Luke chapter 1. A lot of you have probably been
reading some of these passages. It is close to
Christmas time, and we certainly remember that
Jesus came to this earth and was born, and we
thank God for that. We see that in the book of
Luke, the book of Matthew. these stories of Jesus'
birth and the events that surround them leading
up to them, and we're going to talk about one
of those this morning in Luke chapter 1. We're
going to start in verse 5. Before we do, let's
pray, and then we'll get started. God, we come
to you today, and I thank you that we are able
to have the freedom and the privilege to come
into your house. I thank you for your love. I
thank you for your grace and your mercy. I thank
you for this fellowship of people, dear Lord.
I pray that you just would bless each one that's
here today, that you'd free us of our worries
and our distractions and our pains and the thoughts
and desires of the world that compete for our
attention. I pray that in these few moments,
that as we read through your word, that your
word, dear Lord, Would be what we need to hear.
God there's no good word I can say. If it does
not come from you. Dear Lord I pray more than
my words. That they hear your words. Because
that's what we're here for dear Lord. So I pray
God. That as we read these scriptures. That you
just would speak to us. I pray that you just
would give us a good day. And a good service.
In Jesus name I ask it. Amen. Luke chapter 1.
Verse 5. In the days of King Herod of Judea,
there was a priest of Abijah's division named
Zechariah. His wife was from the daughters of
Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both were
righteous in God's sight, living without blame
according to all the commands and requirements
of the Lord. could not conceive. And both of
them were well along in years. When his division
was on duty and he was serving as priest before
God, it happened that he was chosen by lot according
to the custom of the priesthood to enter the
sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. So let's
stop there for a moment and let's do a little
history lesson on what gets us to this point.
Now, in the Old Testament, God had established
a lot of commands for his people to follow. And
part of the commands that they were to follow
were the priesthood that he had set up. And God
had given them very specific instructions originally
on how to build this tabernacle, this tent, and
the courtyard that surrounded it, and very specific
instructions on how big things needed to be and
how they needed to be laid out and the materials
that were to be used. Very, very specific instructions.
And God had established a priesthood. And there
would be one high priest who would once a year
go into the most holy place in the tabernacle.
And throughout the rest of the year, there would
be other priests who would do other duties around.
And one of those duties that the priest were
to do would take place in the place just outside
of the most holy place. So when you walked into
the courtyard of the tabernacle, there would
be an enclosed section in the middle. And when
you walk into that first section, you would walk
into the holy place. And there was a candlestick,
or excuse me, an altar where incense would be
burned. And it was there that twice a day the
priest would go in and burn incense on the incense
altar. Once in the morning and once in the evening.
And this had carried on for many, many years
at this point. And we see that it still... carries
on here. Now, throughout the Old Testament, God
had given those instructions, and ultimately
God's people moved to something a little better
than the temporary structure and the tabernacle
that they had, and eventually they built a magnificent
temple, and it was laid out very similar to the
plans of the tabernacle, but it was a much grander
building, and nonetheless, the priest would continue
to offer this incense daily, and the high priest
would continue to go before the Lord once a year.
And this continued on for some time, but by the
time we get to the Old Testament, things had
really began to deteriorate some. God's people
didn't really do too good of a job. Most of the
time throughout the Old Testament, they... find
themselves living in disobedience, and they're
not really following the Lord's commands. They're
not keeping up all of these things that he tells
them to do at the temple and the tabernacle.
And there are seasons where they do good, and
it doesn't take long until they just kind of
forget about God and go their own way. And we
can relate to that if we're honest. There are
probably seasons where we really are living in
obedience to God and really following his commands.
And then there are other times that we don't.
We don't stay in his word. We don't pray to him.
