I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Luke 1.

    One thing I wonder as read the opening to Luke’s Gospel. Was he writing to a person by the name of Theophilus? Or, was he addressing his writing to everyone who was a lover of God (the translation of Theophilus)? I suspect the former, but, in either case, Luke assures us he has done his homework and gotten the facts straight. When you look at all of the details which Luke got right, from cities which were lost to history until modern archeologists rediscovered them to routes of travel which seem the long way around until you look at the geography and where the Roman roads ran.

    I cannot help but sympathize with Zechariah when the angel comes and tells him Elizabeth will bear him a son. Because the angel told him not only that Elizabeth would bear him a son, but that that son would be a man of renown. The angel told Zechariah that he would be called on to raise the boy with strict discipline (that is, Zechariah would need to impose strict discipline upon himself as he raised the child). All of this is quite a lot to take in. So, naturally, Zechariah asked for a sign. The angle gave Zechariah a sign, but that sign was also a punishment for doubting. Zechariah would be unable to speak until the child was born. I have long thought that, while Zechariah would have loved to have the chance to talk with others about the angel’s message, he was grateful for being forced to silently contemplate what it all meant for those nine months.

    On the other hand we have Mary’s response to the message she received from the angel. Her response was, “May everything you have said about me come true.” She faced a much more difficult time. Yet she welcomed it readily. She had no doubts that the words the angel had spoken to her were true. The message which Zechariah received was unmitigated good news. He would finally have a son. The news which Mary received was much less so. She was going to spend the next several years surrounded by scandal. Despite this Mary was able to rejoice and see the blessing which God had laid upon her. Whether we find ourselves in Zechariah’s or Mary’s shoes, let us be glad when God sends a message to us.