Sermon #23 Zechariah Series

Title: “Lo, I Come!”

Text: Zechariah 2:10-11

Subject: The Incarnation of Christ

Date: Sunday Morning — December 25, 2005

Reading: John 1:1-18

Tape # Zechariah #23

Introduction:

The incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, was prophesied from the very beginning of time. It was set forth to God’s saints throughout the Old Testament. The fact that God’s own Son, Jehovah himself, the Word, would come into the world in human flesh was proclaimed in the first revelation of grace in Genesis 3:15.

(Genesis 3:15) "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."

God promised his servant Abraham that he would give him a Seed, a Son, in whom and by whom all the nations of the world would be blessed. And the Holy Spirit tells us, in Galatians 3, that that Seed is Christ. The whole message of the Old Testament, the gospel message believed and the blessed hope expected by God’s elect throughout the Old Testament, was the Lord God himself would come in human flesh to save his people from their sins, and deliver them out of the hands of all their spiritual enemies. To him all the prophets, from Moses to Malachi, gave witness. All the saints who lived in those ancient times had their faith distinctly fixed on that wonderful and astonishing display of grace that God revealed and promised. Living by faith, just as God’s people do today, they lived in hope, looking for and expecting “the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”

· The Tabernacle was erected by Moses, at God’s command, according to the pattern of redemption by Christ revealed to him in the mount (Ex. 25).

· The Temple built by David’s son, Solomon, was built according to the same pattern and was a fuller revelation of the glorious work for which the world was made (1 Chr. 28:12).

As the great, long anticipated event drew near, the Lord inspired his servants the prophets with such clear views of this great work of grace, that every circumstance concerning the conception and birth of the holy child Jesus was foretold by them.

· His birth of a virgin was predicted by Isaiah.

· The place of His birth, Bethlehem, was prophesied by Micah.

· The time of his Incarnation was declared by the prophet Daniel.

· The massacre of the infants, which followed his birth, was foretold by Jeremiah.

· And the blessings of his birth were given by the prophet Zechariah. — To Him all the prophets give witness.

Today, I want to show you the wonderful blessings of our Savior’s incarnation that are set before us in Zechariah 2:10-11.

(Zechariah 2:10-11) "Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD. (11) And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee."

This prophecy was delivered by Zechariah, who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel, and began to prophesy in the second year of Darius, about two months after Haggai. In fact, this is exactly the same message Haggai had delivered (Hag. 2:4-9).

(Haggai 2:4-9) "Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts: (5) According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. (6) For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; (7) And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts. (8) The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts. (9) The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts."

Here, in Zechariah 2, the Lord assures us of his constant and gracious care of his people. His eye is ever upon us for good. His protection is sure and constant (v. 5).

(Zechariah 2:5) "For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her."

Having assured his people of his abiding care, the Lord called those Jews who had remained in Babylon, to return to Judea (v. 6).

(Zechariah 2:6) "Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD."

Though Cyrus had granted liberty, to return, many of the Jews were so comfortably settled in Babylon that they preferred the own ease and profit of that strange land of idolatry, and were not willing to return. So the Lord calls them out and again assures them of his care and protection (vv. 7-8).

(Zechariah 2:7-8) "Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. (8) For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye."

The one speaking in our text is Christ himself. (NOTICE: Jehovah says, “Jehovah has sent me.”) He is saying, “There is a glorious time coming for which I have been sent of God from everlasting, I shall be manifested to my elect among the Gentiles. By the power of my Spirit, through the influence of my Word, I shall bring them out of Babylon (the religion of the world) and bring them to Zion. So, all Israel shall be saved. And those who have spoiled you shall be spoiled.”

This is the call of Christ to his redeemed, directing chosen, redeemed sinners to himself, and his all-sufficiency. And the call is accompanied with a blessed promise. — “He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of his eye.” Hereby, he assures every sinner who comes to him of his union with the Son of God! Now, read verse 9.

(Zechariah 2:9) "For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me."

That tells the history of the world, as we see it today. What is God doing? He is shaking his hand in judgment upon the nations and shaking his elect out of the nations by his omnipotent grace. That brings us to our text (vv. 10-11).

Proposition: Here the Son of God calls for his saints of old to rejoice and sing at the prospect of his incarnation, because of his promised redemption and the everlasting salvation of his people.

We might well ask, as Robert Hawker did, “Were there ever events of so glorious a nature, so many, and so dignified and distinguished, within so short a compass as is here?” — How we ought to rejoice in these things!

Call to Rejoice

Our text opens with a call to rejoice and sing. — “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion!” "We hanged our harps upon the willows” in Babylon (Ps. 137:2), because we found no joy there. But now we sing and rejoice in Christ! We rejoice that Babylon is fallen. And we rejoice in Christ, who is our Salvation!

(Psalms 132:13-16) "For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation. (14) This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it. (15) I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread. (16) I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy."

(Isaiah 12:6) "Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee."

(Isaiah 25:9) "And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation."

(Isaiah 62:11) "Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him."

(Jeremiah 31:7-9) "For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel. (8) Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither. (9) They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn."

(Philippians 4:4-6) "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. (5) Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. (6) Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."

(Zechariah 9:9) "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass."

In Palm 40:6-8 we read the words of the co-equal, co-eternal, and co-essential Son of the Father, saying, — “Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears bath thou opened: burnt-offering and sin-offering thou didst not require. Then said I, lo I come, in the volume of the book it is written of me. I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.” The Church of old heard it, and was ravished by it, and cried out, “Behold, He cometh, leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.”

