Author Archives: Randy Buchman

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About Randy Buchman

I live in Western Maryland, and among my too many pursuits and hobbies, I regularly feed multiple hungry blogs. I played college baseball, coached championship cross country teams at Williamsport (MD) High School, and have been a sportswriter for various publications and online venues. My main profession was as the lead pastor of a church in Hagerstown called Tri-State Fellowship for 28 years before retiring in 2022. I'm also active in Civil War history and work/serve at Antietam National Battlefield with the Antietam Battlefield Guides organization. Occasionally I sleep.

The Trinity and the Old Testament

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The oft-quoted remark that “God created man in his own image. And man, being a gentleman, returned the favor” has been attributed to a variety of people, from Rousseau to Mark Twain. In any event, there is surely truth in it. The nature of man, left to himself apart from divine revelation, has displayed a tendency to create gods that are agreeable and manageable.

In the modern era, the gods that are honored involve such as pleasure, individualism, science and reason. But in the pre-Christian era of the Old Testament, the gods were hand-crafted deities of all sorts, representations of the powers of nature, etc.  Often worshipped on high places in particular, they held an attraction for people longing to fill the God-shaped vacuum of the soul. And they so often even drew in the Jewish people, resulting in repeated disasters for the nation.

So the emphasis of the Old Testament was upon the essential oneness and singularity of God as the one and only true God. And probably the most famous and oft-quoted OT text would be the Shema prayer of Deuteronomy 6:4 – “Hear, Oh Israel. The Lord your God is one.”  This was distinctively different than the panoply of Gods worshipped in the surrounding nations.

We would therefore not expect to see the idea of the Trinity particularly elucidated in the Old Testament. But even from the very beginning there are more than just mild hints that God existed in more than one person, yet with unit. By the very beginning, I’m talking about the second sentence in the Bible …

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

And we see throughout the Old Testament that the Spirit of God – the Holy Spirit – would come upon various prophets, priests and kings for the purpose of divine empowerment. This was more than just a powerful influence, as the work and words coming from these indwelt people had a divine empowerment and first-person authority. David, after his sin with Bathsheeba, was terrified of the thought of losing the presence of God living within, praying in Psalm 51:10,11 …

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

As well, in various places in the OT, there is the presence of plural pronouns. For example, in Genesis 1:26 … Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

Though this may simply be a way of expressing noun-verb agreement, the early Church believed that this was an evidence of the Trinity, as have most scholars over the years.

And as the OT moves along, references to a future Messiah-King are seen. And though this looks forward to a physical and visible person, there are clearly divine attributes connected, the most well-known being those in Isaiah …

7:14 – Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

9:6 – For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

That is about as clear as it can get for OT times, though comprehending this was a fuzzy experience before the incarnation. Fully understanding the eternal Trinity would take the events and writings of the time of Christ and the New Testament era. But the Old Testament is not without Trinitarian references as we look back upon it from our point on the continuum of time.

Speaking of the continuum of time, our minds cannot understand God’s position above and beyond this human limitation and sphere. He is above it and sees it all – past, present and future – all the same. And likewise, the limitations of the human mind make it difficult for us to grasp the three-in-one nature of the Trinity.

But there is a wonderful peace and comfort that can accrue to us as we grasp all that we are able about the knowledge of God, including the Trinity. It is wonderful to know that God is not locked-down as we are. Being above time, He is not limited … He is not making up the story and reacting to events as they happen. Rather, He is revealing the full story more and more as time goes by. We call this progressive revelation. The future is in God’s hands and is as certain as if it has already happened. Just as the doctrine of the Trinity was progressively revealed and understood as time passed, so also will all of God’s sovereign plan for the ages be increasingly evident as the years pass. And in that theological truth we may find great personal comfort, even in a broken world.

Values that are Larger than Self (Luke 2:25-38)

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This is a busy season of the year, isn’t it?  As we view the majority of the people in the world around us, it is easy to possess a sort of latent condescension. THEY don’t get IT!  They don’t understand the reason for the season. For them, it is just all about Santa and elves and Walmart and Amazon and UPS. Those who “get it” – like us for example – are in a truly small minority.

The faithful are always a minority. Jesus said as much when speaking of the broad road that leads to destruction and the narrow path that leads to eternal life.

Throughout the Scriptures – especially over and over with the accounts of the Old Testament and Israel – the faithful comprise “the few and far between” of humanity. Only Noah and his family remained true to God as the great deluge approached. It took God working through Moses to revive a nation in exile and deliver them to the Promised Land. Elijah felt he was all alone when dealing with the prophets of Baal. God used the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires to bring judgment upon his faithless people.

But always there was a remnant. As evangelical Christians, we likely see ourselves as among the remnant of God’s people in our generation. And as we read the Bible and project ourselves back into the context of ancient times, we are completely confident that we would have been one of the few … the faithful … the ones connected truly to God and his work in that generation.

So, if we were living in the times of the birth of Christ, surely we would be among the good characters of the incarnation story. We’d be a wise man on a camel, a shepherd in the fields, a faithful follower of John the Baptist, or even a frequenter of the Temple – a person fully anticipating the coming of God’s promised Messiah. Maybe? Maybe not?

