Luke 1 | The Power in Elijah
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We are continuing in our series today through the story of the birth of Christ
Last week we looked at the genealogy of Jesus, his lineage\
And we uncovered how Jesus came from a line of kings, and leaders, and nobodies, and sinners, and faithful servants.
But today I want to begin looking at the actual event of the birth of Christ, and this starts with the announcements of his birth.
When a prominent person enters a room, or a space, there is an announcement.
When a president enters a room to speak he is announced as the president of the united states
When a king entered into a space, or came into a city, a grand announcement would be made
When a basketball player comes onto the court at the beginning of the game he is announced
And this was no different with Jesus
In the time leading up to the birth of Christ we have multiple different announcements made that a king was coming
But can I ask you a question before we get into this.
Who do you think was the first?
Who do you think was the first person to hear that Jesus was going to be born
I am not talking about prophecy, I mean when the scene was being set for Jesus to be born, who was the first to know?
You would probably think Joseph, or Mary
But it was actually someone who you may not even know his name, kind of an average person
Put to understand this announcement we need to first go back to the Old Testament
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
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.”
This would be last of inspired scripture before the New Testament. After Malachi wrote this, there would be a period of silence for 400 years
a time period we call the intertestamental period
(if we had inspired scripture during this time it would fit in between the Old Testament and the New)
It is during this time that you will find many heretical and uninspired books written claiming to be inspired, or later incorrectly adopted as inspired, such as the books of the Apocrypha, many of them coming from this time period
However Jewish history would tell us that traditionally the consensus was that there was no inspired scripture during this time
Josephus, a Jewish historian who was born just after the death of Christ, would record this in his writings regarding the common view of inspired scripture at the time.....
“From Artaxerxes to our own time, all things have been recorded, but none of these writings have been deemed worthy of equal credit with those before them…” — Josephus, Against Apion 1.8
Artaxerxes would have most likely been the king of Persia, and over Israel, at the time of Malachi
So Josephus writes, just after the death of Christ, that no scripture written between the writings at the time of Malachi, up to his time has been deemed worthy of equal credit with those before them
Why is this important to the birth of Christ?
Well it is actually very important
Because before the birth of Christ the last inspired scripture that God provides, would be Malachi 4:5-6
Lets look at it again
Malachi 4:5–6 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 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.””
Malachi records this word of God, the last message to the Israelites for 400 years, and in this message we have a promise.
That God would send to them Elijah, before the coming great and dreadful day of the Lord
And he would turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers
No I want you to turn over to the gospel of Luke, chapter 1.
Remember the gospels are 4 different accounts, of many of the same events.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are 4 accounts of those
Matthew - One of the 12 Disciples | Tax Collector
Mark - Peter’s Interpreter, and a Cousin of Barnabas | Mark would have been recorded as Peter’s account - one of the 12 disciples
Luke - a doctor who traveled with the apostle Paul, and had access to research the story of Christ across multiple different witnesses, and he would have access to interview many of the disciples
John - One of the 12 Disciples | Also wrote Revelation, and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John
So these accounts are not chronological to one another, but rather they are all covering the same time period of events from different perspectives
So just as Matthew is considered the next inspired scripture after the 400 year intertestamental period, you could say the same thing about the book of Luke.
Here is why this is important....
Because the last inspired scripture in the Old Testament is a promise that God would send Elijah preceeding this great and dreadful day of the Lord, and there would be a great revival as a result
Now if we look to Luke as one of the very next inspired passages of scripture after this 400 year break, what are the next words of God given to man
Luke 1:1-4 is an introduction going over what we just talked about, but pickup in verse 5
Again remember this would be the next event after 400 years that would be inspirationally recorded
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. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.
So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense.
So we are introduced to Zacharias, who is a priest in the temple who offered incense to God
He was old, married, and had no children
Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.
Now I want you to notice something here
ZACHARIAS AND ELIZABETH ARE PRAYING FOR A CHILD WHILE THEY ARE ALREADY ADVANCED IN YEARS
Zacharias has so much faith in God that he is actively praying for a miracle of having a child while both of them are too old to have children
And notice what the response of the angel is
YOUR PRAYER IS HEARD
If this isn’t a clear indication that we need to pray for what we want I don’t know what is
We are told to cast our cares upon God, to ask him whatever we desire
And what is incredible, is that Zacharias and Elizabeth had been divinely chosen for this great role they are about to recieve, but yet they are still rewarded in light of that for their faith
This is such a great example at how prayer works, and prayer is still meaningful and effective, even in a world where God is in control and knows all things, and is fully sovereign
But you may say, Zach what does this have to do with Jesus, and who is this John person
Well this isn’t teh John that wrote the book of John that we looked at earlier, this would be man known as John the Baptist, and notice what the Angel says about him....
