The Benedictus
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Appetiser
Appetiser
Let me ask you again: what are your expectations this Christmas? And let me repeat what I said in the family talk: you will get the most out of the season if your expectation matches what God wants to deliver to you. And so I want to remind you again what that is.
At Christmas, in Christ Jesus:
Main Course
Main Course
God visited His people
God visited His people
They are slaves, v68
Exodus language again, cf. Genesis 50:24-25; Exodus 3:16, where the same word is used in the LXX:
Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, ‘God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.’
“come to your aid”
‘Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, “The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt.
“I have watched over you”
The time has come for God to act; that’s why He came.
Zechariah is not a free man: Israel is under Roman rule. They have not really been free for hundreds of years, going back to the Exile. They are still:
They live darkness, v78-79
Allusion to various texts from the OT, including chiefly Isaiah 9:2, 6-7
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and for ever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
In context, this speaks of the end of the Exile, the restoration of God’s people under their King from David’s line, cf. Luke 1:69-70.
But if we understand this purely politically, we would be seriously mistaken...
God saves His people from their sins
God saves His people from their sins
Who and what are they saved from?
v71 — “all who hate us”
Many in Zechariah’s time would’ve thought of the Romans.
Previous generations would think of the Greeks, the Babylonians, the Egyptians. Who do you think of?
But there is a person behind all evil who oppose God’s people, John 8:42, 44
Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me.
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
If you don’t love God but oppose Him, His message, His people, it shows you are one of those enemies God comes against, to rescue those who love Him. His visitation is not good news to you—unless you realise what you’re doing and repent of your sin.
But to those of you who realise that the greatest oppression is in your breast, and wish to be free; those who feel this on your skin, Satan tempting you, or people giving you a hard time for your faith in God: rejoice! God has seen you and has come to your aid.
v77 — “salvation through the forgiveness of their sins”
This is what salvation consists of. The reason Israel went to Exile was because they sinned, and kept on sinning. The reason Adam and his wife were Exiled from God’s Garden was because they sinned against Him. The reason we are not right with God is because we have the same sin in us. Sin is the problem Jesus came to deal with—the slavery He has come to set us free from, John 8:34, 36:
Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
He is the One raised by God for our Salvation, v69. Paul writes in Colossians 1:13-14
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Do you wish to be free from sin and be made right with God? Turn to Him for salvation today.
They are saved to serve God, v74-75
The freedom offered is not what Satan offered to Eve: “you will be like God.” (Genesis 3:4) Nobody is like God; only God. Satan sold the woman a lie, and since then, that’s how we tend to think of freedom: to be my own master, to be independent of everything, especially God. But nobody is independent of God—as the Creator, He sustains us. A God-less, sinful life is slavery. To want to do my own thing is to be a slave to my passions. To be truly free is to serve God
“without fear”—because we know Him as our God, and we know Him that He is good;
“in holiness”—because we know we belong to Him, whatever happens; to seek to do His will above all;
“[in] righteousness”—because our lives have been made right with Him, and He is transforming our lives daily;
“before Him”—aware of His presence always with us;
“all our days”—all the time and forever; this is our life.
Notice how Zechariah praises God for this! He wants to be God’s servant. Paul even calls himself the Lord’s slave. Why is this? Because their eyes have been opened by the Spirit of God (cf. Luke 1:67) to see things clearly. It takes God to do this, because of the state of our heart. But once awakened by the Spirit, we begin to desire the God we were made for, and see slavery to Him as the true freedom it is. Cyril of Alexandria writes:
“For the world was wandering in error, serving the creation in the place of the Creator and was darkened over by the blackness of ignorance. Night, as it were, that had fallen upon the minds of all, permitted them not to see him, who is truly and by nature God. But the Lord of all rose for the Israelites, like a light and a sun.”
This is what all God’s people have been looking forward to, v72-73. Jesus said in John 8:56
Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.’
Mercy to all God’s people was dependent on the Saviour’s coming. Now, He has arrived, v78. Just as Malachi prophesied in Malachi 4:2
But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves.
God’s salvation is to be proclaimed
God’s salvation is to be proclaimed
John is one of the “holy prophets”, v70, 76. He is set apart for this task, in this special time of history.
He is “the prophet of the Most High”, v76—in the service of God. But notice that he goes on to prepare the way of the Lord, whom we know to be Jesus.
Therefore, v77 is what he does. This is what God’s people need. And therefore
Preachers today stand in his shoes, making Christ known to His people.
The Church is entrusted with the Gospel of God’s salvation in Jesus—it is our duty to make Him known, and God’s people will respond. We follow Paul, who stood in John’s shoes, and said in Acts 13:47-48
For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘ “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.”’ When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honoured the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
