Advent 2 Midweek-Zechariah's Prophecy-St. Luke 1:67-80

‘Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.’ (Ps. 19:14) Amen.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

‘And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people’. (Vv. 67-8)

In the early years of the Massachusetts colony, a white settlement that was a bit inland and toward the south end of the colony was suddenly attacked by a large force of Indians. The Indians succeeded in burning all but one of the cabins in this village. That final cabin was not burned because holed up inside where Captain Hutchinson and his men.

After several desperate attempts, finally, one man was able to slip through the Indian lines under cover of darkness. He then made his way to Providence, Rhode Island to raise the alarm. For three days the Indians attacked the cabin trying to break through the defenses. After each attempt, the bodies of these red Indians were left lying on the ground around the clearing.

Finally, on the evening of the third day, the besieged men within the fort heard the shouts of friends rushing to their rescue. Major Willard of Boston had been apprised of the situation and siege at Brookfield and with all possible haste rushed to the aid of those brave men, whose ammunition and endurance were all but spent.

We can all imagine the joy and thanksgiving within that small fort in the hearts of the defenders when the Indians were dispersed and driven back into the woods. So, we also were once held in bondage and sitting in the shadow of death. Now, you have been delivered from sin, death, and hell when you despaired of all help. You and I sat helpless and hopeless, unable to relieve our situation. Then our great Deliverer and Savior came.[1]

We praise the Lord that in spite of our sinful foolishness and pride, the Father sent Jesus for you anyway. Your Strength and your Deliverer has come. He has delivered you from the hopeless situation that you found yourself in even from birth. Our God has now raised up a horn of salvation. There it is again, did you hear it? Listen again.

‘[He] has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old’. (Vv. 69-70)

Did you hear it? That word, salvation.

Just as with the prophecies of Simeon and Isaiah, so also in the prophecy of Zechariah. Our Salvation has been raised up. He has been seen. Now though, the word horn is attached to this name of Jesus, Salvation. This is a good word. After all, “horn” carries with it the idea of strength. Jesus is most definitely strong to save. This also carries with it a sacrificial overtone. If you remember from the descriptions of the altar of the Old Testament, there were four horns on that altar. This then puts us in mind of that sacrificial element and thus is a pointing forward by Luke.

Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Luke is pointing us forward to the end of the Gospel. We are already seeing the shadow of the cross falling over the manger in Bethlehem. At least as much as the prophets from of old spoke about the Messiah coming as a baby. These same prophets also point us to the cross. This is most notably seen in Isaiah with his great “Servant’s Song” (Is. 52-3).

‘That we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us’. (V. 71)

You have been rescued from the hand of your enemies. You have now been rescued by Jesus’ sacrifice from the clutches of sin and death. You have also been delivered from the hand of those who hate you. This includes the devil and all his fallen angels (Small Catechism IV: Holy Baptism). As with those Massachusetts soldiers, you also rejoice with joy and thanksgiving. You are constantly rejoicing that your God’s mercies are new every morning (Lam. 3:23).

We see this in the song we sing in the Sunday service found in tonight’s Psalm. ‘Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! … Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.’ (Ps. 51: 2, 12) This is our continual pray for forgiveness and our continual reason for rejoicing. We as Christians, you and me, we are all praying that our Savior will wash us clean and cover us with His saving grace. When you sin you pray the second part, that the joy of your heavenly Father’s salvation in Jesus will be restored.

You have been washed in the waters of baptism. You have been covered with Christ’s righteousness. When you sin, He does forgive all your sins. You have been rescued, you have been redeemed. You have been saved from your enemies and those who hate you. Amen, praise Jesus.

In Jesus'+ Name. Amen.

[1] Encyclopedia of Sermon Illustrations, CPH, pp. 178-79, entry #826.