Skip to content From Darkness to Light : An Intellectual and Detailed Account of Christ from Luke 1 Jul 2 · 13 min ...more
From Darkness to Light : An Intellectual and Detailed Account of Christ from Luke 1
July 2, 2025 · 13 min
Discover Luke's journey from a Greek intellectual to a devoted follower and chronicler of Christ's early years.
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The Unique Gospel of Luke 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Thanks for joining me this morning. Alright. We have, begun our into the book written by doctor Luke as we look at Luke chapter 1 verse 79, to0:22 give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. Now before we delve into the book, let me provide some background on the author and the book so0:34 that we have more context. Several aspects of Luke's gospel makes it unique. First, Luke, a Greek, is the only gentile author of the New Testament.0:45 He wrote actually 2 books. He wrote this gospel, and he also wrote the book of Acts. Now having a a Greek background, his gospel account is toward the Greek intellectual.0:58 And from Paul's description of him, which we find in Colossians chapter 4 verse 14, we understand that he was a physician, which explains, I think, his precise and often detailed description of matters where he1:10 provides color commentary, you know, kind of beyond the other gospels. Now some believe he came to Christ through the ministry of Paul, which frankly would make sense to me because Paul also was an intellectual, and I1:21 think he would have appealed his presentation would have appealed to Luke. Now they must have enjoyed 1 of those company and conversation because we know that Luke traveled with Paul on a second missionary1:33 journey, and he was with Paul all the way to the end when Paul was martyred as Paul refers to him in in, second Timothy chapter 4 verse 11 in Paul's final1:45 letter to Timothy. Now only the Matthew and Luke in their gospel accounts provide information about the birth and childhood Jesus. But of the 2, Luke provides more1:56 details. It's believed that Luke wrote his gospel account during the time that Paul was in prison in Caesarea, which would have been somewhere around 58, 59, 60 AD.2:08 Mary, the mother of Jesus, may have well been alive at that time. Luke may have sat with her, had conversations with her, allowing him to record more detail about the account of Jesus'2:21 birth and his childhood. In this first chapter, Luke goes back further than the other gospels to the announcement of John the Baptist. We see that in verses 5 through 25. Then2:33 the announcement of conception of Jesus in verses 26 through 56, and then we have the birth of John the Baptist in 57 through 80. So let's jump into this verse 1 of Luke chapter2:44 1. It is much as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered2:56 them to us. It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know3:08 the certainty of those things in which you were instructed. So Luke is writing to an individual here, Theophilus. Now we we don't know much about him. From the salutation, most excellent,3:21 we know he was a man of high rank, possibly a government figure or a person of stature who Luke may have led to the Lord and or he may have been the 1 underwriting this letter to3:33 the churches that obviously took some time for Luke to construct. Verse 5, there was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias3:45 of the division of Abijah. His wife was 1 of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the3:57 lord blameless. But they had no child because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years. Notice how Zacharias and4:08 Elizabeth are described, righteous before God, walking in all the commandments, blameless, yet they bore the reproach of not having children. Now our present culture,4:20 unfortunately, does not see children as the blessing they are from the Lord. But in that day, it was it was not good. You were looked down upon if you didn't4:32 have children. We we know from what we're about to read that they prayed for a child, yet now they were old beyond childbearing years. And while families families flourished4:44 around them, their prayers seemed to go unanswered, but they continued to serve the Lord faithfully. I I just you know, sometimes we read through these things and we miss the4:56 the the feeling of it. But here here were 2 2 people, a husband and wife, faithfully serving the lord, walking before him circumspectly according to his word, according to his will,5:08 but yet they didn't have any children. They prayed, but their prayers weren't answered. Were those years years of preparation? Was god getting them ready to fulfill his plans and purposes?5:20 You know, I I often look for these stories because, frankly, I find them encouraging because some people's and and I say the Winston Churchill, some of these great leaders, George Patton. I was just reading a book about5:32 George Patton. And and how many of them, their whole lives were certain moment. George Patton thought that his preparation of all of his years in the military was5:44 for the Battle of the Bulge when he defended the, helped lead the effort to fight back the Germans, the Nazis, and prevail. The Battle of the Bulge had it gone the other way, probably the5:56 Nazis would have won. So there's this this preparation, but it requires faithfulness, And we see this in Elizabeth and Zacharias. Zacharias6:07 was fulfilling his duties as a priest, and he had literally drew the law and had a once in a lifetime privilege