Luke 1:67-80
67 Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
68 “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people,
69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,
70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,
Who have been since the world began,
71 That we should be saved from our enemies
And from the hand of all who hate us,
72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers
And to remember His holy covenant,
73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
74 To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;
For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people
By the remission of their sins,
78 Through the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;
79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
“To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. (vss. 74-75)
In the Small Catechism, we confess that Jesus has “purchased and won us from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil.” So often we think of our enemies as being people. But our true enemies are sin, death, and the devil. If we do not understand this, we will fail to love those for whom Jesus died.
Persecution should not be a surprise to believers. Persecution can be feared, that is normal. We can face persecution confident that we are already victors over it. Courage is standing firm even as our knees knock, teeth chatter, and hearts beat hard.
Believers, however, are delivered from sin, death, and the devil. We sin, but sin has no power over us—full payment for it has been made. We may die, but death is now the door to life. Christ accomplished this for us by becoming man, tramping down death through death. We do not need to fear those who can destroy the body, but the One who has power over body and soul; the One who in love sent His Son to redeem us. Through Christ He has revealed that He’s on our side!
The Word they still shall let remain Nor any thanks have for it;
He’s by our side upon the plain With His good gifts and Spirit.
And take they our life, Goods’ fame, child, and wife,
Though these all be gone, Our vict’ry has been won
The kingdom ours remaineth. (TLH 262, LSB 656)
Let us pray: Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come and help us by Your might, that the sins which weigh us down may be quickly lifted by Your grace and mercy; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
