“JOHN – The Forgotten Cousin At Christmas”
Luke 1:6-66
INTRODUCTION: Christmas sermons always deal with the birth of Jesus … as well they should. HOWEVER, His cousin John gets left out a lot, when it comes to Christmas sermons. John is only 6 months older than Jesus.
What did John and Jesus have in common: (ASK)
o Both births were announced to their parents by the angel Gabriel.
o Both parents were told the sex of their child before their birth.
o Both were given their names before their birth.
o Both mothers were humanly, physically unable to have a child.
o Both had their ministries foretold (Lk. 1:17, 1:32-33).
o Both fathers had doubts about the angel’s message.
John the Baptist is the fore-runner of Jesus. i.e., his ministry came BEFORE Jesus – see Luke 1:17. John was to prepare the people for the preaching ministry of Jesus.
Was John the Baptist the founder of the Baptist Denomination? (ASK)
John the Baptist wasn’t even a CHRISTIAN … he was an Old Testament Prophet. He died before the death, burial & resurrection of Jesus … before the day of Pentecost.
I don’t think they even called him “John the Baptist”. I think he was called “John the baptizer”.
John’s father was a priest … Zacharias. His mother was Elisabeth, the cousin of Mary (the mother of Jesus). That made Jesus & John 2nd cousins.
Zacharias & Elisabeth were old when they found out she was expecting a baby. There were no human possibilities that she would ever become pregnant. BUT … God intervened … BECAUSE … He had special plans for their baby, John the Baptizer.
1 DAY … Zacharias was in the Temple, burning incense. Both Zacharias & Elisabeth were Godly, sincere worshippers of God – 1:6.
All of a sudden – 1:11-12
In Bible times, this was the usual reaction to seeing an angel. Modern TV programs depict a different reaction … “Touched By An Angel”, “Joan of Arcadia”, etc. See 1:28-30a, 2:8-9.
In O.T. Bible times, they thought that the appearance of an angel was to signify their death … bad news … judgment.
Angels can preach a whole lot better than I can. They know more … stronger … not limited. WHY THEN, has God chosen US … instead of angels? (ASK) Others can IDENTIFY with us better than with angels. Angels scared people! They were terrified of them!
1:13 – What do you think Zacharias was praying for? (ASK)
o It was the duty of the Priest to burn incense & pray for the coming of the Messiah, to deliver His people from the bondage of Rome.
o He may have been praying for a son.
It was SHAMEFUL to be without children. People thought it was God’s judgment on them because of some hidden sin … God’s displeasure on their life.
It was HUMANLY impossible to have children … YET … they prayed anyhow. NOTICE what the angel told Mary about this 6 months later – 1:36-37.
How many times do we “give up” in our praying because it seems “impossible”? They never gave up … WHY? Because they were always open to God’s will in their life.
God already had a name picked out – 1:13. How many of you LIKE the name your parents gave you? Tough! You didn’t have a choice. Many people change their names after they get grown … Raymond/Ray … Ronald/Ron … Douglas/Doug … Charles/Chuck … ACTUALLY, I was supposed to be “Joyce”
God said: “Thou shalt call his name JOHN!” PERIOD! If Zacharias, Elisabeth or John didn’t like it … tough!
1:14-15 – We often worry about our children … their spiritual condition … lost … wayward … backslidden … which road in life they will take. Some parents may wish their children had never been born … Mr. & Mrs. Hitler … Mr. & Mrs. Judas … The angel took their worry away.
What did the angel PREDICT about John? (ASK)
John would:
o Be a blessing to many – 1:14 – NOT a disappointment, or a shame.
o Be saved – 1:15 – “great in the sight of the Lord” – ELECTION!
o Be used by God – 1:15
o Be filled with the Holy Spirit … NOT the “spirits” – 1:15
o Be a witness for God – 1:16 – NOT turn people away by his life.
o Be a powerful preacher – 1:17 – His vocation was chosen.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we ALL got an outline of our children’s life, BEFORE they were born? It sure would take away a lot of anxiety, wouldn’t it? We always wonder what our children will be like when they are grown … if they will ever amount to anything! Zacharias & Elisabeth knew what their unborn son would be when he grew up.
