Christmas Time Again
Prepare the way, Emmanuel is coming, prepare the way, Emmanuel is coming, oh prepare the way, Emmanuel is coming, will we be ready to meet our Lord and King? This is the question people have asked over the centuries. Will we be ready? Is Jesus Christ really coming back? Did He really come the first time?
Good questions. The answer to two out of three is yes. There is no question that Jesus walked this earth. There is no question that he walked the talk, healed the multitudes and helped people, performed miracles and taught us the secret of life. There is no question of His existence and of His deity. He was, after all, the Son of God. How else does a person raise people from the dead, and then raise Himself as well? Is Jesus really coming back, you bet. If you study the Old Testament prophets, they point to Christ’s second coming. If you study the Apostle John’s book of Revelation, not only is Christ coming back but Scripture says He will come again with a vengeance and the timeline is getting shorter. Will we be ready, well that’s just up to you and me? That’s the only question I can’t answer for you.
This is the first Sunday of Advent as we again welcome in the Christmas Season. Actually, the retail stores have beaten us to it. The Christmas decorations were up well before Halloween back in mid-October.This being the first Sunday of Advent we lit the candle of hope as we started the service. What does the Bible say about hope? The Bible says plenty. Let me share.
The Christmas story, certainly a story of hope is recorded in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Most referenced is Luke’s Gospel and we‘ll be reading from it today and throughout most of this wonderful Christmas season.
First some background. Who was Luke? Luke was not one of Christ’s chosen disciples however he was a close traveling companion to the Apostle Paul. He was a native of Antioch in Turkey. Perhaps this is why he references Antioch so much in his writings. It is interesting to note that Luke was a Gentile, a non-Jew, so this makes him the only Gentile to write any of the books of Scripture. In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he refers to Luke as a Doctor, so his recordings are precise yet not medically technical. He records Jesus’ healing ministry in more detail than any of the other Gospel writers. Dr. Luke wrote both his Gospel and the powerful book of Acts – the Acts of the Apostles most likely only 30 years after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, so his writings are not only sound but certainly inspired by God.
The Christmas story actually begins in chapter 2 of Luke’s Gospel, but this morning our focus is on chapter 1 as we prepare the way for Emmanuel. Emmanuel means “God with us” and Christ is known as Emmanuel.
The first chapter of Luke is a fascinating account leading up to the birth of Jesus and takes place less than a year prior. The main characters are Elizabeth and her husband Zacharias, an Angel of the Lord Gabriel, and the Mother of Jesus, Mary. In his writings I visualize 6 scenes and I invite you to read along with me.
Scene 1: An Angel announces the birth of John who will be known as “John the Baptist” the forerunner of Jesus: In verses 6 & 7 Luke writes; “They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. But they had no child because Elizabeth was barren and they were both advanced in years.” Herod was the King of Judea at the time and Zacharias was one of the temple priests. The temple priesthood was organized into 24 divisions and each division served in the temple twice a year for one week at a time. So Zacharias served in the temple 2 weeks a year, and this was his second week of service. His wife, Elizabeth was also a descendent of Aaron, Moses’ brother, the first high priest, so both Zacharias and Elizabeth were from a long line of priests. Zacharias was chosen from a large number of priests to burn incense in the temple during his 7 day service. This was considered a high honor, so he must have been well respected among the priests. And no priest could do this twice, so this must have been an incredible high point in his life, a once in a lifetime experience.
The incense was kept burning perpetually, just in front of the veil that separated the Holy place from the most Holy place. The lone priest would make incense offering every morning and every evening while the rest of the priests and worshippers stood outside of the Holy place in prayer. They would await his familiar blessing when he came out saying; “The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance to you and give you peace.” Only this time, he was unable to give his blessing to the many, many people outside. You see, while Zacharias was making his incense offering, the Angel Gabriel appeared before him telling him not to be afraid, for he was bringing wonderful news from God.
Scene 2: Gabriel’s words to Zacharias: In verses 12 – 17 Gabriel said; “Do not be afraid for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son and you will give him the name John. You will have joy and gladness and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, he will drink no wine or liquor and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while he is still in his Mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him, Jesus, in the spirit and power of Elijah, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Prepare the way, Emmanuel is coming. Elijah, like John the Baptist was known for his bold, uncompromising stand for the Word of God, even in the face of persecution.
