Sunday, January 27, 2019 – Luke 1:72-75

The Advent of John the Baptist, Pt. 6,

Zachariah's great Praise, Pt. 4 - For fulfilling His Promise to Abraham

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmzVTblcfOg

Grace Fellowship Church

Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard

www.GraceDoctrine.org

www.facebook.com/GraceDoctrine

The Gospel of Luke

II. The Identification of the Son of Man with Men, Luke 1:5-4:13.

  C. The Advent of John the Baptist, vs. 57-80.

      1. The Birth of John and rejoicing, vs. 57-58.

      2. The Circumcision and Naming of John, vs. 59-66.

      3. Zachariah’s Proclamation and Prophecy, vs. 67-80.

3. Zachariah’s Proclamation and Prophecy, vs. 67-80.

Four segments:

  a. Praise to God for keeping His promise to David, (the Davidic covenant), vs. 68-71.

  b. Praise to God for keeping His promise to Abraham, (the Abrahamic Covenant), vs. 72-75.

  c. Praise to God for keeping His promise to Zachariah, in giving him a son to be the forerunner to the Messiah, vs. 76-77.

  d. Praise to God for the coming of “the Sunrise,” the giving of the Messiah, vs. 78-79.

  b. Praise to God for keeping His promise to Abraham, (the Abrahamic Covenant), vs. 72-75.

Vs. 72

Luke 1:72, “To show mercy toward our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant.”

“To show,” is the Verb PIOEO once again, see vs. 68, “accomplished.” Basically, it means, “to make or do.” Here, it means, “perform or fulfill,” with a view to already being accomplished with the Aorist, Active, Infinitive. The Infinitive gives us purpose. This is the first of three purposes found in vs. 72, 74, as to why God provided salvation.

1. The first purpose was to perform “mercy,” ELEOS, towards “our fathers,” PATER. Again, the simple past tense Aorist views this from God’s perspective of being completed from eternity past.

2. The second purpose was for God to “remember,” MNAOMAI, cf. vs. 54, “In remembrance of His mercy.” The thing remembered here is God’s “Holy Covenant,” HAGIOS DIATHEKE. The Greek Noun DIATHEKE, διαθήκη means, “last will and testament, covenant, will, contract, or disposition.” Given its positioning in these passages, it encompasses both the Davidic and Abrahamic covenants God made with them, cf. Acts 2:30; 7:17, but specifically the one He made to Abraham, as noted by the next verse. The Abrahamic Covenant came first, Gen 22:16-18; 105:8-9, 42; 106:45, and was enhanced by the Davidic.

“Holy,” HAGIOS, “holy, consecrated, perfect, upright,” is the insurance, guardian, or guarantee of God’s promises. His holy character demands that He keeps or fulfills His promises / covenants.

Vs. 73

Luke 1:73, “The oath which He swore to Abraham our father.”

“Oath,” is the Noun HORKO and “swore,” is the Verb OMNUO, ὀμνύω that means, “swear, make or take an oath, or confirm by an oath.” These are in parallelism with “covenant.”

The one God swore this oath to was “Abraham,” ABRAAM, Ἀβραάμ indicating the Abrahamic covenant, Gen 22:16-18, who is “our father,” HEMEIS PATER, indicating the Jewish people in general, including Zachariah and the ones around him at this time, i.e.,  his neighbors and relatives. Yet, Abraham is the spiritual father of all who believe, both Jew and Gentile, Luke 3:8; John 8:39; Rom 4:12; James 2:21.

Heb 6:13, “For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself.”

Therefore, Zachariah is praising God for keeping His word and fulfilling the Abrahamic Covenant through the Redeemer, Savior Jesus Christ.

Vs. 74

Luke 1:74, “To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear.”

3. The third purpose was for God to “grant us rescue / refuge from our enemies.” This goes back to vs. 71, in the chiasm. “To grant,” the third Aorist, Active, Infinitive of Purpose, this time of the Verb DIDOMAI, “to give,” in the sense of fulfilling His Covenant promises by “rescuing” Israel from her “enemies,” ECHTHROS. Though using political language, our greatest enemy is sin which is from Satan and his cosmic system. In Jesus’ First Advent, we are rescued from our enemy – sin. In His Second Advent, we will be rescued from Satan’s cosmic system – world governments.

