Luke 1:57-79 Advent Midweek Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke Wednesday, November 30, 2022 “Oh Lord, How Shall I Meet You? With Repentance Like Zechariah” What does a good apology sound like? Perhaps you have considered that question. Some people claim to be offering apologies, but they somehow don’t do the job fully. These are the sorts of public apologies that say, “I am sorry if any of you were offended by what I did.” They say, “I am sorry that people have misunderstood what I said or did.” That’s the sort of apology that doesn’t really admit to doing anything wrong. It tries to rationalize why one’s own actions were understandable or even expected. And this sort of apology really suggests that the wrong was done by the people reacting to the words and actions of the person giving the so-called apology. That’s quite a bit different from the apology we heard from King David earlier. God’s prophet Nathan led David—almost trapped him—into realizing that he had done something horrible. He had committed adultery and murder. He had tried to cover things up and hide his wrongdoing. He had felt the heavy weight of his conscience, but he pushed that down and kept it from its valuable job. And then with Nathan’s words, “You are the man,” every pretense went away and every chance at keeping his wrong private vanished. And he offered a good apology. Without rationalizing or explaining away, without shifting blame, he said, “I have sinned against the Lord.” As we ask our midweek Advent question today, “Oh Lord, How Shall I Meet You?” We’re looking at another example from Scripture. In Zechariah’s example, we don’t hear an apology, but we know that the same attitude is there. The attitude behind a good apology is something we call repentance. And so today we respond to “Oh Lord, How Shall I Meet You?” with the answer “With Repentance Like Zechariah.” And Zechariah shows us that repentance recognizes my sin and it recognizes my Savior. Zechariah knew his sin. Do you recall what was recorded about his sin in Luke chapter 1? Zechariah was a priest. He had the opportunity to burn incense in the Temple, a job for which priests were chosen by lot. Both Zechariah and his wife were old, and they were childless. But an angel appeared to Zechariah in the Temple to announce that he and Elizabeth would have a son. That son would play a special role in salvation history as the forerunner of the Savior. This was amazing and wonderful news. It was an answer to prayers. It was good news for everyone. But Zechariah did not believe it. Sure, it was surprising news. Zechariah had understandably given up on the idea that he and Elizabeth would have a child. They were well past the age where that was a realistic expectation. They were past the age where they even thought it possible. But this was not Zechariah’s own idea. This was an angel, a messenger of God, who had appeared to Zechariah inside the Temple. This was God’s own word, God’s own promise. Zechariah’s sin was doubt and unbelief. And he faced an immediate consequence for that sin. The angel told him that he would be unable to speak until things happened exactly as he had foretold. And, months later, we hear how that turned out. That’s the Gospel account from Luke that we are considering today. Elizabeth had her baby boy. John was going to be the name, according to the angel’s instruction. But that didn’t fit with the extended family’s expectations. They wanted a family name. The thought he should be Zechariah Jr. They had to go to Zechariah, the baby’s father, and ask him. He would write it out on a tablet because he still couldn’t speak. And he wrote, “His name is John.” Zechariah no longer resisted. He did not doubt. He listened to and put into practice what God had told him. And I get that he had no reason to doubt anymore, because he had seen his baby son. He didn’t need to wonder whether it was possible. It had happened in front of him. But Zechariah did not make an insincere apology. He could have reluctantly acknowledged the name John; he could have grudgingly obeyed what the angel had told him, but our account makes it very clear. Zechariah had undergone a change of heart. He knew his sin. He was not going to wallow in it any longer. He had recognized his wrong and turned away from it.
