Title: “Christmas: The Demonstration of God’s Love” Script: Lk. 1:67-79
Type: 4th Sunday of Advent Where: GNBC 12-18-22
Intro: In the 1920’s Bobby Jones dominated the game of golf, despite being an amateur. In one film about his life (Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius) there is a scene where a pro golfer asks Bobby when he is going to quit being an amateur and grab the big money like everyone else. Jones answers by explaining that the word amateur comes from the Latin root, amo – to love. His answer was clear, he played golf because he loved the game. Love was his motivation for his passion. Friend, when we reflect on Christmas we realize our Lord was motivated out of love. A love for the lost motivated Him to leave Heaven and enter His creation so as to redeem it. Love motivated Christ’s passion.
Prop: Examining Zacharias’ prophecy we see 4 Reasons how Christmas Demonstrates God’s Love.
BG: 1. Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist is the one speaking in this passage. He was a priest.
2. The time frame is about six months before Jesus’ birth. However, the prophecy gives us wonderful insight into the demonstration of God’s love in the miraculous Christmas story.
3.
Prop: Let’s examine Lk. 1:67ff to realize 4 Reasons how Christmas Demonstrates God’s Love.
I. Christmas is the Demonstration of the Love of God the Father. vv. 68 & 78
A. Christmas Demonstrates the Love God the Father has for His Creation.
1. Christmas is the Visitation of God’s Love to a Poor and Needy People.
a. “The Lord has visited us…” This prophecy is steeped in OT theology. I believe this idea started all the way back at the death of the patriarch Joseph. There in Gen. 50:24-25, as Joseph lay dying in Egypt, he predicted that God would in the future visit his descendants, bringing them to the land of promise that God had made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Joseph says in that prophecy that after their time in slavery, when God visits and delivers them, they shall carry his bones out of Egypt and into the promised land.
b. Just as Israel stood silent for 400 years from the time of Malachi until this visitation to Zacharias and Elizabeth, Israel had stood silent for 400 years while Israel awaited a deliverer from Egyptian slavery. Now, Zacharias is prophesying that God will visit His downtrodden and enslaved people to bring the Messiah for an even greater deliverance.
2. Christmas Reminds us that in Love, God remembered His People.
a. These were very dark days in Israel. Roman oppression. Grinding poverty. Spiritual drought and depression. It seemed as though for 400 years God had forgotten His people and had shut the heavens to their prayers. But now, the great news of the birth of the Messiah’s forerunner meant one thing: God was coming to visit!
b. Illust: As recent as 20 years ago, if you would have gone into a traditional Catholic’s home in Ireland, you would have been sure to have seen 3 or 4 pictures on the wall of even the most humble cottage: 1. The Sacred Heart of Jesus 2. The Blessed Virgin 3. The Pope 4. John F. Kennedy. The first we easily understand why. But the last? Well, in June of 1963, Kennedy visited that then, very poor nation. The most powerful person in the world visiting their very humble country. Kennedy’s visit was a first. It was the first visit to Ireland by a sitting US President. Kennedy was also the 1st Irish American of Catholic descent to be elected President. 1000’s lined the streets of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, and Wexford to see the handsome and charismatic President. Kennedy remarked on the visit which took place 5 months before his death as “the best 4 days of his life.” To the Irish people Kennedy’s success was their success. They saw him as “one of their own”. When Christ came to earth, He truly was coming to “His own”, to redeem mankind.
B. God’s Salvation Comes By His Power Alone.
1. God’s Salvation Came to Us Because of His Great Love, Not because of our Merit.
a. Not a one of us deserved God’s salvation. Rather, Luke tells us here in v. 78 that it was because of God’s tender mercy that Christ came to His downtrodden people.
b. One definition of mercy is: “compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.” Think of that. It is very true. The essence of God’s love is that He demonstrated mercy to us whom He had every right to condemn and punish. (Applic: If you have been forgiven and shown mercy you MUST to others.)
2. This passage further points to the Truth that Salvation is Ultimately God’s Doing.
a. Vv. 70-71 – Read – Israel’s enemies were so very strong. The enemy of our soul is so very strong! He is too strong for us! However, God did it! Zacharias recognizes that the prophets of old had foretold this. Illust: Renowned NT scholar Alfred Edersheim stated that there were at least 400 OT prophecies that predicted the coming of the Messiah! 400! God sent His Son as a fulfillment of His word, His prophecies, and His covenant promises. Salvation is God’s doings!
b. Illust – 2000 yrs before the 1st Advent of Christ, God sovereignly chose Abram, a pagan moon worshipper from Ur of the Chaldeans, and decided to make a great nation of him, to bless all the peoples of the earth through him (Gen. 12:1-3). Nothing in Abram recommended him. It was God’s benevolent love. The same is true today in Christ.
C. Applic: God raised up John to be the forerunner of Christ. He did it without any help or merit of Zacharias or Elizabeth. God planned it, prophesied it, pursued it, and provided for it! Friend, we cannot save ourselves, but in God’s love He has paid it! Turn to Christ.
II. Christmas is God the Son Demonstrating Love. Vv. 69, 76, 78
A. Although Jesus’ Name is not Specifically mentioned in Zacharias’ prophecy He is there, nonetheless.
1. Christ is the “Horn of Salvation from the house of David” -v.69
a. Some people ask: “Well Pastor, isn’t that simply a prophecy by Zacharias about his son John?” No! Both Elizabeth and Zacharias were descended from Aaron, and were thus from the tribe of Levi (Lk. 1:5). Jesus, however, was descended from the tribe of Judah thru David (mt. 1; Lk3). Jesus, not John, was God’s fulfillment of the promises He made 2 millennia before to Abraham.
b. In fact, you may recall the somewhat strange interaction Jesus had with the Jews upon one occasion whereby He said: “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad.” (Jn. 8:56) Jesus Christ, not John, was the descendant of Abraham in whom all of God’s promises are fulfilled.
2. Zacharias Prophesies that the Coming Savior is no less than God Himself.
a. V. 76 – The coming Savior is the Lord God in human flesh. John was to gor before the Lord to prepare the way. “The Lord” is Jesus. His deity is recognized and a higher rank is given to Christ because of His eternal existence, even though John’s physical birth took place 6 month’s before Jesus’.
b. This verse points us to the purpose of the beautiful doctrine of the Incarnation. Why the God-man? When we look at the biblical answer to that question, we see that the purpose behind the incarnation of Christ is to fulfill His work as God’s appointed Mediator. It is said in 1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself . . .” It is important to note that for Christ to be our perfect Mediator, the incarnation was not a union between God and an angel, or between God and a brutish creature such as an elephant or a chimpanzee. The reconciliation that was needed was between God and human beings. In His role as Mediator and the God-man, Jesus assumed the office of the second Adam, or what the Bible calls the last Adam. (RC Sproul)
B. The Love of Christ at Christmas Brings Healing.
1. The Love of Christ is Manifested in His concern for our Condition.
a. V. 78 – Zacharias calls the Savior “the Sunrise from on High” (Quotes Mal. 4:2). “The sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.” What did Jesus claim in Jn. 8:12? He claimed that He was “the Light of the World”. Jesus Christ, the light of the world, the Sun of Righteousness, brings healing in His wings!
b. Ilust – Many people in Iowa struggle with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) at this time of year. The days are darker and colder. The sun rises later and sets earlier. Due to temps must stay inside more. Result? Many people get depressed. Do you know what doctors prescribe? LIGHT! Our bodies instinctively know physically, what we need to know spiritually…We need light! We need light for healing! We need the light of Christ to heal us from sin and death and eternal separation. Friend, are you struggling with depression this year? Many reasons for it. You need Light! You need Christ. There is hope there is help!
