From our Sunday service on December 21, 2025, Malachi 2-4, Luke 1 and Luke 2. Watch the full message: The Promised Child on YouTube.
Christmas is about a promise God made to humanity that was fulfilled in Bethlehem on that Christmas morning. Last year, in a message called “A Time Foretold,” we looked at the prophecies of Christmas. This year it’s natural to look at those prophecies fulfilled, and to see from Scripture how Christ was the fulfillment of prophecy.
God always keeps his promises.
Four Hundred Silent Years
Before we get to Luke 2, let’s look at what happened before it. Between the Old and New Testaments, there were 400 years of silence. We call them the silent years. God didn’t speak to Israel. God didn’t send prophets. God didn’t raise up deliverers by the power of the Holy Spirit to rescue them. The promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and David were still there, but everything was silent.
After Israel was restored to their land following the exile, and in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah the temple and the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt, it didn’t take long for Israel’s spiritual leadership to become corrupt and unjust. Because of the religious leaders’ and the people’s apathy and injustice, God stopped speaking to Israel until the Messiah arrived. But before he went silent, he left them a final warning through his last Old Testament prophet, Malachi.
Malachi’s Last Words
Malachi 2:1-2 and 7-8:
And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart. … For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.
Malachi 2:1–2, 7–8
This is God’s final condemnation of Israel before he goes silent. The Levites had failed as God’s representatives. They became apathetic and self-interested in enforcing the law, and they favored some people over others, letting things slide for some and not for others. They offered diseased and ugly animals as sacrifices and kept the best for themselves. The people only partially paid the tithes ordered in Scripture. The priests and Levites abandoned their wives through divorce, leaving them to starve outside their homes. And most of all, they blamed God for the injustices they saw in the world. Sin ran rampant, and rather than saying, “This is our fault,” they said, “God is unjust. Serving God is useless. It’s better to be proud and selfish.”
So God says, in effect, “I promised to send the Messiah, and I will keep that promise. I never promised to always speak to you or to always bless you when you curse my name. Even the blessings you have now, I have already cursed.”
But God didn’t leave Israel with only bad news. In the next chapter, he tells us the Messiah is still coming. Malachi 3:1-3:
Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ sope: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
Malachi 3:1–3
Though Israel will be separated from God and suffer for 400 years, the Messiah will come and repair the damage Israel has caused. Notice who he is. Who proclaimed the first covenant with Israel? Not an angel and not a prophet. God himself made the covenant. So “the messenger of the covenant” is the same one who gave the covenant to Israel in the Old Testament. And in case it wasn’t clear enough, God says, “I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me.” The Messiah is Yahweh himself, the God in whom Israel claimed to delight. He is coming to visit them, and he is coming to purify: like a refiner’s fire, like soap that cleanses a dirty garment. God himself is coming as the Messiah to purify and refine humanity and bring back the true worship and righteousness the Levites could not uphold in their fallen, sinful state.
Malachi 4 tells us who the messenger will be. Verses 4-6:
Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Malachi 4:4–6
Elijah would return in some way to prepare the hearts of the people. The word “fathers” here isn’t just about men. It means parents. God is saying that the divide and conflict in their society will be mended: “I’m going to send a messenger who will mend your animosity and humble you, so that when the Messiah comes, there are people ready to follow me. The Messiah is me, and you can be sure I’m going to keep my promise.”
Malachi walks away as the last prophet of the Old Testament. For 400 years, God leaves Israel to learn their lesson. Shortly after, the Greeks conquered Israel and oppressed them for around 170 years. Even after Israel was liberated from the Greeks, the new rulers were harsh, forced Israel into wars and brutally suppressed opposition. They corrupted the temple worship by making the kings of Israel the new high priests, in violation of the law. Eventually God set the world in motion for the arrival of the Messiah, the arrival of himself. He allowed Israel to be conquered by Rome in 64 BC, which opened a way for the gospel to spread through the language of the Romans and their road networks. Then, sometime around 6 BC, everything was set for the Messiah to come.
