The Full Christmas Story: Part 3

Christmas is generally understood to be a season of peace, love, joy, and hope, but there’s another idea that is associated with the season that may not seem as pleasant—that is the idea of expectancy or anticipation. There is a positive kind of anticipation when you know something pleasant is going to happen, but that anticipation also means you have to wait.

Waiting, by its nature, brings a certain kind of pain. There is the pain of unmet desires, and that pain exposes someone’s heart. In other words, there are people who wait well, and there are people who don’t. Just think about how kids wait for Christmas, or people waiting at the DMV, or the doctor’s office, or in line at the grocery store. The waiting brings something out of you. The expectation is a test.

Well, for over 1,500 years the nation of Israel was waiting for God to fulfill the promises He had made, which we read at the beginning of the service. That period of waiting tested the people. Would they remain faithful to God? Would they continue to walk in righteousness as they waited? Or, in their desperation, would they turn away from God?

Over and over again, Israel turned from God’s instruction, but God remained faithful to His promises. The nation went through very difficult times, but they were never exterminated. God preserved them. He also raised up individuals who remained faithful to God, even when most of the nation had turned away from the Lord.

As we come to the biblical story of Christmas what we find are examples of righteous people waiting on the Lord. They aren’t perfect, but they show us what it can look like to trust in the promises of God. Each of these people has some expectations in their own life, and they have to deal with some kind of disappointment, but they trust in God.

The first example of someone waiting for something is a man named Zechariah, whom we meet in Luke chapter 1, verse 5. If you have a Bible with you, I invite you to  turn there with me. We’ll be looking at a couple verses together. Zechariah was a priest married to a woman named Elizabeth.

As we are introduced to him, we are also introduced to the first expectation, which is a national expectation. Luke 1:5 says that this story takes place in the days of Herod, king of Judea. Historically, he is also known as Herod the Great. In the eyes of a faithful Israelite, however, Herod is not a great king. First, he is not a descendant of Jacob, and second, Israel does not have the political freedom the people want or have been promised by God. Though Herod took the title “King,” he, along with Israel, was under the authority of the Roman Emperor. This is not what an Israelite priest wants for his nation. Zechariah’s national expectation was that one day Israel would have a proper kingdom.

The second expectation, or pain, for Zechariah is a personal one. He and his wife Elizabeth were well past childbearing age, and they had been unable to have any children. Children provided for their aging parents, and they were considered a blessing from God. For a couple not to be able to have children was seen as a sign of God’s disfavor. The people would have thought, “Something must be wrong in Zechariah and Elizabeth’s life if God hasn’t given them any children.” So, Zechariah faced a national pain and a personal pain. He had two very significant unmet expectations.

But rather than grumble about the situation, notice what the Bible tells us about Zechariah and his wife in Luke 1:6. It says—And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.

God took notice of Zechariah’s righteousness, and He heard his prayers. One day, while Zechariah was ministering in the Temple, the angel Gabriel appeared to him promising that he would have a son. God was going to minister to Zechariah’s personal expectation.

Look at verse 14. The angels says—And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, [15] 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.

 So, this son is going to be righteous and important, and he is also going to play a part in addressing the national expectation of Israel.

Verse 16 continues—And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, [17] 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.

Zechariah’s son is going to prepare the people for the next phase of God’s plan. He is going to be a blessing, not just to Zechariah’s family, but to the entire nation. He will minister on behalf of God.

Now, there is something very significant in Gabriel’s message because the last time God had spoken to the Israelites was about 400 years earlier through a prophet named Malachi. And in the closing verses of the Old Testament, Malachi 4:5, God promised to send Elijah before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. The day of the Lord was a time when God would judge Israel’s enemies and restore the nation’s freedom and glory.

How does Zechariah respond to this message? Well, he is skeptical. Down in verse 18, he asks for a confirmation. Evidently, hearing the message directly from an angel wasn’t enough. So, as both a sign and a judgment, Zechariah loses the ability to speak until the angel’s message comes to pass.

