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Sabbath School Lessons by Dr. Robert LaMay

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Blessed Art Thou

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December 14, 2008

Lesson: Luke 1:39-45

Key Verse: Luke 1:42

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Introduction

The Holy Spirit brings praise to the heart and lips of the Psalmist, a praise which can only be for the promised Savior to come: “He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend (to fear, to morally revere) is his name” (Psalm 111:9). Zechariah prophesies by the power of the Holy Spirit, speaking of the same promised which was kept before his eyes: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people” (Luke 1:68). The Lord God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, has kept the heavenly covenant. Christ has come and redeemed his people. As David and Isaiah and Zechariah rested upon the promises of God, we too rest upon his promises. His promises or Covenant is kept in Christ, the Son of God, whose name is Joshua, for he has saved his people from their sins. Therefore, “Let us learn to rest on promises, and embrace them as Zechariah did. Let us not doubt that every word of God about His people concerning things future shall as surely be fulfilled as every word about them has been fulfilled concerning things past. Their safety is secured by promise … We have a seal on every promise which Zacharias never saw. We have the seal of Christ’s blood to assure us that what God has promised God will perform” (J. C. Ryle, Exposition of Luke)..

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It was Zechariah’s time, as a priest of the temple, to burn incense to the Lord. An angel of the Lord appeared to him, “standing on the right side of the altar of incense” (Luke 1). The angel told him to fear not, for his wife Elizabeth would bear him a son. His name would be called John. The angel promised that Zechariah would have joy and gladness, “and many shall rejoice at his birth.” God’s people still rejoice today. The promise continues. John would be filled with the Holy Spirit, “even from his mother’s womb.” The promise of redemption shines forth: “And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.”

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Zechariah questioned the angel of the Lord as to the promise of a child and received a sign he could not question: “Behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed.” Elizabeth soon conceived, and when her time came, she brought forth a son. Zechariah and Elizabeth obeyed the command of the Lord, naming the boy, John. When he wrote his name upon the tablet, his mouth was opened, and Zechariah’s first words shouted the praise of God; and all the people questioned in their hearts, “What manner of child shall this be?”

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God Has Spoken –Luke 1:67-70

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Zacharias filled with the Holy Spirit, and he begins to prophesy. He is to declare the truth by the inspiration of the Spirit of God. He is to answer the unspoken question upon the hearts of God’s people, including those of him and Elizabeth, “What manner of child shall this be?”  Zechariah’s praise begins with “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel.” It is the Lord alone who is worthy to be praised and receive honor because of birth of John. Why? Because it is the Lord God of the Covenant who has visited his people, has redeemed his people, and has raised up a “horn of salvation.” The horn of salvation refers to glory and power of the grace of God to save. The Lord has done this according to his promise, which he spoke through his prophets. This visitation and work of redemption came, as promised, through the house of his servant David.

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Discussion: What three reasons are given for praising and honoring the Lord God of Israel?

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Salvation and Deliverance –Luke 1:71-75

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What will be the result of these promises? The first promise is that the Lord’s people would be saved from their enemies, from the hands those who hate them. This promise is also for his people today, for we are taught to pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven … deliver us from evil: for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever” (Matt. 6:10-13). Within the Kingdom of our Lord, the King of kings will save, protect, and claim the victory over all evil.

Our Lord has also promised that his people will be able to perform mercy and remember his “holy covenant.” God’s Covenant is an oath, which he swore to uphold to “father Abraham.” Our Lord would grant to us, who were delivered out of the hands of the enemy, the ability and desire to serve him without fear. Our service would be in “holiness and righteousness.” We are to obediently serve our Lord before his presence all the days of our lives. Our Lord delivers us out of darkness into his marvelous light, into his kingdom. In this new relationship we have the Covenant fulfilled that says the Lord will be our God and we will be his people. In this relationship we serve the King of kings, our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus.

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Discussion: How would you express the promise and the performance of God’s Kingdom?

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Prophet of the Highest –Luke 1:76-80

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Zechariah, inspired by the Holy Spirit, turns to his newborn son, John. What will be John’s position in the Kingdom? First, John is to be the “prophet of the Highest;” for he will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways. John, God’s prophet, is to perform his service before the presence of the person of God the Father. He is a chosen servant who will declare that given command which all of God’s prophets heard: “Thus saith the Lord!” In so doing John is to prepare the way of the Lord, especially that of God the Son.

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His message is clear. He is to give “knowledge of salvation unto” God’s people. They will receive this knowledge through the “remission of their sins.” There is only one way to know the salvation of the Lord, and that is through the forgiveness of our sins. This is the glorious message of salvation that God’s people have been released from the sin and guilt, and so the deserved punishment thereof, through the shed blood of Christ. He released us from sin and guilt by taking upon himself what we deserved, the eternal wrath of God the Father. Those who transgress the moral law of God are called “children of wrath.” Thomas Watson wrote that God’s wrath “deprives of the smiles of God’s face. It is enough to be excluded from his presence: in whose presence is fullness of joy Psa 16:11.” The wonderful message of salvation is given through the tender mercy of God. God has visited his people, to give light to those who sit in darkness “and in the shadow of death. (Ps. 23:4; 1 Peter. 2:9-10). Those who come to Christ repentance and faith are those who are pardoned: “Pardoned people are the only blessed people” (M. Henry); as Scripture testifies, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” (Heb 10:16-17).

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Discussion: What service would John give before the presence of the Lord?

Lessons are based on the International Sunday School Lessons for Christian Teaching, copyright © 2009 by the Committee on the Uniform Series.