A Thrill of Hope for Those Who Sit in Darkness
December 21, 2025
Preached by Ron Smith
Scripture Reading
Luke 1:57-80
57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” 62 And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. 64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, 66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.
67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
68 “Blessed be 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 from of old,
71 that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
This morning, I want to invite you into the house of Zachariah and Elizabeth. It is a joyous moment to be here. It was a long and painful wait, but in their old age the Lord has blessed them with a son. He will be no ordinary child but has been set a part by the Lord for a special ministry of preparation. He will prepare the way of the Lord. He will prepare the world for the Light of God that was coming to bring light to the darkest recesses of society.
What I want to do this morning is read through the passage in a devotional way. Meaning we will read a few verses and stop to reflect on what is being said. Then at the end I want to use Zechariah’s words to bring everything together and see how this story can be applied to our life. Let’s start with verse 57.
Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord shad shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
As we enter the house, we realize very quickly that this is a time of immense joy. Obviously, Elizabeth and Zechariah felt the joy. But we are told that the whole community was ecstatic and has come to rejoice with them.
This scene reminds me somewhat of when our oldest child was born. We had imagined a quiet space. A time when Amy and I could enjoy our newborn little girl with a head full of dark hair. Of course, we would need to let our parents in on the action. And, naturally, the great grandparents. And of course, aunts and uncles would need to be allowed in on this intimate setting. And there are the cousins, can’t overlook the cousins. And, the pastor and his wife have got to be there.
Before we knew it there were nearly 20 people in the room passing our little Winsor around like a plate of cookies. It was a joyous occasion.
But in the case of Zechariah and Elizabeth, the joy was on a whole other level. And they were not alone. Their neighbors and their relatives were rejoicing with them. They came because the Lord had shown great mercy to Elizabeth we are told. Literally that could be translated that the Lord had magnified his mercy on Elizabeth.
This serves as an example for us to rejoice with those who rejoice. To enter into people’s joys. It’s not always easy. We are busy people. Lots on our minds. There are lots of responsibilities. Lots of things to do. And yet, the Bible calls us to lay aside our busyness, our good busyness, in order to take part in what the Lord is doing in the life of those around us. Rejoice in the Lord for his mercy in the life of others!
59 And ton the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “No; uhe shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.”
The festivities stretch into the eighth day. For the Jews, the 8th day was the day when a male child would be circumcised. Circumcision marked the covenant God made with Abraham—a promise of blessing, he would become a great nation, and all peoples would be blessed through him. Circumcising every male child on the eighth day identified them as God’s chosen people and served as a lasting reminder of God’s covenant he made long ago.
Now, curiously, the child has not received a name yet. So, the crowd assumed that Zechariah and Elizabeth would keep with tradition by naming him after one of their relatives of upstanding reputation. But Elizabeth interrupts their plan. She brings the news that tradition would be broken. The child’s name would be John according to what the Angel told Zechariah.
62 And vthey made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63 And he asked for wa writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. 64 xAnd immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, zblessing God. 65 And afear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all bthe hill country of Judea, 66 and all who heard them claid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For dthe hand of the Lord was with him.
Apparently, everyone was scandalized by Elizabeth’s intention that the child would be called John. So, they turn their attention to Zechariah. Surely he will support their cause and maintain tradition.
And here Zechariah’s faith comes to full expression. He clearly writes that the child will be named John. 9 months plus 8 days, he had been silent. All that time he had to wrestle with his doubt. To remember why he was mute - his lack of faith that he expressed to the angel. His unbelief had turned to wholehearted belief.
The discipline of the Lord had a positive effect on his life. Perhaps the silence served as a type of thorn in his flesh – a difficulty that he needed as it reminded him of how easy it is to not believe the word of the Lord. Without his muteness he could have easily lost vision of the bigger purpose of the role his child would play. He could have just settled into the status quo and ended up naming him Zechariah. “John could just be a nickname.”
Isn’t true that our hearts are just too prone to not believe God’s word? The discipline of God sharpens our faith and causes it to grow. So, when God is disciplining you, stop bemoaning and complaining about it, we should allow it to work in us.
