MAY 8, 2016
THE POINT
God’s Word can be fully trusted.
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
• We hear a lot of fantastic claims about things these days from product endorsements, inflated job resumes, and campaign pledges.
• It’s not surprising that we are often doubtful of others.
• God is like no other, though.
• His claims and promises to us are trustworthy; consequently, when we doubt Him, our lives hit a roadblock and we can move no further.
• There are blessings and benefits to believing and acting on what God tells us
THE PASSAGE
Luke 1:11-20,63-65
THE SETTING
• While both Matthew and Luke detail the birth of Jesus, the Gospel of Luke is the only gospel that details the birth John the Baptist.
• At the opening of his gospel, Luke introduced Zechariah and Elizabeth, a godly and elderly couple from the line of Aaron who were childless, because Elizabeth could not conceive.
• The angel Gabriel was sent by God to announce to Zechariah that he and Elizabeth would be blessed with a son, but Zachariah had trouble believing such good news in light of his circumstances.
Luke1:11-17
11 And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.
12 Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him.
13 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John.
14 "You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.
15 "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother's womb.
16 "And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.
17 "It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." NASB
KEY WORDS: altar of incense (v. 11)
The altar of incense stood before the curtain that separated the holy place from the holy of holies in the temple. The incense burned on the altar was symbolic of the people’s prayers offered to God.
Elijah (v. 17)
Like the old testament prophet Elijah, John the Baptist was given the Spirit of God to fulfill his ministry.
A prepared people (v. 17)
Fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 40:3–5, John the Baptist would serve as the herald preparing the people through his ministry for the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
God’s word is sure
“After the much more classical Greek prologue of Luk 1:1-4, here Luke establishes himself as a master of various literary styles by adapting to Septuagint style, reflecting its Hebraic rhythms, which dominate chapters 1–2.
Luk 1:5. Historians customarily introduced a narrative by listing the names of reigning kings or governors, which provided the approximate time of the narrative. Herod the Great was officially king of Judea from 37 to 4 B.C. Twenty-four “orders” (NRSV, TEV) or “divisions” (NIV, NASB) of priests (1Ch 24:7-18, especially 1Ch 24:10) took turns serving in the temple, two nonconsecutive weeks a year. Priests could marry any pure Israelite, but they often preferred daughters of priests (“daughters of Aaron”).
Luk 1:6. The terms Luke uses to describe Zechariah and Elizabeth are the same that the Old Testament used for some other righteous people, such as Noah (Gen 6:9), Abraham (Gen 17:1) and Job (Job 1:1). One who reads those narratives understands that although they may not have been morally perfect (Gen 9:21) or complete (Job 42:3-6), they did not violate any stated commandments in the law. Thus Luke uses these terms to challenge the misconception that could arise from conventional wisdom concerning barrenness (Luk 1:7).
Luk 1:7. To be childless was economically and socially disastrous: economically, because parents had no one to support them in old age (cf. comment on 1Ti 5:4, 1Ti 5:8); socially, because in the law barrenness was sometimes a judgment for sin, and many people assumed the worst possible cause of a problem. Most people assumed that barrenness was a defect of the wife, and Jewish teachers generally insisted that a man divorce a childless wife so he could procreate. “Aged” may suggest that they were over sixty (Mishnah Abot 5:21); age itself conferred some social status and was sometimes listed among qualifications or virtues.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, however, Zechariah and Elizabeth are clearly righteous (Luk 1:6; cf. Wisdom of Solomon 4:1), and the Jewish reader would immediately think of righteous Abraham and Sarah, who was also barren. The Lord also opened the wombs of other matriarchs, Rachel and Rebekah, and those of Hannah and Samson’s mother; yet Elizabeth is especially like Sarah, who was not only infertile but also too old to bear.” IVP Bible Background Commentary
VERSE 11:
• Zechariah’s service was interrupted by the appearance of an angel of the Lord.
• This was a representative of God, speaking for God and carrying out His authority.
• Luke makes mention of angels 24 times in his gospel alone.
• This particular angel was Gabriel who will soon appear to Mary.
VERSE 12:
• No one could fault Zechariah for being startled and overcome with fear.
• A unique fact about Angel's like Gabriel scare people.
• When Daniel met Gabriel, some 500 or so years earlier, he was frightened and fell on his face (Daniel 8:17).
VERSE 13:
• It is unlikely that Zechariah or Elizabeth were still praying for a child because of their age.
• If it were otherwise then Zechariah would be guilty of offering up prayer that he didn't believe would ever be.
“From the speech of Gabriel it is clear that human life, in its beginning’, course, purpose, and destiny, is known in heaven before it is manifested on earth.
This is not the case with exceptional men only, but with all men. This should throw a joyous solemnity around life. Human life is intended to be the realization of a heavenly plan.” The Biblical Illustrator
VERSE 14:
• That this promised child would be a joy and delight to Zechariah and Elizabeth highlights the long-awaited answer to prayer.
• However, such joy would not be limited to only Zechariah and Elizabeth.
• Gabriel pronounced, “many will rejoice at his birth.”
