Voices of the Nativity, Key Figures in the Christmas Story: Elizabeth & Zacharias

Summary

Join us as we explore the profound story of Elizabeth and Zacharias from Luke 1, a couple whose long-held prayers for a child were finally answered in an extraordinary way. Their journey illustrates the importance of faith and patience in the face of unanswered prayers, highlighting that God's timing often differs from our own. As Zacharias receives a divine message from the angel Gabriel while performing his priestly duties, we witness the miraculous promise that their son, John, would prepare the way for Jesus Christ. This episode delves into the emotional and spiritual complexities they faced, reminding us that even in moments of doubt and frustration, our desires are seen and heard by God. Through their story, we are encouraged to recognize the joy that comes from trusting in God's plan and timing, even when it feels like the answers are long overdue.

Show Notes

The podcast episode intricately weaves the biblical narrative of Zacharias and Elizabeth with themes of unanswered prayers, faith, and divine timing. Host Tamara K. Anderson engages with guest Amy Johnson in a heartfelt discussion about the couple’s struggle with infertility, emphasizing the emotional and spiritual challenges they faced as a result of societal expectations and personal desires.

The episode begins by addressing a common human experience—the frustration of prayers that go unanswered, particularly when they stem from righteous intentions. Tamara makes a poignant observation about the cultural implications of childbearing during biblical times, where a woman's worth was often tied to her ability to bear children, thus amplifying Elizabeth’s pain and sense of reproach. This background sets a compassionate tone for the exploration of their journey, allowing listeners to empathize with their plight.

As the narrative progresses, the episode transitions to a powerful moment within the temple, where Zacharias encounters an angel who brings the life-changing news that he and Elizabeth will finally have a son. This moment not only signifies a personal miracle but also plays a crucial role in the narrative of salvation history, as their son would become John the Baptist, the precursor to Christ.

Tamara and Amy invite listeners to reflect on the nature of faith and the importance of perseverance in prayer. They then delve into the complexities of doubt and belief, particularly how Zacharias’s initial skepticism is met with divine assurance, leading to a period of silence that serves a purpose. This silence is framed as a time for reflection and spiritual growth, illustrating the transformative power of trusting in God’s promises.

Towards the conclusion of the episode, Tamara and Amy connections between Zacharias and Elizabeth's experiences and the broader implications for modern listeners. They encourage the audience to recognize that unanswered prayers may be part of a divine plan that is unfolding in ways we cannot immediately see.

The episode wraps up with a message of hope and encouragement, urging listeners to remain faithful and attentive to the many ways in which God responds to their prayers, even if the answers are not what they initially expected. By sharing personal insights and scriptural reflections, the hosts provide a rich and engaging dialogue that not only educates but also inspires listeners to deepen their faith amidst life's uncertainties.

Takeaways

• Despite years of unanswered prayers, God hears our deepest desires and responds in His timing.
• Zacharias and Elizabeth's story illustrates the importance of faithfulness amidst long-term trials.
• Miracles often require us to trust in God’s plan, even when we doubt our circumstances.
• Zacharias's silence served a purpose, allowing him to reflect deeply on God's promises.
• Prayers may not be answered immediately, but they are always heard by God.
• The joy and gladness that come from faith can transform our understanding of miracles.

Transcript

You can find the transcript to today's episode on the Women Warriors of Light website blog.

https://www.womenwarriorsoflight.com/blog/from-doubt-to-destiny-the-miraculous-story-of-zacharias-and-elizabeth

Have you ever wondered why prayers sometimes are not answered, despite how righteous we are and how much we are begging for something and how righteous our desires are? Sometimes we don't always understand God's will or his timing, and it's really difficult. Well, you're not the only one if you've ever wondered this.

And we're going to talk today about a couple in the New Testament that had this very same challenge and how God miraculously answered their prayer decades later. So stay tuned.

Welcome to Bible women in Bathrobes, the podcast where faith meets comfort.

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The mount, we explore it all with.

Warmth, laughter, sisterhood, and maybe even a few sleepy eyed moments. Tune in, live or at your leisure, as we learn lessons from scripture which empower women today.

