The Gospel of Luke: Paternal Prophecy

Transcript

JRNT 66
08/11/2024
The Gospel of Luke: Paternal Prophecy
Luke 1:67-79
Jesse Randolph

There are quite a few commonly-used products in our day which, in our times, aren’t really used the way they were originally designed to be used. Play-Doh (can you smell it now?) was originally used to roll across your walls, to get soot off from the fireplace. Bubble wrap, invented in the late 1950’s was, believe it or not, originally designed as a uniquely-textured wallpaper. Not sure who was going for that aesthetic. Listerine, was initially used on Civil War battlefields to disinfect war wounds. And then after that, it was used as a floor cleaner. And then after that, as a deodorant. And eventually, it found its way to being used in the way we use it today, as a mouth cleanser, a mouth rinse. But you get the idea. Things, products, aren’t always used the way that they were initially designed to be used.

Now, when we take that concept and we carry it over to the interpretation of God’s word, things immediately get much more serious. Because now, we’re not in the territory of using a floor cleaner as mouthwash or bubble wrap as wallpaper. Rather, we’re in the territory of tampering with God’s word. And overruling God’s word. And undermining God’s word.

In mean, think about the many different passages of scripture which are used in ways today that are completely contrary to their original design and their original audience. Like Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.” That’s a passage, of course, that’s used by many health-and-wealth prosperity preachers. To tell their deceived and duped audiences, that they just need to delight a little more. And have a little bit more faith. And while they’re at it, give a little bit more to the ministry. And maybe they’ll get out of that wheelchair. Maybe that leg will lengthen just a little bit. Or maybe that check will show up in the mailbox. Then there’s Jeremiah 29:11, of course, “ ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord.” It’s a verse that we see emblazoned behind the high school graduate at the high school graduation party. It’s the verse that we see in beautiful script on a congratulatory card to an expectant mother. It’s the verse we see written on the icing on the cake at a retirement party. Well, unless that graduate, or unless that expectant mother, unless that retiree are about to be taken off into captivity for their rebellious ways, the verse doesn’t really apply. Then there’s Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. That’s a verse that’s, of course, treated as though God is promising you a certain three-point shooting percentage. Or straight A’s. Or Olympic qualification. But the context there, of course, is what? Contentment. Joy. Contentment and joy in knowing Christ. And making Him known. Even in the most difficult of circumstances, as Paul was doing there in his context, in prison.

How about Revelation 3:20, “Behold,” says Jesus, “I stand at the door and knock.” And of course, so many well-meaning folks have been told wrongly. That this verse is just about Jesus knocking on the door of their hearts. He’s just gently asking them to come and just let Me in. I’m just tapping on the door of your heart a little bit, prepare me room. What’s the context of that passage? Revelation 3:20 is about Jesus, not gently tapping on the doors of our hearts. But rather, Him forcefully rapping on the door of a church, the church at Laodicea, the lukewarm church, as He rebukes them. And calls on them to repent of their neither-hot nor-cold ways. He’s so disgusted by them, He says He’s going to spit them out of His mouth.

One more. Matthew 7:1, the atheist’s favorite verse. The antinomian’s favorite verse. The I-just-want-to-be-left-alone-so-I-can-sin-how-I-please person’s favorite verse. The keep-your-nose-out-of-my-business person’s favorite verse. It’s a short verse. Just two words from Jesus. Where He says what? “Judge not.” Now, was Jesus there forever outlawing all forms of judgment by His followers? Of course not. It would be impossible, even for the godliest of saints, the godliest of believers to simply exercise no judgment ever in their life. How would that work? When you’re making a decision about whether to run a red light. Or whether that sand on the beach is a garnish that you’re supposed to eat. Or ignoring every warning label on every box or bottle much to our peril. Not only that, of course. Jesus Himself in other Gospel accounts tells His followers to judge. John 7:24, He says we are to “judge with righteous judgment.” So, it’s not that we are never to judge. Rather, we are not to judge hypocritically, calling out the specks in others’ eyes when we‘ve got a giant log in our own.

Now, I can assure you, I bring all of this up for a reason. And that reason is connected to the text that we’ll be in this morning, Luke 1:67-79. Which records the prophecy that a new father, Zechariah the priest, gave over his newborn son, John. And this text, much like other texts that are distorted and twisted, gets used in ways very often that go beyond its original purpose. It’s a text that’s regularly taken out of context. And one that regularly gets distorted and even abused.

To give you a sense of what I mean. Someone in our church recently shared with me a book of Roman Catholic prayers. Not because I think they want me to become a Roman Catholic, I’m pretty sure that’s not the purpose. But rather, to see just how far and aberrant the Catholic Church’s teachings are, from what the bible actually teaches. Anyway, in this Roman Catholic prayer book, on the inside leaf of that book, is printed our text, Luke 1:67-79. And then from that text, whichever organization printed off that Catholic prayer book is somehow linking Zechariah’s praise here, his prophecy here, to the need to pray the “Hail Mary” prayer in the Roman Catholic Church. Earlier this week in doing some more research, I came across an Anglican Church website which gives priests from that tradition instructions on how they are to chant the passage that we’ll be working through today. To do kind of a humming and drumming kind of thing. Rather than preaching through the text. And then you’ll have those, who I believe to be well-meaning Christians, who will treat our text this morning, Luke 1:67-79, as though Zechariah was a Christian. As though he was familiar with the writings of Peter and Paul and James. Or that he knew what a church was. Or that He knew what communion was. Or that he was otherwise familiar with our familiar Christian terminology.

