Advent Songs of Salvation: The Song of Zechariah - The Benedictus
Luke 1:57-80; 1 Peter 2:9-12; Malachi 4:1-6
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Both Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth were of the priestly line of Aaron. Luke tells us that they were “righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.” Yet for all their faithfulness, “they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.” Zechariah, serving in the division of Abijah, had his turn to minister in the temple. As he entered the holy place at the hour of incense, an angel of the Lord appeared to him. Gabriel announced an answer to long–spoken prayers: Elizabeth would conceive and bear a son, and he was to be named John — “God is gracious.”
Gabriel described John’s calling: “He will be great before the Lord… and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God… to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” Zechariah’s hesitation —“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years”— is understandable. Yet Gabriel’s reply is firm: “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God… and because you did not believe my words… you will be silent.” When Zechariah came out of the temple unable to speak, the people sensed he had seen a vision. His silence endured until the child was born, and only at John’s circumcision — when Zechariah faithfully wrote, “His name shall be John”— was his tongue loosed. Filled with the Holy Spirit, he burst forth in the Benedictus.
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people.” Benedictus — “Blessed”— is the first word of Zechariah’s song, but it is also the theme of his whole confession. He blesses the Lord for His gracious visitation and redemption, not merely as a future hope, but as an already–set-in-motion reality. The prophets had long proclaimed this coming day. Malachi, the last of them, warned of the day of the Lord—a day of burning judgment against sin, idolatry, and apostasy. He also promised a messenger who would prepare the way, a new Elijah who would turn hearts and call the people back to the Lord. John the Baptist is that promised forerunner, and the Benedictus recognizes that the dawn of God’s saving work has begun to break.
The song looks backward and forward at the same time. It recalls the promises made to Abraham and David, “as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old.” It also looks ahead to the impending birth of the Christ. Promise and fulfillment converge in Jesus. Israel had many earthly enemies, but the deeper enemies are sin, death, and the devil. Zechariah’s song focuses on deliverance from these foes. God’s salvation flows from “the tender mercy of our God,” His deep, inward compassion revealed in Christ, “the Sunrise from on high” who comes to scatter the darkness.
John’s ministry, then, is bounded by this light: “you… will go before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness of their sins.” John preaches repentance and baptism, preparing hearts to receive the Lord’s mercy. The church continues the same ministry still: proclaiming the Law that exposes our sin, and the Gospel that forgives it for Jesus’ sake.
The Benedictus is, in many ways, Advent in miniature. It proclaims that God “has visited” His people—past, present, and future. He has visited us in the Incarnation. He visits us now through His Word and Sacraments. He will visit us again in glory when Christ returns. John and Jesus thus stand as the hinge between the Testaments. In them the long–awaited promises of the Old Covenant meet the fulfillment of the New.
This brings us to Peter’s words: “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession… that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” What Zechariah sang about—light breaking into darkness, mercy overcoming sin—is now the church’s lived reality. Through Christ, God has visited and redeemed His people, and He continues to shape us into a people who “keep [our] conduct honorable” so that others may see His light in our lives.
Zechariah’s song bridges old and new, silence and praise, anticipation and fulfillment. And the God who kept His promises in Christ still gives us His light, His mercy, and His peace. In this Advent season, the church takes up Zechariah’s song as her own:
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people.
In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment