WEBVTT 00:00:00.140 --> 00:00:07.500 Well, good morning, church. The Christmas season has begun. It's actually snowing outside. 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:12.359 Did you realize that? Feels like the first Sunday in Advent when it's snowing outside. 00:00:13.400 --> 00:00:20.859 So yes, this is the first Sunday in the church calendar of the time of the year we call Advent. 00:00:21.379 --> 00:00:25.960 Advent means arrival. And that means we're starting a new sermon series. 00:00:25.960 --> 00:00:30.920 This is a time when we remember the arrival, the coming of Jesus, the Son of God in the flesh. 00:00:31.060 --> 00:00:34.780 And when we look ahead to a second coming, his arrival in glory. 00:00:35.640 --> 00:00:38.280 So here we are in the Christmas season once again. 00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:45.000 But of course, this time of year is filled with all sorts of cares and concerns, isn't it? 00:00:45.179 --> 00:00:49.980 During the holidays, it seems like our relationships, our finances, our work, 00:00:50.380 --> 00:00:54.040 they can kind of all come to a head and we can feel the pull and the pressure. 00:00:55.960 --> 00:01:01.000 And on top of that, as another year winds down and we start to get reflective, 00:01:01.160 --> 00:01:05.180 maybe we start to wonder, man, is this worth it? Does any of this even matter? 00:01:05.620 --> 00:01:07.640 Another year has gone by and what's different? 00:01:10.700 --> 00:01:13.879 And at the popular level, Christmas kind of comes as this season 00:01:13.879 --> 00:01:24.519 that can almost sort of paper over these real concerns and cares with a kind of shallow festivity. 00:01:24.759 --> 00:01:27.699 You know, another work party, another gift exchange, 00:01:28.259 --> 00:01:32.299 another terrible remake of the same old holiday songs. 00:01:33.239 --> 00:01:34.579 You know what I'm talking about, right? 00:01:34.840 --> 00:01:37.019 Do they know it's Christmas time at all? 00:01:37.019 --> 00:01:43.539 But, you know, when we turn to the Bible, we find that the message of Christ's coming, 00:01:43.640 --> 00:01:46.299 his advent, is nothing of that kind of sort. 00:01:47.179 --> 00:01:50.439 You know, rather than papering over our real human cares and concerns, 00:01:50.699 --> 00:01:54.239 the message of advent meets us right in the midst of them. 00:01:55.259 --> 00:01:57.739 You know, this is no sort of shallow festivity, 00:01:57.879 --> 00:02:01.500 but a message of real hope and a message of real grace. 00:02:01.500 --> 00:02:07.120 And one of the places where we see the message of Christ's coming, 00:02:07.560 --> 00:02:11.259 meeting our very real human lives, our very real human concerns, 00:02:11.620 --> 00:02:14.340 is in the opening chapters of the Gospel of Luke. 00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:19.420 Luke chapters 1 and 2 contain some very familiar Christmas stories. 00:02:19.539 --> 00:02:24.319 Yes, and yet in Luke's Gospel, we see how the good news of Jesus' arrival 00:02:24.319 --> 00:02:26.740 intersects with our very real human lives. 00:02:27.460 --> 00:02:30.680 So this holiday season, this advent, we're going to be walking through 00:02:30.680 --> 00:02:32.740 Luke chapters 1 and 2. 00:02:32.879 --> 00:02:37.379 And hopefully we'll get a fresh glimpse of how Christmas is good news 00:02:37.379 --> 00:02:39.159 for our real lives. 00:02:39.240 --> 00:02:42.640 So let me invite you to turn with me to Luke chapter 1. 00:02:42.860 --> 00:02:46.260 That's page 803 in the Pew Bible, if you'd like to turn there. 00:02:46.680 --> 00:02:50.500 We're going to look at verses 5 through 25 today. 00:02:51.040 --> 00:02:52.360 Luke 1, 5 through 25. 00:02:54.040 --> 00:02:56.219 I will go ahead and read verses 1 through 4 for us. 00:02:56.439 --> 00:02:58.620 Those may not be on the screen, but you can follow them in the Bible. 00:02:58.620 --> 00:03:03.719 I'll read verses 1 through 4, but our focus will be on verses 5 through 25. 00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:06.439 So let me pray for us, and then I'll read. 00:03:06.840 --> 00:03:07.300 Let's pray. 00:03:10.819 --> 00:03:14.500 Father, as we've just sung, come to our hearts, Lord Jesus. 00:03:16.439 --> 00:03:20.580 Lord, we pause before you as we are about to read your word 00:03:20.580 --> 00:03:25.080 and open up our hands and acknowledge we have many cares and concerns. 00:03:26.460 --> 00:03:31.939 And we come to another holiday season, God, perhaps already tired, already weary. 00:03:33.140 --> 00:03:37.840 Or perhaps we come expectant and hopeful and joyful because this time of year is here again. 00:03:39.040 --> 00:03:40.700 God, we come with all sorts of mixed emotions. 00:03:40.699 --> 00:03:47.719 But we pray now that as we come to your word, you would speak powerfully to us. 00:03:47.959 --> 00:03:52.060 Lord, give us the right expectation that you are a speaking, living, and loving God. 00:03:53.019 --> 00:03:56.859 And we come asking for your help as we look at this passage, 00:03:56.979 --> 00:04:00.479 that you would speak again fresh to us this good news about Jesus. 