But Zechariah wasn’t a Roman Catholic. He wasn’t an Anglican. Indeed, he wasn’t any form of Christian. He was an Israelite. He was a Jewish priest. And His holy book was the Old Testament scriptures. And as we’re going to get into this morning, skilled student of God’s word that he was, Zechariah knew this book. He knew the scriptures. He knew of the mighty acts that God had done for Israel. He knew of the mighty acts that God had promised to do in Israel’s future. And he knew that God was going to use the son who had just been born to he and Elizabeth to further His eternal plans and bring to fulfillment His sure promises.

With that, let’s get into our text. Again, Luke 1:67-79. God’s word reads, “And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He visited and accomplished redemption for His people, and raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant – as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old – salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us, to show mercy toward our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to Abraham our father, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go on before the Lord to make ready His ways, to give to His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the Sunrise from on high will visit us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to direct our feet into the way of peace.’”

Now, this morning’s sermon is going to be quite a bit different from what we’re going to do next Sunday morning, Lord willing. This morning, we’re covering, as you see there, 13 verses. And then next week, we’re going to cover one verse, verse 80. And the reason that we’re going to cover so much territory today, is that these verses form one logical and cohesive whole. Zechariah said what he said there as I’ve just said what I said, as I tried to read it off to you -- he said it all in one breath. In fact, this is all one long sentence in the original Greek language. So, the best way to handle this, long as it is, is to take it all in one breath. And take it all in one piece, as we’ll try to do this morning. There won’t be any alliterated headings for the sermon this morning. We’re just going to march straight through this narrative. Because there’s so much to cover, with me offering some remarks and insights along the way.

So, let’s pick it up in verse 57. Which begins this way. It says, “And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying…” Now, recall how last time there’s this crowd of Elizabeth’s neighbors and relatives. And they’ve descended on the home that she shares with her husband Zechariah. And finally realizing that that baby that Elizabeth was cradling, that newborn that she was cradling in her arms, would, and indeed should, be named John -- they asked a question. The neighbors and relatives did. Look at verse 66. It says, “and all who heard these things, put them in their heart[s] saying, ‘What then will this child be?’ ” That’s the teed-up question.

That’s where we get to now, in verse 67, where Luke records how Zechariah answered that question. And note these two key details here in verse 67. First, Zechariah is said to be “filled with the Holy Spirit.” Second, Luke indicates he “prophesied.” We’ll take those one after the other. Starting with the fact that he was “filled with the Holy Spirit.” Now, we’ve seen that language “filled with the Holy Spirit” a couple of times already in the Gospel of Luke. Back in Luke 1:15, the angel Gabriel told Zechariah that his future son would be “filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb.” And then, over in Luke 1:41, it’s recorded in that interaction between Mary and Elizabeth, that “Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” And now, in verse 67, our passage, Zechariah is the one described as being “filled with the Holy Spirit.”
In other words, all three members of this household have been now described by Luke as being Spirit-filled. Which doesn’t mean they were performing signs and wonders. Or they were doing miracles. Instead, what that means here, as we’ve seen is that they were directed by the Spirit. They were submitted to the Spirit. And they were guided by the Spirit. As they sought to do the will of God as it had been revealed in the word of God. We’ve already seen that in the case of Zechariah and Elizabeth, the parents of John, this idea - being submitted to the Spirit - goes all the way back to that early description of the two of them, in verse 6 of chapter 1 where they are described as both being “righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and righteous requirements of the Lord.”

So, back in our text, verse 67, Zechariah is here described as being “filled with the Holy Spirit” in that sense. In the sense of being submitted to the Spirit. And being so filled, it says here in verse 67 that he prophesied. Now, that formulation of being filled and then prophesying was not uncommon in Old Testament times. Recall Zechariah stood in this long line of Jewish priests and prophets who had come before him. And what the Old Testament frequently records of priests and prophets is that when the Spirit filled them or came upon them, more commonly, they did what? They would then speak for God. They would prophesy. The Spirit that filled them, the Spirit that came upon them, then moved these divine agents to be His divine mouthpieces.
Like Samuel, who said this of King Saul as he anointed him in 1 Samuel 10:6. It says, “Then the Spirit of Yahweh will come upon you mightily, and you shall prophesy.” Or the prophet Ezekiel describes his encounter with the Spirit and in his prophetic ministry of the Spirit this way in Ezekiel 2:1. It says, “Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!’ And as He spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and caused me to stand on my feet.” To do what? To go prophesy. To go speak. David, in Psalm 51:12-13, his great psalm of repentance says, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will be converted to You.” So, you see the spiritual component, and then the speaking component. And each of those examples reminds us of what Peter says in the New Testament, in 2 Peter 1:21, that “no prophecy was ever made by the will of man, but men being moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”

So, back to our text, verse 67. When Luke records here that “Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied,” the point is this wasn’t unprecedented. Rather, there had been multiple men who had gone before him, prophets and kings, who had a similar experience.

