Luke 1:67-80 – Faith in the Promise

It’s maybe hard for us, looking back and clearly seeing God’s promise of a Saviour being fulfiled in Jesus Christ, to understand the mindset of someone like Zechariah, to fully appreciate the overwhelming joy he feels in what is going on. As his dumbness is removed, the very first words he says are praise to God. The oldest promise God has ever made is about to be fulfiled, and practically right on Zechariah’s doorstep. We have such a clear understanding, thanks to the Word of God, of what the Gospel is, but Zechariah and the Old Testament believers have a very dim and murky understanding of who the Messiah will be and what He will do. But despite all this they often seem to have a stronger faith in the promises of God, a faith that puts us to shame. We are asked to believe in something that has already happened; they were told to believe in something that had not yet happened. Their faith is built on the promises of God – ours should be as well.

Zechariah has a clear vision of Christ’s kingdom. He sees that the kingdom of the Messiah is one where people will serve Him in holiness and righteousness. Even though the completion of this kingdom is yet to come, Christians are united in their service of God, without fear, no longer as His enemies, but as His children, holy and righteous through the work of the Holy Spirit. Zechariah understands that this Messiah is opening up the way to forgiveness of sins, the path from death to life and peace. He has an amazing faith and probably dies before He sees what the Messiah will do. Should we, who can see clearly what Christ has done, have a lesser faith?

Questions
1. How were people in the Old Testament saved?
2. Why was Zechariah so joyful?
3. What kind of kingdom does Christ have?

Prayer Points
1. Give thanks for God’s Word.
2. Use prayer points from your congregation.
3. Pray for family matters.