Nathan E. Lewis

“Your Heart at Advent”
Luke 1:5-38
Sunday, December 23, 2007

When the angel told Zechariah’s that his wife, Elizabeth would give birth to a son, even though she was barren in her old age, Zechariah said, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” For this response God disciplined him by making him mute until the son was born. The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she would give birth to a son and Mary responded, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” The language of her response is virtually identical to the response of Zechariah. How is it that God punishes Zechariah but blesses Mary?
First of all, there is a significant difference between unbelief and awe. Zechariah lacks faith. When he says to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years,” he is expressing his unbelief. He is asking for a sign. Zechariah was a priest in good standing. Both he and his wife were righteous, obeying the commandments of God. As a priest Zechariah would have known the Holy Scriptures. He would have known the story of Abraham and Sarah, advanced in years, barren, and thus childless. God promised them a son. Sarah laughed in her disbelief but Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. At ninety years old, Sarah gave birth to Isaac, the promised son. Zechariah would have known the story of Hannah, also barren, praying in the temple, asking God for a son. God answered her prayer and she gave birth to the prophet and priest Samuel. Based upon these miraculous stories in the Old Testament, Zechariah has the signs he needed for faith. He would have known that God is the giver of promised sons, opening barren wombs and blessing people in their old age. With this rich history of God’s provision in his mind, Zechariah said “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”
Mary’s response sounds the same as Zechariah’s response. Though the difference in the form of the language is subtle, the difference in meaning is significant. Instead of unbelief, Mary expresses awe. She says, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” God is awesome, meaning that he is beyond our understanding. When God works a miracle we are at a loss to explain it and so we marvel at it. We are filled with wonder and amazement. Unlike Zechariah, who had a rich and clear record of God opening the wombs of old, barren women, Mary had no such clear record in the Old Testament Scriptures. The prophecies in the Old Testament foretelling the virgin birth are obscure, purposely veiled. It is possible that a few masters of the holy writ understood these prophecies. Perhaps the prophet Isaiah understood. Nevertheless, Mary believed that God could enable her to give birth to this promised Son. She wondered at how he would do so? She was awestruck as she considered how God would provide this son through her since she was a virgin.
Have you ever met a Christian who is a “know-it-all”? His religion is matter of fact, simple, explainable, black and white, neat and tidy. He has an answer for every question. For him faith is an answer for every question. But God is greater than the box we have made for him. He is beyond our comprehension. Faith is our believing that he can do more than we could ever imagine.
Of course, you may think that you are more like Zechariah lacking faith. He was a good man, righteous and obedient. Perhaps God had become too familiar to him as he handled the holy instruments of grace in the temple, robed in the vestments of glory. Perhaps you have read the biblical stories of divine miracles and you doubt them. I doubt that Zechariah disbelieved the stories of Abraham and Sarah, of Hannah and Samuel. He had difficulty believing that God would do the same for his wife and for him in their present day. The first words the angel delivers to Zechariah are “Do not be afraid. Your prayer has been answered….” Zechariah disbelieved that God would answer his prayers!
During this Advent season consider this thought: God has not worked any miracle so that you might figure it out and explain it. God has worked every one of his miracles to produce wonder and amazement in us, that we might be awestruck by his glory.
Secondly, this significant difference between unbelief and awe is rooted in our hearts. Sometimes our words do not clearly communicate what we are thinking and feeling. Have you ever said something to a loved one and your words are taken the wrong way? Your words fail to communicate what is in your heart. God does not look on the outward appearance but upon our hearts. He is the one who can discern the difference between Zechariah’s words and Mary’s response. Don’t get me wrong. Meaning and language are inseparably connected. But we often lack the ability and the skill to say what is in our minds and hearts.
Have you ever given careful thought to writing a loving note to someone in a card or rehearsed the toast you must give in front of a crowd? You choose and memorize the best words you can muster for the important occasion. Every once in a while God surprises us and we blurt out what is in our hearts. He doesn’t give us time to think, to prepare, to wordsmith. He invades our world displaying his otherworldly splendor and we react spontaneously in a moment of bewilderment. In these moments when we are caught off-guard we often speak more honestly than we do in our prepared speeches.