Now, by the way, when we see that word “prophesied,” we might initially be thinking this must have to do with future-oriented matters. The way we think of prophecy today. But that wasn’t necessarily the case in Zechariah’s day. Rather, the word “prophecy” there simply means to declare, to tell forth. By prophesying then, Zechariah was going to deliver a message. One which, as we’re going to see, certainly would have some futuristic components to it. But also, one in which this priest was simply recounting what God had done. And what God had done in the past.

There’s one more thing I want us to take note of, before we work our way through the meat of this message. And that’s this: Zechariah’s words here, his prophecy here, is rich in quotations and allusions from the Old Testament. Which again highlights the truth and underscores the truth, the truth which transcends the two Testaments -- that to be Spirit-filled as Zechariah was, is to be scripture-saturated. Indeed, even in our context, when we look at the book of Ephesians, applicable to the church. We get to Ephesians 5 in that famous passage about what it means to be Spirit-filled as a believer, as a Christian. Ephesians 5:18 says, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” Note that, right after giving that imperative – “be filled with the Spirit,” literally ‘be being filled with the Spirit,’ Paul doesn’t then say, “go start a healing crusade.” Or “start rolling in the aisles.” Or “start expressing yourself in gibberish.” No. What does he say? He says that as we are being “filled with the Spirit”, we are to be “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” To be filled with the Spirit of God, then . . . means to be skilled in, and committed to, and wielding the sword of the Spirit, the very word of God.

So, here in verse 67, we see that Zechariah was Spirit-filled. And that he “prophesied, saying…” And then Zechariah’s prophecy, this paternal prophecy, follows from verse 68 all the way down to verse 79. As we read, and we’ll pick it up in verse 68, where he just begins, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel.” And that first word that you see there, “blessed,” “eulogetos” in Greek, “benedictus” in Latin. And that’s, by the way, why this whole prophecy is called by certain churches the “Benedictus.” They represent these words of blessing, and really praise, from Zechariah, of the God who had visited him through the angel Gabriel back in the temple in Jerusalem. This is Zechariah’s praise of the God who had miraculously caused his wife Elizabeth to conceive in her old age. This is Zechariah’s praise of that God who had now gifted he and Elizabeth with this son, John, who would now serve as the forerunner to the coming of the Messiah.

Now, note, these are the first words recorded from Zechariah that came out of his mouth, once his tongue had been loosed and his mouth opened. If you look back at verse 64 we recall that last week as he’s being asked what is the name of this child to be, he scrawls out, “His name is John.” Then it says, “at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak, blessing God.” And many would say, and I would agree, that when it says there in verse 64 that he “began to speak, blessing God,” what he spoke and what he said as he blessed God, as he praised God, is exactly what we see recorded in our passage today, starting in verse 68, when he says, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel.”

So, Zechariah was praising God. He was honoring God. And he was honoring God with these words of blessing. And in doing so, by the way, he sounded like many of his predecessors. Like
Solomon who said in 1 Kings 1:48, “Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel.” He sounded a lot like David, who said in Psalm 41:13, “Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.” He sounded a lot like Ethan the Ezrahite in Psalm 89:52 who declared, “Blessed be Yahweh forever!” And that’s really the theme of each of these words that follow, in what is called the “Benedictus.” They are these words of praise. Words of blessing. Words of honor. For the Lord God of Israel, the God who had sent and was sending His Son the Messiah to His people. Who would now be offering them redemption and salvation and deliverance through that Son, through that Messiah, through the Christ that He had promised centuries before through various prophets.

Still in verse 68 here. After beginning with those words of praise, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel.” Zechariah now begins to detail the reasons that the Lord God of Israel is to be praised. Look at the next part of the verse. He says, “For He visited and accomplished redemption for His people.” Now, when you see those words, you process those words. They read, in our English-speaking minds as though Zechariah here is referring exclusively to the past. Do they not? This looks like he’s talking exclusively about the past. Here in my Legacy Standard Bible it says “He visited and accomplished redemption for His people.” If you’re reading from the NASB, it says “He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people.” But I thought this was prophecy. And I thought, in context, what Zechariah was speaking about here, was not only what God had done but what He would do through the birth of John the Baptist. So, are these words here in verse 68, “He visited and accomplished redemption for His people,” about the past? Or are they about the future? Answer: yes.

For starters, there’s no doubt that God had over the course of Israel’s checkered history, “visited and accomplished redemption for His people.” That’s well documented. In fact, why don’t you go over with me to Psalm 106. Psalm 106, in fact, is quoted and alluded to in different parts of our text for today, but I’m going to read to you just a section of Psalm 106 that I think highlights the point we’re making here, which is that God had visited and had accomplished redemption for His people in the past. Look at Psalm 106, and we’ll start in verse 40, “So the anger of Yahweh.” And again, the setting of this Psalm is the recounting of Israel’s unfaithfulness and rebellion to God and God’s rescue and deliverance of His people. This is a backward-looking Psalm. Anyway, Psalm 106:40 says, “So the anger of Yahweh was kindled against His people and He abhorred His inheritance. Then He gave them into the hand of the nations, and those who hated them ruled over them. Their enemies oppressed them, and they were subdued under their hand. Many times He would deliver them; but they were rebellious in their counsel, and so they sank down in their iniquity. Nevertheless He looked upon their distress when He heard their cry of lamentation; and He remembered for them His covenant, and relented according to the abundance of His lovingkindness. He also made them objects of compassion in the presence of all their captors. Save us, O Yahweh our God, and gather us from among the nations, to give thanks to Your holy name and revel in Your praise. Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. And let all the people say, ‘Amen.’ Praise Yah!”

