Luke 1
1
Luke Writes an Orderly Report
1Just as many others have already written about the things that have taken place among us, 2based on reports passed down from eyewitnesses, I also have looked into everything very carefully myself, going right back to the beginning. 3I’ve decided to write down an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4because I want you to know that what you’ve been taught is true.
The Coming Birth of John the Baptist
5During the time when Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah. He belonged to the group of priests named after Abijah. His wife was named Elizabeth, and she also came from the line of priests descended from Aaron. 6Both of them did what was right in God’s sight; they obeyed all of the Lord’s commands and instructions faithfully. 7But they didn’t have children, because Elizabeth was infertile, and by that point they were both very old.
8One day Zechariah’s group was on duty, and he was serving as a priest in God’s temple. 9He had been chosen by lot (which was how the priests were assigned duties) to go into the temple of the Lord, where he was supposed to burn incense. 10When the time came for him to do this, all the people who had gathered to worship were praying outside.
11Just then an angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah. The angel came and stood at the right side of the incense altar. 12When Zechariah saw him, he was amazed and terrified. 13But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah, your prayer has been heard—your wife Elizabeth is going to have a baby boy! You must name him John. 14He will be a joy and a delight to you, and his birth will also make many other people glad, 15because he will become such a great man in Lord’s sight. He must never drink wine or other alcohol. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit before he is even born. 16He will bring many of the people of Israel back to the Lord their God. Having the same spirit and power as Elijah, he will go ahead of the Lord, creating peace between parents and their children and teaching people who are disobeying to be wise and do what is right. 17In this way, he will make sure that the people are ready for the Lord.”
18Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I know that this will happen? I’m an old man, and my wife is old too.”
19The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel! I’m the angel who stands right next to God! I’ve been sent to speak to you and tell you this good news. 20But now you won’t be able to speak; you’ll have to be silent until after John is born, because you didn’t believe my words. They will come true at the time God has chosen.”
21While all this was happening, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the temple. They were wondering why he was staying in there for so long. 22When he did come out, he couldn’t speak to them. But eventually they understood that he’d seen a vision in the temple because he explained this to them in gestures, even though he didn’t get his voice back.
23When his time of service was over, he returned home. 24After that, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, but she stayed out of sight for five months. 25“The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days, he has been good to me and taken away my shame among the people.”
The Coming Birth of Jesus
26In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee. 27He was sent to a virgin who was engaged to a man named Joseph, who came from the family line of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
29Mary was troubled by these words; she wondered why the angel had greeted her that way. 30But he said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. God has chosen to do something wonderful through you. 31You’re going to become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will call him Jesus. 32He will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High God. The Lord God will make him a king like his ancestor David, 33and he will rule over his people, the descendants of Jacob, forever—his kingdom will never end.”
34“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I’m a virgin?”
35The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High God will overshadow you, so that the holy one who is born will be called the Son of God. 36Your relative Elizabeth is about to have a child even though she is old. People thought she couldn’t have children, but she has been pregnant now for six months. 37What God says always comes true.”
38“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it happen to me just as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39Right away Mary packed up and hurried to the town in Judea’s hill country where Zechariah and Elizabeth lived. 40When she got to their house, she went inside and greeted Elizabeth. 41As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, her baby jumped inside her. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42and called out in a loud voice, “Blessed are you among all women, and blessed is the child in your womb! 43But why has God shown me so much favor that the mother of my Lord has come to see me? 44As soon as I heard the sound of your voice, the baby inside me jumped for joy. 45Blessed are you, because you believed the Lord would keep his promises to you!”
Mary’s Song
46Mary said,
“My soul cries out that the Lord is great,
47and my spirit delights in God my Savior.
48He has taken note of me,
even though I am only his humble servant.
From now on all people will call me blessed,
49because the Mighty One has done great things for me—
his name is holy.
50He shows mercy to all those who respect him,
from parent to child down through the generations.
