Zechariah's Song: The Benedictus Luke 1:57-80 Sermon 1 December 4th, 2011   Do you remember that famous scene in the movie, Minority Report, where Tom Cruise is greeted by name as he passes billboards? That’s the new trend in market, marketing not to a consumer group but to a person.  From Coca-Cola to Lego, companies are banking on the "Me Selling Proposition" to revitalize their brands.   This October, Australia went crazy. It had nothing to do with the usual summer cricket rivalries. It wasn’t a visit from the Queen. The frenzy was over newly released cans of Coke. A local agency had dreamed up an entirely new way of revitalizing the 125-year-old brand and tapping into the diminishing youth market. During the first stage of the campaign, 150 different Coca-Cola cans were released, each with a different name. Using the most popular names in Australia—Jack, William, Isabella, and Chloe—as well as the usual Johns, Steves, Marys, and Matildas. Each name was written boldly on the can in the iconic Coke font. As soon as word got out, masses of people headed straight for the soft drink shelves in grocery stores across the country, everyone searching for their very own branded Coke can. The second stage involved a chain of 18 shopping centers, where you could go to have your name printed on your cans. Lines were so long that people waited hours just to have their own name printed on the can.   Our name is very important to us. Oftentimes we want to pass down our name or the name of a loved family member generationally. Our son, Ben’s middle name, Wallace, is my mother’s maiden name. Since my mother died in a tragic car accident when I was ten and never met my children, I wanted to pass her name and legacy down to them. Namesake names connect a child to a heritage, conveying the essence of a loved one, bestowing their most admirable qualities on them.    What if you had a “miracle” baby? What if you thought you couldn’t have children and years or even decades had passed? Maybe you were long past the childbearing years; wouldn’t you want a very special name for that baby?  That’s the situation of this first song of Christmas found in Luke 1:5-25. Time doesn't allow us to read it today, but please open your Bibles to Luke 1 and follow along as I describe what’s taking place.    First, to understand the background of what’s taking place, we need to understand that these events occurred during a very dark period in the history of the nation of Israel. These verses describe a time when the nation of Israel was not living up to its calling from God. Israel was not just any nation. No, it had been chosen by God from among all the nations to be a holy nation to the rest of the world. But in the time of Zechariah, this nation that was to lead all nations to God was being led by the pagan empire of Rome. Rome was just the last of a long line of pagan nations that had ruled Israel. For the past 580 years the Jewish people had endured humiliation and servitude under the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Egyptians, and the Syrians.   Verse 5 informs us that the king in Zechariah's day was Herod. King Herod was the first Jewish king to sit on the throne since the fall of the Southern Kingdom some 580 years earlier. But Herod wasn’t a real king of Israel. He was just a puppet, put in office by Rome. He wasn't even a Jew. Herod was an Idumean, a descendant of Esau with no rightful claim to the throne. More importantly, Herod was a brutal, wicked man. He was a cruel tyrant who bathed his reign in blood, including the blood of many members of his own family. Herod also introduced Roman temples in the land and erected idols. Under his leadership Israel became a land filled with immorality. The spiritual life of the Jews lost its vitality. Their worship of God was little more than dry ceremony and rote ritual for most people.   In the midst of these dark times, Luke introduces us to a simple, faithful couple, an elderly priest named Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth. Zechariah was a descendant of Aaron. That automatically made him a priest and as a priest the law required him to marry a Hebrew, but Zechariah had done even more. He’d married a daughter of Aaron, the daughter of another priest. It would be like a preacher's son marrying another preacher's daughter. So the marriage of these two was sure to have been seen as a great blessing to their families. There was much rejoicing when Zechariah and Elizabeth wed.   Yet, the rejoicing quickly faded when years passed because it became evident that Elizabeth was infertile. To fully grasp how crushing this news was to them we must understand that back then a woman of Israel lived for one thing and one thing only: to bear children. Women who could not bear children were shamed and humiliated. They were a source of constant gossip and slander. Rabbis said that seven types of people were excommunicated from God and the top of the list was, "a Jew who has no wife, or a Jew who has a wife who has no child." With this mindset we can understand the heavy burden this couple was carrying.   Zechariah and Elizabeth had lived with this shame throughout their married life but we must admire them because it had not caused them to become bitter or abandon their faith in God. Verse 6 says that “they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.” They held to their trust in God, even though life was hard and disappointing. Perhaps the fact that they’d endured decades of ridicule because of their childless state led their peers to respect them for their attitudes of unwavering devotion to God even though He’d not seen fit to bless them with a child.   