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Lk 1:5–25
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.” 18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. 24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
The other day I was watching the latest offering of the Star Trek franchise, Picard, which is centered on the character Captain Picard in his old age. My son sat down and watched a bit with me and asked a few questions, wanting to get a handle on the storyline. After a few minutes, he asked me if I thought he should start at the very beginning of the entire franchise to get a richer understanding of the storyline (if you know the Star Trek franchise, you know that this would be a big undertaking).
Knowing the big story of Jesus. That’s what Luke is doing here. Luke begins his Gospel by talking about the circumstances of the birth of John the Baptist and then Mary’s pregnancy, and finally, we arrive at the birth of Jesus in chapter 2. All this background is given to prepare us to hear about Jesus.
The point of this account and of Mary’s pregnancy is to demonstrate that the birth of John and Jesus flows from Israel’s history, that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises from within that history, and to awaken our hearts to hope and expectation as the kingdom of God begins to unfold in our world in and through Jesus who is Christ the Lord.
As I read through this passage there were several details which caught my attention. Zechariah and Elizabeth were both upright in the sight of the Lord. Their son John would be filled with the Holy Spirit from birth. The work of John’s life revealed in verse 17, “to make ready a people prepared.”
“Prepared for what?” we might ask.
In addition, it’s interesting that in spite of the miraculous appearing of Gabriel to Zechariah, Zechariah doubts Gabriel’s words. And finally, I’m amazed that Zechariah fulfilled his commitment even though he couldn’t speak. He finished his term of service and then went home.
It’s a fantastic starting point, showing us that God is working and moving, carrying out His plan to restore our relationship with Him. That’s part of what we see in John’s life; John is part of the fulfillment of prophecy (with echoes of Abraham and Sarah ringing in our ears from Genesis 21). Gabriel explains to Zechariah what John will do: John will be like Elijah and will prepare people for Jesus to come.
The narrative account of John’s birth raises some great questions for us, “Are we ready for God to show up in our lives? Are we ready to explore the narrative and follow where Jesus leads us?”
The answer to those questions makes the difference between being someone who simply pays lip service to God and someone who pursues God with all his heart. It is a process that we move through, growing in spiritual maturity, love, and knowledge of Christ.
Are you ready?
If you’ve said “yes” to Jesus, then my encouragement to you (and to myself) is to relentlessly pursue knowing Jesus. Take some time today to talk to Jesus about how ready you are to go where He will lead you and to trust Him with everything in your life. Daily times alone with God are critical to this process of growth and maturity in faith. Part of that process of growth is learning to acknowledge Jesus’ presence throughout the day and to grow sensitive to hearing His voice. As you do this, your relationship with Jesus will flourish and become amazing and you will be ready to follow where He leads.
God bless you and know that you are constantly in my prayers.
Scott
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