In any event, it is always difficult to be a remnant person when all of the current is going opposite of the direction you are swimming through life. And so it was in Israel, even at the Temple in Jerusalem in the era of Herod and the Romans. Malachi and the prophets who wrote of a coming Messiah were the stuff of ancient history. The majority of the Jewish world was busy with the stuff of daily life, not the ancient promise of messianic hope.

Today we meet a couple of remnant people in Jerusalem, elderly people who retained a great hope of the coming Messiah, even as their personal sands of time where almost completely in the bottom half of the hourglass. Meet Simeon and Anna …

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.

30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”

33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Luke 2:36 – There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

It is very imaginable that Simeon and Anna were seen even by the religious element in Israel as somewhat over-the-top pious and even a bit kooky and eccentric. But in the face of decades, generations … even centuries … of unfulfilled prophecies, they remained true to God’s promise by hanging onto hope. They longed for a new day and a new era. Though they themselves would not see the complete fulfillment of it, the greatness of God’s plan for the nation and all mankind gave them a perspective on life that was bigger than self.

It is rather clear from the story that these old folks lived under God’s favor. And certainly we can state that this is a timeless truth. God’s calling upon us is to see our place within his plan of the ages. We are members of the Kingdom of Light, members of the cast of characters of a drama that began with creation in a garden and heading toward an eternal city. This is the stuff of true reality.

Yet the nature of humanity is to see the immediate cares of daily life as the consuming reality. And whereas we need to be responsible in these details, the greater picture would call us to have a heart and values system longing for that which is truly eternal.

It is easy to become today as the masses of the Jewish population were at the time of Christ’s incarnation – not necessarily involved in bad stuff, but neither terribly interested in nor expectant about God’s word and plan. We too live with multiplied centuries now having been interspersed between the promise of a second coming of Jesus and the actual fulfillment of it. It is not like we don’t believe it, but likely we don’t think about it that much or long for it.

Being like, thinking like, and valuing eternity like Simeon and Anna did is not actually crazy or eccentric. It is actually having THE BIG IDEA of it all as front and center in our minds and lives. God likes that; God approves of such a person.

< This concludes the final devotional in the First-Person Christmas series. Our next teaching series will be an eight-part study on the person of God – his attributes and the trinity etc. – the stuff that in theology we call “theology proper.”  This will begin on January the 8th with associated devotionals throughout. >

Why is this Guy so Weird? (Matthew 3)

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We are very familiar with speed bumps and rumble strips. They are common now and are on every highway and interstate. I remember the first place I ever experienced them. On Route 22 in Easton, PA there is a very sharp curve, called “Cemetery Curve” – appropriately named in light of the many deadly accidents, though actually named because of the nearby, historic cemetery. Over time, the many warning signs leading up to the curve proved to be insufficient. Finally, rumble strips were used, and I remember the first time going over them and the startling sensation that made you slow down and pay attention.

The strips were there as a preparation for what was to come – to educate you that there was an appropriate way to negotiate that turn. Likewise, the Old Testament was full of signs and information that a coming Messiah would be on the scene. A part of that would be someone who, in the spirit of Elijah, would prepare the way for the coming of Israel’s king. This person was the cousin of Jesus – John the Baptist.

The idea of “preparation” is a major teaching point of Matthew chapter 3. But, prepared in what way?

The message of John was of repentance and baptism (identification); it was a message of spiritual preparation. It was a message saying, “You’re not okay with God simply because of who you are (the Jewish people – the Sons of Abraham). To be okay with God, there needs to be a repentance from sin and an identification with God’s truth and God’s program (such identification evidenced by baptism).”

What is repentance? By definition, it means to agree with God about the nature of sin (to see it from the same perspective He sees it), along with a commitment to walk in the opposite direction (which is the proof, or fruit of a genuine repentance).

You surely know of the most famous Peanuts comic strip – the one with Lucy and Charlie Brown practicing football. Lucy would hold the ball for Charlie’s placekicking. But every time Lucy had ever held the ball for Charlie, he would approach and attempt to kick with all his might. At the precise moment of the point of no return, Lucy would pick up the ball and Charlie’s momentum would send him through the air and deposit him on his back.

One of these strips had Lucy holding the ball, but Charlie Brown would not kick it. Lucy begged him to kick the ball. But Charlie Brown said, “Every time I try to kick the ball you remove it and I fall on my back.” They went back and forth for the longest time and finally Lucy broke down in tears and admitted, “Charlie Brown I have been so terrible to you over the years, picking up the football like I have. I have played so many cruel tricks on you, but I’ve seen the error of my ways! I’ve seen the hurt look in your eyes when I’ve deceived you. I’ve been wrong, so wrong. Won’t you give a poor penitent girl another chance?”

Charlie Brown was moved by her display of grief and responded to her, “Of course, I’ll give you another chance.” He stepped back as she held the ball, and he ran. At the last moment, Lucy picked up the ball and Charlie Brown fell flat on his back. Lucy’s last words were, “Recognizing your faults and actually changing your ways are two different things, Charlie Brown!”

