Zechariah's Song
67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71 salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to show mercy to our ancestors
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79 to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.
Reflection:
In the last couple of posts we have heard Mary's song, as she gave praise to God for the son she bore. Today we see the father Zechariah giving praise. Zechariah starts by connecting the Old Testament covenants of Abraham and David to the coming king of kings, Jesus. Since Luke's gospel was written to both Jews and Gentiles, it will be important for Zechariah, who himself was of the priestly line appointed by King David, to show Jesus' Jewish roots and the fulfillment of those covenants.
We must remember that the Jewish people had not seen many prophecies in a long while, so this language of the fulfillment of the prophecies gave them a new glimmer of hope. While the people were waiting for a political deliverance, Zechariah shows that this horn of salvation will accomplish a lot more specifically:
1. Salvation from our enemies , which we will soon see are sin, death and the power of the devil. While Israel awaited physical redemption, John the Baptist was going to prepare them for a spiritual redemption.
2. To show mercy to our ancestors. This new covenant that God would make through Jesus, was completely done out of God's mercy. There was absolutely nothing the people had done to deserve it. The people had rejected The Lord by serving and worshipping created things rather than the God who had delivered them from bondage to slavery. But God had made a covenant with Abraham that he would be a blessing to many nations. And God promised that there would never fail to be a King through the line of David.
3. Finally, in rescuing us, he will enable us to serve without fear. When we serve God out of fear of retribution, it is an obligation. When we discover what God has done for us in Jesus, we begin to serve with a free heart unbound from guilt. Perfect love casts out all fear.
All of this God gave to Zechariah to prepare him for his son. And remember Zechariah had not originally believed he could have a son, and could not speak until John was born. Zechariah too experiences the same grace we experience as God used him in spite of his lack of faith.
So the question today is how can we serve God without fear, remembering God has shown us mercy too? As we trust in the new covenant God has made with us through Christ, we can be a part of the salvation God is bringing to people today. God is faithful even when we aren't. Spend some time thanking God for his mercy, and then remember as God used Zechariah in spite of his faults, he can use us too. Amen.
68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71 salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to show mercy to our ancestors
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79 to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.
Reflection:
In the last couple of posts we have heard Mary's song, as she gave praise to God for the son she bore. Today we see the father Zechariah giving praise. Zechariah starts by connecting the Old Testament covenants of Abraham and David to the coming king of kings, Jesus. Since Luke's gospel was written to both Jews and Gentiles, it will be important for Zechariah, who himself was of the priestly line appointed by King David, to show Jesus' Jewish roots and the fulfillment of those covenants.
We must remember that the Jewish people had not seen many prophecies in a long while, so this language of the fulfillment of the prophecies gave them a new glimmer of hope. While the people were waiting for a political deliverance, Zechariah shows that this horn of salvation will accomplish a lot more specifically:
1. Salvation from our enemies , which we will soon see are sin, death and the power of the devil. While Israel awaited physical redemption, John the Baptist was going to prepare them for a spiritual redemption.
2. To show mercy to our ancestors. This new covenant that God would make through Jesus, was completely done out of God's mercy. There was absolutely nothing the people had done to deserve it. The people had rejected The Lord by serving and worshipping created things rather than the God who had delivered them from bondage to slavery. But God had made a covenant with Abraham that he would be a blessing to many nations. And God promised that there would never fail to be a King through the line of David.
3. Finally, in rescuing us, he will enable us to serve without fear. When we serve God out of fear of retribution, it is an obligation. When we discover what God has done for us in Jesus, we begin to serve with a free heart unbound from guilt. Perfect love casts out all fear.
All of this God gave to Zechariah to prepare him for his son. And remember Zechariah had not originally believed he could have a son, and could not speak until John was born. Zechariah too experiences the same grace we experience as God used him in spite of his lack of faith.
So the question today is how can we serve God without fear, remembering God has shown us mercy too? As we trust in the new covenant God has made with us through Christ, we can be a part of the salvation God is bringing to people today. God is faithful even when we aren't. Spend some time thanking God for his mercy, and then remember as God used Zechariah in spite of his faults, he can use us too. Amen.
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