An Angel Visits Zacharias

An Angel Visits Zacharias
Luke 1:1-23

The angel said, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard, and your wife shall have a son, whom you shall call John."


ZACHARIAS, THE PRIEST, was an old man. All his lifetime he had been in the priesthood, for he was a descendant of Aaron. And he had married a woman named Elizabeth who also belonged to the family of the priests. Zacharias and Elizabeth loved God and lived to please him as well as they knew how. They thought often of the promises God had given to the Jews by the old prophets who lived and died many years before their time. These promises were that some day God would send a Saviour into the world, a son of David, to rule over his people forever.
Now Zacharias and his wife had grown old, and God had never given them any children. They had prayed many times and asked God to give them a little son or a little daughter, but their prayers had never been answered. And they had lived alone in their quiet home, thinking that God was not willing to bless them with the joy of parenthood. Still they served him faithfully; for they knew God always does what is best.
Zacharias did not always work in the temple. There were many priests, and these priests served in the temple by courses, just as David had planned when he arranged for the building of the first temple in Jerusalem.
There were twenty-four courses of the priests, and Zacharias belonged to the course of Abia. When his turn came to serve he left his quiet home in the hill-country of Judah and went to Jerusalem. There he did the work that fell to him by lot. And his lot was to burn incense on the golden altar, in the holy place, or the first room of the temple, where only the priests might enter.
Twice each day, at the time of the morning and the evening sacrifices, Zacharias took his censer of burning coals from the great altar and went into the holy place alone to offer sweet perfumes upon the golden altar before God. And while he lingered in that room, the people who came up to the temple to worship stood in the court outside and prayed. This was called the hour of prayer.
One day while Zacharias was offering incense upon the golden altar he was surprised to see an angel standing on the right side of the altar watching him. At first Zacharias was very much afraid, for he had never seen an angel before.
But the angel said, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard, and your wife shall have a son, whom you shall call John. This child shall bring you much joy, for he shall be great in the sight of the Lord. He shall never drink wine or strong drink, and he shall have God's Holy Spirit dwelling in him and giving him power such as Elijah had, to turn the people from their sins to serve God."
Zacharias listened, filled with wonder as to whether these words could be really true. He thought he and Elizabeth were too old to have a child, and he asked the angel to give him a sign that he might know for sure these things would happen.
The angel answered, "I am Gabriel, the angel who stands in the presence of the Lord, and I have been sent by the Lord to tell you this glad news. But you have not believed my words, because you ask for a sign. Therefore this sign shall be given to you: You shall not be able to speak another word until the child is born."
And then the angel disappeared as suddenly as he had come.
The people stood outside waiting and wondering why Zacharias was so long in the holy place. When he came out to them he could not speak, but showed them by motions that he had seen a vision from God.
Not long afterwards Zacharias finished his course of service at the temple and returned to his home in the hill-country of Judah, as speechless as when he came out of the holy place. But he knew that the time would come when his voice would return, for he believed the sign that the angel had given to him.
Tomorrow: A Heavenly Messenger Visits Mary

Zacharias and Elizabeth Name Their Child

Zacharias and Elizabeth Name Their Child Luke 1:57-80

Zacharias writes in plain letters, so all could read, "His name is John." A TIME OF great rejoicing had come to the quiet little home in the hill-country of Judah, for God had sent the promised child to Zacharias and his aged wife, Elizabeth. And all the neighbors and relatives were rejoicing with these happy parents of the baby boy. When the child was eight days old preparations were made to give him a name, for this was the custom of the Jews. The friends and relatives said,"Let us call him Zacharias, after the name of his father." But Elizabeth answered, 'No, do not call him Zacharias, for his name is John." Why do you wish to call him John?" they asked in surprised. "You have no relatives who are called by that name." Then they turned to the old father, who had not spoken since the angel talked with him in the temple, and by making signs they asked him what they should call the child. Zacharias understood what they wished to know, and he motioned for them to bring a writing-table. This they did. Then he wrote in plain letters, so all could read, "His name is John." "How strange!" thought the people. And all at once Zacharias began to speak to them again, just as he used to speak before he had seen the angel. And he praised God for giving him this wonderful baby boy. News of this wonderful baby spread all through the hill-country, and people became much interested in him. They heard how the angel had appeared to Zacharias in the temple and promised that God would give the child, and they heard how Zacharias had been unable to speak from that time until after the baby was called by the name that the angel had given. They wondered much about these strange happenings, and they believed that surely the baby John would grow up into a great man. Zacharias received wisdom from God and spoke words of prophecy to his neighbors and friends about his little son. He blessed the Lord. And then he said to his little boy, "You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest, for you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways. You shall give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God." Many other words did Zacharias speak; and his words came true, for the Spirit of God caused him to speak those words. And Zacharias cared for his little son as long as he lived. He watched with pride the changes that came with the years in the life of his little boy. And he saw that God was blessing John and causing him to grow strong and brave. Perhaps Zacharias and Elizabeth did not live to see the day when John become a very useful man for God, for he did not begin his great work until he was thirty years old. Until that time he lived quietly in the desert country, and studied the books that God's prophets had written. He also listened much to the voice of God, and learned to understand God's will. Tomorrow: The Birth of Jesus