Luke 1:71-75 71salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; 72 to show the mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, in order to give us 74without fear rescuing from the hand of our enemies, to serve him, 75in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
Zechariah continues his song with thoughts about what the salvation God brings will be like for God’s people. The focus of God’s redemption will be experienced through being rescued from those who oppose God’s people. The Jewish people have experienced hatred and persecution from the earliest days. The yoke of the Romans was heavy and unpleasant at the turn of the era when Zechariah spoke these words. The hope of the Jews for God’s deliverance was widespread. Not far from the hills of Judea was the sect of Essenes that wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls. This group also looked forward to God’s salvation and the restoration of Israel. The enemies and haters of God take out their anger on God’s people.
Zechariah believed that God would bring salvation and deliverance from the enemies because he made a covenant with Abraham. Zechariah does not specify any particular aspect of God’s covenant with Abraham. The promise of land is not mentioned anywhere in this text. Rather, the focus seems to be more on the spiritual blessing of the covenant (Genesis 12:2). Luke wrote down these words in reflection of the great story of God’s salvation for all nations, not just Israel. The promises to Abraham were universal, for “all the families of the earth” (Genesis 12:3). Many Jews interpreted the promises to Abraham narrowly for only them, but there is a constant push in the Old Testament, especially the prophets to see God’s purposes for all people. Zechariah’s song still focuses heavily on the Jewish experience and longing for salvation with the repeated idea of “we” and “us” throughout the song.
The result of God’s salvation will not only be the physical rescue from the enemies but spiritual transformation through holiness and righteousness. With the birth of this child, God’s people will be able to serve him knowing he delivers and saves. The prayers and hopes of the Jews would soon be fulfilled. These verses link the political and spiritual hopes of the people. The Jews did not experience political liberation but had the promise of spiritual freedom from the power of sin. Even when persecution came later to the church, believers could experience deliverance because of God’s mercy through the Messiah. No matter what binds or enslaves people physically, they can experience salvation in Jesus that will sustain them and give them hope.
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