Luke 1 - Radiate New Testament

Luke Writes an Orderly Report

¹ Just as many others have already written about the things that have taken place among us,

² based on reports passed down from eyewitnesses, I also have looked into everything very carefully myself, going right back to the beginning.

³ I’ve decided to write down an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,

⁴ because I want you to know that what you’ve been taught is true.

The Coming Birth of John the Baptist

⁵ During the time when Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah. He belonged to the group of priests named after Abijah. His wife was named Elizabeth, and she also came from the line of priests descended from Aaron.

⁶ Both of them did what was right in God’s sight; they obeyed all of the Lord’s commands and instructions faithfully.

⁷ But they didn’t have children, because Elizabeth was infertile, and by that point they were both very old.

⁸ One day Zechariah’s group was on duty, and he was serving as a priest in God’s temple.

⁹ He had been chosen by lot (which was how the priests were assigned duties) to go into the temple of the Lord, where he was supposed to burn incense.

¹⁰ When the time came for him to do this, all the people who had gathered to worship were praying outside.

¹¹ Just then an angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah. The angel came and stood at the right side of the incense altar.

¹² When Zechariah saw him, he was amazed and terrified.

¹³ But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah, your prayer has been heard—your wife Elizabeth is going to have a baby boy! You must name him John.

¹⁴ He will be a joy and a delight to you, and his birth will also make many other people glad,

¹⁵ because he will become such a great man in Lord’s sight. He must never drink wine or other alcohol. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit before he is even born.

¹⁶ He will bring many of the people of Israel back to the Lord their God. Having the same spirit and power as Elijah, he will go ahead of the Lord, creating peace between parents and their children and teaching people who are disobeying to be wise and do what is right.

¹⁷ In this way, he will make sure that the people are ready for the Lord.”

¹⁸ Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I know that this will happen? I’m an old man, and my wife is old too.”

¹⁹ The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel! I’m the angel who stands right next to God! I’ve been sent to speak to you and tell you this good news.

²⁰ But now you won’t be able to speak; you’ll have to be silent until after John is born, because you didn’t believe my words. They will come true at the time God has chosen.”

²¹ While all this was happening, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the temple. They were wondering why he was staying in there for so long.

²² When he did come out, he couldn’t speak to them. But eventually they understood that he’d seen a vision in the temple because he explained this to them in gestures, even though he didn’t get his voice back.

²³ When his time of service was over, he returned home.

²⁴ After that, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, but she stayed out of sight for five months.

²⁵ “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days, he has been good to me and taken away my shame among the people.”

The Coming Birth of Jesus

²⁶ In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee.

²⁷ He was sent to a virgin who was engaged to a man named Joseph, who came from the family line of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.

²⁸ The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”

²⁹ Mary was troubled by these words; she wondered why the angel had greeted her that way.

³⁰ But he said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. God has chosen to do something wonderful through you.

³¹ You’re going to become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will call him Jesus.

³² He will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High God. The Lord God will make him a king like his ancestor David,

³³ and he will rule over his people, the descendants of Jacob, forever—his kingdom will never end.”

³⁴ “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I’m a virgin?”

³⁵ The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High God will overshadow you, so that the holy one who is born will be called the Son of God.

³⁶ Your relative Elizabeth is about to have a child even though she is old. People thought she couldn’t have children, but she has been pregnant now for six months.

³⁷ What God says always comes true.”

³⁸ “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it happen to me just as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹ Right away Mary packed up and hurried to the town in Judea’s hill country where Zechariah and Elizabeth lived.

⁴⁰ When she got to their house, she went inside and greeted Elizabeth.

⁴¹ As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, her baby jumped inside her. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit

⁴² and called out in a loud voice, “Blessed are you among all women, and blessed is the child in your womb!

⁴³ But why has God shown me so much favor that the mother of my Lord has come to see me?

⁴⁴ As soon as I heard the sound of your voice, the baby inside me jumped for joy.

⁴⁵ Blessed are you, because you believed the Lord would keep his promises to you!”

Mary’s Song

⁴⁶ Mary said, “My soul cries out that the Lord is great,

⁴⁷ and my spirit delights in God my Savior.

⁴⁸ He has taken note of me, even though I am only his humble servant. From now on all people will call me blessed,

⁴⁹ because the Mighty One has done great things for me— his name is holy.

⁵⁰ He shows mercy to all those who respect him, from parent to child down through the generations.

⁵¹ He has done mighty things with his powerful arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their deepest thoughts.

⁵² He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but he has lifted up people who weren’t considered important.

⁵³ He has filled with good things those who were hungry, but he has sent the rich away empty.

⁵⁴ He has helped his servant, the people of Israel, remembering to be merciful

⁵⁵ as he promised our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.”

⁵⁶ Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months, and then she returned home.

John the Baptist Is Born

⁵⁷ When the time came for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son.

⁵⁸ Her neighbors and relatives heard how good the Lord had been to her and they shared her joy.

⁵⁹ On the eighth day, they came to have the child circumcised. They were going to name him Zechariah, like his father,

⁶⁰ but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He has to be called John.”

⁶¹ “None of your relatives has that name,” they protested.

⁶² Then they motioned to his father to find out what he wanted to name the child.

⁶³ He asked for something to write on, and everyone was amazed when he wrote, “His name is John.”

⁶⁴ All of a sudden Zechariah could speak again, and right away he started praising God.

⁶⁵ All of his neighbors were filled with fear and wonder. Throughout Judea’s hill country, people began talking about all these things.

⁶⁶ Everyone who heard what had happened wondered about it. Because the Lord was with John, they asked, “What is this child going to become?”

Zechariah’s Song

⁶⁷ John’s father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit. He prophesied,

⁶⁸ “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel! He has visited his people and paid to set them free.

⁶⁹ He has acted with great power and saved us through the family line of his servant David,

⁷⁰ as the holy prophets long ago said he would.

⁷¹ He has saved us from our enemies and rescued us from all who hate us.

⁷² He has been merciful to our ancestors and remembered his holy covenant,

⁷³ the promise he made to our father Abraham.

⁷⁴ He promised he would save us from our enemies, so we could serve him without fear

⁷⁵ in holiness and justice, in his presence, as long as we live.

⁷⁶ “And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High God, because you will go ahead of the Lord to prepare the way for him,

⁷⁷ to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins.

⁷⁸ All this will happen because our God is tender and merciful; his kindness will make the sun rise for us in the sky.

⁷⁹ It will shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, and it will guide our feet onto the path of peace.”

⁸⁰ The child grew up and his spirit became strong. He stayed in the desert until it was time for him to appear publicly to Israel.