Now, back to Luke. Like the Psalmist in Psalm 106, here in verse 68, when Luke says, “For He visited and accomplished redemption for His people,” he certainly is on one hand recalling the rescue and the redemption which God had demonstrated to His people in their past. But at the same time it also appears that what Zechariah is doing here as he speaks prophetically, is he’s looking forward. In fact, many have recognized that the verbs in our section here, where it says, “He visited” in verse 68 and He “raised” in verse 69 and He “spoke,” in verse 70 -- they’re known as prophetic aorist. And all that means is that Zechariah here is using a past tense form. He’s speaking in such a way to highlight that the things that are to come, are so certain to happen, it’s as though they’ve already taken place. That’s a prophetic aorist.
So, having already been conceived of the Holy Spirit and having already been formed in His mother Mary’s womb, the Messiah of Israel was already on His way. And He would visit and accomplish redemption for His people, the people of Israel.

Now, we’re only two verses in here (and I do this as my peril) but we are about to go on a little side trail which I think is important. Because it really will color what we’re going to see throughout the rest of this passage. See, while we are a Christian church. And while we who have believed upon the name of Jesus Christ are Christians. And we naturally read the scriptures through our perspective, these Christian lenses that we have now, having the Spirit within us -- what we can’t do and what we risk doing if we’re not careful, is ignoring the distinctly Jewish context and flavor of this text. Especially when we consider that it was a Jewish priest, Zechariah, whose words are being recorded here. Again, he wasn’t a Christian. So, when we see a word like “redemption” here in verse 68, or down the page, “salvation”, in verses 69 and 71 -- we have to first think about what those words meant to the original speaker, Zechariah. What would he have thought about those words, when Zechariah in verse 68 says that God would bring redemption for His people there? Was he referring to personal salvation from sin? Or was he referring to physical deliverance from enemies of Israel? I think the answer is both. And I’ll get to that in a minute, as to why.

See, when a prophetic word was given to an Old Testament prophet or priest, and that’s what Zechariah would qualify as right here -- as God revealed whatever He revealed to them, as the Spirit moved them to write what they wrote -- it’s clear that men like Zechariah, at this time, would have understood that Messiah’s coming would bring about a physical component. Meaning, physical rescue and physical deliverance from Israel’s enemies. They would have thought of passages like Micah 4:3-4 which says “they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war. And each of them will sit under his vine and under his fig tree,” then note this physical component here, “with no one to make them tremble.” So, there’s a physical component in mind, when they thought of deliverance and redemption. But those same Old Testament-era prophets also wrote about personal, spiritual salvation that the Messiah would bring. We think about Isaiah 53:5, a much more commonly known prophetic passage, “He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities.”

In other words, when a Spirit-directed man in the Old Testament spoke prophetically of the coming of the Messiah, whether it was Micah, or Isaiah, or here, Zechariah, what they expected and what they anticipated was both national physical deliverance from their enemies and individual spiritual deliverance from sins. But what they didn’t know and what they couldn’t anticipate is that their Messiah would actually come, how many times? Twice. And because of the rejection of their Messiah that first time, certain physical aspects of the redemption He would bring would come later. Would be deferred until His second coming.

In fact, we see both aspects of the redemption and salvation that would come through Messiah, both physical and spiritual, right here in Zechariah’s words of praise. In fact, look down the page at verse 71 where Zechariah speaks of the Messiah bringing “[s]alvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us.” Or verse 74, he’s going to speak of being “rescued from the hand of our enemies.” Those are speaking of physical aspects of deliverance. But it’s also clear that he has spiritual salvation in view. Look down the page at verses 76-78. He says, “to give to His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God with which the Sunrise from on high will visit us.”

All this to say, when we see terms like “redemption” and “salvation” before us in our text this morning, we do have to recognize that when the prophets of old used words like those -- though the Spirit was moving them perfectly, and don’t get me wrong when I say this now, inerrantly to write the words that they wrote -- it wasn’t always clear from the perspective of those prophetic voices themselves, from their vantage point, whether Messiah was going to bring both aspects, both physical and salvation aspects, at the same time. Because they didn’t have that idea of a first and a second coming, immediately in view.

So, what Zechariah knew, from his vantage point, what he was anticipating was that God was through the Messiah that was soon to come, going to visit His people and bring redemption to His people. And what Zechariah had in mind, through his narrow prophetic lens, was a total and complete redemption of His people. A redemption that would include both a physical and a spiritual component. Physical and spiritual blessings. What Zechariah didn’t necessarily know, from where he sat, was that this deliverance would be brought in two distinct phases, with Jesus’ first and His second coming. He’s in this setting just giving the whole package about redemption and salvation.

