Elizabeth & Zechariah (Luke 1:5-25)

 Sermon for Milledgeville and Whitestown UMC...

Elizabeth & Zechariah (Luke 1:5-25)

 

Elizabeth will bear you a son; you will name him John
Luke 1:13b

After waiting over 90 minutes for her date, the young lady decided she'd been stood up. She changed from her dinner dress into pajamas, and resigned herself to an evening of TV.

 

No sooner had she sat down in front of the TV… her doorbell rang. There stood her date. He took one look at her and said "I'm two hours late, and you're still not ready?"

 

Happy Advent! This is the season of waiting and preparation. We prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ. We wait faithfully for His second coming. We hang the greens and ornaments. We sing carols. We send cards. We dream of a manger under as shining star with shepherds and wise men worshipping the newborn king of the Jews. And we renew our hope in Christ and His eternal kingdom.

 

Zechariah was an elderly priest. He had served God faithfully his whole life. Born into a priestly family, he learned the work of a priest from his youngest days. As young as 20 years old, he began serving in the temple. The priesthood was his life. He lived in a village set aside specifically for priests, just 5 miles to the southwest of the temple. Tradition says that he and Elizabeth lived in Ein Karem, which means Springs of the Vineyard.

 

Luke reports that both Zechariah and Elizabeth were blameless. They kept the laws and ordinances of God faithfully. By keeping the law, God promised blessing upon the fields and the womb. No doubt Zechariah and Elizabeth had plenty of food and shelter. Their everyday needs were provided by the priesthood and the people of Israel. But they had not been blessed with a child. Elizabeth remained barren. That’s not how things were supposed to work.

 

God said to Moses: All these blessings will come to you in abundance if you obey the Lord your God… (Dt 28:2) God promised the obedient to greatly multiply their children. (Dt 28:11a)

 

Elizabeth was faithfully obedient to God, but still she had no children. Hope for a son to continue in Zechariah’s priestly shoes had long since died. They were too old. Their dream of a family ended in disappointment and shame.

 

Ever have your dreams shattered? It’s painful to watch them die.

 

24 priestly clans were established by King David to serve at the temple in biannual rotation. You can read how the priests were organized in 1^st Chronicles 24. Zechariah was of the priestly clan Abijah, the eighth clan in the rotation.

 

Guess the name of the clan following Abijah. It’s Yeshua, (Jesus). That’s no coincidence. For John, of the clan of Abijah, preceded Jesus as his herald.

 

Zechariah was chosen to offer incense in the Holy Place. Because of the number of priests, this was a once in a lifetime assignment. Can you imagine what it was like for Zechariah, standing among his brother priests, to be passed over year after year, decades of waiting and hoping to be chosen to serve in the Holy Place? He was an old man. His wife was barren. Everyone assumed there to be some secret sin for which Zechariah and Elizabeth suffered childlessness. For years and years, Zechariah suffered silently. Had God forgotten him?

 

Ironically, Zechariah’s name means The One The Lord Remembers.

 

When in your life have you felt forgotten by God? I’m sure you’ve experienced disappointment and broken dreams. At such times, I begin to wonder, “Why is this happening? What have I done to deserve this? This seems unfair.” Such questions drive a wedge between me and God. Faith falters. Mistrust builds. A distance grows.

 

I wonder if Zechariah felt distance in his heart. Even though he was a priest, even though he kept the law of Moses faithfully, his heart grieved. And a life of grief, of lost hope, can wear a person down. Perhaps Zechariah protected himself from pain by giving up hope. He carried out his priestly duties, but his heart had grown cold. I can only guess.

 

Elizabeth certainly carried a burden, for she remarked at her pregnancy how God had taken away her disgrace among the people. She was disgraced because she was barren. The community assumed she was cursed for some family sin. But now, with a miracle child on the way, Elizabeth felt her shame wash away.

 

After waiting all his life, Zechariah was finally given the honor to offer incense. The Levites prepared the incense exactly as Moses prescribed.

