Zacharias' Song, Part 1

Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for today and the opportunity we have to study the Word of God. You are so good to us to be able to convey to us in your Word all that took place centered around the coming of Messiah. We thank you, Lord, that we can read it, understand it, and most importantly believe it and trust you to accomplish your great and perfect purposes in our lives. In Jesus' name, Amen. Luke chapter 1 is where we're at still. Yes, we've been here many, many months. We've only got three more weeks to go.

Luke chapter 1 until Christmas in July with the birth of Christ in Luke chapter 2. But Luke chapter 1, verse number 67, the benedictus of Zacharias, the song of Zacharias. It's Zacharias' blessing for God in his wonderful provision of salvation. The text that we're going to read today and study today in the next couple of weeks is a very pivotal text when it comes to understanding the link between the Old Testament and the New Testament. There are four hymns of praise in Luke 1 and Luke 2. We've already seen Elizabeth's song of praise.

We've already studied Mary's song of praise. We will see the angels' praise in Luke chapter 2, and then we will see the praise of Simeon later on in Luke chapter 2. This is the one right in the middle. This is Zacharias' song in Luke chapter 1, verses 67 and following. It's his song of praise as he bursts forth, having been deaf and mute for nine months during the pregnancy of his wife, having said these words, his name, or not said, written these words out on a tablet. His name is John. His tongue was loosed.

There was a miracle performed that he would be able to speak once again. And he bursts forth in praise. And we don't know all that he said, but we do know some of what he said, because the Spirit of God records it for us. And therefore, we're able to come to grips with what it was that caused Zacharias to praise his God. And the center of his praise focuses on the theme of redemption. It's a song about redemption. And if you go through the Old Testament, you realize that there are many songs of praise in the Old Testament.

In fact, all 150 psalms are songs of praise for God's deliverance and God's redeeming of his people. Go all the way back to Exodus chapter 15, and we study that with the deliverance of Israel out of Egyptian bondage in that great song of Moses, about how God is the strong deliverer of his people. You can read about it in 1 Samuel chapter 2, and as Hannah would be able to speak about God's saving power and God's deliverance. You can read about it in the book of Revelation, Revelation 5, Revelation chapter 15.

Those new songs of salvation, those songs of praise centering around redemption. Zacharias helps us understand how we are to praise our God and how we are to focus in on him. You see, he doesn't mention the fact that his wife was barren for all those years. He doesn't even praise God that she's no longer barren. He never praises God for supplying him with a son, and those are all great things, but that wasn't the focus of his praise. The focus of his praise was on the coming of a Redeemer who would save his people from their sins, and that's what caused him such great celebration, such great jubilation.

It was all about his God. You see, so many times today, our praise is man-centered, but in the Bible, praise is God-centered. Mary would praise God because of her salvation individually. She rejoiced. It was her spirit that would exalt in God, her Savior. Zacharias doesn't look at salvation from an individual perspective.

He looks at it from a national perspective. He looks at it from a collective perspective, where the whole nation of Israel will one day be saved, but his praise is centered on the Redeemer and how he has come to redeem his people. That's why he bursts forth in great praise. Now, you've got to remember that Zacharias is a priest. He's the master of the Old Testament. Yes, every year for two weeks, he would go to the temple. He would perform sacrifices, but for the rest of the time, he would counsel people in the Word of God.

He'd instruct them in the ways of God because he was a master teacher of the Old Testament. So Zacharias knows about what's taking place in the Old Testament, so he can counsel and encourage people as to what the Bible says concerning their condition and their situation.

And he knows, he knows what has taken place. He knows about the last promise in Malachi chapter 4, where the Son of Righteousness will come with healing in his wings. He knows it's been 400 years since that prophecy had been given, but he, like Anna and Luke chapter 2, was looking for the redemption of Jerusalem, looking for God to redeem their people. And Zacharias, having known the Old Testament, having understood exactly what the prophets of old had said, would be able to give forth a song of praise that would help us understand that Christianity is the fulfillment of Judaism.

