“Zacharias’ Benedictus” – I & II

X. & XI. Expositions of the Gospel According to Luke

Luke 1:67-80

February 6 & 13, 2011

After 400 years of silence and seeming inactivity, God has begun to act. It appeared that God had abandoned His people. No prophet had been heard from since Malachi (c. 422 B.C.). Oppressive foreign power had followed oppressive foreign power (Persian, Macedonian, Roman). They had been reduced to a Roman province, ruled by a Roman governor, their king a figurehead, their liberties tentative and vulnerable.

However, the events surrounding the birth of John the Baptist have renewed the hopes of the people of God. There is excitement in the land. All the hill country of Judea is in an uproar (v 65). “What will this child turn out to be?” they are asking. Clearly, “the hand of the Lord,” was evident in John’s unusual conception, the silencing of his father Zacharias, his naming, and Zacharias’ outburst of praise upon the loosening of his tongue (vv 57-64). God “was certainly with him.” With this awareness of Divine activity came a measure of “fear” (v 65), as is so often the case.

As with Mary (1:46-55), the response of Zacharias to the promise of a Redeemer is joyful praise. The pattern is no coincidence. When we understand our need of salvation: the woeful condition of our souls and our doomed eternity; when we understand what God has done on our behalf: His great mercy, His provision of a Savior, the Savior’s suffering on our behalf, the spontaneous response is praise. “Zacharias’ joy overflows in an inspired song,” notes Morris.[1] Its title,Benedictus, like the Magnificat, is taken from its opening word in the Latin Vulgate, “blessed” in English.

And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: (Lk 1:67)

Zacharias, “filled with the Holy Spirit,” is inspired to praise God for salvation. He “prophesied.” Zacharias, like all of God’s prophets, speaks as moved by the Holy Spirit. His words are God’s words through him. Marshall calls the Benedictus “a divinely inspired commentary on the significance of the events which have begun to take place.”[2] It may be divided into two parts:

            The salvation which the prophets long ago promised (vv 68-75)

            The salvation for which John will make final preparations (vv 76-80)

The Benedictus looks in two directions. It looks back to God’s promise of salvation, and forward to what John will do to prepare for that salvation when it arrives in the person of the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ. We will then conclude by looking carefully at the nature of the salvation which they both, the prophets and John, announce.

Promised salvation

One never will understand the Bible unless one understands that the whole Old Testament is about Jesus. How can we say such a thing? Because the whole Old Testament is about the Messiah through whom the promise of salvation was first made to Adam (Gen 3:15), and then repeated and elaborated to Abraham and his descendents. Jesus is that Messiah. He is the fulfillment of that promise. This is why Jesus could show the disciples on the Emmaus Road, “beginning with Moses and with all the prophets . . . the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures” (Lk 24:27). Zacharias rejoices that Jesus arrives as the fulfillment of the promises made over the centuries through the prophets.

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people, (Lk 1:68)

“Blessed be,” he says, the standard way of expressing thanksgiving (e.g. 1 Sam 25:32; Pss 41:13; 72:18; 106:48). He speaks of “The Lord God of Israel,” since it was to Israel that the prophesies, promises, and types of the Redeemer and redemption had been given. “He has visited us,” Zacharias says, using another common Old Testament phrase which describes God’s redeeming and saving (Gen 21:1; Ex 4:31; Ruth 1:6; Ps 106:4). He has “accomplished redemption” (lutrōsis), the past tense being used, as we have seen in Luke 1 (vv 51-54), to indicate certainty of the outcome. “Redemption” or “deliverance,” the liberation and salvation of God’s people, had not yet been accomplished, but it was as good as accomplished.[3]

And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant-- (Lk 1:69)

A “horn” is a symbol of strength, as in the horn of a bull. A “horn of salvation,” then, is a mighty savior or a powerful salvation (cf. Pss 18:2; 132:17). God has raised up this horn “in the House of His servant David.” This phrase gives Zacharias’ song a specifically Messianic reference, for it was understood widely and correctly that the Messiah would be a descendant of David, a “righteous Branch” (Jer 23:5) who would establish David’s throne forever (2 Sam 7:12-16; Ps 89:35-37; cf. Pss 16 and 110). It indicates as well that Mary was a descendant of David, as was Joseph (1:27), and through them the house of David would produce the Messiah.

