"Filling Your Own Shoes...and No One Else's!"

Scripture Passage

Luke 1:39-80; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 2:1-40

Scripture Focus

“And you, my little son,
     will be called the prophet of the Most High,
     because you will prepare the way for the Lord.
You will tell his people how to find salvation
     through forgiveness of their sins.
                                     (Luke 1:76 NLT)

Observation

The celebrative, prophetic declarations of both Mary and Zechariah in Luke 1 are simply wonderful pronouncements. (Elizabeth’s greeting to Mary deserves at least an honorable mention, as well!) Both Mary (pregnant with Jesus) and Zechariah (the father of the newborn we now call “John the Baptist”) rehearse the fact that both John and Jesus are born to fulfill God’s covenant promise to Abraham. And Mary and Zechariah both recognize how this seals the fate of all God’s enemies and (therefore) the enemies of God’s people.

I love the way they latch on to God’s promises with their words. I love the prophetic spirit in which they take hold of what God has promised and announce it as if it’s done! Listen to what Mary says, for example…

He has brought down princes from their thrones
     and exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
     and sent the rich away with empty hands.
                                     (Luke 1:52-53 NLT)

The Christ-child has not even been born yet, but Mary already speaks in the past tense—“He has brought down princes…He has filled the hungry!” Zechariah’s language is the same.

And Zechariah goes one step further (I’m not sure that’s the exact way to phrase it, but…). Zechariah—for all his excitement over the birth of John—does not place John in any higher role than God intends, but recognizes that the boy will only point to the Savior and the way to be saved.

“And you, my little son,
     will be called the prophet of the Most High,
     because you will prepare the way for the Lord.
You will tell his people how to find salvation
     through forgiveness of their sins.
                                      (Luke 1:76 NLT)

How magnificent to know God’s role…and better still to fill it—to “…not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you” (Romans 12:3).

“Today, Lord, may I do all yet only what is mine to do…to see what the Father is doing and do that alone.”

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