12/18/22 Zechariah’s Song
Zechariah’s Song
Luke 1:67-80
Have you ever been so excited about something that you found it hard to sleep the night before?
For instance, when you were a child, maybe you found it difficult to sleep Christmas Eve knowing that you would be opening presents the next morning.
Or, for those of you who have ever entered into the covenant of marriage, perhaps you had a hard time sleeping the night before your wedding day.
For me, it always had to do with vacations – To this day, I find it very difficult to sleep the night before embarking upon a vacation of some kind. I so look forward to the events of the next day that my mind continually thinks about it all night long. I suppose it’s safe to say that my brain leaves for vacation well before my body does!
Is anyone else here like that? I can honestly say that I sometimes have more fun planning a vacation than actually being on the vacation itself! Weird, right?
For some of us, anticipation can be intoxicating!
Today’s passage from the gospel of Luke has to do with anticipation, but it doesn’t deal with Christmas presents, marriages, or vacations – It deals with something far greater. Our text today deals with the anticipation of the arrival of the Savior of all mankind, Jesus Christ – God in the flesh.
Advent is a season of Anticipation. Believers ought to passionately look forward to the celebration of when God took on flesh and came to earth as a baby to eventually deliver mankind from the bondage of sin. The miracle of Jesus’ conception and subsequent birth would change the world forever – definitely something to be excited about! ….
How about you….Are you excited about the Christmas story??
In our text for this morning, we notice that Zechariah definitely was excited.
Let’s take a moment to review who Zechariah is and how he fits into the season of Advent….why are we talking about this guy today on the Sunday before Christmas?
Zachariah was a well-respected priest who, along with his wife Elizabeth, lived in a small village near Jerusalem.
Zechariah was visited by the Angel Gabriel and told that his elderly and barren wife Elizabeth will soon become pregnant with a child that will fill an important role of preparing the way for the long-awaited Messiah.
Rather than taking the Angel at his word, Zechariah responds with skepticism and a lack of faith, resulting in Gabriel “closing Zechariah’s mouth” for 9 months until their baby is born and circumcised.
When Zechariah can finally talk, he bursts forth with a song of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord – much like Mary’s song.
While Mary’s song has traditionally been referred to as the Magnificat, Zechariah’s song is referred to as the Benedictus.
If you remember, last week we looked at Mary’s song – a hymn-like outburst of praise from Mary while she was visiting her relative Elizabeth. Elizabeth was 6 months pregnant with John the Baptist when Mary arrives and she has also been informed by an angel that she has miraculously become pregnant with a child whom she is to give the name Jesus.
There are numerous similarities between the two songs:
Both songs begin with exuberant praise to God for His kindness and mercy shown to mankind.
Both songs address how God has been faithful to the nation of Israel as well as to specific individuals – those individuals are Mary in her own song and John the Baptist in Zechariah’s song.
Finally, both songs are saturated with gratitude. Gratitude regarding what God has done and what He is about to do. Remember that Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, and Zechariah have all been given supernatural insight through the Holy Spirit concerning God’s redemptive plan that is about to unfold.
These individuals certainly may not have yet understood the specifics of God’s redemptive plan, but they knew enough to understand that both of these babies would have a divinely mandated mission that would ultimately effect all people.
Unlike Mary’s song that goes from a personal to national perspective, Zechariah’s song goes from talking about the nation of Israel to then describing the way in which God will guide and utilize his son, John.
Let’s pick up at verse 69 where Zechariah refers to a “Horn of Salvation” when talking about the nation of Israel. What is he talking about here?
In the Old Testament, a “Horn” was a symbol for strength and power. Sometimes, the horn referred to a feeling of strength as in Hannah’s prayer (Or song) in 1 Samuel 2:1 “My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.”
In scripture, a horn can also refer to a strong fortress of protection as in David’s song recorded in 2 Samuel 22:3 “My God is my Rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior – from violent people you save me.”
