PREPARATION FOR JESUS

LUKE 1:5-25


Mal. 3:1 [ESV]. Behold, I send my messenger and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.


John the Baptist

 

•          Prophesied that John would come (Mal. 4:5; Mt. 17:12)

•          Born in answer to prayer (Lk. 1:13)

•          Ministered in the wilderness (Mk. 1:4, 6; Lk. 1:80)

•          Thought to be Messiah (Lk. 3:15; Jn. 1:20)

•          Sent to shine light on Christ (Lk. 3:16; Jn. 1:6, 5:33)

•          Baptized Jesus in the Jordan (Mk. 1:9)

•          Followed by disciples (Mk. 2:18 [fasted, prayed–Lk. 11:1; John, Andrew–Jn. 1:35; Apollos and Ephesus–Acts 18:25, 19:4])

•          Believed by the publicans and harlots (Mt. 21:32)

•          Questioned if Jesus truly the Messiah (Mt. 11:4)

•          Named the greatest (Mt. 11:11 [last prophet])

•          Performed no miracles (Jn. 10:41)

•          Called a devil (Mt. 11:18)

•          Preached fearlessly (Mk. 6:18)

•          Feared by leaders (Mk. 6:20, 11:32)

•          Imprisoned by Herod (Mk. 1:14)

•          Murdered to satisfy Herodias (Mk. 6:25)

•          Compared to Jesus (Mk. 6:14, 8:28)


  I. Preparation in purity (1:5-7)


      A. Blameless


      Zachariah and Elizabeth lived in such purity that God chose them as vessels for His service.


      B. Childless


      Robertson wrote, “Keenly felt by a Jewish wife because the husband wanted an heir and because of the hope of the Messiah, and because of the mother’s longing for a child.” Endnote Bruce noted this as a “calamity from the Jewish point of view, and also a fact hard to reconcile with the character of the pair, for the Lord loveth the righteous. . . .” Endnote


 II. Preparation in prayer (1:8-13)


      A. In the temple


Ex. 30:1, 6-8 [GNB]. Make an altar out of acacia wood, for burning incense.

 6. Put this altar outside the curtain which hangs in front of the Covenant Box. That is the place where I will meet you.

 7. Every morning when Aaron comes to take care of the lamps, he is to burn sweet-smelling incense on it.

 8. He must do the same when he lights the lamps in the evening. This offering of incense is to continue without interruption for all time to come.


Ps. 141:2. Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.


Rev. 8:3-4. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

 4. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.


2 Chr. 13:11a[ESV]. They offer to the LORD every morning and every evening burnt offerings and incense of sweet spices, set out the showbread on the table of pure gold, and care for the golden lampstand that its lamps may burn every evening.


      Vincent explained, “The incensing priest and his assistants went first to the altar of burnt-offering, and filled a golden censer with incense, and placed burning coals from the altar in a golden bowl. As they passed into the court from the Holy Place they struck a large instrument called the Magrephah, which summoned all the ministers to their places. Ascending the steps to the holy place, the priests spread the coals on the golden altar, and arranged the incense, and the chief officiating priest was then left alone within the Holy Place to await the signal of the president to burn the incense. It was probably at this time that the angel appeared to Zacharias. When the signal was given, the whole multitude withdrew from the inner court, and fell down before the Lord. Silence pervaded the temple, while within, the clouds of incense rose up before Jehovah.” Endnote


      Robertson stated, “It was the great moment of Zacharias’s life, and his heart was no doubt alert for the supernatural” (Ragg). Endnote


      B. In the home


      E. M. Bounds said, “If more children were born of praying mothers, brought up in direct contact with ‘the house of prayer,’ and reared under prayer environments, more children would hear the voice of God’s spirit speaking to them. . . . Praying Samuels come from praying Hannahs.” Endnote


      The mother of John Newton (1725-1807), the converted slave-trader, died when her son was seven. Yet, Newton wrote, “For the encouragement of godly parents to go on in the good way of doing their part faithfully, I may propose myself as an example. Though in process of time I sinned away all the advantages of these early impressions, yet they were for a great while a restraint upon me. They returned again and again . . . .” He said, “My dear mother, besides the pains she took with me, often commended me with many prayers and tears to God.” Endnote


III. Preparation in prophecy (1:14-17)


      Zechariah heard that the son would be an instrument for God–that the parents would only give him back over to God.


      A. Nazarite


      B. Evangelist


      C. Revivalist


      Robertson said, “This is one of the first results of conversion, the revival of love in the home.” Endnote


 IV. Preparation in possibility (1:18-22)


      A. Unbelief


      B. Unable


      George Mueller said, “Many people are willing to believe regarding those things that seem probable to them. Faith has nothing to do with probabilities. The province of faith begins where probabilities cease and sight and sense fail.” Endnote


  V. Preparation in privacy (1:23-25)


      Elizabeth did not tell the secret things God said until God gave permission (Ps. 25:14).


      A. Barren


      B. Blessing


      John the Baptist’s life illustrated that power for public ministry came from private devotion (1 Kg. 17:3-18:1; Lk. 1:80, 5:16-17).


So, I think I know the secret

Learned from many a troubled way;

You must seek God in the morning

If you want Him through the day. Endnote