At this time in the life of Israel there were approximately 20,000 descendants of Aaron...all of them priests by birth...just like Zechariah. That's a lot of preachers! Since there were so many priests and there was only one temple, they were divided into groups. Those groups served in the temple only two weeks in the year with various duties allotted to each priest.   Zechariah was sort of a “reservist priest,” just one of many. The greatest privilege granted to an ordinary reservist priest like Zechariah, the thing they each lived for, was the privilege of burning incense on the altar of the Holy Place. The Holy Place was just outside the curtain that surrounded the Holy of Holies. This coveted privilege of burning incense was granted by lots which meant that only a few priests were given this opportunity. If you ever got the chance, you never got it again for you were only allowed to do this just once in your entire life. So when Zechariah was chosen for this privilege it was the opportunity of a lifetime. Of course, we know that this wasn’t a coincidence; it was the hand of God. As someone said, “Coincidences are actually miracles for which God chooses to remain anonymous.”   God wanted Zechariah to have this assignment for a very important reason. When this most solemn occasion began that day, the priests ascended the steps leading to the Holy Place. When they got to the top they spread coals on the golden altar, arranged the incense, and departed, leaving Zechariah alone before God. Zechariah was to offer his prayers of intercession for the people of Israel and then put incense on the coals of the altar as a beautiful symbol of the prayers of Israel rising to God. While he was doing this, outside in the court of Israel a great multitude of people waited laying face down on the floor in prayer, praying with the priest who represented them in the Holy Place. No one was prepared for what was going to happen that day, especially Zechariah. In the midst of his prayer an angel appeared and stood at one end of the altar right in front of the elderly priest.   You must understand the stunning significance of this event. Not only was it a shock for an angel to even show up, it was also a shock for God to speak to His people. There had been no word from God since those the prophet Malachi had delivered in his prophecy 400 years earlier. So when the angel appeared, Zechariah was understandably afraid. But the Angel calmed him. It seems that’s always the way that it is with angels in the Bible. They show up, people are afraid, and the angel says, "Don't be..."   His next words to Zechariah were, "Your prayer has been heard!" Now, what had Zechariah been praying for? I doubt that he was still praying for children. Zechariah and Elisabeth had prayed for children for a long time but in their minds the physical possibility of that happening had long passed. So probably this godly man was praying for the Messiah to come, for God to keep His promise to His chosen people. Yet, God's answer through the angel addressed both prayers. The angel said that Elisabeth would bare Zechariah a son and that this little boy would not be just any child. No, Zechariah's boy would be named "John" and he would fulfill the 400 year old prophecy of Malachi 4:5-6 and the 800 year old prophecy of Isaiah 40:1-5! In verses 16 & 17 the angel referred to these prophecies when he said, "Your son, John, will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." In other words, Zechariah's son would have the great privilege of preparing the way for the coming of the Messiah.   This news simply overwhelmed Zechariah. The answer to his prayers was just too much for him to believe, so immediately his faith gave way to reason and in verse 18 he said, "How can this happen? I mean, this is impossible. My wife and I are old...too old." At this point Zechariah made the mistake that many of us do. He looked at God through his problems rather then looking at his problems through the power of God. And the angel rebuked his lack of faith in verses 19-20. In essence he said…"How dare you question me, I am not just any angel. I am the angel Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God and I have been sent to speak to you and tell you this good news! You should be deliriously happy, praising God, not questioning my word. To prove to you that this is God’s truth that I am proclaiming, you will be mute for nine months until the day that your son, John, is born."   And Zechariah deserved this judgment because he was questioning God's ability to fulfill His own Word. He was a priest worshipping God and he doesn’t believe God. He knew better than to do this! Had he forgotten what God did for Abraham and Sarah in their old age? Did he think his physical limitations would hinder Almighty God? But before we judge Zechariah, let's ask ourselves: Do we take God at His Word? Do we live in such a way that we trust His promises to be true?” I’d surmise that if Gabriel were to give us the punishment we deserve, things would be kind of quiet around here!   