Promise and Fulfillment

Thank you.

In Jesus' name we pray.

In those days, Mary arose and went with haste to the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leapt in her womb.

And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry,

Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

And why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leapt for joy.

And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.

And Mary said,

My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.

For he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.

For he who is mighty has done great things for me.

And holy is his name.

And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm.

He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

He has brought down the mighty from their thrones.

And exalted those of humble estate.

He has filled the hungry with good things.

And the rich he has sent away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy.

As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his offspring forever.

And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth.

And she bore a son.

And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her.

And they rejoiced with her.

And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child.

And they would have called him Zechariah after his father.

But his mother answered, No, he shall be called John.

And they said to her, None of your relatives is called by this name.

And they made signs to his father inquiring what he wanted him to be called.

And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, His name is John.

And they all wondered.

And immediately his mouth was opened.

And his tongue loosed.

And he spoke, Blessing God.

And fear came on all their neighbors.

And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea.

And all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying,

What then will this child be?

For the hand of the Lord was with him.

And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people,

and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,

as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,

that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,

to show the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant,

the oath that he swore to our father Abraham,

to grant us that we, being delivered 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 before the Lord to prepare his ways,

to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins,

because of the tender mercy of our God,

whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high,

to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace.

The child grew and became strong in spirit.

He was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

This is the word of the Lord.

One of my favorite children's books is entitled The Carrot Seed.

If any of you have read it, if some of you have kids,

it goes like this, it's a very short book,

it says,

A little boy planted a carrot seed.

His mother said,

I'm afraid it won't come up.

His father said,

I'm afraid it won't come up.

And his big brother said,

It won't come up.

Every day the little boy pulled up the weeds around the seed

and sprinkled the ground with water.

But nothing came up.

And nothing came up.

Everyone kept saying it wouldn't come up.

But he still pulled up the weeds around it every day

and sprinkled the ground with water.

And then,

one day,

a carrot came up.

Just as the little boy had known it would.

It's a simple story about childlike faith.

About perseverance.

I don't know if the author is Christian,

but it's really something that should characterize the Christian life.

Childlike faith.

Perseverance.

Because we are called as God's people to live by faith.

And not by sight.

And this can be difficult,

especially when what we see around us don't match up with what we believe.

Yet,

even when we are surrounded by naysayers,

those who keep the faith

will be rewarded

and proven right

in the end.

And this passage serves to provide evidence of that.

Assurance of the fact that those who humbly trust in the Lord

will rejoice in the end for God's mercy.

That those who humbly trust in the Lord

will rejoice in the end for God's mercy.

And so the first part we see in verses 39 to 56,

Mary's faith and rejoicing.

And in the second part we see

Zechariah's faith and rejoicing.

And we saw last week that

Gabriel, the angel,

gave announcements to Elizabeth and Mary.

And after hearing from Gabriel

that Elizabeth,

her formerly barren relative,

is now pregnant

and that this is the sign for Mary

that she will bear a son as a virgin

named Jesus.

Mary departs immediately to visit Elizabeth.

It says in verses 39 to 40,

follow along with me,

In those days Mary arose

and went with haste into the hill country

to a town in Judah.

And she entered the house of Zechariah

and greeted Elizabeth.

So her hasty departure,

so she's not hesitating,

she's not delaying,

she goes immediately

because she believes the word of the Lord

and this is her response of obedience

to God's announcement through his angel.

And as she departs for Elizabeth,

it doesn't take long for Mary

to receive confirmation

about the sign that Gabriel had given her.

Because it says in verses 41 to 45,

And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary,

the baby leapt in her womb,

and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

And she exclaimed with a loud cry,

Blessed are you among women,

and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

And why is this granted to me,

that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

For behold,

when the sound of your greeting came to my ears,

the baby in my womb left for joy.

And blessed is she who believed

that there would be a fulfillment

of what was spoken to her from the Lord.

So this is a fulfillment

of what Gabriel announced

in verses 15 to 17 of this same chapter,

that John would be filled with the Holy Spirit

even from his mother's womb.

