Here we are in this church building this morning celebrating the greatness of our Savior Jesus Christ. God uses people like
us for His eternal purposes. That is something amazing to think about and amazing to be involved in. His use of us is only
possible because of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross and rising from the dead. Over the past couple of years, we
have consistently kept our Lord Jesus before us as we have looked at the books of Jeremiah, Galatians and James. Today,
we are going to start a new series in the book of Luke – Luke’s account of the life of Jesus – and focus our attention on the
Lord Jesus Himself for a few months.
God wants us to be like Jesus – He wants our lives to look like the life of Jesus. That’s why Jesus rose from the dead, so
that we could experience the same kind of life here on earth that He experienced while He was here. His life was fully
devoted to the Father, Jesus was totally submitted to the Father and God did His work in Him because of His submission.
According to John 17, that’s how Jesus wants us to live in our relationship with Him. Turn to John 17:20-23. READ.
Earlier in John, Jesus said things like “I say only what I hear the Father say…I do only what I see the Father do.” That
kind of relationship is what Jesus wants for those who follow Him – for us. Today, as we start the Gospel of Luke, we will
see a couple of people who were living it, and God used them for His eternal purposes before the Lord Jesus arrived on
earth as a baby. As we get started this morning, let’s PRAY.
In order to start a new book, we have to lay down info to help us know the people involved and the reasons it was
written. Turn to Luke 1:1-4. READ. In the four Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – we have only 2 of them
who tell us why they wrote these things down, Luke and John. I encourage you to read the Gospel of John and find where
John tells why he wrote his account of the life of the Lord Jesus. Luke tells us right here at the beginning. We’ll look in a
minute at why he wrote. And he tells us a lot of other stuff, too.
We don’t see the name Luke here. We will piece together why we think it is Luke who wrote this account of the life of
Jesus as we go through the book – I will try to remind us of why Luke would write things he writes. For now, let’s assume
that it IS Luke and see what we can find out about him. Verses 2 and 3 give us some indication of his involvement in
Christianity. The information Luke has about the life of Jesus he heard from those who were with Jesus while He was here
on earth in the flesh. Who might that be? The apostles – definitely Paul, who wasn’t with the apostles when they were with
Jesus, but who, as we saw in Galatians, was with Jesus for around 3 years after the resurrection. We can piece together
that Luke would have known John Mark – the writer of the Gospel of Mark – who was likely with Jesus and the apostles
at the Garden of Gethsemene before the crucifixion (Mark 14:51). We know from the book of Acts in chapter 1 that when
Jesus first appeared to the apostles after the resurrection, there were more than 120 people gathered. We don’t know all
their names – Luke could have been among them. And in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul mentions that after the resurrection Jesus
appeared to a lot of people – including over 500 at one time – Luke may have been among them. We don’t know. We
DO know that Luke traveled with Paul and was usually in Paul’s company as Paul was in prison (2 Timothy 4:11, Philemon
24). Paul had great regard for Luke – in Colossians 4:14 Paul refers to Luke as the beloved physician. So Luke was a
medical doctor (a fact that will show up as we go through this account of the life of Jesus)
Luke has gathered information about the life of Jesus and as he opens up this written account about His life, he makes his
reason for writing it clear. Luke is writing this account to a person named Theophilus. How amazing that a written account
of the life of Jesus, written to one person in particular, is now in our hands a couple of thousand years later. God breathed
into what Luke wrote, God inspired Luke to write down the things he had heard from the apostles and maybe even seen
with his own eyes, and now we have this account in our hands to allow us to get to know Jesus.
We don’t know who Theophilus is – we have no information about him. Luke wrote another detailed account of what
happened after the resurrection to this same guy. In Acts 1, Luke mentions Theophilus again. All we know about
Theophilus is that he was learning about Jesus and Luke wanted to give him accurate and orderly information. And now
God has given this to us, too.
Before we get into the first part of the story of the coming of Jesus, I want us to consider something. Are you certain of the
things you have heard about Jesus? Do you truly believe everything the Bible says about Him? He healed people, He
could see people when they weren’t there (like the apostle Philip as he sat under a tree)? Do you believe that Jesus was
able to escape from crowds who wanted to hurt Him? Do you believe that Jesus could speak to demons and cast them
out? Do you believe that Jesus really rose from the dead? If you have any doubts or trouble with the truth of these things,
Luke is a good book for you to study. He is writing it so that we may know the certainty of those things. Don’t miss
anything God says to us in this great account of the life of Jesus.
