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Four hundred years is a long time to wait, don't you think? There had been no prophetic word from the Lord to Israel for over 400 years. The last prophet to leave a written word was Malachi. He wrote of the Lord coming to visit his temple in person. He also wrote of Elijah coming to set the people straight, to prepare the way for the Messiah. He spoke those words, then there was nothing. Yes, there were the Maccabees, and the Essenes, and other splinter groups who claimed to speak for God, but their prophecies did not endure. They were not widely accepted. They were not considered Scripture. In the long line of acknowledged prophets, Malachi was the last voice.

This wasn't the first time Israel had waited 400 years for deliverance. The first time was when they were enslaved in Egypt -- 400 years separate Joseph and Moses. After 400 years, you begin to wonder if God has forgotten his promises.

Then, all at once, miracles start happening again, miracles in the form of babies. An elderly couple, considered well beyond normal child-bearing years, now announce they are expecting. Zechariah and Elizabeth must have wondered what God was thinking. All these years, and now we are going to have a baby? Zechariah questions God's messenger and is made speechless for the duration of the pregnancy. But their joy is full, especially for Elizabeth.

• When is the latest in life you would like to have a baby?


A young virgin also becomes pregnant. She claims her pregnancy is the result of God's miraculous power. You have to admit, at least that story is original. What is going on around here? Elizabeth's baby is born, and Zechariah is able to speak again, and in his praise to God he tells us what is going on.

Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us -- to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies and to enable us to serve him without fear.
-- Luke 1:68-74 (NIV)


This got the people in town talking. The question is interesting. "What then will this child become?" We know the answer. So does Zechariah.

And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins.
-- Luke 1:76-77 (NIV)


What is God doing? God is remembering his promise to deliver us from our enemies. No longer is it the slavery of Egypt; now it is the slavery to sin that is the problem. The enemy is Satan, not Pharaoh. Once again God is sending a deliverer. Elizabeth's and Zechariah's baby will become the most honored prophet in the hall of fame, because he will be the one to announce the coming of that deliverer, the Messiah.

Today we should also ask ourselves, "What will become of this child?" We should ask this in reference to the millions of children in the world who are starving, abused, neglected, abandoned, or aborted. Children are at risk around the world. In Thailand, children are sold as sex slaves to satisfy the perversions of tourists from the West. In Africa, children are starving and in want of basic necessities; fourteen million children have been orphaned by the AIDS pandemic sweeping the African continent. In America, children are abused, neglected, and abandoned -- babies even being left in dumpsters like garbage. What will become of those children? Will they even become?

• What do you hope your child/children will become?


We can't save or help every child in the world, but if all of us help one or two, then together we can make an impact for good. Who knows which of these children we help will become tomorrow's prophets, tomorrow's engineers, tomorrow's presidents, or tomorrow's leaders. We must remind ourselves of the importance of children and our responsibility to bring them up in the Lord.

It's not just the children. We can ask about ourselves at any age: What then will this person become? All of us have potential to be better people, better citizens, better Christians. The Holy Spirit lives inside us, and he gives us the power to become like Jesus. When we partake of the Lord's Supper, we have the reminder of how our becoming is possible. The bread symbolizes Jesus' body, broken for us. The cup is the cup of the new covenant in Jesus' blood, shed for us. Because Jesus died for us, we can become forgiven, redeemed, saved. We can become holy, righteous, justified, sanctified. We can become like Jesus.

In our days and times, we also need to be like John, prophets of God proclaiming, "Prepare the way of the Lord." We are witnesses to the great things Jesus has done for us. Everything Zechariah prophesied about we have experienced, and we can tell others. We have experienced the tender mercy of God in our lives. We have experienced the knowledge of salvation in Jesus. We have experienced the forgiveness of sins. We have experienced the light shining in our darkness. We have experienced God guiding our feet on the path of peace.

Again, the Lord's Supper reminds us of how all that is possible. Because Jesus died on the cross for us, sacrificing his body and shedding his blood, we can be forgiven and know salvation. God's tender mercy comes to us because Jesus took our judgment upon himself. Because Jesus died on the cross, the Holy Spirit is guiding our feet in the path of peace. When you partake of communion again, talk with Jesus about how you can become more like him and a prophet for him.


WWJD -- What can you do to encourage a child in your life?