“The Unfolding Plan of God’s Redemption”
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Good Morning. Turn with me to Luke chapter 1. Today I want us to look at “The Unfolding Plan of God’s Redemption.” This is the title of our message today. God was getting ready to show His people His redemptive purposes through several ways.
Over the next several weeks we are going to learn about 2 births and 2 supernatural messages from the Lord. We are also going to see that behind all of this there is one major focus or one major point. Here it is, Jesus is the good news we so desperately need, and why is He good news? Because Jesus is our Redeemer and Savior. As we look around our world today there is so much despair, darkness and sin. So, when we come to an understanding of who Jesus is we begin to truly understand how amazing his mercy is as He saves us from our sin.
Today we are going to zero in on the birth of John the Baptist. Everything about this text helps us to see the presence of God and the fact that God is at work. At the end of verse 66 we see that the hand of the Lord was with John. God’s hand was involved when he told the angel Gabriel to deliver the news. God’s hand was involved when two people who where well past having children discovered they were having a child. And once again God’s hand was involved as Elizabeth gives birth to her son. John would come to play a very important role in the redemptive purpose of God’s plan by pointing others to Christ. As Luke gives us this account of John’s birth we see several important truth’s about God. Let’s take a look at these today.
1. God’s Promise of Mercy is Fulfilled.
1. God’s Promise of Mercy is Fulfilled.
57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
God’s Mercy has often been defined as His loving action towards sinners like you and I. Here we see that God pours out His mercy on this old childless couple and hears their prayers and gives them a son in their old age.
It had been 9 months since the angel Gabriel had visited Zechariah at the temple and had promised him that his wife Elizabeth was going to have a boy. Things happened just the way that the angel had promised they would. How do we know this? Look back with me at verse 14 of chapter 1.
14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,
Verse 57 here reminds us that God’s promises are fulfilled not only in that the people rejoiced at John’s birth, but also in the fact that Elizabeth in her old age now had a son that was promised. All of this points to the fact that we can trust in God and in His Words because they are true. God’s promises will most assuredly come to pass.
45 Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.
Paul reminded the Corinthians of this as well.
20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.
There can be no doubt that God will keep his promises because he is not a man like us and He cannot lie. So, what He says He will do.
16 so that he who blesses himself in the land
shall bless himself by the God of truth,
and he who takes an oath in the land
shall swear by the God of truth;
because the former troubles are forgotten
and are hidden from my eyes.
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
As Elizabeth gives birth to her son, her friends and family heard about this news and rejoice with her. They rejoice in the fact that God has shown His mercy and this was the beginning of the redemption story. John’s birth would be followed shortly by another birth, the Lord Jesus Christ who would come to be our Redeemer. Through the Lord’s sacrifice on the cross Jesus brought forgiveness of sins and eternal life for all those who would turn to Him. May we never forget God’s promise of mercy church.
2. In the midst of Conflict God is Gracious.
2. In the midst of Conflict God is Gracious.
59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” 62 And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered.
One of the things that we see throughout God’s Word is that God is a God who is so gracious. You can look at your own life today and see this. How? By the Lord’s forgiveness. Both Paul and Peter write about God’s grace.
7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
God’s grace is a wonderful thing. Here in our text today we see the Lord’s grace in a rather unusual way because we see it through the conflict of what they should name this baby. In verse 59 they came together to circumcise the baby. Circumcision was required for all the Jewish males. Genesis chapter 17 and Leviticus 12 verse 3 help us to see this. There were several reasons that God gave, for this to be so.
-First of all, this was for health reasons. During this time there were so many hygiene issues.
-Another reason was that circumcision was the sign of the Abrahamic covenant that we see in Genesis chapter 17 and verse 10, and so this was a mark of who Israel was. It set them apart from the other nations and countries.
-Finally, circumcision shows us a spiritual picture that we as mankind need a cleansing from our sin. Because sin is passed down from generation to generation through procreation, we need the Lord to cleanse us from our unrighteousness.
