THE PROPHET OF THE HIGHEST!

THE PROPHET OF THE HIGHEST!

Luke 1:76-80

76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,

78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

          While you are wrapping the last of your packages and singing “White Christmas,” remember that the first Christmas story was played out in desert scenes and dusty places without much glitter and glitz. Elizabeth had conceived in her old age and would give birth to the son we now call John the Baptist. He was six months older than Messiah and would prepare the way for him. Luke chapter one tells us John’s specific purposes.

          To give knowledge of salvation! John declared that Messiah would bring salvation through the remission of their sins. Remission means “to send away, to dismiss, as a debt.” Because the fall made us spiritually bankrupt and unable to pay our great debt. Jesus would take our debt and pay it on the cross. This is the very essence of the good news.

          Through the tender mercy of our God! The word “tender” in verse 78 is the Greek word for “spleen” and indicates an intestinal pity. It was a pity that was felt in the gut! Oh, how He loves us! That love produced a plan for the removal of the source of hostilities between us.

          The Dayspring means “sunrise!” Matt 4:16 says: “The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.” Darkness symbolizes our ignorance of God and His holy ways. But John tells us in John 3:19 that “men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.” We have heard it said that “ignorance is bliss” but really – ignorance is death – because John 1:4 tells us that “that life was the light of men.”

          To guide our feet into the way of peace! Travelers, overtaken with darkness and without torch or lantern, would sit or camp until sunrise lest they fall into some pit or ditch. John announced that Jesus would guide our feet into the way of peace. This is the song of the angels when they sang “peace on earth – good will to men.”

Silent Night

Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love's pure light;
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.

Dear Lord, our world stumbles in darkness and there is no peace. Come and bring us redemption through the forgiveness of sins. AMEN