68 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
    because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71 salvation from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to show mercy to our ancestors
    and to remember his holy covenant,
73     the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
    and to enable us to serve him without fear
75     in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

76 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,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation
    through the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
    by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79 to shine on those living in darkness
    and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.

As we admire beautiful nativity scenes, it’s easy to forget that the first chapters of Luke’s gospel tell the story of two special babies - cousins whose birth narratives are interwoven, both foretold in the Old Testament, both unexpected. While, we rightly focus on the second baby, Jesus, the first baby in Luke’s narrative is not a nobody either - Jesus later calls John the greatest of the Old Testament prophets. There are interesting comparisons to make too, not least, their parents’ songs, as Mary and Zechariah respond to these surprising arrivals.

Zechariah is a priest - and one with impressive credentials! Both Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, are descendants of Aaron. Luke deliberately tells us they were righteous in the sight of God, blamelessly following his commandments. Puzzlingly, this impressive couple were also childless. And so, the stage is set, in the early verses of chapter 1 - we have a God-honouring priest, God’s holy temple, and the time to burn incense. After 400 years of silence, will God finally speak to his people again?

Lo, an angel appears! The angel’s message is of national but also personal significance for Zechariah - Elizabeth will bear a child in her old age, and this baby will have a special task. His job is to make ready a people for the Lord (verse 17). Not just that, but his life will be impressive. He will be a joy and delight (verse 14), many will rejoice at his birth (verse 15), he will bring many of the people of Israel back before God (verse 15), bring parents to their children and wisdom for the disobedient. Wow, what a description! Now most parents think their child is special and unique, but it would be almost impossible to find a child who fits this description. Except of course, for the second special baby in the first chapters of Luke, Jesus. 

What’s surprising is how Zechariah responds to the angel’s message. Whereas, we see Mary responding in trust to the angel’s proclamation about her son, Zechariah lets his fear lead to distrust in the Lord. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Zechariah was the priest of God, and already married while Mary was a young and unknown virgin. Zechariah seems to have forgotten the numerous times God had given babies to barren mothers in Israel’s history – think of, Sarah, Rachel, Ruth and Hannah... to name a few.

Because of Zechariah’s disbelief, the angel says that he will remain mute until the birth of his son.  When the baby boy is born, they name him John, just as the angel prescribed. And immediately, Zechariah regains his speech and begins praising God. His initial scepticism is replaced with conviction. Amidst all the people wondering about the unexpected baby with an unexpected name, Zechariah sings his song. 

Zechariah’s song is a beautiful reflection of the gospel. Of fear and doubt giving way to trust. Of anticipation seeing fulfilment. Of God bringing his people back to himself as he is faithful to his promises.

Zechariah’s song is a beautiful reflection of the gospel. Of fear and doubt giving way to trust. Of anticipation seeing fulfilment. Of God bringing his people back to himself as he is faithful to his promises. The song is full of Old Testament imagery, including references to the Exodus, 2 Samuel 7:10-11, Psalm 18:2, 92:9-10, 132:17; Isaiah 60:2-3; Jeremiah 31:34, Malachi 3:1, 4:2. Zechariah clearly feels God’s tender mercy to him, and his trust is renewed. I love seeing characters like Zechariah, and later Peter, in the New Testament who are at times uncertain or doubtful of God, but who see his faithfulness realised. They are a great encouragement to us to keep trusting in the Lord Jesus.  

 While don’t hear of Zechariah again after Luke 1, we do see John and how he grows up to prepare the way for Jesus, telling people to “repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 3:2). John remains faithful to his calling and continues to follow Jesus even when it ends with his imprisonment and ultimately death, at the hands of Herod.

Because we live ‘this side’ of the death and resurrection of Jesus, we can rejoice even more than Zechariah and his son, John (or even Mary). We have the privilege of looking back on the unveiling of God’s plan. In Jesus, he has indeed brought salvation to his people, forgiveness of sins, light to a world living in darkness. And we can look forward to the second advent, that final curtain call when Jesus will appear again to take his people to himself for eternity. What an awesome day that will be! In the meantime, we have a better song to sing than Zechariah - one of joyful trust in all God has done in Jesus and anticipation of the joys to come.

SARAH CAMERON

Sarah and Gus delight in serving God’s people at St Barnabas Fairfield. They have three busy little people to raise in the knowledge of Jesus.

Sarah loves listening to ‘Prepare Him Room’, a modern carol by Sovereign Grace.