God Has Visited His People | Luke 1:68-75
In October I had the joy of hearing my all-time favorite band - Tower of Power – live in concert. It was the sixth time I had seen them in person. For you who have never heard of them, the Tower of Power band was originally formed in 1968. Their popularity reached its zenith in the 70’s. But now, for more than 50 years, they have perfected their musical craft. At this point in time, they are one of the best at what they do – that being funk, fusion, soul music. I still remember the first time Laurie and I heard them live at the Dakota Jazz Club in Mpls. Their concert was electrifying. People sang. People danced. People raised their hands. Couples held hands. Strangers became friends. It was a worship celebration where fans of soul music could glory and exult in the pleasure of the talent, the skill, the sound, and the familiarity of songs that took us to places and times and feelings that made our hearts sing.
And it is for that same reason, that Luke packs the first two chapters of his gospel with songs – songs for the Savior. Luke means to show that the mystery of God become man is supremely engaging. We praise what we enjoy. Our hearts feel pleasure in what we treasure. And so, Luke opens a window, through four songs, to show us pleasure, and to give us a taste of divine treasure. And he does so in order that we might exult in the supreme treasure of God visiting His people in the person of His Son, Jesus.
Now the second song on Luke’s play-list is truly amazing. It rises from the heart and is expressed by the voice of a priest, a pastor, named Zechariah. And it comes pouring out at the occasion of the birth of his own son, John – a child, who one day, would be known as John, the Baptist. This song, historically, has been entitled “Benedictus.” Like “Magnificat”, the title given to Mary’s song, Benedictus is another Latin word. And it means “blessing.” Zechariah’s song got that title since it begins with the words “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel.” And Benedictus begins in v. 68 and ends, technically, with v. 75. The song actually extends through v. 79. But vv. 76-79 refer to and are directed specifically, to Zechariah’s baby boy, John. So, Zach can’t contain the joy of which the Holy Spirit has filled him. The Holy Spirit falls on him, and whoooosh. Out comes a song – a song of praise to God, his Savior. Luke 1:67-75.
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 - and 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, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, 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.
—Luke 1:67-75
I believe that the focus of this song, Benedictus, is faith. The focus of this song is God-glorifying faith. And through this song, as well as the narrative surrounding it, Luke provides us with a remarkably clear picture of, 1) the NATURE of God-glorifying faith, 2) the GROUND of God-glorifying faith, and 3) the FUNCTION of God-glorifying faith. That’s what we’re going look at.
The Nature of God-Glorifying Faith
The reason I’m persuaded that Luke means to draw our attention to God-glorifying faith is the surprising use of the verb tense in Zechariah’s song. Look at verses 68-69.
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David.
—Luke 1:68-69
Do you see the use of past tense verbs? “He has visited.” “He has redeemed.” “He has raised up a horn of salvation.” He “has”, literally? Well, not yet. That’s the thing. He’s going to. He will, but not yet. That should get our attention. And what should be even more striking is that just nine months earlier Zechariah could not believe his wife would have a child. But now, filled with the Holy Spirit, he is so confident of God’s redeeming work in the coming Messiah, that he sings of it as if it had already happened. That is an expression of the mind, and the heart of God-glorifying faith.
It is instructive for us to back up, and trace Zechariah’s journey of faith. So, turn back to Lk. 1:5-6. Luke writes,
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.
—Luke 1:5-6
So, the first thing Luke points to is evidence of the grace of Zechariah’s saving faith. Zechariah and Elizabeth both came from the priestly line of Aaron - meaning they were both active in ministry. I can imagine them as an aging pastor and wife. But more importantly, Luke says they were counted “righteous before God.” Now it’s not the priestly line that saves them. It’s not the ministry that saves them. Nor does it mean that it is their faith that saves them. Faith is NOT what saves. Only the death of Jesus saves. Faith is NOT what cancels the debt for our sins. Only the death of Jesus cancels the debt for our sins. And only entrusting ourselves to Jesus’ sin-atoning death, through faith, is what appropriates to us the gift of being counted righteous before God. We know that because of Rom. 3:21-24,
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested . . . the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe . . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
—Romans 3:21-24
So Zechariah’s faith journey begins with his record of sin canceled, and a record of holy perfection credited to him by virtue of his dependence upon a sin-atoning sacrifice. His righteousness is achieved through the death of another.
But the nature of God-glorifying faith is also, and always, a TESTED faith. Luke 1:7,
But they had no child because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
—Luke 1:7
Only those who have endured the pain associated with fertility issues, or miscarriage, or childlessness can fully appreciate the test of faith Lk. 1:7 represents. There are layers of grief, and shame and embarrassment and all the accompanying insecurities. I’m sure that is at least part of the reason Lk. 1:24-25 says that after Elizabeth finally did conceive, she kept herself hidden for five months, and said,
Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among the people.
