Luke 1:5-56

Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

5 ¹In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named ^[a]Zacharias, of the ²division of ^[b]Abijah; and he had a wife ^[c]from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

6 They were both ³righteous in the sight of God, walking ⁴blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.

7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in ^[d]years.

8 Now it happened that while ⁵he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division,

9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot ⁶to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

10 And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer ⁷outside at the hour of the incense offering.

11 And ⁸an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.

12 Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and ⁹fear ^[e]gripped him.

13 But the angel said to him, "¹⁰Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ¹¹you will ^[f]give him the name John.

14 "You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.

15 "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will ¹²drink no * wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit ^[g]while yet in his mother's womb.

16 "And he will ¹³turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.

17 "It is he who will ¹⁴go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of ¹⁵Elijah, ¹⁶TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to ¹⁷make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

18 Zacharias said to the angel, "How * will I know this for certain? For ¹⁸I am an old man and my wife is advanced in ^[h]years."

19 The angel answered and said to him, "I am ¹⁹Gabriel, who ^[i]²⁰stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

20 "And behold, you shall be silent and unable * to speak until the day when these things take place, because * you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time."

21 The people were waiting for Zacharias, and were wondering at his delay in the temple.

22 But when he came out, he was unable * to speak to them; and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he ²¹kept ^[j]making signs to them, and remained mute.

23 When the days of his priestly service were ended, he went back home.

24 After these days Elizabeth his wife became pregnant, and she ^[k]kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying,

25 "This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to ²²take away my disgrace among men."

Jesus' Birth Foretold

26 Now in the sixth month the angel ²³Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called ²⁴Nazareth,

27 to ²⁵a virgin ^[l]engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, ²⁶of the ^[m]descendants of David; and the virgin's name was ^[n]Mary.

28 And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, ^[o]favored one! The Lord ^[p]is with you."

29 But she ²⁷was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.

30 The angel said to her, "²⁸Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.

31 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you ²⁹shall name Him Jesus.

32 "He will be great and will be called the Son of ³⁰the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him ³¹the throne of His father David;

33 ³²and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, ³³and His kingdom will have no end."

34 Mary said to the angel, "How ^[q]can this be, since I ^[r]am a virgin * *?"

35 The angel answered and said to her, "³⁴The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of ³⁵the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason ³⁶the ^[s]holy Child shall be called ³⁷the Son of God.

36 "And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and ^[t]she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.

37 "For ^[u]³⁸nothing * * will be impossible with God."

38 And Mary said, "Behold, the ^[v]bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

39 Now ^[w]at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to ³⁹the hill country, to a city of Judah,

40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.

41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was ⁴⁰filled with the Holy Spirit.

42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

43 "And ^[x]how has it happened to me, that the mother of ⁴¹my Lord would come to me?

44 "For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.

45 "And ⁴²blessed is she who ^[y]believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her ^[z]by the Lord."

The Magnificat

46 And Mary said: "⁴³My soul ^[aa]⁴⁴exalts the Lord,

47 And ⁴⁵my spirit has rejoiced in ⁴⁶God my Savior.

48 "For ⁴⁷He has had regard for the humble state of His ^[ab]bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me ⁴⁸blessed.

49 "For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name.

50 "⁴⁹AND HIS MERCY IS ^[ac]UPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM.

51 "⁵⁰He has done ^[ad]mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the ^[ae]thoughts of their heart.

52 "He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has ⁵¹exalted those who were humble.

53 "⁵²HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS; And sent away the rich empty-handed.

54 "He has given help to Israel His servant, ^[af]In remembrance of His mercy,

55 ⁵³As He spoke to our fathers, ⁵⁴To Abraham and his ^[ag]descendants forever."

56 And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.

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Luke 1:5-56 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO LUKE

The writer of this Gospel, Luke, has been, by some, thought, as Origen {a} relates, to be the same with Lucius, mentioned in Ro 16:21, but he seems rather to be, and without doubt is, Luke the beloved physician, who was a companion of the Apostle Paul in great part of his travels in the Gentile world: he came with him to Jerusalem, and from thence accompanied him to Rome, and continued with him when in prison, and was with him to the last; see Ac 16:10,11 \Col 4:14 2Ti 4:11 Phm 1:24\. Jerom {b}, and others, say, he was a physician of Antioch in Syria; where it may be the Apostle Paul met with him, and might be the happy instrument of his conversion; so that he seems to be, by nation, a Syrian, as Jerom {c} calls him. Grotius thinks his name is Roman, and that it is the contraction of Lucilius. It is not an Hebrew name, but might be in common use in Syria; for though the Jews reckon owqwl, "Lukus", among foreign names, yet say {d} a it was a very illustrious one, and well known to them, as it may well be thought to be if Syriac, the language being spoke by them: and many Jews lived in Syria, and particularly in Antioch. Some say that this Gospel was written by the advice, and assistance, and under the direction of the Apostle Paul, as the Gospel according to Mark was by that of Peter; though the following preface does not seem so well to accord with this. Eusebius says {e} that it was the sense of the ancients, that whenever the Apostle Paul makes mention of his Gospel, he intends this according to Luke. The time of the writing of it is not certain; some say it was written in the fifteenth year after the ascension of our Lord; others in the twenty second; and others in the twenty seventh. It is commonly thought to have been written after the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, according to the order in which it stands; but this is rejected by some learned men, who rather think that Luke wrote first of all: and indeed, there are some things in his preface which look as if there had not, as yet, been any authentic account published, at least which was come to the knowledge of this evangelist. The place where he wrote it is also uncertain. Jerom says {f}, he wrote it in the parts of Achaia, perhaps at Corinth: according to the titles prefixed to the Syriac and Persic versions, he wrote it in Alexandria: the former of these runs thus;

``the Gospel of Luke, the Evangelist, which he spake and published in Greek in Alexandria the great.''

