Session One

Wednesday December 2, 2009

Scripture Luke 1:5-25 (Please read in one or more of your favorite translations)

Verse five begins by dating the event. ‘In the days of Herod, king of Judeo, there was a priest named Zechariah of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.


Herod died in 4 b.c. This would indicate that John and Jesus were born before that date. The dating of Jesus’ birth has always been approximate.


Note the juxtaposition of someone like Herod with people such as Zechariah and Elizabeth. Although some scholars suggest that Herod wasn’t much different from many other rulers of the time, this could hardly be any comfort for the people of Israel. For political reasons, Herod murdered a great many people. Augustus is said to have once remarked that he would rather be Herod’s pig than his son. Among those whose deaths were caused by Herod were some brothers-in-law, his uncle, his wife Mariamne, his mother-in-law, and at least two of his sons. Although nominally Jewish (the offspring of converts to Judaism), he was not faithful to Judaism. The Interpreter’s Bible Dictionary reports that “he was the king of Judea, but never in any sense a Jewish king.”


As commentator, Walter Russell Bowie, indicates, many people might judge an age because of the newsmakers. “But meanwhile – in Herod’s time there was another sort of person, quiet, inconspicuous and yet more important than Herod, men and women who were the sound core of society and gave it such real wholesomeness as it did possess.” ...These are those “in whom the strength of the present and the promise of the future lie.”


Zechariah and Elizabeth are described as righteous before God. Bowie also underscores the fact that such comments remind us that it was out of the “heritage of Israel that Jesus himself came and that there was in Judaism a spiritual force which would produce souls that were accounted righteous before God.”


Zechariah was a priest in Israel. He was a priest by reason of ancestry. Every direct descendant of Aaron was automatically a priest. But this means that there were too many priests for practical purposes. Thus they were divided into 24 sections. Each section would serve for a week at a time, twice a year. Even then, there were too many to carry out certain functions of the priesthood. Lots were cast to select the ones who would be responsible. When the lot fell upon Zechariah, it must have been a high point of his life.


Zechariah was married to a woman who was also of priestly descent. They were both very good people, but there was one sorrow in their lives. They could not have children. Elizabeth was barren and they had grown old waiting.


Childlessness was then considered a tremendous tragedy. Society of the time judged it as a failure. At that time in Israelite history, childlessness was seen as a sorrow that eliminated the possibility that the Messiah would be among your descendants.


At one point, the Rabbis even included childless couples among those who were excommunicated from God. Childlessness was considered grounds for divorce. No doubt, the blame for the condition was usually placed upon the wife.


As the Luke passage makes clear, Elizabeth and Zechariah’s barrenness was not a result of their lack of virtue. It was not a judgement against them, although Elizabeth certainly seems to have felt it was. (Note that although the barrenness was seen as belonging to Elizabeth, Zechariah had not chosen to divorce her, perhaps indicating a large measure of love and loyalty in their relationship.)


When the lot fell on Zechariah to be in the temple, it was his responsibility to burn the incense. In fact, the incense is mentioned three times in this passage. It was an important ritual.


The burning of incense is not a familiar practice in Protestant churches and it had not been always used in Judaism. In early days of Israelite history it was regarded as one of the marks of heathenism, likely connected with ideas of a human-like god who could be pleasured by the scent. It later became part of Jewish worship as a symbol of the ascending prayers of souls that reach up to God.


No doubt Zechariah and Elizabeth had prayed many times for a child. Perhaps this was in his heart that day, or at least the grief of knowing it no longer seemed possible.


As Zechariah burned the incense in the temple, a great multitude was gathered outside in prayer.


Suddenly Zechariah saw an angel of God.


Fear is a common experience of those who encounter the holy. Isaiah cried in distress that he was a man of unclean lips who dwelt among a people of unclean lips. Moses hid his face, afraid to look at God. Considering Moses’ career to that point, he certainly had justification for fear when encountering utter goodness. Even Zechariah, who is acknowledged as righteous before God experienced fear.


But the message of the angel was one of good news. His prayers had been heard. He and Elizabeth would have a son and name him John. John must never drink wine or strong drink. This prohibition. This seems to indicate that John was to be raised in the Nazarite tradition. Nazarite means one who was consecrated, devoted, or set apart. The two marks of a Nazarite was abstaining from wine or strong drink, and not cutting of hair. Samson was a Nazarite. But only the abstention from wine is mentioned in Luke. The scholars of the Cambridge commentary note that there was an ancient suspicion about wine, marking as it did the settling and raising of vines and the spiritual decline that took place at the same time.


Instead of strong drink, John would be filled with the Holy Spirit. He would prepare the way of the Lord with the spirit and power of Elijah. There was a long held belief that Elijah would return as the forerunner of the coming of the Messiah. Here it is not said that John would in a sense be Elijah, only that he would act with the spirit and power of Elijah.


Zechariah was very human and had trouble believing this amazing thing could happen. He raises the question of his age and that of his wife. The angel declares that he will be unable to speak until the great event has taken place.


When the priest burning the incense came out of the temple, it was expected that he would say a blessing over the people who had gathered in prayer. Zechariah was unable to do so and the people understood that it was a consequence of seeing a vision in the temple. Zechariah completed his week of service and returned home. Elizabeth conceived, but hid herself for many months. She was glad, believing that God had lifted the reproach under which she had lived because of her childlessness.


Discussion Questions (not in any particular order):




Do you think ancient attitudes about childlessness affect the way people feel today about infertility?




Why do you think Elizabeth hid herself?




Zechariah is described as experiencing fear in encountering the holiness of God. Why do you think fear is such a common reaction in spiritual encounter?


Why was Zechariah unable to talk after his vision? What was the purpose of it?




Zechariah had grown used to his life and found it hard to believe something good could happen. What do you think he would say to people today who find it hard to hope for good things?


How do you think John felt as he grew up learning about what happened that day in the temple? What would you feel?




Although modern worship does not include the use of incense, it does include things that involve the physical senses. Which ones do you find most meaningful?

Prayer Concern: On our prayer list at MUMC, we have three couples who are praying for the blessing of a child. Please keep them in your prayers.