Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 1:8
And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course,
8. executed the priest’s office ] The priest who had the highest functions allotted to him was called ‘the chief of the course.’ There are said to have been some 20,000 priests in the days of Christ, and it could therefore never fall to the lot of the same priest twice to offer incense. Hence this would have been, apart from the vision, the most memorable day in the life of Zacharias.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Before God – In the temple, where God dwelt by the symbols of His presence. The temple was regarded by the Jews as the house or dwelling of God; and in the first temple there was, in the most holy place, a cloud called the Shechinah, or a visible sign of the presence of God. It was thus before God that Zechariah offered incense.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Luk 1:8-10
While he executed the priests office
The priests office
The duties of the priests were many and various.
It was their awful and peculiar honour to come near the Lord (Exo 19:22). None but they could minister before Him in the Holy place where He manifested His presence: none others could come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary or the altar. It was death for any one not a priest to usurp these sacred prerogatives. They offered the morning and evening incense; trimmed the lamps of the golden candlestick, and filled them with oil; kept up the fire on the great altar in front of the Temple; removed the ashes Of the sacrifices; took part in the slaying and cutting up of victims, and especially in the sprinkling of their blood, and laid the offerings of all kinds on the altar. They also announced the new moons, which were sacred days like the Sabbaths, by the blowing of trumpets. But this was a small part of their duties. They had to examine all cases of ceremonial uncleanness, especially leprosy, clearing those who were pure, and pronouncing others unclean; to estimate, for commutation, the value of the countless offerings made to the Temple, and to watch the interior of the Temple by night. They were required, moreover, to instruct the people in the niceties of the law, and to give decisions on many points reserved, among us, to magistrates, The priests, in fact, were, within certain limits, the judges and magistrates of the land, though the Sanhedrim, which was the supreme court in later Jewish history, was composed of chief priests, laymen, and scribes, or Rabbis, in apparently equal numbers. (Dr. Geikie)
His lot
When a course came up to relieve the one that had served the preceding week, the particular services of the priests were determined by lot. Certain services were accounted more honourable than others, and in this way all contention respecting them was avoided. The most honourable of all was that of going into the Holy place to offer incense upon the golden altar. And on the occasion before us this distinguished office devolved upon the aged Zacharias. (Dr. Kitto.)
The providence in chance
How often it happens that that which falls to our lot by apparent chance, does in reality so fall by the guidance of Gods hand! (Bishop Goodwin.)
Priestly functions
How solemn the service in which Zacharias is now employed! The sacrifice being slain, whose smoke was now ascending to heaven, and every preparation being made in the court, he proceeds to transact for the nation, and particularly for the assembled multitude, whom he leaves behind him. Advancing with slow and solemn step, and with the smoking censer in his hand, towards the sanctuary, he puts aside the outer curtain and disappears from their sight. Imagination follows him in, where, except on pain of destruction, no other mortal could enter. What must be his feelings in going on with the service of the incense! All without is silent as death, and all within is so stilly impressive, that he is almost afraid to draw his breath. No mortal eye beholds his conduct; but the eternal Jehovah, who will be sanctified in them that draw nigh, surrounds him with His more immediate presence. Take heed, Zacharias, to thy demeanour, lest thou be smitten in the greatness of thine iniquity, or lest thy hand, stretched forth rashly, be withered; or lest, through any fault of thine, the Lord deny His blessing to the people. He places on the golden altar the censer with the incense, with whose cloudy perfume the apartment is filled and rendered fragrant, that the Lord may smell a sweet savour. (James Foote, M. A.)
Zachariahs prayer heard
The answer to Zachariahs prayer was–
1. Earnestly desired.
2. Long delayed.
3. Promised in a surprising manner.
4. Incredulously waited for.
5. Gloriously vouchsafed. (Van Oosterzee.)
Order in the performance of religious duties
Here note–
1. That none but a son of Aaron might offer incense to God in the temple; and not every son of Aaron either; nay, not any of them at all seasons. God is a God of order, and hates confusion no less than irreligion. And as under the law of old, so under the gospel now, no man ought to take this honour upon him but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.
2. That there were courses of ministration in the legal services, in which the priests relieved one another weekly. God never purposed to burden any of His servants with devotion, nor is He pleased when His service is made burdensome, either to or by His ministers.