2. People in Our World Today Need Christ’s Healing Especially at Christmas.
a. Illust: Just this past week I was writing to an old college friend. The holidays aren’t happy and bright for her. She lost her parents right at Christmas within the past few years. Her only son died tragically a year ago. She’s divorced and single. It’s not happy. There isn’t family. The world would ask: “What does your Christ offer that person?” Oh dear one! He offers everything that is meaningful and eternal about Christmas! My father died the week before Christmas. But instead of depressing me, it gives me great joy to know that the whole purpose of Jesus’ coming was to defeat sin and death! I Cor. 15:55 “Where O death is your victory? Where O death is your sting?”
b. That little babe in the manger, that Man/Messiah Zacharias predicted Who was the Sun of Righteousness Who would bring “Healing in His wings” He MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE!
C. Applic: Christmas demonstrates that God the Father loves you! It demonstrates that Jesus Christ loves you!
III. Christmas is God Initiating Our Ability to be Forgiven. Vv. 71, 74, 77, 79
A. God is the Initiator of Our Salvation.
1. Zacharias’ Prophecy Further Points us to this Important Truth.
a. Earlier in this prophecy Zacharias speaks of salvation referring to national deliverance from enemy nations (v.71,74). I believe this political aspect of salvation will be fulfilled with Christ’s 2nd Coming when He will defeat all of His enemies and establish His millennial reign upon the earth. The Jews of Jesus’ day did not grasp that a even greater deliverance was coming in the Messiah.
b. Zacharias’ son, John the Baptist, was to demonstrate that true salvation consisted of my need to be forgiven of my sins! Never forget that John preached a baptism “of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Lk. 3:3) Was Israel God’s chosen people nationally? Yes! However, each one then as today, needed to be reconciled individually thru repentance and the forgiveness of one’s sins.
2. Christ Delivers us from the one who hates us. V.71
a. John 10:10 – “The thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy, but I have come to give you life, life more abundantly.” Friend, the devil doesn’t have your good in mind. His game plan is the same today as it was in Zacharias’ day. He wants to kill you (In the womb if at all possible! Think of Herod and the Slaughter of the Innocents!) He wants steal joy and hope. He wants to steal young people’s virginity with the lie that experience is good and doesn’t tell you about the guilt and depression you will experience, not to mention health risks. He wants to destroy you. Your God given identity as a man or woman
b. There’s a lot of hatred in our world today. People want to claim it’s political. That may be true in part, but ultimately its personal. Illust- Don’t forget, before the first Democrat or Republican attack ad was run. Before there were political parties for that matter, the first child (Cain) ever born to man and woman murdered his own brother out of a jealous, sinful, bitter, heart (Gen. 4:8). We need deliverance from Satan and we need deliverance from self. Only Christ can do that.
B. Notice Zacharias’ graphic Depiction of Our Condition Apart from Christ.
1. Skip to vv. 78-79. Zacharias is quoting from Isaiah here. Those who need salvation “sit in darkness and the shadow of death”. Illust: I am told this is a picture of travelers who have lost their way in the wilderness as night falls. They vainly grope for a path, but it eludes them. Finally, in despair, they can do nothing but sit down in the darkness where death from wild beasts lurks in the shadows. They can’t even sleep because too cold and afraid. So they huddle themselves in the darkness waiting and hoping for the sun to rise. (Bob Deffinbaugh sermon.)
2. Illust: Perhaps this Christmas someone hears that the Savior has been born. A glimmer of hope begins to pull backs the darkness in the eastern sky. They hear that a Savior has died to save His people from their sins. The sky brightens more! They have the natural, human reaction. They wonder if they are good enough to deserve this salvation and the light seems to dim. But just then they hear the good news! They hear that God’s forgiveness of sins is v.78 because of His “tender mercies”, His bowels of compassion! Friend, God has compassion for sinners! Some struggle thinking that God is mean and harsh. If you knock on His door He’ll either slam it in your face or sick His “dogs” on you! No dear one, your Heavenly Father is not like that! He offers you His tender mercies because He LOVES you.
C. Applic: We have to understand that God loves you but also must understand that God must judge all sin, lest He would not be just.