This sudden muteness immediately made things hard for Zechariah. This once-in-a-lifetime privilege of praying in the Holy Place was to be followed by a benediction that he would be expected to offer…and now he couldn't speak! While Zechariah was spending all this time in the Holy Place, much more time than normal, the people were lying prostrate on the floor, wondering what was keeping him. When he appeared before them obviously mute, they knew something special had happened. They watched as he beckoned back and forth to them in an improvised sign language, perhaps the first game of charades, silently attempting to pronounce the traditional blessing, all the while knowing that a far greater blessing was yet to come.   In spite of his verbal handicap Zechariah completed his two weeks of priestly ministry and returned home. Shortly thereafter, Elisabeth conceived. Nine months later their baby boy was born and on the 8th day he was circumcised. On this day it was customary to name the child and it was common practice to name a son after his father. The relatives and friends gathered for the circumcision of this special child born to these septuagenarians assumed that this first-born son, surely the only child this couple would ever have, would be called "Zechariah, Jr." But Elisabeth said, "No, he shall be called John!” Zechariah had apparently told her of his experience with the angel. Everyone was shocked by this so the neighbors and relatives appealed to Zechariah as to what his choice was in the naming of his son. Zechariah asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John!” Not "Shall be," but "is!" Zechariah knew that, like all children, his son's life began at conception, not birth, and that God had already named him, that he was already John.   When Zechariah wrote this note, the last of probably nine months of notes, his mouth “was opened” and his tongue was loosed. The very first thing he did was sing. You can just imagine his pride! "My son the prophet! First one in 400 years and it's my son!" If they wore vests in those days I think Zechariah would have popped his buttons as he filled his diaphragm to sing what is literally the First Song of Christmas!   Over the years the church has given his song the title of Benedictus because the opening expression, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,” (v. 68a) was rendered in the Latin Vulgate, “Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel.” It’s a song of benediction or blessing. It’s praise for how God has worked to bring about the messianic sunrise in the coming birth of Christ. Please look at Luke 1:67-79 (p. 856) and follow along as I read the lyrics.   This is a song of salvation. Salvation is the theme of Zechariah’s prophecy: He mentions redemption, salvation and being delivered. The main theme of in this old Christmas carol is that the tender mercy of our God moves Him to provide salvation for those who are in such great need. Let’s look closer at this song, highlighting five truths about salvation from Zechariah’s song.   1. Salvation comes to those who see that they are in a desperate condition. Zechariah states that God has " redeemed His people” (vs. 68). Just nine months earlier Zechariah doubted the word of God, now he believes so strongly that he speaks of a future event as if God has already done it. The word "redeemed" implies that those being redeemed are in bondage. Slaves need redemption, not free people. God's salvation comes to those who know that they’re enslaved by sin.   While this salvation obviously has a political aspect to it, which will be fulfilled when Christ comes the second time to deliver Israel from her enemies and establish His millennial kingdom, it also has a personal spiritual reference "forgiveness of their sins" (vs. 77). Their desperate condition is further described as those “who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death” (vs. 79). It’s a picture of travelers who have lost their way in the wilderness and are overtaken by night. They grope for the path, but it eludes them. Finally, in despair, they can do nothing but sit down in the darkness, where death from wild beasts lurks in the shadows, and just hope for the morning light. They can't sleep because they’re too cold and afraid. Every time a wolf howls in the darkness, they shudder. It's a graphic picture of those who sit in the darkness and shadow of death that comes from sin. They’re lost in the darkness, not knowing which way to go. They’re afraid of death that lurks in the shadows. They are in a desperate situation.   The common element with each of these metaphors is that those in these desperate conditions know that they need God's deliverance. They know that they're in bondage and that their enemies are too strong for them. They know that they're lost in darkness and the shadow of death. If morning doesn't dawn soon, they’ll die. They also know that the deliverance they need is far beyond their own ability to accomplish. If God doesn't break into their situation, they're doomed. Even Zechariah, who’s described as a righteous and blameless man (vs. 6) knew that he desperately needed God's salvation.   