Title: Zacharias and Elizabeth (Luke 01:5-25)
Contents In the Bible, many people appear around the time of the birth of Jesus. This has the meaning of clearly revealing the historicity according to the prophecies and fulfillment of Jesus' birth, along with their spiritual state, and the meaning of Jesus' work.
Among them, the birth of so-called “John the Baptist” shows mysterious elements in many ways. This is the fact that God's absolute providence for Jesus' work is clearly revealed through his family and personal godly life, as well as his own lessons.
1. A couple who kept the light in the dark.
They were descendants of Aaron and were priests belonging to the class of Abijah. The age they lived in was a priestly couple who kept the light in place until the coming of the Lord from the spiritually final dark age. But they had no hope for the family because of Elizabeth's barrenness (1:7).
However, they were righteous without blemish before God (1:6), faithful to the office given to them (1:8-9), and believed in God's omnipotence and were always devoted to prayer (1:13). This shows the heart of the saints toward God regardless of the reality given to each of us.
See the song of the Spirit-filled Zacharias (67-79).
2. A couple who raised their children to a higher level
The text shows the providence of blessing those who are righteous before God and are faithful to their duties. It was foretold through the angel Gabriel that his descendants would be born to Zacharias, who waited patiently and faithfully without using human means (verse 13).
As he sang his son John when he was filled with the Holy Spirit, he wanted to live without shame before God, even if he lived a short life, just as he sang, “1. Later, John was a “crying man in the wilderness,” who was strengthened in spirit by thoroughly abstaining from the lusts of the flesh, giving more importance to the cause of ministry than the cause of blood. (Luke 1:80, Matthew 3:4) . Consider the childhood and ministry of John (Matthew 3:1-17).
3. Couples who fully connected the work of salvation
God did not suddenly send Jesus into the world as the Savior to save mankind. According to the order of the spiritual world, he legally notified the priest Zacharias of the birth of a perfect mediator, and his son John also pointed out Jesus as the 'perfect Lamb' in the authority of the priests who are notable (John 1:29).
John can be said to be the actual last priest of the Old Testament. Although he refused the priesthood in God's temple at that time, lived a wild life in the wilderness (Luke 1:80), and completed his 30-year-old life, which corresponds to the actual priest's office, he was noticed by all Jews. He was the eldest of all the sons born to a woman who had a child (Matthew 11:11, Luke 7:28). Through his great declaration, the work of salvation for mankind was transferred from the limited priesthood to the perfect priesthood (Luke 1:76-79).
Be the parents who renounce the legacy of faith and salvation.