Uh Hi, thanks for listening to Him We Proclaim with Pastor John Fawnville. I'm your host, Joshua Montez. We're in message number three of our five songs, The Nativity, and this is called The Song of Zachariah, the Benedictus. John, did I say that right? Yes, you did.
That was really my Latin is really coming along. I think you've been taking classes, right?
Well, tell us what is this one all about? Set us up a little bit. This is great. Zacharias says he was filled with the Holy Spirit and he began to prophesy. He says, Blessed be Benedictus, blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and accomplished redemption for his people.
And he begins to just recount God's faithfulness to his promise to Abraham to bring about the son of Abraham, the offspring of Abraham, who is coming to bless God's people. And he says, and to give his people the knowledge of salvation. By the forgiveness of their sins. Because of the tender mercy of our God. And this is just a great song, prophecy of praise to God for God's faithfulness to his people and his promises.
Well, we are well underway in our series, the five songs of the nativity. Here's the song of Zechariah. If you have your Bibles, turn to the Gospel of Luke chapter 1, and we're going to be looking at verses 68 to 79. This is the song of Zachariah, or Zachariah's prophecy. Let's read this together and then we'll take a look at it.
Luke chapter 1 beginning verse 67 and it says this his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied Saying. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, because he has visited us and accomplished redemption for his people. And because he has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David, his servant. Just as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old. Salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
to show mercy towards our fathers. and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which he swore to Abraham our father, and to grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear. in holiness and in righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High. For you will go on before the Lord to prepare his ways.
to give his people the knowledge of salvation. by the forgiveness of their sins. because of the tender mercy of our God. with which the sunrise from on high will visit us. To shine upon those who sit in darkness, in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
So This famous Advent hymn of Kamo Kam Emmanuel and Ransom Captive Israel. That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear Rejoice. Rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel. That is the first stanza of the famous Advent hymn by John Mason Neal. And as we come to the opening chapters of Luke's Gospel, The words of that famous Advent hymn capture for us this expectant longing that Old Testament saints.
possess as they're eagerly waiting in hope. for the coming of the promised Messiah.
So far, what we've studied in Luke's Gospel is: we've looked at the song of Elizabeth, or Elizabeth's hymn of blessing. We have looked at the song of Mary, the Magnificat, Mary's hymn of praise. Today this brings us to the third song that clusters around the Nativity story. In the opening chapters of Luke's Gospel, it is the song of Zachariah, or we could say it is Zachariah's song of hope. His hymn of hope.
His entire hymn that you're going to see in a moment is looking forward in hope. Hope is the great expectation that characterizes his song, and he is looking forward in hope for the assured fulfillment. Of God's promises both to Abraham and to David, of how God, through the conception and birth of Jesus, is fulfilling in Mary's womb. Both the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants. And these are what the Old Testament saints had longed for and hoped for 2,000 years.
Let me just give you some quick background about this song before we look at it. Who is Zachariah? Zachariah is the husband of Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist, that we've already looked at. He is the father of John the Baptist, and this is very significant, he was an aged Levitical priest.
So he was an old Levitical priest. Keep that in mind because it's going to come back. That's very significant.
So the song of Zachariah, Luke tells us, is a spirit-filled praise and prophecy. It is spoken by Zechariah, who is being illuminated by the power of the Holy Spirit, to give this spirit-filled psalm. And just like the Song of Mary in verses 46 through 56, the Song of Zachariah has occupied a prominent place in the worship of the church throughout the centuries. The popular title of this song in worship is called the Benedictus, and the Latin word benedictus comes from the first word of the Latin version of this song, which is benedictus or blessed. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel.
And so Zachariah's song is a blessing. It is a Jewish praise hymn to God for God's blessings and fulfillment of his promises to his people. And so, what Zachariah's song does is that it focuses. On John the Baptist's relationship to Jesus. And back in chapter 1, verses 13 through 17, and chapter 1, verses 31 through 35, we've already been introduced both to John and to Jesus by angels from heaven.