00:04:01.679 --> 00:04:07.039 That you would make room in our hearts for you, for your spirit, and for your kingdom in our midst. 00:04:07.039 --> 00:04:09.019 We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:04:10.379 --> 00:04:11.859 All right. Luke chapter 1. 00:04:12.259 --> 00:04:12.900 Verse 1. 00:04:13.939 --> 00:04:14.599 Luke writes this. 00:04:14.780 --> 00:04:19.300 And as much as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:24.339 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 00:04:24.959 --> 00:04:28.920 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, 00:04:29.300 --> 00:04:32.079 to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 00:04:32.740 --> 00:04:35.199 that you may have certainty concerning the things you've been taught. 00:04:35.199 --> 00:04:42.420 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the division of Abijah. 00:04:43.479 --> 00:04:46.240 And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 00:04:47.099 --> 00:04:51.839 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:58.060 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. 00:04:58.060 --> 00:05:05.500 Now, while he was serving as priest before God, when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, 00:05:05.839 --> 00:05:09.660 he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 00:05:10.459 --> 00:05:14.279 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 00:05:15.060 --> 00:05:20.920 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 00:05:20.920 --> 00:05:25.680 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 00:05:26.040 --> 00:05:27.000 But the angel said, 00:05:27.620 --> 00:05:31.680 Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. 00:05:32.319 --> 00:05:37.660 And your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 00:05:38.319 --> 00:05:41.660 And you will have joy and gladness. 00:05:41.660 --> 00:05:46.700 And many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. 00:05:46.939 --> 00:05:48.880 And he must not drink wine or strong drink. 00:05:49.080 --> 00:05:51.960 And he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 00:05:52.140 --> 00:05:55.360 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 00:05:55.640 --> 00:05:59.060 And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 00:05:59.340 --> 00:06:01.320 to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, 00:06:01.680 --> 00:06:03.780 and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, 00:06:04.040 --> 00:06:07.040 to make ready for the Lord a people prepared. 00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:10.200 And Zechariah said to the angel, 00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:12.060 How shall I know this? 00:06:12.540 --> 00:06:15.700 For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years. 00:06:16.700 --> 00:06:17.860 And the angel answered him, 00:06:18.100 --> 00:06:19.460 I am Gabriel. 00:06:20.080 --> 00:06:21.939 I stand in the presence of God. 00:06:22.480 --> 00:06:26.180 And I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 00:06:27.080 --> 00:06:30.879 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak 00:06:30.879 --> 00:06:33.200 until the day that these things take place, 00:06:33.200 --> 00:06:36.939 because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled. 00:06:37.040 --> 00:06:38.060 In their time. 00:06:39.379 --> 00:06:41.240 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, 00:06:41.340 --> 00:06:43.439 and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 00:06:43.879 --> 00:06:46.060 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them. 00:06:46.340 --> 00:06:49.120 And they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. 00:06:49.460 --> 00:06:52.020 And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 00:06:53.020 --> 00:06:56.020 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. 00:06:57.439 --> 00:07:00.080 After these days, his wife Elizabeth conceived. 00:07:00.080 --> 00:07:03.540 And for five months, she kept herself hidden, saying, 00:07:04.280 --> 00:07:05.740 Thus the Lord has done for me. 00:07:05.740 --> 00:07:10.759 And the days when he looked on me to take away my reproach among the people. 00:07:13.579 --> 00:07:16.220 So if you're starting a good story, 00:07:16.340 --> 00:07:19.060 if you're starting a good story, where do you begin? 00:07:20.680 --> 00:07:22.900 Maybe you introduce the narrator. 00:07:23.740 --> 00:07:25.379 Call me Ishmael, right? 00:07:26.019 --> 00:07:28.259 Or maybe you place it somewhere in history. 00:07:28.360 --> 00:07:29.319 It was the best of times. 00:07:29.379 --> 00:07:30.519 It was the worst of times. 00:07:30.519 --> 00:07:35.279 Or perhaps maybe you begin it with a bit of good English irony. 00:07:35.919 --> 00:07:39.719 It's a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune 00:07:39.719 --> 00:07:41.459 must be in want of a wife. 00:07:43.500 --> 00:07:47.599 But if you're starting a good story, where do you start? 