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Day 17- How Shall I Know This

Isn’t that a question we all could have asked? “How shall I know this?” Or in other words, “How in the world can this be true, or better yet, how can this happen or take place?” The angel of the Lord has just finished his conversation with Zacharias, telling him that their prayer was answered and that they would be having a son and this was his response back to Gabriel—“How can I know this?”

The angel had proclaimed all of the things that John’s birth would represent, what John would do, and what would be expected of him. And at the end of the conversation Zacharias says, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man and my wife is well advanced in years.” He not only asked the question, he gives the reason for the question—we’re old! 

Then the angel answered him and said, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God and I was sent to bring you this good news.” Gabriel which means, “Mighty Man of Valor.” He foretold the Messiah’s coming (Daniel 9:25), and according to the traditional translation of the Bible of I Thessalonians 4:16, he will be the one to sound the trumpet for His return.

Gabriel coming to Zacharias was a big deal and the news that he is bringing to him is good news. Gabriel had been in the presence of God Himself and he came to tell Zacharias that their prayer had been answered and that Elizabeth was going to have a son and that his name would be John.

The angel of the Lord, Gabriel had been in the presence of God in heaven and had received the message that he delivered to Zacharias. Nevertheless, Zacharias response to the message appears to be the wrong response. 

However, I don’t know if I would have had responded differently or not either. Why? Because in the natural, this would have appeared impossible. However, we know that God is a God of possibilities and that nothing is impossible for Him. And, we also know that what he said came to pass. Elizabeth and Zacharias would give birth to John and Mary and Joseph would give birth to Jesus and God’s plan would be in motion.

Take Away: Can you imagine how Zacharias must have felt? He and Elizabeth had prayed and believed God for so long, and now God’s messenger, Gabriel shows up with the miraculous message that their prayer had been answered. They were still serving God faithfully—but they were old and beyond child bearing ages. However, God has His own timetable and He moves in ways that we don’t always understand. Nevertheless, God was faithful and they were now going to have a baby and that baby would one day baptize Jesus in the Jordan.

Day 16- For He Shall Be Great In The Sight of The Lord  

John would be set apart by God and used in a special way by Him for His divine purposes. Remember, he will baptize Jesus in the Jordan. That’s pretty spectacular isn’t it. Therefore, after the angel tells Zacharias that his prayer was heard and Elizabeth would bear a son and that he was to name him John, the angel goes on to describe what will follow and what would be required.

Luke records the angel’s conversation to Zacharias as follows: “You will have joy and gladness and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit while in his mother’s womb. And he will help to turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will go forth in the power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children’ (Micah 4:5-6), and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

John would be set apart to prepare the way of The Lord. He would later say, “There is One coming who sandal straps I am not worthy to tie.” Jesus and John would be born in a close proximity of time. They would both grow up somewhat in obscurity, with us not knowing much about that period of their lives. However, they are now both babies that will both be greatly used by God. 

Jesus would come on the scene with a baptism in the Jordan by John and the Holy Spirit would ascend upon Him and the heavens would open and God would say, “This is my Son in whom I’m well pleased.” But for now in these stories they are both still babies in their mother’s womb. 

However, at the moment in Luke chapter one God is doing some pretty miraculous things in the lives of ordinary people just like you and me, and it will  produce divine miracles in the lives of many for years to come.

Take Away:

1. John was an answer to prayer.
2. John was a result of Zacharias and Elizabeth’s faithfulness.
3. John would declare the arrival of the Messiah and herald God’s grace.
4. John would be filled with the Holy Spirit in his mother’s womb.
5. John would be set apart for God’s glory and purpose.

Day 15- Your Prayer Has Been Heard 

Faith and faithfulness are two different things. Faith is what or who you believe in. Faithfulness is what action you take as a result of your faith and/or—your ethics. 

Zacharias and Elizabeth not only had faith in God, they also were faithful in their principles and in their practices of faith. 

They were faithful to God in supporting His work and His temple. But they were also faithful to God by honoring Him in their actions and deeds and by living them out in their everyday lives.

They prayed and God heard their prayer (Luke 1:13). However, the request was not answered immediately and the petition was not fulfilled on their timetable. 

Nevertheless, when the angel of the Lord now appears to Zacharias he is told that their prayer was now being answered. 

Notice that the angel didn’t say your prayers, He said your prayer—singular. I believe that the angel was telling him that the prayer they had prayed for a child was heard, and it was now being answered.

Zacharias and Elizabeth were now older and advanced in age, but I wonder when they had first prayed the prayer for a child? I wonder if it had been so long that they had forgotten?

I’m curious how they had dealt with the frustration, disappointment and humiliation of their prayer not being answered and them being childless. 

I mean after all in their culture, having a child was considered favor from God and not having a child was considered the disapproval of God. 

Nevertheless, in the midst of their public humiliation and private disappointment—they remained faithful and steadfast! 

And now Zacharias and Elizabeth were going to have a son and his name would be called John. And John would be the forerunner of Christ and eventually baptize Jesus in the Jordan.