1:17 – “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children”. Due to his preaching, there would be a meeting of the minds. At this time, there were many divisions of the Jews … many sects. 3 MAJOR: Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes. SMALLER SECTS: Galileans, Herodeans, Zealots. Families were often divided, like politics today … Democrats, Republicans, liberals, conservatives, moderates … The ministry of John would point them in ONE DIRECTION … to Christ … ultimately, CHRISTIANS. Those who repented & turned to Christ would find a UNITY in Him.
This was hard for Zacharias to believe – 1:18
Even though:
o Others in the O.T. had children in their old age (Abraham & Sarah).
o An angel told this to him.
o He was praying in the Temple for this very thing to happen.
o He had a firm faith in God.
YET … when he looked at his old age … INSTEAD of the power of God … he doubted. ANYTIME we look to ourselves, our flesh, our ability … we see nothing but doubt & despair. PAUL: “In my flesh dwelleth no good thing.” “They that are in the flesh cannot please God.”
Zacharias, like Sarah, laughed at God when he was told that they would have a child in their old age.
The angel Gabriel gets OFFENDED – 1:19-20. BECAUSE Zacharias SPOKE with unbelief … he wasn’t able to SPEAK until all that the angel said was fulfilled. He reaped what he sowed.
Aren’t you glad God doesn’t give you what you deserved?
o If we were made DEAF every time we didn’t LISTEN to God speak to us …
o If we were made SPEECH-LESS every time we SPOKE words we shouldn’t speak …
o If we were made BLIND every time we LOOKED at things we shouldn’t look at …
We would be in a terrible mess, wouldn’t we?
God doesn’t like UNBELIEF. When God speaks, we are to LISTEN!
1:21-22 – Part of Zacharias’ job was to pray in the Temple while burning incense. THEN … come outside and pronounce a blessing on the people. He was late in coming out. When he did, he couldn’t speak.
1:23 – There were so many Priests, that they took turns … a week at a time. It is said that this opportunity only came perhaps ONCE in a lifetime. Even though he couldn’t speak, he finished out his week of ministry. He didn’t quit just because he couldn’t speak.
Every Christian has some affliction. Some can’t speak in public … can’t sing … can’t play an instrument … can’t teach a class … can’t do physical labor … can’t give much money. BUT … that doesn’t mean that you are to sit on the sidelines … and do NOTHING. Zacharias kept in the race … he finished his course. He did what he COULD. All of us can pray … be a testimony … invite others … encourage others …
1:24-25 – WHY did she hide herself for 5 months? (ASK)
It was a reproach to not have any children. Can you imagine if a 70 year old woman CLAIMED to be pregnant? When does a woman start to SHOW her pregnancy? (ASK) For Elisabeth it was at 5 months. She waited until it showed REAL GOOD. THEN … she “wore her maternity dress” with a smile on her face, and a song in her heart!
About a month later, Mary visits Elisabeth to tell her about HER pregnancy … the angel … the name given … the prophecy.
IRONIC: Elizabeth got pregnant LATER than women were supposed to. Mary got pregnant EARLIER than women were supposed to (an unmarried virgin).
They got together to compare notes – 1:39-40. Mary couldn’t spread the word in Nazareth that she was pregnant … would have been considered a HARLOT. She knew she could talk to Elizabeth, and that she would understand. Isn’t it nice to have friends like this?
DID YOU EVER NOTICE: When Zacharias doubted the angel, he got “zapped” – 1:18 – “How shall I know this?”. BUT … when Mary doubted the angel … NOTHING happened – 1:34 – “How shall this be?”
What was the difference? (ASK)
Mary’s response wasn’t a DOUBT. Zacharias said: “I don’t believe it!” Mary said: “Tell me MORE … HOW are you going to do it?” THEN … the angel TELLS her – 1:35. We KNOW that Mary BELIEVED – 1:38, 45.