So this is a fulfillment of that.

And he also announced that he will go,

John will go before Jesus

in the spirit and power of Elijah

to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.

And what we're seeing now here

is that even in the womb,

baby John is filled with the Holy Spirit,

and he goes before Jesus

and announces his coming.

He's alerting his mother,

here is the Lord,

here is Jesus.

And Elizabeth,

having been alerted by her baby in her womb

in this manner,

is filled with the Holy Spirit herself

and begins to bless Mary

and the baby Jesus in her womb.

And even though she is significantly senior to Mary,

and she humbles herself before Mary

and expresses her sense of grateful disbelief.

Why is this granted to me

that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

The word Lord could simply refer to a human superior,

but since just three verses later,

Mary says,

my soul magnifies the Lord,

and that's in reference to God,

it's hard not to see a reference

to the divinity of Christ here,

that Jesus is indeed God.

He is the Son of God.

He is the divine Lord,

the King above all kings,

the very Son of God,

and because of that,

this is the proper posture of Elizabeth.

This is the proper posture for subjects

who are paid a visit by their king.

I don't know if you've ever met a celebrity in your life,

or if you've seen someone else meet a celebrity,

which is even funnier, right?

It's a very interesting human phenomenon, right?

Because in our culture,

we view celebrities like this,

this larger-than-life,

kind of superhuman kind of figure, right?

And some people just start jumping around and screaming

because they can't help themselves,

they can't handle themselves.

And then other people freeze completely,

they're starstruck,

and are at a loss for words, right?

And if that's how we react to other humans,

however famous they may be,

how much more when we are visited

by the Lord God,

the creator of the universe,

the savior of the world,

as Christians,

we need to recover a little bit of a sense

of that reverence and awe before God.

Do we walk into a worship service

like we are entering into the throne room of the king?

Or are we casual, lackadaisical, bored?

Do we open up our Bibles

with humble submission

as if the king is about to speak?

Or do we read it with less interest

and enthusiasm than we have for our emails?

Do you recognize the staggering reality

that we as God's people

are indwelled by the very spirit of God?

Do we live every moment of our lives

as if we are before the very face of God?

Why is this granted to me

that my Lord should come to me?

That's a great question

that we need to ask more often.

If we did, we'd become more grateful

and humble people.

After explaining that the baby in the womb

left for joy at the sound of Mary's greeting,

Elizabeth says in verse 45,

Mary is blessed because she believed

that there would be a fulfillment

of what was spoken to her from the Lord.

So notice how she phrases it.

Instead of saying,

blessed are you,

which is the more natural way to speak

when you're speaking to the person

that's in front of you,

she says, blessed is she,

referring to Mary in the third person.

And this is a way to kind of generalize the statement

to make Mary a model of faith for everyone,

every future believer

that should be emulating Mary.

She's basically saying,

blessed is anyone who believes

that there would be a fulfillment

of what was spoken from the Lord.

There is a blessedness,

a happiness

that characterizes the life of faith.

And the reason for that is because

faith is the way by which we appropriate

and experience God's grace.

Romans 8.1 says,

there is therefore now no condemnation

for those who are in Christ Jesus.

And this is an objectively true statement.

But when you are feeling overwhelmed

by seemingly insurmountable sin in your life,

when you feel weighed down with guilt,

you have to believe that

in order to experience subjectively

that truth

that there is no condemnation for you in Christ.

Similarly, Ephesians 1.20-21 says,

Christ is seated at God's right hand

in the heavenly places,

far above all rule and authority

and power and dominion,

and above every name that is named,

not only in this age,

but also in the one to come.

That is objectively true.

But when you are full of fear and anxiety,

you have to believe it

in order to experience the comfort

and peace and freedom

that comes from the sovereignty of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 3.7-9 says that

everything is rubbish

compared to the surpassing worth

of knowing Christ Jesus.

But when you are tempted

by the wealth of this world,

the fame of this world,

you have to believe God's word

in order to resist

the pool of worldly treasures

and to cherish Christ above all.

That's the blessedness of faith.

To believe is to be blessed,

to be happy,

to be fortunate.

And Mary was blessed

because she believed

that there would be a fulfillment

of the word of the Lord.

And because of her faith,

she was able to obey

in anticipation of that fulfillment

and as a result,

experience the joy

and satisfaction

and fulfillment

that comes from that.

Those who humbly trust in the Lord

will rejoice in the end

for His mercy.

And that's what we see

in Mary's hymn of praise

in verses 46-56.

Mary begins the hymn

with two parallel poetic lines

in verses 46-47.

She says,

My soul magnifies the Lord

and my spirit rejoices

in God my Savior.

To magnify means

to make large

or to make great,

to make much of something

or someone,

to praise someone.

And Mary magnifies the Lord

not like a microscope

that makes something really small

appear larger than they really are,

but more like a telescope

that takes something

that is huge,

like a faraway star,

appear as they really are.

in their true size.

She magnifies God.

What she's doing

as she does that

is she's appreciating God

as He really is

in His bigness,

in His majesty,

in His glory.

So we praise His greatness

not to make God appear great,

but because He is great.

So that's what Mary is doing.

She magnifies the Lord.

And the parallel line says,

My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.

This is so helpful.

The fact that the words magnify

and the word rejoice

are in parallel construction

is illuminating

because magnifying God

consists in rejoicing in Him.

You guys follow what I'm saying?

Glorifying God

consists in delighting in Him.

Praising God

consists in enjoying God.

This is the insight

that C.S. Lewis

arrived at in his book

Reflections on the Psalms.

He writes,

I think we delight to praise

what we enjoy

because the praise

not merely expresses

but completes the enjoyment.

It is its appointed consummation.

It is not out of compliment

that lovers keep on telling one another

how beautiful they are.

The delight is incomplete

till it is expressed.

When we see a splendid sunset

and we exclaim with a sigh of longing,

Oh, that's so beautiful.

We don't say that

to compliment the sunset.

We say that

because that is the way

in which we delight in it

and enjoy the sunset

by praising it,

by exclaiming about it.

In the same way,

that's what it means

to praise God,

to magnify the Lord.

It means to enjoy Him

and to rejoice in Him.

And that's why

the book of Revelation

describes heaven

as a place

where God's people

are forever praising Him.

And some people

read that description

in Revelation

and think to themselves,

Oh, heaven must be

insufferably boring.

Forever?

Forever?

Far?

Go far from it.

Heaven is where we delight

in God.

We enjoy Him forever.

It is where His love for us

and our love for Him

are experienced

in infinite fullness

without any hindrance

to prevent us.

Heaven is a world of joy.

It's a world of love

as Jonathan Edwards,

a theologian, calls it.

And compared to that,

the mutual enjoyment

and ecstasy

between even a husband

and wife

is a pale shadow.

There dwells God the Father

who in love

chose us

before the foundation

of the world

and predestined us

for adoption to Himself.

Ephesians 1.45

There dwells God the Father

who so loved us

that He gave His only Son

that we might believe in Him

and not perish

but have eternal life.

That's where He dwells.

There dwells God the Son

who showed us

the greatest love there is

by laying down

His own life

for His friends

by dying on the cross

for our sins.

There dwells

the Spirit of God,

the Holy Spirit

who has poured out

God's love

into our hearts

as it says in Romans 5.5

That's heaven.

That's where

we praise God forever.

And so Jonathan Edwards

as he says in his sermon

Heaven a world full of love

There in heaven

this fountain of love

this eternal three in one

is set open

without any obstacle

to hinder access to it.

There this glorious God

is manifested

and shines forth

in full glory

in beams of love

There the fountain

overflows

in streams

and rivers of love

and delight.

enough for all

to drink at

and to swim in

yea so as to overflow

the world as it were

with a deluge

a flood

of love

That's

the sure hope

of the Christian.

