Christmas meant Liberation Praise: Luke 1:68-75
\nLike many of his day, no one perhaps more than the pious priests, Zechariah longed for the day when the Roman occupation of the Land of Israel would end. Some scholars today are nervous about overdoing the Roman \u201coccupation\u201d of the Land, but Rome ruled the entire Roman empire and that meant that it was in control of the Land and the Temple \u2013 even if Jews were left to manage it for themselves. Still, Rome was there and it was a reminder that the \u201cexile was not completely over.\u201d (N.T. Wright has made much of the category \u201cend of the exile,\u201d and I find it historically justifiable and theologically potent.)
\nSo, when Zechariah hears the news from the Angel Gabriel and then sees this baby born to fulfill that promise of the Angel, Zechariah simply explodes into song. Some emphasize, perhaps with good reasons, that Zechariah\u2019s praise not only springs from the birth of his own son, but also because that son\u2019s birth is connected to the birth of Jesus, the Messiah. (Nolland\u2019s commentary emphasizes this \u2013 to the point of nearly eliminating John altogether.)
\nThis song is called the Benedictus because that is the first Latin word of the song.
\nIn this praise song because of the birth of his baby boy, John (Yohanan), Zechariah winds and wends his way through the pages of Scripture to these special words \u2013 and remember these words are evoked for no other reason than the promised birth of this boy:
\nGod has visited (NIV: \u201chas come\u201d). God\u2019s gracious visitation to redeem and liberate.
\nGod has ransomed (NIV: \u201chas redeemed\u201d): my favorite Christmas song, by far, is \u201cO Come, O Come Immanuel \u2013 and ransom captive Israel.\u201d
\nGod has raised up a horn of salvation.
\nGod has shown mercy and remembered his covenant.
\nGod has rescued us so we can serve him without fear.
\nFor these \u201cmighty acts\u201d of God, Zechariah blesses and praises God. Christmas, for Zechariah, was a time of intense praise to God for his redemptive work in liberating Israel from its condition of oppression. It might be easy to forget, with all these evocative terms now on the table, that this is a song of praise and that these terms are wrapped up in a package of praise rather than a listing of social activism duties.
\nThere is an unconscious weaving together here of socio-economic, political and spiritual redemption \u2013 and neither Zechariah nor Luke thought there was (or is) any reason to distinguish them or rank them. God\u2019s \u201csalvation\u2019 is the redemption of the entire person, the entire people, the entire world.
\nLiberation is the key word for Zechariah.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Christmas meant Liberation Praise: Luke 1:68-75 Like many of his day, no one perhaps more than the pious priests, Zechariah longed for the day when the Roman occupation of the Land of Israel would end. Some scholars today are nervous about overdoing the Roman \u201coccupation\u201d of the Land, but Rome ruled the entire Roman empire…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advent"],"yoast_head":"\n