3. That morning and evening, twice a day, the priests offered up their incense to God, that both parts of the day might be consecrated to Him who was the Maker and Giver of their time. This incense offered under the law, represents our prayers offered to God under the gospel. The ejaculatory elevations of our hearts should be perpetual; but if twice a day we do not present God with our solemn invocations, we make the gospel less officious than the law; and can we reasonably think that Almighty God will accept of less now that would content Him then? (W. Burkitt, M. A.)
Joint offering of priest and people
1. While the incense was burning, the people were praying: while the priest sends up his incense in the temple within, the people send up their prayers in the court without. The incense of the priest and the prayers of the people meet, and go up to heaven together. It is a blessed thing when both minister and people jointly offer up their prayers for each other at the same throne of grace, and mutually strive together in their supplications, one with, and one for, another.
2. Observe how both priest and people keep their place and station: the priest burns incense in the holy place, and the people offer up their prayers in the outward court. The people might no more go into the Holy place to offer up their prayer, than Zachary might go into the Holy of Holies to burn incense. Whilst the partition-wall stood betwixt Jew and Gentile, there was also a partition betwixt the Jews themselves. But now under the gospel, every man is a priest to God, and may enter the Holy of Holies by the blood of Jesus. But, Lord! what are we the better for this great and gracious freedom of access to Thee, if we want hearts to prize and improve our privilege from Thee? (W. Burkitt, M. A.)
Supplication the Churchs power
At the moment when the effectual work of propitiation and intercession goes forward within the temple–what is seen without? The whole multitude of the people, bending in silent awe, seconding the priestly office and making it in some sense their own, joining their faith to the sacrifice, and lifting their hearts with the rising incense-cloud, are in supplication before God. This can represent nothing else than the power of the united prayers of the Christian congregation, aiding and supporting the official work of the threefold ministry and the holy offices of the Church, in declaring Christ to the world The question before us, then, thrown open in its broadest form, will be this: Are we using the devotional power of the Church in due proportion to its other powers? If in any of our undertakings we fail, there is very little doubt that we fail because we did not expect enough and ask enough of God–for that expectation is only another name for faith; and that asking is prayer. Men say, Religion is a thing between a man and his Maker; and though it is often said to palliate some inexcusable neglect of an open religious confession before men, yet it is profoundly true. There are two parties, and only two. The business of religion, therefore, is to bring offerings to Him, and, in answer to our prayers, to take blessings from Him. This, with the sacred sentiments, affections, and actions which belong to that holy intercourse, is the first business of the Church. So, Christians, we stand, in this sacred and redeemed creation, always at a temple door. No doubt there are mysteries. What temple was ever without its suggestion of mystery? Even a very deep and strong human love has its mysteries. But nevertheless, the Light falls down from the Throne. God is there. The door is swung open. We are near to Him; He is near to us. The Mediator and Intercessor is praying there for us. Our prayers are joined with His. The reconciliation is accomplished. The next step follows irresistibly. Every movement of religious life among us must get its power and direction from the Spirit of God. If you would find the true secret of spiritual success, you need not seek for it in the admirableness of the plan, the shrewdness of the management, the numbers that subscribe, or the eloquence of the advocates. You might better seek it in some very obscure chambers, some out-of-the-way corners, some closets with the doors shut, where men or women, or children in whose breasts God has a Temple of His own-never heard of at the public meetings, poor and simple-hearted and of stammering lips–kneel with their great-hearted and prevailing petitions, not discouraged by the slowness of the answer, trusting not in themselves but only in the Lord Almighty. These are the multitude praying without. The finest and firmest machinery in the world is so much dead material without these prayers. I suppose most of you have seen some elaborate and costly specimen of mechanism, standing still: every little screw and bolt of the complicated system in its place; every post and bar, flange and transom, secure; every bright lever and arm, wheel and tooth, tempered and tested–the whole a splendid embodiment and trophy of intellectual ingenuityand determination–yet silent and inert as icicles, till some lifted gate or open valve lets in the mysterious motive-power which makes it a sure and mighty servant of a purpose beyond it. So are all our best religious measures, till the breath of the churchs prayers joins them to the Spirit from on high. We look into the Bible records of the beginnings and growth of Gods kingdom on the earth. On every spot where that kingdom struck root we see a group of men bending in prayer. When the Eastern magi were brought by the star to Bethlehem, all their intellectual strength bowed itself down to a little Child; they taught nothing, proposed nothing–they did not even speak; it was simply an offering; the signification of it was the submission of knowledge to faith. It was worship. From page to page, in the Acts of the Apostles, they are shown to us together looking upward. When an order in the ministry, an apostle, or a missionary, was to be set apart or sent out, special prayer signalized the ceremony. At the meeting and parting of Christian friends, on their sacred errands, they knelt and prayed. If one of their number was imprisoned, prayer was made for him day and night. The whole fiery heart of the Church of Christ was in instant communication with its ascended Head. And what followed? Why, this was the period when the Church grew before mens eyes with such swiftness that a thousand converts were gathered in the time that it takes us to gather ten. And so the periods of prayer have always been the periods of life. A lingering doubt casts up its faithless suggestion at these words: Is not the Church constantly praying? Yet where is the fulfilment of the promise? The answer is found under another word, the prayers of faith. We may be sure that the measure of the faith is the measure of the power of the prayer, and that the measure of such prayer is, sooner or later, the measure of the blessing we receive. We very often mistake the strength of our desire for the strength of our faith. (Bishop F. D. Huntingdon.)
