Sunday, February
3, 2019 – Luke 1:78
The
Advent of John the Baptist, Pt. 8
Zachariah's
Great Praise, Pt. 6 -
For Sending the Sunrise for Our Salvation
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.
d. Praise to God for the coming of “the Sunrise,” the giving of the
Messiah, vs. 78-79.
Vs. 78
Luke 1:78, “Because of the tender
mercy of our God, with which the Sunrise from on high will visit us.”
This verse begins the new segment but continues the praise of Zachariah
regarding his son with the explanation as to the why and how salvation will
come; “because of,” the Accusative
Preposition DIA, “the tender mercy of
our God,” SPLANCHNON ELEOS HEMEIS THEOS.
SPLANCHNON, σπλάγχνον is a Noun that literally means, “inward parts,
intestines, heart, etc.” and figuratively for, “heart, affections, emotions, etc.” It is considered the seat of the
emotions, hence, the figurative use means here “compassionate.”
This is the first time it is used in the NT, and the only time Luke uses
it in his gospel. He uses it once more in Acts
1:18, literally for Judas Iscariot’s intestines that gush out when he fell
off the cliff after hanging himself. It is used 9 other times in the NT for the
figurative use of affection, compassion, or emotions as it is in our verse. By
itself, it can be translated “mercy,” but here it qualifies God’s mercy.
SPLANCHNON is linked with ELEOS, “mercy,”
that we have seen throughout these doxologies, to qualify and emphasize God’s
love toward us in providing salvation through His Son. We call this an
anthropopathism, which means ascribing to God a human emotion, i.e.,
“compassion, affection, etc.” God does not have emotions like we do. But to
understand God’s intense love for us, sometimes human emotions are ascribe to
Him, so that we can better understand Him and His actions. This is one of those
times. As such, the forgiveness that would be offered by John was to be based
in the affectionate (compassionate or loving) mercy of God.
Psa 103:11, “For as high as the
heavens are above the earth, so great is His mercy (lovingkindness) toward
those who fear Him.”
The only reason anyone is ever forgiven of sin is because of God’s great
mercy. You cannot earn forgiveness. You cannot demand forgiveness. You cannot
swap forgiveness with a trade. There would be no peace in salvation if we had
to earn, demand, or buy forgiveness. We would only worry if we had done enough,
if we were strong enough, or if we had paid enough. Forgiveness comes only by
mercy. Which means forgiveness is free and undeserved. The only step we can
take to find forgiveness with God is to ask for it.
Because of God’s intense love shown by His “affectionate mercy,” He is
sending His Son into the World to redeem the sins of mankind. That is what the
next phrase tells us, “with which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,”
EN HOS ANATOLE EK HUPSOS EPISKEPTOMAI HEMEIS.
In the Greek, “will visit us,”
EPISKEPTOMAI HEMEIS, comes first, which we have seen previously in vs. 68. There, it was the Aorist simple
past tense. Here, it is in the Future, Middle Deponent, Indicative for what was
going to occur subsequent to the time of Zachariah’s psalm of praise. Later
translations use the Aorist here, but the earliest and most reliable have the
Future tense. Therefore, in the future, the near future, there will be, “the
Sunrise from on high.” Previously, the visitation had to do with God’s
inspection of man and finding him wanting due to our sin. Here, it is the
result of God’s mercy towards us because we were wanting because of our sin.
Because of our need, God’s mercy would send a Savior, His own Son, into the
world.
“From on high,” is the
Preposition EK, “from,” and the Noun HUPSOS that reminds us of the “Most High”
language, (the Adjective HUPSISTOS), from vs.
32, 35, 76, that extoled God as the one and only Sovereign God. HUPSOS,
“height,” is only used here and in Luke
24:49; Eph 3:18; 4:8; James 1:9; Rev 21:16. Figuratively, it refers to the
concept of “royalty, dignity, grandeur, etc.”, and to “the realm of God,” i.e.,
“heaven.” Therefore, it is a reference to the Messiah’s heavenly origin and His
coming from God. They are one and the same.
Eph 4:8, “Therefore it says, ‘When He (Jesus) ascended on high, He led
captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men’.”
Luke 24:49, “And behold, I (Jesus) am sending forth the promise of My
Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with
power from on high.”
Now, the visitor is classified as “the
Sunrise,” the anarthrous use of the Noun ANATOLE, ἀνατολή that means,
“rising (of a star), rising (of the sun), ascent, or east.” It is used 10 times
in the NT, Mat 2:1, 2, 9; 8:11; 24:27; Luke
1:78; 13:29; Rev 7:2; 16:12; 21:13. In 9 out of the 10 usages, it stands
for the location or direction of the sunrise, “east.” Our verse is the one
exception and is used literally for “a Sun-rising,” from the heights of heaven.
