Gracious Intervention: Luke 1v5-38

Okay, so Luke chapter 1, verse 5.

Luke 1:5

The birth of John the Baptist foretold.

In the time of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah

who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah.

His wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.

Both of them were righteous in the sight of God,

observing all of the Lord's commands and decrees blamelessly.

But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive,

and they were both very old.

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 when the time for the burning of incense came,

all the assembled worshippers were praying outside.

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him,

standing at the right side of the altar of incense.

When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.

But the angel said to him,

Do not be afraid, Zechariah.

Your prayer has been heard.

Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,

and you are to call him John.

He will be a joy and delight to you,

and many will rejoice because of his birth,

for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.

He is never to take wine or other fermented drink,

and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit

even before he is born.

He will bring back many of the people of Israel

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 parents to their children

and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous

to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

Zechariah asked the angel,

How can I be sure of this?

I'm an old man, and my wife is well on in years.

The angel said to him,

I am Gabriel.

I stand in the presence of God,

and I have been sent to speak to you

and to tell you this good news.

And now you will be silent

and not able to speak until the day this happens,

because you did not believe my words,

which will come true at their appointed time.

Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah

and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple.

When he came out, he could not speak to them.

They realized he had seen a vision in the temple,

for he kept making signs to them,

but remained unable to speak.

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 has done this for me, she said.

In these days he has shown his favor

and taken away my disgrace among the people.

The birth of Jesus foretold.

In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy,

God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth,

a town in Galilee,

to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph,

a descendant of David.

The virgin's name was Mary.

The angel went to her and said,

Greetings, you who are highly favored.

The Lord is with you.

Mary was greatly troubled at his words

and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.

But the angel said to her,

Do not be afraid, Mary.

You have found favor with God.

You will conceive and give birth to a son

and you are to call him Jesus.

He will be great

and will be called the son of the Most High.

The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David

and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever.

His kingdom will never end.

How will this be, Mary asked the angel,

since I'm a virgin.

The angel answered,

The Holy Spirit will come on you

and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.

So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.

Even Elizabeth, your relative,

is going to have a child in her old age

and she who was said to be unable to conceive

is in her sixth month.

For no word from God will ever fail.

I am the Lord's servant, Mary answered.

May your word to me be fulfilled.

Then the angel left her.

Thank you so much, Joy, for reading.

These are big sections that we'll be going through in Luke.

So we don't get to cover every little detail.

So if there's questions afterwards

or you want to follow up on anything, please do.

And if you haven't yet picked up your copy

of Surprising Salvation,

which is a little overview of Luke's Gospel,

there are plenty on the table.

Pick up your copy and have a read.

It'll help you as you go through this book.

And we're going to pray

because we need God's help.

Father, thank you for Luke's Gospel,

for this account of the life,

the birth of Jesus Christ.

we pray that this true account

would impact us deeply this morning.

That it wouldn't be just mere information

and historical fact,

but truth that changes each and every heart.

Father, we want to be those who surrender

and listen to your word

and believe every promise of your word.

So give us faith that we might do so.

We ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You're going to have a baby.

Well, that's really exciting news

for the parents, isn't it?

Friends and family will be told.

Pictures of scans will appear on Facebook.

The baby room decorated.

Clothes and buggies bought.

Baby showers organised.

And with all the hype and chat that goes on,

you would think

that this is the first baby

to arrive on planet Earth.

But it's really quite normal.

In fact, about,

according to the statistics anyway,

360,000 babies

are born every single day

in the world.

That works out at 3.5,

I know that's not possible,

but you know what I mean.

4.5 babies a second.

It's incredible, isn't it?

So being told you're going to have a baby

is a really normal experience.

It may change your life,

but on the world scale of things,

it's really not that special.

So when we're introduced,

as Luke does,

to Elizabeth and Mary

and tells them,

you're going to have a baby.

It appears to be the most normal,

natural thing in the world.

But these birth announcements

are anything but normal.

They are extraordinary

because they change the course

of history.

In fact,

although they happened

2,000 years ago,

they have a continuing impact

on my life

and your life

right now.

The birth announcement

of John

and of Jesus

means a new,

radical life

for you.

So let's together see

how these birth announcements

impact our lives

today.

First,

God intervenes

by his grace.

We're introduced

at the very beginning

of Luke's account

to a couple

named Zachariah

and his wife Elizabeth.

Zachariah,

well,

he worked

in the temple.

And we're told,

verse 6,

that both of them

were upright

in the sight of God,

observing all the Lord's

commandments

and regulations

blamelessly.

They were godly people.

But,

verse 7,

they had no children.

Now,

all that

was going to change.

Suddenly,

during a normal day's

work in the temple

as Zachariah's

division is called

to service,

verse 11,

an angel of the Lord

appeared to him,

standing right at the side

of the altar of incense

where he was working.

Now,

I don't know about you,

but

I'm not sure

when was the last time

you ever met

an angel.

Let's say

it's not part of our

normal experience,

is it?

Verse 12,

for when Zachariah

saw him,

he was startled

and was gripped

with fear.

You see,

angels don't show up

very often

unless

God is about

to do something.

When we read about

angels appearing

in the Bible,

it's because

God is

intervening.

God has

something to say.

God has an announcement

to make.

And here it is,

verse 13.

The angel said to

Zachariah,

do not

be afraid.

Your prayer

has been heard.

Your wife

Elizabeth

will bear you

a son

and you are to

give him the name

John.

He will be a joy

and delight to you.

Of course he would be.

After all

these years,

they would have

a child.

What a joy.

But it ain't

going to stop there.

Verse 14.

He will be a joy

and delight

to you

and

many

will rejoice

because of

his birth.

This

is a birth

that will have

an impact

not just on

one family

but across

the world

and through

centuries

and in our

life today.

so what's

so special

about John?

What's he

going to do?

Well, we're told

in verse

15.

He will be

great in the

sight of the

Lord.

He is never

to take wine

or other

fermented drink

and he will

be filled

with the

Holy Spirit

even

before he's

born.

So this

will be no

ordinary

child.

He is

set apart

from God

and he is

empowered by

God

even before

he is

born.

but what

should make

us sit up

and listen

is what

he will

do.

He will

be God's

prophet

speaking

God's

very word

to the

people.

Turn with

me please

back to

Malachi

which is

the last

book of

the Old

Testament.

So going

backwards

you're in

Luke

you've

got to

go through

Mark

and then

you go

through

Matthew

and then

we come

to

Malachi.

So keep

working

back

Mark

Matthew

and then

Malachi

to chapter

four

and

verse

one.

So the

time

difference

between

Malachi

the end

of Malachi

the end

of the

Old

Testament

and the

beginning

of Luke

the birth

announcement

of John

is about

400

years.

And

God

hasn't

said

anything

at least

nothing

has been

recorded

about what

God

has said

so there's

been

silence

for 400

years.

This

was one

of the

last

things

God

had

said

to the

people.

Malachi

chapter

four

verse

one.

God

makes

this

promise.

He

says

surely

the day

is coming.

The day

is referring

here to

God's

judgment.

The

coming

again

of God

in

judgment.

And he

says it

will burn

like a

furnace

and all

the arrogant

and every

evil doer

will be

stubble

and that

day

that is

coming

will set

them on

fire

says the

Lord

Almighty.

It's a

terrifying

picture of

God's

promised

judgment

to come

upon all

the evil

and injustice

in the

world.

world.

But there's

also another

promise.

Look down

at verse

five.

See I

will send

you the

prophet

Elijah

before

that

great and

dreadful

day of

the Lord

comes.

So there's

hope.

Verse

six.

He will

turn the

hearts of

the fathers

or the

parents to

their

children and

the hearts

of the

children to

their

parents or

else I

will come

and strike

the land

with a

curse.

Rather than

destruction

and division

God promises

that there

will be

renewal

and

reconciliation.

Pictured in

families coming

back together

God will

send his

prophet who

will lead

his people

back to

God so

that they

might escape

God's

judgment.

The promise

of hope.

Now back

to Luke

chapter

one.

Four

hundred

years pass

and there's

not a

whisper,

not a

sound,

not a

voice until

the announcement

of John who

is to be

born.

And what do

we read

about in

verse

sixteen?

Chapter

one.

Many of

the people

of Israel

he will

bring back

to the

Lord their

God.

Sound

familiar?

And he

will go

before the

Lord in

the spirit

and the

power of

Elijah.

Is this

the promise

that God

had made

all those

hundreds of

years before?

He will

turn the

hearts of

the fathers

or the

parents to

their children

and the

disobedient

to the

wisdom of

the righteous

to make

ready a

people

prepared

for the

Lord.

The

announcement

of John's

birth is

not just

another

ordinary

baby.

This is

God

graciously

intervening

into the

world and

into my

life and

into your

life.

John may

have since

died,

but the

promises of

God and

the Word

of God

still stand

today.

God's

promised

judgment in

the future

is still

to come.

And God

will punish

all who

live in

rebellion

against him.

But through

the message

of John

we are

called to

get our

lives in

order,

to turn

back in

repentance

to God,

to experience

forgiveness

of our

sins so

that we

can be

ready and

prepared to

meet the

Lord.

this is

God's

gracious

intervention

into the

world,

into my

life and

into your

life.

And I

want us to

think about

that for a

minute.

If you

could ask

God to

intervene into

your life

right now,

what would

you want

him to do

in your

life?

life.

Maybe you

would be

just like

Elizabeth.

Look at

verse 7,

go back to

verse 7.

Remember

Elizabeth?

They had

no children.

Elizabeth was

barren,

past the

age,

wasn't able

to conceive,

they were

both well

on in years,

couldn't have

children.

And not

to have a

baby at

that time

was a

real social

stigma.

you were

a disgrace

to the

community.

Not to

have a

child,

you were

an

outsider.

But God

intervenes in

her life

and gives

her a

child and

look how

Elizabeth

responds,

verse 25.

It's a

celebration of

God's

grace.

The Lord

has done

this for

me.

In

these days

he has

shown his

favour,

literally,

God has

shown her

grace and

taken away

my disgrace

from among

the people.

Elizabeth is

so thankful

for her

new son.

But let's

not miss

the point.

She has

discovered

something even

greater.

You see,

Elizabeth's

son,

John,

was to

lead people

back to

God,

people just

like Elizabeth.

And God

has graciously

intervened into

her life

and taken

away her

disgrace,

not just

socially,

but relationally

with God.

Now,

what is your

disgrace?

What is it

that you

carry in your

life that you

long that God

would intervene

and take it

away?

Could be

unemployment.

It could be

the loneliness

of being

single.

It could be

an illness

or an

impediment

that you

carry.

It might

be that you

don't have

a child.

And all

of these

in some

way can

be that

social

disgrace

where you

feel

outside

and you

long for

God to

intervene.

Well,

the message

is that

God has

graciously

intervened

in our

life through

the coming

of John

who has

this message

to say

that through

repentance

we can be

covered in

grace so

that we

never ever

face disgrace

before God

again,

not just

socially with

others,

but relationally

with God.

God is

going to

change

your

circumstances

completely,

but the

promise

here in

verse 25

is that

God will

shower and

pour out

his grace

upon you

so that

you are

no longer

burdened

by the

guilt of

our

disgrace

of sin

and no

longer

burdened

or judged

by the

expectations

of other

people

on how

you feel.

God

intervenes

in your

life,

radically

changing

you,

giving you

a new

identity,

a new

person,

that you

belong to

God.

You no

longer are

judged by

what other

people think

about you,

but what

God thinks

about you.

God has

graciously

intervened

by his

grace.

Second,

God

enables

a new

beginning.

So God

has intervened.

What will

this intervention

look like?

Well, this

time, an

angel appears

to Mary.

Here's the

second

verse

announcement,

verse 30.

The

angel said

to Mary,

do not

be afraid.

You have

found

favour.

Again,

literally,

God has

shown

grace to

you.

You will

be with

child and

give birth

to a

son and

you are

to give

him the

name

Jesus.

God is

intervening

in grace

through the

person of

Jesus.

And we're

told what

he will be

like.

Look at

verse 32.

He will

be great.

He will

be called

Son of the

Most High.

The Lord

God will

give him

the throne

over his

father David

and he

will reign

over the

house of

Jacob forever.

His

kingdom

will never

end.

Now,

that is

some

character

reference.

But these

are more

than just

grand

titles.

This

being called

Great and

Son of the

Most High

and having

this

throne

where he

reigns over

all things

and a

kingdom

that will

never

end.

These are

not just

titles and

roles that

are just

kind of

out there.

These are

titles and

roles that

belong to

God.

But are

now being

applied to

Jesus.

So Luke

is making

the extraordinary

claim that

Jesus who is

going to be

born is

nothing less

than God

in human

flesh.

It's what we

call the

incarnation.

God,

the Most

High,

the Creator,

the Ruler

of the

Universe,

who sits

on the

throne,

who rules

over all

things,

who has

an eternal

kingdom that

will never

come to

an end.

This

God takes

on humanity

and comes

down to

people like

us.

You see,

in religions,

gods do

not come

near.