What Zechariah's song does is takes those two introductions that we've already received in chapter one and brings into focus the relationship of how John the Baptist relates to Jesus. He expounds on these verses. And so what happens in verses 57 through 66 is Zechariah, because of unbelief, was struck with muteness. He was unable to speak. But when God's naming of John, which is an unusual name for John because it wasn't coming from his father, is confirmed by Zechariah.
Luke says Zachariah immediately regains a speech.
So you have these supernatural events happening around the conception of John the Baptist. And these supernatural events that are occurring, the naming of John raises the question in everyone who's looking at these events. Look at verse 66. Everyone has this question in their mind when they're looking at these supernatural events. What then will this child turn out to be?
Who is this baby and Elizabeth that John and Elizabeth are going to have? They say, for the hand of the Lord was certainly with him. Who is this child and what will he be? And so Zachariah's song answers the people's question of verse 66. Telling you who John will be and what his mission will be in relationship to Jesus.
So the Song of Zechariah literally consists of two verses, two stanzas divided into two sections, which are two long Greek complex sentences.
Okay, so in verses 68 through 75, that's one long sentence. And there, in those verses, Zechariah is focusing on Jesus, and he's explaining the purpose of Jesus' coming. And then in the second stanza, in verses 76 through 79, Zachariah changes his focus to his son John, and he explains who John is, the identity of John, and the purpose for John coming.
So that gives you the background and the context of what we have happening here.
So let's look at this song of Zachariah. Look at verses 68 through 75. John is going to show us how Zachariah is focusing on Jesus. He tells us the identity of Jesus and he tells us why Jesus came, the purpose of his coming. And specifically, what he's doing is this: he is praising the God of Israel, the Lord God of Israel.
Who has provided salvation to his people by fulfilling the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants? That's the whole. point of what Zechariah is giving us here.
So let's look at this. Just like Mary's song, Zachariah's song is steeped in the Old Testament. Let me give you some examples really quick just so you get an idea of how well acquainted these Old Testament believers were with the Old Testament. He borrows from the book of Genesis, the book of Exodus, the book of Psalms, 2 Samuel, the prophet Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, Zechariah, Micah, and Malachi to write this psalm. He knew his Old Testament.
Look at verse 67. Luke tells us that Zachariah, as I said, he's filled with the Holy Spirit, and because he's filled with the Holy Spirit, is enabling Zachariah to comprehend the Christ-centered focus of Scripture. As you come to the end of Luke's Gospel in Luke chapter 24, Luke tells you over and over in chapter 24, through the words of Jesus himself, that the whole Bible The Old Testament scriptures, Genesis all the way to Malachi, was about Christ, was about himself.
So, Luke is already setting us up for chapter 24 that we find. But as I said, Zachariah was a Levitical priest. He was very well acquainted with the Old Testament scriptures, especially the Mosaic covenant, the law. Zechariah knew God's law inside and out. He knew the Mosaic covenant.
He knew that the Mosaic covenant, the law, was given by God to be a strict disciplinarian to lead him and others to Christ. Why?
So that he might be justified by faith. Galatians 3, verse 24. This old Levitical priest has been working in the temple his whole life. waiting and looking in hope, For the God of Israel to bring his covenant promises to fulfillment. Laboring and waiting in hope, reading the Old Testament, longing and looking, where would this promise?
Where will it be fulfilled? When will it come? And now, to Zechariah's surprise and great joy, it's coming to his family. His relative Mary is going to have the consummation and the fulfillment of the promises to Abraham and David. And the angel is announcing this to Zachariah.
And he's overcome with joy, and so he says, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. He is overcome with praise to God. Look at verse 68. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. Why?
Because he has visited us. And he has accomplished redemption for his people. Zechariah is already looking forward in hope that the coming of Christ in Mary's womb will be the accomplishment of redemption for his people. That he is going to visit us, he is going to be God with us. How has God visited us?
How has He accomplished this redemption? Look at verses 69 through 73. Zechariah tells you how God has done this. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David. His servant, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
To show mercy towards our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which he swore to Abraham our father. Zechariah praising God, the God of Israel. Because he has accomplished redemption. How? He tells you here, because he has fulfilled God's covenant promises to Abraham and David, and he's done it in the womb of Mary.
