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. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

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

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

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

Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him (Luke 1:5-25, 57-66).

We in the church often talk about God as one who can do the impossible. That is most certainly truth. It’s borne out time and time again in Scripture. What we seem to forget, however, is that not only is God the one who can do the impossible, but that He does! And when He does, He brings glory to himself, through the testimony of many. The birth of John the Baptizer is a classic example.

Touched By an Angel

Let’s visit the Temple and eavesdrop on a conversation with Zechariah. This isn’t any ordinary conversation, though. He’s on duty in the Temple, offering incense. He “just so happened” to be chosen by lot to enter the Temple and burn incense. Luke tells us, “And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him” (Luke 1:11-12).

That seems to be a common reaction, doesn’t it? One sees an angel and trembles with fear. (Why else would an angel’s first words need to be, “Do not be afraid?”) The angel tells the frightened priest that very thing: “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. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord” (vv. 13-15). Let’s pause here for a moment. Luke has told us that Elizabeth was barren and “advanced in years.” They were too old to have a child. In that culture and time, to be barren was considered (as Elizabeth called it) a reproach, a sign of disfavor from the Lord. No doubt they had prayed for a long time for a child, and now they were too old. But now was the time the Lord chose to send His messenger.

Your wife will conceive and have a son, and you’ll call Him John.

What was that Mr. Angel? A son, you say? (Must have had too much wine.)

Yes, a son. And not only will you rejoice but his birth will cause many to rejoice.

Oh man.

The implication here is this: the word the angel spoke was not only for Zechariah and Elizabeth but also for those around them. We saw the same thing in the Lord’s promise to Abram (Gen. 12:1-3). Abram is told that through him (his descendants), all the families of the earth would be blessed.

But, Zechariah has a problem. He can’t get past the little detail of age. He and Elizabeth are “advanced in years.” That likely means well past what we would consider “middle age.” Elizabeth’s body had become “barren,” sterile. A literal definition might be hard (the sense being something that is drying up). To be fair, those are rather daunting details for a human to consider. So, he asks a question:

Mr. Angel, how will I know this will happen? After all, I’m an old man and, and my wife is advanced in years (not to mention barren).

At first glance, it seems a reasonable question. Yet it shows traces of unbelief (which is different than simple doubt). Mary asked a similar question (to the same angel, no less): “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34). Sounds almost like the same question, doesn’t it? But there’s a subtle difference. Zechariah asked, “How will I know this?” and proceeded to list the reasons why it couldn’t be. He was asking for a sign of confirmation—much as the Jews of later years would ask of his son and Jesus. Mary, on the other hand, asked for a simple explanation. “I don’t understand how this can happen. I am a virgin. Joseph and I aren’t married yet.” The angel answered her question simply, “The Lord will overshadow you.” For Zechariah, however, the response was different:

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. 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 (Luke 1:19-20).

They seem pretty harsh. Why did Gabriel feel the need to give his name? His job is as a messenger. A messenger speaks on behalf of another. Thus, “I am Gabriel who speak to you, and the words I speak are not my own, but God’s, in whose presence I stand.” The words have the feel of almost an oath. Because God has spoken, His words are to be believed, and Zechariah’s question borders on calling Gabriel a liar—and thus God. Thus, to prevent Zechariah’s unbelief from spreading, Gabriel mutes him. One interesting thing of note is that even though Zechariah “made signs” to the people after he finished in the Temple, there’s no record that he told anyone besides Elizabeth what specifically was said to him.

God’s Word to One and Many

As we know, Elizabeth did conceive. She hid herself for five months, rejoicing that the Lord had taken away her reproach. After the child was born, everyone came to the circumcision event (which was also when the baby was named). They assumed he would be named after his father (a common practice). And she shocked everyone:

No, his name is John.

John? Did you say “John?” (Did she say “John?”)

That’s what I heard too.

There’s no one in your entire family that is named John!

His name is John.

Let’s ask Zechariah.

They gave Zechariah a writing tablet, and he wrote, “His name is John.” Well, he certainly had an eye-opening (or mouth-opening) moment! As soon as he writes those words, Luke reports, “His mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God” (v. 64). He would utter a prophecy about his son (vv. 67-79). God had fulfilled His word to this couple.

Don’t miss the rest of the story though. Luke tells us that “Fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, ‘What then will this child be?’” (Luke 1:65-66, emphasis added). Because of the circumstances of John’s birth, fear of the Lord spread throughout the whole region. When the Lord gives us a word of promise—whether it be for healing, ministry, restoration, whatever—it is not only for us, but He will use it for the good of those around us. All we need to do is believe and hold fast to that word.