Luke 1
By Pastor Neil
Reflections on Luke Chapter 1
The Gospel of Luke was written so that a Greek man named Theophilus could be certain that the things he was being taught about Christ and how it is that Christ is the Savior of the world. As you read this familiar chapter, bathe yourself in the familiar words of the birth of John the Baptist. Zechariah and Elizabeth were faithful, godly people and they were a part of God’s plan for Christ to come to earth. Their story includes foresight into the coming of the Christ child, the miraculous birth of Jesus to come. There are wonderful passages here telling about the amazing conversation that Elizabeth and Mary had as they were awaiting the birth of their sons. The chapter also includes the beautiful words of Mary’s song, unexcelled in their beauty and promise.
As the story unfolds, John the Baptist is born and Zechariah miraculously receives his voice back and the Holy Spirit comes upon Zechariah and he speaks a prophecy full of promise and hope of the coming of God in the unfolding story of the life of his son and of the promise in the life of Jesus of Nazareth, yet to be born.
It is a treat to read this chapter when we are at a mid-point of the Christian calendar, about six months before/after the time of the year when we usually rehearse these stories once again. There is no doubt, in a society of largely illiterate people for whom story-telling (oral tradition was how they learned the stories of God’s unfolding story of salvation through Jewish history), these stories quickly became favorites in the earliest Church. They quickly found their way into the rhythm of the church year and people excitedly sat and listened to the elders or their parents tell them again and again the story of how God brought John the Baptist and Jesus into the world in fulfillment of His promises to visit and redeem His people. As you read these stories, put yourself, in your mind, into the story, listening once again to the most-loved story of your childhood Christmas traditions. Listen to the story as a child, perhaps hearing the story for the very first time. All the wonder of God’s love that fulfilled promises made hundreds of years ago to the Children of Israel. Let your walk through the Gospel of Luke immerse you in this wonderful story of God’s love as it was written down for Theophilus nearly two thousand years ago. Rejoice in God’s love, in the greatest story ever told.
