Luke 1:39-56 - Mary and Elizabeth

Mary went off to the hill country and visited Elizabeth and Zechariah. A notable feature of Luke is the prominence of women in his account. When Elizabeth heard Mary the baby in her womb leapt and was filled with the Holy Spirit. This is a fulfilment of the early promise to Zechariah in 1:15. It is also significant that the Holy Spirit is associated with Jesus. Jesus came so that we could receive the Holy Spirit. Luke places great emphasis on the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth too was filled with the Spirit, and she declared a blessing over Mary.

Mary then bursts out in song. There are some similarities between this song and that of Hannah (1 Sam 2:1-10). This song is known as the magnificat. It declares the salvation of God. The fulfilment of God's plans is about to come into being. Mary is full of praise because the Lord has done great things for her, this blessing then spreads out to Israel and to many nations. God is going to overturn the power structures and set the oppressed free. His promises are going to be fulfilled.

Luke 1:26-38 - Virgin Birth

We now read of the birth of Jesus being foretold, and the same angel Gabriel is sent on the mission. Both here and in Matthew the birth of Jesus is clearly presented as a virgin birth. Now some people seem to have a problem with this, however I really cannot see what there problem is. Let's look at a few of the facts.

• Matthew and Luke are quite clear that the people knew that "virgin births" do not normally happen! Any notion that they were just stupid people who didn't really know how life works are totally without foundation.
• The Bible clearly presents the birth of Jesus as a virgin birth.
• If God created the whole universe and everything in it, then a virgin birth should not be beyond His capabilities.
• Most importantly, we need to consider what is happening here. God Himself is coming to earth as a man. Jesus is fully God and fully man. So it is not surprising if things are a bit unusual!

Mary is troubled when the angel appears, but the angel urges her not to be afraid. The angel then tells her that she is going to give birth to a son who will be Son of the Most High. He will reign over Israel for ever. Jesus is the king Israel was always meant to have.

Mary, not surprisingly, asks "how can this be?". She is not questioning that it will be, just wondering how on earth it will happen. Gabriel tells her that it will be by the Holy Spirit that she conceives. He tells her about Elizabeth and assures her that God's word will be fulfilled.

A contrast is often drawn between Zechariah's unbelief and Mary's faith. Actually the dividing line between the two is very slim indeed in my opinion. There is a relatively small step from doubt to belief.

Mary submits to the word of God. In all this we do well to remember that Mary was probably a very young woman, hardly much more than a girl.

Luke 1:5-25 - Dumbstruck

King Herod of Judea, or Herod the Great, reigned from 37-4 BC. The time here when John the Baptist was born was probably 6 or 7 BC. Zechariah and Elizabeth both came from priestly families, and Zechariah himself was a priest. They were righteous people who lived Godly lives, but they could not have children. This is a clear example that not being able to have children is not necessarily a sign of God's judgement. Moreover, they were both getting on. However, God loves to do the impossible, and a significant number of key people in the Bible were born to couples who, without God's intervention, could not have children. 

Zechariah was carrying out his priestly duties and was chosen by lot to go into the temple of the Lord to present incense. Now the casting of lots was a random process, yet God was still in control. This has implications for our 

understanding of creation. Just because a process is, as far as we can tell, random, does not mean that God cannot use the process.

While in the temple an angel of the Lord appeared beside Zechariah. Not surprisingly Zechariah was afraid. Zechariah and Elizabeth had been praying to God. Maybe they had given up hope, but God had not forgotten them. We should not stop praying, we should not give up hope, and we should continue serving God. The angel announced that they would indeed have a child and were to name him John.  He was not to drink wine and he would be filled with the Spirit, even before he was born.  He would be a prophet in the line of Elijah and would cause many to turn back to God. Verse 17 is a clear reference to Malachi 4:5. 

Zechariah inquires as to how this can happen. The angel then announces that he is Gabriel, and that Zechariah will be struck dumb until John is born because of his unbelief. 

The people realised Zechariah had had an encounter with God when he came out struck dumb. Elizabeth became pregnant and rejoiced that her disgrace had been taken away. Childlessness was viewed as a curse in those days.

