A New Day is Dawning! Luke 1:67-80
It had been a crazy nine months! The angel Gabriel had visited the old priest named Zechariah who was serving in the temple in Jerusalem. The angel said, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.” (Luke 1:13 NIV) Zechariah was speechless!
About six months after Gabriel visited Zechariah at the temple, the same angel visited a young virgin named Mary who lived in Nazareth. Gabriel said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you!” Mary was stunned, troubled, and confused about what she was seeing and hearing. Gabriel told her not to be afraid. He said, “You are going to have a son and you are to name him Jesus.” A baby? How could it be? Mary said, “I’ve never been with a man.” Gabriel reassured Mary, “This is from God and the baby you will give birth to will be the Son of God. His kingdom will never end.” Then Gabriel gave Mary an important piece of information. He said,
36 What's more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God." (Luke 1:36-37 NLT)
As soon as Gabriel left Mary, Mary began to pack her bags so she could go and see Elizabeth. Now, you need to know that Mary wasn’t traveling across town. The journey from Nazareth to the hill country of Judea was an 80-100 mile journey, depending on which route she would take. Something extraordinary had happened to Elizabeth as well, and Mary had to go see her. Maybe Elizabeth could help her make sense of it all?
When Mary arrived, Elizabeth, who was now six months pregnant, heard her voice. Luke tells us the baby leaped in Elizabeth’s womb, and she was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth couldn’t contain her joy as she blessed Mary.
42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!" (Luke 1:42-45 NIV)
Mary didn’t fully understand what the angel Gabriel had told her, but she never doubted. Elizabeth’s prophecy, her declaration of blessing, overwhelmed Mary. How could Elizabeth have known unless the Lord had told her all of these things? Mary bursts out in song, in what we now call the Magnificat.
Luke tells us that Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months. Can you imagine what those three months would have been like for those two women? One so young, so early in her pregnancy, she had no idea how carrying a child would change her. The other, so old that she never thought she would ever experience the joys of motherhood. Elizabeth would help Mary with her morning sickness and all of the changes she would experience during her first trimester. Mary would help the elderly, expectant mom during her final trimester as her tummy grew bigger and bigger and her back hurt more and more. Both women would talk for hours about all they had been told about the sons they were carrying. Can you imagine the conversations they shared in Zechariah and Elizabeth’s home during those three months Mary stayed with her relatives?
Mary went home before Elizabeth gave birth to John. When John was born everyone from their neighborhood gathered with Zechariah and Elizabeth to celebrate. Eight days later Zechariah the priest, his wife Elizabeth, relatives and friends all joined together to celebrate the circumcision, which would take place according to Jewish law. There was some discussion about what the baby would be named, but that discussion didn’t last long: Zechariah wrote, “His name is John!” At that moment, Zechariah spoke the first words he had spoken since he questioned Gabriel at the temple. Zechariah began to praise God and then he began to sing praises to God in what we call the Benedictus. Turn with me to Luke 1:67-80 and let’s read together.
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. 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, 77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven 79 to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace." 80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel. (Luke 1:67-80 NIV)
Zechariah hadn’t been sleeping on the job all of those years that he had served as a priest. He had immersed himself in God’s Word and it is evident from what we just read. Bible teachers have identified as many as thirty-three allusions and quotations from the Hebrew Bible in Zechariah’s song.
It had been a long dark night for the nation of Israel and the people of God. We’ve talked about this in the past, but it is worth bringing up again to refresh our memories. There had not been a word heard from God for 400 years. 400 years and no Redeemer for God’s people while they suffered under the crushing weight of the Greeks and then the Romans. 400 years is a long time, but there was still hope because the prophet Malachi, in his last prophecy, had spoken clearly from God. He said,
5 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.” (Malachi 4:5-6 NIV)
Four hundred years later the angel Gabriel told Zechariah that it would be his son who would come to fulfill God’s promise from so long ago! I mentioned that Bible teachers have titled Zechariah’s song the Benedictus, but why is it called the Benedictus? Great question! The opening words of Zechariah’s song, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel” appear in the Latin Vulgate as “Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel.” The Latin Vulgate is the Latin translation of the Bible by St. Jerome and it was completed in 400 A.D. “Benedictus” in Latin means “blessed” or “praise be” and it describes for us the beautiful sense of Zechariah’s song of praise to God for how He has worked to bring about the promised Messiah. This same phrase, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,” was used by King David when he installed his son Solomon as his successor to the throne in 1 Kings 1:48. Kent Hughes writes,
The first son of David and the ultimate Son of David were celebrated with identical praise to God. (Hughes, Kent. Luke. pg. 74)
We can divide Zechariah’s song into four different parts and in the first part Zechariah sings of the fulfillment of God’s promise to David. God had made a promise to David back in 2 Samuel 7 that we call the Davidic Covenant. David wanted to build the temple to honor God, but God wouldn't allow David to build the temple because he was a man of war, a man with blood on his hands. Instead of David building a house for God, God told David that He would build an everlasting “house” for David. Listen to the message the Lord brought to David through the prophet Nathan. Turn with me to 2 Samuel 7.
