Preparation for Christs Coming - Luke 1:57-80

Good morning and blessed Happy New Year to everybody. The last year came and went so fast. And every year, it seems like the older you get, the faster the years go by. But, you know, in God's economy, you know, it could be this or a thousand years.

It's just he doesn't live by the rule of, and this has struck me in the past, of the idea of time. He is timeless. He is eternal. We have a watch. We can tick it down. He just kind of looks at the whole of it, you know, and so we can't fathom that.

That's part of the mystery of God. But anyway, Happy New Year. For announcements, I want to share that men's breakfast is Bible study. Men's breakfast is next Saturday at 9 o 'clock. So that's a go. And so spread the word.

Okay, gentlemen in the front. So that's next Saturday at 9. And we're also going to resume Sunday morning Bible study next week. And evening prayer time. So that's a go as well. I wanted to share, you know, this time of year, it's, you know, it is a good time.

And it's a natural time to reflect on what happened the last year and what's going to happen. You know, we don't know what's going to happen next year. But putting it all in the hands of the Lord, Deb and I were going through a devotional yesterday.

It's out of Tripp's book, and it's New Morning Mercies by Paul Tripp. And it is a good daily devotional. But I'd like to read this. It was December 31, and how it's important to remember the little moments.

Life goes through, and we have these punctuations. We think that we're going to learn and grow the most at this boom, aha moment. And it's really not necessarily that. We do grow through those events.

But it's really the everyday. And so the little moments of life are profoundly important, precisely because they are little moments that we live in and that form us. This is where I think big drama Christianity gets us into trouble.

It can cause us to devalue the significance of the little moments of life and the small change grace that meets us there. And because we devalue the little moments in which we live, we tend not to notice the sin that gets exposed there.

We fail to seek the grace that is offered to us. You see, the character of life is not set in two or three dramatic moments, but in 10 ,000 little moments. The character that is formed in those little moments shapes us, shapes how we respond to the big moments of life.

And what makes all of this character change possible? Relentless, transforming, little moment grace. So we wake up each day committed to live in the small moments of our daily lives with open eyes and humble, expectant hearts.

That struck us as to be a good reminder of how we should live every day in waiting on the Lord and seeking him in all that we do. So why don't we open up in prayer together. Lord God, we thank you that you have brought us here this morning.

Father, we remember many folks that are still away, that are traveling. God, we ask that you would watch over each one of us this morning as we experienced a horrendous storm last night and the wind and the lack of power, Father.

But Lord, you were in control. You had it in your care. You knew the outcome of every wisp of wind, Father. So we thank you that we can put our trust in you in the physical things, but especially in those things that are spiritual, Father.

God, you are the shepherd over each one of us, and may this year, Lord, may we always be reminded that we need to put our faith and trust in you, not in the things of man and the things that we can touch and feel, Father, but that our hearts would be guided by the Holy Spirit, Father.

God, lead us this morning as we open your word, as we lift our voices in song. We pray for Pastor that you would guide him, Lord, as you share what you have placed on his heart. So God, thank you for this morning.

We commit it to your care, Lord. May you be glorified in all that we do. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. And Victor and I are going to do a little duet today with all of you. We're the praise band.

You've been waiting for a band, I know. Here it is.

Some of these songs are... Barb and I have been picking the songs for most of the time in the last couple of months, and they are old to us, but they're new to some of you. So we wanted to make sure the words are great.

Praising our Lord, we wanted you to enjoy them with us. So if you would stand with us. We have heard the joyful sound. Jesus saves, Jesus saves. Spread the tidings all around. Jesus saves, Jesus saves.

Bear the news to every land. Climb the steeps and cross the waves. The Lord's command. Jesus saves, Jesus saves. To God be the glory And to His son. The scripture readings are going to be from Isaiah, chapter 40, verses 1 through 5.

That's Isaiah, chapter 40, verses 1 through 5. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith the Lord. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned.

For she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our Lord. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low.

And the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken. May the Lord add His blessing to the reading of these words.

What he's saying is, I've played the ukulele one time for our family night, and he says if Victor can get up there and make a fool of himself, I can try that again. So, that's kind of what got him started, so.

