A. The birth of John foretold (1:5–25)
A. The birth of John foretold (1:5–25)
5–7. Luke dates his narrative from the reign of Herod the Great (37–4 BC). What he describes comes somewhere near the end of that reign. He tells of Zechariah, a priest from the country (39f.), who took his turn in ministering in the temple. There were many priests, but only one temple. So they served on a roster (1 Chr. 24:1–6). The priests were divided into twenty-four divisions of which that of Abijah was the eighth (1 Chr. 24:10). Only four divisions returned from the Exile (Ezra 2:36–39), but the four were subdivided to make up twenty-four again with the old names. Each division was on duty twice a year, for a week on each occasion. Zechariah was married to Elizabeth, a priest’s daughter. A priest was required to marry an Israelite virgin (Lev. 21:14), but not necessarily one of a priestly family. To have a wife of priestly stock was a special blessing for a priest. The piety of this couple is brought out with the adjectives righteous and blameless. This means, of course, that they served God faithfully, not that they were sinless. It made their childless state hard for them to understand, for people believed that God would bless faithful servants by giving them children. The mention of their age is probably to make it clear that they could expect no change in the situation. Zechariah may have been very old, for there was no retiring age for priests (as there was for Levites).
8–10. There were many priests and not enough sacred duties for them all, so lots were cast to see who would perform each function. The offering of incense was regarded as a great privilege. A priest could not offer incense more than once in his entire lifetime (Mishnah, Tamid 5:2), and some priests never did receive the privilege. Thus the time when Zechariah offered the incense was the most important moment in his whole life. Luke does not say whether he offered at the morning or the evening sacrifice. In either case he would go into the holy place with other priests, but they would retire, leaving him alone. When the signal was given he would offer the incense. The worshippers waited in the outer court until the priest discharged this duty (10).
11–12. Luke gives us no description of the angel. He simply tells us that the heavenly visitor stood on the right side of the altar of incense. As directions are often given in the Bible from the standpoint of someone facing east, this probably means the south side. The angel would then be standing between the altar of incense and the golden candlestick.
13. The angel first reassured Zechariah: Do not be afraid. Then he went on, your prayer is heard. The aorist tense seems to indicate prayer on one specific occasion, rather than habitual prayer. If so, it will surely be the prayer Zechariah offered at the time of the incense. Our first thought is that he had prayed for a child. But, even allowing for the lack of faith with which we so often pray, Zechariah’s blank incredulity when told he would have a son is hard to reconcile with this. Moreover a priest might well have thought it unseemly to make his private concern the object of prayer at such a moment. It is more likely that he prayed for the redemption of Israel. Now he was told that this prayer would be granted. But that was not all: in addition he would have a son. The child’s name was to be John ( = ‘The Lord is gracious’).
14–17. In a poetic passage the angel speaks first of the joy that would come to Zechariah and many others at the birth of the child, and then of the destiny the boy would fulfil. That Zechariah would have joy and gladness was only to be expected. But this child would be great before the Lord, so that others would be happy as well. Like Samson’s mother (Judg. 13:4), he was to abstain from wine and strong drink (= any alcoholic drink apart from wine). Some deduce that he would be a life-long Nazirite (Num. 6:1–8; so Fitzmyer); but this is never said, and the absence of a reference to the hair (a Nazirite’s hair was never cut) is against it. It may be better to see John as having a unique position, neither Nazirite nor priest, though with points of connection with both. The most important thing is that from the very first John was to be filled with the Holy Spirit,1 without whose help God’s work cannot be done effectively. John is the only person said in the New Testament to be filled with the Spirit from his mother’s womb; this emphasizes the fact that God chose him and equipped him from the very beginning. For the contrast between the stimulation caused by wine and that of the Spirit cf. Ephesians 5:18.
The child would turn many Israelites to the Lord their God (which makes it clear that they had gone away from him). His ministry is likened to that of Elijah (cf. Mark 9:13) and the prophecy of Malachi 3:1; 4:5f. is invoked. This brings out both John’s greatness and his subordinate place. The fulfilment of prophecy and the comparison with Elijah emphasize the greatness of the man. But on the other hand he was no more than a forerunner, one who would prepare for the coming of the Lord. The meaning of to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children is not immediately obvious. It may be that John was to remedy disunity in families (so Marshall). This may mean awakening fathers to perform their parental responsibilities (cf. the failures of Eli, Samuel and David to discipline their sons) or awakening disobedient sons to change their way of life so that their fathers come to approve of them. Or the fathers may mean the patriarchs, the great ancestors of the present sinners. From their vantage-point in the next world they looked at their descendants and were displeased. But John would bring about such a change that the fathers would come to look with favour on Israel (cf. Isa. 29:22f. for a similar thought). Similarly John would change the disobedient so that they accepted the wisdom of the just (cf. Prov. 4). The result would be a people prepared for the Lord.
18. Zechariah refused point blank to believe the angel. His question is identical with that asked by Abraham centuries before (Gen. 15:8), but it is asked in a different spirit. It amounts to a demand for a sign. Gideon and Hezekiah, it is true, asked for signs (Judg. 6:36– 39; 2 Kgs 20:8), but again in a very different spirit. Zechariah speaks from unbelief as he reminds the angel that both he and his wife are old (his I is emphatic). Babies are not born to people like them.
19–20. The angel retorts with an emphatic I of his own as he discloses his name. Gabriel means ‘man of God’. His place in the presence of God shows something of his dignity. Zechariah would be in no doubt about the importance of his informant. And this great Gabriel was sent (i.e. by God) to bring good news to the old priest. Luke emphasizes the point by employing a verb later to be used characteristically for preaching the good news of the gospel. Zechariah’s refusal to believe must be seen in the light of God’s condescension in sending such a messenger with such a message. To reject him was serious and it would have its consequences. Zechariah would get his sign all right, though not the kind of sign he wanted. He would be silent, quite unable to speak until such time as Gabriel’s words were fulfilled. Gabriel leaves no room for uncertainty. What God has said will come to pass.
21–22. It did not take long to offer the incense, and priests normally came out quickly from the holy place (lest they be punished for some act of presumption). The people had no way of knowing what was keeping Zechariah so long beyond the normal time, and they wondered at his delay. Temple would be better translated ‘sanctuary’. People and priests were all in one part or other of the temple, but Zechariah was ministering in the holy place. When he came out he should have joined the other officiating priests in pronouncing the benediction (Mishnah, Tamid 7:2). His making of signs and remaining dumb made it evident that something unusual had happened in the sanctuary. The people could not know exactly what it was, but they concluded that he had seen a vision.
23–25. Zechariah evidently remained at the temple until the end of his week of service, then went home. In due course Elizabeth conceived, thus affording him evidence of the truth of what Gabriel had said. It is not clear why Elizabeth hid herself for five months. But during this time her pregnancy would not have been noticeable. It may be that she did not want to be seen until it was obvious to all that the Lord had looked on her to take away her reproach (cf. Gen. 30:23). Childlessness was usually considered a punishment from God, and Elizabeth had evidently had to put up with reproaches from people who did not recognize her piety (6). Now she would know this no more.