God Speaks… and a Man is Silenced! - Luke 1:1-25

 

God Speaks… and a Man is Silenced! - Luke 1:1-25

Introduction: For this Christmas season I decided to start a new series, beginning today and leading us up to our celebration on Christmas Eve of the birth of Jesus. I have preached extended series through Matthew, Mark, and John, but have only done a few isolated sermons on Luke. This Gospel gives us some of the most familiar stories surrounding the Incarnation, but also some other scenes and events that at least I have not given the attention that they deserve. Paul said, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…” So, I hope we can learn together what God has for us as we begin a study the third gospel. God chose to give us four Gospels, and each has it’s own emphases. They supplement each other in giving us a more complete picture of Jesus. Our goal as always is to know Him better and to love Him more!

       Luke opens with two parallel stories about God, through the angel Gabriel, sending special revelation about what He was about to do. The fulness of time had come, and God’s promise of sending the Messiah, the Son of God, into the world was about to be fulfilled. We’ll see in these two parallel stories something typical of Luke’s style in the Gospel and Acts: he’ll introduce a character, then transition to another person and scene, and then later return to the first. Both Zechariah and Mary responded first with fear at Gabriel’s appearance, and then they struggled to understand what they were told. Next week we’ll see that though Mary too struggled to understand, she took God at His word, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word” (1:38).  Today we’ll listen in as Zechariah struggles to believe God’s message, and is… given some time to think (quietly) about what he had heard! It was a temporary chastening for not believing God’s message, but also a sign that God was working his plan in history.

What’s the Big Idea? Trust God, and see how He will even use even flawed people, people like us, as He carries out His plan in the world!

I. Faith rooted in history: History really is HIS story! The God who is, has spoken, and His Word is truth (1-4). Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us,  ² just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us,  ³ it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,  ⁴ that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. 

       The introduction of the book is actually a single carefully written sentence, which gives us some explicit information about the writer’s purpose in this Gospel, and also some hints about the author’s identity and also the one to whom he is writing. First of all, when we read verses 1 and 2, it is clear that the author was not himself an eyewitness of all the events about which he was writing, and that he was aware of other written accounts of the life of Jesus. Additionally, he had received testimonies and information from those who were eyewitnesses.  He was writing about “…the things that have been accomplished among us…” The phrase speaks to the idea that God had spoken in times past and given promises about a coming Messiah, a Redeemer, and the account that Luke is setting out to write will show how God kept His word, how the promises and prophecies were fulfilled in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. We’ll pay attention to some of those details as we work through the text. God’s word is Truth.  The fulfillment of prophecy is an important part of the argument of all four Gospels in proving that Jesus is the Messiah. Prophecies written centuries before are fulfilled in explicit detail. God is writing His story on the pages of human history! God’s word through the prophets is fulfilled as He sends His Son into the world. A big question in this chapter is, will we believe God and take Him at His Word?

       Luke says he is writing “an orderly account.” Remember that the Gospel writers were not newspaper reporters. They weren’t detached objective historians (as if there is such a thing!). They were writing their accounts from the perspective of faith, with the desire of evoking faith in seekers, and deepening faith in believers.

       Luke names the one to whom he is writing, “Most excellent Theophilus.” A title of respect, his name meaning “Beloved of God.” This is one important clue that shows us that the same author wrote both the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts. Acts begins in 1:1, “In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach,  ² until the day when he was taken up…” The Gospel of Luke was that first book, Acts is the sequel! The writer is not named in either book, but in Acts we suddenly see the writer speaking in the first person, as a companion of Paul, on the second missionary journey. After Paul’s vision of a man from Macedonia, we read in Acts 16:10 (notice “we” and “us”),

“And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

A few other clues from Acts and Paul’s letters, coupled with the tradition of the church, and we have high confidence the writer is Luke, the beloved physician, writing toward the end of Paul’s first Roman imprisonment.  Luke tells us that he is writing that Theophilus might have certainty about the things he had learned. So, he is a historian, but also desires to be a disciple making disciples. That is my desire as we read and study this book: that our faith would be deepened and that we would have assurance of the of God’s grace at work in us. That’s the big idea: Trust God, take Him at His word, and see how He will use even flawed people like us as He carries out His plan in the world! We’ve a Faith rooted in history, and…

II. Faith to endure challenges: Faithfulness to God does not guarantee a life without trials (5-7). In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.  And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.   