Well, please stand. The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin. The light of the world is Jesus. Like sunshine at noonday, His glory shone in. The light of the world is Jesus. Come to the light, it is shining for thee.

Sweetly the light has dawned upon me. Once I was blind, but now I can see. The light of the world is Jesus. One day when hell was filled with His praises, One day when sin was as black as could be, Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin.

What example is He? Dying, He's sated.

Seated as pastor comes. I did not have to make the climb up here. I was already up here. I want to wish all of you a Happy New Year. And we're just so happy that we get to celebrate this special day with you.

And also after Christmas as well, we got to celebrate Christmas together. It's just really comforting to know that the church family that we worship with is our real family, right? The brothers and sisters around you are the ones you're going to be spending all eternity with.

And there's just so much death and so much love that we still have not experienced at the fullest. Mainly because we're still living in a sinful world, right? I also wrote a thank you letter for your generous gift last week.

We did not see this coming. And we were just so grateful for this church and the gift you gave us. So, dear Faith Bible Church, we are grateful for your generous Christmas gift. Thank you for your continuous support and love for us.

Lauren and I often talk about how much God has blessed us by bringing us to Sacramento to be part of this loving family. We have been cared for by you even before I officially agreed to minister here.

And thank you again for loving us so well, especially last year. It's weird to say last year. There were so many new developments in our lives. And we were just so well supported and cared for by all of you.

Thank you so much. Now, I would like to read from Luke chapter 1, verses 57 through 80. Now, Elizabeth's full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her.

So it was on the eighth day that they came to circumcise the child, and they would have called him by the name of his father Zacharias. His mother answered and said, No, he shall be called John. But they said to her, There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.

So they made signs to his father what he would have him called. And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, saying, His name is John. So they all marveled. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loose, and he spoke, praising God.

Then fear came on all who dwelt around them, and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, What kind of child will this be?

And the hand of the Lord was with him. Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.

And he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who have been since the world began, and we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the highest, for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, with which the dayspring from on high have visited us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

So the child grew and became strong in spirit and was in the desert till the day of his manifestation to Israel. This is the word of the Lord. Let us pray. Father, we are thankful that the coming of Christ is as well orchestrated as any plan that could have been.

Thank you that the coming of Christ is not a random event, and it's not an event that we look back to to reinterpret, but rather it's an event that has been planned for long ago, and you have sent your servant, even John the Baptist, to prepare the way for Christ so that your people may know that this is the true Redeemer from above who came to save.

Thank you that you do not make any of your revelation confusing or impossible to understand. Thank you that your Savior is clear as light. In Jesus' name. Today's text deals with John the Baptist's birth, and how Luke structured the first two chapters of the gospel according to Luke is that it goes back and forth from the hill country of Judea with Zacharias and Elizabeth to Mary, and then back to Zacharias and Elizabeth, and then next week we'll go back to Mary and Jesus and Joseph.

And the reason is there are similarities between those two storylines, but what Luke shows is that Jesus' storyline is superior. It intensifies when it deals with Jesus. And today's text comes before the birth of Jesus.

Well, not only chronologically is John the Baptist older, but also theologically it is important because John the Baptist is the one who prepares the way for the Savior. And this idea of having someone preparing for an important dignitary or an important figure is actually pretty common in our days too.

When we hear about a presidential motorcade, it is not the limousine that the president's in that comes first. It's all the other giant black SUVs that come, of course all of them bulletproof, right? Important dignitaries in them, but the most important one comes later.

And this is same with a concert, right? I'm thinking of even like a classical concert. That's what I'm used to. The piece that is advertised is not the first song, right? The main piece that is advertised comes later, even perhaps after the intermission.

And that's because in order to give that appropriate spotlight and preparation for the people who receive the good news, God has clearly sent someone to prepare the way. Lest you think that this was a random occurrence out of nowhere in history, really shows what kind of power and sovereignty God has over His redemptive history.

Even the preparation is well thought out. So the main point of this text is how did God prepare His people to receive Christ? How did God prepare His people to receive Christ? First, the fulfillment of God's word through faithful obedience of His servants preceded the coming of Christ.

The fulfillment of God's word through the faithful obedience of His servants preceded the coming of Christ. Verses 57 to 66 show the faithful obedience of both Elizabeth and Zacharias in naming their newborn son John the Baptist.

Remember that John the Baptist was silenced after doubting the angelic announcement that they, in their old age, would bring forth a newborn baby. And verse 57 starts from the birth of that child. Now Elizabeth's full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son.

This idea of fulfillment is a huge theme in Luke. This idea that the things that which God has planned beforehand is intensely accomplished during that time is an important message that Luke is trying to send.

This was not just any other ordinary birth. This was not just a normal occurrence. Now God faithfully fulfills what He has promised here in giving a life into a dead womb. And considering the miraculous context of this birth, people around, they gathered to celebrate.

Verse 58 says, When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her. God removing the reproach of the barrenness of Elizabeth was a joyous celebration.

Decades of disappointment dissipated that day. And the theme of joy threads through the birth narratives of both John the Baptist and Jesus, as God shows the magnificent mercy by doing what is humanly impossible.

And this joyful celebration is actually interrupted by a minor conflict in their decision to name this child. And verses 59 through 63 portray this. When the child makes a public appearance to be circumcised on the eighth day according to the law, the crowd assumes that he will be named after his father Zacharias.

This was, of course, a cultural custom. Oftentimes a boy would take on the family name, either of the father's name or the grandfather's name. However, there's a plot twist. Elizabeth concisely answers, No, he shall be called John.

Elizabeth here is obeying the command of God from verse 13 of chapter 1. A special child from the Lord will have a special name from the Lord. And this name is John. Now the crowd, of course, reminds her what is customary.

There's no one among your relatives who is called by this name, John. Who is this? Elizabeth, there is not another child coming to you. Right? You don't get to name another child after Zacharias after this.

Remember, this was a miracle child. Elizabeth, this is your only chance at leaving the family legacy on passing on the name. And this custom is sort of followed even to this day. We try to name our kids after some relative in our family.

The last name surely gets passed down, but we try to maybe even put a middle name as the first name of the father or vice versa. Now, this is a picture of Christian faith. Faithful obedience despite the opposing cultural customs.

And the custom may not even be sinful, right? Like this case. But obedience to God here trumps any customs of men, any traditions of men. And obedience to God must withstand any social pressures. And Elizabeth shows a beautiful picture of this.

She's not trying to argue. She's not trying to make any pleas, right? She's just following what God says concisely. That's that. Now, faced with the immovable Elizabeth, the crowd shifts their attention to the father of the child, the new dad.

So they made signs to his father what he would have him called. Maybe Elizabeth is disobeying Zacharias' wishes. Maybe she's doing this on her own accord. Remember, after all, her husband has not been able to speak for the past nine months.

Verse 62, so they made signs to his father what he would have him called. Now, some may find this odd that they would be making signs to a mute man, right? Wouldn't a mute person still be able to hear?

It's not like Zacharias was born mute, right? He just turned mute just nine months prior. In Greek, the word for mute is actually the same word for deaf. It is most likely that Zacharias, upon doubting the message of the angel, became both deaf and mute.

Hence, they had to sign it to him. Is that your wish? You want to name your son John, not Zacharias? Now, how does Zacharias respond? Just as concisely as Elizabeth's response. His name is John. Note that it's not, we're leaning toward John, right?

Or even his name will be John. Crisp and concise. John is his name. It's been long settled, no argument. And at Zacharias' firmness, they marvel. This is a transformation from nine months prior. Doubting Zacharias firmly obeys God's command because he trusts him.

And this is important because God did not choose just any family who was open. Let me just choose one of the barren families in Judah to show this great miracle. God had this specific family in mind. And God used this faithful family's firm obedience to prepare his salvific plan.

And Zacharias and Elizabeth both knew that this special child is not primarily their child but belonged to God first and foremost. They even surrender what society normally considers to be a parental right to name their child and they surrender it to God.

And this is a picture of a faithful family that places God's plan before theirs. God is at the center, not man's traditions. God is at the center, not man's desires. God is prioritized, not them. And in fact, this is how every Christian household must raise their kids from conception to college.

Of course, they don't have to go to college, but I like the alliteration, conception to college. Parents or new-to-be parents or people who want to be parents, right, the kids that you're raising or you will be raising are not primarily yours but God's.

And the important questions are, do the words that come out of your mouths honor God in front of your children? Do the words and excitement of your heart portray Jesus as the most wonderful person in the universe?

