Surprise Pregnancy

Luke 1:5–25 NLT

When Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron. Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations. They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old. One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week. As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying. While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.” Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.” Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.” Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taking so long. When he finally did come out, he couldn’t speak to them. Then they realized from his gestures and his silence that he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary. When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home. Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. “How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.”

1. When the angels appeared to the shepherds to announce the birth of the Messiah, Jesus, they described his birth in this way: “good news of great joy” for “all the people” (Luke 2:10). Why was the birth of Jesus good news of great joy? And how was it for all people? These are the questions we’ll be examining over the next four weeks of Advent as we seek to prepare our hearts and minds for the act of remembrance that is Christmas, anticipating that Jesus will one day return. And as we do so, we want to remember that this Jesus brought with him good news of great joy for all people. 

Todays text reminds us that...

We Have a Hope.

The Hope of the O.T.

The Whole O.T. points to our need for a Savior, a King who would redeem humanity. That would bless all nations.

Israel’s hope for a Messiah that would free them from Roman Occupation.

The Hope of Zechariah and Elizabeth

1. We are given some important details about Zechariah and Elizabeth that help us paint a pretty accurate portrait of their life.

The first thing we see is that they are both of the Levitical class:

They were righteous and blameless in their walk with God.

However, there is one thing that sets them apart in a negative way: Elizabeth is childless. This is a painful situation for both of them, and one that society would not receive generously. In verse 25, Elizabeth describes her condition as her “reproach among people.”

These are individuals who have given their entire lives to God. They have served him faithfully, yet the desire of their hearts has not come to pass. We know this is the desire of their hearts because of what transpires when Zechariah goes into the temple. At this time, there were approximately eighteen thousand priests working in the temple. They worked in shifts, so about twice a year Zechariah would go into the temple. But he would only have one opportunity in his lifetime to go into the holy place and offer the incense (Darrell L. Bock, Luke, IVP New Testament Commentary Series [Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2010], 35). This incense offering was a prayer offering. Incense was a symbolic expression of the prayers of the people ascending to God (Revelation 8:3), and this is why the people are gathered outside praying at the same time (verse 10). It is during this time that an angel appears before Zechariah to give him this very good news: his prayer has been heard, his wife will bear a son, and they will have joy and gladness (vv. 13–14). Imagine if you were Zechariah, and your whole adult life you had been praying for a child, only to see, year after year, you and your wife growing older and the prayer going unanswered. 

The Family in our Life Group who could not have children, so they adopted and then they got pregnant - Another one of our Life Groupers called it, or heard from God.

Has God forgotten us? What does God want for me? Does he want me to have children or not? Does he want me to have a spouse or not? Does he want me to go to college or not? does he want me to play on this sports team or not? These questions come from both a desire to enjoy life, and to fulfill our God-given purpose in life, and discerning what that is.

I think that Zechariah and Elizabeth asked questions like these, while the stayed committed to what they were called to in the moment.

The Hour of Hope is Surprising.

Zechariah and Elizabeth’s Story is where their fulfillment of Hope intersects the World’s fulfillment of Hope. through the birth of a son. What is so special about this child?

He will be filled with the Holy Spirit,

he will help people turn to their Lord, he will be the next Elijah,

and he will prepare people for an encounter with their God (vv. 15–17).

God uses all kinds of people in fuflilling Hope, but it isn’t always easy.

https://www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/this-is-40/i-am-thrilled

The Story of the timing of Naomi's Birth, tied with the miscarriages along the way.

When God responds to our prayers, we are sometimes filled with fear, astonishment, and Joy all at the same time. Some people will experience one feeling, and another different feeling, and sometimes they will swap.

- Zechariah with Fear at least initially, and Elizabeth with Joy, relief, her shame lifted.

Two ways of thinking about this.

God’s actions here are Cosmic - It is to prepare the way for the Savior of the World.

That gives meaning to our lives, significance that we play a part in God’s grand story.

It can also make us feel overwhelmed, like its too big of a calling for us. Will we mess it up?

But we recognize that we have a part, not the whole part in the story - Zechariah, Elizabeth, and John had a unique role, and so do we. It is not all up to us.

God’s Actions here are personal - He answered their prayers.

We have a Holy Ghost Story to share.

But the timing seems so out of wack for us. At their old age, will they have the energy. God why did you wait so long? etc...

But then we recognize that God’s timing is best.

The Phrase: God will not give you more than you can handle is wrong. In reality this task for Zechariah and Elizabeth was too much for them to handle, and really for a child who was still in the womb to place the huge task of preparing Israel for the Messiah.

How Does Hope Shape Us?

- Here in the text we see how God empowers people when he gives them a task too big for themselves.

- From the Womb, John was filled with the Holy Spirit.

The Angel being sent is an act of Grace - This is a historic text. Not like the book of Revelation so we should read it as something that actually happened. Yes, many of us believers believe in Angels.

- Baptism - John didn’t know a day he wasn’t a believer. That is our desire in Baptism, that the Holy Spirit would fill Jonas all of the days of his life, and that when he is old enough to understand, will recognize it and receive it on his own.

The birth of Jesus shows us that no matter what stage of life you’re in, it is still good news for you. This was good news for Zechariah and Elizabeth. They were finally going to have a child! And the reason they were going to have this child was so that a prophet would prepare people to meet the Lord.

In the act of giving them a child, God demonstrates his intention to give grace.

Elizabeth’s shame is removed, replaced with a demonstration of God’s favor.

They are invited into this Story of Grace. to participate in it.

Application:

Trust God in His timing.

Rely on the Holy Spirit to Get you through.

This helps us Grow closer to Jesus when we have to rely on him to overcome callings bigger than us.

We can help others by…sharing the truth of our struggles, but how God got us through.

Conclusion:

Naomi being such a blessing in our family.

Family members and friends who adopted and we have been blessed by God’s provision.