Search This Blog

Saturday, January 26, 2019


Thursday, January 24, 2019 – Luke 1:68-71

The Advent of John the Baptist, Pt. 5
Zachariah's Great Praise, Pt. 3

Fulfilling His Covenant Promises

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8WmOIR-ybw


Grace Fellowship Church
Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard




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.

This is Zachariah’s great psalm of praise called in religion, “The Benedictus,” because the Latin translation of vs. 67, begins with the word Benedictus that means, “blessed or praise;” as the Latin or Vulgate translation is “Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel.” This, like much of Zachariah’s praise, is right out of the  OT, as David praised God when his son Solomon was installed as his successor on the throne, 1 Kings 1:48. This praise was made by Zachariah regarding what God was doing through Mary’s son and his own.

This section can be broken down into 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.

Like Mary’s “Magnifcat,” Zachariah’s “Benedictus,” is rich in OT terminology and symbolism. Some believe at least 33 OT passages can be alluded to in his psalm of praise. In addition, this praise also sets up what would be unfolded in the rest of Luke’s gospel.

This was a similar praise that David made regarding his son, 1 Kings 1:48, in praise of God fulfilling His promise to David in fulfillment of the “Davidic Covenant,” 2 Sam 7:11b-13. Isaiah gave immortal expression to this promise in Isa 9:6-7. We also see this praise phraseology in the Psalms, Psa 41:13: 72:18; 104:48; 106:48, etc., cf. 1 Sam 25:32, 39; Psa 66:20:89:52.

In the Hebrew, the word for “blessed,” is BARAKH. It is an acknowledgment and formalized means of expressing thanks to God for His faithfulness and kindness as revealed in all His saving and sustaining acts.

Zachariah then states the reason for this praise, which is also the main principle that runs throughout the proclamation, “He visited us and accomplished redemption for His people.

This “visited,” is not directly speaking of the First Advent of Jesus Christ, per se. It is speaking more of the mercy that God has had and is now displaying towards man. It is the Greek Verb EPISKEPTOMAI, ἐπισκέπτομαι that means, “look for, inspect, visit, look after, etc.,” that is also used in vs. 78, for “visit.”  Here, it is referencing God the Father “looking down on” or “inspecting” man and finding him wanting due to sin.

In the OT, God is said to “visit” mainly for judgment, cf. Ex 4:31; Zech 10:3, but in the NT, His visitation is for mercy. Therefore, because of this need and God’s great mercy, He will provide a Savior in His Son that is emphasized throughout this psalm of praise, as we see in vs. 78.

With that backdrop, in Luke 7:16, we see the crowd also uses the word after Jesus raises a widow’s son from the dead: “God has visited his people.” Similarly, in Acts 15:14, reference is made to “how God first concerned (visited) Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name.” Therefore, God is seen in Luke and Acts as actively visiting the world to inspect and provide redemption through the work of Christ and His church. And later, it is said that Israel did not recognize, “the time of their visitation,Luke 19:44, where the cognate Noun EPISKOPE is used. Israel rejected the opportunity God offered to the covenant people in Jesus, with disastrous consequences.

Let us not lose the great symbolism seen in this storyline. As Zachariah was under the bondage of sin within his soul, (unfaithfulness to God’s word resulting in Divine discipline – mute and deaf), he is now freed, (able to speak and hear once again), because of God’s great plan of redemption through Jesus Christ, which he praises here.

Also remember, that when we rebound and recover from sin, God will still use us in wonderful ways, as He does with Zachariah. As long as we are alive, we are never out of the potential to be in God’s directive will and plan for our lives.

Vs. 69
Luke 1:69, “And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant.”

Here, Zachariah praised God for sending the Savior into the world, in similar fashion to the messianic Psalms, Psa 18:2; 132:17-18.

Psa 18:2, “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.”

Psa 132:17-18, “There I will cause the horn of David to spring forth; I have prepared a lamp for Mine anointed. 18His enemies I will clothe with shame, but upon himself his crown shall shine.”

It begins with, “raised,” another past tense Aorist, Active, Indicative use of the Verb EGEIRO that means, “raise, be raised, rise, appear, wake up, arouse!” It is used extensively throughout the NT. Here it is in parallel with vs. 78, “Sunrise,” in this great chiastic psalm of praise. It means bringing the Savior into the world, as noted in the Attributive Noun used as an adjective for “salvation,” SOTERIA, that means, “salvation, deliverance, preservation.”

