12-07-2025 - YOU WILL HAVE JOY AND GLADNESS, AND MANY WILL REJOICE - Luke 1:5-17

Lou Hernández
Dec 17, 2025
10 min read

MESSAGE BY PASTOR DANIEL PARK

FROM BETHANY BAPTIST IN RICHMOND, BC.

I invite you to pray together: O Father of mercies and God of all comfort, our only help in time of need: We humbly beseech thee to behold, visit, and relieve thy sick servants for whom our prayers are desired. Look upon them with the eyes of thy mercy ( Vicky O, Nancy R, Tere G, Liz N, Stevie A, Socrates D, Sara's mom H, Margarita G, Rosy Ch, Patricia L. Lina J. Magda- Laci M. Gloria F, Miguel A H. Silvia H, Manuel D, Brianda M, Alejandro M, Natalia M) Comfort them with a sense of thy goodness; preserve them from the temptations of the enemy; and give them patience under his affliction. In thy good time, restore them to health, and enable them to lead the residue of their life in thy fear, and to thy glory; and grant that finally they may dwell with thee in life everlasting; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

You can add names from family and friends who need prayer.

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INTRODUCTION

5 When Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron. 6 Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations. 7 They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old.

8 One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week. 9 As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. 10 While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying.

11 While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. 12 Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. 13 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. 14 You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. 16 And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. 17 He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”

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One the of the most popular Christmas Carols has to be “Joy to the World,” which we sang earlier today

And I’m sure many of you now know that it was not meant to be a Christmas carol
It is based on Psalm 98, and the focus is on the return of Jesus in His second coming
Yet I think it is very fitting and appropriate for us to sing of the joy we will have at His second coming as we celebrate His birth on earth
It reminds us of the end game - the grand vision of God for which He sent His son, Jesus
The vision that involved God becoming a human being, to be born in a stable surrounded by animals, to be betrayed, executed as a criminal in the most inhumane way invented by man, before being glorified - resurrected from the dead after 3 full days

This slight misappropriation of a song into a Christmas carol rightly reminds us that there is more to Christmas than we habitually give it credit for.

Today, we want to receive what the angel Gabriel declared to Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist, that “you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice”

As creation was being prepared to receive the Messiah, her King

We are going a little out of the traditional order in terms of the advent themes, but today we want to receive the JOY that was declared even before the birth of Jesus was revealed

At the birth of John, who would prepare people to know and receive Jesus as the Messiah

Through the announcement of the birth of John to Zachariah and Elizabeth,

we see the masterplan of joy in the enactment of God’s plan to save humanity,
the prophet God will use,
and the even the pain surrounding the people God had chosen to use

In the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist as the precursor to the birth of Jesus, we can see God’s desire to intimately direct the destiny of humanity back to Himself

and in doing so, restore joy back to humanity
The account of John’s birth and his parents is a mirror to our own lives
Even as the birth of John becomes part of the greatest birth
So will our own birth and stories become part of Jesus and His story, and there find its fulfilment.

1. Joy comes to us through God's Masterplan of salvation [ The Plan ]

As Rob talked about last week, God’s salvation was a long time coming

-Even though He could, God never fashions salvation out of thin air - He never produces things in a vacuum

God plants the seeds of faith through relationships and promises to those He chooses
- All part of a loooong plan to produce more people of faith
- God always works for the GREATER harvest

To some, this account of Zachariah and Elizabeth and their son, John, may seem random

Luke, the author of the fourth Gospel, was a doctor and an academic
He understood that the background and theory matters as much as the end result
He traces back and makes sure people understand the context of what was going on

John, who would become the Elijah of his day

Came from the “proper stock” if you will
Both his parents came from their own “priestly lineage”
Similar to the genealogy of Jesus, the account of John’s birth is a continuation of the framework and plan of salvation set in motion thousands of years ago.

The Angel Gabriel declares that Zachariah and many others will experience JOY because they will witness the greatest moment in the masterplan of salvation

And as we just saw through the life of Joseph many thousands of years before this, God chooses and uses people and their all their experiences to advance His masterplan of salvation
The joy is directly linked to the people God will use and how He uses them
- The impact God’s people will have in the world around them.

You see, we are all part of this grand masterplan of salvation

We are living it right now
The question is, how aware of this are you?
And how involved and invested are you?

I believe the answer to that determines how much joy you have in your life

2. Because we live in joy when when we live out who God created and called us to be [The Person]

In some sense, it’s kind of obvious that Zachariah and Elizabeth will have great joy when John is born,

As they have been unable to have a child for a long time
I’m sure there are people here who can relate
But if you look at verses 14 to 17 closer, the source of the joy isn’t actually the birth
John won’t be great in the eyes of the Lord straight out of the womb

It’s what he WILL DO
- He will turn people to God
- He will prepare people for the coming of Jesus
- He will turn the hearts of fathers to their children
- He will lead rebellious people back to the Word of God.

