The Realization Of God’s Guidance-2

The REALIZATION Of GOD’s GUIDANCE-II—Luke 1:60-64(:57-80)

Attention:

1:76-79—““And you, child[John], will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord[Jesus] to prepare His ways, To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; To give light to those who sit in darkness & the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.””(cf.-Isa. 9:6-7; Isa. 40:3-5;)

The people & nation of Israel, have only sporadically been able to experience political peace since they’ve been in existence. And so, as a nation, they have only rarely been able to be ‘full & free’ partakers of God’s perfect GUIDANCE. Thru the years, decades, & centuries, the Jews have continued to wait for the fulfillment of God’s promise to bring their Messiah.

And God ensured that His people would be aware of the arrival of His GUIDANCE, which would come thru His promised Messiah, thru the One Who would be the actual EMBODIMENT of God’s GUIDANCE, Peace, Goodness, & Grace.

*BUT the ‘touchstone’ for the GUIDANCE promised to God’s people, came to them thru the birth of John the Baptist. With his birth, God’s promise began to be realized with that generation & so, for all generations beyond, including ours.

All people stand in need of realizing that God has made His ‘GUIDANCE’ AVAILABLE, not just for the Jews only, but THRU the Jews, for anyone & everyone, of every land & every era!

God’s ‘GUIDANCE’ ultimately comes to a person thru their personal trust in Jesus, recognizing Him as their personal Savior & Lord of their life. And God’s ‘GUIDANCE’ manifests itself thru our ministering to one another, & to those lost from Christ, as well as to those saved in Christ.

Need:

To really KNOW the direction you should go, in any endeavor you undertake, is something you can WILLINGLY DISCOVER. And that discovery will give a beautiful clarity to your life!

On the other hand, to really KNOW the direction you should go, in any endeavor you undertake, is something you can WILLINGLY AVOID altogether! Willingly avoiding God’s Guidance & direction, leaves your life devoid of real answers to the daily quandaries of life.

GOD’s ‘on-board’ & direct ‘GUIDANCE’ is really & readily available for & to everyone! But it is up to every individual as to whether they will accept what God has done thru Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, the Messiah, the Shalom/Peace of God!

Luke records prophetic events surrounding the birth of John the Baptist.

The means towards God’s ‘guidance’(1:79) was realized thru the birth of John the Baptist.

God’s ‘guidance’(in the way of peace) has been realized.

But:

?How is God’s guidance realized?

6 Realizations bringing God’s Guidance to fruition.

Last time, we found that God’s Guidance is realized thru a:

1—Prophetic BIRTH(:57-58)

& a:

2—Prophetic RITUAL/CUSTOM(:59)

And TODAY we’ll find that:

3—God’s guidance is ALSO realized thru a Prophetic...

ENCOUNTER(1:60-64)

Explanation:(:60-64)Face-to-face/Fulfillment witnessed

Bkgd.—:59b—“...and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias.”

:60—“His mother answered & said, “No; he shall be called John.””

It can rightly be said that Elizabeth ‘hotly protested’ the assumptions made by those present, in the naming of her & Zacharias’ child!

•Elizabeth was adamant that their child was NOT to be named anything other than “John”!

•Luke reminds us of that emphasis, thru the particular word Elizabeth used in her reply to the group present for the circumcision(:59b).

•There are at least three Greek words that can be translated into English as “No”(mh, ou, & ouci). Elizabeth uses the word ouci.

•“No”—ouci—Particle—1) Not, by no means, not at all. Strong—Not indeed; intensive of ou, ouk, or ouc. Used 56X.

•Elizabeth was adamant about the name, BECAUSE in the temple, the angel Gabriel had specifically instructed Zacharias(1:13) to name their son, “John.”

•“John” = ‘YaHWeH has been gracious’ OR--‘YaHWeH is a gracious giver.’—Thayer/ECNT

Simply because Zacharias could not speak, does not mean he could not or did not communicate, particularly with his wife!

:61—“But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.””

The people present for the circumcision, called Elizabeth’s comment into question. They questioned her decision, on the grounds that John was not a ‘family name.’

?I wonder how far back in Z & E’s family history, the people witnessed? Both of them were from the priestly line thru Levi. And it’s stated that Elizabeth herself was directly related to Aaron(1:5).

We can sometimes get ourselves in a real bind, when we address the Real/True/Actual reasons for doing what we do!

Elizabeth allowed those who had gathered for the circumcision, to draw their own conclusions from her faithfulness & boldness in the Lord.