Have you ever noticed how two people can respond differently to the same news?
-
- “Look, free puppies!” Great news for kids. Bad news for parents.
- “Mom and dad, I got into my first choice of college, the expensive private one!” Great news for their child. Bad news for their bank account.
- “The verdict is… not guilty.” Great news for the defendant. Bad news for the plaintiff.
In Luke chapter one, we read how two different people respond to similar news. The news is delivered by the angel Gabriel to Zechariah first, and then Mary. Gabriel tells them both that they are each going to have a child, and their child either prepares the way for the Messiah (Zechariah’s son John) or is the Messiah himself (Mary’s son Jesus). The Messiah is the deliverer God promised to his people. This news is difficult to believe. Elizabeth, Zechariah’s wife, is old and barren, so it’s nearly impossible for her to conceive. And Mary is a virgin and so it’s impossible for her to conceive.
Chances are the angel Gabriel has not appeared to you this Christmas and said, “You will bear a child and you should name him John or Jesus.” But we’ve all received good news we can celebrate this Christmas—the birth of Jesus Christ, not to mention all the promises of God. There’s plenty to celebrate.
I don’t know about you, but I struggle to find hope at Christmas time. I feel a little like Charlie Brown in A Charlie Brown Christmas. I find it hard to believe, hard to celebrate. I like all the Christmas lights and the snow (not so much Santa). I like all the gift and the wrapping. But I don’t like the busyness and consumerism. And I often find it hard to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
That’s a little bit like the heart-attitude of Zechariah. He heard the good news, but like Charlie Brown, and like me, and maybe like some of you, he struggles to believe. I want to have hope, and I think we can, but we first need to examine our own hearts, and we can do so by looking at Zechariah’s heart.
Zechariah the doubter (Lk 1:5-25)
Here’s the story: In the time of King Herod (probably around 4 B.C.) there was a priest named Zechariah who had a wife named Elizabeth (1:5). Both of them were good people. It’s not that they did more good than bad, but they sought to obey God, his commands and decrees, and so God considered them righteous (1:6). But there was only one problem, they were childless. They were both old and Elizabeth was infertile (1:7).
One day Zechariah was chosen by lot (what looked like chance but was God’s will) to burn incense in the temple before God (1:8), and when he goes in, the angel Gabriel appears to him (1:11, 19). Of course, this was terrifying, but the angel assured him he didn’t need to be afraid.
Luke 1:13a, 17 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.
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.” (NIV®)
The angel promises Zechariah that he and Elizabeth will have a child in their old age just like God gave other infertile couples in the Old Testament children as a sign of his promises: Isaac to Abraham and Sarah (Gen 21), Samson to Manoah and his wife (Judges 13), and Samuel to his mother Hannah (1 Sam 1). This child John will be special like them. He will fulfill the prophecy from the Old Testament book of Malachi that the prophet Elijah would come again to prepare the way for the Lord (Mal 3:1, 4:5-6). John is a miracle baby and the second Elijah. That’s amazing news! But does Zechariah believe?
Luke 1:18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” (NIV®)
Zechariah is saying this to the angel, “Prove it! You say I’m going to have a baby. Prove it! I don’t believe you.” Have you ever told a friend, or sibling or child something and they say, “Prove it!” It’s annoying, isn’t it? And that’s kind of like how the angel reacts.
Luke 1:19-20 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.” (NIV®)
The angel sees Zechariah’s unbelieving heart. Zechariah asked for a sign, as if an angel isn’t enough, so he gives him a sign—silence. The angel says Zechariah will be both “silent and not able to speak…” (Lk 1:20). Later Zechariah’s family has to make signs to Zechariah to get his attention (Lk 1:62). Zechariah isn’t just mute. He’s also deaf. He can’t speak or hear—complete silence. He leaves the temple that way and the people wonder what happened (1:23). There are two lessons for us here.
Doubt can turn into disbelief.
