LESSON AIM
1. We will be given an opportunity to learn some of the ways GOD works in our midst, particularly in our disappointments, to reward us for our faithfulness.
KEEP IN MIND
“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” (Luke 1:13).
The biblical content of this lesson is taken from the first chapter of Luke. In the selected passages, we see Elisabeth and Zacharias, who were faithful and righteous even though childless in their old age (vv.5-7). As we move along in the text, we read of Zacharias serving in the temple and encountering an angel of the LORD in the process (vv.8-11). We further read that Zacharias was afraid, but that the angel told him that he and Elisabeth would have a son, John (vv.12-14). Elisabeth’s child leaped in her womb when she received a visit from Mary (v.41a). Filled with the HOLY SPIRIT, Elisabeth blessed Mary and the child she was carrying and acknowledged the child as her LORD (vv.41b-45). When Elisabeth gave birth to a son, her neighbors and relatives rejoiced with her (vv. 57-58).
In this lesson, we see the response of the priest Zacharias to GOD’S answer to Israel’s hope. Here was a man who served daily in the temple, showing in his ministrations the promise of the Messiah to Israel. Yet one cannot help but wonder if he really expected the realization and actualization of his symbolic expression. We sometimes serve in hope but fail to grasp its actualization. But whether we grasp the actualization or not, what GOD seems to require of us is faithfulness in our service. In this lesson, we learn that GOD will respond to us if we remain faithful. We also learn that what may seem impossible with us is possible with GOD. The lesson also shows us that there is a common thread that runs through the lives of the people whom GOD chooses to use. There is a spirit of joy the flows from actualization to actualization as GOD’S promise becomes real in each of our lives. Look at the joy that came through the manifestation of the promise of GOD. First to Elisabeth, then to Mary, then to the child in the womb, and then to Zacharias and the people at the birth of John. WHAT A GOD!
By way of background, Zacharias and his wife were old when the angel Gabriel announced that “thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John” (Luke 1:13). The announcement came while Zacharias was going about his normal priestly duties in the temple. Zacharias knew that if he and Elisabeth were to have a child at their age, it would require a miracle of divine intervention. Moreover, Zacharias remembered that his wife had been barren all her life. Consequently, his response to the angel’s announcement is almost predictable. Upon hearing the angel’s promise, Zacharias’ response is one of awe, mixed with doubt and disbelief. His question, though understandable, nonetheless begs for proof: “Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years” (v.18).
Zacharias’ response is a reminder that even good and faithful people have doubts. It may be that by the time of their mid-life, Zacharias and Elisabeth had stopped praying for a child. But GOD refused to forget the prayers of their more youthful days and used this faithful couple in HIS unfolding plan of salvation.
1. FAITHFUL AND RIGHTEOUS, BUT CHILDLESS (Luke 1:5-7)
Elisabeth and Zacharias were faithful and righteous in their living, and they were childless in their old age—a perfect situation for the GOD who keeps promises and works miracles to exercise HIS creative will.
Zacharias, whose name means “GOD remembers,” along with his wife Elisabeth, whose name carries the flavor of “my GOD is the absolutely Faithful One,” was a model of Jewish piety. They were truly and wholly devoted to GOD and to HIS service. They lived moral and responsible lives before both their peers and GOD. “They were both righteous before GOD, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the LORD blameless” (v.6).
Zacharias was doubly distinguished in that he was a priest married to a priest’s daughter. Likewise, Elisabeth was doubly distinguished in that she was the proverbial “virtuous woman” (Proverbs 31:10), who in the folklore of that day “deserved to be married to a priest.” Obviously, the child envisioned in GOD’S mind would descend from priestly origins.
But hovering over the beauty of Zacharias and Elisabeth’s devout life, and GOD’S yet unannounced promise and plan, was the cloud of Elisabeth’s barrenness. Although they prayed fervently for a child (v.13), the couple’s advanced age canceled any dreams they may have had to be the parents or ancestors of the long-awaited Messiah. What a disappointment! For all practical purposes, nature had spoken; Zacharias and Elisabeth were past the age of bearing children.
