The Messenger Before the Messiah

Luke chapter 1. A lot of you have probably been

Luke 1 · chapter mention

reading some of these passages. It is close to

Christmas time, and we certainly remember that

Jesus came to this earth and was born, and we

thank God for that. We see that in the book of

Luke, the book of Matthew. these stories of Jesus'

birth and the events that surround them leading

up to them, and we're going to talk about one

of those this morning in Luke chapter 1. We're

Luke 1 · chapter mention

going to start in verse 5. Before we do, let's

pray, and then we'll get started. God, we come

to you today, and I thank you that we are able

to have the freedom and the privilege to come

into your house. I thank you for your love. I

thank you for your grace and your mercy. I thank

you for this fellowship of people, dear Lord.

I pray that you just would bless each one that's

here today, that you'd free us of our worries

and our distractions and our pains and the thoughts

and desires of the world that compete for our

attention. I pray that in these few moments,

that as we read through your word, that your

word, dear Lord, Would be what we need to hear.

God there's no good word I can say. If it does

not come from you. Dear Lord I pray more than

my words. That they hear your words. Because

that's what we're here for dear Lord. So I pray

God. That as we read these scriptures. That you

just would speak to us. I pray that you just

would give us a good day. And a good service.

In Jesus name I ask it. Amen. Luke chapter 1.

Luke 1 · chapter mention

Verse 5. In the days of King Herod of Judea,

there was a priest of Abijah's division named

Zechariah. His wife was from the daughters of

Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both were

righteous in God's sight, living without blame

according to all the commands and requirements

of the Lord. could not conceive. And both of

them were well along in years. When his division

was on duty and he was serving as priest before

God, it happened that he was chosen by lot according

to the custom of the priesthood to enter the

sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. So let's

stop there for a moment and let's do a little

history lesson on what gets us to this point.

Now, in the Old Testament, God had established

a lot of commands for his people to follow. And

part of the commands that they were to follow

were the priesthood that he had set up. And God

had given them very specific instructions originally

on how to build this tabernacle, this tent, and

the courtyard that surrounded it, and very specific

instructions on how big things needed to be and

how they needed to be laid out and the materials

that were to be used. Very, very specific instructions.

And God had established a priesthood. And there

would be one high priest who would once a year

go into the most holy place in the tabernacle.

And throughout the rest of the year, there would

be other priests who would do other duties around.

And one of those duties that the priest were

to do would take place in the place just outside

of the most holy place. So when you walked into

the courtyard of the tabernacle, there would

be an enclosed section in the middle. And when

you walk into that first section, you would walk

into the holy place. And there was a candlestick,

or excuse me, an altar where incense would be

burned. And it was there that twice a day the

priest would go in and burn incense on the incense

altar. Once in the morning and once in the evening.

And this had carried on for many, many years

at this point. And we see that it still... carries

on here. Now, throughout the Old Testament, God

had given those instructions, and ultimately

God's people moved to something a little better

than the temporary structure and the tabernacle

that they had, and eventually they built a magnificent

temple, and it was laid out very similar to the

plans of the tabernacle, but it was a much grander

building, and nonetheless, the priest would continue

to offer this incense daily, and the high priest

would continue to go before the Lord once a year.

And this continued on for some time, but by the

time we get to the Old Testament, things had

really began to deteriorate some. God's people

didn't really do too good of a job. Most of the

time throughout the Old Testament, they... find

themselves living in disobedience, and they're

not really following the Lord's commands. They're

not keeping up all of these things that he tells

them to do at the temple and the tabernacle.

And there are seasons where they do good, and

it doesn't take long until they just kind of

forget about God and go their own way. And we

can relate to that if we're honest. There are

probably seasons where we really are living in

obedience to God and really following his commands.

And then there are other times that we don't.

We don't stay in his word. We don't pray to him.

