Transcript

I have decided to move in the direction of preaching, by way of exposition, through the Gospel According to Saint Luke. 

• It is the only of the four that I have not preached upon since Saint Andrew’s began, and this is an occasion where I have already preached on Luke’s second volume, the book of Acts, which is the sequel to his gospel. 

• This morning we will begin our study of the prequel to the book of Acts, namely, the gospel of Luke itself, the longest and most extensive of all the Gospels. 

• This morning we will begin with Chapter 1, and I will ask the congregation to stand for the reading of the Word of God.

Luke 1:1-4

1. Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled 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 had the complete understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, 

4. that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.

These words come to us from Luke, the gospel writer, who wrote not alone or in his own power, but as he was moved and superintended by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost so that the words that you have just heard are indeed the very Word of God. 

Let us pray.

Father, as we once again embark upon the study of this precious gospel that gives to us a narration of the person and the work, the words, the sayings, and the teachings of our dear Lord, we pray that you would fill our minds and our hearts with the knowledge of and the love for Jesus, the central topic of this book. For we ask it in His Name. Amen.

Luke, the Medical Missionary

Before I begin an exposition of the text of the gospel of Luke, I want to say a few words about Luke himself. Ironically, in my own life, before I ever read Luke’s gospel, or indeed anything of the Bible, before I was even a Christian, I became acquainted with this man named Luke. It was due to my lack of performance in the elementary study of the Latin language when I was in high school, a study that I abhorred from the very first lesson. Our gracious Latin teacher gave us the ability to get five bonus points per six weeks’ testing if we would read certain novels that she kept in her library in the Latin room; novels that went over the history of biblical times, such as The Silver Chalice or The Robe.

I read a book called The Road to Bithynia, written by Frank Slaughter, which traced the life of the beloved physician Luke that the Apostle Paul identifies in his letter to the Colossians. Of course, this was a novel with the free use that the author had for fiction, but nevertheless, he incorporated everything that he could learn about this historical character from biblical sources and the historians of the second and third centuries. It was a moving work.

We find Luke mentioned in several places in the New Testament, not the least of which is in his own book of Acts, where Luke served as a companion with the Apostle Paul in Paul’s missionary journeys. We see that this man was not only a doctor but a medical missionary who was a close companion and friend of the Apostle to the Gentiles, Saul of Tarsus. Luke was born and raised in Antioch, of Gentile descent, and died in his eighties in a peaceful way, unlike most of the other writers of the biblical narratives and epistles.

Paul’s Beloved Companion

Before I look at this text, I want to direct your attention to the final words given to us by the Apostle Paul in the second letter that he wrote to his disciple, Timothy. Recently, we were in Rome with the Ligonier tour of the Cradle of Christianity. While in Rome, we videotaped several of the famous sites, including the Colosseum and the Church of Lateran with the sacred steps. We also made a special visit to the Mamertine Prison where the Apostle Paul endured his second Roman imprisonment and final imprisonment before his execution under that emperor whose nickname in the Roman Empire was “the beast”—Nero himself.

The holding cell the Apostle was kept in prior to his execution under Nero was situated across the street from the Roman forum. This was not a large prison, as we imagine prisons to be. It was simply a large cistern that had been cut out of the rock and had originally been used to keep a supply of water for the Romans. But, as history would have it, it was emptied of water and turned into a cell for those who were on death row and about to be executed.

It was a moving experience to go down the stairs into that cistern—that dank, dark, cold, wet place where the great Apostle was held and presumably wrote his final letter to Timothy, whom he had left behind in Ephesus. In that epistle, Paul writes these words that I’d like to call to your attention this morning:

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

Be diligent to come to me quickly; for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica—Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry. And Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come—and the books, especially the parchments. (2 Tim. 4:6–13)

He continues in verse 17: “The Lord has stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!”

Paul then gives final greetings to his friends before making his last admonition to Timothy: “Do your utmost to come before winter.” Paul tells him, “Come before winter, bring the parchments, bring my coat, and bring Mark, because I am alone except for the Lord and for the beloved physician, Luke.”

That last statement of the Apostle Paul speaks volumes to me about this companion of his who went with him on his missionary journeys and stood next to Paul in all the trials and tribulations that are recorded in the book of Acts. Most significantly, he stood side-by-side with Paul in that dreadful, dank prison cell. All the rest had fled and departed.

So Luke, we know, was a physician. Luke, we know, was a missionary. But Luke has also emerged as one of the most important, if not the most important, historian of the ancient world.

The Great Historian Checks the Sources

If we look back now at how Luke begins his gospel, he acknowledges at the outset that others had taken time to give a narrative account of the things they knew of the person and work of Jesus. We have the inspired writings of Matthew, Mark, and John that have survived to this day. Presumably, besides those gospel writers, there were others in the first century who tried their hand at writing a summary of the history of Jesus.

Luke acknowledges at the beginning that he is aware others have gone before him in this venture of providing a history. So, he says in verse 1, “Many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word”—that’s a descriptive phrase for the Apostles, those who had been disciples, like Matthew and John. Mark, of course, was not one of the Twelve, but he was considered to be the amanuensis, or secretary, for the Apostle Peter. But Luke was not a disciple. He had been converted by the Apostles and came under the tutelage of the great Apostle Paul.

Much of what Luke knew, he gained from his association with Paul as well as the others who were among the first disciples. These are those who, from the beginning, were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word. Luke is saying, “I am not an eyewitness, but I am a historian, and as a historian, I check the sources.”

Luke gives us more information about the birth of Jesus than anybody else, and it’s with almost total certainty that we know that Luke had the privilege of interviewing Mary, the mother of Christ, and that all the infancy information about Elizabeth, the visitation of the Magi, and the rest came from those who were the eyewitnesses of the birth of our Lord.

Luke continues, “After we have received these from the eyewitnesses, it seemed good to me also, having had a complete understanding of all the things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus.”

There is a lot of conjecture about the one who is addressed here in the book of Acts: Theophilus. It’s said that he has “the awfulest” name in all the Bible. Of course, the name Theophilus, if you analyze its meaning, means friend or lover of God. So, some people think the person mentioned here represents, in a certain way, the Christian everyman. I, however, don’t think so.

I think Luke is addressing this volume, as was commonplace in the ancient world for scholars, to some person of noble position. He is devoting or dedicating this to a man by the name of Theophilus because he calls him “most excellent Theophilus,” a title not given to symbolic characters but rather to real historical persons.

The Most Accurate Historian of the Ancient World

Luke goes on to say the reason that he’s writing: “That you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.” That was his burden, that was his passion: I am writing these things down that you can be sure of the things you have heard, the things that have been preached to you, the things that have been declared to you by the eyewitnesses. I am writing an orderly, historical, carefully documented account to strengthen your faith and give you certitude, that you might have the full assurance of the truth of the gospel that you have heard. That was his task as a historian.

The ancient world had many notable historians, whether Roman, Greek, or Jewish. You have the historians Thucydides, Xenophon, Herodotus, Suetonius, Tacitus, Pliny, and the Jewish historian Josephus, all of whose works are still read. I have a collection in my house of all the works of the great Greek historians—and there were many. They were excellent in the work they did. But no historian of the ancient world has been subjected to as much academic and archaeological scrutiny as Luke, the writer of this gospel.

Historians have sometimes been skeptical about the biblical writers, and in the early part of the twentieth century, a British atheist historian set out to debunk the truth claims of the Gospels. He decided to follow the alleged footsteps of the Apostle Paul throughout his missionary journeys, going to all of those places that the archeologists have examined.

This fellow, by the name of Ramsey, was converted to Christianity along the way because he discovered that every time a spade of dirt was turned over in those days, some historical aspect of the Gospels was being verified and authenticated. Ramsey and other secular historians have said that Luke, apart from inspiration, apart from the divine assistance that he enjoyed, was the most accurate historian of the entire ancient world.

It Was What It Was

Language changes as time passes and as cultures go through upheavals and changes. Of course, going through the decade of the sixties, there was so much attention given to the discovery of hallucinogenic drugs.

Timothy Leary was the great high priest of LSD while he was teaching at Harvard University and encouraged his students to drop out and turn on. He also said that you could not trust anyone over thirty years of age. There was much discussion about the credibility gap between generations of that time. This skepticism and cynicism about truth telling was emphasized by the colorful sports commentator, Howard Cosell, who said that we should always do what? “Tell it like it is.”

So, we have this emphasis of telling something the way it actually is, except we had a president who raised questions about what the meaning of “is” is. Nevertheless, we have this currency now in our language—I hear it all the time, to my endless annoyance—“It is what it is.”

One thing I do every week is record the press conferences of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach, Mike Tomlin, where he answers questions from the media about the status of his football team. When critical issues come up about weaknesses displayed by his team, he will shrug his shoulders and say, “It is what it is.”

What can be more redundant than saying, “It is what it is”? Of course it is what it is. It can’t be what it is and not be what it is. Even Hamlet understood that: “To be or not to be, that is the question.” You can’t have it both ways. Why am I talking about that silliness? Because not only is it true that it is what it is, but even more important for us is that it was what it was.

Luke’s task, under God, was to set forth for us and for our certainty how it really was; what really took place in space and time in real history. The New Testament is committed to the historical foundation of the truth of our faith.

• Here in chapter one, you will see an angel named Gabriel announce to Zacharias that he and his elderly wife, Elizabeth, will have a son [John the Baptist].

• About six months later, Gabriel will also have the privilege of announcing to Mary that she will be the mother of the Son of God.

• Mary will visit Elizabeth [a relative] who is six months along and the child in her womb will respond to Mary as she enters Elizabeth's home.

1.Inasmuch as [since] many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative [to write about] of those things which have been fulfilled among us,

2. just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us.

NOTE - Verse 1

• This opening verse is an introduction to the Gospel of Luke. 

• Here, Luke is letting the reader know that many others have already attempted to write accounts about Jesus’ life and teachings. 

• He implies that there were several written or oral reports circulating among the early Christians. 

• Luke is acknowledging this fact upfront and preparing the reader for his own careful account that he is about to share.

• Why is this important?**

- Luke’s introduction signals that his work is intentional and carefully organized.

- He wants his audience to trust that what he presents is a faithful and orderly account of Christ’s ministry, confirming what believers already “most surely believed.”

- Luke demonstrates both humility and care—he isn’t the first to write, but he adds unique value.

For a deeper study, you might try reading verses 1–4 together, since Luke’s entire preface is contained there and gives more about his intentions.

• It’s great to ponder how God inspires individuals to record and preserve truth, and how our faith can be strengthened by studying such careful accounts.

• Digging into the scriptures with these background insights can really enrich personal study and your ability to share the gospel with others! 

a. Many have taken in hand: 

• Luke wrote his gospel knowing that many had already written histories of the life of Jesus. 

• This may be a reference to the works of Mark and Matthew (most people think John was written after Luke), and it may also refer to other biographies of Jesus not directly inspired by the Holy Spirit.

i. Some researchers claim that the writings about Jesus did not come about until two or perhaps three generations after His death on the cross. 

• But the work of German papyrus expert Carsten Thiede (in December 1994) suggests that we actually possess copies of Matthew that date close to the very time of Jesus. 

• Thiede’s findings are based on a careful analysis of the handwriting script used on the recently discovered fragments.

b. Those things which have been fulfilled among us: The previously mentioned writings contain things already commonly known and believed among Christians of Luke’s day. When Luke wrote, most Christians already knew all about the life of Jesus, both from the oral accounts passed on by the original disciples, and by the biographies that had already been written.

i. With the word us, Luke put himself in the community of Christians who believed and received the accounts of Jesus’ life. Luke was a companion of Paul (Acts 16:10-11; 2 Timothy 4:11; Philemon 1:24) and Paul called him the beloved physician (Colossians 4:14). Luke was a doctor and therefore a man of science and research, and this is reflected in his history of the life of Jesus.

ii. By every indication, Luke was a Gentile. Colossians 4:10-11 and 4:14 show that he wasn’t Jewish, because he was not included in the group who are of the circumcision. This makes Luke unique in that he is the only New Testament writer who was a Gentile.

iii. God gave this lone Gentile writer a great privilege. Because he also wrote the book of Acts (which makes up the second volume of this Gospel), Luke wrote more of the New Testament than any other human writer did (assuming that Paul did not author the letter to the Hebrews).

c. Just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us: Luke tells us that the prior accounts of the life of Jesus were based on the words of eyewitnesses.

i. Those who from the beginning were undoubtedly the apostles, who were with Jesus from the very start. But those who from the beginning would also include people such as Mary herself, whom Luke probably interviewed in his research for this history of the life of Jesus.

ii. Luke wrote to a first century world that was burnt out on “if it feels good, do it” living; yet it was offended by the crazy superstitions of most religions. The world then, as today, longs for what Christianity offers: faith founded on fact.

