“The Just Shall Live By Faith”

New King James Version                          Written by: David Hicks

 

Romans 1:17 “ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."

Galatians 3:11 “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith."

Hebrews 10:38 “Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."

“Articles of Faith”

 

An Orderly Account Of The Greatest Story Ever Told

(A Study in Luke)

Chapter 1:57-80:

In this lesson, we are going to move from the announcements made to Zacharias and Mary to the actual birth of John the Baptist. In the lesson that covered the first twenty five verses of this chapter, we studied that John was to be the herald of the Messiah. John's coming was the sign post that would signal the coming of the Lord and mark the beginning of a turning of the people back to God in preparation for the coming kingdom ( 1:17 ).

Text#1:

Luke 1:57-66

“Now Elizabeth 's full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. 58 When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her.

59 So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. 60 His mother answered and said, "No; he shall be called John." 61 But they said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name." 62 So they made signs to his father--what he would have him called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, "His name is John." So they all marveled. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. 65 Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea . 66 And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, "What kind of child will this be?" And the hand of the Lord was with him.”

Elizabeth 's Full Time: When Mary left her and returned home, Elizabeth was about nine months along ( 1:36 , 56 ). It is now the full time and the fulfillment of the word of Gabriel to Zacharias has come to fruition.

Great Mercy: This reference by Elizabeth 's neighbors to the great mercy God had shown her was a direct reference to the fact that she was well past her child bearing years. The success of this birth in these later years for both mother and child was truly a reason for joy.

Circumcise the Child: Both Zacharias and Elizabeth were found to be righteous before the Lord under the Old Law ( 1:6 ); therefore, it should not be a surprise that they would meet the righteous requirements of the law concerning circumcision of the new born. This requirement was first given to Abraham prior to the giving of the Mosaic Law for all his seed to practice; it would again be given in the Mosaic Law, note:

Genesis 17:12 “He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant.”

Leviticus 12:2-3 "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'If a woman has conceived, and borne a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days; as in the days of her customary impurity she shall be unclean. 3 And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.”

The Law of Moses did not require a specific time to name the child; however, it became customary that at the time of circumcision this would be done. It had also become customary to name the child in some way after the father or someone in his family; yet, in this case that tradition would be broken. Both Zacharias and Elizabeth would not bend to the influence of their friends and family, but heeded the words of Gabriel and his name was given to be John ( 1:13 ).

His Mouth Was Opened: Keep in mind that when Zacharias came out of the temple he was mute and this impediment had continued to this moment (this is also why it was necessary for him to write the name John on a tablet). As a sign of approval for fulfilling what the angel of God had told him concerning this child, his obstruction was taken away and he began to praise God.

As with all signs, it served as confirmation of the will of God and as in every case fear and awe resulted in the witnesses of the miraculous events. It also caused all those that witnessed these events to realize that the hand of God was with this child.

Text #2:

Luke 1:67-79

“Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

68 "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel , For He has visited and redeemed His people, 69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David,

70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began, 71 That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us, 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant, 73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: 74 To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, 77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender mercy of our God,

With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; 79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace."

Filled With the Holy Spirit: Just as many prophets of God had spoken as they were moved by the Holy Spirit * as mouth pieces of God before this, Zacharias also prophesied concerning the coming of the Messiah and the work of his son ( * see: II Samuel 23:1 ; Ezekiel 3:12 , 24 ; 8:3 ; 11:1-24 ; Micah 3:8 ; Zechariah 4:6 ; Matthew 22:43-44 ).

Horn of Salvation: Horns are the emblem of strength, glory, and power. The horns of the altar were a place of refuge and safety. Those who laid hold on these horns were considered to be under the protection of God. This is a direct reference to the Messiah of God.

His Holy Prophets: The fact that the Messiah would be a direct descendent of David and would sit on his throne had been prophesied as a Messianic sign to David ( II Samuel 7:12 -17 ). However, prophesies concerning the Messiah and the kingdom He would usher in are so numerous that we could spend an entire lesson just listing these. This was the idea behind the summaries in this verse and other places where reference to these prophecies are made, note:

Acts 3:21 “whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.”

Romans 1:1-3 “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,”

Vs. 71-72: These two verses concern the work of the Messiah in delivering His people from the worst enemy they had ever faced, sin!

The Oath: This was the promise that God had made with Abraham, note:

Genesis 22:16-18 “and said: "By Myself I have sworn, says the L ord , because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son-- 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

Vs. 74-79: This entire speech of Zacharias was a theme concerning the combined work of John and Christ with the emphasis on the later of the two (John as the herald and charged with the chore of preparation for the coming of the Messiah and the rescue He would offer mankind).

The primary discussion of the work charged to John and the work of the Messiah focused on redeeming people from sin. No earthly material blessing is as important as the remission of sin. Christ is portrayed as the Dayspring (or Dawn), the Morning Light, and the Rising Sun in a world of darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace (see: Malachi 4:2 ; John 3:19 ). The preparation John would offer the children of Israel unto the remission of sins, was predicated on the One that would come after him ( John 1:29 ).

Text #3:

Luke 1:80

“So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel .”

The child, John, grew and increased in statue, in bodily features, and spiritual understanding. He lived in the desert country south of Jericho and east of Hebron . As was the custom of the law of Moses, at the age of thirty he began his public ministry.

Numbers 4:3 “from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting.”

The age of thirty became the standard of adulthood for public service to God. Anything done by John or Jesus prior to this age would not have been taken serious, as accordingly they had not reached adulthood prior to this. Thus their ministries only began in full after they reached this age! This is what Luke means by his manifestation to Israel .

Next: “ The Birth of Jesus ”