Zechariah's Praise to God

English Standard Version:
Luke 1:67-69 ESV And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, (68) "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people (69) and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, (70) as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old

Ang Bag-ong Testamento (Gihubad sa pinulongang Cebuano gikan sa Griego, by Dr. Gadiel T. Isidro):
Lukas 1:67-69 Ug si Zacarias, ang iyang amahan, napuno sa Espiritu Santo ug nagtagna nga miingon: (68) Bulahan ang Dios sa Israel ug iyang giduaw ug gibuhat niya ang kaluwasan alang sa iyang mga tawo; (69) Ug iyang gibangon alang kanato ang sungay sa kaluwasan, sa balay ni David, ang iyang sulogo-on.

Our text is found in Luke chapter 1 verses 67 to 80. But we will take verses 67 to 69 first as our message today. Na-ilhan kini as the Benedictus tungod kay ang Latin word sa "blessed" is benedictus, ang unang pulong sa awit ni Zechariah diha sa verse 68. This is Zechariah's praise to God.

Gipamulong kini ni Zacharias human maablihan ang iyang baba ug dila panahon sa pag-circumcise sa iyang anak nga si John. Si Zacharias dinhi sa iyang awit nagdayeg sa Dios sa Israel tungod kay ang Dios midu-aw ug mi-redeem sa Iyang mga katawhan. Ato kining sabton ug dugang sa unahan. Atong mabantayan usab nga ang iyang awit nagdayeg sa Dios sa pagtuman sa Iyang mga saad nga nahasulat sa Old Testament. According sa Bible Knowledge Commentary, this song is filled with Old Testament quotations and allusions.[i] Mao nang, sa atong mensahi karon, atong hinumdoman ug balikon ug tuon kining mga saad nga naa diha makita sa Old Testament tungod kay gihisgutan man kini sa awit ug propesiya ni Zechariah. Naay pagmention ni David diha sa verse 69. Gidescribe ang Messiah ingon nga "sungay sa kaluwasan nga gibangon diha sa balay ni David," “and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.” Unsa may pasabot niana? Then namention usab ang paghinumdom sa Dios sa Iyang saad ngadto ni Abraham.

Dinhi sa awit ug sa tagna ni Zacharias, iyang gidugtong ang mga panghitabo nga iyang nakita ug nasinati ngadto sa mga saad sa Dios nga gihatag diha sa Old Testament. He is linking it to very specific covenants given in the Old Testament, a covenant to David, a covenant to Abraham, and a covenant about the forgiveness of sins, known as the New Covenant, presented in Jeremiah 31. We can divide Zechariah's praise then into those three parts. Part of it deals with the fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant, part of it deals with the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant, and part of it deals with the fulfillment of the New Covenant.[ii] Kining tulo ka mga saad sa Dios mao kining matawag kanato ug “salvific” covenants, o mga saad nga may kalambigitan sa kaluwasan. That is, aduna silay kalambigitan sa mga panalangin nga atong madawat o masinati pinaagi sa kaluwasan.

Si Luke, sa iyang pag-apil niini sa iyang narrative, gusto niya nga masabtan ni Theophilus ug kanato usab, nga ang pag-abot ni John the Baptist nga maoy manguna sa Ginoo, ug ang pag-abot sa Mesias nga mao si Jesu-Kristo, mao ang pagsugod sa Dios sa pagtuman sa Iyang saad nga kaluwasan diha niining tulo ka salvific covenants. Dili kini usa ka bag-ong pagtulon-an kondili mao kini ang pagsugod sa katumanan sa mga daang saad sa Dios. Luke is teaching, through Zechariah’s song of praise that Christianity is not a new religion, that it is not a Judaistic heresy, nga maoy huna-huna sa kadaghanan panahon ni Jesus ug sa mga apostoles. The coming of the Messiah and His work is the fulfillment of the Davidic promise, Abrahamic promise and the promise of a New Covenant.[iii]

Talking about covenants, diha sa Daang Testamento, basically adunay unom (6) ka mga covenants. Sa atong pagbasa sa pulong sa Dios, God continually refers to Himself as a covenant-keeping God, Dios nga matinud-anon sa Iyang mga saad. Repeatedly God's faithfulness to His covenant is reiterated. We remember the wonderful words of Jeremiah, "Great is Thy faithfulness." And over and over again Scripture talks about God being faithful. Faithful to what? Well, faithful to His covenant, faithful sa Iyang mga saad nga dili Niya pagabakwi-on ug pagapakyason.