Now that is not really repentance. Saying you are sorry is one thing, but living a different way is another. My favorite college professor Dr. McGahey always said, “Nobody was ever saved being just sorry for their sins.” True repentance leads to change because of a new heart condition resultant from faith in the work of Christ.

John preached a message of preparation through repentance and baptism. The key word related to baptism is “identification.”

We choose identification all the time. Perhaps in our culture it is an identification with a sports team … a school … a club or organization. Sometimes, the things we identify with may be counter-cultural. In fact, identifying with Christ is that very thing. In a world that is going the wrong way and is under the control of the kingdom of darkness, identifying with God – with Jesus Christ – is always going to be counter-cultural. It was that way for the Jewish people before the coming of Christ. It is true where you work out in the world, or go to school. It has always been this way and always will be, until the day God makes all things new and right upon the return of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 3:1 – In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the desert, `Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ “

Prophetically speaking, this was spoken of by Isaiah …

Isaiah 40:1 – Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.

3A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.

5And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Another Old Testament foretelling of John the Baptist is in Malachi 3:1 …

“See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty.

John certainly had a unique appearance, even for that era …

Matthew 3:4 – John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.

My question for the title today: Why is this guy so weird? It is because he was a “rumble strip” pointer to Christ. For anyone who had a heart to know the truth and who knew the Scriptures of the O.T., they would be led to understand that this man was the Elijah-like forerunner – the one who would point to the Messiah. Look at this passage in 2 Kings 1 …

1After Ahab’s death, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers, saying to them, “Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this injury.”

3But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, `Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?’ 4 Therefore this is what the LORD says: `You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!'”  So Elijah went.

5 When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, “Why have you come back?”

6 “A man came to meet us,” they replied. “And he said to us, `Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, “This is what the LORD says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending men to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!” ‘ “

7 The king asked them, “What kind of man was it who came to meet you and told you this?”

8 They replied, “He was a man with a garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist.”  The king said, “That was Elijah the Tishbite.”

So Elijah was an eccentric dresser as well. Again in Matthew 3 …

5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

 MT 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, `We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

MT 3:11 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

These remarks would have reminded the “tuned in” Jewish listener of two Old Testament passages:

Verse 11 here would recall these words in Joel 2:28-29 …

 JOEL 2:28 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.

 JOEL 2:29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

Verse 12 of Matthew 3 should remind them of Malachi 3:2-4 …

 MAL 3:2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.

The time came when Jesus was likewise baptized by John …

MT 3:13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

MT 3:15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

MT 3:16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Here is what we may take away from the story of John the Baptist:

We learn of the story of the coming of Christ and see that story in the bigger context of Scripture. It reminds us of the great plan of God and of the great blessing we have to be a part of that. Our inclusion is resultant from the ultimate rejection of Christ by the Jewish nation, the postponement of the earthly kingdom, and the subsequent spread of the Gospel to all peoples and nations.

We also take away the timeless truths of preparation / repentance / identification. There is a tendency to not be prepared, but to rather be impressed with the wrong things – the busy things of this world.

So are you prepared? There is another coming of Christ foretold; and for that, the Scriptures also have “rumble sticks.”

1 Peter 1:3 – Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade–kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith–of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire–may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

1PE 1:10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

1PE 1:13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

How do we show our preparation?  Through repentance and identification …

REPENTANCE – seeing our sin or human condition as God sees it and doing what the Scriptures say to do.

IDENTIFICATION – We boldly wear our team uniform of faith, even in the context of rejection and despise. It’s okay to be weird.

Trying to Piece Together This Puzzle (Malachi)

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So here we are the day after Christmas, and my title today includes the word “piece.”  I really, really dislike that word!  And it is Christmas that caused this disaffection, especially for the pluralized version: “pieces.”  All of this has to do with having had a large family of children with the celebration and giving of gifts at Christmastime.

It remains a traumatic memory, even though the years now are waning a bit. Everything about Christmas – from the setting up of decorations, to the construction of larger outdoor toys like the Little Tikes heavy-duty plastic stuff, to playing with puzzles and legos given as gifts – all of it involved “pieces.”  The directions would say something like “142 pieces for assembly.”

When God handed out the logical reasoning ability that enables a person to instinctively know how to put multi-piece things together, I was apparently standing elsewhere in some sort of academic geek-squad type of line.

And as proof that I never learned a lesson from this, yesterday Diana and I did it again!  Yesterday we gave as a gift to our eight grandchildren a gigantic outdoor trampoline that will be set up at our house and be always here to get them out of the adults’ hair by sending them outside to enjoy jumping and playing upon like their fathers did when growing up at the same house. However, the trampoline was shipped to us in two very large boxes, and there is “some assembly required.”  Ugh! Pieces!dsc_1012

The Christmas story (which is the beginning of the pinnacle scene of God’s Big Story) involves a lot of pieces over time. The actual end of the story is yet to be seen and fully realized, and it is confusing to know what is yet to come in the culmination of time and the return of Christ. We have Scriptural puzzle pieces for this, but Christians don’t always agree as to exactly how they fit together.

But if you think our situation is confusing, imagine what it must have been like for an Old Testament prophet. At least for us we have the story of the incarnation, the life of Christ, the cross and the resurrection as historical events. All of these things were puzzle pieces to God’s people before the coming of Jesus. How could they – even a spokesman for God like a prophet – put all of these pieces together? The answer is that they really couldn’t … not nearly completely at all.

So let’s pick one of these prophets – the last one, Malachi – and use him in a first-person way as an illustration of that frustrating conundrum for those who so, so, so wished to understand what it all meant.

(This is the rough text of a first-person sermon on Malachi from eight years ago… so picture an ancient prophet sitting at a rough-hewn table with scrolls all over the place, with others nailed to the wall of his cave in haphazard fashion.)  Malachi speaking …

“Look at this! This is incredible!”

(Reading from Exodus 12:21-28) – Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe” …  “Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. 25 When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26 And when your children ask you, `What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 then tell them, `It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.'”  Then the people bowed down and worshiped. 28 The Israelites did just what the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron. 

“The people obeyed … imagine that! The people of Israel sure don’t obey like that anymore! They are in complete rebellion and far from God! They don’t listen to prophets like me anymore. They say to me, ‘Malachi, why should we listen to you? So what if you say you are the last of the prophets to Israel? What good have any of you prophets been to us? You tell of a coming Messiah, but we see nothing!’”

“Yes, a Messiah has been long prophesied by those who have gone before me! But I am the last! And I don’t know how this all goes together myself! You would think that the last of God’s prophets to Israel would understand these things a little bit better than I do!”

“Okay, Malachi …. Go over it all again …”

“Now… here is what the Lord has said to ME to say to Israel.”

MAL 3:1 “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty.

MAL 3:2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.

“So now, that means that a person is going to come in advance of the Messiah and announce his coming … and … the Messiah is going to clean things up, especially with the Levites (good – they sure need it!) … and then offerings will be restored in righteous ways and the good days of true worship will come to Israel.”

“Very good … but how does that fit with all the other prophetic words that have gone before me?  Like this one from the beginning … by Moses…”

GE 3:14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all the livestock  and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.    GE 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

“Now this is interesting about the tribe of Judah… Moses wrote this one too…”  (pointing to a manuscript pinned to the wall) …

GE 49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.

“Okay… and now this ONE! Wow… this is as old as Moses, and it is incredible!”

  JOB 19:25 I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.  JOB 19:26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; JOB 19:27 I myself will see him with my own eyes–I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!

“And then here are some of my favorites … from Isaiah 300 years ago, when being a prophet meant something – not that they didn’t have problems with the people too!”

Isaiah 7:14 – Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Isaiah 9:6-7 – For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.

Isaiah 49:6 – I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

“And then, what in the world can this prophecy of Micah mean about Bethlehem, that little sheep village out there in the middle of nowhere?”

Micah 5:2 – “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.

“And Zechariah adds this piece to the confusion, talking about coming on a DONKEY???”

Zechariah 9:9 – Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

“And this last one especially confuses me as to what it means … about suffering and death.”

Isaiah 53:5-6 – But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

“WHAT does it all mean? How does it all go together? I have looked and searched and still do not understand it all. But it is not for me to understand.”  (Praying) “That is what You want me to understand, isn’t it my Lord? All of this is for generations to come to know and to see and to believe.”

(A voice reads from 1 Peter 1:10-12) Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

“OK…let me try one more time to piece this together:

  • there’s the serpent and the heel,
  • the king from Judah’s family,
  • the virgin giving birth to a ‘God with us’ child, and Isaiah’s thing about a king forever
  • Micah’s thing about Bethlehem,
  • Zechariah and a donkey ride of the king into Jerusalem,
  • something to do with Gentiles as part of it all,
  • suffering and death – but not seeing any decay!! Good night! How can any of this go together?”

“If I am a prophet from God and I can’t figure this all out, how will just any ordinary person ever understand it?”  (pause)

“Okay God, I guess I am not supposed to understand it all. I’m just supposed to add my piece to the puzzle.”  (Pinning his revelation and writing on the wall)  My piece is the last piece, but someone else in the future will have to put it all together. Oh how I would like to see that; it is going to be grand!”

“Even though the people have sinned and rebelled, God will make a final atonement, and His Messiah will come. I don’t understand it all, but I BELIEVE!”

(A voice reads …) 2PE 1:19 And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Yes, here in 2016 we still have some assembly required. But we have enough of the pieces of the puzzle to know and see God’s Big Story with a great deal of clarity. And in this, we are very blessed, even as we look for the next coming of our Lord.

Angels, Angels Everywhere! (Luke 2:8-15)

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My college campus years were spent in downtown Philadelphia, the primary building being an eight-story structure just across the street from a large Sheraton Hotel and conference center. On one occasion, President Ford was coming for an event. I worked part-time for the college in campus security, and in advance of the President’s arrival I drew an assignment of manually operating an elevator to take two secret service agents with high-powered rifles to the roof of the building. The advance team and detailed preparation was impressive.

My sister had a somewhat similar experience a couple of year earlier when Ford was Vice President. His oldest son was married in the church facility where my sister attended, and she was the VBS director who had to run a week-long program on that church campus in Catonsville over the days prior to the wedding. While she was dealing with throngs of kids, throngs of secret service agents were running around the same space making preparations for the Saturday wedding, including things like trial runs of helicopter landings and evacuations.

