Have you ever heard of an upside down Christmas tree? Some of the first trees to be offered were 18 years ago by a New York based company called Hammacher Schlemmer. The trees retailed for $600. The company’s website advertised that the tree would make it easier to see ornaments and would allow more room for the accumulation of presents underneath. Other retail sites got in on the action and now you can order a 7’ tall Christmas tree through Amazon for $74 or through Home Depot for $160 (which is pre-lit)…
When we become a follower of Jesus Christ, our world gets turned upside down. When we truly try to start walking by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7), we learn what it means to trust God for His promises. We will not obey Jesus in any way until we trust Jesus.
Let’s take a look at the first event recorded in Luke in which Jehovah God sent a messenger from heaven, for the first time in four hundred years! Gabriel will turn Zacharias’ and Elizabeth’s world upside down.
THE HOPELESSNESS OF MAN – 1:5-7:
Now, you might feel that your own situation in some way is hopeless. But its when we have found ourselves hanging on to the end of our rope that we quit trusting in ourselves and we begin trusting God and His promises. Do you think God wants you to be successful and to use your skills in His service? Then you’ve got to trust Him to do that in His own way.
THE MESSAGE FROM GOD – 1:8-13:
Now here, the message from Gabriel to Zacharias is this:
1) Your petition is heard. Do you trust God to hear your prayers? Do you trust God to answer your prayers? Mark 11:24; John 14:13; 1 John 5:14.
2) Specifically relative to Zacharias, “Elizabeth your wife will bear you a son.” Elizabeth was sterile, but through the power of God, she will give birth to a son. When Gabriel appears to Mary, Jesus’ mother, with a similar but even more astounding message, he tells her: “Nothing will be impossible with God” (1:37).
3) Then, Gabriel, reflecting God’s plans, gave John his name. The name “John” means “a gracious gift” or “merciful God.” Either way, it would be a reminder of Elizabeth every time she called his name that he was God’s gift.
THE MESSENGER OF JESUS CHRIST – 1:14-17:
This paragraph is the most important from a theological perspective of this whole section. Who is this messenger of Jesus? What was he supposed to do?
Through this work, John the baptizer would “make ready a people prepared for Jehovah.” In other words, after hearing John preach, then the Jews would be ready to accept Jesus as Jehovah God in the flesh and their Savior.
THE UNBELIEF OF MAN – 1:18-20:
When you and I open ourselves to being led by God, both in the Scriptures and through prayer, He will guide us where He wants us to be, doing what He wants us to do. This miracle, among all the miracles in the Bible, are designed to help us have faith and confidence in the word of God so that we will trust the promises of God.
THE WORDLESS MESSAGE – 1:21-23:
When Zacharias finally exited the tabernacle, he was not able to talk. Then the people realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. He “kept making signs” to them but remained mute. That makes me wonder if he thought that, perhaps, if he tried talking to them and told them about Gabriel, that God would give him his speech back. But, it didn’t work, not until after John’s birth and Zacharias wrote on a tablet that the boy’s name would be “John” (ver. 63-64).
THE WORD FULFILLED – 1:24-25:
When God answers our prayers, the best thing we can do is thank Him and worship Him. We praise God because of answered prayers. And it strengthens our resolve to trust Him more strongly and more broadly in the future.
It really will turn your world upside down when you learn what it means to trust God’s word. Your prayers will be answered and your life will be enriched.
Paul Holland