Luke 1:67-80

Transcript

00:00:00:59 – 00:00:22:21
Clint Loveall
Hey, friends and others. Good to have you back with us as we finish up the week. Thanks for being with us as we continue through, look better calls of the week, some technical difficulties at the start. But as we continue through here, we come to the close of the first chapter, though we’ve got a little bit to cover today.

00:00:23:11 – 00:00:53:29
Clint Loveall
We mentioned last week when we looked at Mary’s moment, her reception of what’s called the Annunciation, and then she follows with the song that Luke does these particularly in the early part of the gospel, these kind of poetic responses from people. And here we have another one today that we look at. This is from Zacharias. If you were with us yesterday, Zacharias and Elizabeth welcomed their son into the world.

00:00:53:29 – 00:01:28:33
Clint Loveall
They named him John. There was some question about that. Zacharias, in writing, reiterated that his name is John and at that point he could speak, having previously been mute for doubting the word of the angel that leads Zacharias then to this the song or what is in this version of the Bible called his prophecy. But I think song maybe not musically, but lyrically, is a good way to understand these kind of texts.

00:01:28:33 – 00:02:01:01
Clint Loveall
Luke does this. They’re well-written. They’re they say a lot, So let me read it and then we can go back and show some things that are in it. His father, Zacharias, filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke this prophecy. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He’s looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. He’s raised up a mighty savior for us in the House of his servant, David, as he spoke through the mouth of the Holy prophets of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.

00:02:01:01 – 00:02:22:49
Clint Loveall
Thus, he has shown mercy, promised to our ancestors, has remembered his Holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us that we being rescued from the hands 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.

00:02:23:20 – 00:02:43:51
Clint Loveall
You will go before the Lord to prepare His ways to give knowledge of salvation to His people. By the forgiveness of their sins, by the tender mercy of our God. The dawn from on high will break upon us to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death to guide our feet in the way of peace.

00:02:44:27 – 00:03:22:07
Clint Loveall
The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel. So a really wonderful expression here of a promise, the idea of the coming of the Messiah, the idea of the Herald of the Messiah blended really into one passage. And again, I think we see Micah and I don’t want to overstate this because we’ve said this before without mentioning any Old Testament prophets, though I guess we do get a mention of David and Abraham, we get some characters from the Old Testament.

00:03:22:09 – 00:03:53:33
Clint Loveall
I think really for the first time, Luke has this wonderful way, in the words of Zachariah here, connecting the old with the new, connecting the promise of being saved from enemies with being saved from sin, and the idea that this child, this new son born to him, John, will be called the prophet of the most high and go before the Lord to prepare the ways and give knowledge of salvation.

00:03:54:14 – 00:04:05:09
Clint Loveall
Luke does a really masterful job here of setting the stage for the next part of the story, and I think this is really well done.

00:04:05:33 – 00:04:29:11
Michael Gewecke
It is a beautiful piece of literature on its own face. And then, of course, this part of scripture. I think it’s very illuminating. I think that it’s worth noting that sometimes we get a little confused by this idea of prophecy cleansing. You know, maybe just a quick word about that as we start this conversation here in the New Testament, prophecy does have a looking forwardness to it.

00:04:29:11 – 00:04:58:19
Michael Gewecke
It is related to things that will be, but that looking forward is completely related in or is sorry rooted in the reality of what is because of who God has been and who God promises to remain being. So I want to maybe temper a little bit of that idea that this is about prediction entirely. There is a predictive aspect to this, but it’s not just about I’m now going to tell you the future when we’re talking about prophecy.

00:04:58:19 – 00:05:32:16
Michael Gewecke
This is also a blessing. It’s an edification of the people. It’s in some ways a sermon, a reminder of God’s goodness and faithfulness and a call for the people to rest and trust in that. And I think that you see that in full color right at the beginning here, naming that blessed be the Lord God of Israel. God has looked favorably upon this people redeem them, raised up a mighty savior for us in the household of the house of this his servant, David, this idea as this rolls on, that God is worthy of praise.

00:05:32:16 – 00:05:57:30
Michael Gewecke
God is good. God is doing good things that God is praise worthy. God is worthy of worship. This is a really beautiful kind of bookend to the story that Zacharias already had. That statement of doubt that we saw happening in the place of worship and the idea that he went mute. Now that his voice has returned, he’s affirmed God’s leading and guiding is relates to John’s name.

00:05:57:30 – 00:06:26:20
Michael Gewecke
Now suddenly we’re thrust into this beautiful kind of witness and we, the reader, are, I think, invited into that. We’re invited to see God’s faithfulness, God’s graciousness, God’s goodness for the people of Israel to give thanks for that. That connects us to the bridge of those characters. You were talking about the Old Testament story, but now we’re moving firmly through this prophetic vision that’s beautiful, that you’re praise and prayer, gratitude, lyricism into the new life that is to come.

00:06:26:20 – 00:06:59:49
Clint Loveall
Yeah, I think that’s well said, Michael. The idea of prophecy here has more to do with truth than prediction. It’s not an uncovering of hidden events. It’s a proclamation of what God is doing. And we see some important themes here, particularly late in this passage knowledge of salvation, forgiveness of sins, mercy of God, light to those who wait in the darkness, in the shadow of death, and guiding our feet in the way of peace.

00:06:59:49 – 00:07:30:23
Clint Loveall
All of these, in their own way, are going to be unpacked as we move through the story of Jesus. And each of these words, each of these themes really is going to come to bear on the story. And some important way. And then there’s a sense in which, you know, it’s not very long. It’s probably only one chapter, but there’s a sense in which Luke kind of then just puts a pin in in John the Baptist.

00:07:30:23 – 00:07:51:07
Clint Loveall
I mean, we have this the the wrap up of this chapter here. The child grew and became strong in spirit and then sort of Luke tax on. He was in the wilderness until the day the day he appeared publicly to Israel. It really is like we just kind of shelf that story for a moment and we’ll get back to it.

00:07:51:57 – 00:08:12:57
Clint Loveall
But it’s as if Luke is saying, okay, we’ve got that part told. Now I need you to tell I need to tell you the next part. And then when we get in another chapter or so down the road, we’ll see these two stories come together. But right now, Luke has said what he needs to say about this, and then he moves on to what he considers the next part.

00:08:13:28 – 00:08:36:28
Michael Gewecke
Yeah, and this is somewhat unique in that I’m not going to say it’s the only time that this happens, but it’s in the Gospels. Often the story is flowing one story to the next. You know, immediately Jesus goes to the next city and then here’s the next thing. And Bible scholars will talk about how the ordering of that matters geographically, how that matters in terms of what it teaches us, or the lesson that was intended by the gospel writer.

00:08:36:28 – 00:08:54:05
Michael Gewecke
But here I think you’re right to point that out, that there’s a really interesting way in which Luke is almost you’re laying down the historical account like this is the thing that comes first. So I’m going to tell you this thing and this provides the backdrop and set up. Now we’re going to talk about Jesus. They’ll be next week.

00:08:54:05 – 00:09:14:54
Michael Gewecke
Well, next study will jump right into that. And then, yeah, he’s going to pick it back up again. There’s something about that, you know, doing the research, laying it down properly, making sure that it fits the theme. I think that there is something once again, not unique as this that as if this never happens elsewhere. But I think it’s unique to Luke’s voice.

00:09:14:54 – 00:09:15:39
Michael Gewecke
In some ways.

00:09:15:41 – 00:09:39:45
Clint Loveall
It would it’s in some ways more abrupt because no one else has given us the back story of John. So in the other gospels, John shows up as the adult prophet in the wilderness. But since we have the back story in Luke, Luke makes us wait a little bit. And I want to give credit to John the Baptist, so don’t want to minimize his impact on the story because it’s really important.

00:09:40:17 – 00:10:03:37
Clint Loveall
But there is a sense in which for Luke, the John the Baptist story serves the Jesus story. Yes. And so until we can get ahead, until we can get to the ministry story of Jesus, it’s as if Luke thinks, well, there’s nothing really that I need to add about the John the Baptist story that, you know, John the Baptist is out there.

00:10:03:52 – 00:10:27:50
Clint Loveall
He’s coming back. You know, this child, this prophecy has been made over him. But until we see his role heralding Jesus and proclaiming Jesus, there’s just not much Luke has to say about him. And so, yeah, because of the way Luke tells the story, I do think you’re right. I think it is unique. He just simply says, okay, now hold on to that for a few moments.

00:10:27:50 – 00:10:37:30
Clint Loveall
Why? I’ll tell you the next part and we’ll go back to him later. And it’s a it’s a transition that doesn’t happen that I can think of in the other gospels in that way.

00:10:37:40 – 00:11:01:17
Michael Gewecke
I think you’re really right to point out and I just want to emphasize this section here from 77 on, I think that this is in many ways functioning as a kind of thesis statement for Jesus’s ministry. And in many ways, this maybe helps us understand who John is, because John tells us like a thesis statement, what to expect with Jesus, salvation, forgiveness of sins, mercy of God.

00:11:02:24 – 00:11:27:57
Michael Gewecke
The dawn from on high will break the light for those who sit in the darkness, guide our feet to the way of peace. This is another way of saying again that Jesus is going to be the one to write all of these wrongs. And so in John’s in Zacharias prophetic voice here, later in John’s voice himself, we are just seeing how this is the case, how how ultimately Jesus is going to fulfill these things.

00:11:27:57 – 00:11:52:49
Michael Gewecke
We’re being told what’s going to happen before it happens, and that that is the prophetic nature of John. I think that John both does act as the bridge. We’ve talked a lot about that to the Old Testament. I think looking ahead, though, and the abruptness of this transition into chapter two, I do think there’s a sense, too, in which John provides a means and mechanism for us to understand who Jesus is.

