Why Jesus Came-Part 1
We trust today’s message encouraged and guided you in your journey of following Jesus. These notes are meant to help you remember and reflect on the message, help you go deeper into study on the subject, or to be used for a sermon group discussion. CLICK HERE to find a discussion group. Enjoy!
Sermon Title: The Hope and Light of the World
Main Scripture: Isaiah 61:1-3(NIV); Luke 1:5-79; John 1:5
If you’re going through this discussion with a community group this week consider taking the time to read the provided scripture to catch everyone up!
Summary:
Pastor Ryan began our Christmas series, Why Jesus Came, by taking us into Luke 1 where we read and learn about the events prior to Jesus’ birth. For 400 years it was quiet. There was no prophecy, there was no word, and no light to guide the Israelites. Then suddenly, God broke through the silence and darkness…starting with Zechariah and Elizabeth. They aren’t spoken of much but they are the intro, the preface to the Christmas narrative. Their story is intertwined with the birth of Jesus because their son would be a forerunner for announcing Jesus to the world. Elizabeth was older and beyond childbearing age but God blessed her and Zechariah with their son, John. The hope of deliverance dawned in a hopeless situation. A nation of people barren of hope would soon be filled with the hope of deliverance once more. Hope would rise with two women and two children, the miracle of John the Baptist through the older and barren Elizabeth and the impossible, the birth of the messiah through a young virgin, Mary. Now, this once oppressed nation was pregnant with hope and would soon see the light of the world lead them to their long-awaited deliverance. A prayer that was thought to fall on deaf ears and long-forgotten had unexpectedly been answered. Pastor Ryan pointed back at the birth of Christ to show us the hope, joy, and light of the world hasn’t gone anywhere. Jesus has come, lives in and with us, and He will never be extinguished. The world has been heavy and full of despair but we must keep our hopes, our joy, and light in Christ. Jesus is our living hope, our lasting joy, and the light that will never go out. Pastor Ryan encouraged us to simply not let the world’s despair overcome us but instead overcome it by doing good.
Notes:
Luke 1
Christmas reminds me of hope for deliverance and light for the darkness. Our world needs both right now. Perhaps you’ve been going through something in your life that has brought you to a place of feeling hopeless. Maybe the evil and darkness in our world have brought on a spirit of heaviness over our hearts and minds. I’ve prayed all week that this message would encourage you to not let despair overcome the hope, joy, and light of Jesus.
It’s no surprise why joy, hope, and light take dominant themes in the narratives of Jesus’ birth. Jesus came into a world where hope was frail and the light was dim.
For 400 years it was quiet. There was no prophecy, there was no word, and no light to guide them. The Israelites were dominated by different nations and rulers, like the Persians and the Greeks. While they were free to practice their faith, they were still oppressed with no ruler of their own. They grew in number but still faced suffering. A ruler tried to stamp out their culture altogether and it sparked a rebellion where they gained temporary freedom, called the Hasmonean period. But there was little unity and leadership in the Israelite nation. By the time the Roman empire came along the Israelites were too weak to defend themselves. It was at this time where Herod the Great, appointed by Rome would rule in Judea but a new ruler like no one has ever seen would be born. Before the prophecies went silent, the prophet Malachi prophesied about this ruler and said: “But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture” (Malachi 4:2 NLT).
Fast forward around 400 years and suddenly, God wasn’t quiet anymore and he picked up right where He had left off. God broke through the silence, starting with Zechariah and Elizabeth. They aren’t spoken of much but they are the intro, the preface to the birth of Jesus. Hope started to rise with their story...
LUKE 1:5-25 The birth of John the Baptist foretold.
Observations from the text:
“They were righteous in God’s eyes” means their obedience was from the heart and God could see it. Their love for God was genuine; they weren’t going through the motions. Their outward expression was coming from an inward dedication.
Elizabeth was barren but God is the source of life.
Notice it was when Zechariah was worshipping and pursuing God that God spoke...Not that he can’t when we were not intentionally seeking God, but scripture says if we seek Him we will find Him if we seek Him with all our heart.
V. 13 “God has heard your prayer.”
V. 15 “He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.” This filling characterizes John as a prophet. John’s entire ministry will be empowered by the Holy Spirit.
V. 16-17 is the fulfillment of Malachi 4:5-6
V. 18-19 “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years. Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was He who sent me to bring you this good news!”
This was coming as a surprise like this prayer was from centuries ago. We’ll pray and forget, but God doesn’t forget.
God works in ways that are not logical, His ways confound earthly wisdom or logic.
Do we doubt the words of Jesus? Jesus himself brought us the good news in the gospels...we have no reason to doubt.
LUKE 1:26-38 The Birth of Jesus foretold
The hope of deliverance dawned in a hopeless situation. A nation of people barren of hope would soon be filled with the hope of deliverance once more. Hope would rise with two women and two children, the miracle of John the Baptist through the older and barren Elizabeth and the impossible, the birth of the messiah through a young virgin, Mary. Now, this once oppressed nation was pregnant with hope and would soon see the light of the world lead them to their long-awaited deliverance. A prayer that was thought to fall on deaf ears and long-forgotten had unexpectedly been answered.
