Christmas is a time of expectation, and it should be. On Christmas day there will be children looking for a special gift. The very first Christmas was a time of great expectation. God had promised His coming Messiah for generations through His covenant promise to Adam and Even, to Noah, to Abraham, to Moses, to the people of Israel, to King David. Zacharias the priest in this prophetic utterance tells us that his son John will announce his coming. His coming is just around the corner. The years were long and their captivity cruel and God’s promise seemed so fruitless, but the harvest was about to take place. The miracle birth of the Messiah was going to take place. This year at Christmas are you looking for your miracle? Does it seem like it will never happen? Have you lost that sense of expectation? He is again here for you. Is the child of Christmas your great expectation?
Is your miracle a long time coming? It was a long time for God’s people. It was difficult for Zacharias to even hear the good news that the angel Gabriel had announced to him. Gabriel had come to reveal to Zacharias while he prayed in the temple at Jerusalem that he and his wife Elizabeth were to have a son named John. They had no children and Elizabeth was beyond child bearing years. Their son would become a prophet and prepare the way in fulfillment of Isaih’s prophecy to prepare the way of the Lord Jesus the coming Messiah and Saviour.
Zacharias wanted evidence. He couldn’t believe it because he told Gabriel that he was old and Elizabeth was advanced in years. Gabirel said he had come from God’s presence to announce this good news to him but because he did not believe, therefore, he was going to be mute until the day it would be fulfilled. The journey had been difficult for Elizabeth and Zecharias. They remained faithful to God in their duties at the temple without ever seeing their expectation fulfilled. When Gabriel announced that the expectation would be fulfilled Zacharias could not believe it (Luke 1:20). The people of Israel could not believe it. That’s why He sent John to prepare the way. Do we still believe? What do we do? For the people of Israel, and for Elizabeth and Zecharias it was a long wait. We must wait and in so doing offer our praise to God until the promise is completed.
What effect will such a miracle have? It may have unexpected effects. It did for Zecharias. In Zechariah’s prophecy he rehearses the promises of God in the covenant and how they will be fulfilled. The Lord is the God of Israel who has redeemed His people. He has raised up a horn, a symbol of strength for a King, in the house of David. They will be saved from their enemies as promised to their father’s and Abraham. John will be the prophet who prepares the way of the Lord as Isaiah the prophet predicted (40:3). This coming Messiah is the Dayspring, the Sun of Righteousness, like Malachi predicted with healing in His wings (Malachi 4:2).
But there is something more, something not quite expected that Zacharias hints at yet also predicted in Scripture. Zechariah prophesies that the Dayspring will give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death. Who are those who live in such a place? The prophet Isaiah predicted that in the land of the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali a light would come in Galilee of the Gentiles (Isaiah 9:1,2). Matthew 4: 15, 16 quote this verse as a fulfillment in Jesus’ ministry. These two regions were the first to be deported in Assyrian captivity almost 600 years before Christ and repopulated with other nations. By the time of Christ a Jewish population was living there again but it was the crossroads of trade with a mixed Gentile population so Galilee wasn’t quite kosher to the religious leaders of Jerusalem. It was the breadbasket of Israel having fertile farmland with the valley of Jezreel and Megiddo. It had been called Galilee for centuries. To call this area Zebulun and Naphtali would be like calling France the “land of the Franks.” That was historically true but not an accurate geographical, cultural or political term anymore.
This region had been in darkness for centuries in many ways. It sat as the northernmost boundary surrounded by the mountain borders of pagan nations. It was in the shadow of the mountains of Lebanon and Mount Hermon an enclave of pagan worship and idols. The people had been in such darkness beyond any hope. Then Jesus came to Nazareth right in the heart of Galilee. The light was shining. Even in the darkest circumstances there is a light shining and can bring the most unexpected effect. The Gentiles, you and I, would experience the miraculous light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Even Simeon the prophet says this when Joseph and Mary bring Jesus to the temple eight days after His birth. He says, “He is a “light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel” (Luke 2: 32). He will visit us with mercy and not judgment too asHe imparts light and adds the unexpected to our expectations.
Will this miracle all be taken away? Some live with that fear. If we focus on what the world focuses on at Christmas it will be gone the next day, but God wants us to live with the expectation of God’s miraculous intervention. There were still many who doubted even when Jesus began His ministry and as well after He was resurrected. Could this really be the one? Are we living with too high of expectations?
But, Jesus really came and He has come. A minister’s wife recorded in a letter in the 1800’s how their mission work was progressing. The ministry was difficult and the mission society expected her husband to be on horseback traveling everyday. His coat was not adequate to withstand the winter weather and winds. They were down to bread and tea for most of their meals. As Christmas approached their two boys expressed that they wanted ice skates for Christmas, and their little girl was asking God for a new doll for Christmas. It was all absolutely impossible.
“Before long James returned, chilled and exhausted. He drew off his boots, the thin stockings slipping off with them, and his feet were red with cold. ‘”I wouldn’t treat a dog that way; let alone a faithful servant,” I said. Then as I glanced up and saw the hard lines in his face and the look of despair, it flashed across me, James had let go too. I brought him a cup of tea, feeling sick and dizzy at the very thought. He took my hand, and we sat for an hour without a word. I wanted to die and meet God, and tell Him His promise wasn’t true; my soul was so full of rebellious despair.
“There came a sound of bells, a quick stop, and a loud knock at the door. James sprang up to open it. There stood Deacon White. ‘”A box came for you by express just before dark. I brought it around as soon as I could get away. Reckoned it might be for Christmas. Here is a turkey my wife asked me to fetch, and these other things I believe belong to you.”’ THere was a basket of potatoes and a bag of flour. Talking all the time, he hurried in the box, and then with a hearty good-night rode away.
“Without speaking, James found a chisel and opened the box. He drew out first a thick red blanket, and we saw that beneath was full of clothing! It seemed at that moment as if Christ fastened upon me a look of reproach. James sat down and covered his face with his hands. ‘”I can’t touch them,”’ he exclaimed,’”I haven’t been true, just when God was trying me to see if I could hold out. Do you think I could not see how you were suffering? And I had no word of comfort to offer. I know now how to preach the awfulness of turning away from God”’
“’”James,”’ I said, clinging to him, I don’t take it to heart like this. I am to blame. I ought to have helped you. We will ask Him together to forgive us.”’ ‘’ Wait a moment, dear, I cannot talk now,”’ then he went into another room. I knelt down, and my heart broke. In an instant all the stubbornness rolled away. Jesus came again and stood before me, but now with the loving word; ‘”Daughter!”’ Sweet promises of tenderness and joy flooded my soul. I was so lost in praise and gratitude that I forgot everything else.
“ I don’t know how long it was before James came back, but I knew he too had found peace. ‘”Now, my dear wife,”’ said he, ‘”let us thank God together,”’ and then he poured out words of praise - Bible words, for nothing else could express our thanksgiving (Herald of His Coming; December 2017, “Experience of a Minister’s Wife on the Frontier,”p. 9 [“The following was a letter sent home from a missionary wife on the American frontier in the 1800’s]).”
What miracle are you expecting this Christmas? He has not forgotten His covenant promise.
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