00:11:52:49 – 00:12:12:30
Michael Gewecke
It’s not just in Jesus’s words that we hear it. It’s in John’s words. We hear it from another witness and not just another witness who comes after him, somebody who’s sort of making it up after the fact. Now, this is someone before Jesus laying the framework, telling us exactly who Jesus is going to be, which only adds credibility to the birth story.

00:12:12:30 – 00:12:14:06
Michael Gewecke
We’re about to read.

00:12:14:06 – 00:12:51:59
Clint Loveall
Yeah, I think the transition, again, is is helpful in reminding us that in the early part of this story, the work of John and the work of Jesus are deeply interconnected and John is the forerunner. And so as we move through the story, we now shift the focus next week. That focus, John, moves entirely out of the frame and we focus on Jesus and then we come back together and we see the two of them together briefly.

00:12:52:39 – 00:13:17:18
Clint Loveall
Next week’s texts are going to be familiar to you because they’re Christmas stories and it’s an interesting time to be reading Christmas stories perhaps, but in some ways, maybe that helps us have a chance to see some things in them that we don’t normally see because they’re less tempered by the season that they’re in. And maybe we can focus on some of the texts themselves a little bit.

00:13:17:25 – 00:13:47:51
Michael Gewecke
That’s well said. I think it’s interesting that nobody reads the Chapter one John story excitedly in the Christmas season and that is interesting because Luke can’t get to Christmas without going through John. And I do think there are some assumptions that we make about John’s importance just by nature of being Gentile Christians and the idea of the prophet maybe not being as compelling to us as it was to the original Christian body that received a text like this.

00:13:47:51 – 00:14:05:34
Michael Gewecke
I do think there’s wisdom in coming to this a little bit outside of our normal seasons of celebration, because we might be able to see that there’s a lot more knitted togetherness here than what might first meet the eyes. So hopefully we see that as we travel this ground together.

00:14:05:52 – 00:14:37:57
Clint Loveall
Yeah, I want to be on and be sensitive here, Michael, and certainly correct me, but as Luke is compiling this gospel already, there are likely people asking the question, what if? What do we need to know about the old covenant for, you know, the idea that there are Gentiles coming into the faith, the idea of the history of if we have Jesus, why do we need Abraham and David and such?

00:14:38:27 – 00:15:10:03
Clint Loveall
And Luke makes a very conscious and very compelling choice to connect here, to make sure that his readers understand that what God is about to do in Jesus is the promise that God has already made, that this is not an escape, it is not a replacement, it is not a revision. It is the fulfillment of the old covenant promise that that Judaism has staked its trust on its identity on.

00:15:10:28 – 00:15:27:41
Clint Loveall
And in that I think, you know, you could easily read this and not understand that Luke is taking that side. But but I think if you understand that, it makes it more obvious as you read the first chapter, partly what Luke is doing here.

00:15:28:21 – 00:16:00:03
Michael Gewecke
I suppose we don’t feel the weight of needing to do that, right. We don’t feel the kind of pressure for Jesus to fit into that cosmic salvation story that goes all the way through the people of Israel. But that absolutely matters for Luke to miss that value, to miss the importance of this transition, to see that the bridge from what God has been doing to now what God is doing supremely must be a sure foundation.

00:16:00:03 – 00:16:29:42
Michael Gewecke
It must be rooted and it must have deep, deep roots. And I think that Luke has laid that foundation. And, you know, if we could empathetically put ourselves in the shoes of those earliest Christians, this would be a source of great comfort that what feels like a new movement, what feels like it has this spirit of God and dwelling and pushing in and giving life and energy in the midst of of that moment is deeply connected to what has been and to what God has been doing.

00:16:29:42 – 00:16:43:06
Michael Gewecke
This isn’t a cult that just spun out, that this this has deep roots that would be an encouraging, that would be a a surefooted kind of faith building reminder. And I think that that’s what’s happening here.

00:16:43:24 – 00:16:55:10
Clint Loveall
Yeah. You know, we’ve never experienced the faith in which we were told we had to choose this story or this story. We’ve always lived with the idea that they were connected.

00:16:55:21 – 00:16:55:37
Michael Gewecke
Also.

00:16:55:43 – 00:17:14:04
Clint Loveall
But that that’s being crafted in Luke’s day, that that very reality that we take for granted is not yet a part of the fabric of the faith. And and to some extent, what Luke is doing is trying to move it that direction.

00:17:14:04 – 00:17:27:12
Michael Gewecke
I think I think that’s that’s really well said. I only just add a voice of here here. I think that that’s the exact right way to think about this and hopefully we compare that with us as we lead into our continued study next week.

00:17:27:25 – 00:17:48:09
Clint Loveall
Yeah, Thanks for being with us today. Have a great weekend. Appreciate you listening and appreciate you letting other people know that it’s out there. If that’s interesting to anyone, by all means, if you can join us next week. Love to have you see that.