Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 1:71
That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
71. That we should be saved ] Rather, Salvation referring back to “a horn of salvation,” to which it is in apposition. The previous verse is a parenthesis.
from our enemies ] No doubt in the first instance the “enemies” from which the prophets had promised deliverance were literal enemies (Deu 33:29; Isa 14:2; Isa 51:22-23, &c.), but every pious Jew would understand these words as applying also to spiritual enemies.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Saved from our enemies – The enemies of man are his sins, his carnal propensities, his lusts, and the great adversary Satan and his angels, who continually seek to destroy him. From these the Messiah came to save us. Compare Gen 3:15; Mat 1:21.
The hand – The power; or to save us from them.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 71. That we should be saved (literally, a salvation) from our enemies] As Zacharias spoke by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the salvation which he mentions here must necessarily be understood in a spiritual sense. Satan, death, and sin are the enemies from whom Jesus came to deliver us. Sin is the most dangerous of all, and is properly the only enemy we have to fear. Satan is without us, and can have no power over us, but what he gets through sin. Death is only in our flesh, and shall be finally destroyed (as it affects us) on the morning of the resurrection. Jesus redeems from sin; this is the grand, the glorious, the important victory. Let us get sin cast out, and then we need, fear neither death, nor the devil.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This was that which God had told them by his prophets, that a mighty salvation should arise to them out of the house of David, by which they should be saved from their enemies. By which enemies the generality of the Jews understood their temporal enemies, made of flesh and blood. But Zacharias, speaking by the Spirit of prophecy, must needs have a truer notion of it, as it signifies our spiritual enemies. All this is attributed to Gods mercy and faithfulness, his mercy freely looking upon his creatures in distress and misery, his faithfulness in remembrance of his holy covenant, made to Adam, Abraham, David, &c.; but it is more particularly explained.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
68-79. There is not a word inthis noble burst of divine song about his own child; like Elisabethlosing sight entirely of self, in the glory of a Greater than both.
Lord God of Israeltheancient covenant God of the peculiar people.
visited and redeemedthatis, in order to redeem: returned after long absence, and broken Hislong silence (see Mt 15:31).In the Old Testament, God is said to “visit” chiefly forjudgment, in the New Testament for mercy. Zachariaswould, as yet, have but imperfect views of such “visiting andredeeming,” “saving from and delivering out of the hand ofenemies” (Luk 1:71; Luk 1:74).But this Old Testament phraseology, used at first with a lowerreference, is, when viewed in the light of a loftier and morecomprehensive kingdom of God, equally adapted to express the mostspiritual conceptions of the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
That we should be saved from our enemies,…. This, and the two following verses, either contain and express the sum and substance of what God spake by the prophets; or point out the end or ends of his raising up an horn of salvation, or a Saviour for his people; namely, that they should be saved by him from their enemies: from sin, which wars against the soul, and threatens the destruction of it; from Satan, the avowed and implacable adversary of mankind; from the world, the seed of the serpent, which has always bore an enmity to the seed of the woman; from the law, the killing letter; and from death, the last enemy that is to be destroyed;
and from the hand of all that hate us: which is only an illustration of the former sentence, or a repetition of it in other words; and designs the same as before.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
1) “That we should be saved from our enemies,” (soterian eks echtron hemon) “Promising salvation out of and away from our enemies,” from our spiritual enemies, demon spirits, sin, and death, Psa 34:7; Luk 1:74.
2) “And from the hand of all who hate us;” (kai ek cheiros panton ton misounton hemas) “And out of the hands of those continually hating us,” of the present world order, through Jesus Christ and His Lordship care for us, Joh 15:19-20; Psa 136:24.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
71. Salvation from our enemies Zacharias explains more clearly the power and office of Christ. And certainly it would be of little or no advantage to learn that Christ was given to us, unless we also knew what he bestows. For this reason he states more fully the purpose for which the horn of salvation was raised up: that believers may obtain salvation from their enemies Unquestionably, Zacharias was well aware, that the principal war of the church of God is not with flesh and blood, but with Satan and all his armament, by which he labors to accomplish our everlasting ruin. Though the Church is also attacked by outward foes, and is delivered from them by Christ, yet, as the kingdom of Christ is spiritual, it is chiefly to Satan, the prince of this world, and all his legions, that the present discourse relates. Our attention is also directed to the miserable condition of men out of Christ, lying prostrate under the tyranny of the devil: otherwise, out of his hand, out of his power, Christ would not deliver his own people. This passage reminds us that, so long as the Church continues her pilgrimage in the world, she lives amongst her foes, and would be exposed to their violence, if Christ were not always at hand to grant assistance. But such is the inestimable grace of Christ, that, though we are surrounded on every side by enemies, we enjoy a sure and undoubted salvation. The mode of expression may seem harsh, salvation from our enemies; but the meaning is obvious. No machinations or power, no wiles, no attacks will prevent our being delivered from them and saved “ in the Lord with an everlasting salvatlon,” (Isa 45:17.)
