King James Version, with Nii Okai's journal notes · 28 notes
1Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,
2Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
3It 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,
4That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
5There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judæa, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
6And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
Walking 🚶 in the ordinances of God blameless did not mean they were without sin.
No one is without sin, but in the ordinances of God is provision made for cleansing of sins, so anyone who follows the ordinances of God can be blameless.
Blameless in that when you sin, you follow the ordinances laid out for cleansing sin, so you remain blameless.
7And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
8And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course,
9According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
10And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.
11And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
12And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
13But 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.
Is it really that when angels do appear they don't expect you to fear?
14And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
15For 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.
16And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
17And 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.
We know Elijah worked a lot of miracles but John did not; however, we see that John's life showed us what else Elijah did aside the miracles.
He turned the hearts 💕 of the fathers to the children and brought many to God.
For this to have been mentioned, then it was a remarkable and distinct and prominent ministry of his.
I mean, of all the prophets, from Samuel to Malachi, Elijah's reconciliation ministry must have been unique for his spirit to be what John operated in.
What is your call? What spirit 🤽♂️ are you operating in?
18And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.
You know, sometimes we believe for so long and get disappointed for so many years, that even if an angel 😇 or God himself were to bring us word of hope again, we are too broken to believe.
We gave up on hope long ago. A similar thing happened to Abraham, and the Bible says he fell on his face and laughed and said, O that Ishmael might live before thee.
19And 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.
20And, 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.
Punished for his unbelief, yet the words of the angel did not require belief to be fulfilled.
Yet Jesus did not many miracles in his hometown because of unbelief.
Unbelief did not stop the miracles, but it did hinder it from happening.
Was that why he put everyone out when raising the dead?
Whether unbelief hindered the supernatural or not, it seems a bad thing. Gabriel, though not hindered by it, punished it.
21And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.
22And 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.
23And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
24And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
These were the beginning of strange times in Israel. After centuries of prophetic silence 🤫... Things were taking off again.
25Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.
26And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
27To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
Mary, I hear, was about 14 years old at this time.
28And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
29And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
30And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
What was there about Mary and Joseph that made them the perfect couple 👫 God could use?
Just like Samson's parents, maybe the obscurity of their life and poverty, the virgin Mary, the obedient Joseph etc. met the criteria for the Lamb.
31And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
Just like Samson, the angel appeared not to the man but to the woman, the carrier of the seed, and then later to the man.
Why not to the man first?
32He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
33And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Gabriel said these words so simply, yet they were to span a period of over 2000 years, yet unfulfilled.
Why did Mary not ask how he was to reign forever, unless she understood that to mean his generations shall forever be the ones on the throne?
I do not know if she understood that to mean he was going to be an immortal, a God-man, so he would have no successor and thus he would reign forever.
I doubt that was how she understood it, even though that is actually exactly what God meant.
34Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
35And 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.
Following customs and traditions, Mary was very young at this time — likely in her teens, early to mid teens.
It's about time we go back to the youth and let them know the truth of the Bible stories so they rise up to the task.
Many take charge of their life and purpose too late.
Youthfulness is for a purpose. It's the time of your greatest strength 💪
This so reminds me of when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men. This resulted in the birth of men of renown of old.
Here God himself overshadowed Mary and birthed his own son.
I wonder if the Old Testament prophets really knew the Messiah would be born and ascend into heaven and come back later as king.
No one knew that, not even the scribes of the time. No wonder many did not and have still not accepted their Christ.
So also I believe the book of Revelation and the end times would have many elements not recorded; we may be in for many surprises concerning the end of time.
36And, 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.
37For with God nothing shall be impossible.
38And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
What a bold statement to be made by a virgin lady, to accept to carry a child whiles a virgin and not married 👰.
It's so shameful and comes with untold hardships even in these our times, how much more in their strict cultural setup 👆.
She risked possibly stoning to death and unimaginable shame on her family 👪, yet she accepted.
What faith and submission to the plan of God.
She indeed is blessed.
But as we count the cost of this acceptance declaration, let's not forget the prize 🏆
Hmm 🤔. Her receptivity to the word of God was also one of her qualifying features.
Be it unto me according to thy word.
39And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;
40And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.
41And 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:
42And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
43And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
She felt it. She felt the joy of the baby 🤱. Oh, what a moment, what a day.
45And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
46And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
47And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
This song of Mary, her appreciation of God's goodness upon her despite the present shame of pre-marital pregnancy 🤰 and sex.
Her understanding and perspective of the promises of God... Makes me marvel at Mary's age. If she is as young as some theories suggest, because virgin and unmarried 👰 most likely indicated youthfulness.
Then she indeed was a wise young woman. This makes me wonder, what kind of character and person was Mary?
Mary the mother of God. Indeed I wonder, what kind of personality was God looking for to be the mother of his son 🤔 Hmm.
48For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Ah... This is faith. Already she was seeing the generations that would honour him.
She knew she carried the Messiah. The long-awaited and promised king 👑.
God, who knows the reins, sought for a woman who would handle the coming suffering upon her so gallantly.
A woman whose personal needs will not interfere with the work of the Lord.
Yes indeed, knowing that her son was to be the future king of Israel and the long-awaited Christ.
Oh, what joy of a mother, indeed of the two mothers, Elizabeth knowing her son was to be forerunner to the Messiah.
49For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
50And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
This goes to show the character of Mary: she feared God.
51He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
53He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
54He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
55As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
56And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.
She abode till Elisabeth delivered John the Baptist.
Likely that was one of the last times they saw each other. By the time John was baptizing, he did not even know his own cousin.
They did not seem to have any relationship.
I believe the old man Zacharias and Elisabeth died along the line.
This Spirit-filled John grew and, like Samson, began to be moved by the Holy Ghost.
The boy Jesus also grew in wisdom and in stature.
57Now Elisabeth’s full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.
58And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.
59And 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.
60And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.
61And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.
62And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.
They made signs to him; was he both deaf and dumb now? It seems so. How else were they making signs for him, if he could hear?
63And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.
64And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.
65And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judæa.
And I believe it was from these sources that Luke got his story.
Like it had become an everyday conversation at a point about the miracle child.
And there were some of the people still alive to re-enact the story for Luke to record.
66And 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.
And 30 years later John was in the wilderness preaching the kingdom of God, a famous and great man of God.
At about that time his parents and their compatriots who heard and witnessed these strange things were dead.
But like all stories, it had been handed down 👇 to the younger generation. Indeed, John's comrades were alive at this time to bear 🍷 witness of these strange times.
He was indeed a burning 🔥 and shining light.
67And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
68Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,
69And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
70As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
71That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
72To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
73The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
74That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
75In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
76And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
This is where the antichrist stole his ideas from.
He also will have a prophet. Hmm 🤔, indeed.
77To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,
78Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
Did they fully understand who the Christ was, that he was God incarnate? Again, from the words of Zechariah, they expected deliverance in their days.
I think Jesus did really disappoint a lot of people's expectations.
As I think of these things, I can't help but wonder about his second coming; many would be disappointed, as we see already, that he has really delayed.
But we see already the groundwork being laid for his coming and that of the antichrist.
Where all eyes will see him. Initially we thought that was figurative, but no, that is now literally possible... All eyes will see him.
79To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
80And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.