Today we are studying a woman named Elizabeth who shows up in the first chapter of the gospel of Luke. We read in verse 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.” This was a couple devoted to the Lord. He was a priest, and she, as his wife, took care of the temple robes he needed to use when he went to offer sacrifices to the Lord. It’s probable that they lived close to the temple, so Elizabeth had the opportunity to go and participate (when women were allowed) in religious ceremonies.

Verse 6 says, “Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly.” This was a couple who feared the Lord. What sticks out immediately is that Luke tells us they were God-fearing people. What a beautiful testimony of Zechariah and Elizabeth. It would be beautiful for someone to say the same of us – they do good before the eyes of the Lord and complete His laws and the commands. Continue reading, and it says that they didn’t have children because Elizabeth was sterile and they were both elderly. There’s a parallel here between Abraham and Sara. Abraham and Sara were also old without children, but the Lord did a miracle and we see soon that Zechariah and Elizabeth also received a miracle from God.

One day, Zechariah is in the temple, completing his priestly duties. He was part of a group that took turns taking care of the temple, and Zechariah was taking his turn. Remember that Zechariah went to the temple that day to burn incense. There was a distribution of the work, so all the priests weren’t in the same place at the same time. There were lots of people outside the temple praying during the hour of burning incense. Elizabeth was probably there, but she may have been at home, we don’t know. What we do know is that she was a God-fearing woman.

“Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was started and was gripped with fear. 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. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 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. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God'” (v. 11-16).

John will return the people to God so they will be ready when Jesus comes. What a beautiful announcement. First, it is a miracle – an elderly Elizabeth would conceive. Second, the class of son. From the moment of his conception, he would be filled with the Holy Spirit. It’s similar to Samson. When the Lord appeared to Samson’s mother, she was told not to drink wine or any type of alcohol because he was to be dedicated to the Lord. And here in Luke, it says that he would be filled with the Holy Spirit before his birth. John will have a large role in the history of Jesus. He was his messenger and predecessor, and many would return to God. He was to be a godly man. What a tremendous announcement.

“Zechariah asked the angel, ‘How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in year'” (v. 18). As humans, we can’t be sure or understand the power of God. We can’t imagine because we have this limitation. God is so big and powerful and can do whatever miracle whenever He wants according to His will. And this was the will of God, that John would be born to this couple. Why this couple? Because they were a God-fearing couple. They would raise him and teach him in the way of the Lord so he could fulfill his purpose of being God’s messenger.

“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. 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'” (v. 19-20). So Zechariah was mute; he couldn’t speak. He left the temple, and there are the people waiting for him to come out. But Zechariah couldn’t say anything, so he was making signs with his hands, but they didn’t understand him. He could only communicate by writing. He continued with his duties and afterwards, he went to Elizabeth.

The Bible doesn’t say whether he was able to communicate what had happened to Elizabeth. He wasn’t able to speak, but he was able to write. Maybe Elizabeth couldn’t read, we don’t know. We do know that she became pregnant and didn’t leave her house for 5 months. It doesn’t say how she did this. It could be for the challenges of being pregnant while elderly or that it hurt her for people to see her pregnant. People weren’t sure of what happened in the temple and it would be strange to see such an old woman who was pregnant.

Let’s look at how Elizabeth responded. “‘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'” (v. 25). Remember that in these days, it was a curse to be sterile because they were waiting for the Messiah. So if a woman wasn’t able to have children, it was less possible for them to be the mother of the Messiah, but Elizabeth is happy to be pregnant with John.

After Mary had received a visit from the angel of the Lord that she would give birth to the Messiah, she fled to Elizabeth because they were cousins. “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?'” (v. 41-43).

It says that she was sure Mary’s child would be the savory fo the world. In the three months they were together, we can imagine that they told each other everything while Elizabeth’s pregnancy continued. She probably gave advice to Mary and share her experiences. They there’s Mary’s song, which is famous; we call it the Magnificat. It says that after the three months they were together, Mary returned to her house and a few days later Elizabeth gave birth to John. Her and Zechariah were very happy to have a child.

Elizabeth completed the ritual of circumcision 8 days after the birth, and the people asked what they wanted to name him. The family wanted to name him after his father, Zechariah, but Elizabeth complied with what the angel said and told the family she would name him John. The people were confused – there was no one in the family with the name John so why would they give him that name? They asked Zechariah if that’s what he wanted and he affirmed yes, that John would be his name.

What a beautiful ministry John’s would be, but also a great suffering for Elizabeth. We don’t see her anymore after this in the Bible and the story of her finished with the beginning of John’s ministry. We don’t know if she was alive when John died, and what a terrible way to die – he was decapitated. We learn that Elizabeth was a strong believer and believed in the promises of God. She believed all that God said and experienced two miracles. One, the miracle of giving birth, and two, Zechariah recovered his voice once John was born. She continued serving the Lord by raising John and preparing him for his ministry. For us, we should be God-fearing people and raise our children in His ways so God can have His way in them.

Thank you, brothers and sisters, and may God bless you. We hope you join us for another installment of Women in the Bible.