3 Lessons on Obedience from the Christmas Story

If you have a Bible this morning, please take it and find Luke 1:39.  This morning, we are continuing our study of Luke’s gospel, and we’ll remain in Luke 1. 

 

Last week, we saw the announcement of John the Baptist’s birth and the announcement of Jesus’ birth.  Both came from Gabriel. 

 

As we pick back up in the Christmas Story, consider Mary and Elizabeth and what is traditionally know as Mary’s Song. 

 

Mary

After Gabriel announced Jesus’ birth to Mary, we find her in verse 39 making a trip to the house of Zacharias and Elizabeth.  They would soon be the parents of John the Baptist who was six months older than Jesus.

 

In verse 41, we see that Mary entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. Even though we aren’t told of what she actually said, we see that her voice caused John the Baptist to leap in Elizabeth’s womb. 

 

BTW…John the Baptist leaped because that which was in Elizabeth’s womb was a person, not a fetus, not a mass of tissue.  He was a baby made in the image of God.

 

After this experience, notice Elizabeth’s words to Mary in verse 42.  Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.  The actual wording says that Mary was the most blessed among all women, and the reason for this is because she was carrying the Son of God and the Savior of the world in her womb.

 

After a statement of her own gratitude, Elizabeth again commented on how blessed Mary was.  Look at verse 45.  We see here why Mary was blessed. 

 

What was the key to her blessing?  Blessed is she who believed that there would be fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord. 

 

Mary is blessed because of her belief and availability and submission.  Even though Mary didn’t understand how a virgin could conceive and give birth, she was submissive to the Lord and available to His plan and believing of His Word.  As a result, she was blessed.

 

BTW…this is an excellent opportunity to see the difference between obedience and disobedience or faith and doubt.  Don’t you know that Zacharias was probably close?  This is the same Zacharias that was told by Gabriel that his wife would give birth to a son in her old age, but Zacharias didn’t believe him.  As a result, the Lord took away his speech. 

 

Mary’s response was much different.  She believed Gabriel and consequently believed God.  She believed, and Zacharias doubted.  She was faithful, and Zacharias was faithless.  She obeyed and was blessed.  Zacharias disobeyed and was disciplined. 

 

How do you respond when God tells you His plans for your life?  Obey and be blessed.  Disobey and get ready for discipline. 

 

Elizabeth

It is amazing to me how we see Elizabeth responding to all of Mary’s circumstances.  Keep in mind that Mary is between the ages of thirteen and fifteen.  Elizabeth is beyond childbearing age.  Mary will give birth to the Son of God.  Elizabeth will not.  Elizabeth could have been jealous and resentful, but she wasn’t.  She was humble and grateful.

 

In verse 41, we see her filled with the Holy Spirit.  This was only for a short time as the Holy Spirit was only temporarily present in individual lives at this point. 

 

In verse 43, we see her humility and gratitude voiced as she was humbled that the Lord’s mother, Mary, would visit her.  She obviously didn’t think she deserved such. 

 

Finally, throughout this dialogue, Elizabeth is full of compliments and encouragement for Mary and what God had chosen for her.

 

Let me ask you, would your closest family and friends describe you as humble and grateful?  Or, would they describe you as prideful and greedy?  Are you angry when your family and friends succeed or are blessed and you aren’t?  Are you always trying your best to keep up with the Jones’s and their house and their car and their toys? 

 

Mary’s Song

It is so important in this text for you to see how Mary respond to the Lord’s blessing in her life.  Verses 46 through 55 are called the Magnificat or Mary’s Song.  Magnificat is Latin for praise or make great. 

 

In response to the Lord blessing her, Mary sang a song praising Him.  Specifically, she praised Him for who He is and for what He had done.  Her Father in heaven was worthy of her praise.

 

Notice in verse 46 that she exalted the Lord or praised the Lord.  She rejoiced in God her Savior. 

 

BTW…how do we know that our Catholic friends are mistaken in their worship of Mary?  In verse 47, Mary had a Savior.  If you need a Savior, you aren’t worthy of worship.  Mary was a sinner just like you and me.

 

In verse 49, Mary praised the Lord for His holiness.  In verse 50, Mary praised the Lord for His mercy.  She praised the Lord for who He was.

 

Beginning in verse 51, she praised the Lord for what He did.  He executed justice by scattering the proud, exalting the humble, and providing for the poor.  Not only did He execute justice, He protected Israel, His chosen people. 

 

Verse 56 ends with Mary staying with Elizabeth for about three months and then returning to be with her parents in her house.  In the remainder of today’s text, I want to show you three lessons on obedience from the Christmas Story.  They involve Zacharias and Elizabeth and the birth of John the Baptist.

 

 

1. Obedience never gets old, Luke 1:57-58.

57 Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. 58 When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her. 

 

In verse 57, Elizabeth had carried John the Baptist to term, and it was now time for her to give birth.  Her friends and her family had heard that the Lord had been merciful to her in opening her womb, and they came to rejoice and celebrate with her the birth of John the Baptist. 

 

When I say that obedience never gets old, I have two applications in mind.  First, a Christian never reaches an age where obedience is no longer right.  In some contexts, we give senior adults a pass.  We say they have done their time, and they are no longer required or expected to follow the rules.  That never is true in Christianity. 

 

Luke 1:7 and 1:18 tell us that Zacharias and Elizabeth were “advanced in years.”  We don’t know their age specifically, but I think it is safe to conclude that they were both senior adults.  However, they were still obedient and faithful to the Lord in their old age. 

 

Obedience in the lives of our senior adults blesses my heart.  For years, I have seen senior adult ladies who drive to church on Monday morning to turn in their offering envelopes if they were sick or out of town the day before. 