Hello and welcome to another episode of Bible Women in Bathrobes. I'm your host, Tamara K. Anderson. And joining, joining me today is Amy Johnson. Amy, thanks for being with me this morning.

Good morning. Thank you for having me.

And you guys, I am so excited to announce that for the next several months, we are going to be talking about the nativity story and the witnesses of Jesus Christ surrounding his birth. I thought as I was praying about what we could talk about on the podcast, that God said, this is important.

And so I'm excited that today we get to dive into the story of Elizabeth and Zacharias. And if you want to follow along, we're going to be in Luke, chapter one, and we're going to cover verses five through 25 in today's episode.

So we kind of pick up this story. Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth were both of the tribe of Aaron. And this was important because that was the priestly line.

These were the people who did the performances and the ordinances for the house of Israel. They burned the incense, they did the sacrifices and all that stuff.

And we learn a little bit about Elizabeth and Zacharias, that they were both of this line.

And then in verse six, it says, and they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless in verse seven. And they had no child because that Elizabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

So we learned that they were older at this point in their life, that they were both righteous.

And, my goodness, the prayer of any righteous couple, especially back in this time period of the New Testament was to have continue on their lineage, that lineage of the priesthood of Aaron, which was given to those of that tribe. And that was very, very, very important to them.

Just as we've talked about how important it was for the women to have a child, that was super important in their traditions. And yet often in those times, people would kind of point and say, well, they must be sinning because they can't have babies. You know what I mean?

And I think sometimes that follows to us today that, what is wrong with you? Why won't God give me this wish of my heart? Amy, I'm going to pause there and see if you have any thoughts on what those verses we've read so far.

I really love the word blameless because I think sometimes I think I have to be perfect. So when it says walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless, I like that he doesn't.

It doesn't seem to me that they did it perfectly, but that they were doing their very best, and therefore they were blameless before God. So I really. I really like that. Really appreciate that. I feel like I often fall on my face no matter how hard I try. And so I really.

I really like that also. I love that. I love that as a righteous couple. That was their desire. And I see that now today.

There's actually kind of a search, a movement that my daughter keeps talking about, about these people who, women specifically, who are going back to having families and raising children up to goddess. I am so grateful for that, because when a society gets away from that, I. I feel like our righteousness really wanes. And so I am.

I really, truly believe that when we are truly righteous, our desire is to raise children up to God. Our desire is to. To bring people into our home. And like you said, that's not always the opportunity of someone.

I have a dear friend, I have many dear friends in Italy who cannot have children, but one in particular really loves this story of Elizabeth. And she was never able to have children.

And I sat with her and talked with her for a few minutes and as she wept, because now she's, well, stricken in years and she's never been able to have children.

And I really love that now, as I've walked this life and seen and met people who have felt, I can feel Elizabeth's grief, because when you get to the point that we're probably at where we know any minute we wouldn't be able to have another child, it would literally suck the hope right out of you, I would think.

And I think that's one of the things that I love about Elizabeth and Zacharias. That despite. And we're talking decades here, you know, of praying and praying and praying the same prayer for a child living their best.

I mean, I think those. Those. Those performances and ordinances that the children of Israel did, especially here at the temple, was pointing them to Jesus Christ.

That someday a sacrifice would be made that and this blood would atone. They had a day of atonement, would atone for their sins. And I love how you said that they walked blameless.

It doesn't mean that they walk perfectly, but it means that they repented, you know, that they were cognizant, that they needed God in their lives so that they could be clean. And I think because of who they were in this line that they were a part of, that was probably a little more forefront in their minds. Right?

I think so. And anytime you're, like you said, in the temple and.

And obeying the commandments on doing the ordinances that point us to Jesus Christ, you are looking. And the fact that they were continuing forward looking to Jesus Christ.

Instead of being angry that they didn't have a child, I think that's remarkable.

Yeah, well, and honestly, I bet they had some anger in theirs.

But you know what I mean? Turning away from God in anger is a huge problem.

Yes.

They didn't do. They were doing what they were supposed to do. Despite their frustrations or pain.

Yeah. Hard things. Right. So I think that they're a great example of sticking with God.

Even when the most tender desires of their heart were not being answered. Right. It's such a great example to me. And then we kind of pick the story up here in verse eight.

And we talk about it tells us about how Zacharias, because of his priestly order, he was given the lot. So they kind of drew lots to see who would burn the incense.

The incense symbolizing the prayers of the children of Israel going up and reaching heaven. And they would go into the holy part of the temple, and they would burn this incense.

And the people would gather when they did this, and they would pray outside the temple. And these prayers would symbolically rise up into heaven.

And so often, because there were so many priests in this line, you didn't get to do this very often. And so Zacharias, and we'll soon see that this is not by chance that this. He was called on to burn the incense at this time in this place.

Because we learned that the multitude was praying outside in verse ten. And here's what happened when he went, this is the miracle. Verse eleven.

And there appeared unto him Zacharias, an angel of the Lord, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard.

And thy wife Elizabeth shall bear a son and thou shalt call his name John. Oh my goodness. Can you imagine how first of all shocked Zacharias was?

But here he is burning the incense which symbolizes his prayers reaching heaven. And an angel appears and answers. You're going to have a son and I'm going to go through verse 17. And then we'll pause and talk about these verses.

Verse 14. And thou shalt have joy and gladness. And many shall rejoice at his birthday.

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. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

And he shall go before him.

Should be a capital h, meaning Jesus 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. So this child has a critical and important mission in preparing the way for Jesus Christ. Amy, any thoughts on these verses here?

So many thoughts, so many things in verse 13. I love how he says, fear not for thy prayers heard. And I was thinking about how that certainly couldn't have been his prayer that day, right?

I mean, maybe. But I don't know. It just seems like if, you know, you're past the age of having children and you're that old. I'm tired.

Like, I don't know that I'd want to raise a baby at this point, but I. But maybe it was his prayer.

But I love that the Lord sees what I feel like for me when I read that, is that he says to me, that's a sentence that means he sees your desires. He sees who you really are and he sees what you've always wanted and now's your day. So I love that.

I love that because even if I'm not actively praying for it in that moment, God still knows the deepest desires of my heart. And I love that.

And then I love how he talks about joy and gladness because I really do believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about joy and all about gladness. And I love that. That's what he says. He says, you shall have joy and gladness. Like, to me, I'm like, really? That's so good.

And then if you read, as we will probably later, but the shepherd stories and all of the things like the joy and the gladness and the feelings that the gospel of Jesus Christ should invoke in us if we really, truly understand what he's done for us. I love that because it says, and many shall rejoice at his birth. And I believe I did. I believe I still do.

Yeah. Oh, this is so beautiful. And I love. I also love and witness that God does hear our prayers.

And sometimes those prayers aren't answered for decades, and sometimes maybe they aren't answered in the way we want at all, but that God does hear them. And sometimes there's a reason he's not answering that. It's not in God's timing.

There was a very specific reason that Zacharias was in the temple, and Elizabeth and their prayers weren't answered until this time, because their son John was the forerunner to Jesus Christ. He was the one that prepared the way before him. He had a very specific mission and a very specific calling, and it's very specific parents.

And very specific parents.

Yeah, I think that's important. Very specific parents.

Yeah, absolutely. And so we see this fulfillment not in their timing, but in God's timing. And that is always a. A bitter pill to swallow.

When we are praying for something, we want it right now, and there's a reason we want it right now, and it just isn't answered. And I love that. Like we commented earlier, they remain faithful despite that prayer not being answered in their timetable.

Well, can I just to say that sometimes part of the joy that comes from the gospel of Jesus Christ is understanding that for every prayer that is unanswered or we're waiting for an answer, there are many, many of our prayers that are answered immediately. I had. And the joy comes from recognizing that. The joy comes from seeing the goodness of God in our lives.

I added a granddaughter call last night, sobbing. She was very upset because one of her first rabbit that she bought to breed had died. She got old, and she had died, and she was so upset.

She's young, she's six. And so this was very heartbreaking for her. And she and I talked about that, and we shared some experiences.

