Zechariah's Praise: The New Covenant and John's Role

New King James Version:
Luke 1:76-79 NKJV "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, (77) To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, (78) Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; (79) To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace."

Jeremiah 31:31-34 NKJV "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; (32) "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. (33) "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. (34) "No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."

Ang Bag-ong Testamento (Gihubad sa pinulongang Cebuano gikan sa Griego, by Dr. Gadiel T. Isidro):
Lukas 1:76-79 “Ug ikaw, bata, pagatawgon nga manalagna sa Labing Hataas, kay ikaw mag-una sa Ginoo aron sa pag-andam sa iyang dalan, (77) Sa paghatag ug salabutan sa kaluwasan sa iyang katawhan diha sa kapasaylo-an sa ilang mga sala, (78) Pinaagi sa malumong kalooy sa atong Dios nga modu-aw kanato ingon nga nagsubang nga adlaw gikan sa hitaas, (79) Sa pagpadayag niadtong ana-a sa kangitngitan ug niadtong nagalingkod sa landong sa kamatayon, ug pagmando sa atong mga lakang ngadto sa dalan sa pakigdait.”

Cebuano Bible
Jeremiah 31:31-34 CEB “Ania karon, ang mga adlaw moabut na, nagaingon si Jehova, nga ako magabuhat ug usa ka bag-ong tugon uban sa balay sa Israel, ug uban sa balay sa Juda: (32) Dili sama sa tugon nga gibuhat ko uban sa ilang mga amahan sa adlaw nga giagak ko sila sa kamot sa pagpagula kanila gikan sa yuta sa Egipto; nga ang maong tugon ilang gilapas, bisan ako mao ang ilang bana, nagaingon si Jehova. (33) Apan kini mao ang tugon nga pagabuhaton ko uban sa balay sa Israel sa tapus niadtong mga adlawa, nagaingon si Jehova: Ibutang ko ang akong Kasugoan sa ilang sulod nga mga bahin, ug diha sa ilang kasingkasing kini isulat ko; ug ako mahimong ilang Dios, ug sila mahimong akong katawohan. (34) Ug sila dili na gayud magtudlo ang tagsatagsa ka tawo sa iyang isigkatawo ug ang tagsatagsa ka tawo sa iyang igsoon, sa pag-ingon: Ilhon mo si Jehova: kay silang tanan managpakaila kanako, gikan sa labing diyutay kanila ngadto sa labing daku kanila, nagaingon si Jehova: kay pasayloon ko ang ilang kasal-anan, ug dili na gayud hinumduman ko ang ilang sala.”

Introduction

We have come a long way in our study of Luke chapter 1. And I hope we learned many things along the way. This will be our 13^th study of the first chapter, and the fourth installment of Zechariah’s Song of Praise and Prophecy. Again, let’s review Zechariah’s flow of praise here as written by Luke. Verse 67 says Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and verse 68, he burst out in praise to God a song and prophecy of salvation. In his song of praise in verses 68-71, he linked the coming Messiah to the fulfillment of God’s covenant to David – a kingdom and a King of the Jews from the line of David who will rule in Jerusalem and the whole world forever. Zechariah’s basis – verse 32-33. Then in verses 72-75, he links the coming of the Messiah to the fulfillment of God’s covenant to Abraham. We can say “the coming of the Messiah” because at this time, Mary was already carrying Jesus in her womb and few months later will give birth to Him.

The Abrahamic covenant was what we talked about last Sunday. We learned that it has four components.

1) The people – God created the Jewish people from Abraham – Gen.12:2a I will make you a great nation.
2) The land – Canaan or the promised land, Gen, 17:8.
3) The King – God wanted to be the King of the people – the Davidic covenant
4) The mission – God gave them a mission – Gen. 12:3c And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

These were on Zechariah’s mind while he uttered this song of praise to God. Its fulfillment should be near because only few months later the Messiah who will accomplish all these things will be born.

