of coming, but was suddenly made visible standing by the altar, as if he had been stationed there before; and what had happened was not that he came, but that Zacharias’s eyes were opened. So, when Elisha’s servant was terrified at the sight of the besiegers, the prophet prayed that his eyes might be opened, and when they were, he saw what had been there before, ‘the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire.’ Not the Temple courts only, but all places are full of divine messengers, and we should see them if our vision was purged. But such considerations are not to weaken the supernatural element in the appearance of this angel with his message. He was sent, whatever that may mean in regard to beings whose relation to place must be different from ours. He had an utterance of God’s will to impart.

It has often been objected to these chapters that they are full of angelic appearances, which modern thought deems suspicious. But surely if the birth of Jesus was what we hold it to have been, the coming into human life of the Incarnate Son of God, it is not legend that angel wings gleam in their whiteness all through the story, and angel voices adore the Lord of men as well as angels, and angel eyes gaze on His cradle, and learn new lessons there.

III. We have next the angel’s message.

The devoutest heart is conscious of shrinking dread when brought face to face with celestial brightness that has overflowed into our darkness. So ‘Fear not’ is the first word on the messenger’s lips, and one can fancy the accent of sweetness and the calm of heart which followed. It has often been thought that Zacharias had been praying for offspring while he was burning incense; but the narrative does not say so, and besides the fact that he had ceased to hope for children as is shown by his incredulity, surely it casts a slur on his religious character to suppose that personal wishes were uppermost at so sacred a moment. Prayers that he had long ago put aside as finally refused, now started to life again. God delays often, but He does not forget. Blessings may come to-day as the result of old prayers which have almost passed from our memory and our hope.

Observe how brief is the announcement of the child’s birth, important as that was to the father’s heart, and how the prophecy lingers on the child’s future work, which is important for the world. His name, character, and work in general are first spoken, and then his specific office as the Forerunner is delineated at the close. The name is significant. ‘John’ means ‘The Lord is gracious.’ It was an omen, a condensed prophecy, the fulfilment of which stretched beyond its bearer to Him as whose precursor alone was John a token of God’s grace.

His character Luk 1:15 puts first ‘great in the sight of the Lord.’ Then there are some whom God recognises as great, small as we all are before Him. And His estimate of greatness is not the world’s estimate. How Herod or Pilate or Caesar, or philosophers at Athens, or rabbis in Jerusalem would have scoffed if they had been pointed to the gaunt ascetic pouring out words which they would have thought wild, to a crowd of Jews, and been told that that was the greatest man in the world except One! The elements of greatness in the estimate of God which is truth, are devotion to His service, burning convictions, intense moral earnestness, superiority to sensuous delights, clear recognition of Jesus, and humble self-abnegation before Him. These are not the elements recognised in the world’s Pantheon. Let us take God’s standard.

John was to be a Nazarite, living not for the senses, but the soul, as all God’s great ones have to be. The form may vary, but the substance of the vow of abstinence remains for all Christians. To put the heel on the animal within, and keep it well chained up, is indispensable, if we are ever to know the buoyant inspiration which comes from a sacreder source than the fumes of the wine-cup. Like John, we must flee the one if we would have the other, and be ‘filled with the Holy Ghost.’

The consequence of his character is seen in his work, as described generally in Luk 1:16 . Only such a man can effect such a change, in a time of religious decay, as to turn many to God. It needs a strong arm to check the downward movement and to reverse it. No one who is himself entangled in sense, and but partially filled with God’s Spirit, will wield great influence for good. It takes a Hercules to stop the chariot racing down hill, and God’s Herculeses are all made on one pattern, in so far that they scorn delights, and empty themselves of self and sense that they may be filled with the Spirit.

John’s specific office is described in Luk 1:17 , with allusion to the closing prophecy of Malachi. That prophecy had kindled an expectation that Elijah, in person, would precede Messias. John was like a reincarnation of the stern prophet. He came in a similar epoch. His characteristic, like Elijah’s, was ‘power,’ not gentleness. If the earlier prophet had to beard Ahab and Jezebel, the second Elijah had Herod and Herodias. Both haunted the desert, both pealed out thunders of rebuke. Both shook the nation, and stirred conscience. No two figures in Scripture are truer brethren in spirit than Elijah the Tishbite and John the Baptist.

His great work is to go before the Messiah, and to prepare Israel for its King. Observe that the name of the coming One is not mentioned in Luk 1:17 . ‘Him’ is enough. Zacharias knew who ‘He’ was. But observe, too, that the same mysterious person is distinctly called ‘The Lord,’ which in this connection, and having regard to the original prophecy in Malachi, can only be the divine name. So, in some fashion not yet made plain, Messiah’s advent was to be the Lord’s coming to His people, and John was the Forerunner, in some sense, of Jehovah Himself.

But the way in which Israel was to be prepared is further specified in the middle clauses of the verse, which are also based on Malachi’s words. The interpretation of ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children’ is very doubtful; but the best explanation seems to be that the phrase means to bring back to the descendants of the ancient fathers of the nation the ancestral faith and obedience. They are to be truly Abraham’s seed, because they do the works and cherish the faith of Abraham. The words imply the same truth which John afterwards launched as a keen-edged dart, ‘Think not to say, We have Abraham to our father.’ Descent after the flesh should lead to kindred in spirit. If it does not, it is nought.

To turn ‘the disobedient to the wisdom of the just’ is practically the same change, only regarded from another point of view. John was sent to effect repentance, that change of mind and heart by which the disobedient to the commands of God should be brought to possess and exercise the moral and religious discernment which dwells only in the spirits of the righteous. Disobedience is folly. True wisdom cannot be divorced from rectitude. Real rectitude cannot live apart from obedience to God.

Such was God’s intention in sending John. How sadly the real effects of his mission contrast with its design! So completely can men thwart God, as Jesus said in reference to John’s mission, ‘The Pharisees and lawyers frustrated the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.’ Let us take heed lest we bring to nothing, so far as we are concerned, His gracious purpose of redemption in Christ!

Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Luk 1:5-7

5In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. 7But they had no child because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years.

Luk 1:5 “Herod” This refers to Herod the Great (37-4 B.C.), an Idumean (from Edom), who, through political maneuvering and the support of Mark Antony, managed to be appointed ruler of a large part of Palestine (Canaan) by the Roman Senate in 40 B.C. See Special Topic: The Family of Herod at Luk 3:1.

“Zechariah” His name meant “remembered by YHWH” (BDB 272). This was John the Baptist’s father.

“the division of Abijah” Only four of the twenty-four divisions of Levites returned from the Exile (cf. 1Ch 24:7-18; 2Ch 23:8). They were then sub-divided (cf. Ezr 2:36-39) so that different ones officiated at the Temple on different weeks. The Abijah division was considered to be the least prestigious of the divisions. For a complete discussion of the priestly divisions see Encyclopaedia Judaica, vol. 12, pp. 89-93.

“he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron” His wife, Elizabeth, was also from a priestly family. Her Hebrew name could mean (1) “God is swearer” or (2) “God fully satisfies.”

Luk 1:6 “they were both righteous in the sight of God” “righteous” is used in this context like Matthew’s definition (cf. Mat 6:1), not Paul’s (cf. Romans 4). This does not imply sinlessness, but someone who faithfully responds to their understanding of God’s will and ways (cf. Deu 6:25. Old Testament examples are Noah, Gen 6:9; Gen 7:1 and Job, Job 1:1). This phrase is included to show that this couple was experiencing childlessness because of physical problems, not spiritual ones. See Special Topic below.

SPECIAL TOPIC: RIGHTEOUSNESS

Luk 1:7 Barrenness was considered a divine curse in Jewish culture (cf. Gen 20:18; Gen 29:31; Gen 30:2; Exo 23:26; Lev 20:20-21; Deu 7:14; 1Sa 1:5; Jer 22:30). There are several barren women mentioned in the Bible:

1. Sarah, Gen 11:30; Gen 16:1

2. Rebekah, Gen 25:21

3. Rachel, Gen 29:31; Gen 30:1

4. Manoah’s wife, Jdg 13:2-3

5. Hannah, 1Sa 1:2; 1Sa 1:5

Not only was Elizabeth barren, but now she was past the time of conception (like Sarah). This condition is theologically used as a way of asserting God’s direct control in the affairs of men. This was not a virgin birth, but a birth with supernatural assistance (like Isaac, cf. Genesis 18; like Joseph, cf. Gen 30:22-24; like Samson, cf. Judges 13; like Samuel, cf. 1 Samuel 1; like Hezekiah, Isa 7:14-16). John the Baptist will fulfill Old Testament prophecy about the one who would prepare the way for the Messiah (cf. Isaiah 40 and Malachi 3).

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

There was = There came to be. A Hebraism, Compare Luk 1:8, and see on Luk 2:1.

in. Greek en. App-104. Not the same word as in verses: Luk 1:15, Luk 1:20, Luk 1:44-47.

in the days. A Hebraism. See Mat 2:1. Compare Est 1:1.

Herod. See App-109.

the king. This title had been conferred by the Roman Senate on the recommendation of Antony and Octavius.

of = out of. Greek. ek, App-104.

Abia is named in 1Ch 24:10, and Neh 12:17. Out of the four who returned from Babylon twenty-four courses were formed (by lot) with the original names. See App-179.

the daughters of Aaron. The female descendants of Aaron always married priests

Elisabeth. Aaron’s wife, Elisheba (Exo 6:23)is spelled Elizabethin the Septuagint.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

5-25.] ANNOUNCEMENT BY GABRIEL OF THE BIRTH OF JOHN. Peculiar to Luke. The style now totally alters and becomes Hebraistic, signifying that the following is translated or complied from an Aramaic oral narration, or perhaps (from the very distinct character of these two first chapters) document.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Luk 1:5-6. 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. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

You have here a very interesting couple, Zacharias and Elisabeth, a priest with a wife. I have often marveled why the Church of Rome should think it wrong that priests should be married, when it is evident that the priests under the law were so. The priests had grown so numerous that there was not room for them all to work at the Temple at one time; they were divided into twenty-four courses, and Zacharias would, therefore, come up to Jerusalem for a fortnight to take his share of the service. Zacharias and Elisabeth were notable for excellence of character: They were both righteous before God. Not only did they stand high in the esteem of men, but the great God, who reads the hearts of all, and sees how they live in secret, reckoned them to be righteous: They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments-that is, in the moral precepts of the law-and ordinances-that is in the ceremonial rites- of the Lord blameless.

Luk 1:7-9. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. And it came to pass, that while he executed the priests office before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priests office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord,

Certain offices of the priest were considered to be more honourable than others; and so, to prevent any jealousy, they cast lots as to which they should take in turn. It fell to the lot of Zacharias to burn incense; this did not happen by chance. The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord; and there was a special reason why this good man should stand at the altar at this particular time.

Luk 1:10. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

While he, in the inner shrine, was burning incense, the multitudes in the outer courts were engaging in prayer. I think that is a very beautiful symbol,-the priest unseen, like the Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy of Holies above, and the mass of the people engaged in prayer while the unseen priest is offering the sacred perfume before the altar of Jehovah.

Luk 1:11-12. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

He was a good man, yet he was troubled at the sight of an angel.

Consciousness of sin, even in an outwardly blameless man, makes us all tremble in the presence of anything heavenly. This bright spirit had come fresh from the courts of God; he was a courtier of the heavenly Temple, and he had come down on a sudden with a sweet and cheering message for the earthly priest; but the priest was troubled, and fear fell upon him. Brethren, we cannot know much of heaven here below, because it would cause us trembling; we are as yet unfit for all the glories of that upper state. Good John Berridge wrote,-

And now they range the heavenly plains,

And sing their hymns in melting strains;

And now their souls begin to prove The heights and depths of Jesus love.

Ah Lord, with tardy steps I creep,

And sometimes sing, and sometimes weep;

Yet strip me of this house of clay,

And I will sing as loud as they.

Yes, and so will we; we will be as much at home as the happy saints, who dwell in light, when once we are delivered from this hampering flesh and blood.

Luk 1:13. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard;

The best quietus to fear is answered prayer. If God has heard thee, be not thou again afraid.

Luk 1:13. And thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

The grace or the gift of God, so the name John signifies; and it is a sweet name for anyone to bear: Thou shalt call his name John. I do not think the prayer alluded to here was so much a prayer for a son; if so, methinks that Zacharias had long ago left off praying it, and now his old prayers are heard, after he had discontinued them. I think that it alludes rather to his prayer for the coming of the Christ, the appearance of the Messiah; that prayer was heard, as we shall see further on.

Luk 1:14-15. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink;

I do not say that it is the duty of every man to drink neither wine nor strong drink, but I beg every man to notice that if anyone was to be peculiarly consecrated to a holy calling, it was always to be so; He shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. If there be nothing defiling about wine or strong drink, there is certainly nothing sanctifying about it; and the tendency seems to lie the other way, else it is a strange thing that men dedicated to God were so continually bidden to drink neither wine nor strong drink.

Luk 1:15-17. And he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mothers womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 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.

In the third chapter of this Gospel, you will find the record of John beginning to fulfill this prophecy concerning himself.

This exposition consisted of readings from Luk 1:5-17; Luk 3:1-18.

Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible

Luk 1:5. , there was) Following close upon the Preface itself, Luke exhibits the History of Jesus Christ from His entrance into the world, up to the time of His ascension into heaven. In this History we may note-

I.THE BEGINNING: wherein we have

1.The conception of John, Luk 1:5-25

2.The conception of Jesus Himself, Luk 1:26-56

3.The nativity and circumcision of John: the hymn of Zacharias: the youth of John, Luk 1:57-80

4.Jesus Christs (a) Nativity, Luk 2:1-20

(b) Circumcision and name given, Luk 2:21

(c) Presentation to the Lord in the temple, Luk 2:22-38

(d) His own country and growth, Luk 2:39-40

II.THE MIDDLE: when He was twelve years of age, and subsequently, Luk 2:41-52

III.HIS COURSE [MINISTRY] itself.

1.The entrance on it: wherein is described the Baptist; His baptism, His temptation, Luk 3:1-2; Luk 3:21-22; Luk 4:1-13

2.The acceptable year in Galilee,

A.Set forth before His hearers at Nazareth, Luk 4:14-30

B.Made good in actual performance:

.At Capernaum, and in that region. Here are to be noted-

1.His acts not censured by his adversaries; whereby Jesus

1.Powerfully teaches, Luk 4:31-32

2.Delivers one demoniacally possessed, Luk 4:33-37

3.Cures the mother-in-law of Peter, and many sick persons, Luk 4:38-41

4.Teaches everywhere, Luk 4:42-44

5.Calls Peter, and also James and John, Luk 5:1-11

6.Cleanses the leper, Luk 5:12-16

2.His acts censured by His adversaries, and that with gradually increasing severity.

To this class belong-

1.The man with palsy, Luk 5:17-26

2.The call of Levi, and the eating with publicans and sinners, Luk 5:27-32

3.The question as to fasting answered, Luk 5:33-39

4.The plucking of the ears of corn, Luk 6:1-5

5.The withered hand restored, and the plotting against Jesus, Luk 6:6-11

3.His acts, of which the issue [result] was different in the case of the different persons with whom He had to do:

1.In the case of His chosen apostles, Luk 6:12-16

2.In the case of His other hearers, Luk 6:17-18; Luk 6:20-49

3.In the case of the centurion, Luk 7:1-10

4.In the case of the disciples of John, in connection with whom we have-

a.The occasion of the raising of the young man at Nain, Luk 7:11-18

b.The embassy from John, Luk 7:18-23

c.The reproof,Luk 7:24-35

5.In the case of Simon the Pharisee, and the sinner, the woman who showed Him much love, Luk 7:36-50

6.In the case of His own immediate attendants, Luk 8:1-3

7.In the case of the people, Luk 8:4-18

8.In the case of His mother and brethren, Luk 8:19-21

.On the sea, Luk 8:22-26

And beyond the sea, Luk 8:27-39

.On this side of the sea, again:

1.Jairus, and the woman with the issue of blood, Luk 8:40-56

2.The apostles sent forth, Luk 9:1-6

3.The doubts of Herod, Luk 9:7-9

4.The report of the apostles, Luk 9:10

5.The eagerness of the people: the kindness of the Lord: the five thousand fed, Luk 9:11-17

3.The preparation for His passion, etc.

