The Promise Fulfilled

The Promise Fulfilled Luke 1:57-80 James sat alone in his dim apartment on Christmas Eve, staring at the unopened box of decorations. Last year, his harsh words had driven his sister away, and they hadn’t spoken since. Regret weighed heavier than the winter chill. Scrolling through old photos, he saw her smile and whispered, “I wish I could fix this.” Just then, his phone buzzed—a simple text: “Merry Christmas, James. Miss you.” Heart pounding, he typed back: “Miss you too. Can I come over?” Minutes later, he was driving through snow, clutching a small gift he’d bought months ago but never sent. When she opened the door, tears replaced the silence. No speeches, no explanations—just a hug that said everything. In that moment, James realised Christmas wasn’t about perfect plans or presents. It was about grace, forgiveness, and the gift of a second chance. That was a short story that won some prize somewhere, nothing notable, but somewhat controversially because, as it turns out, it was AI generated. Putting aside the ethical questions of Artificial Intelligence, I wonder what Zechariah would have thought of that story? I think he would have thought, “you know what, that’s not far from the mark. The coming of Jesus is about, amongst other things, grace, forgiveness, and second chances.” Zechariah was a good man who failed his big moment. If you turn back to the beginning of chapter 1 you see just what a good man, he was. V5, he was a priest of the division of Abijah, and not only was he a priest, but his wife was from the daughters of Aaron. She was from a priestly line. Her name was Elizabeth. We read in v6 they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. As Ross said two weeks ago, that doesn’t mean they were sinless, but it does mean they took sin seriously. Not perfection, not meriting eternal life, but they were good, obedient Jews. They followed the law. They were the sort of people that would serve in leadership at church and on committees, and they would be the sort of people you would like to have as neighbours. However, Elizabeth was barren, as often happened in Scripture to those who were about to be most blessed by the Lord, and so they prayed for a child, and in their old age, v13, God granted them a child. This was not just any child. Their child, we read, would be great before the Lord, v15. He would be filled with the power and the Spirit of Elijah, v17. I.e. he would be the one to come and prepare the way for the day of the Messiah, according to Malachi. And yet, Zechariah had a hard time believing this word. Look at v18. He said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” It sounds like an honest question, and so you might wonder, “Why so hard on Zechariah? This is a miraculous thing that’s about to happen. Part of what Luke is doing is making a contrast between Zechariah and Mary. The angel announced the good news to Zechariah about a miraculous baby, and he did not believe, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man.” Gabriel then announces the good news to Mary about a miraculous baby, and she seems to have a very similar question to Zechariah in v34, Mary said to the angel, “How shall this be, since I am a virgin?” Pretty good questions. How can this be, I’m old? How can this be, I’m a virgin? It’s one of those times where we’re not told the tone or manner in which it was said, but apparently there was something different about it – something different in the heart of Zechariah from Mary. Mary’s “how can this be” was a kind of wonder, how can this be? Whereas Zechariah’s was the how of skepticism, how can this be? We see that Mary believed. If you look over in v38, after the angel says that she will have a child, her final response is “I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your Word.” In v45, Elizabeth says (perhaps on the back of what had happened to her husband), “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” Mary received this miraculous message and said, “that’s amazing, but I believe it.” Zechariah received a miraculous message and he said, “How can this be? I don’t believe it.” We also see contrast in their different positions. Mary: this unmarried woman, a teenager, 13 or 14 perhaps, of low estate. Zechariah: he's a godly man, a priest, married to a woman of the line of Aaron, he would have been an elite member. If anyone could believe something like this, it was Zechariah. If there was someone who would have been excused for not believing it, it's Mary. If we take it a bit further; where was Zechariah when he received this message? He was on duty in the temple when he was given a word about his special son. He’s there in the temple where all these symbols of God’s presence and glory and splendour and holiness are. He should have been reminded that this God could do such a thing. He was a good man but failed his big moment. Mary, without all those positions and all those trappings, is given an even bigger announcement, that she will effectively be a kind of temple for the Lord, as her womb will become the place where God