When an important person like a President is coming to town, the advance preparations are extensive. And so it is not surprising to see angels here, there, and everywhere when the King of Kings came to town in Bethlehem.

What exactly are angels? You’re taught in Theology 101 that the answer is found in Hebrews 1:14 – “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?”  They are servants of God to do His bidding. The word for angels – angeloi – means “messengers.”

Every so often in Scripture we see the curtains of heaven pulled back just a bit to reveal the work of angels, most of it being done out of sight. Angels are created, heavenly beings, dating back to before the creation of man. We know that one-third of them followed Satan in rebellion against God, and these fallen angels are the demonic forces at work against the progress of the Kingdom of God.

We know also that the good angels are organized in varied ranks in similar fashion as a military operation. They are given missions and assignments to carry out. And in that the incarnation of Christ and his subsequent work on the cross is the focal point of all history, angelic assignments related to this must have to rate very high with the heavenly hosts. If we are to have a first-person view of their role in the incarnation story, it probably is not stretching the point to imagine that the angels found these missions to be rather special among all their deeds of service over the eons of time.

To include the passages related to the angels and the incarnation, we would essentially have to print here the entire Christmas narratives from Matthew and Luke. An angel comes to Joseph on four total occasions. Gabriel visited Zechariah and scared him half to death. An angel spoke to Mary. And of course there was the vast angelic chorus who sang for the shepherds.

You might feel like this entire topic is so “back then” or “over there” in the spiritual realm. We’ll get to see angels when we pass from this life, but what does it have to do with the here and now? Well, chances are you’re not going to see an angel, but the truth is that they are rather near. The Scriptures teach that as children of the King we are in a constant spiritual battle … that though it appears our conflict is very much physical and material, in fact it is a struggle on a much higher level that is the true reality.

Ephesian 6:10 – Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Through the Eyes of Herod (Matthew 2)

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When all you have in life is what you can hold onto in this world, you’ve really not got much. And you might think, “Yep, I’m poor by most worldly standards, so, there isn’t much to grasp.”  But the situation is actually worse for those who possess abundance, even those who seem to have it all – riches, power, and fame. Those poor folks have the problem of worrying about everyone gunning for them to take them down and steal all the accoutrements they believe define success and happiness in life.

This was the problem for King Herod. Everything he had he held onto only in the most tenuous fashion. His authority was only granted by the Romans. Herod had no true rights to be the king in Israel, as he was not even Jewish. Rather, he was descended from Esau and was therefore an Edomite. Though his accomplishments were commendable in terms of civic duties like construction projects, Herod’s soul was especially troubled.

The old phrase about paranoia – “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean someone isn’t really out to get you” – was true of Herod. Such is a rather universal truth of those possessing earthly power. But Herod had it in spades – putting a couple of wives and a couple of children to death because he believed them to be conspiring against him. The Emperor Augustus is famously quoted to have said of Herod that it would be better to be his sow than his son, because the pig had a better chance of survival.

With this background we can see why the text in Matthew 2 says that he was troubled when hearing news from some truly wise guys from another place about a possibly legitimate king being born in Israel. Summoning the experts in Jewish law as to where such a legend would find fruition, he learned that it was in Bethlehem. So it is not surprising that a person who would kill his own family members would order the children in a second-rate hamlet to be executed.

The gifts of the Magi made it possible for Joseph to heed the dream of escape to Egypt. This second exodus back to the Promised Land after the demise of Herod gave a second meaning to the prophetic word of Hosea about God’s Son being called out of Egypt – first the nation, then the Messiah himself … all of which is loaded with redemptive tones, symbols and meanings.

Herod truly is an “exhibit A” of one who has no interest in the incarnation of Christ, being a person with investments only in this world. That is not a rare condition, as we sadly know of so many people.

But if you know and understand the eternal truth that this world is temporary and passing away, there is no need to hold tightly to the things associated with it. True life and true riches are beyond this mere flash of existence. And this incarnation story brings alive the meaning of Paul’s words to the Corinthians when he said, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”

Having thought about the incarnation story through the first-person eyes of Herod, read through this familiar second chapter of Matthew again …

Matthew 2:1 – After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ [from Micah 5:2,4]”

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

The Escape to Egypt

13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” [from Hosea 11:1]

16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

18 “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” [from Jeremiah 31:15]

19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.

The Innkeeper and the Common Man (Luke 2:1-7)

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There are some “bad guys” in the original Christmas story. None worse than Herod of course, who had foul motives based in jealousies and paranoia about a Jewish “king” being born, resulting in the slaughter of innocents in Bethlehem.

Another bad guy assumed to be in the story is the presumed innkeeper – the fellow who had no room in the public boarding house for the travelling couple who were expecting a child at any moment. All he had to give them was a stable – a place that tradition ascribes to be essentially a cave for housing animals.

The story derives from the words of Luke 2:1-7 …

2:1 – In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

What a horrible person to be so cold-hearted as to stick a mother-to-be and her soon new-born in the smelly stable of animals with hay, straw, and … well … you know what.

