Luke 1:13, commentary and pictures

Gabriel stood by the altar of incense during Zacharias's priestly service in the temple and told the aged, fearful priest not to be afraid, for his prayer was heard and Elisabeth would bear him a son to be named John. The heard prayer was above all his lifelong prayer for a son, answered in God's own time when hope seemed gone, and with it his long prayer for the coming of the Redeemer was about to be answered. The promised child was to be no ordinary son but a child of miracle and old age, great in the sight of the Lord, sent to go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah to prepare His ways and turn many in Israel to repentance. His calling required a life of strict temperance without wine or strong drink and fullness of the Holy Spirit from the womb, with faithful training by his parents in harmony with God to fit him for his work as herald of Christ. Because Zacharias did not believe the promise he was struck speechless until its fulfillment, yet the birth would bring him joy and gladness and cause many to rejoice.

Setting and Answered Prayer

The promise was given during Zacharias's week of priestly service in the order of his course, when his lot was to burn incense in the temple of the Lord in the holy place before the golden altar, while the whole multitude prayed outside at the time of incense and the cloud of incense with the prayers of Israel ascended before God. The speaker was Gabriel, the mighty messenger of God, who appeared in the holy place standing on the right side of the altar of incense between the altar and the table of showbread, concealing his glory. That position on the right was an indication of favor, though Zacharias took no note of it.

Zacharias and Elisabeth were both righteous and blameless in all the commandments and ordinances, but far advanced in years, and after long years of disappointment they had given up hope because the case for having a son seemed hopeless. When Zacharias saw the angel he was surprised and troubled, and fear fell upon him. As a conscientious God-fearing soul he was filled with fear and self-condemnation, wondering whether he had offended God and whether the messenger had come to reprove or in judgment to condemn, finding God's mercy too great to credit.

The angel reassured him not to be afraid, cheering him with the assurance that his prayer was heard, and promised that Elisabeth would bear him a son whom he must call John. In one sense the heard prayer was Zacharias's lifelong personal prayer for a son, answered at God's appointed time when he and Elisabeth were old. In another sense the heard prayer was his prayer offered for many years for the coming of the Redeemer, which heaven now sent its messenger to announce was about to be answered. In another sense the heard prayer was his prayer offered on behalf of the people for pardon of public and national sins and for the coming of the expected Saviour.

God answered in his own time, when the birth would best glorify his name, and the promised birth would bring Zacharias joy and gladness and cause many to rejoice. Zacharias did not believe the angel's words and therefore lost his ability to speak until the prediction was fulfilled, with speech returning at John's birth. When he could not speak the people feared God had shown displeasure, and when he came out shining he signaled that an angel had appeared and that his silence was because of unbelief. The announcement to Zacharias while ministering before the altar in the temple at Jerusalem foretold the birth of John the Baptist as forerunner of Jesus.

Promised Son's Mission

The promised son is a son of old age and a child of miracle, given with a special work to do for the Lord as a messenger to announce the coming of Christ. He is no ordinary child, for he is to be great in the sight of the Lord, to have an important place in God's work, and to shine with light from heaven. His greatness lies not in rank as men count it but in the work he will do.

He is given to a faithful couple in Israel to go before the Lord to prepare His ways and to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. His coming is part of the preparation through the prophet John for the mission and work of Christ, watched with intense interest by all heaven. He will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, turning the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just.

That preparatory work is a clear-cut message of reproof of sin and all hypocrisy, calling people to repentance and right living with the preaching that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. By it open transgressors repent and confess their sins and many turn from unrighteousness, while the Pharisees and rulers, though given evidence of his mission, do not believe. The announcement thus declares the nearness of Christ's coming, and John's birth and mission are attested by miracle and prophecy as miraculous in birth and mission.

The tidings of his birth and the wonderful significance of his mission are spread abroad, yet Jerusalem does not prepare to welcome her Redeemer. The temple revelation and prophecy pointing to John as the Messiah's herald are later recalled when his ministry as a prophet stirs the nation. They are recalled also when Mary learns of John's connection with Jesus, and the signs attending his birth, including the loss and return of his father's speech through unbelief and fulfillment, are remembered as a manifestation of God's power.

Training in Temperance

The promise that Elisabeth would bear a son named John belonged to a larger announcement that the child would drink neither wine nor strong drink and would be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb. That strict temperance was required by his calling, even as those serving in sacred roles were required to refrain. It was to give him the physical, mental, and moral strength needed for his work and to equip him for his reforming mission. His abstinence, disciplined life, and stern preaching against sinful indulgence would rebuke the excesses of his time.

The promise makes his case an example of the importance of temperance during pregnancy, since a mother's appetites are transmitted to her children. His life and work therefore called for careful attention to his habits from infancy. The announcement instructed Zacharias and Elizabeth how to train and educate the child so as to work in harmony with God in forming a character fit for his assigned part as a competent worker. This required parents to faithfully cooperate with God rather than reason that the Lord would care for him alone, to move to a retired place in the country where he would not be exposed to city temptations or be induced to depart from their counsel and instruction, and to sacredly fulfill their obligation with no careless neglect lest he fail to become good and wise.

His God-fearing parents often repeated the angel's words to him, keeping his divinely appointed mission and holy trust before him from childhood. He accepted that holy trust and knew from childhood the mission he had been given. Elizabeth's motherhood in bearing John as herald of the Saviour stands as an example of a mother's influence helping shape a child with such a role.