Jesus is Easy to Relate To

Can You Relate?

I was born and raised in Wichita, KS. Sara, was raised in Tucson.

As a result, we grew up w/ different experiences that the other couldn’t relate to.

I thought I knew what Mexican food was. Taco Tico, like Taco Bell.

She talked about loving Egee’s. I’m like, what?

You’ve had Egee’s. What’s so great about Egee’s?

2 brothers started the company in Tucson by parking a truck outside the middle schools and selling small cups to the kids for a quarter when they came out at the end of the day.

Brilliant marketing.

Those kids grew up. Now, every time we go to Tucson, the first stop is for and Egee.

Their ranch fries are good. But, you have to be from Tucson to love and Egee.

I couldn’t relate.

She thought she knew how to drive in ice and snow.

She leaned soon enough. She’s good now. But, there was a learning curve for her in her 20s and 30s.

I was 15, had my learner’s permit, and Wichita had one of the snowiest winters on record. I got used to driving rear-wheel drive cars in 8” of snow before I was legal.

Boys learned how to fish-tail the car in the snow and maintain control.

I remember in high school, Wichita had an overnight ice storm. A sheet of ice on everything, including the roads. School was not closed. And all of our parents allowed us to drive to school on a skating rink. We creeped along all the way.

We knew how. We’d been taught.

But the fact that our parents let us. And the schools didn’t close that day.

No accidents among the teenagers.

Talk about how to be careful when driving on ice or snow, I can relate easily. Can you relate to this?

We moved here, live at the top of Pinewood and have to drive up the hill to get home. Most of the time, it’s not a problem.

I moved here w/ a lightweight, front-wheel drive Toyota Camry. All plastic, fiberglass, and aluminum.

Not enough weight on the front-end to get up the hill even after the snow-plows have been thru.

I had to buy a big SUV to get home in the snow.

When a few low-landers come up to play in the snow we can have some problems.

Xmas eve when we’re trying to get home after church, it’s late, it’s dark and there are 4 cars in various locations between the bridge and Krolak, all sliding backward or backed into a curb. PPL are in line this side of the bridge waiting.

We have to wait, somewhat patiently, to get an opening to hit the gas and get up the hill.

Here’s the secret. You need momentum to get up the hill. So, about 2 house before the bridge you’ve got to hit the gas and go w/ confidence. Or, you’re not making it.

I’ve been cussed more than once to slow down heading up the snowy hill. But my reply is simply my tail lights as I get home and they are still ice-dancing in the dark down the street.

There was the time Sara and some friends went snow-shoeing from our house, it was a beautiful sunny day, w/ 3’ of snow on the ground.

They walk from our house, back to the Crystal Springs trailhead, by the parking lot.

Some fun-seeking Phonecian, didn’t realize there are ditches along the side of the road after the pavement ends, got in too deep in their little sedan, tried to u-turn and buried their front end in the ditch, which had more like 4’ of snow.

They were out, in their flip-flops, trying to dig and push their car out of the ditch.

When we lived in LR, raised our boys there, they closed the schools on the forecast of ice or snow.

Storms in Wichita. We’d get a downpour, the streets would flood, we’d think nothing of driving thru the water to get wherever we wanted to go.

Might lose your brakes. So be careful.

We’d get that in Dallas, Sara would get onto me about driving into inches deep water.

She grew up in Tucson. We get the warnings here about flash floods and driving into moving water across the road.

She’d say, every year, someone, usually in a pick up, would drive into a flooded wash and their truck would get carried away and the driver would die.

Moving water like that was foreign to me.

I know that now. I won’t drive into moving water here. I couldn’t relate until I moved here and saw what a flash flood could.

4.5 years ago February, we had 6’ of snow and 6” of rain in 2 weeks. 2 Flash floods behind the church. The 2nd was the worst. It washed 2 Waste Management dumpsters into the culvert back there that hung up at the bridge. Water came about a quarter of the way to the church. It was powerful and moving fast.

I couldn’t relate to that until I moved here and saw it.

Now, I know, wait a few hours, and the water goes away and I’ll live.

Mexican food, not Tex-Mex, I’ve learned to relate.

Egee’s, it’s okay.

If you spent any time in the midwest, you learned how to drive in weather.

If you didn’t grow up w/ it, or move into it, it’s hard to relate to it.

Luke took on the task of introducing people, who didn’t grow up w/ God, hadn’t moved into God, yet, what experiencing God was really like.

Luke humanized Jesus. And he humanized the ppl who experienced God in extraordinary ways so we could easily relate to them and their experience and then have our own.

I taught our kids to drive in snow based on my experience.

By explaining ordinary human experiences that were impacted in extraordinary ways by God, ordinary people like you and me can have our own extraordinary experiences with God.

Relating to Jesus is easier than driving up Pinewood in the ice and snow after dark on Xmas Eve.

What’s more human, more relatable, more intimate than the reproductive process?

Add to that the inability to conceive, strong doubts about what can do, then the extraordinary proof God can raise the dead and discipline the faithful, but doubtful in gracious ways.

You’ve got the story that only Luke told about the birth of John the Baptist.