And so it is that the innkeeper stands as the “exhibit A” of a person who has no room in life or priorities for truth and the Son of God. The annual Christmas sermon oft ends with the question, “Are you like the cold-hearted innkeeper, having no room in your heart for Jesus?”

Something that happens annually to me at Christmas is the dredging up in my mind of hundreds of Christmas songs I’ve done in churches over the years. The mental jukebox plays tunes that go back to my earliest musical memories – the annual church Christmas cantata, replete with a candlelit sanctuary.

We would process to the song “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”  Taking places in the choir loft, like all good evangelical church choirs of that era, we then presented the latest John Peterson cantata. Being a sort of musical prodigy kid, I was always assigned a solo to sing; and if I wanted to have a happy home and food to eat, I had best submit and sing it out! Those songs echo still through my mind, including one from a program entitled “Night of Miracles,” featuring a song I sang called “No Room.”  Here are the lyrics as I recall them …

No room, only a manager of hay / No room, He is a stranger today / No room, here in His world turned away No room, no room.

No room, here in the hearts of mankind / No room, no cheery welcome could find / No room, surely the world had gone blind / No room, no room.

Angels, in heaven up yonder / Watch with amazement and wonder / To see the Son of the Highest treated so / No room.

But the innkeeper was not alone in his status of not anticipating a coming king to be born in Bethlehem. Certainly there was a Jewish anticipation and hope for a Messiah, though the perception as to what that would look like did not include a baby who would become a king. Rather, it had expectations of political and military stature of a dynamic leader. The only ones who had any expectation of an infant king were the astrologically-oriented magi, who put together the ancient text of Micah 5:2 with a sign in the heavens.

Centuries of silence did not mean that God was not at work or had abandoned his plans for mankind, though most had given up hope and expectation. The Scriptures teach rather that God was exactly on schedule, writing in Galatians 4:4-5 that the coming of Christ was perfectly timed … “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.”

Just because we have not heard from God in some specific way for an extended time does not mean He has forgotten us. He’s not like that professional baseball scout who saw me pitch four shutout innings in college in 1975 and promised he would call me … still waiting for that phone to ring! No, do not believe that God’s silence is equal to God’s inaction or disinterest. And don’t give up trusting and hoping and looking for what God will do in and through you. Stay on course; stay faithful with what you know is the right way to live and serve.

2 Peter 3:3 – Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” …

8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. …

… what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. …

14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.

The Song of Zechariah (Luke 1)

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The story of Zechariah continues here as he talks about his special son John, who will grow to become the forerunner of Jesus Christ – John the Baptist …

(Zechariah speaking) …

I am not going to live long enough to see it fulfilled myself. But I have been given a prophecy about this little boy.

So let me read to you what I wrote and have said. I tell you, of anything I have ever said or written, I was never so “INSPIRED” as with these words … they really are, I can assure you, words that came through me under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit …

68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them.

69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David 70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), 71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us—72 to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham: 74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, 77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven 79 to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

Yes, the Messiah is coming, and John will play a role in preparing the way for him to fulfill God’s greatest plan of the ages. People – don’t miss this truth, don’t fail to see and understand God’s salvation revealed for all people. This is what ALL of God’s work is ALL about!

Before I go, let me share with you some timeless lessons from my life experience …

God is able to use us in our weakness, even redeeming our failures.

I’m not pleased I did not believe immediately, having prayed for the very thing that was now happening. And it was annoying to not have a voice for many months. But God used all of that for great good, adding to the witness that He was doing a special work in the birth of John and in who he will become.

The important thing when making a mistake is to not double-down on it and try to fix it and twist it yourself. Acknowledge the failure and get right back on the road of trusting God and following His way.

God remembers his promises and fulfills his word, even if it seems often to be terribly delayed in arriving.

Remember my name? Yahweh remembers. That name was so popular in Israel over the years because it has been the nature of our nation’s history to believe that God does not remember … that He forgets … that it takes a long time for answers to problems and injustices. But God does not forget; He is always working His plan in His time. And His timing is always perfect – both in the big plan of things, right down to the details of each of our lives. And remember also that His plans are much bigger and eternal when compared to our small lives and brief time in this world.

God may choose to use our offspring to accomplish greater things than we ever imagined for ourselves.

I don’t know what it is like in this time and in this place, but too many people where I am from believe that they are the center of the world and that everything should circulate around them. The greatest achievement of our lives may be what we make possible through the family and generations that follow us. It is the place of greatest potential impact for all of us.

Pastor Randy told me in our brief time together that this is a major focus of this synagogue … and you should listen to him – he’s a really smart guy!

God is able to do the impossible, to bring life from that which is even dead.

There is simply no way possible that a child could be born to Elizabeth and me at our advanced age. But the God who created life in the first place was able to bring life to the death of her womb. This “life-giving” is God’s business.

We are all born dead – separated by sin from the perfect relationship such as God had originally intended in the creation of man. But there is a perfect plan of salvation that is to come through one person – God’s Anointed One – don’t miss that! Don’t overlook that. Don’t minimize the importance of the unfolding of that story.