 

From my perspective and the church’s perspective, could this have waited?  Sure it could.  However, it could not wait in their minds. Keep in mind that these ladies were on fixed incomes and may have had more medical bills than they could pay, but they never reached an age where obedience wasn’t expected of them.

 

Second, when I say that obedience never gets old, I mean that it is always right to do the right thing.  Sometimes, we believe the lie that it’s alright to be disobedient in certain circumstances.  It is ok to lie in certain circumstances.  It is ok to use profanity in certain circumstances.  Abortion is ok in certain circumstances.  Not tithing is ok in certain circumstances.  Obedience never gets old.

 

Zacharias and Elizabeth had lived lives of faithful obedience for many years.  They were devout Jews, and Luke 1:6 says they were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.

 

However, wouldn’t God understand if in these circumstances of old age, they decided not to trust or decided not to believe?  Obedience never gets old.  It is always right to do the right thing.

 

 

 

2. Obedience will sometimes be very unpopular, Luke 1:59-61.

59 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. 60 His mother answered and said, “No; he shall be called John.”  61 But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.”

 

Generally speaking, obedience will most of the time bring support and rejoicing for the follower of Christ.  However, there are also some times when obedience will be very unpopular because of the crowds and because of culture.

 

In verse 58, we saw friends and family who were rejoicing and celebrating what God was doing through Elizabeth.  Elizabeth had been obedient.  Consequently, her neighbors and relatives or family and friends rejoiced with her.

 

That should be true of this body of believers and Christians in general.  When we hear of a brother or sister in Christ being obedient, we should rejoice.  We hear that a couple decides to work out their marriage in spite of an affair rather than get a divorce, the body of Christ should rejoice, and not tell them they are stupid and will only get hurt again. 

 

Rejoicing over Elizabeth’s obedience and God’s mercy quickly changed when Elizabeth’s obedience didn’t match what her family and friends thought she should do. 

 

Remember that Zacharias and Elizabeth were devout Jews.  We see that from verse 6, and we see it in having their son circumcised on the eighth day.

 

However, popular opinion changed quickly when it came to naming the boy.  It was Jewish custom to name the son after his grandfather.  Even to name him after his father would have been fine.  In this case, it would have been Zacharias, Jr, but that was not what God wanted.

 

Somehow, Zacharias had communicated to Elizabeth that Gabriel told him to name the boy John.  For Elizabeth, that settled it.  His name would be John because that is what God wanted.  Notice the response of the culture and the crowd in verse 61.  There is no one in your family with that name.

 

Brothers and sisters, obedience will sometimes be unpopular. Don’t let culture or the crowd lead you astray.  Don’t ever let culture be your excuse for disobedience.  For the follower of Christ, if culture and the Bible are opposed to one another, you better kick culture to the curb or risk the hand of God’s discipline in your life. 

 

Don’t let culture lead you astray when it comes to gender identity.  Don’t let culture lead you astray when it comes to the definition of marriage.  Don’t let culture lead you astray when it comes the sanctity of every life.  Don’t let culture lead you astray when it comes to faithfulness in your marriage.   Don’t let culture lead you astray when it comes to supporting Israel and trying to end terrorism.

 

Just like the follower of Christ shouldn’t let culture keep you from obedience, don’t let the crowd keep you from obedience.  The crowds don’t like sexual purity teenagers.  However, it is right, and it is God’s will, and God will bless it.  Obedience will sometimes be very unpopular with culture and crowds.

 

 

3. Obedience can change your situation immediately, Luke 1:62-66.

62 So they made signs to his father—what he would have him called.  63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all marveled. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. 65 Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. 66 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.

 

After the neighbors and relatives balked at Elizabeth naming this boy John, they appealed to Zacharias.  Remember that Zacharias had been deaf and mute for nine months and much time to think about God’s plan in complete silence.  How would he respond? 

 

Verse 63 says he took a tablet, and that wasn’t an iPad, and he wrote, “His name is John.”  In thinking about what God wanted for 9 long months, Zacharias decided to believe God and obey God.

 

Obedience can change your situation immediately for the individual.  Notice verse 64.  And at once, Zacharias could speak and hear.  Immediately, obedience changed the situation of this individual. 

 

Some of you are hear this morning and you need to be healed.  Some of you have a hardened heart because you won’t forgive, and you need to be healed.  Some of you have a peaceless heart because you won’t change your attitude or mindset or belief, and you need to be healed.  Some of you have a passionless heart because you’ve given up on your marriage and won’t fight for what God’s plan is, and you need to be healed. 

 

Decide to obey this morning and be healed immediately.  Decide to obey and change your situation immediately.  Decide to forgive and be healed immediately.  Decide to change your belief and be healed immediately.  Decide to fight for your marriage and be healed immediately. 

Notice also that obedience can change the situation of others immediately as well.  When everybody who was around saw that Zacharias’ wish matched what Elizabeth said, they knew God was up to something.  Everyone was filled with reverence or awe and couldn’t stop talking about what happened, and they knew that God was going to be up to something big with John the Baptist.  Obedience can change your situation immediately and the situation of others.

 

 

Conclusion

So what about you?  In what area of your life do you need to obey?  For some of you, it is the call to salvation.  You will never be too old to trust Christ.  It may not be very popular with your friends and our family, but being obedient and trusting Christ this morning can change your situation immediately.  Your eternity will change from hell to heaven in the blink of an eye.

 

For others of you, you will never be too old to be baptized.  You will never too old to join the church.  You will never be too old to tithe or share your faith or be faithful to your spouse or forgive an offense.  It may not be popular to do it, but obedience will change your situation immediately.