That Christianity is not a new religion. Christianity is the true religion. And Zacharias' song is theological in nature, and therefore it helps us understand what he knew, what the Old Testament prophets said about the coming of Messiah, and how Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of that. This becomes a critical portion of Scripture for us to understand what took place in the Old Testament, and what God's plan for redeeming Israel is all about, and how God saves us from our sins. And that's his song of praise.

That's what he gives forth on this day in Luke chapter 1, because within him there was this pent-up praise. For nine months he couldn't speak, but now he can. And because he can, what he says is so important for us to understand. Now what he does is he centers his praise around three stanzas. I'm going to try to make this as simple as I can for you. So please bear with me. I have all kinds of thoughts in my head. I want to be able to explain it to you as simply as I possibly can. That's why I don't really have an outline for you, except around the three stanzas, or the three covenants of God.

And that's found in verse number 69, with the phrase, House of David, verse 73, the oath which he swore to Abraham our father, in verse 77, to give to his people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. His praise consists of three stanzas, centered around three Old Testament covenants. The covenant God made with David, the covenant God made with Abraham, and the new covenant. So you have the Davidic covenant, the Abrahamic covenant, and the new covenant. Now we know about covenants.

Covenants is a promise that God gave to his people. And we know that there are six covenants in the Old Testament. Now, I know some of you have studied Bibles, and in those study Bibles they'll mention more than just six covenants, but I don't think you shouldn't say something's a covenant unless the Bible says it's a covenant.

So the Bible only tells us that there are six covenants in the Old Testament. We know about the covenant God made with Noah. It's called the Noahic covenant. And God promised that he would never destroy the world with a flood. He made that promise. He never promised he wasn't gonna destroy the world. He just said he wouldn't destroy the world with a flood, because we know he's gonna destroy the world with fervent heat. He's gonna set it ablaze. Second Peter chapter three tells us that.

All right, but he made a promise never destroy it again with the flood. That's the Noahic covenant. A promise God made. He also made a promise in the Mosaic covenant. When he gave the law, those who keep the law will be blessed. And those who disobey the law will be cursed. And then he also made a priestly covenant in Numbers chapter 25. He promised Israel that they would have a perpetual priesthood. And we know that there will be a priesthood in the millennium, because all you have to do is read the Old Testament to understand what God was going to do in the Old Testament.

In fact, if you are of the Jewish persuasion, if you are Jewish, there has been a letter sent out from the state of Israel to all those around the world who are in a Jewish family just in case they might know of their lineage that if they are of the tribe of Levi, they should send their sons back to Israel for training for the priesthood. Why? Because they're going to build the next temple. And they know it's going to be soon. See God promised a priestly covenant that Israel would have a priesthood in the millennial kingdom.

But none of those covenants promise salvation. None of them do. I mean if all we had was the Noahic covenant, the only promise we would have is that God would never destroy the world with a flood. That's all we'd have. Now we know we're going to die because the soul that sins is going to die. But we just know that the world won't be destroyed by a flood. If all we had was the the Mosaic covenant, the law of God, we could never get saved because no one is saved ever by keeping the law of God. The law of God was given to demonstrate our sinfulness to show us how far short we fall from God.

And if all we had was the priestly covenant, all we would know is that there'd be somebody praying for us, but no guarantee of any answers for their prayers. But there are three covenants. The Davidic covenant, the Abrahamic covenant, and the new covenant that all have salvific components. Or other words, they have components of salvation in them because they all deal with the salvation of Israel. The Davidic covenant is a covenant specifically that is a universal covenant. The Abrahamic covenant is a national covenant and the new covenant is a personal covenant.

The Abrahamic covenant, or excuse me, the Davidic covenant is universal because it refers to the eternal rule of the coming king of David. A universal rule of the king over the entire universe, the entire world. The Abrahamic covenant is a national covenant which deals with the promises that God gave to Israel that they would be a blessing, they would receive a blessing, and they would have that blessing in a specific land in which the king, when he came, would rule. And then the new covenant is a personal covenant.

And that new covenant is how God forgives sins. And the new covenant, listen carefully, is the door that opens to the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant and the Abrahamic covenant. Now that's just a summation of those three and we will cover them in detail for you because Zacharias does in Luke chapter 1. But what he does is show us that what is taking place with the birth of John the Baptist, his son, and what is going to take place with the birth of the Messiah, the child in the womb of Mary, is the fulfillment of the promises of God to the nation of Israel.

