St. Martini Kapstadt

Zechariah’s Prophecy
67 And John’s father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, 68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people 69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; 72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

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A sermon by Pastor Wolf von Kilian:

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Gal 1,3)

 

Dear Sisters and Brothers

The third Sunday of Advent is dedicated to John the Baptist as different Bible translations call him. May I suggest that the description is inappropriate. John was neither a Baptist nor a Christian but a Jewish man and we should rather call him the Immerser. Immersion, according to Jewish understanding is different from a Christian baptism, because it is not a sacrament and can be repeated. Nevertheless, the life of John and his ministry is linked to Jesus’ mission and there are some similarities which we will find out later.

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1. Zechariah

Let’s start with a simple question. Can you recall an event that changed your life? Meeting your future wife, getting the right job at the right time or buying shares at the right price which gave you peace of mind? How about your conversion, meeting the risen Lord in your own personal way? Life changing experiences are like cross-roads where you change directions and you also look at the world from a different angle. The event will stay with you for the rest of your life.
Let us look how God intervened in the life of Zechariah.

Zechariah was a priest by profession and serving the God of Israel in the temple of Jerusalem. According to the Gospel he was old and so was his wife, Elizabeth. We can deduct that Zechariah was between 50 and 60 years of age, so was his dear wife, Elizabeth. Both were committed to the Jewish way of abiding the law of Moses and following the regulations of the sages. However, one heartfelt issue was that they had no child because Elizabeth was barren. For a women she felt inferior when others started to talk proudly about their children. According to Jewish law, Zechariah could have divorced Elizabeth, but he was in love with her and remained a faithful husband.

If you are familiar with narrative of the fathers of faith then you know that barrenness was the problem of some women like Sarah or Hannah.

Now Zechariah was on duty in the temple and he was chosen by lot to burn incense in the temple, which was something like winning the lottery. It happened not to all the priests, but Zechariah was the lucky one this time.

He was allowed to enter the holy temple and he came as close as possible to the mercy seat of God. Think of it as a private audience with the Lord. Burning incense in the presence of God Almighty was a symbol of prayer and petitions with the request: Listen to our prayers and remember us!

During the burning of incense, an angel appeared to Zechariah and shared the most exciting news with the old priest. Your prayers are accepted by heaven, you shall live up to your name Zechariah which can be translated as : ‘God remembers’. You will father a son and his name will be John. He will be great in the eyes of the Lord and will be filled with the Holy Spirit and walk in the power of Elijah. His mission will be to restore the hearts of the fathers and of the sons to the God of Israel.

Now the reaction of old Zechariah was disbelief, how will I know this for certain?

Imagine you would have a similar visitation and after that you would go home and announce to your wife: Honey , we are having a baby! Your wife’s response: Are you meshuga? Sit down and drink a cup of hot milk and I will call the doctor!

The old priest could not believe his ears and Gabriel punished him by striking him mute for his disbelief.

Zechariah had 9 months to reconsider what had happened and he was a broken man. Once in his life time the Lord had spoken so clearly to him by sending a personal message. He failed the test at his age.

9 months he was shrouded in solitude, repentance and meditation until the birth of his son.

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2. John the Immerser

The eighth day was the day of circumcision and the day for naming the child. According to Jewish law he should have been little Zechariah but his father refused and wrote down on a tablet : His name shall be John, which means ‘God is merciful’.

On pronouncing this name, Heaven lifted the sanction against Zechariah and filled with the Holy Spirit he prophesied this wonderful oracle, which we read as our sermon text. This is the first part (V68-75) and the second deals specifically with his son John (V76-79): Blessed be the God of Israel for he has visited us and accomplished redemption for his people.

What a wonderful Psalm and every line can be backed by the Old Testament. This is a praise of the faithfulness of God, who keeps his promises to Israel and to all generations. His word remains eternally and his reign endures forever. His kingdom is based on holiness and righteousness.

