Zechariah finally got it! It was more than just a miraculous birth to an elderly couple. It was more than just God being good to Zechariah and Elizabeth, rewarding them for their righteousness. It was a plan that would involve their son—a plan for the salvation of the world…
Listen to our Bible story for today—this part of the Christmas story, the story of ‘the other nativity’…
“The time came for Elizabeth to have her baby, and she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard how wonderfully good the Lord had been to her, and they all rejoiced with her. 59 When the baby was a week old, they came to circumcise him, and they were going to name him Zechariah, after his father. 60 But his mother said, "No! His name is to be John." 61 They said to her, "But you don’t have any relative with that name!" 62 Then they made signs to his father, asking him what name he would like the boy to have. 63 Zechariah asked for a writing pad and wrote, "His name is John." How surprised they all were! 64 At that moment Zechariah was able to speak again, and he started praising God. 65 The neighbors were all filled with fear, and the news about these things spread through all the hill country of Judea. 66 Everyone who heard of it thought about it and asked, "What is this child going to be?" For it was plain that the Lord’s power was upon him.”
– Luke 1:57-66 (TEV)
Accompanying John’s miraculous birth came at least two gifts from God…
WITH JOHN’S BIRTH, THERE CAME THE GIFT OF HEALING. Verse 64 reminds us, “At that moment Zechariah was able to speak again, and he started praising God.” It was after his act of obedience … that Zechariah experienced healing and was able to speak once again, after months of silence!
So, where does this kind of healing come from—the kind that continues to make us whole? Simply put, it comes from the compassion of God! The Greek verb used is splanchnizomai, used twelve times in the New Testament (i.e. the Good Samaritan & 2 of Jesus’ parables). The uses of this verb all refer to compassion as the major motivation for Jesus’ healing and miracles…
Splanchnizomai is a word that literally refers to the inner parts of a man, the heart, liver, and so on. It became common, in Jesus’ day, to use this word in reference to the lower parts of the abdomen, the intestines, and especially the womb. In other words, this is where God’s compassion comes from—deep down inside God’s very being!
In other words, God loves us to his very core! And, God’s compassion for us … is his motivation for healing—obedience to God being the trigger that allows God’s compassion to be put into action and healing to take place…
WITH JOHN’S BIRTH, THERE CAME NEW LIFE & HOPE FOR A GREATER TOMORROW. Verse 64 again reminds us, “At that moment Zechariah was able to speak again, and he started praising God.” With God, new life & hope always follow obedience… Folks, every time you give God yet another part of your life— you surrender it or release it to God, you seem to experience new life yourself … and a new hope for the future! New birth can be described in physical terms as well as in spiritual terms… Zechariah & Elizabeth were experiencing new birth in a physical way—through the birth of their son, John, but they were also witnessing the new birth of the world, spiritually, with the coming of the Messiah!
They knew that what was happening was much bigger than just their life, so when they witnessed new birth, they rejoiced! THEY KNEW THE JOY OF GOD’S SAVLATION! They rejoiced! God was doing something huge … and I believe that God still wants to something huge in each one of our lives as well—maybe even this Christmas…
Some years ago, there was a renewal conference taking place at a great Gothic cathedral-style Presbyterian church in Omaha. As people came in they were given a balloon filled with helium. They were told to release the balloon at some point in the service where they felt like expressing the joy in their hearts—during the anthem, the hymns, the prayers, or the sermon. Since they were Presbyterians, they weren’t free to say ‘hallelujah’ or ‘praise the Lord’ (I went to school with them, so I know—‘the frozen chosen’). Letting go of the balloon would represent praise going up to God. So all through the service, brightly colored balloons were rising up to bounce off the ceiling—visual signs of praise to the Lord. But oddly enough, when the service was over, about a third of those balloons were still unreleased. Those in attendance either felt no joy or, feeling it, could not bring themselves to express it…
I hope & pray that during this Christmas season, you will experience new birth in your life—the kind of spiritual new birth that leads to healing … and to hope for a greater tomorrow! That’s God’s gift to us in Christ! That’s what God wants us to have … even this year. John’s parents knew the JOY of their salvation—their son, John, being a part of God’s process. They took the time, in the midst of God’s gifts to them, to rejoice!
Zechariah finally got it, didn’t he? He finally understood all that God was trying to tell him through the angel Gabriel several months before. Zechariah’s son was all that the angel Gabriel said he would be. He baptized people for the repentance of sins, softened their hearts and prepared the way for the Messiah, our Savior…
Are you ready for healing, new life, and hope for a greater tomorrow? That’s what God is offering to us … in Christ. It’s not our birthday, is it? It’s Jesus birthday; let’s rejoice in that!