It’s not only these that were in his mind though. There’s still more and this is what we’re going to study today. Zechariah prophesied something about his son, John. John has a role in the coming of the Messiah. He will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways. He will minister to the people first before Jesus comes to do His work. He is to prepare Jesus’s ways. Verse 77 says, “To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins.” This is John’s ministry, and if we’ll go to chapter three, this is what really John did when he started his ministry.

Zechariah, as a priest, understands the covenants of the Old Testament. He knows the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenant, and he knows that these will not be fulfilled unless the New Covenant will be realized. And his son, John, has a role in this new covenant. He proclaims the new covenant to the people and pointed out who will fulfill this covenant.

Now, the word New Covenant is not mentioned here but Zechariah uses the language associated with the new covenant. The New Covenant was made by God and promised to Israel since in the Old Testament. This is mentioned by the Old Testament prophets and is explicitly named by Jeremiah.

To understand about the New Covenant, let us go to Jeremiah 31. Let’s read verses 31 to 34.

I. The New Covenant

The main feature of the New Covenant, which is not included in the Abrahamic Covenant, not included in the Davidic Covenant, and certainly not included in the Mosaic Covenant, is the forgiveness of their sins. This will come because of the tender mercy of our God with which the sunrise from on high shall visit us to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death to guide our feet in the way of peace. [i]

The Davidic and the Abrahamic Covenant required salvation. In other words, they couldn't receive the King and His kingdom, they couldn't receive the land and its blessing, unless they were saved, so there had to be a saving covenant and that's the New Covenant.

The New Covenant is the covenant that brings the forgiveness of sin. The New Covenant is the covenant that brings the personal experience or personal knowledge of salvation. The New Covenant is the covenant that extends God's tender mercy or grace to us. This is all New Covenant language.[ii]

A. Forgiveness of sins

Jer. 31:34b For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.

If we read from verse 33 to 34 we will realize that this is the first promise. It is because of the word “for” that starts in this statement. The rest of the promises here will happen “for God will forgive their iniquity. There is a day coming that God will fulfill this. The new covenant promise is unconditional; it is a unilateral promise. When God made this He did not impose any condition on Israel and its people to comply before He will fulfill this. This promise depends solely on God’s faithfulness to His words, and surely that day will come because He is faithful who promised.

People may say, "Oh! If I’m better, when I’m a good person, I think I would then come to him." But this is not God's way. You are not to be saved by your own righteousness. God does not wait for you to be good to be forgiven. We can come to Him in faith as we are and we’ll receive forgiveness.

Learn also from this how complete forgiveness is—" For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." When men forgive, they seldom forget it; but God forgets it. Some may say, "How can that be?" I will tell you: The sin that God forgets is sin that has been atoned. The New Covenant removes sin, and God pronounces that He remembers sin no more. Rather than merely forgetting, He chooses not to recall them ever again!

B. Law in the hearts

Jer. 31:33b I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts

This is the second promise of the new covenant—"I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts."

In the old covenant, referring to the Mosaic covenant, God wrote His law on two tables of stone; but here He says he will write it on their hearts. When a man comes to Christ, God says, "I will put my laws in your mind, and in your hearts will I write them.” Observe, God cannot write his law in your heart until you are forgiven. And observe who is to do it: It is God. Some people say, "I will try and write the law in my heart as deep as I can;" but see, it is God that must do it.

If we go to Ezekiel, God will accomplish this by putting His Spirit within them. Ezekiel 36:27-28 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. (28) "Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.” You can start reading from verse 22 then up to verse 38.

