Focal Passage: Luke 1:1-80
Before our first child was born, we had chosen not to know the gender. What was important in our minds was the fact that this child (for whom we had waited 11 years) was a part of us, our family. When the doctor announced, “It’s a girl!” my wife and I were overjoyed. That which we had prayed and waited for – we now saw and held.
Even greater joy comes over the entrance of God into time and space in the form of a baby – God becoming the form of a man. For centuries, the writers of the Old Testament had given us promises that the Promised One, the Messiah, would come.
And now the great historian Luke records His birth, life, death, burial and resurrection so we can know the truth.
Luke, a traveling companion of the Apostle Paul was a medical doctor, and a great example of a first-century historian. In reading Luke 1:1-4, Luke attests to the fact that many written accounts about Jesus were already in circulation. These came from the disciples and many other eyewitnesses.
Luke in turn verified them, and proceeded to produce a summary report for a Greek named Theophilus.
Luke provides the most information for us on the events leading up to and including Jesus’ birth.
We find here God’s messenger Gabriel instructing Mary on being chosen as the one to bring God’s Son into the world. All of this was to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies.
As I pondered this section of scripture, I could not help but consider how it resembled an individual’s path to receiving Jesus as personal Savior. We first must be presented with the truth about Jesus.
Often this will lead to sincerely questioning the information given, particularly as it applies to us. As we listen to God’s message, we must surrender to it, and when we do, it produces joy in our relationship with Jesus.