And that's the way God's people were in the Old
Testament. And by the time we get to the end
of the Old Testament, while the system was kind
of still in place, it wasn't really in the way
that God intended. Originally, the high priest
was supposed to come from the line of Aaron,
and that carried on for some time. By the time
we get to the end of the Old Testament, they
were appointed by the kings, not in the way that
God had intended. The whole system was beginning
to collapse. It still had some of the structure
there, but not as God intended. But it didn't
really matter too much because God knew this
was going to be the case. And all throughout
the Old Testament, even when the old system was
in place, God was pointing his people forward
to something better than the old system, to someone
better than the old system. And so as we close
the Old Testament, things are not really that
good for God's people. Sure, there's a faithful
remnant there, some who are still seeking him,
but things are in bad shape. So then we flip
the page in our Bible and we make our way to
the New Testament. And there's a shift. There's
a big shift instantly as we start to read the
New Testament, as we see in stories like this.
The shift goes from the old commands and laws
and rules and the priesthood of the Old Testament.
The shift takes us to Jesus Christ. That's what
everything in your Bible, in the Old Testament,
is pointing you to. It's pointing you to Jesus
Christ. Now, some of God's people recognize that.
There were some who had been really listening
to the Word of God, and they had really been
looking for the Messiah who was to come, and
they really were ready. And we see a few of those,
that as we read through Jesus' ministry, there
are some that hear and that acknowledge that
he is the Messiah to come, but there are many
who do not. There are many who fail to realize
that Jesus is the fulfillment of these prophecies.
But God had given them plenty of opportunity
to know that Jesus was the Messiah to come. And
one of those opportunities, a great opportunity,
was going to be through someone that we refer
to often as John the Baptist. And that's where
this story gets us to today. God has prepared
his people for hundreds of years now, for hundreds
of years that the Messiah is coming, and now
the time had come. And so here we see Zechariah,
who's carrying on what many of the priests before
him had carried on. He was doing something that
he had probably done many times before. That
is burning incense on the incense altar in the
holy place in the temple. And he was chosen by
a lot, which... which simply means they just
kind of picked somebody at random. It didn't
really matter who did it. There wasn't a right
or a wrong way to choose it. They cast Lot, and
the Lot fell to him, and it was his turn to go
in and to burn the incense before the Lord. The
incense was a sweet aroma to the Lord. We see
in the New Testament, in the book of Revelation,
that our prayers are like incense and golden
bowls that go before the Lord. We see as we're
going to continue reading here that as he went
in to burn the incense, that the assembly of
people outside were in prayer as he did so. And
so Zechariah goes into the holy place to offer
this incense offering. Let's continue on and
see what happens. In verse 10, at the hour of
incense, the whole assembly of the people was
praying outside. An angel of the Lord appeared
to him standing to the right of the altar of
incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled
and overcome with fear. The angel said to him,
Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer
has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear
you a son, and you will name him John. There
will be joy and delight for you. and many will
rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in
the sight of the Lord and will never drink wine
or beer. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit
while still in his mother's womb. He will turn
many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their
God, and he will go before him in the spirit
and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers
to their children and the disobedient to the
understanding of the righteous, to make ready
for the Lord a prepared people. Now, Zechariah
went in to do something that he had probably
done many times before, but this instant was
different. As he went into the altar to light
the incense before the Lord, the people were
praying outside and an angel of the Lord appears
to Zechariah and says, I've got good news for
you. You've been praying for a son. At this point,
they had tried for years. They were all up in
age, and it would seem unlikely, if not impossible,
that Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth would have
a son, and yet an angel appears to him and said,
Your prayers have been heard. Now, that's a good
reminder in that, too. Now, some of you were
here a couple of weeks ago on Wednesday night
when we looked in Luke chapter 18. When Jesus
tells a parable about praying constantly and
not being discouraged. Well, we see this same
idea. Maybe we can hit on that here. That maybe
there are things that we have prayed for our
whole life and it seems impossible. It seems
very unlikely, but you never know how the Lord
is going to work. You never know how the Lord
is going to answer those prayers. And what does
the angel say to Zechariah? He says, your prayers
have been heard. That's a good reminder for us
today. We need to know today that our prayers
have been heard. It may not always seem like
it. It may not always feel like it. Because they're
not answered. They're not answered as quickly
as we want. They're not answered in the way that
we want. But we need to be reminded and know
that our prayers have been heard. That God has
not forgotten about you. So as the parable that
Jesus would teach us that we need to pray. Without
being discouraged. Maybe some of you are discouraged
today. Because it feels like God doesn't hear.
