December 5, 2023 • 25 mins
Unwrap the narrative of Christmas like never before. We're going on a historical journey, piecing together the true story behind the joyous event with a keen focus on the real happenings in Bethlehem, Elizabeth and Zachariah's role in the Messiah's arrival, and the fascinating insights about the Holy of Holies and the Nazarite vow. Picture Gabriel's crucial involvement and Mary's unforgettable visit to Elizabeth. This episode promises to enhance your understanding of Christmas, enriching your experience as we shed light on the cultural, geographical, and historical facets of the ancient world.
Get ready to discover the profound significance of Zachariah and his son, John, in our next exploration. Have you ever pondered about the Levitical Priests, their temple roles, and rotation system? We examine these aspects in-depth, giving you a new perspective on Zachariah's divine encounter with Gabriel in the temple. Hear the stirring account of John the Baptist's birth, and learn how it fulfilled God's promise. We weave together the awe-inspiring tale of Zechariah and Elizabeth, a righteous couple who, despite their childlessness, were foretold the birth of their son, John, by an angel. Prepare to marvel at the miraculous events leading to John's birth and the anticipation it stirred among the people.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome to our ancient future story, navigating
Scripture through the Eyes ofFamily, where I share with you
biblical stories like a familymember would share a story
around a dinner table.
As children of God, we are apart of God's family and His
family story has a lot ofhistory.
Each week we will take onestory and talk about it the
cultural, historical,geographical and sociological
(00:31):
impacts.
We will be looking at thesestories through the perspective
of our ancestors, through thelens of ancient times, in hopes
of learning more about ourfamily.
This is our ancient futurestory.
Welcome back to our ancientfuture story.
(01:01):
I'm Vic and I am so excited toshare with you another story
today.
As we begin to gear up for theChristmas holiday, I thought it
would be appropriate to pauseand ponder on the wonder of
Christmas.
Christmas is by far my favoritetime of year.
I love all the lights, themusic, traditions, but
especially I love the atmospherearound giving and family.
(01:23):
I wanted to jump in with theChristmas story as we kick off
Advent because if you have beenin and around church, you have
heard these stories many, manytimes.
But the story we have heard andthe story we have taught are
not exactly the picture of whatactually happened in Bethlehem.
Yes, of course there was stilla baby and an angel, and Mary
(01:47):
and Joseph was there, but thepicture we have much of it is
different, and that's what we'regoing to talk about in this
next series.
So today we're going to dive into what happened before Gabriel
came to Mary and Joseph.
What did the world and culturelook like when Jesus entered the
world?
We're going to start withElizabeth and Zachariah, the
(02:10):
parents of John the Baptist, andas they make way for the coming
Messiah, this story is going toshape the way we see Christmas.
So, if you're ready, grab a cupof coffee or something to drink
and let's dive into the storyof Christmas.
(02:37):
We open our story with a Levitecouple, a priest named Zachariah
and his wife Elizabeth, duringthe reign of King Herod of Judea
.
They were faithful followers ofYahweh, but they were old and
unable to have children.
One day, while Zachariah was onhis priestly rotation, a lot
was cast to see who would gointo the Holy of Holies and burn
(02:57):
incense before the Lord.
Historical fun fact the Holy ofHolies was the innermost part
of the temple.
This was the place where theArk of the Covenant resided,
where the spirit of Yahwehresided, to go in one head, to
wear specific clothing and becompletely purified before the
Lord, or else they would die.
While inside the Holy of Holiesburning incense, an angel of
(03:19):
the Lord appeared to the rightof the altar.
Zachariah was startled andafraid, but the angel said to
him this famous line Say it withme, do not be afraid.
Then Gabriel continues.
Your prayers have been heard.
Your wife, elizabeth, willconceive and bear a son, and you
shall call him John.
He will be a Nazarite frombirth.
(03:40):
Historical fun fact a Nazaritewas someone who committed
themselves fully to Yahweh for aperiod of time, generally for
about 30 days, but they could goall the way up to 100 days,
during which time they had verystrict rules they had to follow.
These rules included thingslike abstaining from wine or
other alcohol, not cutting theirhair and practicing celipacy,
(04:04):
and each Nazarite would take avow promising to live away from
society and devout their timesolely to Yahweh.
Now there were three lifelongNazarites Samson, samuel and
John.
John was destined to be thevoice calling out in the
wilderness making way from theMessiah to enter the society.
At this point, no one had aclue that the Messiah would
(04:27):
enter the world as a baby.
They were all looking for amighty king, like one the
prophet Isaiah and Micah hadtalked about.
Zechariah is hearing thesethings and is asking the
question we have heard manytimes, and many of our ancestors
say how can this be?
I am old and well advanced inyears.
How can I have a child?
But then the angel, the Lord,does something different.
(04:49):
He introduces himself.
I am Gabriel, I stand in thepresence of God and I have been
sent to tell you the good news.
But because you did not believeme, you were no longer able to
speak until the day this promisecomes true.
And then Gabriel left, leavinga mute, confused Zechariah in
his wake.
Meanwhile, standing outside theHoly of Holies, everyone is
(05:12):
whispering on another man.
How long has he been in there?
Should we go in and get him?
Should we pull him out?
How long does it take to lightsome incense?
When Zechariah walked out, allhe could do was motion to them,
trying to communicate what hadjust happened.
The people knew for sure thathe had seen a vision.
Because he was unable to speak,zachariah finished his rotation
(05:35):
at the temple, then headed hometo Elizabeth.
