Luke 1:18-25
Second Week of Advent
December 4, 2005
This is the crux of our text here, on several levels. This passage marks the announcement of Elizabeth’s coming pregnancy with John the Baptist, the one prophesied by Isaiah, the one hoped for by the Psalmist in Psalm 85. Thus, not only do we rejoice with Elizabeth and Zechariah at their soon-coming newborn, we rejoice that, with his arrival, John will be proclaiming a soon-coming Messiah.
Zechariah listens to Gabriel announce the birth of his son, yet doesn’t believe him at first, causing Gabriel to strike Zechariah speechless until John’s birth. However, his mute condition serves to make Zechariah a believer and doesn’t prevent him from communicating this good news to his wife. As she entered into 5 months of seclusion, Elizabeth declared, “The Lord has done this for me. … In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.” (verse 25, TNIV)
This portion is a rather telling one: this couple who loved and served God obediently had never borne children, a sure sign in Jewish culture that God was judging and punishing you for your sins. It seems that God chose to save his blessing for this obedient and faithful couple until the exactly appropriate time. They had been chosen to raise the child who would be Jesus’ forerunner. As faithful & obedient Jews, Elizabeth & Zechariah knew of the prophecies of the Messiah and that Israel had spent the preceding 400 years without a prophet from God to lead His People. Thus, upon hearing the words of Gabriel, they realized that God had not forsaken them and that they had been chosen to receive a blessing beyond their wildest imaginations – their son would not only be the first prophet in 400 years, but would be the prophet that would prepare Israel for the coming of their Messiah.
And as the Messiah has already come to us, it is our task to wait faithfully for His return. Our position is hardly different from the one in which the Jews stood at the time of Jesus’ birth – we have heard the prophecies, listened to the promises, and been waiting faithfully. Each Advent season is a chance for us, as Christians, to re-enter and re-awaken within us a hope, expectancy, and anticipation that Jesus will return again. We should become excited once again, not dreading each day, not living faithlessly, and not worrying about determining the exact day of his re-arrival. With Advent, we are allowed the opportunity to restore our faith in Jesus and His promised Return.
December 4, 2005
This is the crux of our text here, on several levels. This passage marks the announcement of Elizabeth’s coming pregnancy with John the Baptist, the one prophesied by Isaiah, the one hoped for by the Psalmist in Psalm 85. Thus, not only do we rejoice with Elizabeth and Zechariah at their soon-coming newborn, we rejoice that, with his arrival, John will be proclaiming a soon-coming Messiah.
Zechariah listens to Gabriel announce the birth of his son, yet doesn’t believe him at first, causing Gabriel to strike Zechariah speechless until John’s birth. However, his mute condition serves to make Zechariah a believer and doesn’t prevent him from communicating this good news to his wife. As she entered into 5 months of seclusion, Elizabeth declared, “The Lord has done this for me. … In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.” (verse 25, TNIV)
This portion is a rather telling one: this couple who loved and served God obediently had never borne children, a sure sign in Jewish culture that God was judging and punishing you for your sins. It seems that God chose to save his blessing for this obedient and faithful couple until the exactly appropriate time. They had been chosen to raise the child who would be Jesus’ forerunner. As faithful & obedient Jews, Elizabeth & Zechariah knew of the prophecies of the Messiah and that Israel had spent the preceding 400 years without a prophet from God to lead His People. Thus, upon hearing the words of Gabriel, they realized that God had not forsaken them and that they had been chosen to receive a blessing beyond their wildest imaginations – their son would not only be the first prophet in 400 years, but would be the prophet that would prepare Israel for the coming of their Messiah.
And as the Messiah has already come to us, it is our task to wait faithfully for His return. Our position is hardly different from the one in which the Jews stood at the time of Jesus’ birth – we have heard the prophecies, listened to the promises, and been waiting faithfully. Each Advent season is a chance for us, as Christians, to re-enter and re-awaken within us a hope, expectancy, and anticipation that Jesus will return again. We should become excited once again, not dreading each day, not living faithlessly, and not worrying about determining the exact day of his re-arrival. With Advent, we are allowed the opportunity to restore our faith in Jesus and His promised Return.
posted by APN | 7:23 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home