Sermon Manuscript

Luke 1:68-79; Visitation and Redemption ~ 20221204 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

12/04 Luke 1:68-79; Visitation and Redemption Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20221204_advent-visitation-redemption.mp3

Luke 1:68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people 69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; 72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

These are the words of Zechariah, a priest of the division of Abijah, father of John who baptized in the Jordan river.

Preparing People for the Lord

Before Zechariah and Elizabeth conceived, the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah as he served in the temple and announced that they would have a child, and they were to name him John.

Luke 1:16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

He, John, would turn many to the Lord their God. He, John, will go before him, the Lord their God. John’s mission was to prepare Israel to meet their God. He would bring about reconciliation, repentance for sins, he restore many to faith in the Lord their God. He would prepare the way for the coming of the Lord, as prophesied by Malachi.

Malachi 3:1 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.

Malachi 4:5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.

The Prophecy of Zechariah

John the Baptist was born to Zechariah and Elizabeth in their old age. Eight days later, at the circumcision, his father who had been mute for the entire pregnancy because of his unbelief, finally spoke:

Luke 1:64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.

Imagine nine months of silence, processing the message of the angel, searching the Scriptures, seeking the Lord.

Visitation

Let’s walk through this prophecy given through Zechariah, to understand what he is saying.

Luke 1:67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, 68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people

The first thing that overflows out of his heart is praise. He worships. He blessed God, the Lord God of Israel. He praises God because he recognizes two things the Lord has done. He has visited and redeemed his people.

This word for visitation is an echo of the Exodus. 400 years of hard labor in Egypt and the people groaned and cried out for rescue.

Exodus 2:24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

And God came down, appeared to Moses in the burning bush, commissioned him to set his people free. After 40 years tending sheep in the wilderness of Midian, Moses returned to Egypt and announced to the elders of Israel that God had appeared to him, and what God had sent him to do.

Exodus 4:31 And the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.

The LORD had visited his people. He was attentive to their situation. He heard. He saw. He knew. He was willing to intervene on their behalf. He had come down to help. He had visited them in the exodus. But John was to prepare the way for the coming of YHWH. God himself was coming down to visit his people!

Redemption

The Lord has visited his people. And he had made redemption. Redemption is another concept that connects back to the exodus.

Exodus 6:6 Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. 7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

To ransom or redeem is to purchase or buy back out of slavery. Land and people could be redeemed.

Leviticus 25:25 “If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold.

Leviticus 25:47 “If a stranger or sojourner with you becomes rich, and your brother beside him becomes poor and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner with you or to a member of the stranger's clan, 48 then after he is sold he may be redeemed. One of his brothers may redeem him,

This was the Old Testament version of bankruptcy. If you couldn’t pay your bills, you could sell your land. If you still couldn’t pay, you could sell yourself and your family to serve someone for a period of time, until you worked off your debt, or until you were redeemed. A relative could pay off your redemption debt and purchase your freedom.

The people of Israel were enslaved in Egypt, and God said he would show up to redeem them out of their bitter slavery with his mighty strength. Zechariah understood that the people of Israel had sold themselves into bondage to sin for over 400 years, and God was coming to visit them and to pay the purchase price to buy them out of their slavery.

A Horn of Salvation

God has raised up a horn of salvation in the house of David. A horn is a symbol of an animal’s strength or power. We’ve been studying Daniel, where we’ve seen that a horn of a kingdom or empire is a powerful ruler or king. God has raised up a powerful king who is a descendant David, as promised.

The Old Testament is rich with prophecies of the coming Messiah-King. When king David desired to build a house for the Lord,

2 Samuel 7:11 ...Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. ...

God promised David that one of his descendants would be established as king forever.

Psalm 132:11 The LORD swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: “One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne. 12 If your sons keep my covenant and my testimonies that I shall teach them, their sons also forever shall sit on your throne.” 13 For the LORD has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place: 14 “This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it. 15 I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread. 16 Her priests I will clothe with salvation, and her saints will shout for joy. 17 There I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed. 18 His enemies I will clothe with shame, but on him his crown will shine.”