00:07:48.539 --> 00:07:51.299 And what if you're starting not just a good story, but an important story? 00:07:51.500 --> 00:07:52.419 A true story. 00:07:52.420 --> 00:07:57.460 Perhaps what you think is the most important story that any human could ever hear. 00:07:58.480 --> 00:07:59.939 How do you start that story? 00:08:02.020 --> 00:08:04.800 Well, that's what Luke is up to here in the passage we just read. 00:08:05.580 --> 00:08:08.540 He's trying to tell us how it all began. 00:08:09.020 --> 00:08:12.319 How the things that had been accomplished in his day. 00:08:12.759 --> 00:08:16.280 World shaping, life changing, history altering things. 00:08:16.439 --> 00:08:19.120 He's trying to tell us how all those things began. 00:08:19.560 --> 00:08:20.520 Where does it begin? 00:08:20.519 --> 00:08:23.819 This story that we've come to call the gospel. 00:08:24.139 --> 00:08:27.359 This story, this good news about Jesus, the Messiah. 00:08:29.879 --> 00:08:39.879 Well, for Luke, it all begins with an ordinary couple, an extraordinary promise, and a trustworthy God. 00:08:42.079 --> 00:08:45.360 And maybe if we can see how it all began back then, 00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:50.680 we'll see how it can take root and begin again and again and again right now too. 00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:52.899 So let's take a look. 00:08:52.940 --> 00:08:56.440 Let's take a look together at how Luke starts his story. 00:08:56.840 --> 00:08:59.539 It all begins with an ordinary couple. 00:09:00.300 --> 00:09:04.639 We see this in verses 5 through 7 where Luke introduces us to Zachariah and Elizabeth. 00:09:05.379 --> 00:09:06.419 Zachariah was a priest. 00:09:06.519 --> 00:09:08.560 A priest who, as we learn later in Luke's gospel, 00:09:09.039 --> 00:09:11.139 lived in the hill country outside of Jerusalem. 00:09:11.139 --> 00:09:15.080 Now, the priests in those days were organized into 24 different divisions, 00:09:15.220 --> 00:09:19.399 and each division would serve up at Jerusalem in the temple for two weeks a year, 00:09:19.600 --> 00:09:22.100 in addition to the big feasts of Passover and tabernacles. 00:09:22.559 --> 00:09:24.740 And Zachariah, we're told, was in the division of Abijah. 00:09:25.379 --> 00:09:31.120 But, you know, most of the year, he was a simple priest living in the hill country with his wife Elizabeth. 00:09:32.580 --> 00:09:35.439 Now, Luke has good things to say about Zachariah and Elizabeth, doesn't he? 00:09:35.440 --> 00:09:39.680 You know, first, it's not just Zachariah who's in the priestly family line, but Elizabeth too. 00:09:39.780 --> 00:09:40.840 She's a daughter of Aaron. 00:09:40.960 --> 00:09:43.640 That is a descendant of the priestly family of Aaron. 00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:47.500 So when it comes to their family, Luke has good things to say. 00:09:47.580 --> 00:09:50.680 But he also has good things to say about their devotion, right? 00:09:51.220 --> 00:09:54.360 They were righteous before the Lord, Luke says, blameless. 00:09:55.760 --> 00:09:58.220 Now, this doesn't mean that they were without sin. 00:09:58.220 --> 00:10:03.920 No, it meant that they trusted in the provision of forgiveness available under the law of Moses, 00:10:03.920 --> 00:10:06.519 and they walked in the commandments as best they could. 00:10:06.600 --> 00:10:08.680 In other words, they were genuine believers. 00:10:09.080 --> 00:10:11.139 They loved and trusted the God of Israel. 00:10:12.519 --> 00:10:15.700 So Luke has good things to say about Zachariah and Elizabeth. 00:10:17.019 --> 00:10:22.139 But, you know, on the whole, they were an ordinary ministry couple. 00:10:23.340 --> 00:10:27.580 Two godly saints, growing old, faithfully serving the Lord. 00:10:28.220 --> 00:10:35.100 You know, you can imagine a small country church served by an old faithful pastor and his wife. 00:10:37.160 --> 00:10:38.660 And that's Zachariah and Elizabeth. 00:10:39.580 --> 00:10:41.379 An ordinary couple, right? 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:46.120 Except, perhaps, for one important detail. 00:10:47.060 --> 00:10:49.660 Luke says, they were childless. 00:10:51.300 --> 00:10:56.660 After years of faithfully following the Lord together, doing good ministry, loving God, and loving their neighbors, 00:10:56.659 --> 00:11:01.620 Zachariah and Elizabeth, all that time, were unable to have a child. 00:11:02.659 --> 00:11:06.740 And now, Luke says, they were simply too old to have any hope of getting pregnant. 00:11:07.799 --> 00:11:10.179 Now, you can imagine how painful that must have been for them, 00:11:10.240 --> 00:11:14.799 to reach old age and to have lost hope of having a child of their own. 00:11:16.419 --> 00:11:22.379 Add to that the fact that it was a shameful thing in the first century to be unable to have children. 00:11:22.379 --> 00:11:30.100 Some people, wrongly, some people thought that it was, that childlessness could even be caused by sin in your life. 00:11:30.320 --> 00:11:33.240 That it was sort of your fault that you didn't have children. 