Luke 1

Introduction

<1>Many people havealready tried to draw up anaccurate, carefully organised report of thesignificant events that have beengoing on among usas the fulfilmentof God’s promises.These events concernJesus. You can be sure that he really existed because<2>those earlier reports were based directly on reliable eyewitnessaccounts from the startof Jesus’ ministry. These eyewitnesses were also servants of the word,ministers who declared the good news of Jesus.<3>Since this is so, it seemed good to me also to delve carefullyand thoroughly into everything that has happenedright from the beginningof Jesus’ family background. As a result,honourable Theophilus, I have written a well-ordered report for you.<4>My aim throughout is that you may be persuadedof the truth of what you havealready been taught.I want you to be strengthened in your faith and certain about the reliabilityof the good news of Jesus.

The birth of John the Baptist foretold

<5>In the days of King Herod of Judea (Herod the Great), therelived a priest calledZechariah. He belonged to Abijah’s group of priests. His wife, Elizabeth, was a descendant of Aaron.<6>Bothof their liveswere marked by a devout integrity in God’s sight: they followed all the Lord’s commands and laws consistently.<7>Butsadly,Zechariah and Elizabeth didn’t have any children, because Elizabeth could not conceive. Both of them were old,past the usual child-bearing years.Nevertheless they remained faithful to God.

<8>One day it was the turn ofZechariah’s group of priests to be on dutyto serve God.<9>Zechariahhimself was chosen by lot, as was the custom of the priests.God chose him to go intothe Holy Place in the Lord’s templein Jerusalem and