Luke 1:1-25
In two consecutive verses, we see two different ministries for John the Baptist: 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 make ready for the Lord a people prepared. (vv. 16-17) He was ministering directly to the people who came to the Jordan to hear him and be baptized and he was a forerunner for Jesus, in the spirit and power of Elijah. Essentially, for the people coming to him, he was telling them to look inside themselves (repentance) and to look beyond themselves (to Jesus). It’s what we do every time we have an opportunity to share Jesus with someone – or more commonly, David in the pulpit. He asks his listeners to look inside themselves and then to look beyond themselves, to Jesus. That seems to me a good everyday plan for each of us – to look inside and to look beyond.
See also: January 2 / Luke 1:1-4 and January 3 / Luke 1:5-25 from 2019.
Interesting to me that Zechariah was struck dumb for not believing. Elizabeth immediately believed, “The Lord has done this for me…” This brings to mind two thoughts; it was probably the origination of the phrase, “Never look a gift horse in the mouth.”, and as every husband has come to know, “Mama always knows best”. On the serious side, what a wonderful Heavenly intervention in the creation of John!
Fred and all, thanks for including me in this Bible study. I am ill-equipped to converse, as I have never studied the Scriptures, as you all have. I am very much looking forward to your comments and discussion this year.
Many blessings to all this New Year!
You bless us all, Tom, with your humble comments. Some of us have read more and some of us have studied more, but I’ve found that some of the best comments in these RTB groups have come from those who are new to Scripture reading. So I/we seriously look forward to what you have to say in 2021.
I too was struck by the role of the Holy Spirit in this initial part of the story, with the angel messengers, John, Jesus… My study Bible notes that Luke’s gospel is the one that mentions the Holy Spirit the most. And of course, Luke also recorded Acts including Pentecost. Luke’s “historical, accurate accounting” draws us to the Triune God.
Happy New Year, everybody!
I am caught up in comparing the verses we read in John yesterday with the ones today—all the interventions of God and the Holy Spirit that were necessary for the Word to become flesh and dwell among us.
And as always, my mind is playing with the narrative of Genesis that God spoke creation into existence: the Word, indeed.
Of course, I say I am playing with this because I mull it over (and over) but I cannot really understand it in all its magnificence…
John wasn’t conceived yet but was to be filled with the Holy Spirit in the womb. The messenger who stands in the presence of God tells us John will come to turn the hearts of the parents to their children. That speaks volumes to abortion and child rearing but also tells us children how God loves us.
John was promised to be a joy and a delight to his parents while being great in the sight of the Lord. This from a son who wore animal skin, ate bugs and lived in the wilderness! Later we are told that people who dress like that don’t live in palaces… John was coming to bring back lost sheep, they often found in hard, dirty, dark places, but that’s where the light shines brightest. The light was coming and John was pointing to it, good news = the gospel! God usually answers our prayers so differently than we could ever expect or often even desire.
Great post, Melinda! I enjoyed reading it. Personally I’m glad that Carol and I do not have any children who wear animal skins, eat bugs, and live in the wilderness. But I suspect that Zacharias and Elizabeth were firmly proud of their son for obeying God!
I just want to comment on something Melinda said that I think is such a good point to remember – “God usually answers our prayers so differently than we can ever expect or often even desire.” Just like He answered the prayers of the Israelites with a far more glorious Messiah and far greater salvation than they ever expected. But many of the Israelites did not see the gift for what it was and insisted on their worldly expectations of the Messiah as the only way. I know in my life, seeming disappointments have sometimes turned out to be amazing answers to my prayers but in a totally different way than what I was expecting. I think I need to remember to keep an open mind when the Holy Spirit is working.