3.It seemed good to me [Luke] also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, ["friend of God," probably a Greek official of high rank],

4. that you may know the certainty [that you might have a testimony] of those things in which you were instructed.

a. It seemed good to me also: 

• Luke was not one of those who was an eyewitness of events from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. 

• Yet he put himself in the same line as others who wrote their accounts of Jesus’ life from first-hand experience (such as Matthew and Mark), because his account was based on diligent research and a perfect understanding of events.

b. To write to you an orderly account: 

• Having already read Matthew and Mark’s account, Luke wanted to give a third account with an emphasis on comprehensiveness and order. 

• Therefore, Luke is the most comprehensive gospel. 

• He documents the story of Jesus’ all the way from the annunciation of John the Baptist to Jesus’ ascension.

• Luke is the most universal gospel. 

• In Luke, Gentiles are often put in a favorable light.

• Luke’s gospel is the one most interested in the roles of women, children, and social outcasts.

• The gospel of Luke is the one most interested in prayer. 

• He has seven different references to Jesus praying that are found in this gospel alone.

• Luke’s gospel is the one with the most emphasis on the Holy Spirit and on joy.

• Luke’s gospel is the one with the most emphasis on preaching the good news (the gospel). 

• This term is used ten times in this Gospel (and only once in any other Gospel) as well as fifteen additional times in Acts.

c. Most excellent Theophilus: 

• Luke addressed his gospel to a man named Theophilus, but it was also written with a wider audience in mind.

i. By his title (most excellent), we gather that Theophilus was probably a Roman government official. 

• It is entirely likely that the books of Luke and Acts make up Paul’s defense brief for his trial before Caesar, since Acts leaves Paul waiting for that trial.

ii. Whoever Theophilus was, he had already had some instruction in the faith (in which you were instructed).

5. There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest [in the Aaronic Priesthood] named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. [a descendant of Aaron through Abijah]: His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, [was a descendant of Aaron], and her name was Elizabeth. 

[The priests who served in the temple at the time of Christ were members of the Aaronic Priesthood.  Zacharias was a righteous holder of this priesthood.  

Those men who fulfilled priestly duties at the temple at Jerusalem were divided into 24 groups, each group assigned to serve for one week at a time.  Zacharias was a member of the eighth group.  

Each group had upwards of 1400 men, so the privilege of officiating at the burning of incense in the temple might come once or never in the lifetime of a priest]

6. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 

7. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years. [were quite old and had given up on having children].

a. in the days of Herod: 

• These events happened at a definite time. 

• This was the man known as Herod the Great, who was at the end of a long and terrible reign. 

• Ethnically, he was not a descendant of Israel, but of Jacob’s brother Esau – therefore an Edomite, or an Idumean. 

• He was known for his spectacular building programs, but even more so for his paranoid cruelty, which drove him to execute many, including members of his own family.

b. A certain priest named Zacharias…His wife…was Elizabeth: 

• These events happened to definite people. 

• Zacharias and Elizabeth were righteous and obedient yet also stigmatized by their barrenness (but they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren).

c. Of the division of Abijah: 

• Priestly divisions (including the division of Abijah) were noted in 1 Chronicles 23-24.

8. So it was, that while he [Zacharias] was serving as priest before God in the order [carried out his duties in the temple] of his division, 

9. according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell [he had been selected] to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 

[Since it was generally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for an Aaronic Priesthood priest to have the privilege of burning incense in the temple, this would have been a very humbling and important day for Zacharias].

10. And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside [outside of the temple, watching for the cloud of smoke from the incense to rise from the temple, and waiting for Zacharias to come back out in a few minutes] at the hour of incense.

a. According to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense: 

• Only priests from a particular lineage could serve in the temple. 

• Over the years the number of priests multiplied, (there were said to be as many as 20,000 priests in the time of Jesus) so they used the lot to determine which priests would serve when. The lot to serve might fall to a priest only once in his life.

i. To a godly man like Zacharias, this was probably the biggest event of his life, a tremendous privilege, a-once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 

• Surely he wondered what it would be like to enter the holy place, and if God had something special to speak to him in this special event of his life.

ii. It is also easy to imagine that Zacharias asked the other priests who had already performed this service what it was like; asking them if they had any unique spiritual experience when they ministered before the Lord. The whole event was filled with enormous anticipation.

b. To burn incense: 

• According to the Law of Moses, incense was offered to God on the golden altar every morning and every evening (Exodus 30:7-8). 

• By this time, there was an established ritual for the practice.

i. There were several lots cast to determine who did what at the morning sacrifice. 

• The first lot determined who would cleanse the altar and prepare its fire; 

• the second lot determined who would kill the morning sacrifice and sprinkle the altar, the golden candlestick, and the altar of incense. 

• The third lot determined who would come and offer incense. 

• This was the most privileged duty; those who received the first and second lots would repeat their duty at the evening sacrifice, but not with the third lot. To offer the incense would be a once in a lifetime opportunity.

ii. Before dawn, hundreds of worshippers gathered at the temple. 

• The morning sacrifice began when the incense priest walked toward the temple, through the outer courts, he struck a gong-like instrument known as the Magrephah. At this sound, the Levites assembled and got ready to lead the gathered people in songs of worship to God.

iii. The other two priests chosen by lot that morning walked up to the temple on each side of the priest chosen to offer the incense. 

• All three entered the holy place together. 

• One priest set burning coals on the golden altar; 

• the other priest arranged the incense, so it was ready to go. 

• Then those two priests left the temple, and the incense priest was left all alone in the holy place.

iv. In front of him was the golden altar of incense; it was 18 inches square and 3 feet high. 

• On that small table lay the burning coals, with little wisps of smoke rising up, ready for the incense. 

• Behind the gold altar was a huge, thick curtain, and behind that curtain was the Holy of Holies, the Most Holy Place, where no man could enter, except the high priest, and that only on the Day of Atonement. 

• As he faced the golden altar of incense, to his right would be the table of showbread, and to his left would be the golden lampstand, which provided the only light for the holy place.

c. And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense: 

• When the people outside saw the two men exit the temple, they knew that the time to offer the incense had come. 

• Those hundreds of people bowed or kneeled before the Lord and spread their hands out in silent prayer. 

• They knew that at that moment the incense priest prayed in the holy place, in the very presence of God, for the entire nation.

i. There followed several minutes of dead silence in all the temple precincts – as Zacharias lingered in prayer in the holy place during this, the most solemn experience of his life.

ii. The connection between the burning of incense and prayer might seem strange to some, but in the Bible the burning of incense is a strong picture of prayer (Psalm 141:2; Revelation 5:8).

iii. What did Zacharias pray for? 

• He must have thought about it carefully beforehand. 

• He may have even taken out a prayer list, though it is more likely he memorized it. 

• He also knew how long to pray, because he had attended the morning sacrifice as a worshipper many times before, and he knew how long the incense priest stayed in the temple. 

• He must have prayed for both needs of the nation of Israel, which was occupied and oppressed by the hated Romans. 

• He must have prayed for God to send the Messiah. 

• He probably would have thought it wrong to throw in his personal needs at such a holy moment!

11. Then an angel [Gabriel see v-19] of the Lord appeared to him, [Zacharias] standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 

12. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. 

[v13 The instruction by the angel, Gabriel to call their son "John" was very definite.  Otherwise, they would very likely have named him Zacharias, after his father].

13. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 

[One of the important lessons we gain from verse 13, above, is that we should not give up praying for righteous desires of our hearts].

14. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 

15. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also 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. He [John the Baptist] will also go before Him [go ahead of Christ] 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, [righteous] to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

a. Then an angel of the Lord appeared: 

• The angel simply stood on the right side of the altar of incense.

• Zacharias probably had his eyes tightly shut in passionate prayer, and when he opened them he saw this angel.

b. When Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him:

• The angel who appeared to Zacharias was not a romantic figure, or a naked baby with wings. 

• This angel was a glorious, fearful, and an awesome creature. Like most angels in the Bible, the first thing this angel has to say to his human contact is “Do not be afraid.”

i. Zacharias must have thought, “Does this happen to everyone who does this? The other guys didn’t tell me anything about this!”

c. Your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear a son: 

• It is doubtful that Zacharias prayed for a son when he was at the golden altar of incense. 

• First, it might have seemed like such a selfish need. 

• Second, since he and Elizabeth were both well advanced in years (Luke 1:7), they had probably given up on this prayer a long time ago.

i. Sometimes we pray for something for a long, long time. 

• We pray for the salvation of a spouse or a child. 

• We pray for a calling or a ministry. 

• We pray that God would bring that special person to us. 

• But after years of heartfelt prayer, we give up out of discouragement. Zacharias and Elizabeth probably prayed years of passionate prayer for a son, but gave up a long time ago, and stopped believing God for so much anymore.

ii. When we are in that place, we sometimes begin 

– in the smallest of ways 

– to doubt the love and care of God for us. 

• But God always loves, and His care never stops.

iii. Zacharias’ reaction to the angel’s promise was probably thinking, “I don’t know what you are talking about. 

• I didn’t pray for a son. 

• We’re old, you know. I gave up on that prayer a long time ago. 

• I’m praying for the salvation of Israel. I’m praying that God will send the promised Messiah.” 

• Zacharias didn’t know that God would answer both prayers at once, and use his miracle baby to be a part of sending the Messiah!

iv. Zacharias had no idea that God would answer the two greatest desires of his heart at once. 

• He had probably completely given up on the idea of being a dad; it was a hope that was crushed over the years of disappointment. 

• But God hadn’t given up on it, even though Zacharias and Elizabeth had.

d. You shall call his name John: 

• The boy was given a name before he was even conceived. 

• This was a command from the Lord to name the boy John.

e. He will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink: 

• This is probably a reference to the vow of a Nazirite found in Numbers 6. 

• Their son John would be specially consecrated to God all the days of his life, as Samson should have been.

i. Though John would be great in the sight of the Lord, by the grace of God, he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he (Matthew 11:11).

f. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb: 

• Their son John would have a unique filling of the Holy Spirit, being filled with the Holy Spirit even while in the womb.

i. Calvin, on John being filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb: 

• “Let us learn by this example that, from the earliest infancy to the latest old age, the operation of the Spirit in men is free.”

g. He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God:

• John’s great work would be to prepare the way of the Messiah by turning hearts to God before the Messiah came. 

• The pattern for his ministry would be the great prophet Elijah – in the spirit and power of Elijah. 

• Jesus later said this was fulfilled in John (Matthew 11:14 and 17:12).

h. To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children: 

• This quotation from Malachi 4:5-6 is meaningful for more than its reference to Elijah. 

• These were essentially the last words in the Old Testament, and now God’s revelation is resuming where it had left off.

i. Elijah was a man who called Israel to a radical repentance (1 Kings 18:20-40).

Transcript

The reading this morning is Luke 1:18–25. I would ask the congregation please to stand for the reading of the Word of God.

18. And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”

19. And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. 

20. But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”

21. And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple. 

22. But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless. 

23. So it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. 

24. Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, 

25. “Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

• It has been our unspeakable privilege to have just heard a word from God Himself, given by the superintendence and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 

• Hear this word, hold it in your heart, for it is sacred and able to make you complete as men and women of God. Please be seated.

Let us pray. 

Now, our Father, as we consider these things that are recorded in this passage for our edification, we pray that You will open our eyes and hearts to the truth that is found in it, and that the truth may cut into our very souls to change us from unbelief to belief in Your sacred Word. For we ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Struggle of Zacharias

Don’t be alarmed—I’m not going to go back to the very beginning of this passage and start all over with what we’ve covered in two previous sessions. I do, however, want to look back at one thing early on in Luke 1, beginning in verse 6. There it describes Zacharias and his wife, Elizabeth, as both being righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless.

