5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
(ESV)
After the authors dedication, the book begins. And as it does we are told that we are joining a much longer story.
In keeping with what Luke has told us about his book, we are taken to a particular moment in time (“the days of Herodâ€) and we meet a man. In many ways Zechariah is very ordinary - one of the priests who served at the temple. There are some important things to notice about him and his wife though.
They are unusual examples of what it meant to follow the Lord. You might expect that of a priest, but history tells us that wasn’t always true. “Righteous†and “blameless†doesn’t mean they were perfect, but it does mean they were right with God because they did all that he asked them to do, and that they were the kind of people no one could accuse of doing wrong.
They also knew unusual sadness. “They had no childâ€, and that looked as if this would continue for the rest of their lives.
Luke introduces us to Zechariah on an unusual day in his life. He was chosen to enter the temple. This was a high honour, rarely occurring more than once in a priest’s lifetime. He’d have held his breath (He would have wondered “what is this going to be like?â€). The crowds outside would have held their breath, as they did every time a priest disappeared from view to meet God in the temple. Would he come out alive?
As Zechariah entered the temple he met “an angel of the Lord.†Not just any old angel, but the most important heavenly messenger from God himself! And he brought Zechariah a wonderful promise. Their prayers have been answered. His wife will become pregnant and give birth to a son!
Yet it’s not the fact of this child’s birth which is so amazing, it is who he will be. Every parent has hopes and dreams for their offspring. Zechariah would never have dreamed his son would be one who was hoped for not just by him but by all of God’s people. The Old Testament promised that God would send a messenger to draw people back to him, and to prepare the way for the Lord himself to come. Zechariah’s son will be that man.
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