The Turning Prophet

Or, A Fulfilling Birth Announcement

It's delightful how Luke set us up to expect an orderly, historical account before slamming us in his next move with a part of the story so crazy that it's almost unbelievable. Really, after his short and formal preface, the first main section of his book is about two incredible birth stories; one of the kids doesn't even have a human father.

Luke's done his homework. He went back to the beginning of things and, unlike Matthew or Mark, Luke tells us more background about the announcements and the arrivals of John and Jesus. There's a back and forth, announcement about John then announcement about Jesus, followed by the birth of John then the birth of Jesus. And when we put it like that, it sounds like normal timeline accounts.

But while giving us the expected parts of the setting—some of the basic who, when, and where—Luke says, in a rather nonchalant manner, that one of only two named angels in Scripture showed up while a priest was burning incense and said it was time for the fulfillment of a 400 year old prophecy, and then made the priest mute (and deaf, see verse 62) because he didn't accept what the angel said immediately. That. Is. Crazy.

As we're getting strapped in so that we can be certain about what we've been taught (the purpose of the book of Luke according to Luke 1:4), Luke gives us a bridge. In fact, he bridges a few things. The account itself bridges from the Old Testament to the New, with echoes of previous barren couples who looked to the Lord. John in particular is the last prophet before the coming of the Christ and His kingdom, the fulfillment of old promises moving into new stages. And looking ahead, if you can't believe this, you're definitely not going to believe what happens next.

Luke 1:5-25 tells us about the angelic announcement of the birth of a prophet who would precede the coming of the Lord and turn the hearts of his people to the Lord.

We're introduced to the two main human characters (verses 5-7), given the setting (verses 8-10), then the appearance and announcement of the angel (verses 11-20), and then the aftermath (verses 21-25).

Days of Heartache (verses 5-7)

We meet a new sort of Abram and Sarai, a couple who are serving God yet with no offspring to show for it.

It starts with a traditional time marker: In the days of Herod, king of Judea. This puts it around 5 BC (since multiple sources say Herod died in 4 BC). For those who might be rereading Luke's book, there's a little bookending with Jesus crucified as "the king of the Jews" (23:37-38), a more definite description, and of course, Jesus is the true King. But here at the beginning, the Roman senate granted this kingship to Herod who promised he could keep the peace and keep the tax money coming in.

We meet Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth, both Jews, and both from priestly families. More than bloodline, they were both righteous before God. The feared the Lord, they worshipped God, they obeyed the Law. But, like many of the Old Testament characters they had no child, and by this point they were too old to expect any kids.

Psalm 119:1 says that those whose way is blameless are blessed. But Zechariah and Elizabeth probably didn’t feel so blessed. They had at least two massive heartaches: living under a Roman’s rule, and living under reproach/disgrace (verse 25) because they had no child. Their heartache is like heavy rain that they couldn’t get out of.

Days of Turning (verses 8-23)

Verses 8-23 all take place in one week, and most of it on just one day, in the temple in Jerusalem.

Nehemiah established the 24 divisions of priests as part of his work of reformation when Israel returned from captivity. Each division served semi-annually, that is, two weeks a year. Zechariah lived "in the hill country" (1:39), but his division was on duty in Jerusalem.

There were about 750 priests in each division (making a total of around 18,000), and so they cast lots to determine who would get to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. It was a once-in-a-lifetime honor, not every priest even got a chance, and the lot fell to Zechariah for what appears to be the afternoon offering, when a bunch of Jews outside the temple who were gathered to pray. The incense even represented their prayers.

Everything through verse 10 is normal enough, but no one, Zechariah most of all, was expecting what happened next. We’re only ten verses in and the story turns hard.

And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord. An angel shows up? And an angel of the Lord? So yeah, Zechariah was troubled...and fear fell upon him.

The first words quoted in this history: “Fear not." These are actually frequent words when there is some sort of supernatural occurrence, including eleven more times in Luke.

The angel doesn't warm Zechariah up with any chit chat, but gets right to the point. "Zechariah, God heard what you asked for. He's giving you a son, and not just any son, but a prophet."

That’s a lot to take in. Zechariah might have first wondered, What prayer? Was he praying for a son that afternoon? Probably not, he’d likely be focused on his priestly role representing the people. When was the last time he'd prayed for a child? Might it have been decades? Was the angel referring to “cold”/old prayers? Or was Zechariah praying for the Lord to come and deliver Israel from unrighteousness and unrighteous rulers? Was Zechariah praying for the promises of the Messiah to be fulfilled? The angel doesn't say.

But Zechariah's second question would be, Why the name John? That wasn't a family name. Naming is a sign of authority, and this was God taking the authority. But, still, it was another surprising piece.

What does it mean, he will be great before the Lord? He's not supposed to have wine or other alcoholic drink. No priests on duty were allowed to drink, and those who took the vow of a Nazarite also didn't partake. While similar, this kid was being set apart. In fact, he would be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb. The Spirit came upon people in the OT, but didn't start dwelling in people until some thirty years after this interaction.

Verses 16 and 17 describe his prophetic work, which would be prophetic fulfillment.

And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” (Luke 1:16–17 ESV)

Some of this was the very last promise in the last book of the OT, and you can read it in Malachi 4:5-6.

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” (Malachi 4:5–6 ESV)

John would preach, and by God's grace, many would turn. Israelites would turn back to God, so there would be vertical restoration. Fathers would turn to their kids, so horizontal and family restoration. And the disobedient would turn to the wisdom of the just, the goodness and blessing of living in obedience. All three turns would prepare a people for the Lord. John would be the turning prophet.

Again, this is a lot to take in. Zechariah heard it but he wasn't accepting it. I'm not saying I'd have known what to do. But still, if he thought he was dreaming, why argue. If he knew it was a real angel, and since he’s a guy who knew the OT stories, the part he wondered about is pregnancy? “Zechariah, you really don’t remember the stories?”

The angel responds with some credentials. "Look, man, I'm the angel who talked to Daniel about the end of times and the restoration of Israel. Maybe you remember Daniel 8 and 9. What's more, I'm one of those who are in God's immediate presence. So yeah, I’m here as heaven’s messenger, sent to bring you this good news."

Without a pause for Zechariah to accept it, Gabriel gives Zechariah a sign, but not really the type he was asking for. Because Zechariah did not believe, he would be mute until the baby was born.

This interaction took longer than expected, so the people outside were wondering what happened. When he came out and couldn't talk, the people rightly assumed something special like a vision occurred, but they apparently gave up trying to get him to say what it was. What sort of charade gestures get this news across?

Days of Hope (verses 24-25)

Once he got home, we can assume that Zechariah and Elizabeth worked out some system of communication. And the fact that she conceived, without further note, suggests that it happened in the old fashioned way, but with God’s special blessing to make fruitful.

Maybe because Zechariah couldn't say anything anyway, and because we’re about to find out that she’s related to a young woman who is about to become pregnant, the attention shifts to Elizabeth. Why she hid herself for five months isn't stated. Seems like it would have been a cause for unshame, since now being a mom was a taking away of reproach. But she's rejoicing, and taking it as a sign of personal blessing from the Lord.

Conclusion

Just in this opening scene heartache turns to hope, and this is a theme in Luke, it is the point of the gospel. The lost are...