(5) There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. (6) And they were both righteous before G o d, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. (7) And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. (8) And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, (9) According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. (10) And the whole multitude of the people were praying without, at the time of incense. (11) And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. (12) And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. (13) But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. (14) And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth. (15) For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. (16) And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord, their God. (17) And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. (18) And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. (19) And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. (20) And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. (21) And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. (22) And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless. (23) And it came to pass, that as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. (24) And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, (25) Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.
Here Luke, begins his relation of the wonderful events concerning the Person, Character, Offices, and Relations of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he begins the subject with the date of those transactions, which was in the days of One of the Herods. And it is worthy the Reader's remark, that as this Herod, who was at this time deputy King, under the Roman Emperor, the prophecy of Jacob when a dying was now to be fulfilled. He had said, that the sceptre should not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come. Genesis 49:10. And here we find the sceptre indeed departed, for Herod, a foreigner, was King. Deuteronomy 17:15
The birth of John, though singularly accomplished, differed widely from that of the Lord Jesus; for though wonderful, it was not miraculous. And the introduction in the opening of this Gospel, in the particulars of it, appears to have been on purpose to mark the striking dissimilarity. We shall have occasion in the course of this chapter to notice this. In the mean time, let us observe the method the Lord was pleased to adopt to bring Zacharias acquainted with it. He was in the course of his ministry, attending the temple service, when an angel appeared to him. This is the first open vision which the Holy Ghost had favored the Church with, from the close of the Old Testament prophecy by Malachi. Zacharias, astonished at the sight and message of the angel, is tempted to doubt, and is struck dumb for his unbelief. But what I particularly request the Reader to remark, in proof that the birth of John differs altogether from that of the Lord Jesus Christ, is, that though the wife of Zacharias was indeed now aged, and had been hitherto barren, yet the event of John's birth was altogether the result wholly of natural causes, and from natural means; and though John was a child of promise, as Isaac was, yet in his conception and birth there was nothing miraculous, or contrary to the ordinary course of nature more than his. Genesis 18:10-14; Galatians 4:28
When the Reader hath properly noted this, that no more honor be given to the servant than the Lord hath given him, the Reader may properly pause, and consider the greatness of the Man, and the greatness of the Office, in the which he was designed to minister. Like Jeremiah, ordained from the womb, he was filled with the Holy Ghost, for the purpose of this office, in ministering to the Lord Jesus Christ. Jeremiah 1:5. And when it is said, as that it is said, that he should be great in the sight of the Lord, plainly this means, that he was so in the sight of Him to whom he became a forerunner. And hence we find the Lord Jesus bearing testimony to his character, that he was not only a Prophet, and more than a Prophet, but that among them born of women, none had been greater than he. Matthew 11:11. See John 1:23, etc.
I detain the Reader to make one observation more, in order to have suitable apprehensions of the vast difference between the servant, and Him that sent him. It is said here, concerning the office of John, that he should go before the Lord Jesus Christ, in the power and spirit of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Reader! do not overlook, that all that is here said, is said only of John's ministry, as an instrument to this blessed work, and no further. John never did, nor could, convert or turn a single soul. This is Creator-work, and not creature. The Lord who made the heart, can only turn the heart. But John, by ministering in the Lord's name, became the Lord's instrument in the great work. And I beg the Reader to notice, and with the just attention it deserves, what is said of John, in making ready a people prepared for the Lord. Yes! John's ministry, like all other servants, could be blessed to no other than the Lord's people; they whom the Father gave to his dear Son, before the world was formed, and whom God the Holy Ghost had engaged to make willing in the day of his power, were prepared for Jesus as his redeemed; and grace here, and glory hereafter, prepared for them in Christ, from everlasting. How blessedly all the great truths of God harmonize!