The Silence Is Broken

June 24, 2021June 25, 2021 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

⁵In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. ⁷But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

⁸Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, ⁹according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. ¹²And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. ¹³But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. ¹⁴And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. ¹⁶And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, ¹⁷and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” – Luke 1:5-17 ESV

It’s interesting to note that, as Luke begins his record of Jesus’ earthly ministry, he reminds his readers that there was a king ruling and reigning over the province of Judea, and this man’s name was Herod.

This is significant because Luke, like the authors of the other gospels, is going to establish Jesus as King of the Jews. But before Jesus even shows up on the scene, there is a contender or pretender for the throne. Herod was actually an Edomite, one of the descendants of Esau, the twin brother of Jacob. Before Jacob and Esau were born, God had given their mother a prophetic message concerning the fate of her two sons.

“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
the older shall serve the younger.” – Genesis 25:23 ESV

After their birth, Jacob, the younger of the two, would bargain and deceive his way into stealing the birthright and the blessing of the firstborn from his older brother Esau. When the boys were older and their father Isaac was nearing death, Jacob disguised himself as his older brother and tricked the near-blind Isaac into giving him the blessing reserved for the oldest son.

“Let peoples serve you,
    and nations bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
    and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you,
    and blessed be everyone who blesses you!” – Genesis 27:29 ESV

This life-altering event left Esau angry and frustrated. He demanded that Isaac provide him with a blessing as well. But what he heard left him embittered and far from satisfied.

“Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be,
and away from the dew of heaven on high.
By your sword you shall live,
and you shall serve your brother…” – Genesis 27:39-40 ESV

Now, centuries later, Herod, a descendant of Esau, was sitting on the throne of David in Jerusalem. But he was not from the tribe of Judah. Technically, he was not even a Jew. He was an Edomite. And he had gained his title by making alliances with the Romans. At one point, he had been appointed the governor of the northern province of Galilee. Herod’s father was a high-ranking official in the Hasmonean Dynasty, which had been ruling in Palestine until the arrival of the Romans. During a conflict between the Hasmoneans and the Romans, Herod chose to side with the Romans. As a result, the Roman Senate promised him the undeserved title of “King of the Jews,” if he could successfully conquer Judea, the largest Roman province that included all of Israel.

After helping to reign in the rebellious Judeans, Herod received his official title in 37 BC, and he would remain the unofficial king until 4 AD. So, as Luke begins his chronicle of the birth of the true King of the Jews, we discover that the position was occupied by a usurper. And we will quickly see that this two-king, one-title situation would prove to be a problem.

But after a brief, but important, reference to Herod, Luke introduces us to another character – a priest named Zechariah. According to 1 Chronicles, King David was the one who had organized the priesthood into 24 divisions.

David divided Aaron’s descendants into groups according to their various duties. Eleazar’s descendants were divided into sixteen groups and Ithamar’s into eight, for there were more family leaders among the descendants of Eleazar. – 1 Chronicles 24:2-4 ESV

Each group carried out its appointed duties in the house of the Lord according to the procedures established by their ancestor Aaron in obedience to the commands of the Lord, the God of Israel. – 1 Chronicles 24:19 ESV

Zechariah came from the division of Abijah. His wife, Elizabeth, was also a descendant of Aaron. So, this couple had strong ties to the Aaronic priesthood. And Luke lets us know that this couple lived up to their priestly heritage.

…they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. – Luke 1:6 ESV

But this godly couple had never been able to have children because Elizabeth was barren. Now, to make matters worse, they were both advanced in years. Sound familiar? It should. Because it is reminiscent of several other biblical couples who found themselves facing similar circumstances. When Abraham, the father of the Hebrew people, was called by God, he and his wife Sarah were advanced in years and she suffered from barrenness. Rachel, the wife of Jacob, was also barren. Yet God allowed her to give birth to a son.

Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. She conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” And she called his name Joseph… – Genesis 30:22-24 ESV

Hannah, the mother of the prophet, Samuel, also suffered from barrenness. In fact, the book of 1 Samuel records that God had closed up her womb (1 Samuel 1:5). Yet, when Hannah called out to the Lord, He answered her.

…in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the Lord.” – 1 Samuel 1:20 ESV

God entered into the pain and misery of each of these women, providing them with hope even after years of desperation and despondency. He moved in the midst of their barrenness and produced fruitfulness. He brought light into the darkness of their lives, graciously blessing them with the sons for whom they had so long waited.