I guess we could say that the good news was now tainted a bit, at least for Zechariah. Maybe Elizabeth looked forward to nine months of a silent husband, who knows? Either way, the couple is now going to be waiting for the fulfilment of God’s message.

So, if we had to describe Zechariah’s initial response to the message, I think we could say it was a response of obedient apprehension. Obedient apprehension. He wasn’t convinced it was going to happen, but he did as he was told.

As the story continues, we come to the second person who is waiting—a young woman named Mary who is a relative of Elizabeth. Based on the culture of that time, she is probably somewhere between 13 and 17 years old. The biggest news in Mary’s life was that she was engaged. She was legally betrothed to a man named Joseph, and that would have brought with it all kinds of expectations. It might not have included all the romantic things we associate with marriage today, but she still would be joyfully awaiting this new phase of her life.

About six months after appearing to Zechariah, the angel Gabriel comes to Mary with a message as well. Look with me at Luke 1, verse 31—And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. [32] He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, [33] and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.

Zechariah and Elizabeth’s son was going to get the people ready, but Mary’s Son is going to be someone far greater. The Child within her will be the Son of God. He will be the promised Son of David who will reign over Israel forever. This is going to be the fulfilment of God’s promise to dwell with His people and restore the glory and freedom of the nation. That’s what the name “Jesus” points to; it means “Yahweh (the Lord) is Salvation.” Mary’s Son is going to be the Promised Savior Israel has been waiting for.

Mary expects an immediate fulfilment of the angel’s message, but since she’s not officially married yet, she wants to know how it’s going to happen. How can she conceive a son if she is still a virgin? The angel tells her that it is going to happen by the power of the Holy Spirit. This child will be holy and sinless. It will be the work of God in her womb.

And verse 38 records Mary’s response—Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” With that, I think we can categorize Mary’s response as one of a humble submission. Humble submission. She I going to obey and accept all that God has told her.

As the story continues, we see a third response which comes from Elizabeth when Mary visits her. Both of them understand what is going to take place. And their response is one of joyful anticipation. There is a joyful anticipation in the plan of God.

Elizabeth praises God in verses 42-45, and then Mary responds with a praise of her own in verses 46-55. We aren’t going to look at that in detail, but they are wonderful passages to read and study. They recognize that God Himself is coming to save the people. He is coming to tear down the mighty and exalt the lowly. He is coming to demonstrate His power, His mercy, His faithfulness, and His justice.

So, Zechariah responded with an obedient apprehension. Mary responded with a humble submission. And Eliabeth responds with a joyful anticipation.

Let’s continue the story.

About three months later, the time comes for Elizabeth to give birth to her son. A week after the boy’s birth, when the time comes to name him, Zechariah, still unable to speak, writes a message saying that the boy’s name will be John. In that moment, Zechariah received back his ability to speak, and he responds with praise. Despite Zechariah’s initial skepticism, God was faithful. And the faithfulness of God to give Zechariah a son, directs his attention to the faithfulness of God to fulfill His promise to Israel.

And in Zechariah’s second response, what we see is a holy proclamation. A holy proclamation. Zechariah praises God.

Look with me at Luke 1, verse 68. Zechariah had been given a son—his personal expectation had been fulfilled—but this was only a reminder of something greater. Here is what Zechariah says starting in verse 68—Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people [69] and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, [70] as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, [71] that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; [72] to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, [73] the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us [74] that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, [75] in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

Zechariah understood that God was going to save the nation of Israel. But he also recognized that Israel’s deepest problem wasn’t external—it wasn’t the Assyrians or the Babylonians or the Persians or the Greeks or the Romans who had conquered them. Israel’s deepest problem was its sin. The reason they had been given up to those nations was because the people had turned from God.

Look at what he says in verses 76-79—And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, [77] to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, [78] because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high [79] to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

What Israel needs most is not salvation from Rome; they need salvation from their sins. Zechariah understood that.