But your prayers have been heard. God doesn't
always answer our prayers in the way that we
desire. Because God knows what's best for us.
Far better than we do. Sometimes we pray thinking
full well that what we're praying for is what's
best for us. Or what's best for our loved one.
And it seems to us to be the right thing. God
may look at that and say that is not what's going
to be best for you. That is not what's going
to be best for your loved one. And more importantly,
that is not what's going to be best for the kingdom
of God. So sometimes God doesn't answer our prayers
in the way that we wish, in the way that we want,
in the way that we desire so deeply. And sometimes
bad things happen. Sometimes things that we've
prayed so hard wouldn't happen. Sometimes they
occur and we don't see any good in them, but
we must not forget that God is good. And he answers
our prayers in the way that is good and right,
even if we don't understand. So maybe this simple
word that the angel uttered to Zechariah today
is the word of encouragement that we need, that
our prayers... have been heard. And Zechariah's
prayers were heard. And the angel said, you're
soon going to give birth to a son and you are
to name him John. And your son John is going
to go before the Savior of the world to prepare
the way for him. Now John hears this news and
Or excuse me, Zechariah hears this news and you
can continue reading on this week if you'd like
to and see the rest of the story. But he questions
the angel who brings this news to him. And the
angel says, look, because you questioned me and
did not believe what the Lord had told you, you're
going to not be able to speak until the child
is born. And so it was. John was unable to speak.
He came from outside of the... holy place and
all the people there could tell that something
had taken place because he was no longer able
to speak and until the child was born until John
was born Zechariah was not able to speak but
Zechariah realized that there was something not
just significant about his child but the child
who would soon be born after his child Jesus
Christ He acknowledges that because when he begins
to finally speak a little bit later on, he begins
to praise God. And not just for his son, but
he uses language that shows us that he acknowledges
what's about to take place. That the Savior of
the world is coming into this world. That God
is going to fulfill all of his promises. Everything
that he had said in the Old Testament, it was
about to come true. There was an old priesthood
in the Old Testament, but now there's a new high
priest who is coming, a savior of the world,
the son of God. And so the Old Testament is fading
away and the things of the Old Testament are
fading away and everything that the Old Testament
had talked about was coming to fruition in Jesus
Christ. It's interesting, as I was reading this,
it caught my eye when I read that he went into
the holy place there to offer this incense offering.
And I thought to myself, wait a minute, is there
anywhere else in scripture that we see a priest
going into the holy place? Is that ever mentioned
anywhere else in scripture? And I couldn't think
of any and I looked and I could not find any.
Did we see this reference of Zechariah? going
into the holy place. And after that, we don't
see any reference of any priest going in and
doing anything else. And perhaps God is pointing
his people forward to saying, this is the way
that it used to be, but there's coming a better
priest to it and there's coming a new high priest.
And from this point forward, there is no emphasis
on the things of old. The emphasis, is on Jesus
Christ. And eventually the old way would pass
away. In 70 AD, the priesthood would pass away.
The temple would pass away. And Jesus remains
as the only high priest of us today. The Son
of God who came to this earth, who gave his life
for the forgiveness of our sins, is the only
hope that we have. He's the only help that we
have. Are you trusting in him this morning? Zechariah
and his wife Elizabeth gave birth to a son named
John who came to prepare the way of the Lord
Jesus. To tell everyone that he encountered,
the Messiah is here. Repent. Repent. The message
that we see Jesus so often preach in the New
Testament, repent for the kingdom of God has
come near. We see that he starts his ministry
out very early on with those words. And John
the Baptist had gone before him to say, the Messiah
has come. The one that God had talked about.
The one who's going to save us from our sins.
The one who's going to deliver us. Our salvation,
Jesus Christ, has come. And John's message was
very simple. You need to repent. You need to
turn from your sins. You need to turn from your
old ways. And you need to turn to Jesus Christ.
