Zacharias’ Prophecy

                                                        Zacharias’ Prophecy
 
Luke 1:67-80
67 Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
68 “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel. For He has visited and redeemed His people,
69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us. In the house of His servant David,
70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began,
71 That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us,
72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant,
73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: 74 To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. 76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;
For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, 77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people. By the remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; 79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.” 80 So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
 
It is hard to believe that Christmas is almost here! Just the thought of getting hugs from loved ones, giving gifts and breaking one’s diet to eat mountains of food makes me quiver with excitement. As grand as these “traditions” might be, they pale in comparison to the thought that over 2,000 years ago our Savior was born and provided the means of reconciliation with a holy God! While this truth makes one’s heart leap with overwhelming joy, one can’t help but feel sad that for many in this world the birth of their Savior is the furthest thing from their minds!
 
Despite the testimony of nature and God’s holy word for many people their “commercial Christmas” leaves no room for giving their heart over to Jesus! While they will ultimately be held accountable for rejecting Jesus on His birthday. The following sermon is going to look at Zechariah’s song/ Prophesy, in hope that it will challenge us to share the best gift ever given to humanity with the world!
 
At the very beginning of Luke’s Gospel, the reader is told of the “extraordinary phenomena” surrounding the birth of John the Baptist. The story starts off by telling us of the piety of John’s parents. Not only was Zechariah a priest and his wife Elizabeth the daughter of a priest they both blamelessly kept the Lord’s commands and decrees (1:6). Despite their amazing standing we are told they were childless. Elizabeth’s womb was closed which was “a sign of divine punishment and shame” in the eyes of the Jewish people.
Zachariah’s disgrace soon ended when God chose him to go into the temple and burn incense (1:10), which was at best a once in a lifetime experience. While in the temple the angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah and told him the good news that he and Elizabeth were going to have a child that would “bring back the people of Israel to the Lord their God” (1:16). Zechariah did not believe the angel, so Gabriel punished him by making him unable to speak or hear. When the baby was born Elizabeth broke with tradition and told her relatives that his name would not be the same as a parent or grandparent but would instead be called “John.” In disbelief they summoned Zechariah to write the boy’s name and the moment he wrote “John” on his tablet his ears were opened, and his tongue was freed up to speak again.
 
While Zechariah’s nine months of silence was most likely a divine rebuke for his unbelief it was also an opportunity to ponder, pray, and meditate on the Bible so that he might be reassured and accept the miraculous birth of John. Despite his age and stature as a righteous priest (1:6) the “peer pressure and attitudes of the world” had… had a profound effect on Zachariah’s unbelief before God. Even though Scripture clearly taught that God could open any womb, Zacharias chose to believe as the world does that such a miracle could not happen.
 
He had nine long months of watching Elizabeth’s belly grow in silence to not only bask in his shame of initial disbelief but also to spiritually grow in his understanding of the awesome power of God! Because…Zechariah was not an arrogant man he learned that sanctification was not a “momentary” event but a lifetime one! If a prestigious priest could learn more about God surely, we can as well!
 
Christmas is almost upon us and if we are not careful the peer pressure and customs of this world will keep us lukewarm and unreceptive to proclaiming the Good News that Jesus is our Savior. Christmas is not just about gifts, eating and visiting friends and relatives, nor is it about standing on the “perceived” power and prestige of our supposed spiritual maturity! Like Zacharias we need to spend time in silence and solitude this Christmas so that we might learn to “walk where God tells us to walk!” Holy living is not found in “taking control” and doing the things that pleases oneself but in following the One who is in control!
 
