The Birth of John

Opening:

Good-morning. We are approaching Christmas very quickly. Next Sunday is Christmas Day, the day we celebrate the birth of our Lord. It is the largest holiday in the world. I can’t think of any other holiday that even comes close. And yes, it is true that Christmas has become overly commercialized, and that the culture has lost sight of the meaning of the holiday. Our culture even seems to be bending over backwards in order to miss the meaning. They act like little kids sticking their fingers in their ears chanting “la la la I can’t hear you.” But there are many remnants of the sacred that they cannot remove.

Christ-mas has as it’s central word, “Christ.” Well, they try to change it to “Happy Holidays.” Even then, holiday means holy day. It is still a sacred term. They attempt to commercialize the gift giving. But why do we give gifts? Somewhere nestled in that practice is the idea that we give gifts because of the gift God gave to us. So yes, it is very true that our culture is attempting to bury the truth of Christmas. But a seed buried only grows up ten times as beautiful, so I am not discouraged. And that really is the reason we as Christians focus on Advent in the lead up to Christmas. Advent means “coming.” It is a season of expectation. We sing advent songs, songs that specifically sing about the expectation of the coming Messiah. We read passages that specifically were looking ahead in expectation of Christ. And we do this to remind ourselves of the truth of why we celebrate. And we build up that expectation. Then when we come together on Christmas eve and sing joyfully “Joy to the World!” we have taken time to reflect on why the world ought to be joyful. We have taken time to reflect on why we should rejoice.

So this is the week before Christmas. It is the last Sunday of Advent. Because of this, it is fitting that we study the birth of the one who would come before Jesus to herald Him. Luke’s gospel gives the story of the birth of John right before he gives the story of Jesus’ birth. John, even in birth is coming before Jesus in order to say, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!” So this morning, let’s read the account of the birth of John the Baptist who heralded the coming of our Lord.

Please stand with me for the reading of God’s Word.

Reading of the Text:

Luke 1:57-80, 57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” 62 And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. 64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, 66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.

67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,

68  “Blessed be 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 from of old,

71  that we should be saved from our enemies

and from the hand of all who hate us;

72  to show the mercy promised to our fathers

and to remember his holy covenant,

73  the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us

74  that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,

might serve him without fear,

75  in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

76  And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

77  to give knowledge of salvation to his people

in the forgiveness of their sins,

78  because of the tender mercy of our God,

whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high

79  to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

Behold, the Word of God. Let’s pray.

Prayer:

Lord, we ask that you would speak to your people through your Word. We need to hear from you, and we rejoice that you have spoken to us in your Scriptures. Speak to your people now. We ask this in Jesus our Lord’s name. Amen.

Transition:

As we open this passage, we see it is divided into two sections. It is divided into the account of the birth of John the Baptist in verses 57-66, and then the song or prophesy of Zechariah in verses 67-80. So let’s now look at the birth of John the Baptist.

The Birth of John the Baptist. verses 57-66.

Opening Illustration: Semper Fidelis.

This account of the birth of John to me reads so similarly to several Old Testament stories of God’s faithfulness. And we know from reading the Psalms that one of the benefits of these stories is they highlight the faithfulness of God. They are recorded for our benefit to look back on and marvel at how God was completely faithful. God is the faithful one. We could apply in almost all the stories like this the motto of the Marine Corps. Does anyone know what the motto of the United States Marine Corps is? It is Semper Fi, or Semper Fidelis! Does anyone know what this means? We are familiar with Adeste Fidelis, the Latin of one of my favorite advent songs, “Oh come all ye faithful.” The motto of United States Marine Corps is Semper Fidelis. Always Faithful. This is the ideal. We all, not just the Marines, ought to strive and fight to always be faithful.

But we know that we all fail in this. We all fail in our faithfulness. We break trust and faith. We lie and mislead. We struggle and stumble and fall. All of us ought to be faithful and we all ought to dedicate actual effort to being faithful, but if we were to truly look for one who is Semper Fidelis, there would only be one who could meet that requirement. Only one could ever be said to have always been faithful. And that one is God. God is the Semper Fidelis one. He alone is the Semper Fidelis one. He alone is truly faithful and He has proved this again and again and again. And that is why, for each section of this account of the birth of John, we could add, “As God had said.” Let’s quickly walk through this account and I will demonstrate.

Elizabeth Gives Birth To a Son, As God had said.

God has promised that Zechariah and Elizabeth would have a son. Listen to Luke 1:13 “13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.” So here we see the fulfillment. Elizabeth conceived, and bore a son, just as God had said. Moving on.

