In Praise of the God of Hope

Sermon on Luke 1:67-80

Introduction
For the last few weeks, the pastoral team has preached a series of sermons from the Gospel according to Luke. In this season of Advent, we begin with the announcement of the miraculous births of the two sons: John the Baptist and Jesus – one being a child of an old barren woman; the other, a child of a young virgin girl. Following which, we also spoke about the courageous faith of Mary and the blessing of Elizabeth during their subsequent special meeting together. And last week, Pastor Siow Hwee spoke on the birth of John the Baptist. Today, we will look at Zechariah’s song of praise following the birth of his son. Luke 1:68-79 is commonly known as Zechariah’s Song, or also known as “the Benedictus” (the Latin word for “Praise be” by taking the first two words of the song). Its structure and style appear to be a “song of praise”. Like a psalm, it is typically filled with many OT quotations and allusions. The song can be divided into two sections. The first section from vv. 68-75 speaks about God’s plan in the redemption of his people through the Messiah; the second section from vv. 76-79 speaks of his son, John the Baptist and his role as the prophet of the Most High. What can we learn from this song of Zechariah? Firstly, we can learn of four reasons to praise our God. In the first section, Zechariah praised God for four things: 1) God who saves and redeems his people; 2) God who shows mercy and forgives his people; 3) God who remembers his covenant; 4) God who enables his people to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness.

Secondly, we learn from Zechariah that God’s discipline brings about true repentance and obedience. It is never too old for anyone to be changed by God and never too late for anyone to live a life of faith and belief. In this song, Zechariah is not only concerned with the past; he is concerned more so about the future. It is more than just a song reminiscing about the past; it is also a prophecy about the Saviour, Jesus Christ, Son of God, and a prophecy concerning his own son, John the Baptist. For Israel, who has been waiting for such a long time for their Messiah, the time has come. God’s promise is about to become a reality. It is a song of hope. Let’s take a closer look at Zechariah’s Song. Zechariah begins his song by acknowledging that the God of Israel has kept his promise and has now come to redeem his people. God has raised up a horn of salvation in the house of his servant David. This horn is a symbol of strength as it points to the strong horns of ox that can defeat opponents in a battle. The Son of David is strong and powerful in the midst of conflict. Zechariah anticipates the mighty Messiah and thanks God for it.

1. A God who remembers
Zechariah is one priest who remembers history well. From the content of his song, he remembers how faithful God is even though Israel has been most unfaithful. He reminds Israel of how God has saved them from their enemies and how God has been merciful to their unfaithful ancestors. But the most important act of God’s faithfulness was that He remembers His everlasting covenant with Israel (v. 72-73). This is crucial in understanding this song of praise. The God of Israel is a God who remembers his covenant with his people. But what is a covenant? To put it simply, a covenant is a promise. God made a promise to Israel and Israel made a promise to God. When one breaks their promise, the covenant would be consider invalid. But in this case, God held on to his promise even though Israel did not keep hers. This covenant was first established with Abraham, in Gen. 12:2-3, “I’ll make you a great nation and bless you. I’ll make you famous; you’ll be a blessing. I’ll bless those who bless you; those who curse you I’ll curse. All the families of the Earth will be blessed through you.” And again in Gen. 15:1, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” God promises to be Israel’s God who rescues them from their enemies and enables them to serve Him without fear. When God makes a covenant with someone, it is not a new covenant, but rather, a renewal of the old. Even though the words may be different; the message of the covenant is the same: that I will be your God, and you will be my people. Let’s take a look at God’s covenant with Moses just before he was asked to speak to the Pharaoh, king of Egypt, demanding him to let his people go, in Ex. 6:2-8. 2 God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they lived as aliens. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant. “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’ ” Israel’s God is a God who remembers His covenant with His people.

