At this time, I would like to invite you to turn in your Bibles to the gospel of Luke. We are in Luke chapter 1. And good news, we are finally finishing up chapter 1 today. It's been a long journey in the first chapter. And again, just to encourage us all, it's not because of the fact that we're going at a snail's pace, but as you can tell, there are 80 verses in chapter 1. And Luke has some abnormally long chapters. But in any case, it's great to know that we are making our way through the Gospel of Luke, and I'm excited to be in this particular portion of God's Word with you this morning. Today, we are in Chapter 1 of Luke's Gospel, from verses 76 down to verse 80. Let me read this for us as our scripture reading. This is what God's Word says. Speaking of John the Baptist, Zechariah prophesies, and you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High. For you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby 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. And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel. Would you pray with me? Father, again, we pray that you would minister to us by your Holy Spirit, teach us your word, convict us, implant your word deep into our hearts, And Lord, we pray that as we meditate on the things that you have written and preserved for us to know over the span of thousands of years, Lord, that they would impact us and that they would transform us and make us more into the kinds of people you want us to be for your glory. We ask all of this in Jesus name. Amen. Today, we continue in this second part of Zechariah's prophecy, which he spoke in response to the birth of his son, John. And as a reminder, this prophecy, which began in verse 68, this prophecy has two main parts. And we looked at the first part last week, in which Zechariah began first by focusing on God and praising Him for the great work of redemption that He has finally brought to their doorstep. And today in the second part, which begins in verse 76, Zechariah shifts his focus to his son, John, commissioning him to the calling that God had ordained for him. And in this passage, we gain insight into the very important mission that God assigned John to accomplish. And that mission we learn is to prepare the people, as we've seen before, but more in detail now, to prepare the people by teaching them the basic fundamentals of salvation. The very core and kernel of what salvation is, which we find out here to be the receiving of God's mercy. receiving God's mercy. To be saved is to receive mercy from the Holy God. It's a very, very simple message, isn't it? But you know, as elementary of a concept as this may be, it is one that the church is sorely in need of hearing repeatedly. Because all over the world, and particularly in this country, churches are filled with people who have never actually grasped even this basic truth. They've learned to assimilate into the culture of the church. They've learned to emulate the Christian behavior. they have not understood nor experienced genuine salvation, because they have not understood what it means to not only receive mercy from God, but to need mercy from God. And so it's imperative that God's church regularly returns to this basic essential truth of what it means to be saved. And likewise, the reason God called John to teach this basic lesson to the people in his day is because John's contemporary situation was not very different from what I just described of ours, namely a widespread misconception of what salvation is. You see, as Zechariah now turns to his newborn son, John, in his prophecy, he begins by saying in verse 76, a new child will be called the prophet of the most high, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways. See, God called John to get the people ready by taking on the special role of being a prophet. Now a prophet, is simply a spokesperson for God, a divine messenger with a divine message. And the purpose of this message that John would deliver was this in verse 77, to give not salvation because that was the Messiah's role. That was Jesus's role to give salvation, to, to procure salvation, accomplish salvation, to save people. But John's purpose was to give knowledge. of salvation to his people and the forgiveness of their sins. See, John's mission was to give people a true understanding, a true knowledge of salvation, the forgiveness of sins. That is salvation, the receiving of God's mercy. See, John's role was to clarify to everybody what true salvation is because the people had a fundamental misunderstanding of what they needed to be saved from. And that's why John was sent to give knowledge of salvation, to break them out of spiritual ignorance. You know, the people of John's day, they wanted to be saved. They were eager for God to come and save them. They welcomed salvation. but only a certain version of it according to their liking and their desires. And as I've mentioned before many weeks ago, The first century Jews were looking at salvation primarily from a political lens. As you know, by this point in the history of Israel, the Jews, they had returned to the land, but they never really had any political autonomy. They were physically living in the land of Israel, but it was Roman territory by the point of the first century. It had been nearly 600 years since they last had their own king, a Jewish king, the king of