The Messenger Is Promised
Before we get to Jesus, we need to get to the messenger. Luke 1:5-7:
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
Luke 1:5–7
Zacharias and Elizabeth were an old couple in a situation like Abraham and Sarah’s. Throughout their marriage they couldn’t have children. Unlike Abraham, Zacharias was faithful to his wife. He didn’t take a concubine or try to build a family through some alternate, sinful method. He was faithful in her barrenness, and he served faithfully in the temple, unlike many of the corrupt leaders in Malachi’s time. He offered his best to God, and God saw him. Luke 1:11-17:
And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
Luke 1:11–17
After 400 years, the angel of the Lord visits Israel again. Not with condemnation, not to attack an invading army as in the Exodus, not to pronounce judgment as in other parts of the Old Testament, but to give a message of hope: the gears are turning for the Messiah, and the messenger is coming. For 400 years Israel must have wondered how long they would sit in the silence, broken and apart from God’s grace. Now the silence is broken, and Zacharias is going to have the son he thought he would never have, a son who will prepare the way for the Messiah, God himself, coming to earth to fix a broken world.
We learn a few details about John. First, his name means “Yahweh is gracious.” God had cut off contact with Israel because of their sin, and when he rejoins them, he names this child to say, “I am being gracious to you. You ran away from me, I chastised you, and even when you became a nation again, your kings corrupted worship just as before. Despite your failures, I’m going to send the Messiah to solve the problem you could never solve on your own.”
Second, John would have the Spirit from birth. Often the Holy Spirit would take over someone for a moment to serve a purpose and then leave. John the Baptist was different. He would have the Holy Spirit throughout his entire life so that he could always serve the Lord.
Third, John was a Nazarite. He would never have wine or strong drink, so that no one could accuse him of being an alcoholic. Some also believe Elijah himself was a Nazarite, which may be part of John coming in the spirit of Elijah. John was being born to spend 30 years telling Israel the Messiah was coming and to prepare the hearts of the people to accept him.
The Messenger of the Covenant Revealed
Then, after the messenger, comes the Messiah himself. Luke 1:26-29:
And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
Luke 1:26–29
When the angel shows up, Mary is shocked. The angel is Gabriel, and when Daniel looked at Gabriel, he looked just like any other man. The same thing happens in Luke. Gabriel appears to Mary and she doesn’t realize at first that he is an angel. This random man shows up and says something very strange. Roughly in modern English, it’s, “Be happy, because you’re honored. The Lord is with you, because you’re spoken of more highly than all the women around you.” If a stranger walked up to a woman in a store and said, “Wow, the Lord must have really blessed you, you are so much better than all the women around you,” you’d be a little weirded out too. Mary is saying, “This is a really weird way to greet someone.” The King James says she “was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.” Usually when angels come, people are afraid they’re going to die. Here, we aren’t told exactly what Mary was thinking, but it seems she found it suspicious and may have worried the stranger was up to no good.
But Gabriel doesn’t stop there. Verses 30-33:
And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Luke 1:30–33
Gabriel clarifies. “Mary, you’ve been chosen to bring the Messiah into the world, the Son of the Highest. God is coming.” Her favor is with God, spiritually. God was pleased by Mary’s character and her humility, and he chose this young, faithful woman. The child’s name is Jesus, which means “Yahweh saves.” Once again the naming is so appropriate. John is “God is gracious.” Jesus is “God saves,” because God himself was coming in the form of Jesus Christ, God the Son, to save humanity from the separation they were experiencing. And Gabriel says the Messiah will inherit the throne of David and create an eternal kingdom that will never end, what we now call the kingdom of heaven.
Mary continues, verses 34-35:
Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
Luke 1:34–35
Mary wonders how this is even possible. She’s not married, and she hasn’t been with a man. Gabriel answers, in effect, “Don’t worry. This will be a miracle, not a natural thing. Remember the prophecy in Isaiah that a virgin would conceive? That’s you. What’s in you is going to be the Son of God.” A lot of people say the Gospels give no indication that Jesus was God, and that Jesus himself never says he’s God. But what does God say about Jesus in the Gospels? That he’ll be the Son of the Highest, the Son of God. Through prophecy and through the revelation of angels, the Bible clearly tells us that Jesus is God in the flesh.
