Luke 1 – Solitary Man

Luke 1

9/8/24 11:23 AM
Solitary Man
solitaryman.substack.com

20240905

I read the bible in order during my daily devotionals. A few days ago I was beginning the gospel of Luke. If you looked inside of my bible, most pages are crammed full of notes in the margins, between verses, and everywhere I can possibly fit some text (sometimes even between the lines)! Strangely enough, I did not have a single note for Luke chapter one, though I have read Luke many times with this latest bible of mine that I use for my daily reading.

This is the first year that God has led me to write commentaries on certain books of the bible. Thus far, it has been in the Old Testament exclusively. This time as I started to read Like chapter one, I perceived new insights within my heart and immediately began to write.

As I kept reading, it seemed there was something to write on almost every verse. Before I knew it, after about two hours, I had completed reading chapter one and now my bible was stuffed with notes. I then moved on to chapter two and things resumed their normal pattern, where I may of added one or two new comments per chapter.

It seemed God wanted me to write a commentary on chapter one alone, so that is what I will do. This commentary will depart a bit from my previous ones. I am not going to do the additional research into the old commentaries or much word studies in the original languages, like I have been doing previously. Instead, this is simply going to be a sharing of what the Holy Spirit gave to me on that one day. Some of it will relate to current events, most is just (hopefully) insights that may help someone out there obtain more sustenance for their spirit.

Thus, this is not the start of a commentary of an entire book, but just chapter one alone. I pray it is a blessing to you.

Luk 1:1 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,
Luk 1:2 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;

Isn’t it interesting to read that many wrote about the life of Jesus in this first generation of the church. Verse two indicates that the original apostles and disciples themselves were the sources of information for these many writings. It seemed as if all the original eyewitnesses of Jesus had the same idea, that is, to preserve the life, words, events and ministry of Jesus.

However, God chose to preserve only 4 accounts of Jesus life, and they were anointed with infallibility by the Holy Spirit. All other accounts have been lost, or corrupted to such an extent as to make them not only unfruitful, but even dangerous to the soul. I speak of some of the apocryphal gospels that some cults follow. Wherever the Holy Spirit shows up, you can be assured that the devil will be right alongside to twist and bend the true word of God to lead us off the narrow path.

We know that some apocryphal accounts of the life of Jesus have survived. All these have been proven false and heretical to one degree or another. Yet there must of been many other accounts written on all sincerity and truth, however God chose to only preserve 4 of them. There is some important truth to be found in that. Reminds one of the phrase ‘many are called, but few are chosen’. You may be called to do a great thing for God, but fall short. Or perhaps it is just for a season, and no more. All we can do is obey the promptings of the Spirit and leave the rest up to him.

Look at what we see today. Have there not been many thousands upon thousands of Christian books written, yet how many stand the test of time and are read by more than one generation? Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan comes to mind. Are there many other great works that are read by a wide audience over several generations? Perhaps Fox’s Book of Martyrs. Of course, we believe the canon is complete, so nothing will be added to the bible, but how many other writings have survived, such as the book of Enoch, and are still in use today? I find this truth quite humbling. We have all read something or other that at the time, seemed so important, yet a bit of time passes and it’s now a dated thing, and has little meaning. Only heaven will record the eternal value of our works. Do not seek for long lasting accolades and glory while here on earth. God will decide what survives the fire unto eternity.

One final thought. We are all called to be witnesses. If God has done something in your life, chances are that he’s done it so that you may be a witness of his glory and goodness to others. Don’t be slack to set down in order the mighty works of the Lord, as you never know if anf when your testimony will be chosen to bless others. Maybe now, perhaps in the future, and possibly through all eternity.

Luk 1:3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,

This is not arrogance, but a factual statement to assure Theophilus that what Luke writes is not gossip of hearsay, but as a result of very careful research, and also of being a live participant, when it came to the latter part of the book of Acts, which Luke also wrote. Perfect in those days meant complete, not necessarily infallible, though God did stamp the mark of infallibility on this writing by including it in the canon of the New Testament. Luke was not God, therefore he was capable of making mistakes, but the Holy Spirit ensured that in this case, perfect really meant perfect!

I like the fact that God chose someone whom he knew would record things in an orderly, sequential, logical fashion. Don’t you hate it when someone tries to tell a story, but jumps back and forth with random facts and rambles on and on, making it impossible to follow? God gives us gifts, and he will use those gifts, if we offer them up in his service.

Luk 1:4 That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

God gave us the scripture so that we would have no doubts of what is the truth. Never has truth been so vital as in this last generation, when it has become a luxury that is increasingly hard to find, not only in the world, but in the church as well.

There are many places one can go and receive instruction. How will you know the certainty of what you hear? By comparing it to the word. Let us always prove scripture interpretation with scripture, not experience, or feeling, or denominational tradition, or any other source.

Luk 1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

We should note that John the Baptist came from a priestly line, and even his mother was of the tribe fo Levi. Something about the priestly duty was fulfilled in John. However I wonder if his father was disappointed in John, as he didn’t follow in his footsteps, as wasn’t he supposed to take up duties in the temple at a certain age?

Here again is an example where the will of God can intervene at any time, in any place, and cause one to take a road not travelled before.

Luk 1:6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
Luk 1:7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

This is an example that even with perfect behavior, they were not blessed with the most fundamental blessing of all – children. God had a special purpose and a season for them. It did involve a child. However God may choose in your life to withhold the most basic of blessings, and never give you fulfillment while in this body on this side of eternity. Are you willing to be ok with that? Can you imagine how the neighbors must of gossiped over this couple, engaging in all sorts of speculation as to why God had cursed them so? I am sure they saw all kinds of sins and shortcomings in their lives, yet God called them righteous, not just positionally like we enjoy in Christ, but in their day to day walk, as the verse states they walked in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.

How many of us can make the same claim?

Luk 1:8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course,
Luk 1:9 According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
Luk 1:10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

Zecharias went and did what he always did, what he had done for many years, as the word stated that they were both quite old. He didn’t give up on God, he didn’t walk away from his ministry. Nothing much exciting had ever happened to him before, but he simply walked in obedience to the light he was given, day after day, all his life.

That is the kind of life God takes pleasure in.

Luk 1:11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
Luk 1:12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, with no precedent or premonition, this occurs. You have to remember that no scripture had been written for over 400 years. While there may of been some supernatural occurrences during the days of the Maccabees around 170-165 BC, the prophetic word of the Lord may of not been heard for over 400 years! And suddenly, here is this angel appearing before this priest, a priest who hasn’t yet been blessed with one child! Certainly God wouldn’t manifest himself to someone who is so obviously out of favor with him, would he?

This goes to show that it is simply impossible to predict how God is going to move next, and who he is going to use. That is why it is foolish to give up hope, or to think that God is done with you.

You never know what God has in store for you today. I am sure that when Zechariah got up that morning, he had no idea that this day was going to be a day unlike any other. A day when he would come face to face with a messenger from heaven itself. A day that would change his life, his wife’s life, and his nation’s life, forever. A day that would be recorded for all time, for all eternity.

Who knows if such a day awaits you?

Of course the man was troubled. And fearful. Do not think that if this happened to you, that you would be completely unruffled, and take it in stride! It is a fearful thing when one encounters the glory of God, even from a messenger like an angel. Anyone who had just come from the throne room of God would carry about him a glory and power that would overwhelm the senses.

Luk 1:13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

How many times do we read that the first thing that comes out of a heavenly messenger’s mouth is to fear not. If God was coming to judge you, it would be right to fear exceedingly. When he is coming to bless and instruct you, he always wants to calm our human fear. How badly do we need our fears to be quieted in this tyrannical season! This will be our greatest battle in the days ahead, to continually overcome that fear.

Just last night in the middle of the night my wife heard me crying out against the devil and casting him out. Now in the last couple of years God has been speaking to me in dreams, but in this case when my wife told me of this in the morning, I had absolutely no recollection of the event, or of having dreamt at all. Even after prayer, there was no recall. I can only conclude that my spirit man was in battle while I slept. I am sure we will have much occasion to battle in the days ahead.

