Luke 1:68-79: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

There is a great irony in the fact that we sing so many songs about silence and stillness at one of the noisiest and busiest times of the year. Whether it be the song we just sung, or Silent Night, or any other number of Christmas carols, we seem to inherently know that there is supposed to be some association of Advent with silence.

I believe that this is because the primary emotion and response that God’s people should have at Christmas is awe. I don’t mean “awwww,” like I just saw a big ole bag of puppies. I mean “awe,” a dumbstruck worship that renders us, well, silent. In Paul Tripp’s book entitled Awe: Why it Matters for Everything We Think, Say and Do, Tripp says this about humanity: “They have a dissatisfaction in their souls, and emptiness they long to fill, and they are attracted to awesome things.”

I think this one little truth never presents itself quite so clearly than at this time of year. It may partly be because it is the end of the year, and we are looking with retrospect at the way we invested our time and energy in 2024. It may also be because we are all in a war this time of year against one type of materialism or another, and we are fighting the urge to place the value of Christmas in thing that are not eternally valuable. Either way, instead of it being a time of silence and reverence, we pack each moment with as much as we can, and we live noisy lives, with any sense of Awe noticeably absent.

So, here is what my challenge is for us today. I think we may have a built in pause button around us, that can help us to take at least a moment each day and just stare in wonder and amazement at the true awe-inspiring moments of Christmas: the manger. Most of us have nativity scenes around us that we can use as instruments of grace to cause us to pause and reflect on what is truly awe-inspiring about Christmas. So, what I would like to do is give us some things that we can truly be in awe over today as we pause and look at these nativity scenes. All of these come from a song written by Zechariah in Luke chapter 1.

To catch us up here, Zechariah was visited by Gabriel just like Mary was. But his questioning of God’s plan resulted in him being struck mute until his son, who was John the Baptist, was born. On the day of naming, John is finally able to speak, after months of silence. I’ve often thought about Zechariah, and wondered what my first words would be if I had been struck mute by God and was given my speech back. We don’t have to wonder about this with Zechariah, though - his song is immediately about God, and what God was doing in bringing about the Messiah.

I believe that there are three main categories of God’s work that left Zechariah in awe, and I believe that we can see any of these as we stop and meditate on the manger: We can be in awe over what God has done, why God has done it, and how God has done it. Let’s look then at the incarnation through the eyes of old Zechariah.

1. What God has done (68-71)

Luke 1:68–71 ESV

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;

He has visited His people (explain the word visited here) - Zechariah here is rejoicing over the fact that God has visited His people. In the Bible, when we speak of God “visiting,” it doesn’t mean in the way we visit people. When I go and visit someone, I was not there, and then I arrive, and then I leave afterwards, and it all happens in time. This isn’t exactly what Zechariah means here.

Visitation has two meanings in the Bible. First, the visitation of God can mean that God comes and visits in judgment, like He does in Exodus 32:34

Exodus 32:34 ESV

But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.”

So, he is coming to execute judgment on the people for their sin.

But second, the visitation of God is a visit of mercy. We see this in a passage like Genesis 21:1

Genesis 21:1 ESV

The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised.

where Sarah is “visited” by God and extended grace and mercy. Now, here is what is fascinating: in this little passage Zechariah is saying far more than he can even understand in this moment! Think about it this way:

Is the coming of the Messiah the judgment of God? Yes! Because God will execute His wrath on sin!

is the coming of the Messiah mercy? again, yes! Because the Messiah will take that wrath that we deserved on Himself in order to propitiate God’s wrath!

Truly, in the coming of Jesus, God has visited His people! Even in the ministry of John, we see both judgment and mercy! The same John who would say “You brood of vipers! Who told you to flee from the wrath to come?” Would also say “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance!”

Look at the manger, and see the provision of God to execute judgment and show mercy. That through Christ, God would be both just and justifier. It should strike awe in us that the plan and provision of God was such that He could somehow both execute judgment and mercy at the same time, and both through sending His Son! Zechariah had plenty of time to think about this, and you can tell he has! He was silent long enough that he know that the first words he wanted to say, right after just blessing God, was that this was an awe-inspiring event!

He has redeemed His people - because God has visited, He has redeemed His people! We will spend the next year going through the book of Exodus, and one of the things that we will see as we study that book together is that God is not only providing redemption for Israel, he is providing a pattern for redemption for all people. When Zechariah says that God has both visited and redeemed His people, he is looking back to the story of the Exodus, which was THE story for the people of God of the redemption that God provides! He sees in the coming of the Messiah the work of God to bring them out of slavery and make them into a new community! As you look at the first few chapters of Luke you can see the exodus everywhere: (make these connections if time)

Look to the manger, and see the great provision of God to make a way for His people to be free to serve Him. Friends, when we truly study God’s amazing Word, we should be awestruck at the plan of God! We can see how He has orchestrated history for His divine purposes! Advent is a time for this. It is a time to recognize God’s divine hand in redemption. It is a time to recognize the God that has truly come to visit His people.