As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old-- (Lk 1:70)

God “spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old.” Notice Zacharias’ view of inspiration. God spoke through the prophet. This is the crucial dividing among those calling themselves Christians. Were the prophets merely wise holy men sharing their opinions? Or, when they spoke, did God speak? Were those “His prophets”? If God spoke when they spoke, we cannot but pay attention; then we must regard His words through them as true and authoritative.

Jesus, Zacharias exclaims, is the fulfillment of the promises to Israel through the prophets. He fulfills the covenant promises (v 72) and Messianic hopes of Israel.

Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us; (Lk 1:71)

These phrases seem to be taken from Psalm 106:10 (cf. 2 Sam 22:18; Ps 18:17). Messiah’s “redemption” (v 68) can also be called “salvation.” It is a deliverance from enemies.

To show mercy toward our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant, (Lk 1:72)

God is acting, he says, to “show mercy toward our fathers,” reflecting Genesis 24:12 (and Judg 1:24,72,73; 8:35; 1 Sam 20:8, etc.) and recalling God’s covenant with the fathers, mentioned explicitly in the next phrase. God is “remember(ing) His holy covenant.” We might call this “honoring” His covenant, keeping His promises. God is faithful to His word. The language of remembering reflects Psalm 106:45 (cf. Ex 2:24; 6:5; Ps 105:8) and refers to the covenant with Abraham. This covenant is the central theme of the Bible, promising Abraham a nation (Gen 12:1-3), a numberless people (Gen15:1-5), an everlasting covenant (Gen 17:1-8). He would be, through this covenant, a blessing to “all the families of the earth” (Gen 12:3), even “the father of many nations” (Gen 17:4-6). After the offering up of Isaac, God summarized and reaffirmed these promises:

indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.(Gen 22:17,18)

Zacharias further describes the covenant in the next line as an “oath” which was “sworn to Abraham our father” (see Gen 26:3; Jer 11:5; Ps 105:9).

The oath which He swore to Abraham our father, (Lk 1:73)

Upon this “oath” or “covenant” the whole history of Israel, that is, the whole Old Testament, was based. All God’s dealings with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendents were based on this covenant. Yet the promises of that covenant, heretofore, were unfulfilled. Now, at last, in Christ “the covenant with Abraham will be brought to its consummation,” explains Morris.[4]

The point of this deliverance from enemies is given in verses 74 and 75.

To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear,in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days. (Lk 1:74,75)

The goal of redemption is that God’s people “might serve Him without fear,” that is, fear of persecution; that they might serve God as He ought to be served, in “holiness” and in “righteousness.” Marshall suggests that together this “may express duty to God and man respectively (cf. Titus 2:1; also Henry, Calvin).[5]

What is the Bible all about? It’s all about Jesus. According to Zacharias’ prophesy, Jesus is the One through whom the promises of God to Abraham, to David, and to all the prophets will be fulfilled. Jesus is the point of it all. This is the apostolic and biblical perspective Peter proclaimed in his Pentecost sermon that Jesus is fulfillment of God’s oath “to seat one of His descendants upon His throne” (Acts 2:30; 2 Sam 7:12ff; Ps 89:3,4,29). Jesus is the Messianic son of David (Mt 1:1). Peter also preached in his second sermon that “all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days” (Acts 3:24).

Before him, Jesus said of the Old Testament that “Moses . . . wrote of Me” (Jn 5:46). He said,

You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; (Jn 5:39)

Zacharias demonstrates that God keeps His promises. God is faithful. He keeps His word. What He says, He does. Many years may have to pass. Long periods of hardship may have to be endured. Little encouragement may be provided along the way. Many of His promises will be fulfilled only in eternity. The writer to the Hebrews reminds us that the great heroes of faith, from Abel to Noah to Abraham to Moses to the prophets, “did not receive what was promised” (Heb 11:39); but, in the end, His promise will be kept.