Many Rejoice, as God had said.

Not only did God, through the angel Gabriel promise a son would be born, God also promised this: listen to Luke 1:14 “14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,” Well, here is the fulfilment of this. Luke 1:58 says, “58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.” Just as God had said. Continuing on.

His name is John, as God had said.

The act of naming is a unique one. In the creation account in Genesis, the act of Adam naming the animal’s was given to him to show his authority over the animals. This is why parents name their children. God has given the parents authority over their children and it is first exercised by the naming of the child. The parents have the right before God to say, “Child, this is who you are.” But occasionally, God, who has all authority, comes in and exercises His right of naming. He re-named Abram and Sarai to Abraham and Sarah. He re-named Jacob to Israel. He re-named Simon to Peter. But in this account, God stepped in and exercised His divine right of naming from the get go. In Luke 1:13 it says, “13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.”

Now here at his birth we read this. Luke 1:59-63 “59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” 62 And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered.”

Before we move on, we must note that Zechariah does not write, “His name WILL BE John.” No, Zechariah write “His name IS John.” This is because John was already named. God had named him, and Zechariah is writing here, “His name is John, just as God had said.

Next:

Zechariah regained his voice, as God had said.

Remember what happened back in Luke 1:18-20? It says, “18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”

Well, as Zechariah writes, “his name is John” he regains his voice, just as God had said. Listen again to Luke 1:64-65 “64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea,” Just as God had said, these things took place and Zechariah could speak again.

Before we move on, I want to note two things that happen in response to Zechariah regaining his voice. First, Zechariah’s first words after being mute for over nine months are to bless God in a prophetic song.

Zechariah’s first words are to bless God in a prophetic song.

Obviously this song is recorded for us in the below verses by Saint Luke, but I just want to note the heart of Zechariah. He has been silent for nine months. He hasn’t been able to talk for a very long period of time. And the moment his mouth is open, he blesses the Lord.

This to me is convicting. We talk all the time, and yet we so rarely bless the Lord. I rarely utter the words, “Blessed be the Lord.” And yet, here is Zechariah, who has been mute for nine months. And as soon as he can talk, he immediately blesses the Lord. Maybe we can learn something from this old righteous mute. May we, who speak all the time take more time to bless the Lord.

Secondly, I want to note that the people marvel in the fear of the Lord.

The People Marvel in the fear of the Lord.

This whole ordeal caused people to be wonder and awe. Clearly it was a miracle that Elizabeth and Zechariah had bore a child. The story of Zechariah’s vision in the Temple likely also spread throughout the land. Then add of this the sudden healing of Zechariah’s ability to speak, and people were in awe and filled with the fear of the Lord. It was clear that God was at work.

And let this be an encouragement to us. God’s work in our lives is to cause others to marvel and fear God. Is God working in your life? Are you seeing the faithfulness of God in your life? That faithfulness is fuel on the fire of evangelism. Share it with others. Tell others, “Here is what God did in our life.”

Now let’s move on.

The Lord is with John, as God had said.

Remember the words of Gabriel about John in Luke 1:15 “15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.” This is clearly fulfilled in the entire life of John, but we see clearly it is fulfilled here. The people take note that God is with John. Luke 1:66 “66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.” The Lord was with John, just as God had said.

Transition:

This is a story of the faithfulness of God. God did everything exactly as He said. He is always faithful. But now let’s look at the song of Zechariah.

The Song of Zechariah. Verses 67-80.

Look with me again at Luke 1: 67-79

67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,

68  “Blessed be 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 from of old,

71  that we should be saved from our enemies

and from the hand of all who hate us;

72  to show the mercy promised to our fathers

and to remember his holy covenant,

73  the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us

74  that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,

might serve him without fear,

75  in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

76  And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

77  to give knowledge of salvation to his people

in the forgiveness of their sins,

78  because of the tender mercy of our God,

whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high

79  to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Clearly, in this song, Zechariah is blessing God. Hence where this song get’s it’s title. Mary’s song is called the Magnificat because the first and principle word is “Magnify.” Well, in the history of the church, this song has been called the “Benadictus.” This is because the first word is “Blessed.” Zechariah is blessing God. And He is blessing God for specific things. But what are those things?

Zechariah Blesses God for:

We can divide Zechariah’s song into two sections. Zechariah blesses God for the work of salvation, and then for the preparation of the work of salvation. These may seem backwards to us. We would think that it should open with blessing God for preparing the work of salvation, and then bless God for the salvation, but Zechariah has his theology and his priorities straight. He blesses God for the work of Salvation that will be and yet has been accomplished. Then he blesses God for the work his son will do in preparing the way. So let us look at these two blessings in Zechariah’s song.

