Luke 1:67-70 67And Zechariah his father was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, 68 “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, because he has visited and redeemed his people 69and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from long ago ages,
Like Mary, Zechariah bursts forth in prophecy in what is known as the Benedictus. He responds to God’s grace in the miraculous birth of his son, John. John’s birth was a time of joy for several reasons. Zechariah and Elizabeth’s disgrace was taken away. But on a much deeper level, it was a time of joy because God was about to do something great for his people, and John played an important part in preparing the people for the greatest grace coming in Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit had a crucial part in the activities surrounding the births of John and Jesus. Luke makes an important connection between the Holy Spirit and prophecy in these accounts. The inspiration of the Holy Spirit is a significant factor in the stories recounted in the book of Acts. The Holy Spirit came in fulfillment of Joel 2:28-32 (Acts 2:16-21) and empowers people to proclaim the good news of Jesus. Zechariah did not know all the details of what was about to take place, but he had experienced God’s blessings and had keen insight into God’s salvation.
Like Mary’s earlier song, Zechariah’s prophecy begins with praise to the Lord God of Israel and is expressed in a series of interlocked statements focused on the verbal action God has done. The hymn begins with a typical blessing expressed to God. The first word of praise is for God’s visitation. God had come through the angel Gabriel in a physical way but also in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy as part of his grand plan for his people and all creation. Time was shifting right in front of Zechariah, and he had a keen sense about it.
Second, at the heart of this visitation was redemption. The verb redeemed (lytrōsin) means to purchase something or pay a ransom to free what is held captive. It is a rich theological word that goes back to the great act of redemption in the Old Testament of Israel’s freedom from Egyptian slavery. It is used in the New Testament for how Jesus frees us from the spiritual bondage of sin (2:38; Hebrews 9:12).
Third, this redemption has come through a horn of salvation, which is an image of power and might used in Psalms 18:2 (see also 1 Samuel 2:1, 10; Jeremiah 48:25; Daniel 7:7; Zechariah 1:18; Ezra 29:21). The specific route of this source of salvation was through the lineage of David, which is a clear reference to the messianic expectations of Israel. Zechariah praises God not for his son John but for Mary’s son Jesus since there is no connection of John to the lineage of David.
God’s plan of redemption was expected and described in part through God’s holy prophets. The idea that the prophets had glimpses into God’s plan is mentioned in Romans 16:25-26 and Hebrews 1:1-2. The coming of Jesus was not an afterthought due to the failures in the Old Testament but God’s plan all along. The problems experienced by Israel and described especially in the Prophets show even more the need for a Savior to rescue humanity from its hopeless plight. God is the actor in all of the words of salvation. It was because of grace and through grace that Jesus, the Son, came to bring the hope of eternal life (John 1:16).
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