Luke 1:57-80 - Breaking the Silence

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Amen. Thank you all.

Beautiful song with some of the words of our passage this morning.

If you'll turn with me to Luke chapter 19, verse 13.

Luke 19:13

It's Luke 19, 13.

Thank you. Somebody got that.

Just kidding.

We're not that far into Luke yet.

Some of you are football fans, so I thought I'd just make sure you were awake.

We're actually in Luke chapter 1 still.

Luke 1 · chapter mention

That would be a better place to turn and leave the football behind for now.

The rest of you who are quoting scores to me.

We are jumping back into Luke this morning.

Last time we were here, we looked at Mary's song of praise.

The Magnificat.

We saw her overflowing joy in what God is doing here.

And the excitement just continues to build this week.

As we show up for a circumcision and the Father starts to sing and prophesy.

Next Sunday, all the excitement and anticipation culminates in the birth of Jesus.

The classic Christmas story of Luke 2 that you know and love.

So next Sunday, we're going to be celebrating Christmas in September.

That's going to be during our worship service next week.

We've decided to forego the trees.

There will not be trees decorating.

But you can come dressed festively and red and green if you would like.

We will definitely have a time with our children complete with Christmas gifts.

And we'll be singing Joy to the World and various other songs that you will love.

You don't want to miss next Sunday.

It's going to be a great chance to celebrate Christmas right in the middle of the fall.

It'll be a lot of fun.

But as we build towards that peak of joy here early in Luke's Gospel,

listen to Zechariah's joy in his song here.

We'll read beginning at verse 57.

This is God's Word.

Luke 1, verse 57.

Luke 1:57

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 and 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 and 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.

And the child grew and became strong in spirit,

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

Will you pray with me?

Holy Spirit, we ask that you would come this morning as you came and filled Zechariah.

Would you come and fill my heart and our hearts

that we might see and hear and understand your word?

We come not to hear a man,

but to hear our God,

the one who is all sufficient for us,

who has given us his word.

And so we pray,

speak,

Lord.

Your servants are listening.

Might we hear your word?

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

Amen.

For decades and decades,

you could yell and scream

and make all sorts of noises in Washington, D.C.

And nobody in Baltimore, Maryland,

would hear anything at all.

But that all changed

on May 24th, 1844,

when Samuel Morse

sat in the U.S. Capitol building,

tapped softly on his new machine,

and sent a message received by his assistant sitting in Baltimore.

Immediately, it got to him.

The silence had been broken

and a new era of communication begun with the telegraph machine.

The content of the message that Morse sent was equally promising.

What hath God wrought?

Morse wrote.

He understood some of the significance of what was happening.

It was only 32 years later,

March 10, 1876,

Alexander Graham Bell made the first phone call

from one room of his Boston lab to another.

In this iconic image,

he's making that call to his assistant

and saying a little less profoundly,

Mr. Watson, come here.

I want to see you.

Previously to the telephone,

his assistant would have been sitting in that other room

in complete silence,

hearing nothing at all

when Graham Bell called to him.

But the telephone broke that silence

and changed everything, right?

Now you can't imagine living without a telephone

or several carried around by people you know and love.

A long, long wait for that silence to be broken.

Many centuries of human history

when that was not possible.

There's a long silence broken in the passage that we just read,

but it's not a neutral silence

like those with Morse and Graham Bell.

And it's not a peaceful silence

like the silence after the kids are asleep

and you sit down.

Oh, relief.

It's not that kind of silence.

But rather an aching silence.

Desperate to hear something.

To get help.

And yet remaining in dark silence.

Never hearing anything.

Day after day.

Silence.

It's more like the situation faced by 33 Chilean miners

just six years ago

when their mine collapsed

and they were trapped 2,300 feet,

almost half a mile underground.

trapped in darkness and silence

that for 17 days was filled

by only increasing discouragement and despair.

And then one day a drill bit

breaks into that silence

and you've heard the story,

you've watched the news,

the drill bit comes in,

they're able to send a message back up.

69 total days trapped

before international efforts

were able to bring all 33 of them back

safely above ground

to the light of day

for the first time in 10 weeks.

Can you imagine?

Stuck down there together.

You may remember the sign

that said it all when they came out.

Mission accomplished Chile.

It said.

What a difference, right?

When light finally breaks into darkness.

When sound finally breaks into silence.

Changes everything, doesn't it?

There's an obvious silence

in this passage with Zechariah.

Zechariah has been silent for nine months

because of his unbelief

at the angel's promise of a son.