Judah. in their own sovereign land. So the people were poor, they were weak, they were deprived of the benefits of being an independent nation. And each household could feel the oppression of being under Roman rule, having to serve Caesar and even to pay, render to him exorbitant taxes. And in all of this, Their minds became fixated on seeking salvation from these external circumstances. And so you mentioned salvation to them, hey, salvation is here. And they go, oh, sure, let's do it. Yeah, I'm excited for that. We want nothing more than to be saved from the Romans. You see, their hearts were heavily conditioned to look at salvation from, earthly perspective. That was their problem. They assumed that their primary need of salvation was from an earthly problem in order to gain earthly benefits. This was the salvation they naturally desired. And so God was sending John to clarify to everyone about the salvation, not the salvation that they desire, but the salvation that they actually needed. Because their greatest and most urgent problem was a spiritual one. The problem wasn't because of external forces of evil, but the problem was an internal evil. Because they, along with the rest of mankind, were guilty of sin before a holy God. And they needed to be forgiven. See, what they needed to be saved from was not the Romans. but from God and His righteous wrath. You know, that's what salvation is. You know, what we are saved from is not just some arbitrary location in the universe called hell. What we need to be saved from, what salvation is, is being saved from God, from the justice and the wrath of God. And that is what this country needs most. To be forgiven by God. That's what this world needs. It doesn't take a spiritual person to want to be saved from economic hardship. It doesn't take a born again soul to want to be delivered from failing health. It doesn't require a person to be regenerated. Jesus said, what good is it to gain the whole, but lose your soul. You know, there are many who enthusiastically seek after benefits from God, but there are few who truly seek God. with their greatest interest and concern being whether God is pleased with them, or if He is displeased with them, and what can be done to rectify the problem if God is indeed displeased with them. And in John's day, just as in our day, There were very few who had any concern for the things of God, the spiritual realities, the eternal things, not the earthly things. And so the message God gave John to deliver was to tell them what you need most. The salvation you really need is to be reconciled to God because you have offended him with your sin. The true salvation you need is mercy from your maker and righteous judge. You know, it's easy to talk about God's mercy in very happy-go-lucky terms, you know, filled with butterflies and rainbows. But when we really think about it, the fact that God calls us to receive His mercy, His mercy, if you really think about that word, it tells us not only something about God, namely that He is full of mercy and He's a merciful God, but it tells us something about us, that we are guilty. And I think this, This point is the greatest stumbling block for many that impedes them from truly receiving salvation that God freely offers. Because everyone wants salvation. Everyone wants heaven and eternal life. People are generally okay, in fact, with the concept of faith, so long as it's about believing something positive about themselves, believing something positive about their future. But not everyone is willing to believe that they have done something wrong and that they are criminals. Not everyone is willing to believe something evil about themselves. And that as criminals, they are entitled only to punishment and the penalty of the law of God. We have to understand this is the occasion for God's mercy and forgiveness. This is why forgiveness exists in the first place. Forgiveness applies solely for those who have committed an offense against someone. You don't forgive someone who has done no wrong. And so the fact that we would receive God's mercy means that you and I have each individually and personally offended God. We have offended Him by using the life that He gave to us for the purpose of gratifying our selfish desires rather than living to please Him who made us and called us to enjoy Him and find our delight in Him. We have offended Him by rebelling against His commandments that are true and perfect and righteous and good. We've rebelled against His commandments. We've rebelled against His laws. And we have defied His perfect will for us. We have offended Him by our lives, which demonstrate that we wanted Him to get out of our way. and leave us alone and let us live the life that we want to live for ourselves as our own gods with full autonomy over our lives. For all of these and more, we are wicked lawbreakers and we need to be forgiven for these crimes. And God generously and lavishly forgives those who seek forgiveness. This is salvation to be saved from the penalty of our crimes, the penalty of God's righteous judgment. Church, have you understood this? I don't mean just cognitively or intellectually. But spiritually, deep inside your soul, existentially, are you convinced of these things? That you have personally offended God with your life, and that in Jesus Christ, He has forgiven you for these very