part 1 of “Uncomplicated Christmas”
The Christmas season can be very complicated. There is shopping, cooking, and baking. There is putting up the tree, decorating the tree, putting up lights, and all the other decorations. Then wrapping the presents and that can be very complicated- especially if you are me. Then there are family gatherings and people coming to visit. It’s very busy and complicated.
The first Christmas was complicated as well. A lot was going on during that first Christmas season. Over the next few weeks, we are going to dive into this first Christmas and look at some of the complicated moments. I also believe that we will discover some things that we can learn as well. Let jump right in.
We are going, to begin with, two people, and their story has a similar moment as another story in the Bible. This similar moment I had not caught before and it opens up a new thought about what was going on in this story. We are going to be looking at Zechariah and Elizabeth and their story starts like this......
“Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations. They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old.” - Luke 1:6-7 NLT
.....complicated. This is a heartbreaking thought. I know that there are couples that really want to have children, but they are unable to because of this reason. They are just unable to conceive and carry a child and when you desperately want to have a child, this complicates the relationship and causes tension. I know people that have had this same kind of trouble. This kind of scenario is depicted in movies and tv shows. Some people face this very real and complicated situation. But God had a plan for Zechariah and Elizabeth.
Zechariah was visited by Gabriel, an angel of the Lord, who told him that he would have a son, that his son would be great in eyes of the Lord, many people will rejoice at his birth, he will bring you much joy, he will turn many people to God, and you are to call him John. But Zechariah had his doubts. He asked Gabriel how he could be sure that this would really happen. [1] Gabriel responded with these words:
“I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.” - Luke 1:19-20 NLT
What I see in this scene from Luke 1, is that doubt can complicate things. Zechariah doubted what Gabriel had said to him and he would have taken that doubt back to his wife and complicated that whole thing. He would have gone back to Elizabeth and told her that “an angel of God told him we were going to have a son! Can you believe that? After all these years! Yeah right!” But the Gabriel knew this and muted him so he could not sow his seeds of doubt. This reminds me of another couple that doubted God about having a son.
In the book of Genesis, we see the very same setup. Abraham and Sarah are without children and unable to have any. They are also very old. But God had also made a promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations and have many descendants (Genesis 15). So this situation was even more complicated than Zechariah and Elizabeth’s situation. Abraham could not have descendants if he could not have children. So Abraham decides to help God out and having a son with Hagar - Sarah’s servant (Genesis 16). This makes things more complicated because Sarah hated Hagar after that, treated her poorly, and Hagar ran away. Hagar did have a son and she named him Ishmael. But this was not the son God wanted to pass the blessing through. So God once again told Abraham that he and Sarah would have a son named Isaac and it would be through Isaac he would confirm His everlasting covenant. But Abraham laughed at God (Genesis 17).
Abraham probably then did what Zechariah would have done had he not been muted. Abraham probably went back to Sarah and told her all that God had said and they both had a good laugh. But God came through for them. He gave them a son and they named him Isaac. (Side note here - Isaac means laughter.)
These two stories in the Bible present the topic of doubt. Both of the couples in the stories doubted what God can do. But I believe that the lesson that God has for us in these two stories is that doubting Him can make things a lot more complicated. Abraham and Sarah devised a plan to help God out and it just made things way more complicated. I bet that if Zechariah could have talked it is possible that he would have tried to help God out as well. I wonder if that is why Gabriel muted him because God knew what Zechariah was going to do.
But God came through for Zechariah and Elizabeth. They had a son and everyone wanted to know what his name was going to be. Some people wanted to name him Zechariah, but Elizabeth insisted that his name was going to be John. They all then asked Zechariah what he thought his son’s name should be. He wrote on a tablet the words – “his name is John.” Zechariah could then speak again. [2]
Doubt is a big thing. Doubt can make us complicate the simplest things because we try and help the circumstance go the way we feel it should. But also when we doubt - in some circumstances - we are just like 4 people in these stories. We are trying to help God out.
But throughout the pages Bible and just throughout time - God has never needed any help. God can do anything. God can help anyone. God is there and in control. We don’t need to doubt God during tough times. He has already been through our tough times. He has already been where we are going. We need to trust in God’s goodness and believe that “the word of God will never fail” and that “nothing is impossible with God. (Luke 1:37, NKJV, NLT)
----------------
[1] “While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God.
Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.” Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.” - Luke 1:11-16, 18-20 NLT
[2] The Birth of John the Baptist
When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.
On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”
They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”
Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.
Comments