       Luke is not a detached, objective historian, but he is carefully writing history, albeit sacred history, as he tells God’s story and makes clear the implications of it. You’ll notice the details in v.5, “In the days of Herod, king Judea…” That is Herod the Great, the patriarch of the Herodian dynasty. We’ll see that Luke regularly sets the story of Jesus into the context of secular history, even as he is conscious of the fact that he is writing sacred history, God-centered history. He introduces us now to a faithful couple who would play a key role in God’s story: Zechariah and Elizabeth.

       Zechariah was a priest, and his wife also was a descendant of Aaron, and so from a priestly family. They were faithful Jews. Notice in v.6, they were both “…righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord…” What a wonderful statement of devotion to God and His Word! But their faithful service did not mean a life without disappointments. They were childless, Elizabeth was barren, and the writer adds, now “…they were both advanced in years…” That was a heartbreak because children were considered a blessing from God. And not only that, but the Jews were also expecting that one day, and perhaps one day soon, the Messiah would be born! This faithful couple had no doubt lost all hope that they would have a part in God’s plan. It is not the plan of God for every couple to have biological children, but you can be assured that God loves you, he delights in you, and you have a special part in His program. We all can have a part in influencing the next generation for Christ. Teaching younger men and women, and coming alongside parents as they teach their children. Jeremy and Pastor Ben would be delighted to find a place for you to influence kids for Christ!

       In this case God miraculously intervenes, He has a plan for Zechariah and Elizabeth that would include having a child. Their son would be the last and greatest of the OT prophets. He would announce the arrival of the long-awaited Messiah. It is not always the case that God will answer our prayers as we would like. It is true that He has a plan and purpose for every life. Sometimes faithful people must live with disappointment and heartbreak and hardships in many forms. Look at our prayer list and you will know that good people suffer and go through hard times, that believers are not exempt from the trials and tribulations of life in this fallen world. Remember, we are pilgrims in a fallen world, and that we were created for eternity! Zechariah and Elizabeth had endured many years, even decades, of heartbreak and disappointment. But they stayed faithful, they loved and served God. We shouldn’t try to negotiate with God: “Bless me Lord, and then I’ll serve you. Send showers of blessing and then I’ll give back to you.” No. Trust Him, seek Him, love Him, take Him at His word. Serve faithfully as He opens doors. And as we do, we’ll find that we too have a part in His plan, and He will even use flawed people like us as He carries out His mission in the world! A faith rooted in history will enable us to endure challenges, and it will be…

III. Faith to serve with perseverance: Even in the face of disappointment and pain, we should serve God faithfully knowing that He has a plan, and that He hears our prayers (8-17). Zechariah and Elizabeth not only endured, they continued to serve.

⁸ Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty,  ⁹ according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.  ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.  ¹¹ And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.  ¹² And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.  ¹³ But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.  ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,  ¹⁵ for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.  ¹⁶ And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God,  ¹⁷ and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared."

       There were thousands of priests in Israel at that time, and to have the opportunity to enter the Holy Place and burn incense was a once in a lifetime privilege for Zechariah. The offering of incense in the Temple would have been connected with prayer, the people praying outside, and the priest praying in the Temple. Yet is Zechariah ever in for a surprise! Have you ever been surprised by an answer to prayer?  Isn’t it funny that we pray, and we are shocked sometimes by the answer coming quickly? Like the guy who brought his umbrella to the prayer meeting during a drought… Dude, it hasn’t rained in weeks! What are you thinking? They were praying for rain, right? Expect an answer! The people were outside praying, and the Zechariah was in the Temple, presumably praying… and suddenly… an angel! Sometimes it seems angels appear as humans and are mistaken as such, like the men in white at the ascension of Jesus. But other times they appear in heavenly glory, and the response is fear!  Like the shepherds on the first Christmas Eve… “They were sore afraid…” Zechariah was “troubled” and “fear fell on him.” After all, as far as we know, it had been 400 years since God had spoken through the prophets! The last verse of Malachi is what the angel refers to. And now God sends Gabriel, and this old priest is standing in the presence of an angel of God!

