Thurs., Dec. 6, 2018 – The Gospel of Luke 1:5-17

The Announcement of the Birth of John the Baptist, A Lesson of Faith, Part 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jEOqEsXkQw

Grace Fellowship Church

Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard

www.GraceDoctrine.org

www.facebook.com/GraceDoctrine

The Gospel of Luke:

II. The Identification of the Son of Man with Men, Luke 1:5-4:13.

  A. The Announcement of the Birth of John the Baptist, Luke 1:5-25.

Vs. 5

Historians customarily introduced a narrative by listing the names of reigning kings or governors, which provided the approximate time of the narrative. Luke first provides historical context for the events to follow by noting Herod the Great as the native ruler of Judea who ruled from 37-4 B.C. The qualifier “king of Judea” distinguishes this Herod from his sons, who ruled smaller regions and never received the official title of “king” from Rome.

This reminded them of the “dark days.” The people had not heard a prophetic Word from God for 400 years, not since Malachi had promised the coming of Elijah, Mal 4:5-6. The spiritual leaders were shackled by tradition and, in some instances, corruption; and their king, Herod the Great, was a tyrant. Then came two great announcements from the Lord; the first being the announcement of John the Baptist.

In the demonstration of the spiritual heritage of the forerunner of Jesus, Luke notes that John’s father, Zacharias whose name means, “the Lord remembers,” was a priest from the division of Abijah. In the Hebrew and Greek, it is really Abia, cf. 1 Chron 24:10. There were 24 such divisions of priests, cf. 1 Chron 24:1-19. Each division was comprised of 4-9 families who were responsible for preforming the daily service in the temple in Jerusalem for two separate weeks each year. In this scene, it was Zacharias allotted period to serve, vs. 8-9. His was to offer the incense that was offered daily before the morning sacrifice and after the evening sacrifice, about 3 in the afternoon. It was probably the evening offering that was assigned to Zacharias.

 Not only was John’s father from spiritual heritage, but his mother Elizabeth was also, i.e., the lineage of Aaron. Her name means, “my God is an or my oath,” i.e. a worshipper of God.

Vs. 6

For Luke, piety is very important. This does not suggest that he advocates a doctrine of salvation by works. Rather, he makes it clear that the presence of piety and good works in the lives of those prior to the coming of the gospel of Christ is evidence of their trust in God. “Righteous before God,” is not merely the quality of having an ethical character, but refers to living in accordance with what God requires. John’s parents lived their lives in faithful obedience to the law of God.

This statement, “righteous before God,” is also given so that the couple’s childlessness is not interpreted by us as the result of sin or wickedness before God. In addition, we see that at this point in their lives they both were beyond the age of being able to conceive. This reminds us of Abraham and Sarah.

Vs. 7

Once again, Luke provides a subtle parallel with another OT example of God’s power, Abraham and Sarah, Gen 17:17. Elizabeth’s barrenness and advanced age underscored the miraculous nature of the event that was about to take place. And, we see that Elizabeth is yet another member of a devout group of women that includes individuals such as Sarah, Gen 16:1; Rebecca, Gen 25:21; Rachel, Gen 30:1; and Hannah, 1 Sam 1:2, all of whom were delivered by God from their infertility and gave birth to great spiritual leaders.

Vs. 8-10

Zacharias’ duty was to, “burn incense.” Remember that the burning of incense in the Holy Place was a picture of our prayers going up to the Lord Who receives them as a sweet smelling aroma. The main prayer for Israel was that God would provide a Messiah, which is about to be answered.

Vs. 11-12

The “angel of the Lord,” ANGELOS, ἄγγελος, KURIOS, κύριος, is a very generic title used throughout Scripture, Old and New Testaments. It represents many different appearances of heavenly beings including our Lord Jesus Christ, Gen 16:7- 13; 21:17; Ex 3:2-6; Judges 2:1-5. Here, it is the Angel Gabriel, vs. 19.

Vs. 13

Zacharias and Elizabeth may have been praying for their own child, but given their age, they probably had given up on the opportunity to have a child. Being “righteous” they more likely were praying for the deliverance of Israel. Nevertheless, the angel tells them they will have a son and to name him “John,” which in the Greek is IOANNES, Ιωάννης that means, “the Lord has given or the Lord has been gracious.”

Vs. 14-17

Gabriel announces the impact John will have on them and the people of Israel. “Joy,” CHARA, “gladness or rejoicing and exaltation,” AGALLIASIS, and “rejoice,” CHAIRO are favorite terms of Luke. They reflect the joy that accompanies the experiencing of God’s salvation, cf. Psa 51:12. Zacharais and Elizabeth, as well as the nation, would rejoice because of the ministry of John the Baptist.

Psa 51:12, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.”

In vs. 15, it was an allusion to the Nazirite vow in Num 6:2, Judges 13-16, (regarding Samson), 1 Sam 1:11, (regarding Samuel), and in Amos 2:11f, (regarding special servants to the Lord). It was a vow of separation or consecration, setting someone apart for the special service to God.

This special consecration is further identified as John would be “filled with the Holy Spirit,” which is called in theology “the enduement of the Holy Spirit.” Enduement of the Spirit was typically a temporary filling of the Holy Spirit and given only to a few OT saints. Remember, this is still the time period of the “Age of Israel,” or the “Jewish Dispensation.” Not all believers received the indwelling or subsequent opportunity for the “filling of the Holy Spirit,” during that dispensation. But, it was told to Zacharias that John would receive it for his special service as the forerunner of and prophet for the coming Christ.

This “enduement” of the Holy Spirit for John was unique. And, even though he continued the OT tradition of spiritual leaders being empowered by God to fulfill a specific purpose or task, John’s Spirit-empowerment is unique.

But first, we need to correct something. The phrase, “while yet in his mother’s womb,” is a wrong English translation. It should be, “from his mother’s womb,” because the Greek utilizes the Genitive Preposition EK that means, “from, out of, out from, or away from.” In no way is it translated “while in.” It always has the connotation of, “out from or away from.” Therefore, John is not filled with the Holy Spirit inside of his mother’s womb, but after he is born and has his own life and receives the imputation of a soul at physical birth.

Now, back to the uniqueness of his “enduement.” First, it is unlike the temporary nature of the OT prophet’s Spirit-enablement, because John’s is to be permanently filled with the Spirit that would characterize the kingdom of God. Thus, John is an important transitionary figure in the mind of Luke. He is ushering in the transition from the Age of Israel to the Church Age, where believers would be permanently indwelt with the Holy Spirit from the day of their salvation. Second, the phrase stresses in the most enthusiastic manner, God’s choice of John for this important task that is followed by the next two verses that speak of the impact of his ministry. God, as well as the angel Gabriel, was excited about this.

The ministry of John would accomplish two things. First, in vs. 16, he would evangelize the Israelites to bring them back to right relation with God. Second, in vs. 17, to act as the “forerunner” for Christ, cf. Luke 1:76; 3:4, in the manner of Elijah, Mat 11:14; 17:11-12, “to make ready the people for the Lord,” that quotes Malachi 4:6. Notice that John’s ministry would be directed to the Jews primarily.

“In the Spirit and power,” does not mean in the form of great signs as with Elijah; rather, this power would be evident in the authority and power of John’s message to save. John would be empowered by the same Divine Spirit that worked in and through the prophet Elijah to accomplish this. And, as we know from Scripture, Elijah was the stern prophet who rebuked the idolatrous King Ahab, 1 Kings 21:17-24. Likewise, Elijah preached repentance, as John the Baptist would also do, Luke 3:8. Therefore, John would turn the Israelites from their false worship of God to a true worship of Him through Christ.