Luke 1:8-17

Luke chapter 1, verse 8 to 17 for our text and study this morning. And it came to pass that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of people were praying without at the time of incense. and there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, fear not Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard. And thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and glad. madness, and many shall rejoice at his birth, for he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink, and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God, and he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, the turn to the Lord of Elias, the turn of the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready, a people prepared for the Lord. Thank God blessed to us His sacred and holy word this morning. As we have seen, Zacharias and Elizabeth were a godly couple, living in the days of Herod, the king of Judea. And they were carrying a great burden because they were a childless couple. And their advanced age seemed to indicate that it would be impossible at this point to have children. Their prayers in this regard went unanswered. And that had to be very discouraging to them after all these years of praying. and yet this burden that they’re carrying is about to be turned completely around for God is going to give them a miracle child and this child would be a source of rejoicing and blessing not only to them but also to all the people of God he would be the forerunner of Jesus Christ now Luke here is providing us a very orderly and divinely inspired history of Jesus Christ. And so his gospel deserves your careful attention as he lays out before us the birth here of the forerunner, John the Baptist. Now in verses 8 to 12, we see the appearance here of the angel to Zacharias. First we have Zahelius. Zacharias engaged in the duties of the priest’s office in verse 8 and 9. And it came to pass that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priest’s office. His lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. It was time for the course of Obia to serve at the temple. Remember, they had just too many priests to serve. So they divided them up into various groups and these groups would serve by course. And Zacharias was participating with his course, the course of Obia, as one of the priest. Now each day various functions of the priesthood were assigned by law to the individual priest’s under this order. Uh, things like the cleansing of the odor of God, the slaying of the sacrifice, the sprinkling of the blood, the cleansing of the candlestick, and the burning of incense. Now, Zechariah’s lot, as it was chosen, here by lot, was to enter into the temple, the holy place, and burn incense before the golden incense altar. This was before the golden incense altar. the curtain that went into the Holy of Holies. Remember where only the high priest could go on the Day of Atomen into the Holy of Holies, but he’s going into the outer room of it where the table-shell bread was, where the candle was, and where the golden altar of incense was. The incense would be burned there at the Holy Place after the morning and the evening sacrifice each day. And this was such a special privilege. that the Jews say that a priest would only be permitted to do it once in his lifetime. So the sacrifice of the morning or the evening had been slain, and the smoke was now ascending up into heaven from that sacrifice. Zacharias alone is entering into the holy place, and we find that he disappears from the sight of the multitudes, and he disappears. He has this smoking hot coals of the altar in his sensor. This is from the brass altar outside. Now he’s going into the Holy Place with this sensor. And he’s going to burn incense. He’s going to place that sensor on top of the golden altar and burn incense. A cloud of perfume will fill the Holy Place at this point. And Zacharias will then offer up a place. prayer for on behalf of the people of the nation and the welfare of the nation. Now the people, we’re told, would wait outside while the priest was in the holy place, and then the priest would come out and pronounce a benediction upon them, bless them. No doubt with the erroneous blessing, the Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gracious on thee. unto thee, the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace from number 6, 24 to 26. So here is Zacharias. He’s busily engaged in the priest’s office. We see in verse 10 the prayers of the people. The whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of the incense. While Zacharias goes into the holy place, the multitudes there at the temple would be praying outside. the veil outside the temple itself the tabernacle part of it and here we find the priests and the Levites while they’re serving at the temple along with the other Israelites who had been gathered there maybe a large group of this was a Sabbath day we have all these people who were not permitted to go in and burn the incense they’re on the outside and they were would pray. From this established practice of praying while the offering up of incense took place, we have a connection between incense in prayer. And thus you find in Psalm 141, verse 2, let my prayer be set before thee as incense. Thus the people of God here were not passive, but they were actively involved while the priest priest was inside burning the incense. sense. So the priest here was burning the incense, but the prayers of the people were going up at this time. Now, we have the effect of the angel’s appearance upon Zacharias next, verses 11 and 12. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense, and when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled and fell upon him, and fear fell upon him. Everything was going as normally it was. go. Zacharias is burning the incense. People are outside praying and then something extraordinary happens. An angel of the Lord appears, and from verse 19 we find that it’s Gabriel. Now you may recall, about 500 years earlier, Gabriel was the one that appeared to Daniel. Daniel chapter 9, for instance. And he gave the 70 weeks prophecy. About the coming of the Messiah, by the way. And this is the angel that appears before Zacharias. He stands at the altar’s right side, which would be the north side of the altar. When Zacharias saw Gabriel, it surprised him. It stuns him. In fact, there’s a degree we see of fear and terror. Man being fallen. has trouble and cannot bear the glorious appearance of such a messenger of God. Though a godly man, as we’ve already seen from previous verses, Zacharias is unable to bear such a revelation without being fearful. Maybe there’s going to be bad tidings that are coming. tidings sometimes angels brought those if you recall even Daniel himself was taken back by the appearance of angels in his presence he says I was afraid and fell upon my face and Daniel 8 he was unnerved Daniel 10 there remained no strength in me from my countenance was turned into me into corruption in me into corruption and I retain no strength he was shaken up by it So here’s the situation. Now let me make a couple of practical observations here as we look at this. And the first thing I suggest to you from this passage is you see a need for a mediator portrayed in regard to your prayers. Zacharias goes into the holy place of the temple as a priest. here, anointed to serve before God. God’s people stood without and they are praying, but they’re keeping their at a distance from God’s holy presence, which is represented by the Ark of the Covenant. Zacharias in this sense becomes a mediator between God and the people. Even though he’s just a common priest, he’s acting it in that manner. It was the will of God at this time to impress upon the people the need they had for a mediator to intercede for them before the Lord God. One priest at a time was permitted to burn incense on the Golden Alver and represent the people. The purpose of the burning of the incense after the morning and evening offering was to remind the people the believers that the sweet aroma of their prayers does not ascend to heaven except by the sacrifice of a mediator. Remember it was the sacrifice. And he took the coals off that altar of the sacrifice when he went in to burn the incense. So this connects it with the sacrifice that has just been made. So this passage portrays for us as the people of God today. That while we are here on earth, and we pray, Christ is behind the veil of the ten. temple and heaven interceding for us. And he’s doing so on the basis of the blood of his one and full and complete sacrifice on the cross. Daily you are seeking the supply of your temporal and spiritual needs through prayer and daily he’s interceding for you before the throne of God. So you learn here that your prayers are made acceptable by the glorious intercession of Christ himself on our behalf. Now there’s an interesting passage in the book of Revelation if you hold your place, but turn with me to the book of chapter 8 in verses 1 to 6. Scripture says, and when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw seven angels which stood before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar. having a golden censor, and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense which came with the prayers of the saints to send it up before God out of the angel’s hand. And the angel took the sensor and filled it with fire of the altar and cast it into the earth. And there were voices, thunderings, and lightnings, an earthquake, and an earthquake. And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. Now, God is about to pour out. Sollum judgments here, the trumpet judgments upon the earth or upon the land, as that word may be translated. And there’s silence. This is a very solemn monument. There’s silence in heaven for the space of half an hour, marking the awesomeness of this particular event of the outpouring of God’s wrath. But before the trumpet sound, we hear, or we hear or we read here actually about something else. There’s another scene that’s portrayed for us. And this is taking place in the temple of heaven here. here. This is not the earthly temple. This is the temple of heaven, which is mentioned in chapter 15 of the book of Revelation. Now this angel, we’re not told who this angel is, although some believe this angel here is Christ. But this angel, in his capacity, acts like a mediator here. He’s portrayed as burning incense and offering it with the prayers of the saints. Now, we don’t take this in its literal sense. I don’t know that this is literally happening, but it’s portrayed for it. It’s a picture. He’s seeing things that are spiritual in a symbolic manner here. And so we see the idea that our Savior’s intercession in heaven is for those who are persecuted here on earth. And these prayers are the same. saints are like a sweet aroma that go up before God. They’re well pleasing to him. And what are the saints praying about? How long, oh Lord, before you avenge our blood? Chapter 6 of the book of Revelation indicates that. So God hears the prayers of his people. And there’s this intercession that’s going on. And so we find the angel takes this sensor, fills it with the fire of the altar, the altar of the altar of the altar. the burnt offering, you see. And it cast it to the earth or the land. This is the fire of God’s judgment going forth in answer to the prayers of the people of God. And then the