00:11:35.279 --> 00:11:41.100 So, in addition to the just natural grief, Zachariah and Elizabeth bore this kind of social reproach as well. 00:11:41.100 --> 00:11:45.580 And, of course, Luke is very clear. 00:11:45.700 --> 00:11:47.379 They were blameless before God. 00:11:48.500 --> 00:11:50.519 And yet, they were still barren. 00:11:52.360 --> 00:11:57.379 You see, although they were faithful followers of God, they still experienced trial and hardship. 00:11:59.060 --> 00:12:00.879 Now, there's a lesson here for us, isn't there? 00:12:02.159 --> 00:12:06.560 In this fallen world, we are not guaranteed a trouble-free life. 00:12:06.559 --> 00:12:09.879 Even faithful saints will suffer. 00:12:10.819 --> 00:12:14.939 And in many ways, that is the ordinary Christian life. 00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:19.459 We shouldn't expect that life will be easy if we follow God. 00:12:19.579 --> 00:12:22.159 Oftentimes, the reality is just the opposite. 00:12:25.399 --> 00:12:28.059 So, Luke's story begins with an ordinary couple. 00:12:28.839 --> 00:12:33.719 An ordinary couple experiencing the hardships of ordinary life in a fallen world. 00:12:33.720 --> 00:12:37.379 Friends, is that you today? 00:12:39.259 --> 00:12:43.580 Perhaps like Zachariah and Elizabeth, you're feeling the approach of old age. 00:12:44.560 --> 00:12:48.759 And wondering if perhaps God has done all that he's planning to do in your life. 00:12:50.660 --> 00:12:55.180 Perhaps like Zachariah and Elizabeth, you're feeling the weight of trial and hardship. 00:12:55.360 --> 00:12:59.259 Of disappointment and sorrow in the midst of a life of faithfulness. 00:12:59.259 --> 00:13:03.840 But you see, this is how it begins. 00:13:05.059 --> 00:13:06.500 This is how it all begins. 00:13:06.919 --> 00:13:09.840 With ordinary people like you and me. 00:13:11.819 --> 00:13:15.299 You know, Zachariah and Elizabeth aren't the only people in the Bible to struggle with infertility. 00:13:16.240 --> 00:13:19.460 Do you remember Hannah in 1 Samuel chapter 1? 00:13:20.360 --> 00:13:22.740 Or Manoah and his wife in Judges 13? 00:13:23.379 --> 00:13:25.000 Or Rachel in Genesis 30? 00:13:25.100 --> 00:13:27.200 Or Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 15? 00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:31.160 God has a way, doesn't he? 00:13:31.759 --> 00:13:38.500 Of using ordinary people in the midst of hardship and suffering to advance his redemptive work. 00:13:40.860 --> 00:13:44.840 Luke's story, God's story, begins with ordinary people. 00:13:45.780 --> 00:13:48.360 But then, something happens. 00:13:49.480 --> 00:13:55.220 It all begins when ordinary people receive an extraordinary promise. 00:13:55.220 --> 00:13:58.080 We see this in verses 8 through 17. 00:13:58.440 --> 00:14:02.279 It's one of those few weeks of the year when Zachariah is in Jerusalem. 00:14:02.860 --> 00:14:06.519 And by God's providence, the lot falls to Zachariah. 00:14:06.620 --> 00:14:09.480 To be the one, during the time of the afternoon prayer, 00:14:09.700 --> 00:14:13.100 to go into the temple and arrange the incense on the altar of incense. 00:14:13.160 --> 00:14:15.580 Which was symbolic for the prayers of the people. 00:14:16.600 --> 00:14:18.879 Now this was no ordinary thing. 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:25.480 In fact, there's some evidence to suggest that this would have been a once-in-a-lifetime thing for Zachariah. 00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:30.360 You see, because there were so many priests, you could only do this particular duty one time. 00:14:30.899 --> 00:14:33.700 And then you would have to defer to others and let them have their turn. 00:14:34.539 --> 00:14:35.740 So here's Zachariah. 00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:40.039 The people are gathering in the courts around the temple, readying themselves for prayer. 00:14:40.039 --> 00:14:43.159 And he gets to enter the temple himself. 00:14:43.379 --> 00:14:47.199 To go into that first room where there's the lampstand. 00:14:47.699 --> 00:14:49.259 And the table with the bread. 00:14:49.599 --> 00:14:50.860 And the altar of incense. 00:14:51.199 --> 00:14:53.539 All set up in front of the great curtain. 00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:56.839 That separates this first room from the inner room. 00:14:57.099 --> 00:14:57.959 The Holy of Holies. 00:14:58.019 --> 00:14:59.959 Where only the high priest could go once a year. 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:04.079 Here was Zachariah experiencing the pinnacle of his priestly duty. 00:15:04.480 --> 00:15:06.480 Offering prayers on behalf of his people. 00:15:06.480 --> 00:15:13.000 And then, something completely unexpected happens. 00:15:14.639 --> 00:15:15.899 An angel shows up. 00:15:17.639 --> 00:15:19.420 And Zachariah is not just surprised. 00:15:20.120 --> 00:15:21.080 He's terrified. 