And Zacharias is going to link for us the Old Testament with the New Testament. He's going to bring it all together for us to show us how Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. And that's what makes this benedictus, this blessing, so tremendous because Zacharias, through the Spirit of God, helps us understand the promises of God and the plan of God for the people of God. Are you with me so far? I hope so. I don't want you to fall asleep on me. This is good stuff and you want to be able to hang with it because it's going to open your eyes to many wonderful truths.

Remember the Bible talks about how God is a covenant keeping God, how God is faithful. In the book of Lamentations, Jeremiah would say, great is thy faithfulness. What is God faithful to? God is faithful to keeping his word. God is faithful to keeping his promises. God is faithful to his covenants. And he made them. And just because they have yet to be fulfilled in their entirety does not mean that they have been revoked. Because they are irrevocable covenants. And they are unconditional covenants.

And they will be fulfilled as we will see as the scripture unfolds them for us. Let me read to you the song of praise and then we'll begin our discussion.

Luke chapter 1 verse number 67, and his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he has visited us and accomplished redemption for his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David his servant as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old. Salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us to show mercy toward our fathers and to remember his holy covenant. The oath which he swore to Abraham our father 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.

And you child will be called the prophet of the most high for you will go on before the Lord to prepare his ways to give to his people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins because of the tender mercy of our God with which the sun rise from on high shall visit us to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace. Zacharias begins his praise because he was filled with the spirit of God. This is the third time we see this in Luke chapter 1.

We saw where John the Baptist would be filled with the spirit from his mother's womb. We talked about that and why it was so important that this little baby in the womb of Elizabeth would be filled with the spirit of God is because he would make a prophetic silent skip in the womb to show that Mary was the mother of Messiah. And so we know why John the Baptist was filled with the spirit from his mother's womb. We also know that when Elizabeth gave her song earlier in Luke 1 that she too was filled with the spirit of God and she would speak blessing upon Mary and blessing upon herself and blessing upon all those who believed in the coming of Messiah.

Now Zacharias is filled with the spirit of God. I was thinking about this this past week and as I was preparing for our marriage retreat coming up at the end of this month, I was thinking, you know, it's rather significant that in order to have a great marriage you got to be filled with the spirit of God. This family was literally dominated by God's spirit, father, mother, and baby. The story of Zacharias and Elizabeth in the birth of John the Baptist is a story about a family dominated by the spirit of God.

As I thought about that I thought, you know, in order for us to have a marriage that honors God we must be dominated by God's spirit. We must be filled with the spirit of God. Ephesians 5 18 says that we are to not be drunk with wine in which is excess, but be controlled, be filled with the spirit of God. If you learn anything from the story of Zacharias and Elizabeth, learn this, that they were people committed and devoted to following the word of God because the spirit of God dominated their lives.

That's how their marriage hung together through the difficult times. That's how their marriage remained strong throughout the years that they were together and lived with their barrenness and that stigma with them. If you want a marriage that honors God, mom, dad, you must be filled with the spirit of God and you must teach your children what it means to be filled, controlled, or dominated by God's holy spirit in your life. Because we will see this throughout the gospel of Luke how the spirit of God then will drive the son of God into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil for 40 days.

The spirit of God indwelt the son of God and dominated and controlled his life. Folks, we need to understand the implications of that for your life and for mine so that we can live a life that brings glory and honor to God. And Zacharias and Elizabeth did. But he was filled with the spirit of God and he began to speak the words of God and listen to what he says. He prophesied saying, now this does not mean he's giving prophetic truth. He is just speaking forth the truth. The word that's used there is the word that reiterates the truth of God.

So what he's doing is he is speaking forth God's holy truth. He says this, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he has visited us and accomplished redemption for his people. Now we'll stop right there. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel because it's he who has visited us and it's he who has accomplished redemption for his people. He attributes salvation to the coming of Messiah. He attributes salvation to the Lord God of Israel. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. That is a phrase used over and over again in the Old Testament to reiterate that God is the author of salvation.