And note, that Zechariah was also aware that the redemption and the salvation that would come to Israel, would not come through his son, John. But instead, through the One who would come after John, the child that was being now formed in Mary’s womb. And how do we know that? That Zechariah would have known this promise of the Messiah would be filled, not through John, but through Mary’s child? Because of what we see next in verse 69, where it says, “And raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant.” I understand, we’re just taking sections of what’s one long sentence this morning. So it will be a little choppy at places. We’ll just take it section by section, line by line. But he says, “And raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant.” Now, that verb again, “raised up,” is another one of those prophetic aorist verbs. The sense is that it is so sure, that God will raise up this One, that it is spoken in the past tense, as though it’s already been done.

And this idea of God raising up someone, is a common Old Testament expression. God would raise up prophets, Deuteronomy 18:15 says, “Yahweh your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you.” God would raise up judges, Judges 3:15 says, “Then the sons of Israel cried to Yahweh, and Yahweh raised up a savior for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man.” God would raise up priests, 1 Samuel 2:35 says, “But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul.”
And God would raise up kings, Acts 13:21 says, “Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. And after He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king.”

And then, here in our text, Luke 1:69, God is here described as raising up, it says, “a horn of salvation for us.” And that concept, the “horn of salvation” has very deep Old Testament roots. In fact, God Himself is referred to in multiple places in the Old Testament, as Israel’s horn of salvation. 2 Samuel 22:3 says, “My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation.” Psalm 18:2 says, “Yahweh is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation.” And by the time Zechariah was here giving his own prophecy concerning his son, John, that idea “horn of salvation” was now tied specifically to the house of David. In fact, go with me over to Psalm 132, where we’re going to see that this “horn of salvation” idea ties directly to the house of David and future messianic fulfillment through that line. Psalm 132 is our passage, a cross reference. And we’ll look at a few verses here, starting in verse 13. Psalm 132:13, it says, “For Yahweh has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His habitation. This is My resting place forever; here I will inhabit, for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her needy with bread, Her priests also I will clothe with salvation, and her holy ones will sing loudly for joy. There I will cause the horn of David to spring up. I have prepared a lamp for mine anointed. His enemies I will clothe with shame. But upon Him, His crown shall blossom.” Now, what is the “horn of David”? Better stated, who is the “horn of David”? The answer is the Messiah who had been promised to come through the line of David. Recall what God had said to the prophet Nathan in 2 Samuel 7:12-14 about the Messiah and the Savior who would be sent through David’s line. God says, “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up one of your seed after you, who will come forth from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me.”

Back to our text, Luke 1:69, Zechariah was not of the line of David. Rather, he was, along with his wife, Elizabeth, a Levite. He was of the priestly tribe of Levi. Meaning, their son, John, was a pure Levite. So, he couldn’t be this “horn of salvation”, because he wasn’t of the line of David. Who would be then? Who would be this One, who would come from the line of David? Who would be this “horn of salvation”, the One who had been promised for centuries prior. Well, we’ve already seen, over in Luke 1:32, who that would be. It would be the child that Mary was carrying in her womb. Luke 1:32, this is the angel Gabriel speaking to Mary. He says, “He will be great,” speaking of Jesus, “and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.”

So, yes, looking back at verse 68, there would be visitation to Israel and yes, there would be accomplishment of redemption in Israel. But that hope of redemption and that promise of redemption would be fulfilled not through John, the child of Zechariah and Elizabeth, but instead, the one who came after him – Jesus. The one who came from the line of David, that horn of salvation.

Moving on. As we look at verses 70 and 71, we note that Zechariah again is on the same train of thought, as he says here, “As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old – salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us.” Now we have to ask the question right off the bat here. In verse 70, which holy prophets is Zechariah speaking of? Which holy prophets is he referring to? Because here, clearly the coming of the Messiah is somehow tied to these promises of certain prophets. Well, those prophets would have been that long line of Old Testament witnesses. You can go back as far as Moses and Abraham and Samuel and David and Isaiah and Micah, and Malachi and more and more who had prophesied about the coming of the Messiah to Israel, in the future.

And then verse 71. He continues on with this thought. And in doing so he zeroes in on this coming “horn of salvation” and what His salvation would bring. It would bring, verse 71, “Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us.” Now, remember what I attempted to explain just a few moments ago. Which is that Zechariah, from his vantage point. Is looking down the barrel of this narrow prophetic telescope. And what the Spirit is revealing to him is that Israel’s coming Messiah would bring redemption and deliverance and salvation. And Zechariah, at this point isn’t necessarily parsing out when physical deliverance would come to Israel, verses when Spiritual deliverance would come to Israel. Instead, he has this far-off fulfillment in view. A time which would have been future to him, when all of this would happen. Now, of course, we know now that the period that he’s looking to, though I don’t think he would have seen it so clearly as we do with all the revelation we have, is a period that is future. Not only to Zechariah, but is future to us. A period in which Israel will finally have its land. And a period in which Israel will have peace in its land. That very passage we quoted earlier from Micah 4 when swords will be beaten into pruning hooks. A period known as the Millennial Kingdom.

