God’s Glory Through John the Baptist

Isaiah 40:3-5, Malachi 3:1

All through the Old Testament the Isrealites have been given a promise for all nations to blessed through Abraham’s line (Genesis 12:1-3), and that a Messiah, a Savior, would come to save God’s people by suffering on their behalf and paying the penalty for their sins (Isaiah 53:1-10). These were the promises God’s people had been waiting for for generations. They knew the signs that would indicate that the Messiah was coming– he would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), of the line of David (2 Samuel 7:12-16), in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), and that he would be preceded by a messenger who would “prepare the way for the Lord” (Isaiah 40:3-5; Malachi 3:1), to name a few.  

400 years after the last prophet spoke in the Name of the Lord, 

silence. 

Nothing. 

Waiting. 

Would God ever fulfill his promises? Would He remember His people and his promises to them? Would God be faithful in the end?

Luke chapter 1 verses 5-25

In Luke chapter 1, we see a few timeless truths appear:

GOD IS A GOD WHO HEARS OUR PRAYERS AND ANSWERS THEM

In the opening scene of Luke, we meet Zechariah, a highly respected, well educated Jewish man serving as a priest in the temple of the Lord. He was very old and had been married to a woman named Elizabeth for a long time. One day, an angel appeared to him and told him, “Zecariah, God has heard your prayers” (v. 13). Imagine being Zechariah right now. Sounds like he and his barren wife had been praying for a child their whole marriage! Now, at a ripe old age well past child-bearing years, they had given up hope. And what happens? An angel of the Lord tells you you’re going to have a baby. Um, what?! If you were Zechariah here, you’d probably be way past thinking, “O God, it’s too late, I’m too old, you probably forgot all about me”. And so, in that spirit of doubt Zechariah replies to the angel and says “No way! That can’t happen.”

Let’s stop here. The Bible says God is a God who hears our prayers and answers them (Matthew 7:7, John 16:24). Not always when we want or in the way we want, but this is a promise of Scripture, and truly a hard one to believe. 

For Zechariah, even an angel sent from God to tell Him what God would do wasn’t enough for him to believe God. What does it take for us to believe God will answer our prayers? “Oh, give me a sign, Lord! Just give me an answer!” we might plead in prayer to God. But here’s Zechariah and even a flaming white angel standing before him didn’t convince him God would do what He said he’d do. We can believe God created the whole world, but we struggle to believe that he can cause an old woman to bear a healthy infant? We can believe God loved us enough to send HIs Son to save us, but we struggle to believe He’ll save our friends or our family, provide for us in our need, or comfort us in our circumstances.

Wonder: What prayers do you have in your life you’ve been praying for years and part of you believes God hasn’t heard, won’t answer you, or has forgotten? Repent and believe before God this day, for our God is a God who answers our prayers at just the right time.

GOD IS A GOD WHO WORKS UPSTREAM

Luke chapter 1 verses 57-80

Again, can you imagine being Zechariah in this scene? As a Jewish priest, Zechariah was well acquainted with all the prophecies about the Messiah, and had probably lost hope that God would ever fulfill his promises. But here and now, 400 years later, the promise for a messenger to come before the Messiah was being fulfilled in his very life, through his own son. Could anyone hold on to hope that long?! That’s generational hope– a hope in something that must be passed from generation to generation, never being fulfilled. It must have seemed like God had forgotten and was simply silent on the subject. It had slipped His mind. But the whole time God was working upstream– preparing the way for the one who would prepare the way. By “working upstream” I mean God was working ahead of the fulfillment of His promise– He was working even when we didn’t see it or understand it. He was preparing the way when we thought He was silent. And in His perfect timing, His promise was fulfilled. 

Wonder: Where have you seen God answer a prayer in your life that when you look back realize He was working “upstream” the whole time? Take a moment to thank and praise Him for that today.