God is the one who saves people from their sin. You see, Zacharias knows where salvation comes from. It comes from the Lord God of Israel. Now we know, as John 4 teaches, that salvation is of the Jews. We know that Romans 9 teaches that through the Jews, we got the law. Through the Jews, we receive the prophets. Through the Jews comes the Messiah. Christianity is rooted in Judaism. Zacharias understands that salvation is rooted in the Lord God of Israel. There's only one God and he is the God of Israel and that's the one who saves people from their sins.

Zacharias understands that. If you want to do a study of that, you can read Psalm 41, 13, Psalm 72, 18, Psalm 106, 48, 1 Kings 1, 48, all speaking about how we bless the Lord God of Israel. The word blessed just means to speak well of. You speak well of the Lord God of Israel because of his mighty, powerful, wondrous work of salvation. And that's what Zacharias is doing. That's why it's called the Benedictus of Zacharias because he is blessing God for his work of redemption and salvation of his people.

But he says this, for he has visited us. Now that's an Old Testament phrase. God has visited us. Now this is important because if you go back to Exodus 32, verse number 34, Exodus 4, verse number 31, verses that we've already studied in the life of Moses before we ever embarked on the Gospel of Luke, you realize that when God visits his people, he comes for one of two reasons. One, for retribution or two, redemption. So when the Bible speaks of how God visits his people, he's coming either to redeem them, to deliver them, or he's coming to bring retribution upon them.

In Exodus 32, 34, God visits with judgment and retribution upon his people. In Exodus 4, 31, God visits to redeem them from their bondage and slavery in Israel. You can also read about it in Ruth chapter 1, verse number 6. The point is that God is at work and that phrase God has visited us is a phrase that's unique to the Gospel of Luke. Luke uses it. In fact, turn with me if you went to Luke chapter 7.

Can't wait to get to Luke 7. Probably won't be to 2007, but maybe 2008, but in Luke chapter 7, you have a story. It says in verse 11, and it came about soon afterwards that he went to a city called Nain and his disciples were going along with him accompanied by a large multitude. Now as he approached the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother. And she was a widow, and a sizable crowd from the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he felt compassion for her and said to her, And he came up and touched the coffin, and the bearers came to a halt.

And he said, young man, I say to you, arise. And the dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother. And fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying, a great prophet has arisen among us, and God has, what? Visited his people. God has visited his people. God has come to help his people. God has come to redeem his people. God is the only one who can raise somebody from the dead. God is the only one who can make a dead man alive. And so they had recognized, listen, they recognized that God was at work.

They recognized that God had visited his people. And they are Jewish. It's a Jewish phrase. So they know that phrase talks about God's redemptive purposes or God's retributive purposes. And we know this wasn't retribution. It had to be redemption. So God has visited his people. Now Luke 19. Turn there with me if you would, please. We read this last Sunday morning during our prayer time. Luke chapter 19, verse 41. And when he approached, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, If you had known in this day, even you the things which make for peace, but now they have been hidden from your eyes, for the day shall come upon you when your enemies will throw up a bank before you and surround you, and hem you in on every side, and will level you to the ground and your children within you.

And they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time or the day of what? Your visitation. You see they recognized that God had visited them in Luke 7, but they would not respond to the fact that Jesus was God. And that's the issue of salvation, right? There's a lot of times that people recognize that God's in control and God is doing a great mighty work and God is moving among us, but they will not respond to the call of God. They will not respond to the will of God.

They won't respond and say, Yes, Jesus, I believe that you are the Messiah. I believe that you died for my sins, and I believe that you're coming again to rescue me, to take me home, to be with you, and you will set up your kingdom, and you will rule and reign on this earth, because you are the king of kings and lord of lords. They won't respond to that. Because they know if they do, they got to take up their cross, deny themselves, repent of their sins, and follow only him. That's why when Christ came, he wept over the city, because they would not respond to him.

And this is right after they had laid their garments down, and they had sung the song of praise about blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna to God in the highest. Save now is what Hosanna means. Save now! And because he didn't save them, listen, politically, it didn't save them nationally, they didn't want him. They would not have that king rule over them. And that's why he began to weep, because they did not recognize the day of their visitation. They didn't understand that Jesus Christ was God in the flesh, and he came to die for their sins.