My question is: Do you have that understanding? All of us want a better life. And we all have some idea of what would give us a better life. So, we’re waiting for things to improve. Some of us are waiting for a job. Some of us are waiting for marriage. Some of us are waiting for a child or a grandchild. Some of us are waiting for retirement. Those desires aren’t wrong, but you need to see them as pointers to your greatest need. You need to be looking for something greater than better circumstances. You need salvation from your sin.

What most of the Israelites didn’t understand was that if the King were to come to judge the world as establish an eternal, glorious kingdom, they would not enter the kingdom; they would be judged for their rebellion. And that is the same situation you and I find ourselves in today. We need to be rescued from the consequences and the power of our sin.

Are there people out there in this world who are worse than you, in terms of wickedness? Yes, of course there are. But that doesn’t mean that you and I get to enter heaven. God’s standard to enter into the glorious and eternal kingdom is not how good you are relative to others. His standard is how good you are relative to Him. His standard is perfection.

You are not perfect, and I am not perfect. Therefore, we deserve God’s judgment. We don’t have peace with God in ourselves. We are enemies of God.

But God in His perfect grace and mercy sent Jesus Christ to accomplish what we could not and cannot do on our own. He sent His Son into this world to live a perfect life and then to die as a substitute for sinners who would believe in Him. You need a perfection outside of you to be credited to your account. You need a power outside of you to give you a heart that walks righteously before God.

This is what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. This was the true hope of Israel. They needed salvation from their sins. And just like God promised, it was going to come to pass through the child in Mary’s womb.

Let’s continue the Christmas story in Luke chapter 2.

Because of a decree from the Roman Emperor, every family had to go back to its hometown and be registered for a census. That meant that Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem—to the city where the prophet Micah had prophesied the Savior would be born.

The biblical account of Jesus’ birth is very straightforward. There’s really no drama or tension in the way it’s told. But the significance of the event isn’t tied to the drama of that day; it is found in the identity of the One who was born.

Look with me at Luke chapter 2, verse 8. After Jesus is born, we find that there is another angelic visit. Luke 2:8—And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

When we see shepherds in Christmas plays and Christmas movies, we tend to glorify them, as if there is something noble about them. But that’s not who shepherds were back in first-century Israel. Shepherds were at the bottom of the social scale. They were hired hands to do difficult work.

Shepherds were stinky. Shepherds were poor. Shepherds didn’t get good sleep. Shepherds were expendable. Shepherds had the reputation of being liars and thieves. Their testimony wasn’t even accepted in a court of law.

So, you can imagine that most shepherds had some kind of hope for a better life. Maybe if they saved up enough money, they could make a better life for themselves and their families.

But on the night Jesus was born, an angel came an announced to them the greatest news they could ever hear. Luke 2:9—And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. [10] And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. [11] For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

These were not educated men, but they would have understood the religious and national and eternal significance of the angel’s message. The whole world is going to change. A Savior has been born who is Christ the Lord.

The word “Christ” come from a Greek word that means “Anointed One.” The Hebrew equivalent is “Messiah.” So, Christ and Messiah mean the same thing—Anointed One. What does it mean to be the Anointed One? The term pointed to someone who was specially chosen by God for a role. Prophets were anointed with oil. Priests were anointed with oil. Kings were anointed with oil. The prophets of Israel, and the priests of Israel, and the kings of Israel had all been stained by corruption. But now, a new King was coming, a new Prophet, a new Priest.

This Christ, this Messiah, this Anointed One is the Lord Himself. He is God in human flesh.

But despite the glorious and majestic calling, this little baby wasn’t born in a palace or placed in a golden crib. He was born in a humble family and placed in a manger, a feeding trough for animals. Verse 12, the angel says—And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.

When the shepherds saw the angel and heard the message, I assume their brains were trying to process all that was happening, but before they can even respond to the message or talk about it amongst themselves, something happens.

