The Forerunner

I want to pause and focus and
zero in on what I would call this section, what I would entitle
this section, Divine Intervention. It is a fascinating tale. If
God’s people would, we find ourselves in the first chapter of Luke,
and I want you just to zero in on those opening verses beginning
in verse 5. In the days of Herod, king of
Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of
Abijah, and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her
name was Elizabeth. They were both righteous in the
sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements
of the Lord. But they had no child, because
Elizabeth was barren, and they both were advanced in years.
Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service
before God at the appointed order of his division, according to
the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter
the temple of the Lord and burn incense. The whole multitude
of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense
offering. And an angel of the Lord appeared
to him standing to the right of the altar of incense. Zacharias
was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him.
But the angel said to him, Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for
your petition has been heard, and your wife, Elizabeth, will
bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. You will
have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice in his birth. For
he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink
no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit,
while yet in his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the
sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. 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. Zechariah said to the angel,
how will I know this for certain? For I am an old man, and my life
has advanced in years. The angel answered and said to
him, I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God. And I
have been sent to speak to you and to bring to you this good
news. And behold, you shall be silent
and unable to speak until the day when these things take place,
because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled
in their proper time.” People were waiting for Zacharias, who
were wondering his delay in the temple. But when he came out,
he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had
seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them
and remained mute. When the days of his priestly
service were ended, he went back home. After these days, Elizabeth,
his wife, became pregnant. And she kept herself in seclusion
for five months, saying, this is the way the Lord has dealt
with me in the days when he looked with favor upon me to take away
my disgrace among men. Well, this is not the first occasion
in scripture, not the first occasion in life, then we find the story
of godly woman who was barren. For those of you who are with
us on Mother’s Day, we always try to honor all women, even
if that is their state and condition before God. God calls us to honor
those whom honor is due. Essentially, our argument is
that even without a child, a woman is precious in the eyes of God.
Yet, those are some difficult times
in the life of a woman. a woman, especially if she desires
to bring a child into the world, especially if she desires to
have a family. And so you have this tension
in scripture of a number of these accounts, not the least of which
was Abraham and Sarah, where they desired a child and were
unable. They even had a promise and still
had to wait. And Zacharias and Elizabeth,
their story echoes that same account. Waiting is common to all people
for all kinds of things. For perhaps waiting for a child
and not having that promise fulfilled, Zacharias and Elizabeth could
certainly empathize with Abraham and Sarah up to the point where
they found themselves challenged in their own faith. As I said
a moment ago, there are two birth accounts connected with the Christmas
story. The account of Jesus’ birth,
which we are very familiar with, and the other one that is rarely
considered, the birth of John the Baptist, to Zacharias and
Elizabeth. Let’s back to verse 5, just for
a moment. where we see Zacharias, that
he’s identified as a priest, and his wife is introduced to
us, and it says that they were both righteous in the sight of
God. Now, this doesn’t mean that they
were sinless. It just means that of all the
people, they were good, godly people. They were righteous in
the sight of God. It was God’s judgment that they
were such. but they also were seen as such
among other people. They were walking blamelessly
in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. They did what was
expected of them as believers in God. And yet, and is often
the case, there is no contractual obligation on the part of God
to bless those who are godly, those who are righteous, And
it says, and there is a bit of a contrast there, they had no
child. They were righteous in the sight
of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements
of the Lord, yet they had no child. Because Elizabeth was
barren, and they both were evinced in years. They had long since
