I thought because the Christmas story is so familiar, we would look at it perhaps in a new way to see if we can gain some new insights about it.
There are the first three Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
Strangely enough, in the Gospel of Mark, nothing is said about the Christmas story.
No shepherds in the field, no wise men coming from the east, no star of David.
None of these things.
The Gospel of Mark begins with Jesus' ministry as an adult.
He is baptized by John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit comes upon him, and he immediately engages in ministry.
So in that sense, perhaps the first 30 years or whatever are not mentioned at all.
Well, when you come to the Gospel of John, none of that is there either.
And then John introduces this Greek word logos.
And if you know anything about Greek philosophy, the word logos is a technical term.
But it is Matthew and Mark that give us the Christmas story.
So let me tell you a story here.
And the story is this.
Once upon a time, there was a really evil king.
This evil king felt very threatened about his position and power.
So because he was very threatened, he decided to get rid of what is causing him threat.
So he decided to kill the children.
One of those children escaped in Egypt.
And later on, this child came back and became the savior of his people.
Now comes the difficult question.
Whose story am I telling?
Is it Moses?
There was an evil pharaoh who was afraid what might happen to Egypt if Egypt is attacked or invaded by the Libyans.
And so not wanting to fight against the Libyans while feeling insecure about what the Hebrews will do.
Worried that he would have to fight against Libya and slaves at the same time.
He decided to eliminate or to reduce the danger of the slaves by having the boys killed.
And yet Moses escapes and floats in the river and is taken by Pharaoh's daughter.
Later on, he kills an Egyptian and then escapes to the desert and comes back after he encounters God at the burning bush.
So it looks like I'm telling you the story about Moses.
But think about it this way.
There was an evil king named Herod who was not Jewish.
He was Edomian and he was a fairly paranoid king.
And so he hears the good news or he is maybe for him the bad news.
Where is he born king of the Jews?
Because we saw his star.
And he decides that the king of Jews is a danger to him.
So he asks the wise men, the magi, to find where he is so he could go worship the king.
All along he is planning on killing the child.
The family is warned.
Joseph is warned.
They escape to Egypt.
They stay in Egypt until Herod dies.
And then after Herod dies, they return to Israel, to the promised land.
And Jesus becomes the future reformer and savior of his people.
So was my story about Moses or was it about Jesus?
The interesting thing to notice is that Matthew writes the story of Jesus using the framework of Moses.
Now this is not a coincidence.
Matthew is trying to make a point that just as Moses was the deliverer of his people,
just as Moses was used by God to save his people,
Jesus is also going to be used by God to save his people too.
So the lines are parallel.
They both tell of a future deliverer who is going to come and rescue his people.
Matthew wants us to see Jesus as a second Moses, a second savior,
but of course with a much more greater task, namely to save the whole world and not just the Hebrews in Egypt.
That is one story.
Let me tell you another story.
Once upon a time, there were an old man and woman, his wife.
They were advanced in age and she was also barren.
And consequently, they didn't have any children.
So God sends them a special messenger to announce the birth of the child.
The father doesn't believe the messenger.
And nevertheless, God says that the child is going to be born.
And the good news is announced to them.
What story am I telling you now?
Well, if you are in Genesis 17 and 18,
I'm telling you the story about Abraham and Sarah.
An old couple, barren wife, no child,
and yet the child will bring them great joy.
And Abraham doesn't believe and he laughs.
And Sarah doesn't believe and he laughs.
And so finally, when they have a child, they name him Laughter.
Which means God gets the last laugh.
So the moral of the story is, don't laugh when God is serious.
And yet, Abraham hears the good news.
So it could be that I'm talking to you about Abraham.
But maybe it is not.
Maybe it's Zechariah.
And if you look at the Gospel of Luke, chapter 1, 25,
you see the same things.
So Matthew wants us to think about Moses
and his calling.
And Luke wants us to think about Abraham and his calling.
Both of them are saying you will gain an insight
if you think about Jesus as somehow analogous to Moses
or analogous to Abraham.
If Moses and Jesus were great saviors of their people
who were in bondage, what's the point of Luke?
Why mention Abraham?
Because the Abraham story begins basically in Genesis chapter 12.
Before that, we have, first of all, a history of the world.
And it's a very bad history.
And without going into all the bad history
that happened in the first 12 chapters,
you only need to remember the great flood
where God is so upset with the sin of the world
that he decides to wipe out the human race
except for Noah and his family.