Symbol of united prayer
In some of our most familiar illustrated newspapers there were, a little while ago, beautiful pictures of the recently-completed Cologne Cathedral. Looking at it very attentively there came back to mind thoughts and suggestions which are always started by the presence of a large Gothic building; and these have been so long associated with our cathedrals and spired churches, that we have almost ceased to question whether they really embody the essential idea of the Gothic architecture. Surely such a building as we have in mind is the illustration in stone of the idea of United Prayer. It is a series of points and pinnacles, from the ground to the top of the great spire. Every window is a pointed arch; every buttress goes up to a point; every roof ridge is guided off into little uplifting spires; the great roof itself points up; and the whole building seems to unite in the great spire, which pierces away into the sky, and seems to carry the united cry of the whole building up to God. (R. Tuck.)
Remarkable effect of united prayer
Well-known are the immediate and lasting effects of the sermon, entitled Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, which President Edwards preached at the time of The Great Awakening. It was believed that the sermon owed much of its success to the earnest petitions of a few believing persons, who spent the whole of the previous night in a prayer-meeting in the vicinity (Enfield). These prayers were made the more earnest by the fear that God, who was blessing other places, would in just indignation pass them by. (Herveys Manual of Revivals.)
The social feelings in large gatherings
If we were all cold units like stones, and could take cur places side by side with no sense or consciousness of the presence of another, how chilled the thing would bet If, coming together, each was conscious that on his right or left was an enemy present–a carping critic, a cold atheist–how those who care at all for the thing would be chilled and withered! You all feel that, having a common purpose and a living sympathy, heart blends with heart and mind with mind. Ay, and thus Divine mercy uses and sanctifies one of the mightiest forces of human life. Men never know the fulness of their life and force except in sympathy. They catch the contagion of a prevailing temper. They grow warm by friction with those who are in active movement. They become confident and resolved by reason of the concensus of numbers. The drops that make up the ocean wave become mighty and resistless when united and swayed in one direction. (J. Aldis.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 8. Before God] In the temple, where God used to manifest his presence, though long before this time he had forsaken it; yet, on this important occasion, the angel of his presence had visited it.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The priests were multiplied to an exceeding number; we find an account of more than four thousand upon the return out of the captivity of Babylon, Ezr 2:36-39; they were doubtless afterward multiplied to a far greater number. Josephus tells us there were a thousand in a course; whether they held to twenty-four courses, as in Davids time, or no, I cannot tell. There were several parts of the priestly office, which it seemeth, by this text, the priests of the course that ministered divided amongst themselves by lot. One part of their work was to burn incense morning and evening. It seems this was that part of the priestly office which Zacharias was by lot to exercise.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office,…. To which he was called and ordained, even to offer gifts and sacrifices for men; whilst he was in the way of his duty, when oftentimes God appears to, and in favour of his people; whilst he was performing it,
before God; in the temple, where was the symbol of the divine presence, before the altar of the Lord; and as having the fear of God before his eyes; considering himself as in the sight of God, and doing his work faithfully and sincerely:
in the order of his course; taking his turn in the order of the course of Abia, to which he belonged; [See comments on Lu 1:5].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
While he executed the priest’s office ( ). A favourite idiom in Luke, with the articular infinitive and the accusative of general reference where the genitive absolute could have been used or a temporal conjunction and finite verb. It is proper Greek, but occurs often in the LXX, which Luke read, particularly in imitation of the Hebrew infinitive construct. The word does not appear in the ancient Greek, but in the LXX and this one example in Luke. It is on the Rosetta Stone and the early inscriptions so that the word was simply applied by the LXX translators from current usage.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And it came to pass,” (egeneto de) “Then it occurred,” as he deported himself as a good man and priest among many degenerate priests of the time.
