Benedictus: The Song of Zechariah

The Songs of Advent

Introduction: It has been said that music is an outburst of the soul and the literature of the heart. Music played a huge role as the Christ was about to be born into the world. Mary sang God’s praises in her Magnificat. Zechariah blessed the God of Israel in his Benedictus. And the angels sang to the shepherds with their Gloria in Excelsis.

These songs of Advent have been a part of the Christian Church for two millennia. We celebrate this Advent season by singing these ancient songs which still speak to our hearts, lift up our souls and magnify our Lord.

Luke 1:67-79 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 and has redeemed his people. ⁶⁹ He has raised up a horn 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 fathers 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."

Do you like to sing? Perhaps you’re one of those who sings in the shower, in the car, in church … everywhere. Or perhaps you are one of those people who take seriously the Psalmist’s instruction to “make a joyful noice unto the Lord” (Psalm 95:1)

The other day I was driving in my car and singing along to a Koine song when my oldest daughter said, “Dad, don’t sing. You’re only allowed to sing in church … and with your microphone off.”

Twenty centuries ago, there was another called worker who was silenced – but not by his daughter, for he had no children. No, Zechariah the priest was silenced by the angel Gabriel.

Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, were both well along in years. They had no children because Elizabeth was barren. They had probably prayed for decades for a child, but time and age seemed to conspire together to close her womb. Both of them were “upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly” (Luke 1:6).

In a dramatic scene, while Zechariah was carrying out his priestly duties in Jerusalem’s temple, an angel of the Lord approached him and announced, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. … He will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous-- to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:13, 17).

Zechariah, his mind filled with fear and his heart gripped by unbelief, questioned the angel. “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years” (Luke 1:18).

The angel basically said, “I am Gabriel. I just came from God! That’s how I know! And this is how you will know!” (Luke 1:19-20) And as a result of his unbelief, Zechariah is made mute until the Word of the Lord is accomplished.

Zechariah isn’t silenced because of his singing voice, but because of his unbelieving heart, doubting mind and questioning voice.

Mute. The sound turned off in his life. The judgment of God for his sin of unbelief matched the character of his sin: emotionless, expressionless, stilled and lifeless.

Though this time of the year is supposed to be joyous and happy, we are often left feeling depressed, with moods as dark as the winter sky. Odds are that the next month isn’t going to run all that smoothly. There never seems to be enough money; gatherings and parties often have more tension than laughter; and those presents the kids wanted on December 7 aren’t always the same ones they want on December 24.

It is easy to lose sight of our Savior during this busy Advent season. This season becomes more about enduring than eager expectation. Amid all the parties, decorations and shopping; dealing with sugared-up kids, cramming for exams and shoveling piles of snow (sometime soon); burdened by enduring stress, sudden sickness and prolonged pain; these things all seek to rob us of our reasons to praise the Lord.

The spiritual forces of evil – Satan, the world and our sinful flesh love this time of the year! It is a time when our vision becomes short-sighted. We often cannot see past the glitter and glitz of the holiday season, and so we miss out on the manger and beyond that the cross and beyond that, still, is the sky. It is a time when we are so overwhelmed with holiday music, begging kids and daily schedules, that we become deaf to the voice of God proclaiming love, grace and mercy in the Gift of His Son. And because our eyes are clouded and our ears are deaf, our voice becomes mute. We don’t see God’s grace, we don’t hear God’s promises … so, then, we cannot sing God’s praises.

Blind, deaf and mute. Does this describe you this Advent season? Does your absence of praise match the abundance of your sin? Are you emotionless, expressionless, stilled and lifeless?

Zechariah was mute for 9 months as a judgment for his unbelief. How long we will continue in our self-imposed silence? We mute ourselves because of our unbelief, our failure to focus and our lack of faith.

