His Name Is John

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on the fourth Sunday in Advent, the 18th of December, 2022, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.]

Today is the fourth and final Sunday in Advent, when joy fills our hearts as we await the birth of our Savior.  For we believers, it is indeed a time of great joy, and rejoicing, for we know what Jesus brings to the world.  Yet it is important that we remember to not only look back at His birth, but also to look ahead to His return.  After all, much more of our bible, from both Old and New Testaments, concerns the return of our Lord than His birth as a mortal man.

You would have needed to be out in the fields with the sheep to have heard the announcement and the angelic chorus welcoming Jesus into the world.  Very few actually witnessed the Christ child at His birth, just a few shepherds and wise men along with some farm animals, plus Mary and Joseph, of course.  Hardly anyone knew much about Him for 30 years.

When He returns, everyone will know, everyone will see; there will be no mistake of what is happening.  The entire world will know the King of kings and Lord of lords has come to set things right.

For now, though, we’re still looking at the time leading up to the birth of Jesus.  Last week we watched as the angel Gabriel announced to the young virgin Mary that she had been favored by God to give birth to His Son.  We joined Mary as she visited her relative Elizabeth and heard her sing the beautiful Magnificat.

Today we continue the Christmas story with the birth of John to Zacharias and Elizabeth and the prophecy Zacharias made once his speech was restored at his son’s birth.  As we proceed onward, remember that, with God, nothing is impossible.

Please listen and follow along to the continuation of our Christmas story as presented by the Apostle Luke in the 1st chapter of his Gospel account, verses 57 through 80, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

57 Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. 58 When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her.

59 So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. 60 His mother answered and said, “No; he shall be called John.”

61 But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” 62 So they made signs to his father — what he would have him called.

63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all marveled. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. 65 Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. 66 And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him.

67 Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

68 “Blessed is 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,

Who have been since the world began,

71 That we should be saved from our enemies

And from the hand of all who hate us,

72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers

And to remember His holy covenant,

73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:

74 To grant us that we,

Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,

Might serve Him without fear,

75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;

For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,

77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people

By the remission of their sins,

78 Through the tender mercy of our God,

With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;

79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,

To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

80 So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

--Luke 1:57-80 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for all the signs You gave the world announcing the coming of Your Messiah.  You gave a son to Zacharias and Elizabeth who would prepare the way for Jesus to begin His Ministry.  Thank You, Father, for sending Your Son to redeem us of our sin and offer us salvation.  Forgive us, please Father, when we lose sight of the real meaning of this holiday season.  Please help us keep our focus on what truly matters in this life.  Help us serve You and Jesus in all we do.  And Father, please protect us from Satan and from those who are so willing to carry out his evil works.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Help us understand that all the things prophesied about John can apply to us as well.  Help us shine the light that is Jesus into this dark world, preparing the way for His return.  This we pray in the wonderful name of Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

I may have used this before, but it bears repeating.  As a third-century man was anticipating death, he penned these last words to a friend:  “It's a bad world, an incredibly bad world.  But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret.  They have found a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of our sinful life.  They are despised and persecuted, but they care not.  They are masters of their souls.  They have overcome the world.  These people are the Christians -- and I am one of them.”

To me, this little story speaks volumes about true Christianity.  When we fully believe in all our bible tells us, in all that Jesus promised, we cannot help but be joyful in knowing what is in store for us.  Anything this world offers - any joys, any pleasures – it is all just temporary, fleeting, here one minute and gone the next.  But what Jesus offers is eternal.  So when we find ourselves being despised or persecuted, we can take quiet joy in knowing that our future is secure.

So now in our Christmas story we are witnesses to the birth of John, who will grow to become the man we know as John the Baptist.  John is born to an older couple, Zacharias and Elizabeth.  Up to this point, Zacharias has been unable to speak because he doubted the word of the angel Gabriel due to his age and Elizabeth’s infertility.

One other thing Gabriel told Zacharias was that the child would be named John.  When the women attending the birth asked Elizabeth if the child would be named Zacharias after his father, she replied, “No; he shall be called John.”  The women thought she must have been mistaken for there was no one in either family named John, so they asked Zacharias, just to be sure.  Since he couldn’t speak, he motioned for a writing tablet, on which he clearly wrote, “His name is John.”  And suddenly, he was able to speak again.  Just as Gabriel had said, Zacharias was able to speak again and the child was named John.

Now let’s pause for just a moment to recall what we learned last week in our examination of this full Christmas story.  When Mary was conceived of the Holy Spirit, she went to visit her relative Elizabeth.  At that time, Elizabeth was in the sixth month of her pregnancy with John, and we are told that Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months.  So it is possible that Mary was among the women attending to Elizabeth at the birth of John.  Isn’t that neat to think about?

At any rate, getting back to today’s part of the story, I think we can only imagine the joy that Zacharias and Elizabeth felt at the birth of their son John.  Originally, they didn’t believe they would ever have children.  But then God made it happen for them.  And not only did they have a child, but one who was destined for great things, one who would serve God in His great plan.

Zacharias, filled with the Holy Spirit, expressed his joy in his prophecy, speaking for God about his newborn son and the man he would become.  This is the kind of joy we should feel, not just at Christmas time, but every day we draw breath.  This is the joy that comes from knowing our Lord, the joy of being loved by our Lord.

Listen as Jesus assures us in His own words, as recorded by the Apostle John in the 15th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 9 through 11…

9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”

--John 15:9-11 (NKJV)

Just as God the Father loves Jesus, Jesus loves us.  And He tells us this so that our joy may be full!  Jesus wants us to be joyful, to be filled with joy!  We abide in His love by keeping His commandments to love one another, to spread the Gospel message, and to bring more souls to Him as followers, as disciples.  We can face anything tomorrow brings because of our joy, because of His love.

Prophecy was fulfilled with the birth of a child and giving to him the name John.  Prophecy was fulfilled with the birth of a divine Child and giving to Him the name Jesus.  John fulfilled his prophecy by preparing the way for Jesus to come, by giving to the people the knowledge of salvation that Jesus offers.

John promised that Jesus would bring light to all those who sit in darkness and sin, who would guide our feet into the way of peace.  And Jesus does that and more for those who believe and accept Him as Lord.  He shines the light of truth, lighting our path through this life and into the next.  He redeems us of our sin so that when we stand before God, He will see us as washed clean and righteous, our sins forgiven and forgotten.  And He gives us peace, peace and joy in the knowledge of our salvation.

May that peace and joy be yours this Christmas time and on into the New Year.  And may you have great joy in Jesus.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, You are great and glorious and we owe You all thanks and praise!  In Your tender mercy, You sent Your Son to us to offer us salvation.  And You sent one before Him to prepare the way.  Thank You, Father, for having such mercy and love for us poor sinners.  Thank You for sending Your Light to show us the path to righteousness while we stumbled in the darkness of our sins.  Forgive us, please Father, when we take so much of what You have blessed us with for granted.  We get too wrapped up in what the world has made of this “holiday” and lose sight of the greatest gift ever given.  Forgive us when we let the sorrows of the world overwhelm us, when we are distracted from our mission of helping the lost.  Please help us be more attentive to the needs of others and our service to You.  And Father, please help us remain strong, faithful, and true through all that we face in this age.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You have done all that was promised and we know You will fulfill all You promised us.  Thank You, Jesus, for coming to redeem our sin and offer us eternal life in heaven.  Lord, Your relative John was chosen by God to prepare the way for You as You began Your ministry.  He was to prepare the people for Your coming by baptizing them and telling them to repent of their sinful ways.  And this is the mission You have given us, to prepare the people for Your return.  Thank You, Jesus, for entrusting us with so great a responsibility: to help save the lost from eternal damnation.  Thank You for loving us.  Please help us remember that to abide in Your love, we will follow You and do as You command, carrying out our task of bringing others to You as Your disciples.  Help us show non-believers what this holiday season really means to us and to them.  And Jesus, please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us remain trusting and obedient no matter what we go through.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.