For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
So this child John would be special, he would take part in what we know as a nazarite vow, and he would be filled with the Holy Spirit before he is even born.
But you want to see something really cool.
Look at the next verse....
And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.
That sounds familiar, didn’t Malachi write something like that in the last inspired scripture that was given before this?
Malachi 4:6 “And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers
Interesting, but maybe its just a coincidence in wording
Like theres no way that this child, John, would have anything to do with the last inspired scripture and prophecy given before this time, right?
Well look at the next verse....
He will also 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 a people prepared for the Lord.”
We see the very prophecy given in Malachi, the last inspired verses of scripture before this time, saying that God would send Elijah
and just like much of the prophecies in the Old Testament, there is a greater meaning than what is on the surface
The Jews were looking forward to this physical resurrection of Elijah to come at this pivotal time, but really the prophecy was talking about someone far more important than Elijah
You see the prophecy would be fulfilled not in Elijah coming, but in this baby, John, coming with the holy spirit and power of Elijah, but not to rule over the people or bring new prophecy or anything like that, but we would have a few very specific goals
Luke 1:17 ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’
He would come to turn the hearts of Israel to their father God, and he would turn the heart of the fathers to the children to raise them in the will of God,
But take another look at the prophecy in Malachi
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
So John would come before the great and dreadful day of the Lord?
This doesn’t sound to exciting
What is this day, and how is it great and dreadful?
Well the word great here doesn’t necessarily mean good, but rather large or awe inspiring, and dreadful means exactly what it says, it is a day of fear
The day of the Lord is a vague term that is used throughout scripture to reference any time where there is a major shift in Gods working in mankind
So we see that John would come before another one of these shifts, and it would be huge, awe inspiring, but it would also be dreadful
Why is it dreadful?
He will also 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 the disobedient, to the sinful, this would be a day of dread because sin is now exposed
They are now met with a moment of change, where the disobedient will now be faced with a choice, when this time comes, and their choice will either lead them to the wisdom of the just, or to dread
So what is the event? What is this great and dreadful day of the Lord that John would be born before, and what would be his role in this?
He will also 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 a people prepared for the Lord.”
You remember when I asked you at the beginning of the message, who you thought the first person to hear that Jesus would be born was?
It wasn’t Mary, it wasn’t Joseph, it was Zacharias.
And he was told that his son, John, would be the one prophesied to come and prepare the way for this savior
Now I love the next section here...
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.”
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. But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”
Zacharias doubts the angel.
This is such an example of exactly what we do all the time
WE PRAY DILIGENTLY FOR SOMETHING, THEN WE ARE SHOCKED AND EVEN IN DOUBT WHEN THE PRAYER IS ANSWERED
Listen.....
The faith doesn’t come in asking in comes in believing God can do it.
It takes much less faith to ask God for something miraculous, but to actually believe that God could do it, that he may answer that prayer, thats what is hard, and its so hard that often when prayers are answered, we don’t even give God the credit becasue we don’t beleive he would actually answer prayers
This is exactly what Zacharias did
And notice the somewhat sarcastic response of the angel
Zacharias asks, how do I know for sure this will really happen
And the angel says, I am literally Gabriel, an angel, standing in front of you, I was sent here by God, and you are doubting that God has the power to give you a child in your old age
Then the angel sort of says if you are going to doubt God, then you arent going to talk until you believe
and Zacharias is made mute until what he doubted came true
And we see later in Luke 1, when John is born, Zacharias is able to speak again
So this would be technically the first announcement of Jesus’s birth, given somewhat indirectly
But Zacharias would be the first to know that the savior was coming.
Now notice what happens next in Luke 1
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.
So six months into Elizabeth’s pregnancy with John, Gabriel goes to a young virgin girl, engaged to a man named Joseph.
The Angel tells this young women, Mary, you are blessed among women, and you will conceive the son of God, and he will reign over Israel forever.
Now Mary doesn't necessarily doubt, but she does question,....
Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.”
Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
So we learn here that this story of Elizabeth and Mary are far more connected then we thought.
They are relatives, likely a cousin or aunt.