trumpet judgment sound. This is what’s pictured for us. So let it be clearly understood. There’s no other way for your prayers to be acceptable to God than through a mediator. And our mediator, of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ. So you see the need for a mediator portrayed in respect to your prayers. I think that is something we can gain from this text of Scripture. The second thought that I would draw from this passage is this. You learn the terrifying effect of an angel of God upon a human being. Now this man, Zacharise, is walking in all the commandments of the Lord. Blameless. Here is a man who is behaving well, has a good conscience toward God and man, and yet, he is fearful before this divine messenger. What accounts for this fear? Well, it arises from an inward sense of his own guilt and corruption before a holy angel of God. Ponder for a moment, if this is the case with a god, standing before a holy angel. Think of what it must be like for an evil man to stand before the Lord Jesus Christ himself at the final judgment and the glorious appearance that he makes then. If men are fearful of just his messengers, imagine what it would be if you had to stand before God himself. if you don’t know the Lord and you remain in an unrighteous state, going to know the terror and fear that has no bounds. You know, in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verses 10 and 11, when Paul talks about us standing before the judgment seat of Christ, he talks about their, knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. Knowing how terrorizing it will be to stand before the judge, on the final day, we persuade men of the gospel and the need to turn to Christ now that they might be freed from the wrath to come. There’s terror we consider the awesleness of the summons when God Christ himself tells the dead to arise and come to judgment. With his own voice, he calls them forth. There’s terror at the appearance of the judge, for Christ is going to be there in this full glory and brightness, which is going to cause some people to be quite fearful. There’s terror at the opening of the book of works. Where all you’ve done has been recorded, and there’s nothing that will escape the attention of the Lord God, but we’ll be all read and exposed and opened before you. There’s terror at the sentence pronounced against you, depart from me, you workers of iniquity. There’s terror at the punishment. that awaits those who do not know the Lord because they will be cast into the lake of fire. Knowing such terrors, await the sinner. Paul says, I attempt to persuade men. Since it’s so dangerous to remain in a sinful state, godly people should attempt to persuade others of the need to turn to Christ now. Because the truth is, you and I couldn’t even stand before the appearance of a glorious angel, let alone the Lord. Jesus Christ without God sustaining us. We’re to flee from the wrath to come. We’re to repent now or we will perish in the future. You remember that Felix sent for Paul to hear him concerning the faith in Christ, and he reasoned with Felix, the governor, about righteousness, about good and law, no doubt about the righteousness of Christ that is necessary for a sinner to have, since he doesn’t have any on his own, about temperance, about self-control, and about the judgment to come, a standing before that man that God is appointed to judge all men, the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Bible says that Felix, trembled. You could imagine Paul emphasizing the terror of the Lord to those who don’t repent. And Felix trembled at that message that was preached. My friends, the only way we can stand on the day of judgment with any hope at all is to know Christ is our Savior, is to know the one who’s going to be our judge, to have his blood cover our sins, to have acceptance before him, to be his friend. So you need to come to Christ now to be purged of your sins. And there’s no condemnation to them who have Christ as their Savior. So with the appearance here of the angel to Zacharize, we see two basic thoughts here with regard to practical observations. We need a mediator. That certainly comes out in this. And secondly, we see the terrifying effect of the appearance of just an angel of God, let alone standing before the Lord God. Secondly, we see the announcement of the angel to Zacharias, verses 13 to 17. First, this is an answer to Zacharias prayer we read in verse 13. But the angel said unto him, fear not Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard. My wife, Elizabeth, shall have a son, and thou shalt call his name John. Now, it’s an interesting, you know, God’s people are well known by name, by the angels of God. They know us. So there’s no question about the angel here, knowing Zacharias, and they’re actively working for the good of God’s people. Zacharias here is not to be fearful. He’s not to be fearful because he has the favor of God. God has heard his prayer. is answering his prayer. Now you might say, well, which prayer is he answering here? Is it one for a son? Or one about the coming of the Messiah and the salvation or deliverance of Israel from their enemies? Why should we debate it? Both are included here because they’re intertwined with one another. There’s a personal request that he would have a son. But his son is going to be the forerunner. or the Messiah who’s coming. So they’re intertwined together. So Zacharias has been waiting a long time for God to hear his prayers in regard to these things, and here he gets an answer. We see also that Zacharias shall have a son who will bring great joy. And as we see in verse 14, we see this added, and thou shall have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth. He