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.
Luke 1
1
Luke Writes an Orderly Report
1Many people have attempted to write about the things that have taken place among us. 2Reports of these things were handed down to us. There were people who saw these things for themselves from the beginning. They saw them and then passed the word on. 3With this in mind, I myself have carefully looked into everything from the beginning. So I also decided to write down an orderly report of exactly what happened. I am doing this for you, most excellent Theophilus. 4I want you to know that the things you have been taught are true.
The Coming Birth of John the Baptist
5Herod was king of Judea. During the time he was ruling, there was a priest named Zechariah. He belonged to a group of priests named after Abijah. His wife Elizabeth also came from the family line of Aaron. 6Both of them did what was right in the sight of God. They obeyed all the Lord’s commands and rules faithfully. 7But they had no children, because Elizabeth was not able to have any. And they were both very old.
8One day Zechariah’s group was on duty. He was serving as a priest in God’s temple. 9He happened to be chosen, in the usual way, to go into the temple of the Lord. There he was supposed to burn incense. 10The time came for this to be done. All who had gathered to worship were praying outside.
11Then an angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah. The angel was standing at the right side of the incense altar. 12When Zechariah saw him, he was amazed and terrified. 13But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah. Your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will have a child. It will be a boy, and you must call him John. 14He will be a joy and delight to you. His birth will make many people very glad. 15He will be important in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or other such drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17And he will prepare the way for the Lord. He will have the same spirit and power that Elijah had. He will bring peace between parents and their children. He will teach people who don’t obey to be wise and do what is right. In this way, he will prepare a people who are ready for the Lord.”
18Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man, and my wife is old too.”
19The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I serve God. I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20And now you will have to be silent. You will not be able to speak until after John is born. That’s because you did not believe my words. They will come true at the time God has chosen.”
21During that time, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the temple. They wondered why he stayed there so long. 22When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple. They knew this because he kept gesturing to them. He still could not speak.
23When his time of service was over, he returned home. 24After that, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant. She stayed at home for five months. 25“The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days, he has been kind to me. He has taken away my shame among the people.”
The Coming Birth of Jesus
26In the sixth month after Elizabeth had become pregnant, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee. 27He was sent to a virgin. The girl was engaged to a man named Joseph. He came from the family line of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28The angel greeted her and said, “The Lord has blessed you in a special way. He is with you.”
29Mary was very upset because of his words. She wondered what kind of greeting this could be. 30But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary. God is very pleased with you. 31You will become pregnant and give birth to a son. You must call him Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. The Lord God will make him a king like his father David of long ago. 33The Son of the Most High God will rule forever over his people. They are from the family line of Jacob. That kingdom will never end.”
34“How can this happen?” Mary asked the angel. “I am a virgin.”
35The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come to you. The power of the Most High God will cover you. So the holy one that is born will be called the Son of God. 36Your relative Elizabeth will have a child even though she is old. People thought she could not have children. But she has been pregnant for six months now. 37That’s because what God says will always come true.”
38“I serve the Lord,” Mary answered. “May it happen to me just as you said it would.” Then the angel left her.
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in Judea’s hill country. 40There she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby inside her jumped. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42In a loud voice she called out, “God has blessed you more than other women. And blessed is the child you will have! 43But why is God so kind to me? Why has the mother of my Lord come to me? 44As soon as I heard the sound of your voice, the baby inside me jumped for joy. 45You are a woman God has blessed. You have believed that the Lord would keep his promises to you!”
Mary’s Song
46Mary said,
“My soul gives glory to the Lord.
47My spirit delights in God my Savior.
48He has taken note of me
even though I am not considered important.
From now on all people will call me blessed.
49The Mighty One has done great things for me.
His name is holy.
50He shows his mercy to those who have respect for him,
from parent to child down through the years.
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 are not considered important.
53He has filled with good things those who are hungry.
But he has sent away empty those who are rich.
54He has helped the people of Israel, who serve him.
He has always remembered to be kind
55to Abraham and his children down through the years.
He has done it just as he promised to our people of long ago.”
56Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months. Then she returned home.
John the Baptist Is Born
57The time came for Elizabeth to have her baby. She gave birth to a son. 58Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very kind to her. 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. “No!” she said. “He must be called John.”
61They said to her, “No one among your relatives has that name.”
62Then they motioned to his father. They wanted to find out what he would like to name the child. 63He asked for something to write on. Then he wrote, “His name is John.” Everyone was amazed. 64Right away Zechariah could speak again. Right away he praised God. 65All his neighbors were filled with fear and wonder. Throughout Judea’s hill country, people were talking about all these things. 66Everyone who heard this wondered about it. And because the Lord was with John, they asked, “What is this child going to be?”
Zechariah’s Song
67John’s father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit. He prophesied,
68“Give praise to the Lord, the God of Israel!
He has come to his people and purchased their freedom.
69He has acted with great power and has saved us.
He did it for those who are from the family line of his servant David.
70Long ago holy prophets said he would do it.
71He has saved us from our enemies.
We are rescued from all who hate us.
72He has been kind to our people of long ago.
He has remembered his holy covenant.
73He made a promise to our father Abraham.
74He promised to save us from our enemies.
Then we could serve him without fear.
75He wants us to be holy and godly as long as we live.
76“And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High God.
You will go ahead of the Lord to prepare the way for him.
77You will tell his people how they can be saved.
You will tell them that their sins can be forgiven.
78All of that will happen because our God is tender and caring.
His kindness will bring the rising sun to us from heaven.
79It will shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death.
It will guide our feet on the path of peace.”
80The child grew up, and his spirit became strong. He lived in the desert until he appeared openly to Israel.
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