Zechariah's Testimony: Jehovah Remembers (Luke 1:57-80)

Where: College Baptist Church

When: December 16, 2001

Why: To celebrate God's covenant faithfulness through the testimony of Zechariah.

Text: Luke 1:57-80

Scripture reading

Luke 1:57-66. ⁵⁷ When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸ Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. ⁶³ He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he wrote, "His name is John." ⁶⁴ Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God. ⁶⁵ The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. ⁶⁶ Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, "What then is this child going to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him.

Introduction

My name is Zechariah. Yes, yes-I know. My name means "Jehovah remembers." A good name. And it is significant in my testimony. And I do want to share with you this morning what has happened to me. To us as a family. And to us as a people. What has happened and the promise that holds. That's what is really significant in my story.

Jehovah remembers. You see, Jehovah has remembered us. He has remembered His promise of salvation to His children. Jehovah remembers. We've waited so long and sometimes it has been almost as if we have lost hope. But now with all that has just happened we are amazed . . . and excited . . . and full of anticipation. But I don't want to get ahead of myself.

Personal background

Let me share with you first some personal background.

I am a direct descendant of Aaron, in the tribe of Levi. That means I am a priest, born into the family privileged with ministering the rituals and sacrifices on behalf of the people in the presence of God. From an early age I was nurtured by my parents in this knowledge-which I joyfully received. Becoming a priest of the Most High God deeply affected me as I grew up. I was determined-as much as it was within me-to be a righteous man.

My awareness of my special role as a descendant of Aaron even impacted who I married. You see, as a Levite, I was free to marry from any of the tribes. But many of us in the priestly household prefer to marry descendants of Aaron. Perhaps this is because we take our roles as priests so seriously. We want to have spouses with the same vision, who would share the same desires and values as we did.

That's why I married Elizabeth. Well, of course, I also found her very beautiful and a godly woman of character. I was delighted, to say the least, when our parents made arrangements for our betrothal and marriage. And I knew from what all her friends said, Elizabeth felt the same way about me.

Our early years of marriage had so much anticipation and joy. Getting established in our home. Becoming involved in community events. But in only a few years it became clear that having a baby-and every good Jewish parents wants children, especially boys-well, it became clear that something was wrong. We just couldn't conceive.

There is such a strong stigma among our people toward couples who do not have children. And usually it is focused on the wife. People usually blame the woman when a couple is childless. And so Elizabeth bore a great burden. After a number of years of childless marriage, she began going about the community with a shadow of shame over her. It continually wore on her and there were days of deep depression. In our culture it is a shame not to bear children. Eventually, it became a stigma that we wore as if it were an old stinky, dirty piece of clothing that we had to wear even though we never chose to wear it ourselves. You could almost hear the thoughts and whispers: "Oh, there's old Zechariah and Elizabeth"-for we are very old now as you can plainly see-"They are childless, you know. I wonder what evil sin they committed that they can't have children." "Well, I think it's Elizabeth's fault. We all know that a priest wouldn't have done anything deserving of such shame." Of course, Elizabeth and I knew that it was not because of anything we had done or not done. We stood righteous before God, devout in our faith.

Zechariah's turn in the temple

My friend, I'm here today to tell you that all that changed. I testify to you this morning that Jehovah remembers. And when I least expected it, He stepped into my life to reveal that miraculously we were to become a part of a drama that stands as a pivotal scene in the unfolding of God's grace in history.

It happened when my name was drawn in the lottery. You look puzzled. Oh, no. . . not a lottery like you know it! Service in the temple was decided by the drawing of lots. You see there are about 20,000 of us in Aaron's family who are qualified to serve as priests. We were divided into twenty-four sections. Twenty thousand is far too many for us to be involved in regular service in the temple. Only at the three great annual feasts did all the priests serve-Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of the Tabernacles. During rest of the year each of the twenty-four groupings had opportunity to serve for two weeks. My group, called Abijah, happens to be the eighth division of the twenty-four.

