Sermon - Luke 1 - Preparing for Christmas - Littleby Baptist Church - December 13, 2020
As we started Christmas here it Littleby we looked throughout the Bible to see that Jesus lives up to the name Immanuel, God is with us. I hope that over the last week you remembered that Jesus is with you. Scripture shows us that He will never leave us, He will never forsake us, and that He lives in us. As a child of God, you are NEVER alone.
This was all part of the Master’s Plan. God knew we could not earn our way to heaven and knew that we were going to need help. Simply put our God knew we were going to need a Savior; He knew we were going to need Christmas.
This morning let’s take a look at how God prepared for Christmas.
Luke 1:1-4
“1 Many have undertaken to compile a narrative about the events that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as the original eyewitnesses and servants of the word handed them down to us. 3 So it also seemed good to me, since I have carefully investigated everything from the very first, to write to you in an orderly sequence, most honorable Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things about which you have been instructed.”
Luke’s introduction here may not see that important for Christmas, but it does make a very clear statement to those who would have read the letter when it was written. This long, official sounding introduction would have been recognized as the beginning of a thorough documentation of the events. Today it would be like a medical paper that has been written and peer reviewed by researchers and doctors. Once it has been accepted by peers it is considered sound and reliable. Luke making statements about carefully investigating these events and ensuring Theophilus that he can trust what is written, were enough for most people in those days.
Those who read Luke’s letter would have trusted what it said. They may not have understood it all, but they would have believed that Luke was telling the truth.
Luke 1:5-7
“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. 6 Both were righteous in God’s sight, living without blame according to all the commands and requirements of the Lord. 7 But they had no children because Elizabeth could not conceive, and both of them were well along in years.”
Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth were righteous people, they followed God to the best of their abilities. As we look at how God was preparing for Christmas, we get a hint of something important here.
John the Baptist is often looked at as unkempt, maybe unclean, a wild guy who lives on the fringe of society. Now those things may be true, but he was also a descendant of Aaron. John the Baptist was slated to be a priest like his father. God had appointed Aaron and his descendants to minister to the tabernacle and to the people of Israel. As God prepared for Christmas, He was raising up a Priest to minister to His people. John was not like any other priest of his day, but he was exactly what was needed to prepare people for the coming of Jesus.
Luke 1:8-9
“8 When his division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 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.”
With the number of priests in the tribe of Levi at the time, each one served in the temple two weeks a year. While Zechariah was serving, he was chosen by God to burn incense in the sanctuary. With the sheer number of priests available, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and was part of God preparing for Christmas.
Luke 1:10
“10 At the hour of incense the whole assembly of the people was praying outside.”
The incense that Zechariah was responsible for represented the prayers of the Nation of Israel. The belief was that every prayer from every person funneled through the incense Zechariah was placing on the altar at that moment. Knowing how King Herod and the Roman Empire were persecuting the Jewish people, it would be a safe guess that there were a lot of prayers for God to send a Savior. Those praying may have been looking for the coming Lion, but God knew the Lamb was needed first.
Luke 1:11-13
“11 An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified and overcome with fear. 13 But 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.”
The one time in his life, Zechariah would be standing at the altar of incense, happens to be exactly when God was preparing for Christmas. The angel told Zechariah that he and Elizabeth were going to have a child, even at their age. It was going to take a miracle, but that was not going to stop God from preparing for Christmas.
The angel said they were to name him John, which means ‘God is gracious’. Having the benefit of seeing how all of this unfolded, we know that God is gracious. We can see that out of His compassion, His love for us, that John was part of God preparing for that very first Christmas and the amazing Gracious Gift of little baby Jesus.
John was coming to prepare the way for God to come to His people, for God to bring Hope.
Luke 1:14
“14 There will be joy and delight for you, and many will rejoice at his birth.”
If we flip through chapter one, we see that what the angel said was true.
Luke 1:57-58
“57 Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she had a son. 58 Then her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her his great mercy, and they rejoiced with her.”
A child, a son, born to Zechariah and Elizabeth this late in their lives was a cause for celebration.
Luke 1:66
“66 All who heard about him took it to heart, saying, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the Lord’s hand was with him.”
Many wondered what God was going to do through this miracle child.
God was preparing for Christmas.
Luke 1:15
“15 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.”
Let’s break this into three segments.
‘For he will be great in the sight of the Lord’
Here is what Jesus had to say about John.
Matthew 11:7-11
“7 As these men were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothes? See, those who wear soft clothes are in royal palaces. 9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written: See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you. 11 “Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared, but the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
Part of this was confirming what is written in Malachi.
Malachi 3:1
“See, I am going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way before me. Then the Lord you seek will suddenly come to his temple, the Messenger of the covenant you delight in—see, he is coming,” says the Lord of Armies.”
John was the messenger sent ahead of Jesus to Prepare the way. John was part of how God was preparing people for the coming Messiah.
Sometimes we talk about planting seeds as we share the Gospel message and God’s Love with others. We may not see the harvest anytime soon, but as we plant we are doing our part to prepare someone to really HEAR the truth and accept it.
I think of John the same way. As God’s messenger he was preparing people to HEAR the truth that Jesus would bring. We may never know, but I wonder how many people were ready to hear what Jesus had to say because John faithfully prepared them by calling them to repentance.
God was using John to Prepare for Christmas.
The second segment of this verse states, ‘will never drink wine or beer.’
When someone took a Nazarite vow, they were to live as holy as possible and avoiding wine and beer was one of the primary requirements found in Numbers 6. A Nazarite vow was normally taken for a certain period of time, 30 days being the most common, to thank God for something He has done or to seek God’s favor or will in a specific situation.
John living as holy as possible, being set apart, was part of preparing the way for that first Christmas.
The third segment of Luke 1:15 is:
‘He will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb.’
The angel is telling Zechariah that the Holy Spirit will be in John before he is born. This is thirty plus years before the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit falls on Jesus’ Disciples. The angel is saying that John was going to be someone who was going to be used by God to serve His people.
John leapt in his mother’s womb when the young pregnant Mary arrived at their home. The only way that would have happened was with the Holy Spirit being in John, all part of preparing for Christmas.
Luke 1:16-17
“16 He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.”
The angel is stating that John will be the fulfillment of what the Prophet Malachi had said.
Malachi 4:5-6
“5 Look, I am going to send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”
John was sent in the spirit of Elijah, meaning he was sent to witness without fear to a troubled people during a trying time. With the benefit of hindsight, we know that both Elijah and John were faithful messengers to the people of God calling them to repent. We know that they both ultimately were called to prepare the people for God to work in their lives.
God used John the Baptist to prepare for Christmas.
As we prepare for Christmas, what do we need to do? Do we need to repent and turn to Jesus? Do we need to talk to our God? Do we need to live our lives as people who are set apart for God? Do we need to let the Holy Spirit work in us? Do we need to go about planting seeds?
Pray about it and let God guide you in how you are to prepare for Christmas!
Blessings,
Robert
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