Tuesday,
February 5, 2019 – Luke 1:79
The
Advent of John the Baptist, Pt. 9
Zachariah's great Praise, Pt. 7
A Purpose for the Sunrise: To Give the Knowledge of 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. 79
Luke 1:79, “To shine upon those who
sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of
peace.”
In this
passage, we have two more Infinitive of Purpose phrases regarding the
“Sunrise.” It uses a beautiful quotation from Isa 9:2 and 60:1-3, to
carry forward the imagery of the dawning light (the Sunrise) and to offer hope
of peace to those who were then outside the faithful remnant of Judaism, cf. Eph 2:12, read vs. 11-22.
The first
purpose of the “Sunrise” is “To shine
upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death.” The first half of
this verse is taken from 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,” and Psa 107:10, “There were those who dwelt in darkness and in the shadow
of death, prisoners in misery and chains.”
The prophecy
of Isa 9:1-2, is directly quoted in Mat 4:15-16, in fulfillment, that Jesus would come from Zebulun,
the land of Naptali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the
Gentiles. Zebulun and Naphtali came under the yoke of Assyria, 2 Kings 15:29. But Christ would later
live and minister in Galilee, which is the same geographical area.
Mat 4:12-15, “Now when Jesus heard
that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; 13and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum,
which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the
prophet: 15‘The land of
Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the gentiles’.”
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.”
This also
reminds us of Eph 5:8, “For you were
formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of
Light.”
Then, we see
the prophecy in 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.”
“To shine upon,” is the Aorist, Active,
Infinitive of Result Verb EPIPHAINO, ἐπιφαίνω that means, “to appear, dawn
upon, bring to light, become visible, known, etc.” It is used four times in
Scripture, Acts 27:20; Titus 2:11; 3:4.
It is used
literally for the light of the sun and stars in Acts, and figuratively for the grace and love (mercy) of God
becoming visible to those who were in darkness in Titus, as it is in our verse. Therefore, it means the giving of
knowledge or information in a poetical way, which tells of the ministry of John
the Baptist, “to give the knowledge of
salvation,” vs. 77. In addition, the noun EPIPHANEIA, is used for the First
Advent of Jesus in 2 Tim 1:10; 4:8,
and for His Second Advent in 2 Thes 2:8;
1 Tim 6:14, 2; Tim 4:1; Titus 2:13.
“Who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,”
in the Present, Middle Deponent, Participle of KATHEMAI, “sit, stay, settle, or
reside,” with EN SKOTOS KAI SKIA THANATOS. In classical writings, “darkness,” SKOTOS, typically implied
the inability to see and thus the inability to know how to walk.
Metaphorically, “darkness” denotes “ignorance or obscurity,” and is used to
describe the human condition or behavior, especially that of unbelief. From this,
“darkness” implied a sense of anxiety or apprehension of what lay ahead.
Therefore, sitting in darkness and its ominous character became linked to the
ultimate anxiety, “death,” THANATOS,
cf. Psa 143:3.
Psa 143:3, “For the enemy has
persecuted my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me dwell
in dark places, like those who have long been dead.” Therefore, it means, “residing in
ignorance,” that is, not knowing that they are spiritually dead.
SKOTOS is
also used to describe how all men are being negatively influenced by Satan and
his cosmic system as the principalities, (the rulers, powers, and world forces
of “darkness,” along with the spiritual forces of wickedness), are aligned
against us in Eph 6:12.
Eph 6:12, “For our struggle is not
against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against
the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness
in the heavenly places.”
In Jesus’
commission to Paul, He stated Paul’s mission in Acts 26:18, “To open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to
light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness
of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in
Me’.”
And the
Light, Jesus Christ, has come into the world to save us from Satan’s dominion
of sin, Col 1:13-14.
Col 1:13-14, “For He rescued us from
the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
“Shadow of death,” is found in the
famous Psalm, Psa 23:4, for “walking through the valley of the shadow
of death,” that speaks of the trials and tribulations of life, and presents
the realities of the devout life under the image of the Divine Shepherd and His
Lamb, who is the Light come into the world, cf. John 8:12; 9:5.
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’.”
John 9:5, “While I am in the world, I
am the Light of the world.”
The valley of
the shadow is not death itself, it is the world where death reigns by sin, Psa 107:10.
Psa 107:10, “There were those who
dwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in misery and chains.”
The death
shadowed valley also speaks to the OT description of salvation from it in, Psa 107:14; 86:13.
Psa 107:14, “He brought them out of
darkness and the shadow of death and broke their bands apart.”
Psa 86:13, “For Your lovingkindness
toward me is great, and You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.”
“Shadow,” SKIA, is used figuratively for
that which is close to being like something else. In this case, it is close to
being like “death,” and “shadow of death,” is synonymous with “sitting in
darkness.” It is used for the state of unbelief and rejection of God in our
verse; having no spiritual life with God. That was the condition of the world
when Zacharias spoke these words. And that is the condition of a large part of
the world today, and that is why we are entrusted to send the gospel out to the
very ends of the earth, that men and women everywhere may hear it, so that it
may give light to those in darkness, in the very shadow of death.
Although the
Fall of Adam brought death into the creation, Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God
who was slain from the foundation of the world. The death of Jesus means
victory over sin and death to those who believe in Him. Through His spiritual
death on the Cross, Christ has created the certainty of eternal life for anyone
who receives Him, John 3:16.
Therefore, to shine upon those who “sit
in darkness and the shadow of death” means to bring them salvation, Eph 2:1, “And you were dead in your
trespasses and sins,… 5Even when
we were dead in our transgressions, He made us alive together with Christ (by
grace you have been saved).” Therefore, “to shine upon those sitting in darkness and the shadow of
death,” is to bring salvation to their lives.
Isa 42:6-7, “I am the LORD, I have
called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over
You, and I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the
nations, 7to open
blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon and those who dwell in
darkness from the prison.”
Micah 7:8, “Do not rejoice over me, O
my enemy. Though I fall I will rise; though I dwell in darkness, the LORD is a
light for me.”
“Zachariah points out the wretched
state in which the inhabitants of Judea and the Gentile world were then found.
1. Their feet had wandered out of the
way of peace, (Luke 1:79), of temporal and spiritual prosperity.
2. They had got into a state of
darkness—they were blind concerning the things of God, and the things which
belonged to their salvation.
3. They had become contented
inhabitants of this land of intellectual darkness—they had sat down in it, and
were not concerned to get out of it.
4. They were about to perish in
it—death had his dominion there; and his swift approaches to them were now
manifested to the prophet by seeing his shadow cast upon them.
Ignorance of God and salvation is the
shadow of death; and the substance, eternal ruin, is essentially connected with
the projected shadow.”
(Adam Clarke’s Commentary.)
The ones who
sit in darkness and the shadow do not know the peace of God, Isa 59:8, “They do not know the way of
peace, and there is no justice in their tracks; they have made their paths
crooked, whoever treads on them does not know peace.”
Yet, God has
sent His Son, so that our darkness can be illuminated and peace be known.
Therefore, through the mercy of God, we receive light. The light is Christ
Himself. He is the Sunrise. In our sin we sit in darkness like a prisoner
locked in an underground dungeon. But when Christ comes into our hearts, He
brings light. All of a sudden,
everything shines, darkness flees, and death is defeated.
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