December 20, 2015

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Guide #2-15 Luke 1:5-13, 57-80

Leader Guide

John the BaptistBible Background You know the excitement that kids have in anticipation of Christmas? The month before Christmas seems to go so slow. That wait, however, is nothing.

The passage that you read in Isaiah 40 last week prophesied that a messenger would come to prepare the way of the LORD. According to this week’s passage in Luke, that messenger is John.

The prophecy was written down over 500 years before John the Baptist was born, who in turn prepares the way for our messiah, Jesus. That’s a long wait for Christmas

As the gospel stories will introduce John and Jesus to new believers, the details that each writer (see Bible Nuts & Bolts sidebar) includes is important in the specific message they are conveying because their audiences are different.

The writer, Luke, is writing to a non-Jewish audience, or the Gentiles, who were not necessarily familiar with the traditional Jewish history or customs, like the target audience in Matthew’s Gospel. In many ways, Luke’s account serves to reinforce the faith of these new believers and to provide the historical context for how this story fits into the bigger narrative of God working in the world.

One of the key pieces in telling that story is John the Baptist. This first chapter is about the miraculous account of an angel appearing and telling a barren Elizabeth that she’ll bear a son. Being barren and having God intervene has a historical precedent (see The Miracle of Miraculous Birth sidebar).

For Your Reflection ? Christmas is near. How do you get ready? What are the loudest messages in our

culture about what to expect at Christmas? ? Zechariah becomes mute, but upon the birth, his mouth is opened and he’s

again able to speak the good news. How does the message of Jesus get muted? How can we give voice to the importance of this birth?

© 2014-2015 Spirit and Truth Publishing – All Rights Reserved

Bible Connections Focus on Isaiah 40:3-6, from last week, which is a prophecy of John, who will

prepare the way of the Lord.

To see the parallel passages of John’s first appearance in each Gospel, read Mark 1:1-8 when John is baptizing with water; Matthew 3:1-12 includes the reference to the prophecy in Isaiah; and John 1:6-9 which says John was sent from God to testify to Jesus, the light coming into the world.

The passage that is skipped over in this week’s reading is Luke 1: 26-56 in which the birth of Jesus is foretold and Mary, the mother of Jesus, visits Elizabeth.

The Miracle of Miraculous Birth The birth of Jesus, born of a virgin in a stable in Bethlehem, qualifies as a

miraculous birth. But Jesus is not the only baby born under amazing circumstances. In Luke’s story, John the Baptist’s birth is foretold by the angel Gabriel ahead of Jesus, despite Elizabeth being barren.

This connects to stories in the Old Testament that also involve important leaders who were born from women who previously considered to be barren, including the covenant with Abraham in the book of Genesis. Abraham’s wife, Sarah, was barren and close to 90, yet the LORD provided a son, Isaac.

In the book of Judges, during a period after Moses’ death but before the kings, the angel of the LORD appears to a barren woman, the wife of Zorah, and tells her she’ll bear a son who will deliver the Israelites from the Philistines. His name was Samson.

In the book of 1 Samuel, Hannah prays to the LORD for a son and promises to give him to the LORD. Samuel is born and becomes the judge for Israel who appoints Saul and David to be kings.

What each of these miraculous births have in common is that the LORD intervenes on behalf of the barren to bring them social standing and deliverance for the people. The sons are all instruments of the LORD to fulfill the promises that the LORD has made with the people.

The journey of the chosen people through the Old Testament will finally be fulfilled through John’s birth to prepare the way for another miracle baby, Jesus Christ.

December 20, 2015

© 2014-2015 Spirit and Truth Publishing – All Rights Reserved

Guide #2-15 Luke 1:5-13, 57-80

Participant Guide

John the Baptist

Into the Story It is almost Christmas. With this special day, there come different expectations or obligations. How do you prepare for the arrival of the birth of Jesus? What do you have to do with your home, preparing meals or purchasing gifts for others? When do you start these preparations? Are you a long-term planner or a last minute shopper?

Learning the Story The first story we hear about as we move from the Old Testament to the New is not about Jesus, but about his cousin, John the Baptist. The coming of John is told to his father through an angel and his birth happens under extraordinary circumstances. John’s arrival prepares the way for the Lord, Jesus, to come. This passage doesn’t talk about John as an adult, but instead builds up the narrative to connect the Old Testament prophecy to show a parallel story of the miraculous births of John and Jesus.

Read Luke 1:5-25 ? Zechariah and Elizabeth are old and she is

considered barren because she has not had a child. How do you think they might have felt being told that they would have a child after years of disappointment and suffering “disgrace among the people”? Would it be difficult for you to believe the angel? Are there times where you lose patience or feel like something you desire will not happen? How does this make you feel?

Read Luke 1:57-66

? John is born and the neighbors share the joy with his mother, Elizabeth. She is given social status now that the Lord shows mercy.

Bible Nuts and Bolts Introduction to the Genre of

Gospels There are four books of the Bible that fall in the category of “Gospel,” a word that means good news. What is this good news? The story of Jesus. There are four different perspectives on Jesus, told from different points of view and for different audiences. The exact details from the life of Jesus vary, slightly in some cases, and drastically in others. Mark’s Gospel was written around 66-70 years after the birth of Jesus and was the first Gospel to appear. Matthew and Luke use Mark as a source, but also incorporate another source to tell the story of Jesus. Because of the many parallels and similar wording, these three books are considered the synoptic Gospels. The Gospel of John was the last of the four to be written and is told in a unique voice that sets it apart from the other three. The main character throughout the four books is Jesus. Even the passages in which John the Baptist is the focus, his life and message points others towards the good news of Jesus Christ.

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Do you have experiences to share about having to live up to the expectations of other people to be accepted?

Read Luke 1: 66-80

? The people of Judea wonder “what then is this child going to be?” Without the context around it, you may think that this is talking about Jesus, but it’s actually John the Baptist. There are a lot of expectations of this little baby. Have you ever felt higher expectations from others because of the reputation or expectations of a loved one or family member?

? Zechariah’s song of praise, also known as the Benedictus, is taken from passages in the Old Testament. It’s sung as a prayer lifted up to God for sending this son, John, to give the people knowledge about the savior. What stands out to you in his prayer?

Living the Story: Prayer How do you understand the answering of Elizabeth and Zechariah’s

prayers in Luke 1:13? Does God answer all prayers or have you ever felt like God didn’t answer your prayers? How do you understand God interacting with us personally through prayer? Keep in mind that people pray in different ways and have different expectations of what happens when you pray. Does your group have different understandings of what prayer is?

Have you ever had a prayer answered in a way that you didn’t expect? How do you determine God’s role in responding to prayer? As a group, what do you pray for? Are there specific people in the congregation or in the world that you pray for by name?

Before you close in prayer, write down all the things that you would pray for individually, as a congregation, and as a small group. What are you expecting to happen for each of these prayer requests? What are you hoping for as you prepare for Christmas? Pray out loud as a group, either with one person reading each petition or encouraging everyone to offer up prayer requests.

Last Week/Next Week In Isaiah 40, which was the last reading from the Old Testament for this cycle of Bible stories from Year 2 of the Narrative Lectionary, we learned about the coming of a messenger to make way for the Lord. In Luke’s telling of the story for this week, John the Baptist is born and he is the messenger who fulfills that prophecy. Who is John preparing the way for? In a few days, we celebrate the birth of Jesus on Christmas day and during next week’s lesson, we move to the Gospel of Mark and John the Baptist will appear again, this time as an adult, to announce the arrival of Jesus. Then Jesus will call his first disciples, or followers, and Mark lays down the foundation of who Jesus is and what the kingdom of God entails.