The birth of John the Baptist
and
Zechariah's prophecy.
Luke
1:57‑80.
The son of
Zechariah and Elizabeth was born. What a time of rejoicing this must have been
for them. In Jewish culture – as I believe it should be in every culture –
children were seen as a gift from God. Passages like Psalm 127:3‑5:
Sons are
indeed a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in
the hand of a warrior are the sons of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his
quiver full of them. He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his
enemies in the gate.
Jewish people
had such a high view of children and life that they would never have considered
for a minute, aborting their children or abandoning them or mistreating them –
as was often the case with their pagan neighbours.
When Elizabeth
named their son John, the people around them were amazed. These neighbours
hastened to remind them that they are departing from what is traditionally
acceptable and that none of their relatives was called by that name. When
Elizabeth refused to tow the line, they appealed to Zechariah by making signs.
They seem to have assumed that because Zechariah could not speak – he could not
hear as well. But, writing on a writing tablet – which we can assume must have
been close at hand over the previous nine months – Zechariah confirmed his
wife's choice. As soon as this is confirmed, John begins to speak
again. The people left and the story spread throughout the region. McBride
writes:
So, the story
of these marvellous events is spread around the hill country, and those who
hear the story cherish it and ask themselves about the future role of this
child.
Luke then
repeats the hymn Zechariah sang giving us four beautiful pictures of what the
coming of Jesus Christ to earth really means.
Verse 68 tells
how Jesus sets people free. The verse reads:
"Blessed
be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favourably on his people and
redeemed them.
The word to redeem means to set free by paying a price. It was often used when referring to the
releasing of a prisoner or the liberating of a slave. Sin and death are what
enslave people more than anything else. Jesus came to redeem people from sin –
its power on earth in a person's life – and it eventual consequence – death and
eternal separation from God.. No human being is ever able to redeem themselves
– only Jesus can set anyone free because only Jesus could pay the price
necessary for our redemption. Paul explains in Ephesians 1:7:
In him we have
redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to
the riches of his grace ...
Peter adds in
1 Peter 1:18‑21:
You know that
you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with
perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ,
like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. He was destined before the
foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake.
Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and
gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.
Jesus brings
salvation. Verses 69–75 explain:
He has raised
up a mighty saviour for us in the
house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets
from of old, that we would be saved
from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. Thus he has shown the
mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor
Abraham, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our
days.
The salvation
that the Messiah will bring is referred to here as deliverance, then as mercy
and then in terms of covenant – especially the covenant between God and
Abraham. God will never go back on what he has sworn – the covenant promised to
Abraham will be fulfilled.. All this
happens so, as verse 74 puts it, God's people may serve him without fear and be filled rather with holiness – they will belong to God – and
righteousness – they will live as
God's people should. God is merciful. He is able and willing to
forgive all sins and even mistakes. He delivers people from the consequences of
sin and its power over them now. All people can – if they wish – live as God's
people should because in the power of the Holy Spirit we can be enabled to become
the people God wants us to be. When a person accepts Jesus as saviour, Wiersbe
writes:
... you are
delivered from Satan's power, moved into God's kingdom, redeemed and forgiven.
Paul explains
in Colossians 1:12‑14:
... giving
thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the
saints in the light. He has rescued
us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his
beloved Son, in whom we have redemption,
the forgiveness of sins.
We are set
free – not to do as we please – because this would lead to our being enslaved
once more, but to do God's will – because when we do this, we experience real
freedom. Jesus cancels our spiritual debt. All people are in debt before God
because we are all guilty of breaking God's law and failed to live up to his
standards. At the same time we are spiritually bankrupt and therefore unable to
pay our debt.
Listen to
verses 76–77 again:
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 by the
forgiveness of their sins.
John would
announce the good news that Jesus was coming to pay the debt for us. John
explained in John 1:29:
The next day
he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, "Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
..."
Morris writes:
He would be
the forerunner to the Messiah. Specifically he would tell people about the
coming of salvation in the forgiveness of
their sins. John could not save men. No man could. But he would call men to
repentance and tell them about one who could.
Jesus was also
to introduce the dawning of a new day. The people were sitting in darkness and
death and distress. When Jesus came into their lives he brought with him light,
life and peace – a new day because of the love and mercy of God. The verses
78–79 read:
By the tender
mercy of our God, the dawn from on high
will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the
shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."
Our salvation
comes through the tender mercy of God.
God loves us. God loves you. This is why he sent his only son Jesus to set
people free, to save them from their sin, its consequences and its power in
their lives. Jesus gives us the victory, he cancels our debt and ushers us into
a new day.
The focus of
Elizabeth and Zechariah was correct. They never let the joy of their gift
deflect their attention away from the true focus – Jesus, the Messiah, the
saviour of the world. They raised their son, John to have the same focus. This
passage ends with the words:
The child grew
and became strong in spirit, and he was in
the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.
John could
have enjoyed a comfortable life of a priest, but rather lived in the
wilderness, strictly disciplined, waiting for the day when his work was to
begin. He knew freedom, he knew joy, he knew direction in his life. He found
this in the hardship of the desert. Too often today we are told that real
living comes through easy living. This is not always true. Many prophets and
other great people of God knew joy through discipline and hardship. By trying
to make life easy is not always the kindest and most loving thing to do. When
you are in God's will, even the difficult times are filled with meaning and
purpose and even joy.
Where is our
focus? – on the things of the world, our children, our job, our possessions.
Whenever we loose our focus on Jesus we will loose our joy and peace and
purpose. Jesus as set you free, cancelled your debt, given your life meaning,
given you dignity and worth. Can anything be more important than that?
