Skipping Through Time [part two] ...

For Jesus, time does not exist like it does for us.  We see time as a line, moving along it from our starting point to our ending point, each second in between keeps clicking by, one after another until the time of our lives reaches its end.  But for the Creator of time, all of it happens at once.  There is no concept of a beginning because no beginning could ever be identified.  The human start of Jesus at His birth from Mary can be tracked.  But His beginning as the Son of God has no starting point, it just always was.  So if you swing your perspective to look forwards (for us) and examine the future, the same phenomenon is true, there is no end.  Infinite time forwards or backwards, and the ability to see any second of it from a first person perspective all at once, makes Jesus God, and mankind not god.  So when we pose a question to Jesus about the future, to understand His answer we may want to consider a few things.  He sees time differently.  He knows what is important.  He loves us and is ever consumed with saving us.  And as for any preconceived notions we have about what He might say, we should just go ahead and throw our own ideas right into the trash bucket where they belong.

The disciples of Jesus asked Him when the Temple might be destroyed, and what signs they may witness when that event is about to come to pass.  They were looking at a single event just foretold in the previous texts by Jesus in the history of our world.  But that event was not germane to the salvation of any of them.  Men are not saved because a Temple stands or falls.  But pride in our accomplishments, even our spiritual ones, has killed more than a few [see Lucifer].  What they needed was more time, in order to get to know Jesus better.  That time leading to strengthening of trust through our humility, which ultimately results in salvation brought about by God, now “that” was important.  But these folks asked a question because they were sad to think that their precious Temple would one day be so destroyed not even a single stone would last on another.  Jesus would answer from an entirely different perspective.

Luke picks up again in verse 20 saying … “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. [verse 21] Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.”  Jesus warns His followers to flee from advancing Roman armies.  This is NOT a fight they will win, if they stay, they will die.  There is to be no miraculous salvation save for listening to the prophetic warning being offered right here and right now.  Jesus extends His warning beyond just the city of Jerusalem to the entire region.  Get out.  Flee.  Go to other countries and do not fall in with the other Jewish folks who refuse to yield to Roman authority and are about to die for making rebellion.  No seas are to be parted.  No invading armies to wake up dead like in the Old Testament days.  Salvation, is to be found in submission, not rebellion.  Whether it is your earthly life you wish to preserve, or your next one, it is to begin with submission.

That is NOT a message a modern American Christian wants to hear.  To submit ourselves to authorities that make our lives harder is no easy feat.  We are a nation founded on freedoms and the throwing off of authority in which we have little say.  But the very words of Jesus Himself here do not specify a strategy of making rebellion, but rather running and forsaking all, finding a way to live in submission to a pagan authority no less.  Our God does not need us to defend Him at the point of a sword.  But Jesus does not say to submit our belief, only our actions in governmental matters.  This was not a war of rebellion about being forced to worship another god, if and when it ever came to that, it was the very life of the believer that was to be submitted rather than acknowledge anything but the one True God and His only Son Jesus Christ.  But serving in humility can also form an example of love offered, that converts the world from what it is, to what it could be.  No other course does that.  The unconverted rarely listen to hate or rebels bent on their destruction.  But they do listen to simple, humble, love offered without condition, as that example becomes some kind of lure and example they just cannot escape.

Jesus continues in verse 22 saying … “For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. [verse 23] But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. [verse 24] And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”  This prophecy is further described here by Jesus.  When it comes it will come swiftly.  It will be harder if it falls in the winter.  Other versions say harder if it falls on Sabbath.  Luke continues it will be harder for nursing mothers in those days.  Those of them running have a hard time.  But those of them who refuse to run will wind up being trapped in Jerusalem under siege so long they will consider, and then eat, those very small children in order to stay alive.  Nothing paints a more horrific picture than a nursing mother willing to eat her very own children to try to stave off hunger that is killing them both.  No manna will fall.  No miracles will be offered.  With rejection comes a price for our choices.  This is one of them.  We will pay it too, if we make the same choice.  This prophecy itself was meant to be a warning to help us make better choices, put off our rebellion, and find salvation in Jesus.