And the latter thus;

``the Gospel of Luke, which he wrote in the Greek tongue in Alexandria of Egypt.''

However, it is agreed on all hands, that it is genuine, and of divine inspiration. Eusebius {g} relates, that it was affirmed by some, that this Gospel, together with those of Matthew and Mark, were brought to the Apostle John, who approved of them, and bore witness to the truth in them.

{a} In Rom. xvi. 21. {b} Catalog. Script. Eccles. sect. 17. fol. 91. Euseb. Eccl. Hist. l. 3. c. 4. {c} Praefat in Luc. {d} T. Bab. Gittin, fol. 11. 2. & Gloss. in ib. {e} Ubi supra. (Hist. Eccl. l. 3. c. 39.) {f} Praefat in Luc. {g} Eccl. Hist. l. 3. c. 24.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 54

1. Matthew 2:1
2. 1 Chronicles 24:10
3. Genesis 7:1; Acts 2:25; Acts 8:21
4. Philippians 2:15; Philippians 3:6; 1 Thessalonians 3:13
5. 1 Chronicles 24:19; 2 Chronicles 8:14; 2 Chronicles 31:2
6. Exodus 30:7
7. Leviticus 16:17
8. Luke 2:9; Acts 5:19
9. Luke 2:9
10. Matthew 14:27; Luke 1:30
11. Luke 1:60, 63
12. Numbers 6:3; Judges 13:4; Matthew 11:18; Luke 7:33
13. Matthew 3:2, 6; Luke 3:3
14. Luke 1:76
15. Matthew 11:14
16. Malachi 4:6
17. Luke 1:76
18. Genesis 17:17
19. Daniel 8:16; Daniel 9:21; Luke 1:26
20. Matthew 18:10
21. Luke 1:62
22. Genesis 30:23; Isaiah 4:1; Isaiah 25:8
23. Luke 1:19
24. Matthew 2:23
25. Matthew 1:18
26. Matthew 1:16, 20; Luke 2:4
27. Luke 1:12
28. Matthew 14:27; Luke 1:13
29. Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:21, 25; Luke 2:21
30. Mark 5:7; Luke 1:35, 76; Luke 6:35; Acts 7:48
31. 2 Sam 7:12, 13, 16; Isaiah 9:7
32. Matthew 1:1
33. 2 Samuel 7:13, 16; Psalms 89:36, 37; Daniel 2:44; Daniel 7:14, 18, 27; Matthew 28:18
34. Matthew 1:18
35. Luke 1:32
36. Mark 1:24
37. Matthew 4:3; John 1:34, 49; John 20:31
38. Genesis 18:14; Jeremiah 32:17; Matthew 19:26
39. Joshua 20:7; Joshua 21:11; Luke 1:65
40. Luke 1:67; Acts 2:4; Acts 4:8; Acts 9:17
41. Luke 2:11
42. Luke 1:20, 48
43. Luke 1:46-53: {1 Samuel 2:1-10}
44. Psalms 34:2
45. Psalms 35:9; Habakkuk 3:18
46. 1 Timothy 1:1; 1 Timothy 2:3; Titus 1:3; Titus 2:10; Titus 3:4; Jude 25
47. Psalms 138:6
48. Luke 1:45
49. Psalms 103:17
50. Psalms 98:1; Psalms 118:15
51. Job 5:11
52. Psalms 107:9
53. Genesis 17:19; Psalms 132:11; Galatians 3:16
54. Genesis 17:7

Footnotes 33

[a]. I.e. Zechariah
[b]. Gr "Abia"
[c]. I.e. of priestly descent
[d]. Lit "days"
[e]. Or "fell upon"
[f]. Lit "call his name"
[g]. Lit "from"
[h]. Lit "days"
[i]. Lit "stand beside"
[j]. Or "beckoning to" or "nodding to"
[k]. Lit "was hidden"
[l]. Or "betrothed;" i.e. the first stage of marriage in Jewish culture, usually lasting for a year before the wedding night. More legal than engagement
[m]. Lit "house"
[n]. Gr "Mariam;" i.e. Heb Miriam; so throughout Luke
[o]. Or "woman richly blessed"
[p]. Or "be"
[q]. Lit "will"
[r]. Lit "know no man"
[s]. Lit "the holy thing begotten"
[t]. Lit "this is the sixth month to her who"
[u]. Lit "not any word"
[v]. I.e. female slave
[w]. Lit "in these days"
[x]. Lit "from where this to me"
[y]. Or "believed, because there will be"
[z]. Lit "from"
[aa]. Lit "makes great"
[ab]. I.e. female slave
[ac]. Lit "unto generations and generations"
[ad]. Lit "might"
[ae]. Lit "thought, attitude"
[af]. Lit "So as to remember"
[ag]. Lit "seed"