Luke 1:72-75 :

to show mercy towards our fathers,
to remember his holy covenant,
the oath which he spoke to Abraham, our father,
to grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
should serve him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.

It is interesting to note that Israel has not been “delivered out of the hand of” their enemies yet. In fact, their enemies seem to press in against them whenever possible today. I can also see that, as of today, the Jews are still not able to “serve him without fear.” In fact, it isn’t evident that many Jews are really concerned about serving God right now. So, they really aren’t doing much “in holiness and righteousness before him” that I can tell.

Even though Jesus was announced as a savior so many years ago, God can still “remember his holy covenant, the oath which he spoke to Abraham.” Jesus came the first time to pave the way for deliverance by removing the sin problem of mankind. Jesus’ first coming was a critical time but it wasn’t time for the delivery of Israel even though it was a sign. I believe that Jesus was offering the Kingdom to the Jews, but just as God knew that Adam would sin in the garden, He also knew that the Jewish nation would refuse their Messiah the first time.

God has to “show mercy towards” all of us. We all have sinned (especially those of us who completely disregarded the law) and have fallen short of the glory of God. Not only had the “fathers” of Israel sinned but the generation of Zacharias would also prove to have the same sin problem as we can read as we go along.

If you read the history books, you find that Jesus didn’t deliver Israel from Rome at all. In fact, shortly after Jesus disappeared, Rome crushed Israel. It’s not that Jesus didn’t offer Israel a way to accept Him as their Messiah. Instead, after Jesus was rejected, they were in fear for their lives. Now we know that God doesn’t lie. I also believe that God isn’t giving a hidden message here any more than He was when He told Zacharias about John being born. These words require faith from us. We may have to wait for a long time just as Zacharias had to wait to have children. It may seem unnatural how long we have to wait, but God’s word is to be believed. He will do what He says. Someday, Jesus will return and deliver Israel.