Apr 19 - Prepare the Way

Read Luke 1:68-79

Context: Zechariah, the priest, was the husband of Elizabeth. They were childless, and on the day Zechariah was chosen to go into the temple of the Lord to burn incense, an angel of the Lord appeared to him. He was told that he would become a father, and because of his disbelief Zechariah was unable to speak until his son, John the Baptist, was born. This was his prophesy once John was born.

Text:
68"Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come and has redeemed his people.
69He has raised up a horn[a] of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
70(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
72to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
73the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
75in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76And 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,
77to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace." (NIV)
Footnotes:
Luke 1:69 Horn here symbolizes strength.
taken from www.biblegateway.com

So the time had come. God knew that Israel needed their savior, and he set the plan in motion. However, he knew the Israelites doubting hearts wouldn't accept Jesus as the Christ because he didn't fit the mold of their expectations. So he surrounded this child with a series of witnesses and helpers. Not because Jesus needed the help, but to ensure that the people were fully prepared to accept him.

God does the same thing today....he's prepared us to be the ones to "go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins" (note, it doesn't say that we will forgive sins, only that we will give the knowledge about salvation through forgiveness). Luckily we don't have to wear camel hair and eat locusts!