They remain

distant.

They are a

threat and

they must be

appeased.

They are

impersonal and

angry.

But the

one true

God, the

only God,

comes to

us in the

person of

Jesus.

Look at the

end of

verse 35.

So the

Holy One

to be

born will

be called

the Son

of God.

Jesus is

not like

God or

a combination

of half

God and

half man.

Jesus is

God in

the flesh.

So as

we read

through Luke's

Gospel, as

we listen to

what Jesus

says, as

we watch

him act,

we see

the beauty

and the

greatness

and the

holiness

and the

magnificence

of God

on display.

This is

not just

another baby

being born.

This is

God coming

down to

us,

intervening

by grace

into our

lives.

But why

has he

come?

Sorry, I

missed up

there.

Why has he

come?

Look at

verse 34.

How will

this be

as Mary

comes to

terms with

this shock

that she's

going to

have a

baby?

How can

this be,

Mary asked

the angel,

since I'm

a virgin,

I'm not

even married

yet, I

haven't slept

with anyone,

how can I

have a

baby?

The angel

answered,

the Holy

Spirit will

come upon

you and

the power

of the

Most High

will

overshadow

you.

Mary will

become

pregnant

supernaturally,

not through

the seed

of a man,

but through

the creating

life-giving

work of

the power

of the

Holy Spirit.

Now this

not only

begins to

explain the

birth of

Jesus,

but it

begins to

hint and

show us

what this

Jesus will

do.

Keep your

finger in

Luke and

let's jump

all the way

back to

the very

beginning of

the Bible

to Genesis

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

Genesis 1

Genesis 1:1

verse 1.

Because I

think Luke

here is

wanting us

to make

a connection.

Genesis

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

In the

beginning,

before time

began,

before anything

existed,

God,

eternal

God,

in the

beginning

God

created

the heavens,

everything

above us,

and the

earth,

all things

here.

Now the

earth was

formless

and empty,

darkness

was over

the surface

of the

deep,

and the

Spirit of

God was

hovering,

or

overshadowing,

the waters.

It's the

exact same

phrase that

we have in

Luke about

the birth

of Jesus.

The Spirit

overshadows,

or hovers,

over.

So in

Genesis,

the Spirit

of God

is at work

in the

creation of

the world.

Verse 2,

we're told,

chapter 1,

verse 2,

that the

world was

formless and

empty.

Literally,

there was

disorder,

there was

darkness.

Things were

not the way

they should

be.

So the

Spirit is

hovering,

is overshadowing,

and God,

by His

power,

through His

Spirit,

brings about

a creation,

brings about

beauty,

brings about

order,

and God

looks at His

creation and

says,

this is

good.

Now back

to Luke.

And in the

same way as

the angel

announces the

birth of

Jesus,

he says,

the Holy

Spirit will

come upon

you,

and the

power of

the Most

High will

hover,

overshadow

you.

Bringing

about a

new creation

through the

birth of

Jesus,

the coming

of Jesus

Christ into

the world

will be like

that day,

the day of

the first

creation,

as God

brought about

a new

beginning and

a new

life and

said,

all this

is good,

and He

says,

now through

my Son,

I will

bring a

new creation

in the

lives of

many people.

He will

bring a

beauty and

an order out

of the chaos

and disorder

of our broken

lives, a

messed up

world.

In this

Jesus,

you will

find a new

creation,

as God

by His

power,

through His

Spirit and

through His

Son,

bring about a

new beginning,

a fresh

start in

your life.

Now let's

think about

that.

If you

were to

ask God

to change

anything in

your life,

what would

you want

Him to

change?

Maybe you

would ask

Him,

change where

I live,

change where

I work.

Perhaps you

would ask

God,

change how

I look,

I don't

like the

way I

look,

nobody

fancies

me.

You might

ask God

to change

the relationship

that you're

in.

God is

saying,

through

Jesus and

the power

of my

Holy Spirit,

I have

come to

change

you.

I have

come to

redeem

your life

from the

disorder and

chaos that

has been

caused by

our own

sin and

the sin

of others.

I have

come to

bring about

a new

beginning and

a fresh

start.

You see,

so often

what we

want from

God is,

God,

change my

circumstances.

Would you

change that

person?

But God's

priority says,

I want to

change you.

I want you

to change

my life.

You see,

God who

brought about

the creation

of the

world by

this same

power as

he brought

about the

supernatural

birth of

Jesus,

that same

power will

enable you

you to

start life

afresh,

to live

God's

way,

not our

own way.