The angel tells him his prayer is heard. He then gives them the long awaited promise of a son. I find it fascinating as to how lightly God regards the concept of time. Of a certainty, Zechariah, God heard your prayer. Now, probably several decades later, he’s come to answer it. What’s that? You wonder why it took 50 years? Don’t trouble yourself, just rejoice, and listen to what I have to say.

Oh, the challenge of living by faith!

Luk 1:14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.

The same people who wondered at what secret sin this couple carried would now come out and rejoice with them, once the blessing was sure. Do we really support our friends in their faith walk, or are we like doubting Thomas, who’ll only stand with someone once their promise comes to pass? This does not mean that we should believe everything everyone says, but that we should give people the benefit of the doubt, and encourage them as much as we can.

Perhaps the many rejoicing has a prophetic aspect to it, in that all that would find repentance through his ministry would certainly be glad that God had sent him.

Luk 1:15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.

Note that this is not to be taken and made into some sort of denominational doctrine, where it is forbidden for all to drink alcohol. Religion loves the external rules, doesn’t it, as it’s so easy to police and exercise our own self righteousness. The key here is that the parents are being given specific instructions for this one son, and also being given an extraordinary promise.

The angel did not say that the Spirit would come upon the child, but that the Spirit would actually fill him. And not after he was born, but while yet in the womb! Confounding all theologians, who rigidly claim that no one was filled with the Spirit in the Old Testament, and no one could be filled until they were first born again. I so love it when God makes nonsense of man’s doctrines! How could God send the Spirit into a fallen man? Well, go ask God! I may not be able to explain the intricate spiritual nuances of how this is theologically possible, but I can read, and that is what it says! Therefore, I am content.

Is there a stronger verse in the entire scripture that speaks more loudly against the evils of abortion? God does not fill an inanimate clump of cells with the Holy Ghost!

How is this infilling even possible? Doesn’t one have to be open to the Spirit before the Spirit comes? How many old timers struggled with the infilling of the Holy Ghost, waiting on God, but here God takes charge and does the filling in defiance of anyone’s theological position!

Luk 1:16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

Perhaps this is the reason Jesus called John the greatest of all prophets (Luk 7:28). John did no miracle (Jn 10:41). Compare John’s ministry with Moses, Elijah, or Elisha. Miracles abounded in their lives. Obviously Jesus did not think miracles were the most important criteria when it came time to rank prophets! In fact, an interesting bit of trivia is that in the King James version, the word miracle is actually only mentioned once in the entire Old Testament (Ex 7:9).

No prophet brought more people to repentance than the John and his particular message and special anointing. To bring a soul back into a right relationship with God is worth far more than all the miracles in the world. What value can we place on one soul saved? We all long to see some supernatural event, yet nothing ranks higher in importance than the greatest supernatural event imaginable – a soul that is dead in sin, destined for hell, being turned around to receive eternal life.

All of us can share in such a miracle. Instead of focusing so much of our prayer time looking for physical healing, or a financial blessing, we should be asking God for souls, souls, and more souls.

Luk 1:17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn (revert, convert) the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient (unpersuadable) to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

I am sure that all would of interpreted this promise as John doing physical miracles like Elijah was noted for. Raising the dead, causing a drought, bringing down fire from heaven. Those are the things that we all remember, even thousands of years later. But the angel is actually referring to the spirit and power of Elijah in one particular story, that is the turning of the hearts of the northern tribes back to worship the one true God when Elijah prevailed over the prophets of Baal (1 Ki 18:39).

The manifestation of God’s power is not ours to decide. God chose to manifest the same power as Elijah had, not by calling fire down from heaven or raising the dead, but in the preaching of the word in such a way as to bring genuine repentance unto the multitudes. Here is another example where the exact words spoken are important. We all have a tendency to add things to what was said, or assume a meaning, or draw a conclusion that the text does not support. Be diligent to reexamine all your traditional, cherished beliefs. You may be surprised and even shocked to discover what God may show you, if your heart is truly open and willing to receive correction.

I love the fact that this verse is stating that strongly anointed preaching is of a far greater value and import than the most spectacular physical miracle. I like the alternate meaning of disobedient – unpersuadable. Have we not all had our fill of the utterly brainwashed, cranially empty individuals that the new world order has programmed? More than ever, only the anointed word can persuade the unpersuadable in this hour.

The message of repentance is not the be all and end all. No, it is the first step. Before you can truly meet Jesus, you must come to him on his terms. You must repent. I think we are in danger of missing the mark when we overemphasize the come to Jesus just as you are, don’t try to clean yourself up, you can’t change, etc. I understand what the preacher is trying to convey – that we can’t save ourselves. However this coming to Jesus without a strong message of the absolute necessity of genuine repentance will not produce true disciples of the Lord. We are not to ‘try’ Jesus. We must be convinced of our desperate need of him, because we truly realize just how utterly depraved and corrupt we truly are.

Repentance prepares our heart to properly receive the Lord.

Luk 1:18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.

Mary simply asked ‘how’, when the angel spoke to her (v34). Zacharias wanted some concrete proof that what the angel said was true, as his senses and logic told him that this was scientifically impossible. As if an angel from heaven, speaking to you face to face, in the flesh, is not enough proof for you! Did he think that the angel was bored, had nothing else to do, and decided to come down from heaven and make a story up just to see what Zacharias would do? Verse 12 and 13 should of settled the question of the bona fides of this messenger. Thus, if he really was an angel from heaven, did he think that he was lying? He was about to find out the price he would have to pay for doubting the messenger of God, for doubting his messenger from heaven was doubting God’s message itself.

Luk 1:19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.

You can almost sense the affront that Gabriel felt, as he declares his name before this doubting Thomas. All Jews would of known that Gabriel was one of the most preeminent angels in heaven. As if any angel’s word was suspect (it was not), this was Gabriel himself. This one stands in the very presence of God himself. He was commanded to speak to Zacharias, and this was a message of joy.

Luk 1:20 And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

Now the hammer falls. Unbelief always has a price. Most of the time, it is a blessing unreceived, a prayer unanswered. Sometimes the consequence is more immediate and severe, as in this case.

The first thing to take note of is that all of God’s words have a specific season of fulfillment. Trying to apply all promises in all seasons is unwise, fruitless, and can be dangerous. At the very least, it leads to disappointment and disillusionment. At the worst, it leads to falling away and apostasy.

The angel says you will be struck dumb until the day that these things shall be performed. What things? The things of verses 16 and 17. Those verses describe the main thrust of John’s ministry. God could of just as easily kept Zacharias dumb until the entirety of John’s ministry was completed. In other words, he may not of lifted the dumbness until the day that John died. This teaches us that we do not know exactly how any and all promises of God will be fulfilled in our lives, and in the lives of others. Only after the fact, once the fulfillment takes place, do we then understand what certain promises meant, and how they would come to pass. Take the first coming of Jesus. Almost no one understood that the Savior had to come twice, and that the first time he was to be killed. Only after the fact did the disciples understand the true meaning of all the prophecies of his first coming. Even then the resurrected Christ had to painstakingly explain the Old Testament passages to them (Lk 24:25-27).

Zacharias should of been very thankful that this judgment was lifted at such an early moment, at the naming of his son. Thank God for his mercy!

Luk 1:21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.

People are not used to seeing anyone spend a long time in the presence of God. The road that a true prayer warrior will travel will necessarily be a lonely one, one that few will truly understand. People may marvel and wonder at your lifestyle, but it will be difficult to get too deep with anyone else that is not making the same commitment to seek God as you do, as their interests will not coincide with your own.

Luk 1:22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned (expressed by signs) unto them, and remained speechless.

Zacharias had to pantomime in order to communicate something of what happened to him.

This verse serves as a reminder that it is very difficult to communicate any intensely personal heavenly experience that we may experience from time to time. How can one adequately put into words a true touch from heaven?

Luk 1:23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.

This can be the hardest part of the whole process of a once in a lifetime supernatural experience. Once it is over, your daily routine awaits. How do you go back and take up your mundane tasks once again? He had just been speaking to an angel. Now he is back in his regular priestly routine. How dull and relatively meaningless some of it must of seemed!

