The Outtop Presents O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here, Until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel. O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan’s tyranny; From depths of hell Thy people save, And give them victory o’er the grace. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel. Only two of the verses are shown above. The author of the song is unknown. Originally written in Latin, a priest and scholar named John Mason Neale translated the song into English in 1851.
Publisher’s Comments: It’s hard to believe that we have reached the end of another year. However, as we do every year, we joyously celebrate the birth of Christ In this edition of the Bible Insights Newsletter, we focus on the timeframe and the person (John the Baptist) leading up to the birth of Jesus. Our prophet focus is on Malachi and God’s message on marriage and the disappointment He had in the faithlessness and dishonor shown to Him by His people. We hope you enjoy this quick read and then either read the entire chapter of Luke 1 in your Bible or listen to audios of the chapter below! God Bless Merry Christmas!
Alda Don’t have a Bible? Here are audios of Luke 1:
Luke 1:1-25 (Birth of John the Baptist Foretold) Luke 1:26-38 (Birth of Jesus Foretold) Luke 1:39-56 (Mary Visits Elizabeth) Luke 1:57-66 (The Birth of John the Baptist) Luke 1:67-80 (Zechariah’s Prophecy)
Caption (4th Quarter 2023) Bible Insights Newsletter The One Who Came Before And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14
The Journey Have you ever wondered what the world was like over four hundred years after the last bit of history was recorded in the Old Testament? All had gone quiet, as least from a recorded history standpoint. Malachi was the last recorded book in the Old Testament. He was one of God’s prophets. There is some discrepancy as to when he prophesied, but it is thought to be sometime between 445 BC and 425 BC. He, like other prophets in the Old Testament, conveyed both God’s displeasure with and His love for His people.
A prophet issuing warnings as well as prophecies of future glories.
Malachi passed along God’s message in 3:1 regarding the coming of John the Baptist who would prepare the people for the Messiah:
The Importance of the Old Testament-
“Behold, I send my messenger, and He will prepare the way before Me.”
The importance of the Old Testament established that 1) God is the Creator, 2) God is holy, 3) God is faithful, 4) God is merciful, 5) God is omniscient, 6) God is omnipresent, 7) God is omnipotent, and 8) God is love.
As recorded history gets back on track, introducing us to the New Testament, it is now approximately 4 or 5 BC. The books of the Gospel (the first four books of the New Testament) introduce
In the Old Testament, we find the Gospel. We find prophecies later fulfilled by Jesus. Jason DeRouchie said in his article “Introduction: Ten Reasons the Old Testament Matters for Christians” that “to understand the Old Testament fully, we must read it as believers in Jesus.”
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the reader to the promised Messiah, the Son of God, Jesus Christ. But first we must look at the one whom God sent to prepare the way for His Son - John the Baptist.
The Roman Empire Founded in 27 BC.
Childless No More
Established by Octavian, Julius Caesar’s adopted heir.
“And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Debbie McDaniel wrote a wonderful piece on the important role John the Baptist played. The article, “6 Powerful Truths from the Life Jesus said, “Truly, I say to of John the Baptist That you, among those born of Offer Hope for Today,” brings women there has arisen no to light the reasons God had one greater than John the John come before Jesus. Baptist.” John MacArthur, in his book Matthew 11:11 One Perfect Life, refers to John the Baptist as “Christ’s Forerunner,” as the “agent of belief.” Many of us, when celebrating Christmas, overlook or minimize the importance of John the Baptist. But he prepared the way for Jesus and the salvation He would bring to the world…..
Octavian took the title of Augustus. In so doing, he became the first emperor of Rome. He was the ruler at the time Jesus was born. Tiberius assumed power in AD 14 when Augustus died. Tiberius was very unpopular. It was under his reign when John the Baptist “went into all the region around the Jordan proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (see Luke 3:3).
were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” We must remember that God is omniscient. He is all knowing. He knows our needs. He hears our prayers. He loves us. Ironically, the name Zechariah means “Yahweh Has Remembered Again.” As we mention prayer, let us not forget that God answers prayers. But, in this case, if Zechariah knew this, knew about Abraham and Sarah, knew that his time is not God’s time, it seemed immaterial to Zechariah when the angel, Gabriel, approached him in the temple. Gabriel had news to share. But would Zechariah embrace it or scoff at it?
Let’s travel back to around 5 BC. The Roman Empire was dominant geographically. However, in Jerusalem was the Temple of the Lord in which the priest, Zechariah, served. In Luke 1:8-9 we are told that it was his turn to offer incense. It should be noted that he and his wife, Elizabeth, were upright and godly people. They loved God and followed His commandments.
