Now we come to the reading and preaching of God's holy word. If you join me in reading from Luke chapter one, verse five through 25. In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the division of Abijah, and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by Lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared. And Zechariah said to the angel, how shall I know this? For I'm an old man and my wife is advanced in years. And the angel answered him, I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God. And I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time. And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people. This is God's word, you may be seated. Let us pray together. O Holy Father, we pray that you would come and meet us through your Word, that we would hear in the announcement of the angel Gabriel also the inauguration of the Good News of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that his redemption has come upon for Israel, but also for the world, as he is the Savior of the world, promised Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray we have eyes to see and ears to hear. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen. Many of you are familiar with the story of Dunkirk. The beaches of Dunkirk, World War II, was a place of dread. The German forces had pushed the British Army towards this beach where there was no escape where ships would usually come and take them. At the pier, they were being bombed. And the men, thousands of men, stranded on this island, well, this beach, were being picked off as planes were flying by. There was no hope. There was no way out. There was no way to escape. We can assume that men were praying, but despair was amongst them all. And yet they then heard news spreading like wildfires. One person came and said, there's ships coming, private ships, people. The British people themselves are coming, bringing their own little boats to come and save us. And people doubted. They said, civilians wouldn't risk their own lives for us. They're going to be picked off as well. Also, there can't be enough ships for all of us. So they doubted. But the man kept saying, no, no, no, this is true. These people are coming for our rescue. It's good news. Of course, their doubts dissolved as they were able to see the ships coming forward in the waves, bringing them closer and closer. And then they arrived, and they were saved. That scene essentially looks similar to the scene we find at the beginning of the Gospel of Luke. The people of Israel are in exile, they're under oppression, and they are facing spiritual exile, means separated from God. They've lost hope, there's been silence for 400 years, they haven't had a prophet. And then, out of nowhere, in the temple, good news arrives. Will they believe? In fact, this is the point of Luke's whole gospel, and he starts his narrative like this, that you might have certainty in the things you have been taught, he says. The gospel has arrived, will you believe? And his whole purpose of his gospel is to challenge you to believe the good news. And so in these first 25 verses of Luke's gospel, we're actually going to see that when God sends good news, you must take him at his word. In fact, you have no reason to doubt when God sends good news, take him at his word. So we're gonna see six contours of good news for us to consider this morning. The first is in verses one through four, the gospel's certainty. This is the very purpose for which the book was written, that you would have certainty regarding the good news. Look at verse one, and as much as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, It seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Thelophilus. You may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. Verse three gives us the lone reference in this whole book as to who the author is. It says, it seemed good to me. Also, not much help there. Church tradition has given Luke his place here as the author. We have no reason to doubt. Luke was the beloved physician, as the scriptures call him. He was a companion and faithful coworker of the Apostle Paul, probably a Gentile. And on account of him being highly educated, He was able to write this historically accurate, authentic, reliable gospel. That is the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ in fulfillment of the Old Testament. The author is not the only person mentioned, though. Verse three says it was written to most excellent Theophilus. Most excellent is a title given to public officials. So this is some prominent figure. Also, his name means friend of God. So some people have seen him as a representative of all believers. But the point, the purpose, is that Theophilus would have certainty concerning the things that he had been taught. And so Luke's gospel is the means by which someone might have certainty. Why is that? We can ascribe certain attributes to this work that Luke brings. Look at verse one. It's biblical. In as much as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us. Now, when he says this term accomplished, he could have very easily said, I want to tell you about the things that have happened among us. But he doesn't. He says they have been accomplished among us, and it could also be translated fulfilled. is aiming at showing how Jesus in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension actually fulfills Old Testament promises. That is going to be a key