American Loon

All Glory to God the Father and to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

We will start with a bit of a review from last week.

Question 1: What were the names of John the Baptist’s parents?

Answer: Luke 1:12-13
12 Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John.

Question 2: Where did John the Baptist grow up?

Answer: Luke 1:80
“And the child grew and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel.”

Question 3: What was John the Baptist’s life dedicated to from birth on?

Answer: Luke 1:15
“For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.”
The term for this is Nazarite. There was some confusion last week over what a Nazarite was. At all times a Nazarite was to control his appetite and passions to be in harmony with God’s moral law. There is more to it than that of course and for a complete study of it, I would refer you to Numbers chapter 6, Judges chapters 13 and 16 and Amos chapter 2. These are all the areas I found to have references to describing what a Nazarite is and the particulars of being a Nazarite.

Question 4: As a Nazarite, what were the foods that John ate that made him stand out from the average Jew?

Answer: Matthew 3:4
Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.

Question 5: Who were the two prophets that prophesied that a man would come and be a herald of the coming of Christ?

Answer: Isaiah 40:3
A voice is calling,
“Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.

Malachi 3:1
“Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts.”

So the Jews had ample warning that their Messiah was coming and that a man preaching from the wilderness and clearing the way, as seen in both Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1

We ended last week with the beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry. Matthew 3 describes all of Judea and the surrounding districts as going out to be baptized in the River Jordan by this man wearing camel hair and preaching to them to repent of their sins. John’s mission can be summed up by one word, “prepare.” He was to prepare the way for the coming of Christ.

Matthew 3:11
11 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Hundreds, if not thousands, were immersed by him. And his success was solely in the message he proclaimed.

The multitudes said that he performed no “sign,” though they regarded his message concerning Christ as true:

John 10:41
“Many came to Him and were saying, “While John performed no sign, yet everything John said about this man was true.”

This passage appears to indicate that John did not perform demonstrative miracles, as Jesus and the apostles did, found in:

Matthew 10:1
Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

The power of John’s preaching, together with the void in Israel’s hearts, did what the Pharisees and Sadducees, with rules added to the backs of the Jews, could never do. You could never be righteous enough according to the law and that was the whole point of the coming of Christ. He, the Divine Light, would come and remove the need for animal sacrifice for atonement. A great example of this in Matthew 22, verses 34 to 46:

34 But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together.

35 One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him,

36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”

37 And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’

38 This is the great and foremost commandment.

39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question:

42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They *said to Him, “The son of David.”

43 He *said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,

44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet”’?

45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?”

46 No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question.

The Pharisees and Sadducees also came to John the Baptist wondering if he perhaps was the Christ, this is where we left off last week, with John berating them as a brood of vipers, which must have been very satisfying to those in the crowd that had heard this exchange.

The high priests had gotten curious as to why so many people were traveling to the Jordan River and from the reports that they had received, along with their knowledge of the scripture, they started thinking that perhaps this might be the Christ. So they sent their boys, these soon to be called Vipers, down to the Jordan River to talk to a hairy man with a camel skin garment, to ask him “Are you the Christ?”

John 1:19-23
19 This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

20 And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”

21 They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he *said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

23 He said, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

You can understand their confusion, they had read the scripture, and this guy was doing his baptism thing in the river, telling people to repent for judgement is coming. This fits their idea of who the Christ might be. John the Baptist says “No, I am not the Christ.” You have to remember the term Christ means Messiah. When we say Jesus Christ, what we are really saying is Jesus the Messiah.
Messiah comes from the Hebrew word, Mashiach, meaning “the anointed one,” or “the chosen one.”

Now these vipers grasp on to the next possibility, which is Elijah. Scripture says he’ll come again.

Malachi 4:5-6
5 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.

