Download the UBF brochure here
Weekly Message | November 29th, 2009
Passage: Luke 1:57-80
Key Verse(s): 68,69
Last week we thought about God’s indescribable gift. Jesus is God’s indescribable gift to us. Those who know Jesus describe this indescribable gift of God. This week’s message is about Zechariah’s song. In this song he describes Jesus Christ as the horn of salvation. He also speaks about his son’s work as the forerunner of this Savior of the world.
This is the song of a priest who was almost burned-out in his old age. He and his wife, Elizabeth, were righteous and upright. However, in their hearts there was no real joy and gladness. They were doing all they were supposed to do; yet they were existing but not living. They had little to describe about God’s grace in their lives. One day, Zechariah came out of the temple and was unable to speak for nine long months. Yet, when he opened his mouth he was full of joy. Words of deep insight and revelation were coming out of his mouth. How wonderful it is to experience such a moment—even once in this world.
First, "Zechariah named his son John, not Zechariah, Jr." (57-67). This section is about Zechariah’s and Elizabeth’s unity in faith and obedience. Zechariah accepted God’s discipline in humility and thanksgiving. For a long time Zechariah and Elizabeth felt hopeless about their childless problem. Yet, they kept their life of faith to the end. Then God blessed this family. Elizabeth gave birth to a son as the angel had said. Elizabeth's baby was the fruit of their faith and prayer. Through this God revealed that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Heb 11:6) Their neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown Elizabeth great mercy, and they shared her joy.
On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name the baby Zechariah, Jr. after his father Zechariah; but his mother spoke up and said, "No! He is to be called John." Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. Zechariah "asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he wrote, 'His name is John.' Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God." (64-65)
Zechariah and Elizabeth obeyed God in naming their child. The lines of Zechariah and Elizabeth went back all the way to Aaron, Moses' brother (Lk 1:5). So it was against tradition to name the baby John because no one ever had such a name for the thousand plus years of Zechariah family. So as a compromise they could have named the baby "Zechariah John." In that way they could obey the angel's command half-heartedly while inserting the name that they wished. But they did not compromise in this. Rather, they named the baby exactly as the angel instructed. As soon as Zechariah obeyed God, the training was over. He was able to speak. His mouth was open and his tongue was loosed.
Here, we see the joy of spiritual unity in a family. Even through Zechariah was unable to speak, he had communicated with his wife about the details of the message of the angel. Elizabeth had accepted the message as well. When Zechariah could not speak, Elizabeth did instead. To confirm it, Zechariah affirmed Elizabeth when people asked him. Later, Zechariah and Elizabeth allowed John to go to the desert to be a prophet in the wilderness. John the Baptist could serve the Lord as God intended with the support and blessings of these wonderful parents—Zechariah and Elizabeth. They were united in naming their baby. They later united in raising their son John.
Jonathan Edwards is one of the greatest philosophers, puritan thinkers, and a mighty preacher. When I went to Columbia University in New York a few years ago, his name was engraved as one of the most influential American leaders. A great 20th century preacher Martin Lloyd Jones said, "Puritans may be compared to the Alps, Martin Luther and John Calvin to the Himalayas. Then Jonathan Edwards is the Mount of Everest─the highest mountain in Himalayas." Jonathan's father, Timothy Edwards, was a godly Puritan pastor. His mother Esther was also a daughter of another great puritan pastor and they trained Jonathan Edwards in godliness and a love for learning from his very early years. In such an environment, Jonathan prayed five times a day, by nine years of age he had an experience of personal conversion. By 13 years of age he could read the Bible in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.
Charles Spurgeon started a ministry at the age of seventeen. He was one of the most influential Baptist preachers in England. In his teenage years, his grandfather James Spurgeon trained him. When James engaged in theological debates with other ministers, he allowed his grandson Charles to observe and listen. His father was a lay minister who had a fulltime job as an office clerk, and his mother constantly prayed for him─kneeling down and holding her hands on Spurgeon's shoulders.
God raises a new generation through the united prayers and devotion of their parents. The great gift that any family can give to their children is spiritual unity between parents. When parents are united in prayer for their children, the children remember their prayers in the right time. Most of all, God remembers and blesses the prayers of the parents that are united in love.
Second, "Jesus is the horn of salvation" (68-73). Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit. His spirit was upgraded. For nine months he had uninterrupted time to study, pray, and meditate. Then, Zechariah spoke about Jesus’ threefold work—salvation, mercy, and enablement. When Zechariah opened his mouth, he praised God. He did not complain against the angel who gave him such a hard training for ten months. Rather, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Zechariah sang songs of praise to God.
Look at verse 68a: "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come..." God has come to His people. God's visit is not like a politician's visit to a city slum area for his political campaign. Rather, God was deeply concerned about sinners' conditions and came to visit sinners to help their real problems. God visits those who are poor, sick, demon-possessed, and social outcasts. They were hopeless people. They were lepers and paralyzed people. Jesus visited helpless people who were like bruised reeds and smoldering wicks. (Mt 12:20)
God has raised up a horn of salvation. Look at verses 69-70: "He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago)." God has raised up a horn of salvation according to the promise given to David. (2Sa 7:13) A horn of salvation is the opposite to a horn of Satan. Our enemy is Satan who holds the power of death. In Hebrews we read, "by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death─that is, the devil─and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death." (Heb 2:14-15) According to Revelation 12:3, 13:1, Satan has seven heads and ten horns. On each head and horn, Satan has a crown of glory. Therefore, Satan has a total of seventeen crowns of glory. Satan seeks his own glory at the expense of God's.
