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THE KING’S BUSINESS
what they testified. Luke now undertook to gather the abundant material together in an accurate and orderly way. His object was that Theophilus (and we) “might know the certainty” of these great facts regarding the Virgin Birth, the wonderful life and mighty deeds, the Atoning Death, the lit eral resurrection and the bodily ascension of our Lord. We cannot afford to have any guess work or uncertainty about facts of such transcendent importance for time and eternity as these. Monday, September 13. Luke 1 :5-7. Zacharias means “whem Jehovah remem bered.” In this case it was the holy life and the prayers of Zacharias that Jehovah remembered (vs. 6, 13 cf. Acts 10:4). The righteousness of Zacharias and Elizabeth was real and thorough-going, it was not merely before man but “before God” (cf. Luke 16:15). The inward righteousness of Zacharias and Elizabeth manifested itself in their outward conduct. We are not to un derstand from what is said in verse 6 that Zacharias and Elizabeth were absolutely sin less (v. 20, cf. Rom. 3:22, 23; 1 Jno. 1:8, 10; Jas. 3:2; Phil. 3:6, see 1 Titus 1:15; 2 Kings 20:3). There was one great cloud upon their home life, they had no child (cf. Gen. 15:1, 2; Ps. 127:3-5). The child less home is to be greatly pitied. Zacharias and Elizabeth eagerly longed for a child (v. 13), as all men and women who are “righteous before God” do. But it does not prove that parents are not righteous be cause they have no children, though it often proves that they are very wicked. They looked to the right source for children, they looked to God (cf. Judges 13:2-8; 1 Sam. 1:10, 27). Tuesday, September 14. Luke 1 :8-12. Zacharias was attending to the work God had appointed him to do when he received the announcement of the coming child (cf. ch. 2:8, 9). Every believer is a priest (1 Peter 2:9), but not all "execute the priests office before God” (Matt. 6:5). Neither do we always do it “in the order of
them they “believed not.” Certainly these were not the sort of men to fancy a resur rection that had not actually taken place. And they were very like us ; how slow we are to believe what the Bible declares will come to pass, even when it actually occurs. Many Christians were fully convinced that by the progress of science, philosophy, cul ture and civilization, by the higher evolution of man, great wars among the civilized na tions had become forever impossible, in spite of the plain predictions of the Word of God of the awful wars that would characterize the last days, and they will scarcely believe their own eyes and ears now these things are actually upon us. Our Lord was much displeased ■with this unbelief and hardness of heart on the part of His disciples, and He is equally displeased with our unbelief, which will not believe the unimpeachable testimony of those who have seen Him. But at last they were convinced and “went forth and preached everywhere.” So will we if we are really convinced. And the Lord “worked with them” and He will with us. Sunday, September 12. Luke 1 :l-4. That Luke, the friend and companion of Paul, wrote the Gospel which bears his name is generally admitted even by the destructive critics who attack the authen ticity of many other books in the New Tes tament as well as Old. It was written somewhere about 60 A. D., though it may have been a year or two earlier or from one to three years later. About thirty years had elapsed since the death, resurrection and ascension of our Lord, and naturally “many” had “taken in hand to draw up a narrative” of the Old Testament predictions which had béen “fulfilled” in the person and work of Jesus. These many included not only the inspired records which we still possess in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark but many which because of their in feriority have not survived. The facts them selves had been carefully handed down by those “who from the beginning were eye witnesses” and knew exactly and fully of
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