Luke 1:70

My Notes

What Does Luke 1:70 Mean?

Zacharias (John the Baptist's father), filled with the Holy Spirit, declares that God's salvation was spoken "by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began." The salvation now arriving in Jesus isn't new — it's been announced by every prophet from the earliest times. The promise is as old as prophecy itself.

The phrase "since the world began" (ap' aionos — from the age, from eternity) suggests that the prophetic announcement of salvation isn't just ancient — it's primordial. The promise didn't begin with Moses or Abraham; it began with the world. God has been speaking salvation since creation.

The emphasis on "his holy prophets" establishes the continuity between the Old Testament prophetic tradition and the arrival of John and Jesus. What Zacharias witnesses isn't a break from the past — it's the fulfillment of everything the past pointed toward. The prophets' mouths spoke what is now becoming flesh.

Reflection Questions

• 1.How does 'since the world began' change your understanding of how long God has been committed to your salvation?
• 2.What does the continuity between Old Testament prophets and the arrival of Jesus mean for how you read Scripture?
• 3.How does Zacharias's testimony (after nine months of silence) demonstrate the power of words spoken at the right time?
• 4.Where do you see the 'promise that came before the problem' pattern in your own life?

Devotional

Since the world began. That's how long God has been talking about this. Not since Moses. Not since Abraham. Since the world began. The salvation arriving in Jesus has been announced by every prophet from the very start of creation.

Zacharias — who has been mute for nine months because he doubted an angel — now opens his mouth and delivers one of the most sweeping theological statements in Luke's Gospel. The first thing he says when his voice returns is: this has been the plan all along. Every prophet. Every age. Since the world began.

The continuity is the comfort. What's happening now isn't improvisation. It's not God's Plan B after Plan A failed. It's the culmination of a promise that predates human history. Before Adam sinned, before the flood, before Babel — God was already speaking salvation through prophets yet unborn. The promise came before the problem.

This should reshape how you read the Old Testament. Every prophet — from the earliest whisper in Eden ("the seed of the woman shall crush the serpent's head") to the final oracle of Malachi — was speaking the same salvation that Zacharias now sees being born in his own generation. The unity of Scripture isn't an academic observation; it's a lived experience for a mute priest whose mouth is finally open.

The salvation you experience today was announced before the world had words. That's how long God has been committed to this. Since the world began.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture