20241223 Luke 1 - Jesus: the Perfect Adam
Christmas 2024 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Welcome to Vertical Church
Acts 2:42 (LSB)
And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.
Our church is built on the 4 devotions of the first Church.
We teach the Bible - Scripture alone is the word of God
We are Evangelical - Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone
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Call to Worship - John 1:9-14
9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens everyone. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to what was His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Scripture Reading - Luke 1
This morning, we will be reading the first chapter of Luke In many ways Luke 1 is a sermon in and of itself but we will need to make a few comments that I believe will help us to be enocuraged in our faith and to love the Gospel of Luke even more than we might already love it.
This Gospel is called a Gospel because it shares with us the good news of Jesus Christ and reveals to us his life, his purpose, his deity, his work of salvation and how we may receive the gift of salvation that he offers to those who are lost.
Matthew presents to us Jesus the King
Mark shows us Jesus the servant
Luke presents Jesus the Son of Man
John presents Jesus as the Son of God
The phrase Son of Man is the most common title by which Jesus describes himself
When we look to Daniel 7 we realize that the title Son of Man is not so much a description of the humanity of Jesus who is God as it is a description of Jesus the man who is God but who is not God the Father but God the Son and He is not a son of man but The Son of Man
13 “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And came near before Him.
And during his ministry He will say
10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”
Wha does all this mean? Luke wants us to know about a man named Jesus, a man with a mother named Mary, a man with an aunt Elizabeth and a cousin named John. But look a little closer and will see a barren Elizabeth and a young virgin named Mary and an angel of the Lord Gabriel announcing the birth of John and the filling of the Holy Spirit and then the angel Gabriel and announcing the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birth of a child named Jesus.
And Jesus is more than a baby, more than a man. He is the Son of the Most High, the king who will sit upon the throne of David forever. And he is the Holy Child who shall be called the Son of God .
1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as those, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, handed them down to us, 3 it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in orderly sequence, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty about the things you have been taught. 5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah, and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and righteous requirements of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years. 8 Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of the incense offering. 11 And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear fell upon him. 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 will call his name John. 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 he will not drink any wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. 16 “And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. 17 “And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” 18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know this? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands before God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 “And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and were wondering at his delay in the sanctuary. 22 But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. And he kept making signs to them, and remained mute. 23 And it happened that when the days of his priestly service were fulfilled, he went back home. 24 After these days Elizabeth his wife conceived, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying, 25 “This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked upon me to take away my disgrace among men.” 26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and was pondering what kind of greeting this was. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end of His kingdom.” 34 But Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. 36 “And behold, your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 “For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, the slave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. 39 Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And it happened that when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 “And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? 44 “For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. 45 “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.” 46 And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. 48 “For He has looked upon the humble state of His slave, For behold, from this time on, all generations will count me blessed. 49 “For the Mighty One has done great things for me, And holy is His name. 50 “And His mercy is upon generation after generation Toward those who fear Him. 51 “He has done a mighty deed with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. 52 “He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble. 53 “He has filled the hungry with good things, And sent away the rich empty-handed. 54 “He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His mercy, 55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his seed forever.” 56 And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home. 57 Now the time was fulfilled for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. 58 And her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had magnified His great mercy toward her, and they were rejoicing with her. 59 And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zechariah, after the name of his father. 60 But his mother answered and said, “No, but he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” 62 And they were making signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. 63 And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, “His name is John.” And they all marveled. 64 And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all those living around them, and all these matters were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea. 66 And all who heard these things put them in their heart, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was indeed 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 visited and accomplished redemption for His people, 69 And raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of David His servant— 70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old— 71 Salvation from our enemies, And from the hand of all who hate us, 72 To show mercy toward our fathers, And to remember His holy covenant, 73 The oath which He swore to Abraham our father, 74 To grant us that we, being rescued 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 on before the Lord to make ready His ways, 77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins, 78 Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us, 79 To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To direct our feet into the way of peace.” 80 And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the desolate regions until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
(1) The handing down of the word
1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as those, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, handed them down to us,
Luke was a doctor who became a faithful writer of scripture
While Paul wrote more books, Luke wrote more in terms of volume
eyewitnesses and servants of the word
The faithful sharing of the word
The apostolic writing of the word
(2) The preparing of the people
15 “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will not drink any wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. 16 “And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. 17 “And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
John would be a Nazarite (Lev 6)
He would be the last of the Old Testament prophets and his prophetic ministry would turn many back to the Lord
There had been 400 years of silence since the Book of Malachi had been written. Now John would fulfill the prophet Malachi’s prediction of one like the prophet Elijah
He would fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah who said
3 A voice is calling, “Prepare the way for Yahweh in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
God has preserved His word, the Lord is preparing His people
Are you allowing the word of God to transform your heart and prepare you for the second coming of Christ?
(3) The overshadowing of the Spirit
The filling of the Spirit
15 “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will not drink any wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb.
41 And it happened that when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.
2 And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
The Spiritus Recreator - the one who creates and transforms
The Christmas story often focuses on the baby, the manger, the wise men. Luke wants us to see the truthfulness of the word and the power of the Spirit because the Son of Man, the Son of God, the Son of the Most High, the Savior of the world has come into the world.
Will you be like Mary and believe or like Zechariah and not believe the word of the Lord that was given through men and angels
Benediction
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
