Responding to God's Words of Promise (preaching resource for Advent 4, December 24, 2023)
This post exegetes Luke 1:5-38, providing context for the RCL Gospel reading for 12/24/2023 (the fourth Sunday of Advent). This exegesis draws on commentary from Warren W. Wiersbe ("Bible Expository Commentary") and I. Howard Marshall ("New Bible Commentary"). Introduction Luke writes to share the gospel with all who read his retelling of Jesus’ story, which fulfills God's many promises to all humanity. He begins in chapter 1 by contrasting the response of several people to God’s promises. In this post we'll look at the response of two people: Zechariah (who responds with unbelief) and Mary (who responds with faith). It is Mary's response that we are called to emulate. "The Annunciation" by Waterhouse (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) Zechariah’s response of unbelief It was a time of darkness in the Jewish nation—no prophetic word had come from the Lord for some 400 years. The Jewish spiritual leaders were shackled by tradition and tainted