Look at Luke 1:5-7. READ. In order to lay out the story of the life of Jesus, Luke starts with a different person. We
haven’t even heard who this other person is yet – these are his parents. Zacharias was a priest. He lived during the time of
King Herod – this is Herod the Great, the first in a line of rulers in the area of Israel who had the name “Herod.” Herod
ruled in the area of Judea from 37 BC to around 4 AD. So at some point during those days, whatever is about to be
talked about happened. We think this was around 5 or 4 BC.
Zacharias was married to a woman named Elizabeth – she was from the family of Moses’ brother Aaron. And both
Zacharias and Elizabeth, it says, were righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord
blameless. Zacharias was not the high priest – he wasn’t even a kind of high priest. He was just one of many hundreds of
men who worked in the temple and came from the family line of Levi. Elizabeth was no one noteworthy. She was not
famous in her day or time. She was married to a man who was one of hundreds of men who served in the temple doing the
daily activities of temple stuff. These were regular, normal people.
But Luke says that they were “righteous” and “walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord” and that they
were “blameless.” Does this mean that they were sinless? No – they were normal people – people just like you and me –
who sinned and confessed and, as Jews, did the sacrifices according to God’s commands to cover over their sins and they
sought to live lives pleasing to God. I have a great respect for people like this – even people today who don’t HAVE to
put forth any effort to be followers of Jesus, but they see the truth and they know the reality of His power and they live it.
This was Zacharias and Elizabeth.
But they had a big disappointment in life – they did not have any children. In Jewish society, this was a huge
embarrassment. There would be no one to carry on the family name. Their family line would stop with them – and
Elizabeth likely carried the load of guilt for that – SHE was barren. And now, verse 7 says, they were both old – past the
age of child bearing and with no hope of children.
Luke 1:8-17. READ. As this normal guy Zacharias was doing his job – as he had likely done for many years already –
God stepped in to accomplish His own eternal things. Zacharias was chosen by lot – basically the priests rolled dice to see
who would go in and burn incense that day. Was Zacharias just lucky to be the one who was in there? If his friend Joshua
had been the one, would God still have spoken? I think God put Zacharias right where He wanted him so that God could
use HIM – Zacharias – for His purposes. Because of his openness and devotion to the Lord, God broke in to Zacharias’
life at this point.
It always kills me when angels appear to people. I don’t know if God still communicates using angels in face to face
situations like this – He’s God, He can do whatever He wants. But I kind of hope I never have an experience like this.
Here’s Zacharias doing his priestly thing as he had done for years before, getting out the incense, putting it in the container,
getting a match and he looks up and there is a giant, beautiful, powerful and imposing man standing right beside him. Verse
12 says that Zacharias was troubled. I think he would have been TERRIFIED. And that’s the usual way angels appear
and they always have to say the same thing when they show up in front of people – “Do not be afraid.” The first lesson in
angel school is probably – “When you appear in front of human beings, you are going to scare them to death. So always
start out your conversation with the words ‘do not be afraid.’ That will really help.”
I know there is no such thing as angel school – I just think it is funny that they always have to say that because they startle
people so much when they appear.
The angel gives Zacharias the news that their prayers have been heard and now it is time for the answer. They are going to
have a son and name him John. The angel makes a number of great promises about this child John. When God answers
prayer, many great things result. For Zacharias and Elizabeth, here were some of the blessings:
- they would have joy and gladness (something they had prayed for for years in relation to having a child)
- many people would rejoice with them at the birth of their son
- John would be great in the sight of the Lord (what a promise)
- John would be filled with the Spirit of God throughout his life and even before his birth
- John would turn many people to the Lord
- John would go before the Lord (a clear reference to the Messiah, the Savior, the Promised One who had been
expected for centuries by the Jews) and John would prepare the way for the Messiah in the spirit and power of Elijah (a
fulfillment of prophecy – Malachi 4:5)
- Part of John’s impact on the world is that he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children
- he will turn the disobedient from disobedience to the wisdom of the just
- and he will make people ready for the arrival of the Messiah
What a fantastic answer to prayer. What great news and exciting hope for Zacharias and his wife. But his response is – “I
can’t believe this – we’re too old. This can’t happen.” Fortunately for Zacharias, God didn’t pull His promise to him for
his lack of faith. The angel’s response is basically – you have prayed for this and God is answering your prayers, but
because you doubt, God will prove it to you by not allowing you to speak until you see it come to pass. And immediately,
Zacharias loses the ability to speak. Do you think he believed right then? I think he did – actually, we know he did. As
soon as he came out and finished his assignment at the temple, he rushed home and got the process started. And God
made it happen. Regardless of age, regardless of circumstances, God brought this old couple a baby.