It is a challenge to go back and do your day to day tasks with joy and contentment after experiencing something like this. I wonder if Elijah had trouble adjusting to normal life after he called down fire from heaven. Jezebel certainly wasn’t impressed, as she immediately threatened his life. Elijah ended up running away and really experienced an emotional low. Sometimes you can swing in the opposite emotional direction after a special experience, so be prepared for that possibility.

Luk 1:24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,

At the first sign of conception, she did not go off naming and claiming it, trying to ensure it would come to pass. Nor did she run off and gloat to her gossiping neighbors, whom I am sure she had overheard more than once speaking negatively about her and her husband. Instead, she hid herself away, just her, her husband, and the Lord. If the promise is truly from God, it will surely come to pass.

Luk 1:25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

Interesting that Elizabeth states that is was the men who would of condemned her and not the women. You would think the women would be the quickest to condemn, and I am sure that they had. Yet in that culture, what the man thought was of primary importance, as they were the heads of their houses. We have lost our men to feminism, effeminacy, intimidation, and demasculation. As the men fell, so our nations have fallen.

Luk 1:26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

I am not sure of the significance of the annunciation occurring in Elizabeth’s sixth month, but God has a perfect timing for everything.

Luk 1:27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

The important facts is that she was a virgin, therefore undefiled. The future husband was of the house of David. Even though Joseph would have no part in the conception of this child, God still felt it was important that Jesus’ guardian was also of the Messianic line.

Luk 1:28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured (indued with special honor), the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

We love to quote that verse where it says we are all sinners and have come short of the glory of God. That we are wretches, and can do nothing in and of ourselves to please God. So how come this anonymous young country girl is said to be highly favored? That she was given special honor? What could cause this? Why should she merit a visit by this angel, who tells her that she is blessed among all women? In other words, the Greek can be construed as saying that she is the most happy of women.

Here begins the passage that has caused so much division in the body of Christ. The oldest denominations see this passage as God choosing to create a woman in a way that was unique from all other women. Protestants generally see this simply as another example of God’s sovereign will and grace, in that she is highly favored because of God’s choice, and not because she was any different from any other woman.

We can recount many other examples of individuals who were chosen for some great task, not due to any great merit that they possessed, but totally due to God’s will. In the area of supernatural births, no woman experienced a virgin birth, but several did experience truly supernatural births. We need look no further than Elizabeth in this very same chapter. How about Samson’s barren mother, or Hannah, the mother of Samuel? Sarah and Rachel also come to mind. Each one had a special assignment. Mary is no different, though the significance of whom she was to give birth to obviously had no parallel in history, nor ever will.

All of us that have been chosen by God can be said to be highly favored. Whether or not Mary should be held in special honor I leave that to each and every saint’s conscience. I am content to limit myself to the truth found in the scripture on this subject especially, since it has engendered nothing but strife in the body. I am not going to go into all the reasons why the church adopted all the ideas about her that they did. I really don’t care. All I am interested in is what the scripture says. Let us leave the denominational differences aside and concentrate on the text alone.

Getting back to the verse, for whatever reason, the angel states the fact that Mary is highly favored. Whether there was something in her heart that was especially pure, we don’t know. To say she was born without original sin, as some denominations do, is not only adding to the written word of God, it contradicts it, as the scripture clearly states that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. You may argue that God does allow for an exception that proves the rule, but that is an extremely dangerous stance to take, without an explicit example from scripture to back you up.

What do I mean about that? Well, we all know what the word of God says about death and judgment:

Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Enoch and Elijah did not experience death. Thus, there are 2 specific examples from the bible that make us interpret Heb 9:27 as ‘virtually all’, instead of every single human being. God does reserve the right to make an extremely limited exception to his principles found in the word. Some extreme fundamentalists still cannot accept this, as they believe that those two men will be the 2 witnesses that come back to earth in the tribulation, and are finally killed then. Perhaps they are right.

Another example is what David says in the psalms:

Psa 37:25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

I think we all know of Christians who have been reduced to beggary. One could argue that the text only says that David never saw this phenomenon, and that it is not a universal principle. That can be argued, but I think it is also clear that God is pronouncing a general principle of how God always provides for his own children. There may be days when circumstances may seem that this principle is not true, but those situations are allowed to test our faith. The point is that we need a good working knowledge of the entire bible, and not be so quick to pounce on one or two verses that we love, and then get offended when they don’t seem to work like we think they ought to.

Now why am I going into all of this? Well, because some would say that Mary’s so called immaculate conception is just like the examples above – where God reserves the right to make exceptions to generally understood principles. I would argue that there is no biblical precedent for this, and in the mouth of two of three witnesses let everything stand. You cannot make up an exception outside of the scripture for any thing that you want to believe, only God gets to do that.

Learn to be ruthless and uncompromising when it comes to standing on the word, but ensure that you know all the word before you become too uncompromising!

The angel also said God is with her, and that she is blessed among women. In other words, among all women, you are blessed. Not necessarily above all women, but amongst all the women out there, you are definitely blessed.

There is something in man’s heart that wants to idol worship. In this time of the utter collapse of western civilization, do we not yearn for a hero to rise up and save our nations? Regardless of how much we agree or don’t agree with someone like Trump, do we not all wish that somehow he will be used by God to halt and even reverse the communist takeover of America? Were we not all thrilled to see RFK align himself with Trump? Was not RFK’s speech where he threw his support behind Trump one of the greatest political speeches in memory? Did not these things renew many people’s hopes?

Regardless of what is occurring, let us remember one thing. God is using these men to accomplish his will. They have been given a burden to stand and fight in one or two areas of corruption and evil. Their willingness to try and resist the tsunami of evil that has overwhelmed the planet is highly commendable.

Having said all that, these things do not make them gods. Nor does God love them any more or less than any of us. Nor will they be given special consideration at the final judgment, just because of who they are, and what God has called them to do. They will need to repent and accept Jesus just like the rest of us, or they will perish.

The same thing is true for Mary. No matter how much one admires her simple faith, her child like trust and submission to the perfect will of God, she is a human being just like you and me. She also needed to repent and accept Jesus as her lord and savior, which of course she did. She did not get a free ticket to heaven, just because of how God chose to use her in this life. That may be hard to swallow for some, but it is the truth. Humanity is so vulnerable in wanting to set certain people up on a pedestal. We find it so much easier to worship what we can see, in comparison to what we cannot see.

Let the errors that have occurred in the church over our treatment of Mary be a divine warning not to make the same mistake with any other person out there. Know that the satanists are intentionally destroying every aspect of civilization, in order to make humanity so desperate that most will be willing to throw their brains away and worship the one who comes in satan’s name and seemingly has the solution to the horrors that the wicked themselves have created.

To ensure that I completely tick off the traditionalists out there, I will leave you with this passage from Benson’s commentary:

Compare Mary with other renowned women, and what had she, besides this favour, more than they? Had she the spirit of prophecy? so had they. Had she the spirit of sanctification? so had they: and she had no more immunity and freedom from sin and death than they. Accordingly the angel says, Blessed art thou among women, not, Blessed art thou above women. How senseless are they, 1st, In turning a salutation into a prayer! 2nd, In making use of these words upon every occasion, which were spoken by an angel upon a special occasion! 3rd, In applying these words to her now in heaven, which suited with her only when she was here on earth, saying, Full of grace, to her who is full of glory, and, The Lord is with thee, to her who is with the Lord!”

Luk 1:29 And when she saw him, she was troubled (disturbed, agitated) at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

She wasn’t troubled at seeing the angel, as most would be. Most are greatly afraid, and while the angel will tell her to fear not, she was more troubled at the angel’s words. Why should a common, anonymous, poor woman be greeted like this?

What an example of grace, grace, and more grace! Such unmerited favor! Had she done some great deed that caught heaven’s attention? Did she win some sort of competition? Why would the angel use such words?

