The Miracles of Christmas: The Miracle of the Forerunner

 

    

Luke 1:8-17

 

So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 10 And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

13 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 He will also 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 a people prepared for the Lord."

NKJV

This  time of year is all about miracles.  We remember the miracle of Christ's birth.   We reminisce about all of the supernatural events that conspired to create the whole Christmas story.  We watch movies  about Christmas magic.  Plot after plot emerges where people are hopeless, but then, magically their needs are  met; their family makes it home; or they receive just the present that their heart desires.  Christmas inspires the imagination  of  other-worldly activity.

I personally  have never been a fan of magic.  We don't  talk about magic at our house, and we downplay magical thinking.  But it does strikes a chord within me- the world wants to believe in something supernatural.  The world seeks to find  search for some  special  reason or force this time of year.   I believe it is because Christmas is such a miraculous event and people  try to quantify it in other ways.  But nothing that the world contrives can ever compare  to the sheer divine nature of the Christmas story.

We always talk about the miracle of the virgin birth.  And well we should.  It is essential to the truth of Jesus' birth, but there were so many other miracles that took place.  I want to review some of them tonight in the hopes that you will be inspired to believe God for the miraculous in your life situations.

God's plan is always  more intricate than we can imagine.  We tend to look at the birth of Christ in seclusion, but God worked  other miracles that brought his birth into being.  One such miracle is that of John the Baptist.  In this passage we see a Godly man and woman- Zechariah and Elizabeth.  This man was a priest.  A devout man with a heart for God, married to a devout woman who also had a heart for God.  These two were upright in God's sight; observing all of the Lord's  commands and regulations blamelessly.  That alone is a miracle.  It was very difficult before the grace dispensation to fulfill the requirements of the law,  but these two did. But although  they were both  righteous in God's eyes,  He had not granted them the one thing that they desired:   a child of their own.   In their day for a woman to be barren was a huge disgrace and often interpreted as a sign  that God was not pleased with her in some way.

From their account in the Christmas story we realize that their disgrace  was  not God's rejection.  Rather it was God's favor.  Delayed. The Lord  had a plan for them all along. It just wasn't His perfect timing yet.

Can you imagine Zechariah's surprise when the angel appeared to him.   His fear? Who knows how many times he had been in the same place, but never had it seen  an angel standing by the altar of incense!  That is how God works!  He shows up suddenly!  Unexpectedly!  Right as we are in the middle of our day to day life.  The news that the angel brought was unbelievable.  In his old age, a baby?  Even though he was a righteous man, even though he had seen a supernatural manifestation of an angel, his faith would not allow for the miracle that Gabriel promised.  His prior experience left him no context for this new event.  So he dismissed it.

Can you relate to that?  We read this account and see the whole thing laid out from start to finish.  But we forget the folks starring in this real-life drama cannot see  past their own nose.  God has a way of stretching our faith as He  brings about His promise.  We like to explain away and excuse  our doubt, and we forget that it is an offense to the Almighty God.  So much so, that Zechariah was struck mute until after  his son was born.  That is the second miracle we see in this  account.  Not necessarily a happy miracle, but it is an event where the supernatural of God overrode the general laws of nature.

Dear Lord, thank you that you bless the faithful.  Help me to take you at your Word and believe  what You have spoken in my life.  Thank You for the miracles of Christmas that inspire me still today.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.