00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:23.240 I mean, can you imagine? 00:15:24.779 --> 00:15:27.519 You know, you come to a prayer meeting late one night at church. 00:15:28.080 --> 00:15:29.259 Oh, you're the only one there. 00:15:29.639 --> 00:15:34.000 And suddenly, you know, it's not Pastor Nick opening up the doors. 00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:35.320 But an angel of the Lord. 00:15:36.480 --> 00:15:39.480 You would rightly be freaking out. 00:15:42.580 --> 00:15:45.180 But the angel says, don't be afraid, Zachariah. 00:15:45.740 --> 00:15:48.300 Your prayer has been heard. 00:15:50.379 --> 00:15:53.240 And then comes the extraordinary promise. 00:15:53.879 --> 00:16:00.340 The promise that the long years of anguish he and Elizabeth had experienced were not for naught. 00:16:00.340 --> 00:16:07.920 The promise that God, at the right time, was going to answer their prayers for a child. 00:16:09.080 --> 00:16:12.000 But this child wasn't going to be just any child. 00:16:12.920 --> 00:16:16.800 This child wouldn't just bring joy and gladness to Zachariah and Elizabeth. 00:16:17.259 --> 00:16:17.560 No. 00:16:17.899 --> 00:16:19.639 This child would bring rejoicing. 00:16:19.899 --> 00:16:22.639 This child would bring rejoicing to many in Israel. 00:16:22.639 --> 00:16:24.319 Why? 00:16:26.059 --> 00:16:28.720 Because this child would be great before the Lord. 00:16:30.100 --> 00:16:34.439 And the angel goes on to describe how this child would be set apart from birth. 00:16:34.779 --> 00:16:36.779 He wouldn't even drink wine or strong drink. 00:16:37.019 --> 00:16:38.399 He would be set apart from birth. 00:16:38.600 --> 00:16:43.500 And in the power of the Holy Spirit, he would fulfill the role of a prophet. 00:16:43.500 --> 00:16:45.340 But not just any prophet. 00:16:45.919 --> 00:16:50.019 He would come and serve in the spirit and power of Elijah. 00:16:51.860 --> 00:16:55.460 Now to understand the significance of what the angel is saying to Zachariah, 00:16:55.600 --> 00:16:58.639 you have to understand a little something about biblical history. 00:16:59.379 --> 00:17:04.839 You have to understand that there hadn't been a prophet in Israel since the time of Malachi. 00:17:05.539 --> 00:17:09.200 And that was 400 years before the time of Zachariah. 00:17:09.200 --> 00:17:13.779 For 400 years, God had been silent. 00:17:14.759 --> 00:17:17.180 Now, of course, the people had the written scriptures. 00:17:17.400 --> 00:17:18.220 And they studied it. 00:17:18.380 --> 00:17:19.460 And they poured over it. 00:17:19.539 --> 00:17:21.039 And they wrote commentaries on it. 00:17:21.259 --> 00:17:25.720 But what the written word promised was that God would send another prophet. 00:17:26.220 --> 00:17:28.920 That God would bring his word afresh. 00:17:29.259 --> 00:17:33.860 In fact, that's exactly how the book of Malachi, that last prophet, ends. 00:17:34.440 --> 00:17:36.100 God says in chapter 4, verse 5, 00:17:36.099 --> 00:17:41.759 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 00:17:42.199 --> 00:17:46.899 And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers. 00:17:48.919 --> 00:17:53.819 So Malachi ends with a promise that one like Elijah will come. 00:17:54.619 --> 00:17:58.439 Elijah, you'll remember, was the great prophet of Israel during the period of the kings. 00:17:58.939 --> 00:18:02.240 In many ways, Elijah was the prototypical prophet. 00:18:02.240 --> 00:18:06.640 And Malachi sees a day when another like Elijah would come. 00:18:06.859 --> 00:18:08.779 And he would renew the people of God. 00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:14.380 And get the people of God ready for the day when the Lord himself would come. 00:18:16.819 --> 00:18:20.259 And of course, Zachariah, he knew that prophecy. 00:18:21.180 --> 00:18:21.920 Everyone did. 00:18:23.380 --> 00:18:26.259 When he entered the temple to offer incense, 00:18:26.559 --> 00:18:29.839 that's probably part of the prayer that he prayed. 00:18:29.839 --> 00:18:33.639 God, rescue Israel. 00:18:34.579 --> 00:18:36.639 Send your word like you promised. 00:18:37.099 --> 00:18:38.220 Raise us up again. 00:18:38.539 --> 00:18:40.019 Restore our dry bones. 00:18:42.199 --> 00:18:46.000 You see, it wasn't just Zachariah and Elizabeth who were struggling in the first century. 00:18:46.919 --> 00:18:49.179 The Jewish people as a whole were struggling. 00:18:50.639 --> 00:18:54.980 Luke reminds us in verse 5 that all this happened in the days of King Herod. 00:18:54.980 --> 00:19:02.140 That is Herod the Great, who ruled as king in Judea from 37 to 4 BC. 00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:05.120 And even though Herod was called a king, 00:19:05.440 --> 00:19:08.880 and even though he extravagantly renovated many Jewish cities, 00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:11.420 not least Jerusalem and the temple complex itself, 00:19:11.720 --> 00:19:17.000 even so, Herod was a parody at best and a blasphemy at worst. 