11 …"'The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. (2 Samuel 7:11-13 NIV)
A descendant of David would rule one day in an everlasting kingdom and the day was about to dawn. The nation had fallen to the Babylonians in 587 B.C. but God’s promise had not failed. A new day was dawning and Zechariah was fully aware of the light breaking through the darkness. He sang praise to God in verse 69.
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), (Luke 1:69 NIV)
I noticed something interesting this past week as I spent time with these verses. Zechariah was a new father, a blessing he thought he would never be allowed to experience in his life since both he and his wife were long past their childbearing years. Like any new father, Zechariah was a proud dad. I can imagine him holding his little boy John in his arms as he sang this beautiful song. I want to highlight for you something very unlike any new dad I have ever known, including myself. John sings the praises of another child before he sings about his own. It is not until we get to verse 76 that Zechariah praises his own son John. Zechariah was from the priestly line, from the tribe of Levi, but in the verse I just read to you he sings about One God has raised up as a horn of salvation from the house of David, from the tribe of Judah. Jesus was a descendant of David, not John. As Zechariah sings, he sings the praises of God for what He is doing in the baby who would soon be born!
I think there is a great lesson in this for all of us parents. Our kids are special. There is no doubt about that. They are a gift from the hand of the Lord to each of us, but sometimes we can get things twisted. We can cut corners to make sure our kids have an advantage. We can make allowances for our own kids that prove to be detrimental for the kids around them. We can quietly and oh so subtly teach our kids that somehow they are more deserving than other kids. And here’s the really devilish part of all of this: nobody has to teach us how to do these things. We come fully equipped with knowing how to make things easier for our own even if it makes things harder for others. How do we fix that? I’m so glad you asked. We fix it by keeping the Lord ever before us. God is no respecter of persons and neither should we be. There are great lessons to be learned from having to be second, from having to sweat and grind it out day-in and day-out, from living life outside of the spotlight, from never getting our names mentioned without someone intervening. God will not be glorified if we are orchestrating the outcomes for our kids. Let’s move on.
In verses 72-75, Zechariah goes back to a time before God made a covenant with David to the time when God cut a covenant with Abraham. Let’s read these verses together.
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. (Luke 1:72-75 NIV)
We talked last week about how Zechariah and Elizabeth’s friends and relatives had heard about the “mega mercy” God had shown to the elderly expectant parents. Here, Zechariah sings about the mercy the Lord had shown to his ancestors. Then he sings about how the Lord had remembered his “holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham:”
When God first called Abram to leave his father, his country, everything that was familiar to him and to follow the Lord who would lead him to a land He would show him, God made Abram a promise. We call this promise the Abrahamic Covenant and it is first mentioned in Genesis 12:2-3. Read it with me.
2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:2-3 NIV)
At the time God made His covenant promises to Abram, he and his wife Sarai didn’t have any children, yet God said he would make Abram into a great nation. In Genesis 15, God took Abram out into the night, He told him to look up at the stars, and count them if he could? Then God said, “So shall your offspring be.” Abram and Sarai still had no children. In Genesis 17, God changed his name from Abram, which means “exalted father,” to Abraham, which means “father of a multitude” or “father of many nations.” Finally, twenty five years after the promise, when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 they held the promised child in their arms and named him Isaac.
Years later, after Moses had been leading the freed slaves out of Egypt for 40 years, the promise made to Abraham was still ringing in the hearts of God’s people. Moses told the people.