Just under a thousand of us are in our division. Our duties during our two weeks of service are determined by lot. Every morning and evening sacrifice is made for the whole nation. A burnt offering of a male lamb, one year old, without spot or blemish is offered, together with a meat offering of flour and oil, and a drink offering of wine. Before the morning sacrifice and after the evening sacrifice incense is burned on the altar of incense so that, as it were, the sacrifices might go up to God wrapped in a sweet-smelling envelope. Many a priest never have the privilege of burning incense all his life; but if the lot did fall on any priest that day was the greatest day in all his life. It's the day a priest longs for and dreams of (Barclay).

Can you imagine the joy I felt when I discovered that my name had been drawn for the burning of incense? And the awe? I was in awe! Many never have such a holy and awesome opportunity to serve at the altar of incense in the Holy Place of the temple, just before the veil of the Most Holy Place.

Let me testify to you this morning that I was not prepared that day for what happened to me as I served our God before the altar of incense. As I was preparing to burn the incense, I was trying to absorb all I could of this high point in my life. Outside the worshippers were assembled in prayer. My heart and mind was filled with reverence, asking Yahweh to receive this sweet smelling offering and the corresponding sacrificial lamb. And I was also praying for my dear wife, Elizabeth, hoping and praying that one day, somehow, we would a child.

Suddenly I was not alone! An angel of the Lord appeared just to the right of the altar. How do I know it was an angel? Believe me there was no doubt in my mind that this being was from the other world. He was great and fearsome. Yes, I was terrified. And he said to me, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. ¹⁴ He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth ¹⁶ Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous-to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

It was too much to absorb all at once. And I admit my heart was not a heart of faith at that moment. In spite of my devotion, years of service, and righteous living-in spite of my prayer-I was not prepared for this. Overwhelmed and shaken, not believing this could ever come to pass, I blurted out, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years."

The angel made it absolutely clear how I could be sure. "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. ²⁰ And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time."

Immediately, my voice left me! I stumbled in shock into the Court of the Priests where everyone was waiting, wondering why I was taking so long. Finally after much fruitless gesturing, I got a hold of a piece of parchment and told them what had happened. Of course, we were all amazed. I think there were some who doubted, but who could doubt? I was a mute-I could not speak. And my countenance showed I was in shock.

Zechariah tells Elizabeth

I finished out my time of service . . . And you know, I couldn't wait to tell Elizabeth what had happened! When I finally arrived home she was dismayed that I had lost my voice. As I scratched out on parchment the incredible events that had occurred to me, my dear wife's eyes grew wide in amazement.

How can I describe to you how this all worked out in my heart . . . in our hearts? Almost at once the faith and hope began to radiate in Elizabeth's face. The mantel of shame began to melt away even before she knew she was pregnant. As for me, in my new world of silence, I spent nearly all my time meditating on what Gabriel had said and the written prophesies from what you now call the Old Testament. Doubt gave way to a seed of faith which took root in the soil of a heart which had begun to get too hard. But it was a hardness ready to be tilled, prepared through years of devotion to Jehovah.

It wasn't long before Elizabeth was pregnant. For years she had been the object of community gossip. We decided that this precious gift to us would be something we would hold quietly together as long as we could. So for the first five months of the pregnancy, Elizabeth stayed secure and secluded from whispers, questions, speculation and the like.

Elizabeth's unexpected visitor

During Elizabeth's sixth month we had an unexpected visitor-Elizabeth's young cousin Mary from Nazareth! Wonder of wonder, the child was pregnant-and not yet married! But Elizabeth knew! She knew this was of God, yet another miracle in the making, for the child within her leaped as soon as she saw Mary. Then the Holy Spirit of God came on my dear wife and she glorified God-very loudly, mind you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! ⁴³ But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!

And the story Mary had to share! She too had a visit from Gabriel. She too heard amazing things that she did not expect. And the things she was told! Her Son would be named Jesus. He would be great and be called the Son of the Most High! He would rule over the throne of David forever! And Mary had not yet had any intimate relations with her betrothed, a godly young man of the house of David named Joseph. It was incredible. A miracle. A child in the womb of a virgin. Truly the Son of God!

Zechariah sees an amazing mosaic of wonder and hope and joy

In my quiet inner world things were coming together in an amazing mosaic of wonder and hope and joy. It did not seem possible but that which was prophesied was clearly coming together. I continued to be awestruck. Why me? Why Elizabeth? Why Mary and Joseph?

