The Gospel of Luke 1:76-77 When God Says...I Say, AMEN!

When God Says …

"And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto his people By the remission of their sins,” (Luke 1:76-77 KJV).

Zacharias, in his prophetic declaration of worship, continues to prophesy that his son John, would grow up as a prophet chosen by God to proclaim His will. He is to prepare the way for the coming Messiah, whose birth angel Gabriel also revealed to Mary, is soon to come. John, by God’s divine act, was conceived, born and prepared to grow for a special assignment. In God’s perfect time, he appears as “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”” (Isaiah 40:3 NKJV). John is like an advance party who goes ahead of an important person or event to make the necessary preparations.

John will come upon the public scene, preaching the message of repentance. He baptizes those who are convicted and repentant of their sins. John causes people to become aware of their sinful lives and their need for a savior to rescue them. This will soon come on the scene and will provide the salvation promised by God in the first part of Zachariah’s prophecy (Luke 1:67-69).

He predicts what John would do, which is “to give knowledge of salvation to God's people in the forgiveness of their sins” (Luke 1:77 ESV). This knowledge that John brings is the heart of his message preparing his followers to await the Lord Jesus Christ who will bring salvation. This knowledge that John reveals is not simply informative, stored in one’s mind, but it is to result in fundamental changes of the heart and behavior of those who receive it. The idea being developed is the need of deliverance from the power of sin. The core of this is the Lord’s sacrifice, who through His death on the cross becomes the full ransom payment for the wage of sin, which is death. Once this is settled, God is then free to forgive us, who believe, of our sin and then see us as if we had not committed sin. Sin is not overlooked by God; it is forgiven because we have been purchased by the sacrifice of Christ Jesus. We are redeemed!

In the love of Christ Jesus, by our faith in Him, as He is (sinless, righteous, set apart, perfect in strength and vigor, have available to Him all resources of heaven) in this world, so are we. It is written: “By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.” (1 John 4:17 ESV).

And I say, AMEN!

Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries

When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.

Partners For Christ Ministries, INC
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