Scholars believe that Matthew tells the story of Jesus’ birth from Joseph’s perspective, and Luke tells it from Mary’s point of view. In fact, Biblical scholars believe that the first two chapters of Luke probably come entirely from interviews that Luke did with Mary. Mary must have gotten this account of the appearance of Gabriel to Zechariah from Elizabeth while she stayed with them.
The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
5In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly. 7But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.This is a story about how God can answer our prayers and fulfill our dreams even when we have given up on them. Luke makes sure we understand that Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous and faithful to God, yet they had no children. This would have been a contradiction in that society. It was considered shameful to be barren, and if you were, most people would think you had done something wrong. But here was a couple who had served the Lord faithfully all their lives, and yet had never received the desire of their heart. If your dreams have not come true, and your prayers have not been answered, it doesn’t necessarily mean there’s something wrong with you. Zechariah and Elizabeth had probably given up on praying for a child now that they were old. Even if you’ve given up on praying for something out of discouragement like they may have, this story shows how God has heard and has not forgotten those prayers.
8Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
This duty was a special, once in a lifetime privilege for a priest. There were so many priests at that time that they were chosen by lot for this duty. Zechariah had waited for this opportunity his whole life. Now, as an old man, he finally got to do it. Three priests were chosen by lot for the morning and evening sacrifices; one to cleanse the altar, one to kill the sacrifice and sprinkle the blood, and one to burn the incense and pray for the nation. This last duty was the greatest privilege. The other two repeated their duty at the evening sacrifice that day, but the priest who burned the incense did it only once. The three priests entered the sanctuary together while the crowd of worshipers gathered outside the sanctuary. The Levites prepared to lead the people in singing when the sacrifice was completed. Zechariah had seen this happen many times as a worshiper. He knew what was expected. How many times had he, as a worshiper, anticipated his opportunity to enter the sanctuary? For how many years had he looked forward to this day?
11Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. 14He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.[b] 16Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. 17And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Tomorrow I will comment further on Gabriel’s greeting, “Do not be afraid!” He uses the same greeting with Mary later in this chapter. In fact, every time an angel appears to anyone in the Bible, they have to say that. But Gabriel doesn’t stop there. He says, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard.” Sure, Zechariah was naturally startled and was gripped with fear when he saw the angel, but Gabriel didn’t just want to calm Zechariah at his appearance; he wanted to assure him that his prayer had been heard. Which prayer? Normally, when the priest chosen to burn the incense performed his duty, he prayed for the whole nation, and that the Messiah would come. That must have been what Zechariah thought Gabriel meant at first, that God had heard his prayer for the nation and the Messiah. He had probably stopped praying for a child a long time ago. But God was about to answer both prayers in a way Zechariah and Elizabeth could never have expected.
The promise in verse 15, that he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth shows that God can be at work in us even at the earliest age. John was a special case, but I can’t help but believe that John’s special infilling of the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb, as some translations put it, was at least partially a result of Zechariah and Elizabeth’s faithfulness for so many years. Do you think this kind of birth could take place for a couple who were marginal in their faith?
I also love the promise in verse 17. John was to go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah. Elijah called the nation to repentance, and so would John. The rest of Gabriel’s promise is a quote from Malachi 4:5-6.
18Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
19The angel answered, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time.”
Zechariah asks what strikes me as a perfectly reasonable question. I’ve often wondered why God punished Zechariah for asking this question when he simply answered a very similar question from Mary right after this. Why punish Zechariah but not Mary? I think maybe it’s because Zechariah was old, and a priest, and had been serving the Lord for a long time. He had been praying for a child and for the Messiah to come for many years, and then when God finally answers his prayer, he questions it. Maybe because Mary was a young teenage virgin, Gabriel was more patient with her, but he expected Zechariah to know better.
This was a severe punishment for a couple of reasons. First, when Zechariah stepped out of the sanctuary, he was supposed to pronounce the blessing. There was a crowd waiting outside for him to do that. I’ve been in front of crowds expecting me to sing and forgotten my words, so I know what that feels like. But the worst part is, he couldn’t tell anyone the amazing news he had just gotten. When you get some good news, the first thing you want to do is tell someone, but Zechariah couldn’t do that because he had questioned God.
21Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.
23When his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25“The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”
After the first two priests came out of the sanctuary, the crowd was expecting Zechariah to come out and pronounce the blessing soon thereafter. When he did not, they would have started to be afraid that God had stricken him dead. Plus, they had a program, and they were anxious to get to it. The Levites were ready to sing their song, the crowd was ready to play their part, but God interrupted their program. He had something different in mind. Oh, that God would move and interrupt our programs more often!
After decades of faithful service, God answered Zechariah and Elizabeth’s two greatest prayers and desires at once. Whatever you are praying for, whether it’s for a loved one, or healing, or for that special person to come into your life, or whatever it is, don’t give up. God hears your prayers, and he will answer. Maybe not in the way you expect, or in the timing you hope for, but God does all things well.
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