As I stated Last week I do not want to take anything away from Jesus. He is the Peace of the world. But, we, the Christians, have been given a great responsibility. We know the Lord. We have been called to get the Word out to others.
Today’s passages have to do with John the Baptist. He was the forerunner announcing the Messiah’s coming. He was telling the people that the One who brings peace is about to appear.
Luke 1:1-4
Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. 2 They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples. 3 Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write a careful account for you, most honorable Theophilus, 4 so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught.
Before we go too far I want you to know that Theophilus was probably a high ranking Roman official noted by him being addressed as most honorable.
Luke was a Gentile. Paul declared in one of his writings that Luke was not of the circumcision. This would lead us to believe that he was a Gentile.
Luke was a doctor and historian. He wrote the book of Luke and the book of Acts.
Ravi Zacharias teaches of a well known atheist that decided to go to the Middle East and prove the books of Luke to be false documents. The more the man researched Luke’s work the more he believed that everything Luke wrote was credible and he became a Christian.
We Christians, who are the hope and peace of the world, need to understand how reliable the Scriptures are when it comes to leading others to Christ.
As we go along I will point out how precise Luke was in his account of all that had happened.
Luke 1:5-25
The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
5 When Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron. 6 Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations. 7 They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old.
8 One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week. 9 As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. 10 While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying.
11 While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. 12 Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. 13 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. 14 You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. 16 And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. 17 He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”
18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”
19 Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! 20 But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”
21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taking so long. 22 When he finally did come out, he couldn’t speak to them. Then they realized from his gestures and his silence that he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary.
23 When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home. 24 Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. 25 “How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.”
Many people overlook the importance of John the Baptist. John was the son of the priest Zechariah. His mother was a descendent from the priestly line of Aaron. For John to be Christ’s prophet he would have had to been a priest. He was the Elijah of his day. Isaiah prophesied about him. John was the fulfillment of a 700 year old prophesy.
This passage also tells us in detail who Zechariah was as well as the time frame of the angelic appearance.
This all happened when Herod was the king of Judea. It also happened while the priestly order of Abijah was on duty. Zechariah was the priest serving in the temple.
As you can tell by Luke’s account everything would have been verifiable through historical research.
Something amazing happens while Zechariah was in the sanctuary serving God. Gabriel, an angel that stands in the very presence of God, appeared in the sanctuary.
This may seem a bit strange but the Israelites believed that God resided in the Most Holy Place of the Temple. If this is where God resided why wouldn’t Gabriel have been there? Just because we can’t see the angelic host doesn’t mean they don’t exist.
Now Gabriel had a message for Zechariah. He was going to have a son and his son was going to be the priest that turned the hearts of many people back to the Lord.
This may not seem important but for us to become the world’s peace we must understand the message that is being presented.
Christians are a chosen possession. We have been called a Royal Priesthood. We are those who prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. We are the ones shouting in the wilderness for people to prepare the way of the Lord.
We may not have been physically born into the line of priest but we have been adopted into the priestly family. Now our job is to continue the family business.
Isaiah 9:6-7
6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!
We are now the priests who proclaim the Prince of Peace to the world. We are the peacemakers.
Matthew 5:9
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
James 3:18
And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.
Ephesians 2:14-16
14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. 16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.
We, the Christians, are now the peacemakers. We know and understand where peace comes from. We have been called to take the message of peace to the world.
How are we doing?
Luke 1:57-79
The Birth of John the Baptist
57 When it was time for Elizabeth’s baby to be born, she gave birth to a son. 58 And when her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very merciful to her, everyone rejoiced with her.
59 When the baby was eight days old, they all came for the circumcision ceremony. They wanted to name him Zechariah, after his father. 60 But Elizabeth said, “No! His name is John!”
61 “What?” they exclaimed. “There is no one in all your family by that name.” 62 So they used gestures to ask the baby’s father what he wanted to name him. 63 He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s surprise he wrote, “His name is John.” 64 Instantly Zechariah could speak again, and he began praising God.
65 Awe fell upon the whole neighborhood, and the news of what had happened spread throughout the Judean hills. 66 Everyone who heard about it reflected on these events and asked, “What will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was surely upon him in a special way.
Zechariah’s Prophecy
67 Then his father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy:
68 “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and redeemed his people.
69 He has sent us a mighty Savior from the royal line of his servant David, 70 just as he promised through his holy prophets long ago.
71 Now we will be saved from our enemies and from all who hate us.
72 He has been merciful to our ancestors by remembering his sacred covenant—73 the covenant he swore with an oath to our ancestor Abraham.
74 We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live.
76 “And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord.
77 You will tell his people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins.
78 Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”
80 John grew up and became strong in spirit. And he lived in the wilderness until he began his public ministry to Israel.
It’s time for us to leave the wilderness. It’s time we begin our ministry proclaiming the path of peace. It’s time we accept our priestly position and begin telling the world about the Prince of Peace. We are the peacemakers. It’s our duty to bring the Jews and Gentiles together in peace. The only way this will happen is through preaching and teaching about Jesus Christ.
God set before us a pattern. We are to call people to Christ. We are to go into all of the world and make disciples baptizing them into the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Are you ready to perform your priestly duties?
Philippians 4:6-7
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
God will give us the peace we need as we share our peace with others.
Let us pray.
