November 30, 2022
Pastor John Hering
Luke 1:67-79
Luke 1:67-79
67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
68 Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has visited us and prepared redemption for his people.
69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,
70 just as he said long ago through the mouth of his holy prophets.
71 He raised up salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,
72 in order to show mercy to our fathers by remembering his holy covenant,
73 the oath which he swore to Abraham our father,
74 to grant deliverance to us from the hand of our enemies,
so that we are able to serve him without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,
because you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of God’s tender mercies,
by which the Rising Sun from on high will visit us,
79 to shine on those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Your favorite composers are at your finger-tips. All you have to do is say, “Hey Alexa – Play Classical Christmas Songs,” and enjoy listening. For those classical moments, you might have some old CDs or even records with the movements of Beethoven or the sonatas of Chopin. When you’re feeling especially Lutheran you may be listening to Bach or a collection of Luther’s hymns. Maybe your collection has Rod Stewart, The Beatles, or George Straight. I suppose the younger generation has their own collection of composers too: Christmas Classics by Blake Shelton, Pentatonix, or Michael Buble! I wonder what we could find in Grandma and Grandpa’s collection? Frank Sinatra and Lawrence Welk? Among the many fine composers and artists the Holy Spirit has seen fit to record some sacred poetry and songs in the Gospel of Luke that sparkle in this holiday season. The songs of Mary, of Elizabeth, of the angels, of Simeon all have been woven into our liturgy or some cherished hymns of the ages. In this group is also the song of Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist. Practically all the sentences found in his song are recorded in the Old Testament. They are pearls composed from various settings and circumstances into a priceless ornament of divine truth for us. They form
An Advent Song: Blessed Is The Lord, The God Of Israel
Who Sends the Messiah
Some people might consider it a real disappointment to have a terrible cold during the Christmas season and be unable to sing with gusto those cherished Christmas songs. Zachariah was also unable to sing for months before his son was born. During this time he was alone with his thoughts most the time. Imagine his regrets for having questioned the truthfulness of the angel’s words. Gabriel told Zachariah that the aged priest and his wife would have a son. He didn’t believe and lost his ability to talk. When the angel spoke to Zachariah he did make many references to the Old Testament prophesies that told about this prophet who would prepare people to receive the Messiah. Don’t you think Zachariah spent his days reviewing the Scriptures as the Holy Spirit filled his heart with promises about the child his wife was bearing?
Then Elizabeth had the child and on the day of his son’s circumcision the seal that held Zachariah’s tongue was broken, his heart burst into a song: “68 Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited us and prepared redemption for his people.“ He proclaims a song that directs our attention to the Almighty God who is in control of history. The pages of history merely record the rise and fall of nations. But Zachariah, enlightened and inspired by the Holy Spirit, sees a harmonic cord running through the Old Testament Scriptures blending all of history to this point – the preparation to receive the Messiah.
At every point of history God laid down his strategic plan to send us the Savior. When Adam and Eve fell into their tragic sin and lost God’s perfect will for them, the Lord appeared to them personally. First, he pronounced the judgment on the devil for his terrible deed. Then he held out hope for Adam and Eve and all mankind when he promised an offspring of the woman to crush Satan, sin and death. Gradually, the bricks of God’s plan of salvation were laid. For instance through David God promised: “I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Sam 7:13). He established his covenant of grace with an oath. It had to be God’s oath, for Israel’s history would be repeatedly corrupted by idolatry. God had to repeatedly send his messengers with the light of prophecy concerning the Messiah. He was Immanuel (God with us), born of a virgin, born in Bethlehem. His ministry was to be one of mercy, binding the hearts of the broken-hearted. He would be mocked, pierced, and die for the sins of all people. He would rise again and call all nations to himself for salvation. God had not forgotten this promise as Zechariah spoke:
“69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70 just as he said long ago through the mouth of his holy prophets. 71 He raised up salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, 72 in order to show mercy to our fathers by remembering his holy covenant, 73 the oath which he swore to Abraham our father, 74 to grant deliverance to us from the hand of our enemies, so that we are able to serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.”
