Transcription

Chris
So, Jeff, growing up, when I heard John the Baptist, because I went to a Baptist church, I always thought that that was just his denomination. Yeah, yeah. You know, there’s like Mary the Methodist. Yeah, Peter the Pentecostal, Jesus the Nazarene. Right? Yeah. Yeah. Right. That’s what I thought. But apparently it’s not that.

Jeff
It’s not that we’ll get into it though. Yep. So he’s Chris and I’m Jeff and we’re the Bible guys. All right, Chris. So we all know how much our listeners love to listen to you sing.

Chris
They probably do.

Jeff
Not a voice from heaven. It’s just so angelic. No. It’s wonderful. So, uh, so here’s what we decided to do is we’re going to play finish the lyrics.

Chris
So I just wanted to go on record and say, I already know this is going to end badly.

Jeff
This is a scary one.

Chris
Well, my daughter Tori is a is a savant when it comes to lyrics. She remembers music and song lyrics unbelievable in an unbelievable way. And, uh, she always makes fun of me because I could sing songs for 20 years. Oh yeah. And she goes, dad, what’s the next line? And I have no idea. Yeah, yeah. So this is probably not going to go well.

Jeff
I was a worship leader for 15 years, and if I didn’t have a prompter in the back of the auditorium, I couldn’t finish a song. Okay. Right.

Chris
So we’re in the same boat there.

Jeff
Yep, yep.

Chris
This is not going to go well.

Jeff
So good luck Chris. That’s it. I enjoy these good luck moments.

Chris
I found out that this is what we were going to do about two minutes ago.

Jeff
Yeah yeah yeah. Here we go. Here’s the first lyric. Ready? Yep. We light it up. We won’t come down. And the sun can’t stop us now.

Chris
That’s hilarious. That’s hilarious okay, so that’s a musical. That’s the Greatest Showman. Uh, we we light it up and we won’t come down. The sun can’t stop us now. There you go. Uh. Uh, watching. Hey. Watching it come through. Uh. Hang on, hang on. Something over you. Oh, this is the greatest show. Yep. Watching it come through. Oh, watching it come true. Yep. I don’t know.

Jeff
What’s taking over.

Chris
You taking over you. There you go, man.

Jeff
You got it really.

Chris
Close, but I knew, I knew. There you go. I knew some of it does.

Jeff
Zac Efron sang it. Yeah.

Chris
No, no, no, that’s Hugh Jackman Hugh Jackman okay, okay. Zac, Zac Efron didn’t sing that one.

Jeff
Okay, good. Just checking. That’s hilarious. Uh, so here’s the next one. Come alive, come alive.

Chris
Oh, tell. Please tell me these are all the greatest showman. Come alive. Uh, ride that light. It burns so bright. There you.

Jeff
Go. Go and ride your light. Let it burn so bright.

Chris
Yes, I got some of it. I’m sorry. Hey. I’m thrilled with the fact that I’m at least recognizing these.

Jeff
And I risk it all for this life we choose.

Chris
Oh, that’s, uh, walking a tightrope. Um. For the life we choose. And then the chorus. Uh uh uh. Hand in my hand.

Jeff
There you go.

Chris
Uh. Hang on, hang on. Hand in my hand. And you promised to never let go. We’re walking a tightrope. There you go. Is that it?

Jeff
You nailed it. Yeah. Yeah. There you.

Chris
Go. And in my hand. Do do do.

Jeff
So I thought a couple of these were worship songs. Apparently they’re not.

Chris
Well, it sounds like they’re going to be all Greatest Showman.

Jeff
Don’t you want to get away to a whole new part? You’re going to play?

Chris
Now, this is the part where they’re in the bar, okay? And he’s trying to talk him into joining him. Uh, say it again.

Jeff
What’s you want to get away to? A whole new part. You’re going to play.

Chris
Don’t you want to get away for this up town part, you got to play. Um, uh, because I got what you need. So come along and take a ride to the other side. Because I got.