Luk 1:30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

What was it about this nondescript girl that so caught God’s attention? It is indeed easy to simply state that this is grace, and grace alone, but that is not necessarily what the text says. I think the lesson here is that even the most anonymous, ordinary life can catch the notice of God because he looks at the heart, and not how important or popular or talented you are. This does not mean that you will be called to give birth to God’s son, but who knows what God has in store for the pure of heart?

God seems to go out of his way at times to do things in the most unlikely way imaginable (1 Cor 1:27). He uses the opposite of worldly wisdom. In the world’s wisdom, the future ruling king of the universe would never be born to such a woman in such a circumstance! Logically, he should be born to the elite, in some palace that is most fitting for the future ruler of Israel. This is why so few will ever come to know him. Jesus is not logical. What is highly esteemed among men is abominable in the sight of God (Lk 16:15). Only the humble and pure in heart will be able to ‘see’ God (Mat 5:8).

Luk 1:31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
Luk 1:32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
Luk 1:33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

The whole point of the bible up to this time was to bring us to this event. This event shall never be surpassed in importance and greatness for all eternity. The two powers in heaven reality of Daniel chapter seven will be clearly manifested. That is, that the ancient of days and the son of man are two distinct persons, with the son of man to be made manifest in the flesh.

All Jews longed for the restoration of the Davidic throne. No greater earthly promise could of been given her. And not only that, but this child’s kingdom shall be eternal.

How could any promise ever be greater than this one? No wonder theologians were so tempted to ascribe godlike attributes to Mary herself, as the promises are of such an otherworldly and cosmic nature, that it is truly hard to grasp that God could fulfill a promise such as this in a simple human vessel. Yet fulfill it he did.

Luk 1:34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

Unlike Zacharias, Mary did not doubt the promise, but simply wondered how this was to take place, since she was a virgin.

Luk 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

The angel was not upset with her legitimate question. The angels can tell if we speak from a heart of faith, or a heart of doubt and unbelief. If the angels can discern this, how much more can the Holy Spirit!

Holy thing is the Greek word hag-ee-os. It means a truly consecrated one, morally blameless and sacred. It comes form a root word meaning perfect. Words cannot be found to comprehensively describe who and what was about to be born in this singular divine manner.

Luk 1:36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

Elizabeth must of had this label associated with her all her life, since even the angels knew of it. Sometimes God allows us to carry our shame for a very long time, as our very own cross to bear.

Luk 1:37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.

Note that these unique miraculous events were not asked for, not for any selfish purpose, and were not man’s will in any way, form, or fashion. I state this because this verse reminds us of Mark 11:23, the great ‘name it and claim it’ verse. When believing for something that seems impossible, it is never to be used to fulfill something from your own will, but only when God initiates the promise in your heart.

At times God will speak an impossible thing to us. Impossible, at the moment it was spoken. If it really has come from God, then this verse is what we must stand on, when the devil tries to get us to stop believing.

If it is something that we have birthed out of our own imagination, you can stand on this verse all you want and I can guarantee you that you will see nothing good come to pass, and most likely bring reproach to the body of Christ by your self willed foolishness.

Luk 1:38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

We are to be like Mary, and not like Zachariah. Our challenge in life is to embrace God’s will, and crucify our own will. Mary gave the correct answer, thus the angel’s job was done.

Not according to our desire, or how I think God should act in my situation, but according to whatever specific word you have been given in your specific situation.

Luk 1:39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste (speed), into a city of Juda;

It is interesting to note that Elizabeth felt prompted to hide, while Mary felt prompted to make all speed. There is no substitution for being led by the Spirit. Religion attempts to take the place of the Holy Spirit. Religion will never be able to lead you into the perfect will of God. It will provide a set of man made rules and regulations that will make you acceptable within your group, with its one size fits all formulas. Nothing can replace hearing the voice of the Lord for yourself, and being directed by him and him alone.

Luk 1:40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.
Luk 1:41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:

Here is a confirmation of the doctrine taught in verse 15, that God can choose to fill anyone at any time with the Spirit of God. Of course, he will never fill the wicked with the Holy Spirit, as the clean cannot dwell in the unclean. But just as Peter was taught by God in a vision not to call any man unclean or common (Ac 10:15,28), so God is here commanding all armchair theologians to humble themselves and acknowledge that God can choose to bless anyone in any way that he deems fit, even in filling people with the Holy Ghost before the new birth came into being, as a sort of prophetic preview of what was to come.

To confirm that, even Jesus in John chapter 3 marvelled that Nicodemus, a teacher in Israel, did not understand the operation of the Spirit, whom Jesus compared to the mystery of the wind (John 3:10). It is our religious tendency to want to draw a tight box around what God can and cannot do, so that we can take pride in the purity of our doctrine, and feel superior to those outside of our own man made box. God does indeed draw a box around what we should believe and what we should not, but that box, or sheepfold, is often larger and of a different size and shape than what we conjure out of our own imaginations.

Once again, God is telling us that John is an eternal, living being, even while in his mother’s womb. Do you think an inanimate clump of cells would leap for joy because of the presence of Jesus? And do you see how the babe leaped in the presence of Jesus, who was also in the womb and not yet born? Both were eternal spirits, beginning their physical life journey in what should of been the safest environment that there is, ie, their mother’s womb.

Only in the wicked, apostate, satan worshipping west, do we find such zeal in making the mother’s womb the most dangerous place on earth for a baby to be.

This verse also teaches us the mystery of how the mother and child can be tied in the spirit, as the innocent John perceived the presence of Jesus, and at the same time his mother was filled with the same Holy Ghost that he had been, according to the promise of the angel in verse 15. Maybe this was even the moment that both John and his mother were filled, further indicating the intimacy of mother and child.

Luk 1:42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

Many have been known to disrupt church gatherings with loud voices of prophecy or simply ‘amening’ every sentence the preacher has spoken. Just ensure that it is the Holy Spirit that is prompting you to do so! When you are filled with the spirit, the spirit of prophecy often follows.

I would like to digress here a moment to further expand this thought. I don’t know about you, but especially over the last few years I have noticed that in the relatively few services in the west that I have been able to view online where the word of God is still being preached faithfully in truth and without compromise, satan seems to be sending at least one individual in each congregation that poses as a super zealous saint, who simply cannot shut up! They are zealously ‘amening’ each and every sentence the preacher speaks. Now an occasional amen by the congregation is entirely appropriate, but when you hear the zealot speak almost as much as the preacher, it becomes highly distracting, and takes away from the anointing and the power of the sermon itself. It is simply uncanny at how many times I have witnessed this. It always reminds me of the story in Acts 16:16-18, where the devil sent one possessed with a spirit of divination to not shout out a lie, but a truth.

Act 16:16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:
Act 16:17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.
Act 16:18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

Paul’s patience finally ran out, and he took care of the problem in a typically blunt, Pauline fashion.

Preachers need to be more ruthless with troublemakers in their congregations. We are so terrified of offending one, that we are willing to allow the entire congregation to suffer distraction in order to not have to do the hard thing, and confront the one who behaves improperly. I do not say that you have to cast the devil out of them publicly, you could always go to them privately and gently explain that while their zeal is commendable, their behavior is preventing others from receiving the message that God is wanting them to receive. If they are sincere believers in the Lord, they will accept godly rebuke. If they are not, then it is much better to expose and get rid of them before their spirit causes further grief, even as that damsel was doing in Paul’s day.

Luk 1:43 And whence (what cause) is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

The Spirit that was in John was now in her, and that gave her the revelation of the Messiah.

Here is a place where the medieval church would of made a strong case for the special treatment of Mary. It cannot be denied that this seems to be a statement of near veneration of Mary. What the individual believer wants to make of this verse, I leave it up to their own conscience. I simply caution you all to take the passage as it is written, without all the denominational baggage that would make you interpret it according to all the historical teachings of men, and simply let the Holy Spirit speak to you.

I see this as fairly straightforward. First, we know that Elizabeth has just been filled with the Holy Spirit. This is an exceedingly rare honor given to so very few before the commencement of the gospel message after the resurrection. By the prompting of the Spirit, Elizabeth is wondering why Mary has come to her, not because that Mary is the focus, but that who is inside her is the focus, that is, Jesus. Jesus could not visit Elizabeth on his own while still in his mother’s womb, so Elizabeth is wondering if there is a special reason that the savior has come into her presence, while yet inside Mary at this time.