shall have a son in his old age. He shall have a son. by Elizabeth, his wife, who has been barren for all these days. Now, this would be somewhat miraculous to have this son. And I think in a way, it’s going to prepare people to receive John as somebody special. Because it’s sort of like Abraham and Sarah having one in their old age. It sort of takes people back. This is sort of miraculous in this sense. Not as miraculous as a virgin birth, but it’s still going to be unique. And for this son, he’s going to be the prophet of the highest, and he would be the one who would herald the coming of Christ, and that would be a source of joy. It’s interesting that John’s name signifies gracious. God is going to be gracious to be gracious to his people in the sending of the Messiah. This son is going to be joy to the parents, to the relatives, to the neighbors, to the nation. Now, what are the particulars about this son? They’re taken up in verses 15 to 17. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, turn the hearts of the Lord. the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just to make ready of people prepared for the Lord. One, he’s going to be great in the sight of God. Verse 15. What’s highly esteemed among men is an abomination of the sight of God. So what men think are great and who they think are great does not count. God’s thoughts are higher than man’s thoughts. And the Lord himself will declare, among them that are born of wisdom, women there hath not arisen greater than John the Baptist. Matthew 1111. He would be great. Not because of his family line. Not because of his worldly wealth and prestige. Not because some noteworthy achievement. He would be great in spiritual gifts, graces, and the office that he’s going to execute. and his usefulness to the Messiah in the kingdom of God. You know, most people would look at John and think, well, there’s not much to look at. Jesus once said, if you want to look at something glorious, you would look at, you know, the kings in their royal robes and all the people in office, you know, with all their robes of glory on. But John the Baptist, why, he’s got a camel’s hair coat on, he’s got a leather belt around his waist. he’s eaten locust and wild honey. He’s not what you would call great in the eyes of men. But in the eyes of God, John was a great man. For God made him so. He shall be great in the sight of God. Again, notice that phrase in the sight of God. It was just like we read about Zacharias and Elizabeth, that they were just in God’s side. And here we have it. It’s always in God’s sight that counts, not in man’s sight. He shall be a Nazarite, according to verse 15, also. This idea that he is not going to drink wine or strong drink, indicates to us the laws of the Nazirite that have taken up in Numbers, Chapter 6. Remember Samuel and Samson were Nazarites. This character well suited the office of John the Baptist as well. well, intimating that by their example and instruction, they were to be a blessing to the nation. They were supposed to betray to the nation a people set apart serving the Lord. And so John would be portraying that, and that’s what we would see, we should be doing with regard to our life as we take the type and apply it to ourselves, temperate in all things, that we would live superior to earthly pleasures and cares and be all the together a peculiar people distinguished by good works. He was a Nazarite. He shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, we’re told. Now, what’s unusual here is not that you would be filled with the Holy Ghosts because that’s something Paul tells the Ephesians to be filled with the Spirit. In Ephesians, Chapter 5. But that he would be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. Now, that’s special. That is unique. That’s highly unusual. Now, this does not mean that John wasn’t born in sin and wasn’t a fallen in Adam or anything of this nature. But like Jeremiah, he was chosen. He was set apart. He was foredained to be a prophet even before he was born. He was under such an influence of the Holy Spirit in the womb that when he hears the Greek, that when he hears the Greek, of the mother of Christ to his own mother, Elizabeth. He leaps for joy in the womb, as we’ll see in chapter 1 and verses 39 to 44. Filling denotes here control, domination of the spirit. So very early, John appeared to have extraordinary gifts and graces of the Spirit of God bestowed upon him. Preparing him for his work is the foreruner. of the Messiah. Now, age does not inhibit the work of the spirit, but you shouldn’t use John as a common example, as if this is something that occurs all the time. Anyone who claims to be filled with the Holy Ghost from the womb should demonstrate evidence of it just as John does. But he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost. And he shall turn many to the Lord, verses 16 and 17. as the forer of the Lord His God, he would proclaim the message of the kingdom of God coming and Christ coming as the Lamb of God. And he would bear close resemblance were told to the prophet Elijah. In his spirit, in his temperament, in the power and authority that he would exercise. He would possess the same zeal, the same fortitude as the problem. it Elijah. You remember how he sternly addressed the scribes and the Pharisees and calling them a generation of vipers. He sharply rebuked Herod and Errodius for their unlawful marriage. As already noted, John even dressed like Elijah with the clothing that he wore. He was not Elijah, but he came in the spirit and the power of Elijah. By his preaching, he inclined to children of Israel to receive the Messiah, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. The word turn here implies