Jeff
What you need. So come with me and take the ride to the other side.

Chris
Hey, there you go. That was man.

Jeff
Hey, man, you’re four for four, dude.

Chris
Well, not really. No, I’m gonna concede these.

Jeff
You were really close.

Chris
80% on four for four.

Jeff
Okay. Yeah, yeah, you’re you’re four for four. More than I would have even gotten that, so. Okay.

Chris
All right, well.

Jeff
From now on, what’s waited.

Chris
By the way, I’ve seen this movie no less than 30 times, I believe.

Jeff
You. Yes, I believe you. From now on, what’s waited till tomorrow starts tonight. It starts tonight.

Chris
Oh. That’s hilarious. Uh, from now on. It’s waiting for. Tomorrow starts tonight. And he goes. Starts tonight. Uh, the promise. Uh. Hang on. From now on. Waiting for tomorrow starts tonight. Starts tonight. Let this promise in my heart.

Jeff
Uh oh, man. You’re.

Chris
It. In my from now on. From now on. From now on, you got to go back home.

Jeff
Let this promise in me.

Chris
Start.

Jeff
Like.

Chris
Let this promise in me. Start, start like an anthem in my heart.

Jeff
There you go.

Chris
You got it, baby, I got it. Hey, you helped me, but I got it. That’s hilarious.

Jeff
So I’m really impressed. Chris. That was. That was pretty incredible.

Chris
Yeah. Thank you I appreciate that. Well, I appreciate you helping me because I.

Jeff
And, you know, she picked the perfect, uh, songs.

Chris
Well, you know, anything Disney related? Musical related? I like those things.

Jeff
Zac Efron related. Yeah. Anytime you’re singing and dancing.

Chris
Whatever.

Jeff
So, um, hey, we are in this new series that we’re doing, uh, based around the harmony of the Gospels, but putting together all the different passages, kind of in chronological order. And so today we’re kind of introducing, uh, the uncle of Jesus and the Jesus aunt and uncle, really, essentially. And this is the announcement of Jesus cousin that he’s going to be born.

Chris
Yeah. Six months before Jesus was born. Yeah, yeah.

Jeff
So, Luke, um, starts off this way in verse five of chapter one, he says, when Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah. And his wife Elizabeth was also from the priestly line of Aaron. Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations. They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old. One day, Zechariah was serving God in the temple for his order was on duty. That week, as was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. And while the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside praying. While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. But the angel said, don’t be afraid, Zechariah. God has heard your prayer. Your wife Elizabeth will give you a son, and you are to name him John. You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He’ll be filled with the Holy Spirit even before his birth, and he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly. Zechariah said to the angel, how can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now and my wife is also well along in years. Then the angel said, I am Gabriel. I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news. But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born, for my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time. Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taking so long. When he finally did come out, he couldn’t speak to them. And then they realized from his gestures and his silence that he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary. When Zechariah’s week of service in the temple was over, he returned home. Soon afterward, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. How kind the Lord is, she exclaimed. He has taken away my disgrace of having no children. At the end of it. Yeah, that’s where we end.

Chris
Yeah, I think so.

Jeff
Yeah.

Chris
Um, so, uh. Yeah, I’m checking the show sheet right here. Yep. So, yeah, through 25. So, uh, obviously, uh, you know, we’re going to pick up and tell the rest of the story. Sure. But this is the idea that, like, the announcement has come. Now, what’s so interesting for me is that you and I can’t even comprehend that there were 400 years of silence between the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Jeff
Right where God had not spoken to the people.

