Second Presbyterian Church

"From a Doubter to a Blesser:
Preaching From the Gospel of Luke"
January 4, 2004

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Sermons Homepage » Sermons for 2004 » Sermons for January 2004 » Sermons from the Series on Luke

#4 in the Series on Luke
The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.

• Luke 1: 57-80

Two Sundays ago we heard the words of Mary and how she praised God. That passage closed with the words that Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months or until the time she was due to deliver John.

Now Luke takes up that point, the place where John was born. The whole neighborhood was excited about Elizabeth's good fortune. She, who was aging and barren, delivered a healthy baby boy. In the ancient Jewish custom, the boy was brought to the Priest (or Rabbi) in order to be circumcised. It was the sign of the Covenant. It was a graphic way of saying that the baby is a child of the Covenant of Abraham. At that time, the child's name was then made public and all the relatives and neighbors were curious, "Will he be named Zechariah? Or will he be named after some other ancestor?" That's what everybody expected. That's what was normal.

But not Elizabeth, she insisted, "He shall (note the emphatic use of shall with the third person) be called John." This puzzled the onlookers, "Why John? No one in the family was ever named John. Surely there must be some mistake. Let's ask the father." So they made signs to ask Zechariah as to what was the child's name.

It's a little puzzling here as to why they couldn't just ask him. Not only was he mute, was he also deaf? Zechariah took a wooden writing tablet and wrote, "His name is John."

Suddenly Zechariah could speak again! The man, who had trouble believing Gabriel's message and was muted, opened his mouth and he praised God! He went from muted disbelief to warm, praises and blessings to God.

The neighbors and relatives were startled. Fear came over them. And "All these things were talked about through the country of Judea…" In other words, it was the main topic of gossip! The grapevine was being used at maximum capacity. They knew something was special. Elizabeth gave birth to a boy after she had grown old. Zechariah had lost his tongue, then suddenly he got it back. The neighbors, and relatives, were a little skittish. They all wondered about John, "What then will this child be? For the had of the Lord was with him."

You and I already have an idea what John the Baptist would be. Luke has indicated that he was to prepare the way for the Messiah. Zechariah knew this too. And he burst forth in a song of Blessing.

Tradition labeled Zechariah's song, or prophecy as The Benedictus , because the word, "blessed," in Latin is Benedictus. Note its similarity to the word we use for the end of our worship service, the Benediction, the Blessing.

The prophecy of Zechariah has two parts. The first part he blessed the Lord and praised Him for His goodness and work. The second part focuses upon who John was to become and what he was to do.

Zechariah praised God because He has visited and redeemed His people. God was coming to save His people. Note that Luke called him the God of Israel, but the redemption is for the people of God. The redemption of God extends far beyond Israel, or Judea. And this is a major theme of Luke. That the salvation of God is for all humankind who are led to believe in Jesus Christ as the Messiah. The Good News was for all humanity that believed, not for just on particular group of people.

Zechariah stated this again in a slightly different form, "He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David." Strange image for us to picture, "horn of salvation," it simply means that the power of God's salvation will show itself in a descendant of King David, the mighty king of old.

Salvation is not just for the Hebrews, but the Hebrew Messiah is the one who brings this universal salvation. That, by the way, is WONDERFUL NEWS FOR US. Most of us would be considered Gentile - a term that means, non-Hebrew. The concept of the People of God was being expanded to ALL believers, regardless of race, ethnic background, or gender.

Zechariah went on to say more about God's deliverance, how his prophets spoke of this salvation and how the LORD was keeping His promise to Abraham and the Covenant He had made with Israel. Yet this covenant was now moving way beyond a mere rescue of the Hebrews from the power of the Roman Empire. It was a salvation that included deliverance from all who hate us, mainly those who are dominated by sin. Evil is the really big enemy, not the Romans, not the Communists, not Even Osama bin Laden. Evil for which we need deliverance is: that potential in all of us to sin and to live against the will of our Creator and Savior.

So, the first part of Zechariah's Prophecy, The Benedictus , was praise to God who was getting ready to deliver us and to save us from our enemy - Evil.

In the second part of The Benedictus Zechariah focused upon who John the Baptist was to become and the role that God had predestined for him in His plan of redemption. In short the role is: to be a prophet of God (The Most High) whose job was to go out before the Lord and to prepare the way for the Messiah. His job was to bring people to the knowledge of salvation. And what is the "knowledge of salvation?" It is that our Sins are forgiven! It, again, had nothing to do with those Romans, or Herods, etc. John was to prepare the way for the Messiah, so that when the Messiah came, when the Kingdom of God came near, then people would hear the WORD and believe this Good News.

Luke closed this section with a short description of John growing and being strong in spirit. And that he lived in the wilderness until he was ready to go public with his mission.

But note again, how Zechariah himself grew; he grew from a righteous doubter to a true believer. Even he - Zechariah - prophesied. Indeed the age of the Messiah was upon them. God had transformed Zechariah from a doubter to a blesser.

John has now been born. Next, in Angels, Shepherds and a Manger Luke described the birth of Jesus, the Messiah. Amen.

The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.