They didn't understand that. You know what? Zacharias didn't understand it either. Oh, he tried. But he knew that salvation had come. Now you think about this. You're a father. You haven't had a son in over 80 years. And all of a sudden God gives you a child. It's a boy. And the angel Gabriel says, your son will be called great. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children. And he will prepare the way of the Lord. You've got the forerunner to the Messiah. You've got the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy of Malachi 3.

Your wife is going to give birth to the one who prepares the way of the Lord. And now you have the opportunity to sing praise to God about that. Because you know that Messiah is right on his heels. How do you know that? Because Mary had stayed with him for three months. Mary had been with him for three months. And Mary at this time now was pregnant. So the son of God was in her womb. And everything is coming into focus for him, Zacharias. And he has realized that God has visited his people. God has begun to work among us.

He worked in him. He made him deaf and mute for nine months. Then reversed all that nine months later when the baby was born. He caused his wife who was barren for over 80 years to give birth to a child. He had seen the hand of God. God had definitely visited his people. And now he knows that Messiah is in the womb of the relative of his wife, Elizabeth. And this man is hard to contain his excitement. Especially after nine months of not being able to say a thing. He wants everybody to know what it is that God has done and is going to do.

And listen to what he says. He has visited us and accomplished redemption for his people. He speaks, listen, as if it's already happened. Because he knows it's going to happen. God has visited us and he has accomplished redemption for his people. And the book of Luke is about redemption. Jesus has mentioned that savior over 30 times in the gospel of Luke alone. Luke 19 10. The son of man came to seek and to say that which was lost. In Luke chapter 21, he speaks about how your redemption draws nigh.

With the two men on the road to Emmaus, they thought that God was going to bring redemption to Israel. They couldn't understand it. Anna, Anna in Luke 2, who served God faithfully day and night in the temple for 64 years looked for the redemption of Jerusalem. The book of Luke is about redemption. And Zacharias helps us understand that redemption now has been accomplished because God has visited his people. And he's visited them in a way that he's never visited them before. Because he's actually going to show up on the scene.

He's actually going to be able to be viewed personally because he's actually going to be born. See this is this is amazing stuff. And Zacharias is for lack of a better phrase fired up about what's going to take place, you know, he's a little excited. I guess I would be too if I was the father of John the Baptist and I lived back then and this was happening to me. But the problem was Israel expected an external salvation. They did not understand internal salvation. You see they expected an external savior.

One who would remove from them all obstacles. One that would remove from them their bondage, their enslavement, the oppression, the animosity, the hatred that they themselves were facing. And so when Messiah came he didn't do what they thought he should do. They rejected him. And because they rejected him the fulfillment of Davidic promise the fulfillment of Abrahamic promise was postponed and delayed until a later time. Why? Because they would not accept the terms of the new covenant and the new covenant is internal not external where God writes his law upon the hearts of his people.

And they're able to respond to him in a way that will allow them to fulfill the law of God and honor the king who is God. Now, how is God going to accomplish his redemption? Zacharias tells us. It says in verse 69, it has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David. David. Now that connects us to the Davidic covenant the promise that God made with David. And what he's doing is saying to us that the way God's going to accomplish redemption is through the horn of salvation. And the horn that's a phrase taken from the animal world.

The horn is representative of strength and power and the ability to conquer. For when animals fight they use their horns. That's why God gave them horns. You know, and they use those horns to fight with and the horn of salvation is a term to demonstrate the power of God in his saving work. In fact, if you read psalm 18 verse number two, it says the Lord is the horn of my salvation.

Deuteronomy 33 17 first Samuel 2 10 jeremiah 50 verse number 34. It says their redeemer is strong. You see Israel knew that their redeemer would be strong. They knew that their messiah would be a conquering ruler. They knew that. And they expected that. And that's what they wanted. And Zechariah saw that. And he knew that the only way they'd be redeemed is if the horn of their salvation would be accomplished. If the Lord God, who is the horn of salvation, showed up to exercise his power to conquer those who oppressed his people.