Moreover, we have the key to understanding our Bibles. The whole Bible is about the promise of God to Abraham to bless the world through a future descendant. The whole history of Israel is about the travails through which His people must pass to bring forth the Messiah. The whole Bible is about Jesus.

Final preparations

This promised salvation that Christ will fulfill, though certain, awaits final, last-minute preparation. John is assigned that task. Only now does Zacharias’ attention turn to his joy at the birth of his son. Great as that joy must have been, up to this point his thanksgiving has been focused on the One of whom John is the forerunner. Zacharias’ focus, in other words, is exactly where it should be, and for this he is to be commended. The greater event, to which his son plays a subordinate role, is the birth of Messiah.

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High (Lk 1:76a)

That he will be called “prophet of the Most High” is significant because there had been no prophet in Israel for centuries. For one to appear would be “a radical departure from what had become customary,” as Morris explains.[6] Even so, the title is given in direct contrast to that given to Jesus in verse 32: he will be called not merely a “prophet of the Most High,” great as that is, but “Son of the Most High.” Further regarding John,

For you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways; (Lk 1:76b)

Zacharias praises God for John’s role. He will be the forerunner of the Messiah. He will “go before the Lord to prepare His ways,” a phrase based on Isaiah 40:3 as well as Malachi 3:1. He will prepare then for the Lord, like the Elijah figure of Malachi 4:5.

To give to His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, (Lk 1:77)

John will prepare the way for the “knowledge of salvation,” which is the “forgiveness of their sins.” It is a spiritual, not natural, salvation (cf. Acts 4:10-12; 5:31ff; 13:38).

Because of the tender mercy of our God, (Lk 1:78a)

The source of this salvation is the “tender mercy” of God. Our salvation is not a thing earned or merited. It arises from the “tender mercy,” literally the “bowels of mercy” of God. His mercy stands behind His sending of John to lead the people to salvation.

with which the Sunrise from on high shall visit us, (Lk 1:78b)

Zacharias shifts to the anatolē, the “Sunrise” (ESV) or “rising sun” (NIV). It may be an allusion to the Messianic title in Malachi 4:2, and the “sun of righteousness (that will) rise with healing in its wings” from which Charles Wesley drew the third stanza of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” (cf. 2 Pet 1:19; Rev 22:16; Isa 9:2; 60:2).

To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Lk 1:79)

Jesus is the light of the world (Jn 8:12). He dispenses peace (Jn 14:1ff). He will “shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death.” He brings light into our darkness, the light of truth, the guiding light that illumines our path (Ps 119:105). John’s task will be to prepare the way for that salvation of “redemption” (v 68), “deliverance from (our) enemies” (v 71,74), “forgiveness of sins” (v 77), illumination (vv 78,79), and guidance (v 79). He was but an infant now. But he would grow into his life’s work.

And the child continued to grow, and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel. (Lk 1:80)

Spiritual salvation

What is the nature of this “salvation” for which John will prepare us? Because Zacharias speaks of deliverance from enemies (vv 71,74), it may seem as though he has a political salvation in mind, a warrior messiah who will crush Israel’s enemies and establish a temporal kingdom on earth. This, we think, is to misunderstand Zacharias’ meaning. Green points out that Zacharias’ language is “highly stylized,” that is, he expresses himself through the verbal conventions of the day. Even when focused on the spiritual, it was common to employ earthly, political metaphors.[7] One also must keep in mind that the freedom to serve God as commanded by God was both a religious and a political issue, involving removing the political opposition of Rome, and later of the spiritual leadership of Judea, and the spiritual opposition of Satan and his allies. It is not always possible to keep the two realms entirely separate. Indeed, not infrequently the political and the religious intersect, or overlap, or even collide.