“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.” Not only was this exciting news that Zechariah and Elizabeth were going to have a child, but the importance of this child was even greater news. Gabriel went on to say that “he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.” Oh the importance of this news that Gabriel was sharing from God! However, after hearing this, a big question mark filled Zechariah’s mind and words. (See Luke 1:18) You may think how rude this must have been for Zechariah to do such! Really Zechariah! How could you! This lack of faith from Zechariah brings to mind the Bible verse from Deuteronomy 31:6, which addresses faith in God:
However, they had not been able to have children. They were getting older. They probably had come to the realization that they weren’t going to have any children. I can’t imagine how awful that must have felt. Yet, as you can see, that void in their lives had not kept them from worshiping God. And, while perhaps of little consolation at the time, they were certainly not the first and only couple who had been barren that we have read about in the Bible, i.e. Abraham and Sarah. Maybe both Zechariah and Elizabeth had heard or read of the barrenness of Abraham and Sarah, and that God eventually blessed them with a son, Isaac. Events happen on God’s watch, which is a far cry from anyone’s timeframe. David knew this when he said in Psalm 139:16 “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that
“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” At the time of this verse, God is speaking through Moses regarding His people, the Israelites, who were preparing to enter Canaan. He tells them He will be there, throughout this journey of theirs, throughout all the skirmishes they were going to face. But…this verse is also applicable to Zechariah nearly fourteen hundred years later as it is for us today. Zechariah needed to trust God. He certainly knew about 2
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Abraham and Sarah in the Old Testament who had a child — a son named Isaac — in their advanced years. In Genesis 12:2, God tells Abraham that “I will make of you a great nation.” Later, in Genesis 15, God makes a covenant with The prophet Isaiah prophesied Abraham. In verse 5, several hundred years before God said to Abraham, John the Baptist was born: “Look toward heaven, “The voice of one crying in the and number the stars, if wilderness: “Prepare the way of you are able to number the LORD; make straight in the them. So shall your desert a highway for our God. offspring be.” And Every valley shall be exalted and indeed this became true every mountain and hill brought beginning with Isaac. low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough
However, knowing and places smooth; the glory of the applying don’t always LORD shall be revealed, and all work in tandem. flesh shall see it together; for the Zechariah would indeed mount of the LORD has spoken.” scoff at Gabriel’s news! Isaiah 40:3-5 It didn’t go down well after that! Zechariah’s The one crying in the wilderness is personal distress would John the Baptist. be made greater after he expressed doubt with Gabriel’s announcement. Gabriel, no doubt disappointed in Zechariah’s response, stated “And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe by words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”
was now inside Elizabeth enabling her with supernatural knowledge regarding the child conceived in Mary.
The Birth of John the Baptist It had been, no doubt, a quiet but difficult time for Zechariah and Elizabeth during the months of the pregnancy. Zechariah couldn’t speak, but the excited anticipation of the arrival of a baby was no doubt getting the best of them. When the day arrived, Elizabeth gave birth to a son (see Luke 1:57). And there was much rejoicing by friends and relatives alike.
The Importance of John the Baptist from Zechariah’s prophecy: He would be “called the prophet of the Most High.” When Zechariah says the “Most High” he is referring to Jesus. So John the Baptist was going to be the prophet for Jesus. Matthew Henry points out that the use of prophets had diminished after Malachi. However, John the Baptist would revive the use of prophecy in the New Testament. John the Baptist would “go before the Lord to prepare His ways.” What would this involve? It would require John to tell the people of salvation their salvation. What would this salvation entail? It would be “the forgiveness of sins.” And this was due to the mercy that God has for His people. Our lives may be sad or downcast, but they are not shattered or seen as desperate because we have the forgiveness or pardoning of our sins by God who sent His Son to die on the cross for us - for our sins.
However, when the discussion moved to the name of the baby boy, there apparently was a It’s beautiful how Zechariah refers gasp when to Jesus as the sunrise (see verse Elizabeth said “he 78). He is the light of the world, shall be called bringing such light into the pagan John.” It was darkness. John the Baptist ushers customary for Jews in such light: the light of Jesus Christ, the light we all need in our in those days to lives. name the firstborn son after his father. Zechariah supported his wife, however, writing on a tablet (as he still couldn’t speak) “His name is John.” At that moment, Luke 1:64 tells us that Zechariah’s “tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.” Remember what Gabriel told Zechariah months earlier when he questioned the news that he and Elizabeth were going to have a child:
And sure enough, Zechariah could not speak. Couldn’t utter a word when he came out of the temple! Couldn’t run out and tell others that “God is going to answer our prayers! We’re going to have a child!”
The Relationship Starts Early Did you know that the mother of John, her name being Elizabeth, was a relative to Mary, the future mother of Jesus? In Luke 1:36, Gabriel said to Mary “And behold, your relative Elizabeth….” John would, therefore, be a relative of Jesus. It’s plausible or probable that John and Jesus were second or third cousins. When Elizabeth was six months pregnant, Mary visited her. It was such a wonderful meeting. As Mary first approached Elizabeth, calling out to her, Elizabeth’s baby who was still in the womb “leaped for joy.” Have you ever seen a child excitedly greet another? It’s always wonderful to see the outpouring of love and friendship on display with children. Yet, at the time of Mary and Elizabeth’s encounter, the children (Jesus and John) were still inside their respective mother’s womb.
“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.” Luke 1:20 Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, then offered a hymn of praise to God. We will continue our series on John the Baptist in our next edition of Bible Insights. (Please visit this link for the discussion of Jesus’ birth.)
How could such excitement be shown? How was such excitement then possible? Three words - the Holy Spirit, which had been a part of John since his conception, and
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