IV. Christmas Results in Changed Lives Lovingly Serving God. Vv. 74, 75
A. God Saves Us so we Can Lovingly Serve Him w/o Fear.
1. Draw your attention once again to the Prophecy of Zacharias.Vv. 74-75. Not only has God delivered us from our enemies (Satan, Sin, and Death), He has made it so we can serve Him without fear. I like that emphasis. Christianity is a religion about relationship. We have a relationship with God that is 100% rock solid and sure because it is based on the perfect, finished work of Jesus Christ and not the imperfect work of man. Illust: No other religion offers a man or woman assurance of salvation, forgiveness of sins, pardon for iniquity, changed life for today, and a hope of eternity. No other religion has a God you can know and Who wants to know you intimately in every detail and facet of your life.
2. Contrary to what many think, salvation is not primarily about us and our happiness. The Christian life is a blessedly happy life, full of joy and gladness. But God doesn’t save us so that we can live happily ever after, ignoring the needs of others. He saves us so that we might glorify Him (make Him look good) as our joy in Him overflows into a life of holy service. People who think they’re saved but who live for themselves and their own happiness to the neglect of others are deceived. That’s why when you look around the world, Christians have built the clinics and hospitals, they have manned the rescue missions, they have operated the orphanages and adoption clinics, they constructed schools and colleges. Christianity ended slavery. Christianity ended child labor. Christianity is trying to end trafficking. Why? Because serving others in the Name of Jesus is a way we glorify God.
B. God Saves Us so we Can Lovingly Serve Him in Holiness and Righteousness all of Our Lives.
1. We are Saved to Serve the Lord with a Changed Life.
a. Look again at the verses. We are saved to serve the Lord in Holiness and Righteousness. When Christ comes into a man or woman He changes that man or woman, from the inside out!
b. Illust: Dr. Steve Lawson has rightly said: “No one will ever be saved apart from the Spirit working through the Word, and no one will ever be sanctified apart from the Spirit working through the Word. Wherever God is at work in the world in a saving and sanctifying way, it is the Spirit of God working through the written Word of God.”
2. Christ’s Salvation Gives us a Holy Confidence for What the Future May Hold.
a. Illust: Ernie Harwell was the longtime play by play commentator for the Detroit Tigers. He called both the 1968 and the 1984 World Series Championships. I used to listen to him with my grandfather on WJR as a boy. On Sept. 30, 2009, columnist Mitch Albom sat on the stage of the Fox Theater in Detroit with the then retired, 91 yrs. old Harwell. His kindness, humility, and warmth as a broadcaster left an indelible impression on all who knew or listened to him. Prior to the appearance, Harwell had been diagnosed with incurable cancer. As he talked he wasn’t about to let people feel sorry for him. Instead, he talked about the day he had trusted Christ as Savior. Then he concluded, “I don’t know how many days I’ve got left…but I know whose arms I am going to end up in, and what a great thing heaven is going to be! (Ernie’s Farwell, p. 30, Stand Strong)
b. Because of Christ’s Advent, we all who trust in Him have a glorious eternal home prepared for us (Jn. 14:2-3). Because of the love of God demonstrated to us in Christmas we can look death in the face and praise God. Is that your confidence today my friend? If you haven’t trusted Christ you are still sitting in darkness and the shadow of death. Repent of your sins and turn to Christ!
c. Applic:
Conclusion: Desmond Doss irritated his DI and fellow soldiers during Basic Training. A pacifist by conviction, he refused to carry a weapon into battle so his peers doubted his courage. Trained as a medic, the young Christian had no qualms facing combat, but his goal was to save and not take lives. Doubts about Doss changed when his unit faced combat at Okinawa. Doss constantly ducked enemy fire to bring back wounded GIs. His prayer was: “Lord give me the strength to save just one more wounded soldier.” Durign that battle he saved more than 70! Doss was awarded the Medal of Honor, and the movie Hacksaw Ridge came out of this experience. Who Desmond Doss was and who people thought he was in Basic were two very different people. His love for Christ motivated him to seek to save. Friend, many people have an incorrect view of who Christ is and why He came. He is God Himself Who came to save those of us cut down by sin because He loved us!