3 months later … 1:57-58.
According to the Law of Moses, the baby was to be circumcised on the 8th day – 1:59. On that day, the name was given to the baby. The oldest son was usually named after the father … Zacharias Jr.!
1:60 – “John” means ‘gracious’ in Hebrew. It shows God’s grace to them in their old age. John would usher in the “Age of Grace” through Jesus.
1:61 – No one in the family had the name of “John”. A family name was given to the child, out of respect for their ancestors … Ronald FREDRICK Scott, Douglas LEE Scott.
1:62-63 – It was the father’s duty to name the child. Zacharias was EMPHATIC … just as EMPHATIC as the angel Gabriel – 1:13. This surprised everyone.
1:64 – see 1:20. Naming John was the fulfillment of the angel’s prophecy. UNBELIEF closed his mouth … FAITH & OBEDIENCE opened his mouth. UNBELIEF will always close our mouths to God’s blessings & praises. FAITH & OBEDIENCE will always give us cause to praise Him. I’ll bet Zacharias was very careful about what he said, after this … especially to angels!
1:65-66 – Everybody knew that John was special … that God had His hand upon this baby boy. He was destined for greatness.
CONCLUSION: We aren’t all John the Baptists … we’re not all supposed to be. BUT … that doesn’t mean that God can’t use us. God doesn’t need another John the Baptist. BUT … He does want to use YOU … to use the gifts & talents He has given YOU.
John is a part of the Christmas story. So are YOU! John was used by God to PREPARE the ministry of Jesus … at the BEGINNING of the Christmas story. YOU & I are used by God to CONTINUE the ministry of Jesus … to make known the “reason for the season” … UNTIL Jesus comes AGAIN.
Just like God used John, He can use you & me. We ALL have a calling … a ministry. A miracle took place in John’s life regarding his BIRTH. A miracle has taken place in OUR lives as well … our RE-BIRTH.
God has great plans for YOUR life as well. Let’s be all that God would have us to be!
STAND – PRAYER.
OUTLINE FOR HANDOUT:
“JOHN – The Forgotten Cousin At Christmas”
Luke 1:6-66
INTRODUCTION: John the Baptist, the 2nd cousin of Jesus, often gets left out of the Christmas story.
- John & Jesus had a lot in common.
- John was a fore-runner of Jesus, to prepare His way – 1:17
- John the Baptizer was an Old Testament Prophet.
1:6 – Zacharias & Elisabeth were Godly people.
1:11-12 – They were terrified of angels – 1:28-30, 2:8-9
- They associated angelic messages with bad news.
1:13 – Zacharias was probably praying for a son – 1:36-37
- God had his name already picked out.
1:14-15 – The angel took their worry away about John.
1:17 – John’s ministry would point them to a Unifier – Jesus.
1:18 – Zacharias looked at himself … not at God’s power.
1:19-20 – Gabriel gets offended!
- God doesn’t always give us what we deserve!
1:21-22 – He couldn’t pronounce a blessing on the people.
1:23 – Don’t quit just because you have an ‘affliction’.
1:24-25 – Elizabeth didn’t “come out” for 5 months.
1:39-40 – Mary & Elizabeth get together to compare notes.
- COMPARE: Zacharias (1:18) with Mary (1:34).
- Mary questioned “how” – 1:35, 1:38,45.
1:57-59 – A baby was named by the father when circumcised.
1:60 – “John” means ‘gracious’.
1:61 – Children’s names showed respect to their ancestors.
1:62-63 – Zacharias was emphatic – 1:13
1:64 – Unbelief will close your mouth … Faith & Obedience will open your mouth to all God’s blessings.
1:65-66 – John was destined for greatness.
CONCLUSION:
- Like John, YOU are a part of the Christmas story.
- John introduced Jesus … YOU are to continue His ministry.
- Like John, a miracle of RE-birth has taken place in your life.
- God has great plans for YOUR life, as well.
PRISCILLA BAPTIST CHURCH – Ray Scott, Pastor