Jerusalem will be effectively destroyed.  Judea will as well.  This will begin the time of the gentiles and it will not end until that time is fulfilled.  Some have argued that the time of the gentiles ended after WW2 when the nation state of Israel was created as a defense against future holocausts.  But that tiny nation has never known peace, ever wonder why?  And this version of Jerusalem that exists today after it has been rebuilt is not the New Jerusalem.  It is merely another temporary version.  The New Jerusalem is being built by Jesus and will descend from heaven to earth at God the Father’s appointed time.  Only then will there be something permanent on planet earth, for it will remain there after the fires of hell are consumed, after death is a memory, and after the earth itself is made new once again.  And Jesus will be that city’s King of Kings forever more.  And the residents of that city will not just be Jewish by bloodline, but will include perhaps a far greater number of those same gentiles that came to know and believe in Jesus Christ.  I would argue until this final situation occurs, the time of vengeance and gentiles will never disappear.  After all, to this day, the most fundamental distinction between the Jewish faith, and the Christian one, is whether or not you believe in Jesus Christ as the Messiah of the world.  Modern Jews still reject this idea, modern Christians are built upon it.  So while the nation of Israel may still contain a good number of Christian citizens in it, it is still defined by its rejection of Jesus Christ as in any way divine.

And while the disciples did not ask Jesus anything about a second coming, keeping in mind, they had no reference point for such a question, as they believed the Messiah would never leave them.  Jesus skipped the needle down through time and saw the same question would need an answer for those whose only hope became fixated on when He would return again.  Believers like you and me who would be reading the Gospel of Luke centuries later.  We may not want to know exactly when Jesus would return.  But we would still want our faith affirmed by knowing Jesus is indeed coming back.  Offering signs of such an event, would affirm our faith.  It would help the disciples as well, even though when they asked this question, they could not understand how Jesus chose to answer it.  Jesus continues looking through the ages and begins to outline signs that would precede His second coming, the one event more meaningful to believers than any other that would ever occur. 

Jesus picks back up in verse 25 saying … “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;”  Signs in the sun and the moon and the stars.  Thinking about these, every eye on planet earth could see them as the vastness of the sky offers a canvass none could ignore.  Historically all of these could be attributed to the mid 1800’s when various events occurred that focused the minds of believers on each category of these items.  But since that was nearly 200 years ago, modern believers may yet look for them again.  Few of us are content to believe all the signs of a soon coming of Jesus were completed before we were even born.  But perhaps that says more about our impatience than it does about truth.  Next comes distress of nations with perplexity or worry.  There has been 2 great world wars since the 1800’s ended, does there need to be more of these before we come to believe this part of the signage has been fulfilled.  The sea and waves roaring.  Tsunami’s we can track all over the world today due to far greater action in tectonic plates than we know about in generations past.  A mountain of trash so great in the ocean it resembles the size of a continent just floating out there polluting and leaving destruction in its wake.  It would be hard to argue that any of these signs still remain, even though it is possible.

Jesus continues in verse 26 saying … “Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.”  Men’s hearts failing them for fear as they consider what is coming on the earth as the powers of heaven are shaken.  Global climate change anyone? Anyone?  The level of destruction we have experienced so far is a small fraction of what will come if we do not change fast enough.  And most scientists say we have already passed the tipping point.  Rich and poor alike are destined to suffer a similar fate.  Entire regions we have lived in before may fast become completely uninhabitable.  Millions may die either by catastrophe or starvation.  While there is still a glimmer of hope today.  Many believers falsely believe God would never let this kind of worldwide destruction occur.  When here is Jesus right hear stating it in prophecy and we choose to look away.  We are not meant to ignore the plight of our world, or to indulge our every pleasure at the growing cost to our world.  And if we do nothing, be assured the fate of a destroyed Temple in Jerusalem with mothers eating babies from starvation may also be one we too have yet to experience.  For it is our arrogance that kills us the quickest.  And our humble submission that could see us live.

Jesus concludes these events in verse 27 saying … “And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”  It is only after all of these things that we will ALL see Jesus, the Son of Man coming in the clouds with power and great glory.  One could argue all the signs have already occurred, if that is true the only one left is the physical return of Jesus in the clouds to carry us home.  So why do we live as if that is a mere fairy tale, ignoring how we live, ignoring any impact on who we are.  We deny the power of Jesus to change our lives because we have lost faith that He will.  We have tried so long to make ourselves into “good” people we have lost sight of submitting to Jesus to allow Him to change who we are, how we think, and how we love.  The second coming of Jesus represents an end to all struggle on earth.  Those who have been made holy will rejoice in that event.  Those who remain evil, will remain evil still, and have only fear and horror at it.