This is amazing. God has accomplished his redemption. He has visited his people because he is fulfilling his covenant promises to Abraham and to David. This is quite amazing because this is what all the pious God-fearers, Old Testament saints, were waiting in hope for. And they have been waiting for 2,000 years.
For the fulfillment of this promise.
Now, to better understand the depth of Zechariah's eager expectation, the depth of his hope, the depth of his longing, the depth of his joy and praise that he is giving to God. We need to better understand his Christ-centered focus of the Old Testament. Because God has accomplished redemption for his people, this unfolding story of redemption moves from promise, Old Testament, to fulfillment, New Testament. And Zechariah, as I said, was steeped. In this unfolding story of redemption, and he goes from Genesis all the way to Malachi in this song, sweeping through the entire Old Testament story.
reflecting on God's faithfulness to keep his promise.
So what was he understanding? Where you go all the way back, as we've seen already, from the Song of Mary and the Song of Elizabeth. He goes all the way back, and the Lord promises to Eve in Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, to give her an offspring who will come and crush the serpent's head. And so the Lord's promise from this point forward, the question that occupied the minds of God's people, especially every mother in Israel. Was who will be the mother of this champion offspring that's going to come and crush the serpent's head?
And so from Genesis 3:15 forward, the Lord's promise created this expectant hope in God's people. They were longing and waiting for the offspring of the woman to come. Who will it be? And so, as the story of redemption begins to unfold, we come to Genesis chapter 15 and verse 4 in the Abrahamic covenant of Genesis 12 through 17, and we realize that the author Moses is telling us that the Lord's promise is more fully revealed. It is expanded from Eve's offspring now.
It will come through Abraham. The offspring of evil come through a man called Abraham. And so the Abrahamic covenant will begin to play a central role in the unfolding story of redemption.
So turn with me very quickly. Look at Genesis chapter 12, and let's look at verses 1 to 3.
Now again, this is what we're doing. We're trying as best we can to put ourselves in the shoes of Zechariah and see why he was so overcome with joy and why he had such great hope for the future and the great expectation. How did he read the Bible? We're trying to get in this song from his perspective. And so, as he is reflecting on God's fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant, surely he's thinking of Genesis chapter 12, verses 1 to 3, where the Lord calls Abram and makes an unconditional promise to him.
He says to Abram, Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that 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. If you jump all the way to Galatians chapter 3, verse 8, the Apostle Paul quotes Genesis chapter 12, verse 3. And he calls Genesis chapter 12, verse 3, the Abrahamic covenant promise of God. He calls it, quote, the gospel beforehand. In other words, Genesis chapter 12, verse 3, God's covenant with Abraham, Paul says, was the gospel in promise.
It's the gospel. It's the good news of this coming offspring of the woman. And so, as you go continue to read the unfolding story of redemption, you come to Genesis chapter 15, and Abraham's like, how's this going to happen? And so God ratifies his covenant promise with Abraham in a covenant-cutting ceremony. And what is so amazing about this covenant cutting ceremony in Genesis chapter 15, which God does to give Abraham assurance.
I guarantee that this is going to be true for him. What is amazing about this covenant-cutting ceremony is that Abraham falls into a deep sleep. He's doing nothing. He's sleeping. But While he sleeps, the Lord Himself assumes the full obligations to fulfill his promise and it's symbolized by the Lord walking by himself through severed halves of animals.
Now that's very strange to us, isn't it? But that's how international peace treaties were made back in Abraham's day, 2,000 years ago. And so, by walking alone through the severed halves of these animals, the Lord, who is the great suzerain, the great king. He is taking a blood oath. And he is invoking death upon himself if he does not fulfill the promise that he just made to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12.
That's amazing, isn't it? And then Abraham's like, well, how is that going to be? This is so fantastic. Genesis chapter 17. What does the Lord do?
He seals, He guarantees His covenant promise and His covenant cutting ceremony to Abraham by instituting a sacrament called circumcision. And circumcision is the sacrament of the Abrahamic covenant, the gospel and promise. And it is a visible, bloody sign and seal, a guarantee of God's covenant promise to Abraham to bring about this offspring of Abraham, who is the offspring of Eve, who will crush the serpent's head and bless all people of the earth.
So this bloody ritual of cutting the flesh of every male signified and sealed God's covenant with Abraham when God was walking by himself through the severed halves of these bloody animals. This is what Zachariah was looking at. And then he continued to read the book of Genesis, and he came to Genesis chapter 49, at the end of the book of Genesis. And in Genesis chapter 49, Jacob is now blessing the 12 sons of Israel. His sons And as Jacob blesses his sons, we discover that the offspring of Abraham will come through the royal line of Judah.
In Genesis chapter 49, verse 10, Jacob is blessing his son Judah, and he says, quote, The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes. And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. We want to note from Genesis 49:10 is simply this. is that Jacob's blessing of Judah. Sets the tone for the chief aspect of messianic hope in the entire Old Testament.
Jacob prophesies of the great kingdom of David and the greater kingdom of Christ, the second David, who will come. He tells us right here that from the very beginning. Abraham's offspring will be a son of David who comes through the tribe of Judah who will reign as king forever and ever. All of this in the book of Genesis. And so it is the Lord's promise to Abraham.
It is the Lord's promise to Eve that is creating this expectant longing, this hope in the hearts of every Old Testament saint, particularly the mothers of Israel. Who will bear this offspring, this great king, to come?
Now, fast forward one thousand years. and turn to the book of 2 Samuel chapter 7. Because remember, Zechariah is praising the God of Israel for fulfilling not only the Abrahamic covenant. but also for fulfilling the Davidic covenant. And we know that from the story of Genesis, through Abraham, through the line of Judah, through the son of Jacob, who came right from Abraham.
We come to 2 Samuel 7, where we come to the Davidic covenant, and 2 Samuel 7. Specifically, verses 12 through 16, the Lord promises that when his righteous son builds a house with the Lord's name, the Lord will grant David's son an eternal kingdom. Verse 13 of 2 Samuel chapter 7. The Lord swears to David, he takes an oath. He swears an oath to David.
Your son, he shall build a house for my name. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. You know what? When the Lord gave this promise to David, David believed. that the Lord's promise would be fulfilled in his son Solomon.
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So as you read the book of 1 Kings, Chapters 1 through 10. It initially appears that the Lord is fulfilling his promise to David and Solomon's reign as king. The son of David, 1 Kings chapters 1 through 10, show us that the son of David is reigning on the throne of his father David. At the height of the of Israel's glory. His son built a house for his name.
What did Solomon do? He built the temple. He built a house for the Lord's name. God's people are in the land and experiencing unprecedented peace and prosperity.
Solomon prays in 1 Kings chapter 8, verse 56. Listen carefully. Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. He's reflecting on the covenant promises of God, all that He's promised. Not one word has failed of all of his good promise, which he promised through Moses his servant.
What did he promise through Moses his servant? That when God's people came into the land, they would have rest. That the establishment of Israel in the land of Canaan would equal the rest. And Solomon's divinely given wisdom is unprecedented throughout the entire world. And the queen of Sheba comes because she has heard of this amazing, wise king ruling in splendor, and glory, and wealth, and unprecedented power.
The world had never seen But then we come to 1 Kings chapter 11. And the story of Israel goes from the height of glory straight to the glory. straight down off the cliff. 1 Kings chapter 11, verse 1.
Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Do you know what the author is showing us here? He's trying to destroy the offspring of the woman who's coming. And the enemy knew that Solomon was the son of David, and if he can just destroy the son of David, the offspring who's going to crush his head will not come. Verse 4.
His wives turned his heart away after other gods, and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. The enemy thinks that he has destroyed the offspring of the woman. Failure had devastating results. Israel divides into two kingdoms. Rehoboam rules over Judah in the south.