She conceived, but for fivemonths she remained hidden and
did not socialize.
But in the sixth month of herpregnancy Elizabeth got a visit
from her cousin Mary, a younggirl engaged to the carpenter
Joseph.
At this time Mary was newlypregnant by the Holy Spirit.
But when Mary greeted hercousin Elizabeth, the baby and
(05:56):
Elizabeth's womb jumped for joyand Elizabeth was filled with
the Holy Spirit.
In that moment Elizabeth knewthat the baby and Mary's womb
was the Messiah.
Mary stayed with Elizabeth forthree months until Elizabeth
delivered.
When she gave birth to her sonon the eighth day they came to
circumcise the baby and theneighbors and relatives were
(06:18):
talking about what they shouldname him.
Some suggested Zachariah afterhis father, but Elizabeth said
no, his name is John.
The crowd, very confused, askedwhy, john, no one in your
family is named that.
Wouldn't you prefer a familyname?
But Elizabeth persisted.
So the crowd signed toZachariah to get his opinion and
(06:39):
he asked for a writing tabletand wrote four words His name is
John.
Immediately his mouth was openand he was able to speak again.
He began praising God and thewhole community was filled with
awe.
Zachariah sang and worshipedYahweh because he had followed
through on his promise.
Zachariah now had a son, andthat is where our story pauses
(07:02):
for now.
The one who was destined tomake way for the Lord is born,
and as he grows he will ensurethe nations hear about the
coming Messiah.
So, as I said at the beginning,if you grew up around church,
(07:23):
or even going to church everyonce in a while, you have
probably heard this story many,many times.
But I do think there are a fewthings for us to dig into to
really see the context of whatis happening in this moment and
why this is so significant forus.
Let's start with location.
Our story takes place in acouple places.
First was Zachariah doing hispriestly duties, then with
(07:47):
Elizabeth in their home inJerusalem.
For the last year, zachariahwould travel north, 18 or so
miles from their home in Hebron,to the capital city for his
priestly rotation.
This would have taken a fullday to make this trip.
However.
Mary's journey from Nazareth toHebron was a lot longer, but
more on that next week.
To really get into the day andtime of these events of
(08:10):
Elizabeth and Zachariah, wefirst have to back up about 400
years.
This time in history is knownas the Inter-Testamental period.
It's the 400 years span thattook place on that one white
piece of paper between theTestaments, and a lot happened
during these 400 years.
It was during these years thatAlexander the Great spread
(08:31):
Hellenism, aka Greek culture,throughout the known world.
He would invade regions and,instead of conquering them by
sword, he would build Pauli's,or major cities that can only be
described as a modern-day Vegas.
This place had everything aperson could possibly want or
desire.
Also during this time was theinfamous romance between
(08:53):
Cleopatra and Mark Antony, aswell as the rise and fall of
Herod the Great, and all thathappened during the one white
page between our Testaments.
Around 27 BC, rome wasrelatively peaceful empire to
live in.
Caesar Gustus was on the throne, the entire empire shared a
common language of Greek and theRoman roads have been built to
(09:15):
connect the entire empire, andHerod the Great took up
residence and power in Judea.
Now, herod was ruthless and theJewish people did not like him
because he was a descendant ofEsau and therefore illegitimate
to rule in their eyes.
Remember, the kingship wassupposed to come from the line
of Jacob through David, so theJewish people felt like King
(09:39):
Herod was not supposed to be onthe throne At this time.
During these 400 years on, theseone white page between our
Testaments are considered thesilent years to the followers of
Yahweh, meaning that Yahweh didnot speak to his people for 400
years.
But this is better understood,as there was not a writing
(09:59):
prophet to convey the words ofYahweh to Israel during this
time, which begs severalquestions that we are going to
get into right now.
What are the last words Yahwehspoke through the prophet in the
Old Testament, and why doesthat matter to us in this story?
So let's take the first one.
What were the last words ofYahweh that he spoke to Israel?
(10:20):
For that we have to go back toMalachi, chapter 4, verse 2, and
then 5 and 6.
Malachi was the last writingprophet of the Old Testament,
and God's last words through himwere this but for you who fear
my name, the Son ofrighteousness shall rise with
healing in his wings.
You shall go out leaping likecalves from a stall.
(10:40):
Then we'll skip down to verse 5, which says Behold, I will send
you Elijah, the prophet, beforethe great and awesome day of
the Lord comes, and he will turnthe hearts of fathers to their
children and the hearts ofchildren to their fathers.
Keep in mind, most Jewishpeople still believe these are
the last words of Yahweh.
Since they do not believe theMessiah has come, they hold
(11:03):
these words in high esteem.
But if we were to look at thisverse, on the surface it doesn't
look like much.
But I want you to see somethingreally, really cool.
When Gabriel comes to Zachariahin the temple that day, he was
the first time Yahweh had spokensince these words were written
in Malachi.
And this is what he tellsZachariah in Luke, chapter 1, 16
(11:25):
through 17, when describingJohn.
And he will turn many of thechildren of Israel to the Lord,
their God, and he will go beforethem in the spirit and power of
Elijah, to turn the hearts ofthe fathers to children and the
disobedient to the wisdom of thejust, to make ready for the
Lord a people prepared Right.
(11:47):
Isn't this awesome?
Zachariah is the first to hearthe fulfillment of God's promise
made 400 years prior to thismoment.
God is really bringing forthone like Elijah who will make
way for his son.
So why does that matter to ustoday and for this story?
Well, because Zachariah andElizabeth were among the first
(12:09):
to know that the Messiah iscoming.
