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.
First of all … WOW! What a prophesy about his son, John. Zechariah recognizes that God the Father has kept His promise of The Messiah to save His people. What a blessing event this had to be. Imagine this: you are taught of the coming of the Messiah your entire life. For generations He has been talked about, promised, and anticipated. Now is the day when the Lord has given the one to make way the path of the Messiah. It is here. Generations have longed for this … and it is here! It sounds a lot like what we are waiting for in the second coming. For 2000 years we have been waiting for the Lord to come again. He is coming! Are we willing to put in the footwork that Christ wants us to while we wait?
v.68 – v.70 show the praise that Zechariah is giving to God for the prophesies being fulfilled. There are many prophesies in the Old Testament that show that God will send His Messiah to save His people. Genesis 17 is where the promise to Abraham is made
v.71 – v.75 show what the Lord is coming for. He is coming to save His people. He is coming so that we do not have to fear our enemies; for they are defeated! God has shown mercy on us because we have accepted Him and what He has provided, a sacrifice worthy to take our sins. We could never live up to that, only God could.
v.76 – v.79 show what this child, John, would be. He would be a prophet before the Lord. He would pave the way to point to Christ, and He did just that. When people looked to him for answers he pointed straight to the Christ whom God had sent.
What a prophesy foretold by Zechariah. He was a good man who was seeking to follow God with his life. God blessed him to father John. Zechariah in turn blessed God and did not seem to fear others around him, but was given strength to believe.
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