Jesus offers an epilogue to all of this in verse 28 saying … “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”  Lift up your heads, your redemption draws near.  This verse has become lyrics in some of the music we sing.  But I think we somewhat miss the point.  We are not to be waiting for actual second coming of Jesus to look up.  We were meant to lift our heads as we see the signs of His coming unfold, and as we live in the time just before His great return.  We do not need to wait to find redemption.  It is here for us now.  We are meant to find our redemption now, ahead of the second coming.  We are meant to witness a change in how we live now, how we think, and how we love.  All of these changes in the here and now.  And we the modern Christian church of our day could be experiencing all of this now.  If we simply humble ourselves and submit to Jesus.  Lose the pride we carry in what we have built, or what we think we have accomplished.  Tear all of that down, by submitting it all to Jesus.  And find what He builds within us as all that matters at all.

Jesus sees this interim time we live in as very brief.  For Him that time we live in is “soon” next to His pending return.  Obviously He thinks about time differently than we do.  But for you, any number of unexpected endings to your life, could make your timeline much sooner than you thought.  Yet, none of these warnings were meant to inspire fear in us.  They were meant to take the fear from us, and through submission in Jesus, learn to live like we were really meant to live.  One second of that is worth 10 years of the old way.  And seconds turn into minutes that turns into weeks, months, and even years.  Imagine living like Jesus has in mind for you for years, even here in this world.  Now if you can, skip the needle of time in your mind down through the millenia to come in the city of New Jerusalem that Jesus built.  For there you will be the new creation He intended.  But beyond being physically different, you will be living the way Jesus enables you to live.  So why wait one second longer than needed?  Why not start right here, right now, and from now till then, and then beyond to a time with no end.

 

Skipping Through Time [part one] ...

What if your mind became untethered by time?  What if you could see not only what is happening now in front of you, but what happens tomorrow, in a year, in 100 years.  What if this worked not only forwards but backwards as well.  Imagine the mind of Jesus for just a moment.  Jesus is human, that is, one of us born of Mary.  But Jesus is also God, that is, the only begotten of The Father.  So Jesus knows what is happening now as it happens, but He also knows what happened with Moses, or David, or Abraham because He experienced their lives with them so long ago.  And what is more Jesus can see what happens in the near future, the distant future, and through the eons of time we have yet to experience.  For us humans this is hard to imagine.  We have a distinct perspective anchored by our present lives in this time and in this place.  Time is our tether.  And to imagine time passing or rather existing in a different way is difficult for us to imagine.  Though lately I have begun to understand this idea of time much better through visions I have been experiencing.

But when people refer to Jesus as a prophet, this is a radical understatement.  Prophets typically have a very constricted view of events coming in a future they do not fully understand.  Jesus has the full view of everything, in every time, across every locality.  He does not just see the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem by the Romans coming in just a few decades.  He also sees the destruction of the Vatican in Rome, by the upheaval of His second coming leaving all that art, and all those treasures left with not one stone upon another.  Christians, particularly Catholics, do not enjoy thinking this way.  We treat the Vatican, with all that beauty and art, as if it were meant to stand forever.  But it is not.  It is only a very ornate building destined to be just as destroyed as the very city of Rome itself at the end of all things.  No difference between the Vatican and the local power plant in Rome except perhaps the perceived value of the pieces left in the pile.  The second coming of Jesus will inevitably result in all that destruction, even of Christian sites we cannot imagine that happening to.  But alas destruction is surely coming.  Your heart on the other hand, the heart of a true worshipper of our God, is never meant to be destroyed, only shattered and then rebuilt and made new by Jesus.

When Luke then describes the foretelling of the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem, perhaps it would be good for us modern Christians to imagine Jesus was talking about the destruction of our Temples, of all of them, at the end of all things if not before.  Perhaps only then we can equate the feelings of the people back then for their venerable institutions as we might have for our own.  Perhaps only then it would be as hard for us to understand how hard those words were to hear, then and now.  Luke picks up in chapter 21 of his gospel letter to his friend about what we believe and why starting in verse 5 saying … “And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said,”  It begins for those folks the same way it begins in your heart, in my heart, with a pride in what we have built to honor God.  Precious stones, precious art, not entirely different.  We think the Vatican so important in terms of art, it could never be destroyed.  All those marble carvings by artists whose like has never been seen since.  That magnificent painting in the Sistine Chapel.  It must surely be meant to endure forever.  But it is not.  It is meant for the junk heap.  It is meant for the trash pile of history, all that work destroyed in an instant, by the one event every Christian should cherish even more.

