Because of the Tender Mercy of Our God

Luke 1:68–79 – Advent: Come Light Our Hearts
Fourth Sunday of Advent – December 19, 2021 (am)
   

When I was a child, second- and third-grade age, my family lived in a small university town in eastern Tennessee. A little ways down the sloping side street that descended from the minor state highway that separated the town from the university campus, there lived an elderly couple who were as gracious and kind as they were distinguished and polished. They lived in a fine old house with antique furniture and a dark wood library with a fireplace, and a tiled greeting area that separated an Edwardian living room on the left from the old-fashioned parlor on the right—at least, that’s how I remember it. And there were many other appointments in that home that were irresistibly engaging to a young boy, and made the whole scene feel like something out of a Dickens novel.

The memory of that couple lives in my mind like an old storybook—captivating, but a bit fuzzy around the edges. Their name was Jones. They may have had adult children, I don’t recall, but they lived there alone—that stately old couple in that grand old house in that sleepy little village of 800 people tucked away in the Cumberland Mountains. I think of them as I try to imagine Zechariah and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist. Luke described them as 6 … righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. Then he added to this image when he described them as living in the hill country of Judah (39). But I just wonder how that small Tennessee town would’ve responded if Mrs. Jones, so advanced in years (cf. 7), were suddenly reported to be expecting a child?

Add in a certain OT flavor that we no longer sense today, and the story becomes even more incredulous, but even more real. Luke recorded that 7 … they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren…. Under the old covenant it would’ve seemed strange to hear that someone walked blamelessly in all the commandments and yet was barren. Deu.7 says: 11 You shall therefore be careful to do the commandments and the statutes and the rules that I command you today. And if you do (Deu.7:12): 14 You shall be blessed above all peoples. There shall not be male or female barren among you or among your livestock. Now Elizabeth’s condition was not unheard of—Hannah had been both devout and barren (1Sa.1). But in such cases it would seem Jesus’ answer to His disciples regarding the blind man in Joh.9 would be best: 2 [They] asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

Such was the case with Elizabeth. But her reproach was now being taken away (25); the works of God were being displayed in [her] (cf. Joh.9:3). 57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” 62 And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called, suggesting that Zechariah was not just struck mute (20), but deaf. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.”… 64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. Let’s listen to what he said; we’ll follow it under two simple headings.

Blessed Be the Lord – 68-75

In short, this grateful father worshipped God but focused on something else ahead of the birth of his long-awaited son! So, what was foremost on his mind? The first thing he celebrated was the tender yet relentless mercy of the [saving] grace of God! (Pao & Schnabel 263) Let’s read it again. 68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people. This is another of those proleptic descriptions, speaking of God’s saving work in Christ as though it’s already accomplished. We can see that in the next clause: 69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, this is Jesus, Who’s actually not yet born, 70 as he spoke by the mouth, singular, of his holy prophets, plural, from of old, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; 72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, so, now he’s now tied in both David and Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days—there’s the aim.

Zechariah was talking about the coming and the mission of Jesus, the promised Messiah, Whom his wife’s relative, Mary, was already expecting. Jesus, the [redeemer] (68), is the horn of salvation God raised up in the house of his servant David (69). He’s the One God had in mind when He told David: 1Sa.7:16 … your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.

The horn is an image of power, strength, even authority (Stein 99). We can see that in Psa.18 where David wrote: 2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer…, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Now, Jesus, the horn of salvation from the house of David, is also being identified as the promised One foretold with one voice by the singular mouth of the prophets from of old! (70)

God would ultimately accomplish salvation from all Israel’s enemies (71, 74), and He’d show them the mercy He promised to [their] fathers, with whom He’d established a covenant relationship (72). In God’s covenant with Abraham, He promised to [bless] all of the families of the earth in [him] (Gen.12:3). As Zechariah makes mention of this covenant, this oath God swore to Abraham (72-3), he linked together the grand scope of this multinational blessing with the promise of a King and salvation, a [redeemer], from the line of David Who’d rule his people forever. Zechariah is tying together all these themes from Israel’s history and Scripture and is helping them, helping us, see that all of them come to us in one Person! All of them are fulfilled in Jesus.

So, what results when all this happens, this world-wide blessing through saving redemption and life together under an eternally righteous, holy King? Or, to ask it another way, to what end will God’s people be saved from all [their] enemies, political and spiritual, in fulfillment of all His promises? His aim is 74 that [they], being delivered from the hand of [their] enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all [their] days. Now there’s an aim! An outcome worth having! It surely seems like this is what Zechariah, the priest, had been pondering during his extended season of silence, namely, the great salvation to which his child is appointed a herald, a forerunner, a messenger to prepare the [way] before this promised One!

And, my friends, this salvation he’s celebrating is one and the same with the salvation we’re still preaching today! It’s a once-for-all salvation available to everyone who’ll receive it by faith—the promised seed of Abraham, of David, Jesus, the eternal Son of God come in the flesh so 74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days! Are you in?

