Show Don't Tell: Luke 1:67-80

Instead of saying "Zechariah prophesied over John," hear nine months of silence break into song. His father Zechariah is filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesies: "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David—salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us." God remembered his holy covenant, the oath sworn to Abraham. Then Zechariah turns to his infant son: "And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace." The child grows and becomes strong in spirit. He lives in the wilderness until he appears publicly to Israel. From mute priest to prophetic father—nine months of silence became a lifetime of proclamation.