A.The recapitulation of His doctrine concerning the person of Jesus Christ. Silence enjoined; His passion foretold; following Him enjoined, Luk 9:18-19; Luk 9:21-27

B.His transfiguration on the mountain; the lunatic healed; His passion again foretold; humility and moderation commanded, Luk 9:28-29; Luk 9:37-38; Luk 9:43-44; Luk 9:46-47; Luk 9:49-50

C.His great journey to Jerusalem when about to suffer. Herein we may fix eighteen intervals [incidents marking divisions]:

I.THE SAMARITANS, unwilling to receive Him, yet tolerated, Luk 9:51-57

II.On the way: unsuitable followers repulsed: suitable ones constrained, Luk 9:57-62

III.AFTERWARDS, seventy messengers sent before Him: and received back with joy Luk 10:1-24

AND a lawyer taught love to his neighbour by the example of the Samaritan, Luk 10:25-37

IV.In a certain village, Mary preferred to Martha, Luk 10:38-42

V.In a certain place, the disciples are taught to pray, Luk 11:1-13

In a certain place, the demon is cast out: this act is defended, Luk 11:14-26

In a certain place, the exclamation of the woman of the company is corrected, Luk 11:27-28

In a certain place, the people who were eagerly desirous of a sign, are reproved, Luk 11:29-36

VI.In a certain house, the Pharisees and Scribes are refuted, Luk 11:37-38; Luk 11:45-54

VII.A discourse is addressed to the disciples, Luk 12:1-12

A discourse is addressed to one interrupting Him with a request, Luk 12:13-21

A discourse is addressed to the disciples, Luk 12:22-40

A discourse is addressed to Peter, Luk 12:41-53

A discourse is addressed to the people, Luk 12:54-59

VIII.The need of repentance is shown, Luk 13:1-9

In the synagogue the woman is healed on the Sabbath, the kingdom of God thus increasing as the mustard-seed, Luk 13:10-21

IX.On the journey, He declares the fewness of those about to be saved, Luk 13:22-30

X.On that day Herod is called a fox; Jerusalem is reproved, Luk 13:31-35

XI.In the house of the Pharisee, a man with a dropsy is healed on the Sabbath, Luk 14:1-6

Humility is taught, Luk 14:7-11

True hospitality, Luk 14:12-14

The principle [ratio] of the great feast, Luk 14:15-24

Self-denial required, Luk 14:25-35

XII.Joy over repenting sinners is defended, Luk 15:1-2; Luk 15:11-12

Their duty as stewards is enjoined on the disciples,Luk 16:1-13

And the avarice and derision of the Pharisees are refuted, Luk 16:14-31

They are cautioned against Offences, Luk 17:1-4

The faith of the apostles is increased, Luk 17:5-10

XIII.On the borders of Samaria and Galilee, He cures ten lepers, Luk 17:11-19

XIV.He answers the question as to the time of the coming of the kingdom of God, Luk 17:20-37

He recommends continual and humble prayer, Luk 18:1-2; Luk 18:9-14

XV.He blesses little children, Luk 18:15-17

He answers the rich ruler, Luk 18:18-27

And Peter, Luk 18:28-30

XVI.He foretells the Passion a third time, Luk 18:31-34

XVII.Nigh Jericho, a blind man given sight, Luk 18:35-43

XVIII.In Jericho, salvation is conferred on Zaccheus, Luk 19:1-10

An answer is given as to the sudden appearance of the kingdom of God, Luk 18:11-28

4.His acts at Jerusalem.

A.The first days of the great week.

1.His royal entry into Jerusalem, Luk 19:29-44

2.In the temple,

.The abuse of it corrected and chastised, Luk 19:45-46

.Its right use restored,Luk 19:47-48

And vindicated, Luk 20:1-8

3.Discourses in the temple:

.The parable concerning the husbandmen, Luk 20:9-19

.The answer concerning the tribute-money, Luk 20:20-26

And concerning the resurrection, Luk 20:27-40

.The question concerning Davids Lord, Luk 20:41-44

.The disciples warned of the Scribes, Luk 20:45-47

.The widows offering praised, Luk 21:1-4

4.The end foretold, of the temple, of the city, of the universe, Luk 21:5-6; Luk 21:8-9; Luk 21:25-26; Luk 21:28-29

5.The covenant of His adversaries and the traitor, Luk 22:1-6

B.Thursday.

a.The preparations for the Passover made by Peter and John, Luk 22:7-13

b.The Supper, and words spoken at it, Luk 22:14-23

c.Who is the greatest? Luk 22:24-30

Peter and the rest of the disciples are admonished, Luk 22:31-32; Luk 22:35-38

d.On the Mount of Olives:

1.Jesus prays to the Father, is strengthened by an angel, and rouses His disciples Luk 22:39-46

2.Is betrayed: is unseasonably defended [by Peters sword] against His assailants. Bears Himself holily,Luk 22:47-53

e.Being seized, He is led into the high priests house, Luk 22:54

Peter denies Him and weeps, Luk 22:55-62

The Lord is mocked, Luk 22:63-65

C.Friday.

.His Passion and Death. His acts,

1.In the Council, etc., Luk 22:66-71

2.In the Governors hall, Luk 23:1-5

3.Before Herod, Luk 23:6-12

4.Again in the Governors hall, Luk 23:13-14; Luk 23:17-25

5.On the way to the cross, Luk 23:26-32

6.At Golgotha; where we have the description of-

a.The cross itself; and Jesus prayer for their forgiveness, Luk 23:33-34

b.The parting of His garments, Luk 23:34-35

c.The taunts uttered against Him, and among these the inscription on the Cross Luk 23:35-39

d.One of the robbers, however, converted, Luk 23:40-43

e.The miraculous portents, and the death of Jesus, Luk 23:44-46

f.The spectators, Luk 23:47-49

.His burial, Luk 23:50-53

D.The preparation and the Sabbath, Luk 23:54-56

E.The Insurrection: it becomes known-

a.To the women, Luk 24:1-12

b.To two going into the country, and to Simon, Luk 24:13-35

c.To the rest also, Luk 24:36-37; Luk 24:44-45

F.The instruction of the apostles; the Ascension of our Lord; the joyous alacrity of the apostles, Luk 24:46-53

-, of Herod) All the particulars are set down clearly: the names, the times, and the places. [Not a few of the false prophets-for instance, Mahomet-without premeditated foresight, have by slow and imperceptible degrees gained over parties of retainers, and afterwards deceived both themselves and others: accordingly, the circumstances of their birth and their condition, in their early years, are in the case of such impostors unknown, unworthy of trust, and fictitious. But the conception of Jesus Christ, His nativity, His infancy, His boyhood, etc., are supported as to their credibility by signally striking proofs. From eternity God hath definitely foreordained them, and hath by His ancient prophets declared them, and confirms their fulfilment subsequently by the instrumentality of irrefragable witnesses.-Harm., p. 59.]- , of Judea) The theatre or scene of all the events.-, priest) not the high priest, but one from among the regular courses of priests.- , of the course of Abia) The priests were divided into twenty-four courses or classes: and the course of Abia was the eighth, according to 1Ch 24:10 [Abijah = Abia]. in the usage of the LXX. answers to the Hebrew , sometimes also . Each course in its order had the discharge of the priestly duties devolving on it for seven days, from Sabbath to Sabbath. [Hence it is allowable to infer that Zacharias discharged his turn of duty from the 2d of September to the 9th of September: see Ord. Temp., pp. 230, 231 (Ed. ii. pp. 200, 201): and the 2d of September that year among the people of Israel corresponded to the I. Tisri. Behold how, at the commencement of the year,[4] simultaneously with the angels message which was brought to Zachariah, the New Testament took its commencement.-V. g.]

[4] By the express direction of Moses the year began with Nisan (Exo 12:2, Num 9:1). But this was the ecclesiastical year regulating the festivals; whereas the civil year began, as it begins now, with the month Tisri. The reason which the Rabbins assign for the month Tisri beginning the year is, that it was the month in which creation took place. If this be true, it is appropriate that the New Creation has its first commencements on the same month as the Natural Creation.-ED. and TRANSL.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Luk 1:5-25

SECTION ONE

BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST; BIRTH AND

CHILDHOOD OF JESUS

Luke 1:5 to 2:52

1. THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST FORETOLD

Luk 1:5-25

5 There was in the days of Herod,-This entire chapter is found in Luke only, and is therefore the only record which we have of these events connected with the birth of John and of Jesus. This Herod, king of Judea, is commonly distinguished as “Herod the Great.” Luke properly begins with this verse, as the preceding verses constitute what we call the “Preface.” Matthew uses similar language with respect to Herod. (Mat 2:1.) Luke recognizes events as being marked by the life or times of some principal man. (Luk 4:25; Luk 4:27.) Judea was a province under the Roman government at this time, and had been for some years. It is probable that the birth of John occurred near the end of the reign of Herod. The title “king of Judaea” had been decreed to Herod by the Roman senate on the recommendations of Antony and Octavius.

a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abijah -Luke wastes no words in getting to his subject; he describes minutely the parents of John . “The course of Abijah” was the eighth course. (1Ch 24:1-10.) David divided the priests into twenty-four classes for their convenience in ministering in the tabernacle worship “as the duty of every day required.” (2Ch 8:14.) Each course, from this circumstance, seems to have been called a “daily” course, though the period of its service lasted a week. Abijah received the eighth of the twenty-four classes into which David divided the priests;the head of a course was called the “chief priests.”

Zacharias had “a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.” Elisabeth was a descendant of Aaron and of the priestly tribe; it was a Levitical law that no priest should marry out of his tribe. (Num 36:7-8.) John the Baptist was of the tribe of Levi on both sides; his father Zacharias was a priest and his mother Elisabeth of the priestly family; Luke is careful to show that both the father and mother were of the priestly line.

6 And they were both righteous before God,-Here Luke speaks of the character and circumstances in life of these parents of John. “They were both righteous.” This describes their personal character; they were pious and humble before God; “righteous” refers to what is just and right in the sight of the law rather than to goodness and benevolence of disposition, although the two qualities were combined in Zacharias. They walked “in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” This expresses the habitual daily conduct, including moral precepts and ceremonial rites. Perhaps Luke means to express extraordinary piety, rather than absolute perfection. Such parents are usually chosen of God to be eminently honored and blessed; they were both obedient to the will of God as contained in the Old Testament scripture; they were truly and sincerely living in accordance to the law of Moses;they were blameless according to the imperfect system under which they lived.

7 And they had no child,-Zacharias and Elisabeth were both very old, “well stricken in years”; it seemed from the course of nature that it was impossible for them to have children. “Elisabeth was barren”; many of the Old Testament characters were barren. Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Hannah were barren; it was accounted a disgrace among the ancients for a wife to be barren; not that their barrenness was the effect of sin, but ordained rather by man as a failure to fill the mission that God intended. The wife of Aaron was named Elisabeth (Elisheba), as was the wife of Zacharias. (Exo 6:23.) Some claim that Zacharias could not have been over fifty years old, as the duties of the priest’s office could not be performed beyond that age. “Well stricken in years” does not necessarily mean that he was bowed down and wrinkled with age; it is quite likely that Elisabeth was near the same age of her husband, and if after many years of married life they were childless, their prospects of having children must have been hopeless.

8, 9 Now it came to pass, while he executed the priest’s office-Zacharias was faithful in performing the duties which pertained to his course; he ministered with others of the course or family of Abijah. One of the priests burned incense, another changed the showbread on the Sabbath day, and another took charge of the fire on the altar for burnt offerings; in this way their labors were appointed and a more responsible discharge of the various services secured from each individual. Each of the twenty-four courses served in rotation, but those belonging to a course cast lots each day for the service they were respectively to perform. At this time the course to which Zacharias belonged was serving in the sanctuary, and it fell to him by lot to burn incense, which was the most honorable service, and could be performed only once on the same day by any priest, although incense was offered twice each day, at the morning and evening sacrifice. (Exo 30:7-8.)

10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying—The people assembled in the courts which surrounded the holy place, and while the priests were within burning incense, the people out in the court were engaged in silent prayer. One of the two priests, whose lot it was to offer incense, brought fire from off the altar of burnt offering to the altar of incense, and then left the other priest there alone, who, on a signal from the priest presiding at the sacrifice, kindled the incense. Reference is had in Rev 8:3-4 to this service, and the prayers of God’s people, which were symbolically said to ascend upon the smoke of the incense. Since the people assembled for silent prayer at the time of the burning of incense, that hour has been called the hour of prayer. (Act 3:1.) This hour was at the evening sacrifices which began about three o’clock.

11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord- While Zacharias was attending to the duties of burning incense the angel Gabriel appeared to him;eve do not know the length of time that was spent in burning incense, but it is thought that the angel appeared near the end of his service in the sanctuary. This was no uncommon thing; as there are numerous accounts of divine messengers in the Old Testament. (Gen 19:1; Gen 32:1-2.) This angel represented Jehovah; it is an awful thought for weak sinful man, even at his best, to be brought face to face with a spiritual being; the mortal terrors of one’s own sin and their punishment are enough to frighten one. This angel appeared “standing on the right side of the altar of incense.” The altar of incense stood near the veil in the holy place by the ark of the testimony which was separated from the altar by the veil. It was made of acacia wood, overlaid with gold; the length and breadth of it were one cubit and the height two cubits; on the four corners were golden horns and a crown or scroll work of gold ran around the top. The priest placed upon it the censer of burning incense.

12, 13 And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him,–A pious man learned from the Old Testament scriptures (Jdg 13:6; Jdg 13:21-22), as well as from his own heart, to fear to look upon the celestial beings , the sudden and unusual appearance of the angel terrified or affrighted Zacharias. The angel knew the condition of Zacharias and hastened to reassure him with the usual form of encouragement “fear not” (Dan 10:12; Dan 10:19; Rev 1:17). As Zacharias had given up all hope of a son, this must not be referred to prayer offered at this time, when the angel said “thy supplication is heard.” It is not probable that Zacharias was praying at this time for a son, so the angel referred to the petitions which he and his wife Elisabeth had often made. They had doubtless oftentimes mourned that their prayer was not heard and answered; but now while Zacharias had ceased to pray for a son, he had not done this from a rebellious spirit, but in cheerful acquiescence to the divine will, and hence his mind was in a proper state to receive the blessing. “Thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son”; this shows the special object of their prayers; the angel was more specific than just announcing that Zacharias should have a son; he even told him what to name the son; “thou shalt call his name John.” These names of divine appointment were usually symbolical of some blessing or grace accompanying them, of which they were the pledge. “John” signifies “given” or “bestowed graciously of God.” This name was very appropriate, since the child was given, both as denoting God’s gracious answer to the prayer of Zacharias and the office of John who was to be the forerunner of the Savior of man.

14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness;-The Greek here is highly intensive; it means literally that there should be a “leaping for joy.” This is not to be referred to the simple fact that a child was born to him so unexpectedly, but to John’s piety and evident possession of the divine favor, which would fill his father’s heart with emotions of joy. Not only should the parents of this promised child “leap for joy,” but “many shall rejoice at his birth.” The joy of Zacharias was to be shared by many others; this joy reached its culminating point when thousands flocked to John’s ministry from all parts of the land. (Mat 3:5.) There should be rejoicing because John would herald the long-expected Messiah.

15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord,-There was a literal fulfillment of this promise, for Jesus said: “Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist.” (Mat 11:11.) This means that among men born up to that time there had been no one so highly favored of God. John’s greatness consisted in his privilege of announcing the immediate coming of the Messiah, and the gracious zeal and eloquence with which he did it. (Joh 10:41.) John was to be great “in the sight of the Lord,” not so much in the sight of men; Zacharias is here cautioned against supposing that his son’s greatness would consist in worldly honor or wealth. “He shall drink no wine nor strong drink”; he was to be bound with the Nazirite vow. (Num 6:1-20.) Samson was also bound with this vow. (Jdg 13:2-5.) Wine was the fermented juice of grapes, and God saw fit to restrict the Nazirite and not permit him to drink wine; by such signs all the Jews recognized a man of God, and listened to him with reverence. (Mat 21:32.) Furthermore, John should “be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.” This is given as the reason why he was to be a Nazirite from his very birth. In the life of a Nazirite, there appears consecrated the strict legal character which John, the close and crowning stone, as it were, of the old dispensation, was called to exhibit.

16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn-John’s success is here predicted. “The children of Israel” means the descendants of Jacob, called also Israel. (Gen 32:28.) John was a prophet to the Jews only he did not preach to the Gentiles. We are not told how many were converted under his preaching, but that the number was great is evident, not only from this verse, but from Mat 3:5-6; Mar 1:5; Luk 3:7, and other scriptures, where John’s ministry and baptism are referred to. His work is described as turning the people “unto the Lord their God.” Their sins had separated them from God, and by repentance and obedience, they were brought back to him; John instructed and persuaded the people to do this. Jehovah, in a peculiar sense, was the God of Israel; theirs were “the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom is Christ as concerning the flesh, who is over all, God blessed for ever.” (Rom 9:4-5.)

17 And he shall go before his face-John was to go before Christ as a herald precedes a king. The Christ for whom the people waited was soon to come, and this child should anticipate his coming only by a little these words perhaps refer to Mal 4:5-6. John should go before Christ like one sent forward by an eastern king to prepare the way and make ready suitable places of reception. He should go “in the spirit and power of Elijah.” He should have the zeal and energy of the spirit of Elijah, and should inculcate the universal principles of peace, and get the people ready for the coming of the Messiah. The many points of resemblance between John and Elijah are interesting; it should be noted that the angel here quoted scripture. The angels announced “and on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased” (Luk 2:14) as a characteristic of Christ’s coming; in John’s mission this peace was announced. The account of John’s first preaching to the Jews indicated that all ranks and parties felt, for a time, an inclination to lay aside their differences, and unite to await the Messiah. With the power and spirit of Elijah, John would “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children”; this corresponds to the prophecy of Malachi. In turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, he would move them to holy prayer and endeavor for their salvation. Furthermore he would cause “the disobedient to walk in the wisdom of the just.” This would bring men back from the waywardness of their folly and rebellion against God to the true wisdom of seeking the Lord in penitence and prayer. This is summed up in stating that John would “make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.”