My Name is Zechariah (Luke 1)

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Our First-Person Christmas series will feature five Sundays of first-person narrative sermons. The initial presentation was this past Sunday, featuring a personal look at the life of Zechariah. For those of you who missed being there, here today and tomorrow is much of that manuscript. And even if you were there, reading it will likely refresh your memory with new insights you may not have caught by ear.

My Name is Zechariah

Yes, my name is Zechariah, you may have read about me in the Bible.  OK … I know what you are thinking.  “Yes, Zecharia, like in Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, ZECHARIAH, Malachi!”

Wrong!

Actually, there are 31 different men in the Bible who have the name Zechariah … which means “Yahweh remembers.”  You need to remember that, because I’m going to tell you more about that later!

My home is in the hill country of Judah, were I live with my wife Elizabeth. I am a priest and serve the nation of Israel in that capacity. My background is not just from the tribe of Levi, but actually I am descended from the line of Aaron, dating back 1500 years to that brother of Moses. And I might add that my wife Elizabeth is from the same unique family lineage of the Aaronic priesthood.

And as you can see, I’m a rather old fellow, as is my wife; and therein lies the great sadness that has attended our lives over the decades. We had been childless, even to well past the time and age of bearing children.

This was a great sadness for both of us, but particularly for my wife Elizabeth. In our culture, childlessness can be seen as a sort of judgment from God … or at least a suspicion of that.  But we knew that was not true in our circumstance. We have lived our lives consistently in an upright fashion, trusting God and honoring his commands – being faithful to observe the law, doing so joyfully as servants of the one true God.

Even so, I have to say, it still was an inner hurt that never went away. Our home was terribly quiet. The sounds of children at play would always dredge up to our conscious awareness that there was a vacancy in our lives – a hole that was never filled, not even by all of the good and blessings we received.

You may not know or understand this, but there are literally thousands of priests in Israel (somewhere around 18,000 right now), all connected to the lineage of Aaron. I have a lot of distant cousins! God wasn’t kidding when he told Abraham that his offspring would be like the stars of the sky or the sands of the sea. I am from the family – the division – of Abijah. There are a total of 24 divisions of the priests – this set-up dating all of the way back 1,000 years to the time of David.

Though I have responsibilities on a regular basis, particularly during the festival times of the Jewish calendar, my division only serves in the Temple for a week at a time, once every 24 weeks. Those 7 days are a busy and intense time.

Not long ago, during my rotation week of serving, I was chosen by lot to go into the Temple and into the Holy Place to burn incense. It was a daily event that accompanied the daily sacrifice – before the morning sacrifice and after the evening offering. This was an amazing opportunity – a day that would/could only happen once in my lifetime. The incense represented the prayers of our people – the whole nation – before the Lord. The focus of the entire nation at that moment in time is upon that priest who goes before the Lord.

It was the regular experience in the Temple at this daily moment for a crowd of people to gather and see the priest go into and out of the Holy Place; and they pray during this time as well.  So, yes, I was a bit excited about this and could feel my heart pounding somewhat as I went inside and began to offer the prayers. Others had told me of what an intense spiritual moment this was for them.

But none had a story quite like what happened to me. Suddenly I was not alone!!  There appeared an angel on the right side of the altar. I was terribly frightened!  How many of you have had an angel show up when you least expected it?

And he began to talk to me, telling me that my prayer had been answered. My prayer??  I was praying – as all the faithful in Israel would pray – for God’s ultimate redemption in the coming of a long-awaited Messiah. Was this to be the prayer to be answered?  Well, more on that later …

But the angel’s words were, “Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.”

Ah … OK … I wasn’t really thinking about that right now. And … well … I wondered – Does this angel not see how old I am?  And if you think I look bad for having babies, you should see Elizabeth!

Before I could debrief with him a bit on this matter of age and discuss my natural skepticism, even seeking some sort of sign or evidence beyond his words, he continued his message.  He said some interesting things that are to come true of my son John. Let me list them for you …

He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.

There is no doubt that a child could bring great delight to us, and beyond that to those who know us.  But this seems to be speaking of something more than that. Somehow this revelation is that this boy of mine is going to be powerfully blessed in God’s work…

He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.

Of course we understand that a vow to abstain is related to a particular commitment to God’s work, which is clearly the future for John. And it is wonderful to hear that God will be with him by the filling of the Holy Spirit – that is for us in Israel only the rare benefit of those that God particularly sets apart…

He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.

There is no doubt that a great need exists in the nation for people to return to faith and trust in our God. These are discouraging times with the Roman occupation. So many of our national and spiritual leaders are in an unholy alliance with them, while others – the “Zealots” we call them – look for a political or military solution. But the heart of the matter is a spiritual issue – a declension from a true trust in God and obedience to Him.

And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Wow, speaking of the hopes of a Messiah – this part of the message was truly messianic – bringing up the name of Elijah.  It was not the prophet of my name (Zechariah) who spoke about Elijah coming again, but the next and last prophet – Malachi … writing, “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents…”

Some people believe Elijah himself is to come again, though I have always understood it to be someone in the same God-given power and authority to lead the nation to revival … and this angelic message to me was that my son John was to do this service.  And why?  It would be to prepare the nation for this promised Messiah to come with true and full salvation.

