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LESSON I.—SABBATH, JANUARY 6, 1894

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Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Dec 25, 1893

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 20, No. 8.

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LESSON I.—SABBATH, JANUARY 6, 1894.

JOHN THE BAPTIST'S BIRTH FORETOLD.

Lesson Scripture, Luke 1 : 1-23 (R. V.).
1. Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to draw up a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled 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 traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus ;
4. That thou mightest know the certainty concerning the things wherein thou wast instructed.
5. There was in the days of Herod, king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abijah : and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
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 Elizabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
8. Now it came to pass, 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 enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
10. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the hour of incense.
11. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
12. And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.
13. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias : because thy supplication is heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bare 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 he shall drink no 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 unto the Lord their God.
17. And he shall go before his face in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to walk in the wisdom of the just ; to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.
18. And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this ? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.
19. And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God ; and I was sent to speak unto thee, and to bring thee these good tidings.
20. And behold, thou shalt be silent and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall come to pass, because thou believedst not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.
21. And the people were waiting for Zacharias, and they marveled while he tarried 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 ; and he continued making signs unto them, and remained dumb.
23. And it came to pass, when the days of his ministration were fulfilled, he departed unto his house.
The first four verses of this chapter are introductory. They tell why the book was written, to whom it was addressed, and the qualifications of the author to write such a treatise.
Verses 5-7 introduce and describe Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth.
In verses 8-10 we are told what Zacharias was doing when the angel appeared to him ; and in verses 11-17 we find a promise that a son should be born to Zacharias, and a description of the work that he should do.
Verses 18-23 relate the doubt of Zacharias, and the punishment for it, and his return to his house. The entire lesson after the introduction might be summarized thus : The angel Gabriel appears to Zacharias, the priest, in the temple, and tells him that he shall have a son, who will be the forerunner of the Messiah. The lesson heading is really a sufficient synopsis of the lesson.
  1. What was the occasion of the writing of the Gospel of Luke?
  2. What were Luke's qualifications for the work?
  3. To whom was the book addressed?
  4. What object did Luke have in writing it?
  5. Who was Zacharias?
  6. What was his wife's name?
  7. What is said of his character?
  8. What portion of the priest's office had fallen on Zacharias?
  9. What were the people doing at the time of incense?
  10. Who appeared to Zacharias as he stood by the altar?
  11. How did Zacharias feel at the sight?
  12. What did the angel say to him?
  13. What did he say would be caused by John's birth?
  14. What did he say would be John's character?
  15. What would be his work?
  16. How did Zacharias receive this announcement?
  17. Who was the angel that appeared to Zacharias?
  18. What special privilege does he enjoy?
  19. How was Zacharias rebuked for his unbelief?
  20. How did the people feel when he tarried so long in the temple?
  21. What did they perceive when he came out?
  22. What did Zacharias do as soon as his term of service expired?

NOTES.

1. The fact that Luke states that he had "perfect understanding of all things from the very first," does not at all detract from the inspiration of the narrative. All of the New Testament writers, as well as most of the historical writers of the Old Testament, knew of the things of which they wrote ; and yet the historical portion of the Bible, as well as the prophetic, is part of the "all Scripture" which is "given by inspiration of God." 2 Tim. 3 : 16. Humanity is erring, and perfect truthfulness in a narrative can be assured only by the Spirit of God. Let it be remembered, also, that but a very small portion of the words and acts of Christ are recorded (see John 21 : 25), and it will be seen that only the Holy Spirit could guide in selecting those portions that were necessary for us to know. Lastly, we cannot distinguish any difference between the writing of prophecy and the recording of certain events of history out of an abundance of matter. The power that tells exactly what will fit the needs of the people under all circumstances in all time to come, varies in no particular from that which can tell what is going to take place in all coming time.
2. ZACHARIAS was "of the course of Abia," or Abijah. See 1 Chron. 24 : 1-19 for the record of the division of the sons of Aaron into twenty-four orders. The course or order of Abijah was the eighth of the twenty-four. The heads of these orders were known as the "chief priests." The order of the service of the priests was determined by lot ; and as there were many thousand priests, it was not probable that any priest could serve more than once in his lifetime, and some would never be chosen. Therefore the angel appeared to Zacharias on the occasion of a most important event in his life.
3. "And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." The fact that these two were righteous before God, and blameless in their lives, proves that such a thing is possible. Besides we are all exhorted to "do all things without murmurings and disputings ; that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation." Phil. 2 : 14, 15. Without holiness no man shall see the Lord. Heb. 12 : 14. This shows that such a course of life is necessary. There will be a company redeemed from among men who will be "without fault before the throne of God." Rev. 14 : 5. Jude ascribes praise "unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy." Jude 24. This shows that God, who is able to make us perfect, designs to keep us in that condition before the time comes to bring us into his presence. See also 1 Peter 5 : 10 ; Heb. 13 : 20, 21. This perfection is attained only in Christ (Col. 2 : 10), but it is the portion of "every man" in Christ (Col. 1 : 28).
4. In the case of Zacharias a marked instance is given of how God regards those who doubt his word because they cannot understand it. When God speaks, man shows the highest wisdom in believing, and not in doubting, although what is said may not seem consistent from our point of view. Man, with his puny reasoning powers, has no business to talk about the unreasonableness or inconsistency of what God says, who is infinite in wisdom. Faith is, after all, not only the most reasonable thing in the world, but the only reasonable thing. It is the foundation of all knowledge, both of human and divine things. "Through faith we understand," etc. Heb. 11 : 3. It is by faith that we understand about creation. They who, rejecting the Scripture narrative, build up systems of philosophy, attempting to account for the existence of the earth, are never settled. Their systems are only theories, which are constantly subject to change. Only the one who in faith accepts God's word, has solid ground to rest upon.
5. "I AM Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God." Gabriel seems to occupy the highest position among the angels. It was he who was later sent to announce the birth of Christ. Luke 1 : 26, 27. He also was sent to make important revelations to the prophet Daniel. Dan. 8 : 16 ; 9 : 21. There can be no doubt but that he is also the one who was subsequently sent to Daniel to make additional communications. See Dan. 10, 11. In Dan. 10 : 21 the honor which is given him in heaven is thus stated : "And there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince." Michael is Christ. See Jude 9 ; 1 Thess. 4 : 16 ; John 5 : 25-29. From this it would seem that Gabriel is Christ's angel, who communicated the wonderful revelations to John on Patmos. See Rev. 1 : 1 ; 22 : 16.