I had had a rabbit, too, when I was a little girl that died, and we talked a little bit about that.

But then at the very end, I just said, I testified to her of God, and I just said, would you do grandma a favor and go and pray and tell God all the things you just told me and then ask him to help you carry these really big emotions? And then when you're done with your prayer and you feel like you've finished talking to God, will you just call me back and tell me what happened?

And this little six year old, so fast, because children are so fast. She called me back. There were no more tears. And she was like, grandma, I feel so much better.

And I think we get caught up in the grief that we forget that the joy and the gladness in our lives truly comes from recognizing that for every seemingly unanswered prayer, there are multitudes of answered prayers. I don't believe Zechariah and Elizabeth get this far.

Obeying the commandments without the uplifting hand of the Lord answering their prayers every single day. There are other prayers.

Yeah. I like that idea of focusing on what we do have versus what we don't.

Yeah.

It's that abundance mindset, and it really. You almost have to ask God's help to help you see it. If there's something that is just weighing, weighing, weighing on your heart.

I love that example of your granddaughter, too, of giving those strong emotions of grief and sorrow to God and then waiting to see what he gives back because he is giving us things all the time. We just need eyes to see the miracles. Right.

It was a really good lesson for me, as it often is when faced with awesome teaching moments for me, I literally heard myself testify. I promise you that God will do this every time you give you his emotion.

In the midst of me dealing with my own emotions, it was a really good reminder, like, hello.

Mm hmm. Yeah. And then I'll quickly summarize these next couple of verses that happen. Verses 18. Zacharias is like, wait a minute.

You're finally answering this prayer. He says, whereby shall I know this for I'm an old man, and my wife is well stricken in years. He's like, doubting. He's like, hello, menopause.

You know, she can't have kids.

I don't know if you've been watching things here a little different than you see.

I know. And then I love the angel's response. This is so powerful, he says.

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 these glad tidings. He's like, saying, hello, I'm coming straight from God. I'm telling you, this is going to happen. It's going to happen. You know what I mean?

And don't doubt.

And then he says, because you've doubted, basically you're not going to be able to speak because you haven't believed my words until all these things shall come to pass. And so we kind of pick up the story of the people waiting outside. The incense is burning and Zacharias isn't coming out of the temple. Where is he?

And I? And then when he came out in verse 22, he could not speak to them.

They perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple and he beckoned unto them and remained speechless. So he's trying to, like, describe with his hands that what happened to him, but he can't talk.

And it says as soon as he was done with his priestly duties, he went home. And then verse 24.

And after those days, his wife Elizabeth conceived and hid herself five months, saying, thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me to take away my reproach among men. And we're going to stop there and just. Amy, my goodness, we have quite the turn of events here. First doubt, and then the miracle happens. Right.

Thoughts on these verses. Wow.

I never had this thought before, but today. But I will tell you that God does not. I don't believe God strikes people dumb lightly. So that tells me there is great power in words. And they could.

And God knew Zacharias was going to cause a problem. I love Zacharias. I love Elizabeth. But it has never occurred to me before this morning that maybe.

Maybe Zacharias is a little bit of a complainer and a little bit of a doubting person, naturally. And that maybe he. That our words have so much power. And I can't see that God would just. He's not a mean goddess.

He's not a God that's just gonna strike him dumb for no reason. Not the God I know. And so he strikes him dumb for a purpose. And that's interesting to me. And I think I will be pondering that for a while.

But that I love that.

He did.

He strikes him dumb anyway. I find that fascinating because God does things for purpose and for the benefit of mankind.

And in her old age, I think Elizabeth would have needed to be filled with light and with faith and with positive stuff to carry a child in her old age. And so I'm really fascinated by this fact that Zechariah was struck dumb. And that's my first thought. The other thing that I really love is that she.

You can almost feel her seeing God, see her worthiness. And I love that because she says, he takes away my reproach among men.

And in those five months that she is not living with anyone who can talk, it's just silent. I don't know. Some days that sounds really marvelous. Some days sounds really quiet and lonely, but some days that sounds really marvelous.

And so she can. She's literally having conversations with the Lord. I can. Where else would you go?

Yeah, absolutely.

And that's a blessing.

Yeah. Yeah. I love your insight. There is that there is purpose behind Zacharias being struck dumb.

And of course, we'll finish the story out here in the next couple weeks. But how it probably turned his thoughts to God.

And sometimes I had this thought that sometimes we trust so much in science that we forget that God can do anything. That even something like this, when somebody is beyond childbearing years, is not too hard for God.

We see that example also in Sarah of the Old Testament. She was beyond childbearing years and she bore Isaac. Right. So God can do miraculous things. And I love that.

There were also witnesses to this outside the temple. It isn't just the witness of Zacharias and Elizabeth. This extended to their whole community the blessing of this miracle. It's interesting.

It's in verse 14 we read, and thou shall have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth. This joy and gladness. I can imagine him being struck dumb and being like, oh, my goodness, this is really going to happen.

God has power to do crazy stuff and then going out and trying to tell the people how excited he is that he saw this angel and. And, you know, knowing that God is going to bless him with his son, we'll see later on in the story, and we'll hear his witness, which is powerful.

After being held silent for so long that he was finally able to speak and what he said was powerful. He'd had a lot of time to think and ponder and pray. And then Elizabeth, I find it interesting that she hid for five months, you know, probably some.

Out of astonishment.

I mean, she probably wasn't having a period to begin with anyway, but all of a sudden, she starts to feel things in her stomach and is like, really, am I really pregnant after all these years? And probably running the gamut of emotions because, hello, pregnancy, you know, you're emotional during pregnancy. But just the.

Also the emotions of, I have been picked on and people have looked down on me for decades. And God has finally answered our prayer. You know what a miracle. So she was running the emotions as well, of I finally.

Because he wasn't able to speak. Yeah, I'm not sure she understood that that was gonna happen.

Yeah, I wonder that, too. Like, was he able to write to her and say, what's gonna happen?

We know that he was, because he. He wrote. We'll find out later. Right. But I. I feel like I'm giving spoilers. Like, not all of us know this story.

Okay. Most people know this story.

Yes. But I'm real careful. It's only. And we know he could write later, which I don't want to tell you.

About, because I don't.

But also, wasn't it the custom if you're pregnant, to hide yourself at the end? Wasn't that in the levitical law? I don't know. So don't quote me on that, but I wonder if that was part of the levitical law.

Yeah, yeah. But I think it's beautiful that really they were processing this miracle together with God. You know, that's really who they had at that point.

They had each other, and they had God.

And probably a lot of prayers and a lot of pondering and a lot of insights that God was teaching them personally during this time of pondering and miracles. You know.

I actually had kind of a similar, like, experience for me early and earlier, not too early, but in our marriage, we had really just been through a lot, and we were struggling to get along. And all of a sudden, my husband got a job where he left town for 20 days, and then he would come home for ten, and then he would leave for 20 days.

And I used to tell people, they'd say, oh, that's got to be so hard to be married to a guy who travels. And I'd say, well, it's easier than being married to a gambler, which is what we had been.

But I used to always say it was like being under a God ordained separation. He went his court to his corner, I went to my corner. I got to know who I was with God again. He got to know who he was with Goddess again.

And I kind of feel like that's what Elizabeth and Zechariah got to do. He couldn't speak, so he got to go to God. She couldn't talk to him effectively, so she got to go to God. And they both came to God.

is to turn the hearts of many to the Lord their God. And we do it in our own feeble way.

But that's what God that's the whole point of all these stories by Elizabeth and Zechariah have been talked about for the ages, is in an effort to turn the children of Israel to the Lord.

Wow, that is powerful. I love that. And that right there. How can I even say anything greater than that?

But I think the other amazing takeaway from this story is God hears and answers our prayers. And if he's not answering one of your prayers right now, look for the other ones that he's there are so many. Yeah, and don't give up.

He can work miracles, mighty miracles that defy science in his own time and in his own way.

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Just a friendly reminder, all opinions we share are entirely personal as we are trying to decipher anhe apply bible teachings just like you are. Until next time, stay faithful and may your journey be blessed and illuminated by God's love.

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