Luke is the only 1 of the 4 who told this story. He wrote to Greeks and those who had little knowledge of Judaism.

He wrote to inform everyone from every different nationality that Jesus came to save them too. They didn’t have to become Jewish. This was not an offshoot of the old religion.

He wrote from Mary’s perspective, Jesus’s mother, to show people Jesus is the son of a human mom. Yes, the Son of God. But emphasizing Jesus as the son of woman just like you, me and everyone else.

The birth accounts are unique to Luke’s story. Maybe b/c he was a doctor the women were comfortable telling him their story w/ some detail.

Elizabeth was a relative of Mary’s.

Zechariah and Elizabeth were an ordinary couple with a fairly ordinary issue.

Ordinary People

Luke 1:5–7 NIV

In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

There wasn’t much all that special about these 2. Ordinary priest with an ordinary ministry.

They lived during the reign of Herod the Great. This is the Herod who killed all the children in an attempt to kill Jesus when the Magi visited.

If anything was extraordinary about them is was they were in a small minority of people who had faith in God in that day.

They were righteous. That means, they believed in God as Jews did at the time and behaved accordingly. They had faith. Theirs was not just a religious practice of work and activity.

They kept the law to the best of their ability. But believed God would have to do something beyond the law to save them and get them into the kingdom.

They had to deal w/ a fairly ordinary issue. They were unable to conceive children.

This, in a culture where there was more pressure to produce than we feel now. Any of you who have gone thru this, you know the pressure and pain. Every month reminded again. It was harder for them.

By this time in their lives, they were too old. Elizabeth’s reproductive system was dead. It has stopped cycling.

It had been a long time since anybody had heard anything from God. But that didn’t mean God didn’t still have a plan and it was playing out in His timing.

Coincidence?

Luke 1:8–10 NIV

Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

This was a needle-in-a-haystack coincidence. Right. As if there are any coincidences w/ God.

First, their names.

Zechariah, in Hebrew, means The Lord Remembers.

Elizabeth means, The Promise of God.

So, this marriage, brought together, literally meant, God remembers His promises to His people.

Coincidence.

There were 20,000 priests at that time. Organized, divided into divisions. It was Zechariah’s division’s turn to serve in the temple in Jerusalem. There were a few special jobs, among the regular jobs, and names were drawn at random to serve in these special ways.

The special jobs, including getting to burn the incense in the holy inner room, not the holy of holies, but outside the curtain, was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Many never got the chance.

Zechariah’s name was drawn. They drew by casting lots.

The incense represented the prayers of the ppl. The ppl were outside praying, crying out to God, worshiping.

Back when God actually occupied the holy of holies behind the curtain in the temple he liked the incense. He said, do this, I like this, it rep’s the prayers of the faithful people.

Chance of a lifetime, 1 in 20,000 shot, and Zechariah get’s chosen. Coincidence.

Nope! God had a plan and it was playing in front of everyone if they were paying attention. But the problem was, no one was really paying attention. Most were just going thru the motions.

God hadn’t shown up in the temple, spoken to the people, there had been no prophets receiving messages, no burning bushes, no talking donkeys, nothing from God for over 400 years.

Not since Malachi wrote. That’s the last book in your OT. It is also the last book chronologically in the OT.

Israel had been exiled, punished by God for not believing in Him as a nation. Fewer and fewer participated in their synagogues and the temple worship. Numbers were dropping. Young ppl were leaving.

God warned them. Return or be punished. They didn’t. He did.

But, God was faithful, kept his promise to His ppl and allowed them to return to Jerusalem.

Again, he warned them, don’t do that again or else I’m done w/ you for a long time.

They did. He was. Nothing from God since Malachi 400 years earlier.

Where was this country 400 years ago? Trick Q. America is 250 years old. So, it would have been another 150 years before George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, Sam Adams, and the rest.

Our historians question the faith of our founding fathers after just 250 years. After 400 years of having to make it up on their own, they didn’t expect much from God.

So, needless to say, what happened next caught even Zechariah, who bel’d in God, totally by surprise. He was shocked and scared to death.

Something Extraordinary

Luke 1:11–17 NIV

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Gabriel, the archangel who was responsible for the big announcements from God, showed up in the room w/ Zechariah.

Nothing from God for anyone for over 400 years and THE angel showed up w/ a message from God for him.

How would you respond?

And just to mix things up, Jewish tradition said that if Gabriel showed up, he’d stand on the left side of the altar of incense. If God showed up, He’d stand on the right.

And Zech remembered well that Moses learned that no man could stand in the presence of God, he’d be smote on the spot.

Gabriel showed up on God’s side. One subtle but significant message that tradition was done, something new and untraditional was about to happen.

The message Gabriel brought Zech was personal and powerful.

“You and Elizabeth are going to have a son.”

God has heard your prayers.

Name him John. Which in Hebrew means, the grace of God.

But, there are no Johns in the family!

I don’t think they were still praying for a child. I think they’d given up on that based on what Zech says next. But God has a long memory. And he will remember the prayers of faithful people and answer them in His own timing.

He tells him, the son he’s going to have will be special.

6 characteristics their son will make him special.