“Rescued,” is the Aorist, Passive, Participle of the Verb RHUOMAI, ῥύομαι that means, “save, rescue, deliver, set free or redeem.” It is synonymous to LUTROO. Matthew uses it in Mat 27:43, for the mocking cries of the onlookers of the Crucifixion: “He (Jesus) trusts in God. Let God rescue Him now.” What these scoffers did not realize was that the Father was going to deliver Him from the grave and death itself. Their own words, although not verbatim, is a citation of the Septuagint that echoes Psa 22, and especially vs. 8, the psalm Jesus cited on the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” vs. 1.

Psa 22:8, “Commit yourself to the LORD; let Him deliver Him; Let Him rescue Him, because He delights in Him.”

In our passage, Zachariah uses language reminiscent of the OT, cf. 2 Sam 22:18; Psa 31:15; Joshua 22:31; Judges 6:9, regarding the fulfillment of the Messianic promises. The Messiah would bring salvation to His people, deliverance for those seeking His mercy.

Then, the result of Jesus’ deliverance was so that Israel “might serve Him (God the Father).” “Serve,” is the Present, Active, Infinitive of Result of the Verb LATREUO, λατρεύω that means, “serve or worship.” It means to perform the work or service of a servant or slave in religious service to God the Father. While LATREUO has its background in the OT ritual worship service of the temple, its use broadens in the NT to include service to God in prayer and worship, e.g., Mat 4:10; Luke 2:37; 4:8; Rev 22:3; 7:15. Therefore, it signifies religious service distinctively, the priesthood of the NT.

This service will be done “without fear,” the Adverb APHOBOS that means, “fearless, without fear, or boldly.” It is only used here and in 1 Cor 16:10; Phil 1:14; Jude 1:12. It is used to speak boldly without fear the Word of God, including the gospel of Jesus Christ, except in Jude 1:12, where it reflects false teachers of the word. From this context, it means to preach the Word of God in the face of antagonism towards it. Zachariah is remembering Israel’s first objective, to preach the Word, and that is what God’s wants us all to do without fear. Therefore, the result of this deliverance is the complete freedom to worship God in absolute confidence in Him, as we exercise our Royal Priesthood and Royal Ambassadorship.

Vs. 75

Luke 1:75, “In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.”

This passage alludes to the “how do we do this,” It speaks to our Positional Sanctification that gives us boldness to preach and serve without fear in the face of opposition, as we walk in our Experiential Sanctification of holiness and righteousness. Therefore, the nature and quality of this service in worship is now elaborated.

“Holiness,” is not the typical HAGIOS, but HOSIOTES, that means, “holiness, piety, uprightness, devoutness, or sanctity.” It is related more to the keeping of the ordinances (experiential sanctification) than the character of life (positional sanctification). This is the faithfulness aspect of the believer’s life. It is only used here and in Eph 4:24, in the NT.

Eph 4:24, “And put on (Experiential Sanctification) the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created (Positional Sanctification) in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”

God promised Solomon that He would, “Establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel forever,” 1 Kings 9:5, if Solomon would live with, “integrity of heart, and in uprightness,” vs. 4.

It is linked here and in Eph 4:24, with the commonly used word, “righteousness,” DIKAIOSUNE that means, “righteousness, justice, or uprightness.” Righteousness, simply stated, is the fulfillment of God’s will in actions that are pleasing to Him. This is the virtue aspect of the believer’s life, the practical righteousness of everyday living and conduct.

Both of these words can mean our position before God in Positional Sanctification. But, the context of this passage and others, means that it is in the service and worship of God, which means the experiential aspect of our worship and service of God; our Experiential Sanctification.

“Before Him,” is ENOPION AUTOS. ENOPION is a Preposition that means, “before, in the sight of, or in the presence of.” This shows our position in Christ and our relationship with God the Father, cf. Gabriel in vs. 19, and the description of John the Baptist in relation to Jesus Christ as “going before Him,” vs. 17, 76, as he, Zachariah, and Elizabeth all had a wonderful relationship with God being His children, vs. 6, 15, walking holy, blameless, and righteously before God. Such a life is the consequence of the new birth.

Therefore, because God has fulfilled His covenant promises to Abraham and David, by sending a Savior to redeem us from the slave market of sin, we are able to serve God freely and without fear in the face of our enemies in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives.