Luke chapter 1, I'm going to
bring you a message this morning, Lord willing, entitled, The Making
of God's Prophet. The Making of God's Prophet. And I want to use, as our study,
Luke, St. Luke, Gospel according to Luke,
God's Gospel given to Luke, from verse 5, and we may get down
to verse 12 or verse 13. The making of God's prophet. The Lord promised God's people
before the Messiah would come that he would send a special
man that would come like Elijah came. Son of God, endued with
special power, special credentials. Of course, we're talking about
the forerunner of the Lord Jesus. His name was John. John the Baptist. The last of the Old Testament
prophets sent by God, notice what it says down here in verse
17, "...to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." Boy,
he had a special ministry to prepare a people for the Lord
and to prepare the way for the Messiah. the Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah writes about John, the
voice of one crying in the wilderness. Remember what he cried? All flesh
is grass. The Word of the Lord endures
forever, and behold, you're God. That's our message. That was
John's message we're going to see. In this first chapter of
Luke, and I would encourage you to read it because it is just
absolutely outstanding, 80 verses. Probably take us, well, I don't want to tell you
how long it's going to take us. It's going to take us a long time,
but I'm in no hurry. I'm in no hurry. In this first
chapter of Luke, We see the angel of God, his name is Gabriel,
announcing the coming of the forerunner that was promised. His name was John. He announced
the coming, not only of John, but this angel also announced
the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man mediator.
The same chapter, Luke 1, Verse 30, turn over there. Verse
30, Luke 1, And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for
thou hast found favor with God. Behold, thou shalt conceive in
thy womb, and bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name
Jesus, which means Savior. He shall save his people from
their sins, as it says in Matthew. He shall be great, and shall
be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give unto
him the throne of his father David. He shall reign over the
house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no
end." And Mary said, how can this be? I don't know a man. the Holy Ghost is going to come
upon you, and that which is born of thee and conceived of God
shall be called the Son of God." Boy, this angel had a special
message for a special people at a special time, didn't he?
The Son of God. Now, only in the Gospel of Luke
do we find the details of the announcement made to the parents
of John. Zacharias and Elizabeth about
the birth of John and the unusual circumstances surrounding it. We've studied through Matthew,
Mark, and the book of John, but we don't read about the beginnings
of John the Baptist. For example, in John chapter
1 verse 5, suddenly he appears on the pages of Holy Scripture
and the word that there was a man sent from God and his name was
John. He just kind of leaps out at... This is the one we're talking
about. But we know from reading the gospel record of John that
there's no record of his birth, no record of his parent, just
simply said he was sent of God. Boy, I want to meet a man sent
of God, don't you? If I meet a man sent of God,
boy, I want to sit down and listen to what he had to say. He's got
a message. That's what this angel says here. I'm Gabriel, verse 29, that stand
in the presence of God. I stand in the presence of God.
Wait a minute, I thought you were in the temple. Yeah, I am. But I stand in the presence of
God. See, God's everywhere. I'm sent to speak unto thee and
to show you glad things. Boy, he had a message. He was
sent of God. He was a messenger of God, and
that's what the angels are. Matthew and Mark. mention nothing
of the birth of John the Baptist. They simply say, in those days
came John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness saying, repent
for the kingdom of God is at hand. But nothing is said of
John's birth, nothing is said of his parents or the circumstances
surrounding this, so we have to use all the gospel narrative,
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John to put this whole picture together.
Now as we read earlier from Malachi chapter 3 and chapter 4, and
as I mentioned the book of Malachi closes with a curse. There was
400 years of silence between Malachi and when the Lord Jesus
Christ came. 400 years of silence. 400 years
before there was a prophet sent of God. 400 years there was no
word from God. No prophet sent. No revelation
from God. To the coming of Gabriel here
to announce the Messiah is coming. His forerunner is coming. The
Lord promised a Messiah would come. You remember the whole
Old Testament Scripture? What does it say? To Him give
all the prophets witness. The whole Old Testament and every
prophet in the Old Testament beginning with Moses, they all
say someone's coming. Someone's coming. Now we see
He's here. The Lord Jesus crying, He has
come. The Lord promised a Messiah.
And sure enough, that which God has spoken, he shall fulfill.
