Have you ever heard the expression, “The proof is in the pudding”? It means that something you actually experience firsthand is the best proof of its true quality of goodness. Well, that expression certainly applied to our Thanksgiving meal last Thursday. It wasn’t only the pudding that was great, but also everything else: The turkey, ham, crab cakes, snap casserole, chicken and fried rice, cheddar cheese macaroni, and a multitude of other wonderful dishes. They were all mouth-watering! I experienced that firsthand with a knife in one hand and a fork in the other! God’s Word is like that—the proof is in the pudding. It is not enough just to read it. You need to experience the Word of God by trusting in it in all areas of your life. If you truly believe what the Bible has to say, it will make an amazing difference in your life. Doubts and fears will be replaced by certainty and peace of mind. I’d like you to think about this as we begin the Christmas Season.
Perhaps the best place to start is with two very different responses expressed when the angel Gabriel delivered wonderful news—first to Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist—then later to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Luke’s Gospel gives us the story of both of them. With respect to Zacharias, we find the following:
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years. 8 Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering. 11 And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him. 13 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. 17 It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children,’ and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” 18 Zacharias said to the angel, “How will I know this FOR CERTAIN? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 The angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.” Luke 1:5-20 (NASB)
A key point here is found in Zacharias’ initial response to Gabriel’s wonderful news. He first stated: “How will I know this FOR CERTAIN?” Notice that he does not jump for joy upon hearing the amazing news that Elizabeth would bear him a son. In fact, there was no expression of joy whatsoever—only doubt. It was as if Zacharias looked God’s arch angel right in the eye and said, “Are you crazy?!—I’m not buying this!” It is clear that Zacharias was questioning the ability of God to deliver on this promise of a coming son. Now, don’t get me wrong—Zacharias was not a wicked man. As we read, this passage described him as a “righteous” and “blameless” man. But, such a description tends to point to Zacharias’ good “works”. But, we are saved by grace through faith, not by our good works.[1] His faith was lacking because, in effect, Zacharias asked for a sign so that he would “know for certain” that God was capable of satisfying Gabriel’s announcement. But, ironically, a sign stood right there in front of him, yet he failed to see it. The sign was that the Lord had sent an angel of the highest order—namely, the arch angel, Gabriel—into His holy Temple to deliver this answer to Zacharias’ prayers. That, in and of itself, should have been enough.
And, note this: The text says Gabriel had told him, “Your petition has been heard.” In other words, “Your prayers have been answered.” And, yet, Zacharias refused to believe what Gabriel told him! What does this say about Zacharias’ understanding of the power of prayer? Do you ever pray like Zacharias? Do you pray for something to happen, but deep down inside you really have no expectation that your prayer will be answered? Sometimes our prayers aren’t answered because they are not consistent with God’s plan. But, other times, when we pray with an element of unbelief, the Apostle James tells us that we are the ones who prevent a favorable response from God. James states: 6 “When you pray, you must believe and not doubt at all. Whoever doubts is like a wave in the sea that is driven and blown about by the wind. 7 If you are like that, unable to make up your mind and undecided in all you do, you must not think that you will receive anything from the Lord.” James 1:6-7 (TEV) Those prayers offered in doubt are not answered. Unlike Zacharias, I expect Elizabeth prayed with a great deal more confidence than her priestly husband. Accordingly, God answered her prayers that she and Zacharias would have a son. I bet if the angel of the Lord had appeared to Elizabeth, she would have never questioned God’s power and certainly would not have demanded a sign.
In any event, Gabriel did grant Zacharias’ request and gave him a sign. The sign was to close his mouth and make him mute. I guess Gabriel figured if all Zacharias was going to say was faithless, foolish things, he’d be better off saying nothing at all for a while. Christian scholar, William MacDonald put it well when he said: “Whenever a believer entertains doubts concerning God’s Word, he loses his testimony and his song. Unbelief seals the lips, and they remain sealed until faith returns and bursts forth in praise and witness.”[2]
Nevertheless, Zacharias’ muteness served its purpose because it was what brought him out of the darkness of doubt and into the light of faith. You see, Zacharias was one of these guys who refused to believe something unless it had an explanation that he could understand. For him, “seeing was believing.” But, as we will see, for Elizabeth’s cousin, Mary, it was “believing was seeing.” And speaking of Mary—what was her response when Gabriel appeared to her? Luke’s Gospel covers that as well:
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name Him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; He will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; LET IT BE with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. Luke 1:26-38 (NRSV)
Now, on the surface, you may think Mary’s question presented to Gabriel was not much different from Zacharias’. But, upon closer examination, it is clear that Mary had no doubt that what the angel said would become a reality. She didn’t request any proof, like Zacharias did. Rather, her inquiry was to simply ask how God would make this happen—not whether He was able to do things. Do you know the real difference between Mary and Zacharias? The real difference was that they had radically different views of God. Zacharias had a very limited view of God. His God was too small. Because of that, he failed to appreciate God’s almighty power, and that led him down the path of doubt. But, Mary’s God was big—so big, in fact, that Mary realized she could never truly grasp the extent of His power. Her concept of God was right in line with Gabriel’s declaration that NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD. And because of that Mary might have liked that hit song from yesteryear by the Beatles. For if you were to paraphrase her way of thinking, it would have been as if she said: “Well, Gabriel—I don’t know the way God is going to do this, but hey: ‘LET IT BE, LET IT BE!’”[3] Mary, the uneducated peasant girl, understood God’s ways. But, Zacharias, the highly educated priest, did not understand at all. And, he had no excuse. As a priest, he knew all the Scriptures—especially those speaking of “GOD’S WAYS.” There can be little question about it—Zacharias would have been well acquainted with God’s declaration found in the Scroll of Isaiah, when God turned to humanity and said: 8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts. And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9 FOR JUST AS THE HEAVENS ARE HIGHER THAN THE EARTH, SO MY WAYS ARE HIGHER THAN YOUR WAYS AND MY THOUGHTS HIGHER THAN YOUR THOUGHTS.” Isaiah 55:8-9 (NLT2) Think about what God is saying here. How much higher are His ways of thinking above our mere human ways of thinking? When God says “as high as the heavens” are above the earth, you have to realize that God’s reference to the “heavens” reaches out to the stars and beyond. He is referring to the breath and length of the entire universe. When Zacharias and the people of his day read of this from Isaiah, they knew God was speaking of the “heavens” as being something immensely big. But, they didn’t know just how vast the universe is compared to our understanding today. In fact, I’m not too sure anyone really comprehends the vastness of the universe today, including the most learned astrologists.