So…this Christmas let us brake our silence on what Christmas is truly all about. I know that it is hard and at times nerve racking, but Christmas is all about Jesus. While not all of us were called to be evangelists, (title) per say. Wait for an opportunity to tell those around you, what Christmas is to you.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Luke 1:67-75
67 Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
68 “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel. For He has visited and redeemed His people,
69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us. In the house of His servant David,
70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began,
71 That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us,
72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant,
73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: 74 To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
 
Instead of a voice of frustration for having been silenced Zachariah became filled with the Holy Spirit and began to prophesy and praise the God of Israel. To fulfill a promise made to Abraham some 4,000 years ago God would once again visit this world like He did in the days of the Exodus and deliver His people. The one in whom great prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel spoke of… would empty Himself of His reputation in heaven…
 
Philippians 2:6-11
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it [a]robbery to be equal with God, 7 but [b]made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
 
And be born as the “horn of our salvation.” From the line of King David would come God’s only son whose divine strength would purchase victory not over political but spiritual enemies of His people. Jesus conquered sin and death so that His people might be freed to serve God “without fear and in holiness and righteousness.” With numerous references to the Old Testament Zechariah made it abundantly clear that the “stupendous, unrepeatable, incredible” birth of Christ not only fulfilled prophesy but was to be the song their hearts were to sing to the world … “the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace” has arrived!
 
From this part of Zachariah’s song we learn that Jesus did not come to earth to redeem His people from sin and death so that they might become carnal lukewarm pretenders of the faith but so that they might receive and proclaim the Good News that all might be saved! Even though we are told in Scripture that the world will hate us for speaking the truth concerning Christ on His birthday…
 
John 15:18-19
18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
 
We are to take refuge in our rock and shield (Jesus) who has already conquered Satan and death and shout from the mountaintops “our Savior has arrived!” Like John the Baptist our role this Christmas is to not fear but to embrace the opportunity to point those who are dying of a disease called sin to the Redeemer that can not only save them from spiritual death but also provide every spiritual blessing in Christ, Jesus our Lord…
 
Ephesians 1:3
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
 
So, this Christmas lets not be afraid of those whom God sends our way. With everything else that is going on in the world right…there will be someone who like to hear the greatest news ever…. “A Savior Is Born”.
 
Lastly:
 
Luke 1:76-80
“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, 77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people, By the remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; 79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.” 80 So the child grew and became strong in spirit and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
 
Through the Spirit Zachariah was told that his baby boy was called by God (Malachi 3:1; Isaiah 40:3) as an agent or forerunner to testify to “God’s saving purpose and plan.” Those living in darkness and were about to see a great Light and thus were to prepare their hearts for “repentance, contrition, and new paths of righteousness.
 
The Dawn was about to rise whose kingship would reign and reveal God’s mercy to send His Son to conquer the forces of evil that had enslaved and entangled His people in their sins. Using Scriptural images of “visitation, Exodus, Jubilee, New Covenant and illumination, Zachariah was overwhelmed with joy that his son John was called and set apart to preach “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins!”
 
The shoot or offspring of David, the raising Star Jesus’ life, atonement and resurrection would pave the way for Israel and the world…
 
Romans 6:10
10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
 
To receive the gifts of peace and eternal life with God the Father in heaven! Even though the world was covered in darkness and death and John’s preaching ground was to be in a desert, he was overwhelmed with joy to say a Savior had been born!
 
The horn of salvation arrived more than 2,000 years ago to provide the cure for the deadliest disease humanity has ever seen and defeat an enemy that is best described as a ferocious lion. Praise be that Christ took on a human nature to atone for our sins and destroy this lion who held the power of death.
 
Church…let us not get caught up in what the world calls Christmas. We have already received the greatest gift ever, (Jesus) Its what Christmas is really about.
 
Church…I want to you to look at your household…your family. Take good care of it, give it all the love that you can. After all that is also Gods gift to you. Don’t let the enemy break or take that away. Always put God first and let Him take care of the rest.
 
Luke 10:27
27 So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
 
The enemy will always try to break this command. Let’s not even give him a foothold. Keep this verse in your heart, in your life this Christmas. God loves you…and the proof of that is His Son, A Child is born. Our Savior lives!
 
Let us pray…