The goal of this series is simple: read 1 chapter from Luke a day. There are 24 chapters, which means that you will finish by December 24th, the night before Christmas. Reading the life of Jesus reminds us why we even celebrate Christmas in the first place!
Today's Reading: Luke 1
Today's Focus: Vs. 16-17
Even before the story of Jesus, there was an ancient prophecy. Israel had abandoned God. He is furious with them and warns them of the "Day of the Lord." This Day will affect the righteous and the wicked. For the righteous, it is a day to long for because it will be full of celebration. For the wicked, it is a day to dread as they will taste the full wrath of God. The prophet to deliver this warning is Malachi. He calls for them to repent.
Malachi 4 ends with hope. It is quite a cliffhanger.
5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”
The oracle of Malachi speaks of a Messianic age. It is the day when God will visit His people to save them. But first, before all of that is to happen, an "Elijah" character will come to lay the red carpet for God Himself. This "Elijah" person will fulfill Isaiah 40:3--
"A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God."
There is excitement! There is hope! There is a longing and yearning for God to come deliver and save!
...then comes an era known as the "400 Silent Years."
No prophecy.
No miracles.
No word from God.
It is as if redemptive history came to a halt. The gears stopped turning and has rusted. 400 years since Malachi, and people begin to think God has forgotten. Or, more likely, they have forgotten God.
Then the angel Gabriel appears to Zechariah. We are familiar with the announcement of Messiah's birth, but Gabriel announces another birth first: John the Baptist.
"13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared." (John 1:13-17)
Malachi's prophecy is being fulfilled. This "Elijah" is coming. This little baby boy, John, will lay the red carpet for the Messiah. He will usher in the King. He will be the voice in the desert.
The 400 years of silence is broken by the sound of rusty gears grinding and turning. The time has come.
O come, O come, EmmanuelAnd ransom captive IsraelThat mourns in lonely exile here
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