Luke 1:1-4 - Based on truth

The introduction to Luke follows the classical Greek pattern of a historical work. This gospel is a serious attempt to give an accurate account of the events that happened around Jesus' life. Many others had also undertaken to write accounts, Luke wants to give an authoritative one. Luke's account is based on eyewitness reports of the events that happened, ie they saw the events first hand. This is in stark contrast to the Gnostic gospels (eg gospel of Thomas etc). Periodically there are ill founded news reports about hidden or suppressed "gospels", these were usually written many many years after the events, and read completely differently from the four gospels that we have. The gospels, indeed the Bible as a whole, is very different from the Koran. There is no comparison between the Bible and the Koran. 

Luke carried out an exhaustive and meticulous investigation. The inspiration of the Bible and human effort are not in contradiction to each other, but go hand in hand. 

Theophilus apparently was a believer, Luke wanted him to have a reliable account of what had happened so that he would know his faith was based on truth. This brings out a number of vital points. Faith is not, contrary to popular misconceptions, believing something despite the evidence. Faith is believing the consequences of the evidence. We also see that Theophilus had faith, then he sought to deepen that faith through a better understanding and appreciation of what it all meant. Faith does not require full understanding, it is faith in the person of Jesus Christ, but that does not mean that we do not seek to deepen our understanding.

Luke - Introduction

This is the longest of the four gospels. Luke himself was not one of the twelve disciples, but he is mentioned in Acts. He carried out a detailed investigation of the events and clearly states that his purpose was to write an accurate account of the events surrounding Jesus' life. This does not mean that it is a history book in the sense that we have them today, but it does mean that we can assume that the events are accurate.

This gospel is written very much with the Greek world in mind, which is why Luke explains a number of Jewish characteristics. The style of the book is similar to Greek and Roman historical and literary works.

Luke places a great emphasis on Jesus' compassion for the poor and the weak. This is in stark contrast to the Roman emphasis on personal achievement and self-fulfilment. This is a message we need to take home today as well, for our own society so stresses self-fulfilment as the ultimate goal. 

There is also an emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit, right from the conception of Christ to the giving of the Holy Spirit at the end, and at various points in between as well. Prayer and the importance of women are also prominent themes in the book.

Nahum 3 - Nineveh's end

Nineveh was about to be destroyed not on a whim of God, but because of all her sin, because of all the blood guilt that she had built up over the years. Violence and oppression lived in Nineveh. All this was under the guise of a prostitute. In Revelation, Babylon is likened to a prostitute as well. What does all this mean? Assyria had sold herself to empire building. In the same way the West can be said to have bought the services of the prostitute of wealth, in doing so she has been willing to commit all sorts of atrocities. We are willing to exploit the poor in order to enhance our wealth. 

Now understand this very clearly. Wealth is not the problem. The Bible is clear that if mankind had followed God's ways then he would prosper. If Israel had followed God's ways she would have prospered. The problem is making wealth an idol, ie the love of money. This then leads us to do all sorts of wrong things. We must worship no one and nothing other than God Himself.

So Nineveh would be disgraced and left in ruins. Just as nations that she had conquered had been exiled, so Assyria would be exiled. All her strength would be of no avail at the onslaught. She would be cut down by fire and sword. Her merchants had multiplied, but like locusts they would fly away. In the West we have multiplied merchants, but now they have gone and many of them pay no taxes. 

Nineveh could do nothing to avert disaster, and when it came no one would show any sorrow. 

Nahum 2 - Assyria to be laid desolate

The prophet now describes the attack. Note that he does not just say "You will be attacked", but paints a vivid picture of the event, making it all the more real. In the end it was alliance of the Babylonians and Medes who attacked Assyria.

The destruction on Assyria was not the goal in itself, rather it was the restoration of Israel. She had been  laid waste, but God would restore her splendour. 

The picture of the attack is then made all the more vivid. Nineveh would try to save herself by gathering her troops, but all these efforts would prove futile. All her wealth would be plundered, and many of her people would be sent into exile. In short, she would suffer the same things that she had inflicted on many other nations.

Verses 11-13 contrast what Assyria would become with what she had been. All this would happen because the Lord was against her.