I do NOT like getting out of bed in the morning. However, once I’ve pried my eyes open, removed my cats from where they have trapped me under the covers, and managed to finally plant my feet on the floor, I absolutely love early mornings. The world is quiet and any potential uproar which the day may bring has not yet begun. After spending some time with God during my devotions, I wander outside to feed my horses and dogs. The silence is broken only by birdsong (plus an occasional whinny as the horses spot the human who brings breakfast). The rising sun edges the tops of the mountains with a glorious light. God’s early morning artwork is one of my very favorite things. Sunrises seem to hold a promise of peace, hope, and fresh beginnings. At the time of the birth of John the Baptist, his father, Zechariah,¹ captures this same sense of promise as he describes the coming Messiah as the Dayspring or Sunrise (Luke 1:78).

            The Greek word that Luke uses for dayspring/sunrise in his narrative of Zechariah’s prophecy is the noun ἀνατολή (anatolē). According to Darrell Bock, the literal meaning of this word is “that which springs up.”² With that said, when this word is used in Scripture, it is more commonly translated as “a rising of the sun, the dawn, or dayspring.”³ Because the word can mean “that which springs up” as well as sunrise/dawn/dayspring, there has been some scholarly debate as to whether the noun ἀνατολή in Luke 1:78 refers to a “branch” or “sprout” (such as in Is 11:1, Zech 3:8, Rev 5:5, Rev 22:16), the sunrise/dayspring, or perhaps an intention to bring both definitions to mind.⁴ We don’t really know how Luke knew the words of Zechariah’s prophecy. Perhaps it had been remembered through oral tradition, sort of like a worship song or hymn. Perhaps the substance of the prophecy was memorialized, but not the exact words. However, we do know that Luke was a brilliant and divinely inspired author. As he recorded Zechariah’s prophecy, the Holy Spirit certainly may have led him to use this particular word in order to bring to mind both a sprout springing up from the ground as well as the sunrise/dayspring. However, I think the literary context better supports the more common translation, “sunrise” or “dayspring.” With the exception of Zech 3:8, the terms “sprout,” “branch,” or “root,” when used to refer to Jesus, are qualified with a prepositional phrase referring to the Davidic lineage. We see this in “Root of David” or “shoot from the stump of Jesse” (again, see Is 11:1, Rev 5:5, Rev 22:16). Zechariah’s prophecy in Luke tells us that the ἀνατολή visits us “from on high,” which seems more consistent with a sunrise bringing light to the world from the heavens, rather than a sprout springing up from the lineage of David.

            It is also important to note that the sentence including Luke 1:78 actually begins in v. 76, and finishes at the end of the prophecy in v. 79. Verse 79 tells us that the purpose of the ἀνατολή is “to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.”⁵ If that phrase rings a bell in your head, it is because it echoes the prophet Isaiah’s words: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone” (Is 9:2). While I am certainly not denying that “sprout” and “branch” are terms used for the Messiah (since I already wrote a blog about those names), in this particular instance, it seems that Zechariah’s intention was to describe the Messiah as the rising sun who brings divine light to a world that badly needs it. Therefore, I believe that the common translation of ἀνατολή as “dayspring” or “sunrise” is correct.

            As he prophesies about the role of John as the one who “will go before the Lord to prepare his ways” (Luke 1:76), Zechariah makes some very interesting points about both John the Baptist and Jesus. In his assertion that John will prepare the way for the Lord, Zechariah states that John will be “called the prophet of the Most High” (Luke 1:76). In first-century Judaism, the Jewish Scriptures essentially consisted of the writings that we know as the Old Testament. Zechariah was a Jewish priest (Luke 1:5). He knew the Jewish Scriptures very well. He knew the prophecies about a Messiah who would come to save God’s people. He knew that the Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah (Gen 49:10, Luke 3:33),⁶ and specifically from the lineage of David (2 Sam 7:12-13, Matt 1:6). He knew that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2, Luke 2:4-7), and that He would be born to a virgin (Is 7:14, Luke 1:29-35). He knew that the Messiah would destroy evil (Gen 3:15, 1 John 3:8) and save people of all nations (Gen 12:3, Is 11:10, John 12:18-21). He even knew that the Messiah would triumphantly enter Jerusalem riding on a donkey’s colt (Zech 9:9, Luke 19:30-38) yet die as the perfect atoning sacrifice (Lev 17:11, Is 53:2-12, Matt 26:28, Rom 4:24-25). And yes, Zechariah knew that there would be one who comes before the Messiah to prepare the way (Is 40:3-4), and that this “forerunner” was Zechariah’s own son John (Luke 1:11-17, Luke 1:76). John the Baptist was the final messianic prophet. He prophesied about the imminent arrival of the Messiah.