Take Away: 

1. God hears our prayer even when we don’t see the answer immediately.
2. God will honor your faithfulness.
3. God is faithful and His plan is perfect.

Day 14- The Lord Has Shown Favor

There are so many divine providences in the scriptures that surround the birth of Jesus and God’s grace and favor is seen in them all. For example, verse nine of Luke chapter one, tells us that Zacharias was chosen by lot to burn incense in the Temple. And, it was on this very day that the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, telling him that Elizabeth would indeed bring forth a child and that Zacharias would call his name John.

The name John means- “The Lord (Yahweh) Has Shown Favor (Grace). God had surely shown Zacharias and Elizabeth favor and even though it was delayed—it was divine. You see I don’t believe that there are coincidences or happenstance with God. I believe that things happen in order and at the given time. 

For instance, if Elizabeth and Zacharias would have gotten pregnant earlier when they were believing for it to happen, they would have had a baby, but it probably wouldn’t have been John the Baptist. That’s because John would have had to have be born to Elizabeth during the time that her cousin Mary was pregnant with Jesus. Now I know that I am reading into this a bit, but could it be that was why she was barren so long? Could it have been that God was waiting until this particular miraculous moment to awaken her womb.

After all, this is a story of Gods redemptive grace—God becoming flesh to save us. And at this moment in the story, Elizabeth was barren and past the child bearing age. However, God would now allow her to become pregnant with John at the very same time that her cousin Mary would be pregnant with Jesus. And it would be John who would eventually be the forerunner of Christ and he would also be the one to baptize Him.

Nevertheless, after all these years of being childless—Zacharias and Elizabeth still remained steadfast and they served God consistently and faithfully. Even though at times I’m sure they felt humiliation and frustration, they still remained solid in their faith and now they were about to see the faithfulness of God and His promises fulfilled.

Take Away:

1. Zacharias and Elizabeth never wavered in their faith or faithfulness.
2. Elizabeth was going to bear a son in her old age and Zacharias was going to give him the name John.
3. Zacharias and Elizabeth’s prayer had been heard. (Luke 1:13)

Day 13- John’s Birth Announced

Matthew starts out his gospel with a long genealogy of Jesus lineage. He then begins into the story of Jesus birth. Luke, however, starts his book off with a discourse on how he actually wrote his stories of the life of Jesus. He then begins next by progressing into stories that aren’t entirely about Christ birth. Nonetheless, they definitely intertwine and correlate with the birth of Jesus.

For example, Luke begins with the birth of John the Baptist and his parents, Zacharias and Elizabeth. This is totally in line with what’s to follow, because it would be John who leaps in the womb of Elizabeth when Mary shows up with the Promised Child in her belly, telling what had taken place.

Luke picks up this story by letting us know that Herod is king of Judea. And, this is about where we left off in Matthew Chapter two. Anyway, he begins by telling us that Zacharias and Elizabeth are righteous people, but Elizabeth was barren. This is important because the Jews considered children to be a sign of Gods favor and childlessness was considered a sign of His displeasure. 

Therefore, Luke was letting us know up front that Zacharias and Elizabeth were righteous people and that God viewed them as such. He says in verse six of chapter one, “They were both righteous before God, walking in all of the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 

Luke continues in verse seven by saying, “But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.” Nevertheless , they were righteous and they consistently and continually did all that the Lord had required of them. Again, God viewed them as righteous and blameless. In other words, the barrenness wasn’t because of disobedience, nor was it about them being unrighteousness or unworthy.

Take Away: Maybe you feel a little bit like Zacharias and Elizabeth. Maybe you feel like you’ve done everything right, yet you still haven’t seen what you’ve been believing for. I want you to know today that God sees you, He knows you, and He is for you, not against you. 

Maybe you feel like your time is up, or that your time has passed. Perhaps you just simply feel like you are just too old. Nonetheless, I want you to know today that God has a way of making all things new and as you will see in the lives of Zacharias and Elizabeth—God was faithful! He was faithful to them, and in His time and in His way, He will be faithful to you as well. 

Day 12- He Shall Be Called a Nazarene 

On day twelve of the 25 Days of Christmas (from the Bible) we will close out the book of Matthew chapter two. It is important to recognize that the accounts in Matthew chapter 2: The Birth in Bethlehem |vv. 5-6| (Micah 5:2 and 2 Samuel 5:2), The Flight into Egypt |vv. 13-15| (Exodus 1:15-2:10), The Massacre of the Innocents |vv. 16-18| (Jeremiah 31:15), and The Settlement in Nazareth |vv.19-23| (Judges 13:5), all underscore a divinely designed prophetic fulfillment.

We pick up in verse sixteen where Herod is angry because he felt that he had been deceived by the Magi, so he ordered that all the male children who were in Bethlehem or its surrounding districts to be put to death. Then Matthew in verse seventeen declares it was a fulfillment of prophecy and quotes a verse from Jeremiah 31:15. What a tragic scene of events—the weeping mothers of Bethlehem.

