Luke’s gospel doesn’t have the most chapters, but it has the most words. From what I understand, Luke wrote more of the New Testament than Paul because he wrote so many words. Paul has many more books than Luke. Luke just has the gospel and the book of Acts, but they are long books.

Most believe Luke was a Gentile, making him the only non-Jewish author of the Bible, and he wrote the longest part of our New Testament.

He was not an apostle. He was an observer and historian, or maybe we could say journalist. He traveled with Paul. He talked to the eye witnesses. He set out to write an orderly account.

Luke says the point of the account was so that the sponsor of this work, Theophilus, a Greek, would have certainty about what he had learned of Jesus.

Luke begins earlier than the other gospels, starting before John the Baptist was born. We get the story of Elizabeth and Zechariah.

Because Luke’s purpose is to prove the certainty of what’s been taught about Jesus, he uses lots of names and places.

We are told at the beginning of this story that these are the days of Herod, king of Judah. We learn that Zechariah is of the division of Abijah and that his wife was from the daughters of Aaron. We learn their family lines.

These details may not feel important to your understanding of God and how He relates to you, but they are details affirming the accuracy of what we know about Jesus. He was a real man in a real time and place.

Zechariah and Elizabeth are described as blameless and without child.

We have seen this before. There are definitely themes and motifs in the Bible. It’s not uncommon for God’s chosen to be without child. We know there’s an important child coming after that trial. And we know the blameless one is delivered; there will be an end to this trial. There will be deliverance and blessing – in more ways than one.