Now, that gets us down to verse 5, Luke 1 verse 5, the making
of God's prophet. And there was in the days of
Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the
course of Abiah, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron,
And of course, Zacharias is the son of Aaron, or he would not
be a priest. And her name was Elizabeth. Elizabeth. Elizabeth. Now Herod, also known
as Herod the Great, he was a Roman. He was a foreign king in the
land of Judea. That is, he was not He was not
of a tribe of Judah. He was a Roman king, a puppet
king set up by the emperor of Rome. You remember Judea and
the land of Judea at this time is under Roman occupation. There's
a foreign army that's occupying everything that's going on in
this land. When the reign of the foreign
king took place in the land of Judea, according to the scripture,
it was time for the Messiah to appear. That's right. In Genesis 49 verse 10, when
Jacob was dying, remember Jacob, have I loved? Esau, have I hated? Jacob was blessed with 12 sons,
the 12 tribes of Israel. One of those sons, Judah, When
Jacob was dying, he gave a blessing to each of his sons. They all
speak of the gospel. But Jacob said of Judah, the
kingly tribe, the sephirah shall not depart from Judah, nor the
lawgiver from between his feet until someone comes, until Shiloh
comes. Shadow means the Son of Peace. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
Prince of Peace. He's the King of Priests. Unto
Him shall the gathering of the people be. The scepter had departed
from Judah. The Roman Empire now dominates. A foreign king is on the throne.
Now the Messiah must come. You see how everything happens
in God's universe on time. We were all shocked last night,
weren't we, when the Chief Justice Scalia, dead, 79 years old. He was on a hunting trip. They
went to wake him up. Time to eat breakfast. Gone. Dead. All these things happen on purpose. What's going to happen to our
Supreme Court? It's going this way, it's going that way. The
king's heart and the hand of the Lord and he turns it whether
so ever he will. God will raise up a man and God
will put him on the bench. is to do exactly what God determined
before to be done. That's right. I can rest in that.
God is sovereign over all things, even... I know our government
seems to be out of control, but it's under His control. That's
right. Now look at verse 1 again. There was a certain couple, a
married couple, a priest, Zacharias. and his wife, Elizabeth. We know
Zacharias was the son also of Aaron, the tribe of Levi, for
he wouldn't be a priest. It says here that Elizabeth as
well was the daughter of Aaron. Zacharias and Elizabeth were
a faithful couple. No doubt they'd been married
for 50 years or maybe more. He was a priest serving God in
the temple. His wife was also of the priestly
tribe of Levi, the family of Aaron. Both were elderly. He faithfully served in the temple
to burn incense before the altar of the Lord. She was a barren
woman, never able to bear children, like Hannah in the book of 1
Samuel 1-2. She cried unto the Lord for a
special son. And she said, Lord, if you give
me that special son, I'll give him back to you. And God heard
that prayer and gave Samuel. Samuel was a prophet of God.
Blessed of God, Son of God. Elizabeth was also given this
special son, and it says explicitly here in verse 13, Thou shalt
call his name John. Why John? You know what that
means? It means gracious. Gracious. Turn over here to Luke chapter
7. Luke chapter 7 verse 20. Luke 7 verse 26. You know what the Lord says about
this man? Now remember, John was a fallen sinner, just like
us, born of a sinful woman. Elizabeth was a sinful woman,
that's why she was barren. But our Lord says of John the
Baptist, what went you out to see? A prophet, verse 26, Luke
7. Yea, I say unto you, much more
than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written,
Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare
thy way before thee. I say unto you, among those that
are born of women, there is not a greater prophet than John the
Baptist, but he that is least in the kingdom of heaven, greater
than he. What about that? That's amazing,
isn't it? He was a priest, son of God,
blessed of God. His name means gracious. God
was gracious to him. Now why was this angel, we know
this angel, son of God, this is one of the elect angels, son
of God, why was this angel sent to this particular couple at
this time? Zacharias was not a high priest,
Zacharias was what we call a common priest, son of Aaron. And Lisbeth and Aaron, Lisbeth
and Zacharias were both old, and Lisbeth was a barren woman.
Now why did the Lord select this couple? Why Elizabeth? Why not someone else? Because
it pleased the Lord to do so. It pleased the Lord to do so.