God is not obligated to play by our rules. He isn’t restricted by our understanding of situations. He can do whatever He
wants, whenever He wants, however He wants with anyone He wants. When God is ready to do His thing, He does it.
And we can see from the Word of God that He usually lets people who trust Him know as He gets it going. God still
speaks today and still does amazing things. I don’t know if He uses angels to speak anymore – He can if He wants to. But
He clearly speaks through the Bible, through prayer, through circumstances and through His people.
God used Zacharias and Elizabeth to accomplish His eternal purpose to bring the one who would prepare the way for the
Messiah. They were faithful and as best they knew how and understood, they trusted the Lord. And He included them in
His eternal plan. They were just people – old people – they weren’t exciting or flamboyant or noteworthy. They were just
fully devoted followers – trusting God and doing what He said. Do they sound like anyone you know?
God wants to use us for His eternal purposes. He doesn’t need another John the Baptist, but He does have eternal things
to accomplish that He has YOU in mind to be involved in. Are you like Zacharias and Elizabeth – trusting Him and doing
what He says? Are you seeking to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ?
Think about your home – do you have children at home? Who does God want to use to raise up a godly generation after
you? What about your grandchildren? Who does God want to be the godly grandfather and godly grandmother for those
kids, to tell them about the Lord Jesus and show those kids how God has done great things in the past?
Luke says here that he wants to write “an orderly account” to Theophilus about what Theophilus has already been learning
about Jesus. The reason Luke writes is so that Theophilus – and now WE – will know the certainty of these historical
facts. These things truly happened and we can be certain of them. When Luke says “an orderly account,” we can take that
to mean that he even tried to put things in chronological order. Luke is a doctor – an ordered person – and he wants things
to be told as they actually happened. Not all of the Gospel accounts are necessarily in chronological order – that’s OK,
there’s nothing wrong with them. The things Matthew and Mark and John share are just as true. But we have an indication
here that Luke has tried to put things in historical context – as they happened.
What big disappointments do you have in life? Do you believe God is still able to do His God-sized work in your life? I’m
not sure exactly how much Zacharias and Elizabeth thought like that – we will see some indication in a minute. But God is
bigger than our disappointments – He is able to do anything He wants, any time He wants in any way He with whomever
He wants. Are we living what we say? Let’s see what happened.
Young people – who do you think God wants to use to live out the life of Jesus and share the message of salvation with
people in your school. You may think “somebody should do that.” Who does God have there right now? Could it be you?
Do you have a job outside the home? Why do you think God has you at that job? Just to get a paycheck? Could the
eternal God of the universe have a higher calling – an eternal purpose – for you in that workplace?
As you drive, how does God want to use you for His eternal purposes? In stores and gas stations and coffee shops and
restaurants does God have eternal purposes? Is He interested only in groceries and fuel and coffee? How about at
football games or meetings or church services?
God has normal, regular people all over the place to be fully devoted followers of Him. He has YOU where He has you to
be His representative in that place. As you trust in Him and do what He says, you will see opportunity after opportunity to
get involved with Him as He seeks to draw people to Himself – to build His Kingdom. Your name is not going to be in the
Bible – I’m sorry. But your name will be remembered by the Lord as He looks at your life and how you trusted Him and
did what He said, and He will be pleased with you and will reward you for your obedience. And the eternal destiny of
many people will be affected as you do that – just like Zacharias and Elizabeth are remembered now for their devotion to
the true God.