I have just begun a series preaching through Luke’s gospel. Immediately I ran into the difficult preaching portions where an angel of the Lord prophesies about John the Baptizer’s role (Luke 1:13-17). Then, in Luke 1:67-79 Luke records Zechariah’s own prophecy about Jesus and John’s missions. I found it helpful to focus on the fact that these prophecies are God’s interpretation of Jesus and John’s missions. Key elements of our salvation are contained in these prophecies. God’s definition of their mission contains information that helps us understand later portions of Luke’s research about Jesus. For instance, these opening prophecies highlight the often-neglected aspect of repentance (cf. Luke 1:17), being redeemed to serve God (Luke 1:74), and justification leading to the goal of our holiness (Luke 1:75).