And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He visited and accomplished redemption for His people,
And raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of David His servant—
As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old—
Salvation from our enemies,
And from the hand of all who hate us,
To show mercy toward our fathers,
And to remember His holy covenant,
The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,
To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
-Luke 1:67–75-
Many of us have heard the warning, “Don’t talk politics at the dinner table.”
That can seem like good advice—especially around Christmas. Politics feels divisive, and Christmas is a time for fellowship. Even the mere mention of this word at a family gathering can ignite a controversy that stifles an atmosphere of “Christmas cheer.” So Christmas shouldn’t “get political.” It’s unnecessary. We really shouldn’t let politics dominate our dinner tables, right?
“Wrong” says Zacharias.
He didn’t avoid the topic of politics during the Christmas season—he brought it up, and he brought it up on purpose. In fact, it was one of the very first things that burst forth from his soul after his mute mouth was opened (1:64).
“But why?” someone complains. “Why get into it?” And to this, Luke might as well respond, “Because he was talking about Christmas. Don’t you know about Christmas?”
For Zacharias, Christmas and politics were inseparable. Has something changed for us today?
Christmas is about the birth of a King. Israel’s King. And Israel yearned for this King because Israel had enemies. National enemies. Entire civilizations hated them (1:71). Abused them. Tortured them. Zacharias’ ancestors had been exiled and enslaved to their enemies for decades. They’d lived under the brutality of bad politics. Even in his day, Rome was in charge. God’s servants had to sleep with one eye open—and into this tense time, Zacharias emerged with a message about Christmas.
Zacharias delighted in the Christmas season because the sovereign Ruler of Israel visited His people to rescue them out of oppression (v. 68). He did so by raising up a horn of salvation from David’s royal house—a Savior-King who would bring “salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us” (v. 71). This King would rule the world. This world.
As Isaiah said of Him, “The government will rest on His shoulders… there will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over His Kingdom, to establish it and uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will accomplish this” (Isa 9:6–7). Isaiah calls attention to how God Himself is zealous to establish this global Kingdom, and that same God is now filling Zacharias with His Spirit to remind His people of that hope in his day (1:67).
Zacharias knew that God’s promises from long ago (1:70-73) were all pointing everyone’s eyes toward a future day of deliverance (1:74–75). When Zacharias though about Christmas, he saw it as including a guarantee of a glorious future day. A day is coming when by God’s grace, His people will be “rescued from the hand of our enemies” and be free to “serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days” (1:74–75). There’s coming a day when the earth will enjoy political peace (1:79).
How would that day be realized? By inciting a people’s rebellion? By praying that the fire of heaven falls upon the head of Caesar? By winning political scuffles at the dinner table? No, God will usher in this day of geopolitical peace by His mercy (1:72). He will do it through the gospel. He will do it first by establishing spiritual peace between Him and His people, and second by returning to rule the world. Christmas is a testimony to the truth that God sent His King to save His people, and to save them all the way into His presence (1:75). How could we ever get into His presence? By God Himself stepping into our world to pay for our sins and give us His righteousness by His grace through His Son, Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:18). Christmas is a time to savor the glories of salvation, and to keep an eye on the future of what this is all leading to—politics included.
Christmas never has to “get political”—it is political. God designed it that way, and Zacharias thought that the political hope of Christmas was a great reason to praise God for His mercy and grace to us (1:68 “Blessed be God”). Let’s join him in longing for that day when we’ll enjoy life on earth under the Prince of peace.
