67 His 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.
69 He has raised up a horn[c] of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71 salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to show mercy to our ancestors
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
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,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79 to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
John the Baptist is born before Jesus in order to point people to Jesus and encourage people to believe in him. In this song, Zechariah, the father of John, worships God for sending John to prepare the way for Jesus.
Question 1
According to these verses, what will John’s work be? Look specifically at verse 76.
Question 2
Zechariah describes Jesus as ‘the Lord’. What does this say about Jesus?
Question 3
What is the message John Baptist has come to announce?
Question 4
How does Jesus secure ‘forgiveness of sins’ for his people? Look specifically at verse 77.
Pray:
Thank you, Lord, for sending John the Baptist to pave the way for Jesus. Thank you that Jesus is the ‘Lord’—God himself has become man! Thank you that forgiveness of sins is available to whoever believe in Jesus. Help us to trust and believe in Jesus today!
