Luke 1 — Read & Listen Online | Father's Heart Bible™

Luke's Orderly Account

Chapter 1.

Since many have set out to compile an orderly account of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and servants of the word passed them on to us, I too have decided, having followed everything closely from the beginning, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

The Father Promises a Son to Zechariah

In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the priestly division of Abijah; and he had a wife who was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ^a They were both righteous before our Father, walking blamelessly in all his commandments and ordinances. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were very old.

Now while he was serving as priest before our Father when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter his sanctuary and burn incense. And the whole crowd of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. ^b

Then an angel of our Father appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. Zechariah was shaken when he saw him, and fear came over him.

But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before our Father. He must never drink wine or other alcoholic drinks, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel back to their Father. And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to get a people ready for our Father.

And Zechariah said to the angel, "How will I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is very old."

And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of our Father, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And now you will be silent and unable to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time."

Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were surprised that he was taking so long in the sanctuary. And when he came out, he could not speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept making signs to them and remained mute. And when his days of service were ended, he went home. After these days his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, "This is what our Father has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my disgrace among the people."

The Father Sends Gabriel to Mary

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from our Father to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! Our Father is with you."

But she was greatly troubled by his words, and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.

And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with our Father. You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And our Father will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?"

And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the holy one to be born will be called the Son of our Father. And look, your relative Elizabeth has also become pregnant with a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with our Father."

And Mary said, "Here I am, the servant of our Father; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

In those days Mary set out and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud voice, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For the moment I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from our Father."

Mary's Song of Praise

And Mary said, "My soul magnifies our Father, and my spirit rejoices in our Father, my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the humble; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, just as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.

And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

John Is Born

Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. And her neighbors and relatives heard that our Father had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother answered, "No; he shall be called John."

And they said to her, "None of your relatives is called by this name." And they made signs to his father, asking what he wanted him to be called.

And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, "His name is John." And they all marveled. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing our Father. And fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the whole hill country of Judea, and all who heard them kept these things in their hearts, saying, "What then will this child be?" For the hand of our Father was with him.

Zechariah Prophesies

And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, "Blessed be our Father of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people, and has raised up a mighty Savior for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets long ago, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our Father, by which the sunrise from on high will visit us, ^c to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.

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