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Christmas Eve sermon

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  23/12/01  
  The Forerunner Arrives Luke 1:57-80
     
  The time has almost come for the Messiah to be born. But first the forerunner must appear. First John must appear, as the one who would, in the words of the Angel Gabriel, "go before the Lord, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." (Lk 1:17) And so Elizabeth gives birth to a baby boy, just as the angel had predicted. And, as instructed, they name him John. And at the very moment when Zechariah confirms that's to be his name, his voice returns to him and he begins to praise God.
  This in itself is enough to set the countryside talking. The fact that Elizabeth was able to have a child in the first place was miracle enough, but the way Zechariah was struck dumb, and was then enabled to speak again as soon as John was named sets this birth aside as quite remarkable; something to be talked about and discussed for some time to come. But the wonder doesn't stop there, because Zechariah is then filled with the Holy Spirit, just as Elizabeth and Mary were in the previous section and begins to prophecy.
  So lets think about this prophecy of Zechariah.
  Salvation
  The first thing we discover as Zechariah begins to speak is that John's birth heralds the coming of a saviour, of a redeemer. He says "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. 69He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David,"
  Now there's no doubt from the surrounding chapters of Luke's gospel, that the people of Israel at this time were looking for God to send the Messiah. They were waiting and hoping that a redeemer would come who would restore the kingdom to Israel. But it isn't that sort of hope that leads Zechariah to say these words. No, he's inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit puts these words in his mouth. And what do his words reveal? God is about to act. In fact it's put in the past tense. He has redeemed them. It's as though once God's plan is set in motion, it's completed. Jesus hasn't been born yet, but Zechariah is able to say that God has redeemed his people. Why? Because he's raised up a mighty saviour for us from the house of David. This child who's about to be born to Mary is the Messiah who was promised hundreds of years before. His birth will mean the culmination of God's plan to redeem his people. They may have been waiting a thousand years since the death of David for his successor to appear, but now it's as good as done. This is the salvation God has been promising through his prophets for hundreds of years. And now it's happening.
  Deliverance
  So what is the nature of this salvation? In the first place it's deliverance from their enemies.
  This had been the core hope of the people of Israel ever since the exile; ever since they were no longer an autonomous nation. It went against the grain, both at a political level and especially at a religious level that they were subject to another nation. How could they be the people of God if a pagan nation was in control of their future? This in fact goes to the heart of the gospel and, as we'll see in a moment, is central to the role that John would play in going before the Messiah to prepare the way for him.
  You see, the Jewish people of that time had gone down the wrong road. They saw the redemption of the nation as being essentially political. They thought that what mattered was who was in control of the political life of the nation. Now there was some justification for that idea. Just a couple of hundred years earlier, the Syrian King Antiochus had attempted to force the Jewish people to abandon the God of Israel and to take on Greek religious customs, including idolatry. He'd claimed to be a god himself, calling himself Antiochus Epiphanes, meaning "God manifested". He'd even desecrated the Temple by sacrificing a pig on the altar so the Jews could no longer use the Temple for worship of the Lord. It was only when the Maccabees staged a successful rebellion that they were again able to worship in the Temple. You may have heard reports of the celebration of Hanukkah a few weeks ago. Well, that celebration commemorates the rededication of the Temple following the Maccabeean rebellion. We'll come back to Hanukkah in a moment but for now, it's enough to know that the Messiah has come to save the nation from its enemies and to fulfill God's promise to Abraham, to enable God's people to serve him without fear. But the way that deliverance will come about will not match the people's expectations. But let's read further.
  The Role of the Forerunner
  As Zechariah goes on he moves from the coming of the Messiah to the role of the Forerunner. He says "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways." John's role is to prepare the way for the Messiah. To get the nation ready. And how will he do that? By giving "knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins." Here we see the first hint in Luke's gospel that the popular understanding of the Messiah was wrong.
  You see, the major problem that the nation faced in their desire to worship God wasn't the fact that they were subservient to another nation. It was that they were dead in their trespasses and sins. It was that they needed to repent.
  They weren't any different from each of us. Our major problem in coming to worship God is that we're not worthy to even speak his name, let alone offer him worship. So we need to first repent of our sins. John's role was to prepare for Jesus' coming by offering people God's forgiveness. A forgiveness based on what Jesus himself would achieve for us on the cross. As he began his ministry John's message was singular: Repent of your sins for the King is coming. Turn back to follow God and the Messiah whom God has appointed and who's about to appear.
  This is the salvation that God has prepared for us. A salvation that's based on our sins being forgiven so we can stand before God and offer him true worship in holiness and righteousness forever.
  The Role of the Messiah
  So, finally, Zechariah speaks about the role of the Messiah. He says: "By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, 79to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."
  The festival of Hanukkah was also called the Festival of Lights, because of the practice of lighting lamps and candles in people's homes to celebrate the light of God shining on them again. But here, Zechariah is pointing to Jesus as the light of God, the one who will shine on those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death.
  There's an incident recorded in John's gospel, in ch10, on the festival of Hanukkah when some of the Jews came to Jesus and asked him to say clearly whether he was the Christ. Jesus' answer is "I did tell you but you didn't believe." And they respond by trying to stone him. Their response is partly influenced by the timing. Here is Jesus claiming to be the Son of God on the feast that commemorates the overthrow of Antiochus and his false claims to be a god. Their reaction is understandable and even justifiable if his claim is false. But if in fact it's true, then they've made a huge mistake. They've missed what is the miracle of Immanuel, God with us. As they celebrate the rededication of the temple, the reopening of the means by which they can approach God, they've missed the true source of that approach, the only means by which we can approach God with confidence.
  Jesus comes as the light of the world. He comes to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. His coming will guide our feet into the way of peace. Again, not political peace. That certainly has never been the case. But peace with God. His coming allows us to be at peace with God again. To come into his presence without guilt, without fear. And he brings not just the possibility of peace with God. He also brings the possibility of peace with each other when we live as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, sharing the grace and love and forgiveness of Christ with each other.
  Christ's coming will make it possible for us to worship God in spirit and in truth, because he'll remove our sins from us. He'll cleanse us from all unrighteousness. He'll free us from the hands of our enemies, not in a political sense, but in a spiritual sense. Our real enemy you see, is Satan. The thing that will stop us worshipping God is not some political regime, but our failure to live righteous lives. And it's that that Jesus comes to save us from.
  John's role as the forerunner is to call people to repent; to offer them the forgiveness of sins that Jesus himself will win for us on the cross. His task is to proclaim a new and living way to God, that transcends political and national boundaries. His role is to proclaim the light that will lighten the nations and bring peace with God
  How will we respond to this message of a saviour and redeemer? The message of the gospel is this: Repent and believe. Turn away from your sins and trust God to lead you into peace. Peace with him and peace with each other. Let me suggest that our response should be twofold. First to repent and believe the gospel. To let God's forgiveness take root in our lives and in our thinking. And then to take that gospel and share it with others. To be like John, to be people who proclaim the coming of the King, the Saviour, the Redeemer.
  May that be your response to the proclamation of Jesus this Christmas.

 

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