Luk 1:44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

John leaped in the womb not because Mary was here, but because Jesus was here! Religion always tends to focus on the wrong thing. Did not Jesus himself rebuke the Pharisees again and again for straining at gnats and swallowing camels? They were obsessed with observing the minutiae of Sabbath keeping, yet would let anyone suffer and die rather than break one of their man made rules. So it is with those who want to make Mary the focus of their Christianity. She had a very important role to play, but she was not the Messiah.

Why would anyone want to spend time in veneration of Mary or any other saint, when you could be spending that time giving worship and praise and honor to the only one who is truly worthy of such attention? The bible is about Jesus, and it has always been all about Jesus. Let us never lose sight of so basic a truth as that.

This human being in the womb had enough consciousness to recognize the presence of the Messiah, and could experience strong emotion such as leaping for joy.

In complete contrast, wicked women of today are ok with allowing someone to rip these same children apart, limb from limb, while still in their own womb, and think nothing of it? And we still balk at the severity of God’s judgment? Can there be too much punishment for one such as this, who performs and/or participates in such a heinous act?

What amazes me is not the severity of hell, but that God would still be willing to forgive the abortionist if he sincerely repents, and also those that would do this to their own child!

Luk 1:45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

If you want a reason to imitate Mary, here it is. No, you can’t have a miracle god-man baby like she did. But you can believe like she did! If the Lord has really told you something, then it shall come to pass. Just make sure that it really was the Lord. That is the hard part, isn’t it? To really be sure that it was God who spoke to you.

Unlike Elizabeth’s husband, Mary chose to believe the impossible promise.

Luk 1:46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,

Now we get into what the church has labelled the Magnificat, Mary’s praise to God for what he has done. The word magnify is meg-al-oo-no, to declare, extol or make something great. It comes from the root word megas, which we get the word mega, as in very, very large. In other words, we should use our minds to continually magnify God, to make him seem greater and greater. You cannot ever succeed in declaring God to be more than what he really is. Even in our sufferings God is exceedingly great towards us.

Luk 1:47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

Not only should you engage your mind (soul) in worship, but you should also worship him in spirit. Remember the words of Jesus:

Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

Truth is first grasped in the spirit and made manifest to our souls. Spirit led worship does not necessarily have to be speaking in tongues (though that is a part of it, for those who have been blessed with such a gift), but praise coming from the innermost man. First and foremost, like Mary, we acknowledge God as our saviour.

Luk 1:48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

By revelation Mary grasped that God loves to take the base, anonymous, common things of the world to fulfill his will. Another revelation is that by the spirit she knew that what God was doing in her would be noted and recognized for all time.

In the case of trying to discern the exact meaning of this passage, we must be cautious not to read more into it than what the words say. Because she was given this task by the Father, to birth the god-man, the church kept going further and further into ascribing additional meaning into it that was never warranted in the first place. It all culminated in the council of Ephesus in 431 when they stated that one was a heretic if they did not declare that Mary was the mother of God. This was done in order to try and precisely define the dual nature of Jesus, who was fully God and fully man. The intention was to try and prevent the church from schismatic doctrines such as Jesus having two separate, distinct natures. Carried to an extreme, some would say there were two separate, distinct individuals in one body, one fully divine, and one fully human. Thus they made Mary the mother of Jesus humanity and his divinity, in order to try and keep others from sort of splitting Jesus into two people! (I know this is a little bit simplified, but when we insist in defining certain unknowable aspects of theology to the nth degree, where it is truly impossible to completely do so, we may end up causing more confusion and error than we are originally trying to prevent).

The point is that the early church had no such notion, certainly not at the times of the apostles. I am not here to take sides for or against this topic. I treat it as a great mystery, beyond the ability of human language to define with absolute precision..

We need to quit fighting unwinnable battles, as some things cannot be fully understood this side of eternity. What we do need to do is unite and rally around the common word of God that we all believe in. Don’t we have enough enemies out there in the world, who hate all true believers, and are fanatically determined to exterminate us all? Do you think the body of Christ can afford to indulge in these stupid, divisive arguments amongst each other any longer?

I do not care if you call yourself Catholic, Orthodox, Evangelical, Pentecostal, Charismatic, or some such other man made label. Have you truly given your heart and your entire life to Jesus and to the will of God? Then you are my true family, and I look forward to try and help you along on the path that God has set out for you in fulfilling his will for your life.

In this verse Mary declares the truth that God uses the most unlikely of individuals to fulfill his will. She also knew by direct revelation that what was happening to her would be remembered for all eternity.

Luk 1:49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.

Do we understand that whatever your current situation, if you are truly born again, then God has also done great things in your life? Do not be envious of others, wishing that God would use you like Mary. Rather, seek him with all your heart, find your place, and you too will be given fullness of heart to also proclaim the great works of the Lord in your own life.

Mary also reminds us that if we do not have the revelation of the absolute holiness of God, then we really haven’t yet reached first base in our understanding of God and his ways. Seek holiness, and revelation will follow.

Luk 1:50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation (or age to age).

I just love how time and time again it all comes back to the genuine, biblical fear of the Lord. God’s mercy may be potentially available to all mankind, yet here it says that it definitely comes upon those who choose to fear him. There may be other candidates for God’s mercy, but why not choose to stand on this scripture, and wholeheartedly renew your commitment to fear the one true living God?

I like the idea that this verse can be translated as the fear of the Lord bringing mercy in every age, not just from one generation to another. No matter what so called dispensation we are in, the mercy of the Lord endures forever. Yes, even in these end times, where judgment predominates, and the age of grace may even be closing, that does not negate God’s mercy on those who will simply fear God.

My prayer every day for the last 4 plus years is that God would restore the fear of the Lord upon Canada, and especially in his church. Nothing can save us now except a total return to the awesome, holy fear of God.

Luk 1:51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

Now we get to the part where the wicked are told of their fate. First we hear that God has and will manifest his power. We have no need to wonder on that score. When the time is right, God will always show up. The power of God is here mingled with the idea of judgment. So much of God’s mighty display of power has to do with punishment and righteous retribution of the sinful acts of men. We like to focus on Jesus positive miracles of healing and multiplying the loaves and fishes. And during Jesus’ short ministry while here on earth, that was his assignment. Looking back at all of the old testament, and forward to the book of Revelation, the strength of God is predominantly displayed in various acts of judgment over mankind’s rebelliousness and wickedness.

The first sinner God speaks of is the prideful. Never before have we seen the pride of man on display as now. The things that wicked men have imagined and put into practise, is beyond belief, and even our ability to stomach. I will not go into a litany of the evil imaginations that have been put into practice in these final days, but suffice it to say is that we should draw strength in a verse such as this, where God has scattered the proud, and we can infer that he will scatter the wicked once again. Just skip to the book of Revelation. The wicked of our day are guaranteed to be dealt with, once their time is up.

Luk 1:52 He hath put down (demolished) the mighty (rulers of great authority) from their seats (thron-os – throne), and exalted them of low degree (elevated the humiliated).

As we continue along in this prophecy, in some ways it is a strange utterance. Why is Mary speaking like this? What we can clearly discern is that this is not something that she would of came up with on her own. God is clearly prophesying through her. She begins by praising God, but now she is in the midst of speaking of God’s judgments. Even in the midst of the most critical event in human history, the conception and imminent birth of the Messiah, the Holy Spirit wants us to know that this also has to do with God’s judgments. The coming of Christ was to primarily defeat the works of darkness.

Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

1Jn 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

So which rulers is Mary speaking of? I believe first and foremost, the principalities and powers of the air.

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Col 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

1Pe 3:22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

He won the victory at the cross and the empty tomb. Our faith is now being tested as the total manifestation of that victory is being worked out through the church.

Along with the evil ones above, their minions in meat suits below will also be put down. We can take great comfort in the tense of this verse, as it states that he has (not will) demolished the rulers of great authority. This confidence of our certain and ultimate victory over all the wicked rulers in our lands is what gives us the strength and hope to endure the temporal horrors until this already won victory is made manifest on the earth.