He was to be manifested in the temple which they were now rebuilding, and be the glory of it. From the first revelation of Christ as the serpent-bruiser, to his advent, was a period of four thousand years. During all that time, sacrificial worship was kept up as a memorial of what he was to be, and do, and suffer. Throughout the interval, he uttered his glorious voice to the Church by his prophets, declaring “His Delights were with the Sons of men.” His voice having been heard, his Church was enraptured with it, and cried out, ‘‘It is the voice of my Beloved.”

Blessed be His Holy Name, it pleases God our Savior for his people to be happy in him, rejoicing and singing with thanksgiving! He commands us to “Rejoice in the Lord always!” So, let us sing and rejoice in him (Phil. 4:4).

· Be glad in his salvation! — Election! — Redemption! — Effectual Calling! — Complete Pardon! — Free Justification! — Blessed Preservation! — Eternal Glory!

· Triumph in his praise!

· Surely, if anyone ever had reason to sing and rejoice, it is you and me who are saved by our God with an everlasting salvation, because Christ has come!

Promised Savior

Next, we read of the coming of our promised Savior. This is the cause of our joy and singing. — “For, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord.” We have see the prophecy fulfilled (John 1:14; 1 Tim. 3:16).

(John 1:14) "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."

(1 Timothy 3:16) "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."

The Lord Jesus Christ has come. “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift!” He has come as…

· Our covenant Surety to fulfil all the stipulations and promises of the covenant.

· Jesus, to save his people from their sins.

· The Lord our Righteousness to make us the righteousness of God in him.

· Our divine Substitute to die in our place, bearing our sins in his own body on the tree.

· Our God-man Mediator, to bring us to God by the sacrifice of himself.

· Jehovah’s righteous Servant, to fulfil all his will. — “He shall not fail!”

· God our Savior, to seek and to save that which was lost. — “Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief!”

(Jeremiah 50:4-5) "In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God. (5) They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten."

He promises, “I will dwell in the midst of thee!” When he comes to you in saving grace, by the power of his Spirit, he takes up his residence in you permanently and dwells in you.

He dwells in the midst of his people in this world, as a wall of fire round about us. And he dwells in the assemblies of his saints, as the glory in the midst of us!

And he shall yet come in the latter day glory, when “he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all that believe.”

(Zechariah 9:9-10) "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. (10) And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth."

(Zechariah 14:4) "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south."

These things were revealed to and believed by God’s elect in the Old Testament. They received them, embraced them, and rejoiced in them. Shall we be any less confident and joyful? God forbid!

(Zechariah 2:10) "Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD."

O the love of Christ! How ineffable! How incomprehensible! He loved me and gave himself for me! He took hold, not of the nature of angels, but took hold of the seed of Abraham. He stooped down so low, as to take human nature, a true body and a rational soul united, into union with himself. Thus “God was manifest in the flesh.” Then, he stooped to be made sin for us! And now, he reaches down his hand of omnipotent grace, and saves! Jehovah the Son, because of the infinite love of his heart, became Jehovah the man, bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh, that he might save us and dwell with us, and bring us to dwell with him forever!

Our Savior’s promise of old is, “Lo, I come!”

· With reference to his incarnation.

· With reference to redemption by his blood.

· With reference to his ascension.

· With reference to the regeneration and calling of his elect.

· With reference to his glorious second advent and resurrection glory.

(Luke 2:29-32) "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: (30) For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, (31) Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; (32) A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel."

“My People”

Still, he gives us another reason to rejoice and sing. — “And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people, and I will dwell in the midst of thee.” Here our Savior promises that the gospel will be preached in all nations, and that a great multitude will be converted by his grace, joined to the Lord by faith.

(Isaiah 56:3-6) "Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. (4) For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; (5) Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. (6) Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;"

(Jeremiah 50:5) "They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten."

(Psalms 72:17) "His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed."

“And they shall be my people!” — We were his before we were joined to him by faith. We were his from eternity by election, adoption, and predestination. We were his by redemption, too. But we could never know that we were his until we were joined to him (1 Pet. 2:9-10).

(1 Peter 2:9-10) "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: (10) Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy."

“Shall Know”

Now, look at the last line of our text. When Christ comes to chosen, redeemed sinners, he causes the sinner to know him. — “And thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee!” Oh, how I pray that the Lord Jesus might come to you! When he does…

· You will know him (John 17:3; 2 Cor. 5:16). — “They shall all know me.”

· You will know that he is the Christ, the Sent One of God.

· You will know the Lord of hosts.

· And you will know that he has been sent to you!

· You will know, because you, too, will trust him.

Oh, what rejoicing there will be in your soul in that day!

Illustration: Bro. Burke’s Testimony

All who are taught of God, know Christ to be the gift of the Father’s love to us. — “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.” We know that Christ became incarnate, that God might be just and the Justifier of our souls, that he might reveal and express all the love of God to us, and become “bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh,” that we might have the full proof of his wonderful love for us. This makes him precious and endears him to our hearts. We have sweet evidence in our own souls both of his person and work, and of our own interests in him, because we see and apprehend by faith that the Lord Jesus Christ is exactly and all we need. Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for blessing us in him with all spiritual blessings. — “God is love. In this was manifested the love of God towards us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love; not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10). Thanks be unto to God for the unspeakable gift of his Son.

Amen.