Up until this point in his ministry, God had been pleased with the singular posture of obedience and righteousness displayed by this man, Zacharias. In fact, Scripture describes him as having been “blameless.” That’s a little bit of hyperbole. If we look at it very carefully under a microscope, we’ll certainly find something in this man that was blame-worthy. In general, however, his character was one that was blameless.

Zacharias’ streak of blamelessness comes to an abrupt halt in the Holy Place, when he is visited by the angel. The angel announces to him that he and his wife are going to have a child who will be the forerunner of the Messiah. Suddenly, Zacharias struggles with his faith, and he says to the angel, “I am an old man.” There’s irony in this if you read it in the Greek because the literal translation of the words is, “I am a Presbyterian,” or, “I am an elder.” I guess struggling with authentic faith is characteristic of Presbyterians, and the son who would be born to Zacharias would be known through all the generations as John the Presbyterian.

Zacharias says to the angel, “I am an old man, and my wife is beyond the years of childbearing.” His faith is now disintegrating in the light of this astonishing announcement given to him by the angel.

The angel’s response to Zacharias, who says, “I am an old man,” is: “Yes, and I’m Gabriel. What’s your point? I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent here to proclaim good tidings to you.” The language of the New Testament at this point is significant because Gabriel uses the same language that the New Testament to describe Apostles. Gabriel is saying, literally: “I am an Apostle commissioned and sent by the authority of God Himself. So, the Word I am proclaiming to you here, Zacharias, is not my message; it is God’s Word.”

Gabriel goes on to tell Zacharias that the message he has been sent to proclaim is one of “glad tidings.” In the Greek, this is the same word for the proclamation of the gospel. He’s saying, “God has sent me to proclaim the gospel to you, Zacharias, and yet you are a priest who tells me you are too old to believe it!”

Do you know how many people there are in this world who, to this day, are saying they are too old to believe the gospel that God declares? They say: “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. My life has been marked by unbelief since childhood, and I’m not going to be one of those who becomes a foxhole Christian or experiences a deathbed conversion. I’m too old for that.”

The Egregious Sin of Unbelief

I want us to see the response of God’s ambassador, God’s authorized messenger, to Zacharias’s doubt. Let’s look at the text again: “I am Gabriel who stands in the presence of God and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings (that is, this gospel), but behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words.”

There are consequences to unbelief. Gabriel is saying, “Though you were known as righteous and devout and blameless, now I’m going to take away your ability to speak because of your unbelief.” So, Gabriel administers a judgment of God upon this supposedly righteous man for his unbelief.

I don’t think we take seriously enough the sinfulness of unbelief. We have a tendency in our culture, even in the church, to think that belief in Christ and trusting in the things of God are optional. They don’t carry any dire consequences if we dismiss them. We need to understand, however, that unbelief in the Word of God is sin. Not only is it sin, but it’s an egregious sin. Not only is it an egregious sin, but it is a sin that has eternal consequences.

To Some, Mercy; To Others, Justice

There are many dimensions of theology related to the problem that we face in this text with Zacharias. Let me begin by asking, Why does God punish Zacharias for his struggle when He didn’t punish Abraham, for example, in the Old Testament?

God said to Abram, “Abram, I’m your great reward and your shield.” Abram responded: “Reward? What are you going to give me? I don’t have any children, and my heir is my servant, Eliezer of Damascus.” God said, “No, Eliezer will not be your heir, but you are going to bring forth a child, and your wife is going to conceive.” What happened? In Genesis 15 we read, “And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him to righteousness” (Gen. 15:6). This was the first clear example of a man being justified by faith alone, the cardinal issue of the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation.

Paul labors the point that before Abraham offered up Isaac on the altar in Genesis 22, he had already been counted righteous before God in Genesis 15. As soon as faith was born in his soul, he was justified. He didn’t have to have faith plus works in order to be justified, but faith alone was all that was necessary for Abraham to have righteousness imputed to him. The only righteousness that could have been imputed to him was the righteousness of Christ, who was not even yet born.

Even after Abraham’s marvelous profession of faith by which he was justified, he staggered for a moment and said, “But how can I know for sure?” Abraham had saving faith such that he had the righteousness of Christ imputed to him and his salvation guaranteed, yet there was still an element of doubt in his heart.

God went to elaborate measures to convince Abraham that His Word could be trusted, and there wasn’t the slightest hint of judgment given to Abraham for wanting to have the Word of God confirmed. As was the case with Hezekiah and as was the case with Gideon and his fleece, we see people throughout Scripture who hear the Word of God and stagger in unbelief, and then God is patient with them, forbearing, tender, and kind.

Now, all of a sudden, here is a priest who has been told something equally astonishing as that which had been told to Abraham, and he struggles with believing it. Yet instead of having a covenant ratified with him like God did for Abraham, or a fleece answered like He did for Gideon, He said, “You’re not going to be able to speak one word until this prophecy is fulfilled, because of your unbelief.”

That doesn’t sound fair, does it? Why would God punish Zacharias and not punish Abraham? Very simple. Abraham got mercy. Zacharias got justice. Once again, we see that God will have mercy upon whom He will have mercy and be gracious to whom He will be gracious. Because He gives grace to one, and then again to another, and to another for the same thing, does not mean that we can then assume that He will be ever so gracious to everyone else who commits the same sin. No, sometimes God says, “Stop right here—that’s enough.”

Limited Atonement

In the Bible, there are two ways that people die. They either die in faith, or they die in their sin. If you die in your sin, in unbelief, it is too late. The judgment of God will be upon you, not simply for a few months as it was for Zacharias, but forever.

One of the doctrines that we struggle with in the church, particularly in Reformed theology, is an integral part of the famous acrostic, TULIP. It stands for total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints. Many of our evangelical brothers and sisters embrace TUIP. They will affirm the T, the U, the I, and the P, but they knock the L out of TULIP. The L stands for limited atonement.

It’s amazing to me how much controversy ensues over this point of historically-formed theology. People say: “How can you say that the atonement of Jesus Christ is limited? Doesn’t the Bible say that He died for the whole world? Are you saying that Jesus’ atoning death is not sufficient to save everybody in the world?”

The same people who critique limited atonement also say that not everybody in the world is saved. Why isn’t everybody in the world saved? Well, a necessary condition to be saved by the atoning death of Jesus Christ is to have faith in Jesus Christ. If you have no faith in Jesus Christ, the atoning death of Christ only exacerbates your guilt before God and will do nothing to alleviate it because you have rejected the perfect sacrifice that was offered once for all.

Think about this for a minute, friends. If Jesus, on the cross, died for every sin of every person who ever lived, and made atonement for every sin of every person who ever lived, how can you therefore resist the conclusion of universalism? If Jesus died for every sin of every person, there is nothing left for God to punish. Everybody would be saved because every sin has already been atoned for.

The atonement of Christ is made only for those who believe. In that sense, the efficacy of that atonement is limited. It is limited to believers. Jesus didn’t die for everybody. He died for believers. You can take it to the next step if you want; I do, without hesitation. He died for the elect. Everyone for whom He died, everyone for whom He made an atonement, has their sins forgiven forever. This was not an afterthought in the economy of God’s plan of salvation. From all eternity, God had planned to send His Son into the world to atone for the sins of His people.

The reason I get into limited atonement is not because it’s Reformation Sunday—that would be reason enough—but because I want us to see how important unbelief is as a sin. We have the tendency to think, “If I don’t believe it and I’m not persuaded, I may be wrong, but at the worst it’s an error in judgment.” No. What made it so serious that Zacharias didn’t believe this message?

Assaulting the Integrity of the Almighty

When I was a kid, if I was insulted by somebody and I came home because my feelings were hurt and I was crying, my mother would wipe my tears, and I’d say, “Richard Haines said this about me.” Then she would say, “Consider the source.” I didn’t know what that meant, but she’d always say, “Consider the source.”

My mother meant that when somebody says something, the credibility of what they say is directly related to the credibility and character of the person making the statement. That’s why, in a court of law, we want to have witnesses who are credible. It’s one thing for me not to believe everything you tell me because I have had much experience in my lifetime where people have lied to me. But when was the last time that God lied to you? When I don’t believe what God says, I am assaulting the very integrity of the Almighty.

My unbelief is an accusation against God Himself. It’s saying, “God, I can’t trust what You say.” That’s why the issue of the source of Gabriel’s announcement is so central to this passage. Zacharias says, “I’m an old man, and my wife is beyond the age of bearing children.”

“And I’m Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and it was God who sent me to announce these things to you. I am not speaking on my own authority, Zacharias. I’m speaking the Word of God.” To not believe the Word of God is to sin.

The Sole Instrument of Justification

To believe in God—and not just to believe in God, but to believe God—is at the very essence of what it means to be a Christian person. Back in the Old Testament, the prophet Habakkuk made the comment, “The just shall live by faith” (Hab. 2:4). We can translate it, “The righteous shall live by trust.”

It’s not by accident that Habakkuk’s statement is repeated three times in the New Testament, not the least of which is in Paul’s thematic statement of the doctrine of justification in the first chapter of Romans. It’s not by accident that, in the sixteenth century, this was the core issue between Rome on one side and Luther and the Reformers on the other.

To be just is to live by faith. To be righteous is to be righteous by faith. It’s why the Reformers called faith the sole instrument of our justification. It’s not faith plus something else. Trusting the Word of God and trusting in God alone for your salvation is the only way anybody can ever be saved.

The converse is true, that if the just lived by faith, what do the unjust live by? By unbelief. Which are you? Just or unjust? Your unbelief, dear friend, cannot be justified. It is an unjust slander against the One who is the fountain of all truth.

Faith, Not Credulity

• One of the things that distresses me greatly in our culture, in the media, television, newspapers, or novels is when I hear statements like this: the scientist gave his reason, and the minister gave his faith. Have you heard that kind of disjunction? 

• The idea is that faith is confused with credulity. Credulity is an unreasoned faith. Credulity is an irrational faith.

I hear Christians say, “All you have to do is take a leap of faith.” A leap of faith? What do you mean, a leap of faith? They’ll say: “It’s not reasonable to believe in the claims of Jesus Christ. 

It’s not reasonable to believe in the Word of God. Those things are irrational, and if you are going to be a rational, scientific person and still be a Christian, you have to take a leap of faith.”

The idea is that you close your eyes, you hold your breath, you hold your nose, and you jump into the darkness and hope Jesus will catch you. That’s an insult to the Spirit of God. The Bible never tells you to jump into the darkness. It tells you, every day, to jump out of the darkness and into the light.

• Augustine labored the difference between faith and credulity. 

• Credulity is the person who just believes anything anybody tells them, for no reason at all. 

• But faith, authentic faith, biblical faith, is grounded in the trustworthiness of God Himself. 

• Nothing could me more unreasonable or irrational than to doubt a word that comes from God.

God Said It, That Settles It

• I often see these bumper stickers: “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.” That makes me cringe. 

• I want to go with an eraser or a marking pen and cross out the middle premise. If God said it, it’s settled. 

• God does not need your agreement for His Word to be true. 

• I can disbelieve everything God has ever said, and all that does is make me a fool and a sinner that cannot contradict the trustworthiness of God Himself.

Do you see what this angel was saying to Zacharias? “Tell me your story, Zacharias. You are too old? Your wife’s too old? I stand in the presence of God, and God told me to tell you that you are going to have this son. I heard God say that. He told me to tell you, but you have some contrary evidence to give me—your age and your wife’s age—and I’m supposed to discount the truthfulness of the Word of the One who sent me because of how old you are? Are you out of your mind?”

Zacharias’ problem wasn’t an intellectual problem; it was a moral one. 

The reason for Zacharias’ doubt was his abiding sin. The reason we doubt the Word of God is not because His Word is unbelievable or incredible, but because we project upon God the untrustworthiness that describes our own condition.

Let every man be a liar, but God’s Word is true. Gabriel said: “When God speaks, if you don’t want to believe it, Zacharias, then fine, you’re not going to speak. While you are silent, while you are mute, while you keep your mouth shut, you will have some time to think, in that silence, about what you have just said about the Word of God.”

The just shall live by faith. Jesus said, “By every Word that proceeds from the mouth of the Father, there is no justification for denying the Word of God—not your age, not your culture, not your profession—nothing.” If God says it, it’s settled.

How Do You Respond?

In that instant, Zacharias’s lips were closed. He staggered out into the outer court, and the people who were waiting for him to appear couldn’t believe what was taking him so long. Characteristically, the priest would go in, burn incense on the altar, and leave as fast as he could lest he profane that holy space. Zacharias had been in there way too long. They wondered if he had died.

He came out and they saw him, and they wanted an explanation. He tried to tell them, but nothing came out of his mouth. This is the first recorded activity of a mime in the New Testament. Zacharias was gesturing, trying to communicate what he saw. The people figured he had seen a vision.

So, Zacharias went home, and Elizabeth became pregnant and went into seclusion until her days would be fulfilled. How do you respond to the Word of God? Justly or unjustly? Those are the only two options.

Let us pray. Father, our God, we thank You that You give us eyes to see and ears to hear even those things that we struggle with because, in our fallenness, we don’t want to have You in our thinking. We will flee to every excuse we can imagine to escape the force and power of Your Word. Forgive us this day for the sin of unbelief, and, by Your grace, help our unbelief. Amen.

[Zacharias is humbly puzzled by the announcement of the angel, since he and Elizabeth are old, and she is well-beyond the years when she could bear a child]

18. And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” [we are beyond the years when we can have children].

19. And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. 

20. But behold, you will be mute [unable to talk] and not able to speak until the day these things take place, [until John is born] because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”

a. How shall I know this? For I am an old man and my wife is well advanced in years: 

• Zacharias’ attitude was, “Thanks for the promise, angel. 

• But knowing the condition of my wife and I, this is a big one. 

• Can you give us a sign to prove it?”

i. It isn’t that Zacharias doesn’t want to believe this; he does. 

• It is simply that he feels it must be too good to be true, and he has probably protected himself from disappointment by not setting his expectations too high. 

• We rob ourselves of many a miracle by the same attitude.

ii. Zacharias looked at the circumstances first, and what God can do last; 

• we are tempted to think this is logical; but if God is real, there is nothing logical about putting circumstances before God.

b. I am Gabriel who stands in the presence of God: 

• Gabriel reminds Zacharias of who he is and where he has come from.

• There is a big contrast between I am an old man and I am Gabriel – which held more weight? 

• Gabriel also “preaches the gospel” to Zacharias (brings you glad tidings).

i. It was nothing but good news to Zacharias that he would not only have a son, but that the son would have a significant role in God’s plan of redemption. 

• This is the good news that Gabriel brought to Zacharias.

ii. This gives a better idea of what it really means to preach the gospel – it is to bring good news to people who need it.

c. My words which will be fulfilled in their own time: 

• If there is no Zacharias, there is no John the Baptist. 

• If there is no John the Baptist, there is no herald announcing the coming of the Messiah. 

• If there is no herald announcing the coming of the Messiah, the prophecies in the Old Testament regarding the Messiah are unfulfilled. 

• If any of the prophecies of the Old Testament regarding the first coming of the Messiah are unfulfilled, then Jesus did not fulfill all things. 

• If Jesus did not fulfill all things, then He did not complete God’s plan of redemption for you and me, and we must perish in our sins! 

• This was good news!

d. But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak: Zacharias paid a price for his unbelief. 

• His unbelief did not make God take his promise back; it just kept Zacharias from enjoying it.

i. When we do not believe God’s promise for our lives, we do not necessarily destroy the promise; but we do destroy our ability to enjoy the promise. 

• What made this such a severe punishment was that Zacharias had such great news to tell.

ii. Strangely, many Christians would not consider this a punishment – they don’t mind keeping quiet about the good news of Jesus.

21. And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple. [were wondering what was taking him so long].

22. But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived [understood] that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned [described with his hands that he had seen a vision] to them and remained speechless. 

23. And so it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house.

a. And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long: 

• The custom was for the priest to come from the temple as soon as he was finished praying, to assure the people that he had not been struck dead by God. 

• Zacharias’ delay had started to make the crowd nervous.

i. After the incense priest finished, he came out of the holy place through the great doors of the temple and met the other two priests right outside the doors. 

• Then the incense priest raised his hands and blessed the people with the blessing from Numbers 6:24-26. 

• The hundreds of gathered worshippers knew what to do; they responded by saying, “Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.”

ii. After all this, the Levites got the worship singers and musicians started. 

• They began with a blast from special silver trumpets; then a priest struck the cymbals, and the choir of Levites began to sing the Psalm of the day. 

• The choir was made up of not less than twelve voices, which mingled young and old for a full range of sound and probably some great harmonies.

b. But when he came out, he could not speak to them: 

• When Zacharias came out, he was supposed to stand on the temple steps, overlooking the crowd, and pronounce the priestly blessing on the people (Numbers 6:24-26), and the other priests would repeat it after him. 

• But Zacharias couldn’t speak!

i. Doing the best he could through hand motions, he told the story of what happened to him in the temple. 

• It’s hard to know if everyone believed him!

24. Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, 

25. “Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.” [to take away the social stigma of being childless].

a. His wife Elizabeth conceived: 

• Zacharias had normal relations with his wife; he partnered with God to fulfill the promise. 

• He did not count on this child coming from a miraculous conception.

b. She hid herself five months: 

• Elizabeth did not go away to hide her pregnancy; she was gone for the first five months, the time when she would be least noticed as pregnant. 

• She went away to spend time with the Lord, and to meditate on the destiny of the child within her.

[Six months after Elizabeth conceived, [John the Baptist] Gabriel appeared to Mary to tell her that she would be the mother of Jesus Christ]. 

26. Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 

[v27 Being "betrothed" (espousal) was a much stronger commitment that engagement is in our day.  An "betrothed" (espousal) couple was bound by covenants to each other even before their marriage and the "betrothed" could not be broken off except through formal action similar to divorce].

27 To a virgin betrothed [espousal; engaged, promised] to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. [who was a descendant of David]; The virgin’s name was Mary.

a. In the sixth month the angel Gabriel: 

• Gabriel’s work was not finished with the announcement to Zacharias in the temple. 

• In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, he came to a village in Galilee.

b. A city of Galilee named Nazareth: 

• Chronologically, this is the first mention of Nazareth in the Old or New Testaments. 

• Nazareth is perhaps remarkable for its unremarkable nature; it was unmentioned in the Old Testament, in the Apocrypha, and in the writings of Josephus.

i. Though Nazareth is in the general region of Galilee, it is 15 miles away from the Sea of Galilee. 

• It is six miles from the closest major road. 

• Nazareth had no good water supply; only one fairly weak well in the center of the village.

ii. Jesus would forever be identified with this place, being repeatedly called Jesus of Nazareth (Mark 1:24, John 18:7, John 19:19, Acts 2:22).

• His followers were also called “Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5).

c. To a virgin betrothed: 

Mary was betrothed to Joseph. There were three stages to a Jewish wedding in that day.

• Engagement (a formal agreement made by the fathers).

• Betrothal (the ceremony where mutual promises were made).

• Marriage (approximately one year later, when the bridegroom came for his bride at an unexpected time).

i. When a couple was betrothed, they were under the obligations of faithfulness, and a divorce was required to break the betrothal. This was not a casual promise.

d. The virgin’s name was Mary: 

• Mary is clearly said to be a virgin. 

• There is no ambiguity about the idea here – Mary had never had sexual relations with any man.

i. The conception of John the Baptist, the forerunner, was miraculous; we should expect an even more remarkable conception of the Messiah.

ii. “The name ‘Mary’ is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Miriam, the sister of Moses. 

• It means ‘exalted one,’ a fitting description of the soon-to-be mother of the Messiah.” (Pate)

28. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” 

29. But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.

a. The angel said to her: Gabriel said three things to Mary. 

Each of these were certainly true of Mary, who had a unique privilege among any person to ever live.

• She was highly favored.

• That the Lord was with her.

• She was blessed.

i. However, all these things are true of the believer in Jesus. 

• We are highly favored as Mary was (Ephesians 1:6), the Lord is with us (Matthew 28:20), and we are blessed (Ephesians 1:3).

ii. The Roman Catholic prayer that begins “Hail Mary, full of grace” is accurate. 

• Mary was full of grace, and so is the believer. 

• But Mary’s grace was a received grace, not grace to give to others.

b. But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying: 

• The fact that Mary was troubled at his saying shows her humility.

• Mary was surprised to hear such extravagant words said of her.

30. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 

[His Name Is to be Jesus]

31. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. 

[Next, Gabriel gives Mary a brief description of her special Son.  Mary would no doubt have recognized some of the ancient prophecies quoted by the angel, which would help her comprehend the significance of this announcement to her].

32. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; [the son of Heavenly Father] and the Lord God [Heavenly Father] will give Him the throne of His father [ancestor] David. 

33. And He will reign over the house of Jacob [house of Israel; descendants of Jacob] forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

a. You have found favor with God…you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son: 

• The focus was not on Mary, but on a Son, to be named JESUS (a common name). 

• This Son was unmistakably identified as the Messiah predicted by the Old Testament.

i. He will be great: 

• No one has influenced history more than Jesus Christ. 

• “Is it not proven that he is great? 

• Conquerors are great, and he is the greatest of them. 

• Deliverers are great, and he is the greatest of them. 

• Liberators are great, and he is the greatest of them. 

• Saviours are great, and he is the greatest of them.” (Spurgeon)

• Jesus is great in the perfection of His nature.

• Jesus is great in the grandeur of His offices.

• Jesus is great in the splendor of his achievements.

• Jesus is great in the numbers of those He rescues.

• Jesus is great in the estimation of His people.

ii. He will be called the Son of the Highest: 

• Jesus would be the son of Mary, but not only her son; He would also be, and be known as, the Son of God.

iii. The throne of His father David: 

• He will be the Messiah prophesied to David (2 Samuel 7:12-16), who has the rightful authority to rule over Israel, and of His kingdom there will be no end.

b. You will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son: 

• Mary knew exactly what Gabriel was talking about because she was a woman of the word of God. 

• When Gabriel said this, Mary knew he quoted from Isaiah 7:14: the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son.

34. Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” [I am a virgin]

35. And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest [the Father; God] will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One [Jesus] who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 

36. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative [KJV-cousin] has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.

37. For with God nothing will be impossible.”

a. How can this be, since I do not know a man? Mary’s question was logical. She asked the same question Zacharias asked (Luke 1:18), but his question was asked in skeptical unbelief, and her question was asked in wonder-filled faith.

b. The power of the Highest will overshadow you: Gabriel answered that the power of the Highest, in the Person of the Holy Spirit, would overshadow Mary.

i. The word overshadow means “to cover with a cloud,” as in the cloud of Shekinah glory (Exodus 16:10, 19:9, 24:16, 34:5, 40:34) or the cloud of transfiguration (Matthew 17:5, Mark 9:7, Luke 9:34).

ii. This cloud was a visible manifestation of the glory and presence of God; this means that the same power of God that was with Moses and others in the Old Testament was now going to do a unique work in the life of Mary.

iii. “This delicate expression rules out crude ideas of a ‘mating’ of the Holy Spirit with Mary.” (Morris)

iv. “Technically speaking, however, the angel predicted a virginal conception, rather than a virginal birth. As far as anyone can tell, the actual birth of Jesus was normal; not so his conception.” (Pate)

c. That Holy One who is to be born: Because this will be the manner of His conception, He would be the Holy One (different from all others), and He will be called the Son of God.

i. This doesn’t have the same impact on us today because of our unfamiliarity with the idea of being a Son of God. But Mary (and all other Jewish people from her culture) knew what this meant: this child would be equal to God (John 5:18).

ii. Jesus did not become the Son of God; He was called the Son of God, recognizing His nature from all eternity.

d. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age: With such an amazing promise, Gabriel also brought evidence, explaining that Elizabeth was pregnant. If God could do that, He could do what He promised for Mary.

i. “Though believers are satisfied with the bare word of God, yet they do not disregard any of his works which they find to be conducive to strengthen their faith.” (Calvin)

e. With God nothing shall be impossible: The point is clear. More literally, one could translate this for no word of God shall be powerless. God will absolutely perform what He has said.

i. The words, ‘for nothing’ (literally, ‘no word’) ‘will be impossible for God,’ recall the divine promise of a son addressed to Sarah (Genesis 18:14 [Septuagint]) and, in so doing, provide another confirming example of God’s ability to carry out His promise to Mary.” (Pate)

[Mary's Humble Response

There is probably not a greater example anywhere in scripture of humble faith and submission to the will of the Lord than the response given by Mary to the angel's announcement].

38. Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

a. Behold, the maidservant of the Lord! 

• Mary first responded by agreeing with what Gabriel said about her.

• She was the maidservant of the Lord, and it was not her position to debate with her Master, but to accept what He said.

i. “It was inevitable that clouds would gather around her character, which would sorely perplex the good man to whom she was betrothed.

• But as soon as she realized that this lot was ordained for her by God, she humbly acquiesced, with these model words of patient faith.” (Meyer)

b. Let it be to me according to your word: 

• Mary then responded with an affirmation of faith. 

• “Let it be to me according to Your word” is the proper response of every believer to every promise of God.

i. All this took more trust in the Lord than we might think. 

• Mary agreed to receive a pregnancy that would be seen as suspicious, and this in a culture that had a potential death penalty for adultery. 

• Mary identified herself with sinners so that the purpose of God would be fulfilled.

ii. Spiritually speaking, there are similarities between God’s work in Mary and His work in every believer.

• Jesus lives within the believer spiritually, as He did in Mary physically.

• Jesus lives within us spiritually by His word, as He did in Mary physically.

• Jesus is made visible to the world through us, as He was through Mary physically.

iii. “Truly did our Lord speak when he said to his disciples, ‘These are my mother, and sister, and brother.’ 

• We bear as close a relationship to Christ as did the Virgin mother, and we in some sense take the same position spiritually which she took up corporeally in reference to him.” (Spurgeon)

c. And the angel departed from her: 

• We don’t know the exact moment Jesus was conceived in the womb of Mary. 

• It may have been when Gabriel spoke to her, or soon after. 

• Whenever it was, the cloud of God’s glory overshadowed Mary (Luke 1:35), and Jesus was miraculously conceived in Mary’s womb. 

• Jesus’ birth from this conception is what we call the Virgin Birth.

i. When we approach the event we call Virgin Birth, we have to agree with Paul’s analysis: 

• great is the mystery of godliness (1 Timothy 3:16). 

• But the message of the Scriptures is clear regarding the Virgin Birth.

• There can be no question about the Virgin Birth, only questions on the authority of Scripture.

ii. The Virgin Birth is unique. 

• Many mythologies have legends about a god who had sexual relations with a woman and produced offspring, but the idea of a virgin birth is unique to Christianity.

Transcript

• We’re going to continue our study of the Gospel According to Saint Luke. I will be reading from chapter 1, verse 39 through verse 45.

• Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

• We’ve just heard part of Luke’s account of the life and ministry of Jesus. Luke gives us more information about the infancy of Jesus than any of the other Gospels. Mary’s visit to Elizabeth is a part of that account, and it is there for our instruction and edification. I pray that we will receive these words of the Lord in our minds and hearts. 

• Let us pray.

Our Father, we ask that you stoop to our weakness, to the fragility of our understanding and the frailty of our consciences, so that we may have ears to hear your Word and hearts that are open to receive it and rejoice in it. Give us the same Spirit in our hearts that was made manifest here by your servant, Elizabeth. For we ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

• Last time, we looked at Mary’s response to Gabriel, who had told her about the miraculous birth she was about to have due to the Son of God being conceived in her womb. We looked at the last part of her response where she said, “So let it be unto me, even according to thy word.” That was not so much an imperative that the angel was obligated to obey but an expression of Mary’s submission to Gabriel’s announcement. In that announcement, Gabriel told Mary that Elizabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy with the child who had been conceived through the power of God in her womb. We pick up the narrative immediately after the angel had visited Mary, and we read, “Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah.”

It’s Like Going up to Denver

We recently visited the Holy Land, Ephesus, Rome, and other important points of church history. People have asked me what the highlight of the trip was. Was it preaching on the site of the Apostle John’s tomb in Ephesus? Certainly, that was one of the highlights. What about seeing the sights of Jerusalem, or Capernaum, or speaking while on the Sea of Galilee? They were all very meaningful to me, but the moment that I enjoyed the most was riding in the bus going up to Jerusalem.

When the Bible speaks of “going up” to Jerusalem, it’s speaking of going to a city of higher elevation. It’s like when people go up to Denver from the lower portions of the American Midwest. In Palestine, when one wanted to go to the capital city, he had to go up through the hill country. I recently preached through 1 and 2 Samuel. So much of the history in 1 and 2 Samuel took place in that hill country, and it felt like I was seeing ghosts everywhere I went. It’s a beautiful terrain in the hill country of Judea. Now, I read this text in Luke, and I’m back there in the hills of Judea, where Mary is hurrying as fast as she can to see her cousin Elizabeth.

If ever two women had something important to talk about, it was these two women. Mary couldn’t wait to speak to Elizabeth and tell her what she heard from the angel—the child she was going to conceive would be the Messiah. Mary knew already that part of this unfolding drama was happening in Elizabeth’s life. In the womb of Elizabeth, at that very moment, was a six-month-old unborn child who would be the herald of the King—John the Baptist. He, like the prophet Jeremiah, would be sanctified while he was in his mother’s womb.

A Blob of Undifferentiated Protoplasm?

I’m not going to turn this into a sermon on abortion, but I can’t pass over the reality of what happened when Mary visited Elizabeth. We have a response to Mary’s presence not only from Elizabeth but also from her unborn child. John the Baptist’s first testimony to Jesus, his first heralding of the King, takes place before he’s even born. One thing I’m sure of is that six months into Elizabeth’s pregnancy, the child in her womb was alive, was human, and was a person. Those three things are crucial as we consider what I believe to be the greatest ethical crisis that has ever visited the United States of America. This crisis far exceeds the moral travesty of slavery: the wanton destruction of unborn babies. One and a half million babies are aborted every year in this nation with hardly a peep out of the church.

We hear the rhetoric. We hear people say, “A woman has a right to her own body.” There are two things I want to observe in passing. First, a child in a woman’s womb is not part of the woman’s body. It may be in the woman’s body, but it is not the woman’s body. The clearest evidence of the distinction between individual human beings is DNA. The DNA code of an unborn baby is different from every DNA cell in the woman’s body. The fetus is in the woman’s womb, in her body, but it is not part of her body.

Second, the woman has a right to her own body. Whatever rights I have end where yours begin, and your rights with me end where my rights begin. A mother may have the legal right in the United States of America to destroy that unborn child, but where did she ever get the moral right to do it? Where does the Lord God, who is the author, protector, and sustainer of life, grant any woman or man the right to destroy another person? How far we have come.

In the last two thousand years of theology, there were many debates between conservatives, liberals, and theologians of every different stripe. Up until the feminist movement of the twentieth century, however, if there was a consensus on any doctrine or moral issue in Christianity, it was on abortion. For example, the Didache unabashedly referred to abortion as “murder.”

If we can argue that what is growing in the womb is not a living person with its own distinct recognition, then we can say things like, “It’s just a blob of undifferentiated protoplasm.” Even worse, I once heard an elected official say, “The unborn child is just so much domestic sewage.” We cannot become more pagan than that. The primary reason that government exists is to protect, sustain, and maintain human life. When a government willfully fails to do that, it has not only become pagan; it has become demonic.

That’s my opinion. Yes, I am a trained theologian. I’ve spent my entire adult life studying the things of God, and I am by no means infallible. However, if I know anything about God, it’s that He hates abortion. If you have had one, it is a grave and heinous sin, but it is not unforgivable. If you’ve had an abortion and you’re a Christian, you know it’s a grave sin. It haunts you every hour. If you’ve assisted in it or encouraged it as a man, you are in profound need of God’s forgiving grace, which is available. Don’t try to excuse it, don’t try to rationalize it. Ask for forgiveness and stop this practice.

The main argument in Roe v. Wade was that there was no evidence that “life” was being destroyed in the womb. That happened before advances were made in DNA research, which makes it very clear that it is human life. However, we see in this text a living child, not yet born, whose heart was beating, whose brainwaves were circulating, and who recognized the presence of Christ while he was still in his mother’s womb. He leaped for joy in the womb. I can hear people say: “She’s six months pregnant. It’s just the baby kicking or a quickening.” However, the Word of God says that when Mary came to see her, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and that the response of the babe in her womb was a supernatural one.

A Stirring Influence on the Soul

We read, “And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” After she’s filled with the Holy Spirit, what does she do?

If you’re Roman Catholic, you may say that she sang part of the rosary. You may have seen the phrase Ave Maria, which simply means “Hello, Mary.” “Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee” was the greeting from Gabriel. Elizabeth continued it: “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Does that sound familiar to those of you who come from a Catholic background? The rosary borrowed these lines from this passage.

Elizabeth, though, is not praying. Rather, she’s singing. Her song is the first of five songs in Luke’s account of Jesus’ infancy. It sets the stage for perhaps the greatest song in this narrative, which will be the focal point of our next study. The five songs are these: this song of Elizabeth, the Magnificat (Mary’s song), the Benedictus (Zacharias’ song), the Gloria in Excelsis (the song of the angels on Christmas Eve), and the Nunc dimittis (Simeon’s song when the baby Jesus was presented at the temple). As we move along in the text, I want to be careful to note the content of these songs. These songs are glorious. They are majestic, and their content is so enriching that they can change our lives as we meditate on them.

In the past, I have challenged Christian women to memorize the Magnificat. If you do, you will never regret it. The words of that song will come to your mind over and over again. By the way, the Magnificat is wonderful for men to memorize too, but it has a particularly stirring influence on the souls of women who learn it.

I Did It My Way

Throughout sacred Scriptures, there are places where music is referenced. In particular, the Old Testament records many songs. The first song is recorded in the fourth chapter of Genesis, which contains Cain’s genealogy. This is the same Cain who killed his brother Abel. Beginning at Genesis 4:19, we read the history of Lamech, who was one of Cain’s descendants. It reads:

Then Lamech took for himself two wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. And Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the harp and flute. And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah. (Gen. 4:19–22)

Then the text says, “Lamech said to his wives,” but he was actually singing to them. This is the first song recorded in Scripture. Listen to this song:

Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech!
For I have killed a man for wounding me,
Even a young man for hurting me.
If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,
Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold. (Gen. 4:23–24)

This is called “Lamech’s Sword Song,” in which he celebrates his own violence and vengefulness toward someone who had insulted him, whom he killed. I mention that for this reason: not all songs recorded in sacred Scripture are good songs. Some of them are bad songs. They’re arrogant and destructive songs. Had Lamech written his song in the twentieth century, it wouldn’t have been called “A Sword Song.” He would have recorded it under the title, “My Way.” It would go something like “I did it my way; I slaughtered those devils that insulted me.”

“God Must Be Something”

Songs communicate so much. So many bad ideas, so many arrogant ideas, and yet God also uses songs to elevate the human soul to the highest levels possible. Even Plato understood that in ancient Greece, one had to pay attention to what music the youth were listening because it had a powerful impact. If you listen to the music of our age, you will learn about the behavior of our age. We need to have music that praises, blesses, thanks, and responds to God.

Exodus 15 contains one of the lengthier songs in the Old Testament. The people of Israel had been released from bondage and rescued from the chariots of Pharaoh. Moses and the children of Israel were caught between Migdol and the sea, with the sea in front of them and Pharaoh’s chariots behind them. They were completely helpless, like lambs ready to be slaughtered. So, Moses raised his arms and called upon God to deliver His people, and God caused a great wind to blow. The Red Sea parted, and the children of Israel walked across dry ground while the ferocious wind held back the sea. As soon as they reached the other side, Pharaoh and his armies entered the vacant portion of the sea, and when they reached the middle of the Red Sea, the wall of water collapsed and drowned them.

It reminds me of the story of the little boy who came home from Sunday school. His dad said, “What did you learn about in Sunday school?”

“My Sunday school teacher said that the Red Sea wasn’t a sea. It was the Reed Sea, and it was only six inches deep.”

“Really?”

“Yes, that’s what the critical scholars are saying.”

“What do you think of that?”

“Boy, dad. God must be something.”

“Why is that?”

“He drowned the whole Egyptian army in six inches of water.”

This was the biggest moment of salvation in the Old Testament, celebrated in song. Moses sang:

I will sing to the LORD,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!
The LORD is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
The LORD is a man of war;
The LORD is His name.
Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea;
His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.
The depths have covered them;
They sank to the bottom like a stone. (Ex. 15:1–5)

This song was adapted into a great hymn. The Old Testament has many songs like this. Miriam echoes the sentiment of the Exodus. During the period of the Judges was the song of Deborah: “The stars in their courses fought against Sisera.” There is David’s lamentation over the deaths of Jonathan and Saul: “Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in Ashkelon.” There is the song of Hannah concerning the promised birth of Samuel. You see songs all the way to the book of Revelation, which tells us that when the kingdom of Christ is consummated, He will give His people a new song.

Now, there are five songs at the breakthrough of the New Testament, at the advent of Jesus. His birth was announced by a choral from heaven and celebrated by human agents under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They begin with this simple couplet in metrical style: “Blessed Mary are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” It’s as if Elizabeth was saying: “Who am I? I can’t believe that you’re visiting me.” Elizabeth is the elder cousin, but she’s saying: “What are you doing here? I can’t believe that you’re gracing my house, that the mother of my Lord should come to me.” As the Spirit moved Elizabeth to say those things, He also came upon Mary, and she responded with one of the greatest songs ever sung. You would do well to learn it. Let’s pray.

Our Father and our God, we thank you for music. We thank you for all the good that it does, and we ask for your forgiveness for all the bad that it does. Give us a taste for good music and an inclination for music that praises you, thanks you, and adores you. For we ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

39. Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, [hurry] to a city of Judah, 

40. And entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 

41. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

a. Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste:

• Mary heard from Gabriel that her relative Elizabeth was pregnant (Luke 1:36). 

• So she went the considerable distance (somewhere between 80 and 100 miles) from the region of Galilee to the hill country of Judea for a visit.

i. Mary probably understood that not many people could understand her experience with Gabriel and miraculous conception. 

• If anyone could understand, it might be Elizabeth.

b. The babe leaped in her womb: 

• When Elizabeth saw Mary, her unborn child – John the Baptist – leaped, because he was filled with joy. 

• Though John wasn’t born yet, he had a spiritual awareness and could respond to the Spirit of God.

i. “Such comfort there is in the presence of Christ (though but in the womb) as it made John to spring. 

• What then shall it be in heaven, think we?” (Trapp)

[Elizabeth Prophesies]

42. Then she [Elizabeth] spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you [Mary] among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! [the child who will be born to you - Jesus]

43. But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? [how do I rate the privilege of having the mother of the Son of God come visit me]?

44. For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe [John the Baptist] leaped in my womb for joy. 

45. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

a. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! John the Baptist had not yet been born, and Zacharias was still mute. Yet Elizabeth believed the word of the Lord given to her husband Zacharias when he was in the temple. In the temple, Gabriel told him that their promised son would make ready a people prepared for the Lord (Luke 1:17).

i. Elizabeth believed that, and also believed that the baby in Mary’s womb was the Lord who Elizabeth’s son would prepare the way for (the mother of my Lord). This faith was in Elizabeth because she was filled with the Holy Spirit.

b. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things: Elizabeth recognized that Mary’s faith played an active role in receiving the promise. God promises should never make us passive; they should prompt us to seize them by faith. Elizabeth wanted to encourage Mary’s faith, so she declared “there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

46. And Mary said: “My soul magnifies [praise] the Lord, 

47. And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. 

48. For He has regarded [seen, considered] the lowly state [humble condition] of His maidservant; [servant]: For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. [from now on, all people will know me and know how blessed I am].

49. For He who is mighty [God] has done great things for me, And holy is His name. 

50. And His [God]  mercy is on those who fear [respect and obey] Him From generation to generation. 

[In verses 51-55, we continue gaining marvelous insights into the depth of Mary's understanding concerning the coming Messiah].

51. He has shown strength [demonstrated] with His arm; [has shown His power] He has scattered [punished] the proud in the imagination of their hearts. [because of their pride].

52. He has put down [humbled] the mighty from their thrones, 

53. And exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. 

54. He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, 

55. As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

56. And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.

a. My soul magnifies the Lord: 

• This song (often called the Magnificat, after the Latin translation of the first few words) resembles Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel 2:1-10, but it also has at least 12 other allusions to the Old Testament. 

• This means that Mary was a woman who studied and knew God’s Word. 

• The Scriptures were on her heart, and came out through her song.

i. “It appears by the whole frame of this holy song, that the blessed Virgin was well versed in the Scripture, which she here makes so much use of in sundry passages…She had by her much reading made her bosom Bibliothecam Christi, Christ’s library, as a Father saith; and may seem to have been exercised in the good word of God from her infancy.” (Trapp)

ii. Mary was greatly gifted and highly privileged. 

• She did exactly what such greatly blessed people should do: 

• Mary magnified the Lord. 

• This remedies pride and self-congratulation and is something every blessed believer should do.

b. My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior: 

• This means Mary needed a Savior, and she knew that she needed a Savior.

i. “Mary answered the Roman Catholic dogma of the immaculate conception, which holds that from the moment of her conception Mary was by God’s grace ‘kept free from all taint of Original Sin.’ 

• Only sinners need a Savior.” (Liefeld)

ii. “Mary was a member of the sinning race…but the honour conferred on her was of the highest, and our thoughts of her, our language concerning her, should at least not lack the dignity and respect manifested in the word of Gabriel. 

• Hers was the crown and glory of all Motherhood, and we should ever think and speak of her reverently.” (Morgan)

c. He who is mighty has done great things for me: 

• This song mainly celebrates God’s goodness, faithfulness, and power. 

• Mary’s song shows the futility of trusting in self, of trusting in political power, or of trusting in riches. 

• Mary’s trust was in God, and it was rewarded.

i. Trapp on has done great things for me: “No small things can fall from so great a hand. 

• He gives like himself.”

ii. Mary rejoiced and gloried in God, though the child was not yet born.

• “Brothers, there are some of you who cannot even sing over a mercy when it is born, but here is a woman who sings over an unborn mercy.” (Spurgeon)

iii. “To Mary was granted the blessedness of being the mother of the Son of God

…Yet that very blessedness was to be a sword to pierce her heart. 

It meant that some day she would see her son hanging on a cross.” (Barclay)

Transcript

We are continuing our study of the Gospel According to Saint Luke. I will be reading from Luke 1:57–66, which is the record of the birth and naming of John the Baptist.

Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her.

So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. His mother answered and said, “No; he shall be called John.”

But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” So they made signs to his father—what he would have him called.

And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all marveled. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him.

We would miss so much at Christmas if we overlooked the deep significance of the birth of the one whom the Lord God had appointed to be the voice crying in the wilderness, to be the herald of the King, the forerunner of the Messiah, and the one who would first preach the good tidings of the gospel that would come in the life of Jesus. Let us receive this word as from God Himself. Let us pray.

Again, our Father and our God, we thank you for every word that proceeds forth out of your mouth. For in your Word, we find truth, and in that truth, we find hope, and in that hope, we find comfort, peace, and strength for everything that comes to us in this world. So, we thank you for the fulfillment of your promise to the prophets of the coming of this child who would be the forerunner of the King. We make our prayer in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Relief for a Lifetime of Suffering

Luke tells us that Elizabeth’s days were fulfilled, that it was time for her to deliver her child, and so she brought forth a son. Then, we have this simple note from Luke: “When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her.” We know that when Elizabeth first received the news that in her old age and barrenness, she would conceive and have a child, she withdrew to her residence, away from her friends and relatives. She wanted to be alone because there was a type of embarrassment, perhaps, that she would experience being noticeably pregnant after all these years of barrenness. Obviously, she did not want to be an object of scorn, or ridicule, or pity. Nevertheless, the word got out.

I don’t think anything moves faster than the news that someone’s become pregnant. There is a sorority among women that as soon as one’s conception is known, it spreads like wildfire throughout the whole community. That’s a good thing because the people are rejoicing in the news of the imminent birth of another child. So, one way or another, all the friends and relatives heard about this coming event.

Luke tells us that “when her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her.” Beloved, this is the communion of saints. This is what it’s all about in the community of people who believe and put their trust in God. The Word of God tells us that as Christians in the communion of saints, we are to weep with those who weep and to rejoice with those who rejoice so that your joy is my joy, my joy is your joy, and your sorrow is my sorrow—it is our sorrow. That’s how it is to be among the people of God.

Today is December 18th, a very important day in the life of our family. I have been nothing less than astonished at the degree of concern and intercessory prayer that has gone on for years for our dear daughter-in-law, Denise, her children, and her husband. One just needs to look at Facebook and see the prayers and the statements of support from all over this land and from other parts of the world. We have been overwhelmed by that kind of communion of the saints. Our family, and I believe our whole congregation, has been uplifted and strengthened by that intercessory prayer. When the one who has suffered so much for so long is relieved of that suffering and enters the presence of Jesus, it is a time of rejoicing. For those who are left behind, it is a time of sorrow, but for her, she joins the general assembly of the saints and of the spirits of just men and women made perfect in the heavenly sanctuary. So, with that, we rejoice, just as the friends and relatives of Elizabeth came to share in her joy and came to share in her experience of the tender mercy of God.

When Principle and Custom Clash

Luke goes on to say that on the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child, as the Jewish law required, and the friends and the relatives would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. They came, and they wanted to see on the eighth day the circumcision of Zacharias Junior. They wanted to share in the joy of that moment when the father would be honored by the naming of the son with his same name. That’s what they expected to hear. Instead, they were shocked. His mother, Elizabeth, answered because his father, Zacharias, was still unable to speak. Elizabeth said, “No, he shall be called John.” They weren’t satisfied with this answer from Elizabeth, so they said to her: “There isn’t anyone among your relatives who is called by that name. You don’t have an uncle; you don’t have a cousin; you don’t have a grandfather, a great grandfather, or even a great, great grandfather with that name. Nobody in this family has ever been called John. Are you kidding us, Elizabeth, that this baby shall be called John?”

You would think that these wonderful friends and relatives, who were gathered to share in the joy of the birth of this child and the circumcision, would have said, “Whatever you want to call your baby is fine with us. His name shall be called John.” But no, the friends and relatives said: “Hold on, we’re going to check this out with the father. We want to know what Zacharias thinks about all of this.” So, they motioned to him. Apparently, Zacharias not only couldn’t speak, but he also couldn’t hear, and his ears were blessed by not having to listen to this intramural debate among the friends and relatives who were assembled on this occasion. So, they motioned to him. They wanted his verdict on the matter.

Before we get to Zacharias’ verdict, I want to jump off at this point for an application. Some of these texts that we encounter seriatim, as we go through the Bible verse by verse, are extraordinarily difficult to find application for our lives, and sometimes I have to be a little creative in it. However, this what I want us to think about: what you have here is a conflict with custom.

It was the custom of the people that a child would be named after one of the relatives in the family. That was not a principle required by God. Rather, it was a tradition that grew up over the centuries, and it became what we call a custom. That is, it was customary to name the child after someone in the family. Now, suddenly, Elizabeth and Zacharias are going against the custom. Their friends and relatives had no idea why they were going against the custom. I don’t think that these friends and relatives had plotted together and said: “We know that the Lord God omnipotent has decreed that this child will be named John, but we’ll have none of that! We have a custom to protect, and we’re going to make sure that this child is named Zacharias Junior.” There was none of that.

This struggle with custom was not a deep, profound, ethical, or theological issue. The custom itself was what we call adiaphorous. It had no inherent ethical import. It is perfectly alright if families name their children after relatives. I’m proud to have been named after my grandfather and my father and to have the same name for my son and grandson, until some infant in a Sproul crib rises up in protest to say, “I’ve had enough of this R.C. Junior, I, II, III, IV, V stuff.” So, we carry on that custom in our own family. There’s nothing wrong with that. However, beloved, there are times when important principles and customs clash, and we need to be extremely alert to them. It is never excusable for a believer, or anyone else for that matter, to disobey a principle set forth by God for the sake of a custom, or a tradition, or a contemporary community standard.

Why Do People Think the Way They Think?

