Theme: Zechariah’s Song - Prepare Your Heart
Luke 1:68-79
"Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, 69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David, 70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began, 71 That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us, 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant, 73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: 74 To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. 76 "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, 77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; 79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace."
When was the last time you had a heart-stopping moment? I’m thinking of a time when you were shocked or surprised in such a way that time seemed to stand still. I guess “heart-stopping” really isn’t the best description because usually during such times our hearts race faster. A few weeks ago as I was helping re-shingle the parsonage in Tacoma, I had one such moment. While I was carrying a bundle of shingles, my feet started to give out on the steep roof and my momentum began to carry me toward the edge, with gravity obviously pulling me in that direction. Thankfully, I was able to steady myself and regain my footing, but I just as easily could have completely lost my footing. Even now, my hands sweat a bit thinking about and my heart begins to beat a little faster.
We have those kinds of unexpected moments from time to time. And that’s part of what makes them heart-stopping – we can’t anticipate them. Today, we begin the Advent season, which is all about anticipation. But our first lesson focuses on someone who was completely surprised by the Lord’s grace and mercy – even if he should have known better. Zechariah was a priest and you can tell from his words that he knew the Scriptures well. Yet, he was dumbfounded at the Lord’s declaration that he and his wife, Elizabeth, would give birth to the forerunner of the Savior – John the Baptist.
Zechariah is most well-known for the fallout of this doubt - being muted by the angel Gabriel. Zechariah doubted Gabriel’s message because he and Elizabeth were too old to have a child. Because of this unbelief Zechariah was not able to talk for the entire duration of the pregnancy. It was only after the baby was born, and after Zechariah confirmed that his name would be John, that his tongue was loosed. The first words Zechariah spoke after John’s birth are recorded as our text.
What magnificent words they are! Zechariah confirms for us that despite his inability to speak and his moment of doubting; he held with great confidence to the promise of His Savior. While Zechariah no longer doubted, and certainly was not surprised at what had transpired, he had a heart-stopping moment in reflection of God’s goodness. At the time, Zechariah’s song of praise was quite possibly the greatest confession of the coming Messiah made by someone since the prophecies of the Old Testament. That was a time period of over 400 years!
We might well ask, how did Zechariah come to such a confession? What caused him to “get it” when he so easily doubted 9 months earlier? We shouldn’t be surprised by the answer, for it’s the same way we have come to confess Jesus as our Savior, and Zechariah clearly states it: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people 69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old.” Zechariah knew about Jesus because “God spoke” about Him in the Old Testament. So often when people want to find out something about Jesus, they look immediately to the New Testament. Surely Zechariah, as well as all other Old Testament believers, would have been at a loss if only the New Testament gave a clear record of our Savior. But certainly that isn’t the case for the Old Testament has much to teach about Jesus, even to us New Testament believers.
Essentially, Zechariah used what the Lord had given him, and that was sufficient for all he needed to about the Messiah and even more. Look at all the many aspects of Jesus’ life and work that Zechariah knew from the Old Testament:
• Jesus would visit His people (v.68)
• Jesus would redeem His people (v.68)
• Jesus would bring salvation (v.69)
• Jesus would come from David (v.69)
• Jesus was promised long ago to Zechariah’s fathers (v.72)
• Jesus would establish that long-awaited covenant from God which was first given to Abraham (vv.72-73)
• Jesus would allow His followers to serve Him by faith, not by fear (v.74)
• Jesus would grant holiness and righteousness (v.75)
• Jesus would bring a message of repentance and forgiveness (v.77)
• Jesus would bring light and peace in a world of darkness and strife (v.79)
Zechariah knew all of these truths from what the Old Testament promised about Jesus. And this is only what he chose to share at the birth of his son, surely he knew much more! How many of us, who have the entire Bible, are able to confess such a list of truths? How much of the world around us takes time to consider these aspects of our Savior around the time of Christmas? Talk about putting “Christ” in “Christmas!” Zechariah certainly does that here by specifically outlining the work of the Child who, from his perspective, was not even born yet.
This type of confession, this type of knowledge, can only come just as it came for Zechariah, through the work and blessing of the Holy Spirit. It was precisely because Zechariah worked with the Word of God that he had the gift of the Holy Spirit. There’s no doubt that Zechariah showed the strength of his faith through this song. But how interesting was the way that this faith grew to be so strong. It was first through humility and lowliness that Zechariah understood his place in the Lord’s work. Whereas he was initially quick to doubt God and to try and figure things out on his own, months later he would boldly confess the truth in great detail, and willingly offer his own son for the work of preparing people for Jesus.
It’s unfortunate that Zechariah will forever be remembered for that moment of doubt and weakness, because in reality he showed the rock-solid foundation of his faith through this song of praise. But perhaps this is good because it stands as a reminder for us. Just as the purpose of John the Baptist’s life was one of preparation, so also the few short moments of his father’s life that we find recorded in the Bible remind us of a similar preparation. God prepared His people throughout thousands of years to receive the gift of His Son, the “fullness of the time” which John the Baptist ushered in. So, too, Zechariah’s story and song continues to prepare us today by reminding us how the Lord works in our lives. Sometimes He needs to humble us in order lift us up. Sometimes He needs to close a door so that another one can open. Sometimes He needs to shut our mouths so that we listen to Him. Our job is to stay focused on the truths of our faith, the same things that Zechariah confessed:
• Jesus brings us mercy, salvation, and forgiveness.
• God rescues us from all evil through Jesus.
• We learn about Jesus through God Word.
• The same promise that was given to Abraham and the Old Testament prophets, is given to you and me.
All of these truths are part of what made the “fullness of the time” for Christ’s arrival on this earth. They are also what lead us to confess as Zechariah did, that Jesus Christ born of the virgin Mary is my Lord and Savior. May we both keep the same confidence of faith that Zechariah had and keep ourselves from rebelling against the Lord’s work in our lives, even if it often corrects and humbles us. And may we readily prepare ourselves to see and listen to Jesus, not only during His Advent, but at all times and in all places that His powerful Word comes to us. Amen.
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