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Before The Promised Deliverer arrived on the scene,
God was going to prepare the Jewish people by sending
a special messenger to announce the impending event.
No doubt the angels of Heaven were in wonderment
as to who this select bearer of good tidings might be.
But then news of a different kind leaked through--
news having to do with the identity of The Deliverer.
It must have left all of heaven gasping.
Let's stop here for a moment and take a look at this verse.
It mentions that Herod was king of Judea.
And the Judea that was in question here is a region
located in South central Israel that is generally mountainous.
Ranging from fairly dense forest cover,
to barren wastelands.
Centered in Judea is the city of Jerusalem.
This is where the Jewish temple was situated
and it is here that Zechariah ministered as a priest.
Okay, now that we know where Judea is,
begin that verse again and continue on.
The angel had told Zechariah that his son, John,
would be the messenger to prepare the way
for the coming of the Lord.
That was news alright, but it was that last tidbit
of information that had all of heaven agog.
God Himself--the Lord-- was coming to the earth.
He would be The Promised Deliverer.
The news must have stunned Satan.
No doubt Zechariah was floundering around
as he tried to absorb all this.
Seeing an angel was unheard of in his day.
And the news of Elizabeth having a son at their age
was enough to give an old man pause.
But then to be informed that the Creator God
was coming to the earth as The Promised Deliverer--
well, that was simply unbelievable!
But then again, Zechariah was familiar with
the writings of the prophets.
Four hundred years before this time,
the prophet Malachi had written about this event.
There it was in plain words.
Zechariah must have wondered why he had not seen it before.
It was obvious!
The LORD Almighty had said,
"I will send a messenger to prepare the way before me!"
God himself would be coming as The Anointed One.
Moreover, the angel had said that the messenger
who would prepare his way would be the priest's own son--John.
Well, Zechariah went home dumbfounded.
God kept his word; it happened just as the angel said it would.
But a question must have nagged away
at the back of Zechariah's mind.
I mean, just how would the Creator come to earth?
Would he come in a golden chariot
driving seven white steeds, surrounded
with legions of angels all dressed in brilliant light?
Would he unseat the Roman rulers--
you know, dump Herod off his throne?
Well, the angel had not said.
Now we take a scene shift, we go to another setting.
The angel made another visit,
this time to a young lady by the name of Mary.
Okay, let's just stop there for a moment.
We need to find out a little bit about Nazareth before moving on.
Nazareth is located in Northern Israel,
in a region called Lower Galilee.
The city is perched on the mountains,
looking up over a broad valley, the valley of Jezreel.
This ancient city is now a modern and thriving metropolis,
having long ago drawn beyond its traditional town limits.
Okay, now that we know a little bit about Nazareth,
let's continue on, start that verse again.
Joseph and Mary were engaged to each other
according to their Jewish customs.
The Bible says that both Joseph and Mary were direct descendants
of King David who had lived 1000 years earlier.
You can imagine how Mary felt!
I mean, it just didn't, it must have been astounding.
But when she was finally able to collect her thoughts,
she asked a very logical question.
The angel was telling Mary that she was to be the mother
of The Promised Deliverer!
Now, there must have been a sense, a dawning,
an awareness that came into Mary's mind at this time.
Because she knew the stories well, I'm sure.
She knew that way back in the garden of Eden,
referring both to man and woman.
And now that the promise was about to be fulfilled,
and the child was to be born of a ***--
it would be her offspring only.
The baby would not have a human father.
Now what seemed to be an insignificant choice of phrasing
now carried tremendous weight.
But this little notation in the footsteps of history
had greater ramifications.
No wonder the angel referred to the Baby as the Holy One.
The child would be sinless, just as God is sinless.
Jesus would be perfect from conception.
So, God would not be coming
with all of Heaven's pomp and grandeur.
Rather, he would arrive on the planet as all mankind had
and ever will--as a baby!
The angel said:
Mary knew Elizabeth was too old to have a child.
Surely if God could make it possible for Elizabeth
to conceive, then it was just as believable for her,
as a ***, to have a child.
Mary chose to trust God.
John was born just as God had promised.
The Bible says it was quite an occasion,
and well it should have been, for in that day and age
a stigma was attached to those who could not bear children.
Zechariah was so thrilled he burst into a speech,
a benediction of praise to God.
What he had to say was really a mini-tour
of the world's history, punctuated with
the repeated promises God had given over the centuries--
You can see the elderly Zechariah
holding the child high, as he fixed his eyes
on baby John's face and said:
John would be the messenger who would announce the arrival
of The Promised Deliverer to the world.
Paul, as you stated earlier,
the Bible records many instances
of the prophets, who lived long before Jesus,
who wrote about his coming.
Listen to what the prophet Isaiah wrote
700 years before the birth of Jesus:
Now, note how the child is called Mighty God.
Well that's significant!
And here's something else.
Jesus had many names, each name describing
something about his character.
For example Jesus is called both the Son of God,
and the Son of Man.
Now, the term Son of God has no physical implications.
It just simply means Jesus had the nature of God,
in contrast to a son of Adam who had a sin nature.
Now, the Bible says that:
Now, the term Son of Man was used by Jesus,
both to emphasize his humanity and to declare his identity.
And for centuries, scholars recognized this term
as referring to The Deliverer.
Now, what's interesting is that
when the two names are combined,
they find their complete expression in the fact that...
And that's referring to Jesus.
Hmm.
That ties together so nicely.
Jesus was also called "The Word."
God didn't just tell us about himself,
he showed himself to us.
The Bible says:
God came to earth personally to explain how man could
be saved from eternal death. Think of it this way.
You see a bulldozer clearing a road,
and in its path lies an anthill.
Now, you know the ants are about to be destroyed,
but what can you do about it?
The only answer would be to become an ant and just
warn them in the way that ants warn each other about,
you know, impending danger.
And that's why Jesus came.
Oh, the Bible says: