God Humbles In Order to Bless • Luke 1:5-25
55:55 Teaching begins
Notes
How do you start bringing the Messiah into history? God starts with the forerunner who will prepare the Messiah’s way. That fulfils Isaiah 40 and Malachi 4.
A forerunner doesn’t just pop out of this air and start forerunning. He has to be prepared to represent God, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to the fathers. He’s going to restore right relationship between God and men, where men know that God is God and submit to Him.
Okay, how do you get a proper forerunner? God restores his parents’ relationship to Himself. They are going to know God and love Him, so they can impress their hearts on their son’s heart, and raise him to be a man who will know, love, and serve God.
God’s going to hurt the parents deeply and even rebuke them. But don’t worry, He knows exactly what He is doing in them so that they will know God.
God humbles in order to bless.
I’m reading in Luke 1 from verse 5.
1. Zacharias and Elizabeth are blessed in every way except one, vv. 5-7.
A. They are an exceptional couple.
1. He is a priest of the order of Abijah. There were around 18 to 20,000 priests, organised in 24 orders. They would minister twice a year in Jerusalem. Not every priest would come, but there might be at least 50 priests on hand at any given time. He lives in the hill country of Judah, so he would have to make a special trip to Jerusalem in order to serve. He did this.
2. Elizabeth is from the family of Aaron, the high priest. To be a priest and married to the daughter of a priest was held to be a double blessing.
3. They are both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. That doesn’t happen by accident, it’s a decision and a dedication like the priest Ezra 7:10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.
B. You would think there’s every reason to expect that God would bless this couple. Why wouldn’t He bless? They are people after His own heart. But there’s a sign that God has not blessed, because Elizabeth is barren.
1. If children are a blessing of the Lord, a sign of His favour, what is the opposite, not having children? You are cursed by God, or as good as cursed, without coming out and actually saying that. But that’s how people see it.
2. That is simplistic. That means excessively simplified, treating a problem with false simplicity by omitting or ignoring complicating factors or details.
3. People have such arrogance that they think they know it all. Oh well, there has to be sin. God is perfect; there’s no failure on His part. They don’t have enough faith. It has to be their fault. If you look at verse 25, Elizabeth speaks about her reproach among men. Those people made it known.
4. People also offer simplistic solutions. All you have to do is this and this. Easy peasy. That also is falsely simple. It’s humiliating to have your life reduced to an easy formula by someone who doesn’t have to go through what you go through.
C. This is a puzzle in the darkness.
1. There are factors and details that no one knows about, especially Zacharias and Elizabeth themselves. If there are other factors they don’t know what they would be.
2. They have withheld nothing from God, they are serving Him to the best of their ability. But they are in the dark, and they are not hearing from God. God is not answering their prayers.
2. Zacharias literally wins the lottery, vv. 7-10.
A. He is chosen by lot to burn incense in the temple at the hour of prayer.
1. With 18-20,000 priests serving they decided to make it fair. You would be chosen by lot to do this once in your life. Twice a year you see if you will be chosen. You could complete your years of service and never be chosen
2. Zacharias has gone his entire service to God without being chosen until this day. Now he could add this to his honours and distinctions: he would be known as “rich” among his fellow priests.
B. This is the crowning moment of his whole life.
1. Zacharias goes into the holy place to approach the golden altar. It stands before a heavy veil that separates the holy place from the holy of holies, the centre of the temple, where the presence of God is. He takes coals and he burns incense on the golden altar. That symbolises prayer, fragrant smoke rising to God, a pleasing aroma.
2. Everyone outside in front is praying, giving thanks, seeking God, asking for help, asking for mercy.
3. During this time of seeking and focusing on God, God answers Zacharias’ prayer, vv. 11-17.
A. An angel appears to the right of the golden altar of incense, right in front of the holy of holies.
B. God breaks His silence that has lasted for 400 years.
1. The angel says, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias.” This is unexpected enough to see an angel, but he knows Zacharias. I would be afraid anyway.
2. “Your prayer is heard.” God did hear Zacharias’ prayer. God is the One who hears prayer, even if it looks like He didn’t.
3. God is answering “Yes.” You are going to have a son, you will call him John, gift of God, you are going to have joy and gladness.
4. He will be great in the sight of the Lord. There are guys already called “the great”, like Herod the Great. How did he get to be great? He made himself great. He stepped on some and killed others so he could make himself king. That’s not great in God’s eyes. Great is not thinking of yourself, but of others, serving God and others. This son will be great because he will be a tremendous servant of God.
5. The angel says he will not drink wine nor strong drink because this baby will be filled with the Holy Spirit before he is born. This means that a baby is a person. If you kill a baby in the womb you kill a person. A woman has rights over her own body, but she does not have rights over another person’s body even when that person is in her womb, because that’s a person. Abortion is a sin against God and man.
6. This son will be the forerunner God promised in Isaiah 40 and Malachi 4, to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. He’s not Elijah but he comes in the spirit and power of Elijah. Though Elijah did miracles through the Holy Spirit people did not believe him. John did no miracles, but the people believed him. That’s the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. He pointed to the One coming after him.
7. This means that the Lord is coming, in this lifetime. All the promises of God are going to be fulfilled.
4. Zacharias doesn’t believe the angel, but he becomes a believer, vv. 18-20.
A. You might think, “If I ever saw an angel, I’d believe,” no, you wouldn’t, because Zacharias doesn’t believe him. The angel says so in verse 20.