It is not insignificant that Zechariah’s Hebrew name means “Yahweh remembers.” God was going to remember Elizabeth but, more importantly, He was going to remember His people, Israel. For 400 years, the nation of Israel had lived in a time of silence, with no prophetic messengers having been sent by God. The last words of the very last prophet had been declared four centuries earlier when Malachi closed out the book that bears his name.

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” – Malachi 4:5-6 ESV

God was about to remember and fulfill that promise, and it would begin with an elderly priest and his barren wife. On the particular day of the year when Zechariah’s priestly division was scheduled to serve in the Temple, his name was “chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense” (Luke 1:9 ESV). Everything about this scenario shouts the sovereignty and providential will of God. He was orchestrating every aspect of this scene.

While performing his priestly duties at the altar of incense inside the Temple, Zechariah was suddenly joined by an angel. The appearance of this unexpected visitor left Zechariah in a state of fear. But the angel assured the frightened priest that all was well. He simply had an important message to deliver.

“Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.” – Luke 1:13 ESV

It’s likely that Zechariah had been praying for his wife’s barren condition for some time. But the text seems to indicate that he had been taking advantage of his access to the Temple and the altar of incense to offer up a special prayer of intercession. And the angel informed him that God had heard his prayer and the answer was on its way. She would give birth to a son whose name would be John. And Zechariah must have chuckled to himself when he heard the angel exclaim, “You will have great joy and gladness” (Luke 1:14 NLT). Of course, he would. This was a prayer he had been praying for years, and now God was answering it. God was remembering him and Hannah. And when John was born, Zechariah would be beside himself with joy and gladness.

But the angel added that John’s birth would be a source of joy for a great many people.

“…and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord.” – Luke 1:15 NLT

And the angel explains why this boy’s birth will have such an impact on so many.

“…he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord.” – Luke 1:16-17 NLT

This birth, while a direct answer to Zechariah’s prayer, was going to be a fulfillment of God’s promise to send “Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes” (Malachi 4:5 ESV). This would be no ordinary baby. He would be a prophet sent from God with a message regarding the coming Savior of the world. The deafening silence of the last 400 years would be broken at last. God uses this miraculous messenger to declare the pending arrival of the long-awaited Messiah. John would do so under the influence of the Holy Spirit. But to ensure that His messenger would remain pure and undefiled, God commanded Zechariah to raise his son as a Nazirite. He was to abstain from the consumption of any form of wine or strong drink. His role would be too important to risk the influence of alcohol. He would be filled with the Spirit instead.

John was going to be the preparer of the way. His job would be to declare the coming of the chosen one of God. John would serve as a herald, with a singular task “to make ready for the Lord a people prepared” (Luke 1:17 ESV).

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Messiah Has Come!

October 9, 2019 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ²“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” ³For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.’”

⁴Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, ⁶and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

⁷But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” – Matthew 3:1-10 ESV

Matthew has an agenda and he wastes no time on anything that will not support his overall objective. His primary interest is to establish Jesus as the Messiah of Israel, and so, after providing an abbreviated overview of Jesus’ birth, Matthew fast-forwards to His baptism and the beginning of His earthly ministry.

In keeping with his more truncated and sparse narrative style, Matthew provides little details regarding the relationship between Jesus and John the Baptist. Luke’s Gospel contains a much-more detailed account of this seminal character, providing information about his birth, unique lifestyle, and the nature of his God-given assignment to prepare the way for Jesus.

But Matthew eliminates all the background information regarding John the Baptist, introducing him into the narrative in a somewhat abrupt and jarring manner. Matthew fast-forwards from the news that Joseph, Mary, and Jesus had settled in Galilee and brings us to a future point in time when John was baptizing somewhere in the Judean wilderness. He makes no effort to explain who John was, but simply gives us a description of his work and his wardrobe.

John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea… – Matthew 3:1 ESV

John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. – Matthew 3:4 ESV

It’s fairly clear that Matthew saw John as a supporting character in the story. He was vital to the narrative but played a clearly subordinate role to that of Jesus. And John the Baptist had been fully comfortable with his secondary status, having recognized the divine nature of Jesus’ ministry and mission. The apostle John records the words that John the Baptist spoke to his disciples when they expressed concern that Jesus was also baptizing in the Jordan and drawing large crowds.

“You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.

