Breaking The Silence: Luke 1:5-25
It was the tragedy nobody living in Jerusalem could have ever imagined. The enemy had invaded Jerusalem, the City of God, destroyed the temple of God, and took God’s people captive in Babylon for seventy years. Far, far from home someone wrote,
1 Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept as we thought of Jerusalem. 2 We put away our harps, hanging them on the branches of poplar trees. 3 For our captors demanded a song from us. Our tormentors insisted on a joyful hymn: "Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!" 4 But how can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a pagan land? (Psalm 137:1-4 NLT)
Seventy years is a long time to be away from home, away from home in a foreign land, but all of God’s people knew why it had happened. They had forsaken God. They had turned their backs on the gracious kindness He’d shown them time and time again. “Oh, if YHWH would just let us go home, things would be different, we would be different, this time.”
God’s grace opened the door for His people to go home, back to Jerusalem and with a fresh start. They were enthusiastic to serve the Lord. Rebuilding God’s house was the first order of business. In time, their enthusiasm died down and God’s people lost their zeal for the Lord. They became apathetic, then rebellious, and the priests, the spiritual leaders of God’s people, were the worst of all! God had raised up a prophet, a man named Malachi to try and turn the people’s hearts back to the Lord, but they wouldn’t listen. In time, Malachi spoke one final word from the Lord to the people and it is found in Malachi 4:4-6. Turn there with me.
4 "Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel. 5 "See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction." (Malachi 4:4-6 NIV)
And then there was silence. Dead silence. Not another word was heard from God. Generation after generation and not a single word from God. Malachi spoke those final words somewhere between 440 and 400 B.C. The priests and the Levites continued to perform their duties at the temple and the people continued to gather at God’s House just as they had in times past, but the glory of the Lord had departed. God was silent. For 400 years…utter silence. Luke tells us,
5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commands and decrees blamelessly. 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old. 8 Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. 11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous-- to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." 18 Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years." 19 The angel said to him, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time." 21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22 When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak. 23 When his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24 After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.” (Luke 1:5-25 NIV)
If you will remember our study from last week, then you will remember that Luke made every effort to accurately record the details surrounding the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Here, in verse 5, we are given the time in history in which the events began to unfold. It was “In the time of Herod king of Judea…”
There are six “Herods” in the New Testament, but this Herod was called “Herod the Great” and he ruled Judea from 37 BC to 4 BC. The Jewish historian Josephus wrote two works about Herod the Great: The Jewish War and The Antiquities. It was Marc Antony and the Roman Senate who had named Herod “King of the Jews,” but to the Jews, Herod was a monster. They saw him as a puppet of Rome who had an unquenchable thirst for power. Herod had a Jewish father, but his mother was a Nabatean princess so he wasn’t “jewish enough” for the Jews in Jerusalem. Herod’s jealousy and paranoia were so extreme that he killed countless people during his reign. He had 46 members of the Jewish Sanhedrin killed because they supported his rival to the throne. He had several members of his own family killed including his favorite wife, Miriamne, (Herod had ten wives total). He had his first born son killed the week before Herod died. He also had two other sons killed. We can’t forget that when Herod heard the news that the “King of the Jews” had been born, in Matthew 2, he ordered every boy under the age of 2 in Bethlehem to be killed.
At the same time Herod was one of the greatest builders in history. His palace on top of the mountain fortress of Masada, out in the Judean desert, even had a swimming pool. Herod built an entire city called Caesarea Maritima, a port city on the Mediterranean Sea, which became home to 100,000 people. I forgot to mention that there was no fresh water in Caesarea Maritima so Herod had an aqueduct built to bring fresh water from nearly ten miles away to supply the city with fresh water. You should Google “Herod’s building projects” and you will be amazed. His crowning achievement was rebuilding the temple. It was 20 BC when the work began and Herod spared no expense on the project. The temple was made of white marble and covered in gold plates. According to Josephus, "it reflected so fierce a blaze of fire that those who tried to look at it had to turn away, as if they had looked straight at the sun."
Herod died in 4 BC but his project continued on until its completion in 64 AD. The Jewish Rabbis were not fond of Herod and yet they wrote in Talmud, “Whoever has not seen Herod’s Temple has not seen a beautiful building in his life.”