2. A God who saves
Ultimately, the message of every covenant is the same: that God wants to be Israel’s God and they are to be His people always. In short, with God on their side, watching over Israel, they have no fear. The only thing God demands of his people is obedience. Because of this covenant, God will not give up on His people. He wants to save them. Even though Israel was disobedient and unfaithful, God is faithful and remembers his covenant. Zechariah praised God because God has come and has redeemed his people. The birth of the Messiah is the fulfilment of His covenant. This is more than just a song of praise; it is also a song of hope. It is not surprising for Zechariah to remember God’s covenant with Abraham because both, Zechariah and Abraham, share very similar situation concerning their heritage. They were both old and without an heir apparent, but God promises them both a son. An heir ensures a line of descendents and the survival of a family is important for most culture. It allows the family land to be passed on to the next generation and the blessings of God be kept alive in the family. With the birth of John the Baptist, this hope is kept alive! John is to be the prophet of the Most High. He will go before the Lord and prepare the way for him. What an honour! He is also to give his people the knowledge of salvation. The knowledge of salvation means also the experience of salvation. Simply put, John is the signpost which points to the Saviour. He gives direction to the lost; provides sight to the blind; and hearing to the deaf. John is to show his people the way to salvation, through the forgiveness of sins. Not surprising that this would become John’s main ministry as an adult when he preaches salvation through the repentance of sinners and the forgiveness of sins. The forgiveness of sins is an important theme in the Gospel according to Luke. Here, Zechariah believes in a God who forgives. The psalm tells us that the God of Israel is a merciful God. He has shown mercy to their unfaithful ancestors, he has also shown tender mercy to his people. In Israel’s history, there are so many accounts of Israel worshipping other gods. Israel has been unfaithful, but God forgives her time and time again. Unfaithfulness in a marriage is punishable by stoning. But yet, God has paid the ultimate price for Israel’s unfaithfulness by sending His Son to die on the cross for our sins. By the blood of the Saviour, the sins of Israel have been paid for. Salvation comes to those who believed in the Son of God. The rising sun, which is literally, “a morning star”, is another imagery of the Messiah, a likely allusion to Numbers 24:17 and Isaiah 11:1-10. This bright morning star comes from heaven as a light that shines in darkness and death, guiding them into the path of peace. The way of the Saviour is the way of life and the way of peace. It represents life and light of the world. It is the brightest of all the stars in heaven because it was not created but was born of the Creator. Some believe that this imagery of a rising sun is also a prophecy about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, being raised from the dead on the third day, even though there may not be sufficient evidence for this claim.

What can we learn from Zechariah?
Zechariah’s response here is so different from his initial response when the angel Gabriel first brought news of the birth of his son to him. Then, he asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” (Lk 1:18). Because of his unbelief, God took away his speech until his son was born. During these nine months of silence, he was unable to speak a word, but was able to reflect deeply on what God has spoken to him about concerning his son and his prophetic role in preparing the way for the coming Messiah. Now, Zechariah is a changed man, a better man. After being disciplined by God, he repented and was now able to be of great service to God. Eight days after the birth of John, he was filled with the Holy Spirit just like how Elizabeth was when Mary visited her a few months back. Zechariah’s first few words were words of praise and prophecy of God’s salvation plan. Here is a man whose faith has been renewed. Even at his old age, he is still learning about His God whom he serves. Isn’t it comforting to know that it is never too late or too old for a man to be changed by God? Not only was he now able to speak, his eyes have also been opened. He has witnessed a true miracle in his family with the birth of his son. But God has a bigger picture than just providing a family line for him. Breaking away from the tradition of naming his son after him, he chose to obey God and named his son according to what the angel had told him, “His name is John”. John is to be the one who prepares the way for the coming Messiah. In this one event, two prayers were answered: one, personal; the other, national. Not only was his life-long prayer for a son heard; Israel’s prayer for a Messiah has also been answered. Such is the mission of God. It is simply mind-blowing. There is so much we can learn from Zechariah’s life, but the biggest lesson we can learn from him is his renewed faith in God. Sometimes, a crisis is all we need to wake us from our spiritual slumber. For so many years, Zechariah has been serving his God faithfully in the Temple as a priest. For so long, the God of Israel whom he worships is the one he has read about and studied in the history books of Israel. God has been faithful in history, but Zechariah wasn’t sure about the future. This was why he doubted the angel’s message. But after nine months of deep reflection, he experienced God’s faithfulness in a way that is real and personal to him. Yesterday, he as just a priest in the Temple; today, he becomes a prophet of hope for Israel.

Conclusion
Many do not see this side of Zechariah. We only remember how he doubted the angel’s news of a son and was punished by God for his unbelief. But if we continue to read the rest of the story, as we have today of his song, we discover a new and improved Zechariah. He is a man of renewed faith. I pray that our faith will be as strong as his. Zechariah has personally seen and witnessed the power and miracle of his great God. From being an old righteous priest “dumb-folded” in a moment of unbelief, he now becomes an inspired prophet of hope! Zechariah’s song is a song of hope about the God of hope. What is the world without hope? Without hope, the world would seem darker. Without hope, our days would seem endless. Without hope, our lives would become meaningless. The God of hope brings light into our world of darkness and makes our days worth counting for and our lives worth living for. God is faithful in the past, and in the present, and in the future. The God of hope has kept His promise and He remembers His covenant with His people. He is a God who saves. May the God of hope be as real to you as it has been for Zechariah. Rom. 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”