Reverend Robert Hudson, Littleby Baptist Church
Before Jesus was born Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah. We are told that Elizabeth and Zechariah were righteous in God’s sight and lived without blame. They did what they could to follow God. Elizabeth is John the Baptists mother, and it was during Mary’s stay that John was born.
Zechariah, who could not talk throughout the pregnancy spoke confirming John’s name and then prophesized. The first part of the prophesy was about Jesus.
“Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and provided redemption for his people. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, just as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets in ancient times; salvation from our enemies and from the hand of those who hate us. He has dealt mercifully with our ancestors and remembered his holy covenant— the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant that we, having been rescued from the hand of our enemies, would serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness in his presence all our days.” John 1:68-75
A couple of the key points in these verses are great reminders for us as we prepare our hearts to celebrate the birth of the King of kings and Lord of lords. Through Jesus, God has provided redemption for His people. A truth the Jewish people may not have understood then. A truth that we can clearly see in the Bible with Jesus paying the price for our sins on that cross. When Zechariah prophesied about the ‘horn of salvation’, he was stating that Jesus would have the strength to save.
For the complete column, see this week’s edition of the Centralia Fireside Guard
