A Miraculous Birth Unit 1: Why Did Jesus Come?

A Miraculous Birth Unit 1: Why Did Jesus Come? SESSION 1 Scripture Focus Luke 1:5-25 The Word to Live By He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth (Luke 1:14). Session Truth God is able to keep His promises even under impossible conditions. But the angel said to him: Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard (Luke 1:13b). Christmas Emptiness The world transforms for children at Christmas. That s why childlessness is especially painful at Christmas. Shopping trips for nieces and nephews become a poor substitute for buying gifts for the children that have not come. Over 7.3 million women in the United States seek some level of intervention for infertility. Many times these women move among us in silent pain. Or they stop coming around altogether, their emptiness too great. Infertility isn t the only emptiness people experience at Christmas. Death, divorce, and military service create many empty places within a family circle. Loss of job, purpose, or health can send some into a chasm of emptiness that makes every day an Everest climb. What does God want to say about our empty places? What hope can we find, especially at Christmas? Our study for this Advent begins with the emptiness of Elizabeth and Zechariah, but that s not where we leave them. Not only did they learn to live with their emptiness, they were dumbfounded by how God filled it. 2 December 1, 2013 Adult Faith Connections

Scripture Exposition An Empty Place Luke 1 5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord s commands and decrees blamelessly. 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old. Zechariah and Elizabeth were good people. No, they were more than good; they were upstanding, exemplary people. They were probably the kind of people who knew what was happening within their circle of relationships and reached out to their neighbors. Both could trace their family back to the priestly line of Aaron, but what about the future of their family line? That was where Zechariah and Elizabeth struggled because they were childless. Luke calls them righteous. They were righteous and childless. Few in their day would place such descriptions side by side. Righteous with children, of course. Children are a blessing from God. However, if that s the way God blesses and you are the couple who is childless, where does that leave you? Where did it leave Zechariah and Elizabeth? It left them continuing to obey God in the midst of their heartbreaking and dream-shattering emptiness. They did not let their emptiness define them. They let obedience shape them instead. The emptiness Zechariah and Elizabeth experienced due to childlessness mirrored the emptiness that Israel had experienced for the last 400 years. There had been no new prophet, no new promises, not even a reminder that God would answer their prayers. New generations continued to echo David when he cried, How long, Lord? Will you hide yourself forever? (Psalm 89:46). The time between a promise and its fulfillment is when you learn faith and WORDpicture In this season, we bake cookies, reunite with family, enjoy children s programs, and lift our hearts in sacred worship. These are all good things, but we must look deeper to find real meaning in the season. What was it like for Zechariah when the angel appeared to him in the temple? For him, the Christmas season started long before Mary gave birth to the Savior! Read more about Zechariah and our response to the Christmas season in this week s Illustrated Bible Life article, A Hunger for Christ s Coming. december january february December 1, 2013 3

hope. Hebrews reminds us that faith finds its anchor not from what you see, but from God, who sees you. (Hebrews 11:1) Hope is your investment in that omniscient vision. People who try to have faith struggle because their anchor is in their trying instead of in who God is. A true vision of God anchors a person when nothing else makes sense. Hope springs from that anchor. A Holy Place Luke 1 8 Once when Zechariah s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. 11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 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. Zechariah drew lots annually to identify the time and task of his priestly service. For two weeks every year, Zechariah moved into the temple to fulfill his responsibility. That s where we find Zechariah in this passage. Zechariah pulled on the linen robe he wore to conduct his priestly duty. Heredity gave him this unique chance and invited him to represent his people before God. Today, Zechariah would burn incense. After presenting himself before the people, he walked into the Holy Place where the altar was. There he took hot coals from the golden vessel and arranged them in the bowl, sprinkling the incense on top. As the glowing coals contacted the nearly half-pound of incense, fragrant smoke billowed heavenward in the way his prayers for the people would ascend. He was very aware of the veil that separated him from the Holy of Holies, the place Yahweh (God) inhabited, the place only the high priest could enter. As smoke began to fill the space, he tried to adjust his eyes to the murkiness. Before he could, God s messenger came from nowhere to stand to the right of the altar. Into the silence of that Holy Place, into the emptiness that Zechariah had lived with, and into the 400- year silence the Jews had endured, God spoke to Zechariah through Gabriel. Zechariah was afraid. Of course he was. The Israelites usually connected an angel s appearance with God s judgment, not mercy. Gabriel was accustomed to this response and tried to set this quaking man at ease with the simple entreaty: Do not be afraid (1:13a). 4 December 1, 2013 Adult Faith Connections

