Walking With Christ

20 days until Christmas.

Luke 1:68-69 (68)Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people (69)and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,(ESV)

When any king visits another land for any reason other than war, it is customary for that king to send an announcement that they are coming. This is to let the leaders and people of that land prepare for the visit. Jesus is the king of kings. He was coming to earth. His arrival required an announcement. Six months before Joseph and Mary were told about Jesus coming to them, Zecheriah and Elizabeth were told about the coming of John the Baptist who would act as the herald of the coming of Jesus. Zechariah was a priest in a long line of priests. They had no children because Elizabeth had been barren her whole life. They had given up on having children due to their advanced age. God had other plans for them.

It was during Zechariah’s time of service in the temple that Gabriel was sent to him to deliver the news. Zechariah had drawn the lot for being chosen to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense at the hour of incense. It was while he was performing his duties that Gabriel appeared to him. Zechariah didn’t believe Gebriel so, to prove that he was from God, Gabriel told him that he would be mute until the promise had been fulfilled.

Zechariah and Elizabeth kept the news quiet from everyone. Still, when Mary was told about Jesus she was also told about Elizabeth. Mary ran to Elizabeth to confirm the news with her and when she greeted Elizabeth the baby jumped in Elizebeth’s womb.

Luke 1:68-69 comes eight days after John the Baptist was born during the circumcision ritual. It was customary at that time to name children after a relative of one parent or the other. Naming this child John ignored this tradition because none of the relatives in either family was a John or any form of it. The family thought the child would be named Zechariah after his father but Elizabeth said his name was to be John. They turned to Zechariah thinking that Elizabeth had gone against his wishes. No, Zechariah wrote “His name is John” then his tongue was freed and he began to speak a prophecy about Jesus and John.

Jesus was called a “horn of salvation”. This is a symbol of strength and power for Israel that speaks of the might of salvation through Jesus. True to the promises made to Abraham, David, and others, Jesus was descended from David. This promise was made generations before Jesus was born. Like so many of the promises that God makes, this one was fulfilled in unmistakable and unexpected ways. Salvation did not mean what the people thought it would mean. It did not mean that Jesus came to simply rescue the people of Israel from a heavy handed oppressor. Jesus didn’t come to fight the petty squabbles for men. No, His mission was far greater and more far reaching than anyone could have imagined. Few in the history of mankind had been shown the true depth and breadth of this promise and what it would mean. Most who heard it tried to understand the sheer magnitude of it through the skewed mortal lens.

Most of those who heard of the promises asked how this good news was going to get them their next meal or get them out of whatever trouble they found themselves in. A lot of Christians today still struggle with the personal application of these promises. Just like Christ did not come to free the people of Israel from the Roman rule, He does not come to free us today of the problems we will face. Becoming a Christian isn’t a “get out of {insert problem here} free” card. If anything, it makes us a target for the enemy who would rather see us march blindly towards hell. Nearly all of the problems in the world today are manmade problems that were created by imperfect intentions influenced by the sin nature. Enduring those hardships is an unfortunate part of life. A Christian can live with the knowledge, not just a belief, that we are destined for an eternity where these problem do not exist. We have been promised salvation if we give ourselves to Jesus and follow Him. As we have seen in the past few days of advent, God told us it was coming through prophecy, then promised salvation and made a way for that salvation through the sacrifice of His only son on the cross. He is the promise keeper, the way maker.

As we march on towards Christmas through this advent, we can find certain parallels between the anticipation of Israel for the coming of the messiah and where we are today. The difference is that we have the gift of hindsight to let us know that the promise of making a way was fulfilled and we can now look forward to the promised salvation. This is our hope, our blessed assurance.


Father,
We thank You for being a promise keeper. We praise You for making a way when there was no way. We thank You for the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus to pay for all of our sins. We know, Lord, that we are not worthy, but You still paid the price because You are love. It has always been the precious blood of the Lamb of God that would pay for the sins of the world. We know that Your plan is divine, good, holy, and perfect. We ask, Father, that You continue to show us Your mercy and grace as we each struggle to submit to that will. Let us each die to self and take up our cross to follow You, Jesus, as You work in us and through us to change each of us into who You see. Reveal our true natures. You have created new hearts in us. We ask that You give us wisdom and discernment to know Your will. Give us eyes to see the world as You do, ears to hear Your voice through all of the noise in the world today, tongues that only speak Your truth in faith, hands that only do Your good works, feet that walk only where You guide us, and hearts that only beat to serve You. Glory to Your might and holy kingdom.

Amen.