Zechariah and Elizabeth

While Christmas is supposed to be a time of celebration, for many it is a reminder of all the disappointments and unmet expectations of another year. In fact, that’s the exact feeling of the unlikely characters who open the story of Jesus’ birth. Rather than beginning with Jesus, the Gospel of Luke opens with a focus on an old couple who was unable to have children. But why?

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People Can Surprise You

We start our new Christmas series today by looking at the “Unlikely Cast of Characters” who played roles in the story of Jesus’s birth. I call them “unlikely” because some of them are not the type of people you would expect to find in this story about how the King of the World came to earth.

Perhaps sometime you’ve met a person who didn’t seem to fit the mold you expected. I find it fascinating to meet someone who shocks me by revealing a secret skill or talent or interest. Or maybe you find out a person you’ve known for a while has skills and prominence you never would have guessed.

In America we’ve built an entire television industry around this idea of surprising talent. We have The Masked Singer, The Voice, and America’s Got Talent, in which we love to see people astound us with talent that doesn’t seem to line up with their personas.

It all comes back to the well-worn cliché, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” A guy’s Hawaiian shirt doesn’t mean he can’t have a serious day job. An older couple who drive an old car and wear outdated clothes are not necessarily poor.

This is exactly the situation we see in the Christmas story. You wouldn’t expect an older, childless couple, stinky shepherds who live as nomads away from society, a usurping, scared king, or a teenage virgin to be in this story. Yet that’s exactly how God works. The God of the Bible is the God of the unexpected, the unlikely, and often the upside down.

Who are Zechariah and Elizabeth?

In the first chapter of his book, Luke briefly tells why he wrote this book and how he interviewed eyewitnesses to create an orderly account. He then begins his story of Jesus not with Jesus, Mary or Joseph, but with a man named Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth.

Luke 1:5-7   ⁵ In 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. ⁶ Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. ⁷ But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive and they were both very old. 

The first thing Luke tells us is “when.” He places this moment in history – “in the time of Herod, king of Judea.” We now know for certain that Herod was king of Judea from 27 BC to 4 BC. Fun fact: while we often assume Jesus was born in the year 0 (which never really existed), He was actually born several years BC. The calendar was set around Jesus’s birth event; but since our common calendar was created, we have found more accurate historical documents to pinpoint the time Jesus walked this earth. He was likely born between 7 BC and 4 BC.

After setting the time of the birth of Jesus, Luke introduces us to the “Unlikely Characters”: Zechariah and Elizabeth.

Both are of the priestly line, the descendants of Aaron. (If they had a son, he could be a priest like his father.) Both are righteous, observant of God’s commands, and blameless. They had a reputation for following God with their full hearts.

Both are very old. Very Old. We usually think it’s impolite to say that about someone, but it’s important to this story that we know this fact. Elizabeth was never able to have a child, and now that window has closed. In fact, it closed long ago.

Here’s another thing Zechariah and Elizabeth shared: they both knew disappointment.

National Disappointment

As a priest, Zechariah was acutely aware of the promises God had made about restoring the fortunes of Israel and putting a king from the line of David on the throne forever. Yet, as Luke’s story begins, the throne is filled by Herod, a Roman, claiming the title “King of Judea.” Additionally, God hasn’t spoken a word through a prophet in over 400 years. It’s as though God has forgotten about His people.

Personal Disappointment

The disappointment of Zechariah and Elizabeth goes beyond sorrow for their homeland. They have a grief much closer to their hearts: they were never able to have a family of their own. That is a more common and acceptable lifestyle today, but 2000 years ago it was seen as a sign of God’s judgment on one’s life. In Deuteronomy chapter 28 it says that a woman who fails to observe God’s commands will have her womb closed. Even though Elizabeth knows she lives a blameless life, she lacks the blessings others have experienced. I’m sure she feels shamed by quiet whispers of others assuming she has some secret sin that prevents her from experiencing God’s favor.

Perhaps you can relate. Maybe you are finishing another year of disappointment yourself.

Maybe you’ve watched your retirement fund dry up faster than expected and now feel a financial pinch. Perhaps you’ve had an endless list of physical setbacks that make it hard to enjoy the simple things in life. Some of you have experienced the increasing strain of relationships that have gone sour no matter how you tried to make things right. Still others have simply gone through another year feeling alone and unnoticed.

Regardless of your specific situation, many of you know the feeling of a life that never seems to measure up to what you imagined.

The Encounter

Why does Luke choose to begin his Christmas story about the birth of Jesus with these two: Zechariah and Elizabeth? Let’s find out.

Luke 1:8-10 – Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, ⁹ he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. 

Let me explain how this worked. There were 24 divisions of priests, each with about 750 priests who served together for a week at a time, twice a year. Twice a day a priest had to go into the Holy of Holies to make a sacrifice to God and to keep the incense burning. The priest to carry out these duties was chosen by lot, essentially a random drawing, because it was believed that it kept human desire from controlling who was selected. Instead, it put the decision into the hands of God.

We need to see two things here:

In the 40 or more years Zechariah has been a priest (over 1100 times a priest was chosen by lot) Zechariah has never received that honor.

Zechariah as finally been chosen, in this moment, by God.

All of this was in God’s perfect timing, but only God could see it that way. Over the years before this happened, I’m sure Zechariah has wondered at times why God has never allowed his name to be chosen.