Sometimes we hear things that seem insane, and we want evidence. A lot of us have probably wondered how in the world Mary believed this. This man she thought was an ordinary man started the conversation strangely, she was weirded out, and now he says God is going to give her a miraculous baby. Who would believe that? Here’s the thing: God didn’t rely on her to believe without evidence. He gave her a sign. Verses 36-38:
And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
Luke 1:36–38
I think a lot of us miss this. I missed it for a really long time. Mary didn’t know her cousin Elizabeth was pregnant, but this stranger she met did. In effect Gabriel says, “Go visit your cousin. She’s been barren and is past the age of having a child. What happens with God is not impossible. We’ve already done a miracle in Elizabeth’s life. Go see her, and I will prove to you that you are going to give birth to the Messiah.”
We don’t have time to look at it today, but when Mary arrives, Elizabeth is pregnant, and the Holy Spirit fills Elizabeth. Luke 1:42:
…Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
Luke 1:42
Elizabeth echoes back the exact words Gabriel said when he greeted Mary. Elizabeth hasn’t talked to Mary and doesn’t know any of what just happened, yet she knows Mary is pregnant before Mary tells her anything. That proves this wasn’t a coincidence. It wasn’t some random man on the street. It was something God was doing. With all this evidence, Mary couldn’t help but believe the promise Gabriel gave, and she rejoices, praises God and writes a poem celebrating the work he would do through her.
The Promise Arrives
Mary may have been pregnant with Jesus, but she still had a long way to go. Luke 2:1-5:
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
Luke 2:1–5
The political situation had changed. Cyrenius was governing, and the decree was that everyone in the Roman Empire had to return to their home city to be counted. For Mary this was very inconvenient: a 35-hour walk from Nazareth to Bethlehem, and the time of her delivery was near. In Jewish culture, engagement was already legal marriage, and to cancel it you would have to file a bill of divorcement. So Mary was legally married to Joseph even though they hadn’t yet come together as husband and wife, and being married, she had no choice but to go. What she probably didn’t realize was that this was part of the prophecy that Christ would be born in Bethlehem.
Luke 2:6-7:
And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2:6–7
Everyone from Bethlehem who lived elsewhere had to return, so Bethlehem was pretty full. Pregnant women don’t move as fast as other people, and it’s likely that Mary and Joseph arrived too late because it was difficult for her to travel that distance. The “inn” was not a modern inn but the family house, and it was already full of people. I don’t have any way to prove it, but it’s also possible they didn’t let her in because she had been pregnant before the marriage was joined. For whatever reason, they didn’t prioritize the pregnant woman, and Mary and Joseph stayed outside in the elements with the animals. She wasn’t surrounded by family and friends or by praise for the Messiah’s arrival. It was just her and Joseph, with no midwife, doctor or professional to help. The very Messiah of the world, God himself, came into the world outside, in a stable. They wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in the manger, the feeding trough for the sheep and goats. That is where the promised child Israel had waited 400 years for was left.
But maybe somebody cared that the Messiah was here. Outside Bethlehem we meet some shepherds. Luke 2:8-12:
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
Luke 2:8–12
The 400 years of silence were long, but out in the fields, these shepherds hear the silence break. It doesn’t break to speak to a king, a prophet, a priest or a religious leader, but to shepherds who aren’t in Bethlehem, aren’t in the census, and whom nobody cares about. The angels say the good tidings are “to all people.” In effect, “We’re telling you, not just for you, but for everyone. We’ve chosen you to be the first to know, so you can tell everyone else.” You might think of the wise men, but the magi weren’t told by God that Jesus was there. They figured it out on their own when the new star appeared. God told the lowly, poor shepherds.
“Christ” is Messiah, the anointed one. And “the Lord” is Yahweh. In the Greek they didn’t write Yahweh anymore. They wrote “the Lord” in its place as a sign of respect. So your Savior, who is the Messiah, is Yahweh himself: “Shepherds, today in Bethlehem I was born. Go check it out and go tell people.” And why was lying in a manger a sign? What kind of mother puts her baby in a feeding trough in a barn? If you saw that, you’d be calling child protective services. It is not a normal thing to see.
Why did God choose shepherds? Why not kings, religious leaders or a prophet? You might think shepherds were respected in Israelite society, since Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were all shepherds, and Moses and David were shepherds before God called them. But shepherds were actually despised. They were poor, low-skilled laborers, rough around the edges and brutally honest, uneducated, never taught in Torah school, and seen as unreliable and shady. It was so bad that in a court of law a shepherd was not allowed to give witness. If a shepherd saw a crime and wanted to report it, the Sanhedrin would say, “Unfortunately, you’re a shepherd. We cannot take your testimony.” And yet while shepherds couldn’t give testimony, God chose them to give testimony that he had arrived.
