Miracles of Christmas
Notes
Transcript
Christmas is a time of celebrating miracles. today we are going to read a good portion of Luke chapter 1 and talk through the many miracles that took place leading up to the birth of Christ. Certainly, Jesus coming is the greatest miracle of all, but today we are going to take a look at a few miracles that are easy to skip over and not examine closely as we rush by to get to the good part of Jesus’ birth. Let’s read about Zechariah, Elizabeth and the foretold birth of John the Baptist.
5 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.
6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly.
7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.
8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God,
9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.
12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.
13 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.
14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,
15 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.
16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.
17 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.”
18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
19 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.
20 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.”
21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple.
22 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.
23 When his time of service was completed, he returned home.
24 After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion.
25 “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.”
Anyone else read this and want to be there to witness this event? Standing outside the temple when Zechariah comes out and watching him flail his arms and mouth the words, but not be able to communicate…what a sight that must have been. Let’s look at the miracles present in this passage.
God saw fit to use regular people. Luke 1:5-6
God saw fit to use regular people. Luke 1:5-6
Yes, Zechariah was a priest, but there were thousands of them. Their only qualification was that they observed all the Lord’s commands. This doesn’t mean they were sinless, they just followed God’s commands in regards to making their wrongs right. There is nothing particularly special about them other than God choosing them to father John the Baptist.
Zechariah was chosen by lot. Luke 1:9
Zechariah was chosen by lot. Luke 1:9
When the Jewish people cast lots for anything, they believed that God would divinely choose the person. It certainly could have been anyone, but Zechariah was chosen. Given the size of the serving priestly divisions, the priests would only serve in this role once in the lifetime…if that.
An angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah. Luke 1:11
An angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah. Luke 1:11
If going into the temple to burn the incense is a once in a lifetime event, imagine how many had the privilege of meeting an angel while doing so...
Zechariah and Elizabeth were going to have a son in their old age. Luke 1:13
Zechariah and Elizabeth were going to have a son in their old age. Luke 1:13
This is certainly not the first time an older couple without children would suddenly become parents in the Bible, but it is no less a miracle. In verse 7 it says that they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive and the were both very old. Luke purposely used this language that the reader might remember Sarah (11:30), Rebekah (25:21), and Rachel (29:31) from the the book of Genesis.
Zechariah was made mute until John was born Luke 1:20
Zechariah was made mute until John was born Luke 1:20
Can you imagine having this experience and not being able to talk about it!?!
Elizabeth became pregnant Luke 1:24
Elizabeth became pregnant Luke 1:24
She says this in verse 25: “He has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.” She recognizes that her being pregnant is God’s favor. What a great way to see life events. Lord help us to see the world like Elizabeth.
There is one more miracle to point out from this passage. I’ve purposefully saved this for last...
17 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.”
This is no small miracle. I heard it said recently: “I know how hard it is to change myself, it must therefore be impossible to change others.” But nothing is impossible with God. He can use a man to change others and John was to be this man. The hearts of parents would turn to their children and the hearts of the disobedient would turn to the wisdom of the righteous.
Let that set in for a minute. I am not sure why I that didn’t register with me more before. I got the part with the parents and children, but this is big. The disobedient would heed the wisdom of the righteous. Oh, how we need a John the Baptist - that someone would be anointed of God to turn the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous.
All of this to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. There is no way to be prepared without the miracle of John and the anointing on him.
Let’s read the next passage and discover a few more miracles of Christmas...
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,
27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.
31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.
32 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,
33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 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.
36 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.
37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
An angel appeared to Mary Luke 1:28
An angel appeared to Mary Luke 1:28
I think I took this for granted as a miracle. When was the last time an angel appeared to you or someone you know? What did they describe? Did it sound like a miracle? This was nothing short of a miracle. This is not something we can just make happen. Only God can instruct and angel to appear.
A virgin will be pregnant and have a son. Luke 1:31,34
A virgin will be pregnant and have a son. Luke 1:31,34
Science and experience tells us that pregnancy and birth is impossible if a woman is a virgin. God has other plans. He makes the impossible possible. That is a textbook definition of a miracle - making the impossible possible.
Elizabeth revealed to be pregnant. Luke 1:36
Elizabeth revealed to be pregnant. Luke 1:36
Mary and Elizabeth lived 2-3 days journey apart. Surely Mary knew of Elizabeth’s age and lack of children. This revelation that Elizabeth being pregnant must have been a shock to Mary as well. Not only is the pregnancy a miracle, but the revelation to Mary is also a miracle.
Mary responded in faith. Luke 1:38
Mary responded in faith. Luke 1:38
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.”
Faith is a gift from God. As such, it is also a miracle. It was just revealed that she would be pregnant with the Son of God and her elderly cousin Elizabeth is pregnant. Many of us would have responded with doubt like Zechariah, but by faith Mary believed what was told to her.
Faith is a miracle from God. How else to explain what cannot be explained. Why would a young teenage girl respond the way she did if not by a miracle.
I’ve once again saved the greatest of the miracles for last.
Mary’s son will reign forever. Luke 1:32-33
Mary’s son will reign forever. Luke 1:32-33
Here is what those verses say:
32 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, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
A regular teenager is told that her son would sit on David’s throne and reign forever. First, could a teenager like Mary ever expect to have her child be considered royalty? If so, how in the world would he reign forever.
Never has a man been born who this could be said about other than Jesus. It is not something a human mind could even comprehend - forever…never ending. Yet, this is the miracle of Jesus.
Finally,
Mary’s son Jesus is the Son of God. Luke 1:35
Mary’s son Jesus is the Son of God. Luke 1:35
I imagine Mary thought some day she would have children. Most girls have that dream at some point, but to be the mother of the son of God? I doubt that entered her mind. This has never happened before, how could she even imagine something like this.
Let’s think about the full implications of this though…God came in human form through Mary. God came in human form. The God of the universe that not created all things, but sustains all things would humble himself into the form of a human being.
He did it because he loves us.
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
By believing in God’s one and only Son, we shall have eternal life with him.
We were destined for hell and death because of our sinful nature:
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The eternal life in Jesus is possible because he came. He came because he loves us. That is the greatest miracle of all - that the God of the universe would love me and you. That he would be willing to humble himself and come because he loves us - what a miracle.
I sometimes find myself thinking…this situation is going to need a miracle. This relationship is going to need a miracle. This health crisis is going to need a miracle. If we are honest, we often doubt that a miracle is coming.
I want to say to us today, if God is willing to make the greatest miracle of all happen - coming to earth as a baby, only to die on a cross, BECAUSE HE LOVES ME - then who am I to doubt that he could do another miracle today?