And then the other major event is the Tower of Babel
and all the families of the earth.
And so what happens in chapter 12
is that God stops discussing the history of the world
and now focuses on one family and one person.
There is a shifting from universal history
to very specific history.
And it's the history of Abraham
and his descendants from whom will come Jesus.
So Luke wants us to see
that Jesus is also God narrowing his focus
in terms of salvation,
but beyond that,
that Jesus is the fulfillment of the promises
made in the history of Abraham.
So the two evangelists are trying to tell us
think about Moses,
think about Abraham,
and then you're really ready to understand
who Jesus is.
When you read the Gospel of Luke,
chapter 1, verses 5 through 25,
there are several things that really stand out.
Let me point about five of them.
So if you're taking notes,
take good notes.
I want to mention five of them.
The first one is that Luke
constantly keeps referring to the Holy Spirit.
So in chapter 1, verse 15,
John the Baptist will be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Verse 35,
Mary will conceive by the Holy Spirit.
Chapter 1, verse 41,
Elizabeth, her relative,
is filled with the Holy Spirit.
Verse 67,
Zechariah is filled with the Holy Spirit.
Simeon, in chapter 2,
is filled with the Holy Spirit.
There is this constant reference to the Holy Spirit.
Why is Luke making this point
about the Holy Spirit?
Because of a very important thing.
He wants to make a very important point.
The last prophet in the Old Testament
was Malachi,
and Malachi was approximately 430 B.C.
After Malachi,
all the rabbis recognized
that God didn't give us prophets,
he didn't send messengers,
he didn't send his word,
that God, in a matter of speaking,
was silent.
Rabbis call that the bat kol,
or the daughter of the voice,
in English.
But the point is,
is that for approximately,
God hasn't said a thing.
God is silent.
And,
if the last thing that he said was wonderful,
it's okay to be silent,
but take a look at the last thing
that God said before he went silent.
Look at Malachi,
the last chapter,
the last verse.
The last sentence,
or else,
I will come and strike the land with a curse.
Shape up,
or I will strike the land with a curse.
And that's the end of the story.
And we're all wondering,
what happened after that?
Is he going to come and strike the land with a curse?
Or is the nation going to repent?
Where are we?
And what he is saying now,
what Luke is saying,
is God,
who has been silent,
now is speaking again.
God,
who was in some ways distant,
and remote,
and aloof,
is back involved in our lives.
And not only has he given us the Holy Spirit,
as all these five different individuals illustrate,
but that he is speaking.
And the angel is speaking to Zechariah,
the angel is speaking to Mary,
Simeon is filled by the Holy Spirit,
and God is speaking again.
God is not far away.
God is near.
The God who was silent has broken the silent.
He has returned,
and he is going to talk to us about something.
Well,
he has a message to talk.
He wants to convey a message.
And look what Luke does.
I know he is describing it correctly,
but I wonder if that is really what happened.
So,
verse 8.
Once,
when Zechariah's division was on duty,
and he was serving as priest before God,
he was chosen by lot,
according to the custom of the priesthood,
to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
And you say,
oh,
what's the significance of that?
The significance of that is that there were
20,000 priests
at the time of Jesus.
20,000 priests.
Because there was such a large number of priests,
they divided them into 24 companies or divisions.
So,
so,
so company number one,
company number two,
company number three,
company number four.
And,
because there were far more priests
than there was a need in the temple,
each company would only serve two weeks in the temple.
their job was only two weeks long.
One week in the spring
and one week in the fall.
Only two weeks.
And each week they only needed two persons.
Which means,
most of them
never entered into the holy place
to appear before God.
if you
was the one who was chosen,
if you were the one who was chosen,
if,
if it was your turn,
this is like hitting the lottery.
This is big time.
And it's more than winning money.
You get to appear before God
and to,
and to add oil
to the candelabra or the lamp stand.
So,
out of 20,000,
perhaps 3%
made it.
You remember the parable
of the Good Samaritan.
There were priests
who came by
and went around him.
Many people have speculated,
why did the priests
go around him?
Some have speculated
that since they were going down
to Jerusalem,
if they took care
of a corpse,
they would be unclean
and they would disqualify
from serving in the temple.
And if it was
once in a lifetime
chance,
you know,
twice a year
that you might have that chance,
you wouldn't ruin it
with doing something like that.
So,
Luke says,
they cast Lot
and it was Zachariah's turn.
Well,
God wants to talk to him.
There are lots of ways
for God to talk to him.
You know what he could do?
He could give him
a dream.
Other people
have had dreams.
Joseph had a dream.
Pharaoh had a dream.
Jacob had a dream.
Or,
if a dream
is not good enough,
then,
you have a vision.
Isaiah says,
in the year
that King Uzziah died,
I saw the Lord
sitting on a throne.
So,
you have visions.
But,
no.
No dreams.
No visions.
It's his turn.
He's probably higher
than a kite.
This is my once
in a lifetime.
And he's an old man.
He's not going to come down
to Jerusalem too many times.
He's going to be
in retirement
home soon.
So,
maybe this is the last year.
Maybe this is the second
to the last year.
And he,
and it is his turn.
I mean,
how more fantastic
can it be
as the crowning event
of all of his life?
And he goes in
and an angel
is waiting for him.
But if,
what if it was
somebody else
who went in?
that what is
the angel going to say?
Oops,
wrong person.
I gotta go back.
Lord,
can you please
send him
so I can?
Yes,
it was casting lot.
But was it
really coincidence?
Was it just
rolling the dice?
God is waiting
for him.
And God
is waiting for him
because God
has a really
important
message for him.
and the message
of course
involves the birth
of John
the Baptist,
his son,
and ultimately
Jesus.
It is very
interesting to notice
that it is not
the parents
who name
their children.
It is
God
who names
the children.
It is God
who gives them
names.
you know.
Knowing
what I know
about my
own children
now,
I'm not sure
that I would have
given them
their names.
I don't know
if these names
really fit
their personalities.
But when
names are given,
it is sometimes
given as a hope.
Maybe this is
what will happen.
So
Noah is
named
Noah
rather than
Robert.
And why
Noah?
Because
maybe
he is the
one who
will give
us rest
from our
work.
So they're
hoping maybe
this is the
promised Messiah.
Well,
he wasn't.
You know.
So the parents
sometimes get it
right,
sometimes get it
wrong.
If you want
a funny name,
if you want
to inflict
a name
on your
children
or your
grandchildren,
let me
recommend one
from Isaiah
chapter 8,
Maher
Shalal
Khashbaz,
which means
quickly to the
plunder,
speedily to the
spoils of war.
We're going
to be
invaded,
defeated,
and plundered.
Maybe one
of the,
maybe if we
have a
president in the
White House
who has a
child,
maybe they'll
name him
Maher
Shalal
Khashbaz,
or maybe the
opposition party,
I don't know.
But that's not a
good name to name
somebody.
Maher
Shalal
Khashbaz.
There is also
Shi'ar
Yashuv,
a remnant
will return,
or a remnant
will repent.
Of course,
the wonderful
one is Emmanuel.
God is with
us,
and he is.
In that case,
they got it
right.
God got it
right,
which doesn't
surprise me very
much.
But God
decides to
name those
two boys
John and
Jesus.
John is
Johannan.
We recognize
it in English
or in German
in names like
Johann Sebastian
Bach,
or Johannes
Brahms.
we recognize
it in female
names like
Ann or
Anna,
the A-N-N,
the Ann or
Anna or
Hanan or
Hannah or
things like
that.
All of these
words are
related to
Yohanan,
and Yohanan
means the
grace of
God.
So this
act of
salvation
is going
to give
God the
setting to
show his
great grace.
we are
going to
see God's
grace in
this salvation,
in what is
about to
happen.
And the
other name
is Jesus,
which is
Yeshua.
And Yeshua
means,
is related to
Isaiah,
Hosea,
Joshua,
and it
means salvation.
salvation.
There are
four words
for salvation
in Hebrew.
This one
happens to
emphasize
confrontation
between God
and his
enemies,
in which
God will
defeat his
enemies.
So salvation,
not by
paying a
ransom,
that would
be
patha
and ga'al.
This is
more like
a confrontation.
It is
interesting
that at
the Mount
of
Transfiguration,
both
Moses and
Elijah
appeared.
Moses,
who had
faced and
defeated the
Egyptian gods,
and Elijah,
who faced and
defeated the
Phoenician gods.
And God
is saying,
you know,
that was
first round,
second round,
wait till
I see,
you know,
wait and see
what I'm
going to
do.
You know,
you're
going to
look like
amateurs,
you know,
back in
kindergarten.
You know,
by the time
I'm finished,
you'll really
see what
defeating my
enemies will
look like.