00:19:18.019 --> 00:19:22.519 He was not what God's king or God's kingdom was supposed to look like. 00:19:22.519 --> 00:19:24.759 Herod compromised with the Romans, 00:19:25.220 --> 00:19:26.920 participated in the oppression of the people, 00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:29.799 and was as ruthless as any pagan ruler. 00:19:32.139 --> 00:19:37.160 But Zachariah, hands shaking as he offers incense on the altar, 00:19:37.339 --> 00:19:40.839 prayers lifted up in the midst of his own suffering, 00:19:40.920 --> 00:19:42.619 in the midst of the suffering of his people, 00:19:43.259 --> 00:19:46.139 is met with this extraordinary promise. 00:19:46.140 --> 00:19:52.759 At long last, God is breaking the silence. 00:19:54.220 --> 00:19:58.520 Not just to Zachariah and Elizabeth, but to all Israel as well. 00:19:59.360 --> 00:20:03.560 After 400 years, again, the Lord is speaking. 00:20:04.140 --> 00:20:05.700 A prophet will come. 00:20:06.420 --> 00:20:08.520 Zachariah and Elizabeth will have a son, 00:20:08.900 --> 00:20:12.120 and he will turn the hearts of the people back to the Lord. 00:20:12.119 --> 00:20:16.119 He will get the people prepared for the Lord's coming. 00:20:18.039 --> 00:20:22.639 And Zachariah and Elizabeth will call his name John. 00:20:24.839 --> 00:20:26.379 Not John the Apostle. 00:20:26.659 --> 00:20:28.059 He'll come later in the story. 00:20:28.879 --> 00:20:32.099 This is the John we know as John the Baptist. 00:20:32.519 --> 00:20:33.759 The forerunner. 00:20:34.299 --> 00:20:37.519 The one who will herald the coming king 00:20:37.519 --> 00:20:40.179 and get the people ready for his arrival. 00:20:40.180 --> 00:20:48.039 And now we start to see why Luke begins his account of Jesus' life with this episode. 00:20:48.519 --> 00:20:53.160 You know, all four gospel writers begin with some sort of reference to John the Baptist. 00:20:53.480 --> 00:20:53.880 Right? 00:20:54.220 --> 00:20:56.840 So it's not surprising that Luke does that as well. 00:20:56.920 --> 00:21:02.180 Because the story of Jesus the Messiah begins with the story of John, the forerunner. 00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:06.420 But Luke is showing us here that the story of John, 00:21:07.360 --> 00:21:09.600 well, that begins with the story of his parents. 00:21:09.599 --> 00:21:11.219 Zachariah and Elizabeth. 00:21:12.399 --> 00:21:14.179 And that's quite a story, isn't it? 00:21:15.299 --> 00:21:19.139 What you wouldn't know from just reading Mark's or Matthew's or John's gospel 00:21:19.139 --> 00:21:23.139 is that John the Baptist's birth was miraculous in its own way too. 00:21:24.199 --> 00:21:28.980 But by connecting the story of John to the story of his parents, Zachariah and Elizabeth, 00:21:29.319 --> 00:21:33.199 Luke is also connecting this story to the story of the whole people of Israel. 00:21:33.200 --> 00:21:40.360 After all, Zachariah and Elizabeth are faithful Israelites from the house of Aaron serving in the temple. 00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:44.380 And they have their hardships. 00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:46.400 And they have their doubts. 00:21:46.700 --> 00:21:48.819 Just like so many in Israel as well. 00:21:49.900 --> 00:21:52.120 Baron Elizabeth bearing reproach. 00:21:52.980 --> 00:21:56.580 Aging Zachariah voicing his secret doubts in the privacy of the temple. 00:21:56.579 --> 00:22:00.399 How many in Israel also felt the same reproach? 00:22:00.639 --> 00:22:02.439 How many felt the same doubts? 00:22:04.500 --> 00:22:07.480 But you know, if all of this connects to the big story of Israel, 00:22:07.839 --> 00:22:11.439 then it also connects to the big story of the whole world. 00:22:11.440 --> 00:22:21.740 Because the God who made his covenant with Israel is the same God who created you and me and everything in the world. 00:22:23.460 --> 00:22:26.440 What is God going to do with his people? 00:22:27.080 --> 00:22:29.660 What is God going to do with his world? 00:22:31.120 --> 00:22:34.980 And the answer is, he's going to keep his promises. 00:22:36.759 --> 00:22:38.160 And this is step one. 00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:43.920 He's sending a prophet to make ready for himself a people prepared. 00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:50.820 And he sends this prophet through an aging couple long past the years of childbirth 00:22:50.820 --> 00:22:55.300 to show that all of it is going to be done through his grace. 00:22:56.720 --> 00:23:02.680 The name John, Yohanan, after all, means the Lord has shown favor. 00:23:05.400 --> 00:23:06.960 But John's just a forerunner. 00:23:08.160 --> 00:23:10.400 This whole story points ahead. 00:23:11.240 --> 00:23:16.920 What we will see in the coming weeks is that Luke has written his whole birth narrative in chapters 1 and 2 00:23:16.920 --> 00:23:22.300 to display the ultimate greatness, not of John, but of Jesus. 00:23:23.380 --> 00:23:27.920 In every way, Jesus is superior to John. 00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:30.680 John is born out of barrenness. 