So, what we do know here is that there were several witnesses who had gathered with this family to help name him, and this would not have been unusual. To honor this faithful priest and father who had gone through so much due to the fact that this couple was now very old, and also that Zachariah had the affliction of not being able to speak, they would name the boy after his father. Zacharias Junior would have been a really great name right? After all naming a son after the father was not unusual and even more normal was naming a son after the grandfather, but notice in verse 60 Elizabeth’s response. NO WAY, BY NO MEANS, Elizabeth is adamant that her son is to be called John and there was not going to be any discussion about this. What was so important about this name?
The name John here means that Jehovah is gracious. And when we think about all that was happening here, this was really so fitting for the purpose. Throughout Scripture we see often times the warning of God’s judgment that will come to happen unless people turn from their sin and trust in the Lord. So, as John comes into play he will urge many to turn away from the darkness and sin of this world and to serve the Lord. Because God’s intended purpose for John was to be the forerunner and use his message to turn people to the Light of Jesus, Jehovah is gracious.
But notice in verse 61 the conflict or the problem. “None of your relatives is called by this name.” There may have been a feeling that Elizabeth had overstepped her bounds so the people then decide to go over her head to ask Zechariah what the boy should be named. He too declared that the boy is to be named John by what he writes on the tablet. This is because this is exactly what the angel Gabriel had told him and ultimately this name was given by God himself. Zechariah’s decision was final, and it left many folks astonished.
In fact this is exactly what we see as we come to verse 63. The people all wondered or they were astonished. The name John did not add up. There was no one with this name in their family. They were also astonished because Elizabeth went against what many believed at this time was a Jewish custom, and Zachariah backed her up.
But the conflict surrounding the choice of this baby’s name would not be the only surprising thing that happened. What would happen next would really amaze the people.
3. God’s Blessings Are Wonderful.
3. God’s Blessings Are Wonderful.
64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, 66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.
It is important to look back and remember when the angel Gabriel came to Zechariah and see the news that he brought to him. We look back so that we can see the whole picture of what God is doing here.
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,
God heard their prayers and promised Zechariah and Elizabeth a son, and now we see just how wonderful this blessing was.
Even though the discipline that happens to Zechariah was not desirable, it shows us that during his 9 months of not being able to speak or hear was intended by the Lord as a blessing. Through this Zechariah learned some great lessons. Zechariah is no longer faithless, but he believes. Zechariah has come to trust in the words given to him by the angel Gabriel and ultimately from God. The very first thing that happens as God allows Zechariah to speak is that he gives praise to God by blessing God. At once or immediately his mouth is opened and blessings pour out. You can read more about this in verses 67-80.
The other lesson here is that the sorrow that Zechariah faced, humbled him and brought him closer to the Lord. Often times when we face discipline or affliction we can either turn our back on God or we can find that we draw even closer to the Lord.
You may wonder today why in verse 65 that fear came upon those who were there? As a result of God’s power which was seen through not only the discipline that happened too Zechariah, but now his ability to speak shocked the people who were there. So, this fear was present as well as a very vivid understanding that the hand of the Lord was moving. The phrase “hand of the Lord” symbolized the power and presence of God.
As fear came upon those who were there, the wonderful thing that happened is that all of the events that had come about lately:
-Zechariah’s vision in the temple.
-His inability to speak.
-Elizabeth having a child in her old age.
-And now Zechariah being able to speak.
caused the people to begin to think with conviction that God was present in their midst. God was moving in a mighty way and was carrying out His redemptive plan on earth. As the people gathered together and were filled with fear they trembled with awe and reverence because of God’s presence and deeds.
They even said, “what then will this child be?” There was now talk around town about this young boys future. If he was to be the forerunner of the Messiah that meant the Messiah was coming, and so it was a wonderful thing to know that the hand of the Lord was upon John. In all of this we see the unfolding plan of God’s redemption.
(Pray and Lead into Communion)