And so
what we
are going
to see
is God's
triumph over
his enemies,
which is an
expression of
his grace
to us,
to save
us.
That is
what God
is going
to preach.
This is what
God is
preaching.
That
he is
going to
be John.
He is
going to
be the
agent of
grace.
He is
compared to
Elijah.
Why
Elijah?
Well,
because
Elijah
confronted
Jezebel,
who was a
queen,
and told her,
you are
wrong.
Baal is
not the
supreme
deity.
God is
the supreme
deity.
And in
two contests,
defeated
the
Phoenician
Baal,
Baal
Zebel.
And what
is going
to happen
with Jesus
is that
he is
going to
confront
Satan.
And he
is going
to defeat
him.
king.
But John
the Baptist
is going
to confront
king
Herod,
as you
will see
later on.
So this
brave man
who is not
afraid to
stand up in
front of
kings and
say,
you are
wrong.
You are
disobeying
God.
That is
that strong
stuff that
God is
going to
put in
John.
So God
is going
to give
us a
great
salvation
of his
triumph
that would
reflect his
great grace,
John and
Jesus.
But I
want you
to turn
to chapter
1 in
Luke,
verse 17,
because that
is a
very,
very
important
verse.
There are
two things
there I
want you
to see.
Please do
not miss
chapter 1,
verse 17.
He is
describing
the
ministry
of John
the Baptist
and he
says,
many of
the people
of Israel,
verse 16,
sorry,
verse 16,
many of
the people
of Israel
he will
bring back
to the
Lord their
God and
he will
go on
before the
Lord in
the spirit
and power
of Elijah
to turn
the hearts
of the
fathers to
their
children and
the disobedient
to the
wisdom of
the righteous
to make
ready a
people prepared
for the
Lord.
Let's take
a look at
the first
part and
then we'll
take a look
at the
second part.
The first
part in
verse 17,
he will
go on
before the
Lord in
the spirit
and power
of Elijah
to turn
the hearts
of the
fathers to
their
children.
In case
you're not
familiar with
that verse,
please go
back to
Malachi,
the very
last chapter
in the
Old Testament.
we saw
that the
Old Testament
ends with
the word
curse,
but look
at Malachi
chapter 4.
Look at
chapter 4
verse 5.
See,
I will
send you
the prophet
Elijah
before the
great and
dreadful day
of the
Lord,
before that
great and
dreadful day
of the
Lord comes.
He will
turn the
hearts of
the fathers
to their
children,
and the
hearts of
the children
to their
fathers,
or else
I will
come and
spike the
land before
the curse.
Jesus makes
it clear that
when he says
Elijah, he
doesn't mean
literally Elijah,
and the
angel makes
it clear that
he will come
in the spirit
and power of
Elijah,
but look
what he
will do.
Verse 6,
he will
turn the
hearts of
the fathers
to their
children.
So,
John the
Baptist is
going to
prepare the
way by
turning the
hearts of
the fathers
to their
children,
and the
hearts of
the children
to their
fathers.
But,
something else
in verse
17,
something else
in verse
17.
To make
ready,
the last
part of
verse 17
in Luke
1,
to make
ready a
people
prepared
for the
Lord.
A people
prepared
for the
Lord.
Where does
that come
from?
It comes
from Isaiah
chapter 40
verse 3.
This is an
extremely
important
passage.
If you're
going to
take a
nap,
now is
not the
time to
do it.
Chapter
40,
which begins
with,
comfort ye,
my people.
How many
of us have
heard Handel's
Messiah?
A voice
of one,
verse 3,
Isaiah 40
verse 3,
a voice
of one
calling
in the
desert,
prepare the
way for
the Lord.
Make
straight in
the wilderness
a highway
for our
God,
preparing
the way
for the
Lord.
That
passage
is from
Isaiah
chapter 40,
but more
importantly,
it's from
Luke
chapter 3.
So go
back to
Luke
chapter 3.
chapter 3,
verse 4,
Luke 3,
verse 4,
as is
written in
the book
of the
words of
Isaiah the
prophet.
He is
telling us
where he's
getting it
from.
It's from
Isaiah.
Isaiah,
a voice of
one calling
in the
desert,
prepare the
way for
the Lord,
make
straight
paths
for him.
And
the
angel
says that
John the
Baptist is
going to
prepare the
way of
the Lord.
And so
as that
is done,
the Lord
will then
be the
next great
event.
This is a
preview.
This is the
preparation.
This is the
overture.
this is the
beginning.