He's hid these things from the wise and prudent and revealed
them unto babe. The Lord God will use whom He
will, when He will, for His own glory. He chooses this old couple,
this old couple, frail, old, wrinkled. that he might be glorified,
that he might get all the glory. Let not the wise man glory in
his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, let not
the rich man glory in his riches, but he that glory, let him glory
in this, that he knows that I am the Lord. I do all things according
to my purpose, according to my own will. We're going to see
over in Luke chapter 2, another old man. His name is Simeon. He's going about and working
in the temple of the Lord, and they bring in an eight-old-day
baby that Mary was given. His name was Jesus. And we're
talking about God Almighty. And Simeon picks him up, and
this old man says, Lord, I'm ready to die. Mine eyes have
seen thy salvation. Mine eyes have seen thy salvation. Now you see, when the Lord wants
to do something special and accomplish His purpose among men, He usually
raises up a nobody to accomplish it. Not a somebody. He usually
raises up and uses a nobody. You know why He uses nobodies? that he might be honored and
he might be glorified. He raises up a nobody. We have
many examples of that through the scriptures. He found a heathen
in a land of idolatry, in the land of famine. His name was
Abraham, Abram at that time, and God called him out. We read
of another man named Noah. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. Where did he find Noah? Among a human race fallen
and sinful. Remember, the Lord used Moses. Moses was blessed of God. God raised up a shepherd boy
named David. Killed the giants. God raised
up a Job in his day. Can anything good come out of
Nazareth, someone said? Come and see. You see, the Lord
Jesus Christ, His humanity was from the house of obscurity,
Joseph and Mary. Oh, but He's God Almighty, isn't
He? The One come of God. You see,
God will have mercy on whom He will. God gave Zacharias and
Elizabeth a special son, a special blessing, because it pleased
Him to do so. God will have mercy on whom He
will. Again, we see the truth of God's electing grace. It's
not of Him that willeth nor of Him that runneth, but it's God
that showeth mercy. The Apostle Paul writes about
His electing love. We are bound to give thanks to
God for you, brethren, because God has from the beginning chosen
you unto salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the
truth, whereunto He called you by our gospel. Now, I thought
about this. No two families so blessed as
that of Aaron and David. Aaron the priest, Moses' brother,
and David. Think about that. From Aaron's
family came the forerunner of the Lord Jesus Christ, John the
Baptist. From David, we read it a moment
ago, from King David, came the Lord Jesus Christ." He's humanity. House of Jesse, tribe of David,
son of David, the greater David I call Him. You see, God will bless whom
He will. Now look carefully at verse 6. Luke 1 verse 6. So here's our introduction to
Zacharias and Elizabeth. And we have a word from God about
them. He said, they were both righteous
before God, walking in the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, and
they were blameless, blameless, blameless, blameless. They were
both righteous before God. They were sinners justified in
Christ. It says here in the text, they
were blameless, It does not say that they had no sin. Their sin was forgiven, but they
were sinners. They were sinners. I know they
were, because they were born of Adam. But did you notice in
verse 20? that Zacharias was given faith,
he believed God, but you know what else he had in his heart?
Because he was a sinful man, born of a sinful woman, with
Adam's depraved nature. You see what else it says in
verse 20 he had? And behold, thou shalt be dumb,
and not be able to speak until the day that these things shall
be performed, because thou believest not. You see, he had faith, but
he did not have perfect faith, did he? Lord, I believe, help
thou my unbelief." They were sinners justified before God,
how God justifies any sinner, justified freely by the Lord's
grace. If you find Luke chapter 2, turn
over there, Luke chapter 2, Luke chapter 2 verse 25. Behold, there
was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, the same man
was just and devout. He was also righteous before
God. How was he righteous before God?
By what he did? No, by whom he believed. He believed God and trusted and
looked to the Lord Jesus Christ for his righteousness before
God. You see, Zachariah and Elizabeth,
like Noah, God said he was righteous. Noah was. Noah found grace in
the eyes of the Lord. But you know what it says of
Noah and all of his race? In Genesis chapter 6, God saw
the wickedness was greater than the earth and that every imagination
of every thought of his heart was only evil continually. That's you and that's me. That's
God's description of humanity. Only evil, only evil continually. Well, that's not me. Well, maybe
you descended from a monkey, but everybody that came from
Adam, the sinner, were sinful through and through. But Noah,
God said Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. God said
Noah was a righteous man. How could he be righteous? By
what he did? Noah planted a vineyard and got
drunk. Noah wasn't righteous by what Noah did. Noah was righteous
and justified only in Christ. He's the Lord our righteousness.
Like Abel. It says of Abel, Abel obtained
witness that he was righteous before God. You remember he brought
the blood sacrifice rather than what Cain brought. God said he
was righteous before God. And then in Romans chapter 4
it says of Abraham, remember I told you where God found Abraham?
In the land of idolatry, in the house of idolatry. But God says
of Abraham, he was righteous. For what saith the scripture?
Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness.