18 And Zacharias said unto the angel,-Zacharias, though smitten with great fear, being assured of the angel not to fear, was pleased to hear all that the angel had said to him. He asked the angel, “Whereby shall I know this?” He wanted to know that the words of the angel were true. A similar question was proposed by Abraham (Gen 15:8; Jdg 6:17); Hezekiah asked for a sign (Isa 38:22). In the case of Zacharias there was so little faith in the message of the angel that the sign of the fulfillment of the promise was also a punishment of his unbelief. Zacharias gave two reasons showing, as he thought, that it would be impossible to fulfill the promise; he said: “I am an old man,” and his second reason was “my wife well stricken in years.” He was not like faithful Abraham who “wavered not through unbelief, but waxed strong through faith.” (Rom 4:18-22. See also Gen 17:1; Gen 17:17; Heb 11:12.) Zacharias, being a priest, should have believed on the testimony of the angel.

19 And the angel answering said unto him,-In reply to Zacharias’ question and in answering his two reasons proposed, the angel said: “I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God.” This should have been enough for the bewildered and doubting Zacharias. The angel condescended to inform Zacharias of his name and angelic dignity. “Gabriel” means “man of God” he was an archangel sent on a special mission. A Jewish priest should know at once that this name carried with it the authority and presence of God. (Dan 8:16; Dan 9:21.) He is represented as the chief archangel, ministering to the infant Messiah. The name “Gabriel” is made up of two Hebrew words, signifying “the man of God.” He stood “in the presence of God” as a dignitary may stand in the presence of a monarch. Our high priest is said “now to appear before the face of God for us.” (Heb 9:24.)

20 And behold, thou shalt be silent-The word in the Greek may also signify “deaf”; because Zacharias believed not the words of the angel, he should be deaf and should not be able to speak. The angel even told him that he should not be able to speak “until the day that these things shall come to pass”; it was the eighth day after the birth of the child that the punishment of his unbelief was remitted, and the power of speech again restored to him. The sentence was pronounced upon Zacharias in terms of severe and expressive fullness. It is specifically declared that unbelief was the cause of his punishment, but we should not lose sight of the love with which his punishment was tempered in that it was a gracious sign of the due fulfillment to the promise. The angel further declared that all that had been promised him would “be fulfilled in their season.” Every event promised, such as the birth, naming, education, and mission of the child, would all occur in orderly succession, and in exact accordance with the prediction made by the angel.

21 And the people were waiting for Zacharias,-The priest did not usually tarry long within the holy place, lest the people, whose representative he was, should be alarmed with the apprehension that divine vengeance had overtaken him for some failure in the discharge of his priestly duty. “They marvelled while he tarried in the temple”; they were wondering and anxious about him, for they knew that it was an awful thing to minister before God. Very likely their mode of conducting their service was so regular and exact that any variation was remarkable. They began to reason among themselves as to the cause of his delay. We do not know how long the interview lasted with the angel; we have no means of knowing; it was probably of short duration, but was longer than others had remained in the sanctuary. This gives a reason for believing that the angel appeared at the close of the period of the ministry of Zacharias this day, and the conversation with the angel delayed the time and caused the people to be anxious about him; the people had assembled for prayer.

22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them -The people saw at once when Zacharias came out that he had seen a vision; they judged this to be the explanation of his delay, and then of his disturbed looks and his unusual silence when he came out. He was unable to dismiss them with the common benediction, so he “continued making signs unto them, and remained dumb.” He made signs to inform them that something extraordinary had occurred, and to dismiss them to their homes. Prophecy had been silent now about four hundred years, and now the priesthood had become dumb as a sign of the approaching end of the Levitical ordinances.

23 And it came to pass, when the days of his ministration- The term “days” used here means the period of time that Zacharias served; they were the days of the week of the course or lot of the priests of Abijah. The priests during their term of service did not enter their own houses, but remained continually in the enclosures of the sacred hill. At the end of their weeks they returned home; Zacharias could not leave, though he had seen an angel; for the angel had not brought him permission to violate the duties of his office. It is supposed that Zacharias lived in the priestly city of Hebron. The priests were divided into twenty-four courses, and a course came to the sanctuary and ministered for a period of time, usually one or two weeks; but even one course or set was so numerous that it was necessary to make a selection out of it of those who should perform the most solemn parts of the service; this was done by lot. It fell to the lot of Zacharias to burn incense, and this is probably the first time that he had had this exalted duty. What a favored lot he drew at this time!

24, 25 And after these days Elisabeth his wife conceived;- The event here spoken of took place soon after the return of Zacharias to his house. After her conception Elisabeth “hid herself five months.” She did this for purposes of modesty and constant devotion; she desired probably to await the certain signs of the facts; she withdrew herself wholly from the sight of others, choosing her own place of concealment. Her sense of delicacy may have been heightened in this instance by her age which would subject her to more than usual notice and remark. Again she had been instructed that the child was to be a Nazirite, and Elisabeth wanted to keep herself within the limitations of a Nazirite; she could do this by voluntarily secluding herself Elisabeth said that the Lord had thus taken away “my reproach among men.” The hopes of a Messiah to be born of a woman increased in the minds of the Jewish women the natural desire for children. (Psa 113:9.) Jewish women thought it peculiarly a reproach to be barren; barrenness was in those times also considered as a deep privation of a great blessing.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

The Coming Forerunner — Luk 1:5-25

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. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless, and they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. And it came to pass, that while he executed the priests office before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priests office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. 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. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. 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 mothers womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 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.

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

And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. 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. And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein He looked on me, to take away my reproach among men- Luk 1:5-25.

There is an interval, as you know, of about four hundred years between the book of Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, and the Gospels of the New Testament. We speak of these sometimes as the four hundred silent years because in those years we have no record, so far as inspired history is concerned, of Gods speaking audibly to man, either directly Himself or through angelic ministration. Of course, in the books sometimes called Apocrypha we do read of angels visiting men and prophets being raised up, but in the inspired Scriptures we have no record of anything of the kind during those four hundred years. They were years of waiting. The people of Israel had returned from captivity in Babylon about B.C. 536 to 445. God had spoken to His prophet Daniel, saying that at the end of a certain limited period-483 years to be exact, 69 periods of seven years each-the Messiah was to come, and the people were waiting for His coming. They knew that the time had almost expired, and one can understand the expectancy with which the Jews would go up to Jerusalem year after year to keep the feasts of the Lord, hoping that the promise would be fulfilled.

But nothing happened until a never-to-be-forgotten day when a priest named Zacharias was ministering in the holy place in the temple at Jerusalem. We read in verse Luk 1:5 : There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judsea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. You will remember that, as recorded in 1 Chronicles, chapter 24, King David divided the priesthood of Israel into twenty-four courses, each course to serve two weeks at a time annually in the temple, and then give place to the next course. The course of Abia was the eighth. (In the Old Testament it is called Abijah, but it would be pronounced as it is spelled here in Luke.) Zacharias, then, belonged to this particular course, and he may or may not have served in the temple on previous occasions, but this day he was burning incense at the sacred altar, the golden altar in the holy place. We read of him and of his wife that, They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless (verse Luk 1:6). That is not to say that they were sinless, for there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not, we are told; but blameless refers to motives. Their motives were right. They were seeking to obey God, to walk with God, and they had, in a sense, His approval except for one thing. It was a great reproach in Israel if a married woman did not give birth to a child; therefore, people must have wondered whether God was displeased with this couple, whether, after all, He did not look upon them with disfavor. But sometimes, you know, God does not do immediately that for which our hearts crave, and yet He has it in His own purpose to reward in due time.

The years went by and this couple were still childless, until now they were quite elderly, and had given up all thought that they might become the parents of a child. But we are told here that while Zacharias on that particular day executed the priests office before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priests office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord (Luk 1:9-10). As he stood at the altar and sprinkled the incense upon the fire that was ever burning there, the multitude of the people gathered outside were bowed in prayer before God. It was a lovely picture of the fellowship of prayer, Zacharias here might really speak of our blessed Lord, who has entered into the Holiest above, ever living to make intercession for us, while we His people join in prayer down here.

As Zacharias was praying and the people were lifting up their hearts to God, suddenly the silence of four centuries was broken. We read: There appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense (Luk 1:11). It must have been a startling thing. No living Israelite had ever seen an angel. They had read of angelic appearances in years gone by, but they must have thought that perhaps all that was over forever and that none of them was ever likely to be so-visited. As Zacharias looked upon this glorious being, we are told, He was troubled, and fear fell upon him (Luk 1:12).

It was a customary thought among the Jews that it meant death to look either upon God or upon any heavenly representative. You remember in the Old Testament how when angels appeared to various ones they were filled with dread, and thought that it meant they were about to die. But the angel immediately quieted his mind. 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 (Luk 1:13). Fear not! This seems to have been a favorite expression on the lips of Gabriel, for farther down in the chapter the same angel is said to have appeared to the blessed virgin Mary, and we read in Luk 1:30 : And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. Then in the second chapter and the tenth verse, where the angel host appeared in glory unto the shepherds tending their flocks on the hillside, we read: The angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy. The gospel message is intended to take away all fear and to fill the heart with assurance, the knowledge of Gods deep and abiding interest in His people.

So the angel quieted Zacharias fears and gave him the promise, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son. And the angel named the son: Thou shalt call his name John (Luk 1:13). What a wonderful thing for a heavenly messenger to give the name for a child! We have several instances like that in Scripture. God told Abraham that he was to call his son Isaac. Here the angel named the child that he said would be born, John. It simply means, The grace of Jehovah.

This son who was to be born was to be the means of bringing joy and gladness to many people, and first of all to his own parents. Thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord (Luk 1:14-15). You remember what the Lord Jesus Himself said of him later on; that of those who were born of women there was none greater than John the Baptist. And yet he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. This man was great, destined to be great, because he was to prepare the way for the coming of the King. He was to baptize the King and to present Him to Israel, but he himself was to go home to be with God, as a result of Herods bitter cruelty, before he saw the new order fully established here in the earth. Therefore, the very least who now receives Christ and enters into the kingdom of God occupies a greater position than John the Baptist himself. He said, The King is coming. We can say, Thank God, He has come, and we are definitely linked up with Him.

John was to be a Nazarite. Long years before, when God gave the Law, He said that if any in Israel were especially devoted to the Lord, they were to keep away from anything that came from the vinetree. They were not even to touch dried raisins or any other product of the vine, because the vine itself was the symbol of joy, and these men gave up the joys of earth in order that they might be more wholly devoted to God Himself. Then there were other regulations laid upon them. They were not to become defiled by coming near any dead body. They were to grow long hair, indicating the place of dependence, until the days of their Nazariteship were fulfilled. Samson was to be a Nazarite from his birth, and he became weak when he allowed his long hair to be cut. John the Baptist also was to be a Nazarite from his birth. He was to be wholly devoted to the service of the Lord from the very beginning. But more than that, he was to be especially, singularly marked out and empowered by the Holy Spirit even from the moment he came into the world. We read: 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 mothers womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God (Luk 1:15-16).

God prepared him from his earliest days for the great mission that he was to fulfil. I think you will often find that when the Lord selects a man for some special work, He puts His hand upon him very early in life and impresses upon him the possibility and the joyful privilege of becoming His messenger to a lost and needy world. How many of Gods servants who have had a great ministry throughout the years were called as little children, children of godly parents, and from their earliest days were made acquainted with the things of the Lord, exercised in regard to their responsibility to God, and then when there came the full, clear consciousness of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, it seemed as though nothing could hold them back. Young as they were, they began proclaiming the unsearchable riches of Christ.

John, then, was called from his very babyhood to be Christs servant, and the assurance was given: Many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God (Luk 1:16). His coming had been foretold back in the book of Isaiah. The Holy Spirit definitely spoke of the coming of this one into the world. In the fortieth chapter, beginning with Luk 1:3, we read: The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it (Luk 1:3-5). This was a prophecy uttered seven hundred years before Johns birth concerning the coming into the world of him who was to be the preparer of the Saviours way.

And then Malachi, the last Old Testament prophet, speaks of him twice. In chapter 3, verse Mal 3:1, God says through Malachi: Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. John the Baptist was that messenger, sent to prepare the way of the Lord. I might add that here you have clear, definite proof as to the Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, because it was Jehovah whose way was to be thus prepared, and John came to prepare the way of Jesus. The Jesus of the New Testament is the Jehovah of the Old Testament. Then in the last chapter of Malachi, verse Mal 4:5, we read: Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse (Mal 4:5-6).

This was prophetic of the ministry of John the Baptist. It was not exactly that Elijah himself was coming back from heaven to earth, but John was to come in his energy. Referring again to the first chapter of Luke, verses Luk 1:16-17, we find that they emphasize the fact that John was the messenger of Jehovah. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 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. The reference is definitely to the prophecy given in Malachi.

You remember how later on, the apostles came to the Lord Jesus as He spoke of His second coming, and asked, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come? Jesus answered them, Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsover they listed; and then He explained that John came in the spirit and power of Elijah. We have no other scripture intimating that Elijah is yet to come. He has already come in the person of John the Baptist. You may say, Well, he is to come before the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Yes, and so he did! The great and dreadful day of the Lord is still in the future, and we have this dispensation of grace in between; but that is in accordance with all Old Testament prophecy. This present age is all hidden. It is the great parenthesis in Gods plan. 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; that is, to call the people of Israel back to the testimony of the Word of God and to that law which had already been committed to their fathers.

When this announcement was made to Zacharias he was filled with amazement. See how human he is! He and his devoted wife had prayed for years, O God, that it would please Thee to give us a son; and they thought they prayed in faith, but the years had gone and no son had come into their home to brighten their lives. And now, when the angel appears and says, You shall soon embrace a son, and you will call his name John Zacharias looked at the angel doubtfully. He forgot how he had prayed all these years. He forgot that God can be depended on to hear the prayer of faith, and he asked the angel: Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years (ver. Luk 1:18). In other words, he is practically saying, Well, what sign will you give me that this promise will be fulfilled? It is almost too much for me to believe. I can scarcely think that my prayer is really going to be heard. What sign will there be that God is going to do this for me? The angel-may I say it reverently?-seemed to be just a little bit nettled over Zacharias lack of faith.

I wonder if our God is not often grieved in the same way over our lack of faith! He gives us such great and precious promises, and we come to Him in prayer, and we spread out our needs before Him and He gives us His Word, and we find ourselves asking, Whereby shall I know this? Hath He spoken, and shall He not do it? That is all that is necessary for faith-the word of the living God. We do not need some other sign in order to make Gods word more certain of fulfilment.

So the angel answered Zacharias and said: I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to show thee these glad tidings (ver. Luk 1:19). In other words, he is practically saying, Zacharias, have you not failed to recognize who it is that has brought this message to you? I am the angel that stands in Gods own presence-Gabriel, Gabriel who appeared to Daniel, Gabriel who unfolded the prophecy of the seventy weeks, who told of the glorious things yet to come. Now he says, I am sent to speak unto thee, and to show thee these glad tidings. That ought to have been enough. I have come direct from the throne as Jehovahs messenger. You ought to be ready to accept my word for it, but now you want a sign. I will give you a sign, a sign perhaps which you will not enjoy, but I will give you a sign since you are not willing to rest upon the naked Word of God. 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 (ver. Luk 1:20).

Unbelief shut Zacharias mouth. The last words that came from his lips before the promise was fulfilled were these: Whereby shall I know? The first words that came from his mouth after the promise was fulfilled were words of praise and thanksgiving. Unbelief made him dumb: faith opened his lips again.

The people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple (ver. Luk 1:21). He was there, you see, at the altar of incense much longer than a priest ordinarily would be. He should have come out, according to the regular course of affairs, to bless the people; but he had remained there in the presence of God, although they did not understand it. So they marvelled that he tarried so long. 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 (ver. Luk 1:22). He stood there and just made a sign, unable to speak. He beckoned unto them, and remained speechless. Instinctively they realized that something amazing had happened, that he had seen a vision. Then we are told: It came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own home (ver. Luk 1:23).

He had to remain but the two weeks there in Jerusalem, and then he went back to his home and in due time God began to fulfil His promise. And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein He looked on me, to take away my reproach among men (vers. Luk 1:24-25).

One can imagine how full her heart must have been as she realized that after all these years God was truly answering prayer, and she was to be the mother of this child who was destined to welcome the Messiah Himself when He came to Israel. Oh, that you and I might learn the lesson of faith, trust, confidence in God, a God whose hand is still stretched out, and who challenges us with the question, Is anything too hard for the Lord?

Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets

Chapter 3

When God Broke His Long Silence

For four hundred years no one on earth had received any word from God. For four hundred years no prophet had been inspired to write a word of inspiration. For four hundred years no angel had been sent from heaven to earth with a message from God to man. No revelation had been given, no vision had been granted. No word had come from God in four hundred years. Then, God spoke again! God chose one man and sent his angel to him with glad tidings from the throne of God. No one had heard from God since the days of the prophet Malachi. Then God spoke.

Can you imagine what it must have been like to have been a man, faithful, devout, serving God in his appointed place, knowing that no one had heard from heaven in four hundred years, then, suddenly, to have an angel of the Lord appear to you alone with a word of divine revelation? That is what we have before us in this passage.