6 He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”

“Well, who are you then so we can report back to our masters and what do you have to say about yourself.” A bit of paraphrasing there. Reading that from scripture, from something that was written more than two Millennia ago, you can just hear their frustration. They’re going to have to go back to their masters and say no, this man says he is not the Christ, and he is not Elijah, just a man crying out in the wilderness, preparing the way for the True Divine Light. And I like that John the Baptist can quote Isaiah 40 verse 3, the very scripture that prophesied of a man in the wilderness crying out, making the path straight for the coming of the Lord.

And all the while more and more people were traveling out to the Wilderness, to the River Jordan, to hear this man and be baptized, repenting of their sins, for that is what he was teaching.

With that out of the way the next event that happened in John the Baptist’s life was the realization of the prophecy, Jesus came to be baptized.

Matthew 3:13-17
13 Then Jesus *arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him.

14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”

15 But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he *permitted Him.

16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him,

17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

This must have been a very bittersweet moment for John. The very reason for his existence, predicted so long ago. The reason he did not drink wine or eat grapes, the reason he spent his life in the wilderness and felt compelled to baptize people with water, knowing that he was just the messenger. Jesus walks into his life and says baptize me. What do you do when your creator says to do something? You comply and do it.

And so he did it, and shortly afterward he heard Jehovah Himself telling everyone within earshot “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”

That was pretty much the culmination of John the Baptist’s work. As we go through the scripture, we will see other references to John the Baptist, of him introducing his disciples to Jesus the Lamb of God. He continued his work, pointing out to his disciples, Behold the Lamb of God. So we will leave John right here, having met Christ, baptizing Him and hearing God the Father saying He is well pleased.

Numbers 6:22-26
“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

All Glory to God the Father and to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

Please turn to John chapter 1.
After talking to our new Pastor of First Baptist Church, Aaron, whom you met last week, he gave me a few new and interesting ideas for Bible Study. Aaron was a teacher and since Bible Study is teaching, he stated that repetition and review are very good at getting people to retain things. Of course you also have to have an interest in what you are studying and since you are sitting here with me, I’ll assume that you have an interest in this subject. I have 8 questions from the material that we have covered in the last 3 weeks and you can use your bible to help with the answers.

1. The first three words of John are the same as the first three words of Genesis. What are the three words? (John 1:1)

Answer: (John 1:1) In the beginning.

2. John says that “the Word was with God”. Then he says something else. What does he say? (John 1:1)

Answer: (John 1:1) “The Word was God.”

3. According to John, did the Word exist with God in the beginning or was God alone in the beginning? (John 1:2)

Answer: (John 1:2) He was in the beginning with God.

4. According to John, what relationship does the Word (who was God) have to everything that has ever been made? (John 1:3)

Answer: (John 1:3) All things were made by him, and without him nothing was made that ever was made.

5. What was in the Word who was with God? (John 1:4)

Answer: (John 1:4) In him was life and the life was the light of humanity.

6. When the light of Christ shone in the darkness, what was the result? How did the darkness react? (John 1:5)

Answer: (John 1:5) The darkness did not overcome it (or did not comprehend it).

7. God sent someone to bear witness of the Light. Whom did God send? (John 1:6-8)

Answer: (John 1:6-8) There was a man sent from God whose name was John… This man came to bear witness of the Light.

8. John the Baptist came to bear witness to the Light, namely Jesus Christ the Word who was in the beginning with God. What was the purpose of John’s witness? (John 1:7-8)

Answer: (John 1:7-8) This man came… to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.

The life of John the Baptist.

Luke covered the birth of John quite well, so we’ll start out with something we already went over, but it’s good to review.

Luke 1:5-7
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

6 They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.

7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years.

They were old and childless and for a priest that had to be a rather uncomfortable circumstance. As a priest, people would look at you as a paragon of virtue and holiness, at least that’s the way it’s supposed to be. With his wife being childless, his fellow priests might have thought that there was some sin in his life so that God had prevented them from having children. In the minds of the people of that day, there was a very direct correlation between what you did in your life and how God chose to show his displeasure over your sins.

