Luke 1:1-25

Introduction

1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things ^[a]1accomplished among us,

2 just as they were handed down to us by those who ²from the beginning ^[b]were ³eyewitnesses and ^[c]4servants of ⁵the ^[d]word,

3 it seemed fitting for me as well, ⁶having ^[e]investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you ⁷in consecutive order, ⁸most excellent ⁹Theophilus;

4 so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been ^[f]10taught.

Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

5 ¹¹In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named ^[g]Zacharias, of the ¹²division of ^[h]Abijah; and he had a wife ^[i]from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

6 They were both ¹³righteous in the sight of God, walking ¹⁴blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.

7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in ^[j]years.

8 Now it happened that while ¹⁵he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division,

9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot ¹⁶to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

10 And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer ¹⁷outside at the hour of the incense offering.

11 And ¹⁸an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.

12 Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and ¹⁹fear ^[k]gripped him.

13 But the angel said to him, "²⁰Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ²¹you will ^[l]give him the name John.

14 "You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.

15 "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will ²²drink no * wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit ^[m]while yet in his mother's womb.

16 "And he will ²³turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.

17 "It is he who will ²⁴go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of ²⁵Elijah, ²⁶TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to ²⁷make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

18 Zacharias said to the angel, "How * will I know this for certain? For ²⁸I am an old man and my wife is advanced in ^[n]years."

19 The angel answered and said to him, "I am ²⁹Gabriel, who ^[o]30stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

20 "And behold, you shall be silent and unable * to speak until the day when these things take place, because * you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time."

21 The people were waiting for Zacharias, and were wondering at his delay in the temple.

22 But 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 ³¹kept ^[p]making signs to them, and remained mute.

23 When the days of his priestly service were ended, he went back home.

24 After these days Elizabeth his wife became pregnant, and she ^[q]kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying,

25 "This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to ³²take away my disgrace among men."

Luke 1:1-25 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO LUKE

The writer of this Gospel, Luke, has been, by some, thought, as Origen {a} relates, to be the same with Lucius, mentioned in Ro 16:21, but he seems rather to be, and without doubt is, Luke the beloved physician, who was a companion of the Apostle Paul in great part of his travels in the Gentile world: he came with him to Jerusalem, and from thence accompanied him to Rome, and continued with him when in prison, and was with him to the last; see Ac 16:10,11 \Col 4:14 2Ti 4:11 Phm 1:24\. Jerom {b}, and others, say, he was a physician of Antioch in Syria; where it may be the Apostle Paul met with him, and might be the happy instrument of his conversion; so that he seems to be, by nation, a Syrian, as Jerom {c} calls him. Grotius thinks his name is Roman, and that it is the contraction of Lucilius. It is not an Hebrew name, but might be in common use in Syria; for though the Jews reckon owqwl, "Lukus", among foreign names, yet say {d} a it was a very illustrious one, and well known to them, as it may well be thought to be if Syriac, the language being spoke by them: and many Jews lived in Syria, and particularly in Antioch. Some say that this Gospel was written by the advice, and assistance, and under the direction of the Apostle Paul, as the Gospel according to Mark was by that of Peter; though the following preface does not seem so well to accord with this. Eusebius says {e} that it was the sense of the ancients, that whenever the Apostle Paul makes mention of his Gospel, he intends this according to Luke. The time of the writing of it is not certain; some say it was written in the fifteenth year after the ascension of our Lord; others in the twenty second; and others in the twenty seventh. It is commonly thought to have been written after the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, according to the order in which it stands; but this is rejected by some learned men, who rather think that Luke wrote first of all: and indeed, there are some things in his preface which look as if there had not, as yet, been any authentic account published, at least which was come to the knowledge of this evangelist. The place where he wrote it is also uncertain. Jerom says {f}, he wrote it in the parts of Achaia, perhaps at Corinth: according to the titles prefixed to the Syriac and Persic versions, he wrote it in Alexandria: the former of these runs thus;

``the Gospel of Luke, the Evangelist, which he spake and published in Greek in Alexandria the great.''

And the latter thus;

``the Gospel of Luke, which he wrote in the Greek tongue in Alexandria of Egypt.''

However, it is agreed on all hands, that it is genuine, and of divine inspiration. Eusebius {g} relates, that it was affirmed by some, that this Gospel, together with those of Matthew and Mark, were brought to the Apostle John, who approved of them, and bore witness to the truth in them.

{a} In Rom. xvi. 21. {b} Catalog. Script. Eccles. sect. 17. fol. 91. Euseb. Eccl. Hist. l. 3. c. 4. {c} Praefat in Luc. {d} T. Bab. Gittin, fol. 11. 2. & Gloss. in ib. {e} Ubi supra. (Hist. Eccl. l. 3. c. 39.) {f} Praefat in Luc. {g} Eccl. Hist. l. 3. c. 24.

Cross References

• 1. Romans 4:21; Romans 14:5; Colossians 2:2; Colossians 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:5; 2 Timothy 4:17; Hebrews 6:11; Hebrews 10:22
• 2. John 15:27; Acts 1:21
• 3. 2 Peter 1:16; 1 John 1:1
• 4. Acts 26:16; 1 Corinthians 4:1; Hebrews 2:3
• 5. Mark 4:14; Mark 16:20; Acts 8:4; Acts 14:25; Acts 16:6; Acts 17:11
• 6. 1 Timothy 4:6
• 7. Acts 11:4; Acts 18:23
• 8. Acts 23:26; Acts 24:3; Acts 26:25
• 9. Acts 1:1
• 10. Acts 18:25; Romans 2:18; 1 Corinthians 14:19; Galatians 6:6
• 11. Matthew 2:1
• 12. 1 Chronicles 24:10
• 13. Genesis 7:1; Acts 2:25; Acts 8:21
• 14. Philippians 2:15; Philippians 3:6; 1 Thessalonians 3:13
• 15. 1 Chronicles 24:19; 2 Chronicles 8:14; 2 Chronicles 31:2
• 16. Exodus 30:7
• 17. Leviticus 16:17
• 18. Luke 2:9; Acts 5:19
• 19. Luke 2:9
• 20. Matthew 14:27; Luke 1:30
• 21. Luke 1:60, 63
• 22. Numbers 6:3; Judges 13:4; Matthew 11:18; Luke 7:33
• 23. Matthew 3:2, 6; Luke 3:3
• 24. Luke 1:76
• 25. Matthew 11:14
• 26. Malachi 4:6
• 27. Luke 1:76
• 28. Genesis 17:17
• 29. Daniel 8:16; Daniel 9:21; Luke 1:26
• 30. Matthew 18:10
• 31. Luke 1:62
• 32. Genesis 30:23; Isaiah 4:1; Isaiah 25:8

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "on which there is full conviction"
• [b]. Lit "became"
• [c]. Or "ministers"
• [d]. I.e. gospel
• [e]. Or "followed"
• [f]. Or "orally instructed in"
• [g]. I.e. Zechariah
• [h]. Gr "Abia"
• [i]. I.e. of priestly descent
• [j]. Lit "days"
• [k]. Or "fell upon"
• [l]. Lit "call his name"
• [m]. Lit "from"
• [n]. Lit "days"
• [o]. Lit "stand beside"
• [p]. Or "beckoning to" or "nodding to"
• [q]. Lit "was hidden"