Key Points

• Zechariah spoke God’s Word announcing that John would give people knowledge of salvation in the forgiveness of sins. God speaks through His Holy Word to give me knowledge of salvation and forgiveness through Jesus, His Son.
• Law: God wants me to listen and obey Him, following His ways.
• Gospel: God looks at me through the obedience of Christ and is pleased.

Discussion Questions

1. Have you ever been told that you have to learn to forgive yourself when you feel guilty about something? As a Christian, what is the problem with that statement? Read Psalm 51:1–5. What might David tell us to say instead of “You have to learn to forgive yourself”?
2. In the ancient world, names carried much more meaning than they do in our culture. We say in the Lord’s Prayer that God’s name is holy by saying “Hallowed be Thy name.” Last week, we learned that Jesus’ name is significant because it means “the Lord saves,” and Jesus was born to save His people from their sins. Luke 1:13 says that Gabriel instructed Zechariah to name his son John, which means, “The Lord is gracious and moved to pity.” We see in Luke 1:59 that the neighbors and family of Zechariah and Elizabeth expected the boy to be named after his father. How was the name John appropriate for his mission? What is the significance of having the name of God placed upon us in Baptism? See Matthew 28:19.
3. When would you hear the word covenant used today outside of biblical usage? Read Luke 1:68, 72–73. When these verses are connected, they show Zechariah saying, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people . . . to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath that He swore to our father Abraham.” God made many covenants with His people and always swore to be faithful to them. The central thought of Zechariah’s prophecy is that God remembers His covenants. The covenant referred to here is the one God made with Abram (Abraham) in Genesis 15; the oath is found in Genesis 22:15–18. All of the covenants God made with Israel were fulfilled in the Messiah, Jesus. Read Jeremiah 31:31–34. What did God promise to do here? Read Luke 22:20. How does Jesus show that we live under the new covenant?
4. The Old Testament prophets had many roles. They encouraged the people to rely on the Lord’s strength and not their own. They called on the people to remember God’s covenants with them. They proclaimed the Lord’s faithfulness based on the saving acts He had performed in the past. And they prophesied what the Lord would do for His people in the future. All of these prophetic functions are included in Zechariah’s prophecy in Luke 1:68–79. He was filled with the Holy Spirit, who allowed Him to prophesy (Luke 1:67). What would his son, John, do as a prophet (Luke 1:76–77)? Whom would John prophesy about (Luke 1:78–79)? Who else had prophesied concerning John (Luke 3:4)? Who was the last and greatest of the prophets (Luke 4:24)?
5. Psalm 51 shows us that sin is what separates us from God. “Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight” (Psalm 51:4). The forgiveness of sins is emphasized in Luke and in the Bible in general. Luke tells us that salvation is found in the forgiveness of sins (Luke 1:77). John the Baptist identifies Jesus as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). How would John the Baptist deliver forgiveness to people (Luke 3:3)? What does Jesus identify as the essential message of the Christian Church (Luke 24:47)? What is the basis for that message (Luke 24:46)? Why is this message so important?
6. A word closely related to the forgiveness of sins is righteousness. Zechariah says in Luke 1:74–75 that the Lord granted His people to “serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.” Read Romans 4:1–9 and Luke 18:9–14. What does the word justify mean? What does it mean that God “justifies the ungodly” (Romans 4:5)? In Luke 1:6 and 2:25, Zechariah, Elizabeth, and Simeon are described as “righteous.” Why are they called righteous? How are people justified?
7. People are insultingly called “holier than thou” when they flaunt their piety and good works before others and condemn behaviors they consider unholy. The temperance movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was a holiness movement intended to make the production and use of alcohol illegal. Holiness churches require their members to abstain from things they consider unholy, such as alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, and so on. What understanding of the word holy do we get based on the examples above? Read Luke 1:49, 70, 72, 75; 3:16. What do we learn about holiness from these passages? List as many things as you can that go on in Lutheran churches that we call holy. What makes these things holy?
8. What is mercy? See Luke 1:50, 54, 58, 72, 77–78; 6:36; 10:37. What do we learn about God’s mercy from these verses? What do we learn about the mercy we are to show to others?
9. What is your idea of perfect peace? Luke 1:79 says that Jesus will “guide our feet into the way of peace.” In 2:14, we are told that Jesus’ birth has brought “on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!” Read Luke 2:29–30. How was peace brought to Simeon? Read Luke 24:36–39. How does Jesus show His disciples true peace?
10. In Luke 1:57–66, we see the neighbors and relatives of Zechariah and Elizabeth playing an important role in the circumcision and naming of John. Close relationships with extended families and tight connections with the community were the norm at this time. Many people never traveled more than a couple days’ journey from where they grew up. This is hard for us to understand. While we can be thankful for the blessings of increased mobility in our times, we also should recognize the consequences, such as the disconnection of most of our lives from extended family and neighbors. Many people feel isolated and that their lives are fragmented and chaotic with no solid foundations anywhere. Since Christian congregations are made up of sons and daughters of God who are brothers and sisters in Christ, what responsibilities and opportunities are presented to the Church by our cultural climate?