2) “That while he executed the priests office before God,” (en to hierateuein auton) “That while he served as priest,” while burning incense in the holy place, on a certain day.
3) “In order of his course” (en te taksei tes eoemerias autou) “in the order of his proper course,” fulfilling his priestly week of duty, a special occasion in a priest’s life, as it might never come to him again in his life, at a time when there were said to be near 20,000 priests among the Jews in Israel.
4) “Before God,” (enanti tou theou) “In the presence of God,” or with God looking on, as he ministered in the temple of God in Jerusalem. The Holy place and the office belonged to God until it was abolished by Jesus Christ, “The Great High-Priest of our profession,” Heb 31; Joh 2:16-17.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(8) In the order of his course.This was settled by rotation. Attempts have been made by reckoning back from the date of the destruction of the Temple, when it is known that the course of Joiarib was ministering on the ninth day of the Jewish month Ab, to fix the precise date of the events here narrated, and so of our Lords Nativity, but all such attempts are necessarily more or less precarious.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8. While he executed the priest’s office In order to understand the scene, which now so solemnly opens our Christian history, let the reader compare our Temple Plan in vol. i, p. 247. At the hour (probably of the
Sabbath, when all the congregation of Israel attended) the people are in the Court of Israel, and the Court of the Women, in front of the Great Altar, on which the bleeding lamb is about being placed. In the so-called HOLY PLACE is the Altar of Incense, (7,) with the Golden Table for the show-bread (6) and the Golden Candlestick (8) on either side. Two officiating priests are present; the one to supervise the sacrifice on the Great Altar, and to the other (being to-day Zacharias himself) belongs the more honourable office of burning the incense on the Golden Altar in the Holy Place.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Now it came about that, while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.’
Zacharias had been ‘on duty’ in the Temple all week, but on this day he had ‘won the lottery’ by being selected by lots to offer up the incense in the Temple at the hour of prayer. This offering was made twice a day by priests, and fortunate was the one who was chosen for the purpose of making it. Normally speaking it could only happen to him once in a lifetime, for once he had done it he would be excluded from the drawing of lots. And on this day it was Zacharias’ lot to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. His excitement and awe must have been almost too much for him, for he was a godly man who approached his duties with great devotion.
God’s care in His selection of place and time should be noticed. The selection was in order that the declaration of the birth of Zacharias’ son might take place at the most sacred time in the worship of the Temple, at the offering of the incense, so that it would be known to all that the child was a gift directly from God. He was making it as clear as possible to Israel how important John was to be, and how he came in response to the prayers of all Israel, which were offered at the time of the offering of the incense (Psa 141:2). Everything about this announcement was sacred, and intended to be observed and remembered.
So there he stood in the outer sanctuary in the semi-gloom, lit only by the lampstand, while his companion priests, having completed their duties, went out through the great doors. He would then wait for the signal from the sacerdotal priest that it was the time for the incense offering. On one side of the sanctuary he could see in the dim light the golden table of showbread, with its twelve loaves of bread neatly arranged, and on the other the seven-branched golden lampstand with its flickering flames providing the only illumination in the sanctuary, while peering ahead he could see the golden altar on which he would make the incense offering, and behind which was the way of entry into the Holiest of All, over which hung the ancient veil. There at that golden altar, as he offered the incense, he knew that he would approach as close to God as any man dared in daily life, and there he would offer the incense on the behalf of the whole of Israel and pray for the salvation of Israel. The whole weight of Israel would be on his shoulders. It was a thrilling moment, the moment of a lifetime.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Zacharias in the Temple:
v. 8. And it came to pass that, while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course,
v. 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.
v. 10. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. It so happened, or rather it came about by God’s dispensation and government, that Zacharias was serving in his priestly office. In the course of time, as it happened twice a year in the Jewish calendar, his order or division was on duty in the Temple of the Lord. So he left his home and went to Jerusalem for the week’s duties with the other priests of his course. It was the custom of the Jews to designate the various labors which the priests had to perform in the Temple by casting lots, some of them being selected to take care of the altar of burnt offerings, others to the appointments of the Holy Place, others to the vessels in the priests’ court. In this way it fell to the lot of Zacharias on a certain day to perform the very special service of burning incense on the golden altar in the Holy Place. This was a memorable day in the life of any priest, since the chance might never come to him but once. This work was performed in the Temple proper, as Luke remarks for the sake of such as were not familiar with the Jewish form of worship and the various offerings in the services. The officiating priest, during this part of the ceremony, was in the Holy Place all alone, all the attendants and assistants having withdrawn. The congregation, during this ceremony, was assembled out in the courts, for this was the hour of prayer, about nine o’clock in the morning, and the offering of incense was a type and symbol of the prayers arising to the throne of God, Psa 141:2.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Luk 1:8 f. ] thus without interposition of . Both modes of expression, with and without , are very frequent in Luke. See generally, Bornemann in loc.
.] according to the custom of the priesthood , does not belong to what precedes (Luther, Kuinoel, Bleek), to which would be inappropriate, but to ; the usual custom , namely, was, that the priest of the class on service for the week, who was to have the honourable office of burning incense, was fixed every day by lot , just as in general the several offices were assigned by lot. See Tr. Tamid , v. 2 ff.; Wetstein, and Paulus, exeget. Handb.; Lund, Jd. Heiligth. , ed. Wolf, p. 804 f. How the casting of lots took place , see Gloss. Joma , f. 22, 1, in Lightfoot, p. 714.
The genitive (not to be accented [18] ) is governed by . See Matthiae, p. 800; Ellendt, Lex. Soph. II. p. 2. On the mode of burning incense, see Lightfoot, p. 715; Lund, l.c. p. 618 ff.; Leyrer in Herzog’s Encykl. XII. p. 506 ff. With this office specially divine blessing was conceived to be associated (Deu 33:10 f.); and during it John Hyrcanus received a revelation, Josephus, Antt. xiii. 10. 3.
Whether, we may ask, are we to understand here the morning (Grotius) or the evening (Kuinoel) burning of incense? The former , as the casting lots has just preceded.
. . .] can neither be something that follows after the . . (so Luther and others, de Wette and Bleek), nor can it belong merely to (so Winer, p. 316 [E. T. 443], and Glckler, following the Vulgate), in which case the words would be quite idle. Rather must they be, in the same relation as the following , an essential portion of the description. It is, namely, the moment that preceded the : the duty of burning incense fell to him, after he had entered into the temple of the Lord . After his entrance into the temple he received this charge.
] not (see on Mat 4:5 ), for the altar of incense, the , Luk 1:11 , stood in the sanctuary (between the table of shewbread and the golden candlestick).
[18] Comp. generally, Lipsius, Gramm. Unters. p. 38 ff.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course,
Ver. 8. In the order of his course ] He took but his turn, and served but his time. God never purposed to burden any of his creatures with devotion.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Luk 1:8-10 . Hope preternaturally revived . : Zechariah was serving his week in due course, and it fell to his lot on a certain day to perform the very special service of burning incense in the holy place. A great occasion in a priest’s life, as it might never come to him but once (priests said to be as many as 20,000 in our Lord’s time). “The most memorable day in the life of Zechariah” (Farrar, C. G. T.).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Luk 1:8-17
8Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, 9according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering. 11And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him. 13But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. 16And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. 17It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Luk 1:8 “while he was performing his priestly service before God” The Mishnah (part of the Talmud) says there were so many priests at this time that each offered incense only once in his lifetime; others, not at all.
Luk 1:9 “he was chosen by lot” Lots were a mechanical way to determine the will of God (cf Act 1:21-26). There were several priests on duty at one time. This was the regular way to determine which offered the ritual.
In the OT the “lot” originally referred to the Urim and Thummim (cf. Lev 16:8), which was carried behind the breastplate of the High Priest. It was a mechanical way of determining the will of God, usually for the King.
It was used as a way to divide the Promised Land among the tribes in Joshua 13-19.
The casting of lots was used by the early church to choose a new apostle to replace Judas in Acts 1.
“to burn the incense” This procedure is described in Exo 25:6; Exo 30:7; Exo 31:11. The incense itself is described in Exo 30:34-38.
Luk 1:10 Obviously this was a set time of prayer associated with the sacrifice of the Continual (a twice daily sacrifice and burnt offering of a lamb) at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Jewish sources advocate the offering of incense twice a day in connection to “the Continual” sacrifice (cf. Exo 30:7-8). Incense was a physical symbol of prayer rising to God.
Luk 1:11 “an angel of the Lord” This phrase is used two ways in the OT.
1. an angel (cf. Gen 24:7; Gen 24:40; Exo 23:20-23; Exo 32:34; Num 22:22; Jdg 5:23; 1Sa 24:16; 1Ch 21:15 ff; Zech. 1:28)
2. as a way of referring to a physical manifestation of YHWH (cf. Gen 16:7-13; Gen 22:11-15; Gen 31:11; Gen 31:13; Gen 48:15-16; Exo 3:2; Exo 3:4; Exo 13:21; Exo 14:19; Jdg 2:1; Jdg 6:22-24; Jdg 13:3-23; Zec 3:1-2).
Luke uses the phrase often (cf. Luk 1:11; Luk 1:13; Luk 2:9; Act 5:19; Act 7:30; Act 8:26; Act 12:7; Act 12:11; Act 12:23; Act 10:3; Act 27:23) in the sense of #1 above. The NT does not use sense #2, “an angel of the Lord,” unless Act 18:26 and 18:29 is in a reference to the Holy Spirit.
“standing to the right of the altar of incense” The altar of incense was located in the Holy Place, next to the veil of the Holy of Holies. The description of this golden incense altar is found in Exo 30:1-10. This would place the angel between the incense altar and the seven pointed candle stand (Menorah).
Luk 1:12 Fear is the common human response in the presence of the spiritual realm (cf. Gen 15:1; Gen 21:17; Exo 14:13; Exo 14:31; Jos 8:1; Jos 10:8; Dan 10:12; Dan 10:19; Rev 1:17). However, again and again the divine message is a clear “fear not” (cf. Luk 1:13; Luk 1:30; Luk 2:10).
Luk 1:13 “Do not be afraid” This is a present middle (deponent) imperative with the Negative particle, which usually means stop an act already in progress. We get the English term “phobia” from this Greek term (phobos).
“your petition has been heard” Zacharias was still praying for a child. The incense he was offering to God was a symbol of prayer. In Zacharias’ priestly circle the offering of incense was considered a great honor. It was also considered to be a special time for personal requests.
“John” In Hebrew it means “one whom God has graciously given” or “YHWH is gracious” (BDB 220).
Luk 1:14 John’s birth will be a blessing, not only to Zacharias and his family, but to Israel and to all the earth.
Luk 1:15 “he will be great in the sight of the Lord” This is an idiom for “he will serve God’s plan and kingdom in a special way.” He is the promised precursor of the Messiah (cf. Isa 40:3; Mal 3:1; Mal 4:5-6). In Luk 1:32 this same term “great” is used of Jesus.
“he will drink no wine or liquor” This is a strong double negative with an aorist active subjunctive. He was to be a Nazarite (cf. Numbers 6), which was a special dedicatory life given completely to God’s service.
For alcohol (fermentation) and alcoholism (addiction) see Special Topic at Luk 22:18.
“he will be filled with the Holy Spirit” This was an OT way of affirming God’s power and giftedness (cf. Exo 28:3; Exo 31:3; Exo 35:31; Exo 35:35, where it refers to those who helped build the tabernacle). This special presence and activity of the Spirit had been missing for 400 years. In Jesus the new age of the Spirit had come.
This will become a powerful NT idiom of the power and presence of the Lord with His people (cf. Act 2:4; Act 3:10; Act 4:8; Act 4:31; Act 9:17; Act 13:9; Eph 5:18). See Special Topic: The Personhood of the Spirit at Luk 12:12.
“while yet in his mother’s womb” This shows God’s initiation and blessing, not only in conception, but even fetal spiritual development (cf. Luk 1:41). This phrase also parallels God’s affirmation to Jeremiah in Jer 1:4 (cf. Isa 49:1; Psa 139:13-16).
Luk 1:16 John’s primary task was to spiritually prepare Israel for her Messiah (cf. Mar 1:15). His message was repent and be restored. He was the first true prophet (i.e., filled with the Spirit) since Malachi. Huge numbers of spiritually hungry Jews flocked to him.
