Prepare The Way

I thought because the Christmas story is so familiar, we would look at it perhaps in a new way to see if we can gain some new insights about it.

There are the first three Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

Strangely enough, in the Gospel of Mark, nothing is said about the Christmas story.

No shepherds in the field, no wise men coming from the east, no star of David.

None of these things.

The Gospel of Mark begins with Jesus' ministry as an adult.

He is baptized by John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit comes upon him, and he immediately engages in ministry.

So in that sense, perhaps the first 30 years or whatever are not mentioned at all.

Well, when you come to the Gospel of John, none of that is there either.

And then John introduces this Greek word logos.

And if you know anything about Greek philosophy, the word logos is a technical term.

But it is Matthew and Mark that give us the Christmas story.

So let me tell you a story here.

And the story is this.

Once upon a time, there was a really evil king.

This evil king felt very threatened about his position and power.

So because he was very threatened, he decided to get rid of what is causing him threat.

So he decided to kill the children.

One of those children escaped in Egypt.

And later on, this child came back and became the savior of his people.

Now comes the difficult question.

Whose story am I telling?

Is it Moses?

Is it Moses?

There was an evil pharaoh who was afraid what might happen to Egypt if Egypt is attacked or invaded by the Libyans.

And so not wanting to fight against the Libyans while feeling insecure about what the Hebrews will do.

Worried that he would have to fight against Libya and slaves at the same time.

He decided to eliminate or to reduce the danger of the slaves by having the boys killed.

And yet Moses escapes and floats in the river and is taken by Pharaoh's daughter.

Later on, he kills an Egyptian and then escapes to the desert and comes back after he encounters God at the burning bush.

So it looks like I'm telling you the story about Moses.

But think about it this way.

There was an evil king named Herod who was not Jewish.

He was Edomian and he was a fairly paranoid king.

And so he hears the good news or he is maybe for him the bad news.

Where is he born king of the Jews?

Because we saw his star.

And he decides that the king of Jews is a danger to him.

So he asks the wise men, the magi, to find where he is so he could go worship the king.

All along he is planning on killing the child.

The family is warned.

Joseph is warned.

They escape to Egypt.

They stay in Egypt until Herod dies.

And then after Herod dies, they return to Israel, to the promised land.

And Jesus becomes the future reformer and savior of his people.

So was my story about Moses or was it about Jesus?

The interesting thing to notice is that Matthew writes the story of Jesus using the framework of Moses.

Now this is not a coincidence.

Matthew is trying to make a point that just as Moses was the deliverer of his people,

just as Moses was used by God to save his people,

Jesus is also going to be used by God to save his people too.

So the lines are parallel.

They both tell of a future deliverer who is going to come and rescue his people.

Matthew wants us to see Jesus as a second Moses, a second savior,

but of course with a much more greater task, namely to save the whole world and not just the Hebrews in Egypt.

That is one story.

Let me tell you another story.

Once upon a time, there were an old man and woman, his wife.

They were advanced in age and she was also barren.

And consequently, they didn't have any children.

So God sends them a special messenger to announce the birth of the child.

The father doesn't believe the messenger.

And nevertheless, God says that the child is going to be born.

And the good news is announced to them.

What story am I telling you now?

Well, if you are in Genesis 17 and 18,

I'm telling you the story about Abraham and Sarah.

An old couple, barren wife, no child,

and yet the child will bring them great joy.

And Abraham doesn't believe and he laughs.

And Sarah doesn't believe and he laughs.

And so finally, when they have a child, they name him Laughter.

Which means God gets the last laugh.

So the moral of the story is, don't laugh when God is serious.

And yet, Abraham hears the good news.

So it could be that I'm talking to you about Abraham.

But maybe it is not.

Maybe it's Zechariah.

And if you look at the Gospel of Luke, chapter 1, 25,

Luke 1 · chapter mention

you see the same things.

So Matthew wants us to think about Moses

and his calling.

And Luke wants us to think about Abraham and his calling.

Both of them are saying you will gain an insight

if you think about Jesus as somehow analogous to Moses

or analogous to Abraham.

If Moses and Jesus were great saviors of their people

who were in bondage, what's the point of Luke?

Why mention Abraham?

Because the Abraham story begins basically in Genesis chapter 12.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

Before that, we have, first of all, a history of the world.

And it's a very bad history.

And without going into all the bad history

that happened in the first 12 chapters,

you only need to remember the great flood

where God is so upset with the sin of the world

that he decides to wipe out the human race

except for Noah and his family.

And then the other major event is the Tower of Babel

and all the families of the earth.

And so what happens in chapter 12

is that God stops discussing the history of the world

and now focuses on one family and one person.

There is a shifting from universal history

to very specific history.

And it's the history of Abraham

and his descendants from whom will come Jesus.

So Luke wants us to see

that Jesus is also God narrowing his focus

in terms of salvation,

but beyond that,

that Jesus is the fulfillment of the promises

made in the history of Abraham.

So the two evangelists are trying to tell us

think about Moses,

think about Abraham,

and then you're really ready to understand

who Jesus is.

When you read the Gospel of Luke,

Luke 1:5–25

chapter 1, verses 5 through 25,

there are several things that really stand out.

Let me point about five of them.

So if you're taking notes,

take good notes.

I want to mention five of them.

The first one is that Luke

constantly keeps referring to the Holy Spirit.

So in chapter 1, verse 15,

John the Baptist will be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Verse 35,

Mary will conceive by the Holy Spirit.

Chapter 1, verse 41,

Elizabeth, her relative,

is filled with the Holy Spirit.

Verse 67,

Zechariah is filled with the Holy Spirit.

Simeon, in chapter 2,

is filled with the Holy Spirit.

There is this constant reference to the Holy Spirit.

Why is Luke making this point

about the Holy Spirit?

Because of a very important thing.

He wants to make a very important point.

The last prophet in the Old Testament

was Malachi,

and Malachi was approximately 430 B.C.

After Malachi,

all the rabbis recognized

that God didn't give us prophets,

he didn't send messengers,

he didn't send his word,

that God, in a matter of speaking,

was silent.

Rabbis call that the bat kol,

or the daughter of the voice,

in English.

But the point is,

is that for approximately,

God hasn't said a thing.

God is silent.

And,

if the last thing that he said was wonderful,

it's okay to be silent,

but take a look at the last thing

that God said before he went silent.

Look at Malachi,

the last chapter,

the last verse.

The last sentence,

or else,

I will come and strike the land with a curse.

Shape up,

or I will strike the land with a curse.

And that's the end of the story.

And we're all wondering,

what happened after that?

Is he going to come and strike the land with a curse?

Or is the nation going to repent?

Where are we?

And what he is saying now,

what Luke is saying,

is God,

who has been silent,

now is speaking again.

God,

who was in some ways distant,

and remote,

and aloof,

is back involved in our lives.

And not only has he given us the Holy Spirit,

as all these five different individuals illustrate,

but that he is speaking.

And the angel is speaking to Zechariah,

the angel is speaking to Mary,

Simeon is filled by the Holy Spirit,

and God is speaking again.

God is not far away.

God is near.

The God who was silent has broken the silent.

He has returned,

and he is going to talk to us about something.

Well,

he has a message to talk.

He wants to convey a message.

And look what Luke does.

I know he is describing it correctly,

but I wonder if that is really what happened.

So,

verse 8.

Once,

when Zechariah's division was on duty,

and he was serving as priest before God,

he was chosen by lot,

according to the custom of the priesthood,

to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

And you say,

oh,

what's the significance of that?

The significance of that is that there were

20,000 priests

at the time of Jesus.

20,000 priests.

Because there was such a large number of priests,

they divided them into 24 companies or divisions.

So,

so,

so company number one,

company number two,

company number three,

company number four.

And,

because there were far more priests

than there was a need in the temple,

each company would only serve two weeks in the temple.

their job was only two weeks long.

One week in the spring

and one week in the fall.

Only two weeks.

And each week they only needed two persons.

Which means,

most of them

never entered into the holy place

to appear before God.

if you

was the one who was chosen,

if you were the one who was chosen,

if,

if it was your turn,

this is like hitting the lottery.

This is big time.

And it's more than winning money.

You get to appear before God

and to,

and to add oil

to the candelabra or the lamp stand.

So,

out of 20,000,

perhaps 3%

made it.

You remember the parable

of the Good Samaritan.

There were priests

who came by

and went around him.

Many people have speculated,

why did the priests

go around him?

Some have speculated

that since they were going down

to Jerusalem,

if they took care

of a corpse,

they would be unclean

and they would disqualify

from serving in the temple.

And if it was

once in a lifetime

chance,

you know,

twice a year

that you might have that chance,

you wouldn't ruin it

with doing something like that.

So,

Luke says,

they cast Lot

and it was Zachariah's turn.

Well,

God wants to talk to him.

There are lots of ways

for God to talk to him.

You know what he could do?

He could give him

a dream.

Other people

have had dreams.

Joseph had a dream.

Pharaoh had a dream.

Jacob had a dream.

Or,

if a dream

is not good enough,

then,

you have a vision.

Isaiah says,

in the year

that King Uzziah died,

I saw the Lord

sitting on a throne.

So,

you have visions.

But,

no.

No dreams.

No visions.

It's his turn.

He's probably higher

than a kite.

This is my once

in a lifetime.

And he's an old man.

He's not going to come down

to Jerusalem too many times.

He's going to be

in retirement

home soon.

So,

maybe this is the last year.

Maybe this is the second

to the last year.

And he,

and it is his turn.

I mean,

how more fantastic

can it be

as the crowning event

of all of his life?

And he goes in

and an angel

is waiting for him.

But if,

what if it was

somebody else

who went in?

that what is

the angel going to say?

Oops,

wrong person.

I gotta go back.

Lord,

can you please

send him

so I can?

Yes,

it was casting lot.

But was it

really coincidence?

Was it just

rolling the dice?

God is waiting

for him.

And God

is waiting for him

because God

has a really

important

message for him.

and the message

of course

involves the birth

of John

the Baptist,

his son,

and ultimately

Jesus.

It is very

interesting to notice

that it is not

the parents

who name

their children.

It is

God

who names

the children.

It is God

who gives them

names.

you know.

Knowing

what I know

about my

own children

now,

I'm not sure

that I would have

given them

their names.

I don't know

if these names

really fit

their personalities.

But when

names are given,

it is sometimes

given as a hope.

Maybe this is

what will happen.

So

Noah is

named

Noah

rather than

Robert.

And why

Noah?

Because

maybe

he is the

one who

will give

us rest

from our

work.

So they're

hoping maybe

this is the

promised Messiah.

Well,

he wasn't.

You know.

So the parents

sometimes get it

right,

sometimes get it

wrong.

If you want

a funny name,

if you want

to inflict

a name

on your

children

or your

grandchildren,

let me

recommend one

from Isaiah

Isaiah 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8,

Maher

Shalal

Khashbaz,

which means

quickly to the

plunder,

speedily to the

spoils of war.

We're going

to be

invaded,

defeated,

and plundered.

Maybe one

of the,

maybe if we

have a

president in the

White House

who has a

child,

maybe they'll

name him

Maher

Shalal

Khashbaz,

or maybe the

opposition party,

I don't know.

But that's not a

good name to name

somebody.

Maher

Shalal

Khashbaz.

There is also

Shi'ar

Yashuv,

a remnant

will return,

or a remnant

will repent.

Of course,

the wonderful

one is Emmanuel.

God is with

us,

and he is.

In that case,

they got it

right.

God got it

right,

which doesn't

surprise me very

much.

But God

decides to

name those

two boys

John and

Jesus.

John is

Johannan.

We recognize

it in English

or in German

in names like

Johann Sebastian

Bach,

or Johannes

Brahms.

we recognize

it in female

names like

Ann or

Anna,

the A-N-N,

the Ann or

Anna or

Hanan or

Hannah or

things like

that.

All of these

words are

related to

Yohanan,

and Yohanan

means the

grace of

God.

So this

act of

salvation

is going

to give

God the

setting to

show his

great grace.

we are

going to

see God's

grace in

this salvation,

in what is

about to

happen.

And the

other name

is Jesus,

which is

Yeshua.

And Yeshua

means,

is related to

Isaiah,

Hosea,

Joshua,

and it

means salvation.

salvation.

There are

four words

for salvation

in Hebrew.

This one

happens to

emphasize

confrontation

between God

and his

enemies,

in which

God will

defeat his

enemies.

So salvation,

not by

paying a

ransom,

that would

be

patha

and ga'al.

This is

more like

a confrontation.

It is

interesting

that at

the Mount

of

Transfiguration,

both

Moses and

Elijah

appeared.

Moses,

who had

faced and

defeated the

Egyptian gods,

and Elijah,

who faced and

defeated the

Phoenician gods.

And God

is saying,

you know,

that was

first round,

second round,

wait till

I see,

you know,

wait and see

what I'm

going to

do.

You know,

you're

going to

look like

amateurs,

you know,

back in

kindergarten.

You know,

by the time

I'm finished,

you'll really

see what

defeating my

enemies will

look like.

And so

what we

are going

to see

is God's

triumph over

his enemies,

which is an

expression of

his grace

to us,

to save

us.

