Sunday School Lessons: Luke Chapter 1

Luke Chapter 1

1:1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

Luke begins his Gospel account with his purpose in writing it. His purpose is two-fold; first, he set out to write an “orderly account” of the life, death, burial, resurrection of Christ and the events that surrounded it. In order to do this, he talked to people who were not only eyewitnesses of the events, but who were also “ministers of the word.” Secondly, he wrote his account so that those who read it would have “certainty concerning the things you have been taught.” This was important. Stories were swirling around about Jesus Christ and not all of them were accurate. As we’ve talked about before, it is not enough simply to believe in Jesus. We need to make sure that the things we do believe about Jesus are accurate and can be supported by scripture. The Holy Spirit chose and equipped Luke to write this accurate account of the “things that had been accomplished” so that we can have confidence and assurance that our faith is founded on truth.  Why is it important to write things down?  What were the "thing that had been accomplished?"

1:5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

Zechariah’s name means “God remembers” and Elizabeth’s name means “His oath.” Together that means “God remembers His oath.” What oath are we talking about?

Psalm 89: 34 I will not violate my covenant
or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
35 Once for all I have sworn by my holiness;
I will not lie to David.
36 His offspring shall endure forever,
his throne as long as the sun before me.
37 Like the moon it shall be established forever,
a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah

Zechariah and Elizabeth both came from the line of Aaron, of whom the priests of Israel came.  King David had divided the priests into 24 groups that served according to a schedule.  (1 Chronicles 24:3-19) It was Zechariah's turn to serve.

God had promised King David that one of his descendants, Christ, would have an eternal reign. John the Baptist is the one who announced the coming of the Messiah, the One who would reign as King over Israel. Luke tells us that Zechariah and Elizabeth were both righteous. But Romans 3:10 tells us that there are none righteous, no not one. So it can’t mean that they were perfectly righteous and without sin. But let’s read on: Luke tells us that they walked “blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.” Many of the commandments and statutes of the Lord dealt with sin—the sin of the people. God provided a way through the sacrificial system of the Law so that people could confess and repent of their sins before God by bringing sacrifices and sin offerings. Zechariah and Elizabeth were obedient to the Law by recognizing they were sinners that needed to bring a sacrifice before their Holy God. They were “advanced in years” and had no children. Like Abram and Sarai, they had been married long and were now beyond the normal age of bearing children.

8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.

Zechariah belonged to the family of Levi. We know this because only members of the house of Levi could serve as priests before God. On this day, he was chosen by lot to go into the temple and burn the incense on behalf of the people as they gathered for prayer. It was probably a sabbath or a feast day since all the people were gathered there.  While he was there, and angel appeared to him. Zechariah was afraid. Nearly every time angels have dealings with people, the people become greatly afraid in the presence of an angel. (400 years since an angel or prophet had come from God)  And the angel nearly always says, “Do not be afraid.” In this case the angel tells Zechariah that his prayer has been heard. What prayer? His prayer for a son. God heard his prayers and answered. The angel tells him that he should name his son John which means "the Lord is gracious" or "the Lord is merciful."

Notice that this will not only bring great joy to Zechariah and Elizabeth but to many others!

Verse 15 tells us that he will be great before the Lord. Jesus himself said of John, “ Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” Matthew 11:11 . This verse also tells us that John must not drink wine or strong drink, (Nazarite vow, Numbers 6:1-21) that he would be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. Remember this point. It will be important later.

16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

John’s job was to prepare the way for the Lord by “making ready for the Lord a people prepared.” The people were prepared for Christ’s coming by turning the fathers hearts toward their children and the disobedient to “the wisdom of the just.” To be just means to be right before God. The ones who were right before God under Moses were those that had the wisdom to know they were sinners and needed to be forgiven. This is the first thing we must know if we would know Christ as Savior. Jesus came as a Savior of His people.

18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

Zechariah had been praying for many years for a son. But when the angel came and told him his prayers had been heard, he doubted. Can you think of anyone else who prayed for a baby and then doubted? Notice how the angel answers Zechariah. (vs 19) Because Zechariah did not believe, he was struck dumb as both a sign of what God was going to do and as a punishment for having asked for a sign.  But Gabriel’s words were fulfilled in their time because he spoke what God had said would happen.

24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

Just as Gabriel said, Elizabeth became pregnant in her old age.  When a woman was unable to conceive a child, many people in those days thought that it was a shameful thing and probably caused by sin in the life of the wife or the husband.  It was a hard thing, but now Elizabeth's reproach was being lifted.

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Here we have Gabriel visiting Mary with a message from God. It is from this passage that we learn that Mary came from Nazareth in Galilee.  This is six months after he appeared to Zechariah in the temple. Gabriel tells Mary that she was favored by God and chosen to be the one to bear His son, Jesus, who would sit on the throne of David forever , as God had promised.

34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

Mary was the first person to question the virgin birth. But, unlike Zechariah, it was not in unbelief.  She wanted to know what was going to happen.  Many people do not believe that a virgin could give birth or that God could be born of a woman, yet without sin. Even Mary wondered how this could be. Gabriel explained it to her:

35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

Because of Adam and Eve’s fall, all children are born with a sin nature. Romans tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But Gabriel tells Mary that the child will be born holy—the Son of God.

36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

What was Mary’s response to this amazing news? (vs.38}

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

When Mary knew that she was to be the Mother of the Son of God and also that Elizabeth, her cousin, had also conceived a son, she went for a visit. Two things happened when Mary’s voice was heard: First, the baby “leaped in her womb”. Who was that baby? What was said would be true of him “from the womb?” Secondly, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And with the help of the Holy Spirit, she sings what is known as Elizabeth’s song, the first of the Christmas songs recorded in Luke.

Mary’s answer is the second Christmas song recorded in Luke. It is called “The Magnificat”

46 And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home .

Mary came when Elizabeth was in the 6^th month of her pregnancy. After three months it was time for the baby son to be born.

57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” 62 And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. 64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, 66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.

The birth of the baby brought great joy to many, just as Gabriel had said. And when it came time to circumcise him and a name was to be given, Zechariah still couldn’t talk. It is the father’s privilege to name the children and almost always the first born son is named for the father. Since Zechariah couldn’t speak, they assumed that the boy’s name would be Zechariah, but Elizabeth stopped them and said that his name would be John. Once Zechariah confirmed that he was to be named John (just as the angel had said) immediately he was able to talk. And the first thing he did was to praise God! These were very unusual circumstances and the people could see that God’s hand was on John.

Next comes the third song, this time a prophetic song from Zechariah:

67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,

68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his people
69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David,
70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

*These lessons are written for use with elementary aged students. You can find lessons for previous chapters here . All scriptures are taken from the ESV.