We often need the same counsel when we pray. We fear that God may not answer as we wish. We fear that our request is too insignificant or misunderstood. Have we grown dull to the truth that God always answers prayer? Wait is as much an answer as yes. Should we not enter the holy place of prayer with childlike excitement to hear God s answer, no matter what He says? For Zechariah, Gabriel s words were somewhat enigmatic. Your prayer has been heard (1:13b). What prayer? The priestly prayer he prayed for the salvation of his people? The daily prayer he offered for his wife, Elizabeth? Or could it be the prayer he had not prayed since Elizabeth told him there was no reason to pray it any longer? What if God gave you the same shorthand message, would you know which prayer He had answered? Would you think it was the one your heart held the longest? Gabriel let Zechariah wonder only for a moment. Elizabeth will bear you a son (1:13c). Oh, that prayer, Zechariah thought. It had become his back-burner prayer, the one he thought God had already answered by saying no. It is exciting when God says yes to a prayer that you thought had been answered no. Wherever God answers us is a holy place, a connection between our human struggle and God s timely provision. It was Jesus who encouraged persistence, not just to get what we want but to stay connected to the One who provides what we need. At this moment, we understand why Zechariah s name means Jehovah has remembered. A Joyful Message Luke 1 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. 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. The joy that Zechariah was going to experience was not only due to the fact that God answered his prayer for a child, but because God would work through their baby. The angel continued to fill in the blanks. They would have a son. His name would be John, which means Jehovah is Gracious. He would December january february December 1, 2013 5

be dedicated to God by a restrictive lifestyle that would prepare him for special service. His mission would be to prepare people for God s coming. He would be Spirit-filled from the beginning. Zechariah had questions. How could a son be born to a couple past child-bearing age? When he voiced his question, it came out more like a doubt than one looking for reasons to believe. There is a difference between asking a question to help you believe and asking a question in order to prove what you think you already know. The first comes from an honest heart looking for the next A Strengthening Silence foothold of faith. The latter is the tiniest speck of disbelief beginning to grow. We might think, How could you not believe an angel? How many angel messages have been wrong? However, haven t there been times when had clear and simple information from God that didn t match what we expected or knew? Haven t we had trouble celebrating the good news of answered prayer before anything tangible appeared? We have also asked for signs so that we can know for sure. We have been like Zechariah in our private place of prayer. We can point no fingers. Luke 1 19 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. 20 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. 21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22 When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak. 23 When his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24 After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25 The Lord has done this for me, she said. In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people. God answered Zechariah s request for a sign. However, the answer wasn t what Zechariah expected. First, the angel confirmed who was standing before him. I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God (1:19). Then Gabriel pronounced Zechariah mute with a reprimand. You did not believe my words (1:20). While there was certainly discipline in this judgment, there was also love. Zechariah s muteness protected him from sharing his initial unbelief. During his silence he could let the truth 6 December 1, 2013 Adult Faith Connections

Wordpicture The ability to bear many children was considered a sign of God s blessing (see Deuteronomy 28:4 and Psalms 128:3 and 144:12, for example). Therefore, barrenness indicated punishment from God (see Genesis 30:23 and Isaiah 47:9). Given this mind-set, it must have been even more distressing and perplexing for Zechariah and Elizabeth. They must have asked themselves, Why is our righteousness rewarded with barrenness? Yet, they continued to be faithful to God. settle deeply and take root. In the same way that God would lead John into the desert, He took Zechariah into silent retreat where He could fill him with the right words to speak. Zechariah stumbled out of the Holy Place to a very worried group of people. They had waited for the priest to come out and bless them. Why wasn t he saying anything? He clearly had something to say, but could not speak. They realized Zechariah had seen a vision. Perhaps they thought he was in shock and would soon be able to tell them what he had seen. However, it would be nine months before they heard his voice again. Speechless, Zechariah stayed at the temple to fulfill his assignment. God did not need his spoken words. He already knew everything Zechariah thought. Did his silent, inner prayers reach a depth he would not otherwise have attained by speaking them? This reminds me of James 3, in which he tells us that we talk too much. Many of our words are unnecessary. Some of them are harmful. Maybe we all need to take a Zechariah break where we let the words of our heart grow louder than the words of our mouths. My husband and I have practiced a kind of Zechariah silence each time we need to discern God s will in a lifechanging decision. We vow not to discuss the answer we believe God has given for a certain period of time. During that time, we let God strengthen His answer to us. Then when we talk about it, we are ready to compare what we think the Lord has been saying to us. The message for us this Christmas is that God wants to speak to the empty places of our lives. He wants to fill them with His good answers, heal them with His presence. Faith and hope intersect at Christmas. When we have faith in the God who sees our empty places and knows what to do with them, we can live with hope and expectancy. Where is that holy place for you? Whatever God wants to say will bring joy, your own very special, uniquely-designed tiding of joy. by DEBBIE SALTER GOODWIN author, speaker, and children s drama writer. She lives in Oregon where her husband pastors Portland First Church of the Nazarene. December january february December 1, 2013 7