00:23:31.100 --> 00:23:32.720 Jesus is born of a virgin. 00:23:34.060 --> 00:23:36.740 John is great as a prophet before the Lord. 00:23:36.740 --> 00:23:41.099 Jesus is great as the promised ruler from the line of David. 00:23:41.819 --> 00:23:43.559 John paves the way. 00:23:43.960 --> 00:23:45.220 Jesus is the way. 00:23:47.339 --> 00:23:50.779 This is the real extraordinary promise. 00:23:51.380 --> 00:23:53.680 The promise that comes to each one of us. 00:23:54.759 --> 00:23:56.940 Not merely that a prophet is on the way, 00:23:56.940 --> 00:23:59.059 but that the king has come. 00:23:59.059 --> 00:24:01.860 And that through believing in him, 00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:03.400 our deepest shame, 00:24:04.080 --> 00:24:05.140 our deepest fears, 00:24:05.700 --> 00:24:06.799 our deepest doubts 00:24:06.799 --> 00:24:09.200 can be answered and taken away. 00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:12.759 This is how it begins. 00:24:13.400 --> 00:24:15.539 This is how it begins for us. 00:24:16.559 --> 00:24:17.580 Ordinary people 00:24:17.580 --> 00:24:20.340 who receive an extraordinary promise. 00:24:20.339 --> 00:24:26.859 And the passage ends by showing us that this extraordinary promise is made 00:24:26.859 --> 00:24:28.879 by a trustworthy God. 00:24:30.019 --> 00:24:32.859 He is the one in whom we can place our trust. 00:24:32.959 --> 00:24:35.559 We can take him at his word. 00:24:36.699 --> 00:24:39.679 Of course, this point is made in both a positive and a negative way 00:24:39.679 --> 00:24:41.259 as the passage comes to an end. 00:24:41.259 --> 00:24:42.839 On the negative side, 00:24:42.920 --> 00:24:44.140 in verses 18 through 22, 00:24:44.480 --> 00:24:46.240 we have Zachariah's doubts. 00:24:47.500 --> 00:24:48.779 Having heard the angel's message, 00:24:48.839 --> 00:24:49.259 he asked, 00:24:50.059 --> 00:24:50.920 but how can this be? 00:24:51.339 --> 00:24:52.420 We're too old. 00:24:54.099 --> 00:24:56.099 He wants some kind of sign, 00:24:56.240 --> 00:24:57.339 some kind of proof. 00:24:58.920 --> 00:24:59.740 And at first, 00:24:59.839 --> 00:25:01.420 the angel's answer is basically, 00:25:01.900 --> 00:25:03.539 how can you ask for proof? 00:25:03.920 --> 00:25:06.839 I've come directly from God with this message. 00:25:07.079 --> 00:25:08.359 If God has said it, 00:25:08.579 --> 00:25:09.819 then how can you doubt it? 00:25:09.819 --> 00:25:12.399 But then, 00:25:12.539 --> 00:25:13.460 partly as a sign, 00:25:14.099 --> 00:25:15.200 partly as a discipline 00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:17.259 for Zachariah and his unbelief, 00:25:17.779 --> 00:25:20.000 Zachariah's made unable to speak 00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:21.779 for the next nine months. 00:25:23.379 --> 00:25:24.720 Imagine having received 00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:26.079 the best news of your life 00:25:26.079 --> 00:25:28.399 and not being able to speak about it. 00:25:31.019 --> 00:25:33.139 Imagine Zachariah coming out of the temple. 00:25:33.700 --> 00:25:34.500 Everyone's been waiting. 00:25:34.700 --> 00:25:35.539 What's he doing in there? 00:25:36.579 --> 00:25:37.960 And he can't say a word. 00:25:39.819 --> 00:25:41.259 But in verse 22, 00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:43.519 we learn that Zachariah's silence 00:25:43.519 --> 00:25:46.460 becomes just as powerful a testimony 00:25:46.460 --> 00:25:49.419 to the fact that God is on the move. 00:25:51.000 --> 00:25:52.279 And for nine months, 00:25:52.339 --> 00:25:55.099 this good news will well up inside of him. 00:25:55.319 --> 00:25:56.879 It'll stew in his bones 00:25:56.879 --> 00:25:58.439 for nine long months 00:25:58.439 --> 00:25:59.460 until finally, 00:25:59.599 --> 00:26:01.059 it comes pouring forth 00:26:01.059 --> 00:26:02.879 in praise and poetry 00:26:02.879 --> 00:26:04.439 at the end of chapter one, 00:26:04.519 --> 00:26:06.039 when John is born at last. 00:26:06.039 --> 00:26:07.960 And you'll have to come back 00:26:07.960 --> 00:26:08.619 in a couple weeks 00:26:08.619 --> 00:26:10.159 to see exactly what he says. 00:26:12.639 --> 00:26:14.299 But on the positive side, 00:26:14.799 --> 00:26:16.420 we have Elizabeth 00:26:16.420 --> 00:26:18.399 in verses 24 through 25. 00:26:19.220 --> 00:26:21.039 The passage ends with God 00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:22.460 keeping his promise. 00:26:23.279 --> 00:26:25.799 Elizabeth conceives a child 00:26:25.799 --> 00:26:27.359 and in response, 00:26:27.819 --> 00:26:29.079 she gives praise to God. 00:26:29.079 --> 00:26:32.699 You know, it's unclear why 00:26:32.699 --> 00:26:33.899 she keeps herself hidden 00:26:33.899 --> 00:26:35.539 for the first five months 00:26:35.539 --> 00:26:36.220 of her pregnancy. 