And so Zechariah sees it from a very powerful perspective. He saw it from a perspective where it would be the horn of salvation that would save them from their sins. And he says, listen, this horn is in the house of David, his servant. And that gives us the first stanza or the first point of our outline to understand that his praise centers around this Davidic covenant, this universal rule of a king.

Turn back with me if you would to second Samuel chapter 7. Second Samuel chapter 7. And this is the Davidic covenant. Now the word covenant is not used in second Samuel 7, but it is in second Samuel 23.

That's how we know it is the Davidic covenant. It's God's promise to David that he will have a son, a greater son than Solomon that will rule forever. Let's know what it says. Second Samuel 7 verse number 12.

When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you who will come forth from you and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name. Of course, that was Solomon. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. That's the greater son. Not Solomon. That's the Messiah. I will be a father to him and he will be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will correct him. Again, this is Solomon. With the rod of men and with the strokes of the sons of men.

But my loving kindness shall not depart from him as I took it away from Saul whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall endure before me forever. Your throne shall be established forever. Now second Samuel 23 5 tells us that that was the Davidic covenant.

That was the promise of God. And this covenant is referred to or quoted some 40 other times in the Old Testament. It is a pivotal promise to the nation of Israel that they will have a king from the line of David who will sit on the throne of David forever. Solomon didn't do that. Solomon was the next king after David. And he was a good king for a while until iniquity got the best of him. And after him the kingdom was divided. And the kingdom was never like it was under David's rule because he was the defining king.

He was the great king. He was the significant king. And God made a promise to David. David said, you know, I want to build my God a house. My God, I'm living in a great palace and my God is still in a tent. So I want to build him a great and wonderful palace, a temple to live in. And God told Nathan, tell David not to bother. Because he's not going to do it. His son will do it. But he will not. But you tell David that he will have a son. A son that will reign forever. And that's my promise to him.

And 2 Samuel 23 5 tells us that that is the Davidic covenant, that that is the promise that God made with him. And you can read about it over in 1 Chronicles 17 and Psalm 89 and we know Isaiah chapter 9 verses 6 and 7 because we always quote it at Christmas. But this speaks well of it. For a child will be born to us, a son will be given, and the government will rest on his shoulders and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. And there will be no end to the increase of his government or of peace on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness and then on and forevermore the zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this.

The prophet said the zeal of the Lord of Hosts or the Lord of Armies, Yahweh Sabaoth, a phrase used 245 times in the Old Testament to speak of the strength of God. So the prophet Isaiah says how is God going to accomplish the fact that he will have the Messiah sit on the throne of David forever and he will rule with a rod of righteousness and justice. It will happen because of the Lord of Hosts. Another way of saying what Zechariah said in Luke chapter 1, the horn of salvation will accomplish this because that horn of salvation is in the house of David.

So the Jews knew that the Messiah would come through the line of David. Zacharias knew it. He knew it because the Bible says these words in Luke chapter 1, verse 70, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old.

This all came from the holy prophets of old. So they knew what the prophet said plus he knew because Mary had been living with him for three months and Mary had reiterated what the angel Gabriel told her in Luke chapter 1, verse number 32, and he will be great and will be called the son of the most high and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and his kingdom will have no end. So Mary understands what the angel Gabriel says. She some way would convey that to Elizabeth and Zacharias.

Zacharias knows that the Messiah is in the womb of Mary. He knows God has accomplished salvation for his people. He has visited his people and now he's going to accomplish something tremendous. And that Davidic covenant said this, verse 71, salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. They understood the universal salvation of Israel based on the king of Israel. That they would be saved from all their oppressors, all those who hated them, all those who were against them, because their king would come and their king would rule and he as Zechariah 14, 9 says would be the only king.

Psalm 110 also speaks about the coming of the Messiah who will sit on the throne of David and rule forever and ever. And the fulfillment of that of course is Revelation 19 and Revelation 20 when Jesus Christ comes back again on a white horse and we in white robes with him and he sets up his kingdom. In Revelation 20 it speaks about how he rules on this earth for a thousand years in the city of Jerusalem on the throne of David. This is just the tip of the iceberg in Zacharias' song of praise. But he wants us to know that he gets it, that he understands what's happening.