1. The Work of Salvation. Verses 68-75.

Luke 1:68 “68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people” This is the opening of Zechariah’s song. The first words out of his mouth. And it begins like so many of the Psalms. Psalm 134, our Psalm of the month begins with “Behold bless the Lord.” But there are countless. It is a common way for songs to start in Scripture. Listen to Psalm 106:48 “48 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord!”

But Zechariah is blessing God for something specific in this line.

a. God has visited and redeemed His people.

Luke 1:68 “68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people”

It is so fascinating that Zechariah is speaking in the past tense. He says that God has done this. Now we know, that Christ at this point is already incarnate. God has come and is growing in the womb of the virgin Mary. So yes, God has visited His people. But what about the redemption? Christ has not yet died. The cross is still years and years in the future. Well, this is the language of absolute certainty. You will see this occasionally in Scripture. God promises to do something and it is so certain that it is spoken of as if it has already happened. And this language continues. God has redeemed His people, yes and amen. God has fulfilled His promise to David.

b. God has fulfilled His promise to David.

Luke 1:69 “69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,”

Christ has come. The one who will reign forever and ever has come. This is the fulfilment of the promise to David. But what is with this language of a horn? Well, a horn was blown as a sign of victory. And because of this, horns themselves became symbols of victory. Psalm 132:17-18 “17 There I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed. 18 His enemies I will clothe with shame, but on him his crown will shine.””

But here Zechariah is saying that Christ, the fulfilment of God’s promise to David has come. Christ is yet to be born, and is yet to be seated at the right hand of God, but it is so certain that it is already done. God promised David in Jeremiah 23:5-6 “5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’”

And behold, the promise is fulfilled. Christ has come. God has fulfilled His words not just to David, but also has fulfilled His words through the prophets.

c. God has fulfilled His words through the prophets.

Luke 1:70 “70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,”

The Prophets spoke so often of the coming of the Messiah. And now, at last He has come. These prophesies would be too numerous to list. But this statement by Zechariah rings of the same sentiment as Peter in 1 Peter 1:10-12 “10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.”

The Prophets spoke by the Holy Spirit for our benefit. And Zechariah sees this. He is saying that he now sees what they were saying. Even they did not know what all God was saying. But now, it is clear. Christ is here. He is the fulfilment of the prophets.

Zechariah continues, God has delivered His people from their enemies.

d. God has delivered His people from their enemies.

Luke 1:71 “71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;”

Scripture is filled with language like this. Psalm 18:2 “2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Psalm 106:10 “10 So he saved them from the hand of the foe and redeemed them from the power of the enemy.”

The reality is that we have enemies. There are those who truly dislike us so much that they wish to see us gone, ruined, harmed, destroyed, hurt. People will so often make trite statements like, “Oh I think people are mostly good,” or “no one really wants to hurt anyone else.” If you feel this way, you have not lived long enough. There are people who are just malevolent toward us. And often, we toward them. There are those who will dig and look for anything you do wrong just to use it as a knife to twist into your back. I can speak from experience, as one who has many scars from those knives.

So think of what this means. God will save us from our enemies. He will save us from those who seek to do us harm. He will save us from those who actively seek to hurt us. And this salvation is found in Christ. Christ is the ultimate judge. And no wrong will go unpunished. So hear this, if you are facing many enemies, they aren’t getting away with it. Judgement day is coming. And if you are malevolent towards others, hear my warning. You aren’t getting away with it. Judgement day is coming. Repent.

God has saved us from our enemies, and God has fulfilled His covenant promise.

e. God has fulfilled His covenant promise.

Luke 1:72-73 “72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us”

Here is the meat of this. All of Scripture points to Christ. The Old Testament is heralding His coming, the New Testament is Heralding His arrival and Lordship. It is all about Jesus. And this is shown in the covenant promises God made with His people. God made promises to the fathers.

I. The Promises to the Fathers.

This is an inclusive statement. This means that all the covenant promises God made throughout the Old Testament, are all about Christ. And Christ is the fulfillment of ALL OF THEM. This is similar language to Psalm 111:9 “9 He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name!”

But Zechariah is also specific.

II. The holy covenant made to Abraham.

God has kept the covenant made to Abraham.

Genesis 22:15-18 “15 And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.””

Christ is the fulfilment of this covenant promise. God has kept His Word. In Christ, the seed of Abraham, all the nations of the earth will be blessed. Jesus Christ, our Lord, is the fulfillment of this covenant promise.