B. Zacharias talks back to the angel. He says, “How shall I know this?” “Really? I’m too old, so is my wife. This isn’t going to happen. You had your chance when we were younger, and now it’s too late. Now there’s nothing I can do.”
C. The angel isn’t upset. He says he’s Gabriel. He talked to Daniel 450 years ago. “Now you will be silent and unable to speak until my words take place, and they will, because you didn’t believe me.”
D. Gabriel proved his point with power. Zacharias can’t talk now, and he knows, that really was Gabriel, this is all going to happen, because I can’t talk. God isn’t going to come down to our level and explain Himself until we approve. He doesn’t have to ask our permission because He’s God.
E. Life has become really difficult and awkward now for Zacharias. He can’t communicate with anyone at the temple. He has to explain to Elizabeth what God is doing. It’s really awkward and humiliating. How would you like to know what’s going on but you can’t communicate it to anyone?
5. Elizabeth becomes pregnant and hides herself, vv. 21-22.
A. She doesn’t flaunt that she’s going to be the mother of the forerunner of the Messiah and let everybody know that after all she is really something.
B. She does the complete opposite—she completely hides herself for five months. Goes right off the radar, doesn’t see anybody. Nobody knows what’s happening.
C. Everyday she is saying to herself, “This is how the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.”
1. It reminds me of when the Beatles were making Sgt. Pepper’s and they had dropped out of public view. Nobody knew what was going on, some were saying, “I guess the Beatles are kind of gone, they’re washed up.” Paul McCartney said, “We read the rumours and said, ‘Just you wait.’” They knew what they were working on would change everything in music.
2. Elizabeth didn’t need to make a big thing out of this because people were going to find out. This is going to change everything in Israel and in the world.
3. She herself had been prepared by God. He taught her humility, that it didn’t matter what people thought of her. What mattered only was what God thought of her, and now she knew what God thought of her. She is blessed among women. She was content with that. People would find out soon enough. She would just enjoy God.
6. God humbled this couple to prepare them to be the parents of His promised forerunner.
A. Humble means, not proud or haughty, not arrogant or self-assertive. When you humble someone, you destroy their power, independence, or prestige.
B. All that time of deliberately not answering their prayers for children God was preparing them.
1. God destroyed their power. They had to live with their inability to have children on their own. Their bodies were as good as dead.
2. Zacharias found his independence was not acceptable to God. So along with a long disappointment, God also delivered a sharp blow that finished the job. Now Zacharias doesn’t talk back to God and say, “Oh yeah? That’s not going to happen!” Whatever God wants is fine with him. For the next nine months life is difficult because he can’t talk. But he knows he’s lucky to be alive. He knows it’s not punishment, it’s discipline.
3. Zacharias and Elizabeth learned that prestige is not from people. It’s not because you have children, or you won the lottery so now you are called, “rich.” Prestige is not because you have good self-esteem. The only opinion that matters is God’s. If you please God, that’s everything.
C. Because God humbled them they both know God like never before.
1. Everything they read in the Scriptures they have experienced. God really is gracious and compassionate, even when you are in the dark and don’t know what God is doing. He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and truth. Isaiah 30:26 The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, on the day the LORD binds up the fracture of His people and heals the bruise He has inflicted. God does bruise His people, and He does heal them up. He does not ask permission, He does what pleases Him, and that is both severe and merciful because He does it for His glory and our glory.
2. Both Zacharias and Elizabeth agree: God knows exactly what He’s doing. You trust Him because He is worthy to serve whether we understand what he’s doing or not. His will is good, acceptable, perfect.
D. Now they are prepared to raise up a servant to God.
1. All parenting books will tell you it’s best when mother and father are in agreement when it comes to raising kids.
2. This son will get exactly the same message from them both because they both know God. They can teach this son to know and love God, and do what He wants. “You are the servant of the Lord. That’s the greatest thing you can be because He is the Most High God. This is the path for your life.”
3. The son is going to get it because these people know God. They will depend on God, and He will help them.
7. So what? God is humbling you.
A. If you haven’t received Jesus He is still humbling you. He is destroying your power, your independence, your prestige. This is to prepare you to receive Jesus into your life as your Lord and Saviour. Humbling is always preparation to receiving salvation. Now if you don’t receive Jesus your suffering will all be for nothing. Your life will be a complete waste. But the suffering is there so you know, you can’t do this. You need a saviour.
B. Humbling can be a long process, like with Elizabeth. It can also be shorter, with more of a jolt, like Zacharias, like Paul. Bang, humbled into the dust.
C. But even after you receive Jesus God keeps humbling you, destroying your power, your independence, your prestige before others. You might think, “Hey, I’m really done!” God might use sickness or difficulties that go on and on. He might be silent when you pray. He doesn’t explain Himself except in Scripture. His purposes are all written there, and it’s a complete explanation. You can know exactly what God is going to do with you. He’s bringing you to the end of yourself so that your hope is completely on Jesus. He’s doing you a favour.
D. God is humbling you. So you submit to God. You say, “Okay, whatever You want, that’s what I want. Make me what You will. Be pleased with me. Let me be Your servant.
Can you say that and mean it?
Let’s pray.