The second part of this great verse is that God has elevated the humiliated, or the truly humbled. Who is she speaking of? Well, firstly, this applies to our Savior:

Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Php 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

Second, this applies to all of us, the true remnant that have made that decision to walk in true humility:

Mat 23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

Luk 14:11 For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Luk 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Jas 1:9 Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:

God loves to turn the wisdom and the practices of the world upside down!

Luk 1:53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

This reminds me of this verse from the Sermon on the Mount:

Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Jesus really brought to the forefront the principle that those who seek after the rewards that the world has to offer, will simply miss out on what the next one had in store:

Luk 16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
Luk 16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

Let us continually remind ourselves of this eternal truth. You may not be receiving much of anything in this life. Perhaps you feel you have been especially burdened with trial and tribulation, even wondering if you have been cursed in some way.

Yet I would be much more worried if all I have experienced was unusual prosperity and peace. If we have received only good things in this life, is it possible that perhaps you are more a child of the world than of the heavenly kingdom? Great riches are such a danger. Let us be sure that all that we have is truly available for the Master’s use, as he sees fit.

Luk 1:54 He hath holpen (to succor, support) his servant (child) Israel, in remembrance of his mercy (compassion);
Luk 1:55 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

God is said to of done this great thing as he called to remembrance his own great mercy. And specifically he chooses to remember that he will always be merciful towards his child Israel. From the initial covenant with Abram, right through all the patriarchs and then David, God has never totally forsaken his chosen people Israel. The birth of the Messiah is the final and total fulfillment of all the great and precious promises of God unto his chosen people.

It all comes back to that great, initial Abrahamic covenant. Only because of it do we Gentiles get to participate and become part of this great eternal kingdom.

Rom 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Rom 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Rom 11:27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
Rom 11:28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.

First and foremost, Jesus came to the Jews. Only when the gospel was preached throughout all Jewry (as the apostle John so quaintly put it in Jn 7:1), did God then send the apostles out to share the good news with us Gentiles. All this hatred of the Jews today, especially within the church, is so bizarre and unfathomable. Yet this manifest hatred is just another way that God is dividing his true sheep from the wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Luk 1:56 And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

God is so good. Where else could Mary of gone during this time? Who else would of believed her crazy story of angels and God impregnating her? Would you? Would her husband? There was only one person in all the earth that could of had the capacity to accept her, and was the only other woman at the time who was also experiencing a miracle pregnancy, though not as spectacular as Mary’s, yet no less miraculous. God gave Mary time to build up her faith with a fellow believer who knew what she was going through. Joseph would eventually accept this unbelievable thing, but only after a dream was given him as recorded in Mat 1:20. Indeed, how else could he be reasonably expected to believe what Mary said? Maybe she returned to her own house once Joseph told her that he believed her, as she would of risked stoning should her husband not of protected her.

If you have been given a faithful Christian friend that stands by you in your trials, then praise God for it. If you haven’t, then ask God to send you someone who can help you stand when your time of testing is upon you.

Luk 1:57 Now Elisabeth’s full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.

You may know in your heart that the time is very near for some long awaited promise to come to pass, but God still demands that you wait until all the time has passed that is supposed to, or you may risk losing the blessing. Let us never forget the story of king Saul, who was commanded by the prophet Samuel to wait seven days, and Samuel would come and tell him what to do. Saul waited until the seventh day, but before the full day was complete, he gave in to the circumstantial pressure that he was facing, and disobeyed the command of the Lord. He went ahead and presumed to offer sacrifice to God, and just at that moment Samuel appeared. If he had waited perhaps one more hour, all would of been well. Instead, that one hour of impatience ended up costing him the kingdom, as God’s mishpat, his verdict, was that Saul was unworthy to rule, and his kingdom would be given to someone else more worthy than he.

Will not many of us weep in heaven over lost eternal blessings, simply because we did not stay faithful and firm for perhaps one more day, a month, or a year? Be strong, and hold steady.

Luk 1:58 And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.

Now the onlookers and hangers on all show up when the promise has actually come to pass. Where were they when she was suffering the shame of barrenness? I wonder how many gossiped behind her back over the years, wondering what secret sin she committed that brought such a curse from God in her life?

I think Elizabeth knew that none of these people could of been trusted when she was given the promise of a child, nor was she going to expose herself to the doubt and unbelief of the naysayers as she worked through the months of her pregnancy. No matter how fat she got, I am sure that there would of been several old crones that would of talked that miracle baby right out of her womb! She did not need to hear the family and neighbors all tell her that she was hallucinating. That the thing in her belly was probably some tumour or some other awful thing.

Sometimes we need to hide ourselves away, like Elizabeth did, until the fullness of time comes in our life. Then let the Lord release us to testify, and not before. The result will be a mighty testimony to the glory of God, and others will then be able to share in that joy.

Luk 1:59 And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.

Why would ‘they’ think it was their right to name the child? So the big shot circumsizer, the guy with the sharp knife, presumed to have the authority and the honor of naming the child? Maybe it was this clerical representative. Maybe the ‘they’ were all her relatives and friends.

Let us ensure that we never step beyond the bounds that God has given us. Let us not be so arrogant as to think that we have the right to intrude in other people’s affairs to such an intimate extent uninvited.

Luk 1:60 And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.

Elizabeth immediately put a stop to such nonsense. Sometimes it may be hard to go against the crowd. I am sure that most of them simply named their child after the father. Do you have the courage to go against the consensus, and stand up for what you know is right?

Luk 1:61 And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.

Tradition said that you cannot do this. How dare you call your child by an unapproved name? Don’t you know that you will cause scandal, unless you do exactly as we say? Don’t you know that’s how we’ve always done it?

When you decide to truly follow Jesus, just as the bible instructs you how to follow him, it is a guarantee that tradition and custom will raise its ugly head and demand that you cease that nonsense. Come back into the fold, where it’s nice and cold and dead. You don’t want to stick out from the crowd, do you?

Luk 1:62 And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.

Surely the head of the house would straighten out his woman!

Luk 1:63 And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled (wondered, but also admired) all.

Imagine their shock. Even the father, who has been struck dumb by the angel these several months, stuck up for this woman, who has gone off the reservation, and wants to name her child so inappropriately? Or maybe perhaps, they did end up admiring him for sticking up for his wife, remembering that he had been touched by God in a special way, and it may not be wise to judge him too harshly.

Besides, wasn’t this story weird enough already? Barren women, way past childbearing years, getting pregnant? Coming to term, actually delivering a healthy heir? Also, rumors of her cousin Mary and questions surrounding her pregnancy. Whispers that she got pregnant before marriage. Perhaps some crazy rumors of tales that she believed that God impregnated her! Perhaps Elizabeth had shared the prophecy Mary gave when she came to visit. Yet here we were, witnessing this miraculous birth of Elizabeth’s, so who knows what the child should be named? Perhaps it’s better that we stop sticking our noses in other people’s affairs, especially when the hand of the Lord seems to be upon them in such an irrefutable fashion.

Let this story be a cautionary tale to all of us. Have we not all witnessed some out of the ordinary event in a saint of God’s life, and, not having all the information, became quick to pass judgment on the matter? Are we sure we want to go there? Is it a wise thing to be so quick to give our opinion, especially when we only know some of the story?

Let us hope that they all ended up admiring and respecting Zacharias, and not secretly thinking that he had indeed gone off the deep end.

Luk 1:64 And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.

Once Zacharias did something in obedience to God, God lifted the curse. Remember that God could of kept him mute until the entire ministry of John had been fulfilled. I am sure this thought crossed his mind as once he knew that he could speak again, the first thing that came out of his mind was praises to God. Oh, how good it is when our trial comes to an end! Of course, Zacharias was prevented from praising God before this moment. Let us use this story to remember to praise God even before the end of our trial. Praise him before, during, and after whatever burden we are given!

Luk 1:65 And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.