Jeroboam rules over Israel in the north. And eventually, as you just keep reading the Old Testament story, it goes from bad to worse. And the Lord, because the situation gets so bad, He sends the northern kingdom of Israel into Assyrian captivity in 722 BC, and they're never to return. And then 136 years later, in 586 BC, the Lord sends the southern kingdom of Judah. And to Babylonian exile, where they would remain for seventy years.
And then when the Persians allowed a remnant of Judah to return to the land, God's people are continuing to wait in hope for the promised Messiah to come. And yet, as we read Ezra and Nehemiah and the post-exilic prophets, We realize that the exiles return as strangers to the land and they begin to intermarry again with non-Jews. Ezra chapters 9 and 10. They continue after having just come out of 70 years of judgment and exile, they continue to ignore God's prophets. And because of this, the identity of God's people was threatened, which threatened the Lord's promise of the coming offspring of Abraham and David.
Time and time again, this is what we see throughout the Old Testament story. As it unfolds, of how the seed of the serpent is trying to prevent the seed of the woman from coming. All the way back in Genesis chapter 4: if the seed of the woman cannot be prevented by murder, Cain killing Abel, Genesis 4. If the seed cannot be prevented by slavery in Egypt, If the seed cannot be prevented by disobedience in the wilderness that eventually leads to exile in Babylon and the whole total destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel. If none of that will work, well then I'll come back to maybe I can get them to intermarry with foreigners to corrupt the genealogical descent of the offspring of David, and therefore he will not come and crush my head.
So, the Old Testament in Malachi chapter 4, verse 6, it has gotten so bad. God's prophet ends the story of the Old Testament with a threat of judgment. What God's people need most is a message of hope, but instead, God's prophets remain silent. And for 400 years, silence will pass, and God does not speak to his people through the prophets. He's utterly deathly silent.
Silent. And then we come to the opening chapters of Luke's Gospel. And at this point in God's redemptive unfolding story, there's not been a king on the Davidic throne for over 500 years since Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed the temple in 586 BC. God's people in the opening chapters of Luke's Gospel are still in exile. They are still under the Roman rule, waiting in hope for God to fulfill his ancient promise to send the offspring of Abraham, the offspring of David, who will visit his people in salvation and in judgment.
And so, this is the context. By which you understand better the depth of hopeful expectation and joy that Zachariah was experiencing when this good news was announced to him. He is overcome with praise to the God of Israel because he has fulfilled his ancient promises to Abraham and David in a miraculous way. He's done it through a virgin birth. I think you might be shouting at that point as well.
He has raised up a horn of salvation, a horn of salvation. That's just a symbol of power. He has been faithful to fulfill his promise to David. He's raised up Jesus, this powerful horn of salvation, who, through his life and substitutionary death on the cross, will eventually come, Luke shows us at the end of his gospel, and crush the serpent's head on the cross. And be buried and rise again in victory on the third day and save his people from their sins.
This is the great salvation that has come from the house of David, and Zachariah knew it. Zachariah pictures Jesus as the one who is now going to conquer Satan and crush his head. Conquer all of our allies, conquer our sin, conquer death, conquer the grave, conquer hell, conquer all the hosts of evil. Look, he says, conquer everyone who hates God's people. Do you ever wonder why you have opposition?
Well, people don't like. God's people. But the Lord has visited his people, and so Zachariah is emphasizing God's fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant, the Davidic covenant. He has accomplished this salvation. Look very quickly.
Look at what he says in this song. This is very important. Look at verse 72. He says, Salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to show mercy toward our fathers and to remember his holy covenant. This is how God has done it.
He has remembered his holy covenant. What does it mean for God to remember his holy covenant?
Well, It doesn't mean that he's forgotten anything because he's omniscient, right? This phrase, remember his holy covenant, is found all over the Old Testament. For example, Genesis 9:15, God spoke to Noah and says, I will remember my covenant. God remembered the Noah covenant. In Exodus chapter 6, verse 5, God says to Moses, He says, I have heard the groanings of the sons of Israel, and he says, And I have remembered my covenant, the covenant he made with Abraham.
