Luke 1:5-25
The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
5In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly. 7But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.
8Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
11Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. 14He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.[a] 16Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. 17And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
18Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years."
19The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time."
21Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.
23When his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25"The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people."
Long ago God made a covenant to Abraham...The covenant was to populate the earth with his descendants...God promised him the land of milk and honey...A nation called Israel...From the Scriptures, God was and would send a Messiah to continue His message...The Messiah was to have a forerunner, a messenger...This messenger would be John the Baptist...
John's father was a priest...He was from the priestly division of Abijah...His name was Zechariah...John's mother name was Elizabeth...Both of them were upright in the sight of God...They observed all the LORD's commandments and regulations blamelessly...They had no children, because Elizabeth was barren...Both were older in years...
One night when Zechariah was on duty and angel of the LORD appeared to him...The angel told a frightened Zechariah, not to be afraid, your prayers have been heard...You will have a son, and you are to name him John...He will be a joy to you (and Elizabeth) and others will rejoice in his birth...He will be great in the sight of the LORD...John is to lead a simple, holy life...He is never to drink wine or fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth... Many of the people of Israel will be brought back to the LORD, because of him...He will go before the LORD in the spirit of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the people and nation to make them ready for the LORD...
Zechariah asks the angel how can this be true, since I am so old...The angel answers, "I am Gabriel...I stand in the presence of the LORD...I was sent to speak to you and to tell you the good news...Since, you did not believe me you will not be able to speak until the birth of John."...
The people waiting for Zechariah, seen him after the angel left and knew he had seen a vision...He had trouble telling them what had happened, because he remained unable to speak...
Elizabeth soon after this becomes pregnant...Elizabeth remains in seclusion for five months after this...She is preparing for the change in her life...She tells her family and friends, that the LORD has done this for her, and has shown her favor...He has taken my disgrace (her inability to get pregnant) among the people...
God would bring His message back to the people on earth after being away many, many years...Not that He had ever left, but His presence on earth would be as much more noticed here during this time...It appears God's presence was more felt here during this time, as it was during Abraham's time, and the time of Moses, as well as the time of King David...
Prayers are heard (Luke 1:13)...Prayers are answered...God answers our prayers in many ways...Sometimes it takes many years to answer our prayers...Some answered prayers are surprises...God would not only give Zechariah and Elizabeth a child, who would fill them with delight...God would send John the Baptist to be the Messiah's messenger...God can take one prayer and answer the prayers of others...In this case, the answer to the prayers of a nation, with the messenger the people had been waiting (for)...Like Zechariah we sometimes don't believe our prayers, when they are answered...Gabriel had to reinforce this to him...When God speaks we are supposed to listen and believe...John the Baptist was born...God's word will come to pass...God's will, will be done...