Up until this point, I had not said anything, as this was a lot to take in … I mean, I just couldn’t stop thinking about how old I am … and then … (not the best moment of my life or career, I admit), out of my mouth comes, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

You would think that being a priest and a descendent of Aaron – being one who has always been deeply aware of the details of the Jewish scriptures – that I would be quickly open to the idea that God can intervene miraculously and bring life to that which is dead and hopeless. No less than our Father Abraham had the same experience and he believed the prophecy – being credited to him as righteousness for believing God’s promise … though his wife Sarah was worse than me – she outright laughed at it.

But they weren’t the only ones. Samson and Samuel were born to women of advanced age. But so many years had passed with no children. So much pain … and for my wife Elizabeth – the shame of being barren. We had given up hope long before the angel Gabriel showed up.

Yep, Gabriel – that’s who this angel was – the same one who spoke to Daniel on two occasions. I didn’t have a chance to say something like, “Sorry I didn’t recognize you; I’ve never seen an angel before!”  He went on to say …

I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.  And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

Well shut my mouth!  Literally!  That’s what happened. Try as I might, I couldn’t talk, though I remembered every word perfectly as stated to me.  And yes, I deserved it for not believing immediately. And though I could not talk, I knew altogether that this was real and going to happen exactly as stated.

All of this took a lot more time than was the routine for a priest doing the incense.  The folks standing and praying outside were wondering what the delay was all about. I’m sure I was a sight when coming back out to them; and when I could not talk to them, they knew that I had seen a vision and had an unusual experience. Through motions I attempted to share what had happened, though few understood much about it.

My week of service time had passed and I went home, communicating mostly in writing to my wife about all that had occurred. Elizabeth and I were much secluded in the coming months, though her relative Mary – the mother now of a baby named Jesus – came and spent three months with us. In time, our son John was born.

Elizabeth has also been invited by Randy and Chris to speak to you… just don’t tell her about how I talked about how old she is!

According to Jewish law and tradition, we took John to be circumcised on the 8th day. Now remember, I haven’t been able to talk all this time. In the Temple, they thought that we would surely name the boy Zechariah, after me.  But Elizabeth spoke up for us and said that, no, he would be named John (as the angel had told me).

Not believing we would do this – there were no “Johns” in our family – everyone looked at me to see my reaction. And asking to be able to write my response, I wrote that indeed his name was to be John. This surprised everyone; but even more surprising was that at that very moment, my voice returned.

All of these events have caused quite a stir, I must say … especially back home in the hill country of Judah. Though John is still just a little fellow, it is clear that there is indeed something special about God’s hand on him – everyone can see it and they all comment about it.

(the rest of the story will come tomorrow)

The Family Tree (Matthew 1:1-17)

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I have on occasion in sermons and writings talked about my somewhat convoluted family background. Born to a single mother, I was adopted by her parents; and so that half of my family tree is known to me rather fully. But my father’s side was always a mystery. I only knew a handful of scant facts. I talked with him once on the phone when I was age 22, seeking to get together, but he politely blew me off and died a couple years later.

In an effort to understand a little bit more about where I came from, about five years ago I began a search of information on both sides. My mother’s side was easy enough, as I can trace that family lineage back to Switzerland with a rather certain connection to one of the leading figures of the Reformation.

My father’s family has been more difficult. Even with the incredible research capabilities that are available in this electronic age, I cannot get beyond a great grandfather born in 1855. So this genealogy today for Jesus that has 42 generations in it is something that I find especially amazing.

Why are people like me so interested in such things?  I suppose it is the way it can give you a sense of who you are and where you came from.

But you might not like what you find out. I like it that my ancestor on one side was a compatriot of Luther and Zwingli in the Reformation. However, it was not so great to find out that my great grandfather on the other side spent time in federal prison for theft while working for the postal system. The PBS series called Finding Your Roots uncovered that Ben Affleck had slave-owning ancestors. He asked to have this overlooked in the airing of the program, which it was. But WikiLeaks is everywhere and revealed the whole thing, leading to embarrassment on both sides.

The question from this might be to ask how significantly one’s ancestry reflects upon an individual. Is it fair to have a negative view of someone simply because of their genetic past? That could make for an interesting argument.

But let me speak to it theologically. We are all genetically related to Adam, and that is a problem for us. The curse of sin has come down to us. And ladies, here is one you lay on your husbands and fathers of your children – the kids got the sin nature from him, not you. And this is at the heart of the issue of the importance of the virgin birth of Christ.

But there is a way that family history plays well for us. As we have by faith trusted in Christ, we are adopted into his family. Yes, that’s a good thing! Legally we are the children of God with rights as heavenly heirs. So, I can say personally that adoption has worked out well for me on two occasions!

This Matthew genealogy is one that demonstrates for the reader the legitimate right that Jesus had to be king in Israel. That is the theme of Matthew’s gospel – the angle from which he writes to a Jewish audience in particular. So it traces from Abraham, through Judah and David, to Joseph who – read it carefully – is said to be the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Matthew 1:1 – This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram,

4 Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon,

5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse,

6 and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, 7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa,

8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

9 Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah,

11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah[c] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

12 After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

13 Zerubbabel the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor,

14 Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Elihud,

15 Elihud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob,

16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.

17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.