Does that sound like something you can identify with? How often have you sat and felt like God has completely forgotten about you, only to see later how everything worked out perfectly, better than you could have planned for yourself?

Luke 1:11-13 ¹¹ Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. ¹³ But 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 call him John. 

Do you see Zechariah’s initial reaction? It’s probably something you can relate to. He is startled and gripped with fear. He thought he had a simple job to do; and he wanted to do it right, get in, and get out. God, however, has other plans.

I recently noticed something beautiful in this story that I never saw before: the name “John” means “God is Gracious.” The angel is telling Zechariah that he will receive this miraculous, gracious gift of a son in old age; and he is to name that son “God is Gracious.”

The most important words of this section are “Your prayer has been heard.” How many nights do you think Zechariah prayed with his wife for a child? How many nights did he listen to his wife cry over her feelings of shame and sorrow? How many times did he plead with God to give them a child? Through the years of seeing the prayer go unanswered, I imagine doubt crept in at times. Wasn’t God listening? If that is the case, how powerful it would be to hear those words, “Your prayer has been heard!”

I’m sure many of you have prayed the same prayer over and over and wondered the same thing Zechariah wondered. Does any of it matter? Does God hear? Does God reward? You need to know “your prayer has been heard.” God may not act on it in your timing. And He might not respond how you imagine He SHOULD. That doesn’t mean your prayers are falling on deaf ears. The Spirit of God resides inside you and intercedes on your behalf. God can’t ignore that, but He also isn’t required to act according to your plans or timetable. Zechariah could attest to that.

Luke 1:14-17 – ¹⁴ He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, ¹⁵ for 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 before he is born. ¹⁶ He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. 

The angel gives an important prophecy about this child’s future: that he will be great and will bring back many people to the Lord. The angel also gives requirements for how Zechariah should raise this child. Often God’s blessings are tied to our obedience. God can’t bless my home with peace if I always yell at my kids and am harsh with my wife. John needed to be raised in a unique way, specifically without ever having wine because he was instead to be filled with the Holy Spirit from his birth.

It’s interesting that the end of this passage quotes the final verses of the scriptures Zechariah had as of his day – the last verses of the book of Malachi.

Malachi 4:5-6 – ⁵ See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. ⁶ He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.

When Luke was writing this book, there was no New Testament. The Gospel of Mark had likely been written by that time, but it did not include the birth story of Jesus. Luke is beginning his book with a tie back to a time over 400 years earlier. It was, however, connected to the final word of their holy scriptures. He shows how God is clearly renewing His work with His people, picking up right where he left off.

How does Zechariah respond to the great news? He doubts the angel.

Luke 1:18 – ¹⁸ Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” 

Zechariah is not the first to doubt a promise of God. The Kingdom of God is filled with those who have wrestled with doubt.

• Abraham and Sarah, the beginning of the tribes of Israel, were in the same situation. They both laughed when they heard about 90-year-old Sarah giving birth.
• Moses, when told he would lead the massive nation of Israel out of Egypt, answered God with “Who am I?” (Essentially the same doubt as Zechariah.) “Are you sure you want me, given my situation?”

Many of you may wrestle with doubting. Perhaps you’ve been told you are not allowed to doubt, or have been called a weak Christian if you admit you have doubt. You need to hear that God has welcomed doubters into His family since the beginning of time. You need to see that people like Abraham, Moses, Gideon, Elijah, Jeremiah, Thomas, and Paul wrestled with doubt at some point. Yet they make up an impressive list of people we associate with being great in the Kingdom of God.

The Rest of the Story

Luke 1:19-25

The angel said to him, “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. ²⁰ And 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 appointed time.” 

²¹ Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. ²² When 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. 

²³ When his time of service was completed, he returned home. ²⁴ After 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.” 

Here’s an ironic twist on the story: the 400 years between the last prophet speaking for God and this moment are called “the silent years” because the voice of God was silent to His people. And now, the first person to hear from God through this angel is so surprised and in such disbelief that God provides a sign of His appearing by silencing Zechariah. I’m sure his inability to speak was frustrating and annoying; yet I wonder if he was comforted in some odd way by God’s proof that this was more than just a weird dream.

The ultimate proof that God will fulfill this promise is Elizabeth’s pregnancy. For the first time she feels her disgrace has been removed. She feels that God is on her side in showing her favor. She recognizes that the child is an incredible gift from God Himself.

That’s the point Luke wants us to see! The child placed inside Elizabeth’s womb is not to be any ordinary child. From these two Unlikely Characters we see the birth of the one who is to come before Jesus and make straight paths for the way of the Lord.

This demonstration of the supernatural work of God proved that He was BACK and about to do what He promised centuries ago! The birth of John was just the beginning of the renewal God had in store for this world. (But that’s for another day – like Christmas Day.).

What we Learn from Zechariah:

• We don’t always have the opportunity to see what God is doing in our lives, but that doesn’t mean He is not at work.
• Even though we may wrestle with doubt, we are called to have faith that God hears our prayers and is acting on our behalf.
• God wants to restore your lost hope and disappointments as well. For some of you, Christmas can be a difficult time of hurt and pain. Right now all you see are the disappointments, and hope is hard to come by. My prayer is that this coming year, rather than focusing on what’s wrong, you will focus on the God who, in His timing, can make all things right.