Over and over throughout the scriptures, God says he's remembering his covenant. He remembers his covenant for the sake of his people. What does that mean? It just simply means he keeps his promise. The faithfulness of God.
As you see in Psalm 100, as we're called to worship, why do we worship the Lord? For the Lord is good. He overflows with generosity, his steadfast love, his covenant faithfulness. He's made a promise and he keeps it forever. He's faithful.
He can be trusted. He's faithful to fulfill what he has graciously promised to do. Listen, for us. He's faithful to his covenant. He takes this oath to himself and he fulfills it on our behalf.
Zechariah is rejoicing in the God of Israel because our salvation, his salvation, all God's people's salvation is secured by the promise of God. This is what the Old Testament saints fed their faith on. They lived by faith in the Lord's promise. Zechariah, he is at this point given this prophecy, Jesus still had not been born.
So you see, he's looking forward in hope. This astonishing thing here is that God has fulfilled his promises to Abraham and David in the womb of an obscure Jewish virgin. And then look at verses 74 and 75 very quickly. What is the purpose of this salvation? He praises the God of Israel.
And he says, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. Why?
Because he has remembered his oath, he has kept his promise. And then look at verses 74 and 75: to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear. That we might serve him in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. That's what we pray every week in the liturgy: that we pray that we could serve you without fear and walking before you in holiness and in righteousness all our days. That's where the prayer comes from in our liturgy.
The song of Zachariah. Do you know what the strongest motivation is for serving God? It's his covenant faithfulness to you. It says mercy. It's exactly what the song of Zachariah says.
Zachariah says, God is faithful. He has remembered his holy covenant. He has kept his promise. He can be counted on. He's filled with loyal love.
He has steadfast love. He overflows with goodness to us. Therefore, we can serve him without fear. And we can serve him in holiness and in righteousness. Do you know what will stir your life up to living in holiness and righteousness more than anything else?
It's the good news of the gospel. There is a direct correlation between God's steadfast love, remembering his holy covenant, his faithfulness to you, and genuine motivation to live and work for Christ. We don't serve God out of fear. Fear is a really bad motivator. Joy.
Trust in the God is faithful to you. That'll motivate you to serve God in holiness and righteousness all your days.
So that's the first part of the song. He is praising God for his fulfillment of sending Jesus, who fulfills the Abrahamic and Nevitic covenants. Let's quickly look at the second part, it's very simple. In verses 76 through 79, Zachariah focuses on his son John, and he explains the purpose of his son's coming. And specifically, what he's going to do in these verses is he praises the God of Israel for his son's mission as the forerunner to the Messiah.
He has his speech restored, and so he confirms the identity and mission of his son. This is the important point to note about these verses about what he's going to sing about his son. He's not concerned about his son. The verses don't focus on John the Baptist. The verses exalt and praise about the great work of grace that God will accomplish through the coming of Jesus that John will point everybody to.
So, even here, when he focuses on John and his mission, it's really about Jesus and his salvation. Look at verse 76. Zachariah explains the identity of John. He says that you child would be called the prophet of the Most High. John would be a prophet.
John is the last. In Luke chapter 7, verse 28, he's the greatest Old Testament prophet. His birth is the fulfillment of Malachi's prophecy about the coming of Elijah the prophet in Malachi chapter 4, verses 5 and 6. Remember, God's people at this point, they are in exile. They are under foreign rule.
They are strangers in the land of promise as they've come out of the Babylonian captivity. They are in darkness and in despair. And Malachi the prophet says to them, Behold, I'm going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come. and smite the land with a curse.
Guess where that's fulfilled? Luke chapter 1 verses 16 and 17. The angel of the Lord announces the fulfillment of Malachi's prophecy to Zachariah, and he says to Zachariah, Your son, Zachariah, who is currently in your wife's womb, he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. Verse 17: It is he who will go as a forerunner before him in the spirit and power of Elijah. To turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
That is who John would be, he would be a prophet. And then second, he'll be a prophet of the Most High. Where does this come from? Where does this title come from? Chapter 1, verse 32.
