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Good Wednesday morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends.
I’m sure you’ve noticed… 2 weeks from today will be Christmas day!
In our Scripture reading, we’re in the Christmas story Luke 1 and today verses 14-25.
Let’s rejoin the old priest Zechariah in the Holy Place, in the Temple in Jerusalem. For the first time in his life, he has been selected to be the “intercessor of the day”, the priest chosen to enter the Temple, put hot coals and incense on the Altar of Incense… then worship and pray to Almighty God, for Israel and his own personal requests.
Luke 1:11 tells us while he was doing this, suddenly an angel of God appeared in that same room, and spoke to Zechariah, in his language, calling him by name and telling him that his prayers have been heard, and he and his barren wife Elizabeth would have a son. Now please notice with me the characteristics of this son that the angel describes:
1. He is to be named “John”, because it means “The LORD is Gracious”, and God was most certainly being gracious to the secularized nation of Israel by sending a miracle boy who would be the forerunner of Messiah!
You’ll remember there are several people in the Bible whom God named before they were born! Here are two:
* Ishmael the son of Hagar and Abraham (Gen. 16:11)
* Isaac the son of Sarah and Abraham (Gen. 17:19)
2. “He will be a joy and delight to you and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the LORD.” (1:14) May I ask a question? Do you believe God cares about your emotional state? Does God care when you are discouraged, fearful, anxious, worried, angry, despondent, bitter, resentful? Does God delight when you are joyful, thankful, happy, content? YES! Why? Because He loves you and made you to love Him and find JOY in your relationship with Him!
God knew Zechariah and Elizabeth had lived with disappointment and maybe even broken hearts, the older they got without children. Being both from the family line of Aaron, they had such high hopes of sons who would follow in their priestly line! The Angel assured them their elderly years would be filled with great joy as their home would be filled with the sounds of a son. But more than that. They would find even greater joy as they watched this son John grow up and be greatly used of God, for God’s glory, among God’s people Israel!
3. “He is never to take wine or other fermented drink and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.” (1:15) While the phrase is not used, to Zechariah and Elizabeth this description sounds very much like the Nazarite vow described in Numbers 6:1-8, for those ‘consecrated to the LORD all of their life.” The special anointing of the Holy Spirit from birth is unique to John. While others were anointed by the Holy Spirit for particular times or events, for John it was an anointing for a lifetime!
4. Verse 16 and 17 are very important as they link very closely with the closing verses of the Old Testament, Malachi 4:5,6. These words from the angel would explain to Zechariah and all Israel that the 400 year silence from God was ended, and John was the first prophet of God in this new era. You’ll note Zechariah blessed his son with these words in Luke 1:76 “And you my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High…”
5. The reference to John “…going on before the LORD in the spirit and power of Elijah…” in vs. 17 was very significant to Zechariah and 1st century Jews. Elijah was held in the highest of esteem, and perhaps most remembered for his famous Mount Carmel showdown with Israel’s king Ahab and Jezebel’s prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18). This picture could have awakened in Jewish minds, thoughts of John confronting the Roman Caesar and leading Israel back to years of grandeur again. But the last line of vs. 17 was a clear statement from God. John’s life was not about political or military achievement. His role in history was “…to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Isaiah 40:3-5 was the picture. John was to prepare the people for Messiah, Jesus the Christ!
I wonder if you’ve put yourself in Zechariah’s sandals and tried to imagine all the emotions and intellectual stretch it was for him that day in the Temple with the angel? What would you have said or asked, after you caught your breath, maybe picked yourself up off the floor? You see Zechariah’s question in vs. 18…“How can I be sure of this, I am an old man and my wife is well along in years?” That’s fair, don’t you think?
The Angel’s response is important. First he identifies himself by name & position in God’s heaven. “I am Gabriel and I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time.” (1:19-20) My friends, does that seem harsh? Too severe? May I offer this thought? The single most important thing Zechariah had to do for the next 9 months was PREPARE: prepare his mind, his heart, his relationship with Elizabeth, for several years of mentoring John, and preparing John for the ministry of being the forerunner of Messiah!
Zechariah could not be caught up in discussions, debate, traveling around the country to tell his story… he needed to spend extended amounts of time studying all he could in the Old Testament to understand everything God had said about Messiah and preparing for Him! May I offer a question to all of us… the long anticipated year of 2020 is now only 3 weeks away. How do we best use these 3 weeks to prepare, and how will each of us best use the year 2020 to participate with God in all HE wants to accomplish in our world?
Luke 1:21,22 tells us the people waiting outside the Temple quickly realized something very special had occurred inside with Zechariah, but he was unable to explain it! You can imagine how the anticipation and questions began right there. I would guess several of those people kept a close eye for the next several months, watching to see what the result of that morning in the Holy Place would bring.
As Dr. Luke wrote vs. 23-25 I imagine he did so with a sense of awe. His medical training would say it was impossible, but he’d seen enough miracles in his travels with Paul, and as he interviewed the disciples and friends of Jesus, I’m sure he heard story after story of Jesus’ miracles.
You’ll notice there is a six month gap between the end of vs. 25 and verse 26. In those six months Zechariah and Elizabeth were the only two people on earth who knew that God was at work, making final preparations for the soon arrival of the Messiah. I imagine they filled those months with study, prayer, worship… and of course practical preparations to have a son born into their home!
What might God do, my ‘Walking with Jesus” friends, if you and I spent some extra time these next three weeks, preparing ourselves? Extra time in God’s Word and Prayer and Worship. Asking the Holy Spirit to do a special work of preparing us for what God has planned for 2020 and how God wants to invite you and me into that plan!
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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