LUKE 1
“…since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught” (vv3-4).
The ‘Good News’ must be accurate and historically truthful in order to be believable and life-transforming. We are not just telling people ‘stories’ with a positive moral spin or uplifting message. Luke was a missionary companion of the Apostle Paul, a Gentile physician, and also a preeminent historian, who always placed his narratives within a traceable historical context; his first job is to convince the reader that the Good News finds its greatness in its authenticity and accuracy. “If Christ has not been raised from the dead than our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (1 Corinthians 15:15).
The most complete accounts of the births of John the Baptist and Jesus are found in Luke’s gospel, along with much detail about faith, prayer, salvation, the Holy Spirit, the completed promises of God, angelic appearances, geography, and background culture. Luke wrote for a Gentile readership and emphasised the humanity of Jesus, in addition to his divinity. He also highlights the important role of women – in an otherwise patriarchal society – and issues of poverty and social justice. To get a superb overview of this great gospel, have a look at these two video by ‘Bible Project’ that summarise it in clever graphics: Luke 1 – 9: https://youtu.be/XIb_dCIxzr0 ; Luke 10 – 24: https://youtu.be/26z_KhwNdD8?si=2vxNy3rd0jGt3vX8 .
Luke 1 is a very long chapter of 80 verses! It begins with a focus on the origins of John the Baptist:
“And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (v17). This is a quotation from Malachi chapter 4.
Our role today as God’s people is strikingly similar to John the Baptist’s: we assist the Holy Spirit in making people’s hearts ready to receive Jesus today, and on the Day of his Return. We prepare the way for the Lord.
“And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time” (v20).
Zechariah was disciplined by the Lord for his unbelief in the words of God’s Messenger. This mature priest had even prayed for a son and yet would not receive a direct confirmation from God. If he would not listen, then he would not talk until he did listen!
“How will this be”, Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered: “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail”. “I am the Lord’s servant”, Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled” (vv34-38).
By comparison with Zechariah, Mary was a very young woman, unmarried and immature in her faith. She was entitled to have two issues clarified: a moral one, since she was unmarried, and a biological one, since she was not having sexual relations with anyone. The angel was pleased to explain. From God’s point of view, it was also important that she willingly consented – what would have happened if she had said ‘No’? As soon as Mary gave her ‘Yes’, a social and biological miracle then occurred: “The Virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call him ‘God With Us’” (Isaiah 7:14). Miracles are also very likely to occur in our lives when we give the Lord our ‘Yes’!
“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfil his promises to her!” (v45). That applied to Mary, but it also applies to each one of us today. Faith in God’s promises produces joy, happiness, and fulfilment.
Compare Mary’s Song of verses 46-55 with Hannah’s in 1 Samuel 2:1-10. They are strikingly similar!
“Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John”. Immediately his mouth was opened, and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God” (vv63-64).
Zechariah finally caught up with the plot and believed the Lord. He obeyed by naming his son as God had already named him. He had listened, and so was enabled to speak again. Let us also listen to the God who speaks to us!
LEVITICUS 26 and 27
If you were a gambler, living at the time that Leviticus 26 was written, and you wanted to place a substantial wager on whether or not Israel would obey the Lord and keep his covenant or disobey him and rebel… you might want to count up the number of verses promising rewards for obedience (13) compared with the number of verses promising punishments for disobedience (33). No contest! By keeping God’s covenant, Israel was promised sufficient rain and abundant harvests, peace and protection in the land, blessings in marriage and children, and the presence of the Lord in their midst at all times. This was Plan ‘A’.
The punishments for disobedience came in ‘waves’: diseases, famines, fear, invasion, and captivity by enemy nations; attack and infestation by animals and insects; ruined cities, desolation, and death. The fortunate ones, the survivors, would be taken a great distance in captivity to a foreign land. Knowing that Israel would always choose Plan ‘B’, in his mercy, the Lord made provision for repentance and confession of sins to bring restoration of the covenant and resettlement of the nation. The duration of that exile was for seventy years exactly and was timed to match the exact number of Sabbath Years that should have occurred – but didn’t – in the preceding 490 years of Israel’s rebellion. In the end, God gets his way!
If the majority of Leviticus is concerned with the compulsory offerings from Israel to God, the final chapter mainly describes the giving of freewill gifts, over and above the minimum. A person could be dedicated to the Lord by giving a monetary amount equivalent to the notional ‘value’ set by the priest. For example, the value of an able-bodied male was about three months’ salary for an agricultural labourer. The poor were not excluded from making such an offering of themselves, since the priest was authorised to set a much lower value relative to the person’s income.
Animals (of good quality), houses, land and precious things could all be dedicated to the Lord – and could also be ‘redeemed’ (purchased back) at the same value plus 20%. The only things that could not be dedicated were the firstborn since they legally belonged to the Lord already!
An even more permanent form of giving was by devoting something to the Lord – this meant handing it over for ever and for such use that it could never be used in an every-day way again. Sometimes, during the campaign to occupy Canaan, the Lord demanded that whole cities of Canaanites be devoted to him – which essentially meant to be killed without mercy or exception. Failure to do this – or an attempt to steal a devoted item – was punishable by death. It was the reason that Israel met defeat in battle in those early years, and the reason that those guilty were judicially executed. (See the first few chapters of the Book of Joshua.)
Finally, the Tithe (or ‘Tenth’): this, for Israel, was compulsory and was probably three tithes in some years. The first was the regular annual tithe paid to the Levites (see Numbers 18:21) who in turn paid a tenth of that to the priests. The second was another annual tithe devoted to a huge annual meal and party that included the People who gave what was offered and also the Levites (Deuteronomy 14:22-27). The third was paid every three years and was given to the poor (Deuteronomy 14:28-29). Giving is always of benefit to both the recipient and the giver. Generous giving is a powerful antidote to materialism and provides opportunities for faith and a change of heart. Perhaps we should adopt the same approach in our giving today: some to the church to enable bills to be met and the full-time workers to be paid a generous living wage; some for mission, celebration, and festivals; and certainly some to meet the needs of the poor – who will always be among us. “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse… Test me in this and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it” – the Lord says to us today. “Where your treasure is, there is your heart also!”
The Big Picture 