Matthew then quickly moves on in verse nineteen to letting us know that Herod is indeed dead.  An angel of the Lord actually appears again to Joseph in Egypt, telling him to go to Israel because Herod and those who were seeking to harm to the young Child are now dead. 

Joseph however, heard that Herod’s son was now reigning in his place. This caused him great concern, so he turned toward the region of Galilee. Then being warned again in a dream, he continued on until they (Mary, Joseph and the young Child, Jesus) came and dwelt in the city of Nazareth. 

So now the stage is set; Matthew has brought Jesus to Nazareth and in a very real sense, Nazareth was the gateway to the world. This is where Jesus would grow in wisdom and in stature, with God and with man. He was now a young child that would grow into a man. 

In Nazareth Jesus would see all kinds of travelers from all kinds of nations on all kinds of journeys, coming, and going from the very ends of the earth. This is where Jesus would become the master craftsman of Nazareth and it is where He would be until He was baptized by John and begins His short three and a half year earthly ministry.

Take Away: The Journey of Jesus birth through the book of Matthew took us from His lineage, to him being born and becoming a young child, to now Him living in Nazareth. Every step was prophetically and strategically plotted out in a significant manner. Each event and its sequence led him to exactly where He was to be at that very moment. These passages prove to me that we can trust the timing of God. Next we will look at the book of Luke and its stories that lead up to the birth of Jesus.

Day 11- Flight out of Egypt 

These thoughts are taken from Matthew 2:12-15:

An angel of the Lord appears to both the Magi and to Joseph in a dream and divinely warns them to avoid king Herod and his schemes.

The wise men didn’t return to where Herod was, but departed another way back to their home country. Mary and Joseph and the new born baby Jesus would then flee to Egypt.

The angel commands Joseph to stay in Egypt until he brings him word that it is safe to depart. He goes on to tell him that Herod will seek to destroy the young Child, so they had departed to Egypt by night.

Matthew ends this intriguing passage with these words: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.” He is wanting to make a connection for his readers by showing the symbolic link to Egypt in regard to God’s redemption and the release of His people from the bondage of Pharaoh.

This symbolic and prophetic connection would include the link of Pharaoh trying to kill Moses and king Herod attempting to kill Jesus. We also know this symbolically and ultimately points to the redemption for all mankind.

The flight from Egypt for God’s people included the people of God painting the lintel of their doors posts with the blood of the lamb from their sacrifice. When the blood was applied the death angel would pass over that house and the family would escape the curse of death.

The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus. The symbolism of Jesus coming out of Egypt and ending up in Nazareth is a story of redemption for mankind.

Take Away: Jesus was born to redeem us and it would be His blood that would ultimately lead to us being freed from sin and having the gift of eternal life. Sin is a bondage that leads to death. The gift of God is eternal life because of Christ. The children of Israel left the bondage of Egypt and obtained the promise land because of the blood of the lamb. Jesus fled Egypt and went to Nazareth. He eventually redeemed us to Himself through His blood— the Blood of the Lamb, and gave us the gift of salvation, so that one day we could enter the promised land of heaven.

Day 10- Herod the King Heard This and Was Troubled

I can understand why Herod the king was troubled, but was EVERYONE in Jerusalem troubled too? I can’t answer for everyone, but I also can’t help but think that some were excited and expecting the arrival of a Messiah. Matthew is probably referring to the Jewish council, leadership and those in authority.

Nevertheless, king Herod, or as he was also known—“Herod the Great”, was definitely troubled. King Herod wasn’t all bad—as of matter of fact, he did some noble deeds at times. However, it was  his worst character traits that gave him such a bad name and distasteful reputation. His bad traits were, he was suspicious and insecure, and these were terrible traits for a leader.

These traits were what made him kill anyone or anything that was a threat. And Jesus, in his mind would be no exception to that rule. Jesus was already being hailed as King of the Jews and this was definitely a threat to Herod and his reign. However, we know that Jesus came to serve, not to rule or to be served.

In verse five of Matthew chapter two, the Magi told king Herod that Jesus was born in Bethlehem because it was written in scripture by the prophet Micah (Micah 5:2). This scripture again links Jesus with David. And, the knowledge of this scripture and the prophecy shows the Magi’s knowledge in regard to both. As a side note, verse six of Matthew two is that actual verse from the book of Micah.

Herod now secretly tries to trick the wise men from the east in to telling him the exact location of Jesus, the young child. This passage just states that they heard him (Herod), but the wise men continued to follow the star and it eventually led them to where Jesus was. Matthew says that the star stood over where the young child was and when they (the Magi) saw the star they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

This passage continues by saying that when they came into the house they saw the young Child with Mary His mother and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened up their gifts that they had brought to Him, which were: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 

Take Away: You can’t help but notice that Matthew consistently uses the word worship when describing the attitude and posture of people that were encountering Jesus. And lastly, the three gifts were symbolic: 1. (Gold) for a King, 2. (Frankincense) symbolic of Priestly Access, and 3. (Myrrh) used to prepare bodies for burial. Jesus is the King of Kings in whom we access to God the Father because He died for our sins and rose again on the third day.