And that's the way God's people were in the Old

Testament. And by the time we get to the end

of the Old Testament, while the system was kind

of still in place, it wasn't really in the way

that God intended. Originally, the high priest

was supposed to come from the line of Aaron,

and that carried on for some time. By the time

we get to the end of the Old Testament, they

were appointed by the kings, not in the way that

God had intended. The whole system was beginning

to collapse. It still had some of the structure

there, but not as God intended. But it didn't

really matter too much because God knew this

was going to be the case. And all throughout

the Old Testament, even when the old system was

in place, God was pointing his people forward

to something better than the old system, to someone

better than the old system. And so as we close

the Old Testament, things are not really that

good for God's people. Sure, there's a faithful

remnant there, some who are still seeking him,

but things are in bad shape. So then we flip

the page in our Bible and we make our way to

the New Testament. And there's a shift. There's

a big shift instantly as we start to read the

New Testament, as we see in stories like this.

The shift goes from the old commands and laws

and rules and the priesthood of the Old Testament.

The shift takes us to Jesus Christ. That's what

everything in your Bible, in the Old Testament,

is pointing you to. It's pointing you to Jesus

Christ. Now, some of God's people recognize that.

There were some who had been really listening

to the Word of God, and they had really been

looking for the Messiah who was to come, and

they really were ready. And we see a few of those,

that as we read through Jesus' ministry, there

are some that hear and that acknowledge that

he is the Messiah to come, but there are many

who do not. There are many who fail to realize

that Jesus is the fulfillment of these prophecies.

But God had given them plenty of opportunity

to know that Jesus was the Messiah to come. And

one of those opportunities, a great opportunity,

was going to be through someone that we refer

to often as John the Baptist. And that's where

this story gets us to today. God has prepared

his people for hundreds of years now, for hundreds

of years that the Messiah is coming, and now

the time had come. And so here we see Zechariah,

who's carrying on what many of the priests before

him had carried on. He was doing something that

he had probably done many times before. That

is burning incense on the incense altar in the

holy place in the temple. And he was chosen by

a lot, which... which simply means they just

kind of picked somebody at random. It didn't

really matter who did it. There wasn't a right

or a wrong way to choose it. They cast Lot, and

the Lot fell to him, and it was his turn to go

in and to burn the incense before the Lord. The

incense was a sweet aroma to the Lord. We see

in the New Testament, in the book of Revelation,

that our prayers are like incense and golden

bowls that go before the Lord. We see as we're

going to continue reading here that as he went

in to burn the incense, that the assembly of

people outside were in prayer as he did so. And

so Zechariah goes into the holy place to offer

this incense offering. Let's continue on and

see what happens. In verse 10, at the hour of

incense, the whole assembly of the people was

praying outside. An angel of the Lord appeared

to him standing to the right of the altar of

incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled

and overcome with fear. The angel said to him,

Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer

has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear

you a son, and you will name him John. There

will be joy and delight for you. and many will

rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in

the sight of the Lord and will never drink wine

or beer. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit

while still in his mother's womb. He will turn

many of the sons 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 fathers

to their children and the disobedient to the

understanding of the righteous, to make ready

for the Lord a prepared people. Now, Zechariah

went in to do something that he had probably

done many times before, but this instant was

different. As he went into the altar to light

the incense before the Lord, the people were

praying outside and an angel of the Lord appears

to Zechariah and says, I've got good news for

you. You've been praying for a son. At this point,

they had tried for years. They were all up in

age, and it would seem unlikely, if not impossible,

that Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth would have

a son, and yet an angel appears to him and said,

Your prayers have been heard. Now, that's a good

reminder in that, too. Now, some of you were

here a couple of weeks ago on Wednesday night

when we looked in Luke chapter 18. When Jesus

Luke 18 · chapter mention

tells a parable about praying constantly and

not being discouraged. Well, we see this same

idea. Maybe we can hit on that here. That maybe

there are things that we have prayed for our

whole life and it seems impossible. It seems

very unlikely, but you never know how the Lord

is going to work. You never know how the Lord

is going to answer those prayers. And what does

the angel say to Zechariah? He says, your prayers

have been heard. That's a good reminder for us

today. We need to know today that our prayers

have been heard. It may not always seem like

it. It may not always feel like it. Because they're

not answered. They're not answered as quickly

as we want. They're not answered in the way that

we want. But we need to be reminded and know

that our prayers have been heard. That God has

not forgotten about you. So as the parable that

Jesus would teach us that we need to pray. Without

being discouraged. Maybe some of you are discouraged

today. Because it feels like God doesn't hear.