of burning incense before the Lord. You only gotta do that 1 time. And he is in the6:19 temple, and the angel Gabriel Gabriel appears to him in verse 13. But the angel said to him, do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer6:31 is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. Now the angel describes the special mission of John, And6:43 Zechariah says to the angel, how shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years. And the angel said to him, I am Gabriel,6:55 who stands in the presence of god and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. This doesn't sound good. But behold, you7:07 will be mute and not be able to speak until the day these things take place because you did not7:19 believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their own time. Keep in mind that he had been praying for this.7:31 The angel comes and says his prayer has been answered in a big way. And he says, well, how will I know this? For I'm an old man. My wife is well advanced in7:43 years. Now, by the way, just to just to note, he wasn't that old. Priests were only active in the temple from the age of 25 to 50. So he they had a mandatory retirement age 50, so he had to be7:55 under 50. So it wasn't that old. Now compare Mary's response when Gabriel comes to her. Verse 28, and having come in, the angel said to her,8:06 rejoice, highly favored 1. The lord is with you. Blessed are you among women. But when she saw them, she was troubled at the saying and considered what manner of greeting this was.8:19 Then the angel said to her, do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called8:30 the son of the highest, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom, there will be no end. Then Mary said to the angel, how can this8:41 be since I do not know a man? And the angel answered and said to her, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the highest will overshadow you. Therefore, also the holy 1 who is to be born will8:53 be called the son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God,9:05 nothing will be impossible. Then Mary said, behold, the maidservant of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her. Now I I'm certain9:17 that Mary was not praying for a child as Zacharias and Elizabeth were. The priest had a hard time accepting the answer to his prayer, but this teenage girl eager eagerly accepted an unprompted9:29 promise from god. You know, I think we need to this is why, you know, it talks about the the children coming into the kingdom of god. We have to have the faith of a child. I think the older we get,9:41 sometimes the the more hardened the soil of our heart becomes. We need to constantly cultivate the soil in our hearts so that we can have the faith to see God9:53 do the impossible. Verse 68. Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,10:05 might serve him without fear. Now this is after the the birth of John the Baptist. You know, his father couldn't speak. Zacharias couldn't speak until after the child was born. They10:17 took him into the temple on the eighth day to circumcise him, and they said, what's his name? And it was at that point that he said John, and they didn't you know, nobody else in the10:28 family had the name John. So what did this mean? And and so, when he said that or he wrote it down, then his tongue was loosed, and he was able to speak, and he gave this prophetic message. Blessed is the10:40 Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness10:52 before him all the days of our life. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the highest, for you will go before the face of the lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his11:04 people by the remission of their sins through the tender mercy of our god with which the day spring from on high has visited us, to give light to those who sit in darkness in the shadow of11:16 death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and it was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel. Now a couple of observations that11:28 we wrap up here on this first chapter in Luke. You know, what Luke, a gentile, is doing here in this first chapter is is revealing how God brought the old and the11:40 new covenants together. Zacharias and Elizabeth, who were recognized for their righteous living before God, and then there was Mary, the object of God's favor. Luke11:52 brings those 2 together, and we see that as the old and the new coming together. Now think about the contrast between Mary and Elizabeth. Elizabeth was praying for a child. Mary was not. Elizabeth the older. Mary12:03 was young. Elizabeth is described as righteous, Mary as favored. 1 bore reproach for not having children, and 1 would bear reproach for having a child. But both12:15 both were invited to be a part of God's divine plan and were used by him to literally change the course of human history. Wow. What a fascinating,12:27 fascinating account. Father, we thank you for your word. And, again, we pray and ask the Holy Spirit to guide us on this journey, opening our eyes to the truth of your word. That, lord, we would gain from12:39 this an understanding of how we are to live, applying these truths to our lives in the world in which we live. We pray and ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this12:51 morning. Until next time, keep standing on the word.12:56 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you13:08 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 The Unique Gospel of Luke
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