Luke 1 vs 1-25 Bible Study.

Feb 01

Who was Luke?

- Companion of …… see Acts 16:10-11; 2 Tim 4:11; Philemon 1:24
- A G_ _ _ _ _ _ see Col 4:10-11,14 missing from the list of the …………….

The Gospel of Luke shows interest in –

- Gentiles, put in favourable light.
- The roles of women, children and social outcasts.
- The one gospel most interested in prayer. Maybe gentiles didn’t pray right?
- Most emphasis on the Holy Spirit and Joy.
- Most emphasis on preaching the good news. ( term only used once in any other gospel ! ).
10 times here, 15 in Acts.

Luke’s Introduction, vs 1-4. READ

Luke addresses Theophilus in verse 3. What might his title suggest? …………………
Was Theophilus totally ignorant of Christ? Verse4. …………………………………..
- application for us? ………………………………………………………………...

Insight - the first 4 verses are one sentence in the original Greek. They are written in refined,
academic, classical style. But then, for the rest of the gospel, Luke uses the language not of the
scholars, but of the common man, the language of the village and street. Luke is saying to us, "This
account has all the proper academic and scholarly credentials. But it is written for the man on the
street."

The Birth of John the Baptist announced.

1. verse 5-7 the time and people announced.
Herod is mentioned in vs5. What is Herod? ……………………………………………………

What is Zacharias? Verse5. ………………….

Are Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth significant people? What slight or stigma was probably
attached to them? ………….
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
… See John 9:2.
Moreover Edersheim writes "In many respects he seemed different from all those around. His
home was not in either of the great priest-centres - the Ophel quarter in Jerusalem, nor in Jericho -
but in some small town in those uplands, south of Jerusalem: the historic hill-country of Judea".
We'd say they came from back of Burke.

2. Both Zacharias and his wife were of what tribe? Verse 5. ………….. This significant when find
out Zacharias job in the Temple when the angel appears to him and his reaction.

3. How were they both described in verse 6? ………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Sometimes we Christians are prone to thinking that in the days of Christ, all the Jews, the leaders,
& the priesthood were ungodly disobedient people. But Zacharias and Elizabeth counter that.

4. Let me described the temple duty that Zacharias was chosen for.
It was the very high privilege of burning the incense. Something that a priest might only expect to
do once in a lifetime.

David Guzik relates the following helpful information.

Incense was to be offered to God on the golden altar every morning and every evening (Exodus 30:7-8);
by this time, there was an established ritual for the practice
i. There were several lots cast to determine who did what at the morning sacrifice. The first lot
determined who would cleanse the altar and prepare its fire; the second lot determined who would kill the
morning sacrifice and sprinkle the altar, the golden candlestick and the altar of incense. The third lot
determined who would come and offer incense. This was the most privileged duty; those who received the
 first and second lots would repeat their duty at the evening sacrifice, but not with the third lot. To offer the
incense would be a once in a life-time opportunity
ii. As the incense priest would walk towards the temple, through the courts, he would strike an
instrument known as the Magrephah, and at this sound, the Levites would assemble and get ready to lead
the gathered people in songs of worship to God
iii. The other two priests chosen by lot that morning would walk up to the temple with the priest
chosen to offer the incense. One would lay burning coals on the golden altar; the other would arrange the
incense so it was ready to go. Then they would leave the temple and the incense priest would be all
alone
iv. When the people outside saw the two men exit the temple, they knew that the time to offer the incense
had come. They would bow or kneel before the Lord, and spread their hands out in silent prayer
v. After the incense priest was done, the other priests of the day would meet him on the steps of the
temple, and he would raise his hands and bless the people with the blessing from Numbers 6:24-26.
The people would respond by saying, "Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, from everlasting to
everlasting."
vi. When all this was done, the Levites would start singing praises to God; this would begin with a blast
from silver trumpets; then a priest would strike the cymbals, and the choir of Levites would begin the Psalm
of the day. The choir was made up of not less than twelve voices, which mingled young and old for a full
range of sound.

So, when Zacharias was left alone in the holy place and began to burn the incense on the golden altar, the
great multitude saw the smoke of the incense offering, they would fall down before the Lord and spread out
their hands in silent prayer. There would follow several minutes of dead silence in all the temple precincts -
as Zacharias lingered in prayer in the holy place during this, the most solemn experience of his life.
i. The connection of to burn incense and prayer is strong; incense is always a picture of prayer in
the Bible (Psalm 141:2; Revelation 5:8)

Being of the tribe of Aaron, he no doubt knew of the history of Temple service that went before
him, such as that recorded in Leviticus 10, which records the death of Nadab and Abihu, Aaron's
sons who had carried out the ritual in a wrong manner. So what might we expect his reaction to be
when an angel appears before him? ………………………………………………………………

5. What would Zacharias have been praying for in his temple duty, such that the angel refers to it?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

6. Thus the answer of a son for Zacharias and his wife is indeed a blessing mixed with the answer of
the kingdom coming.

7. Now can we gain a better insight into verses 21-22. What were they expecting him to do when he
came out, and what did he do? …………………………………………………………………….
When Zacharias came forth from the temple he was supposed to stand on the Temple steps ,
overlooking the crowd and pronounce the priestly blessing on the people ( Numbers 6:24-26 ),
and the other priests would repeat it after him. But Zacharias couldn't speak!

Think it through. The people were waiting for the priest to announce the blessing, but
Zacharias couldn’t, he was mute! Do you think this would have been a talking point among
the people of Israel? Do you think Israel might have wondered if something special was going
to happen?

8. John was to be a Nazarite, see Numbers 6 for the vow of no wine or strong drink, yet importantly
here he has a unique filling of the Holy Spirit, even when in his mother's womb. Verse 15.
What might be the significance of the quote of Malachi 4:5-6 in verse 16? ………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………If you
READ 1 Kings 18:20-40 and you will see that Elijah was a man who called Israel to a radical
repentance.

Application:
• So we have Zacharias with some really good news and his disbelief meant he could tell
anyone! Imagine, it's what he'd been praying for and he is mute. Are there times when our
failure to believe rob us of God's blessing?
• Secondly, God is beginning a new work and it involves Israel in radical repentance.
Picking on a Priest in the Temple with a high profile job for the day, the Lord also made a
significant point to Israel – What.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………