We know that Elizabeth was related to Mary, probably through marriage, and she came from the line of Aaron, the first priest as designated by God, who was a brother to Moses. All this we covered the last few weeks.

We also know that his birth was a prophecy way back in the Old Testament by Isaiah and Malachi, telling that a man would come out of the wilderness to herald the coming of Christ. That would be Isaiah 40 verse 3, and Malachi 3 verse 1. It was also said that he would come with the power of Elijah, that would be Malachi 4 verses 4 and 5.

The scriptures are silent as to the fate of John’s parents although there is a legend that Zacharias was slain by Herod the Great, forcing Elizabeth to flee with her babe into the wilderness area of Judea. And since the scriptures do not say anything about this, it is not important to the message that God is giving us. This historical legend is a possible answer to Luke 1:80 “And the child grew and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel.”

There happens to be a desert or deserted area that stretches from Jerusalem to Bethlehem Eastward some 20 miles down river and the Dead Sea. It is a barren region of rugged hills and valleys.

We also know that John was a Nazarite from birth. The angel Gabriel said to Zacharias:

Luke 1:15
“For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.”

At all times a Nazarite was to control his appetite and passions to be in harmony with God’s moral law.

The Bible speaks about being a Nazarite this way:

Numbers 6:2
“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazarite, to dedicate himself to the Lord,
3 he shall abstain from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, nor shall he drink any grape juice nor eat fresh or dried grapes.”

And also:

Judges 13:5
For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”


The Bible describes John in Matthew 3 verse 4 this way, “Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.”

The hair cloak might have been rough fabric woven from camel’s hair or camel skin itself, the text doesn’t really make that clear. It was very similar to certain Old Testament prophets, particularly Elijah.

Scripture refers to that in:

Zechariah 13:4
Also it will come about in that day that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophecies, and they will not put on a hairy robe in order to deceive;

And:

2 Kings 1:8
8 They answered him, “He was a hairy man with a leather girdle bound about his loins.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

What John ate was generally consumed by the poor elements of society; he stood in bold relief to the wealthy, indulgent Jews of his day. His very presence was a sermon in itself.

Scripture also says that John was somewhat reclusive. Jesus said in Matthew 11 verse 18 “John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He has a demon.”

Eating and drinking stood for socializing – the prophet was not a socialite. His aesthetic lifestyle appeared almost demonic, like those possessed of evil spirits who apparently frequented the desolate areas. There are references in scripture of Jesus having to deal with demonic people in remote areas. Mark 5 talks of Jesus meeting a Gerasene man with a legion of demons in him.

When John the Baptist started his ministry, he did not seek out the multitudes, rather he attracted them.

Matthew 3:5-12
Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan;

6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

And this is my favorite part coming up in verse 7, continuing:

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

8 Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;

9 and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.

10 The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

12 His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

We will stop right here and pick it up where we left off, next week.

Romans 15:5-6 – May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

All glory to God the Father and our Savior Jesus Christ

Please turn to the book of John and we will explore verses 7 and 8.

Before we start, let us review what we have learned so far in this book of John. We know that John was among the 12, with his brother James, chosen as Disciples of Jesus Christ. These two were chosen while in their father’s boat, and this disciple was known simply as the one whom Jesus loved. He wrote this book while a very old man and also wrote John 1, John 2 and John 3 along with the book of Revelation.

The first 5 verses are;
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

So, we know this speaks of Christ, of our Savior being eternal and being the agent of creation. He is the Light of men, and that Light overcomes darkness, the darkness of men’s souls before they are drawn to the Light.

Last week we discovered the other John in the Bible. John the Baptist, whose birth was foretold in a prophecy by Isaiah 600 years before his coming.

John, son of Zacharias and Elizabeth was destined, by the hand of God, to be the herald of the coming of the Messiah, and apart from Christ himself, is probably the most theologically significant figure in the Gospels. And you may ask, why is that? Jesus said of him in Luke 7:28, “I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John.”

