King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Wednesday, October 01, 2025
Chapters: Luke 1, John 1:1-14
Message: Luke/John: The Birth of John, the Baptist
Hello My Friend,
Today, we begin the reading of the four Gospels of Christ, which give the testimony of His virgin birth, sinless death, burial, and resurrection, they are read in chronological order so there may be some repetition. As we begin the reading of the Gospels, we learn of the birth of John, the Baptist as well as of Mary, by whom God had chosen to carry His only begotten Son. Their testimonies are a testament of the fact that from the very beginning God had a plan to separate believers from nonbelievers.
[Matthew 25:31-34,41 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:]
Yes, God did prepare hell for the devil and his angels and never intended for man to end up there, but since God is a just and holy God, when sin entered into the world by man, that curse was passed down to us. No soul ends up in hell because God sent them there, that is of their own choice, whether they ended up there through denial, religion, or ignorance, [Acts 17:30-31 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.]
The Book of Luke, written by Luke, between 63 and 68 AD, took place approximately between 4BC and 33 AD, and it was addressed to the Greeks, hence the name, Theophilus, of whom Jesus is presented as the perfect man. The purpose of the book was to give an orderly account of Jesus from birth to show that He is the promised Messiah, descending through the lineage of David and also to give an account to the Scriptures regarding John the Baptist, the forerunner for Jesus. What we are to learn from the book is that Jesus came to seek and save those who are lost, [Luke 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.]
Luke, who also wrote the Book of Acts, was a doctor, he was not one of the twelve Apostles nor a Jew, and yet was just as much a faithful disciple as eleven of the twelve that walked with Him did. Luke, treasured the words that Jesus spoke as well as everything else that concerned His life, he walked with Jesus during His entire ministry, paid attention to every word He said, and even spent time with Paul. It was probable that he had gotten acquainted with Mary also because he actually begins His testimony with a declaration.
[Luke 1:1-4 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, 2 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; 3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, 4 That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.]
[Theophilus; friend of God; a Christian] Luke, is not dedicating this to one person, rather, to every saved, born again believer, and receiver of Christ. Those who truly and sincerely want God in their lives will accept not only the Gospel of Christ to be true, but receive Him and live the rest of their lives through His example. We need to understand that we who believe this today are no different than John, Mary, or any of the hundreds of people written in the Scriptures who believed. Jesus, spoke a parable about a man in hell trying to get word to the rest of his family not to end up there, [Luke 16:23,27,29-31 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: 29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. 31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.]
Speaking of Moses and the prophets, it had been four hundred years since anyone heard a peep from God so you can imagine that they were kind of like we are today, those who believed lived by their faith. Well, all of that was about to change when a man named Zacharias got a visit from an angel.
[Luke 1:5-9,11-12 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. 8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, 9 According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.]
So, Zacharias was priest in the temple and it was his duty to keep the altar of incense burning, so he went into the temple to make sure there was enough fire and incense to keep it burning on the altar when this person just showed up. Of course, he was startled and I imagine mainly because there was no one else in there and I am sure he did not look like one of them. Well, the angel saw the fear in his eyes and explained to him that he had a message for him from God.
[Luke 1:13-17 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. 14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. 15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 17 And he shall go before him in the Spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.]
This couple had been praying for a child for probably as long as they were married, it was a shame for a couple to be childless as in many cases it was believed that they committed some sin that kept her barren, Elisabeth, was past her childbearing years, so, the thought of her having a child was doubtful. Now, as the angel continues to tell Zacharias about their son, he gets a little doubtful.
[Luke 1:19-22,24-25 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. 20 And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. 21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless. 24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, 25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.]
[Reproach; To upbraid; to suggest blame for any thing.] See what doubting God gets you, while God did continue to use Zacharias, he spent the whole time that Elisabeth was pregnant as a mute. Elisabeth, on the other hand, hid herself for five months, not letting anyone know that she was going to have a baby. Well, once the news got out, it traveled quickly, in fact, it traveled all the way up to Galilee, where a young lady would also receive a visit from Gabriel.
[Luke 1:26-31 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.]
Many are led to believe that Mary was sinless, this is incorrect, she was not sinless, she just had God’s favor, like every sincere believer does. The word favor means any act of grace or good will, favor is something that God has given to believers as an evidence of His goodwill toward our believing in Him. Mary found favor with God because she believed that Jesus would come to save her. Do you think God would allow a woman that did not believe in the long awaited Messiah to carry His only begotten Son? In order to be used of God as a vessel of honor you must believe in Him, [Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.]
Again, there was not one word spoken of God by a prophet or anyone for a long time, so, it was quite a shock to hear anything like this. So, this man shows up and tells her that she is highly favored with God. Well, there were two reasons for her response, one; men did not converse with women in such a manner, and two; he told her that she was going to have a baby. Of course, Mary was a woman, but knew that she had never been with a man before and wondered how that was even possible.