At the circumcision of the child, where the naming ceremony occurs, the priest asked, “What name is given this child?” Zechariah couldn’t speak, so Elizabeth did. Everyone expected his name to be Zach Jr. (v59), but Elizabeth surprised everybody by saying, “No, he is to be called John.” No one else in the family had that name, so while the debate was going on, old Zechariah interrupted with some scribbling on a tablet: “His name is John.” The scribbling was an act of faith by a man under judgment!

The Holy Spirit then came upon Zechariah. His mouth was opened; his tongue loosened; the mute button was turned off and the volume turned up; and Zechariah preached like he had never preached before.

Understand that Zechariah spoke these words. He didn’t actually sing them. But the Christian Church has been singing these words of Zechariah for 20 centuries now. It is the song we call the Benedictus. Benedictus is Latin for the first words of his song: “Blessed be.” This is an amazing song of renewed faith from a man who knew his Old Testament Scriptures. A man who could now see that though his son was but an infant, and the Messiah was not yet born, it is as though everything was already accomplished. Notice that the Benedictus begins with the past tense – He has come, has redeemed, has raised up the horn of salvation.” Zechariah can speak like this because he believes, and he knows that once God has begun a good thing, it is as good as done.

The words that come from Zechariah’s now-opened mouth still speak to us and have meaning for our hearts, minds and mouths.

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people.” God doesn’t just ignore sin – the sin that mutes our praise. He must forgive sin. And in order to forgive it, He must first come by entering our world to redeem us with the life and blood of the Son of God.

“He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.” The shofar is a ram’s horn that is used as a trumpet to annouce a celebration. It is the celebration of salvation by means of redemption.

“(As he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us-- to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham:  to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.” A promise given long ago is now coming to fulfillment – the fulfillment of freedom. God frees us from the same enemies who plagued Abraham and his descendants. Not enemies like Egyptians, Canaanites or even Romans, “for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). These are the enemies that mute us. But the coming Christ has defeated them and opened our mouths in praise and blessing to the God of Israel.

Zechariah concludes his song: “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, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” He sang of salvation, forgiveness, mercy, light, life and peace. Instead of the harsh and just judgment of God that we rightly deserve, God is gracious, kind, merciful and forgiving. And the infant that Zechariah is holding in his arms would be the prophet who would prepare the way for this salvationof God by being the forerunner for the long-awaited Messiah.

Socrates taught for 40 years, but his life and teaching have made no songs. Plato taught for 50 years, but he did nothing to cause the human soul to blossom with life. Yet, Jesus came and lived for only 33 years on this earth and taught only 3 years. His teachings, His Person, His Promises, His Power, His Peace … Christ’s Forgiveness and Salvation won in the manger, in the river, in the desert, upon the cross and in the tomb, have inspired the souls of Raphael, Michelangelo and Leonardo de Vinci to paint glorious scenes; they have moved the hearts of Dante and Milton to erupt in poetic verse; they have touched the lives of Haydn, Handel, Bach and Mendelssohn to compose masterpieces of praise to Christ. Indeed, it is said that Jesus Christ changed Mendelssohn’s music from a minor key to a major key.

This is the picture of what happened to Zechariah. The music of the Lord invaded his soul. It is the music of wonder and joy and freedom and light when the Word of God comes in power to announce that salvation is at hand.

Though I may have to keep my microphone off when singing, there is nothing I enjoy more than turning my microphone on to preach the Word to you and turning on the lights for those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to shine the light of Christ into our self-imposed darkness so that your unbelieving souls may burst forth with the song of a heart set free. Friends, let this Advent song be yours today.

Whether or not you have the ability to sing should not affect your attitude of singing. In Zechariah’s song are contained amazing words of salvation: God has come into your life and redeemed you (v68), He has been faithful to His promises (v70), He has delivered you from your enemies (v 71), He has shown you mercy (v72), He has rescued you from fear (v 74), He has declared you holy and without sin (v75) and He has brought life, life and peace to you (v79). This song is your invitation to end the stillness of your soul and the muteness of your voice. Now that’s something to sing about every day! Amen.

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people.” Amen.