Throughout the times of the Hebrew Scriptures, God communicated with humanity through prophets. The first prophet as recorded in the bible was a woman, Miriam, who was Moses’ sister (Exodus 15:18). From Miriam to Malachi, the Israelites were guided, directed, pushed, prodded, exhorted, called, and even on occasion threatened by those who spoke for God. But then came the silence. Four hundred years of silence. For four hundred years, the people had to get by on their own initiative. For four hundred years, there were no more prophets.
But then came the time for Messiah. God’s time to raise up another prophet to announce Messiah’s coming. The story of Jesus cannot be told without telling the story of John, who would be called the Baptist. So his story begins.
During the time when Herod was king of Judea, there lived a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife, Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. (Luke 1:5)
Aaron was Moses’ brother. Aaron’s entire family and all his descendants were appointed by God to be the priests of Israel. Over the years, the family grew so large that they were grouped in twenty-four divisions, one of whom was Abijah’s. So both Zechariah and Elizabeth were priests.
Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, and observed all of God’s commandments and rules religiously. But they had no children. Elizabeth was barren, and they were both getting along in years. Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was engaged as priest before God, Zechariah was chosen by a lottery, according to the tradition of the priesthood, to enter the temple of God and burn incense. When the time came to burn the incense, all the worshippers were gathered outside praying. (Luke 1:6-10)
Because Aaron’s descendants by now were so many, an individual priest might be allowed to light the incense only once in their lifetime. For some, it was never. To be able to light the incense was considered a supreme honor. Since the priest was chosen based on a lottery, it would have been understood that God chose the person. For a priest, this moment was the most profound in his life. Twice a day, both morning and evening, incense was burned and a sacrificial offering was made to God for the protection of the country, in the inner court of the Temple. The congregation, meanwhile, worshipped in the outer court of the temple. The priest was to burn incense, make the offering to God, then come out and bless the people. And so it was with Zechariah, when a strange occurrence happened.
Then an angel of God appeared to Zechariah, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw the angel, he was at first startled, but then became terrified. The angel spoke: “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife, Elizabeth, will have a son, and you are to call him John. (Luke 1:11-13)
It is interesting to note that while Luke does not describe the appearance of the angel, he does point out the exact position in the temple where the angel appeared. Perhaps the apparition was so dazzling that Zechariah was afraid even to look, though he certainly would have remembered the spot afterward. That God would choose to name him shows the special closeness John was to have with God. John’s name infers that God shows favor or that God is gracious. Notice that God seems here to repeat a pattern. Abraham and Sarah were in their nineties before they bore Isaac.
He will bring you much joy and delight. Many will praise God because he was
born, because he will be great in God’s sight. He is never to drink any kind of
alcoholic beverage. Right from birth, he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He
will cause many Israelites to return to God. He will go before God,
demonstrating the same spirit and power that Elijah had. The hearts of parents
will turn to their children, and the rebellious to the wisdom of the righteous,
to make people ready and prepared for the Sovereign.”
“How do I know this is true?” Zechariah asked the angel. “I’m an old man, and my
wife is getting along in years, too.” (Luke 1:14-18)
Just think how Zechariah must have felt to be told such wonderful things–he would have a son, which was a wonderful blessing to a Jewish man in that day. Not only that but God would consider him a great man. He’d be filled with the Holy Spirit, and would be a reconciling factor in bringing people back to God. Elijah was considered one of the greatest people in Jewish history, and now the angel was telling Zechariah that John would be just like him. He would be God’s field commander, as it were. John would be so great, in fact, that because of him neglectful parents would become more diligent in their duties of educating their children, and uncooperative people would turn to become amenable to righteousness. And all this work that John would do would be to prepare the people for the advent of the Messiah.
This all must have sounded too good to be true to Zechariah. He challenges the angel, saying, Hold on, now. I’m going to need some proof here. My wife and I are long past child bearing years. Isn’t that typical of we humans? Back in verse thirteen the angel acknowledges that Zechariah’s prayer is about to be answered. We don’t know how long Zechariah’s been praying, but it could very well be that he’s been praying for a baby nearly all his life. Now that he’s in his twilight years, God finally is going to get around to it. In spite of the angel’s apparently miraculous appearance in the Temple, Zechariah still demands proof.
The angel replies, “I am Gabriel. My place is to stand before God, and I have been sent to give you this good news. Now you will be mute and not able to speak until the day this comes to pass, because you didn’t believe what I told you, which will come true in due time.” (Luke 1:19‑21)
Gabriel is only one of two angels mentioned by name in the Bible (the other is Michael). Gabriel, whose name means man of God or strength of God, is mentioned several times. He appeared to Daniel more than once, and appeared to Mary, as well as to Zechariah. Gabriel says that his place is right in the Court of God.
Though it might seem at first glance that Gabriel is punishing Zechariah for his lack of faith, rather than punishing him, Gabriel is giving Zechariah the proof he asks for. Gabriel takes away his ability to speak. While it is not exact proof of a pregnancy, it certainly is proof that the power of God is present and working in his life.
Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he was staying so long in the temple. By the time he came out, he could no longer speak. They came to the conclusion he had had a vision in the temple, because he kept trying to make signs to them, but he continued to be unable to speak. (Luke 1:21-22)
Imagine the reaction of the people when Zechariah came out and could no longer speak! Imagine the awe and wonder they would have experienced that something miraculous had happened only a few feet away from where they were standing, even if they didn’t know what that something was. They just knew that the power of God was present and working among them. What an experience!
When his temple duty was completed, Zechariah returned home. Soon his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant, and secluded herself for the next five months. “God has done this for me,” she said. “After all this time, God has favored me and taken away my disgrace among the people.” (Luke 1:23-25)
In that time, it was considered disgraceful for a married couple not to have children. It was always assumed it was the wife’s fault, and in fact, was grounds for divorce. Some rabbis believed that to remain childless was to be banished from God, for breaking the “commandment” to be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 1:28).
LIFE APPLICATION