Gabriel told Zachariah in thetemple, but then Zachariah
couldn't tell Elizabeth becausehe was made mute.
But Elizabeth knew when Marycame to visit her.
In Luke 1.41,.
When Elizabeth heard thegreeting of Mary, the baby
within her, ie John, leaped,jumped in her womb.
(12:29):
Where have we heard that before?
In Malachi 4, chapter 4, verse2, on the day of the Lord, you
will go out leaping like calvesin a stall.
When John leaped in Elizabeth'swomb, she knew that Mary was
carrying the Messiah.
Remember, this is thousands ofyears before cell phones.
Elizabeth didn't know that Marywas coming to visit, much less
(12:53):
than she was pregnant, even lessthan she was carrying the
Messiah.
But as soon as she felt Johnleap, she was filled with the
Holy Spirit and said bless areyou among women, bless is the
fruit of your womb.
And why is it that this grantedto me?
The mother of my Lord shallcome to me.
Elizabeth knew that Mary wascarrying the Messiah because
(13:15):
John leaped for joy.
That is so, so cool.
Okay, let's go back to thebeginning again.
Talk about the Levitical Priest.
We opened our story withZacharias serving in the temple,
so it's important for us toknow about the Levitical Priest
who they are, what they do andwhere they are in the temple.
The Levitical Priest aredescendants of the tribe of Levi
(13:38):
, the fourth son of Jacob.
When Yahweh pulled Israel outof Egypt, he gathered the tribe
of Levi as his first fruits andoffering to himself.
They would be set apart, fullyconsecrated to Yahweh.
They would work in the templeand help guide the Israelites
through a worship experiencewith God.
They are the ones who taughtthe law of God, performed the
(13:58):
sacrifices to Yahweh, kept upthe tabernacle and later the
temple.
They were kind of like thego-between Yahweh and his people
.
The temple had three sectionsin it the outer court, where
only men could go.
The holy place, where thepriests could go.
And the holy Vaholes, where theArk of the Covenant was, where
(14:19):
the presence of Yahweh was andonly the high priests could go.
The Levitical Priest set arotation according to the custom
of the priesthood found inLeviticus.
The King David made a 24 priestrotation in which each family
would serve in the temple forone week twice a year.
During the service they wouldcast lots to determine what each
person would do during thatweek.
(14:41):
They would be casting lots askind of like rolling dice or
drawing straws as a way ofchoosing who does what.
Some would light candles,others would sweep the floors,
while others accepted sacrifices.
Zechariah was chosen to burnincense, zechariah was serving
in his usual way when he waschosen to burn incense and meet
(15:03):
with the angel Gabriel.
When Zechariah was met byGabriel and told he was going to
have a son despite his age, hedoubted.
And Gabriel said because youchose not to believe me, you
will be mute until this has cometo pass.
This seems a little harsh forGabriel to be so quick to mute
Zechariah after just a simplequestion of how can this be A
(15:25):
fair question, and one that many, many others have asked in the
Bible, especially because thisis the first time Yahweh speaks
in 400 years.
So why did Gabriel silentZechariah for not believing?
Some scholars have argued thatGabriel not only muted Zechariah
but also made him deaf for hisunbelief.
This was based on the end ofLuke 1, where everyone gathered
(15:49):
for the naming of John and theymade signs to Zechariah.
Why would they need to makesigns to him if he could hear?
It is important to know that anancient Jewish person's belief
in understanding would come fromhearing.
So for his hearing to be takenaway, it is to make the point
that his unbelief is the same ashim not being able to hear.
(16:11):
So with that understanding.
It's not a far leap to thinkthat it is plausible that
Gabriel made him deaf and mutein this moment.
Some other scholars have arguedthat mutism was to keep
Zechariah from spreading hislack of faith to everyone around
him.
Also plausible, because I'msure the first thing Zechariah
wanted to do was go outside andsay I saw an angel and he told
(16:34):
me I was going to have a son.
But look at me, I'm old andElizabeth is past childbearing
years.
How can this be?
But Gabriel mutes him and he isnot able to say anything to
anyone until John is born.
But what I find interesting isthe way the other priests
reacted to his mutism anddeafness.
Potentially Typically,disabilities are prohibited
(16:55):
inside the temple because theywere considered unclean.
Cleaning can never come incontact with clean, because the
unclean person will make theclean person unclean and
therefore unfit to do theirduties in the temple.
And this was especially truefor the priest.
That's why, in the parable theGood Samaritan, the priest
walked on the other side of theroad because the injured man
(17:19):
would have made him unclean.
So if this is how they normallytreat people with disabilities,
what do they do when it happensto a priest while in service.
Well, luke 1 tells us when hecame out, everyone knew and he
saw a vision, but he couldn'tspeak.
And then the next verse is atthe end of his service, when he
went home.
I can only imagine how theremainder of his time went,
(17:43):
especially if the scholars wereright and he was deaf and mute.
But he does go home andElizabeth does become pregnant.
And when she gives birth on the8th day, when they go to name
the baby, zachariah said hisname is John and his voice
immediately came back and hebegan praising God.
Lastly, let's talk about theimportance of names in this
(18:06):
culture.
A person's name was theiridentity, but it also shows
their personality or purpose.
There are only four people inthe Bible who God names, meaning
he comes to the parents andsays you will have a son and you
will name him Blank.
This happened with Isaac,ishmael, john and Jesus.
(18:26):
The custom was to circumciseand name a male child on the 8th
day of life.
This was a tradition set upwith Abraham and when God first
established circumcision.
