And there came a fear on all, and they glorified God, saying that a great prophet is risen up among us, and that God hath visited His people. Luke 7:16
Why do we say, when we are parting from a friend for awhile, ‘I’ll see you later’? Or why when we greet a friend, do we say, ‘It’s good to see you’? It’s because there is a very close language link between seeing and visiting. The Hebrew word that is translated visit in our text is the word from which we get ‘video’, which means ‘to see’. That is why, when we speak of visiting someone, we speak of seeing them. And that is why, when the people in our text speak of God visiting His people, they are speaking of God seeing them. Remember the occasion when Joseph was giving his final address to his brethren before he died, as he was giving commandment concerning his bones, he looked forward in prophecy to the delivery of the Israelites from Egypt by saying ‘God will surely visit you’ (Genesis 50:25). Later, as God is speaking to Moses from the burning bush, He declares, ‘I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt’. Is it any wonder that the folks in Jesus’ time were excited about a visit from God?
Maybe the people did not fully realize the impact of a visit from God. Some of them spoke of Jesus as a great prophet. Perhaps they felt like people in centuries earlier who would appreciate God’s visiting them by sending great prophets such as Elijah and Isaiah. But regardless of how much they understood and appreciated, they were speaking truth when they referred to God visiting His people. Think of the words of John 1:15: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. These words speak of His visit, a 33 year sojourn among humanity. Surely none could ever say of Him that He did not see or know of the afflictions of mankind, because He lived among us, choosing a feedbox in a Bethlehem barnyard for His first cradle, growing up in an earthly family in Nazareth, spending His ministry in the company of fishermen and tax collectors, associating with the humble country folk of the Galilee area, and taking His place between two malefactors in his crucifixion. As we consider His coming, His life, His death, we must exclaim, ‘what a visit!’
But His visit is not yet complete. Each of us who has trusted Him as our Saviour and Lord can truly say He visited us personally in salvation. And we can also say with a certainty that He continues His visit with us every day, providing us with His Word and His promises and His provision in His ‘I will never leave thee nor forsake thee’ (Hebrews 13:5) But one day, our Guest will come to us to invite us to be eternal guests in His home.
God hath indeed visited His people. How very precious that is to His people today! -Jim MacIntosh