Recently, I had the opportunity to do a radio interview on Renewing Your Mind with Dr. Del Tackett. He was the architect for The Truth Project, which has had a phenomenal impact on Christendom in America and abroad. Dr. Tackett’s specialty is in what we call worldview or Weltanschauung. As its name suggests, the word worldview is an examination of the core principles and ideas that shape and dictate one’s understanding of the world, one’s self, the human race, this planet, and every aspect of life. It’s amazing that we find people who have so much in common, who can agree on so many things, and yet at the same time come to a point in their thinking where their unity parts. As a result, they go down radically different roads and believe radically different things.

I ask myself all the time, “Why do people think the way they think?” Sometimes I think: “What on earth are they thinking? How could they come to such viewpoints? How could they come to such conclusions?” I often wonder not so much why they are thinking, but if they are thinking at all. One of the greatest enemies to sanctification, to godliness, and to the Christian pilgrimage is that which is customarily accepted in the culture in which we live. Whatever is accepted in the culture is received by so many people to be normative.

When you look at the history of the United States and the ethical conflicts that we have endured throughout our short history, you would think that near the top of the list would be the issue of slavery. I rank it as the second most egregious ethical issue our nation has ever faced. Do you realize that people who were well-respected—in many cases godly people—bought and sold slaves as chattel and debated the question of whether those slaves had souls and were really human? Can you imagine educated, enlightened people having discussions like that? Do you have any idea what William Wilberforce and others had to go through to change public opinion, to change what was customary, to change what was acceptable in secular culture, and even in religious culture, with respect to slavery? The truth is that slavery was a custom, and people had grown accustomed to it and didn’t think about it in any great depth.

A Culture of Death

I said a moment ago that, in my opinion, slavery was the second most egregious ethical issue our country has ever faced. However, I think that the issue of abortion is far worse than slavery. I pray to God for a multitude of Wilberforces who will relentlessly speak against this monstrous evil until such a day that our nation will wake up. I listen to the rhetoric, I see the signs, and I say: “Are you people thinking at all? Pro-choice? A woman has a right to her own body, even though we know that an unborn child has its own unique DNA?” The child may be in her body, but it’s not a part of her body. It has its own unique identity, its own heart, its own brain, its own consciousness. You see the videotapes of the procedure, by which these unborn children are mutilated, and you can’t hear it, but you can see the silent scream, the physical reaction of the unborn child in the contortions of its face, the screams of its mouth, and its revulsion in pain as its body is being torn limb by limb. At least the people at Auschwitz had some time to live on this planet before they were tortured to death.

Now, I ask you this: that baby has a brain, but does it have a mind? It has a heart. Does it have feelings? Is there a nascent faculty of the will present? I have never in my life heard of an unborn baby choosing to be mutilated. That mother’s choice ends exactly where that baby’s choice begins, just as my freedom ends where your freedom begins. What could be more simple than that? However, it’s accepted. It’s part of the culture, the culture of death in which we live.

I’ve said every chance I can that even after studying theology for over fifty years, there are things about God I don’t know. He’s incomprehensible. However, if I know anything about God—I don’t just think—I know without a shadow of a doubt that He hates abortion, and He will judge nations that support it. There are churches that support it. There are people in this room who support it. I don’t think they’ve thought about it for five minutes. How could they? We may be that wicked, but we’re not that stupid. Abortion is a custom that collides violently with the principles of the sanctity of life set forth by our God. So, I beg you not to base your life on what is acceptable in your culture.

I talked with a lady recently who was divorced, and she looked at me as if to say, “Talk to me!” because she knows I’m a pastor. She said, “I never thought I’d be using birth control at this age in my life, but I need to because my boyfriend wants me to.” She said it to me without shame. We have people in the church cohabiting without shame because it’s acceptable. Yes, it’s acceptable by a culture that is pagan. Yes, it’s acceptable by a culture that is barbarian. However, it is not acceptable in the house of God, and the first thing you have to understand if you’re going to be a Christian is that you cannot be conformed to this world. You must march to the beat of a different drummer. You can’t say that Jesus is Lord and allow the social mores of your community to dictate your behavior. It’s that simple.

Nine Months of Silence Finally Over

Thank God for Zacharias. They made signs to him about what he would have the child called, and he asked for a writing tablet, and he wrote, “His name is John.” Did you catch that? He didn’t say the same thing that Elizabeth said. What did Elizabeth say? She said, “He shall be called John.” Their friends and relatives said, “We’ll see about that—we’ll ask Zacharias,” and so they asked Zacharias, and he asked for the tablet, and what did he write on the tablet? “His name will be John”? No, he said, “His name is John.” The discussion is over. He already has his name, and his name is John. At that point, Zacharias showed how much he was controlled by custom and how much he was controlled by the Word of God, and so they all marveled.

Instantly, his mouth was open. His tongue that had been bound and shut up tight was loosed, and he spoke, praising God. After he had suffered through nine months of silence, the first words out of this man’s mouth were praise and adoration for his God.

I’ve had the opportunity to write a few hymns in my ministry, and I always love to sing them. However, for only one of those hymns did I write both the words and the music. For the other ones, I wrote the words, and we got a real musician to write the music for it. I don’t know how long ago it was, maybe a year or two, that I was asked to write a hymn on the Benedictus, which I did. We’ve haven’t sung it yet because we haven’t found anybody yet to write the music, but one of these days, Lord willing, we’re going to sing the Benedictus in response to this amazing, tender mercy of God to His servant, Zacharias.

When Zacharias’ mouth was opened, we are told that fear and wonder came on all who dwelt around them. These sayings were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea: “Did you hear what happened to Elizabeth, to Zacharias, and that baby whom they named John? Did you hear how when Zacharias wrote on the board, ‘His name is John,’ suddenly he was able to speak again after all these months?” Every village in the hill country of Judea was abuzz with the news of these extraordinary events, and all those who heard them kept them in their hearts saying, “What kind of child will this be?” They couldn’t wait to see what kind of man this little baby would grow up to be.

My wife said to me this morning on the way to church, “Honey, do you think that Zacharias and Elizabeth had any idea that their little boy was going to run out into the desert and act like a wild man, eating locusts and wild honey?” I don’t think they had that on his program, but the hand of the Lord was with him. It was with him the day he was born. It was with him before he was born, when he leaped in his mother’s womb. It was with him when he came to the Jordan River to baptize and call Israel to repentance. It was with him when he was in prison, and it was with him when he was martyred. Let’s pray.

Father and our God, we thank you for the testimony of Elizabeth and of Zacharias, for their faithfulness to your Word and to your principles. May we be like them. For we ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

57. Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. [John the Baptist]

58. When her neighbors and relatives [cousin] heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her. 

[As you can see, in verse 59, next, the friends and neighbors of Zacharias and Elizabeth automatically assumed that their miraculous son would be named after his father.  

Remember, Zacharias has not been able to talk since the visit of Gabriel about nine months ago.  

Remember also that in verse 13, above the angel instructed him to name his son "John." 

Based on what we see in verse 60, he had told Elizabeth about the name and she held firm to that instruction from the angel, even when well-meaning people tried to talk her out of it].

59. So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; [John] and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. 60. His mother answered and said, “No; he shall be called John.” 

61. But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” 

62. So they made signs to his father; what he would have him called. 63. And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all marveled. 

[Next, Zacharias confirms what Elizabeth had told them, and he is immediately able to speak again].

64. Immediately his [Zacharias] mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. 

65. Then fear [awe] came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. 

66. And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him.

a. She brought forth a son: 

• The promise was fulfilled just as God said it would be. 

• God always keeps His promises.

b. They rejoiced with her: 

• This fulfilled Gabriel’s promise recorded at Luke 1:14 (many will rejoice at his birth).

i. William Barclay relates the custom of the time: 

• “When the time of the birth was near at hand, friends and local musicians gathered near the house. 

• When the birth was announced and it was a boy, the musicians broke into song, and there was universal congratulation and rejoicing. 

• If it was a girl, the musicians went silently and regretfully away!”

c. They would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias:

• Both Zacharias and Elizabeth knew the name of the child had to be John, according to the command from the angel (Luke 1:13).

d. They made signs to his father: 

• They treated Zacharias as if he were deaf, not mute. 

• This must have been constantly annoying to Zacharias.

e. His name is John: 

• Now, Zacharias responded in total faith. 

• It wasn’t “I think his name should be John.” 

• For Zacharias, this was recognition of a fact, not a suggestion.

i. Even though he had failed before, God gave Zacharias a second chance at faith. 

He gives the same to us today.

ii. “This was a return from the point of unbelief, and the exercise of will in the appointed way.” (Morgan)

f. Immediately his mouth was opened: 

• Just as Gabriel said, Zacharias could speak again. 

• He spoke, praising God. 

• It was fitting that Zacharias’ first words were praise to God. 

• His chastisement for disobedience had not made him bitter. 

• Instead, it made him want to trust God all the more, at every opportunity.

Transcript

• This morning we’ll continue our study of the gospel of Luke, and we’ll return to the song of Zacharias, the Benedictus, the first section of which we looked at last time. 

• My intent in this sermon is to look at the middle section. 

• Then, next time we will see the final section of this hymn. 

• Though I will only comment on the middle section, I will read the entire hymn once more this morning from Luke 1:67–80:

67. Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

68. “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, 

69. And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David, 

70. As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began, 

71. That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us, 

72. To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant, 

73. The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: 

74. To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear,

75. In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. 

76. “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, 

77. To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, 78. Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; 

79. To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.” 

80. So, the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

• This song was inspired by God the Holy Spirit and is recorded here in Luke’s gospel by His superintendence and inspiration. 

• It is for our instruction in righteousness and our edification. Please receive it this morning as such. 

• Let us pray.

Again, our Father and our God, we rejoice to be in Your house in this hour to hear, to contemplate, and to embrace with all our heart Your holy and true Word. So, illumine that Word to us even now that we may embrace it fully, for we ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

A Horn of Salvation

Last time, I spent almost all of our time considering the significance of the first part of the Benedictus, when Zacharias praises God because He had visited His people in this marvelous way. That visit was one of redemption, and he goes on to say, “He has visited us and redeemed His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us.”

It would be almost impossible to count all the titles that describe the Messiah in sacred Scripture, but here is one that we could easily miss by passing over the text too quickly. This visitation and redemption involve the coming of the Messiah, referenced in this text as a “horn of salvation” in the house of His servant David.

This image of the horn refers to those beasts of the earth that use their horns in battle. It is a symbol of great strength. In Jewish imagery, one such animal is the ox, and we have the expression in our own language of being “as strong as an ox.”

I can’t help but notice that among the symbols of the four gospel writers in the early church, one of them is given the ox, the author of the gospel that we’re studying now. In any case, it is the Messiah who is described as having the horn of salvation, as being the One who comes in His messianic office with enormous strength that cannot be overcome. He comes in the house of His servant David.

The Conquering Messiah

Notice that in this part of the hymn, Zacharias is not celebrating the role God gives to his son, who has been named John. That prophetic utterance comes at the end of the hymn. In this section of the hymn, Zacharias is extolling the greatness of God’s Messiah, whom God is raising up in the house of David. Zacharias’ own son, John, would be from the house of Levi, not from the tribe of Judah, from which we have the Messiah from the house of David.

He mentions that this realization of the horn of salvation’s visitation is not something that has come de novo out of the head of Zeus, without any word of preparation, but is merely the fulfillment of the promises that the prophets have given from the very beginning of time. The prophecy of the coming Messiah begins with Adam and Eve and the curse upon the serpent, whose seed would be crushed by the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15). Throughout the pages of the Old Testament, the prophets reiterate that gospel promise of the coming Messiah who will bring redemption with Him.

“That we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.” This reference in biblical terminology is not simply a promise that God is going to rescue the Jews from the Romans, or the Philistines, the Amorites, the Jebusites, the stalactites, the stalagmites, or any of those other “ites” that were constantly besieging Israel in Old Testament time. Rather, the ultimate enemy, who will be crushed by the Horn of Salvation who visits us, is the prince of darkness and all his minions and his allies, along with his ploys that are part of the curse: death, darkness, disease, and everything that puts a shadow over the joy of human life. All these enemies will be conquered by this Messiah, who will rise from the house of David to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant.

Covenant Theology

Notice, this covenant idea is the same theme Mary focused on in the Magnificat, when she said that God has remembered the promise that He made to their father Abraham. Sometimes in theological discussions, people will ask me the following question: “Do you believe in covenant theology?”