conversion, implies multitudes of the Israelites, many being brought to salvation by John’s ministry. Now, conversion is not man’s work, it’s God’s work. It’s brought about God’s mighty power working in infants. But our text is indicating to us that John would be the instrument, the instrument by which God would turn people from their sins to the Savior. By his preaching. He would set aside family feuds. Unite different sex in a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. Those disobedient would be granted spiritual wisdom which just men possess. They would have their minds illuminated. Both the Hebrew and Greek, allow the rendering here, he shall turn the hearts of the fathers with the children. So it could be to the children, and we could see the idea maybe family feuds being set aside, but it could be translated with the children, which means both parents and children, many of all ages being turned to the Lord. But John’s purpose was to make ready a people for the coming Messiah, to embrace the Lord and the Savior. These are the peculiar. years about this son that Zacharias is going to have. Let me make a few practical observations on this text. The first is this. Your prayers are not necessarily rejected because they’re not immediately answered. You’ll notice that Zacharias had prayed many years for the blessing of children and he didn’t get an answer. Age overtook him. He’s thinking, I’m never going to have a child. And yet, what does the angel say? Your prayers have been heard. You’re going to have a child. Now, I tell you this, because we should remember this when we ourselves pray. And we shouldn’t hastily conclude that because our supplications have not been immediately answered by the Lord, that it’s useless to keep praying. Look how long he prayed. And then God answered his prayer. God waits to be gracious. He tests our resolve. He tests our resolve. our faith. So continue steadfast in prayer and don’t give up. Don’t let delay, derail your faith, and cause you to despair. I read a little story about George Mueller. Many years ago, the man with the orphanages, you remember, he prayed for the conversion of a group of five personal friends. After five years, one of those friends came to know the Lord. In 10 years more, two came to know the Lord. After interceding for 25 years, the fourth came to know the Lord. Now the fifth man, he prayed for until he died. But a few months after he died, guess who came to know the Lord? The fifth one. So it took 52 years, but they all came to know the Lord. So, well, what I’m trying to say is don’t give up. When praying for people, we have a tendency that we just, well, it’s never going to happen. We don’t know that. God has his reasons for delaying things. So your prayers are not necessarily rejected because they are not immediately answered. Notice here that no children bring you as much joy as those who have the grace of God. You know, all births should be joyous occasions and they normally are. However, if you could see how your children would turn out, and if you would have a child that would turn out to be wicked and perverse, it’d be very grievous to you. It would be very difficult for you. John would be a great comfort and joy to his parents and his acquaintances and the people of Israel. Why? Because he would be filled with a Holy Ghost from his mother’s womb. My friends, it’s a thousand times better. than any earthly achievement to know the Lord and to have the Holy Spirit in your life. Think about this. It wasn’t that this guy was going to be wealthy. It wasn’t going to wield power or have a great position. What gave his parents great joy that he would serve the Lord? And he would know the Lord. And there’s nothing better for your son or daughter than to be acquainted with spiritual wisdom and serve in the kingdom of God. That should be a great source of joy for you. My third thought is this. True greatness is what you are in the eyes of God. There are many people who are great in the eyes of the world. They’re politicians, generals, artists, musicians, artists, sports stars. But God sees things differently than you and I see things. They’re not held in high esteem by the Lord, nor by His Holy Angels. However, those who do great things for the kingdom of God, they are considered great in the eyes of the Lord. This is the greatness that you should seek for yourself and your children. Remember, this is what lasts for all eternity. A fourth thought is this. You see, the absolute necessity of conversion here in verses 16 and 17. Just because you were born in a so-called Christian country, does it mean you’re a Christian? doesn’t mean you’re saved. There are a lot of Israelites who were supposedly, you know, sons of Abraham. They’re born in the so-called enlightened nation of Israel. But they needed to be turned to the Lord. They needed to be saved. All those who are disobedient to God’s laws need to be turned to the Savior. You lack spiritual wisdom and you’ll perish in your sins. You know nothing about being judged. before God. As Jesus declared, Verily I say, and you accept you be converted and become as a little child, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. So you’re commanded by God to repent and believe the gospel and turn to Christ as the Savior of sinners, because that’s your only hope. Burdens can end up blessings. The burden that Zacharias and Elizabeth had, we find it all of a sudden turned upside down and it becomes a blessing to them, a great joy to them. There’s much practical teaching to be learned from our text, and I’ve just skimmed a surface. But you can see these many things come out of this text for our benefit and our spiritual edification. Well, let us close with word of prayer.