The people of Jesus’ day were equally proud of their Temple.  It was not as glorious as the one David planned, and Solomon built.  None was ever so glorious.  No statues, but as ornate as ornate could be.  Yet due to the sin in the hearts of the Jewish people of earlier days, who looked away from God and towards the orgies of other false deities, that first Temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar.  Now in the days of Jesus, a rejection of the Messiah was to lead to once again the destruction of the symbol of the worship of the very coming Messiah that they refused to accept.  The people were proud of the precious gems.  Jesus saw those stones as hard as the current leadership’s hearts.  What the people took pride in, that is the great structure of the Temple, was to be destroyed and cast down.  It was their own hearts the leaders refused to yield.  Do we yield our own hearts any more today?

Luke continues in verse 6 saying … “As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”  What we take pride in must needs be destroyed.  Perhaps it is the only way our pride might ever diminish.  For pride is not something we are supposed to cling to, or treasure.  Modern man craves the legacy of notoriety, or at least remembrance.  We hope that what we do will last, even though we will not.  That painting in the Sistine chapel has been preserved through the centuries, its artist remembered well for it.  More recently the sermons of Billy Graham have been remembered as well, those words leading many to the foot of the cross.  Neither men perfect, but both remembered.  But I dare say there was less pride in reciting the grace of God from a pulpit, than there is in creating one of the greatest painted works of all time, even though the subject matter was identical.  But it is neither the elegant words that convict the hearts of men, nor the magnificent visualizations that inspire his heart to the feet of his maker.  It is only the power of the Holy Spirit upon the hearts of man that can do that.  Billy Graham was merely a tool.  Michael Angelo was merely a tool.  The tools pass.  The power of conviction does not.  We should take less pride in what we believe we accomplish, and recognize more the real power comes only from God, not anything we have been inspired to do, or believe we accomplish, or build.

Luke continues in verse 7 saying … “And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?”  Now understand that those hearing this pronunciation of Jesus regarding the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem were not asking when the second coming was bound to happen.  They did not even have a concept of a second coming as yet, because to a man, they all believed that Jesus was the Messiah and the Messiah was meant to last forever.  So for them, this prophecy represented only a small defeat in a Kingdom meant to last forever.  Those from the other ten tribes may even have thought this just retribution upon Jerusalem for its arrogance in thinking worship could only be legitimately celebrated at this one location.  The other ten tribes worshipped on a different mountain in general.  But whether the audience knew it or not, the question they posed to Jesus, asked Jesus to look ahead, and Jesus could see it all.  Not just the answer to what they were asking but the answers all of us need, and the same dangers all of us face, both then and now.

The mind of Christ loosens the tether of the human imposition of time, and He looks ahead as He responds to them picking up in verse 8 saying … “And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.”  The first sign, is also the first warning, of men who claim to be our savior and Messiah.  We should not go after them.  I wonder is Jesus talking about you or me?  Oh of course, neither of us claim to be Jesus or God or any kind of Messiah.  That would be crazy talk.  But then, how many of us decide we are able to break the bondage of sin by our own self will power.  How many of us dare to believe we are strong enough to defeat the devil and make it to heaven by performing good acts, and avoiding the bad ones.  To never again sin, as if sin is nothing more than a choice on our part.  By any of this logic, we make ourselves a partner in our own salvation, in effect we make ourselves our own Messiah.  And we start following the guy in the mirror cause he seems to know what is needed to move on and move up.  While neither of us might follow a David Koresh, or some other wacko (pardon the pun) who claims to be Jesus.  How many of us so easily follow ourselves, placing pride in all we have done spiritually, all we have accomplished, all we have built.

Jesus continues in verse 9 saying … “But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by. [verse 10] Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:”  The destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem was actually caused by the rebellion of the people against Rome.  It was not some external war that just strafed the land of Judea and took out the Temple in its wake.  It was instigated by the people who felt cheated that the real Messiah did not throw off the yoke of Roman oppression, and so decided to take matters into their own hands.  Sound familiar?  How often does God not do what you ask Him to do, so you try to help Him out by doing it yourself?  That is not some external war, or actions caused by others that comes and destroys you, it is what you do, what you decide, what you think is best, that is really only pain and death wrapped up in some shiny appealing wrapper.  The end of all things, will not be caused by wars we start with each other.  It will be hurried or delayed by whether we learn to submit ourselves to Jesus and allow Jesus to do all the fighting.

