“Forerunner”
Luke 1: 1-20
“But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth
shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John” (Luke 1:13).
Why do many believers who claim to have faith in Jesus Christ lack the confidence to trust Him?
According to our lesson text, this is not just a New Testament idea. Zacharias, an Old
Testament priest who walked blamelessly in the sight of God, still couldn’t trust Him to answer
his prayer. He allowed his natural state to obscure his faith. However, this didn’t stop God
from preparing for the Messiah’s coming. In this week’s lesson, we will be reminded that even
though Zacharias found it hard to believe, God would still put a forerunner in place to lead the
way for the Savior’s ministry.
You see, many things won’t get done because we stand in God’s way and put off what can bless
us now. But if God’s Will is for something to happen, there is nothing you or I can do to stop it
from happening. God’s will may not always get done to bless us, but His Will shall get done to
bless Him. Friends, we many times delay what God has planned for us to our own detriment,
not His.
“Fear not, Zacharias.” Note that it’s interesting that these were the first words from Heaven in
four hundred years. What a contrast this was to the last words of the Old Testament, “lest I
come and smite the earth with a curse” in Malachi 4:6. God had been silent for four centuries,
but now that He was speaking again, He sent a message of hope.
Soooooooooooooo, of course I’m talking about John the Baptist, the baby in Elisabeth’s womb.
Most of us know that humans have different measures of greatness which include eloquence,
prestige, wealth, power, and influence. While John would temporarily enjoy some of these,
most of his generation wouldn’t consider him great.
But God has His own standards of greatness, and John achieved them all. According to Jesus, John was greater than all the prophets, for his ministry of introducing the Messiah was more important than any of their
ministries (check out Matthew 11:9-11). Jesus also said, “Among them that are born of women
there hath not risen a greater (one) than John the Baptist.” John would have the greatest
privilege of any man and he would fulfill his role with integrity.
Without giving away too much of the lesson that I’m teaching, what is your role to play in this
life here on earth? Are you living up to what God has called you to do? Do you even know what
God’s Will is for your life? Are you searching to find out? Do you even want to know?
The Old Testament prophets had turned their people back to God in times of apostasy, and
John would do the same in preparation for the coming Messiah. Many in that day looked for a
messiah who would lead them politically and militarily to overthrow their Roman oppressors.
But John’s task would be reminding them that the messianic kingdom, though real, was also
spiritual and required a spiritual preparation. So many times I remind the class that in this world
we fight against the world, the flesh, and the devil. You see, the things we can see don’t even
compare to the things that we can’t see. Are you clearly aware of that fact?
John’s primary work in the world would be calling people to repentance so that they would be
prepared to recognize and receive Israel’s Messiah and Savior, whom John would precede and
introduce. John would be the one crying in the wilderness, preparing the way of the LORD.
Beloved, this is also the calling of every follower, believer, Christian. Along with your life’s work
in ministry, sharing the Gospel is the job of every one of us. How are you doing?
Our lesson this week should remind us that although God can be long silent and seemingly
unconcerned about His people, He has a plan that will surpass any of our expectations. It also
warns us that when God has revealed His plan to us, it’s not for us to question if it can really
come to pass. Instead, we should thank Him for His plan and let Him work as only He can,
especially if we are part of that plan! Amen!!
Deacon Neal
