An Unexpected Announcement. Luke 1:5-25

Introduction:

One of the closing lines of Luke ch.1 describes the birth of Christ by saying “…the Dayspring (or sunrise) from on high has visited us.” You see the darkest part of the night is just before the sunrises and, for the nation of Israel had been sitting in metaphorical darkness for 400 years at the time of the events we’ve just read together.

The last time God had spoken to the nation was through the prophet Malachi when he assured the people:

Malachi 4:2 NKJV

2 But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves.

Isaiah around 250 years prior to Malachi’s words said that:

Isaiah 40:5 NKJV

5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

and that there would come:

Isaiah 40:3 NKJV

3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.

Malachi’s prophecy comes to an end along with the Old Testament by promising:

Malachi 4:5 NKJV

5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

From those words until the event we’ve just read were a long and dark period of 400 years of silence from God. There were no prophets or prophecies from God during that entire time. But that long darkness was ending.

The plan layed by God in eternity past was about unfold. The scene of the first words from God in 400 years was Herod’s temple.

The Jewish historian Josephus described Herods temple this way:

… wanted nothing that could astound either mind or eye. For, being covered on all sides with massive plates of gold, the sun was no sooner up than it radiated so fiery a flash that persons straining to look at it were compelled to avert their eyes, as from the solar rays. To approaching strangers it appeared from a distance like a snow-clad mountain; for all that was not overlaid with gold was of purest white.

Herod’s temple was the place the Jews had attached themselves as they awaited the “Dayspring to rise.”

It is from the magnificence of this beautiful temple that we:

Meet an unusual couple. (v.5-7)

We see an unplanned interruption take place. (v.8-13)

We hear an unbelievable prophecy. (v.14-19)

And we get to witness an unimaginable answer to prayer. (v.20-25)

Would you journey with me through the pages of scripture this morning to Herods Temple to witness something take place that was almost “Too Good to Be True.”

1.) An unusual couple. (v.5-7)

Luke 1:5–7 NKJV

5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 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.

Luke’s Gospel account begins with an unusual event. Unusual because rarely in Bible History did things like this happen and at the very least it had been 400 years at this point since any word from the Lord had come to his people.

We meet an elderly priest named Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth. Both Zacharias and his wife come from a long line of priests and v.6 tells us that they both lived “righteous before God.” That doesn't mean that they were sinless, but the overarching desire for their life was to please the Lord and keep his commands and that is exactly what they did.

But what makes Zachariah and Elizabeth unusual was their suffering. They had not been able to have children because the text tells us that Elizabeth was “barren”.

In Jewish society, children were considered to be a blessing from God.

In fact, in ancient Jewish culture a woman who was unable to have children was viewed as a disgrace and under the punishment of God. It carried a moral stigma because in Jewish thinking righteous people were blessed with children and only the unrighteous were barren. No doubt Zachariah and Elizabeth had suffered the smug looks and reproach from her neighbors and family for her barrenness.

Couple that with the fact that v.7 tells us they were “advanced in years.” That tells us that the hope for children had long faded away with their age.

Zacharias and Elizabeth were suffering from disappointment and humiliation for the largest part of their lives. To Jewish society at large they were an unusual couple.

2.) An unplanned interruption. (v.8-12)

At this time in Israel, their were more priests than were actually needed to run the temple day by day. Because of this the priests were divided up into twenty-four divisions. v.5 tells us that Zachariah served in the division of Abijah. Each division had about 300 priests and they served in the temple for two one weeks periods a year. There were 56 priests who were chosen by lot (at random) to serve each day. Only one priest at a time had the honor of burning the incense at the altar, which was a very important task because it symbolized the prayers of God’s people rising up to him. Because there were so many priests the special honor of preforming this task might only come once in a lifetime and for some not at all.

On this particular day, Zacharias was chosen by lot (at random), to be the one to serve incense before the Lord. This would have been the honor of his life.

Picture the scene, Just outside the temple, sacrifices are being made and faithful worshipers were praying. Then Zacharias steps into what was called the “Holy Place”. Just in front of his would have risen the vale separating the Holy of Holies where the ark of the covenant was located. On it was embroidered cherubims with scarlet, blue and gold thread. To the left stood the table of shewbread and directly in front of him was the golden altar of incense. To his right would have stood the golden candlestick.

There Zacharias stands, likely his hear pumping with adrenaline as he goes about his duty in prayer before the Lord. It was during this moment when all of a sudden an angel appeared.

Zacharias reacted the way that anyone would react, he was terrified. Now, that may seem wrong to you but remember, there had been no word from the Lord for 400 years. Plus, angels didn't just show up, and when they did, it wasn't always good news; in fact, it was almost always the opposite.

This is likely the Angel Gabriel who would later appear to Mary in v.19. The last time he showed up anywhere was 500 years prior in Babylon to talk to the prophet Daniel (Daniel 10:15). Daniel responded in much the same was as Zachariah, he too was terrified. (Daniel 8:17)

Zacharias didn't wake up that morning planning to have an angelic encounter, this was certainly an unplanned interruption.

3.) An unbelievable prophecy. (v.13-21)

The angel’s response to Zacharias began with words of comfort. The 400 hundred years of silence from God was broken by words of comfort.

“Don’t be afraid…your prayer is heard.”

Zacharias was not unlike many people to day who when they pray, don’t seem to pray with any expectancy that God will respond.

But what prayer was it that the angel was sent to respond to?

Was it a prayer from years gone by as he and Elizabeth prayed for God to open her womb and give them a son?

Was it a prayer for the redemption of Israel which is what would have traditionally been prayed by those lighting the incense?

But, whatever that prayer might have been, Zacharias was not prepared for God’s response through this angel. It was, for Zacharias an unbelievable prophecy that followed.

Your wife Elizabeth is going to bear you a son and his birth will bring joy and gladness to you and many others also. That child would grow up to be a man who preached repentance and prepared the way for the Messiah and then would be beheaded for standing up and preaching the truth to a tyrannical king. This boy, would be non oter than John “the Baptist” who Jesus would later say:

Luke 7:28 NKJV

28 For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

The angel continues by telling Zacharias that John would be filled with the Holy Spirit while even still in his mothers womb.

That was a whole new concept, because at this point in the Old Testament God only anointed special people at special times for specific purposes with his Spirit. John would serve as the forerunner not only for Christ but for the indwelling Holy SPirit in all those who call on Christ for salvation.

The angel continues that John would be used to bring revival in the land and renewal to the homes of the nation of Israel. Which is a fulfillment of the prophecy given in

Malachi 4:5–6 NKJV

5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 6 And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”

We know this becuase of the words of Jesus himself in

Matthew 17:11–13 NKJV

11 Jesus answered and said to them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. 12 But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.

Mark 9:13 NKJV

13 But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him.”

All of this was overwhelming and unbelievable to the old priest. In fact that was his response to everything the angel said, unbelief. It all just seemed to good to be true. So Zacharias begins to argue with the angel as if he didn't know what he was talking about.

Luke 1:18 NKJV

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.”

So the angel pulls some rank with Zacharias:

Luke 1:19 NKJV

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.

In other words, “Who do you think you are to argue with me? God sent me to you.”

So the angel operating under God’s authority strikes Zacharias with the inability to speak or hear (Luke 1: 62 alludes to this) until the child was born according to God’s promise.

vs.21-22 Tell us that Zachariah took so long in the temple that the people knew something was out of the ordinary. But when he came out unable to speak and because of that unable to pass on the routine blessing to the people that he was supposed to, they knew something strange had happened to him.

4.) An unimaginable answer. (v.22-23)

Imagine Zachariah arriving home trying to explain to his wife with hand gestures all that the angel had told him, but apparently he succeeded because Elizabeth conceived just as the angel had promised.

Apparently, the amazement and curiosity of just how an 88 year old woman cold get pregnant forced Elizabeth to hide herself from people even as she praised the Lord for his mercy and love. Not only was she going to have the son she had always prayed for and dreamed about, but he would be the forerunner to the Messiah.

Conclusion:

As we bring things to a close this morning, There are three key lessons we can take away from this narrative of the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist:

Our impossibilities set the stage for God to do His best work. - Whatever your “impossible” circumstance may be, the stage has been set for God to show His infinite grace and mercy and do something spectacular in your life.

God’s delays are not necessarily His denials- Be careful not to misinterpret a “wait” for a “no.”Don’t think that just because God hasn't moved in the time you think is best, that he has said no. God’s timing and methods always differ from ours. Let the time of waiting draw you closer to Christ not push you away. Use that time to pour over his word, and meditate on the principles and promises found inside. Set aside your impatience and wait on the Lord, He always knows best.

When God intervenes, it’s always for His glory and our good- Romans 8:28 tells us

Romans 8:28 NKJV

28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

All things” includes that unplanned pregnancy, those unexpected calamities, unforeseen trials you’ve entered into, and even those times when God has to say “no” to that thing you’ve been praying for. Never forget that he will use all of those things to bring glory to himself and ultimately good for those who are his children.