The announcement of John the Baptist's birth signals God's renewed activity on behalf of his people in light of promises made long ago. God is again at work to bring his promise to pass.
When God acts to fulfill his promises, he meets a wide array of needs. After a long period of silence, here God acts in the time of Herod the Great to begin realizing key aspects of his plan. Though he is concerned to fulfill his promises to Israel, God is also meeting the personal needs of a righteous couple.
Luke introduces the parents of John as pious and law-abiding. They have suffered the disappointment of barrenness, a condition Elizabeth will later refer to as a disgrace (v. 25). Elizabeth's feelings are perfectly understandable. So in the case of Elizabeth and Zechariah, God's Word and plan are coming to pass again.
The announcement of John's birth comes at a high moment in Zechariah's career. As one of about eighteen thousand priests, Zechariah serves in the temple twice a year, but only once in his life does he get to assist in the daily offering by going into the holy place. This honor had fallen to him by lot. His job was to offer incense, a picture of intercession rising to God (Ps 141:2; Rev 5:8; 8:3-4).
Everything about the announcement's timing points to a moment of high piety. Zechariah goes in while the people are praying. "May the merciful God enter the Holy Place and accept with favor the offering of his people."
As Zechariah offers up the incense and prayer, an angel appears. This announcement is unusual, however, in that the father rather than the mother receives the message. The angel's arrival produces fear in the priest. He senses the presence of God's agent and is taken back by this surprising development.
Zechariah's prayer is being answered. Since he had given up believing that God would give him a child (v. 18), his prayer has probably been focused on the nation's hope, especially since much of the angel's message focuses on this point. Nonetheless, the child will also fulfill the personal desire of Zechariah and Elizabeth, being a cause of joy and delight for them and for many in the nation.
God is tackling two requests at once, one national and the other personal, a prayer that had long since been abandoned and all but forgotten. Sometimes God's answers to prayer come in surprising ways after a long time.
The child will be named John. When God names a child, that child is especially significant in God's plan. This child will be great before God. In Luke 7:28 Jesus says that no one greater had been born of woman before John. His greatness emerges from his prophetic role and from his function as a forerunner to Jesus, as the rest of Luke 1 makes clear.
John will be a prophet. His call to the people to repent will be detailed in 3:1-20. Here the angel describes his ministry as preparing a remnant for God: Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord. In other words, he will turn Israel to the Lord their God. John will redirect those who respond to his message toward a walk with God. In fact, he will be like Elijah in his ministry.
When God touches a life, relationships with others on this earth are also touched. So John will make ready a people prepared for the Lord. This language recalls Isaiah 43:7 and 2 Samuel 7:24. This will be a nation of people God has called to himself, a faithful remnant sharing in the realization of God's promise because they have turned to him.
Zechariah's response, though coming from a pious man, is very human. He does not take the miraculous as a matter of course. He has a natural objection to the promise that they will receive a child: their old age. Zechariah understands the basics of biology and aging. He and his wife are "past their prime."
In response, the angel announces his name, Gabriel, and indicates that God will bring his promise to pass. The angel's giving his name and position communicates that his message is to be accepted as coming from the throne room of heaven. Zechariah, righteous as he is, needs to learn that God will fulfill his promises when he sovereignly chooses to act. The God of heaven may even do things out of the ordinary. The major lesson in this announcement for the priest, as well as for Luke's readers, is that God will do what he promises in his own way.
To drive the point home, Zechariah becomes temporarily deaf and dumb. This short-term judgment from God allows the priest to reflect on what he must learn. As Luke 1:56-79 shows, Zechariah will learn from his time of silence. The angel is explicit that the reason for the imposition of muteness is that Zechariah did not believe the angel's words. Sometimes we experience trial so that we can learn to trust God more.
