The words that follow from Isaiah 40 are a kind of celebration of faith in that Isaiah was proclaiming a time of comfort for the people of Israel. Isaiah forecast a messenger who would make a way for the Messiah.
Isaiah 40:1-5 & 9-11
Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the LORD’s hand
double for all her sins.
3 A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the LORD[a];
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.[b]
4 Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
and
9 You who bring good news to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,[c]
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
10 See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power,
and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.
As we are in this season of Advent, as we look to the coming of the Messiah, we can take the opportunity to investigate some of the things that were prophesied about the Chosen One who would come into the world. Into the world not riding on the clouds, but as we saw last week Isaiah stated that the Messiah would come as a child who will have the royal titles: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
We live at a time in history when we have the advantage of retrospect, we can look back and say that we know due to the events of history who the Messiah is, actually, anyone who is really interested can, if they enter into their research desiring to know the fulfilled prophecies.
Looking at the passage from Isaiah 40 we see this declaration that the Messiah will have the way prepared for him, and it was prepared for him as recorded in the gospels of Matthew 3:3, Mark 1:1-2, Luke 1:76, and John 1:19-28
John says it this way about the voice who Isaiah says will ‘cry out in the desert.’ God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. (John 1:6-8 NLT)
There is a dynamic around John the Baptists life that centred on the faith of his parents, Luke starts his gospel not just with the story of Jesus birth, a large part of the first chapter of his book is wrapped up in the events that involve the birth of Jesus’ cousin John. A baby born to an elderly Mum and Dad both from priestly lines. The priest Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth a descendant of Aaron. Interestingly Mark also starts his Gospel referencing John the Baptist, his first nine verses of the book of Mark are about John the Baptist. This eccentric prophet cousin of Jesus is an interesting proclaimer of faith in declaring the coming of the messiah, the Son of God.
Luke’s portrayal of the Birth of John the Baptist, reading from the NLT, Luke 1:5-25
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.
8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years.”
19 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”
21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22 When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.
23 When his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24 After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favour and taken away my disgrace among the people.”
The Birth of Jesus Foretold is then foretold, Mary is visited by an angel and at the risk of her life in verse 38 Mary gives permission for her being pregnant with baby Jesus saying;
“I am the Lord’s servant, May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Then in verses 39-45 we have the recollection of Mary’s Visit to Elizabeth
39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
What follows is Mary’s Song of celebration at the events that have occurred and the honour she feels in being the servant of God.
Luke then tells of the birth of Birth of John the Baptist, verses 57- 80
57 When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbours and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.
59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, 60 but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”
61 They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”
62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. 63 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” 64 Immediately his mouth was opened, and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 All the neighbours were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. 66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.
Zechariah’s Song
67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71 salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to show mercy to our ancestors
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79 to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.
So this is part of John the Baptist’s story. The great man who was not just Jesus cousin but was filled with The Holy Spirit before he was born. Image that being born with the power of God with you guiding you life and directing your steps, John was the proclaimer of Jesus divinity, the person who claimed to be unworthy to carry Jesus’ sandals, and was beheaded for challenging Herod Antipas over his relationship with his brothers wife. John like his parents was solid and faithful to his God, a prophet who spoke of the divinity of Jesus.
Luke wrote his gospel from the perspective of gathered eyewitness accounts, fully recording the events and producing an orderly and reliable account. He was a man of knowledge, a physician of that time, who wanted to ensure that from the beginning of the events of Jesus earthly life and the records of those who served Jesus and travelled with Jesus were fully and reliably recorded.
John the Baptist’s life was foretold around 700 years before he was born. His parents were Zacharias and Elizabeth. Now we know that Zacharias was a priest and that he was also from the line, like his wife of Aaron, it is likely that at his time in history he was one of around twenty thousand priests and the day that he was on duty he was burning the incense before the Lord. This was no small thing, timing here is everything, it is likely many priests would go a lifetime, without ever having the privilege of this duty. This was one in a series of miraculous events that would lead to the birth of his son John, who was born filled with the Holy Spirit, his was a life time of high encounter, high octane living with God.
His parent’s prayers and faith were answered they were blessed with a son who would fulfil history, and proclaim the coming of the Messiah.
As we advance through the advent season, we people of faith, like Zacharias, enter into the presence of the Lord, burning our spiritual incense of praise and worship before him. We know that the Messiah has come and saved us, and is with us by his Holy Spirit. As such we are comforted and helped in our life’s journey. Let us also in faith like Zacharias listened to the voice of God, listen, for he is heard by those who listen. Listen like sheep listen to their shepherd and as he calls us, he calls us by name to follow him in faith. Toward Christmas, listening too and responding to our saviour.