Finally, a horn can also refer to a powerful person (Such as a King) who has the strength to defeat a formidable enemy. This is the way in which Zechariah is using the term here in verse 69. Zechariah understands that the child in Mary’s womb will be a mighty King who will defeat a feared enemy.
Zechariah’s words paint a picture of the coming Messiah – Jesus Christ. Indeed, Jesus would grow to be a King, and he would defeat a dreaded enemy. The enemy to be conquered, however, would not be the Roman government as so many people had believed it would be. The Messiah had a greater purpose, he would embark upon a more perilous mission than to simply conquer a political regime, he would be commissioned with the task of defeating the most feared enemy man has ever known - death. And he would win.
As was prophesied all the way back in Genesis 3:15 God announces to Satan that Jesus will ultimately “Crush his head.” This verse is referred to as the “Protoevangelium” and contains the very first reference to the plan of salvation in the Bible. Immediately after Adam and Eve sin in verse 6, the redemption of man is announced in verse 15.
The redemption of man goes all the way back to Genesis chapter 3 but the covenant that secured it had not yet been ratified. Fast forward to the time of Zechariah’s song and add 33 years – this is when God would ratify His covenant of redemption for all mankind through the sacrifice of His son on the cross.
Zechariah uses the word Covenant in verse 72, and that is a very important concept in scripture.
Covenants were very popular in ancient times. So what is a Covenant?
Generally speaking, a covenant was a pledge wherein two parties promise to do something (Or to not do something) and it contained a moral component.
You might be thinking, “well, what’s the difference between a covenant and a contract?” They are very similar ideas, but there is a difference.
A contract is a legally binding agreement without a moral component. For instance, say I enter into a 1-year contract to lease an apartment. The contract also includes a $1,000 penalty for breaking the lease early. If I choose to leave early and pay the fee, even though I broke my end of the agreement, all is fair and I am not said to have failed in a moral sense because I followed the rules of the contract.
Covenants, on the other hand, may or may not be legally binding agreements but they always include a moral component. For example, if I agree to meet Mark at the golf course for some golf lessons at 10:00 on Tuesday morning and I simply decide not to show up (I didn’t forget, I simply chose not to go) I wouldn’t be in any legal trouble, but I would be committing a moral failure because I would have broken a promise to Mark. I would have intentionally broken my word – and that is an example of a moral failure.
Sometimes it depends on the individuals entering into the agreement that will determine whether or not it is a contract or a covenant. For example, marriage is considered a covenant to Christians because if one of the parties breaks the agreement, it has moral ramifications that arise because of their religious beliefs. Non-religious people, on the other hand, often view marriage as a simple contract that can be conveniently broken by either party without blame being ascribed to either party.
In ancient times, Covenants were often made between a King and their subjects. The King would promise to provide certain protections while the subjects of the King would agree to remain loyal to the throne.
It is in this King-to-Subjects paradigm that we see God enter into Divine Covenants with His people. Scripture describes God as initiating these Covenants with individuals such as Abraham and David, as well as people groups such as the nation of Israel in the Mosaic covenant. The most recent Covenant that God has established is called the “New Covenant” and it involves God promising all of mankind that forgiveness of sins can be found through Jesus Christ IF an individual makes Jesus the Lord of their life. God has given everyone the opportunity to receive salvation as a free gift through Christ.
Zechariah’s Song refers to 3 of the Covenants of God:
Verses 72 and 73 mention the Abrahamic Covenant where we see God promise to make Abraham the patriarch of a multitude of nations, including the nation of Israel. Israel would eventually become a blessing to every nation on earth as they would be the people group in which God chooses to reveal himself. Jesus, the savior of the world, would eventually come from Abraham’s line of descendants through the nation of Israel.
The second Covenant that Zechariah mentions is the Davidic Covenant which, as you might guess, was an agreement between God and King David. In this covenant God promises David that his lineage (Also Abraham’s lineage) would produce a King who would rule over a Kingdom that will never pass away. This future King, of course, is Jesus Christ, and we as believers will have the privilege of serving Him in the Millennial Kingdom, followed by the eternal Kingdom which the Bible describes as the New Heaven and the New Earth.