But it is a
very important
beginning.
That's the
big picture,
God's salvation
for the world.
But God is
also interested
in small
things.
Not just
big things,
but small
things.
Please turn
to Luke
chapter 1.
And this
is where
it might
apply to you
on a
personal level.
As opposed
to this
huge
salvation
of the
whole
world.
John 3
16,
God so
loved the
world.
Well,
what about
me?
If he does
love the
whole world,
does that
mean me
as part
of the
world or
as me
individually?
Does God
know who
I am?
Does he
care?
And then
in Luke
chapter 1
verse 23,
when his
time of
service was
completed,
he returned
home.
After this,
his wife
Elizabeth
became
pregnant
and for
five months
remained in
seclusion.
The Lord
had done
this for
me,
she said.
In these
days,
he has
shown his
favor and
taken away
my disgrace
among the
people.
His wife
was barren.
She felt
like an
outsider.
When other
mothers took
their kids to
the park,
she didn't
have a
child to
take to
the park.
When other
mothers
discussed,
what is your
kid learning
in kindergarten,
she didn't
have a
kid to
go to
kindergarten
to tell
them what
he is
learning.
She felt
an outsider.
Psychologically,
you're feeling
like I
have failed.
I need to
be a
mother.
I speak
from experience.
My best
friend,
my best
friend in
college was
married and
for ten
years they
tried and
didn't have a
child.
She felt
more and
more excluded.
We're going
to go buy
clothes for
our children.
What's she
going to do?
We're going
to go have
our children
immunized.
What's she
going to
do?
For ten
years she
was barren
and she
felt like an
outsider.
Her best
friends tried
not to make
her feel
like an
outsider but
she felt.
Well, it's
bad enough
psychologically
to feel an
outsider.
It is
worse when
the teachers
of the law
put their
burdens on
you.
There's a
rabbinic
statement that
said several
groups of
people are
cursed.
I disagree
with them
completely.
I'm not
reciting this
because I
agree.
I'm
quoting this
to help
you understand
what she
was going
through but
I think
they are
really,
really wrong.
The first,
the most
cursed people
by God
were single
people which
I know
cannot possibly
be true for
all the fun
that my
students have
at Trinity
which reflects
in all the
bad grades
that they
get on
the test
because they
are partying
and not
studying.
So, the
first group
cursed people
are the
single.
The second
cursed group
are those
who do not
have children,
those who
are married
but have no
children.
As a matter
of fact,
rabbis
said that
if a
woman is
barren,
her husband
can divorce
her because
she is not
allowing him
to obey the
commandment.
The first
great commandment,
be fruitful
and multiply
and fill the
whole earth.
So, a
barren woman
is under a
special curse,
said the
rabbis.
And so,
you feel
that religious
people,
at least
knowledgeable
people,
think you're
under a
curse and
you feel a
little bit
ostracized from
society, you
feel a little
bit alone and
you're getting
old and you
are asking
yourself,
in my old
age when I
can't work,
who will take
care of me?
You know.
Children are a
blessing.
says the
psalmist,
if you have
eight, you
have eight
Christmas parties
to go to.
Eight.
If you don't
have anybody,
where do you
go to?
Who will help
you in your
sickness, in
your old age?
And so, she
felt ashamed
and cursed.
But guess what
God does for
her?
Luke chapter
one, verse
five.
The Lord has
done this for
me.
God is
thinking, I
am going to
save the
world.
John 3, 16.
And God is
saying, there
is this young
woman, there
is this old
woman who
feel isolated,
disgraced.
I think I'm
going to add
joy to her
life.
And God, who
sees the big
picture, also
sees the small
picture.
I count.
I know I
count because
not even a
hair falls
without the
knowledge of
my father.
I've always
thought it
would be fun.
I have
prayed about
this.
I don't know
what that
tells you about
my prayer
life.
But I've
prayed that
it would be
like a
practical joke
to go to
a barber and
for God to
say, not
today.
And the
barber going
like this and
nothing happens,
you know, starts
to think what's
wrong with the
instruments.
God knows, God
knows this.
I'm not going to
pull it.
I have to ask his
permission first.
But God knows
even small things
about me.
And he
understands our
shame.
He understands
our disgrace.
And he is
there to
help us.
And he will
send his
grace and
he will
send his
power.
For thine
is the
kingdom and
the power and
the glory forever.
Amen.
That's just
first base.
We still have
second, third,
fourth, and
then home.
God bless
you.