His son the forerunner is coming or he's already here. He's been born and he's going to lead the way. He's going to pave the way. He's going to make ready the way of the Lord. Messiah will follow on his footsteps. Redemption has been accomplished in my people. Zacharias sees that. Did he understand it all? No, he doesn't know what you and I know. He doesn't understand that that that Jesus Christ when he came he came into Jerusalem on a donkey instead of a white horse. He came in humiliation not glorification.

He came to give his life away not to rule and reign. But he came to give his life away on Calvary's cross. We are able to look back on that and see the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy and what's going to happen when Jesus Christ reigns again. But you know Israel, I mean the disciples they didn't get it either. I mean even after remember after the resurrection and the book of Acts tells us that Christ was with his men for 40 days after the resurrection teaching them things pertaining to the kingdom of God, Acts chapter 1.

And before he left they asked him one question is now the time you're going to restore the kingdom back to Israel. You see even after being with him for three years, even after experiencing the horrific death of their Lord and seeing the magnitude of his resurrection and being with him for 40 days, they still had the same question. The same question that every Jew asks. If you're the Messiah set your kingdom up and rule and reign. And here they are saying you know what is now the time that you are going to restore the kingdom back to Israel.

And what did Jesus say? It's not for you to know the times or the epics of your father who is in heaven. But, but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you shall be my witnesses in Judea, in Samaria, in Jerusalem, the uttermost parts of the earth. You're going to be my witnesses. He answers a question that's very significant. He says you should not be as concerned about ruling with me in eternity as you should be about revealing me to humanity. And you know that's the question we need to ask ourselves.

See Zacharias was excited about the anticipation of redemption and what Messiah was going to do. We should be excited about the return of the Messiah and the kingdom that he's going to establish on this earth. And how one day we will rule and reign with him and you see we as the people of God should be concerned about revealing him to humanity. That they might be able to see that there is a king because he rules in our hearts and we are subject to his lordship. We are subject to his rulership. We are serving the king of kings and lord of lords.

Let me ask you a question when people see you do they know you serve a master called Jesus Christ our Lord.

Do they know that he is the master of your life and that you are in subjection to his law and to his word because you are a committed servant of his. Do they know that? Are you one of those who has received the power of God because the spirit of God indwells you and you now have become a witness not only in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria but the uttermost parts of the world. The people know that Jesus Christ rules and reigns in your heart and life. Do they know that? Boy, I pray that they do. You might be saying, you know, I don't even know if Jesus rules in my heart or not.

Then you shouldn't leave today without knowing for certain. You should know for certain that Jesus Christ is the savior of your soul and that Jesus Christ is the messiah. And that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for your sins. And Jesus Christ rose again the third day is coming back again.

He is coming back again. In Israel, Israel didn't understand the kingship of their messiah because they would not accept the terms of an internal transformation through the new covenant that only comes through the forgiveness of sins. That's it. And we have to ask ourselves have we experienced the forgiveness of sins? Has my life been transformed from the inside out? Has God written his law on my heart? Now, I know we've said a lot of things today. We've covered a lot of areas today and some of you are out there probably saying man, I should have stayed in bed this morning because I am confused about what just took place.

That's why you got to come next week and the week after so it all comes together for you. See, it'll all come together for you very simply as we go through Luke chapter 1. But you have to understand what Zacharias saw and what he believed and what he knew was going to happen because what he believed was going to happen did happen. Jesus is messiah. Jesus is king. And Jesus was the fulfillment of new covenant prophecy. And through him came the forgiveness of sins. Do you have that forgiveness? Do you know for certain that if you died today you'd spend eternity with Jesus Christ our Lord?

Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for the truth of your word and Lord, I pray that the things that we talked about today would sink deep into the hearts and minds of people. So many verses, so many things covered, so little time to cover it. And yet Lord, it is the truth. And Zacharias having been filled with the spirit of God, spoke the word of God telling us about the coming salvation of God. And I do pray that if there's someone in our midst today who's not saved, that today would be the day of their salvation.

They would see Jesus Christ as king, as Lord, and serve him with all their hearts. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.