So Mary is faithful, she agrees, and she goes to see Elizabeth
Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Now there is a common theme that keeps popping up here in all of these stories.
John was prophecied as coming in the spirit of power of Elijah, that was the seal of the promise, that is how you know the prophecy is fulfilled. Now this is not the actually spirit of Elijah, but rather the spirit of God that was in Elijah.
Then we see in the announcement to Mary in verse 35 that the Holy Spirit would come upon her, and the power of the highest will overshadow her
Then we see that when Mary visits Elizabeth, that John, in the womb, jumps or kicks when Mary greets her.
And when this happens, ELIZABETH IS FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT
But there was one other announcement of Jesus given prior to his birth
And we see it in Matthew 1:18-19
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.
Joseph is in such a hard spot here
His fiance has just become pregnant, and she swears that she was not with anyone at this is a supernatural birth of the holy spirit, and the child is the son of God.
Sounds like something a crazy partner would give as an excuse for cheating
And Joseph was just supposed to take her word for it, but he is just, so he does, for the most part, but it appears there is still a little doubt
But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.
In every announcement of the birth of the christ to Zacharias, Mary, and Joseph, there is one central focus across all of them....
THE HOLY SPIRIT
Even going back to the prophecy in Malachi, was is the focus, what is the sign of fulfillment, the present power of the spirit.
You say thats great Zach, why is that important for me.
Because the birth of Christ, is not founded on stars, and shepherds, and christmas trees, and mangers, and all of these things.
YOU SEE THERE IS ONE COMMON DENOMINATOR THAT IS REQUIRED FOR EVERY OUNCE OF THIS TO HAPPEN
THERE IS ONE FOUNDATION THAT MUST BE PRESENT FOR US TO HAVE THE CELEBRATION OF CHRISTMAS WE DO TODAY
AND THAT IS THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
And while we may see the power of the spirit in the birth itself, what we often miss is the moving of the spirit, working in this orchestration, not just 9 months earlier announcing the birth to Mary, or even 6 months before that when he told Zacharias and Elizabeth
but the moving of the holy spirit was present 400 years earlier, when he inspired the prophet Malachi to write that one day, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 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.””
And it is that same spirit that filled Elijah.....
that would fill John the Baptist and empower him to pronounce the coming of the savior,
that would fill Mary as she carried the coming savior
that would fill Elizabeth as she was confirmed in the promise of John, when he kicked in the womb and recognized the voice of the mother of the savior
that Joseph was given confidence was the one who performed this miracle of conception in Mary
But can I give you some incredible news....
This happened 2,000 years ago
BUT THE HOLY SPIRIT DIDN’T STOP WORKING WHEN JESUS WAS BORN
HE FILLED JESUS AND EMPOWERED HIM IN HIS MINISTRY
HE EMPOWERED HIM TO DO MIRACLES
HE RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD
HE FILLED AND EMPOWERED THE BELEIVERS AT PENTECOST TO PERFORM MIRACLES AND SPREAD THE GOSPEL ACROSS THE WORLD
AND TODAY, THE SAME SPIRIT OF ELIJAH, IS PRESENT HERE, TODAY, IN THIS ROOM
AND HE EMPOWERS ME TO PREACH THIS MESSAGE TO YOU RIGHT NOW, AND HE CONVICTS THE HEARTS OF THOSE HERE TO DRAW NEAR TO CHRIST, AND HE WORKS IN THIS BOOK THAT WE HAVE BEFORE US TO DO TODAY EXACTLY WHAT HE DID 2,000 YEARS AGO FOR MARY, AND ZACHARIAS, AND JOSEPH, AND ELIZABETH
PROCLAIM THE GLORIOUS, GREAT, AWE INSPIRING, AND FOR SOME DREADFUL, NEWS THAT JESUS HAS BEEN BORN, HE HAS COME
AND TODAY HE ASKS FOR THE SAME THING HE WANTED FROM MARY AND JOSEPH, AND ZACHARIAS, AND ELIZABETH, FAITH
Faith that what you read in this book is true
Faith that Jesus did come, and die for your sins
Faith the Jesus has the power to save mankind from their sin debt
FAITH THAT HE WILL RETURN AGAIN
And he works in hearts to ensure that this day of the Lord then, when he was born, and the day of the lord that is coming, is not one of dread for you, but rather one of hope, and joy, and peace.
And so I ask you today, do you have faith in the power of the spirit, through the work of Christ to do what he came for, to save you from your sins.
