You Can Be Like John The Baptist

You Can Be Like John the Baptist

Luke 1:67-80

Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz

67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,

For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,

69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us

In the house of David His servant —

70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old —

71 Salvation FROM OUR ENEMIES,

And FROM THE HAND OF ALL WHO HATE US;

72 To show mercy toward our fathers,

And to remember His holy covenant,

73 The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,

74 To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,

Might serve Him without fear,

75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.

76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;

For you will go on BEFORE THE LORD TO PREPARE HIS WAYS;

77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation

By the forgiveness of their sins,

78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,

With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,

79 TO SHINE UPON THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS AND THE SHADOW OF DEATH,

To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

80 And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

This narrative is Zacharias' prophecy about what his son was going to do when he grew up. Biblical tradition tells us that when a husband and/or wife prayed to the Lord for a child, that child would be a male and would serve God. John the Baptist serve the Lord by being the forerunner of Jesus. He announced to the world that God had sent the Messiah into the world. He was also the one who identified Jesus so that the world would know him.

In Jewish tradition, it was believed that the prophet Elijah would return to announce the Messiah. Many of the common people did not understand that it was not Elijah in the flesh that was going to return, nor in the spirit, but a person who was like Elijah would come to make the announcement. God would select the person who he wanted to make the announcement about the Messiah because that soul had the same attitudes and beliefs that the prophet Elijah had. This is part of what’s misunderstood about John the Baptist. He was not Elijah the prophet and we learn that later in Luke’s gospel. However, he acted just like Elijah the prophet in thought and in deed. John the Baptist's spiritual connection to God was equivalent to Elijah’s connection to God.

The author of Luke's gospel considered it important to discuss in some detail the person who would announce to the world that God's Messiah had arrived. In Luke’s gospel, we also learn that not only was John the Baptist the person who was going to announce Jesus to the world, but he also had to be born before Jesus. So, John the Baptist was older than Jesus. This would’ve been important for people who were following the different messianic traditions of the day. How could the person who is going to announce the Messiah to the world be younger than the Messiah himself? That is the question that Luke’s gospel is answering here. Clearly, John the Baptist was older than Jesus, even though it might’ve only been six months to maybe a year at the most.

Verse 69 is one that is misunderstood by many commentators and preachers today. The horns of salvation being raised is a cultural reference to what happened when an army returns home. The horns of rams and oxen were turned into musical instruments. In Jesus' day, there were no metal instruments. People learned how to blow into the horns of Rams and oxen in order to make music. When an army returned home, and the Army was triumphant, the musicians would hold their horns up high toward the heavens and play joyful music. However, when the army returned home defeated, they would lower the horns towards the ground and play a melancholy song.

The horn of salvation is a cultural reference that God’s triumph was about to occur. This does not mean that Zacharias had a horn and played it. Rather, it is a metaphor saying the triumph of the gospel will occur. Considering the history of Christianity, the Gospels, especially Luke’s, were triumphant in spreading the word of Jesus Christ, which is love, grace, and peace throughout the world. Yes, we could look at today’s world and realize the gospel still has a long way to go.