Sermon Tone Analysis

Unexpected Anticipation

From the beginning of creation God has progressively revealed Himself to mankind.

First to Adam in perfect sinlessness.

After the fall… after man’s rebellion against God in the garden, God still gave mankind information about Himself.

Who He is… and how He would rescue mankind from their sin.

God made a promise in that a Deliverer would one day come to fix the sin problem brought into the world by man.

From that point on, God’s revelation… His plan of redemption was laid out for mankind piece by piece… step by step throughout history.

After Adam and his children, then to Noah and his descendants.

Then to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses.

After Israel crossed the red sea and was led out of Egypt, God continued to reveal the details about His plan of redemption through people like Joshua, Rahab, Ruth, Samuel and the other Prophets like Isaiah, Daniel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and others.

As God revealed His gracious plan of redemption … His story line of Salvation… His Divine Drama… the Drama of Scripture… His was tracing the development of the Promised Deliverer… the One who would come to pay the penalty for sin… and finally rescue mankind from their fallenness… rescue mankind from their sin.... and give mankind an opportunity to have a restored relationship with God… our Creator.

The Drama of Scripture… God’s prophetic Word develops the truth of a coming Deliverer… a God given Anointed One… A Promised Messiah all the way up until the end of the Old Testament.

Then...

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Then to Noah and his descendants.

Then to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Joseph, Moses… Later through the Prohpets Drama of Scripture… tracing the development of the promised deliverer...

When the writer of the last part of the Old Testament put down his pen, God pressed the pause button on the giving of HIs prophetic Word.

For more than 400 years, no one heard a word from God.

The end of the Old Testament leaves the reader waiting and wondering… when will the promised deliverer come…when will the Promised Messiah appear?

When the writer of the last portion of the Old Testament put down his pen, God paused the giving of the prophetic word.

For more than 400 years, no one heard a word from God.

The end of the Old Testament leaves the reader waiting and wondering… when will the promised deliverer… the Promised Messiah come?

People were waiting… they were anticipating the coming of the Messiah,… but they did not anticipate what God would do next.

All of a sudden, after 400 years of prophetic silence, God begins to speak.

He speaks through His messenger Gabriel... and the lives of one extended family were changed forever.

They were not anticipating what was going to happen to them.

The Christmas story actually involves the lives of 4 cousins… Elizabeth, a married woman who wasn’t able to get pregnant, but would soon be told that she would be.

Mary, Elizabeth’s unmarried cousin who shouldn’t be pregnant, but would soon be told that she is about to be.

And two baby boys, John and Jesus.

Over the next 4 weeks leading up to Christmas, we are going to study the lives of each “Christmas Cousin”.

Just as God’s plan of redemption has a growing anticipation that leads to Christ… our series will hopefully help us to eagerly anticipate the truth and celebration of our Saviors’ birth.

If you brought your Bible today (I always want to encourage you to bring your Bible to church), I would like to invite you to turn in your Bibles to chapter 1 of the gospel of Luke as we begin our study of these “Christmas Cousins” with a dramatic event of “Unexpected anticipation”.

Most people think that Gabriel’s first message from God about the birth of a promised baby boy – was to Mary.

But, Mary was not the first person in the New Testament to learn that her family would receive the gift of a promised child.

The angel first came to the family of Zechariah and Elizabeth (Mary’s cousin).

To help get the overall feel for the narrative let’s start by reading the verses 5 through 25.

The life of this family was getting ready to change and it would look different than they had anticipated.

Let’s look at chapter 1 as we are introduced to the characters in this unfolding drama.

To help get the overall feel for the narrative let’s start by reading the verses 5 through 25.

Now, Luke provides us with a presentation of the players in verses 5-7 that will be actively involved in God’s divine drama.

Presentation of Players (5-7)

Verses 5 and 6 sets the historical context for the beginning of these Christmas events and introduces a godly couple that will soon be used to further God’s plan of redemption in a miraculous way.

(let’s look at those verses again)

These events are taking place during the days when Herod was King.

5 mIn the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,1 nof othe division of Abijah.

And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

6 And they were both prighteous before God, walking qblamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.

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.

These events are taking place during the days when Herod was King.

Herod was known as a brutal man.

He had already ordered the murder of the Jewish high priest simply because the priest was more popular with the people than he was.

Herod was already 70 years old when these events in Luke chapter 1 took place.

Before he died he would have two of his sons murdered simply because he couldn’t stand the thought of them taking his place.

He imprisoned his third son and then had him executed after his son’s failed attempt to escape from prison.

He was extremely jealous and brutal, but because he had beautifully remodeled the temple, the people tolerated him.

Josephus, the first century Jewish historian tells us that this temple project involved 10,000 Jewish laborers under the direction of 100 priests.

He wrote that the Temple was refurbished with imported cedar and white marble.

Much of the temple was overlaid with plates of solid gold.

“Josephus wrote that the sun was no sooner up than it radiated so fiery a flash that people were compelled to look away – as if looking directly at the sun….To approaching strangers it appeared from a distance like a snow-capped mountain; for all that was not overlaid with gold was of purest white.”

All that took place, happened because it had been designed by God to fulfill what the prophet Malachi had written…

Malachi had prophesied that the brilliance of the sun would one day rise upon the nation – the sun of righteousness would rise with healing in its wings.

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The people were waiting for – and hoping for – the sunrise of righteousness… God’s promised Deliverer… But for 400 years now it had only been darkness and despair with no sign of God’s Promised Rescuer.

2 But for you vwho fear my name, wthe sun xof righteousness shall rise ywith healing in its wings.

You shall go out zleaping like calves from the stall.

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.

The people were waiting for – and hoping for – the sunrise of righteousness… But for 400 years now it had only been darkness and despair.

No wonder later when Zachariah’s son, John, is born he says… in ,

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

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78  because of the btender mercy of our God,

whereby cthe sunrise shall dvisit us8 efrom on high

79  to fgive light to gthose who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into hthe way of ipeace.”

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

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The darkness is beginning to lift and the sun is beginning to rise… Hope is beginning to show on the horizon... God’s divine drama of redemption is being further revealed.

Herod would never embrace the light.

He would only grow in the darkness of his own heart.

People were waiting for and anticipating the coming of the Messiah,… but they did not anticipate what God would do next.

In contrast to Herod’s ungodly character, Luke introduces us to a couple with a godly character in verse 5.

5 mIn the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,1 nof othe division of Abijah.

And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,...

And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

We’re told that a priest named Zachariah was faithfully serving in his division of priests.

We know from history that there were around 10,000 priests serving at this time who lived in and around Israel.

They were divided into 24 groups.

Each of the groups was assigned to work for one- week periods, twice a year.

Luke informs us that the division of Zachariah was under the heading of Abijah.

From these brief comments, we’re able to learn something quite interesting about this old priest.

Zachariah wasn’t one of the elite members of the priesthood.

These priests in his division didn’t even live in Jerusalem.

They were not among the well connected families of priests.

Zechariah wasn’t considered to be anyone important.

He would have been referred to as an ordinary country priest – one of 8,000 who lived outside the city limits.

Zachariah was married to Elizabeth.

She was a direct descendant of Aaron – Israel’s first High Priest.

A priest who was married to the daughter of a priest was considered a very big blessing – but for Zachariah, it was even more so, for she had directly descended from Israel’s high priestly family.

And by the way, once her son John is born, he would act in many ways as a High priest should act – calling them back to repentance – preparing their hearts to hear the voice of God.

Luke describes this couple with very gracious and warm wards —