Again, there are six specific covenants in the Old Testament. Ato nang namention ang tulo nga “salvific” covenants so we will mention just quickly the other three, nga diin walay kalambigitan sa kaluwasan. Una, the Noahic Covenant, ang saad sa Dios ngadto ni Noah diin dili na Niya pagalunopan ug balik ang tibuok kalibutan. And God made the rainbow as a sign to this covenant. Then comes the Mosaic promise or the covenant of God through Moses, in which God gives His Law, diin ang Dios nagsaad nga ang pagsunod ug pagtuman sa balaod magdala ug panalangin ug ang paglapas sa balaod magdala ug hukom o tunglo. That is God's irrevocable promise and it is still true. You obey God's law, you will be blessed. You disobey God's law and you will be judged. The third covenant is a priestly covenant. It's given in Numbers chapter 25 and in that passage God pledges irrevocably to grant Phinehas’ family, a perpetual priesthood. That is irrevocable. There will be a priesthood given to the people of Israel and in the end, even in the Millennium there will be a priesthood as the prophets indicate. Now these three promises are not salvation promises. Salvation is not an issue with Noah. It's not an issue with Moses because you can't be saved by the law. It's not an issue in the priestly covenant as well.

We are talking about this so that we will understand that what is happening in the first chapter of Luke is the fulfillment of something very old, the fulfillment of the Davidic promise, the Abrahamic promise and the new promise of Jeremiah 31.

Now, let's go back to the narrative. Si Zacharias ug Elizabeth aduna na karoy anak nga lalaki pinaagi sa usa ka milagrosong pagpanamkon ug pagpanganak. And what is fascinating about this is that the son being born signals the coming of Messiah, which signals the coming of redemption to Israel, salvation, the Redeemer, and therefore the fulfillment of Davidic, Abrahamic and New Covenant promise. Consequently, this is a time for praise. Ug ang awit ni Zacharias dili mahitungod sa usa ka tigulang nga amahan ug inahan nga nakabaton ug anak. Ang iyang pagdayeg dili mahitungod sa pagkakuha sa pagkatinamay tungod kay aduna na silay anak. His song is all about covenant fulfillment and that’s because it’s redemption that is coming. The forerunner will announce the coming of the Savior who will deliver and rescue Israel and fulfill God's covenants.

Nasayod sila, labi na si Zacharias nga pari ug ang iyang asawa gikan sa kaliwat sa mga pari, nga ang Dios adunay gahom sa pagluwas kanila, bisan ang pagluwas sa tibuok katawhan sa Israel. They knew God had the power to deliver, the power to save, the power to rescue His people. And they were waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue them. Mao kini ang na experience sa makadaghan sa mga Hudiyo sa ilang history sukad pa sa panahon ni Abraham. Tingali ang ilang huna-huna usa ka political rescue, nga ang Messiah moabot aron mobungkag sa gahom ug gingharia-an sa Roma nga mao karoy nagsakop kanila. They were longing for the Messiah to bring rescue and redemption.

Atong tan-awon gi-unsa pagtapos ang Old Testament. Malachi, chapter 4 verse 2, here's the promise, "The Sun of righteousness,” nagrefer sa Messiah, “shall rise with healing in His wings." That's how the Old Testament closes. Pila ka mga bersikulo sa unahan nagsulti nga sa dili pa moabot kining adlawa sa Dios adunay ipadala nga maga-una para pag-andam sa kasingkasing sa mga katawhan. So ang Mesias umaabotay. Ug ang iyang pag-abot nagdala ug pagkaayo, sa Cebuano translation, “nagdala ug kaluwasan sa Iyang mga pako.” And He's going to come like the sun comes up in the dawn and sheds the warmth of its light across the earth. Here’s how the Easy to Read Version says it, “goodness will shine on you like the rising sun. And it will bring healing power like the sun's rays.” So the Messiah will arise and send His healing beams across the earth. And so the Old Testament closed with the promise of the dawning of the Messianic day, that the Messiah would come like the sun rises in the morning and cast His healing beams across the earth.