One evidence that God is about to accomplish His redemption for you is that the Holy Spirit opens your eyes to the guilt of your own sin. You formerly were blinded to your sin and need of a Savior, now you realize that you’re enslaved to sin and long for deliverance. You realize that you cannot deliver yourself. Like a rowboat heading over Niagara Falls, all of your good works could never deliver you in the day of God's righteous judgment. If you see the desperate condition you're in, it’s evidence that the Sunshine from on high is about to rise on your needy situation. There is good news for you.   2. Salvation is all God's doing, not ours. If it were up to us to save ourselves, we all would be doomed. Thankfully, it's not up to us. Salvation is of the Lord. This comes through strongly in these verses. Note first that the Lord God "visited us" (vss. 68, 78). We didn’t go searching for Him; He came and visited us. He saw our helpless condition, took pity on us, and came down to meet our enormous need in the person of the Savior.   This prophecy is steeped in the Old Testament. The theme of God visiting His people comes from Genesis 50:24, 25. As Joseph was dying in Egypt, he predicted that God would visit his descendants and bring them from there to the land that He had promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. After an interval of 400 years of slavery in Egypt, we read of God telling Moses that He would visit His people and the people “heard that the LORD had visited the people of Israel” (Exod. 4:31).   Yet, in Zechariah’s time, Israel had not heard a word from the Lord in 400 years. The nation is under the iron heel of Roman rule. It seemed as if God had forgotten His people. But then, after the birth of the forerunner of Messiah, and knowing the angel's promise to Mary that she would bear the Son of God, Zechariah prophesies, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people.”    If you were living in extreme poverty and one day a kind billionaire visited you, you might have a ray of hope that he’d take pity on you and give you some help. But God has done much more than that. He not only saw our desperate condition and sent help; He actually took our human condition on Himself! He took on human flesh, not as a mighty king, above our weaknesses, but as a baby, subject to our frailty, yet without sin. As if that were not enough, He took our sin on Himself on the cross, bearing the penalty we deserve! It’s all God's doing because of His “tender mercy” (v. 78), not because we deserved it. God visited us in the birth of Jesus Christ.   The point is that God did all this apart from human initiative, effort, merit, or ability. God planned it, He prophesied it, and He carried it out, in spite of Zechariah’s doubts and inability to father a son. The salvation God provided in Jesus Christ comes totally from Him. We can’t do anything to earn it or work for it. All we can do is receive it.   God’s salvation is not for people who have it pretty much together. It’s for those whose lives are a mess. It would seem reasonable for God to say, "Make some efforts at self-improvement, and maybe then we can talk about salvation." But, no, the tender mercy of our God means, as Paul puts it, "For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly…God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5: 6, 8).   This runs counter to the commonly held myth that we can somehow save ourselves by our own effort. It goes against the idea that somehow we’re worthy to be saved. No! Salvation is from God, apart from human merit. If you think you can do something to save yourself or to provide for your own salvation, you have too high a view of yourself. Salvation is for those who know that they’re in a desperate condition. It’s God's doing, not ours.   3. Salvation is accomplished through the Lord Jesus Christ. Though Jesus' name is not mentioned specifically in Zechariah’s prophecy, His person is described so that there’s no mistaking it. This horn of salvation is from "the house of David" (v. 69). Zechariah and Elizabeth were both descendants of Aaron who was from the tribe of Levi, but Jesus was descended from the tribe of Judah through David (Matt. 1:2-17; Luke 3:23-38). Jesus Himself affirmed that He is the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham (John 8:56-58). Zechariah refers to this Savior as "the Sunrise from on high" (v. 78), a reference to Malachi 4:2: "The sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings." Jesus Himself claimed, "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12). Clearly, Jesus Christ is the Savior that Zechariah and all Scripture prophesied. “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). God's salvation is in Jesus Christ alone.   Thus, salvation comes to those who know they are in desperate conditions. It’s God's doing, not ours and it’s accomplished through the Lord Jesus.   4. Salvation means the forgiveness of sins through God's tender mercy. Someday there will be a national deliverance of the nation Israel from her enemies when Christ returns and crushes the nations opposed to His chosen people. But, as verse 77 alludes to, salvation is also personal. It consists in the forgiveness of our sins.   The Jewish religious leaders were looking for a political Messiah who’d deliver Israel from Rome. They thought everything would be fine if such a leader would come on the scene. But John the Baptist confronted them with their personal sins and need of personal salvation: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham” (Luke 3:7, 8).   Most people are looking for political solutions to the problems that our society faces; “If the government would just get it together, our problems would be solved and life would be great.” But God's salvation goes deeper than that, to the real problem. It confronts the individual with his or her sin by saying, "The problem isn't just out there with the government. The problem is in your heart. You’ve sinned against a holy God, and there will be no true and lasting peace until you have the peace in your heart of knowing that your sins are forgiven."   