Calendar Date: September 28
Day of the Year: 271
Timeline. Map. Go to today’s Bible reading (use your browser arrow to return): Luke 1. (note: Today, we begin the New Testament. Approached chronologically, the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, weave together into one beautiful story of the life of Christ, according to the order in which the events probably occurred).
Hope!
When people are desperate, they need hope. Those who live in third world countries are in desperate need of food, good water, and medical care. Daily, there are organizations like Samaritan's Purse which bring assistance to many of those in need.
Men, women, and children worldwide need physical hope, but they also need spiritual hope. Who brings us this kind of hope?
Waiting in Silence
The Jewish people had been waiting over 400 years for the promise of a special messenger, an Elijah type person to usher in the Messiah. This Messiah, the anointed one, would deliver them from their oppressors and give them peace (Malachi 3:1; 4:5-6).
In the interim, between the proclamations of the prophet Malachi and the coming of an Elijah, Israel was war-torn. She just about lost her identity as anything but a vassal state. She was allowed to return and rebuild Jerusalem and its walls. Still, she paid tribute to the nation of Persia for her protection and sustainability.
Then Alexander the Great defeated Persia, and Israel was caught in the middle between wars from Greece and other countries. Rome finally conquered the entire known world (see more insights for a detailed explanation of the events between the Old Testament and New Testament, called the inter-testamental period).
After Malachi, there were no prophets of God giving additional messages. The LORD was quiet, but he was working behind the scenes, preparing the way for the coming of his Son. Has God seemed uninvolved in your life? Silence doesn’t mean he isn’t working.
God intercedes
Suddenly, in about 7 B.C., an angel appears to Zechariah, the high priest. He is in the temple burning incense, offering prayers for the people. He also had a private prayer for himself and his wife; she is childless, and he would like a son to succeed him in the priesthood.
Not only does the angel bring a message of hope about the coming Messiah, but he also gives hope to Zechariah’s family. He prophesies that Zechariah will have a son, although he and his wife are old. His son John will have a more significant ministry than the priesthood; he will prepare the Jewish people for the coming of the long-awaited Messiah.
The Jews wanted this person, anointed of God, to deliver them from Roman oppression, but God had something different in mind.
John will soon be called John the Baptist because of his ministry. Luke, the physician, historian, and companion of the Apostle Paul, says,
And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord (Luke 1:17, NIV).
Preparations
Making preparations bring anticipation and hope. What preparations are we making for sharing the gospel with our families, friends, church attenders, or fellow workers? Perhaps God would like us to be like John. John the Baptist will preach and teach repentance and the need for changed lives in preparation for Christ’s coming (September 30 Bible study).
Six months later, the angel Gabriel appears to a girl named Mary (Luke 1:26-28). He calms her fears and gives her a message that she will have a son, although she is a virgin. How can that be? she asks.
You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 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, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end (Luke 1:31-33, NIV).
This seems impossible to Mary since she is a virgin, but in faith, she believes the angel. Hearing that Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, is also pregnant, Mary visits her older relative.
Faith and Joy
Elizabeth expresses her faith and hope in the coming Messiah, and the two ladies share each other’s joy and wonder in what God has called them to do. Elizabeth will give birth to John (the Baptist), who will prepare the way for Jesus Christ, and Mary will give birth to Jesus. He will be the Messiah and Savior of the world!
Mary praises God, and her prophecy expresses hope for the nation of Israel. She says, “He [God] has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers” (Luke 1:54-55, NIV). The LORD gave the Jewish people hope because he keeps his promises.
Do we share in the joys of others and give them hope and encouragement?
Unlike Mary, Zechariah did not believe the angel when he told the old priest that his wife would have a son. Therefore, he was struck dumb. After John was born, however, his tongue was again loosed, and then Zechariah prophesies hope for Israel (Luke 1:67-77). He says, God “has come and has redeemed his people” (Luke 1:68, NIV). Zechariah apparently believes that Jesus will bring a physical deliverance from Rome. He does not. Jesus brings a spiritual release, not from Rome’s bondage, but from sin’s bondage.
Do we have this hope within us? We will soon learn from an old man, Simeon, that salvation is also for gentiles (non-Jewish people). Jesus came to save us and to give his life in our place to pay for our sins (1 Peter 3:18). He did this so we can have forgiveness, peace, and spiritual life (more...). Praise the LORD!
Discussion
Does God’s silence mean he doesn’t care? Explain.How does God intercede for Israel before Jesus comes? How has he intervened in your life, showing you that he loves and cares for you?
Through John the Baptist, God made preparation for the good news that Jesus was coming to save his people from their sins. Are there ways we can make preparations for the gospel? How?
Focus Verse
Luke 1:17 (NIV) “And he [John] will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous-- to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Here is a video of an angel appearing to Mary
Write a private prayer response to today’s Bible study:
Please send your comments to mtbiblestudies@gmail.com
A Look Ahead: There are prophecies about the coming Messiah. How could they (or we) be sure Jesus is the one they are looking for? There are proofs—methods of authentication. Please join us for our Next Lesson so we might Be Authentic Like Jesus Christ.
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