O, Gracious Visitation!
11/17 Reading Portions: 1 Chronicles 9-10; Hebrews 12; Amos 6; Luke 1:39-80
Online Bible Audio/Readings Links (ESV)
11/17 Reading Portions: 1 Chronicles 9-10; Hebrews 12; Amos 6; Luke 1:39-80
Luke 1:68
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people...”
NEAR
After nine months of silence because of his disbelief; after three trimesters of Elizabeth’s pregnancy whereas Zechariah was held captive to the last words he heard— Gabriel’s message that he should be the father of the forerunner to Israel’s Messiah; after forty weeks of no sound except the still, small, internal voice, Zechariah’s first utterance was a testimony to God’s amazing and wonderful grace!
Because God is holy in His eternal justice, He would have been justified to send Adam and Eve to their judgment and destroyed the planet they tainted with their disobedience. Yet God did not. Because God is holy in His eternal goodness, He would have been justified to redeem sinful mankind from a distance. Yet God did not. What did He do instead? He drew near.
God visited Israel to redeem His people. Although He declared it from before the foundation of the earth (1 Pet 1:18-20), when it actually happened, when the event of His visitation took place, it stunned the entire heavenly host— God became a flesh and bone human being, born as a babe! He could have been born in a great palace; yet He was not. Instead, Jesus was born to humble parents and laid in an animal’s feeding trough. He could have been educated by a personalized prophet; yet He was not. Instead, Jesus studied the Scriptures at a local synagogue in a disreputable town in Galilee. He could have commanded the mightiest army as His escort and surrounded Himself with servants at His beckon call; yet He did not. Instead, Jesus walked in poverty, preached with authority, and poured Himself into training fishermen, a tax collector, and a zealot to become heavenly shepherds. Jesus could have healed the diseased with a spoken word, and a few He did; however, for the gospel’s sake, Jesus did otherwise. Instead, Jesus drew near to sinners. He touched lepers; He dined with tax collectors; He was thronged by crowds who wanted temporal blessings; for Jesus came near. Jesus visited sinful men and laid down His life so that we, who were dead in sins and trespasses, may have life in His holy name. Hallelujah! What a Savior!