in the flesh will dwell, in a much more glorious way than even that magnificent temple, and she does believe. As a result of his unbelief, Zechariah was rendered mute for 9 months and 8 days, which was to the date of circumcision. He's given a second chance, and he makes good on his opportunity. In v59 he proceeds with obedience, the child is presented on the eighth day to be circumcised. He and his wife are obedient to give the name that the angel had commanded. (It never occurred to me to have a Warwick Jnr.) In that culture it was common that you would be given the name of your father. If not the name of your immediate father, then one of your grandfathers. So, they’re all confused. “Why aren’t you giving him your name? You don’t even have any Johns.” They say, “No, we’re giving him the name John.” Then Zechariah writes it down and now he has passed this test. He has learned, “I am obedient now to the message that was given to me, I believe it, the child’s here, and he will be called John.” We are told that instantly his tongue is loosed, and, in v64, he begins to bless God. Have you ever stopped to think about this amazing story? It seems like a bizarre punishment. Why that? Why not disbelief, ok, give him the man-flu for nine months, we all know how husbands are with colds. Or give him a limp, give him a mark on his forehead or something. Why tie up his tongue so he can’t speak? Think about who was Zechariah’s son, this miraculous child? John. John the Baptist, as we call him. What role would John play in God’s plans? He would be the one to prepare the way for the Messiah. He would be the voice crying in the wilderness, the prophet to announce the coming of the Word made flesh. There had been 400 years of silence, since Malachi, and now God was going to speak again. Do you see the connection? Zechariah’s punishment was not cruel and unusual; it was theologically perfect. The priest’s voice was taken away until the day when the voice crying in the wilderness had arrived. Zechariah’s speechlessness was a real-life parable that the time of God’s silence was coming to an end. That God would once more now climatically speak to His people, first through John the Baptist, then and finally through his Son. You see this second chance is not just for Zechariah, but for Israel. The promises of Malachi are now here: “Behold. I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes and he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers.” That’s how Malachi ends… then for 400 years God had tied up his own tongue. Now, God is opening His mouth once again. By the voice of John, He will warn the people, call them to repentance. Then God himself will show up. This account means another chance for Zechariah, but more than that, it’s another chance for Israel. We can say even more than that, it reminds us that there’s another chance for you. What have you done with the Lord’s second, third, four hundredth, one millionth chance? Those times when you thought you had finally exhausted God’s mercy, or those times when you were brought through a difficulty with safety, and brought back from the brink of some diagnosis or some illness, or perhaps you can look and remember a time in your life when you were so far from the Lord, but here you are, and God’s spoken to you and God’s given you another chance. Perhaps that moment is now, this morning … you know, even if no one else knows, as you’re here looking nice, here in this nice place with nice people, singing these nice songs. You know that that’s not what’s going on in your heart right now. That if people saw you’re much more like the end of Zechariah’s song, sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death. But God extends to you another chance, another opportunity to repent, to believe, to say you don’t have to go through another year and another Christmas far from the Lord, wondering if your sins have been forgiven. You don’t have to live this way. Maybe that’s where you are. Far from the Lord, though no one knows it. Living a life of darkness, though you manage to show up on Sunday for 90 minutes with enough brightness, so no one knows. Some of us are like Zechariah, nice people, good people, then it comes to our big moment … and we blow it. That’s not the ultimate lesson from Zechariah, however, because what made him a godly, righteous man is that when he blew it and when God gave him another chance, then he listened, and he learned. It’s not that good Christians get everything right the first time, it’s that godly men and women and children learn from those mistakes as God gives a second, third, and four hundredth opportunity. Which brings us to Zechariah’s song. Is this Jesus, whom all these things are pointing to, worth worrying about second and third and four hundredth chance? I’ve mucked it up so many times … just forget about it. Why should I bother? What’s so good about belonging to Jesus and being part of his kingdom anyway? This is a great song. The second Christmas carol ever to be written. The first being Mary’s song. There are some great Christmas carols: Hark the herald angels sing, Joy to the world, O come all ye faithful. There are some bad Christmas carols: I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, very confusing for children, Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, just wrong on a lot of levels, even John Lennon’s So This is Christmas misses the mark completely. Let’s go back to one of the originals… Zechariah recounts that the Lord has done three things great things: 1. V68, He has visited and redeemed His people. 