While Herod was ruling over Jerusalem and all of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah who was married to a woman named Elizabeth, who was a descendant of Aaron the priest. Luke describes them as “righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly.” This description of Zechariah and Elizabeth places them alongside of others in the Bible like Noah, Abraham, and Job who were described as righteous and blameless. This doesn’t mean that any of them were sinless or morally perfect, but they followed the commands of the law.
Zechariah and Elizabeth were a stark contrast to Herod, who was the furthest thing from righteous or blameless. They were also a stark contrast to the surrounding culture in which they lived. This is a great lesson for you and me. We are living in dark, dark times. I don’t think I need to work too hard to convince any of you of the truthfulness of my statement. You and I do not need to fear or succumb to the darkness. Neither do we need to join in on the chorus of opinions and posts on social media, or get into political discussions. If instead we choose to live a righteous and blameless life, dedicated to honoring Jesus in what we say and do in the midst of the darkness of our surrounding culture, our God will be most glorified.
Luke gives us another detail about Zechariah and Elizabeth in verse 7 which would have been a huge burden for this couple who loved the Lord with all of their hearts. Read along with me what Luke has shared.
7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old. (Luke 1:7 NIV)
They were childless. Elizabeth was unable to conceive and now they were both very old. Any hope of ever having a child had long passed them by. Dr. Diane Chen was born and raised in Hong Kong, but she has been a professor of New Testament studies here in the United States for the past forty years. In her commentary on Luke she writes,
In today’s world, we tend not to attribute infertility to moral failure or divine retribution. Empathy, rather than ostracism, is the typical response. In the biblical world, however, barrenness was viewed as a curse from God. Afterall, God gave creation the mandate to be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 1:28; 8:17). If having children was considered a sign of blessing, then the natural explanation for God to close the womb would be a well-deserved punishment. Imagine the gossips and side glances between neighbors, the pretense of cordial interaction and ostracism so poorly disguised. Imagine the shame that Zechariah and Elizabeth have to endure decade after decade. Without children there will be no one to support them in their old age or bury them at death. Yet the two continue to carry themselves before God in dignity and faithful service. Unless God intervenes, theirs is a socially lonely and economically precarious existence. (Chen, Diane. Luke. pgs. 15-16)
Needless to say, Zechariah and Elizabeth’s life was not easy and yet they continued to faithfully serve the Lord every day.
We learn in verse 9 that Zechariah’s division of the priesthood was called to service at the temple and Zechariah was chosen “by lot” to go into the temple and burn incense on the altar. It would have been the biggest honor of Zechariah’s life. Some believe there were as many as 20,000 priests in the 24 divisions of priests set up by King David. Because of this large number most priests would never be given the honor of offering incense on the altar in the holy place. This isn’t the Holy of Holies, the place where only the High Priest could enter, and even he could only enter once a year on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The holy place was the closest to the Holy of Holies any human, other than the High Priest, could ever step foot and it was separated from the Holy of Holies by a thick curtain. Zechariah was chosen by lot, but don’t make the mistake of thinking it was by chance. Proverbs 16:33 tells us,
33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD. (Proverbs 16:33 NIV)
Zechariah had to have been overwhelmed as he entered into the holy place in which there were only three items: The golden candlestick or menorah, the table of showbread, and the altar of incense. While Zechariah was offering incense before the Lord there was a large crowd of worshipers gathered outside the temple. The sense of overwhelming awe Zechariah felt as he entered the holy place reached new heights when he realized he was not alone in the holy place. We have to read the story again. Turn with me to Luke 1:11 and let’s begin there.
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous-- to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." (Luke 1:11-17 NIV)
“Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard.” At first glance we might think Zechariah was standing in the holy place praying for a son, but the role of the priest was to pray for the redemption, the deliverance of Israel. I’m also certain, because of their age, that Zechariah and Elizabeth, though they had prayed many prayers for a child in the past, they had given up that prayer because they were very old. Zechariah was most likely praying for the deliverance of God’s people. What he didn’t realize was that the answer to the prayer of long ago, would be fulfilled in the son who would come! For the sake of time I want to bullet point the description the angel Gabriel gave of the son the Lord would give to Zechariah and Elizabeth.
His name would be John.
He will be a joy and delight to you.
Many will rejoice at his birth for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.
He will never drink alcohol, but he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb.
He will turn many people of Israel back to the Lord their God.
He will go before the Lord in the spirit of Elijah to turn parent’s hearts to their children.
He will turn the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous–to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
Do you remember? The last words the people of Israel ever heard from God were this: I will send the prophet Elijah to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the children to their parents. A little earlier in Malachi, the Lord said, “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me” (Malachi 3:1). God had broken his silence and He was on His way! Diane Chen writes,
John is to assume the role of this eschatalogical Elijah, calling Israel to repentance in advance of the arrival of the Lord, who, as we shall see, will come in the person of Jesus the Messiah. (Chen, Diane. Luke. pg. 17)
You would think Zechariah would be ecstatic with the good news or maybe so overcome with emotion that he fell to his knees and wept tears of joy, but that’s not what happened. Luke tells us what happened in verse 18.
18 Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years." (Luke 1:18 NIV)
Do you remember why Luke took the time to investigate, interview, and gather all of this information about Jesus’ life for his friend Theophilus? It was so he might be certain of the things he had been taught about Jesus. Here we find Zechariah standing before an angel of the Lord, an angel who brought a message from God for Zechariah, and he asks, “How can I be sure of this?” Gabriel responds to Zechariah’s question by reminding him that he had stood in the presence of God when he received the message. Then Gabriel told Zechariah that because he doubted he would be unable to speak until his words were fulfilled, until John was born.
Normally, after a priest had offered incense on the altar in the holy place, he would go out to the people and pronounce a benediction, a prayer, but Zechariah was speechless. Isn’t that ironic? Zechariah had received the greatest news of his life and he was absolutely unable to tell anybody. Luke tells us that after Zechariah completed his service he went home. Then he tell us,
24 After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.” (Luke 1:24-25 NIV)
It’s interesting that Elizabeth didn’t question her pregnancy, but said, “The Lord has done this for me…he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace.” Decades of disgrace were washed away and glorious gratitude filled her heart.
Many have looked on Zechariah’s silence as punishment for his lack of faith. There’s no question that he questioned God, but I think we might also see Zechariah’s silence as a gift from God. The Psalmist wrote,
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10 NIV)
You and I live in a world filled with noise. The noise comes at us from every direction and at deafening decibels. The noise doesn’t just come from outside of us, we are guilty of creating the noise ourselves. We feel like we need to have something to say about everything that happens in our society. I have learned that I no longer need to contribute to the noise. I am learning that if I truly want to hear from God then I must quiet the outside voices as well as my own.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to find silence, a quiet place where we can be still and know, intimately know, that He is God. Sometimes God has to quiet us so we can hear Him. In time, Zechariah would become a believer, but the transformation from doubt to belief would come in the silence. We won’t learn about the birth of John for another 30 verses, but know this, God was at work in the silence. Doubt was transformed into faith and that is just what God desires for you and me. Phillip Ryken writes,
This is what God always wants from us: faith. He wants us to take him at his word. So whatever God says, believe it! He has said that Jesus died and rose again, so believe in the crucifixion and the resurrection. He has said that he will forgive anyone who comes to him trusting in Jesus; so if you are a sinner, believe in Jesus and know that your sins are forgiven. God has said that he will never leave you or forsake you; so whatever troubles you are facing, believe that God will help you to the very end. He has also said that Jesus is coming again to judge the world. If this is what God has said, then we need to get ready by turning away from sin and trusting in Jesus. (Ryken, Phillip. Luke: Volume 1. pg. 27)
Maybe you are here this morning and you’ve had your doubts, you may still have your doubts. I want to invite you this morning to allow the Lord, in the next few moments to replace your doubts with faith. Take Him at His Word. He loves you with an everlasting love and He has opened the door wide so that you might be reconciled to Him. Will you step out of your doubt and into His arms of grace and mercy this morning?
Mike Hays
Britton Christian Church
September 14, 2025
