December 11 Advent

Today we move on to the second half of Zechariah’s song. The second half is about His son John. Zechariah’s faith is shown even more, now that he is declaring specific things about his own child. You see all of the things about Christ were “safe prophecies” to utter at that time. They were known and it would be as if you or I were singing the words to a pre-approved worship song. Now Zechariah waded into dangerous territory by declaring new and specific words given to him by Gabriel. Remember, there were several priests witness to these words, since they were uttered in the temple, and Zechariah was a man of importance (now that he had done a holy task). So likely more than one priest was present at the circumcision of his son, simply because Zechariah was now important, and the honor of his wife was now restored (And I assume their birth story was a high-profile story that was likely the tune of much "hear-say"). So these words were well witnessed by teachers of the law (and likely well scrutinised).

“And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
    for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation
    through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
    by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness
    and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.” (Luke 1:76-79)

Zechariah declares John a prophet (which may be why the teachers of the law were respectfully present for much of John’s baptisms. John of course ridicules them calling them a brood of vipers, but that is another story!). The dangerous line is the second one! “for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins”... Hmm... the first part of that line could be overlooked by the priests... sure every prophet goes before the lord... but the second part is a little bit too specific. I wonder what the priests thought as they looked at one another after Zechariah declared these words over his son!

The remainder of Zechariah’s run-on sentence is all about the hope and light that Christ’s message will bring! All this does in Zechariah’s situation is solidify EXACTLY what Zechariah was talking about! To us these words are gloriously hopeful and joyful! But to the priests, they would have come across very rash and un-called for. This was a VERY risky thing for him to be declaring. Sure everyone knew a savior was going to come EVENTUALLY, but hey! God had been saying that since GENESIS! Who is this “Zechariah fellow” to think he knows that the Christ will be coming now!? I think these would have been the thoughts of the Pharisees, (who likely chose to spare Zechariah because he was now declared “Holy” after performing the lighting of the incense)... We know they didn’t believe Zechariah's words, or they would have had softer hearts toward Christ when he was doing his ministry!  They appear to be softer toward John than to the Christ.

We hear nothing further about Zechariah other than that “the child grew and became strong in spirit and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel” (Luke 1:80)  So we can safely assume that Zechariah lived to parent his son, with strong faith-filled values. 

      However, the “lived in the desert” part could mean one of three things. 

1. Zechariah had always lived in the desert and so raised his son there
2. Zechariah may have been banned to the dessert for the words he uttered in temple.
3. John moved into the desert at adulthood, because he liked the scenery.

Who knows!? No one really does because the bible doesn’t say... another speculation that comes from bringing life to the story.

What we can see here today from reading Zechariah’s song as a whole, is a beautiful picture of redemption! Zechariah doubted God, and was silenced as a result...but when Zechariah takes the step of obedience in faith to name his son John, his mouth is opened and he begins to both praise God and declare God’s words over his son, Christ and Israel! A beautiful picture of what could have been a life of shame, redeemed into God’s glory and forgiveness. This is all before Christ died for our sins. Already God was sending the Holy Spirit. Already he was redeeming the hearts of his people one by one. He was already hardening the hearts of the Pharisees. God’s work of salvation very-much started right from the beginning of the story.

Today, take a bit of time to dwell on the fact that God planned the whole story out, even from the time of Genesis. God has everything under his control, and has always been a redeeming God. He has always loved his people, and loved ALL his creation. This is why he made a way for us (non-Jewish folk) to be his children too! Although Zechariah, Elizabeth and John seem like fairly minor pawns in the birth story of Christ, they were important in God’s eyes, and he was working every part of this for His glory! The miracle of John’s conception, Elizabeth’s excited assurance to Mary that she was carrying the Christ child (even in those early doubt-filled months), Zechariah’s visit with the angel, the miracle of his silence, and then of his opened mouth, and then the bold faith-filled declaration of his prophecy, which softened some hearts and hardened others... These were all parts of God’s plan for Christ’s life.

We are also a part of God’s story for his people. He calls us to obedience and bold faith, just as he called Zechariah. God has a plan for your life that is integral to his story of salvation for all people. Are you listening for his voice? Are you declaring as you ought? Are you obeying in the way Mary did, saying “I am the Lord’s servant”? Take some time to reflect on what God may have called you to. I realize how loaded this instruction is, but the truth is, we all need to do it sometime, and why not today? If you had time to read this blog, you have time to say a quick prayer and listen for God's response (hah! caught ya! no excuse!). Maybe God's will for you is super obvious and its something you have been avoiding! Or maybe this is a matter that will require much prayer. Either way, it is not a call to take lightly. God calls us to obedience with him, so we can be a part of his plan, no matter how insignificant it may seem to us at the time. It is God’s plans, not ours. Let us take some advice from Zechariah. Let us put doubt aside and boldly speak and act, the way God desires us to!

Dear God, we lift up our hearts to you today. Please meet with each of us today as we seek you. God, we want to be open and willing to your will. Please prepare our hearts for that, and as we are ready Lord, make your voice so abundantly clear to each of us. Please grant us the faith to act on your words. Help us to be more like this second part of Zechariah's story, as we know our mistakes equal or out-weigh his... Thank you for your forgiveness and grace, and the ability to put all of that behind us and start fresh with you! You are such a great God and we love you dearly! 

In Jesus Name
Amen