It also could be because at thetime babies did not live that
long, so they wanted to wait toname the child.
I don't know if you evernoticed that Elizabeth tries to
(18:47):
name the baby after he is born,but the relatives and neighbors
are questioning her when shesays John.
They look to Zachariah to namethe child.
In this culture, the patriarch,the father, had the final say on
all things, including namingthe children.
But because Zachariah was mutehe couldn't speak for himself.
Elizabeth said his name is John, but they still didn't believe
(19:10):
her because it was such anoutlandish name for this family.
They had no relatives namedthis.
They had no ties to the nameJohn.
So they made signs to Zachariahand was like are you sure?
And he said his name is John.
So why the name John?
Why did God want them to nametheir son John?
(19:30):
As everyone else in theceremony said, there is no one
in their family with that name.
Why not the name Zachariah?
Remember, the name meanssomething in this culture.
When Gabriel came to Zachariahhe said do not be afraid,
zachariah, for your prayer hasbeen heard and your wife,
elizabeth, will bear you a sonand you shall call his name John
(19:52):
and you will have joy andgladness and many will rejoice
at his birth, for he will begreat before the Lord.
The name John means God isgracious.
I find this fitting becauseYahweh sends his grace ahead of
his son to pave the way for hislove to enter the world.
So how does this story point usto Jesus?
(20:14):
As we've mentioned before onthis podcast, jesus is the
fulfillment of the Old Testamentthrough covenants, prophecies
and the law.
Jesus is the fulfillment ofthem all.
So each time we meet togetherwe'll discuss how this story
points to Jesus.
Our story today is about thebirth of Jesus' cousin John, who
(20:34):
will become known as John theBaptizer or John the Baptist.
He prepares the way for Jesusto enter society and start his
ministry.
Without John constantlypointing to Jesus and naming him
the Messiah, many would nothave believed.
So before we go, I want toclose our time together reading
(20:54):
the scripture from which ourstory comes from today.
I hope that as you listen tothis chapter of Luke being read,
that you will embrace all thatwe have learned and that this
passage will be illuminated foryou.
Let's read In the time of Herod, king of Judea, there was a
priest named Zechariah whobelonged to the priestly
(21:15):
division of Abba-Jah.
His wife, elizabeth, was also adescendant of Aaron.
Both of them were righteous inthe sight of God, observing all
of the Lord's commands anddecrees blamelessly.
But they were childless becauseElizabeth was not able to
conceive and they were both veryold.
Once, when Zechariah's divisionwas on duty and he was serving
(21:37):
as priest before God, he waschosen by Lot, according to the
custom of the priesthood, to gointo the temple of the Lord and
burn incense, and when the timefor the burning of incense came,
all the assembled worshiperswere praying outside.
Then the angel of the Lordappeared to him standing at the
right side of the altar ofincense.
When Zechariah saw him, he wasstartled and was gripped with
(22:01):
fear.
But the angel said to him Donot be afraid, zechariah, your
prayer has been heard.
Your wife, elizabeth, will bearyou a son and you are to call
him John.
He will be a joy and delight toyou and many will rejoice
because of his birth, for hewill be great in the sight of
the Lord.
He is never to take wine orother fermented drink and he
(22:23):
will be filled with the HolySpirit even before he is born.
He will bring back many of thepeople of Israel to the Lord and
their God, and he will go onbefore the Lord, in the spirit
and power of Elijah, to turn thehearts of parents to their
children and the disobedient tothe wisdom of the righteous, to
make ready the people preparedbefore the Lord.
(22:46):
Zechariah asked the angel howcan I be sure of this?
I am an old man and my wife iswell along in years.
The angel said to him I amGabriel, I stand in the presence
of God and I have been sent tospeak to you and to tell you the
good news.
And now you will be silent andnot able to speak until the day
this happens because you did notbelieve my words, which will
(23:09):
come true at their appointedtime.
Meanwhile, the people werewaiting for Zechariah and
wondering why he stayed so longin the temple.
When he came out, he could notspeak to them.
They realized he had seen avision in the temple and he kept
making signs to them butremained unable to speak.
When the time of his servicewas completed, he returned home.
(23:30):
After this, his wife Elizabethbecame pregnant, but for five
months remained in seclusion.
The Lord had done this for me,she said.
In these days he has shown hisfavor and taken away my disgrace
among.
In those days, mary arose andwent with haste to the hill
country, to a town of Judah, andshe entered the house of
Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth,and when Elizabeth heard the
(23:54):
greeting of Mary, the babyleaped in her womb and Elizabeth
was filled with the Holy Spiritand she exclaimed with a loud
cry Blessed are you among womenand blessed is the fruit of your
womb.
And why is this granted to me?
That the mother of my Lordshall come to me?
For behold, when the sound ofyour greeting came to my ears,
(24:14):
the baby in my womb leaped forjoy, and blessed is she who
believed that there would be afulfillment of what was spoken
to her from the Lord.
Now the time came for Elizabethto give birth and she bore a
son, and her neighbors andrelatives heard that the Lord
had shown great mercy to her andthey rejoiced with her.
And on the eighth day they cameto circumcise the child and
(24:38):
they would have called himZechariah after his father.
But his mother answered no, heshall be called John.
And they said to her None ofyour relatives is called by this
name.
And they made signs to hisfather, inquiring what he wanted
him to be called, and he askedfor a writing tablet and he
wrote His name is John.