One of David’s physical descendants would be a horn, an anointed Messiah, who would sit on David’s throne.

Jeremiah 23:5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’

This is the promised Messiah-King, a horn of salvation as promised throughout the Holy Scriptures.

Salvation from Our Enemies

Luke 1:69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;

This coming King would mean salvation, rescue from all the enemies of Israel. Throughout history, God’s people have been hated, mistreated, persecuted. We’ve learned from Daniel that the enemies of Israel are both physical and spiritual, both earthly nations and the spiritual forces of evil battling in the heavenly realms. This coming Messiah-King will bring salvation from every enemy.

Covenant Keeping Mercy

Luke 1:72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, ...

Mercy is tender compassion extended to those who are needy and desperate, who have no other hope.

Micah 7:18 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. 19 He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. 20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.

God is a God who shows steadfast love, compassion, covenant faithfulness. He is a God who makes covenant contracts, who obligates himself with binding promises. He made promises to Abraham, that he would bless him, that he would multiply his offspring as the stars, as the sand on the seashore, that he would give him the land from the Nile to the Euphrates, that he would cause him to be a blessing to all the nations (Gen.15:18; 22:17-18).

Freed to Serve God without Fear

Luke 1:73 ...to grant us 74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

Messiah will deliver his people from the hand of their enemies. But salvation from enemies is not the end goal; it is a means to a greater goal. Their rescue is for a purpose; that being delivered, we might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness all our days.

Just like in the exodus, the goal was not simply deliverance from slavery; the goal was that they would be free to worship and serve the Lord. The goal was not to be autonomous and independent, but to be bound to a better Master, to serve a good and generous King.

They were set free to serve him without fear. Without fear of enemies, but even more without fear of God himself, who gave them into the hand of their enemies when they rebelled against him.

They would be set free to serve him in holiness and righteousness forever, which meant that they would have to be made holy and righteous, because in and of ourselves we are neither holy nor righteous. This is the greater salvation that God must bring about. God must make his people righteous; he must make us holy, so that we can worship him as we were created to do.

Prepare the Way for YHWH

Zechariah then turns from a hymn of praise to God, to prophesy over his son John.

Luke 1:76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

John was a prophet, and more than a prophet (Lk.7:26). Luke 3 connects the role of John to what was prophesied in Isaiah 40.

Isaiah 40:3 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

John would prepare the people to meet their God, and he would prepare the way for the appearance of the glory of YHWH!

Forgiveness, Mercy, Light, Peace

In what ways must we be prepared to meet God?

Luke 1:77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Zechariah had prophesied of rescue from enemies and redemption from slavery, but here the salvation is specific; we are to know salvation in the forgiveness of our sins. It is ultimately me that I need to be rescued from. It is my sin that brings the just punishment of death and separation from God. If I am to serve God in holiness and righteousness, I need all my sins washed away. And through Jesus, that is the salvation we can know today. God is merciful; he extends tender compassion to those who are completely without hope. We deserve death and darkness, but he gives light. He guides our feet into the way of peace, the gospel of peace, peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

We sit in darkness under the shadow of death, but the sunrise is coming! Because of God’s abundant mercy, the Son himself, God’s only Son, will visit us from on high! Come Lord Jesus!

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2022.12.04 Sermon Notes

Luke 1:68-79; Visitation and Redemption

Prepare people for the Lord

Luke 1:16-17; Malachi 3:1; 4:5-6

The Lord has visited

Exodus 2:24-25; 4:31

and redeemed his people

Exodus 6:6-7; Leviticus 25:25, 47-48

Raised up a horn of salvation

2 Samuel 7:11-14; Psalm 132:11-18; Jeremiah 23:5-

Salvation from our enemies

Daniel 10:13, 20-21; Ephesians 6:11-12

Covenant keeping mercy

Micah 7:18-20; Genesis 15:18; 22:17-18

Freed to serve God without fear

Exodus 3:12; 4:23; 5:1; 7:16; 8:1, 20; 9:1, 13

Prepare the way for the coming of YHWH

Isaiah 40:3-5

How do we prepare to meet God?

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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org