EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/25/2026
7:27 PM
My
Worship Time Focus:
“The
Blessings of the New Covenant”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference:
Luke
1:78b-79
Message of the verses: “with which the Sunrise from on high will
visit us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to
guide our feet into the way of peace.”
We are coming to the end of the first chapter of Luke,
with only one more verse to look at, verse 80 “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.” Now I have not seen any
commentary on this verse from MacArthur’s commentary, but perhaps he will have
something to say about it. One more
thing and that is that after I get done with this SD, the next chapter in
MacArthur’s commentary is something that is completely different. As I go through that chapter, beginning in
tomorrow’s SD I will just quote what he has to say in that chapter, and I don’t
know exactly how long it will take me to get through it, but we will see once I
begin in the morning, Lord willing.
Now as we look at these verses we
can see that Zacharias anticipated the coming of the One whose death would procure
the blessings of the New covenant—the messiah. MacArthur writes “He identified
Him using a metaphor rich in Old Testament messianic theology and
symbolism. Anatole (Sunrise)
literally means ‘rising, and refers here to the first light of dawn. On high (lit., ‘out of’ or ‘from the
height’) refers symbolically to heaven.
Zacharias thus depicts the Messiah as a great light from heaven, who
will shine the light of salvation upon those who sit in darkness and
shadow of death (cf. Isaiah 9:2; Psalm 107:10, 14; John 12:46)
(cf. Isaiah 9:2; Psalm 107:10, 14; John
12:46)
“2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a
great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light
shone.”
“10
¶ Some sat in darkness and in the shadow
of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons,”
“14 He brought them out of darkness and the
shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart.”
“46 I have come into the world as light, so that
whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.”
“He is ‘the
sun of righteousness [who] will rise with healing in its wings’ (Mal. 4:2), shining
into the deep darkness of sin and ending the soul’s long night. Second Peter speaks of the time when ‘the
day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts,’ while Revelation
22:16, the Lord Jesus Christ called Himself ‘the bright morning star.’
“Darkness in Scripture cane be used
metaphorically in two ways.
Intellectually, it refers to ignorance and error (e.g., Psalm 82:5;
Eccl. 2:14; Eph 4:18). Morally, darkness
symbolizes sin (e.g., Prov. 2:13; 4:19; John 3:19; “Rom. 13:12; 2 Corinthians
6:14; Ephesians 5:8, 11), and the realm of Satan (e. g., Luke 22:53; Eph. 6:12;
Col. 1:13). God is light (1 John 1:5),
and consequently Jesus, God incarnate, came into the world as the Light of the
world (John 1:9; 3:19; 8:12; 9:5; 12:46).
He is ‘a light to the nations, to open blind eyes, to bring out
prisoners from the dungeon and those who dwell in darkness from the prison’
(Isa. 42:6-7).
(Isa. 42:6-7)
“7 to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out
the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”
“To a lost world groping in the darkness and
desperately hoping for light (Isaiah 59:9-10), God, knowing there was no human
solution to sin’s dilemma (v. 16), sent ‘a Redeemer…to those who turn from
[their] transgression’ (v. 20; cf. 53:4-6, 8, 10-12). Speaking of the New
covenant that would bring that about, God declared, ‘As for Me, this is My
covenant with them, says the Lord: ‘My Spirit which is upon you, and My words
which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth
of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,’ says the
Lord, ‘from now and forever (v. 21).
The Light of salvation will continue to shine in the
millennial kingdom, as Isaiah 60:1-5 reveals:
1
¶ Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. 2
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples;
but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. 3 And nations shall come to your light, and
kings to the brightness of your rising. 4
Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they
come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be
carried on the hip. 5 Then you shall see
and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult, because the abundance of the
sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you.” (ESV)
Indeed,
throughout eternity the light of God’s glory will illuminate the New Jerusalem:
“19 The sun shall be no more your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD will be your
everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. 20 Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon
withdraw itself; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of
mourning shall be ended.” (ESV)
“Not only would the Messiah bring the light of salvation
to His people, He would also guide their feet into the way of
peace. Lost sinners, stumbling
around in the darkness, know nothing of true peace (Rom. 3:17).”
(Rom. 3:17)
“17 and the way of peace they have not known.’”
“But peace
is one of the elements of the New covenant.
In Isaiah 34:10, God said, ‘For the mountains may be removed and the
hills may shake, but My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, and My
covenant of peace will not be shaken,’ says the Lord who has compassion on you’
‘Peace I leave with you; ‘ Jesus
promised, ‘my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to
you. Do not let it be fearful’ (John
14:27). Peace, Paul wrote, begins
with salvation: ‘Therefore, having
been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ’
(Rom. 5:1). The kingdom of God is
characterized by ‘righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit’ (Rom.
14:17). Peace is one of the fruits
of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22), and the ‘peace of God, which surpasses all
comprehension will guard [believers’] hearts and [their] minds in Christ Jesus’
(Phil. 4:7).
With the end of Zacharias’s song of praise, the
curtain falls on the life of John the Baptist, not to be raised again until the
beginning of his public ministry in chapter 3.
The
Bible passes over his childhood in silence, revealing even less details about
it than it does of Jesus’ childhood. All
that is known of John during the long years between his circumcision and the
beginning of his public ministry is that he continued to grow and to become
strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public
appearance to Israel. He then
assumed the role predicted for him as Messiah’s forerunner, proclaiming the New
covenant of which his father so eloquently and passionately spoke.”
So there at the end we see verse 80
of Luke’s first chapter.
3/25/2026
8:18 PM
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