Luke 1 is the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. With 80 verses, it is one of the longest chapters in the New Testament. This chapter describes the birth of John the Baptist and the events leading up to the birth of Jesus.Halley, Henry H. Halley's Bible Handbook: an Abbreviated Bible Commentary. 23rd edition. Zondervan Publishing House. 1962. Two canticles, the canticle of Mary (the Magnificat) and the canticle of Zechariah (the Benedictus), are both contained within this chapter. The unnamed author of Luke names its recipient, Theophilus, who is most likely a real (but unknown) person,Franklin, E., 58. Luke in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), The Oxford Bible Commentary , pp. 926–7 but the term could simply mean a fellow believer, since theo philus is Greek for God lover. Early Christian tradition uniformly affirms that Luke composed this Gospel as well as the Acts of the Apostles,Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook. Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. 2012. the companion volume to Luke, which is addressed to Theophilus in the same way.Acts 1:1 The title "The Gospel of Luke", found in many Bibles and some manuscripts, was added later with no indication that it was originally part of the text.
Text
The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 80 verses.
Textual witnesses Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: Papyrus 4 (AD 150–175; extant verses: 58–59; 62–80) Papyrus 75 (175–225) Codex Vaticanus (325–350; complete) Codex Sinaiticus (330–360) Codex Bezae (~400) Codex Washingtonianus (~400) Codex Alexandrinus (400–440) Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (~450; extant verses 3–80) Papyrus 42 (6th/7th century; extant: Greek verses 54–55; Coptic verses 46–51) Minuscule 481 (10th century)
Old Testament references : (Malachi 3:23-24 in Hebrew Bibles) : Psalm c : Psalm : Psalm : Psalm : Psalm : Psalm ; Psalm ; Psalm ; Psalm a : Psalm c : Psalm : Psalm : Psalm
Prologue (1:1–4) The evangelist, Luke, begins his "orderly account" with the following statement:
Inasmuch 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 delivered 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 know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed. NKJV
The Gospel of Luke is unique among the canonical gospels for declaring the purpose and method of his work in a prologue, trying to render the Christian message in a higher literary plane. The author both classifies himself as among the many who previously attempted to write narratives of Christ while using claims of careful investigation, orderly writing, and access to eyewitnesses to demonstrate his gospel’s superiority to its predecessors. The narrative is asserted to be an accurate history and intended to confirm the things that Theophilus has already been taught about Jesus, being written by a believer for the purpose of confirming belief, and endowing certainty.
The writer clearly states there are other accounts about Jesus circulating and he is aware of them. Protestant theologian Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer and Lutheran biblical commentator Johann Albrecht Bengel think that Mark is among those Luke has in mind, but Bengel suggests that Matthew and John were not.Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament on Luke 1, accessed 13 May 2018 Luke also states he is not himself an eyewitness but belongs to another generation that received its information from "eyewitnesses" to these events in a previous generation. Some argue Luke refers to two groups: eyewitnesses and ministers, but most support descriptions for a singular group. According to Brown the author conveys that he searched things carefully and reordered them logically. Luke seeks to assure Theophilus in his theological instruction rather than reporting objectively, though his work is rooted in traditions from the eyewitnesses and ministers. Some sections of Acts, however, have the author relating events with the author and Paul together.
According to Franciscan theologian Robert J. Karris,Noted Scripture scholar Robert Karris develops book of reflections for 30 days, published 17 September 2012, accessed 13 May 2018 "Luke alone of the evangelists introduces his work with ... finely crafted, periodic Greek." The first sentence gives the "since" clause, the main clause is given in the first part of the second sentence, and the purpose clause is given by "so that you may know...". Luke uses the word , epeidēper, "inasmuch as", or "since indeed", to commence his account. This literary word does not appear elsewhere in the New Testament or in the Septuagint, the Greek text of the Hebrew Bible, although it was frequently used by other classical writers. Luke uses diēgēsis for "an account", which taken alone seems to mean a personal storytelling, but when compared to other usages at the time, such as with the works of Josephus, is to be taken as meaning a well planned account, although he might use it in the original meaning in . He uses the word καθεξης (kathexēs) for orderly account, which would mean a logical, spatial, or chronological account. Karris argues that the use of the word as well in Acts indicated that Luke is composing in a logical sequence, with Luke building a logical argument for his view of God fulfilling his promises through Jesus. Many scholars have seen parallels between this style and the openings to the Greek histories of Herodotus and Thucydides as well as scientific manuals and treatises of the Hellenistic world. Meyer reads τὴν ἀσφάλειαν (tēn asphaleian) as an emphatic statement, "the unchangeable certainty, [whose] character [is] not to be shaken".