—Luke 1:25
The ability, or lack of ability, to conceive, is a major test to one’s confidence in God’s grace and satisfaction in God’s goodness. And right here it’s fitting to register how remarkably common it is for professing Christians, to believe that once we are “in Christ,” it is fair to expect that everything will go as we want, when we want. And any obstacle to the fulfillment of our desires, tempts us to feel like God is either aloof, or angry and therefore, can’t be completely trusted. But Jesus promised in Jn. 16:33, “In the world you will have trouble.” So, one’s confidence in God’s goodness must be grounded in something other than a problem free life. We’ll come back to that in a moment.
For now, if you’ve never had to endure a major, gut-wrenching, backbreaking test to your faith, thank God. But God-glorifying faith is deeper. James 1:2-3 says
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
—James 1:2-3
Tested faith confirms faith. Tested faith strengthens faith. Tested faith trains us for godliness. Last weekend we celebrated the 10th Anniversary of ERC. And I took a little time to read my journals from the “early days.” And it’s no surprise that one distinguishing characteristic of those who have persevered together since 2013 is some measure of suffering. Financial suffering, physical suffering, vocational suffering, relational suffering, transition-emotion suffering – just a lot of headaches, heart-aches, AND hallelujah’s.
And one of the burdens which, I guess, one bears uniquely, as a founding/planting pastor, was the anxiety over whether or not ERC would endure. Especially in those first two years - how could the “tender and fragile shoot” of a new church endure when it seemed that everyone of us in that launch team was one step away from disaster? But that’s precisely when James 1:2-3 gets traction. The very thing we fear could undo us and cause us to fail to endure, i.e. trials and hard stuff, are very the things God has designed to produce the very steadfastness and endurance we seek.
It remains my conviction that those who have endured hard things, have fallen, and have failed at some point in their lives, potentially, they are the ones who connect most deeply into the dynamic of God’s kingship and comfort. Because it is the meek who will inherit the earth. It’s the ones who have been schooled by heartbreak and loss, and who can boast in their weaknesses and utter dependence upon God, who will, ultimately, have the most influence.
And the “singing” Zechariah of Luke 1:69-75 knows this full well, since he is also the “unbelieving” Zechariah of Luke 1:8-23. The righteous and god-fearing Zechariah was just doing his priestly thing, when, one day, he encountered an angel in the sanctuary.
It may surprise you, that a pastoral leader, one counted righteous before God, could have lapsed so far in his reliance upon God that while interceding in the presence of God, he is caught off guard by an honest to goodness encounter with God. And when the angel says, “Calm down. I’m here to tell you that, even though you’ve been in a spiritual valley, God is full of grace. And your prayers and longings will be answered. And Elizabeth will get pregnant. And not only will you have a baby, he will be the fulfillment of prophecies made centuries ago. He will prepare the way for the Messiah.” And then, to our surprise, Luke records for all generations, the demise of Zechariah’s faith to a flaming arrow of unbelief. V. 18,
And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place because you did not believe my words.”
—Luke 1:18-21
Even our moments, or seasons of lapsed faith are an occasion for the glory of Lord, if it drives us deeper into the nearness of God. That’s why Zechariah’s song is so powerful. An old man, whose life-long fight for faith, shaped by the painful engraving tool of barrenness – both physically and spiritually - was made for this moment. Zechariah’s crooked journey, characterized by flawed faith, is the epic poem God had written for him before he was born. And this providential journey was meant, by God, to prepare Zechariah to sing his song of full assurance – with its past tense verbs, as though the mystery of God become man had already happened. It’s been said, “For the mind of faith, a promised act of God is as good as done.”
The picture Scripture provides of the nature of God-glorifying faith is anything but perfect and flawless. That’s because the opposite of God-glorifying faith is NOT weak faith. There will be inevitable and God-ordained dips, and drops, and twists, and turns. Rather, the opposite of God-glorifying faith is shallow faith that fails to persevere. So, in the end, Zechariah’s faith glorifies God, and its magnifying effect is only heightened on account of his “lapse”, since it shows that God’s power is magnified in supplying what was needed when he was weak. The very reason that faith glorifies God is because it excludes boasting and reveals that we’re the ones who are needy and dependent. Therefore, the ground, or foundation, of God-glorifying faith is not resident within us.
The Ground of God-Glorifying Faith
God’s glory is not exalted by how much faith we can muster. God’s glory is exalted when the one trusting depends on God to do exactly what God has promised to do. God is exalted when He himself is manifestly faithful and true to His own Word. And that is the theme of Zechariah’s song. V. 68,
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people . . . as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved . . . to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham.
—Luke 1:68-73
Faith that glorifies God, is faith that expresses assurance/dependence/reliance upon God to do what he has spoken, what he has promised, what he has sworn, by a holy covenant, to do. The entire message of God in the Bible can be summed up in two words. “Trust me.” God never calls us to “blind faith.” He never commands us to just believe. Just believe harder. Rather, God calls us to entrust ourselves to what He has said, to what He has promised to do. Rom. 4:20-21 says, (referring to Abraham)
No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
—Romans 4:20-21
So the window Luke opens for us into Zechariah’s faith journey culminates in Zechariah taking God at His Word with remarkable assurance – “The Lord God of Israel has visited and redeemed his people.”