Covenant theology is often a nickname for Reformed theology, or more specifically for Calvinism. When people ask me if I embrace covenant theology, I always answer by saying, “Yes, I do.” But that’s not what I want to say. What I’m thinking, but biting my tongue and not saying to them, I’ll say to you this morning: “Of course, what other kind of theology is there for heaven’s sake? How can you read the Bible and not see that the basic foundational structure of all the history of redemption, of all the unveiling revelation of God Almighty, is the structure of covenant? That is the basis by which we enter into worship with God and into the salvific relationship that we have with Him, because He, apart from us and for us, unilaterally, made a promise of redemption, which promise cannot fail.”

Things That Are Impossible for God

In the mid-1960s, I was a professor at a college in Boston. One of our administrative members became sick unto death and was hospitalized at Massachusetts General Hospital. I would visit him several times a week during his dying days. His name was Deacon, because he was a deacon at his church, so everybody called him “Deac.”

He was such a wonderful, marvelous man, and a dear friend to us. I remember visiting Deacon in those days, and the day before he died, all I could do for him was put ice on his parched lips. It was the only physical comfort I could administer to him. By that point, he was not able to speak, but he would look at me, and I can still see the look in his eyes, his look of thanksgiving and appreciation.

What Deacon loved the most was when I would read the Word of God to him in his dying hours. The last text that I read to my friend Deac was found in the sixth chapter of the book of Hebrews, where we read these words:

For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel… (Heb. 6:13–17)

God was determined to make clear, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the immutability, the impossibility of His promise changing or weakening. Because He was so determined to do this, He “confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie…” (Heb. 6:18).

What are those two immutable things that make it impossible for God to lie? The first is a promise that comes from God. When God makes a promise, it is there forever, and it cannot be broken. The second is the oath by which He confirms that promise. By these two things we see that it is impossible for God to lie.

We say, “With God all things are possible.” That means all things that are consistent with His character and with His nature, but ultimately there are some things that are impossible. God cannot be and not be at the same time in the same relationship. God can’t die. Further, He cannot lie.

The impossibility that God could lie is one of the things that demonstrates the vast gulf between God and us. Scripture says that all men are liars. We are all covenant breakers. When we lack faith, we project upon God the weakness of our own character. We think, “We lie, so why can’t God?” Well, it’s possible for us to lie because we’re fallen creatures under the influence of the father of lies, but not God. For God to lie would be for God to stop being God altogether.

The author of Hebrews continues: “We have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us” I read the rest to Deac: “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner, has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (Heb. 6:19).

God’s Promise and Oath to Abraham

What we find in Hebrews 6 drives the Christian life: we are children of Abraham, God is the father of the faithful, and God made a promise to Abraham and confirmed it by an oath. This promise was not only to him as an individual, but to Abraham and his seed. Paul labors in his letter to the Romans that as many as put their faith in Christ are indeed the children of Abraham.

Let’s take a few moments to remember that promise and that oath, going back to the beginning of Genesis 12, where we read these words: 

12:1 “Now the Lord had said to Abram: ‘Get out.’” That’s where it all started: “The Lord said to Abram, ‘Abram, get out of here!’” Get out of where? “Get out of your country, from your family, and from your father’s house.”

Abram’s land was given to idolatry. His home in Ur of the Chaldeans was given to idolatry. His family was given to idolatry, and God said:

12:1 Con't - Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. 

12:2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And I will make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.
12:3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 

Then the next verse says, 

12:4 “So, Abram departed as the Lord had commanded him.” and Lot went with him And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

That’s where it starts. A couple of chapters later, we find the confirmation of this promise.

Abraham’s Belief and Unbelief

• I recently officiated at a wedding service in Tampa, and I referenced Genesis 15 and my favorite verse in the whole Bible. 

• I’ve told you about my favorite verse before, and some people look at me like I’m crazy when I give them that verse.

• When people ask me for my life verse and I write Genesis 15:17 in their bibles, they come back to me later and ask: “Did you make a mistake? Did you write the wrong verse down?” I say: “If I’m ever in prison, in solitary confinement, and I can have only one book, I’d want the Bible. 

• If I can have one book, but only one book of the Bible, I’d have the book of Hebrews. 

• If I can’t have a whole book of the Bible, but only one verse of the Bible, the one verse I want is Genesis 15:17.”

Genesis 15:17 reads as follows: “And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.” It gives me chills up my spine every time I read that verse. Isn’t it incredible? Don’t you love it? Or have you joined the ranks of those who question my sanity?

In the beginning of Genesis 15, we read: “After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.’ But Abram said, ‘Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”

Abraham is saying: “What do you mean You’re going to be my exceedingly great reward? I’m one of the wealthiest men in the world. What can You give me that would make up for the fact that I have no son? My heir is my servant, Eliezer of Damascus. You’ve given me no offspring. Indeed, one born in my house is my heir.”

The text continues: “And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘This one shall not be your heir, but one who comes from your own body will be your heir.’ Then He brought him outside and said, ‘Look now toward the heaven and count the stars if you are able to number them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’”

In verse 6, we read these pregnant words: “Abraham believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” This is the sentence that the Apostle Paul uses to illustrate the faith of Abraham, the doctrine of justification by faith alone, by the imputation of a righteousness that God gives those who have no righteousness.

Then God said to Abraham, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.” Here, Abraham stumbled. He was like all of us: “We believe, help Thou, our unbelief.” After Abraham’s remarkable profession of faith, he wavered and said, “Lord God, how shall I know I will inherit it?” He was saying, “I believe you, but how can I know for sure that this promise You’ve made will come true?”

God’s Deity on the Line

In response to Abraham’s question God said to him: “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” The text continues: “Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.”

In these verses, we see this gauntlet Abraham performs by chopping these animals in half and putting one half of the animal and the other half of the animal on each side of the aisle. Then, when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram shooed them away.

Picking up in verse 12: “Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him.” As this dreadful darkness and horror encompassed Abram, God spoke to Abram, saying: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; but afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

In verse 17, the text says, “And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.” A flaming torch hovered over those pieces of animal and deliberately moved down that aisle, like a gauntlet between the pieces. This was the theophany. The smoking oven and the burning torch were the visible manifestations of the invisible God. This was God Himself going between the pieces of those carcasses set in that aisle.

God dramatically and demonstratively communicated this to Abraham: “I’m cutting a covenant with you Abraham, and what I’m saying is that if I don’t keep my word, if I fail to keep my promise, may I be torn asunder just as you’ve cut in half this heifer and this ram and this goat. May the immutable God suffer a permanent mutation. May the infinite surrender to finitude, the immortal to mortality. How do you want Me to swear, Abraham, on My mother’s grave? I don’t have a mother. On the altar? That’s something made by the hands of men. Abraham, there’s nothing higher upon which I can swear an oath than on My own, self-existent, infinite, eternal being.”

Do you see that when God made this covenant with Abraham and with his seed, he swore an oath based on Himself, on His own divine being? God has put His deity on the line to confirm the promise that God made to Abraham and to his seed.

The People of the Covenant

Is it any wonder when these promises are fulfilled that the servant of God, Zacharias, sings under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost? He realized that God had kept His promise to Abraham and to his seed.

This is the reason we baptize our babies in Presbyterian churches. In that original covenant to Abraham, Abraham was to be circumcised as a sign of that covenant, and he was commanded by God to circumcise his son, who had not yet come to faith, as a sign of the promise of God. That covenantal sign was not a sign of Abraham’s faith or Isaac’s faith, but the sign of God’s promise to all who believe. Though baptism is not the same as circumcision, baptism follows in the path of circumcision, just as the Passover is fulfilled by the Lord’s Supper. Circumcision is fulfilled by the new covenant sign of baptism, and that principle of family solidarity is never abolished in the New Testament.

In fact, in the book of Acts, we see that when people who come to faith as adults receive the covenant sign, not only do they receive it, but also their household. The principle in view for centuries was that the children of believers are not automatically saved because their parents are saved. They don’t automatically have faith because their parents have faith, but they do have the promise of God given to Abraham and renewed throughout the history of the old covenant and into the new covenant.

We are the people of the covenant. Zacharias extols this covenant. He exclaims that God has remembered the oath He swore to our father Abraham so that we might be delivered from the hand of our enemies and serve Him without fear. Do you remember the Exodus? What was God’s message to Pharaoh? “Let My people go, just so that they can be free, just so that they can do their own thing?” No! “Let My people go, that they can come out and worship Me at my holy mountain.”

We who have enjoyed the Exodus brought by one greater than Moses, having received the fulfillment of this promise to Abraham, are rescued from our enemies for the purpose of serving the Lord without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him.

In Tabletalk Magazine, we always have a section called Coram Deo, which is an application of the daily study to your lives. It’s a Latin phrase that was central to the Reformation. It means, “in the presence of God.” It means that every Christian is to live his or her life aware that he or she is living before the face of God, in His presence, under His authority, to His glory, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives. Let’s pray.

Father, how we thank You for this glorious promise that You swore to Abraham and repeated through the prophets and to David, coming down to the new promise of Jesus that You have fulfilled perfectly. We thank You, God, that there are two immutable things that make it impossible for You to lie: Your promise and Your oath that confirmed it. Thank you for Your promises. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

67. Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: 

68. “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, [we are grateful to God]; For He has visited and redeemed His people, 

[Zacharias is prophesying about the future as if it had already taken place.  This is common form of prophecy in the Bible].

69. And has raised up a horn ["horn" was symbolic of safety, strength, and protection in Jewish culture] of salvation for us In the house of His servant David, [among us descendants of David],

70. As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began, 

71. That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us, 

72. To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant, 

73. The oath [promise] which He swore to our father Abraham:

74. To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, [without fear of being persecuted],

75. In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

76. And you, child, [little John the Baptist] will be called the prophet of the Highest; [God] For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, 

77. To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, 

78. Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; [this is the dawn of a new day for us],

79. To give light to those who sit in darkness [spiritual darkness] and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.” 

[Next, Luke gives a very brief summary of John the Baptist's life from birth to the beginning of his mission to formally prepare the way for the Savior.  

He does something similar with respect to the life of Jesus, in Luke 2:40 and 52].

80. So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

a. Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied: 

• The prophetic voice of the Lord had been silent for 400 years. 

• Now, God spoke through Gabriel (Luke 1:13, 1:28), through Elizabeth (Luke 1:41-42), through Mary (Luke 1:46-55), and now through Zacharias. 

• When God spoke again, it was all connected to the theme of Jesus and His work.

i. Zacharias could truly say, “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people.” 

• It was as if God was present for Israel (has visited) in a way not experienced for a long time.

ii. Zacharias’ song has been called the Benedictus, from its first words in the Latin translation.

b. Has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David: 

We know this was truly Spirit-inspired prophecy because the first focus of his prophecy is the unborn Jesus, not Zacharias’ new son John.

• Jesus is the horn of salvation for us (Luke 1:69).

• Jesus is the One who saves us from our enemies (Luke 1:71).

• Jesus is the One to perform the mercy promised to our fathers (Luke 1:72).

• Jesus is the One to remember the covenant (Luke 1:72).

• Jesus makes us able to serve Him without fear (Luke 1:74).

i. “It was a song of salvation, and has within it truth deeper than most likely the singer then understood.” (Morgan)

ii. Zacharias didn’t even know Jesus yet, but he praised Him, he loved Him, and he was passionate about Jesus. 

• We know so much more about Jesus than Zacharias did, so what can excuse the coldness of our hearts?

iii. Trapp on by the mouth of His holy prophets: 

• “There were so many prophets, yet they all had one mouth, so sweet is their harmony.”

c. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest: 

After the initial focus on Jesus, the Holy Spirit then led Zacharias to speak of his new-born son and his place in God’s great plan.

• John was a true prophet, the prophet of the Highest (Luke 1:76).

• John had the unique calling to go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways (Luke 1:76).

• John would teach and give knowledge of salvation to God’s people (Luke 1:77).

• John would show people the remission of their sins (Luke 1:77).

• John would give light to those who sit in darkness (Luke 1:79).

• John would guide God’s people into the way of peace (Luke 1:79).

d. The child grew and became strong in spirit: 

• The promise of God came to fruition in John’s life. 

• John was in the desert till the day of his manifestation because that is where God trains many of His prophets.