Luke 1:57–80. At the beginning of this infancy narrative the attention had been on Zechariah, the priest, whilst he was in the temple. Now it is upon Elizabeth, the mother – and maybe this isn’t particularly surprising when recording a birth, but the emphasis seems to be on the fact that “the Lord had shown great mercy to her.” 

Luke has much to say about mercy, and though word counts can be useful, the theme of mercy and compassion runs deep throughout his writings – even when those words are not specifically used. Of the ten times Luke specifically uses the word for ‘mercy’ – half of these are in the first chapter alone! 

We cannot help but notice the significance of the work of the Spirit of God in these pages. Here, the Spirit led Zechariah to prophesy … and he does so in poetic fashion. Where Mary’s Song had been personal, and full of praise for what God had done, this Song of Zechariah is universal and more forward looking. The plan of God is seen as coming to fulfilment through both the Messiah, and also through the prophet who will “go before the Lord to prepare his ways.” 

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