Luke 1:13-18 13And the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear a son to you, and you will call his name John. 14And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15for he will be great before the Lord. And he will not drink wine or beer, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17and 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 righteous, to prepare for the Lord a people made ready.”
Zechariah’s fear was answered by the calming, do not be afraid, but no human can stand in God’s presence through an angel and not be afraid. Zacharariah and Elizabeth had probably been praying for a child since they got married as young people. There is no indication of how many years of their life they had prayed for a child, but as the years went on and they got old, the temptation would be to let doubt replace the hope. When the answers to our prayers seem to never come, our faith will be tested. We may not have an angel appear to us and say that our prayers have been answered, but we can still keep the flame of hope burning.
The angel’s declaration that Elizabeth would have a son was a shock to Zechariah, too unbelievable for his to accept, as verse 18 indicates. The angle reveals several significant things about the boy. His name would be John, which means “The Lord shows grace and mercy.” God saw the righteousness and faithfulness of Zachariah and Elizabeth and answered their prayer because God is gracious and merciful to those who call on him in faith. John’s birth would result in the joy and gladness of many people. The reason for that is not given here, but as the story goes on, John’s main mission was to prepare the way for the coming Messiah. He would call people to repentance, which would prepare them to hear the message about God’s kingdom. John would be considered great before the Lord. Jesus later states that no one had been born greater than John (7:28). His greatness came from his obedience to his call and his recognition of God’s work in the one who would follow him. John would be set apart and stand out from the crowd and not drink fermented drinks like the Nazarites in the Old Testament, like Samson (Judges 13:5) and Samuel (1 Samuel 1:11). He would come in the prophetic likeness of Elijah (Malachi 3:1; 4:5-6).
Perhaps most significantly in the list, he would be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb. This was no ordinary child. God had his touch upon John from inception. He was set apart in all of history for a special task and a key moment. Verses 16-17 describe his ministry. John’s message would call people to repentance, which is turning from sin back to God. His focus would be on the people of Israel, those who knew God and should have been walking with God but had turned away. John would also come with the same prophetic power of Elijah, one of the greatest prophets in the Old Testament. There is no hint in the Bible that John performed miracles like Elijah. As far as the Gospels indicate, his ministry focused on preaching and baptizing. His message would penetrate to the hearts of people. His words were just what people needed to hear. Family relationships would be restored. The disobedient would repent and do justice. Significantly, he would prepare the way for the Lord. The use of the word Lord is significant because of the connection of this work to God in the Old Testament. The coming one would be the Lord God Almighty with his people.
These shocking words must have been overwhelming to Zechariah and were a lot to process. It is one thing to have an angel appear, another to hear that your wife would have a son in her old age, and then to hear that this son would be used by God as a prophet. The next passage shows how Zechariah responded in a way that I would.
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