Only God can forgive sins and He does not do it arbitrarily, but in accordance with His perfect justice and righteousness. The penalty for sins must be paid or God is not just in forgiving them. On the cross, Jesus Christ offered Himself as the ransom for sinners. Since He was man and lived perfectly in obedience to God's law as a man, His sacrifice had merit for the human race. Since He was God in human flesh, His sacrifice had merit before the throne of God's perfect justice. The sinner who trusts in Jesus' death on his behalf can be assured that God is propitiated or satisfied.   Why did God send His Son as the sacrifice for sinners? Because of His tender mercy! "Amazing love! How can it be, that Thou my God shouldst die for me!" (Charles Wesley).   5. Salvation results in a changed focus in life. Zechariah says that we, “that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days” (vss. 74-75). Contrary to popular opinion, God does not save us primarily so that we’ll be happy. The Christian life is a blessedly happy life, full of joy and gladness. But that’s a by-product, not the chief focus. God saves us so that we might glorify Him (make Him look good) through a life of holy service. People who think they're saved but who live for themselves and their own happiness are deceived. True salvation always results in a life of growing holiness given over to serving the gracious God who has granted deliverance from the bondage of sin.   Years ago a Salvation Army officer, Captain Shaw, went to India as a medical missionary to a leper colony. His eyes welled with tears as he saw three lepers who were prisoners, their hands and feet bound by chains that cut into their diseased flesh. Captain Shaw turned to the guard and said, "Please unfasten these chains." "But it isn't safe," the guard replied. "These men are not just lepers; they're dangerous criminals." "I'll be responsible; they're suffering enough," Shaw said, as he took the keys, and tenderly removed the shackles and treated their bleeding ankles and wrists. About two weeks later Captain Shaw had his first misgivings about freeing these criminals. He had to make an overnight trip and feared leaving his wife and child alone. His wife insisted that she wasn't afraid; God would protect her. So the doctor left. The next morning when Mrs. Shaw went to her door, she was startled to see the three criminals lying on her steps. One explained, "We know the doctor go. We stay here all night so no harm come to you."   That was their response to the doctor's act of love for them, to serve him freely out of gratitude. And that should be our response to God's freeing us from bondage to sin, to give our lives in holy service to Him.   Conclusion: My friend, have you personally experienced the tender mercy of God by receiving the forgiveness of sins He offers in the Lord Jesus Christ? Has the Holy Spirit opened your eyes to your desperate situation outside of Christ? You sit in darkness and the shadow of death, awaiting God's awful judgment. You can do nothing to save yourself. But God has done it all. In His tender mercy, He offers you a full pardon if you will receive Jesus Christ.   Salvation begins and ends with God. It’s all of grace. Sadly, when we come to the birth of Christ, when we come to the Christmas story...we’re so familiar with these events that we’re tempted to be ho-hum about them. Yet  Christmas is really a time of year for retelling old and familiar stories. For example, at some point I’ll find time to watch, It’s a Wonderful Life. You’ll have your children watch the Charlie Brown special about that pathetic little Christmas tree. TV will rerun Dicken’s, A Christmas Carol, Miracle on 34th Street, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Christmas Story and the caution to not shoot your eye out. Even many sub par movies will be shown again because they have a Christmas theme. Why do we do this?   Because they all carry the seed of salvation. They all have a redemptive element. Whether it’s Scrooge being rescued from his shriveled, greedy life or George Bailey being shown the abundance of his blessings or even a little Natalie Wood having her faith in Santa Claus restored, we all desire to be set free from, free from that which binds us. Even retailers that require “Christmas” to be substituted with “holiday” can’t keep from telling the good news of Christ’s coming. A holiday is really a “holy day!” Why do we need a holy day? We’re sinners. What makes it a holy day? We have a Savior.   This Christmas, ask God to show you the countless ways you can tell the story of salvation. This is the way we can praise God and proclaim the Savior has come. John the Baptist would do this by being ruled by the Word of God, revealing the Son of God, and retelling the story of salvation.   Before the angel appeared to Zechariah, people had waited four hundred years to hear from God. But now He’s spoken. A rescue plan has been implemented and successfully rescued people in the most binding of prisons, their sin. Do you hear the Lord knocking? That’s the sound of deliverance. It’s Zechariah’s song. It’s the song of salvation.   Is it your song? If it’s not, it can be…today. Come to Jesus right now! Run to the Cross!!