LUKE 1:39-45 Mary Visits Elizabeth
Observations from the text:
V. 41 The angel said John the Baptist would be filled with the Holy Spirit before he was even born (1:15), I believe this is when it happened. When the mothers meet, Jesus blesses and fills John with the Holy Spirit. There’s really no other explanation for it, but at this point, an older, barren woman is pregnant and so is a virgin so this fits the miraculous theme with God!
John leaped with joy and there was worship in the womb.
There’s Joy in the presence of Jesus. Joy comes from the Spirit of Christ!
Elizabeth recognized Mary’s faith “You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what He said.”
Notice the difference between Zechariah's response and Mary's? Zechariah was doubtful, Mary believed before the miracle took place. It can happen to all of us. Years of praying and waiting but no answer. We can become cynical and lose faith. The young Mary, with childlike faith, believed. God, renew our faith in you. After years of wondering if you have heard us. If doubt has been building…Help us believe again.
We can believe and pray for miracles. In Lee Strobel’s book, The Case for Miracles he says, "In our churches and even in our prayers, sometimes we subconsciously hold back from fully embracing the God who still performs the miraculous."
Salvation was born into this world through miracles and the Holy Spirit is still working the miracles of God.
Luke 1:68-79 John is born, Zechariah Prophecies about Jesus
God never fails to fulfill his promises.
Then filled with the Holy Spirit, Zechariah gives a powerful prophecy about Jesus first, then his son…
Luke 1:78-79 The Light of Heaven
Isaiah 9:2 The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.
John 1:1-14; John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”
Why Light?
The Light of the World, Jesus reveals to the nations who God is, who we are, our sin, the way to salvation, how we should live, and the way to eternal life.
Light in the book of John means righteousness or righteous living. Living like Jesus. Darkness usually means evil and wicked living, oppression and despair in our world.
Application:
Let me try to make sense of how we endure...
Christmas for Christians is about the birth of Jesus and the fulfillment of God’s promise. The promise given to Abraham that through his descendants the world would be blessed. Through Abraham a Messiah, a Savior would be born and His rule on the throne of David would never end. With this Messiah would come salvation, joy, and prosperity, no more bondage, no more sorrow, and no more oppression. We have found salvation from our sin and the inheritance of eternal life awaits us. We patiently wait for the return of our Lord Jesus to save us from this world. Despair, sorrow, and darkness still looms, but in the midst of this we have hope, we experience joy and we remember the darkness can never extinguish the light of Jesus. Complete freedom from the pains of this world is yet to come and WILL come. How can despair and hope, sorrow and joy, darkness and light co-exist? Because Jesus has come and lives in us through salvation, but He’s not done saving those who are still broken, prisoners of sin and wandering in the dark. Until Jesus returns for His church, we celebrate the birth of Christ at Christmas by remembering where we’ve come from, where we are going, and what we should do while we wait.
Remember the hope, joy, and light of Jesus
The world was void of hope, joy, peace, and light. There was no deliverer and no salvation in sight. Technically, Jesus didn’t bring us hope because He is the hope. Hope is not some separate power or feeling, hope is Jesus. Once Jesus entered our world hope, joy and the light of salvation invaded earth and gave our world a second chance. Jesus is the source of hope, joy, peace, salvation, and righteousness (light).
Don't give in to the world's despair and darkness…
Don’t give up hope. To give up hope is to give up on Jesus. Don’t look for hope in this world. The world has nothing to give you that will help, heal and save your brokenness.
Don’t give in to the despair around you. I know it has been hard and things have been dark. But to let despair overtake you is to deny the joy of our salvation that is in Christ. Jesus warned us we would have troubles, but take heart, because I have overcome the world.
Don’t get lost in the darkness of evil in our world, that’s to deny the light, the righteousness of Christ in you. We are called to live righteous and holy lives. We’re called to not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.
Jesus is our living hope which means hope never dies. No matter how dark and evil our world gets, it will never extinguish the light of Jesus, and do not let it extinguish your life in Christ. Live holy and righteous, so you will continue to shine Jesus.
Shine and show the hope, joy, and light of Jesus to all those around you. How can you do that?
Follow the Holy Spirit’s lead to bless and love on someone
Serve and give to someone in need
Give an encouraging word and card
Invite someone over for a meal or surprise a family with a meal
Discussion:
What was a big takeaway for you from today’s message?
What verses or portions of the stories in Luke 1 stuck out to you?
Let’s get real, what situations have you lost hope in or want to regain hope and faith in God for?
What are all the things the light of Jesus can mean?
How do we keep from letting the despair of the world discourage and cover our light?
What can we do to shine and show the hope, joy, and light of Jesus?
The most important decision you will ever make!
Are you ready to experience salvation and be transformed we encourage you to say a simple prayer like this from your heart: Dear God, I see my sin and how wrong it is. I see how without Jesus I’m lost. I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me from my sin, my past, this world, and your judgment. I repent, I turn away from that life and I put my faith and life in Jesus! Amen!
We would love to know if you made the decision to accept this wonderful gift from God. Let us know here.
Pray Together
We hoped you found this AFTER THE SERMON discussion helpful for your walk with Jesus. We pray you can find ways to apply it this week!