7 The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. (Deuteronomy 7:7-9 NIV)
God is a promise keeper, not only a covenant maker, but a covenant keeper. Through the Son born to Mary all nations on the earth would be blessed and the greatest enemy of God’s people, Satan, would be defeated on the cross. We’ve got to move on.
Beginning in verse 76, Zechariah turns his attention to his own son. I want you to imagine the emotion that was radiating throughout Zechariah’s mind and heart. I can see him holding his little 8 day old son John while he lifted his voice, looked down at the baby with tears streaming down his cheeks, and sang,
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, 77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, (Luke 1:76-77 NIV)
John would not be a priest, like his father, but he would be a prophet of the Most High. This little eight day old boy would be the forerunner of the Lord, the Messiah, who would prepare the way for His ministry. This little baby boy would one day give people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins. It would be years before that little boy would grow up and raise his voice for the first time. Matthew tells us about that moment in time, in Matthew 3:1-3.
1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. (Matthew 3:1-3 NIV)
Seven hundred years before John was born the prophet Isaiah foretold of a day that was coming, a new day when the kingdom of God would draw near. It was Zechariah and Elizabeth’s son who would be the one who would prepare the hearts of all people for the coming of the Messiah! Malachi, the last of the Hebrew prophets also saw the day that would come in the future and he cried out…
“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty. (Malachi 3:1 NIV)
After 400 long years a new day was dawning! A new day was dawning and Zechariah closed out his song by praising the “tender mercy of our God” which was bringing it all about. Read Luke 1:78-79 with me.
78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven 79 to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace." (Luke 1:78-79 NIV)
Why has God chosen to act on behalf of those who have gone astray time after time? Why has God chosen to come to us, to visit us with redemption and salvation? These are questions that are so important for you and me to consider and to consider often. The answer to those questions will humble us beyond anything we can imagine. Zechariah tells us it is because of “the tender mercy of our God…” The phrase “tender mercy” is “σπλάγχνα ἐλέους” (splagchna eleos) in the Greek New Testament. God’s “splanchna” refers to God’s “gut” or “heart.” The word literally means the intestines or internal organs, the place where our deepest emotions are felt.
Because of God’s tender mercy a new day is dawning, the Son will rise and shine on those who have been living in darkness and in the shadow of death. Isaiah knew the day was coming even though he never got to experience the light of the new day dawning. Listen to what he wrote in Isaiah 9:2.
2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. (Isaiah 9:2 NIV)
John announced His coming and some heard and responded in faith while others walked away. Here we are two thousand years later and His light is still shining bright into darkened hearts all around the world to bring forgiveness for our sins, new life, new hope, and a new day for those who choose to follow Jesus. Pastor Rod Mattoon wrote,
Jesus Christ is the breaking of the dawn, the Sunrise for mankind. He is the Rising One that brought light into the world. The world has never been the same since the birth of the Dayspring in Bethlehem two-thousand years ago....The eclipse in men's hearts tried to cap and conceal His radiance by mutilating His body and draining Him of crimson drops of blood that puddled at the foot of the cross, but to no avail. His glory could not be nailed, jailed, derailed or curtailed. The Son of God, the Dayspring, arose from the grave and His glory was not concealed, cloaked, covered, curtained, camouflaged, or contained at all in any way, not in the least one bit… Jesus is the Dayspring of the believer. Like golden beams of the morning light that cause the blackness of night to scatter, Christ's message and life shatter the shadows in the hearts of sinners who have put their faith and trust in Him for Heaven. The ebony of evil no longer reigns in the life of those who have been touched by the radiance of our righteous Redeemer and are yielded to Him....Beloved, when Jesus Christ, the Dayspring, enters the heart of a man who puts his faith in Him, the Son-rise in His heart will shatter the darkness of depravity. He will no longer walk in darkness, but have the light of life to live for God. (Mattoon, Rod. Names of Jesus)
There are many who are still walking in darkness this very morning, but you can come out of the dark and into His marvelous light by saying “Yes” to Jesus. If you are not a follower of Jesus, will you say “Yes” to Him this morning? This, the decision to say “Yes” to Jesus, or to deny Him, is the biggest, most important decision you will ever make in your life. Say “Yes” and allow Jesus to begin to mold you and shape you into His image.
Mike Hays
Britton Christian Church
October 12, 2025