theme in the gospel itself, promise and fulfillment. We could also say that this is an orthodox writing. Luke informs his readers of the source materials in verse two, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us. I say it's orthodox because this is no some kind of strange, heretical, bizarre teaching. He is saying that there were eyewitnesses who were also ministers of the word, he's claiming them to be the apostles, whom he is in direct line with, receiving, interviewing, and in line exactly with the apostolic message. But we also see that this is historical. Verse 3, It seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you. He's followed these things closely since the beginning. In fact, he's investigated them. He's interviewed. He's used different sources. He is actually a student of this entire thing so that he can write an orderly account. Now, when he says orderly account, that means we can also say that this is theological. He is not merely writing history. He is writing theologically informed history. History is important, okay, because we want to know that this is true, that these things actually happened. In fact, If we were to look at some secular sources even, I have quotes here that he was the most accurate, Luke was the most accurate historian of the entire ancient world. That's why you find these time stamps throughout the gospel itself. Happened at this time, this particular person was in place, this governor, this ruler, all of it is absolutely accurate and historical, but it's theological in the sense of He is putting things together, not necessarily in exact chronological order, even though they do kind of fit the narrative of time. He is showing that this is a literary work, a narrative he is stringing together with a very specific purpose in mind, that people would have certainty concerning the message, the word, the good news. And so it's said well by one. He wrote his gospel not merely to write a beautiful story, to afford pleasure to his readers, or to satisfy curiosity, and not even just for the sake of giving instruction. He wrote with the object of convincing, converting, saving, and spiritually edifying his fellow men. Not only is this historically accurate, but it is a theological work that has the power within it to convey the gospel message, which Paul says is the power of God to salvation, for whom all believe. And finally, it's inspired. We know it's inspired. Inspiration means that this authors were carried along by the Holy Spirit to be able to write perfect scriptures. perfect words, that is, that the author is essentially God who used men to write words. And we know that because Paul in First Timothy chapter five writes, for the scripture says, you shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain. And, quote, the laborer deserves his wages. That last part, laborer deserves his wages, is a quote from Luke chapter 10 verse seven of Jesus Christ. That's the only place in Scripture, in the other Gospels that state that specifically. So Paul is ascribing divine inspiration to the Gospel of Luke. And so because of that, when we read this, we can have certainty concerning the truth of which conveys the message of the Gospel. Now let's move to the context of the good news. The good news essentially as it is proclaimed in these 25 verses. We get the historical context here. Remember, 400 years have passed since the prophet Malachi has given his written prophetic work. And so they're waiting. When will we hear from God again? Well, in verse five, in the days of Herod, king of Judea who ruled under Rome, from 41 BC to 4 BC. He was a ruthless, violent ruler, despised but also feared. And then Luke introduces the main characters of this section. There was a priest named Zechariah of the division of Abijah, and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Notice the priestly pedigree here. Aaron is whom the priestly line comes from. And so this is conveying to us that this one who will come from them, as promised in this text, will be of the priestly line. We get more biographical info in verse 6, they were both righteous before God, that is, essentially right before Him, not on account of what they have done, but by faith in the promises of God, They have received righteousness, and then outflowing from that, it says, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. Verse seven, but they had no child. This is the issue. Because Elizabeth was barren and both were advanced in years. This is the rising conflict we see here. Wow, they're righteous, walking blameless, and yet barren. And if you're familiar with the Old Testament, you're immediately saying, well, that's, That actually reminds me of some people, Abraham and Sarah, for instance, or Elkanah and Hannah. Both of those scenes were righteous people waiting and feeling the weight of the barrenness, but that also connects us to the curse. Remember, the promise of the Mosaic Covenant was if you're faithful as a people, you won't experience barrenness. And so it hints that, you know what, Israel is still in exile, suffering under the curses. And that sets the tone of this whole theme. There is an awaiting, there is a need for more, there is a need for restoration. And these figures. that kind of arise the illusions of Abraham and Sarah and Elkanah and Hannah actually connects really importantly with the plan of redemption because Abraham promised a son whom