Look at verse 13—And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

An angelic army appears and they give praise to God. Why? Because the birth of Jesus Christ isn’t ultimately about you and me; it’s about God fulfilling His promises and accomplishing His plan for mankind.

Don’t believe what anybody tells you about a god who has turned His back on mankind or who is indifferent about what happens to us. God loves His creation for His own glory. And He delights in the salvation of man. He is pleased to be reconciled to His creatures.

Through the prophet Ezekiel, God said—I have no pleasure in the death of anyone… So turn, and live… I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die?

The praise of the angels points the shepherds to the joyful and fulfilment of God’s eternal plan. And in hearing the angel’s praise, we get the response of the shepherds which is an enthusiastic investigation. An enthusiastic urgency.

Verses 16-20 tell us—The shepherds went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. [17] And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. [18] And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. [19] But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. [20] And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

That’s the final detail Luke gives us concerning the day Jesus was born. But what he does in the rest of his gospel is describe the life and the work of Jesus Christ. He shows us how Jesus fulfilled the promise of God to the people.

I want you to jump down to verse 25 for a moment. We’re wrapping up, but I just want to point out a few verses telling us about two people who saw the baby Jesus one week later in the Temple.

The first is a man named Simeon. And notice how verse 25 describes him. It says—Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

When Simeon sees the baby Jesus, he praises God saying—My eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.

Simeon understood that the glory of Israel would mean salvation for every nation.

The second person who saw Jesus that day was a woman named Anna. Jump over to verse 38 and see what it says—And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Did you notice a word that was repeated in the descriptions of Simeon and Anna. Both times it speaks of waiting for the redemption of Israel. This is what Jesus came to accomplish. He is the Savior of Israel and the Savior of the world.

But if Jesus is a great Savior, why is the world still such a mess? We know the answer to that, but Israel didn’t know it at the time. Jesus came and was revealed as the Savior of the world, but His final victory would wait until His second coming.

In His first coming, Jesus died to pay the price of sin, and He was raised from the dead to prove His power over Satan and all evil. One day, death will be abolished, but that day hasn’t come yet.

The Savior who came and was placed in a humble manger will one day come again, and He will reign in power and glory. Until that day comes, Jesus Christ is calling people to Himself so that they would be spared His judgment and be part of His eternal kingdom.

On behalf of God, our church’s message is to call people to surrender their lives to Jesus the true King. Recognize that you deserve His judgment, and trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus for salvation. He is the only Savior. Call out to Him in prayer. And if you have any questions about that, you can talk to me or to any other member of our church. We’d love to tell you more.

For those of us who have already trusted in Christ and surrendered our lives to Him, we recognize that although plenty of prophecies were fulfilled when Jesus was born, there are many prophecies yet to be fulfilled. And so, just like Israel was waiting for the Savior, we are still waiting today.

The people of God are waiting. The question is: Are you waiting well? Are you waiting faithfully?

Maybe your response, even though you believe, is one of apprehension. You know you could do better. You struggle to live in light of that future day. Pray that God would help you grow.

If we want to wait well, we want to marked by submission to God. We want to be obedient to His commands.

We also want to be marked by anticipation. God didn’t intend for us to be bored here on earth. He wants us to live with hope and joy.

He also wants you to be marked by proclamation. Announce the good news of Jesus Christ as God gives you the opportunity. How sad it is that we can be more excited to tell someone about a new restaurant than about the salvation of Jesus Christ. Let’s proclaim the good news we’ve been given.

Lastly, like the shepherds, we should be marked by an enthusiastic investigation. You should want to learn more about Jesus. And how do you do that? By studying His word. Do you want to know what’s going to happen when Jesus comes back? Then come back next week when we finish the story and jump to the final pages of the Bible.

God is faithful to His promises. And He rewards those who wait faithfully. Let’s close in prayer and in a song as we remember the gift of a child who brought peace between God and men.