The crowd becomes nervous because of Zechariah's delay in emerging from the holy place; they deduce that something unusual is slowing down the ceremony. According to Jewish tradition, the high priest was to recite a short prayer when he was in the Holy of Holies ministering on the day of Atonement, lest the people worry. It was assumed that God's holiness made it difficult to stay in his presence for very long. Such an attitude seems to fuel the people's concern here.
When Zechariah emerges, he is unable to give the benediction, which probably consisted of the Aaronic blessing from Numbers 6:24-26. So he signs a message. The people conclude that Zechariah has experienced a very direct encounter with heaven, a vision. Zechariah heads home, reflecting in his silence on what God is going to do.
God's word will be realized. So Elizabeth becomes the next one to encounter his work. The text simply notes this fulfillment by mentioning that she became pregnant. There is no fanfare, just a simple declaration that what the angel had promised in verses 13-17 comes to pass.
For some time Elizabeth remained in seclusion. Her withdrawal has no stated motive, though many have speculated on her reasons. What we do know is that she praised God for what he was doing through her. Her disgrace, the reproach of barrenness, was gone. Such thankfulness for the arrival of a child was common. Joy and relief are mixed together in Elizabeth. She appears to be preparing herself for what is ahead. God is powerfully at work again for Israel and for this righteous couple, who are learning anew what it is to trust God. When God speaks and acts, people are supposed to listen. His word will come to pass.
Exploring God’s Word Zechariah and John the Baptist Luke 1:5-25, 27
“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.” (Isaiah 9:2) (NASB)
A Witness to the Light
Have you ever stumbled around in the dark? Did you stub your toe? Did you trip over an object you couldn’t see? It is confusing and painful, isn’t it? Being in the dark can also be very scary, especially when you lose your way. As painful as it is to your eyes when a light is finally turned on, it is a huge relief.
Did you know that the Bible talks about something just like that? Our memory verse says that, “the people who walk in darkness will see a great light . . .” (Isaiah 9:2 NASB) These verses aren’t talking about people walking around in a dark room, though. They mean that people without God are in the dark. The darkness represents sin. God never wanted us to be separated from Him by sin, but all of us are sinners. (Romans 3:23) God promised over and over again that He would send His Son into the world to offer us a way out of a life of sin and darkness. But before God sent His Son, He announced the birth of another boy who would do very important things. Let’s see who that boy was!
During the time of the Roman Empire, while Herod was king of Judea, there was a man named Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, who “did what was right in God’s eyes. They obeyed the Lord’s commandments and rules faithfully.” (Luke 1:6 NIrV) Although Zechariah and Elizabeth were very old, they had no children.
Zechariah and Elizabeth were both descendants of Aaron. Aaron is someone we learn about in the Old Testament. He was Moses’ brother and he went with Moses to Egypt to free the Hebrew people from slavery. Because Zechariah was a descendant of Aaron, he belonged to a special group of men - a special group of priests who worked in the temple.
One day, when Zechariah was chosen to work in the temple, the angel Gabriel appeared to him. The appearance of the angel scared Zechariah, so the angel told him not be afraid. The angel Gabriel told Zechariah that his prayer had been heard, but Zechariah had prayed many prayers. Which one of those prayers had been heard?
Then, the angel Gabriel explained, “Your wife Elizabeth will have a child. It will be a boy, and you must name him John. . . He will be important in the Lord’s eyes. . . He will bring many of Israel’s people back to the Lord their God.” (Luke 1:13, 15-16 NIrV)
That’s a pretty amazing list, but Gabriel wasn’t finished. He told Zechariah that his son would prepare the way for the Promised One of God. John would prepare people to be ready for God to send His own Son. He would do that by teaching parents how to love their children. He would also teach people how to be wise and do what is right.
God kept His promise to Zechariah. His wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and she gave birth to a son. They named him John. Zechariah was filled with God’s Holy Spirit and he talked about some of the things his son would do as an adult.
