Zacharias

Zechariah, a priest of the division of Abijah, was the father of John the Baptist and husband of Elizabeth.

Zechariah was a priest who served in the temple during the reign of Herod the Great. He belonged to the priestly division of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also a descendant of Aaron. Zechariah and Elizabeth are described as righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.

Despite their righteousness, Zechariah and Elizabeth were childless, and both were advanced in years. While performing his priestly duties in the temple, Zechariah was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary and burn incense. During this time, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and announced that his prayer had been heard, and that Elizabeth would bear a son named John. Zechariah doubted the message due to their old age, and as a result, he was struck mute until the birth of his son.

When Elizabeth gave birth, Zechariah confirmed that the child's name should be John, as the angel had instructed. Upon doing so, his speech was restored, and he was filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesying about the role his son would play in preparing the way for the Messiah.

Zechariah's prophecy, known as the Benedictus, speaks of God's mercy and the coming of the Messiah, who would bring salvation and deliverance to His people. He also foretold that his son, John, would be called the prophet of the Most High and would go before the Lord to prepare His ways.

A priest of the course of Abia, the eighth of the twenty-four courses into which the priests had been originally divided by David (1 Chr. 23:1-19). Only four of these courses or “families” of the priests returned from the Exile (Ezra 2:36-39); but they were then re-distributed under the old designations. The priests served at the temple twice each year, and only for a week each time. Zacharias’s time had come for this service. During this period his home would be one of the chambers set apart for the priests on the sides of the temple ground. The offering of incense was one of the most solemn parts of the daily worship of the temple, and lots were drawn each day to determine who should have this great honour, an honour which no priest could enjoy more than once during his lifetime.

While Zacharias ministered at the golden altar of incense in the holy place, it was announced to him by the angel Gabriel that his wife Elisabeth, who was also of a priestly family, now stricken in years, would give birth to a son who was to be called John, and that he would be the forerunner of the long-expected Messiah (Luke 1:12-17). As a punishment for his refusing to believe this message, he was struck dumb and “not able to speak until the day that these things should be performed” (20). Nine months passed away, and Elisabeth’s child was born, and when in answer to their inquiry Zacharias wrote on a “writing tablet,” “His name is John,” his mouth was opened, and he praised God (60-79). The child (John the Baptist), thus “born out of due time,” “waxed strong in spirit” (1:80).