Verse 68 After the birth of his son, John, the Holy Spirit fills up Zechariah, and he speaks of what’s coming from the work of a mighty savior, the Messiah – Jesus. He will come into the world to redeem those in sin.

Some people miscalculate how much sin they have in their life. The Bible says if you think it, then it is as if you did it. An old pastor of mine used to say, if all you need is the opportunity, then you’ve already sinned. Thoughts fill our minds. Those thoughts become actions when an opportunity is available. So we must continually bring our thoughts to the Lord and as for forgiveness with the intent that we never want to think it again, let alone act on it. That we need our hearts cleansed of the evil, or sin, in our minds so that we can come even closer to God and act on the right things He is telling us for our lives. The things that would actually benefit us and lead us into a favorable life.

A Mighty Savior

Verse 69 There are a few verses in the Old Testament from other prophets (people who God gives a word to and they speak into the future of what’s coming) that speak about God raising up this “horn of salvation” for us. This is Jesus, the horn of salvation. Think of a rhinoceros’s horn. 🦏 It is on the head and stands above the rest of its body. Think of royalty: when someone of importance or something of importance is about to come in or take place, trumpeters raise their horns to blow a melody of attention. A horn stands above the rest. It is high and lifted. That is Jesus. Our horn of salvation. Higher than any other “horn”. Any other work of salvation. He’s a mighty savior. And here is that reminder that He is coming from David’s line (which we’ve been talking about). David was a king who ruled for God.

Just As He Promised

Verse 70 Jesus is the fulfillment of all those prophesies that were spoken about years ago. (In our Old Testament) The Jews thought all those old prophesies were talking about a king that would come and deliver them from the heaviness or yoke of the Roman Empire. That was their enemy in the flesh who hated them. The Roman Empire was so hard on the people. Very oppressive. But this King, King Jesus, was coming to rescue them from their spiritual enemy, the devil who stirs up sin in the Romans to commit these crimes against the people. That’s the root of the enemy. Not the flesh. The evil spirit behind all the flesh is causing or leading them to be oppressive.

Verse 72 Jesus came to show the mercy that God promised us.

Verse 73 This was a promise God gave to Abraham (way back at the beginning of the Old Testament – Genesis – very first book). That’s how long ago God was thinking of our salvation and making a plan for us. The holy covenant/promise that was made to Abraham back then was that God would restore favor to His people and bring us into paradise again.

We can serve God without fear

Verse 74 He is probably referring to Israel being rescued out of Egypt (books Exodus and Joshua talk about this) but for us today this is meaningful as well. The ESV Bible says, “that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear.”

Jesus offers us grace, but that is not an excuse to ignore God. Some might say, “I don’t have time to seek or serve God today. Thank goodness there’s grace for that.” Grace encourages us to engage in serving God. He delivered us from the heavy yoke of sin and put us under the sweet and easy yoke or weight of Jesus so that we may serve God without fear. We have no fear of losing time. Fear of missing out on something else. There is this spirit inside of us, a state of wholly safety, security, a serenity of mind. It’s a peace that comes from serving God. We serve God with reverent, obedient fear, an awakening quickening fear, but not a slavish fear or a legal fear (“I must serve or else…”), or a tormented fear or a spirit of bondage. We serve Him without fear in living right according to His word and living a holy life.

Verse 75 The design of the gospel is to engage in constantly serving and persevering and service to God, by showing us how Jesus loved us to the end, which is the cross. Our lives depend on us not drawing back from God.

The prophet of the Most High

Verse 76 Now he is talking about his son, John. He is saying that John will be a prophet of Jesus and he will prepare the way. He is preparing the people for this salvation by Jesus.

Verse 77 John will teach people to repent of their sins and reform their lives. He teaches followers to ask for forgiveness and then God will give mercy. And he shows us how to walk toward what is best for our lives according to God’s Word.

The morning light from heaven

Verse 78 and 79 And because He has mercy on us, Jesus, who is the Light, will come to visit us to give light to the dark places in our soul that we don’t even know are in darkness. The Light, which is the gospel message of Jesus, exposes the darkness in us and around us and guides our feet into the way of peace. The gospel message of Jesus will enlighten us and help us understand God’s glory. That is what He gets glory from, how we can serve Him and give Him glory. This brings peace to our hearts and shows us the way to go in life that will bring more peace.

Verse 80 This last verse is saying John didn’t start his ministry right from birth. He went into places that were secluded and lived in prayer and devotion to God until God said it was the right time to begin his ministry. (John was 30 years old when he began his ministry and Jesus, too, was in His 30s when He began His ministry.) This tells us that God can store up favor in our lives in hiding and when the right season or appointed time comes, God will call us to walk out of that wilderness and into a ministry in public places. Which can be 30+ years down the road. That doesn’t mean God is not working in those secluded years. God is preparing us in that time for His appointed time to make His work known.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, You are so good and so faithful to fulfill Your Word. You never fail. You never fall short. Thank you for redeeming us, for raising up Jesus to save us from the spiritual enemy in this world. Thank you, Jesus, for your promised mercy, and for delivering us from the hand of our enemies so that we might serve You with no fear here on this earth. Teach us Your ways and help us persevere in serving You with living right and holiness for all of our days. Help us share this knowledge of Your gospel message with others. We want to share the truth of your mercy so that others will understand your forgiveness. Let Your light shine in our lives and expose the darkness that we cannot see. Guide us, Jesus, on the way to peace in our lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.