Luke 1:5-25 The Forerunner

The Forerunner

Luke 1:5-25

Birth announcements and gender reveals in a social media age have become quite creative and at time extravagant....this birth announcement and the one to follow top them all…the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ

Main Idea: The birth of John the Baptist signals the fulfillment of the arrival of the forerunner of Jesus Christ revealing that the Lord keeps his salvation promises.

For the next several weeks, we will deal with the Luke 1. I will return to Luke 1:1-4 in January.

look at v. 4…convinced of what…that the Lord God keeps his promises. In your reading and in your study, you will need to pay attention to the references and allusions to the OT.

The abundance of Old Testament allusions means that Luke’s account is “no narrative for beginners” because it cannot “be rightly understood unless seen as the fulfillment of past promises; and the assumption is that the reader knows the OT well enough to recognize the echoes that the narrator now brings.” (Garland 71)

Since the prophet Malachi, the Lord has remained silent for more than 400 years…now God speaks through the angel Gabriel...

The angel Gabriel announces the birth of John to Zechariah during his once in a lifetime priestly duty.

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.

Herod: Herod the great, appointed by the Roman emperor…mentioned for the sake of establishing the time from. (ruthless and wicked man)

Zechariah(means Jehovah has remembered)…priest one of 24 divisions…Abijah. Wife-Elizabeth(God is an oath) also of priestly descent of Aaron.

both are righteous, walk blamelessly—does not mean without sin.

they had no child, barren and advanced in years.

reminds fo you of Abraham and Sarah, Jacob and Rachael, Elkanah and Hannah

reminds us that God is about to act...

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. once in a lifetime responsibility and opportunity, though it took place 2 times a day…3 priests entered and then left prior to the offering. Just outside the holy of holies. The priest would make the offering of incense and lie prostrate before the Lord in prayer...

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. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13But 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.

Prayer has been heard…prayer he just prayed or the ongoing prayer for a son. Yes…the priest would have prayed for the salvation of Israel from Roman oppression. Praying for the silence to be broken.

Zechariah’s son, John. which means Yahweh is gracious (or merciful) will be the forerunner of the Messiah who will set his people free from sin and death.

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.

You will rejoice as his father and for his mission. he will be great before the Lord “The reason for his greatness rests in his character and mission (1:15b–17).” (Bock 84)

The abstinence from alcohol resembles Ephesians 5:18 do not get drunk with wine but be filled with the Holy Spirit.

“The most important thing is that from the very first John was to be filled with the Holy Spirit, without whose help God’s work cannot be done effectively. John is the only person said in the New Testament to be filled with the Spirit from his mother’s womb; this emphasizes the fact that God chose him and equipped him from the very beginning.” (Morris 86)

John’s mission

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.”

Both Elijah and John were celibate. Both wore rough dress. Both spent their lives in the wilderness. Both were heralds of the truth. Both underwent persecution for justice’s sake at the hands of a king and queen—the former at the hands of Ahab and Jezebel, the latter at the hands of Herod and Herodias. (Bede 9)

John’s mission

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.” reference to the last prophecy of the OT…

Malachi 4:5–6 ESV

5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”

This prediction does not simply refer to the creation of family harmony but to an image of repentance and conversion. (Garland 67)

Transition…with the connection to Malachi, we cannot miss that this is the beginning of the NT…silence is broken, the fulfillment has come...

Zechariah and Elizabeth, advanced in their years, respond to the incredible announcement and precious gift from the Lord.

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.” what sounds reasonable is actually a statement of unbelief…contrast to Mary who believes.

The name Zechariah means “God has remembered,” but Zechariah does not remember what God has done in the past with Abraham and does not trust the word from the angel. (Garland 68)

sobering thought…

We can be righteous persons in the holiest places, carrying out the holiest acts of worship, and not believe God! (Anyabwile 24)

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.”

Gabriel gives Zechariah a sign to remind him of his lack of faith—both the inability to speak and deafness. (Bock 92)

21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

He could not pronounce the priestly blessing…Numbers 6:24-26

He will not remain silent and unbelieving...

At the birth of John...

Luke 1:64 ESV

64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.

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.”

Why hidden? possibly miscarried before…likely waiting to be certain of the pregnancy. Rightly so, she rejoices for the blessing the Lord has given her.

Taken away my reproach among people…tremendous societal pressure...

For those struggling with getting pregnant,

1. My heart aches for you and with you.

2. People are not your judge.

3. be careful with this passage. Not a promise to pregnancy. (warning to others --do not proclaim prosperity gospel on a barren woman-couple or the sick for that matter.)

4. Continue to pray and trust God.

Elizabeth recognizes that God has intervened in her life. Her understanding, however, is limited. ... she thinks that “God has intervened primarily to vindicate her.” Her interpretation of her pregnancy is incomplete. (Garland 70)

Soon she will see the bigger picture…the baby in her womb will prompt her to see.

Luke 1:41 ESV

41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,

Elizabeth and the others involved begin to see and believe that the Lord God has kept his promises. He is doing something in them and for them, yet it is far bigger than them.

So What?

Am I trusting that the Lord has kept and will keep his promises?

Hebrews 10:19–23 ESV

19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

we do not need a priesthood, the promised priest has come. He has opened the new and living way

we do not live in unbelief but believing through the finished work of Christ we draw near in full assurance of faith.

we hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering…for we know that the Lord has kept his promises and he will keep them.

He is coming and soon…When he comes he will make all things new.

Bauckham and Hart write, “Most readers of this book live in a society where the fear of death and loss holds the majority subconsciously in its grip, and where ideologies of self-advancement and the artificially stimulated appetite for ‘more of everything good now’ dominates our view of the world, our practical priorities, and our understanding of life’s ultimate meaning and goal.”

We as Christians should measure our hopes for today and tomorrow in a despairing world by the promises that God has unfolded in Scripture that extend far beyond today and this material world.

We have a birth announcement to make…those who believe that Jesus Christ has come to set them free will be born again.

John 5:24 ESV

24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Prayer

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