John Points People to Jesus
Today’s passage: Luke 1:5–25
Focus verse: Both of them were righteous in the sight of God. (Luke 1:6)
Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth have no kids. They’re old. Seriously old. Their chance to have a baby has passed. From a human perspective it’s ridiculous, yet they pray for the improbable.
They’re a righteous pair, Zechariah and Elizabeth. They obey all God’s commands and fully follow his rules—all of them. They’re both descendants of Aaron. In addition, Zechariah’s a priest. He works for God.
Did you catch all that?
They’re good people. They’re obedient and do the right things. They have the ideal heritage, and Zechariah lives to serve God.
For all this devotion, doesn’t God owe them something in return? A kind of thank you gift? A reward? After all, they live right.
In fact, Luke says they’re blameless. I’m sure this is a bit of an exaggeration, a little hyperbole to make his point, but we do get what he means.
Yet year after year passes and still no baby. Despite not receiving what they yearn for, they don’t waver. They pray on.
Then something incredible happens.
One day the angel Gabriel shows up at Zechariah’s work, right when he’s supposed to burn the incense for the worship service. Talk about bad timing. The people are waiting for Zechariah to kick off their religious ceremony.
Couldn’t Gabriel have waited a few minutes? But Gabriel has good news. Zechariah and Elizabeth’s years of prayers are about to be answered.
They’ll finally have a baby, a son, in fact. And he won’t be just any kid, but a special one. They’re to call him John.
Gabriel says baby John will bring them much joy, and others will celebrate his birth. They must set him apart for service to God. He’ll do amazing things.
The Holy Spirit will empower him, and he’ll spark a nationwide revival. In the mold of Elijah, he’ll be super amazing. This baby boy will grow up to pave the way for the Messiah, the long-awaited Savior.
That’s a lot to take in. God’s people have waited for this for centuries.
And how does Zechariah respond? He says, “Really? My wife and I are too old.”
Frankly, if I were in that situation, I’d say that too.
Gabriel takes this as a sign of unbelief. To emphasize his news, he removes Zechariah’s ability to talk, which makes it difficult for the poor guy to lead the people in worship.
In what may be the world’s first game of charades, Zechariah makes gestures to let the people know he has seen a vision from God.
When his stint in the temple is over, Zechariah goes home. Take time to imagine what happens when he arrives, what he communicates, and what they do.
Elizabeth gets pregnant. She’s overjoyed with God’s blessing and his favor for taking away her shame over her childless condition.
God is good.
Questions:
How long are we willing to wait for God to answer our prayers and give us what we yearn for?
Do we have faith to believe in the improbable? The impossible?
[Discover more in the prophesies about John the Baptist in Isaiah 40:3-5, Malachi 3:1, and Malachi 4:5–6 (see Matthew 11:13–14).]
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Read more about the book of Luke in Dear Theophilus: A 40-Day Devotional Exploring the Life of Jesus through the Gospel of Luke, now available in ebook, paperback, and hardcover.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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