 

“Take spices, gum resin, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense of equal amounts ³⁵ and make it into an incense, a perfume, the work of a perfumer. It is to be finely ground, and pure and sacred. ³⁶ You are to beat some of it very fine and put some of it before the ark of the testimony in the tent of meeting where I will meet with you; it is to be most holy to you. (Exodus 30:34-36)

 

Zechariah entered the temple carrying the incense. The menorah lampstand stood burning softly to his left, and to his right was the table of showbread with 12 freshly baked loaves representing the 12 tribes of Israel. At the end of the room was a tall curtain covering the Holy of Holies where God’s presence was believed to dwell on earth. And before the curtain stood the altar of incense, representing the prayers of Israel.

 

Did Zechariah feel holy fear as he approached the altar near the holiest place on earth? Did he sense the glorious and majestic presence of God? Or was he just following the prescribed duty as he’d been taught? Since this was a once in a lifetime honor, he must’ve felt something for the profound significance of this moment.

 

As the incense burned and Zechariah prayed for the people, he suddenly saw an angel standing to his right. Zechariah was stricken with a sudden rush of fear. The angel was quick to comfort him. “Do not be afraid, Zechariah. Your prayer has been heard. Elizabeth will bear you a son; you will name him John. Joy and gladness are yours. Many will rejoice at his birth. He will be great in the sight of the Lord.” (Lk 1:13-15)

 

Zechariah was reeling in shock. Nothing like this had ever happened to him before. Decades of silence from God and now he’s visited by an angel. Who could believe it? 

 

The angel told Zechariah how his son, John, was never to drink wine, much like the holy vow of a Nazarite. A Nazarite lived a separate life, set aside as holy for God. Some took the vow for a short period, like a month, others for years, and some their entire lives. It seems John was set aside, solely for God’s purpose, for his entire life.

 

The angel told Zechariah that his son would turn the hearts of many to God. The angel never mentions Christ, but John will herald the messiah. Gabriel uses scripture to hint at messiah.

 

“He will go as a forerunner before the Lord. in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.”

 

These words echo the prophets Malachi and Isaiah. Malachi proclaimed that Elijah would return to herald the coming Day of the Lord. (Mal 4:5-6) And Isaiah called Israel to prepare the way of the Lord. (Isa 40:3)

Zechariah could not have missed the significance of the angel’s message. Messiah was coming soon! His unborn son was special, chosen and empowered by God to prepare Israel to meet their savior king.

But instead of celebration, instead of prayers of thanksgiving, Zechariah offered doubt.

 

“How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is old as well.” (Lk 1:18)

 

The angel is insulted. “I am Gabriel, who stands before God! I was sent to bring you this good news! And now because you do not believe, you will be stricken silent, unable to speak until all I have proclaimed has come to pass.”

 

Then the angel disappeared. Zechariah stumbled out of the temple, onto the porch where the people were waiting for him. It was customary for the priest to give Aaron’s blessing upon the people.

 

The Lord bless you and keep you:

The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you:

The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)

 

But Zechariah could not speak. He could only make his mouth move and signal with his hands. The people were amazed. “He has seen a vision from the Lord! What could this mean?”

 

After his week of service, Zechariah went home to Elizabeth. She learned of the son she was to bear. Joy filled her heart. Shortly thereafter, she became pregnant. She secluded herself, getting plenty of rest for the sake of her miracle child.

 

When the baby came, John was presented for naming and circumcision.

And Zechariah’s silence ended. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, Zechariah spoke in the words of the prophets, words he had read his whole life. But now these words were alive! For God was acting in powerful ways to save His people. Christ is coming soon! And John will be the last great prophet.

 

Zechariah and Elizabeth’s story reminds us that even when life doesn’t go the way we think it should, even when it looks like God has forgotten us, God is working out His plan of salvation.

 

My friend, Mike, is a lawyer. He used to work for county government before he was ousted by peers jockeying for positions. They lied about him, putting him in a poor light by decision makers. Mike was hurt. He prayed to God for justice. Years went by and nothing happened, but then politics changed. New leadership took over, and every one of those liars was sent packing. Mike told me that when God decides to act on your prayers it makes your head spin. He couldn’t believe it, even after all this time. And it felt right, like the fullness of time, the perfect time. Mike said, “His time, not mine. His way, not mine.”

 

God remembers. God acts in sudden and surprising ways for His glory. As we wait in hope, may we all be amazed at the faithfulness of our God. Happy Advent! Hopeful waiting!