An Old Testament Masterpiece in the New Testament - Luke 1

Earlier this week I wrote: "I've often missed out on just how saturated Luke's gospel is with Old Testament references." I'm fairly convinced that in almost every sentence (and potentially almost every clause) in Luke 1 the gospel writer makes some connection to the Old Testament. Take a look at these 6 verses and see the overwhelming amount of references to the Old Testament as an example of this point:

11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Several Old Testament stories, passages, and quotes are alluded to in these few verses. Let's examine some of them in sequential order.

1. In verse 11 there is an interesting pairing of words - an angel of the Lord appeared. This pairing occurs multiple times in the Old Testament and we shouldn't expect the word "appeared" (in Hebrew רָאָה and in Greek ὀπτάνομαι) to be of much significance. On it's own, the word occurs over 1,300 times in the Old Testament and 58 times in the New Testament. However, when we look at the overlapping occurrences of this word with messengers from God (often translated as angel in English and is מַלְאָךְ "malak" in Hebrew and ἄγγελος angelos in Greek) we get an amazing instance: Judges 13.

At this point you might be saying "Ok....so what about Judges 13?", Judges 13 details the birth story of a controversial Old Testament hero - Samson. Samson's mother was childless (Judges 13:2) just like Zechariah and Elizabeth! Samson's mother and father (named Manoah) were told via a messenger from God they will conceive and give birth to a son. This son, per the messenger's command is to live in a manner that is consistent with the Nazirite vow in Numbers 6. The angel says in Judges 13:4-5a:

"Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb".

A similar (albeit not word-for-word) command is given to Zechariah regarding his son that is to come in Luke 1:15 "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born". Early on in Samson's life he is blessed with the Spirit of the Lord:

24 The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the Lord blessed him, 25 and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol. (Judges 13:24-25)

The bridge between these two accounts is strong enough to suggest that the Holy Spirit through Luke was intending for an audience familiar with the OT to search for similarities between John's birth and Samson's birth.

2. In the second half of verse 11 we're told the location of the appearance of Gabriel. This specific location is at the "right side of the alter of incense". There are others that have written helpful pieces on the significance of incense in worship in the Old Testament, I won't comment extensively here other than to say you should read this piece if you are curious for more, and should read the corresponding tabernacle description of the location's décor (Exodus 30:1-10) to give yourself a clear mind's eye view of the space in which Gabriel appeared to Zechariah.

3. We're told in Luke 1:12 that Zechariah was overcome in the moment. This is consistent with a great many descriptions of Old Testament figures during their first encounter with the presence of God's messengers.

Moses is afraid in the midst of God's presence when God speaks to him out of a burning bush in Exodus 3:6

6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

Isaiah in his encounter with the seraphim related in Isaiah 6:5 cries out:

5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

Gideon, a mighty hero by any human standard, has a doubt filled conversation with the angel of the Lord until he realizes exactly who it is he is speaking with in Judges 6:22:

22 When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”

In the very same instance as we previously examined from Judges 13 (Samson's birth announcement), we see Samson's father Manoah fearful as a result of the visit of an angel from the Lord.

21 When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the Lord. 22 “We are doomed to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen God!” (Judges 13:21-22)

While I do not hold any great conviction that the Holy Spirit through Luke intends for us to think of any one of these instances in particular, I do believe that Luke's gospel in recounting Zechariah's experience with Gabriel continues the Old Testament perspective on encountering God's messengers.

4. After speaking words of assurance to Zechariah, Gabriel prefaces the announcement of Elizabeth's pregnancy and John the Baptist's birth with a short statement "your prayer has been heard" (Luke 1:13). This phrase ought to call our attention and remind us of a few other specific instances with similar (nearly verbatim) phrases. In Genesis 25:21 we're told how the Patriarch Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of Rebekah because she was barren and God provides children to Rebekah after this prayer. Hannah (the mother of the prophet Samuel who anointed King Saul and King David) prayed to God and in 1 Samuel 1:20 we're told that she names her child "Samuel" because "I asked the Lord for him". These are just a few of the narrative examples that we can see are clearly referenced by Gabriel's choice of words. There are a great many instances of God hearing the prayers of his people recounted in the Psalms as well. Check out a few of them below:

Psalm 6:9 The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer.

Psalm 18:6 In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.

Psalm 28:6 Praise be to the LORD, for he has heard my cry for mercy.

Psalm 116:1 I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.

5. The final reference that we have time to examine today is the promise Gabriel makes regarding John's ministry. In Luke 1:16-17 Gabriel's words reference at least three different prophets in the Old Testament:

16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

First, The verb that gets used in verse 16 acts as both a preview and a review. God's Old Testament prophets often were used to bring back God's people to God's ways after wandering in their own squalor. The Greek verb (ἐπιστρέφω) used here is the transitive form of "to turn back". Much of the substance of the work of the prophets in the Old Testament was to speak words of warning to God's people in an effort to get the people of God to return or to "turn back" to the Lord. The son of Zechariah and Elizabeth would be in this mold, one who would cause many of the people of Israel to return to the Lord their God. This same verb is used in the New Testament, most notably in the book of Acts (9:35) to describe the conversion of many who had witnessed the healing of a man named Aeneas by the Apostle Peter. According to Gabriel, John would be a tremendous witness to Christ and a winner of souls for the Lord. 

Second, Gabriel draws a connection between John and the spirit and power of Elijah. This ought to cause us to remember the life and work of Elijah the prophet who famously served during a time of drought and was falsely named the "troubler of Israel" by wicked king Ahab. It was Elijah who prayed for the dead son of the widow and he was returned to life (1 Kings 17:21-22). It was Elijah who mocked the cult priests of Baal on mount Carmel and prayed to the Lord to consume with fire the sacrifice drenched in water (1 Kings 18). It was Elijah who was empowered by the Lord and thereby outran the company of Ahab after the battle of Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:46). It was Elijah who was fed by the Lord in the wilderness (1 Kings 19). It was Elijah who was taken up into heaven by the flaming chariot (2 Kings 2:11-12). For Gabriel to say to Zechariah that his son would go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah is nothing short of saying that his son would live a life great in the eyes of God and heinous in the eyes of the wicked. 

The third reference which Gabriel makes is to the last prophecies in the final book of the Old Testament, Malachi 4:5-6

5 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”

In Malachi 4 Elijah is promised to come before a great and dreadful day of the Lord. That Elijah who is promised will "turn the hearts of the parents to their children". This phrasing only occurs in Luke and in Malachi. The Angel Gabriel here is in essence saying "John is going to be this prophet, in fulfillment of the word of God to Malachi. John will be like Elijah who will turn the hearts of God's people". 

Over the last two posts, we've seen now 8 distinct references to the Old Testament, and we're only a few verses into Luke chapter 1! Why on earth does any of this matter? I'll give you two brief reasons why:

1. The God who was at work in the Old Testament, making promises to his people, redeeming his people, and speaking of a day when redemption would be fulfilled in a lasting way for eternal life, is the same God who is at work in the life and time of John the Baptist, Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph. The God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament. 

2. The same God who sent Gabriel to meet Zechariah in the temple of Herod is the same God to whom we pray. This God who we pray to, at meal times, during our first waking moments of the day, when we lay our head to sleep at night, when we have great days, weeks, and years, and when we experience drought, famine, pestilence, and loss, is the same God who heard Zechariah's prayer for his wife Elizabeth, and who heard Hannah's prayer in 1 Samuel 1 for a child, and is the same God who hears and answers our prayers!