1:64
As soon as Zechariah had confirmed that the boy was to be called John, his mouth was opened, and he began to speak praising God. One could see a picture here of our being set free from sin. Zechariah had refused to believe God, and so was struck dumb for a time. During that time he had clearly been meditating on what the angel had said. The point then came when he could express belief, and as soon as he did he was set free , and his response was to praise the Lord.
1:65,66
Being a priest, Zechariah would have been quite well known, and the manner of his becoming dumb would have been big news in the region, as would Elizabeth becoming pregnant. So when the child was born, and Zechariah could speak again, the news would be even greater. God was preparing the way, an atmosphere of expectation was being built up (see Luke 3:15). More specifically they were wondering who or what John was going to be. He was marked out as a special child.
1:67
Luke places a great emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit, both in Luke and in Acts, we have already seen several instances of this. Here we read that Zechariah was filled with the Spirit and prophesied. Prophecy is not just about predicting. In this song we see praising God for who He is, what he has done in the future, what He is doing now, and what He will do in the future. Prophecy comprises of all of this.
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