Now listen carefully: this is the great reason for Israel's failure in keeping the Mosaic Covenant. They could not keep the law of Moses! The reason why they could not keep the law of Moses - there's nothing wrong with the law, it’s holy and it's pure, it's God's righteous standard revealed to mankind - the problem is: we are weak through the flesh, we have an inherent bent toward sin. In fact, what it does is: it multiplies sin for us, it creates sin. The people lacked the power to comply with the Mosaic law, and the purpose now of the New Covenant is to give the people the power to live righteously.[iii]

C. Restored relationship with God

Jer. 31:33c and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

If you remain out of the new covenant, then you have no God. There was a poll in the US in 2002 called Barna Research Poll of Christians in the US[iv], and many in the poll summed up the Christian life as: 'Trying to do what God commands'. Is that also how you understand Christianity? That is the level of doing rather than the level of being, the emphasis is on rules not on relationship - but the New Covenant emphasis is upon relationship. It is a personal faith-based relationship with God as your Father, through abiding in Jesus Christ, the Son, and walking in a loving obedience to His word through the power and the person of the Holy Spirit.[v] The Old Covenant motivation was: do to be blessed. The New Covenant motivation is: do because you are blessed. There's a world of difference.[vi]

D. Knowledge of God

34a "No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD.

One day all Jews will personally know their Messiah and their God, from the least of them to the greatest of them. Under the old covenant, it was only the high priest that knew him; but here it is all that are in the covenant. And learn again that the least shall know him. It was only the great high priest that knew him; but the child that knows Jesus shall know him. There are many that think a little child cannot know him; but "they shall all know."

Anyone who is distant, apart or separate from Christ, does not know God: It is only when a soul comes to Christ that

God says, "They shall know me." Natural men think they know a great deal about God but apart from Christ, God cannot be personally known. None can know him but those who come to Christ. Observe, it is a personal knowledge – it is not a knowledge got by rote. There is a great difference between our knowing God by rote and our knowing him personally. It is one of the deepest and richest promises of the new covenant—"They shall all know me."

II. John’s Role

Now the New Covenant is what John preached. Look at Luke 3, Luke chapter 3, we get the picture of what John preached. John didn't come preaching Davidic promise being fulfilled; that would come if they believed. He didn't come preaching Abrahamic Covenant fulfillment. This is what he said, he came into all the district, verse 3, Luke 3:3, came all around the Jordan where he had been, growing and maturing, as verse 80 of chapter 1 tells us, and when he came into his ministry and started it, he stayed in the same district around the Jordan, “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins."

John was a New Covenant preacher. He was not preaching the Mosaic law, that can't save. He was not preaching Davidic promise and Abrahamic promise are going to come to pass no matter what. He was preaching the message of repentance and the forgiveness of sins.

III. Our Obligation as Gentiles

I would like to say again our conclusion last Sunday. Ultimately we are thankful to God and His Son for the forgiveness and salvation we received that we do not deserve. But we are also thankful to the Jews that salvation has come to us Gentiles. Some call it our Jewish inheritance or our Jewish heritage.

So, let us:
1) Bless
2) Pray
3) Witness

A practical example for this Gentile obligation upon our indebtedness to the Jew, is found in Romans 15, starting verse 25 we read that Gentile believers of Macedonia, who had become partakers of the Jewish spiritual blessings, sent finance to the poor church in Jerusalem. Romans 15:25-27 But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. (26) For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem. (27) It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things.

Paul basically says in Romans chapter 15: 'Seeing that you have been partakers of their spiritual blessings, should they not be partakers of your material blessings?' We have an obligation to Israel. Our obligation is not just material, it's spiritual - pray for the Jews. Witness – I don’t know if there are Jews here in our town, certainly our country has - but, if you can, if we can, then let’s witness to the Jews, and support the witness to the Jews. Let us include them in our missionary efforts and support as we can, as we’re able, those who minister to them. We can always pray for them that they will realize that Jesus is the Messiah they’ve been waiting for. Also let’s continue to pray for peace in Jerusalem, and that may they now have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

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[i] John MaArthur, www.gty.org.

[ii] Ibid.

[iii] David Legge. www.preachtheword.com

[iv] https://www.barna.com/research/faith-revolutionaries-stand-out-from-the-crowd/

[v] David Legge.

[vi] Ibid.