Summary
Promises Made, Promises Kept
For four hundred years, heaven was quiet. No prophet stood up in Israel, no dream interpreted, no fresh word from the LORD. Then, into that long silence, God spoke—announcing two pregnancies, one to Zechariah for his wife Elizabeth, and one to Mary. The Advent narrative in Luke 1 is the story of God breaking His silence by keeping His ancient word.
When the time was full, Elizabeth bore a son Luke 1:57-58. Promised mercies are fulfilled in their due time—not early, not late, but in the exact moment of God's appointing. Neighbors and relatives rejoiced, recognizing the miracle: a barren woman, advanced in years, had given birth to a son, which in the ancient Near East was a double blessing—the bearer of the family name and the one who would care for his parents in old age.
On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, intending to name him after his father. Elizabeth insisted, "He is to be called John," and Zechariah, still mute from his earlier doubt, wrote on a tablet, "His name is John" Luke 1:59-63. The name itself is the sermon: Johanan—"God is gracious." The child given to prepare the way is named for the very thing he came to announce.
Immediately Zechariah's mouth was opened, and his first words were not a proud father's birth announcement but a Spirit-filled prophecy of praise: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people" Luke 1:68-75. After four hundred years without prophecy, and nine more months of his own enforced silence, Zechariah's tongue is loosed not to celebrate his son but to bless the God who keeps covenant. He sees that the birth of John means the promise of the Redeemer—sworn to Abraham, spoken through the prophets—is now being fulfilled before his eyes. This is the heart of Promises Made, Promises Kept.
The promise of redemption goes deeper than any earthly bondage. Israel had been delivered from Egypt, from the wilderness, from invading nations, but their truest captivity—and ours—is the slavery of the heart to sin. We cannot free ourselves. So God in His grace sent His Son, the second person of the Trinity, taking flesh without our sinful nature, living the life we cannot live and dying the death we deserve but cannot endure. The promise of saving is kept in Jesus Christ.
Of John, his father then prophesied, "You, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High... to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins" Luke 1:76-79. John's preaching would be the law—a word about sin and darkness—and yet his name remains "God is gracious," because only hearts that know their darkness are ready for the dawning light. The God who promised forgiveness, deliverance from death and the devil, and His abiding presence keeps every word He has spoken. Those promises come to you still, week in and week out, in His Word and Sacrament, sealed in the blood of Jesus Christ.
Video citations
- "Promises Made, Promises Kept" 12-22-24 — If you would please open your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke, the first chapter, if you are using a Pue edition of the Bible, this can be found on page 49 in the New Testament, where in the Gospel of…