International Sunday School Lesson December 4 2022 Winter #1

Luke 1:8-20 ESV  Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty,  (9)  according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.  (10)  And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.  (11)  And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.  (12)  And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.  (13)  But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.  (14)  And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,  (15)  for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.  (16)  And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God,  (17)  and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”  (18)  And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”  (19)  And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.  (20)  And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”

Luke 1:8-20 ESV

Notes

Background

• Malachi 3:1-2 (ESV) “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. [2] But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap.
• Malachi 4:5-6 (ESV) “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. [6] And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”
• John 10:40-41 (ESV) He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. [41] And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.”

Chosen by Lot — Luke 1:8-9

• Pulpit The office of burning incense gave the priest to whom this important lot fell the right of entering the holy place. It was the most coveted of all the priestly duties. The Talmud says the priest who obtained the right to perform this high duty was not permitted to draw the lot a second time in the same week, and as the whole number of priests at this time was very large—some say even as many as twenty thousand
• Numbers 16:40 (ESV) to be a reminder to the people of Israel, so that no outsider, who is not of the descendants of Aaron, should draw near to burn incense before the LORD, lest he become like Korah and his company—as the LORD said to him through Moses.

Angel of the Lord — Luke 1:10-11

• Revelation 8:3-4 (ESV) And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, [4] and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.

Call His Name John — Luke 1:12-13

• Judges 6:22 (ESV) Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the LORD. And Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.”
• Judges 13:22 (ESV) And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.”
• Daniel 10:7 (ESV) And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves.
• Mark 16:5 (ESV) And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed.
• Revelation 1:17 (ESV) When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last,

Many Will Rejoice — Luke 1:14-15

• Luke 1:58 (ESV) And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
• Luke 1:41-44 (ESV) And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, [42] and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! [43] And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? [44] For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

Spirit and Power of Elijah — Luke 1:16-17

• Mark 9:11-13 (ESV) And they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” [12] And he said to them, “Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? [13] But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.”
• Matthew 17:12-13 (ESV) But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” [13] Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

I Am Old — Luke 1:18

• Genesis 17:17 (ESV) Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”

You Did Not Believe — Luke 1:19-20

• Mark 16:14 (ESV) Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.

Conclusion

• Believe God’s promises
• Keep looking for the answer. It’s on its way.