Luke continues in verse 11 saying … “And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.”  Nature’s own upheaval will mark what is coming.  It is said not a single Christian died in the siege of Jerusalem, the end of which marked the full destruction of the Temple.  For a great sign appeared in the heavens of a chariot riding towards the city and every Christian knew what it meant, and fled before it was too late.  In our day we have seen these earthquakes on a global scale.  We know where famine still lives today.  And the pestilence of Covid is not the first to strike the world, nor will it be the last.  These are milestones, signs of a coming Savior we need so desperately.  But they should not cause us fear, they should motivate us to surrender and find peace.  Our lives, and our deaths here in this world are truly incidental.  But our salvation in the next is the only thing important, and should provide us motivation to help others while we still have time to help.  To love others when they need it the most.  Who cares about earthquakes, if my heart is so sedentary it cannot be moved by the plight of my own neighbor, by my own spouse, by my own children or parents?  If it is my heart that is so set in stone, perhaps it is my heart that so desperately needs the earthquake to shake it loose from its apathy.

Jesus continues in verse 12 saying … “But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake. [verse 13] And it shall turn to you for a testimony.”  Before Jerusalem would be sacked, early Christians would face persecution from those who refused to accept Jesus as the Messiah.  Believers would be dragged into courts and synagogues and prisons.  Brought even before kings and rulers, in order to see them crushed by those refusing to believe.  But God would turn this persecution against the persecutors in the form of delivering His testimony of love to those who might have never otherwise heard it.  Instead of squelching the gospel, they amplified it.  Members of the court heard a new message of love.  Secretaries, and wardens, gaurds, and ministers of the rulers heard a gospel of love that literally broke their hearts and put them at the feet of a cross.  By trying to kill the gospel message, persecution only widened its reach and its passion.

Jesus continues in verse 14 saying … “Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: [verse 15] For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. [verse 16] And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. [verse 17] And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. [verse 18] But there shall not an hair of your head perish. [verse 19] In your patience possess ye your souls.”  So some of this sounds like superficial contradiction in what is said.  First Jesus says don’t even worry about what you are going to say when you are brought into courts and such.  Jesus Himself, through the power of the Holy Spirit, will take over your words and your delivery, making sure it is effective.  But also don’t figure everything will always turn out OK.  Your own families will betray you all the way to death.  You will be hated for the love of Jesus you reflect.  But not one hair of your head will perish.  How could that be if you are dead from a family betrayal?  Perhaps the same way that in patience you can possess your own souls.  Trusting to Jesus your lives.  Whether you are spared death for a while, or taste it much earlier than you imagined, what is important is your salvation, the salvation of your souls.  Being patient to let Jesus save you, in this you follow not lead, you are humble no kind of partner or replacement for the Messiah, and ultimately your faith in Jesus to save you bears fruit.  Life and death are not important, salvation and eternal life are all that is important.

The mind of Christ is untethered by time, and He reveals to His followers what is to come, some of it right away, some of it not.  But Jesus is far from finished yet …

 

The Coming of Elias ...

No-one believes in “now”.  Everyone seems comfortable in “someday”.  But to believe that someday is here, seems to much for any of us to accept.  When the time comes, it is time to stand.  But there is the catch, when does “when” truly arrive.  As Christians we await the second coming, we await the end of all things. 2000+ years ago, an oppressed people awaited the first coming, the coming of the Messiah.  The World was around 2000 years old when Noah and his family were saved.  It had been another 2000 years past that when the Messiah would finally arrive.  Abraham was dust by then.  David was dust.  The prophets mostly in their tombs.  Yet alas, not all the prophets were gone.  In fact, prophets were constantly with Israel through the entire passage of time.  They acted as a communication line between Jesus and us.  They were inspired to say, to preach, to warn, to encourage – whatever the Lord our God told them to say.  And while they were not all accepted in their own times; after they died their manuscripts were venerated and became what we now call the Old Testament part of our Bibles.

