Luke
1:
16-25
Foretelling
the mission of John the
Baptist
- My family and I
would like to wish you and your family a
very
Merry
Christmas!!
The Christmas Story
1:16
"And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back
to the Lord their God.
17 "It is he who will go
as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power
of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK
TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the
attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a
people prepared for the Lord."
18 Zacharias said to the
angel, "How will I know this for certain? For I am
an old man and my wife is advanced in years."
19 The angel answered and
said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the
presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to
you and to bring you this good news.
20 "And behold, you shall
be silent and unable to speak until the day when
these things take place, because you did not
believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their
proper time."
21 The people were waiting
for Zacharias, and were wondering at his delay in
the temple.
22 But when he came out,
he was unable to speak to them; and they realized
that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he
kept making signs to them, and remained mute.
23 When the days of his
priestly service were ended, he went back home.
24 After these days
Elizabeth his wife became pregnant, and she kept
herself in seclusion for five months, saying,
25 "This is the way the
Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked
with favor upon me, to take away my disgrace among
men."
-
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to
change the way that we think, and the way that
we live.
Commentary
by Bob Pardue
John the Baptist's
Mission Explained
- According to this
passage, John the Baptist was to be similar to
an Old Testament prophet. His mission was to
help lead the people back toward God and away
from their sinful behavior.
-
- Elijah's name was brought
up in verse 17 because Elijah, like John the
Baptist, stood up against rulers as shown in
Malachi 4:5; Matthew 11:14;
17:10-13.
-
- John was best at
preparing people for Christ's arrival and soften
the hearts of those who would listen to make
them more trusting and ready for a
change.
-
- I can't stress enough the
importance of what John the Baptist did in
foretelling the coming of Jesus and getting
people ready to accept Him. Because of God
working through John the Baptist, many people
had the "right heart" when Christ started his
ministry. They were now open to
God.
Are you as open to God as you
should be? Or do you need a "heart
transplant?"
Love in Christ
- Bob
Christmas
Story Contents
If you have never made the
commitment to receive the love and life-changing
experience of Jesus Christ, please take a moment to
go
here and take the
first
steps to salvation.
Verses from Luke for Bible study telling the
mission of John the Baptist are from Life
Application Study Bible: New International
Version
Comments are welcome. Please email
me with any questions or comments you
may have.
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