Lastly, in verses 76-79, Zechariah refers to the New Covenant that involves God’s promise to all people that salvation can be found (And only be found) through His son, Jesus Christ.
The essence of the New Covenant is what Zechariah refers to in verse 77 when he talks about “The knowledge of Salvation.” Under the Mosaic law, people of faith practiced obedience to external, ritualistic law and sacrificed animals at the altar in a sort of “loveless obedience” while looking forward to a future redemption. Faithful Israelites never had a complete knowledge of their salvation because they never had complete knowledge of the one who provided their salvation, Jesus Christ, who was himself the fulfillment of the law…does that make sense?
Deuteronomy 29:4 describes this condition when it says, “But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear.”
Mankind needed a way to fully live in obedience to God, something the law by itself was incapable of providing.
In order for our desires to truly change it would take what scripture calls a “Circumcision of the heart” …. Deuteronomy 30:6 says “The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.”
The New Covenant is personal, it promises salvation to individual sinners through faith in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29)
For us today, It’s easy for these Biblical Covenants to seem somewhat abstract and theologically vague. The most recent one, after all, was instituted 2,000 years ago! But they are actually very important to us today.
Why? Because all of these covenants point to Jesus – and that is what Advent is all about.
Think about our Christmas traditions:
Why do we decorate our houses with lights? Because they remind us of the light of the world – Jesus
Why do we give and receive gifts this time of year? Because they remind us of the greatest gift of all – Jesus
Why do we go caroling and sing Christmas hymns? Because they all speak of our savior – Jesus
Zechariah understood that his son John would have a challenging life of preparing people’s hearts to hear the messiah’s message of the Kingdom.
In verse 76, Zechariah refers to his infant son as someday being a “Prophet of the Most High” and to “Prepare the way for him.”
Have you ever been to a concert where there was an opening act? John the Baptist would, in many ways, be the “opening act” for the messiah. In the world of live music, the job of an opening act is to prepare people for the main act (The headliner)
There are certain rules for opening acts, however. For instance, an opening act cannot be as loud as the main act. Have you ever noticed that? The main act is always louder and more full sounding than the opening act. This is by design so that there will be a distinguishable “Ramping up” of excitement when the headliner begins playing their songs.
Certainly, Jesus did not need to worry about John eclipsing his ministry in any way, but John did have to remember to work within the confines of his job description - that his ministry was to be temporary and subservient to Jesus’ more important ministry.
Zechariah also undoubtedly understood that his son’s job would not be an easy one. While some people were ready to hear John’s message of repentance, many were not.
John would also spend his entire life as a very poor and isolated individual, all the while pointing the way to someone greater than himself. Wow….How would you like that job? Think of your boss at work. What if I told you that for the rest of your life, your one and only job is to tell others about how amazing your boss is – now that would get old in a hurry, wouldn’t it? 😊 John was a man of great humility.
Is it any wonder that Jesus says this about John the Baptist in Matthew 11:11 “Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist….”
I’ll leave you with this bit of irony to consider: As you recall, when Zachariah hears of Elizabeth’s impending miraculous pregnancy, he reacts in unbelief and loses his voice for the better part of a year.
Conversely, Isaiah 40:3 prophesies that Zechariah’s son, John the Baptist, will be “A voice of one calling: In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord.”
A father loses his voice due to a lack of faith while his son will forever be known for using his powerful voice through faithful obedience.
Be honest about your current level of faith:
Who are you more like: Zechariah or John?
If your pendulum sometimes swings in Zechariah’s direction of doubt and skepticism regarding God’s faithfulness and power, remind yourself of everything God has already brought you through in your life.
Then, like Zechariah, give God praise and glory for delivering you through yet another one of life’s difficult moments or seasons.
Lastly, in all that you do, offer praise to your savior Jesus Christ by trusting in his Holy name and living a life of fruitful obedience to him – for he is worthy of our complete commitment.
John the Baptist understood this – and so should we.
Let’s Pray.