”He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all.“ – John 3:28-31 ESV

Once again, Matthew sees the events surrounding the life of Jesus as fulfilling the words of Scripture. He refers to John the Baptist “preaching in the wilderness of Judea” and calling the people to “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:1 ESV). And these actions by John were in direct fulfillment of a message delivered by Isaiah hundreds of years earlier.

A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” – Isaiah 40:3 ESV

John had been sent by God to prepare the way for the coming Messiah. He had delivered his message of repentance, warning that the Kingdom of Heaven was near. The long-awaited Messiah was about to reveal Himself.

In his Gospel, Mark shares that John “appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4 ESV). But what was this “baptism of repentance?” What exactly were these people repenting of? And why was John attracting such large crowds?

Some of John’s attraction might be linked to his rather strange attire and bizarre lifestyle. Matthew describes him as wearing “a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist” and subsisting off a diet of “locusts and wild honey” (Matthew 3:4 ESV). John’s attire linked him with the Old Testament prophet, Elijah (2 Kings 1:8). After the last Old Testament prophet spoke his final words, God went silent for 400-years. There were no prophets. There was no communication from God. And then, suddenly, John the Baptist shows up on the scene, bearing a striking resemblance to Elijah and reminding the people of the words spoken by God to the prophet, Micah, hundreds of years earlier.

John was the fulfillment of this prophetic promise. He came in the spirit of Elijah, accomplishing the same prophetic ministry as his Old Testament predecessor. And God had promised Zechariah, the father of John, that all of this would take place.

“Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” – Luke 1:13-17 ESV

Once again, Matthew is establishing Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah of Israel. And John the Baptist was sent to prepare for his arrival by calling the people to repentance. But as we asked earlier, what kind of repentance? The Greek word for “repentance” is metanoeō and it means “to change one’s mind.” We tend to think of repentance as exclusively linked to behavior, but it has a much more robust and all-encompassing meaning. Repentance begins, first and foremost, in the mind, not the actions. John was calling the people of Israel to change their minds about everything. They were going to have to radically change their minds about God. They had developed a warped perspective about Yahweh that had allowed them to treat Him with a bit too much familiarity. They were going to have to change their minds regarding righteousness. They were living under the false impression that their status as descendants of Abraham and their relationship with the Mosaic Law made them righteous. But all of that was about to change. They were going to have to change their mind about sin and the means by which the sinner is made right with a holy God. The sacrificial system had never been intended to make anyone righteous.

Years later, the apostle Paul asked the question: “Why, then, was the law given?” and then he answered his own question: “It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised” (Galatians 3:19 NLT). And now, here was John letting the people know that the child who was promised had arrived. He was now a 30-year-old man and, as John would later describe Him, “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 NLT).

But John’s ministry included proclamation and immersion. He baptized, which is how he got his nickname, John the Baptist. John was calling the people to prepare for spiritual restoration. The anointed one of God had arrived and they were going to have to confess their sins and prepare their hearts for what God had in store. Just as the prophet, Elijah, had called the Jews of his day to repentance, so was John. The Israelites were guilty of spiritual complacency and, at worst, apostasy. And God had graciously sent His messenger, John, to call them back.

But when John saw the religious leaders showing up to be baptized, he accused them of hypocrisy.

“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” – Matthew 3:8 ESV

They were simply going through the motions, attempting to align themselves with the large crowds that John was attracting. But John’s baptism was intended to reveal the heart of the one being baptized. It was a baptism of repentance, symbolizing a desire to be restored to a right relationship with God. But John saw through the charade of the Pharisees and Sadduccees. They were unrepentant because they saw no need for it. They viewed themselves as fully righteous and John knew that their false concept was based on their status as sons of Abraham. Which is why he stated:

“Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones.” – Matthew 3:9 NLT

Not exactly PC-language. But John was out to prepare the people for the arrival of the Lamb of God, who alone can take away the sins of the world. The Pharisees and Sadduccees saw themselves as sinless and, therefore, in no need of a Savior. But John warns these self-righteous men that their lack of fruit in keeping with true righteousness was going to result in their removal.

“Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.” – Matthew 3:10 NLT

There was a change coming. The status quo that had existed in Israel for centuries was about to be rocked. With the arrival of Jesus, everything was about to change. The first would be last and the last would be first. The self-righteous were about to be exposed as unrighteous. The sinners of the world were about to be embraced by the Savior of the world. The weak would find new strength. The spiritually blind would gain their signt. The captives would be set free. And the lost would be found. Because the Messiah had come.

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prepare the way

The Silence Is Broken

The Messiah Has Come!