The Birth Of John The Baptist Announced
THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST ANNOUNCED
LUKE 1:1-25
How would you feel if an angel appeared to you?
Luke’s introduction (1:1-4) is a remarkable piece of Greek written in the manner of the best Greek historians. Luke was conscious that he was engaged upon a task of vast historical importance. He dedicated to it all he had—a polished style, diligence and a careful, ordered mind. God does his work with human qualities, human skills and human worth committed to his creative hands.
1:5-7 tell of beauty and tragedy. “In the days of Herod the king,” in his last days, in fact, when a cruel and cynically evil life was hastening to its dissolution in madness and blood, there were good and godly folk in Israel. So it had always been (1 Kings 19:18). The remnant is always alive, and it is an honor, in any Herod’s day, to belong to the few.
1:8-13 record a wondrous experience (see Exodus 30:7-8). All members of Aaron’s tribe were priests and took a turn to make the daily sacrifice and call a blessing upon the assembled multitude. It was a rare privilege, the high moment of his career, and, when Zechariah’s great day came he went, no doubt, with consciousness of the awesome occasion and a heart prepared. God met him in the place of duty and the hour of worship. He brought the burden of his childlessness to the altar and found his burden lifted there.
1:14-17 throw light on the fulfillment of prophecy. The closing words of Hebrew Scripture (Malachi 4:5-6) had promised the return of the fiery Elijah. The Lord himself pointed out (Matthew 11:14) that this oracle was fulfilled in the fiery John (John 5:35). It is an interesting study to list the similarities between the two careers, eight centuries apart, and to note the likenesses of character between the two men.
1:18-23 reveal more of the good man. Voiceless and overwhelmed, Zechariah nevertheless continued to the end of his tour of duty. He gave the people the formal blessing and needed no words to convey a message which overawed them. A personality committed to God and owned by his Spirit can itself touch and sanctify other lives.
Note In his new revelation, God does not break with the past: he uses a priest, in the temple, in fulfillment of prophecy. The Old is the cradle of the New.