The Savior, Christ, and Lord

This is what we learn in Zechariah’s prophecy. God in his mercy has sent salvation to his people. That dominant idea finds expression in four parts.

Zechariah blesses or praises God because God has visited and redeemed his people with a strong salvation. A “horn” is used in the Bible to symbolize strength or power. This is the powerful salvation for Israel that was promised to come through David, that was prophesied through the prophets of old, and that in verses 72-73 goes all the way back to the “fathers,” or patriarchs, and to Abraham. This salvation is an act of mercy (v. 72). God saves us to prove his mercy. The entire Bible—from Abraham to the prophets down to King David—is about this one thing: salvation. The Bible has one story: God visiting or coming to get his people. That was and is the plan.

This salvation has multiple parts to it. One part, as verse 71 puts it, is to save Israel from their enemies and from the hand of all their haters. This is an actual, political, physical rescue. But that’s not all.

The goal of their physical deliverance was not simply their physical freedom. The goal was worship. This is the New Testament version of what God told Moses to tell Pharaoh: “Let my people go, so that they may worship me” (Exod 7:16; emphasis added).

God saves so that we might worship. Freedom is a good goal, but it’s not the ultimate goal. The freedom that God seems most interested in is the freedom to worship him. Just as Zechariah worshiped God when God mercifully opened Zechariah’s mouth and ears, so all Israel is to praise and glorify God for the salvation he brings.

Zechariah now prophesies about John. John will be great. He will be called a prophet of God. He will be unique among the prophets because he will be the forerunner. He will soften the ground. He will till the soil of Israel’s heart. He will not be the Savior, but John will make things ready for the Savior by teaching people how they are to be saved. John will be a giant index finger pointing the way to God’s salvation from sin.

Zechariah’s prophecy defines John’s life in relationship to Jesus’s life and mission. Beloved, all lasting meaning is found when we define our lives this way. Greatness comes from serving the Lord, not from serving ourselves. Greatness comes when we, like John, say, “We must decrease; Jesus must increase” (see John 3:30). The prophet of salvation never replaces the bringer of salvation.

Zechariah begins to describe the effect of this salvation on the people.

First, this salvation is ultimately spiritual and personal. It involves “the forgiveness of their sins” (v. 77). Why must sin be forgiven? Why is sin a problem? Because it is an offense against God, who is holy. God in his holiness and anger will punish the sinner forever unless they are forgiven. When we talk about being “saved,” we should ask, “Saved from what?” The Bible’s answer is, “Saved from God.” We need to be rescued from God’s coming judgment against the world. Unless we are rescued we will suffer punishment in hell forever. Have you escaped God’s condemnation? Do you know how?

Second, this salvation is by God’s mercy. Verse 78 says it is “because of our God’s merciful compassion.” That’s the only reason anyone is ever forgiven of sin: mercy. You cannot earn forgiveness. You cannot demand forgiveness. You cannot swap forgiveness with a trade. There would be no peace in salvation if we had to earn, demand, or buy forgiveness. We would only worry if we had done enough, if we were strong enough, or if we had paid enough. Forgiveness comes only by mercy. Which means forgiveness is free and undeserved. The only step we can take to find forgiveness with God is to ask for it. Beg for mercy, and God will show it. Confess your sin, and he is faithful to forgive it (1 John 1:9).

Third, this salvation brings light. Verses 78-79 declare, “The dawn from on high will visit us to shine on those who live in darkness and the shadow of death.” Through the mercy of our God we receive light. This light is Christ himself. He is the sunrise, or you may have a translation that says the “dayspring” (KJV). In our sin we sit in darkness like a prisoner locked in an underground dungeon. But when Christ comes into our hearts, he brings light. All of a sudden everything shines. Darkness flees. Death is defeated. “The way of peace” (v. 79) refers to an entire life of peace. Salvation brings peace. Peace with God. Peace with man. Peace within ourselves.

Do you have this peace? Has the sunrise dawned in your soul yet?

Luke 2:1-20

Glory is not the first word you think of when you think of Jesus’s birth.

First, Jesus is born when Israel is under roman rule. Caesar Augustus and Quirinius are in positions of power. God’s people are an oppressed people. Oppressed people don’t have glory or power or honor to speak of.

Though that is true, it is not the highest truth. There is an invisible power behind and over these human rulers. They do not know it, but God uses Caesar and Quirinius to fulfill what he promised long ago. In Malachi 5:2, four hundred years before the birth of Christ, God told his people the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem of Judea. Joseph and Mary start out in Nazareth of Galilee (v. 4). God uses the emperor’s census to move them back to Joseph’s hometown—Bethlehem.