The Greek verb epistreph is used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew word for repentance (shub, cf. Num 10:36; Deu 30:2). It is used in this sense in Luk 1:16-17; Luk 22:32; Act 3:19; Act 9:35; Act 11:21; Act 14:15; Act 15:19; Act 26:18; Act 26:20; Act 28:27. See Special Topic: Repentance at Luk 3:3.
“the Lord their God” This probably reflects the OT combination of the names for deity, as in Gen 2:4-5; Gen 2:7-8 and many other verses.
1. Lord YHWH (redeemer and covenant maker, cf. Gen 3:14-15)
2. God Elohim (creator, provider, and sustainer of all life, cf. Gen 1:1)
This seems to reflect Luke’s usage in Luk 1:16; Luk 1:32; Luk 1:68. See Special Topic: Names for Deity at Luk 1:68.
Luk 1:17 “in the spirit and power of Elijah” This verse is an allusion to the prophecies of Mal 3:1; Mal 4:5-6. Elijah was to precede the Messiah. However, John fills the role of Elijah (cf. Mat 11:14; Mat 17:10-13). The fact that John fulfills the Elijah prophecies should warn us about western literalsim!
As Elisha received the Spirit of Elijah to become a prophet (cf. 1Ki 19:16), Elisha asks for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit (cf. 2Ki 2:9). In a sense Elisha continued the ministry of Elijah. This is what John does; he extends the eschatological ministry of Elijah foretold in Malachi 3, 4.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
it came to pass. A Hebraism. See note on Luk 1:5.
while he executed, &c. = in (Greek. en. App-104.) executing. Greek. hierateuo, to act as a priest. Not peculiar to Biblical Greek, but found often in the Papyri.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Luk 1:8. , in the order of his course) As to the chronological clue afforded by this passage, we have treated in the Ordo Temporum, p. 230 [Ed. ii. p. 200]. [In twenty-four weeks the courses of the priests returned back in rotation; and this alternation of courses prevailed even up to the destruction of the temple.-V. g.]
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
he: Exo 28:1, Exo 28:41, Exo 29:1, Exo 29:9, Exo 29:44, Exo 30:30, Num 18:7, 1Ch 24:2, 2Ch 11:14
in: Luk 1:5, 1Ch 24:19, 2Ch 8:14, 2Ch 31:2, 2Ch 31:19, Ezr 6:18
Reciprocal: 2Ki 11:5 – that enter 2Ch 23:4 – entering Heb 9:6 – the priests
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
8
Order of his course. (See the comments at verse 5).
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course,
[In the order of his course.] “The heads of the courses stood forth, and divided themselves into so many houses of fathers. In one course; perhaps, there were five, six, seven, eight, or nine houses of fathers: of the course wherein there were but five houses of fathers, there were three of them ministered three days, and two four days; if six, then five served five days, and one two days; if seven, then every one attended their day; if eight, then six waited six days, and two one day; if nine, then five waited five days, and four the other two.”
Take the whole order of their daily attendance from Gloss in Tamid; cap. 6: “The great altar [or the altar of sacrifice] goes before the lesser [or that of incense]. The lesser altar goes before the pieces of wood [laid on the hearth of the great altar]; the laying on the wood goes before the sweeping the inner altar [or that of the incense]; the sweeping of the inner altar goes before the snuffing of the lamps; the snuffing of the lamps goes before the sprinkling of the blood of the daily sacrifice; the sprinkling of the blood of the daily sacrifice goes before the snuffing of the two other lamps; the snuffing of the two other lamps goes before the incense; the incense goes before the laying on the parts of the sacrifice upon the altar; the laying on the parts goes before the Mincha; the Mincha goes before the meal [or the two loaves] of the chief priest; the two loaves of the chief priest go before the drink offering; the drink offering before the additional sacrifices. So Abba Saul.” But a little after; “The wise men say, ‘The blood of the sacrifice is sprinkled; then the lamps snuffed; then the incense; then the snuffing of the two other lamps: and this is the tradition according to the wise men.'”
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Luk 1:8. Served as priest, is more simple than the paraphrase of the E. V. The words used here and in Luk 1:9 are not the same.
In the order of his course, i.e., during the week his course served in the temple.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Here note, 1. That none but a son of Aaron might offer incense to God in the temple; and not every son of Aaron neither: nay, not any of them at all seasons, God is a God of order, and hates confusion no less than irreligion. And, as under the law of old, so under the gospel of this day, No man ought to take this honour upon him, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.
Observe, 2. That there were courses of ministration in the legal services, in which the priests did relieve one another weekly. God never purposed to burthen any of his servants with devotion, nor is he pleased when his service is made burthensome, either to or by his ministers. Many of the sons of Aaron served together in the temple, according to the variety of their employments, which were assigned them by lot: and accordingly it fell out this time, that Zachary was chosen by lot to burn incense.
Observe, 3. That morning and evening, twice a day, the priests offered up their incense to God, that both parts of the day might be consecrated to him, who was the Maker and Giver of their time. This incense offered under the law, represents our prayers offered to God under the gospel. These Almighty God expects that we should, all his church over, send up to him morning and evening. The ejaculatory elevations of our hearts should be perpetual; but if twice a day we do not present God with our solemn invocaton, we make the gospel less officious than the law; and can we reasonably think that Almighty God will accept of less now, than would content him then?
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
2. The promise of deliverance: Luk 1:8-22. This portion comprises: 1. Luk 1:8-17, The promise itself; 2. Luk 1:18-22, The manner in which it was received.
1. The narrative of the promise includes: the appearance (Luk 1:8-12), and the message (Luk 1:13-17), of the angel.
The appearance of the angel: Luk 1:8-12. The incense had to be offered, according to the law (Exo 30:7-8), every morning and evening. There was public prayer three times a day: at nine in the morning (Act 2:15?), at noon (Act 10:9), and at three in the afternoon (Act 3:1; Act 10:30). The first and last of these acts of public prayer coincided with the offering of incense (Jos. Antiq. 14.4. 3).
In the construction , the subject of the first verb is the act indicated by the second. , in the face of, before, is suitable here; for the officiating priest enacts a part in the front of the Divinity. The words, according to the custom of the priest’s office (Luk 1:8), may be referred either to the established rotation of the courses (Luk 1:8), or to the use of the lot with a view to the assignment of each day’s functions. In both cases, the extraordinary use of the lot would be worthy of mention. The reference of these words to what precedes appears to us more natural; we regard them as a simple amplification of : the order of his course, according to the custom of the priest’s office.
On the use of the lot Oosterzee rightly observes that it proceeded from this, that nothing in the service of the sanctuary was to be left to man’s arbitrary decision. The function of offering incense, which gave the priest the right to enter the holy place, was regarded as the most honourable of all. Further, according to the Talmud, the priest who had obtained it was not permitted to draw the lot a second time in the same week., having entered; there was the honour! This fact was at the same time the condition of the whole scene that followed. And that is certainly the reason why this detail, which is correctly understood by itself, is so particularly mentioned. Meyer and Bleek, not apprehending this design, find here an inaccuracy of expression, and maintain that with the infinitive the author passes by anticipation from the notion of the fact to its historical realization. This is unnecessary; is a pluperfect in reference to : It fell to him to offer incense after having entered. The term , temple, designates the buildings properly so called, in opposition to the different courts; and the complement , of the Lord, expresses its character in virtue of which the Lord was about to manifest Himself in this house.
The 10th verse mentions a circumstance which brings out the solemnity of the time, as the preceding circumstance brought out the solemnity of the place. The prayer of the people assembled in the court accompanied the offering of incense. There was a close connection between these two acts. The one was the typical, ideal, and therefore perfectly pure prayer; the other the real prayer, which was inevitably imperfect and defiled. The former covered the latter with its sanctity; the latter communicated to the former its reality and life. Thus they were the complement of each other. Hence their obligatory simultaneousness and their mutual connection are forcibly expressed by the dative . The reading which puts between and , expresses better the essential idea of the proposition contained in this participle.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
2. The angel’s announcement to Zechariah 1:8-23
"It seems indeed most fitting that the Evangelic story should have taken its beginning within the Sanctuary, and at the time of sacrifice." [Note: Ibid., 1:144.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Zechariah was serving God faithfully by discharging some temple function as a member of his priestly division. There were so many priests then that the great privilege of offering incense on the golden incense altar in the temple fell to a priest only once in his lifetime. [Note: Mishnah, Tamid 5:2; Emil Schurer, A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ, 2:284-97.] The priests decided who would offer incense at the daily sacrifice, morning and evening, by casting lots. Zechariah’s selection was undoubtedly a high point in his life and the greatest honor of his priestly career. Obviously God providentially arranged for his selection (cf. Est 3:7; Pro 16:33).