And that Era of the Millennial Kingdom was still future to Zechariah. It’s still future to us. But salvation, in the meantime, in Zechariah’s day, spiritual salvation was still to be offered. The salvation that was being offered through the Messiah that was coming, was in fact a salvation involving forgiveness of sin. We see that right down the page in verse 77, “to give to His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins.” In other words, Jesus wasn’t and wouldn’t come to this earth at that time, merely to deliver His people politically. He was coming to rescue them from the domain of darkness for all who would trust in Him. He was coming to set free those who were in bondage to sin and death. He was coming to liberate those who were on their way to hell. He was coming to save.

Now, as we turn to verses 72-73, what we have here is Zechariah continuing on in his praise of God for His faithfulness to Israel. He says, “to show mercy toward our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to Abraham our father.” Putting that in very simple terms, another aspect of God sending the Messiah into the world was to remember, not only the promises He had made to David, which we saw back in verse 69, but also the promises He had made to Abraham. We see first here that by sending Jesus into the world, God would be “show[ing] His mercy,” it says, verse 72, “toward our fathers.” That’s a reference, “our fathers,” to the early patriarchs of Israel, like Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. And how would God be showing His mercy to them by sending His Son to the people of Israel in Zechariah’s day? Well, He’d be doing so by keeping His word. Very simply, by keeping the promises that He had made them, all those centuries before.

Promises like the one He gave to Abram, in Genesis 12:2-3, He said, “And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing.” Or the promise He later made to Abraham after putting him to the test with that near-sacrifice of Isaac, in Genesis 22. And God says to Abraham in Genesis 22:16, He says, “By Myself I have sworn, declares Yahweh, because you have done this thing and have not spared your son, your only one, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore.” And then to Isaac himself in Genesis 26:24, God would later say, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your seed, for the sake of My servant Abraham.” And then to Jacob, Isaac’s son, God said this in Genesis 35:9, “I am God almighty; be fruitful and multiply; a nation and an assembly of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come forth from your loins. And the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, and I will give the land to your seed after you.” In other words, each of those patriarchs, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, had been the recipients of these grand promises from God. Promises related to land and seed and blessing. And now, in the sending of His Son, the Messiah, God was being faithful to those promises He had made to them. Being “hesed,” showing that lovingkindness to them. Showing mercy, ultimately, toward the fathers.

And He was doing so, end of verse 72, in remembrance of “His holy covenant,” it says. And to remember his holy covenant, that being His covenant with Abraham, the one we just read from in Genesis 12, and then in verse 73 says, “The oath which He swore to Abraham our father.”
And that covenant, by the way, is an eternal covenant. Note these words from Psalm 105:8. It says, “He,” that’s referring to God, “has remembered His covenant forever, the word which He commanded for a thousand generations, which He cut with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac. Then He confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant.” Those words of covenant that I read out for you, from Genesis 12 and Genesis 22 and Genesis 26 and Genesis 35, yes, they were covenants made at particular points in time, with those three patriarchs. And covenants that blessed the Israel of their day. But don’t get confused about the fact that this is an everlasting covenant. Psalm 105:10, “to Israel as an everlasting covenant.” Meaning, God isn’t done with Israel. Israel hasn’t replaced the church. God hasn’t revoked the promises He made to Israel through the patriarchs. And how do we know that? Because He Himself says He made an everlasting covenant with them. And His covenant is backed, not only by His promise, which it is, but by His spotless character. And so it will most definitely be fulfilled with Israel, in full, at the proper time. And we know there is coming a day where the people of Israel, at that time, will look upon the One that they have pierced. They will repent of their hard-heartedness and their unbelief. And they will finally believe upon the name of the Messiah, who God sent them. We know that day is coming, because there is this eternal covenant that God has made with them. They are the apple of His eye. That day will happen on a day in the future, which God only knows. But it will happen.

Well, in the meantime, we’re still in our text, and the setting is first century Judea. Where Zechariah here was indicating that with the coming of the Messiah, God was showing “mercy toward our fathers,” it says. And “remember[ing] his holy covenant” with Abraham. But how so? How would the coming of Messiah bring about the fulfillment of that covenant? Well, 74 tells us, “To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies.” Now, that’s a past tense statement referring to God’s previous acts of deliverance. Like we saw over in Psalm 106.

And then look at what comes next, at the end of verse 74 and into verse 75, “to grant us that we,” you see it there, “might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.” So, the God who had delivered them in the past, in the Psalm 106 sense, was now sending His Son the Savior into the world. The God who had repeatedly brought about physical deliverance -- and we know, sitting here today, will one day bring physical deliverance to Israel -- was now bringing spiritual deliverance. And the upshot of all of this was that so those who had received, and those who would receive that gift of salvation from Him, would be able to, it says there, “serve Him,” end of verse 74, “without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.” As it related to Israel, in keeping with His promises to Abraham and David, God was going to redeem and gather a people who would serve Him. And who would serve Him uprightly, it says, “in holiness and righteousness.”

Which, when you think about it sounds a lot like how God continues to operate in our church age. Does it not? It’s almost like God is timeless. And God is eternal. And His character is perfect. All those things are true. Like we think of in our church age context. Ephesians 2:8-10, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, so that no one may boast.” But then verse 10 says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” So, just as those who would turn to the Messiah in Zechariah’s day, we who have turned to Christ in our day haven’t been saved to be stagnant. We’ve been saved to serve to do so in “holiness and righteousness.”

