1. Lesson One of the Book of Daniel, Introduction to the Book of Daniel

The Book of Luke, The Entrance of John and Jesus, Part I – Lesson 3 

Luke 1:5-38, 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. ⁶And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. ⁷And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. ⁸And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, ⁹According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. ¹⁰And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. ¹¹And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. ¹²And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. ¹³But 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. ¹⁴And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. ¹⁵For 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. ¹⁶And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. ¹⁷And 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. ¹⁸And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. ¹⁹And 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 show thee these glad tidings. ²⁰And, 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. ²²And 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. ²³And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. ²⁴And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, ²⁵Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men. 

As we begin our actual study of Luke’s gospel, it is easy to see the emphasis of the inter-twining of the lives of John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus Christ.   

Luke begins with that inter-twining. 

Luke, as we have already noted, begins at precisely the place where the prophet Malachi left off 400 years before this events that we are here to study.  

The final words of the Old Testament speak of the coming of one who would prepare the way of the Lord.  

Malachi 4:3-6,  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: ⁶And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. 

Luke recalls the words of the angel as he announced John’s coming as the angel compared him to Elijah who Malachi tells us will come before the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.  

Luke 1:17,  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. 

So John and Elijah were to have similar missions, John concerning the first coming and Elijah concerning the second coming. 

So after Luke’s brief but richly filled introduction he starts his account of the gospel with the report of Gabriel’s announcement of the coming birth of John to Zacharias. 

Luke 1:5-7, 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. ⁶And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. ⁷And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. 

Zacharias (the Lord remembers) and Elizabeth (el-ee-sab'-et)

(God of the Oath)(My God is the absolutely faithful One), the parents of John the Baptist, are introduced in verses 5-7.  

There are two different emphases to be found here. 

On the one hand, the description of this couple reveals those characteristics which would have made them unacceptable to their contemporaries in Judaism.  

On the other hand, we are given those positive qualities for which they found favor with God, and which were the basis for God’s selection of them as the parents of John. 

We will look at the “negative” qualities as far as man is concerned, first. 

(1)    So far as Judaism was concerned, Zacharias and Elizabeth were obscure and insignificant people, who were not of sufficient social or economic standing to have been granted (in the mind of man) the privilege of being the parents of John.  

In many respects Zacharias seemed different from those around.

His home was not in either of the great priest centers in Jerusalem, nor in Jericho — but in some small town in those uplands, south of Jerusalem: the historic ‘hill-country of Judaea.’ (See Luke 1:39 

Zacharias was a priest, but not one of great renown.  

Neither by his training nor by his place of residence was Zacharias set apart as a cut above his peers.  

In our terminology, this couple was from the “Ozarks,” a hillbilly priest and his wife.  

And where one came from did matter to the Jews.  

You will recall Nathaniel’s response upon learning that Jesus was from Nazareth: 

“Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46). 

Can any good thing come out of Milton Florida we may likewise think.  It is good to go up in an airplane from time to time, for whenever I do the Lord brings to my mind the thought of how little and insignificant we are.  What dots we be at only 1000 ft and at 35,000 feet you can not even see the interstate highways.  

Psalm 8:4,  What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? 

(2)    Zacharias and Elizabeth were elderly and without children.  

There was a tremendous stigma attached to being without children, one which the woman probably felt most keenly.  

It may well have been thought that their predicament was the “judgment of God,” for some sin they had committed.  

Recall the question of John 9:2.  

John 9:2, ¹And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. ²And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? 

In contrast to the negative factors in Zacharias and Elisabeth bearing John there were two characteristics which Luke records which weighed heavily in their favor: 

(1)    Zacharias was a priest, and both he and his wife were of the tribe of Aaron (Luke 1:5).  

It seems to have been important to God that John be of the priestly line, even though John’s function was largely prophetic.  

(2)    More important than their physical lineage was their spiritual devotion.  

Both Zacharias and Elizabeth were described by Luke as “righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord” (1:6). 

Not only was this a priestly couple, but they were a godly couple as well.  

Their lives were lived in obedience to the Law of Moses.  

God does not choose just anyone to bring into this world his servant who is to go before His son.   

He lifteth up the humble and puts down the proud. 

From the perspective of the Law of Moses, their devotion to God expressed by their obedience to the Law, did make it possible for God to bless them through the birth of John. 

An Angelic Appearance and Announcement (1: 8-17)

⁸And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, ⁹According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. ¹⁰And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. ¹¹And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. ¹²And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. ¹³But 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. ¹⁴And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. ¹⁵For 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. ¹⁶And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. ¹⁷And 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. 

There were many priests in those days and thus the priestly duties were allocated according to divisions of priests (cf. 1 Chronicles 24).  

The division was one of 24 groups of priests, drawn up in David’s time (1 Chron. 24:7-18).  

The priests in each division were on duty twice a year for a week at a time.  

Zechariah was of the division of Abijah as we are told in Luke 1:5.  

When it came time for the order of Abijah’s division (cf. vv. 5, 8) to perform the temple duties, Zacharias went to Jerusalem.  

There, he was chosen for the very high privilege of burning the incense, which he would have done either in the morning or the evening.  

This was such a high privilege it could be done by a priest only once in a lifetime.  

It was a very coveted task. 

One can only imagine the feelings which Zacharias must have experienced the evening before his duty was performed.  

On the one hand, he must have rejoiced in the high privilege which was his, which he had hoped for all his life.  

On the other hand, he must have reflected on Leviticus chapter 10, which records the death of Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s sons, for carrying out this ritual in a wrong manner and were slain because of it.  

Thus, there were the mixed feelings of rejoicing and fear.  

He probably carefully rehearsed in his mind exactly how he would perform his duty, so that he would emerge from the holy place alive. 

On the day of his duty, Zacharias went into the holy place, where he was to burn the incense.  

Meanwhile, outside a crowd assembled for prayer.  

I would take it that the prayers of the people were both for the fulfillment of God’s promises to His people, that is for the coming of the King and the establishment of Messiah’s kingdom.  

Included as well, perhaps, were prayers for the safety of Zacharias, as the dangers of his duty were well known. 

Can you imagine the sense of awe and wonder Zacharias must have felt as he entered into the semi-darkness of the holy place, illuminated only by the light of the lampstand?