through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Elkanah and Hannah had Samuel whom was essential in anointing the coming king, David, which we know in Luke, the promise and fulfillment of that covenant was the Lord Jesus Christ. So we move deeper into the context now, verse eight. Now while he was serving as priest before God, when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by Lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. Chosen by Lot, there were so many priests at the time, In fact, this would be a once-in-a-lifetime occasion where you would serve for a week and offer incense. That incense is actually at the altar of incense just before the veil of the temple into the Holy of Holies. And it signifies the prayers of the people. And so, verse 10, the whole multitude of people were praying outside at the hour of incense. This is the context. that we're seeing. Israel's still under the curses, yet there's a faithful remnant praying to God. What are they praying for? They're praying for their coming redemption. And now we see the good news and its courier. Verse 11, there appeared to him an angel, the Lord, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. Luke gives more information about who this angel is in verse 19. I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God. I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news." Notice Luke doesn't feel the need to justify that there are angels. He just kind of assumes, yeah, of course you believe in angels, right? Angels. They are significant ministers of God who in throughout the narrative scripture, come and bring important information from God. This one specifically, Gabriel, is mentioned in only one other place in the Bible. In fact, there's only two angels mentioned by name, Gabriel and Michael. But this one specifically is important because in Daniel 8 and 9, he meets with Daniel and prophesies and gives more information regarding the promised time of consolation in the Messiah to come. So we're familiar with that. Daniel's a prophetic book looking forward to the time when the kingdom would come and conquer all other kingdoms and there would be a son of man figure and Gabriel is the one who's conveying that to Daniel and here he is, he arrives announcing good news. Just like Daniel was terrified and actually couldn't even speak after, look at Zechariah's reaction, Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But his fears are relieved with the gospel's content. Verse 13, the angel said to him, do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John, meaning God is gracious. Zechariah's name means God remembered. So this is interesting. Here is Zechariah, he's been praying supposedly for a son in his old age. Even how he responds later might mean that this was like an older prayer because he is questioning as to if this could actually come to fulfillment. But it's also wrapped up in the fact that he's been praying for the redemption of Israel, the consolation, the promised restoration. And so both of those prayers are being answered here. He says, you will have joy and gladness, not just the parents though, and many will rejoice at his birth. Why? Verse 15, for he will be great before the Lord. Great. This means that this this person will have a servant role before the Lord. He will be used by God in a magnificent way, which all sets this up. The next chapter or the next section is actually going to talk about another birth of one to come, and there's going to be a clear contrast. Yes, John is great, but the one after him is greater. And we see this. greatness and role that he's going to serve being confirmed by these stipulation looks and he must not drink wine or strong drink and he will be filled with the holy spirit even from his mother's womb he must not drink wine or strong drink we could say okay that that could be a nazirite vow it could also be the priestly thing going on because he's from the priestly line but it connects him with two figures that were from the Old Testament that we already come in contact with, one, Samson, the other, Samuel. Samuel was given the same requirements. Why? Because he would be the prophet who would anoint the king to come, just as John the Baptist would be the prophet who would come before the new David, the Lord Jesus Christ. His ministry is defined along with a The promise of success here in verse 16, he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord, their God. That means he will be a catalyst for repentance. Remember, they were in the state of spiritual exile. They must return to their God. And what will that look like? Verse seven, he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just to make ready for the Lord of people prepared. You should be hearing allusions to Old Testament prophecies here. Malachi 3.1, behold, I send my messenger and he will prepare the way before me. as well as Malachi 4, 5, and 6. Behold, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes, and he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a degree of utter destruction. So this one to come, John, will be in the line and function of The role of Elijah calling Israel back to their God, which will express itself in families being put back together, children to their fathers, fathers to their children's restoration. And on an individual level, repentance from sin, warning. That if they don't, there will be utter destruction. And that's why if you read Matthew's