Chris
Yes. So think about this. Think about the promises, the prophecies, the long awaited Messiah, all of the judges of Israel, the prophets, you know, coming along, representing God, speaking on his behalf. And then all of a sudden, not a single prophet, not a single word, not a single peep for 400 years. So. So it’s 2023, right? So it would be, what, 1623. Yeah. Right. So since the since the medieval times. Wow. Like God hasn’t spoken. Think about that. Right. Right. Like it is. It is so far removed that it’s it’s almost like ancient history, ancient culture, a forgotten thing sort of thing. Right? Right. Uh, but yet we all know that a good Jewish boy grows up. And by the time he reaches the age of 12, he’s memorized the first five books of the Bible. So, so obviously, you know, the word was still important, but the communication between God and man, uh, was silent. So for Zechariah to go into the temple and then receive this, you know, revelation, you know, and then come out and then and then not be able to speak and then and then for God or Gabriel to announce, you know, from God to, to him that, that, that there’s going to be a man born, considered great by God and he’s going to, you know, he’s going to be the forerunner of Christ, right? He’s going to announce to the world that the Messiah is coming.

Jeff
Yeah, it’s pretty incredible. The the idea of an angel showing up after all this silence. And, you know, he’s going through the religious ceremony that he’s supposed to do now. So here’s how it worked with the with the the priests, the priests all came, uh, from the same tribe, uh, Levi. And they did not. They were not given land like like all the other tribes had been given land. Instead, they were given responsibility of caring for the tabernacle and then the temple. And so David had divided them up into 24 groups of 1000, because you didn’t need 24,000 priests, all at one time serving in the temple. It wasn’t that big. So even as grand as Herod the Great’s temple was, they didn’t need that many. So you would work in you would get you’d you’d work at your farm wherever your farm was and maintaining your life. And then two weeks a year, your group. So he’s part of the group of Abijah would, um, come and work at the temple. And so during that time, then they would draw lots, they would roll dice or draw straws to find out who got what jobs. And so he gets elected to be able to take the incense into the Holy place. Not all the priests went into the holy place in that time, but he did. This is like the opportunity of a lifetime. The likelihood, the chances of him, out of the thousand priests that were employed for those two weeks in the temple, the chances that he got to be the one is through the roof. The probabilities are are pretty, pretty low for him.

Chris
And oh, 1 in 1000.

Jeff
Yeah, exactly. But God. Well, in his lifetime. Yeah. Working it out. Certainly. So. But God orchestrated it so that he would have Zechariah in there in that moment doing this holy thing and all the people waiting. And the angel shows up and has to go, uh, as all the angels do. Don’t be afraid.

Chris
Right, right, right.

Jeff
Every time.

Chris
Because if you were listening in the book of revelation, the description of angels, you know, pretty amazing. It’s pretty amazing, right? Right? Right. Yeah.

Jeff
Pretty. It would be terrifying to be in the presence of an angelic being. Right. So every time an angel has to show him, say, don’t be afraid. So this is a great honor. It had to been a great privilege for him. Just the excitement. And it says that they were both old. He and his wife, Elizabeth, they’re old and they were past childbearing years, at least in his mind, it was that they were without children. So this appears to be a desire that they had, uh, because the Bible references it beforehand, uh, that they wanted children. They just couldn’t have children until this time. Wow.

Chris
And so, uh, what’s interesting is we’re about to find out is that, uh, the angel is the one that said he’s going to be named John. Yeah, but we’re about to find out that nowhere in his lineage, uh, is John a part of the equation. Right. So, so normally you name, you know, your children after somebody that’s in your family, right? And your genealogy and, uh, and so the fact that he’s going to be named John is actually a big deal. Yeah. And, uh, and God chose the name John.

Jeff
That’s right. Did you read the notes here in the, uh, Life Application Bible that I did not. So it says, um. Uh, where was it? It talks about the meaning of the name John and the meaning of the name Jesus. These two names. And, um. John means. Oh, man, where was it? I shouldn’t have brought it up.

Chris
That’s okay. Why don’t you look for it and let me let me say this. Okay. Uh, so, uh, the angel tells Zechariah that John the Baptist will, you know, he’s going to be known as John the Baptist, uh, that he, um, will be considered great in God’s eyes. Oh, right. Do you know that Jesus himself made the comment and think about this statement? He said, there is none who has ever lived that has been greater than John the Baptist, right? Holy Christmas. Yeah.