And they all wondered andimmediately his mouth was open
(25:03):
and his tongue loosed and hespoke Blessing God, and fear
came over all the neighbors andall these things were talked
about through all the hillcountry of Judea, and all who
heard them laid them up in theirhearts, saying what then will
this child be, for the hand ofthe Lord was with him.
(25:25):
Thank you for listening totoday's episode of our ancient
future story.
I hope that you really enjoyedit.
This episode was written andproduced by me.
Vic Harmon Music is embarkingon an adventure by Evan McDonald
.
Please support the show bysubscribing and rating us, and
if you want more info or want todive deeper, check out our
website at ourancientfuturestorycom.
(25:46):
See you next time.
Bye.
Welcome to our ancient future story, navigating
Scripture through the Eyes ofFamily, where I share with you
biblical stories like a familymember would share a story
around a dinner table.
As children of God, we are apart of God's family and His
family story has a lot ofhistory.
Each week we will take onestory and talk about it the
cultural, historical,geographical and sociological
(00:31):
impacts.
We will be looking at thesestories through the perspective
of our ancestors, through thelens of ancient times, in hopes
of learning more about ourfamily.
This is our ancient futurestory.
Welcome back to our ancientfuture story.
(01:01):
I'm Vic and I am so excited toshare with you another story
today.
As we begin to gear up for theChristmas holiday, I thought it
would be appropriate to pauseand ponder on the wonder of
Christmas.
Christmas is by far my favoritetime of year.
I love all the lights, themusic, traditions, but
especially I love the atmospherearound giving and family.
(01:23):
I wanted to jump in with theChristmas story as we kick off
Advent because if you have beenin and around church, you have
heard these stories many, manytimes.
But the story we have heard andthe story we have taught are
not exactly the picture of whatactually happened in Bethlehem.
Yes, of course there was stilla baby and an angel, and Mary
(01:47):
and Joseph was there, but thepicture we have much of it is
different, and that's what we'regoing to talk about in this
next series.
So today we're going to dive into what happened before Gabriel
came to Mary and Joseph.
What did the world and culturelook like when Jesus entered the
world?
We're going to start withElizabeth and Zachariah, the
(02:10):
parents of John the Baptist, andas they make way for the coming
Messiah, this story is going toshape the way we see Christmas.
So, if you're ready, grab a cupof coffee or something to drink
and let's dive into the storyof Christmas.
(02:37):
We open our story with a Levitecouple, a priest named Zachariah
and his wife Elizabeth, duringthe reign of King Herod of Judea
.
They were faithful followers ofYahweh, but they were old and
unable to have children.
One day, while Zachariah was onhis priestly rotation, a lot
was cast to see who would gointo the Holy of Holies and burn
(02:57):
incense before the Lord.
Historical fun fact the Holy ofHolies was the innermost part
of the temple.
This was the place where theArk of the Covenant resided,
where the spirit of Yahwehresided, to go in one head, to
wear specific clothing and becompletely purified before the
Lord, or else they would die.
While inside the Holy of Holiesburning incense, an angel of
(03:19):
the Lord appeared to the rightof the altar.
Zachariah was startled andafraid, but the angel said to
him this famous line Say it withme, do not be afraid.
Then Gabriel continues.
Your prayers have been heard.
Your wife, elizabeth, willconceive and bear a son, and you
shall call him John.
He will be a Nazarite frombirth.
(03:40):
Historical fun fact a Nazaritewas someone who committed
themselves fully to Yahweh for aperiod of time, generally for
about 30 days, but they could goall the way up to 100 days,
during which time they had verystrict rules they had to follow.
These rules included thingslike abstaining from wine or
other alcohol, not cutting theirhair and practicing celipacy,
(04:04):
and each Nazarite would take avow promising to live away from
society and devout their timesolely to Yahweh.
Now there were three lifelongNazarites Samson, samuel and
John.
John was destined to be thevoice calling out in the
wilderness making way from theMessiah to enter the society.
At this point, no one had aclue that the Messiah would
(04:27):
enter the world as a baby.
They were all looking for amighty king, like one the
prophet Isaiah and Micah hadtalked about.
Zechariah is hearing thesethings and is asking the
question we have heard manytimes, and many of our ancestors
say how can this be?
I am old and well advanced inyears.
How can I have a child?
But then the angel, the Lord,does something different.
(04:49):
He introduces himself.
I am Gabriel, I stand in thepresence of God and I have been
sent to tell you the good news.
But because you did not believeme, you were no longer able to
speak until the day this promisecomes true.
And then Gabriel left, leavinga mute, confused Zechariah in
his wake.
Meanwhile, standing outside theHoly of Holies, everyone is
(05:12):
whispering on another man.
How long has he been in there?
Should we go in and get him?
Should we pull him out?
How long does it take to lightsome incense?
When Zechariah walked out, allhe could do was motion to them,
trying to communicate what hadjust happened.
The people knew for sure thathe had seen a vision.
Because he was unable to speak,zachariah finished his rotation
(05:35):
at the temple, then headed hometo Elizabeth.
She conceived, but for fivemonths she remained hidden and
did not socialize.
But in the sixth month of herpregnancy Elizabeth got a visit
from her cousin Mary, a younggirl engaged to the carpenter
Joseph.
At this time Mary was newlypregnant by the Holy Spirit.
But when Mary greeted hercousin Elizabeth, the baby and
(05:56):
Elizabeth's womb jumped for joyand Elizabeth was filled with
the Holy Spirit.
In that moment Elizabeth knewthat the baby and Mary's womb
was the Messiah.
Mary stayed with Elizabeth forthree months until Elizabeth
delivered.
When she gave birth to her sonon the eighth day they came to
circumcise the baby and theneighbors and relatives were
(06:18):
talking about what they shouldname him.
Some suggested Zachariah afterhis father, but Elizabeth said
no, his name is John.
The crowd, very confused, askedwhy, john, no one in your
family is named that.
Wouldn't you prefer a familyname?
But Elizabeth persisted.
So the crowd signed toZachariah to get his opinion and
(06:39):
he asked for a writing tabletand wrote four words His name is
John.
Immediately his mouth was openand he was able to speak again.
He began praising God and thewhole community was filled with
awe.
Zachariah sang and worshipedYahweh because he had followed
through on his promise.
Zachariah now had a son, andthat is where our story pauses
(07:02):
for now.
The one who was destined tomake way for the Lord is born,
and as he grows he will ensurethe nations hear about the
coming Messiah.
So, as I said at the beginning,if you grew up around church,
(07:23):
or even going to church everyonce in a while, you have
probably heard this story many,many times.
But I do think there are a fewthings for us to dig into to
really see the context of whatis happening in this moment and
why this is so significant forus.
Let's start with location.
Our story takes place in acouple places.
First was Zachariah doing hispriestly duties, then with
(07:47):
Elizabeth in their home inJerusalem.
For the last year, zachariahwould travel north, 18 or so
miles from their home in Hebron,to the capital city for his
priestly rotation.
This would have taken a fullday to make this trip.
However.
Mary's journey from Nazareth toHebron was a lot longer, but
more on that next week.
To really get into the day andtime of these events of
(08:10):
Elizabeth and Zachariah, wefirst have to back up about 400
years.
This time in history is knownas the Inter-Testamental period.
It's the 400 years span thattook place on that one white
piece of paper between theTestaments, and a lot happened
during these 400 years.
It was during these years thatAlexander the Great spread
(08:31):
Hellenism, aka Greek culture,throughout the known world.
He would invade regions and,instead of conquering them by
sword, he would build Pauli's,or major cities that can only be
described as a modern-day Vegas.
This place had everything aperson could possibly want or
desire.
Also during this time was theinfamous romance between
(08:53):
Cleopatra and Mark Antony, aswell as the rise and fall of
Herod the Great, and all thathappened during the one white
page between our Testaments.
Around 27 BC, rome wasrelatively peaceful empire to
live in.
Caesar Gustus was on the throne, the entire empire shared a
common language of Greek and theRoman roads have been built to
(09:15):
connect the entire empire, andHerod the Great took up
residence and power in Judea.
Now, herod was ruthless and theJewish people did not like him
because he was a descendant ofEsau and therefore illegitimate
to rule in their eyes.
Remember, the kingship wassupposed to come from the line
of Jacob through David, so theJewish people felt like King
(09:39):
Herod was not supposed to be onthe throne At this time.
During these 400 years on, theseone white page between our
Testaments are considered thesilent years to the followers of
Yahweh, meaning that Yahweh didnot speak to his people for 400
years.
But this is better understood,as there was not a writing
(09:59):
prophet to convey the words ofYahweh to Israel during this
time, which begs severalquestions that we are going to
get into right now.
What are the last words Yahwehspoke through the prophet in the
Old Testament, and why doesthat matter to us in this story?
So let's take the first one.
What were the last words ofYahweh that he spoke to Israel?
(10:20):
For that we have to go back toMalachi, chapter 4, verse 2, and
then 5 and 6.
Malachi was the last writingprophet of the Old Testament,
and God's last words through himwere this but for you who fear
my name, the Son ofrighteousness shall rise with
healing in his wings.
You shall go out leaping likecalves from a stall.
(10:40):
Then we'll skip down to verse 5, which says Behold, I will send
you Elijah, the prophet, beforethe great and awesome day of
the Lord comes, and he will turnthe hearts of fathers to their
children and the hearts ofchildren to their fathers.
Keep in mind, most Jewishpeople still believe these are
the last words of Yahweh.
Since they do not believe theMessiah has come, they hold
(11:03):
these words in high esteem.
But if we were to look at thisverse, on the surface it doesn't
look like much.
But I want you to see somethingreally, really cool.
When Gabriel comes to Zachariahin the temple that day, he was
the first time Yahweh had spokensince these words were written
in Malachi.
And this is what he tellsZachariah in Luke, chapter 1, 16
(11:25):
through 17, when describingJohn.
And he will turn many of thechildren of Israel to the Lord,
their God, and he will go beforethem in the spirit and power of
Elijah, to turn the hearts ofthe fathers to children and the
disobedient to the wisdom of thejust, to make ready for the
Lord a people prepared Right.
(11:47):
Isn't this awesome?
Zachariah is the first to hearthe fulfillment of God's promise
made 400 years prior to thismoment.
God is really bringing forthone like Elijah who will make
way for his son.
So why does that matter to ustoday and for this story?
Well, because Zachariah andElizabeth were among the first
(12:09):
to know that the Messiah iscoming.
Gabriel told Zachariah in thetemple, but then Zachariah
couldn't tell Elizabeth becausehe was made mute.
But Elizabeth knew when Marycame to visit her.
In Luke 1.41,.
When Elizabeth heard thegreeting of Mary, the baby
within her, ie John, leaped,jumped in her womb.
(12:29):
Where have we heard that before?
In Malachi 4, chapter 4, verse2, on the day of the Lord, you
will go out leaping like calvesin a stall.
When John leaped in Elizabeth'swomb, she knew that Mary was
carrying the Messiah.
Remember, this is thousands ofyears before cell phones.
Elizabeth didn't know that Marywas coming to visit, much less
(12:53):
than she was pregnant, even lessthan she was carrying the
Messiah.
But as soon as she felt Johnleap, she was filled with the
Holy Spirit and said bless areyou among women, bless is the
fruit of your womb.
And why is it that this grantedto me?
The mother of my Lord shallcome to me.
Elizabeth knew that Mary wascarrying the Messiah because
(13:15):
John leaped for joy.
That is so, so cool.
Okay, let's go back to thebeginning again.
Talk about the Levitical Priest.
We opened our story withZacharias serving in the temple,
so it's important for us toknow about the Levitical Priest
who they are, what they do andwhere they are in the temple.
The Levitical Priest aredescendants of the tribe of Levi
(13:38):
, the fourth son of Jacob.
When Yahweh pulled Israel outof Egypt, he gathered the tribe
of Levi as his first fruits andoffering to himself.
They would be set apart, fullyconsecrated to Yahweh.
They would work in the templeand help guide the Israelites
through a worship experiencewith God.
They are the ones who taughtthe law of God, performed the
(13:58):
sacrifices to Yahweh, kept upthe tabernacle and later the
temple.
They were kind of like thego-between Yahweh and his people
.
The temple had three sectionsin it the outer court, where
only men could go.
The holy place, where thepriests could go.
And the holy Vaholes, where theArk of the Covenant was, where
(14:19):
the presence of Yahweh was andonly the high priests could go.
The Levitical Priest set arotation according to the custom
of the priesthood found inLeviticus.
The King David made a 24 priestrotation in which each family
would serve in the temple forone week twice a year.
During the service they wouldcast lots to determine what each
person would do during thatweek.
(14:41):
They would be casting lots askind of like rolling dice or
drawing straws as a way ofchoosing who does what.
Some would light candles,others would sweep the floors,
while others accepted sacrifices.
Zechariah was chosen to burnincense, zechariah was serving
in his usual way when he waschosen to burn incense and meet
(15:03):
with the angel Gabriel.
When Zechariah was met byGabriel and told he was going to
have a son despite his age, hedoubted.
And Gabriel said because youchose not to believe me, you
will be mute until this has cometo pass.
This seems a little harsh forGabriel to be so quick to mute
Zechariah after just a simplequestion of how can this be A
(15:25):
fair question, and one that many, many others have asked in the
Bible, especially because thisis the first time Yahweh speaks
in 400 years.
So why did Gabriel silentZechariah for not believing?
Some scholars have argued thatGabriel not only muted Zechariah
but also made him deaf for hisunbelief.
This was based on the end ofLuke 1, where everyone gathered
(15:49):
for the naming of John and theymade signs to Zechariah.
Why would they need to makesigns to him if he could hear?
It is important to know that anancient Jewish person's belief
in understanding would come fromhearing.
So for his hearing to be takenaway, it is to make the point
that his unbelief is the same ashim not being able to hear.
(16:11):
So with that understanding.
It's not a far leap to thinkthat it is plausible that
Gabriel made him deaf and mutein this moment.
Some other scholars have arguedthat mutism was to keep
Zechariah from spreading hislack of faith to everyone around
him.
Also plausible, because I'msure the first thing Zechariah
wanted to do was go outside andsay I saw an angel and he told
(16:34):
me I was going to have a son.
But look at me, I'm old andElizabeth is past childbearing
years.
How can this be?
But Gabriel mutes him and he isnot able to say anything to
anyone until John is born.
But what I find interesting isthe way the other priests
reacted to his mutism anddeafness.
Potentially Typically,disabilities are prohibited
(16:55):
inside the temple because theywere considered unclean.
Cleaning can never come incontact with clean, because the
unclean person will make theclean person unclean and
therefore unfit to do theirduties in the temple.
And this was especially truefor the priest.
That's why, in the parable theGood Samaritan, the priest
walked on the other side of theroad because the injured man
(17:19):
would have made him unclean.
So if this is how they normallytreat people with disabilities,
what do they do when it happensto a priest while in service.
Well, luke 1 tells us when hecame out, everyone knew and he
saw a vision, but he couldn'tspeak.
And then the next verse is atthe end of his service, when he
went home.
I can only imagine how theremainder of his time went,
(17:43):
especially if the scholars wereright and he was deaf and mute.
But he does go home andElizabeth does become pregnant.
And when she gives birth on the8th day, when they go to name
the baby, zachariah said hisname is John and his voice
immediately came back and hebegan praising God.
Lastly, let's talk about theimportance of names in this
(18:06):
culture.
A person's name was theiridentity, but it also shows
their personality or purpose.
There are only four people inthe Bible who God names, meaning
he comes to the parents andsays you will have a son and you
will name him Blank.
This happened with Isaac,ishmael, john and Jesus.
(18:26):
The custom was to circumciseand name a male child on the 8th
day of life.
This was a tradition set upwith Abraham and when God first
established circumcision.
It also could be because at thetime babies did not live that
long, so they wanted to wait toname the child.
I don't know if you evernoticed that Elizabeth tries to
(18:47):
name the baby after he is born,but the relatives and neighbors
are questioning her when shesays John.
They look to Zachariah to namethe child.
In this culture, the patriarch,the father, had the final say on
all things, including namingthe children.
But because Zachariah was mutehe couldn't speak for himself.
Elizabeth said his name is John, but they still didn't believe
(19:10):
her because it was such anoutlandish name for this family.
They had no relatives namedthis.
