Advent #1, 2023
Introduction
Historically, the season of advent is the beginning of the church calendar. Over the last few years, I’ve grown to appreciate the church calendar. Not because it’s in the Bible; it isn’t. But because it recognizes a biblical principle. All time is God’s time.
The Christian calendar attempts to present the church with the life of Jesus. Advent (4 weeks of waiting for Jesus), Christmas (12 days of celebrating the birth of Jesus until January 6th), Epiphany (Jesus revealed as Messiah), Lent (preparation for Easter), Holy week, Easter (resurrection), and Pentecost. It’s not whether you will have a calendar, it’s whose calendar you will follow. It’s not whether you will wait on holidays, it what holidays you will celebrate.
Advent is a season of waiting for Christmas so that Christmas can be properly enjoyed. When we spread the celebration of Christmas out for the entire month, we’re usually tired and jaded by the end of the month. It’s like eating a bacon-cheeseburger from the drive through on your way home before supper. You’re too full to properly enjoy. Advent wets our appetite for the glories and joy of Christmas. Since we just finished Malachi that prophesied the births of Jesus and John the Baptist, and since John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus, we will spend some time this advent studying the birth of John because it prepares us for the birth of Jesus.
Waiting Righteously (Luke 1:5-7)
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
Malachi’s prophecy was 400 years before the birth of John and Jesus. America is 247 years old now. In the year 2176, America would be 400 years old, and then a preacher can use our nation to mark the time of waiting for Israel.
Herod the Great ruled the region from 37 BC to 4 AD. He was an evil ruler. Someone said it would be safer to be livestock in Herod’s kingdom that one of his children. He executed 3 of his sons. So, slaughtering the children in Bethlehem in Matthew 2:16 was just a slow afternoon for him.
Zechariah (God Remembers) named after one of the prophets after the exile. He was a priest from one of the 24 divisions of priests (1 Chronicles 24:10). Elizabeth (God is my oath) was a daughter of a priest.
They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.
What’s most important about them is God’s opinion of them. They were righteous in God’s eyes, which means they lived by faith (Habakkuk 2:2-4; Romans 1:17). They were blameless (not perfect), which meant they lived distinct from the wicked (Phil 2:15) and loved the righteous (1 Thess 3:13).
But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years.
Despite living faithfully, they had no children. They likely prayed for children for years to no avail. I heard one preacher say that “advanced in years” probably means over 60, but I couldn’t find a definite age. Levites had to retire at the age of 50, then help the priests in Jerusalem (Num 8:25). But I’m unsure if that applied to Aaron’s sons as well. Regardless, Zechariah and Elizabeth spend a good portion of their life asking for God to bless their family with children and waiting to see if He would answer. As the years stacked up, they likely began praying for different things. “Lord, bring your messiah. Bring the prophet before the Lord.” If God wouldn’t hear their prayers for children, maybe He would hear their prayer for revival.
Waiting Prayerfully (Luke 1:8-17)
Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering.
Exodus 30:1-10 commanded that a priest offer incense in the holy place before the altar both morning and evening. Since there were 24 divisions of the priesthood, Zechariah’s division only served in this capacity two weeks out of the year. Depending on the size of the priesthood, Zechariah may have only offered this sacrifice a few times in his life. He would enter the holy place (the lampstand on his left, the table of bread on his right, and the altar straight ahead) and offer incense on the altar. He would lie flat on the ground as he prayed, then he would leave. When he left, the priest would give the blessing of Aaron to the people (Num 5:24-26) on the steps of the temple. Whatever worshippers were there would then chant “God of mercy, come into your holy sanctuary and receive with pleasure the offering of your people.”
And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him.
The only reasonable response.
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. “You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. “And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.
“It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
God wasn’t deaf to Zechariah’s prayers, neither was He mute. God heard Zechariah’s prayer for a child and prayer for the messiah. God was answering both prayers with the birth of his son, John. John will bring joy and gladness to Zechariah and to many others. God will think John is a great man. John’s entire life will be devoted to the Lord. To signify this, he will be under a similar vow as a Nazarite (Num 6:1-21). And even in Elizabeth’s womb, he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. John’s ministry will bring families back together again in fulfillment of the prophecy made in Malachi 4:6. He will call the wicked to repent (“turn”). John will bring all of Israel together so that when Jesus comes, people will be united around Jesus. The wicked will be united in their disdain for Jesus while the righteous will be united in their love for Him. Jesus will then, break many of the families that John brought together (Luke 12:52-53). The only true unity is found in Christ (1 Cor 12:12).
