Zechariah’s Prophecy, Luke 1:67-80

This post explores lessons from Zechariah’s prophecy, the Benedictus, Luke 1: 67-79.

Three earlier posts report prophecies of the births of Jesus and John and the actual birth of John.  If you missed those posts, click https://tdroberts.org

Zechariah’s prophecy covers three points, v. 68-79.

Firstly, in Zechariah’s prophecy, the glory of God for the arrival of the times of the Messiah, the “horn of salvation,” namely, Jesus, appears.

So, these prophecies show God fulfilling His covenant to Abraham. (See Gen. 17:1-2; Lev. 26:42; and Ps. 105:8 for references to this covenant.) Also, these verses depict Jesus as the way to overcome the devil and his servants, v. 74. And, this promise-keeping by God is faith building for us. Thus, we see that God always keeps His promises.

Secondly, in v. 76-79, the subject of Zechariah’s prophecy changes to John, the future John the Baptist.

He is called a prophet and a forerunner. Accordingly, he will give knowledge of the future visit of “the sunrise,” namely, Jesus, and the forgiveness of sins —for the phrase sunrise, see Mal. 4:2.

So, this ‘sunlight’ would guide people into the forgiveness of sins or peace with God, v. 79.

Thirdly, John grew up in the wilderness until he began to address the public, v. 80.

Consequently, these faith-building passages prepare us to read in chapter two about the birth and early life of Jesus.

Finally, these verses stress three main things.

  1. God should be praised.
  2. The prophecy about the work of John the Baptist helps us understand John’s role in the life of Jesus.
  3. Throughout this chapter God receives praise. Therefore, this glorification teaches to praise God in prayer and song.

See other earlier posts by this author? Click  https://tdroberts.org

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