Do the household decisions reflect Godward priority or are they bending to social pressure? Oftentimes, even Christian families, they choose to move to a place. It might have a great neighborhood, might have a great school system, might be safe, and it might have the scenic views and the housing price is down.

It's a bargain. But what they often don't consider as a priority is, is there a faithful community of God? Is there a faithful community of God that my child can grow up in and be discipled by men and women who attend there, godly men and women?

And that's the faithfulness of Christian family over and over again. And that's what we see in Zacharias and Elizabeth. Would Zacharias have preferred to name his only boy, the only boy he'll ever have after him?

Sure. But his desire was to honor God's command because he knew this child was not his. This child was from God, therefore belonged to God. And that's with any child in a Christian home. Every child that's born to the church belongs to God, first and foremost.

And we have to guard this child, every child's soul. What he watches, what she hears, how they're educated, we have to guard them and disciple them because we're stewarded with these children. Now, at their faithful obedience, God confirms their decision to name their kid John.

Verse 64, immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke praising God. When God confirms, he leaves no doubt in anyone's mind. Nothing confirms a decision like an old priest who could not speak for the past nine months immediately praising God upon his obedience.

That's a sure, clear sign. That's not one of those, ah, that's pretty coincidental. Mm-mm. And verses 65 to 66 show us the crowd's fearful response and the news that spreads all around after witnessing such miraculous events.

The crowd deeply ponders, what kind of child will this be? What kind of child will this be? That leads to the second point. John the Baptist will prepare God's people to receive the promised Messiah who will completely restore them.

John the Baptist will prepare God's people to receive the promised Messiah who will completely restore them. Verses 67 through 80 leads into Zacharias' praise song. And, of course, verse 80 ends with how God made sure that John grew up to be a godly man until the revelation of the right time for his ministry.

Now, the question that the crowd asks is answered by none other than the Holy Spirit himself through the priest Zacharias. Zacharias' prophetic praise pairs with Mary's song of praise that we heard last week.

While Mary's song of praise emphasized the Lord's personal mercy to Mary, Zacharias' praise covers the Lord's national mercy to Israel. It grows. What's about to unfold affects not only the personal life but the national life of Israel.

And similar to Mary's praise, Zacharias' praise song is rendered in past tense. I'm pretty sure for all of the English translations. And this is because Luke chose a specific tense form to portray actions as if they are already completed.

He's portraying a completed action even though a lot of, actually all of the deliverance that Zacharias talks about has not happened when Zacharias was singing it. And this is because he's trying to show that this is guaranteed.

This is a completed action. Now, the first part of verse 68 clearly shows us what type of prophecy this is. Blessed is the Lord God of Israel. Oftentimes we're used to seeing God blessing humans, individuals.

And we translate that as God showing favor to these individuals. However, when the object of the blessing is God, the meaning changes to that of praise. Praise be to God. Praise be to the Lord God of Israel.

So when we see blessed is the Lord God of Israel, think of it as Zacharias' praise to God for what he has done. This song is a song of praise. And specifically to the Lord God of Israel. It's a national song of praise because the Lord did not forsake Israel.

And the rest of verses 68 to 73 show us the reasons for praise. For he has visited and redeemed his people is the first. The term for God visiting in the Old Testament gets used in two ways. One is that of judgment.

God visits his people or certain people, groups, to judge them for their sin. However, it can be the opposite. God can visit to bless his people. And here, God's visitation is a gracious act. It is to redeem his people.

Verse 69 unpacks how this deliverance will occur. And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David. Here the praise is not for the birth of John the Baptist. Right? Of course, praise God that a barren couple could finally have a child after decades of many prayers.

No. What Zacharias is focused on is God's plan of redemption. And this child is the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. And the reason why we know it's not John the Baptist is because the horn of salvation comes from the house of David.

John the Baptist is a Levite, not a Judahite. There's no connection to David. And the metaphor of raising up a horn of salvation is a picture of a powerful horned animal, like a bull or a ram, raising its horn up in the air against any foes, any challenges.

It is a powerful picture. So this metaphor shows us that God is raising up a horn of salvation to powerfully save his people. No one can challenge his authority. And verse 70 shows us that the plan of this Davidic figure is not some shoddy last-minute project done the night before, but rather has been proclaimed by the prophets since long ago, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who had been since the world began.