They were also despised because they didn’t keep the Pharisees’ purity laws, like washing your hands every time before you eat. Shepherds didn’t live near fresh water and couldn’t wash every time. They also didn’t observe the Sabbath like everybody else, because on Saturday the flock still needed care, and if you left them alone a few sheep would fall off a cliff and die. They couldn’t go to the synagogues because they lived in the wilderness. So people said, “You don’t love God, because you’re out in the field working,” never considering that if they didn’t go to the fields, they wouldn’t have food on their tables. “God doesn’t respect you, because you don’t respect him. If you were a good believer, you wouldn’t put food on your table over following all 613 rules the Pharisees set for you.”
So when God himself shows up, who does he tell? In effect, “Israel, I don’t care about your purity laws and your rituals. I care about your heart. These shepherds are ready to do my job.” God gave these shepherds the honor of being witnesses of Christ and the first to worship him. They may not have been in the synagogue, but when God came into the world, the first to worship were those shepherds. Luke 2:13-15:
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
Luke 2:13–15
While everyone else was worried about themselves, and didn’t care that the temple worship was corrupt, caring only about outward appearance, the shepherds’ hearts were ready to serve. They had been accused of not caring about God because they wouldn’t leave their flocks for the Sabbath. But when God called them to spread the word that he was there, they left their flocks and went straight to Bethlehem, proving the people wrong. Luke 2:16-20:
And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
Luke 2:16–20
These lowly shepherds completed the mission God gave them. They said, “I can’t help but tell everybody.” They didn’t go back to their flocks. They went through the cities and towns: “The Messiah Malachi told us about is here. He’s in Bethlehem. I saw angels from heaven praising God.” The promise of Malachi to solve the separation between God and man had come. They didn’t know all the details, but in some 30 years that same baby would grow up, preach the gospel truth to the world, and allow himself to be crucified on a cross to die for the sins of humanity. The promise God made, though it seemed silent for 400 years, was kept.
Silence Is Not Absence
For 400 years heaven was silent. Sometimes in our own lives it can feel like God is silent. It may seem like things aren’t working out the way they were supposed to. Why hasn’t God done anything? Why hasn’t he replied? Let me tell you, even when God hasn’t replied, his promises still stand. The Bible is full of promises we can rely on. It may have taken 400 years, but the promises God made happened just the way he said they would. There were no prophets in the land, no angels, no new word from God. But that silence should not be confused with absence. God had already spoken his promises, and what he spoke was enough to hold them until the fulfillment.
Through Malachi, God promised that he would come to resolve the problems that separated humanity from him, that hearts would be turned, worship would be restored, and the curse of sin would be confronted and overthrown. When the time was right, God kept every promise. John came in the spirit and power of Elijah and prepared the people to follow Jesus. Jesus came as the messenger of the covenant, God himself in human flesh. The silence was broken in a humble stable, to a young woman of humble faith, and was announced first to poor, humble shepherds the world had cast aside.
Christmas reminds us that God does not forget, delay or abandon his promises. What seems slow to us is what God calls his perfect timing. What seems small to the world is often where God is working most powerfully. Society saw those shepherds as lowly and unusable, but God saw people he could use for the greatest work on this earth. They may not be named, but they have been talked about for thousands of years for their faithfulness. If God can use shepherds, God can use you. The same God who kept his promises to Israel still keeps his promises today. The same God who came near in Bethlehem still draws near to the humble, the weary and the overlooked. And the same Savior who lay in a manger is now the king whose kingdom never ends.
So this Christmas, remember three things.
One, God does not forget what he has spoken. When times are silent, that doesn’t mean God isn’t working. It means he is working in an unseen way.
Two, God does not abandon his people in the silence. If he hasn’t responded, it’s not because he doesn’t care or has cast you aside. It’s because his timing hasn’t arrived yet.
Three, God never fails to do exactly what he promises. Every promise you see in Scripture, you can be sure will be fulfilled in God’s time. Christ the Messiah came exactly as foretold, at the appointed time and in the appointed way, and the God who was faithful to complete it then has not changed. God always keeps his promises.
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