Series:  Unveiling the Bible Story – Seeing Glory & Walking in Grace

Today:  Babies That Set Us Free For Worship (Lk 1:57-80)

Intro (1:57-67): 

***  Lk 1:68-79 reveals how these 2 baby boys are God’s _______ who set us free for the ________________ worship of God. 

I.  Lk 1:68-75 shows us how Jesus is God’s ______ who sets us free for the ________________ worship of God. 

 II.  Lk 1:76-79 shows us how Jesus & _______ together are God’s gifts who set us free for the ________________ worship of God. 

Concl: 

Digging Deeper into Zechariah’s “Benedictus”

Almost every word & phrase of Zechariah’s Song of Praise in Lk 1:68-79 is filled with OT Scripture.  What do you make of this?  What can you do to grow in your knowledge of the whole Word of God & how Jesus is at the center of all Scripture?  Here are a few of the most obvious OT allusions in Lk 1:68-79:

Lk 1:68 

·         “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, ( 1 K 1:48, 1 Chr 16:36, Ps 41:13, 72:18, 106:48)                                     

·         for he has visited (Ex 4:31, Ruth 1:6, Ps 80:14, 106:4)           

·         and redeemed his people (Ps 111:9)           

Lk 1:69 

·         and has raised up a horn of salvation (2 Sam 22:3, Ps 18:2, 89:24, 132:17,; Ezek 29:21, 1 Sam 2:10 & Dt 33:17)            

·         in the house of his servant David, (2 Sam 7:11-16 & 100’s of others)           

Lk1:70 …as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, (Note Jesus’ words in Lk 24:25 & 44)           

1:71  …that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; (2 Sam 22:18, Ps 18:17, 106:10)           

1:72 

·         … to show the mercy (repeated in 1:78  … “tender mercy of our God”) (Gen 24:12, Jud 1:24, 8:35, Ruth 1:8, Ex 34:5-6, Ps 57:10 & 100’s of others)           

·         promised to our fathers (Mic 7:20)          

·         and to remember his holy covenant, (Ex 2:24, Lev 26:42, Ps 105:8, 106:45).            

1:73… the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, (Gen 26:3, Jer 11:5, Mic 7:20, Gen 22:16-17)          

1:74 

·         that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, (Ps 97:10)           

·         might serve him without fear, (Josh 24:14)           

1:75  …in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. (Is 38:20)           

1:76 

·         … the prophet of the Most High; (Mal 4:5 & see Lk 1:32)           

·         for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, (Mal 3:1 & Is 40:3)           

1:77 

·         … in the forgiveness of their sins, (Jer 31:34, Mk 1:4)           

·         whereby the sunrise shall visit us  (Mal 4:2 & Is 60:1-3, Note: “branch” in the Greek translation of the OT (LXX) is the same word as “sunrise” in Jer 23:5, Zech 3:8 & 6:12.  See also Is 11:1)     

1:79

·         to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, (Ps 107:10, Is 9:2 & 42:7)           

·         to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Is 59:8)           

Z