given up hope and idea. And that made them, in that culture,
the object of insensitive ridicule. There was often that suspicion,
just like, remember the man born blind in John chapter 9? If calamity
came into your life, oftentimes those less skilled in the scriptures
and lacking grace would often poke fun at your spiritual life. You see, the health and wealth
movement, that’s not a recent thing. It didn’t start in the
70s. It’s been going on forever. That if you are not being blessed,
there must be sin in your life. That was the conclusion regarding
the man born blind. And it was likely the treatment
that Zacharias and Elizabeth received. In fact, so much so,
there was often this pressure to divorce a married woman. for
having not produced a family. You see, they forgot that it
was God. It’s always God who opens the
womb. It’s always God who gives life. Psalms tell us that children
are a gift from the Lord. There’s no obligation on the
Lord’s part. Let me set the scene for you, just a moment. There
have been 400 silent years they’re referred to, where no prophets,
no miracles, full of political oppression, full of evil leadership,
strife, trouble, difficulty. There had been spiritual compromise,
moral decay. And so we sing these songs at
Christmas, and a lot of times we forget the climate that they’re
seeking to impart. This was the lament of the nation
of Israel, O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel that
mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appears. They
longed for the Savior. Now, we know, looking back, that
they thought that they were going to get some kind of political
messiah, someone who was going to come in and take over and
It wasn’t that way. So it’s with that backdrop that
God would begin to move. Remember, 400 silent years, no
prophets, no miracles. And it’s quite certain that Zacharias,
when he entered into the temple that day, was not expecting a
miracle. Look at verse 8. Zacharias goes in to render what’s
called priestly service, where once in a lifetime he would have
this opportunity to go in and burn incense, a fragrant aroma,
before the Lord. Look at verse 8. It came about
while he was performing his priestly service before God, in the appointed
order of his division, according to the custom of the priestly
office, he was chosen to enter the temple of the Lord and burn
incense. This was an extremely special occasion. This isn’t
just wrote, this isn’t just a mundane service that he’s going in to
render. This would have been done with great excitement, a
thrill of a lifetime, to be able to go in and make offering before
the Lord. And it says in verse 10 that
the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the
hour of the incense offering. This meant a great deal for them
too. This was, in a very real sense, an offering up to the
Lord. Well, while Zacharias is in there,
he doesn’t have a vision. He has a face-to-face meeting
with an angel of the Lord. Look at verse 11. It says that
an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right
of the altar of incense, and Zacharias was troubled when he
saw him. do you think? And he walked in
there, and probably there was part of it that just wanted to
go in, and as special as this was, don’t mess it up, go in,
make this offering, burn this incense before the Lord, get
in and get out. In fact, there’s a little bit
of a legend to a degree, that they would tie a rope around
the ankle of the priest just in case something happened in
there. They didn’t want to go in there and they’d pull him out by his
ankle if he fainted or was struck dead. Well, Zacharias is in there
and he comes face to face with this angel and it said that he
was troubled and fear gripped him. He was terror-stricken. The angel begins to impart to
him in verse 13 this news. The angel said to him, do not
be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard. This
is probably a prayer that he and Elizabeth have borne for
60, 70 years, pleading with the Lord for a child. Do not be afraid, Zacharias,
your petition has been heard. Your wife, Elizabeth, will bear
you a son, and you will give him the name John. And so that
will become a very important element in the course of this
narrative. The angel tells Zacharias what he is to name this child.
You will have joy and gladness. Many will rejoice at his birth.
He will be great in the sight of the Lord. This is no ordinary
announcement. He’s already dumbfounded. He’s
already fear-struck. And now the angel is giving him
the news that as it begins to unfold, he knows, he discovers
that this time John is going to be the forerunner of the Messiah
himself. The Messiah now has come. So the news of this baby John,
who’s dumbfounded, said, The weight, it gets more incredible
still. He will be brave in the sight
of the Lord. He will drink no wine or liquor.
He will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s
womb. He will turn back many of the sons of Israel to the
Lord their God. 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 disobedience to the attitude
of the righteous. So it was to make ready a people
prepared for the Lord. Zacharias knew what this meant.