Apan milabay pa ang 400 years wala pa ang adlaw sa Dios, 400 years and no Savior, 400 years and no Redeemer, 400 years and terrible bondage under the Greeks, terrible bondage under the Romans, terrible oppression. Apan si Lukas nagsulti kanato natapos na ang 400 years, ug ang kaluwasan sa Dios nagpadulong na; and it's coming, una sa tanan, with the forerunner, John, who will point to the Messiah, Jesus, who is in fact the Redeemer. The salvation of God was about to come. The dawn was about to break. The Sun of Righteousness was about to rise with healing in His wings. The light was almost ready to come to end the long night of darkness.

Ug si Zacharias nasayod niana. Nasayod siya tungod kay si angel Gabriel nagsulti man kaniya. Ang anghel nakigstorya usab ni Maria sa plano sa Dios. Si Maria nagpuyo sa ilang panimalay for three months. And Zechariah was now aware of the whole plan. And so this is what he says, “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. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

What a hymn of praise that is. And it's all about salvation. Ang iyang awit mahitungod sa kaluwasan sa Dios, mahitungod sa pagtuman sa Iyang saad ngadto ni David, ngadto ni Abraham, ug ang pagtuman sa saad sa pagpasaylo sa mga sala. The story of Jesus is a story of salvation. So his whole song is a song of redemption. It's a song of salvation.

Let’s go to the opening verses of the song. His words were influenced by the Holy Spirit. That's why he was filled with the Holy Spirit so that what he spoke was the Word of God. Ug mao kini iyang gipamulong, "Bulahan ang Dios sa Israel." He's talking about the God of Israel, the God of the Old Testament, Jehovah. And he blesses the God of Israel. These words were a common way to introduce a thanksgiving.[iv] You find that all through the Old Testament. See 1 Kings 1:48; 1 Chronicles 16:36; Psalms 41:13; 72:18; 106:48; thus Zechariah’s words offered thanksgiving to God. He is blessing the God of Israel. He rightly viewed the plan of God as unfolding out of Old Testament promise to the nation Israel. God is the God of Israel, and the God of salvation. Jesus said in John 4:22, “Salvation is from the Jews.” (ESV) Ang tanan mahitungod sa kaluwasan naabot pinaagi sa Israel. Romans 9, Paul says, "Of Israel is the covenants and the promises and the law and the Messiah." Ang tanan niana pinaagi sa Israel, the adoption, everything God channeled through Israel. Dili pasabot nga diha lang kini kutob ug para lang kini sa Israel; it was that Israel was the means to the end. Pinaagi sa Israel miabot ang Mesias. Pinaagi sa Israel miabot ang balaod sa Dios, ang mga saad sa Dios, tanan niana. Ang Dios sa Israel maoy nagpili ug naggamit sa Israel para mahimo silang saksi nga nasod ngadto sa tibouk kalibutan mahitungod sa Dios ug sa Iyang kaluwasan.

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel.” Why is he blessing God? Unsa may rason ni Zacharias sa iyang pagdayeg sa Dios? "For He has visited us." Tungod sa pagduaw sa Dios sa Iyang mga katawhan. God had visited them, sending His angel, sending His Word, working miracles again. By the way, that little phrase, "He has visited us” is a common Old Testament phrase. In the Old Testament, these words usually indicate God seeing his people and coming to deal with them—either in grace or in judgment, such as in Israel’s escape from Egypt (“the LORD had visited the children of Israel,” Exodus 4:31 NKJV); or when Naomi returned to Israel because “the LORD had visited His people by giving them bread” (Ruth 1:6 NKJV). The Lord would come—in the flesh—but, tragically, few would recognize him when he arrived (Luke 19:44).[v] Here he is simply saying, "God has visited us." Ang Dios miduaw na sa Iyang mga katawhan human sa Iyang paghilom sulod sa 400 ka tuig, ug niini nga panahon dili aron sa paghukom kanila. This time — look what he says — "He has visited us and has accomplished redemption for His people." (NASB)

