Luke 1

Luke explains why he wrote, then tells two miraculous births: John, born to an old, childless couple, and Jesus, born to a virgin. Angels speak, the Holy Spirit fills ordinary people, and old promises to Abraham and David start to come true. The chapter is full of joy and praise, especially in Mary’s song and Zechariah’s prophecy.

Luke 1:1

Luke begins by saying that many people had already tried to write down the story of Jesus. He calls it things ‘fulfilled’, as if God’s long-promised plan had now arrived and was being carried out among believers.

BSA: fulfilled (“accomplished, completed”): These events are God’s plan reaching its finish, not just news items.

Greek: πεπληροφορημένων (peplērophorēmenōn, G4135) — “fully accomplished, fully carried out.” The word carries the idea of something filled to the brim. The story of Jesus is God’s promises brought to full measure.

Luke 1:2

The message about Jesus came from those who saw it happen and then served the word by passing it on. Luke is not inventing a story. He stands in a line of trustworthy witnesses.

BSA: servants (“ministers, attendants”): Those who passed on the message saw themselves as attendants of it, not owners of it.

Luke 1:3

Luke did careful research and now writes the story in a well-arranged way for Theophilus. His Gospel rests on honest investigation, not guesswork. ‘Theophilus’ means ‘friend of God’, and he may have been a real person of rank.

BSA: investigated (“traced the course, searched out perfectly”): Luke followed the events step by step to the source.

Greek: καθεξῆς (kathexēs, G2517) — “one after another, in sequence.” Luke promises an account laid out in good order, so that the reader can follow how the events fit together.

Luke 1:4

Luke’s purpose is assurance. Theophilus had already been taught the faith, and Luke wants him to see that it stands on solid ground. Faith in Jesus can rest on real events.

BSA: certainty (“security, firmness”): Luke wants the reader’s faith to feel steady and secure, not shaky.

Luke 1:5

Luke places the story in real history, in the days of King Herod. Zechariah and Elizabeth both came from priestly families. Priests were divided into groups that took turns serving in the temple, and Zechariah’s group was named for Abijah.

See also: 1 Chronicles 24:10.

Luke 1:6-7

Zechariah and Elizabeth truly loved and obeyed God, yet they had no child. Many in Israel then took childlessness as a mark of shame. Luke shows that a faithful life does not always bring an easy one, and that God has not forgotten them.

BSA: walking (“carefully following”): Their obedience was a steady, careful way of life, not an occasional effort.

Luke 1:8-9

Priests were picked by lot for the duty of burning incense in the holy place. It was a rare honor. Zechariah, an ordinary priest from the hills, was chosen on this day. Nothing was left to chance with God.

BSA: incense (“offer fragrant prayers, worship”): The rising smoke was a picture of the people’s prayers going up to God.

See also: Psalm 141:2.

Luke 1:10

While Zechariah was alone inside, the crowd prayed outside. The whole worship scene is bathed in prayer. God’s great act is about to break in while his people are praying.

See also: Revelation 8:3-4.

Luke 1:11-12

An angel suddenly stands beside the altar of incense. After long years when no prophet had spoken, heaven is speaking again. Zechariah is frightened, as people usually are when they meet God’s messengers.

BSA: angel (“messenger of God, heavenly being”): The word means ‘messenger’. The angel’s whole purpose is to carry God’s word.

Luke 1:13

The angel calms him and says his prayer has been heard. Zechariah had probably prayed for a child long ago, and perhaps for Israel’s rescue too. God answers on his own timing. The child is to be called John, which means ‘God is gracious’.

BSA: John (“meaning God is gracious”): The very name announces that this child is a gift of God’s grace.

Luke 1:14-15

This child will bring joy to many, not only to his parents. His greatness will be measured before God, not people. He is set apart for God from birth, and the Spirit fills him even before he is born.

BSA: filled (“completely controlled, empowered”): The Spirit will fully direct John’s life and give him strength for God’s work.

See also: Numbers 6:3.

