January 1 – a new year. In Luke chapter 1, Luke talks about the story of Jesus “from the beginning.” What might this year bring us “from the beginning”?
Scripture:
Genesis, chapters 1-2; Luke, chapter 1
Luke 1:1-4 (NASB):
Since many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting to me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in an orderly sequence, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught,
Observations: The Story of Jesus from the Beginning
Both of our readings for today – Genesis 1-2 and Luke 1 – talk about “beginnings.” In Genesis, of course, it is thebeginning – the point at which the eternally existent God began to create the universe. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Before this “beginning,” God existed; He is the eternal force behind everything that we see. In the prologue to John’s Gospel, we read that the Word – the eternally existent Son of God – was with God in that beginning. The Word was the creative power by which God created. Genesis 1 tells us that God created by saying “Let there be…” John 1 tells us that the Son of God is the Word by which God creates.
But the beginning that Luke talks about in chapter 1 of his gospel is a different beginning. Luke is talking about the beginning of “the things accomplished among us” (verse 1). Those “things” are the life and ministry of Jesus. Although Luke doesn’t use the “Word” terminology that John does, their focus is the same. John tells us that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14); the eternal Son of God became man and came to reveal God’s nature to us.
Luke approaches the story from the human side. He tells us how “the Word became flesh.” Just as the prophet Isaiah had foretold, the virgin conceived and bore a Son who would be called “the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). The God who has first created humans would now cause His eternal Son to become flesh by causing a virgin to conceive outside the “normal” human method of reproduction. It had to be that way; the Son would be both fully human and fully divine. Luke tells the story “from the beginning” so Theophilus would know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.
Application: Luke Traces the Story from the Beginning
Luke uses the phrase “from the beginning” twice in these verses. He first says that the information was “handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word” (verse 2). Nobody invented the story later to try to explain what had happened; the eyewitnesses facts were there from the beginning. That’s why he starts before the birth of Jesus, back to Zechariah and Elizabeth and Mary.
We also need to recognize that Zechariah, Elizabeth, and Mary got their information from the angel Gabriel – God’s messenger. Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and told him what was going to happen: his wife, Elizabeth, would become pregnant, and their son would be the “forerunner” who would prepare the way for the Messiah. And at the end of chapter 1, when that son is born, Zechariah proclaims what it all means: this son would be the forerunner, and the Messiah was coming! This son’s birth was miraculous, because his mother had been barren and was beyond normal child-bearing age. The God who miraculously gave Abraham and Sarah a son in their old age was doing it again!
But the birth of that son – John the Baptist – wasn’t the end of the story; it was the beginning. Because Gabriel also appeared to Mary during the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy to tell Mary that she too would bear a child. Mary recognized the “issue”: “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34). Gabriel told her about an even more miraculous birth: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; for that reason also the holy Child will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).
From the Beginning, God Fulfills His Promises
The last part of Luke chapter 1 contains two incredible passages of prophetic poetry – Mary’s song (Luke 1:46-55) and Zechariah’s song (Luke 1:68-79). Mary’s song burst forth once she arrived at Elizabeth’s home. Elizabeth immediately recognized what this meant: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how has it happened to me that the mother of my Lord would come to me?” (Luke 1:42-43). “The mother of my Lord” – Elizabeth understood Who Mary’s child was. That could only happen through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Mary then burst into song: “My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior” (Luke 1:46-47). She acknowledges that God has indeed blessed her, but at the end of the song she expresses the real importance of all this: “He has given help to His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, just as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever” (Luke 1:54-55).
From the Beginning, God’s Plan Was Redemption
When John was born, Zechariah also burst into song. Remember, he had been unable to speak from the day that Gabriel appeared to him in the Temple. When he asked Gabriel how he would know that what Gabriel said was true, Gabriel told him that he would be unable to speak until the day the child was born – and that’s exactly what happened.
So imagine it: after being unable to speak for more than nine months, thinking about what Gabriel had said and what it all meant, Zechariah’s “mouth was opened and his tongue freed” (Luke 1:64). “And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying: ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David – just as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient times…” (Luke 1:67-70).
Don’t miss what Zechariah says here. God has accomplished redemption for His people. Not by the birth of John; he was just the forerunner. The redemption was coming through the One who would be born in the house of His servant David. That wasn’t John; Zechariah and Elizabeth were both descendants of Aaron. Jesus is the One who was born in the house of David. And even though Jesus’ birth was still several months in the future, Zechariah recognized that God had already accomplished the redemption of His people. When God promises, God acts. God’s plan was to redeem His people. As Gabriel told Joseph (Matthew 1:21), “He will save His people from their sins.” That was God’s plan from the beginning – and God is still at work fulfilling that plan today!
Prayer:
Father, thank You for reminding us that when You promise, You fulfill. From the beginning, Your plan has been to dwell with Your people. In the birth of Jesus, You did exactly that: the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He came to reveal You to us, and to reconcile us to You.
Thank You for reminding us that no matter what our story has been to this point, it’s never to late to start again – from the beginning. As we begin this new year, help each of us to begin it with You. Amen.
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