Satan's piercing attack does not occur just once─but numerous times. Struck by these horns, many become terribly wounded. Satan pierces many young people with the horn of destructive pleasures. The minds of many young people become like a wasteland. Satan also pierces us with the horn of depression. Satan pierces people with the horn of pride and condemnation. Satan's sweet words make people proud. With a sense of pride people commit unwanted sins and fall. Then Satan pierces with another powerful horn of condemnation. Satan shows no mercy to his victims. Satan also pierces people with a horn of mistrust. Once misunderstood and broken, people stay in these hurting relationships.
Jesus saves us with his horn of salvation by which he can save all people. Jesus has much greater wisdom than Satan. Jesus is filled with the spirit of wisdom and knowledge. (Isa 11:2) Jesus also has life-giving power for those who are sick and demon-possessed. Jesus has authority to forgive sins. Our Lord Jesus has power to liberate us from the power of sin and death. Jesus has all the authority in heaven and earth. Jesus plants faith in us. Jesus plants hope. Jesus gives us a spirit of perseverance. Jesus saves us from all our enemies. Praise Jesus who is the Horn of our salvation.
Look at verses 72-73: “to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham.” People turn their face away from those whom they dislike. On the other hand, we turn our face toward those we love. We show our genuine welcome and love toward our friends. People who know nothing about God’s forgiveness do not sense God’s face in their lives. However, those who are forgiven and saved are different. They see God’s shining face toward them. They see God’s face—full of mercy and grace. The priestly blessings in Numbers 6 are to enable people to serve God: “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.” (Num 6:24-26) Their image of God drastically changes. God blesses and keeps. God makes his face shine upon us and he is gracious to us. God turns his face towards us and gives us peace. Do you see God’s face? What is God’s image to you?
Look at verses 74-75: "to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days." God saves us so that we may love and serve him. Loving God and serving God requires strength and power. Jesus "enables us to serve God without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days." How does Jesus enable us to serve God? Strength and power is what we need to serve God. It takes strength and power to serve God—not just 5 to 10 years but all of our days. How can we run our race and finish it? Paul said in his final days, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race and I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day…” (2Ti 4:7-8)
During our senior staff retreat one staff member said, “I am burned out. I have no strength to continue. I need a break!” We appreciated his struggles. We all prayed for him. We recognize his need for rest and some transition. In 1990 I assumed the role of pastor and director in Toledo UBF. What was I most afraid of? It was about spiritual burnout and life’s dropouts. At that time, for the first few years I read more books on spiritual burnout than any other books. I learned about the three aspects of spiritual renewal vs. spiritual burnout: (1) enrich life routines and master the personal discipline basics versus doing the same routine things for a long period and fail to engage in vital personal disciplines; (2) nurture and expand friendships with others and seek balance in life’s diverse demands versus staying in loneliness with little or no real friends and feeling overwhelmed by growing demands in life; (3) clarify and practice healthy short-term and long-term purposes, priorities, and focus versus living day to day. The older we become, the more it is wonderful to serve God with joy. God in his mercy provide us with strength to serve God in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
Third, "Jesus is the rising Sun" (76-80). This section is about John’s work. Look at verse 76: “And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him.” Zechariah now sees the vision and hope of his son. It is great to see that the work of God passes beyond one’s life time. Now, Zechariah spoke of his son, John. He accepted the message of the angel Gabriel. John was to be a prophet of God. He would go on before Jesus to prepare the way for him. John's work was to give God's people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins through Jesus. John’s work was to present the knowledge of salvation, God’s mercy, and enablement in peace. In that sense, his song in verses 68-75 and 76-79 are somewhat similar.
Here, Zechariah now rejoices with the prospect of his son’s positive role in God’s work. This is the joy of parents. As we get older, what we regard important in early 20s, 30s, and 40s does not matter much. Rather, what matters is to pray like Moses, “May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands.” (Ps 90:17) What do we do with this life? What work do we really try to establish? The work we try to establish is the work that God blesses. The work God establishes is the work that continues beyond our life. They pass through our children and those for whom we engage in our labor of love.
Look at verses 78-79: "because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace." The extent of God's mercy is to bring the light of God upon his people. Jesus is the rising sun for his people from heaven. Jesus shines on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death. Jesus guides our feet into the path of peace. Jesus is the Rising Sun. Once Britain was a rising sun. In six continents of the world, the British Empire ruled. Now it is not a rising sun any more. Until recently Japan was regarded as a rising sun. Her economy seemed to be an invincible force. But at some point she may also see days of sunset. Some people predict that the U.S. is going through this similar fate. No nation will forever remain as a rising sun. Our Lord Jesus is always the Rising Sun.
This Zechariah’s Song shows us that the basic unit of serving God, beyond individual salvation, is the spiritual unity of a husband and a wife. Where there is unity in the family level, there is the work of God. It is good to love God through Christ Jesus. Our sins are forgiven through the precious sacrifice of our Lord. We see God’s gracious face. We see that God turns his gracious face toward us and gives us peace. We serve God in strength and joy. The more we know Christ, the more we know the grace of God. Jesus never becomes a setting sun. Jesus does not disappoint us. Jesus, the Rising Sun, provides energy and light to all creation. Jesus, like the rising sun, shines light and dispels the shadow of death in our lives. Jesus alone is our hope. Because of Christ we can get up from the valley of despair and live with hope in all things. Praise Jesus who is the Horn of Salvation for our souls, our nation, and the world. Praise Jesus, the Rising Sun.
November 29, 2009; Dr. Paul Hong; Toledo UBF.
Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