Luke 1:16-17

John will call Israel back to the Lord, like Elijah of old. He will heal broken families and bring stubborn hearts to wisdom. His task is to get a people ready for the Lord’s own coming.

See also: Malachi 4:5-6; Isaiah 40:3.

Luke 1:18

Zechariah asks for a sign. He looks at his and his wife’s age and sees only the impossibility. His question is honest, but it comes from doubt, not from simple trust.

BSA: sure (“know with certainty, have confidence”): He wants proof beyond the angel’s word.

Luke 1:19

The angel gives his name, Gabriel, and says he stands in God’s presence. He is sent with good news. The one who brought this message is coming straight from God, so the word carries God’s own weight.

Greek: εὐαγγελίσασθαι (euangelisasthai, G2097) — “to announce good news.” This is the root of our word ‘gospel’. Luke begins his Gospel with an angel announcing good news.

See also: Daniel 9:21.

Luke 1:20

Zechariah asked for a sign, and he receives one: he cannot speak until the child is born. It is both a discipline and a mercy. God’s word will still be fulfilled, whether or not Zechariah believes it.

BSA: believe (“have faith in, trust”): The problem was not lack of information but lack of trust in the speaker.

Luke 1:21-23

The people wait outside and wonder at the long delay. When Zechariah comes out unable to speak, they understand something has happened. He finishes his time of service and goes home, patiently carrying his silence.

BSA: vision (“a supernatural revelation, an appearance”): Something from beyond this world had been shown to him.

Luke 1:24-25

Elizabeth conceives and keeps herself out of sight for five months. She gives God the credit. The Lord has looked on her and lifted the shame she carried for years.

BSA: disgrace (“reproach, shame, and humiliation”): Her childlessness had brought public reproach, and God has taken it away.

See also: Genesis 30:23.

Luke 1:26-27

Six months later God sends Gabriel to Nazareth, a small, unimportant town in Galilee. He goes to a young virgin named Mary, engaged to Joseph, a descendant of David. In Jewish custom an engagement was binding, though they were not yet living as husband and wife.

BSA: pledged (“betrothed”): The couple were legally promised to each other, but the marriage was not yet complete.

Luke 1:28-29

Gabriel greets Mary with words of joy and says the Lord is with her. She is deeply disturbed, not by the angel’s presence only but by what such a greeting could mean for a girl so ordinary. The favor is God’s gift to her, not her own achievement.

BSA: Greetings (“rejoice, be happy”): The Greek word is literally ‘rejoice’, so the greeting is an invitation to gladness.

Greek: κεχαριτωμένη (kecharitōmenē, G5487) — “one who has been given grace.” It is built on the word for grace. Mary is called a person on whom God has already poured out his gracious favor.

Luke 1:30-31

Again the angel says, ‘Do not be afraid.’ Mary has found favor with God. She will conceive and bear a son and name him Jesus, a name that means ’the Lord saves’.

BSA: Jesus (“Joshua, God is salvation”): The name itself announces his mission: God coming to save.

Luke 1:32-33

Her son will be great, called the Son of the Most High, and heir to David’s throne. God promised David a king whose rule would never end. That promise now has a name and a face.

BSA: throne (“seat of authority”): Jesus receives the authority of David’s royal line, forever.

See also: 2 Samuel 7:12-13; Isaiah 9:6-7.

Luke 1:34

Mary’s question is not doubt like Zechariah’s. She asks how this will happen, since she is a virgin. She believes the promise and wants to understand the way.

BSA: virgin (“have not known a man, without sexual experience”): Mary is stating plainly that she has never been with a man, so the birth is not by natural means.

Luke 1:35

The Holy Spirit will come upon her, and God’s power will cover her like a shadow. The child will be holy and called the Son of God. The conception is God’s own work, not a human one.

Greek: ἐπισκιάσει (episkiasei, G1982) — “will overshadow, will cover with a shadow.” The same picture is used of God’s cloud of glory resting over the tent of meeting. God’s presence is covering Mary.

See also: Exodus 40:35.