account of John the Baptist, he's like he's saying, you better bear fruit in keeping with repentance because the axe is laid at the root and he will cut it down. He is warning. Of the one to come. But look who he's preparing for. Look at verse 17 and he will be go before him. That pronoun there him. gives us a clue as to the identity of the Messiah, because the antecedent to him there is the Lord God. Yahweh will come in the flesh. John will prepare the way for him. That's why people come up to John later and they say, are you the Christ? And he says, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm not even worthy to stoop down and untie his sandal. He says, the one who comes after me is greater than I because he was before me, talking about the preexistence of the Son of God, who will come as the Messiah. And so Luke's gospel is actually, this good news that we hear in these first 25 verses is actually very much connected to the promise of the Messiah. John comes first to announce and prepare the people for the one to come. And so Luke conveys Jesus Christ as the Son of God who comes as the Savior of the world. He brings about the exodus as promised from of old, the restoration, the kingdom as the Son of David. He is the true Israel who obeys perfectly, suffers under the curse of the law as the law demanded for their disobedience, and yet in his obedience is able to credit righteousness to those who believe. He dies, the death, raises and ascends as the promised son of David at the right hand of God, ruling and reigning until we await his return. All this is conveyed in the Gospel of Luke with the connection to you must believe. God sends good news. You must believe. So this story then takes a dramatic turn here. In verse 18, this is the crossroads of the gospel. And Zechariah said to the angel, how shall I know this? For I'm an old man and my wife is advanced in years. Zechariah wants some kind of tangible sign. He's saying, you know, I'm pretty old. This is going to be tough to believe. Can you give me some other sign that would give me more confidence than just your word? Verse 19, the angel answered him, I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God. I was sent to speak to you and bring you this good news. and the consequences. Behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time. This is the contrast here. Gabriel wants to know. I want to know for sure. Zechariah wants to know for sure. Gabriel says, you need to believe my word. That's interesting. This is where this whole thing is leading. Believing in the Word on good authority. I want to know, I want to be certain those eyes are contrasted with Gabriel's eyes. I stand in the presence of God. I'm Gabriel, whom he should know about as a priest. I was sent by God. This is the clashing of authorities here. So, yes, we can empathize with Zechariah a little bit. This is a challenge, okay? This is going to be a miracle. He's old in age. He's past the time when he can have children. But is God's word enough? This is where this is all going. Zechariah, you should believe the word of God. That's enough. As we read through the gospel of Luke, we're going to be challenged in many ways to believe, believe hard things. For instance, you have an eternal God who's unchanging. He's creator of all things. Yahweh. The gospel says that he is then born. The unchanging God eternal is born a baby. That's a challenge to believe. Not only is he born, but he's born of a virgin, an impossibility according to human understanding. Next, this God who's in the flesh now, God and man together, is actually coming to suffer Not the reigning conquering king, but he's going to suffer a cruel and unjust death at the hands of his creation. And then beyond that, he does it for sinners who deserve his condemnation. And then he rises from the dead, something that is beyond normal practice. Okay, we're gonna be challenged in that way. Will we take him at his word? This message here from Gabriel and the way Luke organized it is meant to bring us to the point where we say, you know what? Even though that's hard to believe, it's on good authority. What other authority are we going to set our lives up on? Is it reason? Is it religious experience? Is it science? We're going to be leaning upon some authority. What's it going to be? And what we have here is the word of God, our creator, who is perfect and truthful, and he reveals this to us. When God sends good news, take him at his word. And this whole gospel is meant so that you would have certainty regarding it. When God sends good news, take him at his word. And because he's the highest authority and because he's so gracious, he can also give consequences when he is not believed. You have to see this. He has every right, in this case especially, with a priest who's religious, who knows the Old Testament, to say, you should have believed me. And so he strikes him mute. Possibly deaf as well, as we read later. But he's mute, and there's some irony in this, because in striking him as mute, he still actually receives somewhat of a sign, doesn't he? Because the people immediately, when he comes out, they're like, why did he take so long? And now he can't speak. He must have seen a vision, which that's normal when there's some crazy reactions from visions. So look at verse 21. And there's something interesting about this. If you get into the background material as to what would take place at this time when