Fourth Sunday in Advent, 2023

Introduction

This message concludes our series on Advent. Next week, I will give a sermon on the incarnation.

Love the Hand of the Lord (vv. 57-66)

Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.

The rejoicing of the neighbors fulfills what Gabriel said to Zechariah in Luke 1:14.

And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias, after his father.

Circumcision on the eighth day was a strict command in the Old Covenant (Gen 17:12-14; 21:4; Lev 12:3). The law of circumcision was not even postponed on the Sabbath day, which shows how important this eighth day is.

But his mother answered and said, “No indeed; but he shall be called John.” And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name.” And they made signs to his 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. And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God. Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea. All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.

We know Zechariah was mute from earlier in the story (v. 22), but now we also see that he was deaf because the people were using sign language. Gabriel shut Zechariah’s ears and mouth because he didn’t believe the good news. The last thing Zechariah said was his question doubting if God has truly given him a son, and the last thing Zechariah heard was Gabriel rebuking him for his unbelief. For the last 9 months, Zechariah has mulled over that moment, that regret. Now, when pressed on the name of the baby, Zechariah is given another chance to communicate either belief or unbelief. He gets a board covered in wax and writes “the boy’s name IS John.” Not, should be John. Zechariah believes his son is the one God promised to prepare for the Messiah, therefore God has already named him John. Now, that Zechariah is acting like a real father of a prophet, God gave him back the ability to speak (and most likely the ability to hear). Notice that Zechariah is using his voice for praising God even after God has disciplined him.

This shows us that we should love the hand of the Lord, both when it brings gifts and when it brings correction. Zechariah needed the correction of the Lord before he could even appreciate the gift of the Lord. In Hebrews 12:6-8, Paul shows us that God’s discipline of us shows us that we are His children. You don’t discipline your neighbor’s kids for their sin, but you should discipline your own. God’s hand of correction was on Zechariah, not to punish him, but to teach him how to live. Zechariah needed to learn how to live because he was tasked with teaching the last prophet.

Love the Oath of the Lord (vv. 67-75)

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.  

Now, the Holy Spirit has already filled John and Elizabeth to point to the birth of Jesus. John jumped in Elizabeth’s belly (v. 41) because Jesus was coming. And Elizabeth cried out with a loud voice because Jesus was coming (v. 41). Zechariah completes the family mission by glorifying the Lord who has sent his deliverer. And Zechariah glorifies the Lord with song. Literally this is a prophecy (v.67). But throughout scripture prophesying is sometimes a musical act (e.g., 1 Samuel 10:1-10).

The first half of this song, Zechariah praises God for fulfilling His promises. By giving John, God is giving Jesus. By giving Jesus, God is visiting us and fulfilling redemption for us (v. 68). Zechariah, then goes through the promises of God in the Old Testament, praising Him for keeping His promises. Zechariah is rewinding the Old Covenant promises starting with the most recent promises going further in the past. First, He thanks God for raising up the Messiah from the line of David as God promises in His covenant with David (2 Samuel 7). In that promise God promises David that the Messiah will build a house for God and God will give the Messiah an everlasting throne (2 Samuel 7:13). Second, Zechariah then quotes Psalm 106:10 which explains how God was faithful to Israel in the Exodus and years in the wilderness. God showed mercy to His people and punished those who harmed His people (vv. 71-72). This was in fulfillment of the third Old Testament reference, the promise God made to Abraham. God will bless those who bless Abraham and curse those who curse him (Gen 12:3). God made all these promises so that we would be rescued, we would be free from fear, and we would be free to live holy lives (vv. 74-75).

Brothers and sisters, God’s promises for you are for your salvation. But your salvation is more than just for when you die. Many of us grew up hearing preachers say, “you need to believe in Jesus because you may die tonight.” That is true, but I wish we also heard them say “you also need to believe in Jesus because you may not die tonight.” Zechariah was praising God for what Jesus will do here on earth. Jesus will save His people from their sins and establish a kingdom that will spread over this entire earth sharing the same message he and his son we sharing. God promised to bless all the nations who bless the faith of Abraham. That’s why Jesus told us to go to all nations sharing the faith of Abraham—God wants to keep His promise of blessing the entire world. So, love God’s promises, meditate on God’s promises, memorize God’s promises.

Love the Message of the Lord (vv. 76-80)

“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 to 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 and 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.

Now, Zechariah moves from praising God for keeping his promises to praising God for sharing His promises. Zechariah’s son will preach and prepare for Jesus, God’s son. Jesus brings forgiveness of sin (v. 77). John preaches the knowledge that brings people to Jesus (v. 77). Zechariah quotes Malachi 3, cementing what we learned this fall that God will redeem Israel with the Lord of the covenant by first sending the prophet, John. Zechariah is connecting his family mission with God’s family mission. After being corrected by God, Zechariah can explain to John how good God is. 30 years later, when Israel heard great preaching at the River Jordan, they no doubt heard preaching John learned from his dad.  

In the New Covenant, all of us are given the responsibility of heralding the good news of Jesus. But the message of Jesus is not the message of an expert. It’s simply the message of people who trust in God.