And it's highlighted by the awkwardness

and the tension surrounding

the naming of the child

in the first part of the passage.

Zechariah has been awaiting in silence

the fulfillment of God's promise.

And when he obediently writes

that the child's name is John,

God opens his mouth

and he begins to praise and prophesy.

Immediately his mouth was open,

his tongue loosed,

he spoke blessing God.

A beautiful picture of those

who believe God's word

getting to declare his glory

to others, right?

Many people witness

this amazing scene unfold.

Word begins to spread all around

that something unique is happening

in the hills of Judea.

Zechariah has been awaiting in silence

the fulfillment of God's promise.

And that highlights in this passage

the deeper silence

being broken here.

God's people have been awaiting

in silence the fulfillment

of God's promises,

haven't they?

Israel is used to hearing from God

with great regularity, aren't they?

One prophet after another

just flip through the Old Testament.

Book after book

is prophet after prophet

to God's people.

Speaking God's message to them.

Offering the hope

that God's promises

will be fulfilled.

He's coming to rescue

his people.

But for 400 years now

there's been silence.

No recorded prophecy.

Longer than the United States

has been a nation.

Generation after generation.

Ache and longing.

Walking in darkness,

the prophet Isaiah says.

Cries of desperation,

but still silence.

No new message from God.

And this is the message

that bursts out of Zechariah

when his lips are loosed.

The message that

that silence is being broken.

His words in this glorious song

often called the Benedictus

reveal that God is finally

and definitively

breaking into the silence

and fulfilling

all his promises.

An amazing,

life-changing,

world-altering message

beyond what hath God wrought.

The content of what

Zechariah is saying.

He's so overcome with joy

he can't contain his praise.

It's overflowing.

Verse 68,

Blessed be the Lord,

God of Israel,

for he's visited

and redeemed his people.

Try to put yourself

in his shoes

for just a moment

this morning.

Just one Israelite priest

who's experienced

the silence of waiting

on God to fulfill

his promises.

Not just for nine months.

For his whole life.

Imagine yourself

as a priest like Zechariah.

Day after day.

Your whole life

laboring before God.

You've read the promises

going back over

2,000 years

to your ancestors.

You know the great stories

of deliverance

from Egypt

and others

but you're not seeing it.

Or hearing it.

You're back in the promised land,

yes,

but under Roman rule.

You're performing sacrifices

hour by hour,

day after day,

trying to have faith

and wondering

if you'll ever hear

from God.

If there will ever be

the promised fulfillment

of all the blood

you've shed.

The restoration

of your people

you've been hoping for

and thought would come.

You've got the really old

scrolls.

You read them

but

God seems to have

gone silent

as far as you can tell.

And then God speaks.

And at first of course

you hardly know

what to think,

what to do with it.

But as His Spirit

unfolds before you

over months

of your own silence,

the meaning of the angel's

amazing promise.

You begin to see

that there's a grander story

unfolding than just you

and your wife

having a son.

It's the hope of Israel

coming to fruition.

This is the culmination.

This is going to be

mission accomplished.

God has broken

the silence.

He is rescuing us

and He's fulfilling

all His promises.

That's what's happening.

This is it.

The big moment

we've all been waiting for

in silence.

Let's think back

for a few minutes

as Zechariah does

into the story

of God's people

in the Old Testament.

The good news

is that God is

finally and

definitively

breaking into

the silence

and fulfilling

His promises.

But what promises?

What's happening?

What's about to be

fulfilled through

Zechariah's son

and the one

for whom He

prepares the way?

You hear as you

read through

His song

explicit Old Testament

references.

You'll recognize

the names, right?

But really every verse

is full of these references.

Almost every word

is pointing back

to something.

I'm going to walk

through just a few

chronologically.

But here's the point

of all of it up front.

All of these Old Testament

threads.

All these things

that seem separate

and from a long time ago.

All of the promises

and the workings

of God with His people

are coming together

now.

He's saying.

This is where

it's all happening.

This is what it's all

been pointing to.

Let's go back to

Abraham.

Verse 72.

To show the mercy

promised to our fathers

to remember His holy

covenant, the oath

He swore to our

father Abraham.

Go back there

for a minute.

God establishes

His covenant

of grace with Abraham.

His relationship

with His people.

He does it with

Abraham all the way

back to Genesis 12.

The Lord says

to Abraham,

go from your country

and your kindred

and your father's house

to the land

I will show you

and I will make

of you a great nation

and I will bless you

and make your name

great so that you

will be a blessing.