God’s people need never fear the laws of men. Over those laws are the laws of God. Even when men rule for their own ends, God is at work to fulfill his plan.

Second, Jesus is born where no child should be born (vv. 6-7). The God of the universe is laid in an animal’s feeding trough. There is no glory in that. We think of something the Lord would later say: “Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (9:58; Matt 8:20). That was the Savior’s lifelong testimony.

Nothing about this scene says “glory.” But there is much in this scene to instruct us.

Before there is glory, there must first be humility. That is the way the kingdom of God operates. The first will be last, and the last will be first (Mark 10:31). God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (Jas 4:6; 1 Pet 5:5). Humble yourself before the Lord, and in due time he will exalt you (Jas 4:10). In the kingdom of God, first comes humility then comes glory. We see this modeled for us right from the Savior’s birth. True greatness is not always visible greatness.

The incarnation of the Son of God in an animal’s feeding trough puts our glory-craving hearts in check. Matthew Henry rightly observed,

He well knew how unwilling we are to be meanly lodged, clothed, or fed; how we desire to have our children decorated and indulged; how apt the poor are to envy the rich, and how prone the rich to disdain the poor. But when we by faith view the Son of God being made man and lying in a manger, our vanity, ambition, and envy are checked. We cannot, with this object rightly before us, seek great things for ourselves or our children. (Commentary, 5:257)

We do not see the glory of this passage until we learn what the shepherds learn. They are out at night keeping watch over their flock (v. 8). This is not glorious work. This is not the best shift. Shepherds had bad reputations. The nature of their work meant they could not observe Israel’s ceremonial laws. They were considered unreliable and could not give testimony in the law courts. They were a despised class of people.

On that night “an angel of the Lord stood before them” (v. 9). The dark night runs away from the shining light of God’s glory. And they were filled with fear; awe and reverence grip their hearts.

To these lowly men, the angel gives the highest theology (vv. 10-12). These despised shepherds are the first to receive the announcement of the gospel. These men are the first to learn of “great joy for all the people.” They understand that the gospel is not just for Israel but for all the nations, that all may have this joy.

These despised men hear the most wonderful thing about how this joy comes. It comes through the birth of “a Savior . . . who is the Messiah, the Lord” (v. 11). This is the only time in the Gospels this phrase is used. It’s the only time we see all the titles of Jesus brought together—Savior, Messiah, Lord. He will save his people from their sins. Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah promised to Israel. And most staggeringly of all, he is Lord. He is God. He is Maker of all. He is Ruler of all. The angels not only give the gospel to the Shepherds; they give the true identity of Christ.

It seems that God believes high theology should be given to low people. That’s why we want to teach as robustly as we can the deep truths of God. We do not want to be unnecessarily complex. The angels speak plainly here, but they use plain speech to convey deep truth. That is what preaching should do. It’s what it should do for poor and despised people. There is nothing about poverty that prevents people from knowing God well. There is nothing about class that determines what people can afford to know about God. The fullness of the gospel goes to the poor just as it would to anyone. The truth is that Luke shows us it is the poor that receive it, not the educated, powerful, and rich. As J. C. Ryle put it,

Let us beware of despising the poor, because of their poverty. Their condition is one which the Son of God has sanctified and honored, by taking it voluntarily on Himself. God is no respecter of people. He looks at the hearts of men, and not at their incomes. Let us never be ashamed of the affliction of poverty, if God thinks fit to lay it upon us. To be godless and covetous is disgraceful, but it is no disgrace to be poor. A lowly dwelling place, and coarse food, and a hard bed, are not pleasing to flesh and blood. But they are the portion which the Lord Jesus Himself willingly accepted from the day of His entrance into the world. Wealth ruins far more souls than poverty. When the love of money begins to creep over us, let us think of the manger at Bethlehem, and of Him who was laid in it. Such thoughts may deliver us from much harm. (Luke, 1:141)

When the angel had finished preaching the gospel to the shepherds, the angelic choir came on for a closing hymn. Then God revealed his glory (v. 14). God’s mercy to men brings God’s highest glory in heaven.

Luke 2:15-18 remind us of 1:65-66. The shepherds visit baby Jesus and his earthly parents in the stable. They tell everyone what they’ve seen and heard. People are amazed.

Verses 17-20 lay for us a pattern to be repeated by disciples of the Lord throughout all generations. The shepherds teach others what they heard and saw. Mary treasures it in her heart. Then the shepherds return home to tell others of the glory of God. From the time of the Savior’s birth, those receiving the Savior have followed this pattern of teach, treasure, and tell. Can there be any other response to God’s mercy in Jesus Christ? Can there be any other response to seeing the glory of God? Let us teach it, treasure it, and tell it abroad forever.