But even here, it is figurative, because it is speaking about the “Savior,” our
Lord Jesus Christ. Older English translations use “dawn or dayspring” here,
because it refers to that region or those parts of heaven or earth where the
solar light first springs up and appears, the east. Therefore, it is called the
dayspring, dawn, or the rising sun.
Interestingly, the Septuagint, LXX, the Hebrew OT translated into Greek
well before the NT was written, used ANATOLE in Jer 23:5; 33:15; Zech 3:8; 6:12, for the figurative use of the Hebrew
word TSEMACH that means, “branch or shoot,” which speaks of David’s offspring,
our Lord Jesus Christ, cf. Isa 11:1-10.
Therefore, we have a “tie-in” to the Davidic covenant being fulfilled by the
“Sunrise,” the Lord Jesus Christ.
Isa 11:1, “Then a shoot will spring
from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.”
Isa 11:10, “Then in that day the
nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the
peoples; and His resting place will be glorious.”
Now, as you know, our literal sun is simply a star, and Jesus Christ is
called throughout the Bible the “Morning Star,” 2 Peter 1:19; Rev 22:16, which is also the sun that rises every
morning in the east. So, “Sunrise” is our Lord Jesus Christ.
Balaam prophesied in Num 24:17,
“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; A star shall come forth
from Jacob, a scepter shall rise from Israel, and shall crush through the
forehead of Moab, and tear down all the sons of Sheth.”
Notice also, that in the encampment around the Tabernacle, to the east
was the tribe of Judah, the tribe of Jesus Christ, Num 2:3.
Num 2:3, “Now those who camp on the
east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah,
by their armies, and the leader of the sons of Judah: Nahshon the son of
Amminadab.”
As well as Moses and Aaron’s to “performing
the duties of the sanctuary for the obligation of the sons of Israel,” Num 3:38.
Jesus said to the apostle John in Rev
22:16, “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the
churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
Peter stated in 2 Peter 1:19, “So
we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay
attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the
morning star arises in your hearts.”
The Magi who were looking for the child born said in Mat 2:2, 9, 10, “Where is He who has been
born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to
worship Him.”
Mat 2:9, “After hearing the king, they
went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east,
went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child
was.”
Mat 2:10, “When they saw the star,
they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.”
In addition, after Jesus’ resurrection, the woman came at “sun rise” and
found the tomb empty, Mark 16:2.
Finally, the “morning star” is a reward the positive believer will
receive in memorial to his relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, Rev 2:28, “I will give him the morning
star,” as it was an emblem Satan once wore prior to his fall, Isa 14:12.
Therefore, “Sunrise,” is a Messianic reference and Zachariah’s praise
appears to be an allusion to a prediction of Malachi, in which Christ is called
“the Sun of Righteousness,” and is said to “arise with healing in his wing,” Mal 4:2, that is, to bring health in His
rays.
Mal 4:2, “But for you who fear My
name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and
you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.”
We see this allusion in many other Old and New Testament passages including,
2 Sam 23:3-4; Isa 9:2; 30:26; 60:1-3,
19-20; Psa 19:4-5; 84:11; Mat 4:16; Luke 2:31; John 1:4; 8:12; Rev 21:23.
2 Sam 23:3-4, “The God of Israel said,
The Rock of Israel spoke to me, ‘He who rules over men righteously, Who rules
in the fear of God, 4is as the light of the morning when the sun
rises, a morning without clouds, when the tender grass springs out of
the earth, Through sunshine after rain.”
Isa 9:2, “The people who walk in
darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the
light will shine on them.”
In a Messianic prophecy, Isaiah stated in Isa 30:26, “The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and
the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven
days, on the day the LORD binds up the fracture of His people and heals
the bruise He has inflicted.”
Isa 60:1-3, “Arise, shine; for your
light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. 2For
behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; But the
LORD will rise upon you and His glory will appear upon you. 3Nations
will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”
Psa 84:11, “For the LORD God is a sun
and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from
those who walk uprightly.”
Luke 2:32, “A light of revelation to
the gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”
John 1:4, “In Him was life, and the
life was the Light of men.” Cf. John 8:12; 9:5; 12:46.
John 8:12, “Then Jesus again spoke to
them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in
the darkness, but will have the Light of life’.”
Mat 4:16, “The people who were sitting
in darkness saw a great light, and those who were sitting in the land and
shadow of death, upon them a light dawned.”
Rev 21:23, “And the city has no need
of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined
it, and its lamp is the Lamb.”
Christ’s coming was the dawn of a new day for Israel and for mankind, as
salvation had now come to the world through the person and work of Jesus Christ
on the Cross, which leads us to our next verse.
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