I will bless those

who bless you

and him who dishonors

you I will curse

and in you

all the families

of the earth

shall be blessed.

God ratifies

this covenant

with Abraham

in Genesis 15

as he passes

through the animals

while Abraham

sleeps.

and then in

Genesis 17

he comes to him

again and says

I'm going to establish

my covenant

between me and you

and your offspring

after you

throughout their generations

for an everlasting covenant

to be God to you

and to your offspring

after you.

What has God

promised Abraham

in this great

gracious covenant

that he's entered

into with him?

perhaps most obviously

a land

right?

A place to call home

which indicates rest

and provision

for his people.

Secondly

a people

a great nation

as numerous

as the stars

in the sky

and the sand

on the shore

right?

Finally

let's call it

relationship.

God promises

to be their

God

generation

after generation

to have this

gracious

and unique

relationship

with his

special people

and the outcome

of all of this

of course

the result

of God's

unique relationship

with Abraham

and his descendants

is that all

the nations

of the earth

will be blessed.

That's God's promise

it's going to be

for everyone

everywhere

it's big stuff

right?

Well as those

promises develop

through the Old Testament

there are ups and downs

with how they seem

to be turning out.

Abraham's descendants

the nation of Israel

gets taken into

captivity in Egypt

not the promised land

Abraham has been

shown

but while they're

struggling there

for generations

in slavery

interestingly

we see that it's

there

that Israel

begins to grow

into a

great nation

right?

so numerous

that the Egyptians

are afraid

of them

just note

in that

that God often

works to fulfill

his promises

in the midst

of pain

and darkness

where he may

otherwise seem

distant

and silent

he's working

and he's fulfilling

his promises

the exodus

deliverance

of God's

people out of

Egypt

is yet another

thread referenced

by Zechariah

multiple times

verse 68

blessed be the

Lord the God

of Israel

he's visited

and redeemed

his people

a reference

to the exodus

what is he doing?