He has made salvation possible for us - explain the horn of salvation - now, Zechariah praises the strength of God.

Zechariah rejoices that God has “raised up a horn of salvation.” That’s a packed little phrase! When God’s people needed deliverance in the OT, He raised up a judge. When they needed correction, He raised up a prophet. When they needed rule, He raised up a King. Zechariah, the good priest, is leaning on his extensive knowledge of God’s Word to rejoice in the work He is doing now!

That phrase “horn of salvation” isn’t one you see very often in the Bible. The picture is of an ox. We still use the expression “he is as strong as an ox” to communicate that someone possesses above average strength. This is precisely what Zechariah is doing here. the horns of the Ox were a picture of its strength, much in the same way that we like to keep the antlers of a deer - it is an image of a strong animal that we exercised dominion over. Over the OT, this image was transferred down to the warrior of ISrael, and ultimately even to God Himself, like we read in Ps. 18:2

Psalm 18:2 ESV

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

In other words, the Messiah IS strength. He IS power. It isn’t just something He has; it’s something He is! Now again, think about how this could be true: Messiah isn’t even born yet! The wonder that the source of all strength could take on the form of a baby is one of the greatest displays of strength. And as He grew, you would see this strength demonstrated in so many different ways:

He would resist the devil while fasting for 40 days in the wilderness

He would speak to the winds and waves and command them, just like he commanded the Red Sea to part

He would provide food for His people in the wilderness, from five loaves and two fishes, just like God provided manna for His people

But the greatest work of the Messiah? He would take on and defeat Israel’s greatest foes, and ours! And it started with the greatest display of strength ever shown: the birth of the Messiah. We have been saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us!

What if we saw this when we looked at our manger scenes? what if we simply stood in awe of what God has done? Look to the manger, and see the strength of God to defeat the foes that held us in bondage.

2. Why God has done it (72-75)

Luke 1:72–75 ESV

to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

But it isn’t just what He has done, it’s why He has done it as well! Jesus Christ came to glorify the Father, and to bring deliverance to a people. But why? What reason would He have for Jesus to come into this world?

to show the mercy that He promised - we who deserve wrath were promised mercy! Israel didn’t deserve the Messiah, and yet they were given it! Zechariah feels this. You know, his questioning of God deserved far greater punishment than simply being rendered mute for a few months. He recognizes this, and when God sees fit to turn his tongue loose, he is quick to marvel at the mercy of God.

It is unbelievable to me how quickly I can lose sight of the wonder of the mercy of God. No human under Adam has ever deserved to be spared from hell, least of all me. God sent His only Son to be everything I could not be so that I can receive everything I do not deserve. And yet, there are so many times I am quick to just forget this.

When I pray for something and don’t get it, I feel like God is holding out on me.

When I walk through seasons of darkness, I feel like life is worse than I deserve.

When I am rejected by others, I feel like I have been totally rejected and am alone.

And yet, God’s mercy speaks to each of these and tells me the exact opposite. Church, look to the manger and wonder at the mercy of God!

Why did Jesus come? A demonstration of the mercy of God! But remember what we said last week, the mercy of God is given to the Christian in order to demonstrate the holiness of God

to demonstrate His glory and His faithfulness - and so Zechariah transitions, declaring that God remembers His holy covenant, and His promises to Abraham. I must confess something to you: I sometimes forget to keep promises I have made. I can name times in my life when I have said that I was going to do something, and I just forgot. All of us are at least tempted at times to make rash vows that outstrip our ability to follow through.

But God is not like that. Christmas, at its core, is the Christian celebration of a God who has kept and fulfilled every single promise He has made. And in doing, so He brings great glory to Himself.!

As we stare at the manger, we should be in awe that God would so demonstrate His glory to His people. That He would be so faithful to a faithless people. That He would condescend to us, and become flesh, and dwell among us. Look to the manger and see a God that is so infinitely more faithful than you or I! This should leave us in awe.

to enable fearless service for His people - ok, so verse 74 is one of my favorite verses in understanding what Jesus came to do: he came to enable us to serve Him without fear.

I am doing a ton of research on the Exodus right now, to prepare for next year as we study the book of Exodus together, and one of the central themes of the whole book is obviously freedom from slavery. But God never frees a people simply for the sake of freedom. He frees them to serve. When we study Exodus together, we will see this. Over and over again, Moses tells Pharoah to let the people go into the wilderness so that they can serve Him.

Zechariah sees the work of the Messiah as to enable the people to serve God without fear! He is definitely thinking of earthly deliverance, but there is so much more here. From what did Christ free us? We have seen this over and over again in Romans. Fear of death. Hell. Sin. But we weren’t freed just for the sake of freedom; we were freed to serve Him forever! That’s what humanity was created to do! Old Zechariah sees the coming of the Messiah as the beginning of liberation for God’s people. And so should we. Look to the manger and see fear conquered, and be in awe, friends.

3. How God has done it (76-79)

Luke 1:76–79 ESV

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Zechariah finishes his hymn with some beautiful declarations of what has happened to enable us to to walk in holiness and righteousness all our days. How did God do this?

Our sins are forgiven! So, finally, at the very end of Zechariah’s song, he acknowledges what role his own son will play in this work. He looks at little baby John the Baptist and tells him, and us, that his work will be to prepare the way of the Lord. Through John, the knowledge of salvation would come!

And through Christ, we would have not only knowledge of salvation, but salvation itself! We are enabled to walk in holiness and righteousness because Christ walked in perfect holiness, and perfect righteousness, and after living such a perfect life, He died to propitiate God’s wrath. And then, He was raised from the dead to defeat death and hell for us, and now He reigns! The manger reminds us that God saw fit to save us by sending His own Son to become flesh for us and to accomplish what we could never do. The manger stands as a picture of our complete incompetence and inability to save ourselves.

Our light has come! Then, just as fast as Zechariah starts talking about John, he stops and talks about the sunrise visiting us from on high. This is a reference to the promise of Malachi in Malachi 4:2

Malachi 4:2 ESV

But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.

have you ever stopped to think about the lyrics in the Christmas song “Hark the Herald Angels Sing?” There is a part that goes “hail the heavenborn prince of peace, hail the sun of righteousness!” That lyric is expressing this truth: that Christ has come as the light of the world, as the fulfillment of what Malachi saw, and has brought light into a dark world. Anyone who has tasted salvation should be able to testify to the Jesus who brings light into the darkness. Zechariah sees that his son is to point people to that light, but that he is not the light itself. The light of the world was coming, and would be born in a manger in Bethlehem. Look to the manger and see the light of the whole world, and be in awe of the work of God.

Our path IS peace! Zechariah sees the one who is coming as one who will both give light and guide our feet. We will be guided to peace forever by the Prince of Peace. And how will this happen? How does this begin? With the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. The One who is coming will guide us in peace, because He is our peace! Zechariah sees what Jesus will do for us: He will make peace for us! So, we look to the manger and see peace incarnate, and accomplished for us.

Christ brings peace to His people. Even as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Even as the world seems to implode around us. We have peace. And we can look at the manger and see the beginning of peace accomplished for us.

What is Luke 1:68-79 telling me to do?

Look at the manger, and be in awe of the God of heaven and earth.

Look at the summary of things that we can see in the manger:

Look at the manger, and see the provision of God to execute judgment and show mercy

Look to the manger, and see the great provision of God to make a way for His people to be free to serve Him

Look to the manger, and see the strength of God to defeat the foes that held us in bondage.

Church, look to the manger and wonder at the mercy of God!

Look to the manger and see a God that is so infinitely more faithful than you or I!

Look to the manger and see fear conquered.

Look to the manger and see the light of the whole world

look to the manger and see peace incarnate, and accomplished for us.

Look to the manger, and see the awesome work of God to bring the Prince of Peace.

And yet, this time of year, we are so easily distracted, aren’t we?

We recklessly give our awe, our reverence and our worship to things that are not worthy of them.

We create relentlessly busy schedules that don’t allow us time to stop, and think, and meditate on the work of Christ and what He has done.

We live restless lives, not satisfied with what we have, or who we have, and we long for that which God has not given, and fail to give thanks for what He has truly given us.

And so, in our sinful flesh, a time that should be spent in worship, meditation, and thankfulness becomes defined by reckless idolatry, relentless business and gross discontentment. What is the remedy for this?

Awe. Awe is the remedy. And that is what this passage is telling us to do. Zechariah had plenty of time to think about this song, and so he sings a song of awe, as he thinks about the wonder of what God is doing.

So, this year, make yourself stop and simply experience the awe of the incarnation. Look and see the wonder of Christmas. Just for a little while, sit in silence and consider the great work we are commemorating at Christmas.

Right before I came up to preach today, we sang the hymn “Let all Mortal Flesh Keep Silence.” This is one of the oldest hymns we have, dating back to the 4th century. As the early Christians sang it, they would celebrate communion together, so it is fitting that we do the same. There would have been no body broken if he had not been born; no blood shed if he had not come. As we observe communion together today, let’s stop and remember this marvelous work of God, and give thanks. LS Instructions here.

Benediction: Titus 3:3-7

Titus 3:3–7 ESV

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.