The Gospel of Luke begins with the priest Zechariah being told that he would have a son who would go forth in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and people back to the Lord God. This was to fulfill the prophecy in Malachi 4:5, “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes.” Zechariah’s son, John the Baptist, was not Elijah, but he functioned like Elijah as we will see later in the study.
Luke 1:5-25
Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years
8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 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.”
18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:
Why was Zechariah serving in the temple? (5-9)
How did Zechariah respond when the angel appeared to him? (12)
What did the angel say to Zechariah? (13-17)
What did Zechariah say to the angel? (18)
What happened to him because of his doubt? (19-20)
What happened to Elizabeth when Zechariah returned home? (24)
THOUGHT QUESTIONS:
Why did Zechariah have trouble believing the angel?
How does God speak to us?
What are ways we doubt what God has to say to us?
What are the consequences of not believing God?
How do we show that we don’t always believe what God says?
PRAYER:
Thank God that he continues to speak to you through his Word. Pray that you would believe and obey his word and then be able to share it with others. Pray that you would recognize the destructive consequences that come from not believing and obeying God.
FOCUS VERSE: Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.