51He has done mighty things with his powerful arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their deepest thoughts.
52He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
but he has lifted up people who weren’t considered important.
53He has filled with good things those who were hungry,
but he has sent the rich away empty.
54He has helped his servant, the people of Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55as he promised our fathers,
to Abraham and his descendants forever.”
56Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months, and then she returned home.
John the Baptist Is Born
57When the time came for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. 58Her neighbors and relatives heard how good the Lord had been to her and they shared her joy.
59On the eighth day, they came to have the child circumcised. They were going to name him Zechariah, like his father, 60but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He has to be called John.”
61“None of your relatives has that name,” they protested.
62Then they motioned to his father to find out what he wanted to name the child. 63He asked for something to write on, and everyone was amazed when he wrote, “His name is John.” 64All of a sudden Zechariah could speak again, and right away he started praising God. 65All of his neighbors were filled with fear and wonder. Throughout Judea’s hill country, people began talking about all these things. 66Everyone who heard what had happened wondered about it. Because the Lord was with John, they asked, “What is this child going to become?”
Zechariah’s Song
67John’s father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit. He prophesied,
68“Praise the Lord, the God of Israel!
He has visited his people and paid to set them free.
69He has acted with great power and saved us
through the family line of his servant David,
70as the holy prophets long ago said he would.
71He has saved us from our enemies
and rescued us from all who hate us.
72He has been merciful to our ancestors
and remembered his holy covenant,
73the promise he made to our father Abraham.
74He promised he would save us from our enemies,
so we could serve him without fear
75in holiness and justice, in his presence, as long as we live.
76“And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High God,
because you will go ahead of the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins.
78All this will happen because our God is tender and merciful;
his kindness will make the sun rise for us in the sky.
79It will shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
and it will guide our feet onto the path of peace.”
80The child grew up and his spirit became strong. He stayed in the desert until it was time for him to appear publicly to Israel.
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Luke 1
1
1-4So many others have tried their hand at putting together a story of the wonderful harvest of Scripture and history that took place among us, using reports handed down by the original eyewitnesses who served this Word with their very lives. Since I have investigated all the reports in close detail, starting from the story’s beginning, I decided to write it all out for you, most honorable Theophilus, so you can know beyond the shadow of a doubt the reliability of what you were taught.
A Childless Couple Conceives
5-7During the rule of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest assigned service in the regiment of Abijah. His name was Zachariah. His wife was descended from the daughters of Aaron. Her name was Elizabeth. Together they lived honorably before God, careful in keeping to the ways of the commandments and enjoying a clear conscience before God. But they were childless because Elizabeth could never conceive, and now they were quite old.
8-12It so happened that as Zachariah was carrying out his priestly duties before God, working the shift assigned to his regiment, it came his one turn in life to enter the sanctuary of God and burn incense. The congregation was gathered and praying outside the Temple at the hour of the incense offering. Unannounced, an angel of God appeared just to the right of the altar of incense. Zachariah was paralyzed in fear.
13-15a But the angel reassured him, “Don’t fear, Zachariah. Your prayer has been heard. Elizabeth, your wife, will bear a son by you. You are to name him John. You’re going to leap like a gazelle for joy, and not only you—many will delight in his birth. He’ll achieve great stature with God.
15b-17 “He’ll drink neither wine nor beer. He’ll be filled with the Holy Spirit from the moment he leaves his mother’s womb. He will turn many sons and daughters of Israel back to their God. He will herald God’s arrival in the style and strength of Elijah, soften the hearts of parents to children, and kindle devout understanding among hardened skeptics—he’ll get the people ready for God.”
18Zachariah said to the angel, “Do you expect me to believe this? I’m an old man and my wife is an old woman.”
19-20But the angel said, “I am Gabriel, the sentinel of God, sent especially to bring you this glad news. But because you won’t believe me, you’ll be unable to say a word until the day of your son’s birth. Every word I’ve spoken to you will come true on time—God’s time.”
