People Of The First Christmas: Zacharias And Elisabeth Series

(Full disclosure: this message is based on a sermon preached at New Hope Baptist Church, Fulton, MO on 12-01-2024. This is not an exact transcription.)

Introduction: It’s hard to believe, we’re now in December! There are only 20 or so shopping days until Christmas Day and, we shouldn’t be surprised, we’ll get notified of this any number of times via TV, radio, or any other form of media!

But maybe we need to step back and think about the First Christmas, and some of the people who were part of that story. Today we’ll look at a kind of unlikely “first Christmas people”, the priest Zacharias and his wife Elisabeth.

The text this morning comes from Luke’s gospel, chapter 1, starting at verse 5:

Text: Luke 1:5-23, KJV: 5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, 9 According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. 14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. 15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. 16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. 19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. 20 And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

21And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless. 23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.

<Opening prayer>

1 His Dilemma, verses 5-7

Text: Luke 1:5-7, KJV: 5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

As incredible as it may seem, these days a number of women (and, I suppose, a number of men as well) have decided to be childless. There are numerous excuses—ah, reasons—why they have made that decision such as “the planet can’t sustain more people” to “we just don’t want kids” as well as those who have genuine medical problems which prevent a would-be mother to conceive and bear a child.

But in the days of the Bible, being childless was considered a serious example that God was not pleased with the couple. Again, there could be medical problems but there were two instances where a couple was guaranteed to be childless. According to Leviticus 20:20-21, (20 And if a man shall lie with his uncle's wife, he hath uncovered his uncle's nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless. 21 And if a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless.) if a man had marital relations with his aunt, or if he did the same thing with his sister-in-law (while his brother was still alive, implied), either of those offenses would cause a couple to be childless.