Now I must, you see God is holy. I'm a sinner, right? How can
this sinner stand before a holy God? be as holy as God, to stand
before Him. How can that be? Well, I hope
I can answer that question. In 2 Peter 2.8, like Lot, the
Lord said he was a righteous man. How was he righteous? By
what he did? Well, no, he was righteous in
Christ. The Lord said of Job, this is
the Lord speaking to the fallen angel, Satan hath thou considered
my servant Job, there done like him in the earth, a perfect man,
upright, one that feareth God, and one that hates evil." Now
how could these men, Zechariah and Elizabeth, Noah, Abraham,
Lot, Job, how can they be righteous? They're sinners, right? They're
sinners. Very important, vital question. How is a sinner made
righteous in the sight of God? How is a sinner justified before
God? How are you made righteous before
God? How can any man be made righteous
before God? Most people automatically think
when they hear that question. How can I be righteous before
God? They immediately go to this. Now, this is what we think naturally.
Well, you know, I've got to clean myself up. I mean, I got to be
just a little bit better. I got to do the best I can, and
surely that will get me through. I mean, I might get by by the
skin of my teeth, but, boy, I'm going to get by if I'm lucky.
I use that word on purpose. That's what most folks think.
If I'm lucky, I'll get by. How? Am I asking the question
here? How is a senator made righteous? I know this. It's not by what
we do. Can't be. Can't be by what you
do. Because the best you do is sinful. The best sermon I've ever preached
is full of sin because it comes out of my sinful mouth. Everything
I think, do, touch, and say is permeated with what I am. You
see, what I am is my problem. I'm a sinner. born in sin, shaped
in iniquity. I can't produce righteousness.
Matter of fact, the Lord says this, man in his best state is
altogether vanity. My righteousness, so-called,
self-righteousness, my righteousness before God, are as filthy rags
in his sight. So how can this sinner be like
Elizabeth And Zacharias, God said they were both righteous
before God. I want to know the answer to
that question. Don't you? I want to know how this sinner
can be made righteous before God. I know this. We have no
righteousness of our own. Turn to Romans 3. Romans 3. We are not made righteous by
the deeds of the law. Romans chapter 3. Verse 9 says,
we have proved before, both Jew and Gentile, that they are all
under sin. Romans 3, 10. As it is written,
there is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth.
There is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of
the way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none that
doeth good, no, not one. Your throat is an open grave. Your tongue is full of deceit. full of poison, whose mouth is
full of cursing and bitterness. This is what we are by nature
in Adam. Feet, swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery
are in their way. The way of peace they don't know.
There's no fear of God. You see, this is God describing
what we are by nature. We're not righteous, we're unrighteous.
Now we know that what things whoever the law saith, Romans
3, 19, it saith to them that are under the law that every
mouth may be stopped, And all the world become guilty before
God. Therefore, by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh
be justified in his sight. For by the law is the knowledge
of sin. Oh, but now, but now, the righteousness of God. This is a righteousness that
comes from God, that's of God, that's revealed in the gospel
of Christ, without the law. is manifest being witnessed by
the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, which
is by the faith of..." Now, watch this now. "...which is even the
righteousness of God, which is by the faith..." It doesn't say
faith in Jesus Christ, does it? You see, my faith is not my righteousness. Christ is my righteousness. Even
the righteousness of God, which is by the faith of Jesus Christ,
unto all, upon all them that believe, there is no difference.
For all have sinned that come short of the glory of God, being
justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is
in the Lord Jesus Christ, whom God set forth to be the propitiation
through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for
the remission of sin that are passed through the forbearance
of God, to declare, I say at this time, His righteousness,
that He might be the just and the justifier. He justifies us
freely by His grace. Now, look down to Romans chapter
4. I quoted this verse a minute ago, Romans 4 verse 3, for what
saith the Scripture, Abraham believed God, And it was counted
to him for righteousness. Read on. Now to him that worketh
is reward, not record of grace, but of debt. But to him that
worketh not, but believeth on him that justifies the ungodly,
his faith is counted. Now, faith is not our righteousness. The faith of God's elect looks
to Christ, who is the Lord, our righteousness. Even as David
also described the blessedness of the man to whom God would
impute righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they
whose iniquities are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom God
imputeth righteousness without works. That's how God justifies
the ungodly in Christ. Look at Romans 5. I'm trying
to answer the question, how does God make a sinner righteous before
Him? Romans 5, verse 19, For as by
one man's disobedience many were made sinners, that's representation,
federal headship. For if by one man's disobedience
many were made sinners, that's Adam's fall, Adam's sin, Adam's
ruin. Moreover, so by the obedience
of one shall many be made righteous." Righteous, now who's this? It's
Christ. He's the Lord our righteousness. By one man's disobedience, made
sinners. By another man's obedience, we're
made righteous. You see, God made him to be sin
for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. You see, we're only made righteous
in Christ. And Zacharias had the same righteousness
