A Christian Who Lives Remembering That the Day Will Surely Come When My Body, Too, Will Not Remain in the Tomb but Will Disappear “Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, these women came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, the men said to them, ‘Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, “The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and rise again the third day.”’ And they remembered the words of Jesus. Then they returned from the tomb and to...
It Is Only Possible by the Power of the Holy Spirit!
“His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied” (Luke 1:67). While meditating on this word, I want to receive the grace it brings:
(1) When I meditate on the statement that “his father Zechariah” (Luke 1:67)—that is, the “father” (v. 67, Modern Translation) of the “baby” John the Baptist—“was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied” (v. 67), it reminds me of how John the Baptist’s mother and Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, “was filled with the Holy Spirit and cried out in a loud voice” (vv. 41–42), speaking to Mary who had come to visit her (v. 40, Modern Translation) (v. 42, Modern Translation).
(a) What is interesting in Luke 1 is that between the accounts of John the Baptist’s parents being filled with the Spirit and speaking (prophesying), we find the words spoken by Jesus’ mother Mary recorded in between [Elizabeth’s words (vv. 42–45), Mary’s words (vv. 46–55), and Zechariah’s words (vv. 67–79)]. And yet, it never says that Mary was “filled with the Holy Spirit.”
(i) Through this Spirit-filled speaking of Elizabeth and Spirit-filled prophesying of Zechariah, John the Baptist was born. But even before his birth, the angel Gabriel, sent by God, said to his father Zechariah that John would “be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb” (v. 15), and that “he will turn many of the people of Israel back to the Lord their God” (v. 16, Modern Translation).
· In the end, God caused John’s parents to speak and prophesy by being filled with the Holy Spirit. To this elderly couple (Zechariah being old, Elizabeth being advanced in years—v. 18, Modern Translation), God gave a son, “John” (v. 13). And this John “was filled with the Holy Spirit even while still in his mother’s womb” (v. 15, Modern Translation).
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Meditating on this, I feel both a longing for my wife and me to also be filled with the Holy Spirit, and a prayer that our children too, like John the Baptist, may even now be filled with the Spirit. In other words, as the Lord builds our family (cf. Matt. 16:18), I pray that He would establish us as a Spirit-filled household.
(ii) Why then, in Luke’s Gospel, does it record that John the Baptist’s parents Zechariah and Elizabeth were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke (prophesied), but not say that Jesus’ mother Mary was “filled with the Holy Spirit”?
· When I asked this question, I recalled the words of Gabriel to Mary: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (v. 35a, Modern Translation); “For nothing is impossible with God” (v. 37) [(Modern Translation: “Nothing is impossible for God”)]—and also the words: “… Mary, the mother of Jesus, though betrothed to Joseph, had not yet married. But it became known that she was pregnant through the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 1:18, Modern Translation); and “… what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit” (v. 20, Modern Translation).
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Therefore, the Apostles’ Creed confesses that Jesus “was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.” This means that “Jesus was conceived not through human sexual relations but solely by the power of the Holy Spirit. This affirms both the full divinity (being God) and full humanity (being man) of Jesus Christ. It is a crucial theological statement that, through Jesus’ unique birth, shows that He is the Savior who conquers sin and death” (Internet).
(iii) Meditating on this, I recalled the latter part of Zechariah 4:6: “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD.” This means that “it is not by human physical strength, knowledge, or ability, but only by the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, that such things can be accomplished. … It teaches that only through the working and guidance of the Holy Spirit can even things that seem impossible be fulfilled” (Internet).
· “In its context, this word was given to Zerubbabel, who faced hardships in rebuilding the temple after the return from Babylonian exile. Despite human obstacles and difficulties, the assurance was given that with God’s Spirit, the great task of rebuilding the temple would be accomplished—bringing hope and courage” (Internet).
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“Furthermore, this word shows that no human institution, not even the church, can truly be established by human power or reputation alone. Only through the power of the Holy Spirit can true life be birthed, grow, and come to completion” (Internet).
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