That is

what God

is going

to preach.

This is what

God is

preaching.

That

he is

going to

be John.

He is

going to

be the

agent of

grace.

He is

compared to

Elijah.

Why

Elijah?

Well,

because

Elijah

confronted

Jezebel,

who was a

queen,

and told her,

you are

wrong.

Baal is

not the

supreme

deity.

God is

the supreme

deity.

And in

two contests,

defeated

the

Phoenician

Baal,

Baal

Zebel.

And what

is going

to happen

with Jesus

is that

he is

going to

confront

Satan.

And he

is going

to defeat

him.

king.

But John

the Baptist

is going

to confront

king

Herod,

as you

will see

later on.

So this

brave man

who is not

afraid to

stand up in

front of

kings and

say,

you are

wrong.

You are

disobeying

God.

That is

that strong

stuff that

God is

going to

put in

John.

So God

is going

to give

us a

great

salvation

of his

triumph

that would

reflect his

great grace,

John and

Jesus.

But I

want you

to turn

to chapter

1 in

Luke,

verse 17,

because that

is a

very,

very

important

verse.

There are

two things

there I

want you

to see.

Please do

not miss

chapter 1,

verse 17.

He is

describing

the

ministry

of John

the Baptist

and he

says,

many of

the people

of Israel,

verse 16,

sorry,

verse 16,

many of

the people

of Israel

he will

bring back

to the

Lord their

God and

he will

go on

before the

Lord in

the spirit

and power

of Elijah

to turn

the hearts

of the

fathers to

their

children and

the disobedient

to the

wisdom of

the righteous

to make

ready a

people prepared

for the

Lord.

Let's take

a look at

the first

part and

then we'll

take a look

at the

second part.

The first

part in

verse 17,

he will

go on

before the

Lord in

the spirit

and power

of Elijah

to turn

the hearts

of the

fathers to

their

children.

In case

you're not

familiar with

that verse,

please go

back to

Malachi,

the very

last chapter

in the

Old Testament.

we saw

that the

Old Testament

ends with

the word

curse,

but look

at Malachi

Malachi 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4.

Look at

chapter 4

verse 5.

See,

I will

send you

the prophet

Elijah

before the

great and

dreadful day

of the

Lord,

before that

great and

dreadful day

of the

Lord comes.

He will

turn the

hearts of

the fathers

to their

children,

and the

hearts of

the children

to their

fathers,

or else

I will

come and

spike the

land before

the curse.

Jesus makes

it clear that

when he says

Elijah, he

doesn't mean

literally Elijah,

and the

angel makes

it clear that

he will come

in the spirit

and power of

Elijah,

Elijah,

but look

what he

will do.

Verse 6,

he will

turn the

hearts of

the fathers

to their

children.

So,

John the

Baptist is

going to

prepare the

way by

turning the

hearts of

the fathers

to their

children,

and the

hearts of

the children

to their

fathers.

But,

something else

in verse

17,

something else

in verse

17.

To make

ready,

the last

part of

verse 17

in Luke

1,

to make

ready a

people

prepared

for the

Lord.

A people

prepared

for the

Lord.

Where does

that come

from?

It comes

from Isaiah

Isaiah 40:3

chapter 40

verse 3.

This is an

extremely

important

passage.

If you're

going to

take a

nap,

now is

not the

time to

do it.

Chapter

40,

which begins

with,

comfort ye,

comfort ye,

my people.

How many

of us have

heard Handel's

Messiah?

A voice

of one,

verse 3,

Isaiah 40

Isaiah 40:3

verse 3,

a voice

of one

calling

in the

desert,

prepare the

way for

the Lord.

Make

straight in

the wilderness

a highway

for our

God,

preparing

the way

for the

Lord.

That

passage

is from

Isaiah

Isaiah 40 · chapter mention

chapter 40,

but more

importantly,

it's from

Luke

Luke 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3.

So go

back to

Luke

Luke 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3.

chapter 3,

verse 4,

Luke 3,

Luke 3:4

verse 4,

as is

written in

the book

of the

words of

Isaiah the

prophet.

He is

telling us

where he's

getting it

from.

It's from

Isaiah.

Isaiah,

a voice of

one calling

in the

desert,

prepare the

way for

the Lord,

make

straight

paths

for him.

And

the

angel

says that

John the

Baptist is

going to

prepare the

way of

the Lord.

And so

as that

is done,

the Lord

will then

be the

next great

event.

This is a

preview.

This is the

preparation.