Key Points

• God in His mercy promised to send John to prepare sinful people for the coming of the Lord.
• Law: God in His Word calls us to repentance, declaring us righteous because of Jesus. Law/Gospel Points Zechariah and Elizabeth were ordinary people, sinful just as I am. I need to repent and return to the Lord.
• Gospel: I, like them, stand righteous before God in spite of my sin, being justified by Christ, the Righteous One. God forgives me for Jesus’ sake, drawing me to Him through His Word and Sacraments.

Discussion Questions

1. Today we begin the season of Advent. The word advent means “a coming to” or “an arrival.” Today’s lesson tells of the promise that John the Baptist would come to prepare the way for Jesus’ own coming. In Advent, we focus on the advents (plural) of Jesus. Give three examples of advents of Jesus, and discuss how each one is important to our lives as Christians.
2. Today’s lesson is set in and around the temple in Jerusalem. Though the inner workings of the temple, and the tabernacle before it, are unfamiliar to most of us, basic knowledge of them helps us understand many events and ideas in the New Testament. God’s presence dwelled in the temple, and priests offered sacrifices to Him there, as He had instructed them to do. One of the rites of the temple was the burning of incense. Exodus 30:1–10 describes the institution of this rite. Zechariah was a priest, and he had been chosen to serve at the altar of incense, which was just outside the Holy of Holies (Luke 1:8–9). This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and a high honor. While the priest offered incense, believers would offer prayers at the temple (Luke 1:10). What does incense symbolize? See Psalm 141:1–2. Why might God have instituted the use of incense for Old Testament worship?
3. God spoke to Zechariah through the angel Gabriel, the messenger whom He had sent. Angels were often sent by God to be His messengers. Whom did Jesus later send out into the world as His messengers to speak on His behalf? Who are Jesus’ messengers to the world today? How can we tell whether someone is a true or false messenger of God?
4. Luke 1:6 says that both Zechariah and Elizabeth were “righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.” Why can this verse not mean that Zechariah and Elizabeth were saved by perfect obedience to the commandments? See Romans 3:23–24. What does it mean that they were “righteous before God”? What does it mean that they were “walking blamelessly” in God’s commandments and statutes?
5. What Old Testament couple is brought to mind by the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth? See Genesis 17:15–19. What similarities do you see between the stories? Why is it important to read that the saints in the Bible sometimes fell into unbelief?
6. Malachi is the last book in the Old Testament and was written around 430 BC. Read Malachi 4:5–6 and Luke 1:16–17. What key phrases in these verses indicate that Malachi’s prophecy was fulfilled in the person of John? What event does Malachi say will happen after Elijah comes?
7. Read Luke 3:3. What was John’s basic message? According to Luke 1:16, what would be one outcome of John’s preaching? If Luke 1:16 refers to the repentance of some of the Jews, to whom might Luke 1:17 be referring?
8. Luke 1:15 says that John “must not drink wine or strong drink.” This is one of the requirements for someone who would take a Nazirite vow. Read Numbers 6:1–3. What is the purpose of the Nazirite vow? What kind of tone does this set for John’s ministry? According to Psalm 104:15, what does wine symbolize? In Luke 7:33–34, Jesus contrasts His own ministry with John’s, saying that John drinks no wine but that He does. What could this difference in their ministries indicate?
9. God made Zechariah mute because he did not believe the promise given through Gabriel. Zechariah would have known the story of Abraham and Sarah, among other similar stories, of God opening closed wombs. He should have known better than to doubt God. Instead, he asked for a sign to prove that the prophecy would come true. God muted Zechariah in order to chastise him for his unbelief but also, ironically, to provide the sign for which he had asked. When misfortunes occur in our lives, should we interpret them as God’s punishments? Why or why not? What are the only signs of God’s love for which we should look? Read Mark 16:16 and Romans 8:28. What are some examples of signs that people today seek in order to confirm that God loves them?
10. Luke 1:15 says that John would “be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.” Read Luke 1:39–45. Who alone can give faith? What could these passages tell us about the possibility of unborn babies having faith? Can we be certain that God gives faith to infants who are baptized? What impression do these passages give to us concerning the value Elizabeth and Mary placed on their unborn babies?

Key Points

• In Jesus, access to heaven is given to all who believe.
• Law: You get the god you believe in. If you believe “God” to be a mean-spirited, unforgiving, damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don’t deity, then your belief in that false god attaches you to him. Again, if you believe “God” to be an everybody-gets-to-heaven, anything goes, laid-back Lord, then your belief in that false god attaches you to him. Remember, you get the “God” you believe in. But if the deity in whom you believe is false, then, alas, he is nothing more than one of the devil’s myriad disguises. And what you get is hell.
• Gospel: Jesus is who Jesus is. He is not whomever we twist, wrench, or otherwise manipulate Him into being. He defies our expectations, knowing all, loving all, dying for all. Something good did come down from Nazareth. That good is the Savior, who is the true Jacob’s ladder, for upon Him the angels come down to escort us upward to our heavenly home.

