Birth of Christ Through Their Eyes- Zachariah and Elizabeth

Luke 1:5-25 (NLT) When Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron. 6 Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations. 7 They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old. 

8 One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week. 9 As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. 10 While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying. 

11 While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. 12 Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. 13 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. 14 You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. 16 And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. 17 He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.” 

18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.” 

19 Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! 20 But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.” 

21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taking so long. 22 When he finally did come out, he couldn’t speak to them. Then they realized from his gestures and his silence that he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary. 

23 When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home. 24 Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. 25 “How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.” 

 

Zachariah -  

It had been 400 years since God had spoken through the prophets to His people.  This 400-year silence was broken by the angel’s announcement to Zachariah of the birth of John.   Many theologians speculate as to why the silence, however, because our God doesn’t do anything randomly, I believe it was a planned silence.   

In my research I came across this quote: “This long silence was part of His eternal plan.  He had spoken on numerous occasions and through various people, but He was now preparing to speak His greatest and most powerful Word to mankind: Jesus. A pause – a long and distinct pause- would add emphasis to that monumental revelation.” i 

Imagine being Zachariah.  You are on your normal priestly rotation, you are chosen by lot to burn the incense in the sanctuary, and without warning you encounter an angel standing next to the altar where you are working.  I totally understand the fact that he was shaken and gripped by fear.  In his lifetime and for generations before him no one had heard from God. Now suddenly not only is God speaking but He’s speaking to him.   

I heard a different take on this encounter with the angel recently and I feel like it has credence, so I’ll touch on it here.  Like Mary, Zachariah is troubled by his visitor.  He is also puzzled by how this wonderful thing the angel spoke of could happen.  I was 44 when I had Samuel.  I’m not sure about anyone else but I felt OLD.  I can totally understand why Zachariah questioned the angel as to how this could happen.  Elizabeth was much older than I was, and I had already had a child, she had not.   

Zachariah's next question seems natural too.  “How will I know this will happen?”  Looking at it now, with the entirety of Scripture at our disposal it seems almost disrespectful to God to ask this, however, we need to remember the 400 years of silence as well as the fact that Zachariah and Elizabeth had prayed for their entire marriage for a child/son.  Now face to face with an angel, Zachariah is skeptical and wants a sign.   

I really don’t believe he was struck mute out of anger on God’s part; however, I have heard this preached most of my life.  To gain a bit of perspective on God’s response to doubt let’s look John 20:24-29 (NLT) One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. 25 They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” 

But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” 

26 Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” 

28 “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. 

29 Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” 

Here we read that Thomas refused to believe Jesus was alive even though he had been a disciple of Jesus and had seen Him perform vast miracles and had heard Jesus declare that he would rise again.  We don’t read anywhere that Jesus was angry with Thomas.  He simply told him that those who believe without seeing are blessed.  I believe that Thomas may have robbed himself of a blessing, but Jesus was not angry with him.   

I believe that there is a two-fold purpose in Zachariah being mute. First, he asked for a sign and boy did he get one.  I don’t know about you but 9 months of not being able to talk would not be fun for me.    

Secondly, I believe he was silenced so he would not rob Elizabeth of the blessing she was about to receive.  His doubt and fear would have been contagious. Elizabeth, too, had prayed for a child and now she was about to receive the answer to all those years of crying and praying.   I also think that if Zachariah had been able to talk, he would have wanted to tell everything the angel told him and some of that needed to be kept to himself until the right time for its revelation.  

God is not intimidated by our questions or even our struggle to believe, however, He tells us that if we believe, ALL things are possible.  Faith is not believing in what we see, it’s believing in the face of what we cannot see.  It’s accepting as fact what God has said even when our senses cannot comprehend its reality.   

Hebrews 11:1 (AMPC) Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]. 

 

Elizabeth-  

Psalm 127:3-5, Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. 4 Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands. 5 How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them.  He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates. 

We read accounts in the Old Testament where God cursed men and women with barrenness as a punishment for sin.  (I.E. Leviticus 20:20-21; Jeremiah 22:30; Genesis 20:17-18) 

There are also many accounts of infertility among the Israelite women with unknown causes.  (I.E. Sarha, Rebekah, Rachel, Samson’s mother, Hannah, and the Shunamite woman.)  We know that each of the women listed above eventually were blessed by God with children.  However, they each faced disgrace, humiliation, and heartache.   

In Jewish culture, bearing children was a woman’s desire. Her duty, so to speak.  “We know from the biblical texts that children were much desired.  Genesis 1:28 and 9:1 utter the command to be fruitful and multiply, and many biblical narratives focusing on women are concerned with carrying out this command. In a social structure that understood a female’s life cycle as daughter, wife, and mother, the social role of a woman was centered on the domicile and insuring its continuity. Yet, barrenness or infertility were a reality for many ancient Israelite women, so much so it was considered a disability.”  ii 

            Elizabeth had no doubt endured her unfair share of ridicule and gossip.  As we read in Luke 1:25, 25 “How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.”  She had felt disgraced for being barren.  Elizabeth’s disgrace was not only taken away, now she received the honor of bearing the forerunner of the Messiah.   

Luke 1: 39-45, A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town 40 where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. 41 At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 

42 Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. 43 Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? 44 When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. 45 You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.” 

Here we read that Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit upon hearing Mary’s voice.  The child she was carrying also reacted to the presence of Mary.  God gave the once barren Elizabeth a son, as well as the prophetic knowledge that Jesus was indeed the Messiah (Lord).   

 

After waiting for all those years for a child, Zachariah and Elizabeth received not only a son, be got to be active participants in the revelation of the Messiah to the world. After 400 years of silence, God’s grand announcement was being heard throughout the then known world.  Isaiah 7:14, Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 

Jesus is indeed: GOD WITH US!!!!! 

 

Endnotes:

i https://www.olivetree.com/blog/what-happened-between-old-and-new-testament/

ii https://bibleinterp.arizona.edu/articles/world-children-hebrew-bible