The Birth of Jesus Christ 2:1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. Comments There is no record outside Luke’s Gospel that Caesar Augustus declared that a world census should be taken. In the province of Egypt, however, there are census records from AD 20 and forward taken every fourteen years.

John the Baptist Grows Up 1:80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel. Comments This is all the description we get of John’s life from birth until around age 30. That he grew and became strong in spirit is similar to Luke’s description of Jesus. Luke shows parallels in the lives of these two cousins. John grew up secluded, it appears, in the wilderness, the traditional place of prophets. Th

Zechariah's Prophecy Continued 1:76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Comments There had been no prophets for c

Zechariah's Prophecy (The Benedictus) 1:67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, 68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people 69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; 72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers an

Zechariah's Mouth Opened 1:64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, 66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him. Comments Having been obedient to God’s charge to name his son John, Zechariah was finally able to speak for

The Birth of John the Baptist 1:57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” 62 And they m

Mary Returns Home 1:56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home. Comments Mary went to visit Elizabeth when she was six months pregnant, so Mary must have returned to Nazareth just before the birth of John. Why did Mary stay as long as she did and why didn’t she stay for the birth of John? To answer these questions requires some speculation. A likely answer is that Mary’s destiny was separate from Elizabeth’s and her family. Because John the Bapt

Mary's Song of Praise: The Magnificat 1:46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoug

Mary Visits Elizabeth 1:39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should

God The Spirit, God The Son, The Incarnation 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible w