"good News Of Great Joy" Series

Hear the Good News!

Luke 1

If ever a book was filled with good news for everybody, the Gospel of Luke is that book.

Dr. Luke’s key message is, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

He presents Jesus Christ as the compassionate Son of man, who came to live among sinners, love them, help them, and die for them.

In this Gospel you meet individuals as well as crowds, women and children as well as men, poor people as well as rich people, and sinners along with saints.

It’s a book with a message for everybody, because Luke’s emphasis is on the universality of Jesus Christ and His salvation: “good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people” (Luke 2:10).

Dr. Luke is named only three times in the New Testament: in Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11; and Philemon 24.

He wrote Acts (compare Luke 1:1-4 with Acts 1:1) and traveled with Paul (note the “we” sections in Acts 16:10-17; 20:4-15; 21:1-18, and 27:1-28:16).

He was probably a Gentile (compare Colossians 4:11 and 14) and was trained as a physician.

No wonder he began his book with detailed accounts of the births of two important babies!

No wonder he emphasized Christ’s sympathy for hurting people!

He wrote with the mind of a careful historian and with the heart of a loving physician.

The Gospel of Luke was written for Theophilus (“lover of God”), probably a Roman official who had trusted Christ and now needed to be established in the faith.

It’s also possible that Theophilus was a seeker after truth who was being taught the Christian message, because the word translated instructed in Luke 1:4 gives us our English word catechumen, “someone who is being taught the basics of Christianity.”

The life and message of Christ were so important that many books had already been written about Him, but not everything in them could be trusted.

Luke wrote his Gospel so that his readers might have an accurate and orderly narrative of the life, ministry, and message of Jesus Christ.

Listen how he begins his letter:

“1Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, 2Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; 3It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, 4That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.”

Luke had carefully researched his material, interviewed eyewitnesses, and listened to those who had ministered the Word.

Most important, he had the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The phrase from the very first (Gk. anothen) can be translated “from above,” as it is in John 3:31 and 19:11.

It speaks of the inspiration of the Spirit of God on the message that Luke wrote.

In this first chapter, Luke tells us how God’s wonderful news came to different people and how they responded to it.

You will discover four different responses. We will not get to them all but let’s see how far we can get.

1. Unbelief (Luke 1:5-25)

It was a dark day for the nation of Israel. The people had heard no prophetic Word from God for 400 years, not since Malachi had promised the coming of Elijah (Mal. 4:5-6).

The spiritual leaders were shackled by tradition and, in some instances, corruption; and their king, Herod the Great, was a tyrant.

He had nine (some say ten) wives, one of whom he had executed for no apparent reason.

But no matter how dark the day, God always has His devoted and obedient people.

“5There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. 6And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.”

Zacharias (“Jehovah has remembered”) and Elizabeth (“God is my oath”) were a godly couple who both belonged to the priestly line.

Each priest served in the temple two weeks out of the year.

In spite of the godlessness around them, Zacharias and Elizabeth were faithful to obey the Word of God and live blamelessly.

Their only sorrow was that they had no family, and they made this a matter of constant prayer.

Little did they know that God would answer their prayers and give them, not a priest, but a prophet!