Luke 1:69-75
Blessed Is The Lord, The God Of Israel. Zachariah has pierced the silent darkness of unbelief with a Spirit driven song. The silence was broken. “The Lord is sending his Messiah. He’s already on his way!” Likewise let our silence also be broken. First, let us fall to our knees in silent reverence before the Lord God! Advent is the time for us to trace the sinful thoughts of anger, lust and deceit, the awful words of jealousy and bitterness you spoke, and finally recall your cheating as a businessman, your failures as a parent, your breaking of empty promises. Then from let us repent of our sins, even for the sin of taking for granted God’s faithful love for us to send us the Messiah. Then, secondly, like Zachariah, let our dark and sorrowful hearts be broken open with the Good News that Jesus has come! May the Gospel of Jesus Christ raise songs of praise and thanksgiving in our hearts as we clear the way to celebrate Jesus’ birth once again. Blessed Is the Lord, The God of Israel Who Sent the Messiah for you and for me. Then raise your eyes of faith to gaze on Jesus
Who Shines in a Dark World
We have hymns that reverberate with joyous songs of Christmas. “The Hopes and fears of all the years Are met in Thee tonight” in “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” “Joy to the World!” Isaac Watts wrote, and “Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful” wrote John Wade. It’s true, isn’t it? God’s faithful people love to sing Joyful songs because Jesus Shines in a Dark World to redeem us! So go to the pages of history: a record of those who are oppressed and those who are free. But, even those who were physically bound were still free in the hope of salvation. Joseph in Egypt was bound in prison, but free in the Lord. Paul and Silas were bound in prison, yet free in Christ and sang about it. Zachariah was bound in tongue, but his heart was clinging to the promise of the Messiah. Why would these men continue to sing when bound? Because they saw the spiritual light that was shining in their dark world.” The Savior they confessed would accomplish the freedom they sought. Jesus would free them from the guilt of sin, the power of sin and the power of the devil. So Zachariah sang, “so that we are able to serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.” Those once held in the Darkness of Sin sang because they learned and believed that their relationship to God was restored in the promised Christ. It was time to sing about it!
Many in the pages of Scripture lived each day with the song of Jesus in their hearts. It shows even during the days of living in this dark world by their self-sacrificing service: Paul, Peter, Stephen, Lydia and others. Their freedom in Christ allowed them to shine brilliantly with acts of mercy and love. It is this freedom in Christ that continues to shine in the hearts of God’s people today who build churches, proclaim the gospel, send missionaries to other countries and spend time in God’s Word with their families. It is the desire of God’s people like you to shine the Light of Jesus’ love in a sin darkened world. Zachariah sang it this way: “78 because of God’s tender mercies, by which the Rising Sun from on high will visit us, 79 to shine on those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Oh, the people of Zachariah’s day knew about the spiritual darkness that hung over the people all too well. Hearts were dimmed with self-righteousness. The Word of God was all but swallowed up. But, now it was time for the Son of God to rise and shine on the tragic scene of world history.
Sound familiar? Today the dark shadows of sin and the devil are still lurking in the dark shadows of unbelief, doubt and despising of God’s Word. I was tempted to say that we don’t really know what it is like to live in darkness. Most of us here grew up with memories of going to church during Advent and Christmas, lighted Christmas trees and happy times gathered in God’s house. However, last week there was the news announcement of a new group who has found that according to their research the birth of Jesus was just a story. That is darkness. Gabriel needs to visit them to shut up their mouths. We all know people who don’t live in the light of Jesus’ love. We all know of nations who are without the gospel of Jesus and walking on a path of no peace. Without faith in Jesus they are all walking in the valley of the shadow of death. This leads them to the eternal darkness which separates them from the face of God forever where they will never get to sing a song of joy.
Dear Friends in Christ. You have the song of joy, peace and hope for all people. It is now our turn to sing loud and sing long the song of Zachariah. Now we are days away from the celebration of Christmas. What songs are in your hearts? Those of famous composers? I pray that the song Zachariah recorded for us would live in your hearts and in your voice. Let us never be less than satisfied when we sing “68 Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel,” who sent the Messiah to shine in our sin darkened world. Amen.