It is a real stretch of faith to pray for a change in what nature has already declared finished. Zacharias and Elisabeth, aware of their old age, had probably given up on ever having children of their own. Surely their disappointment must have been great. Yet they did not allow their disappointment to become an occasion for bitterness nor a reason to withdraw their service and devotion to GOD. They remained faithful to GOD. Zacharias continued to perform his temple service. Elisabeth managed her barrenness with poise and dignity while she fulfilled her vows of being the loyal wife of a busy priest.
2. LISTENING AND RESPONDING TO AN ANGEL WHILE SERVING IN THE TEMPLE (vv.8-11)
While Zacharias was performing his routine duties as a temple priest, an angel of the LORD appeared and spoke to him. The angel appeared and spoke on the day when it was Zacharias’s turn to burn incense. This is significant because, given the number of priests who rendered service in the temple, a priest was privileged to burn incense only once in a lifetime. Consequently, this was a special day for Zacharias. In addition, it was a unique moment for GOD to speak to Zacharias from “the right side of the altar of incense” (see v.11).
It is also interesting to note that GOD not only chose to speak to Zacharias on this high day in his life; HE also chose a day to speak when “the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense” (.1:10). GOD tends always to speak when the whole church prays.
3. ZACHARIAS AND ELISABETH ARE PROMISED A SON (vv.12-14)
Zacharias’s natural response immediately upon seeing the angel was one of uneasiness mixed with fear. The angel’s appearance was so sudden and unexpected. Zacharias was not prepared to see what he saw, nor to hear what he heard. After all, he was deeply involved in representing the people to GOD and praying for Israel’s redemption. But GOD is always gracious and quick to reassure those who walk before HIM in righteousness.
The angel speaks comfortingly to Zacharias. The angel’s words of comfort confirmed that Zacharias’s long-standing prayer had been heard. In the same breath, the angel announced that Zacharias and his wife Elisabeth would be blessed with a son whose future would be linked with the messianic redemption of Israel. The birth of such a son, the angel concluded, would be cause for joy and great celebration.
4. ELISABETH VISITS MARY (v.41a)
During the time of her pregnancy, Elisabeth received a visit from Mary, who was also overwhelmed by an unusual pregnancy of her own. Upon Elisabeth’s hearing Mary’s greeting, the child within her “leaped” and moved with joy on her womb, causing her to surrender her thought and speech for use by the HOLY SPIRIT.
5. ELISABETH BLESSES MARY (vv.41b-45)
Filled with the HOLY SPIRIT, Elisabeth blessed Mary and the child Mary was carrying. Expressing the generosity of her spirit, Elisabeth is quick and grateful to acknowledge Mary as the mother of the promised Messiah, whom she recognizes in verse 43 as “my LORD.” Finally, in verse 45 (NIV), Elisabeth blesses and commends Mary for believing that what the LORD has said to her will be accomplished.
6. A TIME TO REJOICE (vv.57-58)
The dramatic months of suspense and holy drama passed, and Elisabeth gave birth to a son. GOD’S promises had been fulfilled, and Elisabeth’s “neighbors and cousins heard how the LORD had shown great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.”
Whenever GOD’S activity and will are manifested, it is a time for rejoicing; how much more so when GOD’S activity and will are symbolized in the birth of a child. The birth of a child is refreshing and renewing to people in almost any family or group. It is a time to rejoice—and especially so when a child is born to parents who, like Zacharias and Elisabeth, are “both righteous before GOD” (v.6).
Quite often, couples wanting children of their own grow bitter and distance themselves from GOD upon learning that they cannot have children. Rearing children on one’s old age is also a challenge. Zacharias and Elisabeth, however, remind us that barrenness need not be the occasion for forfeiting one’s faith inn GOD. Barrenness may well be a time for drawing near to GOD in hope and inn the confidence that our times are in GOD’S hands.
Moreover, the increasing number of grandparents who today are challenged to rear their grandchildren will find the story of Zacharias and Elisabeth to be a refreshing source of encouragement.
May those couples who are having difficulty conceiving children ponder Zacharias’s and Elisabeth’s story. May they take courage and wait patiently for GOD to work things out for their good.