Jeff
That’s amazing.

Chris
Can you even of all the billions and the billions of human beings who’s ever breathed and lived and died, John the Baptist is greater than all of them. That’s an incredible statement. That’s right. And so, yeah, I mean, holy cow, like stand up. I got to meet this guy in heaven.

Jeff
Yeah, yeah, well, we will we’ll have an opportunity to. There’ll be probably a long line of people wanting to meet John the Baptist, and then we’ll get into it later. So we don’t want to overtalk it. But John the Baptist was quite the character.

Chris
No matter how long the line. I’ll have the time. You’ll have time.

Jeff
Plenty time. Just eternity. Uh, so this line is going to take forever.

Chris
Oh, that’s so funny.

Jeff
That’s how I complain about that stuff all the time. So I was looking on the wrong page. Uh, so I had turned the page, and that was. That was it. It helps the note for, uh, verse 13 in the Life Application Bible says, John means the Lord is gracious and Jesus means the Lord saves. Both names were prescribed by God, not by the parents. Right? They weren’t chosen by human parents, right? That’s right. Uh, throughout the Gospels, God acts graciously and saves his people. He’ll not withhold salvation from anyone who sincerely comes to him. It’s really neat that that John, the one who came to announce Jesus his name means God is gracious or acts graciously right. He’s pronouncing the graciousness and the the the goodness of God. And then Jesus shows up and his name means God saves. So that’s pretty cool. So, um, one interesting thing is it appears that John, um, had some kind of a Nazarite vow on him, similar to Samson. Right. Um, Samuel in the Bible. Same way they didn’t touch any alcohol. We know Samson didn’t cut his hair. We know from the description of John in another couple days when we get to it, he’s kind of a wild man. The way he dressed, the way that he acted and lived.

Chris
Uh, wasn’t there a rule that they’re not allowed to touch anything dead after after so long? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jeff
So what we know about the nazarites is there’s some explanation and, uh, order inside of Moses teachings. But then from Samson, uh, it’s really spelled out to his parents. Manasseh. No. And his mother. There’s no alcohol. Uh, not supposed to cut his hair. Uh, not allowed to touch a dead body, you know, um, bunch of those, those kinds of things. And so very likely it looks like John had some kind of similar vow that his parents took on his behalf. Right then he would have kept his whole life. Yeah. Yeah.

Chris
And, well, obviously he did, because Jesus again said nobody’s greater than John the Baptist. Yep, yep. Man, I just can’t get over that statement. Yeah, I’m sort of jealous. Yeah.

Jeff
So and then, um, in verse 15, this is really, really cool. And I wanted to highlight this one. It says, um, for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or alcoholic drinks. He’ll be filled with the Holy Spirit even before his birth. This is the first time Luke mentions the Holy Spirit, right? Isn’t that neat? So now we have God, God the Son and the Holy Spirit both mentioned in the book of Luke in the first chapter. Right? Yeah.

Chris
And, uh, actually God the Father too, because didn’t he, didn’t he say at the very beginning.

Jeff
Oh yeah, yeah.

Chris
Yeah, yeah, the word was with God. At least John said that. Yeah.

Jeff
And, and and Gabriel said, uh, I stand in the very presence of God.

Chris
Right. That’s right. Right.

Jeff
Which is so, um.

Chris
Uh, no, what I was going to say is that, uh, uh, Gabriel was the person who or the angel who appeared to marry.

Jeff
Yeah. That’s coming tomorrow.

Chris
Yeah. So it’s really it’s really, uh. What a great job. Yeah. Right. Yeah. To leave God’s presence and to come down and to orchestrate or set into motion the announcement, uh, and to put into place these chess pieces. Right. Because I think it’s really cool how, uh, you know, Mary were, uh, was, uh, sisters with Elizabeth, right? Is that what it is? Sisters. Right.

Jeff
Uh, they were cousins.

Chris
They were cousins. Okay, so. So John the Baptist really was a second cousin, right? Yeah, that’s what he was. Yeah. Yeah.