His birth was meticulously recorded ( Luke 1:5-25 ). His entrance into the world was marked by angelic proclamation and divine intervention ( Luke 1:57-80 ). John’s birth not only parallels that of Jesus, but echoes the momentous occasion of the birth of Isaac to Abraham and Sarah ( Gen 17:15-22 ; 21:1-7 ).

Although his formative years were lived in obscurity in the desert, this is found in Luke 1:80, And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

His public ministry ended nearly four hundred years of prophetic silence. John was that voice crying in the wilderness preparing the way for the coming Messiah, referred to in
Isaiah 40:3, A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.

In this sense his message and ministry marked the culmination of the law and the prophets, but heralded the coming of the kingdom of God. So John was truly a transitional figure, forming the link between the Old and New Testaments.

Today’s discussion, verses 7 and 8 reads as follows.

John 1:7-8
7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him.
8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.

So this man was foretold by Isaiah hundreds of years before his birth. He came as a witness of the coming of the Lamb of God. John was an end-times prophet. The original end time prophet. An image comes to mind of a scruffy man in a beard standing near a busy highway, shaking a cardboard sign at cars, with the words Repent Now For The End Is Nigh. John the Baptist is who they are emulating. He conducted his ministry with divine authority that demanded immediate action. He taught that judgment is at hand. The axe is laid to the roots and God will thoroughly purge his threshing floor

Matt 3:10-12
10 The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
12 His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Luke 3:9
9 Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Luke 3:17
17 His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

And the true repentance was evidenced in very practical terms: share with those in need, eliminate graft, and prohibit extortion.

Luke 3:11-14
11 And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.”
12 And some tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”
13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.”
14 Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.”

But today’s verses deal with witnessing of the Light, not clearing the threshing room floor or burning the chaff, although that is much needed in today’s society as it was back then.

The terms “witness” or “to testify” receive special attention in the gospel, reflecting the courtroom language of the Old Testament where the truth of a matter was to be established on the basis of multiple witnesses

Here are a few examples of witness in the scripture.

The Samaritan woman: John 4:29 Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?”
She witnessed to the headmen of her village as to this amazing man she just met.

The works of Jesus: John 10:25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me.
Jesus is witnessing to his people, the Jews, who incredibly, do not believe him.

The Father: John 5:32-37 There is another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true.

Witness of John:
John 5:33-35 You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth.
34 But the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.
35 He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.

Witness of Works:
John 5:36 But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.

Witness again of the Father:
John 5:37 And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form.

We now see what it means to witness, according to God’s word. How do we bring that lesson back here to July 1st 2020? How do you witness or testify to somebody? Your family, your friends, people you meet. Maybe on a street corner with a cardboard sign?

I am doing that right now, to you, as to the truth and inerrancy of the Bible. It is a frightening concept to step out of your comfort zone. John was able to do it in a forthright manner, because the Holy Spirit was within him while in the womb. True believers also have the Holy Spirit within them. My question to you is do you feel the Holy Spirit within you? If you are a believer, one drawn to the Light, you have that same capability of testifying that John did. Ours is not a timid God. Use the gifts that God has given you.

John knew that he was not the Light ( John 1:8 ) but he was sent to bear witness of that Light, and you too can and should bear witness of that Light. That Light that has changed your life. Being a believer should show. Not in a splashy prosperity preacher style, but in gentleness of spirit, in hospitality, in a kind word and most importantly obedience to His word. Those are the works of the spirit.

There is so much fear in this world, but what is fear to a child of the God who created all? And that God loves you and has your back. How do we know this? Because He sent his only begotten Son to die on the cross and be raised again on the third day that we may live. Go forth and be witnesses of the Light.