When I remember my past responses to God’s surprises, I fear that I am more like Zechariah than like Mary. If you are like me, blurting out my unbelief, betraying my lack of trust in God, then take heart. God disciplines those he loves. It is true that God caused Zechariah to be mute for the nine months of his wife’s pregnancy. (I’m sure his silence during this period was a great blessing to Elizabeth his wife.) But at the end of those nine months, God gave Zechariah a son! He loosened his tongue so that he might give glory and praise to God. Zechariah the priest becomes Zechariah the prophet, favored of the Lord just as Mary was favored of the Lord. His prophecy makes clear his faith in Christ, the promised Son of God, the son of Mary. God did not leave Zechariah in his unbelief but gave him faith.
Perhaps God will give to you faith in Christ this Advent season. Your faith in Christ does not have to be a complete understanding of God’s actions. Rather your faith in Christ is the belief that God actually does all his holy will. A father who had a teenage son tormented by evil spirits brought his son to Jesus and his disciples. Jesus asked the father if he believed that his son could be liberated and the father blurted out, “I believe! Help my unbelief!” Jesus freed his son from the demons. Like Mary, this father marveled at God and his work on our behalf.
It is not that some sideline miracles of God are difficult for any of us to understand but that the central saving acts of God are clearly understood. Every single central and saving act of God defies our complete understanding. Who can explain the virgin birth? Who can explain the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead? Who can explain the love of Jesus who suffered the wrath of God upon the cross, suffering the punishment we deserve for our sins so that we might never come under God’s wrath but enter into his favor for all eternity? Who can explain the gospel? Why would a holy God of infinite justice kindly smile upon us and show to us mercy?
I will spend my entire lifetime trying to understand the gospel more and more. In the meantime I receive it gladly as I marvel at God’s wonderful work on my behalf. Some people say, “Oh, I understand the gospel. I got that down the day I walked down the aisle at summer camp to receive Christ as my personal Savior. I don’t have to think about the gospel anymore. I been there, done that. In fact, I haven’t thought about the gospel in a very long time.” One of the reasons we celebrate Advent and Christmas is to renew our meditation upon these awesome acts of God. As Charles Wesley wrote in his hymn,
’Tis mystery all: th’ Immortal dies:
who can explore His strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries to sound the depths of love divine.
’Tis mercy all! Let earth adore, let angel minds inquire no more.
Amazing love! How can it be, that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

“The Advent Prophecy”
Luke 1: 39-45
Christmas Eve, December 24, 2007

Christmas Eve is the final day of the Advent season during which we anticipate the coming of the Christ child. Tomorrow morning is Christmas Day, the first of Twelve days culminating in Kings’ Day on January 6. Tonight we have one more opportunity to meditate upon the prophecies announcing the incarnation of the Son of God.
The prophet in our text tonight is Elizabeth, the relative of Mary, the wife of Zechariah, the priest, and the mother of the prophet John, who baptized Jesus of Nazareth. Luke, the author of this Gospel writes, “and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” The first lesson for us to consider is this: Prophesy is a work of the Holy Spirit within human servants. Luke has already informed us that the Holy Spirit has come upon Mary so that she might conceive the Christ child. The Holy Spirit also enables and moves Mary to prophesy. In Luke 1:67 we are told that Zechariah “was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied.” Elizabeth was also filled with the Holy Spirit and she prophesied.
A prophet is someone who has the very words of God on his lips. In Deuteronomy 18, Moses wrote the test of the prophet: “But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die. And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’ – when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.” Elizabeth was a true prophet of God. She was filled with the Holy Spirit who put upon her lips the very words of God. She spoke the very words of God in the name of the Lord.
The second lesson for us to consider is this: Prophesy has a particular audience. The very words of God are never flung into thin air, into created space hanging and hovering, waiting for someone to pluck it, recite it, thus unleashing its power. The very words of God are specific messages to particular audiences. In other words, prophecy is a direct message from God to a person or group he has chosen to receive the message. The prophecies of Mary and Zechariah are sent to the spiritual offspring of Abraham, the redeemed people of God. This is a particular yet large audience, as vast in number as the stars in the sky. Who is the recipient of the prophecy Elizabeth utters? This prophecy is sent by the Holy Spirit through Elizabeth to one individual, Mary.
