The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old. Luke 1:5-7
Luke began his account of the birth of the Savior with the account of the birth of the Savior's forerunner. Both are miraculous conceptions, but only one is an immaculate conception. Both are of great importance, however, to the fulfillment of the promise of God. Verses 5-25 of chapter one cover the announcement to John's father Zechariah, the prophecy of the ministry of John, and "very old" Elizabeth's conception of this miracle baby, who would be the cousin of our Lord Jesus Christ and would play an important role in introducing Him to the world.
Luke 1:16-17:
He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
God keeps His promises. Even after 400 years. What He has promised, He will do. He has all the details worked out. He knows who you are and where you are and what kind of provision must be made to bring about the fulfillment of your destiny. He has had all that in your grace package from eternity past, waiting for the right time to bestow in whatever way pleases Him. Zechariah and Elizabeth learned this on the fly, but John had evidence of it from before his birth. Gabriel told his dad.
The Virgin
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” Luke 1:26-33
God keeps a tidy calendar. His timing is perfect. First, the forerunner, then the Christ. So, six months into Elizabeth's pregnancy, the messenger of God appeared to Mary. Everyone knows who Mary was. She was very young. She was a virgin. Descendant of David. Royal Jewish lineage. Matthew names the genealogy, in his gospel. There is nothing hit-or-miss here, and she isn't the only royal in this story. Joseph, her betrothed, is also of the Davidic line. He's not the physical father of this baby, but as head of household, his pedigree makes the royalty of this child legal.
It must be a virgin conception, because this is the direct offspring of God Himself, with no human contamination of Adam's sin. Adam, being the responsible one in the Edenic fall, passed original sin down through the male of the species in procreation. We women inherit sin from our fathers as well, but we don't pass it on. See, you knew there was a special reason for this immaculate conception other than just to perform a miracle, didn't you? He must be God-Man, born without sin. Your precious little newborn bundle was a sinner from the first cry. Mary's firstborn would not have that burden from birth. He was born free. He is the eternal King. He is the only one qualified to redeem all of us from the burden of our fathers' sin. Adam lost the headship title by disobedience to one command. Jesus came to reclaim that title in the Name of His Father, the Sovereign of the Universe.
This baby must be specially prepared.
No comments:
Post a Comment