Prepare the Way!

Luke 1:5-25

In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 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 turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

Have you ever gone a long time without hearing from someone? You start to wonder if everything is okay. Maybe you even begin to panic. Maybe you wonder if the person even cares about you. Maybe you experience all these things. And then, you get that letter. Or than phone call. Relief! Joy!
This is the situation the people of Israel found themselves in. They hadn’t had a prophet or a direct revelation from God in 400 years. Some people call these the “silent years.” And a lot had happened to the people of Israel – conquered by the Greeks, a war for independence, and then conquest by the Romans. Where was God? Why wasn’t He helping His people out?
In light of this, I think we could agree that Zechariah’s skepticism is justified. But something great is happening. In all those silent years, God was at work, doing something bigger than anyone could imagine. The Greeks brought a common language to the empire. The Romans connected their empire through roads. The scene was set for news to travel easily. Good news.
So God breaks onto the scene here and, through the angel Gabriel, announces the coming Elijah (see Malachi 4). John the Baptist is coming, the forerunner to Messiah Jesus. John will prepare the way for Jesus to begin His redemptive work in the world. Between the Testaments, God was making the world ready. Through John, He would begin to make his people ready. Because redemption is coming. Glory is coming. Grace and truth are coming. Jesus is coming. Prepare the way!