personal, willful, offensive crimes against Him. Have you experienced then His mercy covering your very real offenses committed against him. This, friends, is true salvation, the salvation that John was sent to help people understand that God's mercy can only be received by those who realize that they are in a position of desperately needing mercy. That's when you, when you look in Mark chapter one, as John begins his ministry, it says that he went baptizing with the message of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And the people came not just to be baptized, to do the external right, but they were confessing their sins because they understood what John was telling them that they were guilty of sin that need to be forgiven by God. Now, maybe some of this sounds a little gloomy or somber, talking about sin and offensiveness and wrath. But it's not meant to be gloomy. Rather, all of this is actually meant to point us to the joy of salvation. You know, I've noticed a popular trend in the church, especially really prominent in the last 10 years or so, that out of a desire to magnify the love of God, many churches have decided to talk less about sin. because they reason that talking about sin brings such negativity to the message and detracts from the love of God that it dampens the brightness of God's love. But that is biblically foolish because you cannot show the extent of God's love without showing the extent of man's sin. That's why Romans 5, 8 says that God shows his love to us and that while we were still sinners, while we were enemies of God, while we were in absolute opposition to God and God had no reason to show us love, but only to smite us, that that is when, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And it's through this that God's love is shown. You know, that's why I love contemplating and thinking about the sinfulness of my sin. Not because that's an end in and of itself, but when I understand how sinful I actually am, what a sinner I was, and even now, the sins that I still commit against God and yet God is patient with me and forgives me and sustains me and sanctifies me. That's when it shows me the loveliness of God's love and mercy for me. How much God would have to love me in order to continue to show me His grace and cover me with mercy. That's why 17th century Puritan Thomas Watson said, until sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet. So the more we understand the darkness of our sin, the more we see the brightness of his mercy and forgiveness. And in fact, that is precisely the picture that we see next in our passage in verse 78. that John was to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins because of the tender mercy of our God. At the forgiveness of sins is possible because it is available because of the tender mercy of our God. Notice the descriptor, God's tender mercy. against the dark and callous heart of our sin and defiance is the heart of God soft with mercy and forgiveness offered to such vile criminals. You know this phrase, tender mercy, it literally says the bowels of mercy or the intestines of mercy. And I know it sounds strange, but this was the figure of speech in the day to describe deep compassion. Now, you might think that that picture is kind of weird and disgusting, but have you thought about how we use the word heart today? I mean, we say, I love you with all my heart. And if you take that literally, I mean, it's like, hey, here, this is how much I love you. That's kind of disgusting. So keep that in mind when you write your Valentine's Day cards next month. But the reason we use that phraseology, I love you with all my heart, even though the actual anatomical organ, as one of our elders who used to be a doctor, a retired doctor, he would understand that it doesn't look very pretty. The reason we use that image and that picture is to express our very own lifeblood, the very core biological unit of our livelihood. So as to describe something to the effect of, I love you with all of my being, my life, the deepest part of me. And that was a similar thought in the first century. Their philosophy, even medically speaking, was that the gut The bowels were the innermost part of man, whereas we believe that it's the heart. I actually think they're right, because when my stomach hurts, all of me really hurts. But anyway, too much information. But that was the picture in the first century. The intestines, the bowels were the innermost part of man. And so here is this very graphic and vivid picture of God's innermost, deepest sentiment toward wicked, guilty sinners. His heart is filled with tender mercy. His insides, if you will, are brimming with patience and forgiveness for those who have angered him. And then here is one of the most beautiful illustrations in the Bible of the mercy of God in verse 78, whereby 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. And all throughout the Bible, including here, this world, having fallen in sin, is described as a world that has been plunged into the deepest darkness. Mankind now sits and dwells in the domain of utter darkness. And do you know what darkness implies? Blindness. Being unable to see and unable to find your way. You know, I've stayed in many different hotels over the years, and they're all different in their own unique ways. But one thing I have observed, because I tend to make very peculiar observations, one thing I have observed that every hotel room has in common is just how thick those curtains are. And if you close all the curtains at night and turn off the lights, it is pitch black. I mean, it is remarkable. Can't see even my hands in front of my eyes. And in those moments, I experienced the sensation of blindness. And what happens is that my orientation is lost. And I don't know what obstacles or pitfalls lie in front of me until after the fact, when it's too late. Many toes have been stubbed from my attempt to navigate myself from the light switch to the bed. See, in such deep darkness, we do not know the way to go. And it's for this reason that Isaiah 53 says that we all like sheep have gone astray. And as a result, we've wandered off into the woods where there's utter darkness. And even if we wanted to, we couldn't find our way back onto the path that we should go. because we have completely lost our spiritual orientation and sense of direction. We do not know what is the truth and what is the way and what is the life. And all of this God saw, and do you know how he felt, if you will? He was moved with pity. with tender mercy, his insides recoiled within him. And as much as he is angered by sin and offended by rebels like us, he felt such compassion for these lost sheep who were so blinded by their own darkness and could never find their way back to the shepherd, even if they tried. And so it says here in this prophecy that God planned to send forth light, a sunrise. And this is not just any sunrise that happens every morning, but this is the sunrise from on high. This is God's own light, spiritual light. shining upon those dwelling in deep darkness. And this imagery of sunrise is quoting from Malachi chapter four, in which God promises, for you who fear my name, the Son of Righteousness, the S-U-N, the Son of Righteousness shall rise with healing on its wings. See, this light is not just for visual effect, but for the spiritual effect of restoration, forgiveness, reconciliation. It is the light of God's mercy. And this is why Jesus said in John chapter 8, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Those who once sat in the shadow of death, as we see here, can now have the light of life in Jesus Christ. because He has come to accomplish the forgiveness of sins by taking on God's anger and wrath, meant for us upon Himself, to forgive those who place their trust in Him as their only hope for mercy and forgiveness. Jesus went willingly to the cross to suffer our penalties, our punishment for us on our behalf. so that we will no longer be relegated to eternal darkness that awaited us, but now to be able to be brought into the presence of the Father of Light. Jesus is the light of the world, the sunrise upon a darkened world with healing on its wings. And again, it says Isaiah 53 says that He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, and by His wounds, we are healed. And Jesus guides us into the way of peace with God the Father, because as He said in John 14 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one could come to the Father except through me. Christ is the shining hope of God's mercy to a world lost in sin and headed for eternal darkness. Oh, it's the merciful light that God shines so compassionately on the spiritually blind and ignorant. But again, As we've seen in John's mission to a spiritually ignorant people, in order to receive God's mercy, we must first realize and confess our guilt. And so in order to come to the light, we must first realize the darkness that we are in. And only then will we leave it to follow the light of the world. You know what light does? Light exposes and brings to light what was once hiding in darkness. In other words, as it applies to us as sinners, the light of the gospel exposes the truth of our sin, that we are guilty sinners. And those who are willing to acknowledge the darkness of their sin, They will freely and joyfully run to the light, and they will relish the joy of salvation in the presence of God. But those who are unwilling to acknowledge the darkness of their sin, they will run from the light into further darkness where they can continue to harbor and cherish their sin. And it is for this reason that many tragically reject the light of God's mercy because they refuse to realize that they are in darkness. That they themselves, their hearts are dark. And so they refuse to leave the darkness. As John 3.19 says, that the light has come into the world. And people love the darkness rather than the light. God's mercy can only be received if the sinner confesses truly in their souls they confess and acknowledge their need for his mercy. And you know, one of the darkest regions in the realm of spiritual darkness is the area where it doesn't feel that dark and it starts to feel a little comfortable and you've kind of gotten used to where things are around you can't see but okay it's okay i i know that you know my my my lamp is right over here my my my desk is over here my bed is over here okay i even though i can't see i think i think i can get the hang of this That is the most dangerous place to be. It is the most spiritually dangerous place because those who are in it, they have no desire or incentive to leave the light. And on this note, church, have you ever considered that where we live, this East Bay, you