“You, my son, will be called a prophet of God in heaven above. You will go ahead of the Lord to get everything ready for Him. You will tell His people that they can be saved when their sins are forgiven. God's love and kindness will shine upon us like the sun that rises in the sky. On us who live in the dark shadow of death this light will shine to guide us into a life of peace.” (Luke 1:76-79 CEV)
And that is exactly what John did. John wasn’t like everyone else. He lived in the desert. He wore camel’s hair and he ate locust and wild honey. But people came to see him and he pointed them to God’s Promised One. Some people thought that John might be the Promised One of God. John knew that he wasn’t. “John himself was not the light. He came only as a witness to the light.” (John 1:8 NIrV) John came to announce that the Light was coming into the world!
John came as a witness to the Light. But what do we need light for; we are not in the dark, are we? Actually, all of us are in the dark - or have been in the dark.
The dark represents sin and the Bible tells us that everyone has sinned. (Romans 3:23) Some people, though, believe that have no sin, while others believe they have so much sin that they can never be forgiven. 1 John 1:8, 10 say that if we claim not to be a sinner then we are calling God a liar and are only fooling ourselves.
For those of us who are very aware of our sin and who think it is beyond forgiveness, 1 John 1:9 offers hope. If we confess our sin to God, He forgives us and cleans us up, not because of who we are, but because of who He is. And when you have experienced God’s forgiveness, be like John . . . be a witness to the Light of God in your life and tell others how they can experience the same.
Review 1. Our memory verse says that people who walk in darkness will see what? (a great light) 2. What does it mean to walk in darkness? (sin) 3. What is the “great light?” (God’s Promised One) 4. Was John the Promised One from God? (No. John wasn’t the Light sent from God. John was only a witness to the light.)
Theme Verse: Isaiah 9:2
“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.” (Isaiah 9:2) (NASB)
Do It! Advent Go-Fish Bible Focus: Psalm 130:7; Isaiah 9:2; Luke 1:5-25, 27
Materials Bibles, large sheet of paper, marker, index cards (6 for each student), pencils, pens or markers
Preparation Print Psalm 130:7 on large sheet of paper, drawing lines to divide the verse into 3 sections. Do the same for Isaiah 9:2.
Lead the Game Give each student six index cards. Students copy verses onto cards, dividing verses as shown on large sheet of paper. Collect all cards and shuffle them together.
Lead students in playing a game similar to Go Fish.
Place all cards face down in a pile. Each student takes a turn to choose eight cards.
Students look at their cards to see what they need in order to complete the verse.
First player asks any student for a card he or she needs. If student has the card, he or she must give the card to the player, ending the first player’s turn. If student does not have the card, the first player chooses a card from the pile.
Play continues until one student has collected all the words of Psalm 130:7 or Isaiah 9:2 and places the cards in order face up on table or floor.
Player who won finds Psalm 130:7 or Isaiah 9:2 in his or her Bible, reads the verse aloud and tells why Jesus’ birth fulfilled Israel’s hope for love and redemption. Ask the Discussion Questions below. Repeat game as time permits.
Discussion Questions 1. Isaiah 9:2 says that people who walk in darkness will see what? (a great light) 2. What does it mean to walk in darkness? (sin) 3. What is the “great light?” (God’s Promised One) 4. Was John the Promised One from God? (No. John wasn’t the Light sent from God. John was only a witness to the light.) 5. Psalm 130:7 says to put your hope in whom? (the Lord) 6. Whose love is unfailing? (God’s)
“O Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.” (Psalm 130:7)
“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.” (Isaiah 9:2) (NASB)
Tell It!
Zechariah had to talk with his hands or write on a piece of paper. Play charades with the kids. Divide into 2 groups. Let each group act out a Bible person or situation while the other group tries to guess. Remember—no talking!
Try to act out today’s story with no talking (or act it out with speaking parts, remembering that Zechariah must be quiet after he meets the angel.)
Closing
Gather children around you.
Pray: Dear God, Thank you for loving me! In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