John was elected to become the forerunner of Jesus to prepare his way and to call Israel to repentance. His life was dedicated to the Lord to become a prophet and an evangelist. We do not know much about the upbringing of John, but for sure his parents did what good Jewish parents were doing. They cicrumcised him, taught him the Torah, enabled him to fulfil the commands and live a devoted life. Actually, John could have become a priest like his father but his calling was different. The Spirit of God prepared and formed him til he started his ministry next to the River Jordan.

The description of John’s appearance seems odd because he lived a secluded life in the desert. He looked like a cave man, did not cut his hair and instead of blue jeans and a T-shirt, he wore clothes made of camel hair. His food consisted of honey and locust. Perhaps not to everybody's taste!

He started with his ministry on the east side of the River Jordan, a reminder for the Israelites before the forefathers entered the promised land. Like an evangelist, he roared like a lion and his message was heard in Jerusalem, Judea and Galilee. People from all over Israel came, listened and were impressed. Why did they come?

Here was a prophet like Elijah calling the listeners to repentance and he did not mince his words. The short comings of the Israelites were apostasy, sexual immorality, greed, exploitation and corruption. With a sharp critique he condemned the Sadducees and Pharisees: You brood of vipers, bear fruits in keeping with repentance! What would you say if your pastor would call you that?

John knew exactly how the leadership of Israel operated and he pointed out their corruption and their sell out to the Romans. The office of the High Priest was sold by the governors and went to the highest bidder, eg. Caiaphas and Annas are well known for that. They collaborated with Rome like Herod the Great and later his sons. The leadership of Israel enriched themselves, trampling on the poor and uneducated. The Jewish faith was eroded and had lost its focus on the God of Israel.

John the Immerser preached without fear attacking and criticising priests, rulers and Israelites for disobeying the covenant.

Repentance according to John had to be a personal decision to turn away from the evil ways and choose the way of righteousness. Holy living and committing ones life in obedience to the Lord was the basic message. Immersion was a public sign of commitment, it did not cleanse the inner person by undergoing the procedure.

Immersion in the Jewish understanding did not clean a person from sin, but it was seen as a sign of purification. Only God can forgive sins after confession and a true repentance. Like Elijah his message was driven by a kind of urgency and holy fervour for the God of Israel and stern warning to the listeners. God will judge the whole earth and he will make a distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not (Mal. 3, 18).

Faith, a life in righteousness and obedience had to go together and nothing has changed til today. God’s grace is sufficient and enables us to lead a holy life. This life on earth matters!

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3. The message for today

Advent is the time of preparation. You can also say: Advent is a little lent. It is much more than the holidays, the gathering of families, good food and drink and enjoyment. The reason for the season is: God is coming and he reigns. He will fulfill his word and he calls us to change our lives. He speaks through daily circumstances on a personal level, through politics, through the news and mainly through his Word.

The corona pandemic stopped the whole business of the world. Life did not continue as usual. The lockdown gave us more or less 9 months, time to rethink our situation. Some people saw it as a wake up call of God, some couldn’t care less.

However, the weeks of Advent are a time of preparation and a call to restoration. God wants a reset of our lives and an alignment with his will.

John’s message is reminding us that his listeners should turn away from their evil ways and turn back to God. Knowing God, loving him and your neighbour and serving him should be the essence of our life.

Changing one’s life is a very concrete act and it means e.g. filling in your tax return honestly and paying your taxes, paying your employees and helpers at your workplace and at home a decent wage, adhering to the speed limit, giving generously to the church and the poor, learning how to listen to the word of God and studying diligently. Make time for God, give Him room and seek his presence.

Jesus honoured John the Immerser as a great man of God and as a prophet in the power of Elijah. The message of repentance was preached by both and after 2000 years the invitation remains the same: return to the path of righteousness, return to God.

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4. Conclusion

Once Rabbi Eliezer, a great sage of Israel, gave a very good advice to his students. Finishing a talk on repentance he concluded : “Make sure that you repent one day before your death!” His disciples replied: “Does a man know on which day he will die? Today, tomorrow or in 30 years?” “Exactly”, answered the rabbi: “You don’t know therefore man should repent today”.

It means that a person should repent every day of his life, since he never knows which will be the day he will die.

May the peace of God which passes all understanding , keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Phil.4,7