Luke 1:67-80-Jackson Thulien

Zechariah begins his prophecy by being filled with the Holy Spirit (v.67), just like his wife Elizabeth was (v.41). He bursts into praise, and speaking from his perspective as a priest, he zooms out to give an enormously wide picture of God's relationship with Israel.

He considers God's promises all the way back through David to Abraham, especially his promise to save his people from their enemies (v.71 and 74). But Israel's biggest enemy is really the sin within them, and it is Jesus who will finally fulfil these promises by giving the forgiveness of sins (v.77). Jesus does not then leave us to live stagnant lives in the darkness of this world, but he gives us both a light, and somewhere to go—a 'path of peace' (v.79).

Zechariah's joy and wonder at glimpsing God's bigger picture would transform the way we read our Bibles, and the way we live out our faiths. So how do we get it? How do we become filled up like he is? In Luke 11:13, Jesus says that our heavenly father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.

May we keep praying for the Holy Spirit to enrapture our hearts with this wider vision, so that our faiths won't lie stagnant, but we will keep moving towards the full peace that Jesus has for us.