Luke 1:36-37

As a sign, Gabriel points to Elizabeth, who is six months pregnant in old age. If God can do that, he can do this. The statement that nothing he says will fail is meant to steady Mary.

BSA: word (“declaration, utterance”): What God says carries power in itself to be done.

Greek: ῥῆμα (rhēma, G4487) — “a spoken word, an utterance.” It stresses what God actually says. Whatever he speaks has the power to come true.

See also: Genesis 18:14.

Luke 1:38

Mary answers with simple surrender. She calls herself the Lord’s servant and asks that it happen as the angel said. She accepts a costly and perhaps shameful path, trusting God completely.

BSA: servant (“female slave, handmaid”): Mary puts herself fully at the Lord’s disposal, like a bondservant who has no agenda of her own.

Greek: δούλη (doulē, G1401) — “female servant, bondservant.” It is a strong word for someone who belongs entirely to her master. Mary gives herself wholly to God.

Luke 1:39-40

Mary quickly travels to the hill country of Judah to see Elizabeth. She goes straight to the one person who will understand what has happened to her. Faith moves her to act.

BSA: hurried (“with haste, quickly”): Her eagerness shows how deeply the news had stirred her.

Luke 1:41

When Mary speaks, Elizabeth’s unborn child leaps and Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit. John, who will go before the Lord, already responds to the Lord’s presence in Mary’s womb.

BSA: leaped (“moved with joy, sprang”): The baby’s movement is a sign of joy, as verse 44 says.

Luke 1:42-43

Elizabeth cries out in blessing over Mary and her child. She calls Mary’s son ‘my Lord’. By the Spirit she knows who the child is, and she marvels that she should be visited by his mother.

BSA: Blessed (“highly favored, praised”): Elizabeth is declaring Mary favored by God and worthy of praise.

Luke 1:44-45

Elizabeth explains the joy of her baby and praises Mary for believing God’s promise. The contrast with Zechariah is quiet but clear. Those who trust God’s word are called happy.

BSA: believed (“trusted, had faith”): Mary’s blessing rests on trust in what God had said.

Luke 1:46-47

Mary bursts into song. Her whole being, soul and spirit, magnifies God, her Savior. Her words echo the song of Hannah, another woman whom God lifted up. Even Mary needs God as her Savior.

BSA: Savior (“Rescuer, Deliverer from harm”): Mary praises God as the one who rescues, not only as a distant great being.

Greek: μεγαλύνει (megalynei, G3170) — “makes great, declares great.” Mary cannot make God bigger than he is. She sets him in his true place of greatness in her own sight and in the eyes of others.

See also: 1 Samuel 2:1.

Luke 1:48-49

God noticed a lowly young woman from a small town. Because of what he has done, people will call her blessed through all ages. She gives the credit entirely to the Mighty One, whose name is holy.

BSA: humble state (“lowliness, low estate”): Mary knows she has no status. God’s choice is pure grace.

Luke 1:50

God’s mercy is not for one moment only. It reaches from generation to generation, to those who honor him with reverence. Mary’s story is part of a long line of mercy.

BSA: fear (“reverently, with awe”): This fear is respect and awe toward God, not terror.

Luke 1:51-53

Mary sings of God reversing the world’s order. He scatters the proud, topples rulers, lifts the lowly, feeds the hungry, and sends the self-satisfied away empty. She speaks as if it were already done, because God’s action has begun in her son.

BSA: exalted (“lifted up, elevated”): God raises those whom the world thinks small. empty (“without anything”): Those who trust in their own riches have nothing from God.

Luke 1:54-55

Mary ends by saying God has helped Israel and remembered his mercy. This is what he promised Abraham and his descendants. The birth of Jesus is God keeping a very old promise.

See also: Genesis 17:7; Micah 7:20.

Luke 1:56

Mary stays with Elizabeth about three months and then goes home. Two women, both carrying miracle children, strengthen each other in faith.

BSA: stayed (“remained, abode”): It was a real stay, a time of shared life and encouragement.

