Luke 1:1-9

I am writing for you, mighty lover of God, an orderly account of what Jesus accomplished and fulfilled among us. Several eyewitness biographies have already been written, using as their source material the good news preached among us by his early disciples, who were from the beginning loving servants of the Living Expression. Now I am passing on to you this accurate compilation of my own meticulous investigation based on numerous eyewitness interviews. It is appropriate for me to write this, for he also appeared to me so that I would reassure you beyond any shadow of a doubt the reliability of all you have been taught of him. During the reign of King Herod the Great of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah who served in the temple as part of the priestly order of Abijah. His wife, Elizabeth, was also from a family of priests, and was a descendant of Aaron. They were both righteous before God, living virtuously and following the commandments of the Lord blamelessly. But they were childless since Elizabeth was barren, and now they both were quite old. One day, Zechariah’s priestly order was on duty and he was serving as priest. He was chosen by the casting of lots (according to the custom of the priesthood) so the honor fell upon Zechariah to enter the Holy Place and burn incense before the Lord.