It’s okay to wrestle with doubt, but it’s not okay to lose the wrestling match. There’s a doubt-monster in all of us—a hopeless Mr. Hyde of sorts. He wants to change us from believers to doubters to unbelievers, but we can’t let him win. Zechariah had literally just received news he had waited for his whole life, but somewhere through the years his doubt smothered his hope and joy. When disbelief takes hold, we hear God came into our world as a baby boy, but say… “prove it.” We learn God cares enough to send his Son to rescue us, but we say… “so what.” Doubt can turn into disbelief.
The consequence of disbelief is silence.
After a while, doubters can come to expect silence from God. And pretty soon, silence is all they want to hear too. Silence is the consequence of disbelief. Zechariah walked out of that temple in silence and unable to speak. That means he couldn’t tell his wife Elizabeth the good news with his own lips (1:24). So he must have written it down, and when she read it, he could only watch her face. He couldn’t hear her laughter and joy. When we don’t believe, we don’t share. If we read something on Facebook we believe to be true, what do we do? We share it.
-
- If you don’t believe that God can use all things for our good, even hard times, then you can’t share that message of hope with those going through hard times. Silence.
- If you don’t believe that God is making all things new, even as we age and experience death and tragedy, then you can’t share the message of eternal life with those who need it. Silence.
- If you don’t believe God is good when he doesn’t give you what you want, then you can’t share that God is good with others who go through disappointment. Silence.
Zechariah doesn’t believe, but thankfully, someone else believes…
Mary the believer (Lk 1:26-56)
The story continues: God sends Gabriel to Nazareth in Galilee to the teenage girl Mary who has made a binding-promise to marry Joseph (1:26-27). Gabriel appears to her and says:
Luke 1:28b “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” (NIV®)
Mary, like Zechariah, is afraid. It must be scary to meet an angel. But Gabriel assures her and says.
Luke 1:31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him 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 Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” (NIV®)
Gabriel is delivering the most amazing news Mary or any human being has ever received. “Mary, God is going to give you a child who is the Son of God, who is the final descendent of King David, and who will rule the whole universe forever and ever.” But what does she say? She says…
Luke 1:34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” (NIV®)
Zechariah says “prove it!” Mary says “explain it.” Mary asks “How will this be?” The key-word is “will.” How “will” this happen? In other words, “I don’t understand how this is going to happen. Can you explain it to me?” But like a savvy lawyer, the angel doesn’t answer her question. He says the Holy Spirit will make it happen, and that her relative Elizabeth has a child too (1:35-36). Before the angel leaves, Mary says she is the Lord’s servant and affirms that God’s words will be fulfilled (1:38). Her faith shows us two things:
Believers hear good news and have faith (despite their circumstances).
Mary hears the good news and believes, and that’s what it means to be a believer, a Christian. Mary’s belief is not dependent on her circumstances. She’s supposed to get married, and she probably knows her soon-to-be husband Joseph may divorce her for her unwed pregnancy because it looks like she committed adultery. Maybe that’s why she runs away to stay with Elizabeth. But despite all of this, she believes.
Sometimes it’s hard to believe the good news of Jesus and the promises of God. I grew up with Jordan. He married Arielle and a couple years later they got pregnant and had baby boy. Two months later they got devastating news. Arielle had cancer, aggressive cancer. They knew that nowhere in Scripture does God promise to heal cancer. So instead they clung to a list of the promises of God found in Scripture. Jordan printed out this list of the promises of God and put it in his wallet, which I’ve brought for you today.
Thank you God:
- …that you are for me and not against me! (Romans 8:31)
- …that you jealously desire relationship with me! (Deuteronomy 5:9)
- …that you just want to be with me! (John 17:24)
- …that I am no longer a slave to sin, but a son and daughter in your eyes! (Galatians 4:7)
- …that because of what you did, I have confidence (and joy) to draw near your presence! (Hebrews 4:14)
- …that you have given me everything I need for life and godliness! (2 Peter 1:3)
- …that you don’t call me a servant, but a friend! (John 15:15)
- …that you don’t put fear on me, but have given me love, power and self-discipline! (2 Timothy 1:7)
- …that I can consider myself dead to sin, and alive in you! (Romans 6:11)
Whether you’re going through infertility, or joblessness, cancer, a hard relationship, or are struggling with depression, these are the promises of God you can hold onto. Take home this sheet and put it in your wallet or on your bathroom mirror, and when hopeless Mr. Hyde threatens your joy, hold onto them. Believers hear good news and have faith (despite their circumstances). This leads us into worship.
The reward of belief is hopeful praise.
Clinging to God’s promises allowed Jordan and Arielle to praise God in the treatment and to continue to praise God as she is disease free. But those promises will also help them praise God even if it returns. When Mary goes to visit her relative Elizabeth, she sings a song of praise—The Magnificat. It starts like this.
Luke 1:46b-49
“My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. (NIV®)
Mary is singing a song of praise and thanksgiving for God’s deliverance like Moses and Miriam did when God delivered his people from Egypt (Ex 15:1-21), like what Deborah sang when God delivered the Israelites from the Canaanites (Judges 5:1-31), or like what the infertile Hannah sang when God gave her baby Samuel (1 Samuel 2:1-10). Tonight, like Mary and Moses and Miriam and Deborah, and Hannah, we also have a chance to sing a song of praise because our deliverer came in a manger.
We always sing a worship song after the sermon because it gives us an opportunity to praise God for the things we’ve learned and how he’s spoken to us. If life is good right now and you’re enjoying Christmas and worshipping Jesus, would you sing just a little bit louder to help those of us who are struggling. And if you’re struggling, would you sing even if you don’t feel like it. Sing not because you feel good, but because Jesus is born. Sometimes it’s the act of praising God that changes our hearts.
God offers grace to doubters. (Lk 1:57-80)
The story doesn’t end in silence for Zechariah. Elizabeth gives birth. She tries to name her child John, but her relatives pressure her to name him something else (1:57-61). Zechariah motions for a writing tablet and writes four words of faith, “His name is John.” Do you know what John means? John means “Yahweh is gracious.” Yahweh is God’s name and he is full of grace towards us who need it. God opens Zechariah’s mouth and he sings a song of praise just like Mary (1:67-80).
Over 9 months, God has changed Zechariah’s heart. He drains the hard-heartedness, the bitterness from years of disappointment, and the unbelief, and he fills his heart back up with joy, and hope, and faith. Maybe you’ve experienced weeks, months, or years of disappointment. You’re completely drained. God can fill you back up with hope and joy and praise, not because he gives you what you want, but because he gives you himself through the Christ-child Jesus. Jesus came, lived a sinless perfect life, and died a terrible tragic death as a sacrifice for you and for me. None of us have enough faith. We’re all guilty of doubt and disbelief, but because of Jesus, God declares us “not guilty.” So what’s my big idea? What’s the point?
God offers grace to doubters, hope to believers, and Jesus to all.
Charlie Brown is depressed and down in A Charlie Brown Christmas. He feels this way despite all the traditions and due to the consumerism. Linus says to him, “Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you’re the Charlie Browniest.” He tries several things to make himself feel better, but none of them work. The chaos builds and builds and finally in desperation Charlie Brown asks, “Does anybody know what Christmas is all about?” And with that, Linus walks center stage and reads Luke chapter 2.
“8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill towards men.”
“That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.” God offers grace to doubters, hope to believers, and Jesus to all.
Pastor Jonathan Romig wrote and preached this message for the people of Cornerstone Congregational Church. Click here to listen to more sermons or click here to read our story.
Church Service
You can watch the full service on Facebook or only the sermon on YouTube.
Sermon Slides
Loading...
Reload document 
Open in new tab