Bible Devotion Week 7

What time is it?

On Wednesday, we began Luke’s gospel. Luke begins with a prolonged account of John the Baptist’s birth. Mark begins his gospel with John the Baptist preaching and baptizing in the wilderness. Luke goes further back to a familiar Old Testament dilemma, an old childless couple. This is most likely intentional on Luke’s part. He wants to highlight the bridge between the Old Testament and the New Testament. We do not begin immediately with Jesus in Bethlehem or even in Nazareth. We start in Jerusalem in the Temple where we are introduced to Zechariah, the old husband of Elizabeth. The temple was the heart and soul of Israel and the presence of God had not been documented there since Ezekiel saw the glory of God depart (Ezek 10). Look at all the Old Testament themes introduced in these opening verses (vv. 5-24): barrenness, angelic visitations, and a miraculous birth. 

Luke doesn’t leave us in the Old Testament though. He introduces us to the New (vv. 26-38). The announcement of another miraculous birth but one unlike any other recorded before it. This time it is not an old woman but a young maiden. This time the birth does not happen naturally but supernaturally. This time the child born will not be the forerunner of the Messiah but the Messiah himself. 

We too live in between times. The Lord has come and departed and we now wait for his return. These birth introductions show us God is faithful to His promises. Do we have the faith to wait upon the Lord? Let’s pray for such a faith.