The other night, we were standing outside when our son-in-law showed us an app on his smartphone. You could hold the phone up and point it to any part of the sky. The phone’s screen would show you any planets, as well as the stars and their constellations, which were within the viewfinder of the phone, including their respective names. If a satellite happened to cross through the path of the viewfinder, it would also provide an identification of it too! Pretty amazing—right? But, what was infinitely more amazing was the great vastness of all those stars in the night sky that stretched out far beyond anything our human eyes could detect. To the extent that our limited eyes would allow, we were peering toward the heights of the heavens spoken of in the Book of Isaiah. Again, that is how high God’s thoughts are above our thoughts.
So, from what scientists tell us today, how high is that? Well, they estimate that if you traveled from one end of the universe to the other, it would take you 93 billion light years to get from one side to the other. Light travels at a speed of over 670 million m.p.h. That means that just one light year is equivalent to almost 6 trillion miles. Multiply that by 93 billion and you have an approximation of the size of the universe! That is such an incredibly high number that it boggles our minds. That is so far beyond our grasp, that we’d have to join with Mary and say, “How can this be?” So, what God is telling us is that His ways and His thoughts are that much higher than our ways and our thoughts. That is surely a humbling thought. Mary got it. Zacharias was a little slow on the up take.
When you trust God, even when things may seem like they couldn’t possibly work out right, you will experience something. You will experience the amazing faithfulness of God firsthand. For Mary, the proof was in the pudding. She trusted in the Lord despite the multitude of things that must have appeared like insurmountable obstacles in her path. From what Gabriel said, she came to realize that she’d end up being a young, unmarried, pregnant woman in a Jewish culture that would scorn her and call her ugly names. Not long after that, Mary took a ride on a donkey while carrying her unborn child as she’d travel on the rough and rocky road from Nazareth all the way to Bethlehem. When she got there, she listened to an uncaring innkeeper as he turned her and Joseph away on a cold, winter’s night. Then, Mary felt the pains of childbirth grip her with no midwife to assist—only Joseph and the animals residing there in a stable to offer what comfort they could. And, through it all, Mary gave the same response she’d offered to Gabriel—a soft, whispered, “LET IT BE.”
Mary truly showed what it means to allow God’s will to be done in your life despite whatever dire situations you may face. Christmas is a time of rejoicing for the birth of God’s Son. While doing so, remember Mary. Remember Zacharias. And, certainly remember that God’s ways are 93 billion light years higher than our ways. Mary knew that, but Zacharias needed to be reminded. The question for all of us to consider is which of these two will we prove to be. When Paul McCartney wrote his song for the Beatles, I wonder if he even realized how true his words really are[4]: “Whisper words of wisdom—Let it be.” Those who say those words with faith and allow God’s will to be done in their lives will discover an amazing thing. They’ll come to see that the proof really is in the pudding as they personally experience the love and peace of the Son of God, who was born in a manger in Bethlehem. LET IT BE so for you today!
Darvin Satterwhite, Pastor
Forest Hill Baptist Church
December 1, 2024
©2024 All Rights Reserved as follows:
Anyone is at liberty to use this sermon or any portions thereof for educational or religious purposes, with or without credit. The pastor believes the material presented herein to be true to the teaching of Scripture, and desires to further, not restrict, its potential use as an aid in the study of God’s Word. The publication of this material is a grace ministry of Forest Hill Baptist Church in Louisa, Virginia.
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[1] Ephesians 2:8-9 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.” (NIV)
[2] William MacDonald, Believer's Bible Commentary: A Thorough, Yet Easy-to-Read Bible Commentary That Turns Complicated Theology Into Practical Understanding, ed. Arthur Farstad, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 1370.
[3] “Let it Be,” written and song by Paul McCartney, credited to Lennon–McCartney, from the Beatles’ album, Let It Be, released March 6, 1970, Apple label, George Martin (producer single version), Phil Spector (producer album version).
[4] Paul McCartney never attributed his words to Mary, the mother of Jesus, so it is doubtful if he associated the phrase “let it be” with Mary’s declaration in Luke 1:38. (How very sad for him.)