Luke 1:57-58

Elizabeth gives birth to a son, and her neighbors and relatives share her joy. They see the birth as the Lord’s great mercy. Her old shame has turned into public gladness.

BSA: mercy (“kindness, pity”): They read the birth as God’s compassion toward Elizabeth.

Luke 1:59-61

On the eighth day the baby is circumcised, the sign of God’s covenant with Abraham, and given his name. Relatives assume he will be named after his father. Elizabeth insists on John, a name nobody in the family has.

See also: Genesis 17:12.

Luke 1:62-63

The relatives turn to Zechariah, who still cannot speak. He writes on a tablet that the child’s name is John, and everyone is amazed. In writing the name God gave, he shows the obedience he failed to show earlier.

BSA: tablet (“a small writing surface, like a notebook”): A small wax-covered board, something he could write on quickly.

Luke 1:64-66

As soon as Zechariah obeys, his mouth is opened and he praises God. Awe spreads through the hill country, and people wonder what the child will become. Luke adds that the Lord’s hand was with him.

BSA: hand (“power, guidance”): God’s own power and guidance were upon the child.

Luke 1:67

Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, now prophesies. His months of silence become a song. The words that follow are often called the Benedictus, from the first word of the old Latin version.

BSA: prophesied (“spoke under inspiration from God, telling forth His message”): He speaks what God puts in his heart, not his own opinions.

Luke 1:68

Zechariah begins by blessing God for coming to his people and redeeming them. God has not stayed distant. He has stepped in and set them free.

BSA: redeemed (“bought back, set free”): It pictures a ransom paid to free captives.

Greek: ἐπεσκέψατο (epeskepsato, G1980) — “visited, looked upon to help.” It means more than a casual call. It is a visit in which God looks over his people and acts to care for them.

Luke 1:69-70

God has raised up a mighty saviour from David’s family, just as the prophets promised long ago. A horn was the image of strength in an animal that wins its fight. Here it means a strong deliverer.

BSA: horn (“symbol of strength, power”): A horn stands for power, and here the power is a Savior.

Greek: κέρας (keras, G2768) — “horn.” In Scripture an animal’s horn is a picture of strength and victory. Zechariah says God has given a strong Savior.

See also: Psalm 132:17.

Luke 1:71-73

This salvation is rescue from enemies, mercy to the fathers, and the keeping of God’s holy covenant. God swore an oath to Abraham, and he does not forget. Zechariah sees the whole Old Testament story moving toward its goal.

BSA: covenant (“agreement, promise”): It is a binding promise God made and will keep.

See also: Genesis 22:16-18.

Luke 1:74-75

The purpose of rescue is worship. God frees his people so that they may serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness, all their days. Freedom here is freedom to belong to God.

BSA: serve (“minister, worship”): The word covers both worship and daily service of God.

Luke 1:76

Zechariah turns to his baby son. John will be a prophet of the Most High who goes before the Lord to prepare the way. His whole life will point beyond himself.

See also: Isaiah 40:3.

Luke 1:77

John’s task is to teach God’s people what salvation is. It comes through the forgiveness of sins. The deepest need is not political freedom but pardon from God.

BSA: forgiveness (“pardon, remission”): Sin is let go, as a debt is cancelled.

Luke 1:78-79

All this comes from the tender mercy of God. Like the sunrise, the Dawn from on high visits people sitting in darkness and the shadow of death, and guides them into peace. Christ is the light for a lost world.

BSA: tender (“loving, caring”): God’s mercy is warm and personal, not cold duty.

Greek: ἀνατολή (anatolē, G395) — “dawn, rising.” It describes the sun rising. Christ is pictured as the daybreak after a long night.

See also: Isaiah 9:2; Malachi 4:2.

Luke 1:80

John grows and becomes strong in spirit. He lives in the wilderness, away from the crowds, until God calls him to appear to Israel. Quiet years of preparation come before his public work.

BSA: wilderness (“desert, solitary place”): The place of quiet where he was shaped by God before his ministry.