The first thing recorded in Lukes gospel is the appearance of an angel to one of the ordinary priests in Israel, named Zacharias. The angel announced to this old man that his wife, who was an old woman, well past the age of child-bearing, was, by direct, divine intervention, going to have a son, and that his son would be the forerunner of the long-awaited Messiah.

What a word of grace! It was too good for this old man to believe. Being a faithful man, Zacharias knew that God had promised four hundred years before that when Messiah came some man in the spirit and power of Elijah would go before him to prepare his way before the people (Mal 3:1).

It is, I am sure, impossible for us 2,000 years later to grasp what an astounding thing this was. God made the promise four hundred years earlier. Then the heavens were silent. Not another word was given. Then, suddenly, without any preparatory work, God sent his angel to a certain old man to tell him that Daniels prophetic weeks were about to be fulfilled. Messiah, the Prince was about to be revealed (Dan 9:25). That seed of Abraham, in whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed, was about to come (Gen 22:18). The Desire of all nations, who would fill the house of God with glory, would soon be revealed from heaven (Hag 2:7). We cannot grasp the extent of this revelation given to such a man in such circumstances, yet, there are several things in the verses before us to instruct our souls.

Divine Election

First, we have before us an example of divine election. God the Holy Spirit tells us that God sent his angel to a certain priest named Zacharias, of the order of Abia. God did not send his angel to the High Priest. God did not send his angel to all the priests. But God sent his angel to a certain priest named Zacharias. Let men and women fuss and squirm as they may, the Book of God teaches the doctrine of Gods sovereign electing grace. God Almighty, in all his works of grace, chooses some and passes by others, according to the good pleasure of his will.

God has, from eternity, chosen some certain sinners, as the objects of his love and grace, to be the heirs of eternal life; and at the appointed time of love, he sends his angel (a gospel preacher) to announce to them the good news of his salvation in Christ. He not only sends a preacher with the message of grace, he sends his Spirit to bring the word of grace home to the heart of his elect by the omnipotent power of his irresistible grace (1Th 1:4-5; 2Ti 1:9-10).

When God has a special work to do, he has certain men especially and specifically chosen to do the work. Usually, those men who are chosen of God for very special things are the men who we would consider the least likely. Zacharias was one of the common, everyday priests, from the course of Abia.[1] He was probably unknown by name to anyone, except a small circle of friends, family, and acquaintances.

[1] When the temple was built there were twenty-four courses (classes) of priests. The course of Abia was the eighth of the twenty-four (1Ch 24:10).

God knows where his chosen servants are. He knows what he will do with them. And when the time comes for them to perform his work, he calls them to it and equips them for it.

Righteous Before God

Second, Zacharias and Elizabeth set before us the character of the righteous. We are told that they were both righteous before God. They were not naturally righteous. The Word of God tells us plainly that There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after God. We are all gone out of the way. We are together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good, no, not one (Rom 3:10-12).

Zacharias and Elizabeth were made righteous by the grace of God, by the righteousness of Christ being imputed to them in justification and imparted to them in sanctification, in the new birth. These two things go hand in hand. None are sanctified but those who have been justified by Christ. And all who were justified at Calvary are, at Gods appointed time of grace, sanctified by the Holy Spirit in regeneration.

Both Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth were righteous before God. Theirs was not merely the outward righteousness of the Pharisees before men, but that righteousness which stands before God and is accepted of him. They were righteous in Gods sight. And they were both righteous before God. What a blessed home that is in which both a man and his wife are the recipients of Gods grace in Christ, when both walk together before God in the paths of righteousness!

They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. This believing couple, this old man and woman here show us the character of true faith. True faith walks in obedience to the Word of God. It is written, he that doeth righteousness is righteous (1Jn 3:7). Believers are men and women who, in the habit of their lives, in the tenor of their lives, live in submission and obedience to the revealed will of God. Gods saints are not rebels.

Not only is it true that Gods saints live righteously in the tenor of their lives; the Spirit of God tells us plainly that that new man, created in righteousness and true holiness, that new nature in us that is born of God doth not commit sin and cannot sin, because it is born of God (Eph 4:24; 1Jn 3:9).

Here is another trait found in Gods saints. They submit to and keep the ordinances of divine worship. These two old saints kept the ordinances of divine worship in a day when few in Israel did. To most, the ordinances of divine worship were a burden they did not care to bear. But Zacharias and Elizabeth delighted in them. Gods people still do. Believing men and women confess Christ in believers baptism, assemble with Gods saints in public worship and remember the Redeemer together in the sweet communion of Gods family at the Lords Table.

Moreover, they were blameless in their behaviour before men. John Gill correctly gives this meaning to that word blameless. They were so strict in their lives and conduct that none of their acquaintances had any just reason to reproach them.

A Crook In The Lot

Third, in verse seven we see that there is a crook in the lot of every believer. The lot of the believer is a blessed lot. The life of faith in Christ is a life of joy and gladness. We are the people blessed of the Lord. In this doomed, damned, sin-cursed world we have a good hope through grace of eternal life in Christ. But there is a crook in the lot of us all. In this world it has pleased our God to lay trials upon his people, sometimes heavy trials, by which he is resolved to try and prove our faith, trials by which he will ultimately make our faith to shine.

For Zacharias and Elizabeth the trial was the barrenness of Elizabeths womb. We read in Luk 1:7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. This was the crook in their lot. We can hardly fathom how heavy a trial that was in ancient times. In those days to be childless was a shameful thing to a man and one of the most bitter sorrows a woman could endure (1Sa 1:10).

The grace of God does not exempt us from trials and troubles, heartaches and sorrows in this world. Not even exemplary faithfulness, to the point of blamelessness, will keep us from the trials of faith. If we follow Christ, we must never consider it some strange thing when God tries our faith. This is the portion of our cup, given to us by the infinite wisdom and goodness of our heavenly Father, by which he chastens us, that we may be partakers of his holiness (Heb 12:5-11). We may not think so at the time; but our trials are great blessings of grace, by which our ever-gracious God drives us into the arms of Christ, drives us to our knees in prayer, and drives us to the scriptures. In the world to come we will see them in better light than we do now (Jas 1:12; 1Pe 1:7).

Place Of Blessing

Fourth, we see in Luk 1:8-11 that the place of divine blessing is the house of our God, the house of prayer.

And it came to pass, that while he executed the priests office before God in the order of his course, According to the custom of the priests office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

Let me be crystal clear here. There is nothing we can do which will automatically secure Gods blessings. Sacramental religion is utter idolatry. You will not automatically be blessed of God by church attendance, Bible reading, or even prayer. Yet, the Word of God does specifically tell us that God has ordained a place of worship, and that he commonly meets his people in the place of worship which he has established.

In the typical, ceremonial days of the Old Testament the Lord God established his worship first in the tabernacle in the wilderness, then in the temple. He promised to meet sinners upon the mercy-seat in the holy of holies on the Day of Atonement (Exo 25:22). He did, from time to time, visit and meet with sinners in other places; but he never promised to meet a man anywhere else; and no one could expect to meet him anywhere else.

It was Zacharias privilege and responsibility to burn incense in the house of God in the holy place every morning and every evening (Exo 30:1; Exo 30:7-8). That might not seem like much of a job in the eyes of men; but it was the job God gave him, and he did it faithfully, even when he was an old man. Others may have looked upon it as a meaningless religious ritual; but Zacharias considered it his highest honour. He went about his duty, serving and worshipping the Lord God, purely for his glory.

And what a privilege his work was! That altar of incense which he kept burning day and night was typical of the unceasing intercession of Christ for us as our great High Priest, who lives forever to make intercession for us (Heb 7:25).

The Lord God sent his angel to Zacharias with the good news of Messiahs coming, the good news that he who would be the forerunner of our Redeemer, Saviour and King was about to be born to his own wife Elizabeth. Where was this old man when God met him? What was he doing when the Lord sent his angel to him and so greatly blessed him? He was in the house of God. He was worshipping God. He was doing that which God had given him the privilege of doing for the glory of his name and the good of his people.

You and I cannot expect Gods blessings upon us, upon our own souls, or upon our families; we cannot expect God to meet us, speak to us, or honour us, if we wilfully despise his will and his worship (1Sa 2:30; Heb 10:23-29).

There is only one place where the Son of God promises he will meet with, speak to, and reveal himself to his people, and that place is the assembly of his saints, gathered in his name (Mat 18:20). This place, the church of the living God, the assembly of sinners saved by the grace of God, is called the house of God and the temple of God, because that is where God meets with his people. To neglect his house, his worship, his Word, and the assembly of his saints is to despise him

Angelic Interest

Fifth, we are once more shown that which is the single great interest and concern of the holy angels. Countless books have been written about angels. Most of them reveal the utter ignorance and superstition of the authors and tell us nothing about the angels of God. The simple fact is we do not know much about them. But the one thing that is clearly revealed about them is completely missed by most who write about them.

The scriptures plainly and repeatedly show us that the angels of God have only one great, singular interest and concern. They seem to care about only one thing. These holy creatures, who cry continually before the throne of God, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts, do not seem to care about anything except that one great work of God by which his glory is revealed and made known.

These holy creatures have a deep, abiding, all-consuming interest in the redemptive work of Christ and the salvation of Gods elect in him. The angels always stand before the throne of grace, looking upon the mercy-seat (Isaiah 6). An angel announced the birth of John the Baptist, our Lords forerunner. An angel announced the birth of Christ, and a chorus of angels sang when he came into this world to save us. When our Saviour was tempted, the angels of God ministered to him. The angels of God are ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who shall be the heirs of Gods salvation (Heb 1:14). The angels of heaven gather with Gods saints to learn from redeemed sinners the manifold wisdom of God displayed in our redemption by Christ (Eph 3:10). The angels rejoice in the presence of our God every time God saves a sinner by his grace. The angels of God will come with Christ at the last day to gather his elect from the four corners of the earth into everlasting glory.

J. C. Ryle wrote, Let us strive to be like them, while we are upon earth, to be of their mind and to share their joys. This is the way to be in tune for heaven. It is written of those who enter in there that they shall be as the angels.

May God the Holy Spirit give us grace to imitate the angels of God in this. Let us make the redeeming work of Christ and the salvation of sinners in him the all-consuming interest of our hearts and lives.

Perfect Holiness And Sinful Man

Sixth, as we read Luk 1:12 we see the effect perfect holiness has upon a sinful man. When Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. Zacharias was a righteous man in Christ; but he was a sinful man by nature, and he knew it. When he stood before a perfectly holy angel, his soul quaked within him. We have seen this scene repeated many times in scripture. Moses trembled before the burning bush. Manoah and his wife were fearful because the Angel of the Lord appeared to them. Daniel quaked as he stood before the Lord at the great river Hiddekel. The women who saw the angel at the empty tomb were fearful. John fell before the face of the angel that spoke to him on Patmos. They all, like Zacharias, when they saw holy angels and visions of things belonging to the world of eternal things, trembled with fear.

If these, who were made holy by the grace of God, trembled in the presence of holy angels, how do you hope to stand before the presence of Gods infinite holiness (Nah 1:5-6) in the Day of Judgment? The only hope there is for our poor souls is Christ, the only Mediator between God and men. All who take refuge in him, all who trust him shall stand without sin and without fear before the august majesty of Gods perfect holiness, with clean hands and pure hearts.

Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible

Herod

Herod the Great. (See Scofield “Mat 2:1”)

Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes

Herod: Mat 2:1

of the course: 1Ch 24:10, 1Ch 24:19, Neh 12:4, Neh 12:17, Abijah

Reciprocal: Exo 6:23 – Elisheba 2Ch 8:14 – the courses 2Ch 31:2 – the courses Luk 1:8 – in 1Ti 3:11 – their Tit 1:6 – the husband

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

The Revelations of God

Luk 1:5-79

INTRODUCTORY WORDS

We begin here a series of studies taken from the Gospel of Luke. This is the Gospel that emphasizes the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of Man. It will suggest many things to us that will bring great blessings. We trust that God will be with us in our studies.

Let us observe several things about visions and revelations in general, and in detail the particular vision that came to Zacharias.

1. We know God by revelation. No one by searching can find out God. When Peter said of Christ, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” Jesus said, “Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto Thee, but My Father which is in Heaven.” “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: * * neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

The truth is that revelation is the sphere of the believer’s walk. The mind may roam in the things of a man, but the things of God are open only to those to whom God hath revealed them.

2. The Bible is a Book of Revelation. The Bible passes back into the beginnings of history and tells us, “In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth.” No human eye ever saw the origin of creation. Angelic beings saw and shouted for joy; but man was not yet on the scene. In the “beginning of things” we must walk by revelation.

Revelation is the basis of all we know of the far distant past, and revelation is the basis of all we know of the far-flung future. Salvation, itself, is a revelation. Christ as Son of God and Saviour is a revelation. The judgments of the Tribulation, of the Bema, and of the Great White Throne are all revelations.

The Bible is the revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave to show to willing and believing minds.

Let us now study the various aspects of revelation which the Scripture lesson presents.

I. A REVELATION TO A MAN RIGHTEOUS BEFORE GOD (Luk 1:5-6)

We read that Zacharias and his wife were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments of the Lord blameless. It was to such an one that God came to make Himself known, and to reveal His purposes.

1. God revealed Himself to Abraham. The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do * *? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him.”

2. God revealed Himself to David. David was a man after God’s own heart. God said unto Nathan, “Go and tell David My servant, Thus saith the Lord.” Then a revelation was given unto him concerning the establishment of his kingdom forever, and David learned by revelation that Jesus Christ was to sit upon his throne.

3. God revealed Himself to Isaiah. Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up, and His train filling the Temple; but it was only after the Lord had touched Isaiah’s mouth and had taken his iniquity away and purged his sin, that the many marvels of prophecy, found in his Book, were revealed to him.

II. A REVELATION TO A MAN STRICKEN IN YEARS (Luk 1:7)

Our text says of Zacharias and Elisabeth that they had no child, and they were both well stricken in years.

1. God works where man cannot move. It is nothing with the Lord to do the impossible and to accomplish the miraculous. The Lord said to Israel, “Go forward,” even when there, was an impassable sea before them.

David said, “By Thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.”

He who believes God only in the realm of the natural limits the Holy One of Israel. We read of the Old Testament worthies that they accounted “that God was able.” It was for this cause that they staggered not at the promises.

2. God promises to accomplish the impossible. God, by revelation, told Zacharias that his wife would bear him a son. The fact that they were both stricken in years was no hindrance to God.

The impossible has often been accomplished, for, with God, all things are possible, and what He says, He is able to perform.

In the light of past victories, in the light of past accomplishments, wrought by the hand of God, let us believe Him for future victory.

“Is any thing too hard for the Lord?” Nay, we can do “all things through Christ which strengtheneth us.” Let us, then, be willing to attempt great things for God, and to expect impossible things from God. “All things are possible * * only believe.”

III. A REVELATION GIVEN IN TIME OF SERVICE (Luk 1:8-10)

We read in verse eight that while Zacharias “executed the priest’s office before God in the Order of his course,” that the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, “standing on the right side of the altar of incense.”

To me it is a very wholesome thought that the angel should speak to this man while he was in the Temple burning incense. It would not have been difficult for the angel to have spoken to him elsewhere; but it was eminently proper, and strikingly appropriate, that God’s messenger should appear in God’s House.

The priesthood of that day possessed some men who truly loved the Lord. Zacharias was righteous before God, walking in all the commandments of the Lord blameless. Sometimes those who are true, find themselves connected with a system which is not true to God. They, however, can, themselves, be faithful, no matter the environment in which they move.

It was while Gideon was threshing wheat that the Lord spoke unto Him. It was as Elisha followed Elijah that he received Elijah’s mantle. It was while David was tending the sheep that God called him to be king. It was while Amos was among the herdmen of Tekoa that the Word of the Lord came unto him; and, it was while the Apostles were mending their nets that the Saviour called, saying, “Come, follow Me.”

If we ever expect to receive a call from God to any service, or to have from Him any revelation of truth, we will receive it as we are walking in the pathway of duty.

IV. A REVELATION IN ANSWER TO PRAYER (Luk 1:13)

In verse thirteen the angel said unto Zacharias, “Thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.” We have now an insight into the personal prayer life of this priest of God. He who was the priest, and who, according to the custom of his office, burnt incense in the Temple, was also a man who prayed when he was not on duty. It is one thing to carry on public ministrations; it is another thing to be faithful in private devotions.

Zacharias had no son, and he prayed for one. His prayer was definite, and we believe that he was importunate in prayer. He prayed earnestly; he prayed continuously. God hears and answers prayer, and He heard Zacharias, and granted his request. Many of us have not, because we ask not.

1. It was as Hannah prayed unto the Lord, that Eli told her of the birth of Samuel.

2. It was as Daniel prayed with fastings, that God sent Gabriel from Heaven to reveal unto him that which should befall Israel in the latter days.

3. It was as Daniel and the three Hebrew Children prayed, that God revealed unto them both the dream and the meaning of Nebuchadnezzar’s image.

4. It was as Jesus prayed, that He was transfigured, and discussed with Moses and Elias the fact of His corning decease.

5. It was as Peter was praying on the housetop, that the Lord revealed unto him His heart toward the Gentiles, and sent him to Joppa.