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(71) That we should be saved from our enemies.Literally, salvation from our enemies, in apposition with the horn of salvation of Luk. 1:69. The enemies present to the thoughts of Zacharias may have been the Roman conquerors of Juda; the Iduman House of Herod may have been among those who hate.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
71. That we The true Church of God, consisting of all faithful believers, whether of the old or new dispensation. Zacharias, as an individual, doubtless understood the words in a Jewish sense of the Jewish theocracy, or State Church alone. But the Holy Spirit knew its future application.
Should be saved from our enemies Collectively, the Church shall be preserved in the midst of its wrathful foes, and finally obtain complete victory and triumphant security. Individually, the Christian shall have a divine protection amid both temporal and spiritual dangers, and in the triumphant age of the Church even temporal triumph. The phrase that we should be saved depends upon the phrase (Luk 1:70) as he spake. What God spoke by his holy prophets was that we should be saved, etc., by the power of the Messiah.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us,’
And what was promised by the prophets was deliverance from their enemies, and from the hands of those who hated them. The idea and the words reflect Psa 106:10. Like all in his day Zacharias saw the coming of the Messiah as very much involving the political freedom that would enable them to serve God fully. He would, of course, bring deliverance and freedom, but it would be in a different way that Zacharias was expecting. Men were still restricted in their thinking and thought very much in earthly terms.
In fact Luke’s Gospel will go on to reveal precisely what kind of deliverance this Messiah will bring. For the enemy from which His followers will be delivered is Satan, and sin, and evil. His kingship will not be of this world.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Luk 1:71. That we should be saved from, &c. Salvation from, &c.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Luk 1:71 f. ] might be attached to , Luk 1:70 (Beza, Grotius, Ewald, and others), but it is simpler to retain . . . as a parenthetical clause, like Luk 1:55 , so that ., Luk 1:69 , is resumed by (yet only as to the fact, without the figure) for the sake of adding the more precise definition. Such a resumption may occur with (Rom 3:22 ) and without it (Rom 3:26 ). See generally, Khner, ad Xen. Mem. i. 1. 1. Without the expression is more rhetorical.
The enemies and haters are the heathen , as in Luk 1:51 ff., not the demons, sin, and the like.
] Infinitive of the aim , as at Luk 1:54 . In this our deliverance God designed to show mercy to ( , , Luk 1:58 ; Luk 10:37 ) our fathers (comp. Luk 1:55 , deeply afflicted by the decline of their people), and to remember (practically, by the fulfilment of what was therein promised) His holy covenant. Euthymius Zigabenus: .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
Ver. 71. That we should be saved ] Gr. Salvation from our enemies. This properly importeth the privative part of man’s happiness, but includes the positive too.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Luk 1:71 . , in apposition with ., resuming and developing the thought interrupted by Luk 1:70 , which is parenthetical. , : not to be anxiously distinguished; poetic synonyms.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Luk 1:71. , salvation) Understand, I say. The idea contained in an horn of salvation [Luk 1:69], is repeated in a briefer form. [A horn of salvation-salvation, I say, from our enemies, etc.]-, who regard us with hatred) He describes the spiritual benefits in language still in conformity with the phraseology of the Old Testament, viz. language applicable to temporal aid.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
saved
(See Scofield “Rom 1:16”)
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
we: Luk 1:74, Deu 33:29, Psa 106:10, Psa 106:47, Isa 14:1-3, Isa 44:24-26, Isa 54:7-17, Jer 23:6, Jer 30:9-11, Jer 32:37, Eze 28:26, Eze 34:25, Eze 34:28, Eze 38:8, Zep 3:15-20, Zec 9:9, Zec 9:10, 1Jo 3:8
Reciprocal: 2Sa 22:3 – my saviour 2Ki 17:39 – he shall deliver Psa 18:3 – so shall Psa 25:6 – Remember Psa 106:45 – And he Psa 136:15 – for his mercy Mic 5:6 – in the entrances thereof
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1