The Son of God has come, just as John said that
he would. The salvation of the world has come
in Jesus Christ. Have you trusted in Jesus today?
Maybe the way has been prepared for you. Maybe
there's somebody who's been speaking to you about
the word of God, about Jesus Christ. Maybe you've
been in the word of God. Maybe today you're seeking
salvation. You're seeking deliverance. You're
seeking hope. You're seeking something in your
life and you just haven't found it. And maybe
what you're seeking is Jesus Christ. And maybe
those words that Jesus uttered we need to hear
today, repent for the kingdom of God has come
near. God used John the Baptist to prepare the
way for many so that they would know who Jesus
was. Perhaps in some way we are to be a John
the Baptist for somebody in our life. Maybe there
are people that we are going to encounter. Maybe
there are things that we can say and share with
them and teach them about the gospel of Jesus
Christ that we can begin to prepare the way so
that their hearts would begin to listen to the
Holy Spirit as God would speak to them so that
we can tell them about the Messiah who is not
coming but who has come in Jesus Christ. It's
already occurred. Everything was just as it was.
The Messiah is here. He has come. He has been
crucified and buried and resurrected. And John
prepared the way. Maybe for some of us today,
we are the John in someone else's life. That
we are to prepare the way. That we are to be
those who are to tell the world during this Christmas
season and every season of the year that the
Messiah has come. Have you trusted in Jesus Christ
today? Have you rejoiced in Jesus Christ today?
Have you heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and
doubted it? Has God spoken to you some way and
you've questioned it like Zechariah? Maybe you've
heard the truth of God's word, but maybe you
didn't believe it. But maybe you've seen enough
evidence, enough proof. Maybe you've seen enough
scripture. Maybe the Holy Spirit has spoken to
you. Maybe you've seen the love of Jesus Christ.
And maybe today you're ready to break that silence
and to praise God. and what he has done. If so,
I pray that as we close that you would do so.
Let's pray. God, we thank you for your good word.
I pray, dear Lord, that you would help us to
be a people that would seek you. God, that we
would be like Zechariah and Elizabeth, that we
would continue to remain faithful to you in our
life, that we would continue to make our requests.
known to you, dear Lord, even when it seems like
you may not hear, you may not care, dear Lord,
just because you don't answer in the way that
we pray doesn't mean that you don't hear, dear
Lord. So I pray, God, that today we would know
the simple truth that you do hear our prayers.
God, I pray that we would be a people who would
seek Jesus today, that there were many people
of Jesus's day, dear Lord, that were looking
for the Messiah. And he came. God, and some saw
him, some knew him, and some missed him. And
so it is for us today, dear Lord. Jesus Christ
has come. God, and there are some in this room
who have followed him, and maybe there are some
today that have missed him. But I pray today
that if there are some that have missed him,
that maybe today they would know that the kingdom
of God has come near, that the Savior of the
world has come near. that our entrance into the
kingdom today, dear Lord, is only through Jesus
Christ. And if we would just repent today, that
you call us today to ask you to forgiveness,
ask you to forgive us, dear Lord, for our sins.
God, I pray that if there's one here today that
does not know Jesus Christ, that they would ask
for that forgiveness, that they would repent
of their sinfulness, of living for themselves
and living for sin. that they would turn from
that, dear Lord, and turn to Jesus Christ. God,
I pray that we would hear the message that John
had preached, that maybe you've been preparing
in us a heart that's ready to accept Jesus Christ.
God, maybe you want us to be one who goes to
those that we encounter to share your love and
to share your grace and to share Jesus Christ,
dear Lord, to point others to the Savior of the
world. God, I pray that as we prepare for this
Christmas season that we remember what is most
important in this world. And it is not gifts
and lights and all the junk that we have both
at Christmas and all the other days of the year,
dear Lord. But as Christians, it is about Jesus
Christ. And that is your desire and your goal,
dear Lord, to build your kingdom that all would
hear of Jesus and put their faith and trust in
Him. So God, if there are some that have not
done that today, I pray that as we sing, that
they would do so. And I ask these things in Jesus'
name. Amen.