Jeff
The son of a cousin. Yeah, a son.

Chris
Of a cousin. So, um. Yeah, I knew it was something like that. And, uh, and the fact that he was born six months before, um, you know, gave him, uh, about a six month window, probably to, to start announcing. Because in Bible times, you weren’t, uh, you know, considered a man until you were 30 years of age. So anybody listening to this podcast who hopes to become. And become, you know, valid when they were able to vote and and become legal over 21 to do everything that you’re supposed to do or or can do. Um, uh, listen, in the Bible times, you you weren’t, uh, considered a full adult until you’re 30, which is why Jesus, we believe, uh, waited until 30 to begin his ministry. So chances are very likely that John the Baptist waited until he was 30, which would have been six months before Jesus turned 30 and then started his announcement and began this great big following, uh, for six months. Yeah.

Jeff
The fact that, uh, John the Baptist was the son of a priest means he was born into the priestly order. That would have been his job, too. He would have gone up. So he has the job. God gave John the Baptist the job of being a prophet. He he declared God’s word to God’s people, uh, compelled them to turn from sin, to turn from God, and to pave the way for Jesus. Uh, but he did it in this, uh, God chose to use who would be a priest to do it this, uh, because at that time, they were the the priests were the intermediaries between God and the people. They were the kind of the go betweens. And then after Jesus, the Bible says that we have a direct relationship with God. We don’t need the go between anymore. So John the Baptist was the last go between connecting, uh, humanity to God. I think that’s kind of a really cool thing. So one other thing for for people, uh, it appears from the beginning of this chapter when it says that, uh, and verse seven, they had no children, right? Elizabeth was unable to conceive and they were both very old. And then the last verse of this reading, where she’s commenting how they, they felt so bad about not having children and God, uh, had not ignored them. He stepped in and intervened when only he could get the credit for it. And at that point Zechariah had settled it in his own heart. These are good, godly people. But he settled in his own heart, and so we’re never going to have kids. Then the angel goes, hey, you’re going to have a son. And he’s like, really? How would I know this is going to come true? He’s well, you’re not going be able to talk from now until the time the baby’s born. Um, and I love the fact that God shows up in, in a time, uh, in their life when it seemed like there was no hope. And so I don’t know what kind of struggle our listeners are having today where they feel like there’s no hope. Um, it doesn’t have to be this. And God doesn’t have to show up in your life like he showed up in Zechariah in Elizabeth’s life, either. But I do know this. He’s aware of your circumstance, and he’ll show up just in time. Uh, and his goal is for you to give him the glory.

Chris
So my good friend Jack Wilson. Used to always remind us as preachers and teachers and said, don’t ever underestimate the pain in the room. Oh yeah, so when you know, when you teach and when you’re communicating and everything else, don’t ever underestimate the pain that’s in the room of the listeners. And so even today, even though that our listeners are not in front of me and they’re not in the room. Yeah. Um, you know, people are probably listening to this who can’t have children. Yeah. You know, and the pain is really real, right? Yeah. And so, uh, you know, it’s it’s not a promise that says that, hey, all you have to do is pray and you’ll have a child. But but it is, like you said, it’s a great example of God, number one, being able to do anything. Never, never to lose faith. Yeah. And never to lose hope and ever remain faithful. And there are times where, you know, he he obviously won’t show up with our desires and the things that we’re praying for. Uh, but just know that he is worthy of our trust. Uh, the book of Psalms says, to what other God shall we run to? Yeah. Yeah, right. Like what God is greater than our God. He is the God who performs many miracles. He is the God that we could trust in. And, uh, this is this is what Zechariah failed to immediately conclude when Angel Gabriel said, this is going to happen because the pain was real for him. Yeah. As you said. Right. Yeah, yeah. So how many times did he have hope and then realized it won’t happen, right. So. All right, well, listen, that sounds like a great place to end. And we will pick up on with John the Baptist next time on The Bible Guys.