HE HAS COME TO TO REDEEM HIS PEOPLE

Passage: Luke 1:67-80

Key verse: 68

NIV

Zechariah’s Song

67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit(A) and prophesied:(B)

68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,(C)
    because he has come to his people and redeemed them.(D)
69 He has raised up a horn[a](E) of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David(F)
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),(G)
71 salvation from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to show mercy to our ancestors(H)
    and to remember his holy covenant,(I)
73     the oath he swore to our father Abraham:(J)
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
    and to enable us to serve him(K) without fear(L)
75     in holiness and righteousness(M) before him all our days.

76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet(N) of the Most High;(O)
    for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,(P)
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation
    through the forgiveness of their sins,(Q)
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
    by which the rising sun(R) will come to us from heaven
79 to shine on those living in darkness
    and in the shadow of death,(S)
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”(T)

80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit[b];(U) and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.

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Footnotes
  1. Luke 1:69 Horn here symbolizes a strong king.
  2. Luke 1:80 Or in the Spirit
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Zechariah's Prophecy

67 And his father Zechariah (A)was filled with the Holy Spirit and (B)prophesied, saying,

68 (C)“Blessed be the Lord (D)God of Israel,
    for he has (E)visited and (F)redeemed his people
69 and (G)has raised up (H)a horn of salvation for us
    (I)in the house of his servant David,
70 (J)as (K)he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 (L)that we should be saved from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 (M)to show the mercy promised to our fathers
    and (N)to remember his holy (O)covenant,
73 (P)the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
74     that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him (Q)without fear,
75     (R)in holiness and righteousness before him (S)all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called (T)the prophet of (U)the Most High;
    for (V)you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
    (W)in the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the (X)tender mercy of our God,
    whereby (Y)the sunrise shall (Z)visit us[a] (AA)from on high
79 to (AB)give light to (AC)those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    to guide our feet into (AD)the way of (AE)peace.”

80 (AF)And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was (AG)in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

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Footnotes
  1. Luke 1:78 Or when the sunrise shall dawn upon us; some manuscripts since the sunrise has visited us
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

Zechariah, who was once mute to have time to consider God’s promise and miraculous work, was now filled with the Holy Spirit and began to prophesy. He praised the Lord, the God of Israel, because he had come to redeem his people. He did this by raising up a horn of salvation for us in his Son, the Messiah, to save us from our enemies. God spoke of this long ago through the holy prophets, and he remembered and kept his word. God’s salvation for us means that we are not just saved from our enemies, but that we can now serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness, all of our days.

His son, John the Baptist, would be a prophet. He was chosen to prepare the way of the Lord and give people the knowledge of God’s salvation through the forgiveness of their sins. This was not because of our own righteousness, but because of the tender mercy of our God, which rises like the sun to shine on those living in darkness to guide our feet into the path of peace. God extends his mercy tenderly to all mankind that they would be saved and live in his glorious freedom and light. The time for salvation had now come. John was set apart to fulfill the will of God according to Scripture.

Prayer: Father, thank you so much for your tender mercy to bring salvation into my life. You have saved me from my enemies. May I serve you without fear all the days of my life in holiness and righteousness.

One Word: Salvation has come