Notice how God spoke by the singular mouth of his plural prophets. Here, Luke did not make a grammatical error, but he is making an important theological point. When God spoke about his salvific plan to save the world through all of his prophets, his message was unified because it came from one mouth.

It would be concerning if it came from many mouths. How do we know which one to listen to? But the prophecies all come from God, and they do not contradict each other. This shows that Jesus Christ is not some random man out of nowhere, but a long-awaited figure since the beginning.

And verse 71 covers what Christ will accomplish in salvation, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. Zacharias is waiting a national deliverance of Israel, and this is the Exodus 2 .0, the greater Exodus.

It's not just one enemy like in Exodus, right, Egypt, but comprehensively the hand of all who hate us. And this is important to know that when God saves his people through Jesus, ultimately it is a complete deliverance.

It is not just the spiritual deliverance from sin that we are used to proclaiming, but ultimately when God saves through Jesus, it involves a physical deliverance as well. When Christ rules on earth, no enemy will ever harm his people.

And that's a great hope that sometimes we need to be reminded of. When Christ finally rules on earth, your back pain will be silent. When Christ finally rules on earth, you will not experience death. You won't have to worry about persecution.

That's the hope of the complete deliverance that Zacharias is singing about. It's both physical and spiritual deliverance here. And verses 72 through 73 elaborate the past promises that are fulfilled.

To perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which he swore to our father Abraham. When God sent Jesus, it was a faithfully loving act to fulfill the promise made to Abraham.

The promise that God made to Abraham was that all the nations of earth would be blessed through his offspring. And Christ, Abraham's offspring, provides a way for anyone from any nation and any ethnic background to have peace with God once and for all through his death on the cross by taking our sin and facing the punishment for our sin so that God does not count your sin against you anymore.

That is the ultimate blessing to the whole world. It is no longer for the Jews, only the Jews to know God. You do not have to become Jewish to know God. But rather in Christ, anyone from anywhere can know God and have a relationship with God.

And that is the biggest blessing that anyone can receive. The coming of Christ was the fulfillment of God's oath to Abraham. And now what is the purpose of such a deliverance? Verses 74 through 75 tell us to grant us that we being delivered from the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.

God saves his people from their enemies in order that they may serve him, they may worship him, they may be devoted to him without any fear of repercussions. And this was a welcoming news for the ancient Israelites.

Although they could worship the Lord in relative peace under Pax Romana, there was no guarantee that this would continue. After all, just a couple hundred years ago, a Greek king, Antiochus IV, decided to ban all the Jewish worship in Israel and decided to sacrifice a swine in the temple, an unclean animal.

There was no guarantee this would not repeat. And of course, to Israel, Rome wasn't always too friendly after this either. They destroyed the temple in 70 AD. Now, the complete freedom to worship and serve him is something that all of God's people long for, not just Israel.

Especially in California, we get the front row seat of Antichrist regulations and laws. Before any other state in the nation, maybe except New York, California heads into it first. California decides the next godless project before any other state.

And we don't know which part of our faith will be attacked next. Biblical counseling to point transgender individuals to find healing in Christ, who knows, that could be next. Marriage between committed men and women, that's been attacked.

Or Christian education that challenges Darwinian evolution and communism, that's happening now. Zacharias, however, gives us the hope that one day such a concern will be only a faint memory. Not only that, they will be worshipping God in all righteousness and holiness all of their lives.

So there is a both external change, there's an external change in oppression, but there's an internal change. How can sinful people worship God in all righteousness and holiness all of their lives? And we'll see how that will unfold.

And from God's role of deliverance through Christ, verses 76 -79 show us the roles of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. Verses 76 -77 are the answer to the crowd's question, what kind of child will this be?

And this is stunning because the focus of this song is not John the Baptist, although the question was about John the Baptist. The focus of the song is God's mercy in delivering His people through the coming Messiah.

But Zacharias still answers the question that the crowd has. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the highest, for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways. John the Baptist's role is to prepare the coming of the Lord when Christ arrives.