know, Contra Costa County, this area, Have you ever considered that where we live may be, in God's eyes, one of the spiritually darkest places on this entire planet? Not because the crime rates are high, not because education is poor, not because the local economy is failing, but precisely because of the opposite. because we live in the safest place with the best school districts in one of the most affluent places on earth. And these are all components that constitute an environment that is most conducive to spiritual ignorance, spiritual blindness, and keeping people remaining in the darkness. Because it is so difficult for its residents to fathom that they are actually living in spiritual darkness and that sin pervades their lives and their society. Because this orderly, civil, pleasant environment, my goodness, I live in a city called Pleasanton, for goodness sake. But this very wonderful environment gives the most convincing illusion of light. I'm a good person. I have a wholesome family. I'm kind to my neighbors. I work an honest job. Those who dwell in a place like this are the most easily deceived spiritually. Because they are the most inclined to stay seated. Not just that they sit in the darkness, but to stay seated in the darkness. Because it's really difficult. for them to conceive of the idea that they, of all people, could be considered a guilty criminal before God and are in desperate need of His mercy, which He abundantly offers in Christ. But really, I am in that position of being an offender and a lawbreaker? And the tragic thing is that many of these people, they may live good, happy, successful lives here on earth, but they'll end up standing before God with no answer for their sins. I say all of this not to discourage us, but quite otherwise, to encourage us that there is a clear purpose and mission that God has entrusted to us as a church. He has called us to give knowledge of salvation to the people around us in the forgiveness of their sins, that they need to be forgiven by God. And it's on this note that we end with verse 80. It says that, and the child grew and became strong in spirit and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel. After Zechariah's prophecy concludes, we are given this detail that John lived out in the wilderness until his ministry would officially begin, which we will see later in chapter 3. And we're not told exactly what he was doing there out in the wilderness all those years. My best guess is that God was directly teaching him and preparing him for the difficult ministry ahead. But at the very least, What we do know is that this detail shows us that John was fulfilling what was spoken of him by the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 40, a voice crying out in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord. And so John went to live in the wilderness to be the very voice crying out of whom Isaiah foretold. And that's why Matthew 3.1 tells us that John the Baptist, when he began his ministry, he came preaching in the wilderness of Judea again to fulfill what was spoken of him by Isaiah. And I bring this point up because church, as I've mentioned in previous weeks, we are reminded again today of the calling that we have as a church to be what John was for his contemporaries. A voice crying out. John cried out, prepare the way of the Lord, but our voice is one that cries out, come to the way of the Lord. Jesus Christ is the way of salvation. We are to be the voice of hope to a dark world, to tell them of the light of the world who has come. And as we've seen today, this message requires us to tell the world of the reality of sin and guilt and the darkness that they really are in. And we won't be liked for it. I can assure you that because God assures us of that. It won't make us popular. I mean, my goodness, remember what happened to John, John the Baptist? The dude eventually got his head cut off by Herod for preaching the message of salvation and the forgiveness of sins. It's not an easy task that God has called us to. But it is a glorious task to tell the world of the true salvation they need and the true salvation that they can have. It's not economic relief. It's not a public health solution. It's not social reform. But it is the most urgent need of reconciliation with God, being forgiven of sins, and receiving His mercy so that we might have peace with God through Jesus Christ. This is what the world desperately needs. And so then, Church, Let us be the voice of God's mercy and light to a world that needs it. And may God use MBC to save many souls here in the Bay Area. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for sending your son, Jesus, the light of the world. true God of true God, light of light, a very sunrise with healing on his wings to heal us of our greatest and most dire disease, the cancer of sin. Lord, we thank you that you have shown such mercy to us and that we have received your mercy by faith, by believing in Jesus Christ, what he has done, and believing that he has done it for sinners, guilty and vile like us. Lord, we pray that you would give us the strength and the courage to herald this news to a world and to be those who shine the light of Christ on the darkness that has surrounded and plagued this world. Lord, continue to be honored in us as a church and help us to be faithful to you. In Jesus' name, amen.