But your prayers have been heard. God doesn't

always answer our prayers in the way that we

desire. Because God knows what's best for us.

Far better than we do. Sometimes we pray thinking

full well that what we're praying for is what's

best for us. Or what's best for our loved one.

And it seems to us to be the right thing. God

may look at that and say that is not what's going

to be best for you. That is not what's going

to be best for your loved one. And more importantly,

that is not what's going to be best for the kingdom

of God. So sometimes God doesn't answer our prayers

in the way that we wish, in the way that we want,

in the way that we desire so deeply. And sometimes

bad things happen. Sometimes things that we've

prayed so hard wouldn't happen. Sometimes they

occur and we don't see any good in them, but

we must not forget that God is good. And he answers

our prayers in the way that is good and right,

even if we don't understand. So maybe this simple

word that the angel uttered to Zechariah today

is the word of encouragement that we need, that

our prayers... have been heard. And Zechariah's

prayers were heard. And the angel said, you're

soon going to give birth to a son and you are

to name him John. And your son John is going

to go before the Savior of the world to prepare

the way for him. Now John hears this news and

Or excuse me, Zechariah hears this news and you

can continue reading on this week if you'd like

to and see the rest of the story. But he questions

the angel who brings this news to him. And the

angel says, look, because you questioned me and

did not believe what the Lord had told you, you're

going to not be able to speak until the child

is born. And so it was. John was unable to speak.

He came from outside of the... holy place and

all the people there could tell that something

had taken place because he was no longer able

to speak and until the child was born until John

was born Zechariah was not able to speak but

Zechariah realized that there was something not

just significant about his child but the child

who would soon be born after his child Jesus

Christ He acknowledges that because when he begins

to finally speak a little bit later on, he begins

to praise God. And not just for his son, but

he uses language that shows us that he acknowledges

what's about to take place. That the Savior of

the world is coming into this world. That God

is going to fulfill all of his promises. Everything

that he had said in the Old Testament, it was

about to come true. There was an old priesthood

in the Old Testament, but now there's a new high

priest who is coming, a savior of the world,

the son of God. And so the Old Testament is fading

away and the things of the Old Testament are

fading away and everything that the Old Testament

had talked about was coming to fruition in Jesus

Christ. It's interesting, as I was reading this,

it caught my eye when I read that he went into

the holy place there to offer this incense offering.

And I thought to myself, wait a minute, is there

anywhere else in scripture that we see a priest

going into the holy place? Is that ever mentioned

anywhere else in scripture? And I couldn't think

of any and I looked and I could not find any.

Did we see this reference of Zechariah? going

into the holy place. And after that, we don't

see any reference of any priest going in and

doing anything else. And perhaps God is pointing

his people forward to saying, this is the way

that it used to be, but there's coming a better

priest to it and there's coming a new high priest.

And from this point forward, there is no emphasis

on the things of old. The emphasis, is on Jesus

Christ. And eventually the old way would pass

away. In 70 AD, the priesthood would pass away.

The temple would pass away. And Jesus remains

as the only high priest of us today. The Son

of God who came to this earth, who gave his life

for the forgiveness of our sins, is the only

hope that we have. He's the only help that we

have. Are you trusting in him this morning? Zechariah

and his wife Elizabeth gave birth to a son named

John who came to prepare the way of the Lord

Jesus. To tell everyone that he encountered,

the Messiah is here. Repent. Repent. The message

that we see Jesus so often preach in the New

Testament, repent for the kingdom of God has

come near. We see that he starts his ministry

out very early on with those words. And John

the Baptist had gone before him to say, the Messiah

has come. The one that God had talked about.

The one who's going to save us from our sins.

The one who's going to deliver us. Our salvation,

Jesus Christ, has come. And John's message was

very simple. You need to repent. You need to

turn from your sins. You need to turn from your

old ways. And you need to turn to Jesus Christ.