He will be a joy and delight to his parents. There is a spiritual aspect to this. Children bring joy to their parents. But like the tears we saw last week in the eyes of the parents and grandparents when their children were baptized confirming their faith in God is a special kind of joy.

God will think he’s great, too.

No haircuts nor alcohol. Representing a Nazarite vow that he will take qualifying him for a special ministry.

He will be filled with the HS before he’s born. The HS fills ppl to do ministry, to serve God is specific ways. John’s Filling will come before he’s born. He had no choice in the matter.

He will lead ppl to return to God. God has always said if ppl will humble themselves and believe in Him, apologize, own their sin, admit it’s wrong, stop doing it, then God will welcome them back. John’s will be a ministry of repentance.

He will prepare the way for and introduce the Savior to ppl when He arrives.

God had promised the ppl He would send a Savior and He was about to fulfill that promise.

Zechariah, a priest, would have known so much more about the message of the angel.

He ref’d Elijah. Elijah preached to Israel warning them of the punishment that was about to come. If they would repent and return to God, then God would relent an not punish them.

John is about to tell Israel to repent and believe in Jesus or face their own punishment.

Deut. 28, Moses predicted that a Gentile nation would rule over Israel and oppress them. Then in Deut. 30, he wrote that Israel would not be freed from them until they repent.

All this, Moses, Elijah, Deuteronomy, Gabriel, a son, Elizabeth, and even Abraham and Sarah would have been swirling around in his hyped up mind.

Abe and Sarah b/c they, too, were too old to conceive. But God kept his promise to them, too and they had a son, Isaac.

And, just like Abe and Sarah laughed in doubt when the Lord told them they would have a son, Zech doubted it too.

I Doubt It

Luke 1:18–20 NIV

Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

Zechariah, God bless him, didn’t believe God could do this.

He believed in God, Had faith t/b saved, but doubted God could do this for Him.

B/C he didn’t believe the Word of God, God took his words away until God’s word came true.

He had every right to smite him on the spot. But Zech’s doubt wasn’t about his salvation or the existence of God.

Gabriel could have said, NEXT! Since you don’t believe, we’ll do it thru someone else. No. That wasn’t the plan.

God disciplined him. but was gracious w/ him.

Mary will ask a similar question when Gabriel tells her she’ll conceive a baby. But her heart was in a different place. She didn’t doubt God could or would do this, she just wanted to know how.

Her mom had had the talk w/ her and explained the birds and bees and how things happened. Mary knew 1 important step in the process hadn’t happened yet.

She asked a biological question. How? Didn’t doubt that it could or would happen. Just, how?

So she wasn’t disciplined.

So he completes the work, goes home, Elizabeth conceives and eventually delivers a baby boy and the moment he confirms his name is John he can speak again.

Thru this episode, Luke confirmed several important things about God.

The first is, Jesus may be easier to relate to than driving up Pinewood in the snow.

He is easier to understand than understanding why Wichitan’s think Taco Tico is Mexican food and why Tucsonans love Egees.

Jesus, our extraordinary Savior, is easy to relate to because he meets us in our ordinary lives. and gives us good things to hang on to.

Luke humanize Jesus. The same Jesus who spoke and created the universe, spoke to Abraham and Sarah, spoke to ppl for 3 years in c.1, now speaks to us and saves us.

That’s what Luke wants us to get. Jesus is everyman’s Savior. The common person can easily relate, believe, receive, and be saved.

Applications

Mess

Just live your life and Jesus will meet you in your ordinary mess and do extraordinary things.

He has something good for you in every bad situ. One of the most important things to keep in mind that help us recover from the worst of times is God is still at work doing good things in us and for us throughout them.

Whatever is stressing you will not take you. Jesus overcame his most difficult situation and makes it possible for you to overcome yours.

Find Him in your mess and receive something good from Him.

Doubt

Doubt is not a problem for God.

He might discipline you. But he won’t smite you. Our faith works where we have doubts. Once our doubts are proven to be false, our faith will be stronger.

Don’t doubt that He can. Don’t doubt that He will. Just watch Jesus work. You don’t need to know how he does it.

He’ll do it. Grow thru your doubts.

Life

From the very beginning God proved he can raise the dead. He can bring life to a dead reproductive system

He can revive a dead marriage. He can restore a dead problem

Don’t try to revive it on your own. Surrender it to God and let him do the work.

Jesus is easier to understand than understanding why Wichitan’s think Taco Tico is Mexican food and why Tucsonans love Egees.

Jesus, our extraordinary Savior, is easy to relate to because he meets us in our ordinary lives. and gives us good things to hang on to.

Luke humanize Jesus. The same Jesus who spoke and created the universe, spoke to Abraham and Sarah, spoke to ppl for 3 years in c.1, now speaks to us and saves us.

That’s what Luke wants us to get. Jesus is everyman’s Savior. The common person can easily relate, believe, receive, and be saved.

By explaining ordinary human experiences that were impacted in extraordinary ways by God, ordinary people like you and me can have our own extraordinary experiences with God.

Relating to Jesus is easier than driving up Pinewood in the ice and snow after dark on Xmas Eve.