In the opening of the Acts of the Apostles, the writer refers back to this text as "the former account I made ... of all that Jesus began both to do and teach".: NKJV
John the Baptist's parents (1:5–25)
Verse 5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. MEV Luke begins to show what he thinks of as the fulfillment of God's promises. He gives us a description of John the Baptist's parents, Zechariah, a priest of the Abijah priestly division (1 Chronicles 24:10), and Elizabeth, a descendant of Aaron. They are both getting old and have no children. Luke says this all occurs during the reign of "Herod king of Judea" (Luke 1:5), who is identified as Herod the Great (reign: 37–4 BCE).
Zechariah is on duty one day and goes into the Temple to light incense. During this time, priests served in the temple once a week twice a year, there being twenty four divisions of priests. Luke says εγενετο δε (egeneto de, "...it so happened...") that he was on duty at the time. Some scholars see this as Luke imitating the style of the Septuagint in order to make his book sound like the Jewish scriptures. The majority of modern English translations choose not to include this phrase.
The Angel Gabriel appears to him and tells him he will soon have a son, to name him John, and to not allow him any alcoholic drinks, and that "he will be great in the sight of Jehovah" (verse 15). Numbers has abstaining from alcohol as a requirement to be a nazarite. Zechariah doubts Gabriel and Gabriel takes away his power of speech until this happens. Zechariah leaves the temple, unable to speak, and goes home. Elizabeth is soon pregnant. She declares "he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people" (verse 25). Infertility was often believed to be proof of disfavor with God. Similarly Rachel, wife of Jacob, had said “God has taken away my reproach", when she bore a son.; Farrar, F. W. (1891), Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges on Luke 1, accessed 1 July 2020
Luke thus starts with the Temple and then ends the book at the Temple in Luke 24:53: they were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Zechariah, being unable to speak and so complete his liturgy, may be contrasted with the "good news" brought by Jesus.
There is much debate on the historicity of this information, as skeptics would reject appearances by angels and God's intervention in history in this manner. Whether one believes in such things or not, it is entirely possible that John's parents were childless throughout most of their life until John's birth. Some see Luke as taking a historical event or tradition he received and interpreting it in terms of events in the Old Testament. Very similar narratives recounting the birth of Samson in Judges , as well as Samuel in the opening chapter of 1 Samuel are alluded to. Luke seems to follow an Old Testament pattern in the sequence of his information here, specifically an announcement of impending birth, the child being given a name, and then discussion of their destiny. This pattern can be seen in Genesis with Ishmael in and Isaac in . Abraham and Sarah were also childless well into their old age. Josiah is announced this way in 1 Kings , King Solomon in 1 Chronicles , and the Immanuel prediction, used in Matthew 1:23, from Isaiah 7:14–17. Others see a five step pattern, with two extra steps of objections and confirmatory signs. Gabriel appeared to Daniel in the Book of Daniel .
The annunciation (1:26–38)
Luke then tells the story of Gabriel's visit to Mary, informing her that she will soon have a virgin conception by God. The account is recorded differently in Matthew 1:20, where an unnamed angel appears to Joseph after he has discovered that Mary is pregnant. Gabriel goes to Nazareth and visits Mary, who Luke tells us is a virgin engaged or betrothed to Joseph. The name Mary means "excellence", while Joseph means "May Yahweh add".
Roman Catholic tradition sees in the angel's words addressed to Mary (Luke 1:28-33) an indirect reference to the ever Virgin, celebrated under the official Marian title of Son of Sion. According to the same tradition, this title has been explicitly prophetized in , , .
Verse 28 And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
Gabriel greets her with the word κεχαριτωμενη, kecharitōmenē, meaning favored or graced, presumably by God. The Textus Receptus and some ancient manuscripts have here, "Blessed are you among women",Footnote at , New Revised Standard Version which is omitted in NU.Note on Luke 1:28 in NKJV Mary does not seem to understand why she is favored, but Gabriel then tells her:
Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.
This announcement seems to follow the same pattern as the announcement of John's birth and is also about fulfillment of God's promises. Theologian Eric Franklin notes that there are parallels in the two accounts, but suggests that the narrative of the annunciation to Mary is the "climax" to which the annunciation to Zechariah only acts as a "prelude".
Verse 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.