I just love this! The bible does not say that a great love of God was created out of thin air. A great happiness or an increase in faith or even hope. Here is a story of a miracle baby, a lifting of a curse, and the appropriate response is an increase in the fear of the Lord! How absolutely wonderful! How far we have fallen in the Laodicean church of today. All we would see is the miracle, and we would begin to lust for a miracle for ourself. The focus would be on self – how can I get a miracle like this for me? Instead, the focus should be on God himself – his works, his judgments, his glory, his will. When something so supernatural happens, it should scare us, but scare us in a good way. We should become much more God conscious in our daily life. These people now spread the word of this miracle. This helped to make more and more people think about, and speak about God. It is always good if more and more people are talking about the things of God.

Another point to consider is that the fear of the Lord was said to of come only after Zacharias experienced his own miracle of suddenly being loosed from his dumbness. It makes one wonder if a miracle that occurred to a woman did not carry as much weight than as for the head of the house, especially in an ancient culture such as this. God certainly confirmed his hand in all of this by moving through every member of this family. Zacharias being a priest would of also lent a certain authenticity to the whole situation. It is often true that if some poor, uneducated member of the church speaks of something they believe God has done, it is often not taken as seriously than if someone of reputation, such as a pastor or an elder makes the same claim. At times God will confirm his work by involving a person of prominence, but we should not discount the testimony of someone simply because they are not famous or popular.

God does miracles for his glory and his purposes, and not for our benefit. For too long, we think God wants to do a miracle in our life because he loves us so much, that he simply can’t stand to see us suffer. This is not the reason God does miracles. It is always for his glory, not our comfort. If it furthers his kingdom purposes, he will do so. We must grow up, and quit acting like little kids, who are always nagging their parents over every little need and discomfort in their lives. It is not about us. It is about the kingdom of God. We are here to further that kingdom while we yet breathe. Stop focusing on getting your personal healing, or some other physical need met. God knows what you have need of. When you truly forget about yourself, and seek the will of Jesus, chances are your needs will evaporate like the dew of morning on a hot summer’s day.

This verse reminds me to mention something I noticed in my daily bible reading of the last few days. Did you know that the first three chapters of the book of Romans primarily deal with God’s judgments? And here we thought that was only an old testament concept. If you read those chapters carefully, Paul is simply picking up where the old testament prophets left off. We don’t notice it, mainly because of how our pastors have taught us. Also, Paul is writing after having been educated under the Greek form of study and philosophy. As a result, the way he writes bears no resemblance as to how old testament authors wrote, who all wrote before the influence of Greek culture.

What does Paul speak of? How the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness of men (Rom 1:18). How God has judged the wicked, by permanently giving them over to the most vile of sins (Rom 1:19-32). Then he speaks of nothing but judgment for the self righteous Jew, who thinks he is above judgment, because God chose him and gave him the law (Rom chapter 2). Then God speaks of universal judgment against all mankind in chapter three. Only after the topic of judgment has been comprehensively and universally laid out does he begin to offer the solution in the work of Jesus Christ.

God’s ways are judgment (Dan 4:37)!

Luk 1:66 And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.

First off, this entire scenario came at a time of an extended spiritual drought in the land. A fresh word from the Lord may not have been heard for the last 400 years! That is a very long time to go without a clear direction from God. Think about that. God had judged Judah in 586 BC. The temple was rebuilt around 516. After that, there was only one more prophet of note, Malachi, who wrote his book around 425. It is now around 4 or 2 BC. The Jews’ nation was a shadow of what it had once been long ago. Currently they were under complete Roman control. The temple was operational, but no real prophetic voice had risen for over 400 years. Some would quibble and speak of the Essenes that seemed to have some revelation at this time, but they probably had very limited influence and appeal, being tucked away from the rest of society as they were.

Suddenly the miraculous appears, after so long an absence. An angelic visitation for Zacharias. A barren woman conceiving and giving birth. Rumors of another young woman in Nazareth, having been visited by angels, her and her husband. A strange prophetic utterance by this same girl. A miraculous restoration of Zacharias dumbness. You can imagine how these stories grew and grew with the retelling. I am sure the predictions of who and what this child would turn out to be would of gotten more and more outlandish. Certainly many would of speculated that this may finally be the Messiah! Never mind that Zacharias was a priest, and the messiah had to come from the line of Judah, I am sure the youtube theologians of their day would of pulled out their prophecy charts and begin to weave some strange interpretation of biblical texts that would of ‘proven’ that this child was indeed the one! They would of gotten out their Hebrew calendars, and showed that yes, this one was born on the correct day and in the correct place. Only to be proven wrong, but wait, they would write another book and the errors of the first book would be promptly forgotten because now, their new calculations are really, really true!

We can speculate about the future all we want. It still amuses me greatly whenever I see someone who so confidently knows exactly what is going to happen next, be giving his own private interpretation on the meaning of verses in Revelation that have not yet occurred.

One thing I have seen for a fact each and every time, is that no one has accurately predicted any one verse of Revelation, or any verse that speaks of the future, until the event has actually come to pass. Then we realize the true interpretation of a certain verse. I don’t care how much someone claims that he predicted some thing beforehand, you will find out that no one seems to be given the precise interpretation of future prophetic verses. Yes, the verses do serve as a guide and a warning and a pattern of what to generally expect, but to think we can draw up precise charts with specific sequence of events is a fool’s game. It does not work like that. If anyone was given the exact sequence and dates about the future, then where is the need for faith?

The verse does say that the hand of the Lord was with him. So in effect, we are given a one sentence summary of John’s childhood. We are given no details, but are simply made aware that certain things must of occurred in his life that confirmed that this was someone special.

Do you walk in such unity with the Father that others can honestly say that the hand of the Lord is with you? Should we all not strive toward this goal? Let us endeavour to do all that we can to make our lives as inviting a place as possible for the hand of the Lord to reside permanently in our midst.

Luk 1:67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,

This was one unique, spirit filled family! Is it not the greatest blessing when an entire household is serving God, all having a real relationship with him? Who could ask for anything more?

Luk 1:68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,

Here is a great confession of faith. He is not declaring anything about himself or his family, but it’s all about God and his people. Aren’t you sick and tired of having to endure charismatic windbags who rise up in a prayer meeting and shout something like ‘I declare – blah, blah, blah’. And what they’re declaring is some blessing that they are claiming for themselves. No thought about others or about God himself.

We are so pathetic. How the sovereign Lord of all creation has put up with us for so long, I cannot fathom.

Luk 1:69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;

If we rushed out and placed our own interpretation on this passage when we got to this verse, we would of concluded that Zacharias must of been speaking that John was the Messiah. How many of us go off half cocked, hearing only the part of the word that we want to hear, ignoring the rest, and mouthing off ridiculous interpretations, all to try and justify some inner lust that we want God to fulfill. As we will see at the end of this prophecy, John is prophesied to be a forerunner of the messiah, not the messiah himself. Thus, Zacharias is not speaking of John in this verse. Rather, he is speaking of something far more exciting – the imminent appearance of the messiah himself!

This one will indeed come from the lineage of David, not Levi.

Luk 1:70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:

True prophets are holy men. Prophets have been around since Abel, who was known as a righteous man, and perhaps from this verse one could consider him to be the first prophet, one who speaks on behalf of God.

If a so called prophet does not prioritize holiness, then run away from him. The pursuit of holiness has always been one of God’s highest priorities, when it comes to communicating instructions to his people via his prophetic ministers. Without holiness no one shall see the Lord (Heb 12:14).

Luk 1:71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;

We certainly have no shortage of enemies today. The world is filled with nothing but hate. If we were to sum up the focus of all the hatred out there, it is a hatred of the commandments of God. Every topic that the world accuses Christians of being haters, is actually the world declaring to all their hatred for certain specific commandments of God. The wicked hate any restraint on sexuality. They hate the prohibition on idolatry. They hate the truth. They hate being told that they cannot murder, or steal. When you stand up and say that these things are always wrong, and that all will face judgment over these things, you will be hated. Especially since all restraints against sin have been removed in our lands.