Those who say

that praising God

is boring

betray their only

impoverished understanding

of God

their own

anemic appreciation

of God

to glorify God

is to enjoy Him

to magnify God

is to rejoice in Him

and then

in verses 48 to 50

Mary gives the reasons

why she magnifies

and rejoices

in the Lord

and the first reason

is in verse 48

for

He has looked

on the humble estate

of His servant

for behold

from now on

all generations

will call me

blessed

well here in chapter 1

verse 38

Mary said

behold I am

the servant

of the Lord

let it be to me

according to your word

and Mary once again

here describes herself

as God's servant

the word is

is a reference

to a bond servant

a slave

Mary acknowledged

that her estate

is humble

she is lowly

and yet

God from on high

has looked

on her

and has made her

the mother

of Jesus Christ

the Savior

of the world

and for this

she says

all generations

will call

me blessed

and verse 48

is paralleled

by verses 49 to 50

it says

for

He who is mighty

has done great things

for me

and holy is His name

and His mercy

is for those

who fear Him

from generation

to generation

verse 49

is a flip side

of verse 48

48 focuses on

Mary's poverty

her impoverishment

and verse 49

focuses on

God's lavishness

His generosity

verse 48

focuses on

Mary's weakness

verse 49

focuses on

God's might

verse 48

focuses on

Mary's lowliness

and verse 49

focuses on

the greatness

of what God

has done for her

anyway

even though Mary

was undeserving

and lowly

God has bestowed

on her

unprecedented honor

from on

high

and likewise

the end of

verse 48

is paralleled

by verse 50

from now on

all generations

will call me

blessed

because God's

mercy is for

those who fear

Him from

generation

to generation

because God

is merciful

to those

who fear

Him

to those

who humble

themselves

before Him

Mary as the

recipient of

God's mercy

will be called

blessed by

all generations

and the phrase

from now on

is an important

Lukean phrase

it indicates

a significant

change that

took place

when Jesus

came to

earth

the change

that took

place in

God's

redemption

plan

so that

from now

on

nothing

is the

same

and so

for the

world

and for

Mary

nothing

will be

the same

again

now Mary

will be

called

blessed

forever

and if

God is

merciful

to the

humble

then the

converse

the opposite

of that

statement

is also

true

and that's

what Mary

turns to

next in

verses 51

to 53

he has

shown

strength

with his

arm

he has

scattered

the proud

in the

thoughts

of their

hearts

he has

brought

down

the mighty

from their

thrones

and exalted

those of

humble estate

he has

filled the

hungry

with good

things

and the

rich

he has

sent

away

empty

this is

echoing

what we

see

repeatedly

throughout

the entire

years

that God's

consistent

mode of

operation

is to

oppose

the proud

but give

grace

to the

humble

and that's

what Mary

sees God

doing through

the conception

of Jesus

Christ

the God

who is

mighty

has brought

down the

mighty

from their

thrones

and instead

has exalted

those of

humble estate

so it's not

King Herod

who will get

the last laugh

as a Davidic

Messiah

wannabe

it's not

the Roman

Emperor

Augustus

who will prevail

in the end

but it will be

King Jesus

born from

the womb

of lowly

Mary

who will

triumph

and establish

the kingdom

of God

the oppressors

will be scattered

and the oppressed

people of God

will be gathered

around the throne

of Jesus

and this reality

is so certain

that even though

it hasn't happened

yet

Mary uses

the past tense

to describe it

it's what

grammarians call

the prophetic

past

it's so certain

to happen

that even though

it lies in the

future

they use the

past tense

to describe

as if

it had

already

happened

as if

it has

already

happened

because that's

how certain

it is

Paul speaks

of this reality

too doesn't he

about how God

gives grace

to the humble

in 1 Corinthians

1 27-29

God chose

what is

foolish in the

world to shame

the wise

God chose

what is weak

in the world

to shame

the strong

God chose

what is low

and despised

in the world

even things

that are not

to bring to

nothing

things that

are so

that no

human being

might boast

in the presence

of God

those who claim

to be wise

in this world

and then reject

the word of God

will not be saved

but only those

who profess

their ignorance

submit to God's

wisdom

those who claim

