“And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; For he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us In the house of his servant David; As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, And to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies Might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. 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, Through the tender mercy of our God; Whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace. And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.”
Luke 1:67-80 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/luk.1.67-80.KJV
Day 24 of the reading of the gospel of Luke
Merry Christmas Eve
Luke 24
“Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: and as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words, and returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, ...
The Fulfillment of Promises Made Long Ago
“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord.”
To modern ears, this verse is a familiar, warm, and comforting centerpiece of the Christmas story. But to those who first heard these words from the angel on the night Jesus was born, every word was electric, buzzing with fulfilled expectations.
A Savior.
Born in Bethlehem, the town of David.
The Messiah.
The Lord.
For centuries, Israel had lived with a promise. The prophet Isaiah had declared, “To us a child is born, to us a son is given… and He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Jeremiah had spoken of a righteous branch from David’s line, a King who would reign wisely and bring justice (Jeremiah 23:5). Micah, too, had foretold that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, David’s town (Micah 5:2).
So when the angel announced this birth to shepherds under the night sky, it wasn’t just...