In theology, salvation is the deliverance of man or his soul from the power or penalty of sin; redemption.  When we think about salvation, we also see the doctrines of: substitution, redemption, reconciliation, propitiation, conviction, calling, election, predestination, sovereignty, free will, grace, repentance, faith, regeneration, forgiveness, justification, sanctification, preservation, and glorification.

Salvation has two fundamental ideas inherent in the meaning of the word: on the one hand, to be saved is to be rescued from a lost estate, while on the other hand, to be saved is to be brought into a saved estate, vitally renewed, and brought close to God as a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light.

Psa 3:8, “Salvation belongs to the LORD; Your blessing be upon Your people! Selah.” Cf. Isa 45:17; Jonah 2:9

Luke also uses the Noun KERAS in this verse that means, “horn.” He only uses it here. Otherwise, it is only used in the book of Revelation 11 times. It is a Semitic symbol of strength and power, and was used in the OT as such, cf. Psa 18:2; 132:17.

Psa 18:2, “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.”

Psa 132:17, “There I will cause the horn of David to spring forth; I have prepared a lamp for Mine anointed.”

It means the horn of an animal that signifies power and strength, and the four corners of the altar that point in all four directions signifying the same and its all sufficiency.


The first time “horns” is used in the Bible is in Gen 22:13, for the ram’s horns that were caught in the thicket that Abraham would sacrifice in the place of his son Isaac. That was a wonderful type of what our Lord would do for all of mankind.

The first time “horn” is used in Exodus is in Ex 19:13, for the Lord calling the people to assemble before Him; the gathering together of His people.

It is used for both the corners of the Altar of Sacrifice, Ex 29:12, and the Altar of Incense, Ex 37:25. So, it symbolically means, Christ’s sacrifice for redemption leading to salvation and His intercessory mediatorship in our prayer life, cf. Rom 8:32-34.

Lev 16:18, “Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar on all sides.”

It also symbolized a place of refuge, 1 King 1:50-51; 2:28, which is the result of redemption and salvation for those who receive it.

Therefore, “horn of salvation” could be translated as, “powerful deliverer,” and speaks to the power of Jesus Christ to save, with the subsequent refuge and relationship we have with God in Him. That is why Paul stated in Rom 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

And, in Heb 7:25, we see the dual nature of the “horn of salvation,” for saving us from our sins and mediation. Heb 7:25, “Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

Finally, this “salvation” is both from sin and the world, i.e., Satan’s cosmic system. In Christ’s First Advent, He defeated sin. As a result, in His Second Advent, He will culminate the victory by literally defeating Satan and his cosmic system, i.e., world governments like Rome. Israel was looking for both. But unfortunately, many confused the Scriptures and their need, and where looking for Jesus to defeat Rome in His First Advent, thereby missing His “visitation,” Luke 19:44.


Vs. 70

Luke 1:70, “As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old.”

Here, Zachariah indicates that this “horn of salvation” that would provide “redemption,” was prophesied by the ancient writers of the Scriptures and others called, “the prophets,” PROPHETES, προφήτης. Cf. Acts 3:21; Rom 1:2.

Of old,” is the Greek Preposition APO, “from, out of,” and the Noun AION that means, “long period of time, eternity, earliest times, age, era,” cf. Luke 1:33, 55. In other words, this is not new information; it has been around for generations, and that which was unfolding was not something unforeseen; it was part of the eternal plan of God.

Vs. 71

Luke 1:71, “Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us.”

This phrase uses the political implications of deliverance (SOTERIA) from worldly “enemies.” But remember, that our greatest enemy, as was Israel’s, was sin and Satan, as the Greek Adjective here indicates. It is ECHTHROS ἐχθρός that means, “hated, hostile, an enemy, or the enemy (Satan).” Cf. vs. 74; 2 Sam 22:18; Psa 18:17; 106:10; Mat 13:39.

2 Sam 22:18 and Psa 18:17, “He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.”

This reminds us of the great Messianic Psalm of David, Psa 110:1, “The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet’.” Cf. Luke 20:42-43.

Hate,” is the Verb MISEO, μισέω that means, “hate, detest, abhor, or prefer against.”

Therefore, it references what Christ would accomplish in His Second Advent, based on what He would complete in His First Advent.

Psa 106:10, “So He saved them from the hand of the one who hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.”

No comments:

Post a Comment