Now, as we turn to the remaining words of Zechariah’s prophecy here, there’s this noticeable change in tone and focus starting in verse 76. And Zechariah here is switching things up. He’s switching from directing his words of praise directly to God above to now addressing His infant son. And note what he says in these direct words of address, starting in verse 76. He says,
“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High.” Now, again, I want us to note here how much Zechariah had changed through his experience. And note the godly example here. Note the obedience here. And now, verse 76, with his lips loosed and his tongue unstuck, he’s saying he will be “the prophet of the Most High.” He’s telling John now, he will be, “you child, will be [] the prophet of the Most High.” Meaning, he would speak on behalf of the Messiah of Israel, Jesus of Nazareth, who was no mere man, but, we know, God in human form, God “Most High.”

And then he elaborates, still in verse 76, on that prophetic title. After calling him “the prophet of the Most High”, he says, “For you will go on before the Lord to make ready His ways.”
And that would be in fulfillment of a couple of Old Testament prophecies like Isaiah 40:3, which says, “A voice is calling, ‘Prepare the way for Yahweh in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.’ ” Or Malachi 3:1 says, “Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me.” We’ll cover those prophecies next week, when we get to verse 80.

And then in verse 77, Zechariah’s train of thought continues. While John, as we just saw in verse 76, would go before the Lord to make “ready His ways,” Jesus, we see in verse 77, would “give to His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins.” Now, a little historical backdrop there. We have to remember that the Israelites of Zechariah’s day were, by this point, long known as being stubborn and obstinate and stiff-necked. For centuries they had. We know the stories. They had coveted what other nations had. Right? Land and kings and other so-called gods. But all along, they had the most valuable prize a person or a nation could ever want or have. Which was favor with God. Being set apart by God. So, when they heard of this promised Messiah to come, in John’s day, they had, at best, this incomplete perspective on who this Messiah would be. They had a very self-righteous way of thinking. They thought of this Messiah who was coming as being strictly a political ruler. Who would likely throw off the shackles of their Roman overlords. And maybe impart justice to the Goyim, the Gentiles, around them. What they failed to see though is what all human hearts fail to see before we come to that place of repentance and faith. They failed to see how blackened their sin-cursed hearts were. They failed to see how desperately wicked they were. And they failed to see how their greatest need was to have their sins forgiven.

Well, Jesus, at His first coming, His first advent, would bring that message of salvation from sin to the people of Israel. He would, verse 77, “give to His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins.” It started with His forerunner, John the Baptist. Mark 1:4 records that John the Baptist was “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
And it culminated in Jesus, on the night on which He was betrayed, saying this to His disciples in Matthew 26:28, “this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Jesus, in other words, didn’t come to overthrow Rome. Or ultimately, to perform miracles. Or to feed the hungry. He came to save. He came, verse 77, again, “to give to His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins.”

And why would God do this? Why would God even raise up a horn of salvation? Why would He offer knowledge of salvation? Why would He offer forgiveness of sins? The answer, we see, is given in verse 78, “Because of the tender mercy of our God.” God’s motive in dealing so kindly with His own rebellious, stiff-necked people was rooted in His own attribute of mercy, tender mercy to be exact. Though they had continually rebelled against Him for centuries, God, not because of who they were but because of who He is, repeatedly showed them compassion and patience. We think of the story of Hosea and his wife, the prostitute, Gomer. She comes and she goes. He brings her back; he kicks her out. He brings her back again. And in Hosea 11, God, speaking to Israel now, with that picture of Hosea and his wife in view, says, “How can I give you up?” That’s mercy. That’s compassion.

God then sent His Son to Israel. He offered salvation to Israel. Not because of Israel. They certainly didn’t deserve it. But because, it says here, verse 78, of His “tender mercy.” The word there, is literally “the bowels of His mercy.” Just deep down below, in His innermost being.
John as the forerunner was sent, Jesus the Messiah was sent, as an expression of God’s “tender mercy.” The salvation that’s offered to us today through Christ, we know from Ephesians 2:4-5, is also an expression of God’s mercy. “But God,” it says, “being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved.” That’s what the people of Israel in Zechariah’s day needed to understand. They needed to understand, as Psalm 103:12 says,
“As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” They needed to understand, as Micah 7:19 says, that God would “cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” They needed to understand as it’s declared in Isaiah 43:25, that He “wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and… will not remember your sins.” But they couldn’t just claim these promises as though those promises already belonged to them. First and foremost they needed to follow the example of their forefather Abraham. Who what? Genesis 15:6, “Believed” and then it was “counted [] to him as righteousness.”

But God, regardless here, was showing mercy, the “tender mercy of our God.” And He was going to do so, it says, in three ways, we’ll see in this last verse and a half here. First, He would visit them. Second, He would shine upon them. And third, He would direct them. We’ll take those in order. Starting with the fact that as a demonstration of His mercy, God would visit Israel. Specifically in the Person of His Son. Look at the second part of verse 78, he says, “with which...,” he’s still talking about the tender mercy of God here, and he says, “with which the Sunrise from on high will visit us.” That word “Sunrise” is clearly messianic. Isaiah 9:2 says, “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.” Malachi 4:2 says, “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.” Christ’s coming then, the Messiah’s arrival, was being likened by Zechariah here to the sunrise. For centuries, Israel had been in darkness. Indeed, the whole world had been in darkness. But now, because of the tender mercy of our God, dawn was about to break. And light was about to shine, poking through in the person of Jesus Christ.