6. It was as Paul prayed, that God sent an ambassador to him to tell him of his future ministry to the Gentiles.

V. A REVELATION CONCERNING A CHILD OF DESTINY (Luk 1:14-17)

When the angel appeared to Zacharias, announcing the birth of John; he told him not only that he should have a son, but that he should have joy and gladness at his birth. He told him that his son would be great in the sight of the Lord, and that he would be filled with the Holy Ghost from his birth.

John was truly ordained of God, yea, he was foreordained. The Holy Spirit, through the Prophet, had spoken of John as the one who would go before the face of the Lord to prepare His way.

We are certain that God still purposes and plans His work, and calls His workers. The Apostle Paul said, “And when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called my by His grace.” Men are called of God even before they open their eyes in birth. Thus, God, by training, by environment, and by special leadings can perfect His called ones unto His Word and work.

VI. A REVELATION RECEIVED WITH MISGIVINGS AND ACCOMPANIED BY JUDGMENT (Luk 1:18-22)

1. A doubter rebuked. The beauty of our story is marred by the doubts which crept into the mind of Zacharias. He was a good man and a great man, but he had not yet learned to believe God unflinchingly.

He said, “Whereby shall I know this?” He said, “I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.” Gabriel replied, “I * * stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.”

2. A doubter chastened. The angel told Zacharias that, because he had doubted God’s revelation, he should be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that the prophecy was fulfilled, and that which had been spoken was performed.

We wonder what chastisement must abide those who doubt God’s revelation of things to come. God hath spoken, and shall He not fulfill it? He hath stretched forth His hand, and will man be able to draw it back?

In the last days men are still doubting prophecy. They are mockers, saying, “Where is the promise of His Coming?” What will be their chastisement?

VII. A REVELATION WHICH BECAME A VERIFICATION (Luk 1:58)

That which was impossible was accomplished; that wherein Zacharias doubted came to pass. John the Baptist was born, and Elisabeth and her neighbors and cousins rejoiced.

For a while there was a quibble as to what the child should be called. His mother said that he should be called John. The relatives said, “There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.” Then they made signs to the babe’s father, as to how he would have him called. Zacharias asked for a writing table and wrote, saying, “His name is John.”

Thus it was that prophecy was fulfilled. Thus it was that a revelation became a verification. Will this not be true of all that God has revealed? Of the Law Christ wrote, “One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the Law, till all be fulfilled.”

VIII. A REVELATION CONSUMMATED BY A GLORIOUS ACCLAMATION (Luk 1:67-68)

We have before us, in Zacharias’ magnificat a foretaste of the magnificent praise and mighty hallelujahs that will fill the Heavens as the prophecies of the Lord’s Second Coming meet their fulfillment.

The Lord Himself will descend with a shout. The saints will surely ascend with a shout. The angels will break forth into praise. The very skies will reverberate with paeans of victory and of consummated revelation.

What a glorious climax Christ’s Coming will be, to the beforehand Scriptural revelation of that Blessed Advent! This revelation God has vouchsafed to His children.

AN ILLUSTRATION

We are living in a day in which the marvels of prophecy, as foretold by Divine revelation, are being fulfilled on every hand. We wonder how many people are fully awake to the deeper meanings of this fact.

The Bible tells us that in the last days mockers will arise saying, “Where is the promise of His Coming?” These mockers are on every hand.

A certain denominational paper on one occasion had an editorial making light of prophecy. The editor said something like this:-“If we believed like Rev.–that Christ might come at any moment, we would cease our preaching to sinners, cease our missionary endeavors, and go to Jerusalem, and build us a little watchtower upon the walls of the Beloved City. Then we would fold our hands and watch for Christ to come.”

Let us remember that God’s Word of prophecy is made sure. The revelation of God may not always be received by the multitude, but those who love and trust Him should accept, at one hundred per cent, every God-given prophecy.

Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water

5

Luke, like Matthew, begins his record at the time just prior to the birth of Jesus. However, unlike Matthew, he first gives us the history concerning the parentage of John the Baptist. It was in the days of Herod (The Great) who was king of- Judea. Course of Abia is explained at 1 Chronicles 24 in volume 2 of the Old Testament Commentary. All priests had to be descendants of Aaron but that was not required of their wives, hence Luke gives us the added information that Elizabeth was also from Aaron.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

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.

[Of the course of Abia.] They are very little versed in the Holy Scriptures, and less in the Jewish learning, that could imagine this Zacharias to have been the high priest, when he is said to have been but of the eighth course, and to have attained this turn of attendance by lot.

As to the institution of the courses under the first Temple, there is no need to say anything, because every one hath it before him, 1 Chronicles_24. But under the second Temple there was indeed some difference, not as to the order of their courses, but as to their heads and families. Of which thing the Talmudists treat largely, and indeed not altogether from the purpose: let them comment in my stead:

“Four courses of priests went up out of Babylon; Jedaiah, Harim, Pashur, and Immer, Ezr 2:36; etc. The prophets, who were conversant amongst them at that time, obliged them, that if Jehoiarib himself should come up from the captivity, that he should not thrust out the course that preceded him, but be, as it were, an appendix to it. The prophets come forth, and cast in four-and-twenty lots into the urn; Jedaiah comes, and having drawn five, himself was the sixth. Harim comes, and having drawn five, himself was the sixth. Pashur comes, and having drawn five, himself was the sixth. Immer comes, and having drawn five, himself was the sixth. It was agreed amongst them that if Jehoiarib himself should return out of captivity, he should not exclude the foregoing course, but be, as it were, an appendix to it. The heads of the courses stand forth, and divide themselves into the houses of their fathers,” etc. We have the same thing in Babylonian Erachin; folio 12. 1.

If these things be true (and, indeed, by comparing them with the place in Ezra before quoted, we may believe they are not much amiss), then the course of Abiah; both here and Neh 12:17; must not so much be understood of the stock or race of Abijah, as that that course retained the name of Abijah still. For though there were four-and-twenty classes made up of the four only named, yet did they retain both their ancient order and ancient names too. If therefore Jehoiarib, i.e. His course, should come up out of Babylon (which, however, did not happen), it was provided that he should not disturb the fixed and stated order by intruding into the first place; but retaining the name of Jehoiarib in the first class, which consisted now of those of Jedaiah, his course; should be distributed amongst those orders.

II. The Rabbins have a tradition: there were twenty-four courses of priests in the land of Israel, and twelve courses in Jericho. What! Twelve in Jericho? This would increase the number too much. No; but there were twelve of those in Jericho; that when the time came about that any course should go up to Jerusalem, half a course went up from the land of Israel, and half a course from Jericho, that by them might come a supply both of water and food to their brethren that were at Jerusalem.

Gloss: — “When the time came that any course should go up to Jerusalem, it divided itself, that half of it should go to Jericho, that they might supply their brethren with water and food,” etc.

III. As to the circulation of these courses or turns; we may guess something of it from the Gloss in Midras Coheleth. The Midras itself hath these words: “It is R. Chaija’s tradition: It is written, Seven weeks shall be complete; i.e. Between the Passover and Pentecost, Lev 23:15. But when are they so? When Joshua and Shecaniah do not interfere.”

Where the Gloss, from another author, hath it thus: “when the calends of the month Nisan fall in with the sabbath, then doth the Passover fall in with the sabbath too: and then let them begin to number from the going out of the sabbath, and the weeks will be complete according to the days of the creation. He takes an instance from Joshua and Shecaniah. For there were twenty-four courses, which took their turns alternately every sabbath: amongst which Joshua was the ninth, and Shecaniah the tenth. On the first week of the month Nisan, Jehoiarib was the first course; on the second week Jedaiah; on the paschal week, all the courses attended together. The six weeks to that sabbath that immediately preceded the Pentecost, there ministered six courses, Harim, Seorim, Malchijah, Mijamin, Hakkos, Abiah. In the sabbath that precedes the Pentecost, Joshua enters, but does not attend till after Pentecost. Behold, Joshua and Shecaniah are not between the Passover and Pentecost: for if Joshua was between the Passover and Pentecost, the weeks would not be complete according to the days of the creation.”

He adds a great deal more, but, I confess, it is beyond my reach: such is that that immediately follows: “They are not complete as the days of the creation; for we may number from three to three, or from five to five; and so Joshua and Shecaniah will enter [upon their course] before the Pentecost. For behold, the sabbath before Nisan, let it be Jehoiarib’s turn, and let there be seven weeks to the Passover;” etc.; which must either be some fault in the printer, or a riddle to me that I cannot tell what to make of.

However, by the whole series of the discourse it appears, that the beginning of the double circulation of the courses was with the twofold beginning of the year, Nisan and Tisri; as also that all the courses performed their ministry together in the feasts. Here, indeed, is mention only as to the Passover; but we do not want for authorities to make it out, that as they did so then, so also at the feast of Pentecost and Tabernacles. Let Jehoiarib, therefore, begin the first course in the beginning of the month Nisan; and (remembering, that all the courses together performed their service at the Passover and Pentecost) the courses will all have run out in half the year; for so (taking in those two feasts) six-and-twenty weeks are spent off. Then let Jehoiarib begin again with the month Tisri; and suppose all the courses jointly ministering at the feast of Tabernacles, and they will have finished their round (excepting one week over) by the month Nisan again: which gap of that one week how it is filled up, as also the intercalar month when it happened, would be too much for us to discuss in this place.

IV. The course of Bilgah is put out of its just order, and thrown into the last place, if that be true, which we meet with in Jerusalem Succah. They say, “All that went into the Mountain of the Temple made their entry on the right hand, and went out at the left: but Bilgah went towards the south, because of the apostasy of his daughter Mary: for she went and married a certain soldier of the kingdom of the Grecians. He came and struck the top of the altar, saying, ‘O wolf, wolf; thou that devourest all the good things of Israel, and yet in a time of straits helpest them not.’ There are also that say, that the reason why this was thus ordered was, because Bilgah’s course was once neglected, when it came about to them to have gone up to have performed their ministry. Bilgah, therefore, was always amongst those that went out, as Isbab was amongst those that came in; having cast that course out of their order.”

V. “For every course there was a stationary assembly of priests, Levites, and Israelites, at Jerusalem. When the time came, wherein the course must go up, the priests and the Levites went up to Jerusalem; but the Israelites that were within that course; all met within their own cities, and read the history of the creation, Genesis_1; and the stationary men fasted four days in that week; viz. From the second to the fifth.”

Gloss: “There was a stationary assembly for every course stated and placed in Jerusalem, who should assist in the sacrifices of their brethren: and besides these that were stated in Jerusalem, there was a stationary assembly in every city. All Israel was divided into twenty-four stations; according to the twenty-four courses. There was the station of priests, Levites, and Israelites, at Jerusalem; the priests of the course went up to Jerusalem to their service, the Levites to their singing; and of all the stations; there were some appointed and settled at Jerusalem that were to assist at the sacrifices of their brethren. The rest assembled in their own cities, poured out prayers that the sacrifices of their brethren might be accepted; fasting, and bringing forth the book of the law on their fast-day,” etc. So the Gloss hath it.

The reason of this institution as to stationary-men is given us in the Misna; For how could every man’s offering be made, if he himself were not present? Now, whereas the daily sacrifice, and some other offerings, were made for all Israel, and it was not possible that all Israel should be present, these stationaries were instituted, who, in the stead of all Israel, should put their hands upon the daily sacrifice, and should be present at the other offerings that were offered for all Israel. And while these were performing this at Jerusalem, there were other stationaries in every course; who, by prayers and fasting in their own cities, helped forward, as much as they could, the services of their brethren that were at Jerusalem.

“The children of Israel lay on their hands, but the Gentiles do not. The men of Israel lay on their hands, but the women do not. R. Jose saith, Abba Eliezer said to me, We had once a calf for a peace offering: and bringing it into the Court of the Women, the women put their hands upon it: not that this belonged to the women so to do, but that the women’s spirits might be pleased.” A remarkable thing.

The priests, throughout all the courses grew into a prodigious number, if that be true in Jerusalem Taanith; “R. Zeora in the name of Rabh Houna said, That the least of all the courses brought forth eighty-five thousand branches of priests.” A thing not to be credited.

[And he wife was of the daughters of Aaron.] In the Talmudists, a priestess; viz. One born of the lineage of priests. It was lawful for a priest to marry a Levites, or indeed a daughter of Israel: but it was most commendable of all to marry one of the priests’ line. Hence that story in Taanith; “Fourscore pair of brethren-priests took to wife fourscore pair of sister-priestesses in Gophne, all in one night.”

There was hardly any thing among the Jews with greater care and caution looked after than the marrying of their priests; viz. that the wives they took should not by any means stain and defile their priestly blood: and that all things which were fit for their eating should be hallowed. Hence that usual phrase for an excellent woman, She deserves to marry with a priest.

Josephus speaks much of this care, that the whole priestly generation might be preserved pure and unblended.

[Elisabeth.] The Seventy give this name to Aaron’s wife, Exo 7:23.

Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels

THE first event recorded in Luke’s Gospel, is the sudden appearance of an angel to a Jewish priest, named Zacharias. The angel announces to him that a son is about to be born to him, by a miraculous interposition, and that this son is to be the forerunner of the long-promised Messiah. The word of God had plainly foretold that when Messiah came, someone would go before him to prepare his way. (Mal 3:1.) The wisdom of God provided that when this forerunner appeared, he would be born in the family of a priest.

We can form very little idea, at this period of the world, of the immense importance of this angel’s announcement. To the mind of a pious Jew, it must have been glad tidings of great joy. It was the first communication from God to Israel since the days of Malachi. It broke the long silence of four hundred years. It told the believing Israelite that the prophetic weeks of Daniel were at length fulfilled, (Dan 9:25,)-that God’s choicest promise was at length going to be accomplished,-and that “the seed” was about to appear in whom all the nations of the earth should be blessed. (Gen 22:18.) We must place ourselves in imagination in the position of Zacharias, in order to give the verses before us their due weight.

Let us mark, for one thing, in this passage, the high testimony which is borne to the character of Zacharias and Elizabeth. We are told that they were “both righteous before God,” and that “they walked in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.”

It matters little whether we interpret this “righteousness” as that which is imputed to all believers for their justification, or that which is wrought inwardly in believers by the operation of the Holy Ghost, for their sanctification. The two sorts of righteousness are never disjoined. There are none justified who are not sanctified, and there are none sanctified who are not justified. Suffice it for us to know that Zacharias and Elizabeth had grace when grace was very rare, and kept all the burdensome observances of the ceremonial law with devout conscientiousness, when few Israelites cared for them excepting in name and form.

The main thing that concerns us all, is the example which this holy pair hold up to Christians. Let us all strive to serve God faithfully, and live fully up to our light, even as they did. Let us not forget the plain words of Scripture, “He that doeth righteousness is righteous.” (1Jn 3:7.) Happy are those Christian families in which it can be reported that both husband and wife are “righteous,” and exercise themselves to have a conscience void of offence toward God and toward men. (Act 24:16.)

Let us mark, for another thing, in this passage, the heavy trial which God was pleased to lay on Zacharias and Elizabeth. We are told that “they had no child.” The full force of these words can hardly be understood by a modern Christian. To an ancient Jew they would convey the idea of a very weighty affliction. To be childless was one of the bitterest of sorrows. (1Sa 1:10.)

The grace of God exempts no one from trouble. “Righteous” as this holy priest and his wife were, they had a “crook in their lot.” Let us remember this, if we serve Christ, and let us count trial no strange thing. Let us rather believe that a hand of perfect wisdom is measuring out all our portion, and that when God chastises us, it is to make us “partakers of his holiness.” (Heb 12:10.) If afflictions drive us nearer to Christ, the Bible, and prayer, they are positive blessings. We may not think so now. But we shall think so when we wake up in another world.

Let us mark, for another thing, in this passage, the means by which God announced the coming birth of John the Baptist. We are told that “an angel of the Lord appeared to Zacharias.”

The ministry of angels is undoubtedly a deep subject. Nowhere in the Bible do we find such frequent mention of them, as in the period of our Lord’s earthly ministry. At no time do we read of so many appearances of angels, as about the time of our Lord’s incarnation and entrance into the world. The meaning of this circumstance is sufficiently clear. It was meant to teach the church that Messiah was no angel, but the Lord of angels, as well as of men. Angels announced His coming. Angels proclaimed His birth. Angels rejoiced at his appearing. And by so doing they made it plain that He who came to die for sinners, was not one of themselves, but one far above them, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

One thing, at all events, about angels, we must never forget. They take a deep interest in the work of Christ, and the salvation which Christ has provided. They sung high praise when the Son of God came down to make peace by His own blood between God and man. They rejoice when sinners repent, and sons are born again to our Father in heaven. They delight to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. Let us strive to be like them, while we are upon earth,-to be of their mind, and to share their joys. This is the way to be in tune for heaven. It is written of those who enter in there, that they shall be “as the angels.” (Mar 12:25.)

Let us mark, lastly, in this passage, the effect which the appearance of an angel produced on the mind of Zacharias. We are told that he “was troubled, and fear fell upon him.”