Still, the heart of the salvation that Zacharias celebrates is spiritual. Our greatest need is spiritual. Our political circumstances may be difficult. We may be experiencing oppression. We may be under the subjection of enemies. We may be imprisoned by despots. But our greatest need is not for earthly liberty but spiritual. We need the forgiveness of sin, liberty from bondage to sin, victory over the flesh, the devil, and the world. Our temptation is to think our problems are this-worldly. They’re not. Ultimately all our problems are spiritual. They are not physical, material, relational, or temporal. Yet we’re inclined to think they are. If only I had more money, or a better job, or a better house, or a spouse, or a better spouse, or children, or better children, then all would be well. Some have enlisted the gospel in nationalistic causes, such as colonialism and conquest. Others have hijacked it in support of revolution, “liberation theology” being a more recent expression of this. Jesus said, “my kingdom is not of this world” (Jn 19:36). Personal and political problems are both expressions of the deeper problems that Jesus came to address.

Finally, all our problems are spiritual and await spiritual solutions. All our problems are solved in Christ, either in this life or in eternity. He makes us whole. He dries our tears and puts an end to our sorrow and pain. He makes all things new (Rev 21:5). If we are to see this clearly, we must set our minds on things above and not on things below (Col 3:2). We must lay up our treasures in heaven and not on earth (Mt 6:20). We must look not upon the things visible and temporal but the things invisible and eternal (2 Cor 4:18). The biblical language of salvation is rich and varied. Zacharias uses five perspectives in order to shed light on what Jesus came to do, and what we receive when we turn to Him.

Redemption

First, Zacharias speaks of redemption, a term (lutrosis) which recalls the exodus from Egypt and liberation from bondage (v 68 e.g. Ex 6:6; Deut 7:8, 9:26, etc.). It means deliverance, release, liberation. It also implies the price of redemption, the purchase price of slaves or the ransom price of captives. A second word, “to deliver” or “rescue” (NIV) is used in 1:74.[8] The Hebrews’ enslavement in Egypt is an obvious bondage from which deliverance was needed. What bondage or captivity do we face? Bondage to sin. We are sin’s captives. Sin is not just wrongful acts. It is also an enslaving power. Jesus said, “everyone who sins is a slave of sin” (Jn 8:34). The Bible teaches that “by what a man is overcome, by that he is enslaved” (2 Pet 2:19). The Apostle Paul characterizes the godless life as one in which one is “deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures” (Titus 3:3). He can speak of those under sin’s power as “held captive” and as “sold into bondage to sin” (1 Tim 2:26; Rom 7:14). This is the human condition. Bondage. Slavery. The myth of autonomy is pervasive. “I’m my own man,” one might say. “I do my own thing, I call my own shots.” This is self-deception of the first order. If we’re autonomous, then why the habits? Why the addictions? Why can’t we control the passions and appetites? Only divine intervention can break the enslaving, controlling power of sin. Jesus is that divine intervention. He is the “horn of salvation,” the power which liberates and saves (v 69). God’s grace to us in Christ frees us from bondage. Jesus has purchased our liberty. “You were bought with a price,” the Apostle Paul tells the Corinthians (1 Cor 6:19). Jesus said He “gave His life as a ransom for many” (Mk 10:45; cf. 1 Tim 2:6). The cross shattered the power of sin and all who call upon the name of Christ are liberated, set free from its clutches. “You shall know the truth,” Jesus says, “and the truth shall make you free” (Jn 8:32).