As John 1:6 said, God sent a man, John the Baptist, 7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light.

God did not just send a Saviour, God also sent someone to point the way to the Saviour

As I mentioned earlier, Jesus didn’t just show up on day saying He is the Christ

Like many in history have done
Also, Jesus did not come to MAKE US right with God and to GIVE US forgiveness
- Jesus came so people could get to KNOW God and understand our sinfulness through a relationship with Jesus Himself
- He wants us to embrace a new way of life, not to get something, but in response to His goodness and love
- Jesus wants people to turn their heart and life to be open to him,
- To receive and accept God’s grace and faith that grows

As we see throughout the Old Testament, God leaves evidences of Him working in history
And He still does and works in the same way
We only need to have our eyes and hearts open to see how God has been and is working in our lives
And also, God wants us to prepare people to see Him

Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

God created us for His purpose.

I like how Max Lucardo puts it:

“Can you be anything you want to be? I don't think so. But can you be everything God wants you to be? I do think so…”

And when we are what God wants us to be, there is joy all around

And whether we are parents ourselves or not, I believe we are called to nurture that same spirit in the people around us, mentoring and sharpening each other towards living as people who tell others about Jesus

Can you imagine how joyful Zachariah and Elizabeth must have been when John was born?

And it was they, who made sure John grew up to be who God called him to be
Making sure John grew in the ways God prescribed so that John could be filled with the Holy Spirit
So parents, here’s a reminder as we are in the full swing of Christmas
- The joy we experienced when our children were born can be multiplied as we fulfil our greatest calling as parents to help them be who God created and called them to be.

Filled with the Holy Spirit to prepare and help people know Jesus
As the advent activities that our Children’s Ministry prepared for us reminded us, to always give God thanks for everything we have

And for anyone here whose parents are not yet believers of Jesus

Don’t lose heart
The joy you live in because of Jesus and how you live for Him is probably the best form of evangelism and ministry As my mum once admitted to me, no parent can overcome their own child
Nothing brings greater joy to a parent than to see their children living joyously

But, I don’t want to gloss over the fact that family and children, can often be a very difficult and painful subject people’s lives

the bible shows that God knows and understands this
The bible affirms the pain that exists and we experience in our lives

3. But also gives us the hope for joy even through the pain [The Pains]

It’s very interesting that barren-ness or difficulty in conceiving is a recurring issue in the bible that God works through

All 3 of the patriarchs and their wives wrestled with difficulty in having children
- Abraham and Sarah
- Isaac and Rebekah
- Jacob and Rachel
Also Hannah, the mother of Samuel the prophet
The mother of Samson, the most famous Judge
And of course Zachariah and Elizabeth.

The bible is clear of Elizabeth’s pain at being unable to have a child

Verse 25 “How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.”
While not blaming God, she blamed herself.

Her barren-ness was not a punishment of any kind -

In fact, verse 6 says that both Zachariah and Elizabeth were “righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations.”

Zachariah responds to the angel Gabriel’s announcement with scepticism and even disbelief, which is held against him

Which I think is pretty understandable
Though having an angel appear in front of you might beg to differ

It’s normal for good, righteous followers of God to have doubts

To be disappointed
And you know what? This does not deter God and His promises at all
GOD WILL bring His promises to pass

This might sound a little weird to say and hear, but our faith does not determine the outcome

Our faith determines the state of our soul
Our faith determines joy in our lives.

We see Zachariah and Elizabeth’s “faith” in action long before the angel appears to them

Their pain and disappointment at their predicament did not prevent them living faithful and righteous lives
Neither of them let bitterness take root in their hearts
What did they do instead and how?
They went about their business
- They continued to faithfully serve God.
- They focused on God’s calling and purpose for them - which seemed for the longest time to not involve any children in their lives.
- Godly people need to learn to rely on God as much as anyone else -Maybe more
As the answer to their disappointment is often not clear

God never guarantees that life will come without pain and disappointment

The central issue is how we handle it

Bitterness will yield the fruit of anger and frustration, sapping the joy from life
- Trust and dependence will cause us to find fulfilment in ways we would not even have imagined
- Worship and a lifestyle of prayer helps us keep the truth and promises of God front and centre
- Ministry keeps us grounded in love and humility, teaching us to bear our burdens and bring it to Jesus, and helping others do the same.
Unfortunately, I cannot end this message by telling you that your cancer will disappear, or the pain you’ve been suffering for months and years will go away, or your spouse, your son or daughter will come back
- But I can promise that in Christ, you can have joy in your life
- This is not something I can give you or explain or even show
- It’s only something I can testify of, and you experience with me through the relationship, bearing each other’s burdens.