Comparing Cousins - John (Luke 1.57-80)

Sermon by: Robert Austell; December 24 (am), 2017 - Luke 1:57-80

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::: Scripture and Music ::
Prepare the Way (Evans, Nuzum)
Of the Father's Love/Love Shines (arr. Austell)
CHOIR: People, Look East (arr. Helvey)
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (MENDELSSOHN)

:: Sermon Manuscript (pdf) ::
This "manuscript" represents an early draft of the sermon. Some weeks the spoken version varies more than others from the early manuscript. Nevertheless, if you'd prefer to read than to listen, this is provided  for that purpose.

This advent we have been looking at the stories of Jesus’ relatives leading up to his birth. We first looked at his aunt and uncle, Zacharias and Elizabeth, at their silence and solitude in preparation for their own miracle baby. Then we looked at Elizabeth’s joyful amazement at seeing Mary, also pregnant with a promised child. Then last week we looked at Mary, the mother of Jesus, at her joy and worship of God at this miraculous news and reality. Her response was no easy happy thing, but a deep and mature response of faithful obedience toward God who had set her apart to bear the anointed Messiah into the world.

In application we have been challenged to open our eyes, ears, and hearts to what God is doing around US. We’ve been challenged to be still in this busy season in order to become more aware of God at work. We’ve been challenged to submit our own plans and wills to God.

Today we hear more about the family of Zacharias and Elizabeth and the child God gave to them. He would be Jesus’ cousin and would be named John. He would grow up to be the last of the great Hebrew prophets in the mold of Elijah. And he would call his people back to God, to receive the Messiah and believe God’s salvation. I’m going to divide today’s text into three sections relative to the action in it: past, present, and future.

Past (vv. 57-66)

As the text picks up in v. 57, it is time for Elizabeth to give birth. The baby is born healthy and parents, neighbors, and relatives are overjoyed at the gift of life to this couple who had not been able to have children. As was the custom, they took the child to be circumcised on the eighth day. It was at that time they would name the child. Zacharias was still unable to speak, still muted from his encounter with the angel when he first got the news that they would have a child. So Elizabeth answers and says, “He will be called John.” And they questioned her. It was not a family name; it was out of the ordinary. And they questioned dad, “Is she right?” And Zacharias didn’t just nod or give a thumbs up; he asked for a tablet and wrote it out: “His name is John.” And we read: “they were all astonished.” (v. 63)

There was something really unusual going on. Actually, there was a whole pile of unusual. That this couple had become pregnant and had a baby was miraculous to begin with. But then there was Zacharias, suddenly unable to speak since the news broke. And Elizabeth had been holed up in her own solitude. But now… “John.” That’s so human, right; we see and hear amazing stuff, but then it’s something relatively ordinary that pushes us over the edge of what we can take in. God has been so good to you, Zach and Liz – what a gift to have this child. We’re sorry about whatever has happened to Zach, but what’s that, what do you want to name the baby? Belvedere Buloxi Wifi Jones? What in the world? Hey dad, has your wife gone crazy? No… what? You, too?

Here’s what I see going on here: Zacharias and Elizabeth were being obedient to the Lord and the message and sign they received from the angel. God had spoken and acted, and they had heard. And their obedience led them out of the ordinary; it was going to stand out a bit. But after tuning in to God these nine months, after seeing what God was doing with Mary and Joseph, after hearing from an angel… they were following what God said to do, whether the friends and relatives thought it was a weird name or not.

And here’s what followed that obedience: Zacharias’ tongue was loosened. In his act of obedience, God acted further to confirm that obedience. And immediately he “began to speak in praise of God.” (v. 64) And did you hear the reaction to THAT? “Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea.” (v. 65) Everyone started paying attention, wondering who the child would become and what the Lord would do in his life.

We don’t always understand obedience; it is not always clear what God will do with that obedience. But if we listen and follow God truly, God will use our obedience. And in this case, God not only would use John in the future, but God’s Holy Spirit spoke through Zacharias in that present moment.

Present (vv. 67-75)

Zacharias and Elizabeth heeded the past words of God through the angel and chose to obey in the present moment in the naming of John and in giving glory to God. And what happened next was God acting in a public way. The Holy Spirit filled Zacharias and he prophesied. That means he spoke God’s Word to a particular audience, somewhat akin to preaching. He declared:

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,
And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant
– As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old –
Salvation from our enemies,
And from the hand of all who hate us;
To show mercy toward our fathers,
And to remember His holy covenant,
The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,
To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days. (vv.68-75)

“This is what God is doing,” the Spirit said through Zacharias. There was no need for this extra message: John would grow up to be a great prophet announcing the coming of the Messiah. And miracle babies and angel messages were abounding. But this was God’s story, and God’s Spirit inspired Zacharias to speak this short sermon to bridge together what had happened in the PAST with God and His people and what was happening for Zacharias and God’s people in the PRESENT. Zacharias announced salvation, rescue, and mercy – all rooted in God’s faithfulness to His promises. His words also bridged into the FUTURE as he spoke words of blessing over his son, John.

Future (vv. 76-80)

Still filled with the Holy Spirit, Zacharias turns to his son and speaks these words:

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
For you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways;
To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of their sins,
Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace. (vv. 76-79)

From there the Gospel-writer narrator tells us that the child grew up to become strong in spirit until he began his public ministry to Israel as John the Baptist (Baptizer). (v. 80) What God was about to do was send His Son into the world. And God would use John to call people back to Himself and to point them towards salvation in Jesus. John was to “prepare the way” and he grew up to do that with everything he had.

Christmas Eve

For us John has lived, preached, and died. And Jesus has been born, has lived, has died, and has been raised. But what we do each year during Advent is live through it again, like watching a play or a movie for a second or third time. We know how the story turns out, but it’s meaningful to walk through it again and again… particularly this story.

As we look back over our Advent with Jesus’ relatives, there are a number of faithful examples set for us:

Zacharias and Elizabeth teach us to LISTEN through silence and stillness.
Elizabeth and Mary teach us to RECOGNIZE God at work (and worship!)
Mary and Zacharias teach us to REMEMBER what God has done.
Zacharias, Elizabeth, and Mary all teach us to OBEY God’s Word and will.

So from the vantage point of Christmas Eve, we are with Zacharias and Elizabeth and John. We are with Mary and Joseph. We have heard stories of God’s faithfulness in the past and we may have even had our own experiences of God’s goodness in our own past. And we gather in faith and in hope in the present, to ANTICIPATE that God will show up and touch us… speak to us in a meaningful way. I believe even more is happening this morning, akin to what happened with Zacharias and those gathered around him. I believe God IS here, presently and powerfully. I believe that God’s Spirit IS speaking through the Word of scripture and through our hearing and receiving of it. And as we prepare to hear the Christmas news again, we trust in the same future that Zacharias, Elizabeth, and God’s people did all those years ago: that God will rescue us from sin, save us for something more, win us and woo us back home, and bring us into His arms at the last. And as it was then it is now and ever will be: through Jesus Christ, Son of God, Light in the darkness, Sunrise from on high, and Savior for the world. Amen.