21-22Meanwhile, the congregation waiting for Zachariah was getting restless, wondering what was keeping him so long in the sanctuary. When he came out and couldn’t speak, they knew he had seen a vision. He continued speechless and had to use sign language with the people.
23-25When the course of his priestly assignment was completed, he went back home. It wasn’t long before his wife, Elizabeth, conceived. She went off by herself for five months, relishing her pregnancy. “So, this is how God acts to remedy my unfortunate condition!” she said.
A Virgin Conceives
26-28In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin’s name, Mary. Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her:
Good morning!
You’re beautiful with God’s beauty,
Beautiful inside and out!
God be with you.
29-33She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured her, “Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus.
He will be great,
be called ‘Son of the Highest.’
The Lord God will give him
the throne of his father David;
He will rule Jacob’s house forever—
no end, ever, to his kingdom.”
34Mary said to the angel, “But how? I’ve never slept with a man.”
35The angel answered,
The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
the power of the Highest hover over you;
Therefore, the child you bring to birth
will be called Holy, Son of God.
36-38“And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant! Nothing, you see, is impossible with God.”
And Mary said,
Yes, I see it all now:
I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve.
Let it be with me
just as you say.
Then the angel left her.
Blessed Among Women
39-45Mary didn’t waste a minute. She got up and traveled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah’s house, and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly,
You’re so blessed among women,
and the babe in your womb, also blessed!
And why am I so blessed that
the mother of my Lord visits me?
The moment the sound of your
greeting entered my ears,
The babe in my womb
skipped like a lamb for sheer joy.
Blessed woman, who believed what God said,
believed every word would come true!
46-55And Mary said,
I’m bursting with God-news;
I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.
God took one good look at me, and look what happened—
I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!
What God has done for me will never be forgotten,
the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others.
His mercy flows in wave after wave
on those who are in awe before him.
He bared his arm and showed his strength,
scattered the bluffing braggarts.
He knocked tyrants off their high horses,
pulled victims out of the mud.
The starving poor sat down to a banquet;
the callous rich were left out in the cold.
He embraced his chosen child, Israel;
he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.
It’s exactly what he promised,
beginning with Abraham and right up to now.
56Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months and then went back to her own home.
The Birth of John
57-58When Elizabeth was full-term in her pregnancy, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives, seeing that God had overwhelmed her with mercy, celebrated with her.
59-60On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child and were calling him Zachariah after his father. But his mother intervened: “No. He is to be called John.”
61-62“But,” they said, “no one in your family is named that.” They used sign language to ask Zachariah what he wanted him named.
63-64Asking for a tablet, Zachariah wrote, “His name is to be John.” That took everyone by surprise. Surprise followed surprise—Zachariah’s mouth was now open, his tongue loose, and he was talking, praising God!
65-66A deep, reverential fear settled over the neighborhood, and in all that Judean hill country people talked about nothing else. Everyone who heard about it took it to heart, wondering, “What will become of this child? Clearly, God has his hand in this.”
67-79Then Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he came and set his people free.
He set the power of salvation in the center of our lives,
and in the very house of David his servant,
Just as he promised long ago
through the preaching of his holy prophets:
Deliverance from our enemies
and every hateful hand;
Mercy to our fathers,
as he remembers to do what he said he’d do,
What he swore to our father Abraham—
a clean rescue from the enemy camp,
So we can worship him without a care in the world,
made holy before him as long as we live.
And you, my child, “Prophet of the Highest,”
will go ahead of the Master to prepare his ways,
Present the offer of salvation to his people,
the forgiveness of their sins.
Through the heartfelt mercies of our God,
God’s Sunrise will break in upon us,
Shining on those in the darkness,
those sitting in the shadow of death,
Then showing us the way, one foot at a time,
down the path of peace.
80The child grew up, healthy and spirited. He lived out in the desert until the day he made his prophetic debut in Israel.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.