Scene 3: Zacharias questions the Word of God from the Angel Gabriel: Zacharias says to Gabriel that Elizabeth and I are old and how am I to know this for certain? Zacharias, of anyone, should have accepted Gabriel’s words without question and because he didn’t Gabriel makes him unable to speak until his son John is actually born. That’s a long time for a priest to be unable to talk.
Scene 4: Gabriel announces Christ’s miraculous birth: We read from verse 26 that Gabriel was sent by God to a small city outside the Sea of Galilee called Nazareth. Nazaretht is a beautiful small, crowded city in the hills of Judea. This is where Mary lived, betrothed to her future husband Joseph. And what does Gabriel say to Mary? “Greetings favored one. The Lord is with you. Do not be afraid, for behold you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the Holy child shall be called the Son of God.” And then Gabriel tells her that her relative, her cousin, her Mother’s sister’s daughter, has conceived a child in her advanced years and is in her sixth month of pregnancy, for nothing is impossible with God. Verse 37; “For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary acknowledged Gabriel’s words as she was a trusting child of God.
Scene 5: The stage is set for Mary’s visit with Elizabeth: Luke writes in verse 39 that Mary left in a hurry to another small city in the hill country and entered the house of Zacharias and Elizabeth. And when she entered, Elizabeth heard the voice of Mary and her baby leaped in her womb. And then Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit crying out with a loud voice saying; “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” She knew instantly that Mary was the Mother of the Lord Jesus and she wondered why Mary would take the time to visit her. And then Mary recites some beautiful words known today as Mary’s Magnificat – the song of Mary. “My soul exalts the Lord and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has had a regard for even lowly me and from this time on generations will count me blessed. For the Mighty One has done great things for me and Holy is His Name.” And Luke tells us that Mary stayed with Elizabeth and Zacharias about three months up until the time of John’s birth and returned home.
Scene 6: John the Baptist is Born: The time had come for Elizabeth’s son to be born and her neighbors and relatives were rejoicing with her. And on the 8th day after his birth, as was the custom of the day, they came to circumcise the child and they were going to call him Zacharias after his Father. But Elizabeth said “No indeed, his name shall be called John.” And they said to her; “There is no one in your family background named John, so why this name?”
So they made signs to his Father since Zacharias couldn’t speak, and asked him what he wanted the child’s name to be. He asked for a tablet and wrote; “His name shall be John, and they were all astonished.” Immediately he was able to speak again after 9 months of silence and he praised God. Wow. I’ll bet he had a lot to say! Luke writes; “And then his Father, Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave words of prophesy regarding his son saying, You child will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways to give His people the knowledge of salvation, by the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God.”
Life’s application? I would turn again to verse 37; “Nothing is impossible for God.” Nothing! God blessed Zacharias and Elizabeth in their older years when Elizabeth was barren. God blessed the Virgin Mary with the Son of God and she trusted in spite of all she would endure. You can fill in the rest as we look around our church. Unknown to you, but known to God. Zacharias and Elizabeth did. Joseph and Mary did. Even people within your own church did. Prepare the way, Emmanuel is coming. Will we be ready to meet our Lord and King? I’ll end with the same questions I started with. Will we be ready? Is Jesus Christ really coming back? Did He really come the first time?
Yes they are good questions. The answer to two out of three is yes. There is no question that Jesus walked this earth. There is no question that he walked the talk, healed the multitudes and helped people, performed miracles and taught us the secret of life. There is no question of His existence and of His deity. He was, after all, the Son of God. How else does a person raise people from the dead, and then raise Himself as well? Is Jesus really coming back, you bet. If you study the Old Testament prophets, they point to Christ’s second coming. If you study the Apostle John’s book of Revelation, not only is Christ coming back but Scripture says He will come again with a vengeance and the timeline is getting shorter. Will we be ready, well that’s just up to you and me? That’s the only question I can’t answer for you. Prepare the way, Emmanuel is coming. Will we be ready to meet and serve our Lord and King?