Jesus was sent to save us from our enemies. We tend to think of our human enemies, but let us remember that the greatest enemy that we have been delivered from is the enemy of all mankind, the devil himself. How he hates humanity! Every time he sees one of us, it reminds him of the heavenly Father that he has rejected. When he tortures us, he fantasizes that he is torturing God himself.

Luk 1:72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;

It always comes back to the promises of God, which is the word of God. The story of Jesus is the story of search and rescue. The children of God, created in his image, were sent to a wonderful place. Somehow along the way they chose to go their own way and became utterly lost. As a result, sorrow and suffering became their lot. They had lost the map that would of showed them the way back to their Father. So the Father sent his son on a rescue mission that he knew would cost the son his life. But send him he did, because his nature was such that his mercy compelled him to do so. And also, he had promised his children an eternal relationship with him. He was not going to abandon them, regardless of the personal cost.

Luk 1:73 The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

This is the uniqueness of God. All that he speaks comes to pass. Unlike fallen man, who is so fallible and ultimately unreliable. Why look to any man for your salvation, when the covenant keeping God is waiting for you to place your trust in him and him alone?

Luk 1:74 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,

It is hard to serve God without worldly fear if our enemies are always pressing in all around us, as we find ourselves in 2024. Never in our lives has this verse been more appropriate to pray than now. Unless God does deliver us from the hand of the poisoners, the warmongers, the genocidal lunatics that want to depopulate us to extinction, how shall we serve him if our lives are filled with nothing but terror and destruction?

All we need to do is look at what has just occurred in Britain and Ireland. Two countries that are into the next phase of the great white replacement. Muslims are being allowed to attack the natives at will, with no repercussions. If you even mention that this is going on, you get locked up within 3 days. In America, the takeover of certain cities by violent gangs has begun. The police will not help you. You are on your own. However, I am sure that if you happen to defend yourself by killing one of these demon possessed thugs, then I am sure the authorities will take a much different view of things.

Unless the Lord delivers us from these things, it becomes a very difficult task to remain in peace and tranquility if you and your family are in constant, imminent, physical threat.

May God help us all as the destruction of our nation begins in earnest.

Luk 1:75 In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

If God is gracious enough to answer our prayers and gives us at least a measure of peace and safety, then how are we to respond? By going back to our old Laodicean lifestyle? Be resuming our pleasures, entertainments, and hobbies? No, the best way you can show your gratitude is by pursuing a lifestyle of holiness and righteousness, or right living.

Sometimes these big bible words tend to go right over our heads. Our pastors love to show off their fancy seminary training, as they give us their dry, dull theological definition of those big, bible words that we never use in day to day conversation. Take righteousness. There is a proper theological definition, that describes how it defines a proper relationship between God and the redeemed sinner in Christ. Yet the day to day practical side of this word is simply right living. You have decided that in each and every situation you face, you will do the right thing, as best you understand it, regardless of the inconvenience, or cost to yourself.

Holiness is really denying one’s selfish desires. It costs you in the sense of not giving in to a very temporary desire, such as sexual desire, or hunger, or a moment of covetousness. Righteousness, on the other hand, has more to do in your interaction with other human beings. Here, the cost may be much more severe. You may lose friends. Lose money. Lose a job, a career. Lose your freedom. Even lose your physical life. Yet this is what God has called us to do, to lose our life so that we may gain it unto life eternal.

So the question is: How do we serve him? In pride and arrogance, with a loud mouth but little action? Quite the opposite. Holiness only comes from a heart of humility. Righteousness is not just loving the good, but hating the evil with equal fervency.

Luk 1:76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

Ways is hod-os in the Greek. This is very similar to deh-rek in the Hebrew, which we have dealt with at great length in my previous study of the book of Jeremiah. It is a road, a path, a way of life. Here John will go before Jesus to prepare the path that Jesus will walk in. Does Jesus need help to walk his hod-os? Of course not. It is the people of Israel, who Jesus will encounter on that road, who need the help. And John would provide that help, by focusing the people’s minds and hearts on the doctrine of repentance. Repentance is what is needed if you are to have any chance of understanding the words of Jesus, as without repentance, there will be no revelation.

All who speak via true inspiration of the Holy Spirit can be said to be prophesying is some sense. However, John was called to the office of a prophet, which made it his calling and his full time assignment. Indeed, Jesus would end up calling John the greatest of all the prophets. Not because of the quantity and/or quality of the miracles, as John did not do any. No, it was because no other prophet led more people to genuine repentance than John did. That is the greatest miracle, as far as heaven is concerned. Did you notice that Jesus did not say that the angels rejoice over every miracle of healing, or every demon cast out, but over every sinner who repents? You may not be given the gift of performing miracles, or see a physical healing. But we all have the potential of seeing the greatest miracle of all, a soul that returns to the Lord, because the word we preach contains all the power needed to bring that life giving repentance unto eternal life.

Luk 1:77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission (freedom, pardon) of their sins,

Repentance brings knowledge, or revelation. Did repentance under John bring true remission of their sins, or did repentance simply open their eyes to the messiah, who then imparted true forgiveness of sin? I suppose orthodox theology would assume the latter. In any event, God never intended for people to stop their spiritual walk after they had embraced John’s teaching. To prove that point, this story in Acts was included for our instruction:

Act 19:1 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,
Act 19:2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
Act 19:3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism.
Act 19:4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
Act 19:5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Act 19:6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
Act 19:7 And all the men were about twelve.

In this passage we clearly see that John taught that all should look for the one who was to come after him. Somehow these 12 souls did not follow through. Not only were these disciples missing the new birth, but the baptism of the Holy Ghost as well! God wants to take us into the fullness of his grace. Never be afraid to press in to all that God has in store for you. Just remember that these things are not given so that you can now do what you will, but for God’s will and his glory.

Luk 1:78 Through the tender mercy (literally bowels of compassion) of our God; whereby the dayspring (a rising of light) from on high hath visited us,

By God’s infinite mercy, he gives us light on our true spiritual condition. He sends us prophets to prepare the way in our hearts to receive the Lord. God’s innermost being is so filled with mercy for us poor, lost, bewildered sinners, that he sends the light of salvation from heaven to shine into our hearts, so that we can see and understand the true way back to him.

Luk 1:79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Light is revelation. Revelation is the true path to the destination of peace, which is what all souls truly seek. Without true peace, what sort of life can one have? To be constantly anxious and fearful, that is the reward for serving the devil. Before Christ, we all dwelt in the darkness, in the shadow lands. Death was our greatest enemy. Most would do anything to avoid it, even for one more day. Just like today, how many fought to be first in line to get the bioweapon poisonous death jab, believing that they were being saved from death? And instead, being given the very thing that they were terrified of? Could a crueller joke ever of been played on a living soul?

Luk 1:80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

Sometimes God needs to set us apart from all men, even all believers, until what he wants to create in us is fully formed.

I think that many have been, and are being, called to such a deh-rek, or road of life as this. The world has nothing for the believer. Never before has it ever been easier to detach ourselves from Babylon. The filth, madness, and ugliness is of such a degree that who wants to spend a moment more immersed in it than they absolutely have to? Are we not all weary of the continual lies? The unrelenting attacks against us, and against our children? The non stop destruction of our civilization? The having to endure the demonic ravings of those in authority in every sphere of influence?

No, I think all of us, if possible, would relish the opportunity to be hidden away by the Lord, to give us a chance to wax strong in spirit. To allow God to fill us with his vision for our life. To be equipped with an abundance, and even an overabundance, of his precious Holy Spirit. Perhaps then we would desire to go back out and fulfill whatever destiny the Lord has in store for us.

In closing, I am reminded of a precious verse in Zephaniah, that I occasionally remember to pray for myself, and my house:

Zep 2:3 Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’S anger.

Let us all meditate on this very long chapter, letting the Holy Spirit quicken whatever truths that he will in our hearts. Perhaps the Father will choose you to be of that company that shall be hid when the fullness of his wrath is unleashed upon a rebellious and reprobate planet.

May the Lord Jesus Christ richly bless you in all knowledge of his will, as you continue to devote your life to him.

Solitary Man
https://solitaryman.substack.com/

Photos courtesy Depositphotos

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