            Tucked away in Zechariah’s prophecy about his son John are a few words that illustrate Zechariah’s wisdom about the coming Messiah. He says that John will provide “knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God” (Luke 1:77-78a). In other words, John taught the people that the Messiah would save God’s people through the forgiveness of sin. Keep in mind that from the time Judah was conquered in 587/586 BC until AD 1948 (yes, as in a few years after WWII ended), the Jews did not have their own nation. Jesus lived at a time when the region that we think of as “the Holy Lands” was under Roman rule. The Romans were not loved by the Jews, and the Jewish people wanted a military/political leader who would free them from their Roman rulers. This accounts for Herod’s concern when the Magi asked him about the birth of the king of the Jews (Matt 2:2-4, Matt 2:16-18). The potential sociopolitical threat of a Messiah who would be the “King of the Jews” also provided fodder for the enemies of Jesus to seek His destruction. As Darrell Bock explains, “Ironically, the nation’s charge against Jesus is that he is a political threat to Rome. His opponents argue that if Jesus is allowed to run his course he will be perceived as a physical threat and Rome might overrun the nation.”⁷ However, a view toward a political leader is not what we see in Zechariah’s prophecy. Zechariah speaks about a salvation which will come through God’s merciful forgiveness of sin. Zechariah recognized that the true Messiah was so much more than a political or military leader. Through forgiveness of our sins, the true Messiah would provide an eternal, spiritual salvation, not a temporary escape from a bad political or military situation. Yes, the Jews suffered under Roman rule and no one can blame them for wanting to be freed from Roman tyranny. However, Zechariah’s prophecy implies that the Messiah will play a much more important role, that of saving us from sin, not saving us from political tyranny. Sin leads to spiritual death: eternal, never-ending, spiritual separation from God. John was sent before Jesus to introduce the people to the idea that the Messiah would provide eternal salvation through God’s merciful forgiveness of sin. Jesus, as the true Messiah, offers infinitely more than a temporary earthly reprieve from tyrannical rulers. By conquering sin and death, He gives eternal life and joy to those who give their lives to Him.

            Well, after that little bunny trail, I’ll return to Zechariah’s name for Jesus: Dayspring/Sunrise. Throughout Scripture we find the imagery of light as divine guidance. In Exodus, we read about Yahweh leading the Israelites through the desert in “a pillar of fire to give them light” (Ex 13:21). I already mentioned Is 9:2, which promises “a great light” for those who walk in darkness. In fact, Matthew directly quotes Is 9:1-2 as a prophecy fulfilled by Jesus (Matt 4:12-16). The prophet Micah knew that the Lord was his light in the darkness (Mic 7:8). Psalm 119:105 proclaims that God’s word “is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” These are only a few of the many instances in Scripture when light is portrayed as providing divine illumination and guidance to a world steeped in darkness. Jesus clearly proclaims that He is the ultimate fulfillment of the guiding light when He says “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Zechariah knew that his son John would be the one who prepared the way and pointed to the Messiah, the Sunrise who brought light to a dark world. Jesus, the Dayspring, brings hope and salvation, and He is the divine guiding light to those who seek Him.

As the prophet Malachi taught, “But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stalls” (Mal 4:2). If you’ve ever seen the joyful antics of a playful calf set free from its pen, you know what Malachi meant when he described the joy of those set free from evil by “the sun of righteousness.” Thank you, Jesus, for saving us from our sin. We know that without You, our sin would lead us to death. We are so grateful that You bring light, life, salvation, and joy to those who love You.  

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[1] ¹Zechariah the father of John the Baptist is not the same person as the prophet Zechariah in the Old Testament. As I also quote from the OT book of Zechariah in this blog, it could get a bit confusing.

[2] ²Darrell L. Bock, Luke Volume 1 1:1-9:50 in Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, eds. Robert W. Yarbrough and Joshua W. Jipp (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1994), 191.

[3] ³William D. Mounce, The Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament, Zondervan Greek Reference Series (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1993), 73.

[4] ⁴Bock, Luke Volume 1, 192.

[5] ⁵All Scripture quotations are from the ESV.

[6] ⁶I include Scripture references for both the prophecy and the fulfillment.

[7] ⁷Darrell L. Bock, Luke Volume 2 9:51-24:53 in Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, eds. Robert W. Yarbrough and Joshua W. Jipp (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1994), 1564.