This is the

overture.

this is the

beginning.

But it is a

very important

beginning.

That's the

big picture,

God's salvation

for the world.

But God is

also interested

in small

things.

Not just

big things,

but small

things.

Please turn

to Luke

Luke 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

And this

is where

it might

apply to you

on a

personal level.

As opposed

to this

huge

salvation

of the

whole

world.

John 3

16,

God so

loved the

world.

Well,

what about

me?

If he does

love the

whole world,

does that

mean me

as part

of the

world or

as me

individually?

Does God

know who

I am?

Does he

care?

And then

in Luke

Luke 1:23

chapter 1

verse 23,

when his

time of

service was

completed,

he returned

home.

After this,

his wife

Elizabeth

became

pregnant

and for

five months

remained in

seclusion.

The Lord

had done

this for

me,

she said.

In these

days,

he has

shown his

favor and

taken away

my disgrace

among the

people.

His wife

was barren.

She felt

like an

outsider.

When other

mothers took

their kids to

the park,

she didn't

have a

child to

take to

the park.

When other

mothers

discussed,

what is your

kid learning

in kindergarten,

she didn't

have a

kid to

go to

kindergarten

to tell

them what

he is

learning.

She felt

an outsider.

Psychologically,

you're feeling

like I

have failed.

I need to

be a

mother.

I speak

from experience.

My best

friend,

my best

friend in

college was

married and

for ten

years they

tried and

didn't have a

child.

She felt

more and

more excluded.

We're going

to go buy

clothes for

our children.

What's she

going to do?

We're going

to go have

our children

immunized.

What's she

going to

do?

For ten

years she

was barren

and she

felt like an

outsider.

Her best

friends tried

not to make

her feel

like an

outsider but

she felt.

Well, it's

bad enough

psychologically

to feel an

outsider.

It is

worse when

the teachers

of the law

put their

burdens on

you.

There's a

rabbinic

statement that

said several

groups of

people are

cursed.

I disagree

with them

completely.

I'm not

reciting this

because I

agree.

I'm

quoting this

to help

you understand

what she

was going

through but

I think

they are

really,

really wrong.

The first,

the most

cursed people

by God

were single

people which

I know

cannot possibly

be true for

all the fun

that my

students have

at Trinity

which reflects

in all the

bad grades

that they

get on

the test

because they

are partying

and not

studying.

So, the

first group

cursed people

are the

single.

The second

cursed group

are those

who do not

have children,

those who

are married

but have no

children.

children.

As a matter

of fact,

rabbis

said that

if a

woman is

barren,

her husband

can divorce

her because

she is not

allowing him

to obey the

commandment.

The first

great commandment,

be fruitful

and multiply

and fill the

whole earth.

So, a

barren woman

is under a

special curse,

said the

rabbis.

And so,

you feel

that religious

people,

at least

knowledgeable

people,

think you're

under a

curse and

you feel a

little bit

ostracized from

society, you

feel a little

bit alone and

you're getting

old and you

are asking

yourself,

in my old

age when I

can't work,

who will take

care of me?

You know.

Children are a

blessing.

says the

psalmist,

if you have

eight, you

have eight

Christmas parties

to go to.

Eight.

If you don't

have anybody,

where do you

go to?

Who will help

you in your

sickness, in

your old age?

And so, she

felt ashamed

and cursed.

But guess what

God does for

her?

Luke chapter

one, verse

five.

The Lord has

done this for

me.

God is

thinking, I

am going to

save the

world.

John 3, 16.

And God is

saying, there

is this young

woman, there

is this old

woman who

feel isolated,

disgraced.

I think I'm

going to add

joy to her

life.

And God, who

sees the big

picture, also

sees the small

picture.

I count.

I know I

count because

not even a

hair falls

without the

knowledge of

my father.

I've always

thought it

would be fun.

I have

prayed about

this.

I don't know

what that

tells you about

my prayer

life.

But I've

prayed that

it would be

like a

practical joke

to go to

a barber and

for God to

say, not

today.

And the

barber going

like this and

nothing happens,

you know, starts

to think what's

wrong with the

instruments.

God knows, God

knows this.

I'm not going to

pull it.

I have to ask his

permission first.

But God knows

even small things

about me.

And he

understands our

shame.

He understands

our disgrace.

And he is

there to

help us.

And he will

send his

grace and

he will

send his

power.

For thine

is the

kingdom and

the power and

the glory forever.

Amen.

That's just

first base.

We still have

second, third,

fourth, and

then home.

God bless

you.