Luke 1:5-9

The Announcement of John the Baptist's Birth. Luke 1, 5-25.

The parents of John: V. 5. There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia; and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. V. 6. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. V. 7. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

There was or lived in the days when Herod the Great was king of Judea. Luke is very careful and exact in all his references to secular history, and therefore his statements are so generally trustworthy, aside from the fact that they are inspired by God. It was then that a priest by the name of Zacharias (which Luther renders proclamation, remembrance of the Lord) was living in Judea, in one of the cities set aside for the use of the priests. He belonged to the order, class, or division of Abia.

All the priests of the Jews, numbering about 20,000 at the time of Christ, were divided into certain sections, named according to their week's service. These classes or orders followed each other in due rotation for the Temple-service in Jerusalem. There were twenty-four classes, of which that of Abia was the eighth, 1 Chron. 24.

The wife of Zacharias was also of the descendants of Aaron, the daughter of a priest. Her name was Elisabeth, which Luther explains as God's rest, or ceasing from work, a rest given by God. John the Baptist was thus descended from priestly parents on both sides.

Zacharias and Elisabeth are given the highest praise by the evangelist. Righteous they both were before God, their manner of living was of a nature to stand the scrutiny of God, they were models of civic righteousness. They walked in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord without reproach. From the standpoint of human judgment their piety and goodness was blameless. But in spite of all this there was one great sorrow that burdened their lives. No child had been given them to brighten their home, and childlessness, from the Jewish and Biblical point of view, was a calamity.

And this was not a matter of their own choice or wish, but it happened so, inasmuch as Elisabeth was barren. The Lord had denied her the privilege of motherhood. And at this time they were both far advanced in age, beyond the days when, according to the course of nature, they might expect the blessing of children.

They felt this childlessness as a deep reproach, as a heavy cross. "For the barren were considered cursed people. For Genesis 1, when God created them male and female, He said: 'Be fruitful and multiply!' These words the Jews diligently urged. He that had no issue was not blessed. Therefore a man or woman without children must be cursed and unblessed. Thus Elisabeth might also have complained that she was rejected and mocked by the world, since she was barren. Now people consider it a blessing when they have no children," 5) - more's the pity!

Zacharias in the Temple: V. 8. And it came to pass that, while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, v. 9. according to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the Temple of the Lord.

It so happened, or rather it came about by God's dispensation and government, that Zacharias was serving in his priestly office. In the course of time, as it happened twice a year in the Jewish calendar, his order or division was on duty in the Temple of the Lord. So he left his home and went to Jerusalem for the week's duties with the other priests of his course.

It was the custom of the Jews to designate the various labors which the priests had to perform in the Temple by casting lots, some of them being selected to take care of the altar of burnt offerings, others to the appointments of the Holy Place, others to the vessels in the priests' court. In this way it fell to the lot of Zacharias on a certain day to perform the very special service of burning incense on the golden altar in the Holy Place.

This was a memorable day in the life of any priest, since the chance might never come to him but once. This work was performed in the Temple proper, as Luke remarks for the sake of such as were not familiar with the Jewish form of worship and the various offerings in the services. The officiating priest, during this part of the ceremony, was in the Holy Place all alone, all the attendants and assistants having withdrawn.