If you were a Jew, living in the age of Roman supremacy, you longed for the Messiah as well.  But who would believe it was here?  Ask yourself, how soon do you really think the second coming of the Lord will be?  You can perhaps accept it is coming.  But to think it will be next week, tomorrow, today – most of us just say no, we do not believe in “now”, we believe only in “someday”, perhaps someday soon.  So is it any wonder, that the people who lived right up the birth of Jesus Christ, likely looked at time the same way we do?  They longed for it, but “when”; that is an entirely different matter.  The Messiah was believed to solve a number of problems, escape from oppression being number one.  That was then.  The second coming is believed to solve a number of different problems.  Escape from the oppression of sin and our addiction to sin being number one.  We look exactly the same, then and now.  They doubted the timeline, we do too.  We use the excuse they invented – that our grandparents, and parents, all thought it was soon, and they were all dust in the ground with no event to show for it.

There comes the time, when “now”, means now.  No more waiting.  Just now.  Does that idea spark fear or joy in your heart?  Luke gives us an account of a human response to the idea of now.  And there are many parallels for us to discover.  He picks up with the backstory in his gospel letter in verse 5 saying … “There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. [verse 6] And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.”  Is righteous and blameless the same thing as perfect?  Can you achieve these things by the power of will, or must it take the power of His love completely ruling you, in order for it to occur?  Those ordinances that Zacharias the priest and his wife Elisabeth observed included the rights of sacrifice, repentance, and forgiveness.  Observing those forgiveness rituals would have made them blameless before the Lord, even if they were not perfected yet. 

The question becomes, how often did they need forgiveness?  The measure of love you hold in your heart for others (and the lack of it for yourself) will give you a pretty good indication of how often you need repentance and forgiveness.  But just because 2 servants of God, did what God asked, does not mean they had a perfect life.  They were not blessed in all things, even though they were blessed in many things.  This was not punishment, it was preparation.  Might it be so with you as well.  What you see as punishment, might only be preparation for something far greater.  Can we open our eyes through trust, and find ourselves part of something much larger than the tiny timelines of our own lives?  It was to be so for Zachariah, and Elisabeth, even though their entire youth would pass by barren and without the blessing of children.

Luke continues in verse 7 saying … “And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.”  First you will note, that Zachariah did not abandon his wife, because she was unable to conceive.  Nor did he pull an “Abraham” and simply add another wife to the equation.  Part of perfection, or rather blamelessness, is to love whether things go our way or not.  He remained a dedicated husband despite her inability to conceive.  Frankly, had Luke not specifically named Elisabeth as the cause it just as easily could have been him.  Inspiration clears that up for us.  But having no heir, was considered a curse in Israel at the time.  That curse then was a reflection of how you were living your life.  It was thought that God withheld His blessings of family from those who carried secret evil in their hearts.  So as usual, the church, and the local people and neighborhood gossips, held a field day at Elisabeths’s expense.  She later refers to this as “her reproach”.

Luke continues in verse 8 saying … “And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, [verse 9] According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. [verse 10] And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.”  The burning of incense was not just done on the day of atonement, but it was a solemn duty none the less.  And the Temple was a Holy Place none the less.  While Zachariah went about this ritual, the people gathered outside the front door of the Temple and prayed and sang hymns to themselves of the love and mercy of God.  You can bet many of those prayers were for the Messiah.  Need drives prayer.  The Romans certainly created plenty of need.  I wonder, do we see our sins in the same light?  Do we see a full and final escape from our sins, from who we are, as a great need that drives us to pray for relief, not just forgiveness?

 Luke continues in verse 11 saying … “And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. [verse 12] And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.”  Here is our humanity shining through.  Forgiven is not enough to keep us from fear.  Only a full lack of sin can do that.  While there is still sin in us, there is still fear in us.  When there is only love in us, fear will leave the building.  Zacharias adheres to all the ordinances and traditions.  Yet when confronted with an angel of the Lord, his humanity shines through, and he becomes afraid.  All the sudden, the texts of Old become alive.  All of the sudden, the supernatural becomes very real, very present.  And if it is present, then the presence of the Lord in that Temple becomes even more real as well.  Our minds instantly gravitate back to the last sin we committed.  Did we repent of it?  Do we really wish to be rid of it?  Or do we just want forgiveness number 547 until the next time we commit it again requiring forgiveness number 548.  And when does God run out of patience with us, perhaps on number 549?  And so enters fear as we examine ourselves.

Luke continues in verse 13 saying … “But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. [verse 14] And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. [verse 15] For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. [verse 16] And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. [verse 17] And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”  Wow!  That was a mouthful.  So first things first, the fact that this couple was barren, was not something they just ignored.  They did what all of us should do.  They took their sorrow to the Lord and prayed for His intervention, for Him to do, what science cannot do.  This angel’s first declaration is fear not, for their prayer has been answered.

