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.” ~ Luke 1:12-17
The first story Luke tells in his Gospel involves an angel named Gabriel who was sent from heaven to Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. God had last spoken directly to man four hundred years earlier. For the first time in a very long time, God breaks into man's story of his separation from God.
As the priest, Zechariah, goes into the Holy Place to light the incense, the angel Gabriel appears before him, standing on the right side of the altar. In v.12, we read that Zechariah "was startled, and was gripped with fear." Gabriel commands Zechariah, “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.”
One of the great lessons learned from this story is that God uses regular folks in His story of redeeming man. In fact, He tells us that He uses the weak of this world to confound the strong. Be encouraged to step out in faith in the confidence that He is actively at work in your life and be use by Him in the lives of people all around you who need His message of hope.
Our lives are not accidents, but a part of the larger plan of God. There is so much in our lives that we don’t understand. But sometimes God reaches down and says, “You’re going to be a part of something bigger. You’re going to be a part of the grand story that I am writing of the redemption of mankind. Are you willing?”
When the angel appeared to Zechariah, he said, "Don't be afraid, Zechariah." Throughout this Gospel, Luke writes about this fear. He refers to it repeatedly in Luke 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 23. Zachariah knew that angels were the instruments of divine judgment. But, this wasn't a visit to deliver judgment.
In v.13, we read, "your prayer has been heard." This was a long-standing prayer of Elizabeth and Zechariah. This was a prayer which they had started praying long ago. Then, Gabriel shows up and says, "Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son."
At the end of v.13 Gabriel tells Zechariah to name his son John which means "God is gracious." By giving him the name John, God is saying, "I'm about to explode upon the world with My grace." The final message in the Old Testament, the final message in Malachi 4 includes a curse. The last words in the New Testament, the final words in Revelation 22 is: "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people."
In v.15, we read, “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.” God set John the Baptist apart to be laser focused on being a herald for the Lord Jesus.
The impact of John's ministry is defined in v.16, which reads, "He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God." The words "bring back" are a technical term for “conversion.” John will call people back to the Lord, back from our rebellion, back from our self-righteousness.
In v.17 we learn the practical outflow of our personal relationship with the Lord: "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."
Remember that Zachariah and Elizabeth together means: "God remembers His promise." The promise of a new covenant not based upon our performance, but upon relationship with the One He would send. Luke is saying that with the birth of John the Baptist will come the introduction of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, the One that God sent to pay the penalty for that which separated us from God.
We go from curse to grace by inserting the Lord Jesus Christ into the equation. When we insert the Lord Jesus Christ, we access God's grace, His unmerited, undeserved favor. This is the introduction of the Gospel of Luke.
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