In chapter 1, verse 32, the angel Gabriel says to Mary concerning her son. He will be great and be called the Son of the Most High. Jesus will be the Son of the Most High. John the Baptist will be the prophet of the Most High. And so this title occurs all throughout the Old Testament, but you know where we first find it?
We first find it in Genesis chapter 14. Melchizedek, who is a king and priest in one person, identifies Yahweh, the God of Israel. As God Most High. And the angel Gabriel is announcing to Mary and confirming through John the Baptist in his ministry that the baby in Mary's womb is Yahweh, God Most High. This title stresses the majesty and sovereignty of God that is enveloped in a mother's womb.
In short, Zachariah says that his son John is going to be a prophet of God. Who is in Mary's womb? He's an amazing prophet, is he not? Look at his mission. Haven't explained his identity.
In verses 76 and 77, he explains John's mission. It's very simple. He says, For you will be the prophet of the Most High, and you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways. To give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins. The prophet of the Most High is the forerunner of the Messiah.
He is preparing the way for people to receive the Son of the Most High. And as we learn from the Song of Elizabeth, chapter 1, verse 15, what was John already doing as a six-month-old fetus? He is already pointing as the prophet of the Most High to the Son of the Most High from his mother's womb. He is sent by the Lord to give. God's people, the knowledge of salvation, what?
Through the forgiveness of their sins. Listen to Isaiah chapter 43, verse 25. It says that Yahweh the Lord blots out our transgressions for his own sake and remembers our sins no more. That's being attributed to Jesus here. And that's what John was pointing people to.
John's mission was to give people the knowledge that God blots out our transgressions. Then he does not remember our transgressions anymore. To remember our sins no more is just simply a way the Bible talks about absolute forgiveness. In Hebrews chapter 8, verse 12, the author was quoting the promise of the new covenant in Jeremiah 31, 34. And God promises in Jeremiah 31:34, I will forgive their wickedness and I will remember their sins no more.
The psalmist in Psalm 130, verses 3 to 4, says, If you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you. That you may be feared. may be reverenced. You know, it's a terrifying thought if God were to keep a record of my sins.
Isn't it? Do you mean people I've met who told me that were raised with this idea that when they stand before God on the Judgment Day, there's gonna be like a movie screen and their whole life is gonna pass through it, and they're just gonna stand there in terror. That is ridiculous That's not what's going to happen. You're going to be vindicated in joy on that day. Why?
Because if God kept a record of our sins, we couldn't stand before Him in judgment. But the psalmist says He does not keep a record of our sins. Why?
Because there is forgiveness with you. What does it mean he doesn't keep a record of our sins? He doesn't remember our sins. He doesn't hold our sins against us. He doesn't keep a record of our sins and hold them against us, he forgives them.
This is good news that God doesn't remember our sins. He doesn't remember our sins, Zachariah says. What does he remember? He remembers his promise to save us from our sins, he remembers his holy covenant. He remembers his promise.
He doesn't remember our sin. Why do you think Zechariah is just exploding in praise to God? Listen, because of Christ's satisfaction, because of his birth, Zachariah is saying, God no longer remembers our sin. He no longer remembers our sinful nature, with which we have to struggle with every day of our life. How many of you struggle with your sinful nature every day?
And how many of you think or are tempted to think perhaps God's holding that one against me this time? No, he forgives them. He doesn't keep a record of them for Christ's sake, who was born in Mary's womb. This is Zechariah's praise to God. He doesn't hold our sinful nature against us with which we have to struggle our entire life.
He graciously reckons to us the righteousness of Christ so that we will never come into condemnation ever again. This is his praise, and this was the reason John the Baptist was sent to announce this good news and to point people to that good news that was coming. This was John's mission. This is the enduring point of the law. It is to lead you to Christ.
Paul says in Romans 11: At the end of God's law is what? Christ What was John the Baptist? He was preaching the law.
So, what would be at the end of John's preaching? Jesus. Listen to how Zachariah concludes his song on this note of great hope. Why does God forgive our sins? He tells us because God is merciful.