00:26:37.539 --> 00:26:39.359 Perhaps it's simply to enjoy 00:26:39.359 --> 00:26:41.500 uninterrupted praise 00:26:41.500 --> 00:26:42.599 and communion with God. 00:26:44.519 --> 00:26:46.259 After all, God has granted 00:26:46.259 --> 00:26:47.720 her request for a child 00:26:47.720 --> 00:26:49.879 after a lifetime of prayers. 00:26:50.599 --> 00:26:52.079 That's something that might make you 00:26:52.079 --> 00:26:52.879 want to pull away 00:26:52.879 --> 00:26:54.759 and just enjoy God's favor 00:26:54.759 --> 00:26:55.579 for a little bit. 00:26:55.579 --> 00:26:58.299 But whatever the reason, 00:26:58.379 --> 00:26:59.599 it's a fascinating contrast 00:26:59.599 --> 00:27:00.639 to Zachariah, isn't it? 00:27:01.139 --> 00:27:02.319 Zachariah is forced 00:27:02.319 --> 00:27:03.500 into temporary silence 00:27:03.500 --> 00:27:04.220 as a discipline 00:27:04.220 --> 00:27:05.119 for his unbelief. 00:27:05.619 --> 00:27:07.319 Elizabeth chooses quiet 00:27:07.319 --> 00:27:08.460 and seclusion 00:27:08.460 --> 00:27:09.699 to worship God. 00:27:10.699 --> 00:27:11.659 But either way, 00:27:12.699 --> 00:27:14.199 God's showing himself 00:27:14.199 --> 00:27:15.779 to be trustworthy. 00:27:17.000 --> 00:27:18.619 The passage ends 00:27:18.619 --> 00:27:20.759 both through Zachariah's 00:27:20.759 --> 00:27:21.960 animated silence 00:27:21.960 --> 00:27:23.519 and Elizabeth's 00:27:23.519 --> 00:27:24.720 worshipful seclusion. 00:27:24.720 --> 00:27:25.720 It ends demonstrating 00:27:26.339 --> 00:27:27.740 the fact that we can 00:27:27.740 --> 00:27:29.000 take God at his word. 00:27:30.400 --> 00:27:32.000 Elizabeth is with child. 00:27:32.759 --> 00:27:34.339 The prophet like Elijah, 00:27:34.440 --> 00:27:35.100 the forerunner, 00:27:35.180 --> 00:27:35.680 will come 00:27:35.680 --> 00:27:38.039 and God's rescue plan 00:27:38.039 --> 00:27:39.720 will unfold. 00:27:41.940 --> 00:27:43.059 And indeed, 00:27:43.600 --> 00:27:45.200 it has unfolded. 00:27:46.500 --> 00:27:47.799 Christ has come. 00:27:48.900 --> 00:27:49.880 He has lived. 00:27:50.400 --> 00:27:51.420 He has died. 00:27:51.880 --> 00:27:52.579 He has risen 00:27:52.579 --> 00:27:54.079 and he will come again. 00:27:55.420 --> 00:27:56.559 And he promises 00:27:56.559 --> 00:27:57.900 the forgiveness of sins 00:27:57.900 --> 00:27:58.600 and new life 00:27:58.600 --> 00:28:00.460 to all who turn from sin 00:28:00.460 --> 00:28:01.339 and trust in him. 00:28:01.740 --> 00:28:02.799 And he promises 00:28:02.799 --> 00:28:04.200 increased holiness 00:28:04.200 --> 00:28:04.860 and joy 00:28:04.860 --> 00:28:06.100 as we keep in step 00:28:06.100 --> 00:28:06.839 with his spirit. 00:28:07.279 --> 00:28:08.339 And he promises, 00:28:08.500 --> 00:28:09.420 just like Zachariah 00:28:09.420 --> 00:28:09.839 and Elizabeth, 00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:11.860 to use even our suffering 00:28:11.860 --> 00:28:12.819 for his glory 00:28:12.819 --> 00:28:13.940 and our good. 00:28:14.660 --> 00:28:15.640 And he promises 00:28:15.640 --> 00:28:16.180 that one day 00:28:16.180 --> 00:28:17.220 all suffering and evil 00:28:17.220 --> 00:28:18.059 will come to an end 00:28:18.059 --> 00:28:19.240 and that we will rise 00:28:19.240 --> 00:28:20.400 with him when he returns. 00:28:20.400 --> 00:28:23.759 How about us, friends? 00:28:25.360 --> 00:28:26.240 Are we willing 00:28:26.240 --> 00:28:26.960 to take God 00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:28.560 at his word? 00:28:29.640 --> 00:28:31.060 That's how it all begins. 00:28:32.120 --> 00:28:33.019 Ordinary people 00:28:33.019 --> 00:28:34.980 who place their faith 00:28:34.980 --> 00:28:36.820 in the extraordinary promises 00:28:36.820 --> 00:28:38.780 of the supremely 00:28:38.780 --> 00:28:39.900 trustworthy God. 00:28:41.080 --> 00:28:42.160 May that be us. 00:28:42.840 --> 00:28:43.519 Let's pray. 00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:50.879 Lord, we ask 00:28:50.879 --> 00:28:54.279 as we embark upon 00:28:54.279 --> 00:28:55.259 another Advent season 00:28:55.259 --> 00:28:58.019 that you would grant us 00:28:58.019 --> 00:28:59.519 the gift of faith 00:28:59.519 --> 00:29:00.139 once again 00:29:00.139 --> 00:29:02.400 in your extremely great 00:29:02.400 --> 00:29:03.379 and precious promises. 00:29:03.380 --> 00:29:05.640 Lord, thank you 00:29:05.640 --> 00:29:06.540 that all your promises 00:29:06.540 --> 00:29:07.620 are yes and amen 00:29:07.620 --> 00:29:08.440 in our Lord Jesus. 00:29:08.900 --> 00:29:10.140 That all that we've longed for 00:29:10.140 --> 00:29:11.200 and all that you've spoken 00:29:11.200 --> 00:29:12.600 is found in him. 00:29:13.520 --> 00:29:14.700 Lord, draw our hearts 00:29:14.700 --> 00:29:15.900 and our minds 00:29:15.900 --> 00:29:17.280 and our affections 00:29:17.280 --> 00:29:18.120 up to him again, 00:29:18.200 --> 00:29:18.640 we pray, 00:29:19.360 --> 00:29:20.600 that our lives 00:29:20.600 --> 00:29:21.420 might be shaped 00:29:21.420 --> 00:29:22.580 more and more 00:29:22.580 --> 00:29:23.220 into his image. 00:29:24.180 --> 00:29:24.800 We pray this, 00:29:25.040 --> 00:29:25.800 Father, in Jesus' name. 00:29:26.440 --> 00:29:26.700 Amen.