12/11/10 Luke 1:67- 75 Zechariah Sings About Jesus

67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:  68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. 69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David 70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), 71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us— 72 to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham: 74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

Thoughts: Zechariah the priest prophesied that the Messiah has come to bring relief from enemies and relief from fear.  Jesus' coming gave relief from the greatest of enemies- not Rome (the greatest of empires), but death.  Paul says it is our last enemy (1 Cor. 15:26), and it is an enemy every single one of God's people must face.  Death and its corollary judgment are our enemies from which Christ saves each one of us.

Prayer:  Lord, thank you for the offer of salvation.

John Calvin Abridged: Zechariah prophesied that God has visited/come to his people that He might redeem them.  It is said that Christ came as a redeemer for the holy and elect people of God- thus even the fathers of the Old Testament were redeemed by Christ's grace.  Zechariah was well aware that the principle battle was not against flesh and blood, but the real enemy is a spiritual one- Satan and his legions.  Though we are surrounded by enemies on every side, we have a sure and certain salvation.

12/10/10 Luke 1:57-66 God is Gracious- The Naming of John- Advent

57 When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy. 59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, 60 but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.” 61 They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.” 62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. 63 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. 66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

(Cyberbrethren 9-5-09)


Thoughts: The name "John" means "God is gracious."  That is an appropriate name for one who is shown mercy, and it was a common name of the time (eg. John Mark, John the son of Zebedee).  The Levitical priests were very traditional.  But Zechariah showed he finally believed the angel when he wrote, "His name is John."  Sometimes when we do not believe we wander away and suffer the consequences of our unbelief.  But the good news is that God offers us restoration, and puts a new song in our mouth.  Zechariah was not only able to speak, but he finally had a son!  If we come back to God in belief, He welcomes us gladly!
 
Prayer: God, be gracious to me, and help me to believe in your grace. 
 
John Calvin Abridged: The narratives around John the Baptist's birth were distinguished by miracles which gave reason to expect that something great and remarkable would appear in the child himself in the future.  There is no magic in names, but parents should choose wisely to instruct and admonish their children.  Honor was given to the prophet-child by allowing his father to speak at his birth.  When John began his ministry, few remembered the miracles of his birth.  But this instructs us that we are too quick to remember trivial things, and slow to remember the acts of God in our lives.

12/7/10- Luke 1:46-49 Mindful of the Humble

46 And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name.

Thoughts: God is mindful of those who serve Him humbly.  This goes against what we think, and see. We are told that people are favored who blow their own horn, who speak up for themselves.  Mary's son would later say, "He who wants to be first must be last" (Mk. 9:35).  It is not the celebrities on television who will be remembered forever, but the ones who do God's work silently and faithfully.  We glorify God best not by being great for Him, but by being faithful to Him whether we are noticed or not. 

Prayer: Help me Lord, to glorify you in my faithfulness and steady love for you.  Forgive me when I also elevate those who do not humbly serve you. 

John Calvin abridged:  Hypocrites praise God with the mouth but not the heart- but Mary praises Him from her inmost soul.  Usually soul and spirit refer to the same inner heart, but when together spirit speaks of understanding, and soul of affection.  Mary disclaimed her own merit and claimed God's grace.