Now that we are over a week into December, I wanted to to do a series of posts on the birth of Christ.

As I was reading Luke, my eyes kept coming back to the latter part of chapter one, specifically the prophecy of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist.

Who is Zacharias, the Father of John the Baptist?

As we already mentioned, Zacharias was the father of John the Baptist. Only Luke records his story and that of his wife, Elizabeth, the cousin of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Zacharias was a temple priest of the division of Abijah and Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaron (Luke 1:5). This made both of them from a priestly family.

They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. –Luke 1:6.

This is high-praise! Unfortunately, they were barren and were old. Outwardly, it would appear that God had not blessed them because they did not have a child. But like all things of God, He has a wonderful plan that we may not always see!

One day, while Zacharias was performing his priestly duties, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and told him:

“Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John.” –Luke 1:13.

Gabriel went on to explain the great things John would do in terms of getting the people to repent and turn back to God. He also explained that John would be the forerunner announcing the coming of the Lord in the person of Jesus.

I’ve often wondered what it must have been like to have an angel visit you and tell you things that will happen to you. Surely, one must think they are dreaming or have lost their mind. More often than not, the angel usually has to tell the person to “not be afraid.” But then I wonder why the recipient of the angel’s words doubts and starts asking questions.

Zacharias said to the angel, “How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.” –Luke 1:18.

Zacharias wasn’t being rude. He  was being human and seeing things as man sees things. Because of this, however, Gabriel has some news for Zacharias:

“And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.” –Luke 1:20.

So poor, Zacharias becomes mute for nine months while Elizabeth is pregnant.

Zacharias’ Prophecy

So, as was the custom, eight days after John is born he is presented to the priest to be given his name and circumcised. At that point, everyone but his parents thought his name was going to be Zacharias, after his father. But Elizabeth stops them all and tells them that his name is going to be John. Zacharias, who still cannot speak, writes down the same thing on a tablet to let everyone know.

At that moment, after nine long months, Zacharias is suddenly able to speak. And the first things he utters, are prophecies concerning Jesus and John. Today we will look at the first two verses of this prophecy.

And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people.” –Luke 1:67-68.

Just like his wife Elizabeth experienced in Luke 1:41, when Mary came to visit her, Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit. This is a necessary requirement before he is able to utter the coming prophesies. This follows the model given by Jesus later in his ministry: that the Holy Spirit is the revealer of all truth.

Zacharias properly acknowledges and worships God first and foremost. He then explains that God “has visited us.” The Greek word used here is “ἐπισκέπτομαι” which is transliterated “episkeptomai.” The word means “to look upon or after, to inspect, examine with the eyes.” It’s the same word that Jesus uses in Matthew 25:36 in His parable about The Judgment of the Gentiles:

“I was sick, and you visited me.” –Matthew 25:36.

It’s such an interesting word because it describes our condition apart from Christ. Without Jesus, we are sick with an incurable wound called sin.

Look at how Zacharias finishes this part of his prophecy: God has “accomplished redemption for His people.” Redemption from what? Sin and death! How? Through the saving blood of His only begotten Son!

What’s Next?

Next time we will look at Zacharias’ prophesies concerning the mighty strength of Jesus and how His first arrival was foretold by the prophets of old.