that we enjoy, Christ. He has made unto us wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. And we stand righteous in God's
sight because of this. 2 Corinthians 5.21, turn there. For He made Him to be sin for
us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God, the righteousness of God in Christ. You see, Christ is
the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. Now, Philippians chapter 3. I'm
vitally interested in this, and I trust the Lord will give you
an interest in these things as well. In Philippians chapter
3, God said they were righteous before God. Zacharias and Elizabeth
were righteous before God, walking in all the commandments of the
Lord and ordinances of the Lord, and they were blameless. How
were they made righteous? The same way Senators are justified
today. Philippians chapter 3. But what
things were gained to me, those I counted lost for Christ. Yea,
doubtless I count all things lost for the excellency of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I suffered the
loss of all things. And count them but dumb that
I may win Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness
which is of the law. That's what Paul the Pharisee,
Saul the Pharisee thought he had. But that which is through
the faith... Now watch it again. You see it
again right there? Of Christ. You see that? Of Christ. The righteousness which is of
God by faith. It's the righteousness, obedience
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Knowing that a man is not justified
by the works of the law, but by the faith of Christ. Even
we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by
the faith of Christ. He is the Lord, our righteousness,
who justifies us before God. Now turn back to Luke chapter
1. Luke chapter 1. They were both
righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances
of the Lord, and they were blameless. Blameless. They were walking. as the tenor of their life in
obedience to God's Word. We also see the obedience of
faith, the just shall live by faith. Their lives demonstrated
that they believed God. They walked before God obeying
the Word of the Lord. Now they weren't righteous because
they obeyed the commandments of the Lord, They were walking
in obedience to the Lord because they were made righteous before
the Lord in Christ. The faith of God's elect is active
faith. It's not just hearing of the
Word, it's acting upon the Word, believing the Word. We are His
workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works. Be ye doers of the Word, not
hearers only. Now watch this. I want to give
you this. And I'll let you go. And it says in Luke 1 verse 7,
They had no child, because Elizabeth was barren. They were both now
well stricken in years. God said they were righteous.
Before men they were blameless. They were righteous in God's
sight. Elizabeth, Zacharias, you reckon I started to write
down, I started to say, here's what I wrote down, Elizabeth
and Zacharias never had any trials or trouble, did they? What does
that say right there? She was barren. I misread that
on purpose. They had many trials. One particular
is mentioned here, she was barren, and in that day it meant To a
lot of people, it meant that you were not highly favored of
God. But think of this for a minute.
I thought about this. You think about this. They were
given that special son. The messenger from God was sent
from the throne of God to tell them about this special son.
And here comes John, special son. Elizabeth, you ladies know,
you can feel that child move, move in there. It says here that
this child was filled with the Holy Ghost even from the womb.
And here comes John. There are some years of silence
in his life, his early life. When he was 30 years old, he
went forth preaching the Gospel. That's what the priests did in
that day. They began their public ministry when they were 30 years
old. The Lord Jesus Christ began his public ministry when he was
30 years old. John's ministry was very short. Maybe less than six months. Maybe
it was just a few months. You know what Elizabeth and Zacharias
endured? Their special son God gave them?
Now you think about, we have heartache and trouble, and we
do. But did you ever consider this? Here's this special son
given of God. He's arrested. He's put in prison,
and he's killed. His head's taken off. I don't
know what you think about that kind of trial. You mean believers
have trials? Yes, they do. And they're sin
of God. And you know what they're called?
They're called precious trials. And you think about what Zacharias
and Elizabeth went through. They went to the prison that
day after John was executed, and they picked up his headless
body. and put it in something, a box, and took it home and buried
it. I don't know about that kind
of grief. But I know this. You know what? God gave him grace
to endure it. I know he did. He said, my grace
is sufficient. He said, my grace is sufficient.
And really, in the light of eternity, these afflictions that we have
in this life, they are Light afflictions. You see, the point
I'm trying to make is this. Believers have heartache and
trials like everyone else. Being made righteous in Christ
and being a believer in Christ does not exempt us from trial,
heartache, and sorrow. Does it? No, sir. But I tell you, the blessedness
we have in Christ, He gives us grace to endure. He gives up
grace to help in time of need. We've buried some folks here.
Some folks here have been sick. We've watched them die. Yeah,
we grieve, but we rejoice too. Those who were believers are
with the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, these trials are sent
from the loving hand of God for our good. Those whom He loves,
He chastens so carefully, so wisely. But not only that, The
Lord gave Elizabeth and Zacharias grace in their old age. Is that
a blessing? Oh, they were righteous before
God. They were blessed of God. They were both diligent and zealous
of God's glory. But they had heartache in trial
too. But God gives grace in the time of heartache, in the time
of trial.