the priest comes out. It's actually a benediction. He comes out and he blesses the people with Numbers 24, the Aaronic blessing. And I wonder if we're meant to see, okay, he struck mute out of unbelief. The gospel actually ends at the same place in the temple or outside of the temple after Jesus has done his work in the temple of rending the veil, tearing it, And then at the very end scene, he gives the blessing to his people. Seeing those together is leading us to be like, okay, we have a silent priest who's rejected the good news at this point in time. All of it's leading to, okay, we need to be paying attention. And so the account concludes then with its conception, the good news. Though Zechariah doubted, it's important to note still, quote from one author, God looks to the human being to accept his plan, but does not depend on the human being for its implementation. Verse 24, after these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden. Probably keeping herself hidden so that she doesn't have to go through all this Process of people not believing her at the beginning when it's not visible that she could be pregnant. So she comes out later with a bump in her tummy and Verse 25 thus the Lord has done for me in the days when I look he looked on me to take away my reproach among people The reproach among people, this was common in Judaism at the time, that there would be shame associated with being barren. wrongly people would ascribe personal sin to it, but overall there's this long hope associated with being given children and being taken part in God's ultimate plan of bringing the Messiah. And she sees this as God taking away her reproach, which is an exact quote from Genesis, 30 verse 23 with Rachel. Rachel said this. She conceived and bore a son and said, God has taken away my reproach. So here is Elizabeth now involved in this plan that God is bringing about redemption through strange ways, but ultimately clear that he is taking away reproach. So in one sense, Personally, it's removed her reproach. She was barren. But the way the scriptures convey this, it seems like God is taking away the reproach of Israel. So she's symbolically representative. Because if you read the prophets, one, especially Joel chapter two, which is a great prophecy of the time of the Messiah. Between the vestibule and the altar, let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep and say, spare your people, O Lord, and make not your heritage a reproach, a byword among the nations. A reproach, it's over and over. We're reproached, we're shamed, suffering under the curse. And so Elizabeth here symbolically represents the reversal of the curse that is now taking place. John the Baptist coming as the one who would announce the inaugurated coming of the kingdom of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. So that reversal of the curse, how will that happen? How will the shame be removed from God's people? Well, it's very clear in Romans. Chapter 15, for Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me. Now, for us this morning, when God sends good news, take him at his word. When he announces that the reproach and shame that is upon all can be removed through the reproaches of Christ, you take him at his word. No matter how difficult it is to believe a virgin birth, a substitutionary sacrifice of a human on behalf of others, who is also God, or the resurrection, you take him at his word. If he says you have forgiveness of sins through that death and resurrection, you take him at his word. If he promises that he will never leave you nor forsake you, you take him at his word. Even if your circumstances are very difficult, even through wars, or political turmoil, or the death of a loved one, or a failing marriage, or whatever you're going through at this particular time, God has given his promise that he would never leave you nor forsake you, and you're to take him at his word. And what that results in is what the scriptures call patient endurance, that we are able to take what God has promised and already fulfilled to then bolster our confidence in what he promised as yet to come, which is a new heavens and a new earth with a reigning and ruling king and all evil conquered. and all things restored in a right way with new bodies living in the presence of God forever. When he promises these things, you take him at his word. And so, may we be a church who can come to the scriptures with all the difficulties that surround because of whether it's attacks from the outside or doubts that arise within, we take God at His word, for He is the highest authority. Let's pray. Our Father, we're thankful for this start to our series through the gospel of Luke. You have tilled in our hearts soil that is ready to receive Your word, to believe it, not just temporarily as some do, but as those who receive it with joy and then bear fruit That is our desire. We want to be your people who out of gratitude for what you've done on our behalf in saving us and redeeming us and justifying us and sanctifying us that we would give you all the glory. Lord, we pray that our study through the gospel of Luke will bear great fruit of us being not only confident in what Jesus has done for us, but as what he's continuing to do in us and what he has promised to do through us. We pray, Lord, if anybody's here who has not believed that they would see in Christ the hope of gospel and good news and their only way of salvation,