saved from our enemies has reference to the suffering the Jews were undergoing from the heathen powers, as well as from the influences of sin.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Luk 1:71. Salvation from our enemies. The word salvation is taken up again from Luk 1:69, the intervening verse being parenthetical (like the first clause of Luk 1:55, which expresses the same thought). That political deliverance was in the mind of Zacharias cannot be doubted, but certainly not that alone. But he chiefly prizes this political liberation as the means to a higher end, the reformation of Divine worship; Luk 1:74-75. Van Oosterzee.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Luk 1:71-75. That we should be saved from our enemies Spiritual as well as temporal, invisible as well as visible; and from the hand of all that hate us From Satan and his angels, and all adverse power, and especially from our sins. This certainly was the mind of the Spirit that now inspired Zacharias, as appears by the whole tenor of Scripture; but whether he fully understood his own words is impossible for us to say. It is certain the older prophets, in some cases, did not fully understand the prophecies which they themselves uttered. See 1Pe 1:10-11. To perform the mercy Thus he speaks because our redemption and salvation have their origin in the divine mercy, that is, in his compassion for us in our fallen state, and in his free, gratuitous grace, and goodness toward us. The original expression, , literally signifies, to exercise, or show, mercy toward or with, our fathers. Dr. Campbell translates the verse, In kindness to our forefathers, and remembrance of his holy covenant; the tenor of which covenant was, that Abrahams spiritual seed, being delivered from their enemies by the Messiah, should, under his government, worship and serve God acceptably through all generations. The oath which he sware to our father Abraham By which oath he confirmed the fore-mentioned covenant, that, as the apostle observes, by two immutable things, Gods promise given in the covenant, and oath, in either of which, much more in both, it was impossible for God to lie, all that should truly embrace the covenant, by complying with the conditions of it, in repentance, faith, and new obedience, might have strong consolation in life, in death, and for ever. That he would grant unto us For the salvation here mentioned is his free, undeserved gift; that being delivered out of the hand of our enemies Especially our spiritual enemies, the devil, the world, and the flesh, the guilt, and power, and consequences of our sins, (the Messiah being therefore called Jesus, because he saves his people from their sins, Mat 1:21,) we might serve him Might worship and glorify him, in and with our body and spirit, which are his; without fear Not without a reverential fear of God, or filial fear of offending him; a watchful fear of our enemies, or a jealous fear of ourselves, lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, we should come short of it, in which senses, blessed is the man that feareth always; but without any slavish fear of God, or that spirit of bondage from which the spirit of adoption is given to deliver true believers, Rom 8:15; Gal 4:5-7; 2Ti 1:7; and without any tormenting fear of death, or of any suffering antecedent to death, which we may be called to pass through; to deliver us from which fear Christ assumed our flesh and blood, Heb 2:14-15. In holiness Toward God, in devotedness to his glory, conformity to his image, subjection to his authority, and obedience to his will; and righteousness Toward our fellow-creatures, that is, in the continual exercise of truth, justice, mercy, and charity; before him Conscious we are in his presence, and under the continual notice of his eye, setting him always before us, and aiming to please him in every temper, word, and work, in all our desires and designs, our cares, labours, and pursuits. Here, then, we have the substance of Gods great promise, that, if we embrace and live up to our privileges, as true believers in Christ, we shall be always holy, always useful, always happy; that, being delivered from Satan and sin, from every uneasy, from every unhappy and unholy disposition and affection, we shall joyfully love and serve God in our whole spirit and conduct, and that not only on sabbath days, or times of peculiar solemnity and devotion, but all the days of our life, and every hour of every day; whatsoever we do in word or deed, and doing all in the name of the Lord Jesus, and giving thanks to God, even the Father, through him. This is the great gospel salvation prepared before the face of, and free for, all people, Luk 2:30-31.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
God’s redeeming work would involve salvation, mercy, and covenant fulfillment. Messiah’s salvation would be political and spiritual (cf. Psa 106:10). God would be merciful to the fathers by fulfilling His promises to them (cf. Mal 4:6). The oath God swore to Abraham refers to Gen 22:16-18 that included promises of victory over enemies and universal blessing (cf. Gen 26:3; Psa 106:45). The words "covenant" and "oath" are central in the chiasm, as mentioned earlier. Note the repetition of the other key words or phrases in the chiasm in the surrounding verses. These are "come" or "visit," "his people," "salvation," "hand of our enemies," and "fathers."