The Rising Sun Series

INTRODUCTION

Once we went as a family to Pondicherry for vacation. Pondicherry is towards the east coast of India. Early morning if you happen to go to the beach, you can see the sunrise there. The rising sun is so beautiful to look at. The sun breaks upon the darkness of night and brightens up the day. The rising sun dispels the darkness.

Well, Jesus Christ came as the promised Messiah some 2000 years ago. He came to dispel the darkness of sin and bring the light of God upon the world. Those who follow Jesus walk in the light. He is called the rising sun that breaks out of a dark night.

The Rising Sun

Zechariah calls Jesus as the rising sun. Let’s look at Zechariah’s song in Luke chapter one.

Luke 1:67-79 Zechariah’s Song 67His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

68“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel because he has come to his people and redeemed them. 69He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David 70(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), 71salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us— 72to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant, 73the oath he swore to our father Abraham: 74to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear 75in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

76And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, 77to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, 78because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven 79to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

Zechariah portrays Jesus as the rising sun who has come to redeem mankind by giving light and peace to those living in the darkness of sin.

In Luke 1, Zachariah is a priest. He and his wife, Elizabeth, have been barren. An angel comes to Zachariah and tells him that he will have a son. The son will be the promised prophet, who will be the forerunner of the Messiah. Then the angel Gabriel comes to Mary and announces to her that she will be the mother of the Messiah. She will be conceived by the Holy Spirit. Then we find Mary meet her cousin Elizabeth and the baby leaps in Elizabeth’s womb.

By the time you get to Luke 1:67, Zachariah’s son is born, John the Baptist, the prophet. Based on what the angle spoke about his son and his knowledge of the OT scripture, Zachariah now knows that the Messiah is about to arrive. And he bursts out in song in verse 67 down to 79.

See what Zechariah says about his son, John the Baptist:

Luke 1:76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him.

See the connection of this from the OT.

Malachi 3:1 “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.

Notice how the OT ends with the expectation of the forerunner and expectation of the Messiah.

Malachi 4:5-6 5“See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. 6He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”

The prophet will come to restore the hearts of the people to get ready for His arrival. So, Zachariah knows that this child is the forerunner to the Messiah, and he is excited beyond comprehension because he knows now the fulfillment of everything for Israel is about to break.

The Song of Zechariah Connects To OT Promises

Zechariah’s song helps us build our bridge back to the Old Testament because he shows us that a true understanding of the Old Testament and its covenants will connect to Christ.

He then connects the salvation that Jesus is bringing as a fulfillment of all the promises God made to David and to Abraham. And there is mention of both David and Abraham in his song.

Six Covenants of the Old Testament

a. The Covent God made with Noah. Genesis 9:11

The covenant God made with Noah that He wouldn’t drown the world again in water.