But this is not an aimless redemption. We are saved from our sins and our enemies, but we are saved to something.

f. God redeemed His people so that they might serve Him.

Luke 1:74-75 “74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.”

Many of you know the answer to old catechism question, “What is the chief end of man?” “To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” It is from passages like this that we depth of the truth of this statement. We have been redeemed from our enemies that we may serve God without fear. And we now can worship God in holiness and righteousness. We no longer have need of fear, for we are washed clean. We have been made holy. We have been made righteous. And this righteousness and holiness is not of us, but is of Christ. He has washed us clean.

Transition:

Zechariah has sung prophetically of the work of salvation, but now he is singing prophetically of the preparation of the work of salvation.

2. The Preparation of the Work of Salvation. v. 76-80.

And this is where Zechariah’s newborn son will play his divinely appointed role.

a. John is the prophet who will go before the Lord.

Luke 1:76 “76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,”

Zechariah is now speaking to his son. And he is saying John is the fulfilment of the Old Testament promise of a messenger going before the Lord. Malachi 3:1 “1 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.” John also fulfills Isaiah 40:3 “3 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”

And because John is the fulfillment of this promise, Zechariah continues.

b. John will give knowledge of salvation to the people.

Luke 1:77-78 “77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high”

And here is the beautiful truth of the message of John. He will herald the salvation of souls in the forgiveness of sins.

I. In the forgiveness of sins.

Salvation only comes in the forgiveness of sins. We are all sinners. All of us. We have lied, cheated, stolen, lusted, you name it we’ve probably done it.we are not a clean people. We are dirty before God. What hope do we have for salvation? In ourselves, none. Our only hope is that God would forgive our sins. But now we come to it. Why would a holy and just God forgive sins? Only one reason. Because of His tender mercy.

II. Because of the tender mercy of God.

There is no other hope we have. We are lost and blind. We must fall into the arms of the mercy of God. We must cry out, “Mercy, mercy! Have mercy on me! I can never pay you back! I am entirely at your mercy! Please be kind to me oh God!” And this is the miracle of miracles. God is. He is merciful. He is kind. He is forgiving. And here in Christ, salvation has come. Only in Christ. The arms of God’s mercy are stretched open wide in Christ alone.

And Zechariah closes with a beautiful poetic picture.

c. The Sunrise will shine on God’s people and light the way of salvation.

Luke 1:78-79 “78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.””

This picture is so common in Scripture that I feel it needs little explanation. It is a poetic picture of being brought from darkness into light. This is truly what salvation feels like. Isaiah 9:2 “2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.” Malachi 4:2 “2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.”

Or, in more contemporary words, “I once was blind, but now I see.” Salvation is a coming into the light. Abandon the hopelessness of sin. Step out of the darkness and step into the light of the mercy of God.

Transition:

The sun is shining down on us beloved. it is shining down on us in Christ. We have but to enjoy it and rejoice in it.

Application:

May we never forget:

God is Ever Faithful to Keep His Promises.

This story of Zechariah and Elizabeth stands as a monument to the faithfulness of God. Remember, God is faithful. He always keeps His promises. And because of this, we have reason to rejoice.

Rejoice!

Our reasons to rejoice are endless in Christ. And this is the season of rejoicing. But just looking at our text, I see several specific reason to rejoice.

Rejoice because God has visited and redeemed His people!

Christ has come! Behold, Advent has ended, Christmas has come! Christ has come and He has visited and redeemed His people! We have redemption in Him! Rejoice!

Rejoice because God has fulfilled and still fulfills all of His promises!

God is Semper Fidelis! Always Faithful! We can rejoice in this because He always keeps His word. He fulfilled every word He has spoken! And because of this we can trust Him. He will never cast us away. He has promised. He will never abandon us. He has promised. And He always keeps His promises!

Rejoice because God has redeemed us to serve Him!

We have a job to do. And that job is to join in with the Heavenly choir. It is to join in with David and Asaph and the other Psalmists. It is to Join in with Mary, and the Apostles, and the other Disciples. It is to serve our King! Hail to the King, He is Lord! He has saved us from our sins! He has saved us to serve Him!

And this means that we can echo the words of Zechariah here and rejoice because the sun is shining on us.

Rejoice because the sun shines on us!

We are no longer in darkness. Hallelujah! We are not blind, we are not lost, we are not in darkness. We have stepped out into the light and are free in Christ. And that is reason to rejoice.

Closing Doxology:

With this in mind, I would ask that you stand with me and let’s rejoice in singing the Doxology to our Lord.

Closing Benediction:

Isaiah 9:2 “2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.”