This post discusses the second half -- the second sentence, actually -- of Zacharias' praise after his son was born and he became able to speak again. In the first sentence of his praise, Zacharias discussed the coming Redeemer and the deliverance He would bring. In the second sentence, he speaks more specifically about his son, John. He describes John's role as a forerunner and lays out some of the great things God would do through him.
First, in verse 76, John was to be a "prophet of the Most High". What was his mission? What was he going to do? He was to "go before" the Lord and "prepare His ways".
How was he going to "prepare His ways"? This is described for us in verse 77: He was to tell God's people about his plan of salvation. This plan of salvation was radically different from what the Jews of that time may have been expecting. It was not deliverance from Rome, or any thing else physical. It was a spiritual deliverance. Jesus was coming to free His people from their sins. That would be the role of the Messiah. John's mission was to spread that good news.
Verse 78 describes more completely what the salvation will be like. This forgiveness will not be by works; it will not be something earned. Rather, God will grant forgiveness because of his "tender mercy". The adjective "tender" tells us something about God -- He shows Himself to be kind and gentle towards His children. The "Sunrise from on high", the Sun of Righteousness, will come to us -- not coming to us to crush and overwhelm us, but to "visit us", to commune with us.
He is coming (v. 79) to bring light to those who sit in darkness and guide our feet on the path of peace. This is a comparison to two groups of people. There are those, on the one hand, who have no knowledge of Christ. They are in darkness, willful ignorance of Him. They "sit" in this darkness, indicating that they have accepted this condition. To some of these, Christ will shine his light and convert them into those who are on "the way of peace". Note that the Christian life is portrayed as a "way". The Christian life is elsewhere portrayed as a "walk". It is a progression, a growing into greater and greater knowledge and light. (See Prov. 4:18)
We are called to be like John the Baptist. What he was about is what we should be about: letting our light shine in all that we say or do to point others to Christ.
Finally, a quick note on verse 80: Notice that John the Baptist did a unique thing. Normally, a son of a priest would be expected to follow his father into the ministry, first serving him, then training and finally becoming a priest himself. But instead, John went out to the desert. He did not grow up within and was not trained by the religious power structure of the time. He was taught by God out in the desert. God was instituting a new thing -- the Old Covenant system was passing away.
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