Waiting Faithfully (Luke 1:18-20)
Zacharias said to the angel, “How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.” The angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. “And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”
God answers Zechariah’s prayer, but not in the way he expected. Giving Zechariah and Elizabeth a child at 30 or even 40 is normal and expected. But giving them a child at 50 or 60 is scandalous, uncomfortable, and unnatural. It would cause a stir in the community. No doubt, Zechariah and Elizabeth made peace with their childlessness and exchanged their older hopes for other hopes. They got used to their house being clean. They enjoyed eating what they wanted, when they wanted. They likely decided to make the most of it and plan a retirement trip across the Judean landmarks. They would live out their days in an expected and respectable way. But God didn’t want Zechariah and Elizabeth to have an expected and respectable joy. He wanted them to have an unexpected one. God didn’t give them the gift when they wanted it, now giving them a son would change things. All of this makes sense as to why Zechariah doubts and asks Gabriel if he’s found the right Zechariah and Elizabeth.
Gabriel (God’s valiant one) responds to the lack of faith with a rebuke. Apparently, Gabriel is one of the top angels who ministers before the Lord’s throne in heaven. He also served during the ministry of Daniel (Dan 8:16; 9:21). He’s not someone to play games with. When God answers your prayers, you do not respond with doubt, ingratitude, or grumbling. When God answers your prayers, you respond with faith, thanksgiving, and singing. Even though Zechariah shows us how to wait, he also shows us how not to wait. Zechariah the doubter would not be a fitting father to last and greatest prophet of the older covenant era. But Zechariah the faithful would be. Thankfully, Gabriel didn’t value Zechariah’s feelings over his faith. By Gabriel taking Zechariah’s speech and hearing away, Zechariah could learn to wait in faith for the Lord to keep His promises.
Zechariah looked at God as a character in his story. Would he give me what I want? He also looked at God as a character in Israel’s history. Will God give us our messiah? Zechariah needed to be reminded, he is a character in God’s story. Until he learned that lesson, he would be a silent and deaf character. The God who was not deaf or mute to Zechariah will make Zechariah deaf and mute until he’s ready. Zechariah’s lack of faith will no longer be heard until his lack of faith becomes a song of faith.
Waiting to Wait no More (Luke 1:21-25)
The people were waiting for Zacharias, and were wondering at his delay in the temple. But 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. When the days of his priestly service were ended, he went back home. After these days Elizabeth his wife became pregnant, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying, “This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to take away my disgrace among men.”
Remember when Zechariah came out of the temple, he was supposed to give a benediction and the people respond. He couldn’t give the benediction or hear anything (“making signs to him”). Zechariah finished his work for the remainder of the week, then returned home. “After these days” in verse 24 doesn’t indicate how long between Gabriel visiting Zechariah and Elizabeth’s pregnancy. But when Elizabeth found out she was pregnant, she waited 5 months. This wasn’t required in the OT law. But because bareness was considered a punishment by many during that time, Elizabeth probably experienced some humiliation. “What did she do not to have a child?” But like Rachel, God had taken away her disgrace (Gen 30:23).
Conclusion
We typically think of waiting on the Lord as time out. You’ve done something wrong, you’ve committed a big sin, and God won’t answer your prayer until you fix the sin or until you’ve spent enough time feeling bad. But that’s not true for Zechariah and Elizabeth. They pleased God. God was happy with them. We should instead understand waiting on God like waiting on our food. We can only enjoy the full course if our bellies are empty. God wanted to serve Zechariah and Elizabeth a joy only 60-year-old parents of a newborn could enjoy. The only way Zechariah and Elizabeth could enjoy what God had in store was to wait.
Zechariah and Elizabeth’s gift is both personal and profound. It’s personal. God heard their prayers for a child, and He gave them what they asked for. How many prayers has God answered for you this last year? Do you keep track at how personal He is? But God isn’t just interested in saving one family, but all families. To do that God must send a kinsman redeemer to buy back what sinful humanity has lost. But before the redeemer comes, His prophet must first prepare the way. As we wait for Christmas, let us prepare our hearts like John prepared the hearts of those who heard king Jesus. Remember God’s promises. Believe God’s promises. Then, when promise becomes present, enjoy God’s promises.