What's important here is that John the Baptist goes before the coming of the Lord. The coming of the Lord is the coming of God to His people. And what Zacharias insinuates is that when Messiah comes, because the Messiah is coming after John the Baptist, that's when God comes.

There is a tension here. This Messiah, maybe He's more than just a normal human. When the Messiah comes, God's presence comes, that's pretty astounding. And verse 77 unpacks what this will be, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins.

John's job is to proclaim to Israel the coming salvation through the forgiveness of their sins. And here we see that the deliverance is not just the physical deliverance described above, right? Zacharias' song is not Rome will be gone, praise God.

Here we see Israel's deep core need is not just freedom from foreign kings, but freedom from their own sins. And it is precisely their sin that is hindering them from having peace with God. John's job is to instruct Israel to receive the Messiah who comes to purchase the pardon for their sins.

John the Baptist is the signpost to the final destination. He is not the ultimate destination. Hence the song does not end after 77. Stopping at John the Baptist is like stopping at the signpost to the beach before you even see the coast.

And the next two verses explain what Christ will do, the Messiah. While John the Baptist proclaimed the coming salvation, Jesus accomplishes it. Through the tender mercy of our God, with which the dayspring from on high has visited us to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace.

First, the manner in which Christ is coming is introduced. It is through the tender mercy of our God. The word for mercy signifies the deepest bowels, the deepest core guts. It is the innermost core of any human being.

And God's mercy at its core is the compassion that moves to save His people by sending Christ. The dayspring here means dawn or the rising sun. The metaphor continues, of course, to the next verse to show that Christ gives light to those who are in darkness.

They're trapped in darkness. They are helpless in darkness. He is the only rescue light in this dark world. He is the only hope for those who are doomed to die. God doesn't send multiple rescue lights.

He only sent one dayspring. Also, Christ guides us to peace. Notice the word here when the dayspring visits us. It's a repeat of the term visitation from earlier verse, verse 68. When God visits to deliver, that's also when the Messiah visits to deliver.

Do you see the intertwining of the Messiah's deliverance and God's deliverance? You can't really separate that. God delivers when Christ delivers. Christ visits when God visits. So to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death and to guide our feet in the way of peace, this idea is that Christ guides his people to peace.

We often have this very shallow view of peace. When there are no wars, people assume we have peace. When there are no bullets flying by, we have peace. When we are not in a family conflict, we have peace.

However, the idea of peace in the Hebrew culture is a complete wholeness. There is nothing broken about it. It's the type of peace that was lost when Adam and Eve rebelled against God. So the fact that when the Messiah visits and guides our feet to peace, it's speaking of a full restoration.

Anything that is wrong with the world and also wrong with your heart, your sinfulness, that will be all dealt with when the Messiah comes. That's his job, to guide you to peace. Now, how does Christ guide us to peace?

First, we have to acknowledge the fact that there is no peace between God and humanity, between each other, in the whole world. God is perfect and holy, yet humans, we, rebel against him constantly. We follow our desires, our sinfulness.

We attempt to dethrone God by making ourselves into gods. And that's the moral darkness that we're all stuck in. It's filthy. And in order to rescue us, those who are living in darkness, and to bring us to peace with God, the true light enters the darkness.

The Holy Son of God from heaven became man. The purest entered the death of filth. And he took on our sin and faced the punishment that we deserve for rebelling against God, for living for ourselves, and he took that upon himself on the cross.

And when Jesus was crucified, God poured out the wrath that we deserved on his only Son so that we may have peace through Christ. That's the picture of the tender mercy of God. From the death of his core, he wanted his people living in darkness to be freed.

And from his deep core, that's what moved him to send his one and only Son to die for our sin. It's not a picture so that he may boast about it later. It's not a begrudging picture. Oh, I guess I have to do this.

I promised it. No, it's from the death of his core, he wanted you saved from the oppression of sin. From the death of his core, he longed to see you purified and cleansed by the death of his Son. That's how much he wanted to show his tender mercy.

And that heart is found in Christ today. That means you can go to him to have peace with God even this morning. Trust in Christ and what he's done to get rid of your sin once and for all. Let us pray.

Father, we're thankful that you have given us your Son Jesus out of your tender mercy so that we may be freed not from just the external oppression and persecution, but that we may be freed from our own sinfulness that hinders us, that prevents us from having a relationship with you.