Zechariah confirming the name of the baby showed his complete focus on giving God all the glory. He didn’t need a child named after him so that he could be remembered. No, he wanted to be a part of advancing God’s plan so that people would see this child and not think of Zechariah, but of God’s mercy.
And then finally, Zechariah starts speaking. All that time to think about what the first thing he would say. What would you say? Well, the first thing out of his lips was blessing to God. No airing of dirty laundry – “why did you make me mute for 9 months and then make me wait a whole extra 8 days?” No, he is totally enraptured at the marvel of what God was doing.
God’s plan is taking shape. Everyone is talking. The news is spreading. Everyone is curious as to what kind of child this would indeed be because the hand of the Lord was with him.
Well, the community didn’t fully understand what all was really happening, but Zechariah is about to tell them under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
68 “Blessed be 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 from of old,
71 that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
Zechariah’s words push us to see the bigger picture of what God is doing. He has visited and redeemed his people. Notice the past tense. Even though Jesus was not yet born, the plans of God are as good as done.[1]
God comes to visit his people in order to save them. It is a comforting visit. It is the kind of reassuring visit you want and you welcome.
Throughout the history of Israel this idea of the Lord visiting becomes something of a future hope.[2]There was an expectation that there would be an ultimate visitation, a Divine visitation, that would bring final judgement and final deliverance.
And so, Zecheriah referring to this visitation of the Lord sets us up for the ultimate Divine visitation of the Son of God to redeem his people. Jesus is the horn of salvation that will bring about this great salvation. He is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abrham all those years ago that John’s circumcision that very day reminded them of.
This visitation will save his people from their enemies. “From the hand of all who hate us,” Zechariah adds. Wouldn’t that be nice? Don’t you sometimes want to be delivered from the those who hate you? From your enemies.
What Jesus was going to do would allow God’s people to serve him without fear because their enemies would be vanquished. I love the way it says it. Verses 73-74, if we cut out some of the descriptive words and phrase, the base sentence is “to grant us that we might serve him.
God grants that we might serve him. Now, that might seem a bit odd. If I tell you, “From this day forth I grant that you might serve me” that sounds horrible. Egotistical. But when God says it, it is good. He is not cruel and unfair. Our serving him is for our good. As Jesus says,
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
How does the granting take place? How do we become servants of God?
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
Can you imagine how strange it would be to talk to a father of a newborn baby who only talked about all the other babies at the hospital? That’s essentially what Zechariah is doing here. He has not said a word about his son John yet. Everything he has said until now is about Jesus. Finally, we make it to two verses that speak of John. But even here Zechariah is content to speak only of his son’s role in God’s plan of salvation.
John’s role would be that to prepare the way of the Lord. It was an important ministry, but secondary. He was not to be the main attraction, but rather to point people to the main attraction.
John must have learned this lesson early on in his life. Perhaps Zechariah shared this miraculous story with him hundreds of times - the visit of the angel, his inability to speak for months, John’s birth, this prophecy and the role John was to play. This helped John to grow and become strong in spirit. He was being prepared for the day he would begin his ministry of preparation.
This all spills over into John’s life. John would one day say of Jesus, “He must increase and I must decrease.”
John was to give knowledge of salvation to the people. But this time we see that the salvation was not deliverance from the enemies out there, but the from the enemy within. Forgiveness of sins was coming. That is how we are granted to serve God. Our sins are forgiven.
And as quick as we start to hear about John, Zechariah moves on. He gets back to the main theme - Jesus. And these final two verses really sum up the whole passage quite well. Here is where we will make a transition – try to tie everything up and apply this passage to our life.
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of ipeace.”
There is light coming. The Light. The Sunrise will visit us from on high. Not the sunset. There is hope. A new day is dawning. And Jesus as the Sunrise will give light. He gives light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
Sitting in that kind of darkness is the experience of every one of us. We are surrounded by darkness, and we hope for something different. We hope for light.
Why do we sit in darkness?
It may be because of our own sin. Sin is destructive. Those things we do, the thoughts and attitudes we have that are not in line with what the Lord desires for our life will destroy you. You may be sitting in the darkness of broken relationships, a derailed career, family members who don’t want anything to do with you. All because of the sins you have committed. The shadow of death engulfs you.
The darkness we sit in could be a result of the sin of others. People do us wrong. You know how frustrating it is when you try so hard to treat others well, and yet, arguments ensue. People take advantage of your kindness. There is no respect. And the worst is that you don’t see a way out. Have you ever been in conflict with someone and you just can’t see eye to eye and you wonder, how can this ever be resolved? Those are dark times. It is easy to lose hope, to be given to despair.
The darkness could be your own sin. It could be a result of the sin of others.
3) The darkness you sit in could be a result of the fallenness of this world we live in. Adam and Eve introduced sin into the world, and it has corrupted every aspect. We face death, we face sickness, we face the general weakness that our finite bodies have.
This is where it really seems unfair. Who do you blame? If someone sins against you, there is someone to blame. But when sickness comes knocking on the door, who do you blame? When you lose your job because the company needs to downsize, what do you do? When a fire takes your house, when a flood carries away everything you own… Sometimes the wicked prosper and you don’t. Why?
We live in a dark world. The darkness is thick and the shadow of death is long. Don’t you feel it?
Darkness is all-encompassing. It knows no friends, it makes no alliances. It does not come to the bargaining table to work out a deal with you. It just simply takes over your life and there is nothing you can do.
What resources do you have to make your way out of the darkness? The only hope is light. And we are utterly helpless. We cannot produce light. Light must be shone upon us. It must be given to us.
This is what Zechariah’s prophecy says. “the sunrise shall visit us from on high
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
John’s ministry was to prepare the way for the Light of the world to come and to vanquish the darkness. Light defeats darkness. The darkness does not overcome the Light. Believe that!
If you are sitting in darkness, if you have given up and have pulled down the shades of your soul, look to Jesus. He will light up your life. He brings light to the darkest recesses of your heart. Come to the Light.
Application
Don’t you resonate with what Zechariah is prophesying here? The darkness is real. And the sightings of grace and joy are real too. John is born. Great news. The darkness has been lifted in some way for Zechariah and Elisabeth.
But what will they do as they move forward in life, and they feel the darkness starting to encircle them yet again? You know the feeling. You look around and the darkness is at times just seems to come back and come back with a vengeance. You trust in Jesus. You know that he is the Light. You have his peace. But the shadow of death still reaches you.
In those moments we need to trust in God’s power. I get this from verse 69. God “has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.”
This image of the horn is one of strength and power. It is the horn of an animal, like an ox. If an ox is throwing his head around, you do not want to be anywhere near the horns. You will go flying or lose your life.
Trusting in God’s power, trusting in Jesus as the horn of salvation, is like getting behind the ox and following where it leads. It is steady power. Unquestionable power. It is not some superhero power that we might want. Like God is going to zap us and we come the Christian super-light throwers.
His power comes when we follow him one step at a time, in the mundane everyday life. It’s grasping hold of his promises and trusting him every step of the way. Our temptation is to get ahead of him. To try and make it out of the darkness the quickest way possible. To do everything but trust him. But he is calling us to get behind him and plod along. To wait on him. He gives strength to the weak.
Jesus is moving forward busting a hole through the darkness. Wait on him. He is breaking up the darkness like an ox plowing a hard rocky field. And you might not see it now, but one day the work will be complete, and we will look back and we will see the field he plowed overflowing with crops producing a harvest 100 times more than we could ever have imagined.
The darkness we feel in life can cause us to feel weak and powerless but Jesus plows through the darkness and gives us strength.
[1] The idea of God visiting his people to redeem them is seen in the Exodus. When Moses arrives in Egypt and explains to the elders of Israel what the Lord was about to do, we are told that “believed, and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped” (Ex 4:31).
[2] Isaiah 10:3 (ESV says day of punishment, but word is visitation); 1 Peter 2:12; Luke 19:44