Luke’s gospel begins with an elderly couple, Zechariah and Elizabeth, who lived at a vital hinge in redemptive history. They stood as the final faithful witnesses of the Old Testament era of promise while simultaneously heralding the New Testament age of fulfillment through their son, who was destined to prepare the way for the Messiah.
A Righteous Couple
During the reign of Herod, king of Judea, Zechariah served as a priest from the division of Abijah. His wife, Elizabeth, was a descendent of Aaron, meaning her family also came from a priestly line (Luke 1:5). The couple thus would have been fully rooted in Israel’s sacred traditions. Significantly, Zechariah and Elizabeth “were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord” (Luke 1:6). The words echo descriptions of significant Old Testament figures such as Noah and Job. “Blameless” does not imply sinlessness, but rather a wholehearted devotion and faithfulness to God’s covenant. The old couple were shining lights of obedience and devotion in an era when spiritual darkness covered the land (Isa. 9:2).
Barren and Waiting
Zechariah and Elizabeth understood personally that true spirituality does not exempt God’s children from suffering. Elizabeth was barren and advanced in age, having passed the time when women normally bore children (Luke 1:7). In first-century Jewish culture, barrenness carried a heavy social stigma and was often wrongly interpreted as evidence of divine disfavor. For a priestly family especially, the inability to produce offspring who could continue in temple service meant both personal heartbreak and what their community may have wrongly perceived as spiritual failure. However, Scripture repeatedly corrects such a cultural assumption through God’s gracious intervention in barren wombs. At significant moments in redemptive history, God opened the barren wombs of Sarah (Gen. 21:1–2), Rebekah (Gen. 25:21), Rachel (Gen. 30:22), and Hannah (1 Sam. 1:20). Each instance proved that God’s grace intervenes where human effort is futile. Thus, the careful reader of Scripture is ready for God’s mighty hand to move when reading about Elizabeth’s barren state.
The Angelic Announcement
The turning point arrived while Zechariah was serving in the temple on a day that was extraordinary for two reasons. First, Zechariah was chosen by lot to enter the Lord’s temple and burn incense (Luke 1:8–9). This was likely the highlight of Zechariah’s priestly career, as many priests never had this privilege, and those who did rarely experienced it more than once. Second, Zechariah encountered the angel Gabriel standing at the right side of the altar of incense.
Gabriel announced that Elizabeth would bear a son named John, who would “turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God” and go before the Lord “in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:16–17). This declaration echoed and fulfilled an ancient prophecy from Malachi, which spoke of a messenger who would prepare the way before the Messiah (Mal. 4:5–6). However, the good news was too unbelievable for Zechariah, who asked, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years” (Luke 1:18). Years of waiting had weakened Zechariah’s faith in God’s promise, even while he remained faithful in daily obedience. Gabriel’s response was both discipline and sign: Zechariah would be unable to speak until the promise came to pass, his silence a testimony to both his initial unbelief and God’s faithfulness (Luke 1:20).
Elizabeth’s Response and Retreat
When Elizabeth conceived, she responded in full faith and wonder, saying, “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people” (Luke 1:25). She understood that God had vindicated her, removing the cultural shame that had shadowed her entire married life.
Elizabeth stayed in seclusion for five months (Luke 1:24), likely in prayerful contemplation of God’s miraculous work and perhaps to avoid premature public attention until the pregnancy was unmistakable. When Mary visited in the sixth month of the pregnancy, Elizabeth became the first human voice to proclaim Jesus as Lord. Filled with the Holy Spirit, she said: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:42–43). Even John, still in Elizabeth’s womb, leaped at the presence of the unborn Messiah (Luke 1:44).
Naming the Son
The couple’s story concludes with the birth and naming of their son (Luke 1:57–66). When neighbors and relatives assumed the child would be named after his father, Elizabeth insisted on calling him “John.” The mute Zechariah confirmed this choice in writing, and immediately his speech returned. After months of silence, Zechariah poured forth his wonder and joy in a song known as the Benedictus, words praising God for visiting and redeeming His people (Luke 1:67–79).
Redemptive Historical Significance
Zechariah and Elizabeth represent the faithful remnant of Israel awaiting redemption. Elizabeth’s barrenness serves as a picture of Israel’s spiritual barrenness; both were empty of their own resources and entirely dependent on God’s sovereign grace for new life. Furthermore, Zechariah’s silenced tongue and its subsequent opening parallel the revival of God’s prophetic word soon to come through their son, John the Baptist.
Ancient promises were finally being fulfilled, and the Sun of Righteousness was coming (Mal. 4:2; Luke 1:78). Zechariah and Elizabeth’s child fulfilled his calling as the Messiah’s forerunner when he announced to the world that the long-expected Savior had finally arrived: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
Ligonier Ministries