to be strong

and deny

their need

for God

will not be

saved

but only those

who acknowledge

their weakness

and cry out

to God

for help

those who claim

to be high

and noble

and powerful

and spurn

God

as their

Lord

will not

be saved

but only

those who

humble themselves

before God

and serve

him as

their Lord

and by

choosing to

save us

through Jesus

in this way

Jesus who

ascended to

his throne

and established

his kingdom

by redeeming

people for

himself

by dying

on the cross

God destroys

all human

pride and

pretension

we cannot

save ourselves

that's why

Paul says

in 2nd

Corinthians

12

9

I will

boast

all the

more

gladly

of my

weaknesses

so that

the power

of Christ

may rest

upon me

some of you

are in a

season of

being humbled

by God

if God's

humbling you

right now

if you feel

like you're

being laid

low

by God

maybe it's

failing in

school

maybe it's

being disrespected

by your

peers

maybe it's

being unemployed

maybe it's

the weight

of sin

that makes

you feel

undeserving

of God's

salvation

if God's

making you

feel weak

right now

don't let

that drive

you to

despair

let that

drive you

to Christ

and boast

in your

weakness

because there

you will

find the

power of

Christ

rest on

God

brings down

the mighty

from their

thrones

and exalts

those of

humble estate

a Puritan

prayer puts

it beautifully

this way

as water

rests not

on barren

hill summits

but flows

down to

fertilize

lowest

veils

make me

the lowest

of the

Lord

my spiritual

riches may

exceedingly

abound

gives grace

to the

whole

and Mary

concludes her

hymn

by recalling

the promises

that God

had made

to her

forefathers

in verses

54 to

55

he has

helped

his

servant

Israel

in

remembrance

of his

mercy

as he

spoke

to our

fathers

to Abraham

and to

his

offspring

forever

God

remembered

his

mercy

toward

his

people

he

remembered

the

commitment

that he

had made

toward

his

people

it's a

sad thing

to be

forgotten

isn't it

whether it's

your

best friend

that forgets

your birthday

or your

spouse

that forgets

your anniversary

or your

aging

grandparent

forgets

your name

or a

grandparent

that gets

forgotten

and neglected

even when

they pass

no one

knows

Israel

has for

many years

now felt

forgotten

and forsaken

by God

and yet

God

has proven

decisively

through Jesus

that he

remembers

them

he has

remembered

them

and has

intervened

on their

behalf

in mercy

and as

Jesus

served

to remind

Mary

of God's

remembering

his mercy

let Jesus

and his

gracious

saving acts

remind you

also of the

fact that

God has

and continues

to remember

you

Satan

our enemy

will accuse

you

and lie

to you

saying that

you are

forgotten

by God

that's why

these things

are happening

to you

you're

forsaken

he doesn't

care

but let

Christ

stand guard

over your

mind

and guard

over your

heart

and dispel

those lies

because God

remembers his

mercy

toward you

and Jesus

and his life

and his death

and his

resurrection

is the proof

of that

once and

for all

those who

humbly

trust in

the Lord

will rejoice

in the end

for his

mercy

that's

Mary's

faith

and rejoicing

and then she

returns home

after spending

three months

with Elizabeth

shortly before

John's birth

and in verses

57 to 80

the focus

shifts back

to John's

parents

and we see

Zechariah's

faith

and rejoicing

verses 57

to 58

am I not

coming out

of the mic

anymore

verses 57

to 58

tell us

of John's

birth

it says

now the

time came

for Elizabeth

to give

birth

and she

bore a

son

and her

neighbors

and relatives

heard that

the Lord

had shown

great mercy

to her

and they

rejoiced

with her

so this

is further

fulfillment

of the

angel's

announcement

in chapter

1

verses 13

to 17

the angel's

word that

John would

be filled

with the

Holy Spirit

even from

his mother's

womb

was fulfilled

when he

left with

joy at

the greeting

of Mary

and now

the angel's

word that

Elizabeth

would bear

a son

is fulfilled

in exactly

those words

and the

promise that

you will

have joy

and gladness

and many

will rejoice

at his birth

from verse 14

is also

fulfilled

because now

people are

rejoicing along

with Elizabeth

and Zechariah

and so

Elizabeth does

bear a son

many rejoice

with her

and joy

is really

a running

theme

throughout

this passage

that recount

the birth

of John

and Jesus

and now

that John's