The experience of this righteous man here, tallies exactly with that of other saints under similar circumstances. Moses at the burning bush, and Daniel at the river of Hiddekel,-the women at the sepulcher, and John at the isle of Patmos,-all showed like fear to that of Zacharias. Like him, when they saw visions of things belonging to another world, they trembled and were afraid.

How are we to account for this fear? To that question there is only one answer. It arises from our inward sense of weakness, guilt, and corruption. The vision of an inhabitant of heaven reminds us forcibly of our own imperfection, and of our natural unfitness to stand before God. If angels are so great and terrible, what must the Lord of angels be?

Let us bless God, that we have a mighty Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Believing on Him, we may draw near to God with boldness, and look forward to the day of judgment without fear. When the mighty angels shall go forth to gather together God’s elect, the elect will have no cause to be afraid. To them the angels are fellow-servants and friends. (Rev 22:9.)

Let us tremble when we think of the terror of the wicked at the last day. If even the righteous are troubled by a sudden vision of friendly spirits, where will the ungodly appear, when the angels come forth to gather them like tares for the burning? The fears of the saints are groundless, and endure but for a little season. The fears of the lost, when once aroused, will prove well-grounded, and will endure for evermore.

=====================

Notes-

v5.-[Course of Abiah.] There were twenty-four of these courses, or classes, of the sons of Aaron, among whom the temple service was divided. The course of Abijah, or Abia, at the original institution, was the eighth in order. 1Ch 24:10. Bishop Hall remarks, “The successive terms of the legal ministration held on in a line never interrupted. Even in a forlorn and miserable church, there may be a personal succession. How little were the Jews better for this, when they had lost the Urim and Thummim, sincerity of doctrine and manners! This stayed with them even while they crucified Christ. It is the succession of truth and holiness that makes and justifies a church.”

[Daughters of Aaron.] Watson remarks, “Yet she was cousin to Mary, who was of the tribe of Judah. This indicates the marriage of some predecessor into the other tribe. The priests might marry into any of the tribes of Israel; and the law restraining heiresses to marry into their own tribes, did not extend to other daughters, nor at all to the tribe of Levi, who had no share in the land.”

v6.-[Ordinances.] The Greek word so translated, is the word which the Septuagint version of the Old Testament uses for the word we translate “judgments.” See Exo 21:1; Exo 24:3.

v10.-[The whole multitude of the people was praying without.] Lightfoot remarks on this passage: “When the priest came in unto the holy place to offer incense, notice was given to all, by the sound of a little bell, that the time of prayers was now.” Lightfoot, vol. xii., page 16.

v11.-[Angel appeared.] Bishop Hall remarks, “The presence of angels is no novelty, but their apparition. They are always with us, but rarely seen, that we may awfully respect their messages when they are seen.”

Fuente: Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels

Luk 1:5. In the days of Herod. See on Mat 2:1.

A certain priest. Not the high-priest

Zacharias, i.e., the Lord remembers.

Of the course of Abijah. The eighth of the twenty-four classes, into which the descendants of Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron, were divided (1 Chronicles 24). Each of these ministered in the temple for one week, from the days of Solomon until the destruction of the first temple, and from the restoration of the courses by Judas Maccabus until the final destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. In the latter period the names and order of the courses were preserved, but not the descent. At the destruction of the temple by the Romans, the course in waiting was that of Jehoiarib (the first), and date was the 9th day of the Jewish month Ab. But these data do not determine the date of the occurrence before us, since each course must serve at least twice in a year, and after those days (Luk 1:24) is indefinite.

Elisabeth, i.e., Gods oath. The wife of Aaron bore the same name (Exo 6:23 : Elisheba).

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

In this and the following verses, the Holy Ghost gives us a description of John the Baptist, who was the harbinger and forerunner of our Saviour Christ; he is described, first by his parentage, being the son of Zacharias and Elizabeth. This Zacharias was a priest, who had a course in the temple, or a right to officiate there when it came to his turn; for we read that David appointed the priests, the sons of Aaron, to minister by turns, and divided them into four and twenty courses, 1 Chronicles 24 every one ministering in the temple by their weeks.

Here note, that Zacharias, a priest, and attending the service of the temple, was a married person, having one of the daughters of Aaron to wife, according to the command of God, Lev 21:14 where the priest is required to marry one of his own people.

Learn hence, that neither the priests under the law did, nor the ministers of Christ under the gospel ought, to abhor the marriage-bed; nor judge themselves too pure for an institution of their Maker. The doctrine of the church of Rome, which forbids to marry, St. Paul calls a doctrine of devils.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Luk 1:5. There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea This is he who is commonly known by the name of Herod the Great, a cruel, ambitious man, who, without any title, obtained the crown of Judea from the Roman senate, to whom he was recommended by Mark Antony. Under his government the Jews were very uneasy, because he was a foreigner. Nevertheless, the Roman generals in those parts having given him possession of the throne, by his own prudence and address he maintained himself in it for the space of forty years. His reign, though celebrated on many accounts, was remarkable for nothing so much as that, toward the conclusion of it, the Messiah and his forerunner were born. Besides Herod the king, there are two others of this name mentioned in Scripture, namely, Herod surnamed Antipas, his son, who was inferior to his father both in dignity and dominion, being only a tetrarch, and having no dominions but Galilee and Perea: it was this Herod that beheaded the Baptist, and with his men of war mocked our Lord. The other was Herod Agrippa, the grandson of Herod the king by Aristobulus, and brother to Herodias, Philips wife. He killed James the apostle with the sword, and imprisoned Peter to please the Jews; and was himself eaten up of worms for his affecting divine honours. Agrippa, before whom Paul pleaded his cause, was the son of this Herod, for which reason he is commonly called Agrippa. Of the course of Abia The priests were become so numerous in Davids time, that they could not all minister at the tabernacle at once. He therefore divided them into twenty-four courses, or companies, who were to serve in rotation, each company by itself for a week. The time of their ministration, as well as the course itself, was called , a name which originally belonged to the Athenian magistrates, who being fifty men chosen by lot out of each tribe, and each man governing the city a single day, the days which any tribe governed, as well as its fifty governors succeeding one another, were called . Now there being a considerable resemblance between this division and succession of the Athenian magistrates, and that of the Jewish priests, the Greek interpreters of the Old Testament applied the same name to the courses of the priests, though somewhat improperly, as their ministry lasted not for a day but a week. The course of Abia, (that is, that of which Abia, or Abijah, was the head in Davids time,) was the eighth. See the notes on 1Ch 24:3-10.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

FIRST PART: THE NARRATIVES OF THE INFANCY, Luk 1:5 to Luk 2:52

Both the first and the third Gospel open with a cycle of narratives relating to the birth and childhood of Jesus. These narratives do not appear to have formed part of the tradition bequeathed to the Church by the apostles (Luk 1:2). At least, neither the Gospel of Mark, the document which appears to correspond most nearly with the type of the primitive preaching, nor the oldest example we have of this early preaching, Peter’s discourse in the house of Cornelius (Act 10:37-48), go further back than the ministry of John the Baptist and the baptism of Jesus. The reason, doubtless, for this is, that edification was the sole aim of apostolic preaching. It was intended to lay the foundation of the faith; and in order to do this, the apostles had only to testify concerning what they had themselves seen and heard during the time they had been with Jesus (Joh 15:27; Act 1:21-22).

But these facts with which their preaching commenced supposed antecedent circumstances. Actual events of such an extraordinary nature could not have happened without preparation. This Jesus, whom Mark himself designates from the outset (Luk 1:1) as the Son of God, could not have fallen from heaven as a full-grown man of thirty years of age. Just as a botanist, when he admires a new flower, will not rest until he has dug it up by the roots, while an ordinary observer will be satisfied with seeing its blossom; so among believers, among the Greeks especially, there must have been thoughtful minds

Luke and Theophilus are representatives of suchwho felt the need of supplying what the narratives of the official witnesses of the ministry of Jesus were deficient in respecting the origin of this history.

The historical interest itself awakened by faith must have tended to dissipate the obscurity which enveloped the first appearance of a being so exceptional as He who was the subject of the evangelical tradition. In proportion as the first enthusiasm of faith gave place, at the transition period between the first and the second generation of Christians, to careful reflection, this need would be felt with growing intensity. Luke felt constrained to satisfy it in his first two chapters. It is evident that the contents of this Gospel of the Infancy proceed neither from apostolic tradition (Luk 1:2), nor from any of the numerous writings to which allusion is made (Luk 1:1), but that they are derived from special information which Luke had obtained. It is to these two chapters especially that Luke alludes in the third verse of the prologue (, from the beginning).

A similar need must have been felt, probably at the same time, in the Jewish-Christian world; only it arose out of another principle. There was no demand there for the satisfaction of the historic sense. In those circles, interest in the Messianic question prevailed over all others. They wanted to know whether from the beginning the child, as well as afterwards the grown man, had not been divinely pointed out as the Messiah. The first two chapters of St. Matthew are plainly intended to meet this need.

In this way we obtain a natural explanation of the extension of the Gospel history to the first commencement of the life of Jesus, and just in those different directions which are to be observed in our two Gospels.

But does not this imply consequences somewhat unfavourable to the truth of the narratives comprised in these two cycles, Luke 2. and Matthew 1-2? It is admitted: 1. That these narratives of the infancy lack the guarantee of apostolic testimony. 2. That the wants which we have pointed out might easily call into activity the Christian imagination, and, in the absence of positive history, seek their satisfaction in legend. These narratives are actually regarded in this light, not only by Strauss or Baur, but even by such men as Meyer, Weizscker, and Keim, who do not generally avow themselves partisans of the mythical interpretation. What in their view renders these narratives suspicious is their poetical character, and the marvels with which they abound (a great number of angelic appearances and of prophetic songs); the complete silence of the other New Testament writings respecting the miraculous birth (there is no mention of it in Paul, or even in John); certain facts of the subsequent history (the unbelief of the brethren of Jesus and of His own mother) which appear incompatible with the miraculous circumstances of this birth; contradictions between Matthew and Luke on several important points; and lastly, historical errors in Luke’s narrative, which may be proved by comparing it with the facts of Jewish and Roman history.

We can only examine these various reasons as we pursue in detail the study of the text. As to the way in which the wants we have indicated were satisfied, we would observe: 1. That it is natural to suppose, since the matter in question was regarded as sacred both by the writers and the Church, that the more simple and reverential process of historical investigation would be employed before having recourse to fiction. It is only at a later stage, when the results obtained by this means are no longer sufficient to satisfy curiosity and a corrupted faith, that invention comes in to the aid of history. The apocryphal Gospels, which made their appearance as early as the end of the first century, indicate the time when this change was in operation. Luke, if we may trust his preface, belongs to the first period, that of investigation.2. It is evident that Luke himself, on the authority of information which he had obtained, believed in the reality of the facts which he relates in his first two chapters as firmly as in that of all the rest of the Gospel history. His narrative bears numerous marks of its strictly historical character: the course of Abia, the city of Galilee named Nazareth, the city of the hill-country of Juda, where dwelt the parents of John the Baptist, the census of Cyrenius, the eighty-four years’ widowhood of Anna the prophetess, the physical and moral growth of Jesus as a child and young man, His return to Nazareth and settlement thereall these details leave us no room to doubt the completely historical sense which the author himself attached to these narratives. If, then, this part lacks the authority of apostolic testimony, it is guaranteed by the religious convictions of the author, and by his personal assurance of the value of the oral or written sources whence he derived his knowledge of these facts.

The Gospel of the Infancy in Luke comprises seven narratives:

1. The announcement of the birth of the forerunner, Luk 1:5-25; Luke 2. The announcement of the birth of Jesus, Luk 1:26-38; Luke 3. The visit of Mary to Elizabeth, Luk 1:39-56. These three narratives form the first cycle.

4. The birth of the forerunner, Luk 1:57-80; Luke 5. The birth of Jesus, Luk 2:1-20; Luke 6. The circumcision and presentation of Jesus, Luk 2:21-40. These three narratives form a second cycle.

7. The first journey of Jesus to Jerusalem, Luk 2:41-52. This seventh narrative is, as it were, the crown of the two preceding cycles.

Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)

V.

ANNUNCIATION TO ZACHARIAS OF THE BIRTH

OF JOHN THE BAPTIST.

(At Jerusalem. Probably B. C. 6.)

cLUKE I. 5-25.

c5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Juda [a Jewish proselyte, an Iduman or Edomite by birth, founder of the Herodian family, king of Juda from B.C. 40 to A.D. 4, made such by the Roman Senate on the recommendation of Mark Antony and Octavius Csar], a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course [David divided the priests into twenty-four bodies or courses, each course serving in rotation one week in the temple ( 1Ch 24:3-19). Of these courses that of Abijah was the eighth] of Abijah: and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron [The Baptist was of the priestly race by both parents, a family distinction much esteemed among the Jews. He who was thus doubly a priest proclaimed Him who changed the priesthood], and her name was Elisabeth. [She was named after her ancestress Elisheba, the wife of Aaron.] 6 And they were both righteous before God [that is, truly righteous, or righteous in God’s judgment, and not in mere appearance– Gen 7:1], walking in all the commandments and ordinances [Strictly construed, commandments would refer to moral, and ordinances to ceremonial laws. The two words include all the positive and negative precepts] of the Lord blameless. 7 And they had no child [this fact was a reproach and shame to her, barrenness being considered even a punishment for sin by many], because that Elisabeth was barren [the births of Isaac, Samson, Samuel and the Baptist were all contrary to nature, and were faint foreshadowings of the greater miracle which took place in the birth of our Lord], and they both were now well stricken in years. 8 And it came to pass, [9] that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course [that is, when it came the turn of his course to minister in the temple], 9 according to the custom [there were many duties in the temple service, and the priests in each course daily drew lots for these duties] of the priest’s office, his lot was to enter into the temple [not that group of buildings, courts, and enclosures which was all called the temple; but the real sanctuary itself, the small but holy building which took the place of the tabernacle of the wilderness] of the Lord and burn incense. [Made of a mixture of sweet spices. The temple incense was made of stacte, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense, in equal parts, beaten very small– Exo 30:7, Exo 30:8, Exo 30:34-38.] 10 The whole multitude [the presence of the multitude indicates that it was a sabbath or a feast day] of the people were praying [Incense is a symbol of prayer ( Psa 141:1, Psa 141:2, Rev 8:3). Each of the multitude prayed in silence] without [outside the sanctuary, in the temple courts, particularly the court of the women] at the time of incense. [Incense was offered evening and morning ( Exo 30:1-8). Probably at 9 A.M. and at 3 P.M. Compare Act 3:1. The text favors the idea that Zacharias’ vision came in the morning.] 11 And there appeared unto him [one of God’s invisible messengers who came visibly– 2Ki 6:17, Psa 34:7] an angel of the Lord [Luke frequently tells of the ministration of angels ( Luk 1:26, Luk 2:9, Luk 2:13, Luk 2:21, Luk 12:8, Luk 15:10, Luk 16:22, Luk 22:43, Luk 24:4, Luk 24:23). They are also often mentioned in the Book of Acts. There had been no appearance of an angel for about four hundred years] standing on the right side [the place of honor and dignity– Act 7:56] of the altar of incense. [The altar on which Zacharias was burning incense. It stood in the Holy Place in front of the veil which hung between the holy and the most holy places. It was a small table twenty-two inches in breadth and length and forty-four inches in height. It was made of acacia wood, and overlaid with gold– Exo 37:25.] 12 And Zacharias was troubled [as men always are at the sight of heavenly beings [10] — Gen 3:9, Gen 3:10, Dan 10:7-12, Rev 1:17, Rev 1:18] when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not [These are the first words of the gospel which began at that hour to unfold itself], Zacharias: because thy supplication is heard, and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. [This name means “the Lord is gracious,” or “the Lord is merciful.”] 14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness [thou shalt feel as Abraham did when he named his new-born son Isaac; that is, “Laughter”]; and many [but not all] shall rejoice at his birth. 15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord [compare Luk 1:6], and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink. [Strong drink is any other fermented liquor. Wycliffe’s version calls it “syder,” and the Anglo-Saxon version calls it “beor,” of which palm wine was the most common kind. As to the temperance of the Baptist, compare the history of Samson ( Jdg 13:3-5) and the law of the Nazarite– Num 6:2-4]; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit [the stimulation of the Spirit is elsewhere thus contrasted with alcoholic stimulants– Act 2:15-18, Eph 5:18], even from his mother’s womb. [See Luk 1:41.] 16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn unto the Lord their God. [These words were quoted from Mal 4:6, and resumed the thread of prophecy which had been broken nearly four centuries before. Roman rule had brought in the vices and profligacy of Italy and Greece, and the nation needed to turn back to its former godly life.] 17 And he shall go before his face [the face of Messiah, who is also the Lord God– Mal 3:1] in the spirit and power of Elijah [And thus in fulfillment of the prophecy that Elijah should come again ( Mal 4:6; Mat 17:9-13). The Jews still expect Elijah as the forerunner of Messiah. John showed the spirit of Elijah in his ascetic dress and life ( 2Ki 1:8, Mat 3:4) and in his message of repentance– 1Ki 18:21-40], to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children. [“These are the last words of the Old [11] Testament, there used by a prophet; here expounded by an angel; there concluding the law; here beginning the gospel.” The phrase may mean: 1. John will restore unity to the families of Israel, now divided into political factions, as Herodians or friends of Rome, and zealots or patriots; and into religious factions, as Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, etc.; or more likely it may mean, 2. That John would restore the broken relationship between the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their degenerate descendants– Isa 29:22, Isa 29:23, Isa 63:16, Joh 8:37-40], and the disobedient to walk in the wisdom of the just; to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him. [As in the East the “friend,” or go-between, prepares the bride to understand and appreciate her bridegroom– Joh 3:28, Joh 3:29.] 18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? [In asking for a sign Zacharias showed his unbelief ( Mat 12:38, Mat 12:39). His question in the original is in four words. Four faithless words cost him forty weeks of silence.] for I am an old man [So said Abraham ( Gen 17:17). The law which retired Levites from service at the age of fifty years ( Num 8:25, Num 8:26) did not apply to priests. They served to extreme old age], and my wife well stricken in years. 19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel [This name means “hero, or mighty one, of God.” Gabriel announced to Daniel the time of Christ’s birth and death, and the overthrow and final restoration of the Jewish nation ( Dan_1-12:13.). He also announced the birth of Jesus to Mary ( Luk 1:26). The Bible gives the name of but one other angel; viz.: Michael, meaning “Who is like God?” Since Gabriel was the messenger who announced God’s merciful and gracious purposes, and Michael the one who executed his decrees and punishments, the Jews had a beautiful saying that “Gabriel flew with two wings, and Michael with only one.” The very ancient book of Enoch ( Jud 1:14) gives us the name of two other archangels; viz.: Uriel, meaning “God is light”; and Raphael, meaning “healer of God”], that stand in the presence of God [Seven angels are [12] spoken of as standing in the presence of God ( Rev 8:2) and may probably be called angels of the presence ( Isa 63:9). But to see the face of God is no doubt accorded to all angels ( Mat 18:10). One who stands in the presence of God should be believed by men without approving signs]; and I was sent to speak unto thee, and to bring thee these good tidings. [Our word “gospel” means good tidings.] 20 And, behold, thou shalt be silent [it was a sign; and also a punishment for having sought a sign] and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall come to pass, because thou believedst not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. 21 And the people were waiting for Zacharias, and they marvelled while he tarried [The Jews considered slow service as irreverent and displeasing to God. The punishment attached to displeasing service made them fearful– Lev 16:13] in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them [Could not dismiss them with the usual blessing ( Num 6:23-26). Disbelief is always powerless to bless]: and they perceived [probably by his excited manner] that he had seen a vision [the most vivid and objective of all spiritual phenomena– Luk 24:23, Act 26:19, 2Co 12:1, Dan 9:23] in the temple: and he continued making signs unto them, and remained dumb. 23 And it came to pass, when the days of his ministration [They are said to have lasted from the evening of one Sabbath (Friday at sundown) to the morning of the next. Though doubtless chagrined at the punishment which had come upon him, the old priest remained at his post, and dwelt in the temple until his week was finished] were fulfilled, he departed unto his house. [Some guess that he lived at Hebron, others at Jutta, five miles south of Hebron, others at Ain Karim, four miles west of Jerusalem, but no one knows.] 24 And after these days Elisabeth his wife conceived; and she hid herself [probably through mingled feelings of modesty, humility, devotion, and joy] five months [at the end of which time her seclusion was interrupted by the visit [13] of Mary], saying, 25 Thus [graciously and mercifully] hath the Lord done unto me in the days wherein he looked upon me, to take away my reproach [the reproach of being childless– Gen 30:23] among men.