[Luke 1:34-38 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible. 38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.]
Gabriel, is basically saying, “That child that you will bear will be God’s very own Son.” Talk about a shocker, but after she had heard his response she had no doubt that God was able to pull that off. She basically said, “God’s will be done.” and at this point she is trusting God. How she was going to explain all this to her betrothed was another thing, and in order to bide her some time, so she goes to visit with Elisabeth.
[Luke 1:41-45,56 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: 42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. 43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. 56 And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.]
At this point, Jesus, was barely in Mary’s womb, but as soon as she walked in the room the little baby in Elisabeth’s womb jumped and kicked around and immediately Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. You tell me that life does not begin at conception and I will tell you that you are a fool because life really is detectable even before it enters the womb. Those who question life need to take a serious look at themselves for God even considered them, [Ecclesiastes 11:4-5 He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. 5 As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.]
Mary, stayed with Elisabeth for three months, this was enough time to both explain to Joseph what happened and also give herself some time to come to terms that she was going to have a baby. Three months is actually time fixed by Jewish doctors to know whether or not a woman is with child, in particular the case of divorce or death. She must wait ninety days to marry someone else in order to distinguish whether or not the child is of the former husband or of the second husband. While this was not the case with Mary, the same rule sort of applied since she was engaged to be married and had been gone for a few months. It is not for us to question God’s purpose, it is for us to trust Him and wait patiently for the promise, [Hebrews 10:36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.]
Now, the time had come for Elisabeth to have her baby, she had given birth to a beautiful baby boy, but thanks to their family members who would have a fit if the eldest boy was not given the fathers name, they started a debate on what name to give him until Zacharias handed them a board with his name written on it.
[Luke 1:57-64 Now Elisabeth’s full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son. 58 And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her. 59 And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. 60 And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John. 61 And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name. 62 And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. 63 And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all. 64 And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.]
Interestingly, God, waited until Zacharias wrote down the name John that He allowed him to speak out-loud again. Is that not what He does for us the second that we receive Christ as our Saviour? We can believe in the Son of God, but we must also receive Him in order to receive the Holy Spirit, [Romans 10:9-10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.]
Zacharias, not only confirmed that his son’s name is to be John, he was immediately filled with the Holy Spirit and started prophesying what John was sent here for. Again, this is something that they were not use to so they were all in a bit of a shock to hear this many speaking prophecy.
[Luke 1:66-69,70,74,76,80 And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him. 67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, 68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, 70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: 74 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, 76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; 80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in Spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.]
Speaking of this being a promise from God since the world began, now we come to the Book of John. John, was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus who walked with Him during His entire ministry. The Book of John was written by John between 85 and 90 AD, these events also took place between 4BC and 33 AD, and it is addressed to both Jews and Gentiles, of whom Jesus is presented as the Son of God. The purpose of this book was to show All that Jesus is not only the Messiah, but the Son of God, and only way to eternal life. What we are to learn from the book is Jesus is the Christ, the only way to God and everlasting life, [John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.]
We are only going to read the first fourteen verses here today because John jumps right into when Jesus meets John, the Baptist for the first time. Through John, we are first reminded that Christ, who is the Word, was here from the very beginning of creation, [John 1:1-9 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.]
In other words, from the very beginning, as soon as God said, “Let there be light.” upon the earth when He created it, the eternity of Christ, His distinct personality, and proper deity proves not only His eternal existence, but His eternal existence with the Father, as the Trinity of God unfolds in His three persons, [1 John 5:6-9 This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. 9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.]
We who are saved and born again not only are a witness to the Light, we become the light to lead others to Him, through the Holy Spirit that lives in us, [Matthew 5:14-16 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.]
Faithful believers do shine the light of Christ upon them and that is exactly why the world hates them, we emit this light so bight that all they see is their sin. And here is what may be the greatest shocker, those who do believe become the sons and daughters too of God. John, goes on to point this out, [John 1:10-14 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.]
Yes, the very man that walked the earth just like you and I is the very man who created the world and everything on it, and the world never knew Him when He did. Yes, God Himself loved His human creation so much that He came here in the form of man to give His life to all who receive Him through His Son. This all may seem strange or unbelievable to those who cannot see faith, but we just need to be reminded that all things are possible with God, [Mark 9:23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.]
Today’s Prayer: God, It is often said that seeing is believing, well, I for one know that to be true, but not as the world would see, but as You would see. I may not have seen Your Son in person the day I believed in Him, but I have seen what Your Son has done in my life since He became my Saviour. Lord, in some ways You have muted my voice because of my doubts, and I ask you to forgive me for I know that nothing is impossible with You by my side. Just like the miracle of birth, You created a miracle in my spiritual birth, and while I may not always understand Your ways, I do understand that You love me so much that Your only option to save me was to give Your own life through Your Son. Let my light shine so that my good works reveal Your Son in me. I ask this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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