Context

There is a changeover between John the Baptist and Jesus. Before Jesus is baptized, and even long after, John has his disciples while Jesus has His (Matthew 9:14; John 1:35; John 4:1; Acts 19:1–7). Only over time did the two groups become one. One of the Baptist’s followers, Andrew, has already come to follow Jesus, bringing hid brother, Simon Peter, with him. Here, two more brothers, Philip and Nathanael (ake Bartholomew), confess faith in the Savior—Nathanael a tad reluctantly at first. In the following story, the wedding in Cana, we see something of a “parable” of the transition from John to Jesus where water (=John) is transformed into wine (=Messiah).

Discussion Points and Questions

1. Our passage begins with the words “The next day.” Read John 1:29 to hear more of what was happening beforehand. What does John say about his own ministry in John 1:31–34? How will the Son of God be recognized?
2. Read John 1:43–45 again. Who claims to have found whom? Who really found whom?
3. John had called Jesus the “Son of God” and the “Lamb of God.” What does Philip say about Him? What does he mean that Moses and the prophets wrote about Him? Read Luke 24:26–27 and 24:44–47 to help answer the question.
4. What does Jesus mean when He says Nathanael is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit? How is this a fault of Nathanael’s? How is it a strength?
5. How did Jesus know Nathanael? Again, who really found whom in this encounter? How does Jesus’ statement affirm what John and Philip have said about Him? What does He say to Nathanael? What are the greater things Nathanael will see?
6. John said that he saw heaven opened and the Spirit descending upon Jesus. Jesus says Nathanael will see the heavens opened, with angels ascending and descending on Him. When are the heavens opened for us?
7. Nathanael makes a strong confession about who Jesus is. What is this confession? Expand upon its meaning. What confessions do we make of Jesus?
8. Even though Moses and the prophets had testified about who the Messiah would be, Nathanael underwent a significant learning experience in his encounter with Jesus. Does this tell us anything about our own knowledge of Jesus? Under what circumstances should we be open to a deeper understanding of Him?

For next week, read Mark 2:13–17, Jesus’ call of Matthew. Think about people whom you consider to be “sinners.” How would you feel if they started coming to church? What if they became close friends with some in your congregation?

Key Points

• Jesus takes on our sin at His Baptism, facing our temptations that we, in turn, might be baptized into His goodness, His holiness, and His purity. In exchange for our sewer of sin, He gives us the fountain of life.
• Law: Repentance is not an emotion but a motion, a constant moving away from sin and into Christ, from death to life. To repent is not to “feel bad” but to confess that one is “bad”—a lawbreaker, one who fears, loves, and trusts things above God. It is to see in the lifeless wilderness around John an emblem of one’s soul, divorced from faith.
• Gospel: Jesus is baptized for us. All our transgressions cascade into Him. He also baptizes the water, as it were. He puts Himself into the water so the water, joined to Him, might join us to Him in Baptism. Once baptized, He takes down the devil for us by fearing, loving, and trusting His father above all things.

Context

Mark skips the infancy story. He leaps right into the ministry of John, then Jesus. Both have been foretold. Isaiah prophesied the voice-man John, whose pulpit is the wilderness, whose theme is repentance, whose font is the Jordan. He is so Elijah-like that he even dresses the part (2 Kings 1:8)! Mark’s version of the Baptism of Jesus, and especially His tempation, are short compared to Matthew’s and Luke’s, but the essentials remain the same.

Discussion Points and Questions

1. We are baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins. But Jesus is “without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Why is Jesus baptized?
2. Although Mark mentions Isaiah, only the quote in Mark 1:3 comes from the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 40:3). The part in Mark 1:2 comes from Malachi 3:1. The prophet Malachi is known for his proclamation of the messenger who will prepare the way of the Lord. Based on that knowledge, why does Mark begin his Gospel this way, omitting the infancy narrative of Jesus and going straight to John the Baptist?
3. What was the purpose of John’s Baptism? What were the people doing who came out to be baptized by him? What does it mean to repent and confess?
4. Read 2 Kings 1:8. What is John wearing and why does Mark describe it? What is the significance of this garb and diet? See Malachi 4:5–6 and Matthew 17:10–14 for more.
5. What is the significance of Mark 1:7?
6. What does it mean that Jesus was driven into the wilderness immediately after His Baptism and tempted? What benefit and comfort does this provide us?
7. Read Luke 12:50 and 2 Corinthians 5:21. Does this give you more insight into why Jesus was baptized? What happens to us when we are baptized?
8. What does it mean to “remember” our Baptism? How do sponsors help us with that, and how do we as sponsors help those who are baptized to remember their Baptisms?

For next week, read John 1:34–51, Jesus’ call of Philip and Nathanel. Compare and contrast Philip’s and Nathanael’s responses to their initial encounter with Jesus. Notice the reason for Nathanael’s change of heart and Jesus’ response to this.