Luke 1:57-80
57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” 62 And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. 64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, 66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.
67 And his father Zechariah 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, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; 72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
Reflection
Zechariah’s prophecy gives us a beautiful and powerful picture of the gospel and its benefits. Through Christ, God visits and stays with his people (Luke 1:68), saves us from our enemies (v. 71), fulfills his ancient promises for us (vv. 72–73), delivers us so that we might serve him without fear (v. 75), forgives our sins (v. 77), shines light on our darkness (v. 79), and guides us into a life of peace (v. 79). The gospel is full of mercy and grace. He has not given us what our sin deserves, and instead he has provided countless gifts and his own presence! When we begin to grasp the breadth and depth of the gracious work of God through Jesus, our hearts are empowered to live with devotion to God. Jesus is not just the “religious” part of our lives; he is the focus of all our hopes. We should regularly think about the fullness of our salvation!
Galatians 6:6-10
6 One who is taught the word must share all good things with the one who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Reflection
In order to emphasize the importance of sound teaching in the church, Paul instructs the Galatians to make sure they are financially supporting their teachers (Gal. 6:6; see also 1 Cor. 9:14; 1 Tim. 5:17–18). He stresses the point with an illustration: the things that are sown will influence the harvest that follows (Gal. 6:7). In Galatia, false teaching has negatively impacted the churches (5:7–9), but correct teaching enabled by God’s Spirit will produce life (6:8) and good works (vv. 9–10). In other words, support those who faithfully preach the gospel of grace so that the church will respond with genuine faith. The result will inevitably be lives that bear the gospel fruit of good works.
Psalm 3:8
8 Salvation belongs to the Lord; your blessing be on your people! Selah
Take some time to think about your salvation and the limitless blessings that Christ has purchased for you. Ask him to fill you with joy because of this grace, and pray that this joy will overflow into the lives of others so that they also might hear the good news of Christ’s love.