Zacharias knew of the forerunner. He knew that there would be one
that would go and be as a herald for the Messiah. And this was
to be his son. His son was going to be the forerunner
of the promised Messiah. If he wasn’t fear-struck and
dumb-struck before, now he must be in absolute awe. First of
all, that we’re going to have a son. But now that the angel
himself has made him, and that he has identified him. And so it’s only natural,
it seems only reasonable to our ears, that Zacharias would want
to question or verify the facts. Really? Do you have the right
guy? Look at verse 18. I don’t know
that it’s so much doubt as it is, you know, can you help me
here a little bit? Can you verify this message? Zacharias says to the angel,
how shall I know this? Research. You certainly seem
like a trustworthy angel. I certainly appreciate the noon,
the longing, and you identify, we have indeed been praying for
a child for years. How can I really tell for sure? And then, as if you have to tell
the angel this, for I’m an old man and my wife is advanced in
years. And the rebuke, it seems, you
know, to argue, it seems harsher than it is. He’s going to give
him the sign. It’s not a harsh review. Zechariah
asked for a sign, and the angel provides it. The angel answered
him and said, I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God.
Just the fact that you see an angel. You know, that’s a time
to dial it down. And, you know, you don’t want
to get into a debate with an angel. Gabriel reminds him, I am Gabriel,
who stands in the presence of God. And you see him calling
Zacharias to a reverent acceptance of what’s being laid before him. Put away all doubt. Fall instead
on your knees and rejoice before God. I’ve been sent to speak
to you to bring you this good news. What is the proof? The proof, in a sense, is punishment,
if you will. Look at verse 20. Behold, you
should be silent and unable to speak till the day when these
things take place. That isn’t even that bad a punishment. There have been times right along,
I wish I didn’t have to speak. But, you know, my first sermon,
Proverbs 1019, with many words, transgression is unavoidable.
There have been times, I’m sure times in your life where you
wish you hadn’t said something. Well, that’s going to be the
sign for Zacharias. Silence. Because you did not
believe my words. You didn’t lose the blessing.
The promise will be fulfilled at the proper time. But it’s going to be quiet from
you until you name your son. Look at verse 21, as the people
were waiting for Zacharias, there had to have been, you know, he
was delayed in there, in the temple, and it says that they
were out there waiting, wondering, would it be confident? Verse
22, when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and
they realized that he had seen a vision of the temple. Now they
thought, perhaps, that this was even voluntary silence. We’ve all, we’ve known that as
well. You come across some great thing
that is so humbling, you just quiet down. Well, this was what
the angel was doing. And sure enough, According to
what God had laid out, Elizabeth becomes pregnant. Look at verse
24. After these days, Elizabeth,
his wife, became pregnant. She kept herself in seclusion
for five months, saying, this is the way. To our ear, this
almost sounds like a lament. It’s not a lament. She’s rejoicing
before God. This is the way that the Lord
has dealt with me in the days when he looked with favor upon
me. She’s rejoicing before God to
take away my disgrace among men. She’s basically saying, you see,
God is unfaithful. We prayed, we continued to live
before the Lord, we continued to trust Him. We have long since
given up the idea of becoming pregnant, of having a child,
and this, this is the reward of our patience. Well, six months
later, Mary is greeted by Gabriel 2, and she too is going to have
a baby, and we’ll cover that part of the account, verses 26-28. Mary visits pregnant Elizabeth,
beginning in verses 39-40. Elizabeth reacts to that visit,
to this visit from Mary and her baby. Elizabeth gives birth. Now the
time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she brought forth
a son. And her neighbors and relatives
heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy towards her,
and they were rejoicing with her. I don’t know what it is
about the birth, but it draws in grandma and all the relatives,
and everybody wants to burst into the hospital room or the
home the very first week, that little precious bundle of joy.
And that is no different. There were all kinds of relatives
surrounding the house. I mean, this was a big deal. The miraculous provision of God. And there’s no doubt that the
specialness of this was enhanced by their age. So all their neighbors, relatives
had come about, they were rejoicing with her at the birth of this
child. And they come to the point, you
know, they didn’t have any idea that Zacharias would ever have
his speech restored. They thought literally that he
had been dumbstruck. They came about on the eighth
day to circumcise the child. They were going to call him Zacharias
after his father. And Elizabeth had evidently been
provided this information, and his mother said, no, he should
be called John. And they said to her, there is no one among
your relatives who is called by that name. This was very absurd,
very uncommon. They made signs to the father,
you know, this is your chance to override your wife. Can you give us some help here?
They made signs to the father as to what he wanted him called
and he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, his name is
John. And they were all astonished.