been born

the announcement

that the angel's

been fulfilled

it's not time

for Zechariah

and Elizabeth

to obey God

because the angel

had also

commanded them

in verse 13

you shall

call his name

John

now verses

59 to 66

tell us about

John's naming

remember

in verse 6

that Zechariah

and Elizabeth

were both

righteous

and blameless

in obeying

God's commandments

and so they

followed God's

commandments

to circumcise

the baby

on the eighth

day

as it says

in verse 59

and then

their relatives

who were there

for the birth

and the circumcision

want to name

the child

Zechariah

after his father

which was

customary to do

in this culture

but Elizabeth

likely having

conferred with

Zechariah already

answers them

in verse 60

no

he shall

he shall

be called

John

but they

protest

these are

stubborn

relatives

none of your

relatives

is called

by this

name

what are you

thinking

it was

customary

among the

Jews

to name

children

after their

relatives

so they

take it

up with

Zechariah

perhaps

thinking

to themselves

that

Elizabeth

is going

rogue

and hadn't

consulted

her husband

and perhaps

thinking

to themselves

well surely

Zechariah

would want

us to name

his only

son

after him

so they

it says

that they

made signs

to his

father

inquiring

what he

wanted him

to be

called

so based

on this

verse

I suggested

to you

last week

that Zechariah

must have

been struck

a death

not merely

mute

because they're

making signs

to him

instead of

asking him

the question

that's what

a majority

of the Bible

scholars think

but as I was

studying this

passage I

think I was

wrong so I

want to

retract that

from last

week

I think

what's

happening

is

because the

word to

make sign

can also

mean to

motion

or to

nod

or to

gesture

towards

someone

using

your

body

and so

because

this

passage

only speaks

of him

losing

his speech

it doesn't

specifically

mention him

losing his

hearing also

I think it's

more likely

that he's

just unable

to speak

so he's

hearing all

this conversation

and Elizabeth

is talking

they're asking

Elizabeth

hey what

should we

name him

Elizabeth

says his

name shall

be John

so Zechariah

is hearing

all this

but they

want his

confirmation

so they

gesture to

him

hey so

what do you

think

so he's

I think that's

what is going

on and so

because he can't

speak they bring

him a writing

tablet so he

can write his

response and

he says his

name is

John

right he

doesn't say

his name

shall be

John he

says his

name is

John

different from

the way

Elizabeth

phrased it

that's his

name because

God says

so

that's the

name that

God commanded

me to give

him that's

the name that

the angel

announced so

it's not a

matter what I

shall name

him his

name is

John whether

I like it

or not I

don't have

any choice in

this matter so

this shows

John's submission

and obedience

to God in

that period of

being struck

with muteness

Zechariah has

learned to

trust God

and the

agreement of

Zechariah and

Elizabeth on

this unusual

name fills the

crowd with

wonder he

says and

then immediately

Zechariah's

mouth was

opened and

his tongue

loosed and

he spoke

blessing God

now that the

word God's

word has been

fulfilled a

sign of muteness

that God had

given to

Zechariah is

also fulfilled

and comes to

an end so

that Zechariah

is able to

speak and

then verse

65 tells us

that as a

result of that

fear came on

all their

neighbors so

we're told of

three different

reactions of

the relatives and

neighbors in this

passage right

verse 58 told us

that they rejoiced

that a son was

born to an old

formerly barren

couple verse

63 they

wondered at

John's

untraditional

name and the

fact that

Zechariah and

Elizabeth agreed

on that and

then in verse

65 they are

filled with

reverential fear

that after

seeing Zechariah

speak again

miracle of

restored speech

so these

three things

all point to

the fact that

John is not

an ordinary

child this

new baby

becomes the

talk of the

town and

the entire

region and

the people

leave Elizabeth

and Zechariah's

home saying to

themselves what

then will this

child be for

the hand of the

Lord was with

him and just

as the

fulfillment of

God's promise

to Mary in

verses 39 to

45 was

accompanied in

Mary's by

Mary's hymn of

praise now the

fulfillment of God's

promise to

Zechariah here

is also

accompanied by

Zechariah's

hymn this is

probably what he

spontaneously burst

out with when

his speech was

restored and he

says he blessed

God because that's

the first thing he

says and this

came in the

inspiration of the

Holy Spirit verse

67 tells that

Zechariah was

filled with the

Holy Spirit and

prophesied it's a

prophetic hymn

inspired by the

Spirit and the

hymn has two

sections in verses

68 to 75 Zechariah

speaks of what God

has done and

then in the rest

of it 76 to 79

he speaks of what

his son John will

do so what God

has done is

described in verses

68 to 69

blessed be the

Lord God of

Israel for he

has visited and

redeemed his

people and has

raised up a horn

of salvation for

us in the house of

his servant David

what God does for

his people here is

described in terms

of three words

visitation redemption

and salvation

first God has

visited his people

the word visit is

an important word

for Luke he uses

it repeatedly

throughout the

gospel and also

in the book of

Acts which he also

wrote and it

always conveys

God's gracious

intervention on

behalf of his

people and in this

passage is repeated

again in verse 78

later to refer to

the coming of the

Messiah so the way

God visits his

people is through

Jesus the promised

messianic king from

the line of David

the visitation of

God happens through

the incarnation of

Jesus Christ Jesus

becoming a human

taking on human

flesh and living

among us that's why

Jesus is called

Emmanuel which means

God with us in

Christ who came we

have God with us in

the spirit of God

who indwells us we

have God with us we

have been visited by

the God of salvation

God of all creation

and the second God

has redeemed his

people redemption

conveys the idea of

purchasing the rights

of a slave commenting

on the Exodus Moses

says in Deuteronomy 15

15 you shall remember

that you were a slave

in the land of Egypt

and the Lord your God

redeemed you so then

the redemption of

Israel from Egypt meant

that they were no longer

slaves to Pharaoh but

slaves to the Lord

they had been freed and

no longer enslaved to a

fellow man but to their

creator as they were

intended to be that's the

meaning of redemption

God's people would no

longer be enslaved to

their enemies or

oppressors but they will

be slaves of the

gracious Lord God

servants of God that's

why the purpose of God's

redemption is given this

way in verses 74 to 75

read with me that we

being delivered from

the hand of our enemies

might serve him without

fear in holiness and

righteousness before him

all our days that's what

Jesus did for us first

Peter 1 18 to 19 says

that Christians have been

ransomed with the precious

blood of Christ the blood of

Christ his death his life

given for us is the

ransom the redemption

price that God paid for

us we were all once

slaves of sin as Romans 6

says but because Jesus

paid the penalty of our

sin and redeemed us from

by dying on the cross in

our place we are not free

to serve God and that's

why 1st Corinthians 7 23

says you were bought with

the price do not become

bond servants of men we

have been delivered from

the hand of our enemies

that we might serve God

without fear in holiness

and righteousness before

him all our days so are

you serving God with your

life and if not God whom

are you serving where does

your ultimate allegiance lie

are you serving yourself

are you a workaholic

enslaved to your boss

are you serving your city is that

where your primary ultimate

allegiance is because to serve

God is what Christ redeemed you

for paid for with his own

blood so if you're a Christian

that's where your ultimate

allegiance lies you are not

your own you were bought with

a price so glorify God and then

third so that second is

redemption third idea is salvation

verse 69 says that God has raised

up a horn of salvation for us in

the house of his servant David the

horn of salvation comes from the

image of a horned ox that gores its

enemies into submission right this

expression is used in second

Samuel 22 3 and Psalm 18 2 to

refer to God himself so this too is

to imply the divinity of the son of

God the Jesus and by dying on the

cross for us and then being raised

from the dead Jesus defeats sin and

death and subdues all the spiritual

forces of evil so that they no longer

have any claim on those who have been

united to Christ by faith and not only are

spiritual enemies but also the

physical enemies of God's people as

well will be subdued by the Lord

open doors is is a is a Christian

foundation that serves Christians in

persecuted areas throughout the world

and they published a report at the

beginning of this year summarizing last

year's finding and research and it

states that one in 12 Christians that's

about 215 million total live in an

area where they face high level of

persecution for their faith in 2017 3066

Christians were killed 1252 were

abducted nearly 800 church buildings

were defaced and 1020 Christians were

raped or sexually harassed for their

faith just a few days ago a hundred

underground Christians in China were

arrested and it's estimated that about

hundred thousand Christians have

already been arrested so far this year

in China

all because they pledged their ultimate

allegiance not to any earthly ruler but

to Christ their king

all those who have hated and oppressed God's

people will be defeated by the horn of

salvation at Jesus second coming those

who humbly trust in the Lord will

return in the end for his mercy and then

in verses 76 to 79 Zechariah turns his

attention to what his son John will do he

says and you child will be called the

prophet of the most high for you will

go before the Lord to prepare his ways to

give knowledge of salvation to his people

in the forgiveness of their sins so

John's subordinate supportive role to

Jesus is clearly laid out here because in

verse 32 Jesus was described as the son of

the most high but John is the prophet of

the most high Jesus was called Lord in

verse 42 and John is the one who prepares

the way for the Lord and Jesus is the horn

of salvation as I said in 69 John is the

one who gives knowledge of salvation he

will point to Jesus that they might

receive forgiveness of their sins and

then in verses 70 to 79 Zechariah

recounts once more why God's salvation

has come because of the tender mercy of

our God whereby the sunrise shall visit us

from on high to give light to those who

sit in darkness and in the shadow of

death to guide our feet into the way of

peace the sunrise that will visit us is

another reference to Jesus who says in

John 8 verse 12 I am the light of the

John 8:12

world whoever follows me will not walk in

darkness but will have the light of life

without light we would be groping around in

the darkness unable to find our way but

Jesus has come to give light to those who

sit in darkness and in the shadow of death to

guide our feet into the way of peace Jesus is

the light that illuminates our darkened

minds he's the light that dispels the

darkness hidden in our hearts and the

reason why the light of the world comes to

us is summarized in this one word here in

verse 78 God's mercy God's tender

compassionate mercy this is now the fifth

time that the word mercy has been used in

this passage alone it's the key word of

this passage in the Greek translation of

the Hebrew Old Testament the word mercy

most often translates the Hebrew word that

means steadfast love God's loving kindness

love for people who do not know the

not deserve it the overflow of God's

God's kindness that finds its basis not in

the worthiness of the recipients but in the

bondfulness the generosity of the

Giver so let me ask me ask you a question

on judgment day of God's heavenly court what

what would you say to him plead not guilty

most non-Christians in Cambridge will say well I'm a pretty good person

I live a moral life unlike so many people in the world

that's foolishness because God's standard is perfect and every one of us has fallen short of his perfect standard and the prosecutor

Satan the accuser has a perfect record against anyone who tries to stand on his or her own righteousness and pleads not guilty

our only hope is mercy of God

if you are not yet a follower of Jesus Christ stop pleading not guilty

instead plead for his mercy and if you are already a follower of Jesus Christ don't let your sins drive you to despair instead let your sins drive you to Christ our Savior and when we plead his mercy and fling ourselves into the arms of Jesus Christ who is our intercessor he's our advocate he's our defender and God will then count Christ's righteousness as our own

so that instead of wrath

instead of wrath

instead of the darkness

instead of being cut off from the presence of God forever

instead of being deprived of every good gift that comes only from him

instead of that which is what we deserve instead of wrath

we receive his mercy

that's the good news of Jesus Christ

that's the good news of Jesus Christ

God

we

do humbly trust in the Lord

will