Now, wala pa makita ug masinati ni Zacharias ang kaluwasan sa ilang nasod. Not yet, I mean, ang mag-una sa Mesias, nga mao ang iyang anak, bag-o pa natawo, 8 pa lang ka adlaw. Ug ang Mesias, nga gipanamkon ni Maria, wala pa matawo. Apan tungod kay nagsugod na pagfulfill ang Dios sa Iyang mga saad sa kaluwasan, he's so certain of it. He knows God well enough to know that what God starts He finishes and he speaks as though it's already taken place. Nasigurado si Zacharias nga ang kaluwasan haduol na kaayo, mao nang he’s speaking in past tense, bisan pa man near future pa ang katumanan niani. Tungod kay ang mga milagro nga mga nahitabo nagconfirm nga ang Dios is at work again, the angel Gabriel has spoken on behalf of God. Ug ang pagdu-aw sa Dios mao ang pagdala ug kaluwasan, to accomplish redemtion. Ang pagkatawo ni John nagsignal sa pagbisita sa Dios aron sa pagrescue sa Iyang mga katawhan, to buy them back, to pay the purchase price to deliver His people.

Ug ang tibook nasud sa Israel, even the believing Israelites at first, at the time of Jesus, nagtuo nga ang kaluwasan nga dalhon ug ihatag sa Dios ngadto kanila is kaluwasan sa political nga bahin. In the last chapter of Luke, in Luke 24:21, on the road to Emmaus, two disciples were saying, "But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel." They were confused about Jesus because Jesus did not fit in their concept as Savior, tungod kay ang gituohan nila nga Mesias namatay man ug karon mao na ang ikatulo ka adlaw sa Iyang kamatayon. They were looking at God’s salvation politically. They were looking at the Messiah to come and destroy the Roman power the way God had destroyed the Egyptian power and released the people from bondage, set them free to prosperity and the fulfillment of all promise. Ang kaluwasan nga ilang gipangita mao ang gingharian nga gisaad sa Dios ngadto ni David, diin ang anak ni David maghari na sa tibuok kalibutan ug maghari na sa walay katapusan. They were looking for the fulfilment of the Davidic covenant. Also, they were looking for the fulfillment of the Abrahamic promise, which is blessing upon blessing. Wala sila makasabot nga ilang masinati ang katumanan nianang duha ka saad sa Dios, bisan pa man miabot na ang Mesias, wala nila masabti nga ila lang kanang masinati unless they came through the New Covenant, unless their sins were forgiven. Read again Jeremiah 31:31-34.

Zechariah knows that God is going to bring redemption, verse 69, "Because he has raised up a horn of salvation for us." Tungod kay “iyang gibangon alang kanato ang sungay sa kaluwasan,” Si Zacharias naghisgot mahitungod sa Mesias nga si Jesus, mao ang sungay sa kaluwasan. Again, Zechariah was speaking in the past tense about an event still future, albeit in the near future. The Messiah was already being “raised up,” for God had begun to set his plan into motion. The “horn” was a common Old Testament metaphor for strength and power (2 Samuel 22:3; Psalms 18:2; 89:24; 132:17; Ezekiel 29:21). Thus, the “horn” is often a military metaphor for God’s intervening to deliver. This will be a powerful Savior.[vi]

In Psalm 18:2 it says, "The Lord is … the horn of my salvation." The horn became the symbol of conquering, killing power. Ug mao kini ang ilang perspective sa Mesias o sa ilang manluluwas. The Messiah is going to come and conquer and destroy the enemy and set His people free. He's going to be the great deliverer, the great rescuer. What they did not understand yet is that, ang gahom o gapos sa sala ug ang silot sa sala maoy unang gibungkag sa Ginoo diha sa tanan nga mitoo ug motoo ug modawat Kaniya pinaagi sa Iyang kamatayon ug pagkabanhaw.

Conclusion

Luke made it clear here, by including in his gospel narrative Zechariah’s song of praise, whether to a Jewish reader or not, that Jesus is God’s promised Savior and Redeemer. And He is a powerful Savior. Not only “He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him,”[vii] but He’s also able, he’s even conquered sin and death. Amen.

_________________________________

[i] Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-c1985). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (2:206). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

[ii] John MacArthur, www.gty.org

[iii] Ibid.

[iv] Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., Taylor, L. C., & Osborne, G. R. (1997). Luke. Life application Bible commentary (31). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.

[v] Ibid.

[vi] Ibid.

[vii] Hebrews 7:25 NKJV