They were astonished because it just was an uncommon thing
to do, to pick a name that was out of the line of your entire
family lineage. And it was only at that moment,
just exactly as the angel had said, It was at that moment that
Zacharias’ speech was returned to him. Look at verse 64. And
at once his mouth was open, his tongue loose. He began to speak
in praise of God. And fear came upon all those
living around them. And all these matters were being
talked about in all the hill country of Judea. And all who
heard them kept it in mind, saying, what dead will this child turn
out to be? For the hand of the Lord was
certainly upon him. If you note the number of superlatives
in there, this was big, big news. That this godly couple, in advanced
age, had been greeted by an angel and promised a child, the naming
of the child, the timing of it. And Zacharias knows the moment. Right? He’s had six months of
silence to think about it. Zacharias praises God. And if
you notice as this praise unfolds, it’s not even immediately for
his own son. You would think that, oh God,
first thank you that my voice has returned. Thank you for giving
us this baby. Thank you for honoring my faithful
wife’s prayers. It isn’t immediately for his
own son. It’s for Mary’s son. It is for God’s Son Jesus Christ,
the Savior, that he praises. Look at verse 67. And his father Zacharias was
filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, Blessed
be the Lord God of Israel! For he has visited us, and accomplished
redemption for his people, and 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 toward
our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which
he swore to Abraham our father, to grant us that we, being rescued
from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. He hasn’t
even mentioned his own son yet. He does that in verse 76. 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, which with which the
sunrise from on high will visit us, to shine upon those who sit
in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into
the way of peace.” Zacharias begins with a praise
of the Savior, praising of God for what God had provided in
the Messiah, and the privilege that his own son was going to
be the forerunner. Verse 67 points out that he was
empowered by God’s own Holy Spirit, and Zachariah begins to utter
the words of this divine message. Prophecy is what the scriptures
call it. This has been called a vital
link, this prophecy beginning in verse 67. A vital link is
referred to as the last prophecy of the Old Testament and the
first prophecy of the Bible. Zacharias opens with, Blessed
be the Lord God of Israel. Essentially he says, praise God.
Praise is the very first word J.C. Ryle said that falls from
the mouth of Zacharias. What an amazing cat. Nine months. Nine months of waiting and rejoicing
in your heart before God, but not even being able to utter
it. Certainly his confidence would
have said it. the news of what was going on. He didn’t walk
around, I’m sure, all forlorn because he couldn’t speak. His
own heart was rejoicing before God at the news that had been
given him. Ralph said, praise is the first
word that falls from the mouth of Zacharias. We must imagine
ourselves in his position, seeing the fulfillment of the oldest
promise in the Old Testament, the promise of a Savior, beholding
the accomplishment of that promise brought near, near to our own
door. But what does Zacharias praise?
What is the content of his prophecy? What is the message? It unfolds
before us. Divine intervention, divine purpose,
and divine enablement. Look at the message. Sure, God
has intervened in the course of human history. That’s what
God’s done. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited
at long last after 400 silent years, no prophets, no miracles,
no Messiah. In a sense, they might have rejoiced,
God is back. God is moving again. He hasn’t
forgotten us. This word visits underplayed.
We think of people dropping by our houses when we talk about
that. This means to come with an active
concern, an eagerness to help. God has come to our aid. Zacharias
and Elizabeth already know about Mary’s child, Jesus. Matthew,
in that section that we’ll consider in the weeks to come, the angel
said to Joseph regarding Mary, She will have a son who will
call his name Jesus. He will save his people from
their sins. They knew this. Zacharias and
Elizabeth already knew that the divine Savior, the Messiah himself,
was already promised, already on the land. God had intervened
and he had visited them, visiting to help. their spiritual condition. Look at the passage though. He
has visited us and accomplished redemption for his people. Now
the grain of the cross is, remember now, in the future. It’s far from having occurred. But the passage here considers
it as already having been accomplished. This redemption is here. And
it’s a glorious concept. It’s a ransoming from sin. It’s
payment being made. And some of these saints, some
of these people were already in the process of placing their
faith in this Messiah in advance of the offering that he would
make on the cross. So is it a political redemption?
