Waiting on God’s Presence – Advent Series 2023 – Sermon By Harold Long
December 17, 2023
Luke 1:5-25; 57-80 / Common English Bible
John the Baptist’s birth foretold
5 During the rule of King Herod of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah. His wife Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaron. 6 They were both righteous before God, blameless in their observance of all the Lord’s commandments and regulations. 7 They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to become pregnant and they both were very old. 8 One day Zechariah was serving as a priest before God because his priestly division was on duty. 9 Following the customs of priestly service, he was chosen by lottery to go into the Lord’s sanctuary and burn incense. 10 All the people who gathered to worship were praying outside during this hour of incense offering. 11 An angel from the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw the angel, he was startled and overcome with fear.
13 The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah. Your prayers have been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will give birth to your son and you must name him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many people will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the Lord’s eyes. He must not drink wine and liquor. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before his birth. 16 He will bring many Israelites back to the Lord their God. 17 He will go forth before the Lord, equipped with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will turn the hearts of fathers[a] back to their children, and he will turn the disobedient to righteous patterns of thinking. He will make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this? My wife and I are very old.”
19 The angel replied, “I am Gabriel. I stand in God’s presence. I was sent to speak to you and to bring this good news to you. 20 Know this: What I have spoken will come true at the proper time. But because you didn’t believe, you will remain silent, unable to speak until the day when these things happen.”
21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they wondered why he was in the sanctuary for such a long time. 22 When he came out, he was unable to speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he gestured to them and couldn’t speak. 23 When he completed the days of his priestly service, he returned home. 24 Afterward, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant. She kept to herself for five months, saying, 25 “This is the Lord’s doing. He has shown his favor to me by removing my disgrace among other people.”
Footnotes
- Luke 1:17 Or parents
57 When the time came for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a boy. 58 Her neighbors and relatives celebrated with her because they had heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy. 59 On the eighth day, it came time to circumcise the child. They wanted to name him Zechariah because that was his father’s name. 60 But his mother replied, “No, his name will be John.”
61 They said to her, “None of your relatives have that name.” 62 Then they began gesturing to his father to see what he wanted to call him.
63 After asking for a tablet, he surprised everyone by writing, “His name is John.” 64 At that moment, Zechariah was able to speak again, and he began praising God.
65 All their neighbors were filled with awe, and everyone throughout the Judean highlands talked about what had happened. 66 All who heard about this considered it carefully. They said, “What then will this child be?” Indeed, the Lord’s power was with him.
Zechariah’s prophecy
67 John’s father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,
68 “Bless the Lord God of Israel
because he has come to help and has delivered his people.
69 He has raised up a mighty savior for us in his servant David’s house,
70 just as he said through the mouths of his holy prophets long ago.
71 He has brought salvation from our enemies
and from the power of all those who hate us.
72 He has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
and remembered his holy covenant,
73 the solemn pledge he made to our ancestor Abraham.
He has granted 74 that we would be rescued
from the power of our enemies
so that we could serve him without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness in God’s eyes,
for as long as we live.
76 You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.
77 You will tell his people how to be saved
through the forgiveness of their sins.
78 Because of our God’s deep compassion,
the dawn from heaven will break upon us,
79 to give light to those who are sitting in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide us on the path of peace.”
80 The child grew up, becoming strong in character. He was in the wilderness until he began his public ministry to Israel.
Hello Friends,
Welcome to our Jesus-centered community. We are glad you are listening to today’s message.
“We are People Helping People Experience a Jesus-centered Life.”
Today we unpack the Gospel of Luke Chapter 1 and the story of Elizabeth and Zachariah. We learn how the impossible becomes possible when an old married couple beyond their years of childbearing finds themselves pregnant with the great John the Baptist.
A lot has changed in 2,000 years, but a lot hasn’t. We generally avoid the word “barren” today, but the shame remains. Not only for men and women without children. For men and women who remain unmarried into their 30s, 40s, and 50s. For people who struggle, day after painful day, with chronic illness. For everyone who senses that they aren’t living up to their purpose, that their lives are meaningless, and question why they are still alive.
Many of us can relate to Elizabeth. We feel like something should be different in our world or our hearts. So we stand before God with bitterness (God, what have you done?), guilt (God, what have I done?), shame (God, what’s wrong with me?), or all three. Waiting on God’s presence, we find it hard to hope for good news.
Our text today shows that God chose the unlikely couple of Elizabeth and Zechariah to begin telling the story of Christmas. The good news of God’s presence, the story of Jesus’ birth, starts in a most unexpected place—in the womb of a barren woman (Luke 1:7). The very place of Elizabeth’s deepest pain becomes the place God chooses to work, not despite her barrenness, but because of it. Friends, this is evidence that God can miraculously show up in our pain and suffering. God seems to show at what appears to be the most inopportune times and the most unpredictable places. Amen!
For centuries, God’s people had been waiting for God to come near to them in a special way. Again, Let me say, “FOR CENTURIES, people were waiting to hear from God.” To take away their sorrow and replace it with joy. To take away their sin and replace it with forgiveness. To take away the barrenness of death and replace it with abundant life.
And so, God begins with Elizabeth. The life within her acts as a promise of everything God was about to do (Luke 1:14–17). She would receive, in part, what God intended to bring to all of humanity—wholeness, healing, joy. Elizabeth would not be the one to bring God into the world ut her miracle baby would prepare the way for him (Luke 1:17). The waiting time was over. As the late great Tom Petty used to sing, “The waiting is the hardest part.”
But Zechariah, Elizabeth’s husband, still finds this difficult to believe. Perhaps after so many decades of waiting, he had lost the heart to keep hoping. So when the angel Gabriel tells Zechariah about Elizabeth’s upcoming pregnancy, Zechariah balks. “I am an old man,” he said, “and my wife is advanced in years” (Luke 1:18). Gabriel, in a twist of amusing irony, decides to help Zechariah listen a little better the next time around. He imposes nine months of muteness on Zechariah (Luke 1:19–20). As Dr. Evil in Austin Powers told his staff, “Shhhh.” “Knock, Knock.” “Who’s there?” “Shhhhh.” “Let me tell you about a man named “Shhh.”
Zechariah most likely already knew the biblical stories of God giving children to previously barren women (After all, God had done it with every one of the patriarchs—Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel!). But there is a difference between knowing God’s promise intellectually and waiting on God’s promise personally. Zechariah had waited for a child all his life. But those final nine months of waiting were the most profound: He learned to hope again in those nine months.
And when John was finally born, Zechariah erupted in praise for all God had done—and would do (Luke 1:68–79). Through this son—and ultimately through Jesus—God would provide for his people redemption (Luke 1:68), mercy (1:72), and forgiveness (1:77), not only to Israel but to all the nations of the earth (1:79).
I how all us stay committed to following a Jesus-looking God and helping as many people as possible experience a Jesus-centered life. If we do, we will experience the Holy Spirit’s presence, translated as Emmanuel, God with us.
Before you listen to the message, you are encouraged to go to our website and download the lesson bulletin for this message, dated December 10, 2023. The publication contains questions to reflect on as an individual, couple, or small group. You can find them on the home page by clicking the Bulletins and Lesson Plans tab. Today’s message is “Waiting on God’s Presence.”
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