The focus of the Story is the movement of God. Ah, but within that movement there is also the tale of those whom God chooses to move through. This is not about salvation. This is about who God chooses to accomplish his will; to carry the message of God to kings; to lead the people to freedom. What about them stands out? Why Moses as opposed to all the other Israelites born under the whip of Egypt? Why do we know the tale of Elijah and not the stories of the 7,000 who had not bowed their knees to Baal? Why Zacharias and Elizabeth? Were none of the other eight thousand priests worthy? Sometimes we may not be aware of why certain people become instruments of God in grandiose, more noticeable than your average Joe ways. I’m not sure I understand why God chose Samson of all people. But Zacharias and Elizabeth? It is more than John the Baptist being the cousin of Jesus. Well, I think it is anyway.
The story begins during the reign of Herod the Great. Herod reigned from 37 to 4 BC for those of you who like to have a timeframe for your stories. Interestingly, Luke used a lot of, reminiscent of the Old Testament, language in the birth narratives. This may be because he wants his readers to see that this is an ongoing story; the story of the movement of God among his creation. So, in the days of Herod there was this priest named Zacharias. The priests were grouped into twenty four divisions. Zacharias was of the eighth division called Abijah. Zacharias’ wife was a descendant of Aaron. They were the perfect priestly family – perfect parentage; perfectly good Biblical names – except one thing. They had no children. Now this may not seem like much of an issue to us, but it was in Zacharias’ culture. The blessings of God before the coming of the Messiah were mostly this worldly – land and family. So, here is this priest and his descended from Aaron wife who have not been blessed by God. And they are old. We are not told how old, but the implication is that they are past the age of having children. Can you hear the whispered questions? “What does God have against Zacharias and Elizabeth?” “What sin lurks in that family?” Whisperers will whisper.
One day Zacharias was chosen by lot to officiate the offering of incense before the Lord. This was done twice a day; morning and evening (cf. Exodus 30:7-8). Because there was an estimated eight thousand priests at this time, serving God in this way, was most likely a once in a lifetime honor. Luke tells us that the people were outside in the court offering up prayers, which would mean that it was three in the afternoon. So, three in the afternoon Zacharias is serving near the holy of holies. This will be the closest he will come to the place that was considered to be the Presence of God. Once in his life he will be able to be this close. This is a special moment; a holy moment. There would have been other priests serving there with him, but at the end of the ceremony, as the officiating priest he would have been allowed a moment of private prayer before God. It was most likely in this moment the that the angel of the Lord, all of a sudden, was standing to the right of the altar. It’s scary business when you expect to be alone and then all of a sudden you are not. No wonder fear fell upon him. This is the normal reaction to angels who all of a sudden appear, standing where you least expect them. I’m telling you it’s scary business.
The angel offers the Old Testament standard, intending to be comforting and to signify my message for you is good news, “Do not be afraid.” And the message is indeed good news. Elizabeth is going to give birth to a son and they are to name him “God has been gracious” – the name comes from the Hebrew Yohanan. And if you are too old to have children; if you have endured the whispers of the whisperers for years; if you had given up all hope; and then you have a son that son would indeed be “God has been gracious.” It’s a good name. This boy will be the Elijah Israel has been waiting for; turning Israel back to the Lord their God; preparing the way for the Messiah. This boy will be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb, a vague term which can mean in the womb or as soon as he comes from the womb. Either way it is about the movement of God.
Why Zacharias and Elizabeth? We are not told, but here’s my guess: they had spent their lives quietly, lovingly, devotedly serving God. And they didn’t serve making demands. When they had passed the age of having children, they didn’t stop serving all full of frustrated disgust. They served and God was indeed gracious. God moved. He still does. Patiently, without demands, serve God. Grace and peace.