And then, in verse 79, he indicates what this “Sunrise,” meaning the Messiah, would bring. It says, He would “shine light upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death.” Though God had set His love upon this chosen people (Deuteronomy 7), the apple of His eye (Zechariah 12), many centuries before, the people of God, Israel were in this hopeless situation at this time. In fact, that original expression, “those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,” -- what its really picturing, what its used to describe in secular literature of this day -- it pictures this party of travelers who, before they reach their final destination, they realize they need to put up for the night. They need to camp out for the night. And then, night gets really, really pitch black, like it would in the desert. And it’s that sense of being overwhelmed, like a beast could come and tear us to pieces any time. Or a robber could come pillage from our campground at any time. That was the Israel of Zechariah’s day. They were in this state of darkness, spiritual darkness. Delusion. Depravity. They were living Ephesians 2:1 lives, “you were dead in your transgressions and sins.” But then we know, this bright beacon from heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ, would soon be among them.

And as He would come to them, we see at the end of verse 79, He would “direct [their] feet,” it says, “into the way of peace.” That’s what Jesus, the Prince of Peace would do. He would direct the feet of His people “into the way of peace.” Not world peace. Not peaceful relationships with families and neighbors. But ultimately peace with God. The forerunner to the Messiah, John the Baptist, would call on the house of Israel to pursue that peace, by repenting and seeking forgiveness for their sins. Jesus during His ministry offered a hope, for those who would seek peace with God, through Him. And we sitting where we sit today know from Romans 5:1, “having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

I’m going to close this morning by asking a question. Which is this, do you have that peace? Do you have peace with God? Have you, as Romans 5:1 says, “been justified by faith?”
If you’ve come here this morning, I’m so glad you’re here. If you’re not a believer, and you’re just here checking a box, or showing up, or visiting, or just curious about what this whole Christianity thing is, I’m really glad you’re here. I really am. And I know the believers here in this room are glad you’re here. But I also want to make sure that what you understand is that this isn’t like a seminary classroom or a lecture hall. This is a church of the living God. And what we do, is we proclaim God’s word in every jot and tittle. Every bit and piece of God’s word is true. It’s perfect. And it’s accurate. And it also has a historical setting. And I want to just make sure you understand that the setting that we’re in right now… We’re at the very end of Luke 1. And in Luke 1 we’re knocking on the door of Jesus’ arrival to earth for the first time. We’re almost to the Christmas story of Luke 2. And sometimes it’s all we really think about, if we’re not careful. We think Jesus came. He died on a cross. He offers forgiveness. So, I’m going to go on living life the way I want.

Friends, that’s not salvation. And that really isn’t the whole picture of what the bible has revealed about what Jesus has done. And what He will do. See, the bible teaches, not only that Jesus came this one time 2,000 years ago. The bible also teaches that He’s coming again. In fact, if you would, I’d invite you to turn with me -- and if you don’t have a bible, look over your neighbor’s shoulder, pull it up in your phone -- but I’d invite you to turn to Revelation 19. Revelation 19 speaks of the second coming of Jesus Christ. And I’ll spare you the details for now (we’re clearly out of time) about all that will take place leading up to that event. But I want you to know the character, the purity, the holiness, the majesty of the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world and the One who is coming again. Look at Revelation 19:11. John says, “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sits on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; having a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself, and being clothed with a garment dipped in blood, His name is also called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on a white horses. And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it, He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the winepress of the wrath of the rage of God, the Almighty. And He has on His garment and on His thigh a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”

When I asked the question, do you have peace with God, that’s what I have in mind for you. Jesus did come the first time. It’s provable, historically and biblically. Those two go hand in hand. But Jesus is coming again. And this is the description of the Jesus you will face, the unbeliever will face, at that point in history, if they have not put their faith in what He did for them on the cross and through His resurrection. So, friend, I just beg of you if you have not put your faith in Jesus Christ, remember what awaits. Remember who He is. Remember His character. Remember His hatred of sin. But also, remember His forgiving hand which is extended to you if you would simply put your faith in Him. Be done with the world. Be done with the sin that you know doesn’t satisfy those cravings. And instead, put your trust in what He did for sinners like you and me by dying on a cross 2,000 years ago. When He said, “It is finished,” He meant it. It is finished. And if you put your trust in Him, you can rest your head on the pillow knowing that you will share glory with the risen Lamb and be saved.

Let’s pray. God, I thank You for a chance to be together this morning. I thank You for the jet-tour through Your word in this account of Zechariah, the priest, and his words of praise and prophecy. For the coming of his son, John the Baptist. And I do pray, God, that we wouldn’t treat this place like a library, or a laboratory, where we’re just soaking up data and facts. But we would be transformed by the power of Your Spirit in us. We who believe that this time in the word, would remind us of some truths about Your character and Your promises that we would be encouraged by. And God, again, if there is somebody here who does not know You, I pray, today would be the day that they would call upon Jesus Christ, as Savior and Lord. And be saved. We thank You for Your character. We thank You for Your sure promises. We thank You for Your Son. It’s in His name we pray. Amen.