       Notice that Gabriel tells Zechariah that his “prayer had been heard.” What prayer? We don’t know for sure. No doubt he and Elizabeth had prayed for many years for a child. Now in their old age it was probably something that they had stopped praying for. It may be that the angel is saying your past prayers were heard, all of them, and now God is sending the answer. There is something to be said about perseverance in prayer, keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. God’s timing is perfect – He is never in a hurry, and He is never late. Some of you may have a prodigal for whom you’ve been praying, who seems so far from God. Keep praying! God loves that one even more than you do. Time is not an obstacle to God.

       It may be that not only those prayers from long ago were being answered for Zechariah, but perhaps at that very moment He had taken his eyes off of his own disappointment, and that of Elizabeth, and considered the need of the people for the coming of the Messiah. Could it be that he prayed, “Lord, send the Anointed One, your Messiah, send our Savior…” and Gabriel appeared and announced that God had heard his prayer? Their son would have a special role in announcing that the One for whom they had awaited so long would soon arrive! We too have a message to share! It is not about a Cyber Monday sale, it is the Good News that the greatest gift has been given, and HE is JESUS. That is a message worth sharing! So, trust God and see how He will even use flawed people, people like us, as He carries out His plan in the world! A faith based on history, faith to endure and persevere…

IV. Faith that focuses on God: Is your problem too big, or is your God too small? Even the faithful can be challenged when their eyes are on the problem, rather than on God (18-25). ¹⁸ And Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years."  ¹⁹ And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.  ²⁰ And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time."  ²¹ And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple.  ²² And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute.  ²³ And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.  ²⁴ After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying,  ²⁵ "Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people."

       So many times in the Bible we read stories of God overcoming barrenness to preserve the godly line and fulfill His promise. Abraham and Sarah in their old age is perhaps the first to come to mind, as God proves He is the author of life. You remember how Sarah laughed at the idea of having a child in her old age, and the Angel of the Lord asked, “Is anything too difficult for God?” Gabriel will say something similar to Mary when she asks “How can these things be?” He says, “For nothing will be impossible with God” (Lk 1:37). In that context he is referring to Elizabeth’s pregnancy as a sign to Mary that God is about to do an even greater miracle in her. Zechariah and Elizabeth knew the disappointment that Sarah felt, and yet they knew the stories of Sarah, of Hannah, of Manoah and his wife who became the parents of Sampson, yet as we’ll see, at least Zechariah struggled to believe what God said through Gabriel.  Zechariah gets a different sign, instead of being able to shout the good news when he exits the temple, he would be mute until the promised child is born! God speaks, and a man is silenced… for a time.

What is God saying to me in this passage? A faith rooted in history, that endures through trials and enables us to persevere in service, focused on God. Trust Him, and He will even use flawed people like us as He carries out His plan in the world!

What would God have me to do in response to this passage? Do you ever feel that you are too flawed for God to use? Remember the story of the dusty violin that was pulled out of a case at an auction. It didn’t generate much interest… Until, that is, the Maestro picked it up, drew his bow against the strings, and filled the room with beautiful music. Priceless! We may be a roomful of dusty violins, but we serve a great God. In the Master’s hands, God can do something beautiful. God doesn’t need us to be great, just available! After all, “…we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, unto good works, which God before ordained that we should walk in them (Eph 2:10). We have a faith rooted in history, by which we can endure challenges, as we serve with perseverance, and keep our focus on God. It has been a tough year. As 2020 is winding down, don’t let the events of this year keep you down. Keep looking up, and trust God. Nothing is impossible with God, so trust, and obey! Jesus is building His church, and by grace, we have a part in His mission! AMEN.