• This is a reference to John the Baptist’s calling as the forerunner to the Messiah and the ultimate joy God’s people would receive through His Messiah.
VERSE 15:
• Gabriel went on to say that the child would be “great in the sight of the Lord.”
• John was great in the sense that he played a significant role in God’s plan of redemption.
• God’s calling on John’s life began before his birth.
• He was to be “filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb.”
• What occurred in the case of John was a unique experience because of John the Baptist’s position as the forerunner to the messiah.
• The ministry of the Holy Spirit was important to Luke, and he highlighted the Spirit’s empowering and enabling ministry in his Gospel and the Book of Acts.
VERSE 16-17:
“…the Messiah is here meant, who is the Lord Jehovah, and is often so called in the Old Testament; particularly in a prophecy afterwards respected, Isa 40:3 a name peculiar to God alone:…” John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible
Isaiah 40:3
A voice is calling, "Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. NASB
Malachi 4:5-6
5 "Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.
6 "He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.". NASB
“…later rabbis interpreted this event as Elijah, master of intricate legal questions, straightening out Israelite genealogies, the point in Malachi is probably familial reconciliation;…” IVP Bible Background Commentary
“ That the majority of the people of Israel rejected John the Baptist’s message about Jesus means there must also be a future fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy, “before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord” (4:5). Before Christ returns to establish His earthly kingdom (Rev. 19:10–20:6), Elijah or another Elijah-like prophet will announce his arrival (perhaps one of the two witnesses described in Revelation 11).”
Excerpt From: John F. MacArthur. “Luke 1-24 MacArthur New Testament Commentary Set.” Moody Publishers, 2014. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.”
TRANSITION:
“What the angel said was sure. Yet Zechariah let doubt creep in where trust should have had a foothold .”
Luke 1:18-20
18 Zacharias said to the angel, "How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years."
19 The angel answered and said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
20 "And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time." NASB
Doubting God’s Word hinders our walk and service for God.
VERSE 18:
“ Zechariah's response, though coming from a pious man, is very human. He does not take the miraculous as a matter of course. He has a natural objection to the promise that they will receive a child: their old age. Zechariah understands the basics of biology and aging. He and his wife are ‘past their prime.’” IVP New Testament Commentary
“Zechariah was overwhelmed. He could not take in this angelic announcement. Too old for this to happen, he needed a sign that he was not hallucinating. He acted like Gideon of old”
Excerpt From: Trent C. Butler & Max Anders. “Holman New Testament Commentary - Luke.” B&H Publishing Group, 2010-05-22. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.”
VERSE 19:
“ The angel had a quick answer. My presence should be enough for you. I am the angel Gabriel sent directly from God's presence to share this good news with you.”
Excerpt From: Trent C. Butler & Max Anders. “Holman New Testament Commentary - Luke.” B&H Publishing Group, 2010-05-22. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.”
VERSE 20:
• Since Zechariah had apparently not been heeding Gabriel’s words so far, Gabriel now called for Zechariah to take what he was about to say very seriously.
• Zechariah had basically asked for a sign, so a sign he received, which served as both a judgment and an aid to his faith.
• A sign in the Old Testament was often associated with a confirming observable phenomenon which accompanied a word of prophecy.
TRANSITION:
“ Zechariah suffered because he doubted God, but God did not leave him in that state. ”
Luke 1:63-65
63 And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, "His name is John." And they were all astonished.
64 And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God.
65 Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea. NASB
Obedience to God’s Word leads to joy and praise.
VERSE 63:
• It was the custom that the mother would name the baby at the time of circumcision.
“By giving her son a name not shared by any of her or Zacharias’s relatives, Elizabeth had gone against Jewish custom. Perhaps feeling that as a woman she had overstepped her bounds, they decided to go over Elizabeth’s head to her husband, Zacharias.”
Excerpt From: John F. MacArthur. “Luke 1-24 MacArthur New Testament Commentary Set.” Moody Publishers, 2014. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.
VERSE 64:
“The phrase at once, as it (or the related term “immediately”) does frequently in Luke’s gospel, is associated with a divine miracle (cf. 4:39; 5:25; 8:44, 47, 55; 13:13; 18:43). Unlike the so-called miracles of today’s faith healers, New Testament healings were instantaneous.”
Excerpt From: John F. MacArthur. “Luke 1-24 MacArthur New Testament Commentary Set.” Moody Publishers, 2014. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.
VERSE 65:
• The work of God when seen rightly, results in people standing in awe of His character and works.
• God received praise from these events.
• There was an understandable impact on the people as they saw the events unfold.
• The reputation of John the Baptist began to spread even before the start of his ministry.
WRAP IT UP:
• Fear and doubt can paralyze us if we let them.
• God does not want to leave us in such a state.
• His desire is to work through us for our good and His glory.
REMEMBER: When God’s power worked in you and rejoice at His grace!
PRAY: Ask Him to use you in any way He wants to, stretching you beyond your comfort zone and teaching you to trust His calling on your life.
ACT: Whatever He asks, act on it. Your obedience is evidence of your trust in God.
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