The Son of God has come, just as John said that

he would. The salvation of the world has come

in Jesus Christ. Have you trusted in Jesus today?

Maybe the way has been prepared for you. Maybe

there's somebody who's been speaking to you about

the word of God, about Jesus Christ. Maybe you've

been in the word of God. Maybe today you're seeking

salvation. You're seeking deliverance. You're

seeking hope. You're seeking something in your

life and you just haven't found it. And maybe

what you're seeking is Jesus Christ. And maybe

those words that Jesus uttered we need to hear

today, repent for the kingdom of God has come

near. God used John the Baptist to prepare the

way for many so that they would know who Jesus

was. Perhaps in some way we are to be a John

the Baptist for somebody in our life. Maybe there

are people that we are going to encounter. Maybe

there are things that we can say and share with

them and teach them about the gospel of Jesus

Christ that we can begin to prepare the way so

that their hearts would begin to listen to the

Holy Spirit as God would speak to them so that

we can tell them about the Messiah who is not

coming but who has come in Jesus Christ. It's

already occurred. Everything was just as it was.

The Messiah is here. He has come. He has been

crucified and buried and resurrected. And John

prepared the way. Maybe for some of us today,

we are the John in someone else's life. That

we are to prepare the way. That we are to be

those who are to tell the world during this Christmas

season and every season of the year that the

Messiah has come. Have you trusted in Jesus Christ

today? Have you rejoiced in Jesus Christ today?

Have you heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and

doubted it? Has God spoken to you some way and

you've questioned it like Zechariah? Maybe you've

heard the truth of God's word, but maybe you

didn't believe it. But maybe you've seen enough

evidence, enough proof. Maybe you've seen enough

scripture. Maybe the Holy Spirit has spoken to

you. Maybe you've seen the love of Jesus Christ.

And maybe today you're ready to break that silence

and to praise God. and what he has done. If so,

I pray that as we close that you would do so.

Let's pray. God, we thank you for your good word.

I pray, dear Lord, that you would help us to

be a people that would seek you. God, that we

would be like Zechariah and Elizabeth, that we

would continue to remain faithful to you in our

life, that we would continue to make our requests.

known to you, dear Lord, even when it seems like

you may not hear, you may not care, dear Lord,

just because you don't answer in the way that

we pray doesn't mean that you don't hear, dear

Lord. So I pray, God, that today we would know

the simple truth that you do hear our prayers.

God, I pray that we would be a people who would

seek Jesus today, that there were many people

of Jesus's day, dear Lord, that were looking

for the Messiah. And he came. God, and some saw

him, some knew him, and some missed him. And

so it is for us today, dear Lord. Jesus Christ

has come. God, and there are some in this room

who have followed him, and maybe there are some

today that have missed him. But I pray today

that if there are some that have missed him,

that maybe today they would know that the kingdom

of God has come near, that the Savior of the

world has come near. that our entrance into the

kingdom today, dear Lord, is only through Jesus

Christ. And if we would just repent today, that

you call us today to ask you to forgiveness,

ask you to forgive us, dear Lord, for our sins.

God, I pray that if there's one here today that

does not know Jesus Christ, that they would ask

for that forgiveness, that they would repent

of their sinfulness, of living for themselves

and living for sin. that they would turn from

that, dear Lord, and turn to Jesus Christ. God,

I pray that we would hear the message that John

had preached, that maybe you've been preparing

in us a heart that's ready to accept Jesus Christ.

God, maybe you want us to be one who goes to

those that we encounter to share your love and

to share your grace and to share Jesus Christ,

dear Lord, to point others to the Savior of the

world. God, I pray that as we prepare for this

Christmas season that we remember what is most

important in this world. And it is not gifts

and lights and all the junk that we have both

at Christmas and all the other days of the year,

dear Lord. But as Christians, it is about Jesus

Christ. And that is your desire and your goal,

dear Lord, to build your kingdom that all would

hear of Jesus and put their faith and trust in

Him. So God, if there are some that have not

done that today, I pray that as we sing, that

they would do so. And I ask these things in Jesus'

name. Amen.