And evidence of his repentance poured out. All of a sudden Zechariah could speak again, to the amazement and astonishment of everyone. Zechariah’s repentance recognized his sin and turned away from it. That is our example when we are confronted with the Advent question “Oh Lord, How Shall I Meet You?” Repentance like Zechariah’s means that we recognize our sins. It means that we confess in our hearts if not with our mouths that we have doubted God’s Word and have put our own thinking in its place. We have been unwilling to listen to his messengers and his messages. We have not fully trusted or fully loved the one who so loved us. True repentance is very much like a good apology. I can’t just say, “I am sorry for whatever it is that I have done wrong.” That’s a fine starting point when it comes to our relationship with God. I have done more wrong than I could possibly know or recount. But true repentance also recognizes just how real my sins are. I have been unkind by avoiding someone who needed my kindness. I was selfish in my use of time and in my use of money. I served myself instead of serving others. Don’t just brush it off. Own up to it. Confront it. Confess it. Repentance recognizes my sin. And, thankfully, there is more to that story. Repentance also recognizes my Savior. That was the case for Zechariah, and it is the case for us as well. Immediately after Zechariah wrote that the baby would be named John, he was able to speak. And speak he did. Our reading says that he was filled with the Holy Spirit and he prophesied. Now he was the one speaking God’s Word. Now he was the one speaking God’s message. And the message was a Savior. Zechariah’s son was not the Savior. John would go before. He would prepare the way. He would get people ready. Zechariah doesn’t name him, but who he’s really talking about is Jesus. He talks about salvation. He talks about the promise and about ancestors like Abraham and David. He praises God for showing mercy and sending salvation and rescue and redemption. He says that John’s preparation will serve “to give his people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, because of God’s tender mercies.” Zechariah was ready to meet his son. He had waited for months, months that were filled with the challenge of remaining unable to speak. But as special as John’s birth was, Zechariah knew that another birth was even more special. Because Zechariah recognized his sins, he knew what a blessing was coming in the Savior. He knew what forgiveness meant. It was much more than being able to speak again. It was being able to be confident in God’s love and mercy and forgiveness. It was knowing that in the place of what he deserved, he would receive salvation, heaven itself. And so Zechariah was ready to meet Jesus. Are you ready to meet Jesus? I’m not asking if you’re ready with all your Christmas preparations. I am not asking if you are excited for that special holiday. I am saying that there is a reason we are singing and asking, “Oh Lord, How Shall I Meet You?” And you are truly ready to meet Jesus when you meet him with repentance. You meet him recognizing your sins and recognizing that he is the one who takes those sins away. That’s what will make you ready for Christmas as we celebrate his birth. That’s what will guide you through this church year just barely underway as we visit all sorts of highlights from his life and as we witness together his death on the cross and as we celebrate together his empty tomb. And that is what will make you ready to meet Jesus when the time comes. That time could come when you leave this world to go to his side. That time could come when he returns. That time will come. Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited us and prepared redemption for his people. Those are words of true repentance. Those are words that can lead to a good apology. Those are words that recognize sin and recognize a Savior from sin. May words like those be on our hearts and on our lips as we meet Jesus our Lord with repentance like Zechariah.
The Text: Luke 1:57–79 (EHV) 57When
the time came for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. 58Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they were rejoicing with her. 59On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. They wanted to call him Zechariah after the name of the father. 60But his mother answered, “No. He will be called John.” 61They
said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” 62They made signs to his father, to see what he wanted to name him. 63He
asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they were all amazed.
64Immediately
Zechariah’s mouth was opened, his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God. came on all who lived around them. In the entire hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. 66And everyone who heard this took it to heart, saying, “What then will this child be?” Clearly, the hand of the Lord was with him. 65Fear
67His
father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
68Blessed
is the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited us and prepared redemption for his people. 69He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70just as he said long ago through the mouth of his holy prophets. 71He raised up salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, 72in order to show mercy to our fathers by remembering his holy covenant, 73the oath which he swore to Abraham our father, 74to grant deliverance to us from the hand of our enemies, so that we are able to serve him without fear, 75in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, because you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77to give his people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, 78because of God’s tender mercies, by which the Rising Sun from on high will visit us, 79to shine on those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.