They had no ties to the nameJohn.
So they made signs to Zachariahand was like are you sure?
And he said his name is John.
So why the name John?
Why did God want them to nametheir son John?
(19:30):
As everyone else in theceremony said, there is no one
in their family with that name.
Why not the name Zachariah?
Remember, the name meanssomething in this culture.
When Gabriel came to Zachariahhe said do not be afraid,
zachariah, for your prayer hasbeen heard and your wife,
elizabeth, will bear you a sonand you shall call his name John
(19:52):
and you will have joy andgladness and many will rejoice
at his birth, for he will begreat before the Lord.
The name John means God isgracious.
I find this fitting becauseYahweh sends his grace ahead of
his son to pave the way for hislove to enter the world.
So how does this story point usto Jesus?
(20:14):
As we've mentioned before onthis podcast, jesus is the
fulfillment of the Old Testamentthrough covenants, prophecies
and the law.
Jesus is the fulfillment ofthem all.
So each time we meet togetherwe'll discuss how this story
points to Jesus.
Our story today is about thebirth of Jesus' cousin John, who
(20:34):
will become known as John theBaptizer or John the Baptist.
He prepares the way for Jesusto enter society and start his
ministry.
Without John constantlypointing to Jesus and naming him
the Messiah, many would nothave believed.
So before we go, I want toclose our time together reading
(20:54):
the scripture from which ourstory comes from today.
I hope that as you listen tothis chapter of Luke being read,
that you will embrace all thatwe have learned and that this
passage will be illuminated foryou.
Let's read In the time of Herod, king of Judea, there was a
priest named Zechariah whobelonged to the priestly
(21:15):
division of Abba-Jah.
His wife, elizabeth, was also adescendant of Aaron.
Both of them were righteous inthe sight of God, observing all
of the Lord's commands anddecrees blamelessly.
But they were childless becauseElizabeth was not able to
conceive and they were both veryold.
Once, when Zechariah's divisionwas on duty and he was serving
(21:37):
as priest before God, he waschosen by Lot, according to the
custom of the priesthood, to gointo the temple of the Lord and
burn incense, and when the timefor the burning of incense came,
all the assembled worshiperswere praying outside.
Then the angel of the Lordappeared to him standing at the
right side of the altar ofincense.
When Zechariah saw him, he wasstartled and was gripped with
(22:01):
fear.
But the angel said to him Donot be afraid, zechariah, your
prayer has been heard.
Your wife, elizabeth, will bearyou a son and you are to call
him John.
He will be a joy and delight toyou and many will rejoice
because of his birth, for hewill be great in the sight of
the Lord.
He is never to take wine orother fermented drink and he
(22:23):
will be filled with the HolySpirit even before he is born.
He will bring back many of thepeople of Israel to the Lord and
their God, and he will go onbefore the Lord, in the spirit
and power of Elijah, to turn thehearts of parents to their
children and the disobedient tothe wisdom of the righteous, to
make ready the people preparedbefore the Lord.
(22:46):
Zechariah asked the angel howcan I be sure of this?
I am an old man and my wife iswell along in years.
The angel said to him I amGabriel, I stand in the presence
of God and I have been sent tospeak to you and to tell you the
good news.
And now you will be silent andnot able to speak until the day
this happens because you did notbelieve my words, which will
(23:09):
come true at their appointedtime.
Meanwhile, the people werewaiting for Zechariah and
wondering why he stayed so longin the temple.
When he came out, he could notspeak to them.
They realized he had seen avision in the temple and he kept
making signs to them butremained unable to speak.
When the time of his servicewas completed, he returned home.
(23:30):
After this, his wife Elizabethbecame pregnant, but for five
months remained in seclusion.
The Lord had done this for me,she said.
In these days he has shown hisfavor and taken away my disgrace
among.
In those days, mary arose andwent with haste to the hill
country, to a town of Judah, andshe entered the house of
Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth,and when Elizabeth heard the
(23:54):
greeting of Mary, the babyleaped in her womb and Elizabeth
was filled with the Holy Spiritand she exclaimed with a loud
cry Blessed are you among womenand blessed is the fruit of your
womb.
And why is this granted to me?
That the mother of my Lordshall come to me?
For behold, when the sound ofyour greeting came to my ears,
(24:14):
the baby in my womb leaped forjoy, and blessed is she who
believed that there would be afulfillment of what was spoken
to her from the Lord.
Now the time came for Elizabethto give birth and she bore a
son, and her neighbors andrelatives heard that the Lord
had shown great mercy to her andthey rejoiced with her.
And on the eighth day they cameto circumcise the child and
(24:38):
they would have called himZechariah after his father.
But his mother answered no, heshall be called John.
And they said to her None ofyour relatives is called by this
name.
And they made signs to hisfather, inquiring what he wanted
him to be called, and he askedfor a writing tablet and he
wrote His name is John.
And they all wondered andimmediately his mouth was open
(25:03):
and his tongue loosed and hespoke Blessing God, and fear
came over all the neighbors andall these things were talked
about through all the hillcountry of Judea, and all who
heard them laid them up in theirhearts, saying what then will
this child be, for the hand ofthe Lord was with him.
(25:25):
Thank you for listening totoday's episode of our ancient
future story.
I hope that you really enjoyedit.
This episode was written andproduced by me.
Vic Harmon Music is embarkingon an adventure by Evan McDonald
.
Please support the show bysubscribing and rating us, and
if you want more info or want todive deeper, check out our
website at ourancientfuturestorycom.
(25:46):
See you next time.
Bye.
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com