For four hundred years, it seemed like heaven went quiet.

No prophets. No visions. No angelic announcements. No new “Thus saith the Lord.”

People still had the Scriptures, still had the promises, still had the stories of what God had done in the past—but for many hearts, the question grew louder with time: “Where is God?”

Yet the silence was not a sign that God had abandoned His people. Silence is not absence. Silence is not inactivity. Often, it is the Lord working behind the curtain—moving pieces we cannot see, preparing answers we cannot yet imagine.

I. A Long Silence

From Malachi’s final words to the opening chapters of the Gospels, there is no new prophetic voice recorded. The Old Testament closes with a promise—God would send a messenger to prepare the way. And then… nothing new for centuries.

That long quiet season became a kind of famine—not of bread or water, but a famine of hearing fresh revelation. Israel lived through oppression and spiritual dryness, while the religious system grew more political and hollow. And still, God was silent.

But God’s silence never means God’s promises have expired.

There are times when we struggle not because God says “no,” but because it feels like God says nothing at all. You may be praying, waiting, wondering—asking why the heavens seem shut. But the biblical message is clear: God can be silent and still be near. God can be quiet and still be working.

And then Luke opens with a sentence that would have stunned the nation:

“And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord…”

After centuries of silence, God speaks again.

A. God Was Still Working in the Quiet

While heaven seemed silent publicly, God was active personally.

Zacharias and Elisabeth were faithful people—upright before God—yet they carried a deep, private sorrow: no child, and now they were beyond the years of expectation. Still, they kept walking with God. Still, Zacharias served. Still, they prayed.

And in the temple, God sent Gabriel with these words:

“Fear not… thy prayer is heard.”

That is one of the sweetest reminders in the whole Christmas story:

Even when you don’t feel answers, God hears.

Even when nothing seems to change, God is not ignoring you.

B. God’s Promises Don’t Expire With Time

God had promised long before that a messenger would come. And when the time was right, God kept His word exactly. His calendar is never rushed, and never late.

We forget sometimes: God measures time differently than we do. What feels delayed to us is often preparation to Him.

And it’s still true today. The Lord has made promises you can stand on: promises of salvation, promises of presence, promises that He will not forsake His own. People may fail, circumstances may shift, feelings may change—but God does not break His word.

II. A Loving Savior

After four centuries of quiet, God finally spoke again—but not in the way anyone would expect.

No thunder.

No earthquake.

No royal announcement.

Instead, God’s message arrived in humility:

A young girl.

A working man.

A journey forced by a government decree.

A manger.

A newborn cry.

Hebrews says that in past times God spoke through the prophets in many ways, but now He has spoken to us in His Son. In other words, God’s greatest message was not written on stone tablets or delivered on a scroll—God’s message arrived as a person.

A. God Spoke at the Perfect Moment

Galatians calls it “the fulness of the time.” When the moment was exactly right, God sent His Son.

History was being arranged for the spread of the Gospel:

• travel routes were established,
• language barriers were reduced,
• prophecy had prepared expectation.

God was not late. He was precise.

B. God Spoke Through His Son

And notice what this means:

1. Jesus Was Sent

He did not begin in Bethlehem. He did not come into existence in a manger. He was sent—because He existed before His birth. Christmas is not the start of Christ; it is the arrival of Christ into our world.

2. Jesus Was Born of a Woman

Fully God, and truly man. Not part God and part man—fully both. He took on real flesh and blood and entered the human condition.

3. Jesus Was Born Under the Law

He placed Himself under God’s law and obeyed perfectly. Where Adam failed, Christ prevailed. He did what we could never do—so He could offer what we could never earn.

III. A Lasting Statement

John writes it plainly: “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.”

God’s Word did not merely come as information. God’s Word came as incarnation.

Jesus is not simply someone who tells us what God is like—He is the clearest revelation of God there is. God, who once felt distant behind a veil, “tabernacled” among men. He stepped into our world, walked among sinners, entered suffering, and moved toward broken people.

He came as Emmanuel—God with us.

A. Grace and Truth Met in One Person

John says Jesus was “full of grace and truth.”

Truth without grace crushes.

Grace without truth misleads.

But Christ brought both:

• grace that welcomes the sinner,
• truth that exposes sin,
• grace that forgives,
• truth that changes.

He did not lower God’s standard. He met God’s standard for us.

B. God’s Final Word to Man

There is no higher message coming than Jesus Christ. There is no greater revelation than the Son. Salvation is not found in another name, another path, or another plan. God has spoken fully in Christ—and Christ is enough.

Conclusion

Christmas teaches us:

• God keeps His promises, even when time feels long.
• God works even when life feels quiet.
• God speaks at the right moment.
• God’s clearest word is His Son.

So if your heart feels like it’s in a silent season—if prayers feel unanswered and heaven feels far—remember this: God has spoken to you through Jesus Christ.

And if you do not know Him, this is the invitation of Christmas:

Come to Christ. Trust Him. He will save you.