This post originally published 12/09/2017
Updated and republished 12/08/2023
LUKE 1:5 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.
There were a few different kings, in the Bible, named Herod. The Herod family ruled from 40 BC to 40 AD. This Herod was the first, and is known as Herod the Great. This is the one which attempted to kill the baby Jesus.
“Of the course of Abia” (or Abiah, or Abijah)- In the days of King David, the number of priests had become so great that King David divided them into 24 groups which would serve a week at a time (1 Chronicles 23 & 24). Abia was the eighth group. Only four of the 24 groups returned from Babylonian captivity, of which Abia was not one (Ezra 2:36-39). The four groups, however, re-divided into the original 24 groups. Thus, Zacharias was not a descendant of Abia, but served under his course.
6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
They weren’t sinless, but simply strived to follow the laws of God, and refused to allow known sin into their lives. It is generally believed that “commandments and ordinances” refers to moral and ceremonial laws. Philippians 2:14-15 says, “Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world”.
7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
In Deuteronomy 7:9-14, God said there would be no barrenness among the people if the nation {collectively} obeyed His commandments. Yet, we saw in the previous verse that Elizabeth and Zacharias were blameless in this respect.
8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course,
We saw, in verse 5, that the priests were divided into 24 courses. The historian Josephus tells us that there were 1,000 in each course. Others tell us that the total was about 20,000. The temple duties of the priests were decided by lot.
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.
There were two alters at the temple- one for burning the sacrificial offering, and a small one for burning incense. The incense alter was about eighteen inches square and about three feet tall, and overlaid with gold (Exodus 37:25-29). The sacrificial alter stood outside the temple, while the incense alter was placed inside.
We are told that, at each incense offering, one priest would clean the ashes from the previous offering; another would place coals, taken from the alter of sacrifice, onto the alter of incense; and a third priest would then, after the other two had left, place certain spices on the coals (Leviticus 16:17). The burning spices would fill the temple with fragrance, and the priest would intercede for the people.
To burn the incense offering was considered such an honor, no priest could do this more than once in his lifetime. Zacharias was chosen, by lot, to do so on this day.
While the entire temple area, with its courts and buildings, is called the temple, this is referring to the small holy place which replaced the tabernacle of Moses. Only the priests were allowed inside this area. This temple area consisted of two rooms- the outer room where the incense was burned, and the inner room, called the “holy of holies”, where the ark of covenant had resided. Only the high priest could enter the holy of holies, and only once a year.
10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.
Incense was offered twice a day, morning and evening (Exodus 30:7-8), but the Bible does not mention what time this particular offering took place. There is much debate as to the time of day this took place, yet, if it was of any importance, the Bible would tell us.
We are told that the people would gather, at the temple, three times a day to pray, two of which were at the times of the incense offering. While there might be a large crowd gathered at any time, the use of the phrase “the whole multitude” may suggest that this took place on the Sabbath when there would be many more people attending. In the Greek text, the word for “the people” literally means the people of God.
The fact that the “multitude were praying without” shows, once again, that Zacharias went into the holy place. Though the people could not witness the incense offering, they would pray while it was being offered. We are told that a priest would ring a little bell to signify when it was time to offer the incense, and for the people to begin praying. It was believed that their prayers would ascend to heaven with the fragrance of the incense.
11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
In the Greek text, the word for angel simply means “messenger”. We must always look at the context of the verses to determine if it is a human or a heavenly messenger. In this case, it is clear that the messenger is from the spiritual world.
The fact that the angel stood on the right side of the alter of incense would have been important to the Jews. As the priest entered the temple, the lampstand stood on the left, the table of shewbread stood on the right, and the alter of incense stood, a little further in, in the center. It is supposed, by some, that the angel came out of the innermost room, called the holy of holies.
12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
Fear is the common response when someone meets an angel in his glory. Yet, the Bible also says that men sometimes meet angels without knowing it (Hebrews 13:2). Luke tells us that, not only is Zacharias troubled, he is gripped with terror.
It may not have simply been the sight of an angel that created so much fear. Zacharias may have recalled those who had been smitten with fire from God, when they offered incense sacrilegiously (Leviticus 10:1-3). Add to this, the fact that Hebrew belief was that to see an angel was the same as seeing God Himself and could mean death (Judges 6:22-23; 13:2-23; Exodus 33:20).
13 But 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.
The prayers, for a son, were probably long-ago prayers which Zacharias obviously had given up all hope of being answered. Verse 7 says that he, and Elizabeth, were very old; and in verse 18, Zacharias shows his unbelief that the prayers can now be answered. The phrase “thy prayer is heard” would literally be translated “thy prayer was heard’.
It is unclear if “thy prayer” also includes the priestly prayers he would have been praying at the moment. Some suggest that, in praying for the nation of Israel, he would have been praying for the coming messiah. In this case, his prayer was answered, as his son John would be the forerunner of Jesus. Some people go so far as to suggest that Zacharias had never even prayed for a son, which would have been highly unlikely in that culture (Psalm 127:3-5), and that this announcement referred entirely to the process of sending the messiah. (See also- Malachi 4)
The name John, which means “God is gracious”, may refer to God’s goodness toward Zacharias, but probably refers to John’s role in God sending the world a messiah. The name would have been further assurance, to Zacharias, that the visitation was for good and not terror.
14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
The many who shall rejoice does not only include the neighbors and relatives of Zacharias (verse 58), but as we shall see in the next verses, all the people who will benefit from John’s ministry.
15 For 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.
Wine, in a weakened form, was a common drink among all the people. To not drink wine was to take the vow of a Nazarite, which meant to separate himself for God (Numbers 6:2-21).
16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
This referred to the ministry of John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1-12; Luke 3:2-18). The children of Israel refers to the Jews, to which John preached.
Note that the angel says “the Lord their God. John’s preaching was directed to once God-fearing Jews who had turned away from God (Matthew 21:32).
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.
The “go before him”refers to John preparing he way for Jesus. In the previous verse, “him” was identified as “the Lord their God”. Those who deny the deity of Jesus, generally say that John was to prepare the way for God’s plans to send a messiah (see also- Malachi 3:1).
In Malachi 4:5-6, the last words of the Old Testament, God promised that He would, one day, send Elijah (or a prophet like Elijah), to turn people toward God- “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And 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.” In Matthew 11:7-15 & 17:9-13, Jesus identified John as the Elijah. There is much debate as to whether John was the actual person Elijah, or another prophet like him. We can easily see, in comparison, that Elijah and John were very much alike.
The phrase “in the spirit and power of Elias” is very important. John was not a physically reincarnated Elijah. When John was asked if he was Elijah, he answered “I am not.”, and declared that he was a messenger (John 1:19-23). In the “power of Elijah” does not refer to the miracles that Elijah performed, for John did no miracles, but to the power of turning peoples hearts. A prophet’s role is, in fact, to change the hearts of people.
Some say that turning the “hearts of the fathers to the children” refers to harmony and respect in the home. Yet, more likely, it refers to making the Jews more like their spiritual fathers- Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Luke 3:7-9).
In making ready a people, it appears that those who rejected John also rejected Jesus. Likewise, those who now reject Jesus, also reject John. Many Jews still wait for Elijah.
18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.
Zacharias was expressing doubt, and asked for a sign that this was true. As if the testimony of an angel, who knew his prayers, and was sent by God, was not proof enough. The angel will draw his attention to this fact in the next verse.
We are told that, during that time, a Jew was considered old at the age of 60. Levites could only serve, in the temple, until age 50, but there was no age limitation for priests.
19 And 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 shew thee these glad tidings.
Not only is this an angel, sent from God, this is one of the seven archangels. Only two of the seven archangels are mentioned by name, in the Bible- Gabriel, who is considered the messenger of peace and restoration, and Michael, who is considered the minister of wrath against evil. Zacharias would have known the name, Gabriel, from the prophecies of Daniel.
20 And, 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.
His inability to speak would be a sign that the angel’s words were true. But, it would also be a judgment for his disbelief. Another point to consider, is that silence is often a sign that God is about to do something extraordinary (see- Zephaniah 1:7; Zechariah 2:13; Revelation 8:1).
It appears, in verse 62, that Zacharias also lost his hearing.
21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.
The people were waiting to be dismissed with a benediction (Numbers 6:23-27) from Zacharias. Yet, it was taking him much longer than was customary to offer incense.
22 And 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.
23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
During their week of ministration, the priests lived in the temple area, in buildings joining to the temple.
24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
We do not know if Elizabeth chose to hide herself for five months, or if this was customary for pregnant women.
25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.
To be fruitful with children was considered a blessing from God (Psalm 113:9; 128:3), so to be barren was considered a reproach.
We can assume that Zacharias told Elizabeth, in writing, the things which had transpired at the temple.
NEXT- THE ANGEL VISITS MARY
the coming tribulation 