Look at verses 78 and 79. He concludes his song on a note of great hope. He forgives our sin because of the tender mercy of our God. If you like to write in your Bible and you like to highlight, or just highlight that phrase, the tender mercy of our God. Why does he forgive our sins?
Because he's full of mercy. And what is mercy? He's remembered his holy covenant. It is his faithfulness to you to always keep his promise. It is his steadfast, loyal love, his commitment to his covenant promise.
Zechariah praises the Lord God of Israel for his mercy. He is faithful to keep his promise. He says, God's tender mercy, how is it revealed to us? Look what he says in the song. It's revealed to us in the sunrise from on high.
Who is in darkness? Who is in despair? Who is in a horrible position at this point, God's people? And what did they need? They needed a sunrise.
And what is Jesus called the Messiah? He's called the Sunrise. The sun rise from on high, the most high God, Yahweh of the Old Testament, who forgives sin. Zachariah is simply referring to Malachi 4:2, where Malachi prophesies the Son of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you know what?
When it does, you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. In other words, you're going to be filled with joy. God's people are sitting in the darkness and death of their sin, and Zachariah is looking forward in hope that the sunrise from on high will come and shine into their darkness and give mercy and salvation to his people. What a wonderful song of hope, isn't that? How do we know this?
Because Matthew chapter 4, verse 16. He quotes Isaiah 9:2 and he says this, The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light, and those who were sitting in the land in shadow of death, upon them a light dawned. And the mission of John the Baptist is to proclaim that the coming visitation of Jesus, God has visited us, He has accomplished redemption, is coming in the womb of Mary. And this baby in Mary's womb will shine in the darkness of our sin and misery and guide our feet into the way of peace. Listen to the Apostle Paul as we finish.
He says, Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Zechariah's song is a song of hope and salvation. He is announcing good news. And you know what the good news he's announcing? And this last verse.
The war is over. The alienation in divine displeasure toward you because of your sin. The sunrise from on high will remove it now. He's going to visit you and he's going to shine on you with mercy. Shine into the darkness and depraved state of your sin, and forgive it all.
Because he doesn't remember your sin, he remembers his holy covenant with Abraham and David. He's faithful. You will have peace with God because of the tender mercy of God revealed in the sunrise, the Most High God who is visiting his people to guide you into the peace of God. What a song of hope. Isn't that a great song?
Now you seeing why the church for centuries and centuries and centuries have sung the Benedictus? Why is the part of their liturgy? This hopeful message of Zechariah's song: that God's mercy, His steadfast love is perfectly revealed to us in His Son. His Son will deliver us from our darkness, our state of condemnation, and He will bring us forever into an eternal state of forgiveness and favor with God. Zachariah's song, as it ends, is already anticipating the song we're going to look at next week.
The song of the angels. Because the song of the angels say, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace among men with whom He is pleased. How can he be pleased with those who are not pleasing? Because the sunrise from on high has come and led you to peace. You're now at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, you're pleasing to Him, those on whom God's sovereign delight rests. And so the Apostle Paul, as we finish, he concludes with this: We have great hope. And this is why he writes these words. Have we been justified by faith? We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we exult in hope. of the glory of God. Amen. Amen.
Let's pray. Father, we thank you. That you're faithful to us. We thank you that you have remembered your holy covenant with Abraham and with David. And because of that, you give to us mercy and forgiveness of our sins, which we desperately need.
We thank you that you remember your promise to save us, and you don't remember our sin that condemns us. What a joy that is. Fill our hearts by the power of your Holy Spirit to rejoice in the hope of the message that is given to us in this glorious song of praise. And let us, like Zachariah, say, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. who has visited us and accomplished redemption for us.
We pray this in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Him We Proclaim is heard daily on several radio stations, and if you're not near one of those stations and want to hear it live, there's a couple of ways. Go to ilovethetruth.com, or I'll put a link in the description for an app you can use as well. Two more things.
Don't forget about our Reformation Conference. I'll put a link to that as well. And if you like audiobooks, John has a great audiobook that came from his series called Do You Not Know? All the links are in our description. On behalf of Pastor John, thanks so much for listening.
See you next time.