Blessed Be the Child – 76-79

So, what part does John play in all of this? That’s where his father went next, as he answered the question of the relatives and friends: 66 … What then will this child be? … Answer: 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God…!

John is the messenger of Mal.3:1, [sent] by God to prepare the way for the Lord.

He’s the Elijah of Mal.4:5, (cf. Luk.1:17) whom God will send… before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. He’ll even dress like Elijah! (Mar.1:6, cf. 2Ki.1:8)

John is the voice in Isa.40:3 that cries: In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level and the rough places a plain. 5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. These words would be preached by Zechariah and Elizabeth’s son! (cf. Luk.3:1-6)

John would preach and practice a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Mar.1:4; cf. Luk.3:7-18) to prepare people’s hearts for the message of the Messiah. He’d even baptize Jesus Himself so that He would fulfill all righteousness (Mat.3:15). Now this doesn’t mean the Messiah needed to repent of any sin, but rather that He needed to complete everything that could be considered part of a relationship of obedience to God (Blomberg 81).

John would preach his message of forgiveness of… sins (77) 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death…. This reminds us of the image from Mal.4:2 where the coming Messiah is described as the sun of righteousness that will rise with healing in its wings… for those who fear [the] name [of the Lord]. It reminds us of Isa.9:2 The people who waked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.

So, this [rising sun] of a Savior will 79 … give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. Why? … to guide [their] feet into the way of peace. So, not only will the darkness of death be driven away by His great light, it will also guide our feet into the way of peace, of shalom, of universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight, a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are all satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed all under the arc of God’s love. Shalom is the way things ought to be (Keller). It’s Eden. It’s heaven!

It was John’s calling to be the [prophet] who’d prepare the way for the One who’d accomplish all of this in the lives of all who believe! Can you imagine such an assignment, such a calling? If you want greatness as a mere human being, this is it! Right? In fact, Jesus Himself said (7:28): I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet, Zechariah, after nine-plus months in silent reflection, recognized that the greatness of his son was not the result of anything inherent in the child, or anything in himself or Elizabeth. John’s greatness was tied to the One Who followed him. He was great simply because of his proximity to Jesus, his connection to Jesus, his fixation on Jesus, even his receiving and proclaiming the message of Jesus—his obeying God by faith. And His people are the ultimate beneficiaries because of the tender mercy of our God (78).

Conclusion

This is the salvation we still receive today. And not only is it a great salvation. It actually makes those who receive it great! It’s the sort of greatness we’re actually craving whenever we pursue greatness in any other way! To finish Jesus’ statement about the greatness of John: Luk.7:28 I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

What is Jesus saying? As great as John was, he still lived in the age of promise. But on this side of Christ—on this side of the manger of Bethlehem and the cross in Calvary—any who receive by faith the sacrifice of the Lamb of God to whom John pointed, they belong to the kingdom of God, to the age of fulfillment.

John was filled with the Holy Spirit… from his mother’s womb (15), but that was still in the old covenant sense of the Spirit coming on someone for a particular assignment. It wasn’t yet the third Person of the Trinity taking up permanent residence with His new covenant people, making them the new Temple, His dwelling place on on earth, following the finishing of Jesus’ [saving] work and the giving of His Spirit at Pentecost (Act.2).

It’s like the writer of Hebrew said following that long list of OT heroes: Heb.11:39 … all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. Their salvation awaited the work of Christ and the giving of His Spirit just as ours does. But we were born after that was accomplished. They were born before. So, they weren’t really awaiting us; they were awaiting our day, the day of fulfillment!

So, what is our bottom line today as we reflect on this passage, which is Luke’s final set-up to his description of the birth of Jesus in the stable of Bethlehem? Our bottom line comes in two parts: first, it’s a call to repentance and faith for any among us who’ve never tasted of this great salvation, provided through this great Savior whom John was conceived and born and lived and died to point out and preach. Friends, this is the only means by which you will ever be able to have a relationship with God that changes your life from what you are to all He intended and designed you to be.

And second, it’s a reminder to each of us who already believe of the greatness of our salvation, not just because it’s changed our eternal address from hell to heaven—that itself is amazing beyond words, but it’s still the more limited part of the picture. I want us to leave here today pondering the unlimited picture: that we have a part in God’s grand salvation plan that He’s been progressively revealing ever since Adam and Eve first sinned in the Garden of Eden. And we actually have the privilege of living in a day when 68 … God… 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 the holy prophets from of old, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; 72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. … 79 to give light to [us] who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.  

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Resources Cited

Beale, G. K. and D. A. Carson, eds. 2007. Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. Luke, by David W. Pao and Eckhard J. Schnabel 251-414. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.

Dockery, David S, ed. 1992. New American Commentary. Vol. 22, Matthew, by Craig L. Blomberg. Nashville: Broadman & Holman.

________, ed. 1992. New American Commentary. Vol. 24, Luke, by Robert H. Stein. Nashville: Broadman & Holman.

Keller, Tim. October 23, 2005. Justice. Church service, Redeemer Presbyterian. New York, NY. Sermon.

NEXT WEEK: For the Glory of Your People, Luke 2:29–32