The Priest

Series Introduction

Story: A person who needed encouragement with his faith in God.

Luke’s letter to Theophilus.

I believe the Word of God (God’s revelation) was given so we can be confident in faith and give God the glory!

So, during this Christmas Season, we are going to rub shoulders with several different people who encountered God and experience transformation.

Today we are going to look at a Jewish priest.

Text

Luke 1:5–7 ESV

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 before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

Introduction

The Priest

No limits on what God can do in you!

Thesis

We are going to discover that this prelude to the birth of Jesus Christ is a critically important story that will help us turn from fear and doubt to faith and Spirit-empowerment.

And we begin with a Jewish priest by the name of Zechariah.

Luke 1:8–11 ESV

8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

Transition for Point 1

Zechariah is a priest—a member of the eighth of twenty-four divisions. A division served for a week, twice a year, at the Temple in Jerusalem.

On this particular day, Zechariah was chosen to offer incense to God. And for Zechariah, this would be the most importance moment in his whole life.

As Zechariah offered the incense in the Holy Place something incredible happened: the Angel of the Lord appeared.

What was Zechariah’s reaction? He was troubled and overwhelmed with fear.

He is in the presence of God—and something miraculous happens—and Zechariah “worships and praises God.” No! He is troubled and overcome with fear!

Why? Maybe he came into the Holy Place of the Temple to fulfill a ritual rather than to come expecting the supernatural.

Here’s the point:

Don’t Treat the Presence of God as a Mere Ritual.

As Zechariah stood before the altar of incense, he prayed a very specific prayer—most likely a prayer for the redemption of Israel.

Maybe Zechariah had in the back of his mind the fact that it had been over 400 years since the last prophet of God gave a prophetic message.

Maybe God will do his work some other time—some other century.

But God sent His angel to answer that prayer! Zechariah’s prayer! Right at that time where ritual was going to turn into a demonstrative, supernatural declaration of God’s plan for salvation and hope.

Luke 1:13–17 ESV

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. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 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. 16 And 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 the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

Application

Prayer without expectation can turn a prayer into an empty ritual—a ritual devoid of meaningful purpose.

Prayer with godly expectation demonstrates:

The reality that prayer is conversation with God.

A confidence that God loves us and invites us to pray and seek Him.

A prayer offered according to God’s will is a prayer that will be answered.

The confidence that true prayer occurs the the arena of God’s presence!

Transition for Point 2:

So the Angel of the Lord declares that Zechariah’s prayer would be answered!

And it would be answered through the birth of a son—a son who would prepare the people of Israel for the coming of the Messiah.

So, how did Zechariah take this miraculous pronouncement?

Luke 1:18 ESV

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.”

Zechariah could not bring himself to believe that the infinite, Creator-God, would bestow such a blessing to his life.

“How shall ‘I’ know this? For ‘I’ am an old man.” This “I” is emphatic. There is a sense that Zechariah is demanding a sign!

He speaks from unbelief as he reminds the angel that both he and his wife are old. Babies are not born to people like them.

The Angel of the Lord responded by proving God’s authority and power to this priest.

Luke 1:19–20 ESV

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.”

The Angel responds to an emphatic “I” of his own.

Gabriel WILL give Zechariah a sign—but not the sign he was looking for. There would be consequences!

He would be silent, quite unable to speak until such time as Gabriel’s words were fulfilled. Gabriel leaves no room for uncertainty. What God has said will come to pass.

Here’s the Point:

Don’t Discount God’s Authority and Power to do the Impossible.

Unbelief is dangerous.

Hebrews 3:12 “12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.”

Hebrews 11:6 “6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

Application

Prayer must be coupled with faith!

James 1:6 “6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”

Faith must be coupled with God’s will!

James 4:3 “3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”

Prayer coupled with faith coupled with God’s will invites the supernatural work in our lives!

Proverbs 3:5–6 “5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Transition for Point 3

Zechariah concluded his Temple responsibilities, he went home to be with his wife.

Luke 1:24–25 ESV

24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

Implied in this story is that Zechariah, after his encounter with the Angel of the Lord, and after his unbelief was met with an inability to speak, he chose to obey.

He had relations with his wife—and she conceived. She became pregnant.

An essential part of God’s plan includes Zechariah and obedience.

Here is the Point:

Do what is in Obedience to the Call of God.

2 Corinthians 10:5 ESV

5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

Zechariah could have chosen to argue that babies cannot be born to an elderly couple.

Zechariah could have reacted to God’s justice by walking away from his responsibility.

But Zechariah chose to obey—he chose to reject worldly arguments and opinions.

Application

Obedience to God is essential in the life of a believer.

1 Samuel 15:22 “22 And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.”

No ritual, no tradition, can be used to make disobedience to God a good thing.

John 14:15 “15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

Obedience to God demonstrates true love for God. It is a chief form of worship.

Transition for Point 4

Now, as God was working in the lives of Zechariah and Elizabeth, He was also working in the lives of Mary and Joseph.

Mary receives a supernatural visitation from the Angel Gabriel—and is told that she will become pregnant with Jesus, the Messiah.

After this incredible experience, Mary goes and visits Elizabeth.

Luke 1:39–45 ESV

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Filled with the Holy Spirit she declared prophetically to Mary: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”

Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, encouraged Mary that what was told to her by the Angel will come to pass.

Here is the Point:

Be filled with the Holy Spirit and be an encouragement.

Like Mary, believers in Christ need encouragement.

One of the many benefits of being filled with the Spirit is to be used by Him to encourage others.

1 Corinthians 14:3–4 ESV

3 The one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. 4 The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church.

Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, and Joseph needed encouragement and strength to follow and fulfill the plan of God.

Application

The infilling of the Holy Spirit was an important part of the Christmas story—and it is an important part of our story.

Jesus said: Acts 1:8 “8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.””

We are to be empowered witnesses TODAY!

Conclusion

Just like Theophilus in the early church days, we need confidence in the Good News of Christ.

Our faith will be tested. We will face challenges to our trust in God.

So, we look at people like Zechariah, who doubted, but then experienced the power of God to rise above those doubts.

And when Zechariah fully trusted in God and His plan, the miracle unfolded.

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Zechariah prophesied:

Luke 1:76–79 ESV

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.”