Now there is one more striking thing about this song. And I believe it is meant to be instructive in the way God-glorifying faith functions – i.e. how it transforms us.
The Function of God-glorifying Faith
Clearly, the coming of Jesus as the Messiah is understood as a visitation from God – a visitation of God become man. V. 68,
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people.
—Luke 1:68
But notice the song’s accent on what God does when he visits.
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.
—Luke 1:69
The term “horn of salvation” is a military term. It’s a trumpet call to assemble the troops. And what is Messiah’s mustering to do? It is by this “horn of salvation” that,
We should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us . . . that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear.
—Luke 1:71, 74
For centuries, the Jewish people had languished under the conviction that God had withdrawn his presence and power. The spirit of prophecy had ceased. It had been 400 years since God had communicated himself through the prophet Malachi. Israel had since fallen into the hands of Rome. And only the most devout in Israel still had any hope, still waited, still looked for the redemption of Jerusalem. So, it’s a stunning moment when, in v. 67 it says, “Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied.”
A prophetic word from God! The long-awaited visitation from the Lord was about to happen! But there’s something perplexing. God would visit His people NOW - just NOT in the way anyone expected. They anticipated a warrior king who would conquer their enemies. Instead, Jesus would come FIRST as a humble king, a sacrificial lamb, to be slain for the forgiveness of their sins.
But that is precisely how the saving work of Christ functions in our lives. First comes the cancelation of sin through faith in Jesus’ death. Then comes the conquering of sin through reliance upon Jesus’ blood bought power.
This is much more personally and practically significant than at first it may seem. You see, if we try to conquer our sin before it is canceled, then we attempt to become our own saviors, and we vainly attempt to nullify God’s justification of the ungodly. And that’s a fast track to despair – because it’s impossible. Prior to his conversion, my dad would respond to my pleadings to trust Christ, saying, “I tried that, and it didn’t work.” Didn’t work? What didn’t work? “God didn’t make things better? God didn’t do what you wanted him to do?” It wasn’t until his later years, that the light went on, and he trusted Christ for forgiveness of sins. And then one of his favorite promises was, “I can do all the things God commands me to do through Christ who strengthens me.”
I believe that Luke has crafted his narrative in a precise and intentional way. We are meant to see Zechariah’s fight of faith and unbelief against the backdrop of Mary’s happy humility. As Zechariah is made mute because of his unbelief, his own wife commends Mary with this in Lk. 1:45,
Blessed is she who believed there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.
—Luke 1:45
One of my besetting sins is a persistent and reflexive desire to feel good about myself. I say reflex because, there’s no premeditation to it. I don’t think about wanting to act in self-reliant, self-exalting, self-centered, self-righteous ways. I just do, by nature, according to my sinful nature. And if this self-centered devotion is crossed, I will feel offended. I’ll often-times savor a little self-pity, or, perhaps, deflect blame toward others. And when it’s at its worst, it will spiral downward to discouragement. So, you see, I’m able to locate myself much more easily in Zechariah’s unbelief than in Mary’s humility. And I’m pretty sure it’s not just gender thing. I know just as many grasping, controlling, angry, sullen, and self-reliant women, as I do men.
But here’s how I’m helped by Jesus the sin-canceling Messiah first, and the sin-conquering Messiah second. Gal. 2:20 says,
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loves me and gave himself for me.
—Galatians 2:20
The death Christ died to cancel my sin, joined to Christ through faith, I died as well. And the life I now live, Christ lives in me. Therefore, in God’s eyes, my sins are gone. Christ’s sin-atoning death, and sin-conquering life are mine. So when Phil. 2:5-7 says,
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
—Philippians 2:5-7
I recognize that, as God views me “IN CHRIST”, he no longer sees me as a grasping, immature, insecure fool, but rather, clothed in Jesus’ infinite condescension. Jesus’ humility, the humility God loves, is, through faith, credited to me. God sees me as humble as Jesus. My selfish pride is a canceled sin. And the only sin, I can fight and conquer, for the glory of Jesus, according to the life he lives in me, is a forgiven sin. So, the connection between the cross and the conquered sin in my life is my Holy Spirit empowered will. And that empowering by the Spirit is blood bought. Loved ones, Jesus is a sin-canceling sacrifice. And then, an enemy-conquering King. Trust him, alone, for the forgiveness of your sins and for the fulfillment of every promise God has made, including the promise of eternal life. And then, trusting in his blood bought power to conquer sin, fight against remaining sin in your life. The mystery of God become man is a gospel blessing that engenders fresh hope. It makes me want to sing.