[FFG 9-14]

Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)

OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS

5. John the Baptist was a bonafide Aaronic priest in a pre-eminent sense, both his father and his mother belonging to the family of Aaron.

6. They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. While the rank and file of the priesthood, as well as the membership, had degenerated into dead formality and hollow hypocrisy, yet there were a few paragon saints, scattered here and there, in the Jewish Church at the time of our Lords advent. They enjoyed the glorious honor of receiving the Christ of prophecy, and introducing Him to the world a peculiar honor, which God conferred upon all Israel; but, through blind unbelief, pride, and disobedience, they all forfeited it except Zacharias and Elizabeth, Joseph and Mary, Simeon and Anna, and a few others, dispersed hither and thither in the kingdom of Israel. The phraseology in reference to Zacharias and Elizabeth is such that we must conclude they enjoyed the sanctified experience. It seems, however, that Elizabeth enjoyed a deeper spirituality and a brighter type of faith than her husband, who certainly was not free from vacillation.

7. Sterility among the Hebrews was deprecated, not only as a calamity, but an opprobrium, as, in that case, there must follow a forfeiture of their inheritance in Israel as well as the hope of the honored progenitorship of Christ.

8. Since the priests had become so numerous, the institution of the sacerdotal divisions and courses by Abia had obtained, pursuant to which every priest must await his time to officiate in the temple.

9,10. Only the priests were admitted into the temple proper, the multitudes remaining out, having access to the great brazen altar, on which they offered their sacrifices, while the priests within the temple burnt incense to the Lord. On the present occasion, Zacharias was burning the holy incense to the Lord in the temple, and all the people were praying without, at the hour of incense; i.e., nine oclock in the morning.

11. The angel of the Lord appeared, standing on the right hand of the altar of incense: Zacharias seeing him, was excited, and fear fell on him. The position occupied by the advocate in court is always on the righthand side of the judge. Gabriel and Michael are the two great archangels prominent throughout the Bible; the latter always appearing in the interest of the Divine government, and the former in behalf of humanity.

12,13. We see here that Zacharias and Elizabeth had prayed much that God might remove the sterility and give them posterity. As they are now quite old, the faith of Zacharias had much waned, while that of Elizabeth was stalwart and vigorous. Thou shalt call his name John. John does not occur in the Old Testament, being here given for the first time by the archangel. It means the grace of God, because John the Baptist was the harbinger of that wonderful grace which came to redeem the whole world from endless death.

14. The birth of John the Baptist was the occasion of general rejoicing among all the consanguinity of Zacharias and Elizabeth, as well as the more spiritual people enjoying a degree of insight into the things of God, who entertained hopeful apprehension that a mighty prophet was thus born into Israel.

15. For he shall be great before the Lord. John the Baptist, the last of all the Old Testament prophets, was truly the greatest, being more than a prophet; i.e., the forerunner and introducer of Christ. And he shall not drink wine and strong drink. John was a Nazarite unto the Lord, living exceedingly abstemious, and a total abstainant from everything calculated to intoxicate. The Nazarite of the Old Dispensation was identical with the sanctified man of the gospel age. Samson was a Nazarite, this being the secret of his wonderful strength. He shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from the womb of his mother. Here we have an actual case of sanctified infancy, illustrating the gracious possibility of having our infants filled with the Holy Ghost. Doubtless this will become the normal state during the glorious Millennial Theocracy.

16. And he shall turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. John the Baptist was a wonderful preacher, his stentorian voice pealing into the popular ear after a prophetical interregnum of four hundred years, thus arousing Israel from her long sleep, emptying the cities and populating the desert, with the spellbound multitudes, listening with burning hearts and penitent spirits to the mighty and irresistible appeals of this wonderful prophet of the wilderness.

17. He shall go before His face in the spirit and dynamite of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. The great and sweeping revival which broke out under the preaching of John the Baptist, stirring the whole nation from center to circumference, was the very thing to bring the people down into the dust of humiliation, and thus prepare them for the grandest opportunity the world had seen in four thousand years.

Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament

Luk 1:5-25. Prediction of the Birth of John the Baptist.Lk. alone gives the story, which perhaps existed independently. and had been preserved in Baptist circles like that of Act 19:1-6. Its Jewish character and form are evident: there are many reminiscences of OT incidents and language. In the days of Herod the Great (i.e. before Luk 1:4 B.C.) there lived in Juda (Luk 1:39*) a priest named Zacharias and his wife Elisabeth. She was of Aaronic descent (cf. Exo 6:23, Elisheba), and both were folk of exemplary piety. They were now, like Abraham and Sarah, advanced in life but childless. Zacharias belonged to that one of the divisions of the priesthood which was known as the class or course of Abijah (1Ch 24:10). Each course in turn was responsible for a weeks service in the Temple. It fell to Zacharias one day to burn incense, and, contrary to the custom, he was doing this alone. As he stood at the altar an angel (Gabriel) appeared, dispelled his natural fear, and announced the fulfilment of a hope (Luk 1:18) which had long been abandoned. Elisabeth is to bear a son John (Yahweh is gracious), who shall bring joy to many besides his parents. From his birth he is to be endowed with the Spirit, he is to live an ascetic life (cf. Jdg 13:5, Jer 1:5), and reconcile his fellow-countrymen to Yahweh, their God. In him the prophecy of Malachi (Mal 4:5 f.*) is to be fulfilled; he is to prepare Israel for the coming and the kingdom of God. Zacharias asks a token (cf. Gen 15:8; Gen 17:17), and is told that he shall be dumb (for his incredulity) and probably deaf (Luk 6:2) until the prediction is fulfilled (cf. Dan 10:14 f.). The angel departs; Zacharias, though physically handicapped, fulfils his weeks service and goes home. His wife finds that the angelic prediction is in course of fulfilment, and rejoices that the stigma of barrenness (Gen 30:23) has been removed from her.

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

Verse 5

Herod. Judea had been conquered by the Romans a short time before this, and held in imperfect subjugation, until, at length, Herod, who was appointed to the government of it, completed the conquest, and induced the Roman emperor to grant it to him as a kingdom; and he had been reigning over it now, in great power and splendor, for more than thirty years. He acquired great celebrity for his political and military talents, his influence with the Roman government, the energy of his administration, the violence of his passions, and for his cruelties and his crimes. He is called in history Herod the Great. The individuals mentioned in the subsequent parts of the Scripture history, under the name of Herod, were his descendants.–Of the course of Abia. In 1 Chronicles 24:1-31: the arrangement of the priests into courses is given, and, in the 1 Chronicles 24:10 the course of Abijah is mentioned as the eighth in order.

Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament

1:5 There {2} was {f} in the days of {g} Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the {h} course of Abia: and his wife [was] of the daughters of Aaron, and her name [was] Elisabeth.

(2) John, who was another Elias and appointed to be the herald of Christ, coming from the family of Aaron, and of two famous and blameless parents, has shown in his conception

(which was against the course of nature) a double miracle, to the end that men should be more readily prepared for the hearing of his preaching, according to the forewarning of the prophets.

(f) This is a Hebrew idiom which shows us how short and frail a thing the power of princes is.

(g) Herod the great.

(h) For the posterity of Aaron was divided into courses.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

II. THE BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD OF JESUS 1:5-2:52

This section contains material unique in Luke. The only repeated statement occurs in Luk 2:39 and Mat 2:23. Other unique features are the way Luke alternated the reader’s attention between John and Jesus, and the joy that several individuals expressed (Luk 1:46-55; Luk 1:68-79; Luk 2:14; Luk 2:29-32). [Note: For studies of the structure of this passage, see Robert C. Tannehill, The Narrative Unity of Luke-Acts , 1:15-20; R. E. Brown, The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives in Matthew and Luke, pp. 248-53, 292-98, 408-10; J. A. Fitzmyer, The Gospel according to Luke I-IX, pp. 313-15; and David E. Malick, "A Literary Approach to the Birth Narratives in Luke 1-2," in Integrity of Heart, Skillfulness of Hands, pp. 93-107.]

This section has a decidedly Semitic style that suits the connections that it has with the Old Testament. Matthew used fulfillment formulas to show that Jesus was the promised Messiah, but Luke was less direct. He showed that Old Testament predictions lay behind these events by describing them in the style and vocabulary of the Old Testament. He also featured Jerusalem and the temple, which provide added connections to the Old Testament.

The alternation between John and Jesus compares and contrasts them (cf. 1 Samuel 1-3). [Note: See G. N. Stanton, Jesus of Nazareth in New Testament Preaching, pp. 55-56.] Luke presented them both as prophets in the Old Testament mold, but Jesus was infinitely superior to John. Note the uses of the title "Most High" (Luk 1:32; Luk 1:35; Luk 1:76). [Note: See H. H. Oliver, "The Lucan Birth Stories and the Purpose of Luke-Acts," New Testaments Studies 10 (1963-64):215-26.] First, Luke recorded the announcements of John’s and then Jesus’ birth (Luk 1:5-38). This is a section of comparison primarily. Then he told of Elizabeth blessing Mary and Mary blessing God, a section of predominant contrast (Luk 1:39-56). Finally we have the births of John and Jesus, a section of both comparison and contrast (Luk 1:57 to Luk 2:52).

Luke recorded the appearance of angels in this section. Apparently he did so to strengthen the point that Jesus was God’s provision for humankind’s need. Angels bridge the gap between God and man, and here they rejoiced in God’s provision of a Savior for humankind. Frequent references to the Holy Spirit validating and empowering Jesus’ ministry increase this emphasis (Luk 1:15; Luk 1:35; Luk 1:41; Luk 1:67; Luk 1:80; Luk 2:25-27).

The theme of joy is present explicitly in the songs and words of praise and thanksgiving as well as implicitly in the mood of the whole section. Yet there is a warning of coming pain as well as deliverance (Luk 2:35).

Note the similarity of structure that facilitates comparison of John and Jesus.

	John	Jesus
Introduction of the parents	Luk 1:5-7	Luk 1:26-27
Appearance of an angel	Luk 1:8-23	Luk 1:28-30
Giving of a sign	Luk 1:18-20	Luk 1:34-38
Pregnancy of a childless woman	Luk 1:24-25	Luk 1:42

This section (Luk 1:5-56) deals with promise while the rest of the birth and childhood narrative concerns fulfillment (Luk 1:57 to Luk 2:52).

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

A. The announcement of John the Baptist’s birth 1:5-25

There are striking parallels to this account in the Old Testament. Zechariah and Elizabeth were similar to Abraham and Sarah, to Jacob and Rachel, to Elkanah and Hannah, and to Samson’s parents. In each case there was a divine announcement of the birth of an unusual child.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

1. The introduction of John’s parents 1:5-7

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

Herod the Great ruled over Judea, the large Roman province that included all of Israel, from 37 B.C. to A.D. 4.

Luke pointed out that both of John’s parents had a priestly heritage. The priests in Israel had the great privilege of intimate association with God through their worship and service in the sanctuary. Zechariah’s name means "Yahweh remembers" and is significant here because the birth of John was a fulfillment of a prophecy that God would send a forerunner before Israel’s Messiah. The etymological derivation of Elizabeth’s name is unclear, but possibly it means "God’s covenant." [Note: Bailey, p. 107.] Normally John would have become a priest and served in the temple as his father did.

David had divided the priesthood into 24 divisions and had placed the leader of one priestly family at the head of each group (1 Chronicles 23-24).

"Actually only four divisions returned from the Exile (Ezr 2:36-39), but the four were subdivided to make up twenty-four again with the old names." [Note: Leon Morris, The Gospel According to St. Luke, p. 68.]

Abijah was the leader of the division to which Zechariah belonged (1Ch 24:10). The Exile had interrupted these divisions, but Israel’s leaders established them again following the restoration as best they could. In Zechariah’s day, each division served for one week twice a year plus during the major festivals. [Note: J. Jeremias, Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus, pp. 198-207.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

Chapter 2

THE MUTE PRIEST.

Luk 1:5-25; Luk 1:57-80.

AFTER his personal prelude, our Evangelist goes on to give in detail the pre-Advent revelations, so connecting the thread of his narrative with the broken-off thread of the Old Testament. His language, however, suddenly changes its character and accent; and its frequent Hebraisms show plainly that he is no longer giving his own words, but that he is simply recording the narratives as they were told him, possibly by some member of the Holy Family.

“There was in the days of Herod, king of Judaea.” Even the surface-reader of Scripture will observe how little is made in its pages of the time-element. There is a purposed vagueness in its chronology, which scarcely accords with our Western ideas of accuracy and precision. We observe times and seasons. We strike off the years with the clang of bells or the hush of solemn services. Each day with us is lifted up into prominence, having a personality and history all its own, and as we write its history, we keep it clear of all its tomorrows and its yesterdays. And so the day grows naturally into a date, and dates combine into chronologies, where everything is sharp, exact. Not so, however, was it, or indeed is it, in the Eastern world. Time there, if we may speak temporally, was of little moment. To that slow-moving and slow-thinking world one day was as a trifle, something atomic; it took a number of them to make an appreciable quantity. And so they divided their time, in ordinary speech, not minutely as we do, but into larger periods, measuring its distances by the shadows of their striking events. Why is it that we have four Gospels, and in fact a whole New Testament, without a date? for it cannot possibly be a chance omission. Is the time element so subdued and set back, lest the “things temporal” should lead off our minds from the “things spiritual and eternal “? For what is time, after all, but a negative quantity? an empty space, in itself all silent and dead, until our thoughts and deeds strike against it and make it vocal? Nay, even in the heavenly life we see the same losing of the time- element, for we read, “There should be time no longer.” Not that it will then disappear, swallowed up in that infinite duration we call eternity. That would make heaven a confusion; for to finite minds eternity itself must come in measured beats, striking, like the waves along the shore, in rhythmic intervals. But our time will be no longer. It must needs be transfigured, ceasing to be earthly, that it may become heavenly in its measurement and in its speech. And so in the Bible, which is a Divine-human book, written for the ages, God has purposely veiled the times, at any rate the “days” of earthly reckoning. Even the day of our Lord s birth, and the day of His death, our chronologies cannot determine: we measure, we guess, but it is randomly, like the blinded men of Sodom, who wearied themselves to find the door. In Heaven’s reckoning deeds are more than days.

