Knowing The Word in Luke 1:5-7

Zechariah and Elizabeth

1:5 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.

Comments

The story of the foretelling of the birth of John the Baptist is peculiar to Luke. He is the only gospel writer to record the events and activity of the Holy Spirit around this birth. In the other gospels, John appears out of nowhere. Luke gives us the backstory. He also gives us special insight into the incarnation that no other gospel does. Additionally, there are several notable parallels between the prophetic announcements by the angel Gabriel and the miraculous births of John and of Jesus.

Prophecy had ceased at the end of the Old Testament some 400 years earlier. With the advent of the Messiah, prophetic gifting has returned. Luke sets these events within the time frame of Herod the Great who died in 4 BC, meaning John and Jesus were born in the year 4 BC—four years earlier than our Christian calendar indicates.

The first character on the scene is Zechariah. He is a temple priest from the division of Abijah. Abijah had been the eighth of 24 divisions of Old Testament priests (1 Chronicles 24:10). Only four divisions return from the Exile in Babylon (Ezra 2:36-39). These four are then subdivided to make up 24 divisions. At this time, each division served twice a year for a week, meaning they rarely served in the temple itself. That a priest marries the daughter of a priest, namely Elizabeth, is understood as a blessing.

Luke tells us that Elizabeth and Zechariah are blameless. This means they faithfully serve God, not that they are sinless. Yet if they are righteous and blameless, why do they have no children? Their age is mentioned to show they are beyond childbearing years. This should remind us of other biblical couples who had pregnancy problems as well, namely Sara and Abram, the parents of Isaac. The overall biblical picture is that God intervenes in the lives of his people to carry on their generations and his purposes.

Application

Consider where God has intervened in your life. Can you think of any examples?

Prayer

Lord God, you are always watching your people, knowing every aspects of their lives: Grant each of us today an awareness of your presence in our lives and the deep knowledge of our loving kindness to whom all you have made.