Zechariah And Elizabeth Series

Introduction

A few weeks ago, my wife and I had an annual Christmas dinner with the Tampa Bay area PCA pastors and their wives. It was a lovely time with about a dozen couples. At one point during the evening, one of the pastors asked me, “What are you preaching for Advent?”

I said that for Advent I was preaching on the characters of Christmas.

He responded, “Oh, so you are preaching about Santa Claus, Rudolph the red-nose reindeer, the Grinch, Charlie Brown, George Bailey, and so on?”

So, to make sure that people don’t misunderstand our Advent series, I have titled it, “The Characters of Christ’s Birth.”

Last week, Rev. Scott Simmons preached about Joseph. Today, I would like to preach about Zechariah and Elizabeth. In the upcoming weeks, I would like to preach about the Wise Men, Mary, and finally conclude with Jesus on December 25.

Scripture

Let us read Luke 1:5-25:

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.

8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 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. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 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. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 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.”

18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 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. 20 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.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 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. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.” (Luke 1:5-25)

Lesson

Luke 1:5-25 shows us God’s promise of a son to a childless couple.

Let’s the following outline:

1. The Childless Couple (1:5-7)

2. The Angelic Visitor (1:8-12)

3. The Promised Son (1:13-17)

4. The Unbelieving Father (1:18-23)

5. The Believing Mother (1:24-25)

I. The Childless Couple (1:5-7)

First, let’s begin by looking at the childless couple.

As a good historian, Luke began by noting that the account he was about to narrate took place in the days of Herod, king of Judea (1:5a). He reigned from 37 to 4 BC, and it was a time of oppression for the people of God.

During these difficult times, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah (1:5b). King David organized the priesthood into twenty-four divisions (1 Chronicles 24:4-19), the eighth of which was that of Abijah (v. 10). But, after the Babylonian Captivity, only four of the twenty-four divisions returned to Judah (Ezra 2:36-38). The Jews, however, still wanted twenty-four divisions. So the leaders divided the remaining four divisions back into twenty-four divisions, and restored their former names to them. So, Zechariah, while he was a descendant of Aaron, was probably not in the family line of Abijah (since Abijah was one of the divisions that did not return after the exile); nevertheless, he served in the division that bore the name of Abijah.