2. V69, He has raised up a horn of salvation from the house of David. That means a strong one will come from David’s line, that’s what a horn symbolised. 3. And third, He has spoken, v70, by the prophets of old. God says, “I have set you free, I have set up a king, and I have sent you, My messengers.” Or you could summarise this with three R’s: Redemption, Royalty, Revelation. Redemption: “I’ve purchased you; I’ve set you free from your enemies.” Royalty: “I have given you a strong one, a Messiah, a king, a horn from David’s line.” And in Revelation: “I have opened My mouth to speak.” That’s what Zechariah recounts as the best; most praiseworthy gifts the Lord has given him and God’s people. Of course, these things are all fulfilled in the one to whom Zechariah’s son will point. Revelation: in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son. Royalty: Jesus is the shoot from the stump of Jesse. Redemption: by his blood we have been redeemed. Did you notice how biblical and theological Zechariah’s expression of praise is? When his tongue is finally loosed and he explodes, prompted by the Holy Spirit, this expression of praise, overflowing from his heart, is Bible and theology. If we were to explode in praise, what would it be for? If we’re honest, if we were overflowing and said, “I have such wonderful news,” what would it be? Maybe “I got the job! I got the promotion! I passed the exams! Look at these good test results from the doctor! Look at this new car in our driveway! Look at this photo of our new grandchild!” Now, I’m not saying we should feel bad for having good jobs and good grades and good health. Please don’t hear that. Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of light. Yes, give thanks for those things, not less thanksgiving for those things. That’s not the point Rather, give more thanksgiving for the biggest things. It’s wonderful to come before the Lord and say, “I got a job, I have got a good relationship, I got a good test score, my health is great.” Yep, come to God. It doesn’t take a work of the Holy Spirit to be thankful for those things. You don’t have to be a Christian to be glad for those things. Everyone wants those things. It doesn’t take a miracle of grace in your life to say, “I’m feeling healthy, that’s wonderful.” This takes a miracle of supernatural sovereign grace: to rejoice not only in those circumstantial blessings, but in the big things – that whatever your health is right now, whatever your relational status, whatever you like or don’t like about your job, that if you belong to Jesus he has redeemed you, delivered you from sin, the flesh, and the devil. That’s better news! That no matter who is in power in this city or this state or in Canberra, that God has established Christ Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords and He never runs for re-election. No matter how lonely certain days or seasons may be, that God has not remained silent. He has spoken to you, personally, inwardly, and revealed to you the glory of King Jesus your redeemer. These are the things that explode out of Zechariah. These are the reasons to be thankful for second, third, four hundredth chance. Here’s my final question for you: What is your response to Christmas? I know, I know, busy and presents and stress and anxiety, but nostalgia and tradition and all of that, really, the message of Christmas, the coming of the Messiah, the birth of this King… What’s your response to Christmas? Elizabeth is exclaiming, Mary is magnifying, Zechariah is praising, and baby John is leaping, later the angels will be glorifying, because they know that this is good news. That this is a happy day. And they, like we, should rejoice and be glad in it. It’s possible, perhaps even likely, for some of us, to have lost something of the wonder of Christmas, of the stupendous, world-altering, universe-changing good news that’s worth shouting, singing, exclaiming, leaping, glorifying, praising, and magnifying. What is your response to Christmas? Will you be like Zechariah, Elizabeth? Even the baby got it, you can get it, too, and rejoice in this good news that is for all God’s people. Our gracious heavenly Father, we give thanks for your many blessings, but we want to give you our most thanks for your best blessings, revelation, royal King Jesus, redemption. And we pray that this old, familiar story would once again stir in our hearts, whether we need a second or third or four hundredth chance, and we would overflow and explode with praise for the good news that Immanuel has come to earth, God with us. We pray in His name. Amen.