GOSPEL EXPECTATIONS
An Orderly Account: Encountering Jesus in the Gospel of Luke
Luke 1:5-25
THE TEXT:
The text for the sermon today is Luke 1:5-25. Our text can be found on page 855.
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 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. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 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. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 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.”
18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 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. 20 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.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 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. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
Thus far, the reading of God’s Word.
GRAB THEIR ATTENTION
The opening line of a book sets the stage for the story, giving us expectation of what’s to come.
“All children grow up, except one.” J. M. Barrie begins Peter Pan, a story about the fleeting nature of childhood and imagination.
“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” In George Orwell’s 1984, the superstate Oceania seeks to control thought, even if there are only 12 hour marks on a clock.
“Marley was dead: to begin with.” This Christmas ghost story, written by Charles Dickens will make zero sense unless you understand that Marley was dead as a doornail.
How the story begins tells you much about what to expect as the story unfolds.
The story of Jesus, according to Luke’s gospel, begins with angelic messenger, a barren couple, and a prophet. It’s the opening line of the book, and these characters set our expectations for the gospel story that is to follow.
SUMMARY OF THE TEXT
Luke roots his narrative in verifiable history. Herod was a real king, Zechariah was a real priest, and Elizabeth was really barren. And this means that the gospel is a historically verifiable story. (v.5-7)
Herod – Idumean by birth. Jew by religion. Puppet king. Given rule by Marc Antony, 34-4 BC, Built Temple in 20 B.C.
While his division of priests is on duty, Zechariah is chosen for a once in a lifetime ministry: offering incense. And, when he enters the Holy Place to offer incense, he has a once in 500 year experience: an angel appears (Dan. 8:16). (v. 8-11)
As is usual, Zechariah freezes in fear, but the angels tells him not to be afraid. God has heard his prayer (presumably for Messiah) and as a sign, he and Elizabeth will have a son they are to name John. (v. 12-13)
John will be set apart for the Lord’s use as the greatest prophet in history; filled with the Spirit from birth. In verses 16 & 17, Gabriel strings together several passages to describe the ministry of John:
“A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”” (Isaiah 40:3–5, ESV)
3 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. (Malachi 3:1-2)
5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” (Malachi 4:5-6)
In other words, John is going to pave the way for the day of the Lord. God is about to send the Messiah to fulfill all of the Old Testament promises.
John doubts the angel because of his age. This is a fatal error. For, if God cannot give a son to an old woman through natural generation, how in the world can he give a son to a virgin woman in the next chapter? And if he can’t do that, then how can God raise Christ from the dead? Because of his faithlessness Gabriel gives Zechariah 9 months of silence to ponder his foolishness. (v. 18-20)
Finally, Zechariah emerges from the temple, but can only communicate through hand gestures. Not long after, Elizabeth conceives and gives praise to the Lord, who has taken away her neighbor’s ability to look down on her. (v. 21-25)
- THE ANGEL & GOD’S PLAN
Luke doesn’t begin his gospel with a stable, or Jesus’ preaching. He begins with an angel sent from God. And that’s because if you want to understand the gospel story, you have to understand it as a story about divine eternal redemption.
Put another way, the gospel isn’t God’s reaction to human sin in Genesis 3. The gospel, the life death, burial, resurrection, and continuing life of Christ the Son, is part of an eternal covenant made between God the Father and God the Son before the worlds were made.
God… saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began (2 Timothy 1:9)
The old confessions of faith refer to this as the Covenant of Redemption. Before humanity sinned, and even before God created, the Father promised to redeem sinners through the Son, the Son promised to be the substitute for sinners, and the Holy Spirit promised to apply the saving work of the Son to all the Father adopted without fail.
This covenant, which was first revealed to Adam in the garden (Gen. 3), and was foreshadowed in the covenants of the Old Testament, is finally being brought to completion in the story of the gospel.
- THE BARREN COUPLE & GOD’S HEALING
So, what does Zechariah and Elizabeth and their infertility have to do with an eternal plan of redemption? And the answer is everything. And that’s because God’s redemption is total redemption.
This first miracle in Luke’s gospel will set the stage for many to come, and every single miracle in the gospel tells us something about God’s redemption.
First, it tells us that God redeems and restores the whole person. He isn’t just “saving souls.” In the resurrection, Jesus Christ isn’t just raised spiritually, he’s raised physically.
Second, it tells us that God’s redemption extends beyond individuals to communities. In v. 25, Elizabeth says the Lord has taken “away my reproach among people.” In other words, this was more than a physical healing, it was the restoration of a community. We’ll see this more and more, especially with those who are healed of disease or demons.
Third, the miracles of Luke teach us that God’s redemption comes in stages. Everyone who received a miracle in Luke’s gospel is now dead and buried. So, while we thank God for the miracles we receive in this age, we know they only point us forward to the age to come when God removes sin and sickness. from the earth
- THE PROPHET & GOD’S CLEANSING
The last character introduced today is the baby, John the Baptist. John was a prophet who prepared people to meet the Lord. And how’d he do it? He preached repentance. “Turn away from sin, turn away from whatever it is that you love more than God.” That’s the message of repentance.
And why did he preach that message? Because all of the passages that prophesied John’s ministry said the great and awful day of the Lord is coming.
2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. (Malachi 3:1-2)
What’s a refiner’s fire? In the ancient world, the only way to purify or cleanse gold was to put it into the fire. Every impurity is burned up and consumed. John preaches repentance because he knows that the coming of the Lord will be a consuming day of judgement.
And yet, when the Lord comes… when Christ comes, he does not come in judgment. Instead, he comes to be judged. At the end of his life he’s thrown into the fire.
But he’s perfect… he had no sinful impurities in his life for the fire to burn… what’s going on? Friends, because he has no sin of his own, he can be a substitute for our sin.
Because he needs no cleansing, his death becomes our cleansing.