Now while you are mentally chewing on that, I will give you another thing to chew on. I ran across Pastor John Piper’s quote on the Covid virus and really liked it. “This is not a season for sentimental views of God. It is a bitter season. And God ordained it. God governs it. He will end it. No part of it is outside his sway. Life and death are in his hand.”
You see, there is simply no room for “I have Faith, but..”.

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance, through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” 2 Pet. 1:2

All glory to God the Father and to our Savior Jesus Christ

Turn to John chapter 1. Today we will studying verse 6.

6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John.

It is at this point I need to make a very clear distinction. To my knowledge, there are only three Johns in the Bible. The first would be John Mark or the Apostle Mark. The Apostle Mark was rarely called by his first name John. The second would be the Apostle John son of Zebedee. The Apostle John who wrote the Book of John, First John, Second John and Third John and the Book of Revelation. And the last would be John the Baptist, who is the topic of our discussion in verse 6. So to be clear, John the Baptist is not John the Apostle, son of Zacharias. John the Baptist never wrote anything in the bible; his job was to herald the coming of the Lamb of God.. So let’s find out who John the Baptist was and what he did.

We turn to Luke 1 and find out the unusual circumstances of John the Baptist’s birth. Luke is where we get most, if not all of our information about John the Baptist’s birth.

Luke 1
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

6 They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.

7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years.

8 Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division,

9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

10 And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering.

11 And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.

12 Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him.

13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John.

14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.

15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb.

16 And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.

17 It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

18 Zacharias said to the angel, “How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.”

19 The angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

20 And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”

21 The people were waiting for Zacharias, and were wondering at his delay in the temple.

22 But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them; and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he kept making signs to them, and remained mute.

23 When the days of his priestly service were ended, he went back home.

24 After these days Elizabeth his wife became pregnant, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying,

25 “This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to take away my disgrace among men.”

A couple thoughts on this. First, how God uses attributes of us as unmistakable signs to all. It is well known that people of advanced age do not have babies, yet Abraham and Sarah did and now Zacharias and Elizabeth have also been used as a mighty symbol by our God to show them and us that he is Sovereign Over All. We need to remember this in these days of panic and uncertainty. Both couples were of an advanced age and had a child, by the Grace of God. Both children ushered in something new and wonderful. Isaac fulfilled the prophecy of the Jews and the lineage of Jesus and John foretold of the coming of Christ and our salvation.

Next thought would be Elijah. The angel Gabriel spoke of this in Verse 17 of Luke 1.

17 It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

We now turn to Malachi.
Malachi 4:5-6
5 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.

6 He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”

Also in Isaiah 40:3
A voice is calling,
“Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.

So we find that Elijah will come before the Lamb of God comes, to restore the hearts of the children to their fathers so that God would not come and smite their land with a curse. The Pharisees knew this and that is why they asked John “who are you?” That part is coming in a later part of this chapter.

In the time of Jesus, messianic expectation was never far from the surface, and speculation was that both John the Baptist and Jesus were the reappearances of ancient biblical figures.

In Matthew 16:13–16
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

We come now to the angel Gabriel. At first I thought he had not been given a sense of irony or humor, but now I think Zacharias’ silence was to be used as another mighty sign.

We continue with John’s story.

Luke 1:57-80
57 Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son.

58 Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.

59 And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias, after his father.

60 But his mother answered and said, “No indeed; but he shall be called John.”

61 And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name.”

62 And they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called.

63 And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, “His name is John.” And they were all astonished.

64 And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God.

65 Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea.

66 All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.

And Zacharias praised the Lord for the birth of his son and has a prophecy.

67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,

69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of David His servant—

70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old—

71 Salvation from our enemies,
And from the hand of all who hate us;

72 To show mercy toward our fathers,
And to remember His holy covenant,

73 The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,
74 To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,

75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.

76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
For you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways;

77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of their sins,

78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,

79 To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

80 And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

I call this a good start to understanding this man sent from God, whose name was John.

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance, through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” 2 Pet. 1:2