Luke 1:25 - Printer Friendly

ESV: "Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people."

NIV: "The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people."

NASB: This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to take away my disgrace among people.'

CSB: "The Lord has done this for me. He has looked with favor in these days to take away my disgrace among the people."

NLT: How kind the Lord is!' she exclaimed. 'He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.'

KJV: Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

NKJV: “Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

Cultures of the past had no means to offer social security, retirement, or other resources for the elderly. A common person's only reliable means of support in old age was their children. Being childless, in that era, was an enormous financial disadvantage. Likewise, it meant the married couple would pass on no legacy—there would be no continuation of their family line. As a result, women shouldered an outsized social stigma when they could not bear children. In fact, some men divorced wives who did not conceive.

When Elizabeth, aging and without a child (Luke 1:5–7) hears she will finally have a son (Luke 1:13), it is cause for celebration. Not only is this an answer to prayer, and a blessing for an older couple, it removes the cultural shame that came with being an infertile woman. In modern western cultures, infertility is still a deeply personal, emotional issue. However, it does not carry the disgrace of millennia past. Women who overcame infertility would have felt released, by God, from a terrible burden (Genesis 30:22–23; 1 Samuel 1:4–6).

In this case, Elizabeth will have even greater reasons to rejoice. Her son will come to be known as John the Baptist (Luke 3:2–3). This will fulfill prophecy (Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1; 4:5–6) and herald the arrival of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. She will also be visited by her relative, Mary, who will receive even more amazing news, about an even more miraculous conception (Luke 1:39–45).

Luke 1:5–25 explains how Elizabeth, the childless wife of a priest, learns that she will give birth to a prophet. This child will eventually be known as John the Baptist. Her husband, Zechariah, learns this from an angel but doubts due to his advanced age. As a result, he is rendered temporarily mute, and likely deaf as well (Luke 1:62). As predicted, he and Elizabeth conceive and await the birth of their son. This occurs several months before Elizabeth's relative, Mary, receives even more amazing news from an angel.

The angel Gabriel predicts two miraculous births. The first is a son born to Zechariah and Elizabeth: an older, childless priest and his wife. Because Zechariah initially doubts this message, he is temporarily made unable to speak. Their child will be known as John the Baptist, a powerful herald of the Messiah. The Promised One whom John will proclaim is the second birth predicted by Gabriel. He tells an engaged virgin, Mary, that God will miraculously conceive His Son in her. The two women meet and rejoice over their blessings. John's arrival sets the stage for Luke's familiar account of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Luke was a travelling companion of the apostle Paul (Acts 16:10); his book of Acts is a direct "sequel" to the gospel of Luke (Acts 1:1–3). Those two books make up more than a quarter of the New Testament. Luke begins by explaining how his orderly approach is meant to inspire confidence in Christian faith. His work is based on eyewitness interviews and other evidence. The first chapter details the miraculous conceptions of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. Chapter 2 continues with Jesus' birth.

Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10) and a physician (Colossians 4:14). Unlike Matthew, Mark, and John, Luke writes his gospel as an historian, rather than as a first-hand eyewitness. His extensive writings also include the book of Acts (Acts 1:1–3). These are deliberately organized, carefully researched accounts of those events. The gospel of Luke focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke's Gentile perspective presents Christ as a Savior for all people, offering both forgiveness and direction to those who follow Him.