As children, the expectation of Christmas morning was both exhilarating and

agonizing… “when will it be here?” The same sense of expectation surrounded the first

Christmas as devoted groups in the Israelite community were waiting for the birth of a

messiah for generations. This message explores how we respond when the things we

hope for are not arriving on the timeline we would like.

Luke 1:5-27

In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.

Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly.

But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God,

He was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.

When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.

But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.

He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.

He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.

And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.

And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.

When his time of service was completed, he returned home.

After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion.

“The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,

To a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.

Luke 1:68-79

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,

because he has come to his people and redeemed them.

He has raised up a horn of salvation for us

in the house of his servant David

(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),

Salvation from our enemies

and from the hand of all who hate us—

To show mercy to our ancestors

and to remember his holy covenant,

The oath he swore to our father Abraham:

To rescue us from the hand of our enemies,

and to enable us to serve him without fear

In holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;

for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,

To give his people the knowledge of salvation

through the forgiveness of their sins,

Because of the tender mercy of our God,

by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven

To shine on those living in darkness

and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

Genesis 12:2-3

“I will make you into a great nation,

and I will bless you;

I will make your name great,

and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you,

and whoever curses you I will curse;

and all peoples on earth

will be blessed through you.”

Do you have someone in your life who doesn’t choose Jesus? Is there tension there around the holidays? Why is that? If the message of Christmas is good news of great joy, then why does not everyone say yes to it? And why do we feel this tension and anxiety, and what do we do with it?

Luke 2:25-33

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.

It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required,

Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,

you may now dismiss your servant in peace.

For my eyes have seen your salvation,

Which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:

A light for revelation to the Gentiles,

and the glory of your people Israel.”

The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him.

Have you ever felt distant from God—as if His holiness and your brokenness can’t meet? For the people of ancient Israel, priests bridged that gap through sacrifices and prayer.

But at Christmas Jesus came to be the perfect bridge - experiencing life as we do, though without sin.

Through Him, we can come to God with confidence, receiving mercy, grace, help, healing, and forgiveness.

Matthew 2:10–11

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

Hebrews 10:10

And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Hebrews 4:14–16

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.