The third lesson for us to consider is this: Prophecy has a specific purpose to accomplish in its recipient. Elizabeth’s prophecy has the purpose of encouraging its single recipient, Mary, the mother of our Lord. She was in great need of this encouragement. The angel Gabriel had announced to her the end of her life as she knew it. God had chosen her to conceive and to birth the Messiah. She was a virgin, but she was pregnant! Who would believe her? It would take a special visit from an angel to make Joseph believe her. To get some space, Mary escaped into the hill country to live with her relative, Elizabeth. As she arrived at Elizabeth’s home, the Holy Spirit filled Elizabeth to prophesy for the encouragement of this pregnant teenage girl, the mother of our Redeemer.
The prophesy is simple yet powerful in its encouragement. Mary is not bereft, compromised, or ruined. She is blessed! She is favored! She is fortunate! All of us who are united to the son of Mary, the very Son of God, Jesus Christ, are richly blessed. God’s favor has come to rest upon us and thus, his eternal love shall visit us all the days of our lives and we will dwell in God’s house forever. This blessing we share with Mary. However, Mary received a blessing we do not share with her. She is distinguished from all other women who have ever lived! Mary alone is the mother of our Lord Jesus, the Hope of Israel.
Most mothers on the planet have experienced a greater devotion for their children than they possess for themselves. A mother’s love flows into her child, from the moment she discovers she has conceived. Elizabeth prophesies to Mary, “blessed is the fruit of your womb!” This blessing of Mary’s baby is as specific as the blessing conferred upon Mary. No one in all of humanity has been as blessed as Jesus, the son of Mary. But the prophecy has not been given for the encouragement of the baby within the womb. It has been given to encourage his mother Mary. She is carrying in her womb no ordinary baby. She will soon give birth to the promised Messiah.
Elizabeth encourages Mary continuing her prophecy, saying, “Why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Are we not encouraged when we show at the door as guests to hear the hostess say to us, “What a pleasure it is to welcome you into our home!” Elizabeth is more than a gracious host for she welcomes the mother of the Messiah to her home and thus she welcomes the Messiah. In a small way, we are able to enter into the experience of Elizabeth and Mary as we welcome into our homes sisters and brothers united to the Messiah by faith and hope. As we welcome one another into our homes and lives, we welcome Christ. Elizabeth actually believed that Mary was carrying the Messiah! As she professes her faith, the result is the encouragement of Mary. As we profess our faith in each other’s hearing, we encourage one another. However, these words of Elizabeth were the very words of God given for Mary’s special encouragement.
Elizabeth confers one more blessing upon Mary for believing the message of Gabriel. Unlike Zechariah, who did not believe the angel, Mary believed Gabriel even though she was awestruck, wondering how it is that God would bring forth his son, through her, a virgin. Soon, in a matter of months, Mary would know the joy of giving birth, of holding in her arms the incarnate Son of God. But at the moment of Elizabeth’s prophecy she was experiencing the encouragement of the Holy Spirit that comes by believing the prophecies of God.
Allow me to offer one final lesson: None of us can learn how to deliver a prophecy or perform any work of the Holy Spirit. There are no principles or lessons in this text or for that matter anywhere in the Bible that would teach and equip any of us to prophesy. How did Elizabeth know that her baby leaped for joy in the womb? Any mother will tell you that from time to time the little guy kicks and turns a somersault in the womb. Elizabeth felt her baby leap in the womb. But how did she know that he “leaped for joy”? This joy was revealed to her by the Holy Spirit. She did not take some course on spiritual discernment. She did not learn the technique of interpreting en-utero gymnastics.
In Luke’s second book, The Acts of the Apostles, in chapter 19, he tells the story of the seven sons of Sceva, who thought that they could perform the miracles of God by memorizing the words of the apostles, mimicking them, turning them into a magical formula. The results of their antics were not pretty. We can’t learn or conjure up the powerful works of the Holy Spirit. Anyone one who practices their “shundala hundalas,” does not speak the very words of God in any language known or secret. We can’t manufacture the works of God.
The sheer beauty of this little text is the powerful and gracious work of the Holy Spirit coming upon the children of God for their encouragement and blessing. May the Holy Spirit visit you this Advent season and bring to you through mere human instruments the grace of our Lord Jesus, who loved us and gave his life for us. May the Holy Spirit make you a beautiful vessel of encouragement for those around you, who need to know the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.