Comment: Today I quoted in full a passage from Luke’s gospel which I wrote about on the 19th, talking about the birth of John (the Baptist) and yesterday I talked about his Ministry. Every Jewish boy was circumcised by Jewish religious law on the eighth day, usually at a ceremony in the parents’ home. Neighbours and possibly a priest were present. You will remember at John’s naming Zechariah regained his speech! There were no phones or telegrams or IT in those days. But there was little of this in Ethiopia when I first went there as a young surgeon 67 years ago. But the ‘gossip’ system worked very well in rural Ethiopia and I wouldn’t mind betting that it did in the local area where John was born! Zechariah’s prophecy was talked about over many ‘back fences’! And his speech or prophecy had in it several of the ways and times that the ‘Jewish Gazeta’ (the Old Testament) had announced Jesus’ coming often and in dramatic ways! Lets look at the few, of what are the very many, which Zechariah referred to. Some people count over 550 such OT references , but the minimum which scholars agree on is over 300!
67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
68 “Blessed be 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 from of old,
71 that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
Comment: Of the three underlined, highlighted phrases, obviously the last was a very up-to-date announcement. John had been born 8 days earlier and circumcised just before or even as his father spoke. The gospels speak about the fulfillment of these prophetic words! Although in the scriptures there are passages before Abraham (he was talked about in Genesis chapter 11 and he was often mentioned until he died in ch 25) there are strong suggestive passages referring to the coming of someone very special. Abraham is often spoken about in the books of both Testaments and the highlighted promised event was again and again the coming Messiah! The middle underlined passage include prophetic writings in the legal, the historical, the poetic writings and the prophetic sections of the Old Testament. So it is not true to say that Jesus came in a hidden way. He did come in a very silent way, except if you call an Angelic Choir or a star leading important men hundreds of kilometres to worship at His feet a bit spectacular! It also took a governmental decree to get his mother to the right place to deliver the Babe in the correct prophesied town! Thus, not unannounced, but nevertheless incognito!
Psalm 2: 7 – I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD:He said to Me, ‘Thou art My Son,Today I have begotten Thee.’
Prayer: There is much news every day that people don’t hear or ignore. Please let the coming of Jesus be heard and understood this Christmas season!
As I read it! 