It did not seem possible but clearly Jehovah's hand was at work. He remembers His promises. He was sending the Messiah in a most unexpected way. Yet not unexpected. Not really. In my world of silence, I remembered how the prophet Isaiah had let us know that this would happen. He had clearly declared, The Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14). Immanuel. You know what that means, don't you? "God with us." Yes, with us. The child of a virgin. The Son of God.

And my thoughts turned to my own son now in his last term in my bride's womb. Gabriel had said that he would be filled with the Holy Spirit from birth. He would cause many in Israel to turn back to the Lord. He would have the spirit of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of righteousness. In the solitude of my hear it dawned on me-the prophet Malachi had spoken those words too. ⁵ "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. ⁶ He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse" (Malachi 4:5, 6). My son, the prophesied return of the great Elijah? I was amazed. Mary's Son, the Son of the Most High? The thought propels me to my knees in worship and awe. And fills me with great joy.

Zechariah's song of prophesy and praise

Finally our dear son was born. And Elizabeth no longer had to bear the shadow of shame that friends and relatives had placed upon her. In fact, they rejoiced with us at God's goodness to us.

On the eighth day, as is our custom, we took our boy to be circumcised and to name him. Someone presumptuously blurted that his name would be Zechariah-after all shouldn't he be named after his father? But Elizabeth forcefully asserted, "No! He is to be called John" (Luke 1:60). They turned to me, thinking that Elizabeth had surely made a mistake. But we knew. We remembered. It had already been decided by the Most High Himself and told to us by the one who stands in His presence. I gestured for a piece of paper and simply scratched out, "His name is John."

Immediately, I felt something happen in my throat. I opened my mouth to speak. The Holy Spirit came on me. And my first words after nine long months of silence were praise and glory to God.

In a few moments, born along as if on the wind of the Spirit-speaking words that came to my mind, my words, yet not my own-I burst into a glorious prophetic song.

"Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people." My friends, Jehovah remembers. He remembers His covenant with His people. He comes. He will redeem His people from slavery. Praise to the Lord the God of Israel!

"He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David." A horn of salvation! Do you feel the strength? Do you feel the power? In our culture, in our Scriptures, the mature, hard horn of a fully grown ox is a symbol of power-a power which no enemy can overcome. And this horn is in the house of His servant David. The King! The promised One! The Messiah! Jehovah remembers!

This mighty horn will give us "salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us-to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies . . ." Salvation. Enemies overcome. The holy covenant fulfilled. My friend, Jehovah remembers. ". . . to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days."

"And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace."

Let us rejoice! Jehovah remembers

My friends, John is a bundle of joy. He is only few months old and already we can tell-somehow we just know-that the Spirit of God is upon Him, just as Gabrielle proclaimed

And any day now, Mary will be having her child.

I can hardly imagine all the implications of the birth of these two boys. I do not know if it is possible, but I pray that I will live to see the drama of their lives unfold for certainly it will be like no other in history!

Do you feel the anticipation? Any day now the Messiah will be born, the horn of our salvation, the delivers from our enemies, the giver of mercy and forgiveness, Immanuel, God with us. My only concern is that this crazy census would not in any way hinder the birth of the Son of God. But then, how could it? Jehovah remembers. He comes to redeem His people. His purposes and His covenant will not fail.

And now as you reflect on my story which I have joyfully shared, I pray that you too will find great strength and joy in knowing the Jehovah remembers. I don't know what your situation is today. I only pray that your heart, your faith, will not as mine was. Though a man of faith, still I doubted. But God is merciful and forgiving, is He not? He tilled my hardness and I joyfully receive His truth!

I pray that in the coming days of anticipation of the birth of the Messiah, you will personally find true those things of which one day my son will speak. Salvation comes through the Messiah. He remembers His covenant-the covenant of faith He made with His servant Abraham. He saves you too through the forgiveness of your sins. Because of His great mercy, His light shines upon you, illuminating the darkness around you, guiding your feet in the path of peace.

My friend, Jehovah remembers! Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, for He has come and has redeemed His people!

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