Rev Gav

Prophecy

Luke 1:16-17

¹⁶ And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”

Reflect

There was this idea in the Old Testament – the traditional collection of books from the Jewish people — that one day God’s special agent or Christ would come. This ‘anointed one’ of God would rescue the Jewish nation from its enemies and so the people lived in this hope.

However, the prophets predicted that before the Messiah or Christ turned up, a great prophet called Elijah would return and that Elijah would lead and prepare the way for the coming king. In this part of the story, the angel told Zechariah that this would be the job of his son John. John would be the expected Elijah, not literally, but John would be a great prophet and an earthly messenger. The message of John would be, ‘Get ready for the king!’ John would also give people the opportunity to get ready too.

So far, Zechariah had received two bits of exciting news. Firstly, despite being old, he was going to have a baby, and secondly, the long-awaited Messiah was going to turn up! And the two things were connected because John was going to be the prophet who announced that the King was arriving, and would help the people to prepare. At this point I expect Zechariah might’ve needed a lie down!

It’s hard for us to get our head around, but the second bit of good news is as exciting for us as it was for Zechariah. King Jesus is coming? We can meet him? Here and now?

Do

Ask God to fill you with a renewed sense of excitement that, today, you can meet the Messiah – the Lord Jesus Christ.

Pray

Holy God
Thank you that I can meet king Jesus today.
Fill me with a fresh sense of excitement
about Jesus, and the ministry of his followers.
And help me be always ready
to love and serve you.
This day and for ever.
Amen.

Think

Think of an occasion when you won a prize or were selected for something special. How did it make you feel? Have you ever felt this way about Jesus?