Victory

Second, he speaks of “salvation from enemies” and “from the hand of all who hate us” (v 71). Through Jesus, we are “being delivered from the hand of our enemies” (v 74). Israel endured a constant stream of enemies going back to the Egyptians, then various Canaanites, then the Philistines, then a succession of empires: the Hittites, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Macedonians, and the Romans. Do we have enemies? Yes, we do. We wrestle with the trinity of evil, the devil, the flesh, and the world. The flesh and its pleasures “wage war in (our) members” (Jas 4:1). Fleshly lusts “wage war against the soul” (1 Pet 2:11). The devil “blinds the eyes of the unbelieving” (2 Cor 4:4). He “prowls about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet 5:8). He, through the fear of death, subjects humanity to slavery (Heb 2:14). The world as an organized system, as a pattern of life, is anti-God. It encourages a practical atheism that takes no account of God. It establishes a hierarchy of values that are destructive to the soul. “The whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 Jn 5:19). There is the issue of controlling power again. The world seeks to “squeeze (us) into its mold” (Rom 12:2, J. B. Phillips). Love of the world is death to the soul. The world entices us with the lust of the eyes, of the flesh, and the boastful pride of life (1 Jn 2:15-17). We are engaged in mortal combat with our enemies for which we need armor; God’s armor, the “full armor of God.” Only then can we “stand firm against the schemes of the devil” (Eph 6:10-18). Jesus has defeated the trinity of evil and we enter into that victory in Him. He disarmed and triumphed over the “rulers and authorities” (Col 3:15). In Christ we are “more than conquerors” (Rom 8:37). In Christ we have the victory (1 Cor 15:57). No longer are we enslaved. No longer are we controlled. No longer are we defeated. “Sin shall not be master over you” (Rom 6:14). We are dead to sin. We will “not let sin reign in (our) mortal bod(ies)” (Rom 6:11,12).

Forgiveness

Third, he speaks of “the forgiveness of sins.” Verse 77 proves that the “salvation” (vv 71, 77), the “redemption” (v 68), the deliverance from “enemies” (vv 71, 74) should be understood spiritually. The “knowledge of salvation” is found in “the forgiveness of their sins” (v 77). This is the fundamental need that we have which the other perspectives (liberty, victory) are built upon. The burden of guilt must be removed. Sin, the barrier to reconciliation to God, must be pardoned. This happens through the “tender mercy of our God” through the “Sunrise from on high,” through the Son of God, Jesus our Lord. He is the light of the world (Jn 8:12). He shines into our darkened minds and hearts and enables us to see clearly our own sin and guilt, our depravity and self-deception, leading to repentance and salvation. He “guide(s) our feet into the way of peace” ( v 79) because He is the way (Jn 14:6). All of this is accomplished not by our moral reformation, not by our good works, not by religious ceremonies, but according to His mercy (vv 72 and 78). Salvation is all of God’s grace.

Purpose

Fourth, he speaks of a salvation from futility. The aim of redemption is,

“ that we . . . might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.(Lk 1:74b,75)

No longer in bondage, no longer fearing the conquest by our enemies, we have been freed to serve. “Holiness,” as we’ve seen, is in relation to our duties toward God. “Righteousness” is in relation to our duties to each other. We are delivered from a lifetime of “vanity and striving after the wind” (Eccl 1:14, 2:11). Our lives now have significance, eternal significance. We are serving God! Consequently all we do has meaning. Our labor “is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor 15:58).

The Apostle Paul picks up the theme of service in Romans 6. He writes,

But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. (Rom 6:17,18)

We all serve someone. We are either “slaves of righteousness” or unrighteousness, slaves of God or of sin. Again he writes,

But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. (Rom 6:22)

Jesus frees us to be saved and serve.

Insight

Fifth, he speaks of a salvation from ignorance. Jesus is the “Sunrise” (v 78). He shines upon our darkness and saves us from life in the “shadow of death” (v 79a). He provides light to “guide our feet in the path of peace” (v 79b). Is not the darkness of ignorance, ignorance of the truth, ignorance of right and wrong, one of our great problems? We don’t know who we are, why we’re here, or where we are going. We are lost, floundering, wandering, aimless, pointless. Jesus pronounces that those who follow Him “shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life” (Jn 8:12). Jesus gives us answers about all the essentials of life. He is “the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6). He leads us to the true God, to true religion, to the true way to worship, to the true way of life, to the true system of ethics, to the true meaning of life, and to the true way to please, serve, and honor God. He dispels the darkness. He enlightens our path. His word is “a lamp to our feet and a light to our path” (Ps 119:105). He saves us from the darkness of idolatry and false religion with its false gods, and false ethics, and delivers us to the light of truth. Let us then not “neglect so great a salvation” (Heb 2:3). Let us rejoice with Zacharias, and receive all that Christ has done for poor, lost sinners like us.