Advent Day 12 - Zechariah's Prophecy

Luke 1

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." 

Isaiah 40

1 Comfort, comfort my people,

   says your God. 

2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,

   and call out to her

that her warfare is ended,

   that her iniquity is pardoned,

that she has received from the LORD’s hand

   double for all her sins.

 3 A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD;

    make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

4 Every valley shall be lifted up,

   and every mountain and hill be made low;

the uneven ground shall become level,

   and the rough places a plain.

5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,

   and all flesh shall see it together,

    for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

John 1

4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

Isaiah 42

16 I will turn the darkness before them into light,

    the rough places into level ground.

These are the things I do,

   and I do not forsake them.