Are they going to be saved from their political enemies, from
their social situation? It goes on, look at verse 77
at the bottom. To give His people knowledge
of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, to grant that
we, being delivered from the hands of our enemies, might serve
Him without fear of holiness and righteousness before Him
all our days. This redemption was spiritual.
It was salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s what
he’s talking about. It was redemption, the purchase
out of our sin and sinful condition. That was the very purpose that
Christ came. Matthew 20, 28. The Son of Man
did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life
as a ransom for many. That’s His whole purpose. Titus
2, the gospel of the miniature, the grace of God has appeared,
bringing salvation to all men, looking for our grace, God and
Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave himself for us, that he might
redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself a
people for his own possession. It was Jesus Christ to come,
to render aid, not just to visit us, not just to grant us some
kindness, some favor, some blessing, but the blessing of blessings
to redeem us out of sin. Look at verse 69, he says it
a different way. He has raised up a horn of salvation
before us. The horn of salvation was a very
familiar Old Testament concept. The horn represented the strength
of a horned animal, and it was used here symbolically. The metaphor
is very frequent in the Old Testament. 1 Samuel 2.10. Those who contend
with the Lord will be shattered against them. He will thunder
in the heavens. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth.
He will give strength to the king and will exalt the horn
of his anointed. 2 Samuel. You know the passage,
you’re familiar with the passage when he says, my God, my rock
in whom I take refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation. And
so when he says here in Luke that God had raised up a horn,
he has done, he has exercised the almighty power of God to
provide for the greatest need that humanity ever has faced.
And that is their own sin. He’s done it in the house of
David, his servant. We’ve touched on this so many
times, I’m just going to skip across it quickly. He’s identified
in the fact that this is the promised Messiah. We already
discovered last Lord’s Day, that he fits perfectly into the bloodline
of David. He is the fulfillment. Isaiah
16, 5, the throne will be established in loving kindness. A judge will
sit upon it in faithfulness in the tent of David. He’s pointing
to the fact that Jesus Christ will be a direct descendant of
David. And he is. Jeremiah 33, 15, in those days,
at that time, I will cause a righteous branch of David to spring forth. He shall execute justice and
righteousness on the earth. So Isaiah. Isaiah hit it right in the head
when he said that Jesus Christ would be the fulfillment. And
that’s exactly what John points to, look at verse 70, as he spoke
by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old. The prophets have
been telling us for centuries, now they didn’t name him by name,
they didn’t identify him as to an exact perfect day that he
would arrive, but the prophets in general have been saying for
centuries that the Messiah was coming. They told the entire
story. Rather, any one prophet didn’t
tell the entire story, but they collectively did so. And as you
step back and piece it all together, it comes perfectly into focus.
Zechariah points to one verse, essentially a paraphrase of Psalm
106, looking for verse 71. Salvation from our enemies and
from the hand of all who hate us. Well, as I said, that’s a
lewd paraphrase. Psalm 106 says, So he saved them
from the hand of the one who hated them, and redeemed them
from the hand of the enemy. But what Zechariah says is take
that very well known scripture and say, look, this is the Messiah
who came to redeem us from our enemies, and the greatest of
which was, it isn’t even the devil. It’s our own sin, sinfulness. He says the Messiah came to set
us free. And I want to close this morning
with three crucial facets of God’s dealing with humanity in
this. Three crucial facets. This divine intervention talks
about what God has done, this divine purpose. Why did God intervene? When we saw that it was promised
mercy, God had visited, provided A Savior. Look at verse 70. To show mercy toward our fathers. This was a long-promised mercy.
