Hope In The Darkness Series

“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. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

“Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 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. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 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. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 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.’

“And Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.’ 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. 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.’ And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 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. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

“After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, ‘Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.’” [1]

Few people among modern churches seem to realise that the Christmas story properly begins with an older Jewish priest and his equally aged wife. No doubt a strong argument could be made that the story begins with the Fall in the Garden of Eden, but I am prepared to argue that the Christmas story begins with an older, childless couple. At the very least, the story begins to intensify with this older couple.

Zechariah’s wife was likely on the far side of menopause. The possibility that Elizabeth would ever be a mother had grown remote, or even somewhere beyond remote. The couple appear to have accepted that no child would ever grace their home; they would never be parents in the normal course of things. Then God took control.

It is appropriate to note that Luke begins his account of the ministry of Jesus the Messiah by telling his readers about John the Baptist. On this first Sunday in the current Advent Season, I invite you to join with me in focusing on the Forerunner. Wait a minute! Aren’t we supposed to focus on Jesus during the Advent Season? Well, yes, we should focus on Jesus during this season. However, we know that before Jesus, there was John. And we will do well to learn what is revealed concerning the Baptist, the man of whom Jesus testified, “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist” [MATTHEW 11:11a]. High praise, indeed! However, what is often forgotten is what Jesus continued to say. “Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” [MATTHEW 11:11b]. John the Baptist was greater than anyone born of a woman, and yet, you, even if you are the least in the Kingdom of Heaven, are greater than John. Perhaps it is time for us to learn who this John is, in order to see ourselves as God sees us.