he's delivered us

that we should be

saved from our

enemies

and from the

hand of all

who hate us

verse 74

that we being

delivered from

the hand of our

enemies

might serve him

without fear

in holiness

and righteousness

before him

all our days

do you hear

the echoes

of let

my people

go

that they

may

worship

me

that's the

deliverance

Zechariah

is talking

about

God's

famed

action

on his

people's

behalf

bringing

them away

from their

enemies

in Egypt

but there have

been other

enemies

for God's

people

since Egypt

haven't there

Zechariah

says

God is

showing up

again

to redeem

that's what's

happening

it's like

Egypt

all over

again

he's delivering

his

people

well they

leave Egypt

and God's

people arrive

in the

promised land

after a

long trip

but they

struggle to

thrive there

without a

leader

time and

again

they wander

after other

gods

and they

suffer defeat

at the hands

of other

nations

in Yahweh

himself

fighting

against

them

at that

time

judges

says

repeatedly

in that

book

there's a

refrain

over and

over

at that

time

there was

no king

in Israel

everyone

did what

was right

in his

own eyes

over and

over again

God's people

wandering

away from

him with

no one to

lead them

back to

him

well eventually

God gives

them a king

and another

promise

verse 69

references

one of

these kings

he's 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

David

a king

to lead

God's

people

after their

God

right

who follows

after his

heart

and a promise

given to

David

that his

descendants

would reign

over Israel

forever

remember

2 Samuel 7

what does

God say

to David

I will

raise up

your offspring

after you

who shall

come from

your body

I'll establish

his kingdom

he shall

build a house

for my name

and I will

establish the

throne of

his kingdom

forever

and your

house and

your kingdom

shall be

made sure

forever

before me

your throne

shall be

established

forever

another

promise

to God's

people

through

King

David

a king

offered the

promise of

protection

power and

influence as a

great nation

and through the

prophets who

keep talking

of David's

line over

and over

it's the

hope of

Israel

and a

king in

the line

of David

who will

reign

forever

but when

Zachariah is

here that's

that's yet

another

promise

that seems

to have

faded

the line

has been

lost in

the shuffle

over the

years

hasn't it

as the

people have

wandered

from God

time and

again

not just

the people

but even

the Davidic

monarch

has been

taken into

captivity

away from

the promised

land

he doesn't

seem to be

ruling at

all

maybe we're

not such a

great nation

after all

and where is

the God

of gods

who promised

a special

relationship

with us

we don't

feel so

special

in Babylon

under the

thumb

of a cruel

king

for those

Israelites

who've

listened to

the prophets

over the

years

the promise

is that

God will

indeed work

despite the

failures

of his

people

despite their

wandering

God will

be faithful

to his

promises

he will

bring a

remnant

back from

exile

the prophets

say

to rebuild

the nation

in the

promised

land

with a

unique

relationship

with

Yahweh

and featuring

a Davidic

king

reigning

eternally

over God's

people

and all

of it

happening

for the

sake of

the good

and the

blessing

of all

the nations

the Messiah

is coming

the Messiah

is coming

the Messiah

is coming

the prophets

keep holding

out that

hope

this is how

all the

promises

will

finally

and

definitively

be fulfilled

for generations

now

that's

that's what

prophets

have been

saying

there's one

to come

the promised

king

will come

he will

redeem

he will

rule

justly

he will

deliver

God's

people

and there

will be

one to

prepare the

way for

him

the prophets

say

they've been

saying this

for generations

then 400

years of

silence

and now

at long

last

Zachariah

says

that one

to prepare

the way

that's my

boy

that's my

son

verse 76

you

child

will be

called

the prophet

of the

most high

for you

will go

before the

Lord

to prepare

his ways

pretty

weighty

words

for an

eight day

old

child

listen to

what

Zachariah

is

prophesying

God

is breaking

into the

silence

he has

remembered

he has

acted

he is

keeping

his promises

to Abraham

and redeeming

his people

like he did

in Exodus

sending the

king in

David's line

it's happening

right now

and why

how

because

of the

unassailable

character

of Yahweh

he remembers

his covenant

verse 72

and remembering

for God

is not merely

an intellectual

activity

is it

he takes

action

remembering

means he

acts

on their

behalf

all of

this

because of

his tender

mercy

verse 78

his faithful

covenant

keeping

love

don't you love

that phrase

his tender

mercy

he is a God

who brings

salvation

forgiveness

of sins

why

because he is

full

of tender

mercy

because he

sees the

broken

and the

hurting

and those in

darkness

and he

gently

and

compassionately

stoops

to rescue

a weak

and needy

people

verse 78

continues

the Messiah

will dawn

that's what it

means

will come

to us

as light

into our

darkness

as a voice

of hope

into the

silence

of our

despair

the fulfillment

of all

the promises

of this

merciful

faithful

God

who's

entered

into covenant

with us

and is now

keeping

all his

promises

do you see

why the

excitement

and joy

are building

here just

in the first

chapter of

Luke

the king

is coming

now

to those

of us

waiting

in silence

walking

in darkness

a light

has dawned

all the

threads are

coming together

here

and now

our God

is confirming

his special

relationship

he will give

us the rest

and provision

and protection

and blessing

will flow

once more

to many

wonderful news

that Zechariah

proclaims

so what about

us

have you ever

been in a place

where God

seemed silent

where you were

longing

waiting

to hear

him speak

where you

were waiting

and waiting

for him

to show up

and fulfill

his promises

Francis Schaeffer

famously wrote

of God

he is there

and he is

not silent

that's true

in a great book

but sometimes

it feels

like he is

silent

doesn't it

you can

feel the

darkness

and silence

in your own

heart

and life

and you don't

hear the voice

of God

or see

his light

I remember

feeling

that way

myself

after we

miscarried

our first

pregnancy

the grief

of the

loss

the

disappointment

of

joyous

expectations

dashed

the

darkness

and the

pain

that we

felt

acutely

then

I remember

longing

for God

to speak

for

him to

speak

something

that would

give me

hope

something

I could

hold on

to

for him

to speak

something

that would

allow me

to give

comfort

to my

heartbroken

wife

that

that wasn't

trite

that didn't

belittle

our pain

but

but that

helped

we cried

a lot

we slept

a lot

and we

cried

some more

maybe you

can recall

a time

like that

in your

own

life

maybe

God

seems

silent

because

your

adult

child

has

wandered

away

after

years

of

prayer

and

instruction

from

you

and

you're

longing

for God

to remember

his promises

and act

on your

behalf

maybe it's

the dark

silence

of

depression

that you

can't

even

explain

but it

feels like

you live

in a

soundproof

box

that no

light can

penetrate

and no

hope can

ever come

in

you're just

stuck

there

maybe you're

indulging in

sin right

now

and something

you know

is running

away from

God

but there

seems to be

no hope

of turning

around

you feel

you've left

him so

far behind

and he

doesn't seem

to be

calling

you back

anyway

you don't

hear that

maybe life

has become

so busy

that you

haven't heard

from God

in a long

while

the constant

noise

around you

makes you

feel you

you've had

silence

from him

since

shortly

after you

met him

years ago

maybe all

the way

back in

college

and then

life

happened

and you

never hear

from him

anymore

maybe for

you it's

that you've

never heard

God speak

at all

as far

as you're

concerned

he's never

broken

his silence

you've been

in and around

church for

for years

maybe you've

sat in these

pews many

times and

you've you've

prayed prayers

in the middle

of a worship

service and

they've they've

sounded like

God if

you're even

there I

want to

believe you're

there but I

I just

don't know

what would

it even

sound like

if God

spoke

into your

life

perhaps he

is speaking

to your

heart

right now

maybe you're

hearing his

voice telling

you that

in Jesus

he has

spoken

into this

world and

into your

life

life

the writer

to the

Hebrews

starts his

letter this

way listen

to these

words

Hebrews

Hebrews 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

at verse

1

long ago

at many

times and

in many

ways

God spoke

to our

fathers

by the

prophets

but in

these last

days he

has spoken

to us

by his

son

his son

whom he

appointed

the heir

of all

things

through whom

also he

created the

world

the son

is the

radiance

of the

glory

of God

and the

exact

imprint

of his

nature

and he

upholds

the universe

by the

word of

his power

after making

purification

for sins

he sat

down at

the right

hand of

the majesty

on high

having

become as

much

superior

to angels

as the

name he

has

inherited

is more

excellent

than theirs

he has

spoken to

us

by

his

son

and the

rest of

the passage

says there

is no

other

no better

no greater

message

that he

could send

for us

to hear

even if he

sent an

angel to

us

this morning

the message

would not

be better

than the

one he

has sent

the light

into our

darkness

the voice

of hope

into our

silence

is Jesus

himself

who entered

our world

who endured

our pain

and came

to speak

life

and hope

and joy

to us

he's the

radiance

of the glory

of God

the exact

imprint

of his

nature

he made

purification

for all

of our

sins

mission

accomplished

that's what

God's speaking

to us

in him

I've done

it

it's

finished

I often

sit around

hoping to

hear a new

message

from God

you may

do the

same

thing

hoping that

he'll

speak

something

that will

change

me

looking

for a

new

message

a new

direction

but

but he

often

speaks

that

very

old

message

in a

fresh

way

when we

are grieving

that

miscarriage

over time

he spoke

to us

through

friends

who came

and spoke

words of

comfort

from the

pain

that they

had

experienced

that was

similar

to ours

they loved

us

cried

with us

and offered

us

that

hope

I wanted

to hear

God

speak

why

to tell

me

why

it

happened

I wanted

a promise

from God

of when

things were

going to

change

when we

would have

another

child

how things

were going

to happen

that's

what I

wanted

him

to speak

but he

didn't

then

he

reminded

me

from

his

word

in the

mouths

of

his

people

that

he

loved

me

that

in

Jesus

he

did

exactly

what

Ron

celebrated

with us

earlier

in the

service

that

he

entered

our

pain

and

bore

our

sorrows

that

he

had

done

that

and

the

pain

didn't

just

all

of a

sudden

go

away

in

that

moment

but

I

heard

that

old

message

break

into

my

silence

in a

fresh

way

because

all

God's

promises

all

of them

are

yes

in

Jesus

2nd

Corinthians

1

remember

he's

not just

one

message

that

God's

sending

out

there

he is

God's

definitive

message

and

God

still

speaks

perhaps

that

same

message

in a

fresh

way

to

you

God

still

speaks

maybe

this

morning

in

Zachariah's

song

God

is

speaking

to

you

maybe

for the

first

time

this

morning

you

can

hear

him

saying

that

he

loves

you

so

much

that

he

sent

his

son

to

die

for

you

the

word

made

flesh

speaking

to

you

and

now

his

written

word

speaking

clearly

to

you

this

morning

don't

ignore

his

voice

don't

miss

his

call

to

you

there's

no

greater

message

he

could

give

you

than

Jesus

himself

he

has

sent

his

son

for

you

his

promise

is

that

in

doing

that

he's

announcing

blessing

to

many

who

don't

deserve

it

who

could

never

earn

it

to

all

kinds

of

people

that

he

will

welcome

into

his

family

because

of

his

beloved

son

maybe

you've

heard

God

before

but

you're

so

stuck

in

your

sin

that

you

need

to

hear

again

in

Jesus

that

there

is

forgiveness

of

sins

and

a

relationship

with

a

God

who

promises

to

fix

the

mess

you're

dealing

with

himself

so

that

he

can

be

your

God

and

the

God

of

your

children