Covenant mercy. God had promised it. He has now
upheld that promise. And as Zechariah says, this mercy
was extended to the fathers. Those who died waiting in faith
for the promised Messiah. I mentioned last Lord’s Day,
the quote-unquote hall of faith in Hebrews 11, those faithful
Old Testament believers that looked and received in faith
by promise. Verse 13 of chapter 11 says this,
all these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having
seen them and having welcomed them from a distance. See, God
had intervened in the history of fallen humanity by exercising
His mercy in sending the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s retrospective. It looks back at God’s promise
to those who had already died. But the second purpose looks
forward. The second purpose is to promise
faithfulness that God had given. Look at verse 72 again. To remember
His holy covenant the oath which he swore to Abraham, our forefather.
See, back in Genesis, Abraham was obedient in offering his
only son back to God. God saw that he was willing to
obey and allowed him to keep his son. And he said, by myself I have sworn,
declares the Lord, verse 16, because you have done this thing
and not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly
bless you. I will multiply your seed as
the stars in the heavens, the sand which is on the seashore.
Your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. Your seed and
all the nations of the earth shall be blessed because you
have obeyed my voice.” God was moving. God was fulfilling
his promises. God was completing his great
plan of redemption. Divine intervention, what has
God done? Divine purpose, why did God intervene? Divine enablement,
what does God enable us to do? Look at verse 74. He has raised up the horn of
salvation. He has given us a Savior to grant
that we, being delivered from the hands of our enemies, might
serve Him. Now that service, We love to
think that we’re rendering back something, paying back a little
bit. I’ll set up the table today at lunch. That’ll help. That’s
kind of how we kind of get this mindset. Let me pay back. You
know what this kind of service is at the core? It’s worship. It’s absolute worship before
God. It’s humbling ourselves before
him. We were saved to serve in that
regard. We were saved to bow before Him
in reverent worship. The final analysis. The goal
of our salvation is the glory of God. The Lord redeemed His
people out of that sinful condition that in gratitude they might
worry. Look at the nature of the service.
First of all, it’s fearless. God has granted that we might
serve Him without fear. Who are we not supposed to be
afraid of? It just kind of mentions enemies
in general. Earthly spiritual, earthly persecution,
spiritual enemies. If the mayor wants your sermons,
send them! I think every pastor in America
ought to send the mayor to give them their sermons on homosexuality. God might give one of them to
convert her. We’re not supposed to be afraid of our enemies.
We’re not supposed to be afraid of anybody. I love Psalm 56. Psalm 56, for in God, whose word
I praise, in God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me? We’re
not supposed to grumble in fury. There’s a little book in the
New Testament, Romans. Remember Romans? What should
we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against
us? It’s not only fearless service,
it’s holy service. Look at verse 75. The service
to be in holiness, it’s to be in worshipful attitude, it’s
reverence before God. And it demands nothing less than
perfection before Him as God equips us with His grace. Fearless
service, holy service, righteous service. is regarding a relationship with
ourselves and others. Righteousness is a characteristic
of a life that has been met and transformed by the purifying
grace of God. We’re supposed to be different
and live differently. Righteousness is that quality
that has begun in a believer, not yet perfected, that is in
the process of conforming to God’s standard of right and wrong. We are not going to fit in for
very long. if we are fearless and holy and righteous. That’s
what God calls us to be. So it’s because of His mercy,
not because we deserved it, we didn’t. It’s because of His mercy
that God upheld His promise. God intervened in the history
of fallen humanity, and in doing so, He appointed a Savior, Jesus
Christ, who would one day paid a ransom price for the sin of
the whole world, and he did so for the purpose of securing a
people who would be set apart for himself, who would, by God’s
grace, live uprightly and fearlessly in this present age. What a glorious
privilege to live in light of that announcement. Rejoice before
Him. Our merciful King, we thank you
and praise you for this amazing message distilled down to our
day, kept and announced almost as if it were fresh. We see Zacharias
as if we’re coming out of that temple, dumbstruck, but bearing
the news with great joy in his heart that his own son would
be the forerunner of the Messiah. Lord, we thank You. We thank
You that You broke the silence. We thank You that You upheld
Your Word. We thank You that You sent us,
the Savior of the world, our Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ. Grant us the grace to serve Him.
Grant us the grace to worship as we ought. Holiness. Righteousness. Fearlessness. God grant us that grace. It’s
in Jesus’ name that we pray. Amen.