Now every parent is always happy to know that junior is coming.  But long before ultra-sounds, and chemical testing, the angel tells Zachariah the sex of the child (what dad does not want a boy, at least once).  And the angel names him John.  More good news.  But it gets much better quickly.  Anyone can have a boy, but what if that boy turns out to be Saddam Hussein, or Adolph Hitler?  Not an appealing prospect.  But the angel is saying don’t worry, many people are going to be happy this boy was born.  This child is going to be great in the sight of the Lord.  Talk about an accomplishment there.  So the angel gives the new parents a precaution, we want this kids brain as good as it can be, so ditch anything with alcohol in it.  Nothing, nada, ever.  And the even better upside is that the Holy Spirit is going to be in this kid, even while he is still in momma’s womb.  Maybe not all babies are destined to be babies, but this one certainly was.  Hard to argue with this.

And the last bit of good news was perhaps the best.  This child was going to turn the hearts of the people towards God, in the spirit and power of Elias (just like the prophet of old in other words).  To turn the disobedient back to the wisdom of the just, this is just awesome stuff.  And it would be driven by the Holy Spirit from birth forwards.  The angel has effectively said – time is up, or rather the time is “now”.  Zachariah is being confronted with a message of the “now”.  The reality is that Zachariah is old, and has never seen anything like this.  How old are you?  Better said, are you so old, that you refuse to be confronted with the “now” even though the angels of God would love to give you just that message?  Could you accept it?  Could you believe it, because it comes from the mouth of an angel?

As blameless as Zachariah is, as used to following all the right rituals as he is, this guy is a priest by occupation after all – all of that is not a recipe for lack of doubt.  Luke continues in verse 18 saying … “And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.”  This is the danger of religion based on so many rituals.  We begin to think that the performance of rituals somehow depends on us, instead of being designed for our benefit.  Zachariah is used to being active in his religion.  So when the angel tells him he is going to have this miracle baby boy, Zachariah immediately assumes he is supposed to get it done.  And he knows Elisabeth can’t, or he can’t.  Zachariah knows that his humanity is now old and tired.  There was no Viagra back then.  And Elisabeth is long past menopause.  If this is meant for humanity to solve, it will not happen.  So Zachariah wants a sign to insure he can believe what he is hearing – all the while forgetting where he is, and who he is talking to.

Luke continues in verse 19 saying … “And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. [verse 20] And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.”  Yikes.  Gabriel that stands in the presence of God, that is not just an inconsequential position.  It is the replacement for the fallen Lucifer.  This is the chief angel coming personally to tell Zachariah these things, and yet Zachariah relies upon his own ideas about how to get them done, knows he cannot, and so doubts.  Zachariah wants another sign, and he will get one.  Not a good one, but a sign none the less.  Zachariah will no longer be able to speak until this is all accomplished.  Time to run to Walmart and pick up a chalk board and a ton of chalk and good eraser.  No wait, they did not have Walmart back then.  Oops.

This conversation has taken way longer than burning incense is supposed to take.  The people are getting a little nervous.  Luke concludes this segment in verse 21 saying … “And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. [verse 22] And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless. [verse 23] And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.”  Despite being unable to speak, Zachariah still had duties at the Temple that had to be fulfilled.  When all of them were done, he went home, still speechless. 

What happens when the angel of the Lord tells us – it is time.  What happens when someday is converted to “now”?  What happens when what you read becomes real to you in a way you never imagined.  This issue is not just one in the pending pile, it is in the coming pile.  We may not be blessed with the birth of another John the Baptist (who otherwise would have been called John Ben Zachariah as was the custom – his work earned him the more famous title).  But we will face the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  We will be given our own message to carry.  For me, it was – it is time to wake up.  I have known that message since I was in college, and it has never changed.  For me the now, is still now, even though what I long for, is not now yet.  But if there is a lesson in the 5 foolish virgins and the 5 wise, I interpret the now, as the time to prepare and secure oil in our lamps.  Because one day, perhaps more soon than any of us can imagine, that final midnight cry will go out.  And whatever we have secured of His oil, and His love in our hearts, will be all there will ever be.  Perhaps for you, your someday is becoming now right in front of your eyes.  Are you listening for the word of an angel, or discerning it in the scriptures right there in that Bible on the shelf?

Elias has already come.  It was as sure as the word of the angel of the Lord who stands in the presence of God.  But this was not the only back story Luke needed to share with us …