So God

is graciously

intervening by

grace through

his son,

the Lord

Jesus Christ,

enabling a

new beginning

and a

fresh start.

Well,

how can we

experience that

for ourselves?

God calls

for trusting

submission.

You see,

if we are to

experience God's

intervening grace

on a daily

basis,

if we are to

know this

enabling power

to change the

things in our

lives so that

we go God's

way,

we must

submit to

him.

As we

said at the

beginning,

the announcement

of a birth

is a very

normal everyday

experience.

People get

pregnant every

day.

People give

birth every

day.

It's really

not unique.

Unless, of

course, you're

an old barren

woman like

Elizabeth or a

young virgin

girl like

Mary, that

is not a

normal everyday

experience.

Women past

the age of

childbearing

can't get

pregnant and

girls who

have not

had sex

can't get

pregnant.

In fact, we

would say

it's impossible.

But not

with God.

Look at

verse 36.

Mary is

trying to

work this

through and

the angel

says to her

verse 36,

even Elizabeth,

your relative,

is going to

have a child

in her old

age and

she who

was said

to be

barren,

unable to

have

children,

is in

her sixth

month.

For

nothing is

impossible

with God.

God is

saying what

is impossible

for you

is not

impossible for

me.

And he's

saying the

same thing

to us,

not in

terms of

having

children,

but experiencing

his grace

and his

change in

our lives.

It's not

possible for

you to do

these things,

but I

can do

it.

Have a

look at

Luke 18.

Just jump

forward a

few chapters,

Luke 18.

Here we

have the

true account

of a rich

ruler, a

very wealthy

man, who

comes asking

Jesus a

question.

Verse 18.

Chapter 18,

verse 18.

And here's the

question.

He says,

good teacher,

what must I

do to

inherit eternal

life?

How can I

receive this

salvation?

how can I

experience grace

in my life

and this

transforming

change?

How can I

have that?

Well, look at

how Jesus

responds.

Here's part of

his answer,

down in

verse 24.

Jesus looked

at him and

said, how

hard it is

for the

rich to

enter the

kingdom of

God.

Indeed, it

is easier

for a

camel to

go through

the eye

of a

needle

than for

a rich

man to

enter the

kingdom of

God.

Now, think

about that.

The eye

of a

needle, how

do you

fit an

animal and

a camel

through the

eye of a

needle?

Well, you

can't, can

you?

It's

impossible.

And that's

Jesus'

point.

He's saying,

you know, we

can't do

these things on

our own.

It's impossible.

Verse 26.

Those who

heard him

asked, well

then who

can be

saved?

How can I

be changed?

Who can

do this?

Jesus replied,

verse 27,

what is

impossible with

men is

possible with

God.

You see, we

cannot save

ourselves.

We can't

change who

we are.

We can't

change those

habits.

We can't

change our

behaviours.

But God

can.

What's

impossible for

us is

possible for

God.

God, by

his grace,

can save

the most

disinterested,

hardened,

reluctant

person.

God can

save you.

And God,

by his

power,

can bring

about a

new beginning

from the

mess that

has been

caused by

our own

sin.

That

tremble,

continues on

through our

lives.

What is

impossible for

us to

change,

God says,

it is

possible for

me,

because I

am God.

But how

do we

experience

this work?

Well,

look how

Mary responds

in verse

38,

back in

chapter 1.

Chapter 1,

verse 38.

I am

the Lord's

servant,

servant.

Mary answered,

may it be

to me as

you have

said.

Then the

angel left

her.

Mary responds

in faith,

trusting

submission.

Do you

see those

two things

she says?

First,

I am

the Lord's

servant,

literally I

am the

Lord's

slave.

I submit

to you.

I am

willing to

be used

by God.

Your

will be

done in

my life,

not my

will in

my own

life.

I want

you,

God,

to have

your way

in me.

Now,

in a sense,

that's how

we too

must respond.

Maybe there's

an area of

your life

that you

have not

yet surrendered

to God.

you're

holding

on to

it in

your

life and

you're

saying,

mine,

this is

my life,

I want

to live

my way

and do

my

thing.

But we

will never

experience

God's

grace in

all its

fullness

until we

say,

I am

the

Lord's

servant.

Your

will,

not my

will.

God's

will.

But look

at the

second

thing she

says.

May it

be to

me as

you have

said.

Now,

put yourself

in Mary's

shoes.

This was

something to