Luke 1:8-23 – December 2nd, 2020
Luke 1:8-23 (ESV) – “Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But 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. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 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. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 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.” And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 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. 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.” And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. And 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. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.”
We’re going to continue the story of John the Baptist in LUKE 1:8-23. If you haven’t read it yet, take a minute and read it now.
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In this story, Zechariah is told by an angel that he will have a son. But not just any son, a promised son. You see Zechariah was a priest, which means he knew the promises of God. He knew how God promised freedom from slavery, and ultimately a new king who would establish a new kingdom.
But I don’t think that Zechariah knew that the promise would be so close to home. I think he understood and believed in these promises, but questioned God’s desire to use him in the process.
For you and I, Christmas is a reminder of the greatest promise that God has made. That God can be with us. And then God promised to continue to share that message through those who believe in him.
But often we don’t feel like we can be used to share that message with other people. We, like Zechariah believe that God will use Christians to tell the world that Jesus has come, but question God’s desire to use me to do it.
Maybe this Christmas, we can step out and tell a lonely world that God has come to be with us, and that Jesus is the one we can come to.