Time-beats by themselves are only broken silences, but put a soul among them, and you make songs, anthems, and all kinds of music. “In those days” may be a common Hebraism, but may it not be something more? may it not be an idiom of celestial speech, the heavenly way of referring to earthly things? At any rate we know this, that while Heaven is careful to give us the purpose, the promise, and the fulfilment, the Divine Spirit does not care to give us the exact moment when the promise became a realization. And that it is so shows that it is best it should be so. Silence sometimes may be better than speech.

But in saying all this we do not say that Heaven is unobservant of earthly times and seasons. They are a part of the Divine order, stamped on all lives, on all worlds. Our days and nights keep their alternate step; our seasons observe their processional order, singing in antiphonal responses; while our world, geared in with other worlds, strikes off our earthly years and days with an absolute precision. So, now, the time of the Advent has been Divinely chosen, for whole millenniums unalterably fixed; nor have the cries of Israel s impatient hopes been allowed to hurry forward the Divine purpose, so making it premature. But why should the Advent be so long delayed? In our off-handed way of thinking we might have sup posed the Redeemer would have come directly after the Fall; and as far as Heaven was concerned, there was no reason why the Incarnation and the Redemption should not be effected immediately. The Divine Son was even then prepared to lay aside His glories, and to become incarnate. He might have been born of the Virgin of Eden, as well as of the Virgin of Galilee; and even then He might have offered unto God that perfect obedience by which the “many are made righteous.” Why, then, this strange delay, as the months lengthen into years, and the years into centuries? The Patriarchs come and go, and only see the promise “afar off.” Then come centuries of oppression, as Canaan is completely eclipsed by the dark shadow of Egypt; then the Exodus, the wanderings, the conquest. The Judges administer a rough-handed justice; Kings play with their little crowns; Prophets rebuke and prophesy, telling of the “Wonderful” who shall be; but still the Messiah delays His coming. Why this strange postponement of the world’s hopes, as if prophecy dealt in illusions only? We find the answer in St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians (chap, iv. 4). The “fulness of the time” was not yet come. The time was maturing, but was not yet ripe. Heaven was long ago prepared for an Incarnation, but Earth was not; and had the Advent occurred at an earlier stage of the world s history, it would have been an anachronism the age would have misunderstood. There must be a leading up to God’s gifts, or His blessings cease to be blessings. The world must be prepared for the Christ, or virtually He is no Christ, no Saviour to them. The Christ must come into the world s mind as a familiar thought, He must come into the world s heart as a deep-felt need, before He can come as the Word Incarnate.

And when is this “fullness of the time”? “In the days of Herod, king of Judaea.” Such is the phrase that now strikes the Divine hour, and leads in the dawn of a new dispensation. And what dark days were those to the Hebrew people, when on the throne of their David sat that Idumean shadow of the dread Caesar! Their land swarms with Gentile hordes, and on the soil devoted to Jehovah rise stately, splendid temples, dedicated to strange gods. It is one irruption of Paganism, as if the Roman Pantheon had emptied itself upon the Holy Land. Nay, it seemed as if the Hebrew faith itself would become extinct, strangled by heathen fables, or at any rate that she would survive, only the ghost of her other self, walking like an apparition, with veiled face and sealed lips, amid the scenes of her former glories. “The days of Herod” were the Hebrew midnight, but they give us the Bright and Morning Star. And so upon this dial-plate of Scripture the great Herod, with all his royalties, is nothing more than the dark, empty shadow which marks a Divine hour, “the fulness of the time.”

Israel s corporate life began with four centuries of silence and oppression, when Egypt gave them the doubled task, and Heaven grew strangely still, giving them neither voice nor vision. Is it but one of the chance repetitions of history that Israel s national life should end, too, with four hundred years of silence? for such is the coincidence, if, indeed, we may not call it something more. It is, however, just such a coincidence as the Hebrew mind, quick to trace resemblances and to discern signs, would grasp firmly and eagerly. It would revive their long-deferred and dying hopes, overlaying the near future with its gold. Possibly it was this very coincidence that now transformed their hope into expectation, and set their hearts listening for the advent of the Messiah. Did not Moses come when the task was doubled? And was not the four hundred years silence broken by the thunders of the Exodus, as the I AM, once again asserting Himself, “sent redemption to His people”? And so, counting back their silent years since Heaven’s last voice came to them through their prophet Malachi, they caught in its very silences a sound of hope, the footfall of the forerunner, and the voice of the coming Lord. But where, and how, shall the long silence be broken? We must go for our answer and here, again, we see a correspondence between the new Exodus and the old to the tribe of Levi, and to the house of Amram and Jochebed.

Residing in one of the priestly cities of the hill-country of Judaea though not in Hebron, as is commonly supposed, for it is most unlikely that a name so familiar and sacred in the Old Testament would here be omitted in the New was “a certain priest named Zacharias.” Himself a descendant of Aaron, his wife, too, was of the same lineage; and besides being “of the daughters of Aaron,” she bore the name of their ancestral mother, Elisabeth.” Like Abraham and Sarah, they were both well advanced in years, and childless. But if they were not allowed to have any lien upon posterity, throwing themselves forward into future generations, they made up the lack of earthly relationships by cultivating the heavenly. Forbidden, as they thought, to look forward down the lines of earthly hopes, they could and did look heavenward; for we read that they were both “righteous” a word implying a Mosaic perfection “walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” We may not be able, perhaps, to give the precise distinction between “commandments” and “ordinances,” for they were sometimes used inter changeably; but if, as the general use of the words allows us, we refer the “commandments” to the moral, and the “ordinances” to the ceremonial law, we see how wide is the ground they cover, embracing, as they do, the (then) “whole duty of man.” Rarely, if ever, do the Scriptures speak in such eulogistic terms; and that they should here be applied to Zacharias and Elisabeth shows that they were advanced in saintliness, as well as in years. Possibly St. Luke had another object in view in giving us the portraits of these two pre-Advent Christians, completing in the next chapter the quarternion, by his mention of Simeon and Anna. It is somewhat strange, to say the least, that the Gentile Evangelist should be the one to give us this remarkable group the four aged Templars, who, “when it was yet dark,” rose to chant their matins and to anticipate the dawn. Whether the Evangelist in tended it or not, his narrative salutes the Old, while it heralds the New dispensation, paying to that Old a high though unconscious tribute. It shows us that Hebraism was not yet dead; for if on its central stem, within the limited area of its Temple courts, such a cluster of beautiful lives could be found, who will tell the harvest of its outlying branches? Judaism was not altogether a piece of mechanism, elaborate and exact, with a soulless, metallic click of rites and ceremonies. It was an organism, living and sentient. It had nerves and blood. Possessed of a heart itself, it touched the hearts of its children. It gave them aspirations and inspirations without number; and even its shadows were the interpreters, as they were the creations, of the heavenly light And if now it is doomed to pass away, outdated and superseded, it is not because it is bad, worthless; for it was a Divine conception, the “good” thing, preparing for and proclaiming God’s “better thing.” Judaism was the “glorious angel, keeping the gates of light;” and now, behold, she swings back the gates, welcomes the Morning, and herself then disappears.

It is the autumn service for the course of Abia which is the eighth of the twenty-four courses into which the priesthood was divided and Zacharias proceeds to Jerusalem, to perform whatever part of the service the lot may assign to him. It is probably the evening of the Sabbath the presence of the multitude would almost imply that and this evening the lot gives to Zacharias the coveted distinction which could only come once in a lifetime of burning incense in the Holy Place. At a given signal, between the slaying and the offering of the lamb, Zacharias, barefooted and robed in white, passes up the steps, accompanied by two assistants, one bearing a golden censer containing half a pound of the sweet-smelling incense, the other bearing a golden vessel of burning coals taken from the altar. Slowly and reverently they pass within the Holy Place, which none but Levites are permitted to enter; and having arranged the incense, and spread the live coals upon the altar, the assistants retire, leaving Zacharias alone in the dim light of the seven-branched candlestick, alone beside that veil he may not uplift, and which hides from his sight the Holy of Holies, where God dwells “in the thick darkness.” Such is the place, and such the supreme moment, when Heaven breaks the silence of four hundred years.

It is no concern of ours to explain the phenomenon that followed, or to tone down its supernatural elements. Given an Incarnation, and then the supernatural be comes not only probable, but necessary. Indeed, we could not well conceive of any new revelation without it; and instead of its being a weakness, a blemish on the page of Scripture, it is rather a proof of its heavenliness, a hall-mark that stamps its Divinity. Nor is there any need, believing as we do in the existence of intelligences other and higher than ourselves, that we apologize for the appearance of angels, here and else where, in the story; such deference to Sadducean doubts is not required.

Suddenly, as Zacharias stands with uplifted hands, joining in the prayers offered by the silent “multitude” without, an angel appears. He stands “on the right side of the altar of incense,” half-veiled by the fragrant smoke, which curling upwards, filled the place. No wonder that the lone priest is filled with “fear,” and that he is “troubled” a word implying an outward tremor, as if the very body shook with the unwonted agitation of the soul. The angel does not at first announce his name, but seeks rather to calm the heart of the priest, stilling its tumult with a “Fear not” as Jesus stilled the waters with His “Peace.” Then he makes known his message, speaking in language most homely and most human: “Thy prayer is heard.” Perhaps a more exact rendering would be, “Thy request was granted,” for the substantive implies a specific prayer, while the verb indicates a “hearing” that becomes an “assenting.” What the prayer was we may gather from the angel’s words; for the whole message, both in its promise and its prophecy, is but an amplification of its first clause. To the Jew, childlessness was the worst of all bereavements. It implied, at least they thought so, the Divine displeasure; while it effectually cut them off from any personal share in those cherished Messianic hopes. To the Hebrew heart the message, “Unto you a son is born,” was the music of a lower Gospel. It marked an epoch in their life-history; it brought the fulfilment of their desires, and a wealth of added dignities. And Zacharias had prayed, earnestly and long, that a son might be born to them; but the bright hope, with the years, had grown distant and dim, until at last it had dropped down beyond the horizon of their thoughts, and become an impossibility. But those prayers were heard, yea, and granted, too, in the Divine purpose; and if the answer has been delayed, it was that it might come freighted with a larger blessing.

But in saying that this was the specific prayer of Zacharias we do not wish to disparage his motives, confining his thoughts and aspirations within a circle so narrow and selfish. This lesser hope of offspring, like a satellite, revolved around the larger hope of a Messiah, and indeed grew out of it. It drew all its brightness and all its beauty from that larger hope, the hope that lighted up the dark Hebrew sky with the auroras of a new and fadeless dawn. When mariners “take the sun,” as they call it, reading from its disc their longitudes, they bring it down to their horizon-level. They get the higher in the lower vision, and the real direction of their looks is not the apparent direction. And if Zacharias thoughts and prayers seem to have an earthward drift, his soul looks higher than his speech; and if he looks along the horizon-level of earthly hopes, it is that he may read the heavenly promise. It is not a son that he is looking for, but the Son, the “Seed” in whom “all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” And so, when the silent tongue regains its powers of speech, it gives its first and highest doxologies for that other Child, who is Himself the promised “redemption” and a “horn of salvation;” his own child he sets back, far back in the shadow (or rather the light) of Him whom he calls the “Lord.” It is the near realization of both these hopes that the angel now announces.

A son shall be born to them, even in their advanced years, and they shall call his name “John,” which means “The Lord is gracious.” “Many will rejoice with them at his birth,” for that birth will be the awakening of new hopes, the first hour of a new day. “Great in the sight of the Lord,” he must be a Nazarite, abstaining wholly from “wine and strong drink” the two Greek words including all intoxicants, however made. “Filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother’s womb” that original bias or propensity to evil, if not obliterated, yet more than neutralized he shall be the Elijah (in spirit and in power) of Malachi’s prophecy, turning many of Israel s children “to the Lord their God.” “Going before Him” and the antecedent of “Him” must be “the Lord their God” of the preceding verse, so early is the purple of Divinity thrown around the Christ he “shall turn the hearts of fathers to their children,” restoring peace and order to domestic life, and the “disobedient” he shall incline “to walk in the wisdom of the just” (R.V.), bringing back the feet that have erred and slipped to “the paths of uprightness,” which are the “ways of wisdom.” In short, he shall be the herald, making ready a people prepared for the Lord, running before the royal chariot, proclaiming the coming One, and preparing His way, then leaving his own little footprints to disappear, thrown up in the chariot-dust of Him who was greater and mightier than he.

We can easily understand, even if we may not apologize for, the incredulity of Zacharias. There are crises in our life when, under profound emotion, Reason herself seems bewildered, and Faith loses her steadiness of vision. The storm of feeling throws the reflective powers into confusion, and thought becomes blurred and indistinct, and speech incoherent and wild. And such a crisis was it now, but intensified to the mind of Zacharias by all these additions of the supernatural. The vision, with its accessories of place and time, the message, so startling, even though so welcome, must necessarily produce a strange perturbation of soul; and what surprise need there be that when the priest does speak it is in the lisping accents of unbelief? Could it well have been otherwise? Peter “wist not that it was true which was done by the angel, but thought he saw a vision;” and though Zacharias has none of these doubts of unreality it is to him no dream of the moment s ecstasy still he is not yet aware of the rank and dignity of his angel-visitant, while he is perplexed at the message, which so directly contravenes both reason and experience. He does not doubt the Divine power, let it be observed, but he does seek for a sign that the angel speaks with Divine authority. “Whereby shall 1 know this?” he asks, reminding us by his question of Jacob’s “Tell me thy name.” The angel replies, in substance, “You ask whereby you may know this; that is, you wish to know by whose authority I declare this message to you. Well, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak unto you, and to bring you these good tidings. And since you ask for a sign, an endorsement of my message, you shall have one. I put the seal of silence upon your lips, and you shall not be able to speak until the day when these things shall come to pass, because you believed not my words.” Then the vision ends; Gabriel returns to the songs and anthems of the skies, leaving Zacharias to carry, in awful stillness of soul, this new “secret of the Lord.”

This infliction of dumbness upon Zacharias has generally been regarded as a rebuke and punishment for his unbelief; but if we refer to the parallel cases of Abraham and of Gideon, such is not Heaven s wonted answer to the request for a sign. We must understand it rather as the proof Zacharias sought, something at once supernatural and significant, that should help his stumbling faith. Such a sign, and a most effective one, it was. Unlike Gideon s dew, that would soon evaporate, leaving nothing but a memory, this was ever present, ever felt, at least until faith was exchanged for sight. Nor was it dumbness simply, for the word (Luk 1:22) rendered “speechless” implies inability to hear as well as inability to speak; and this, coupled with the fact mentioned in ver. Luk 1:62, that “they made signs to him” which they would scarcely have done could he have heard their voices compels us to suppose that Zacharias had suddenly become deaf as well as dumb. Heaven put the seal of silence upon his lips and ears, that so its own voice might be more clear and loud; and so the profound silences of Zacharias soul were but the blank spaces on which Heaven s sweet music was written.

How long the interview with the angel lasted we cannot tell. It must, however, have been brief; for at a given signal, the stroke of the Magrephah, the attendant priest would re-enter the Holy Place, to light the two lamps that had been left unlighted. And here we must look for the “tarrying ” that so perplexed the multitude, who were waiting outside, in silence, for the benediction of the incensing priest. Re-entering the Holy Place, the attendant finds Zacharias smitten as by a sudden paralysis speechless, deaf, and overcome by emotion. What wonder that the strange excitement them oblivious of time, and, for the moment, all-forgetful of their Temple duties! The priests are in their places, grouped together on the steps leading up to the Holy Place; the sacrificing priest has ascended the great brazen altar; ready to cast the pieces of the slain lamb upon the sacred fire; the Levites stand ready with their trumpets and their psalms all waiting for the priests who linger so long in the Holy Place. At length they appear, taking up their position on the top of the steps, above the rows of priests, and above the silent multitude. But Zacharias cannot pronounce the usual benediction to-day. The “Jehovah bless thee and keep thee” is unsaid; the priest can only “beckon” to them, perhaps laying his finger on the silent lips, and then pointing to the silent heavens to them indeed silent, but to himself all vocal now.

And so the mute priest, after the days of his ministration are completed, returns to his home in the hill country, to wait the fulfilment of the promises, and out of his deep silences to weave a song that should be immortal; for the Benedictus, whose music girdles the world to-day, before it struck upon the world’s ear and heart, had, through those quiet months, filled the hushed temple of his soul, lifting up the priest and the prophet among the poets, and passing down the name of Zacharias as one of the first sweet singers of the new Israel.

And so the Old meets, and merges into the New; and at the marriage it is the speaking hands of the mute priest that join together the two Dispensations, as each gives itself to the other, never more to be put asunder, but to be “no longer twain, but one,” one Purpose, one Plan, one Divine Thought, one Divine Word.

Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary