The True Story of Christmas: John the Baptist

Welcome to our ancient future story, navigating Scripture through the Eyes of Family, where I share with you biblical stories like a family member would share a story around a dinner table. As children of God, we are a part of God's family and His family story has a lot of history. Each week we will take one story and talk about it the cultural, historical, geographical and sociological impacts. We will be looking at these stories through the perspective of our ancestors, through the lens of ancient times, in hopes of learning more about our family. This is our ancient future story. Welcome back to our ancient future story. I'm Vic and I am so excited to share with you another story today. As we begin to gear up for the Christmas holiday, I thought it would be appropriate to pause and ponder on the wonder of Christmas. Christmas is by far my favorite time of year. I love all the lights, the music, traditions, but especially I love the atmosphere around giving and family. I wanted to jump in with the Christmas story as we kick off Advent because if you have been in and around church, you have heard these stories many, many times. But the story we have heard and the story we have taught are not exactly the picture of what actually happened in Bethlehem. Yes, of course there was still a baby and an angel, and Mary and Joseph was there, but the picture we have much of it is different, and that's what we're going to talk about in this next series. So today we're going to dive in to what happened before Gabriel came to Mary and Joseph. What did the world and culture look like when Jesus entered the world? We're going to start with Elizabeth and Zachariah, the parents of John the Baptist, and as they make way for the coming Messiah, this story is going to shape the way we see Christmas. So, if you're ready, grab a cup of coffee or something to drink and let's dive into the story of Christmas. We open our story with a Levite couple, a priest named Zachariah and his wife Elizabeth, during the reign of King Herod of Judea. They were faithful followers of Yahweh, but they were old and unable to have children. One day, while Zachariah was on his priestly rotation, a lot was cast to see who would go into the Holy of Holies and burn incense before the Lord. Historical fun fact the Holy of Holies was the innermost part of the temple. This was the place where the Ark of the Covenant resided, where the spirit of Yahweh resided, to go in one head, to wear specific clothing and be completely purified before the Lord, or else they would die. While inside the Holy of Holies burning incense, an angel of the Lord appeared to the right of the altar. Zachariah was startled and afraid, but the angel said to him this famous line Say it with me, do not be afraid. Then Gabriel continues. Your prayers have been heard. Your wife, elizabeth, will conceive and bear a son, and you shall call him John. He will be a Nazarite from birth. Historical fun fact a Nazarite was someone who committed themselves fully to Yahweh for a period of time, generally for about 30 days, but they could go all the way up to 100 days, during which time they had very strict rules they had to follow. These rules included things like abstaining from wine or other alcohol, not cutting their hair and practicing celipacy, and each Nazarite would take a vow promising to live away from society and devout their time solely to Yahweh. Now there were three lifelong Nazarites Samson, samuel and John. John was destined to be the voice calling out in the wilderness making way from the Messiah to enter the society. At this point, no one had a clue that the Messiah would enter the world as a baby. They were all looking for a mighty king, like one the prophet Isaiah and Micah had talked about. Zechariah is hearing these things and is asking the question we have heard many times, and many of our ancestors say how can this be? I am old and well advanced in years. How can I have a child? But then the angel, the Lord, does something different. He introduces himself. I am Gabriel, I stand in the presence of God and I have been sent to tell you the good news. But because you did not believe me, you were no longer able to speak until the day this promise comes true. And then Gabriel left, leaving a mute, confused Zechariah in his wake. Meanwhile, standing outside the Holy of Holies, everyone is whispering on another man. How long has he been in there? Should we go in and get him? Should we pull him out? How long does it take to light some incense? When Zechariah walked out, all he could do was motion to them, trying to communicate what had just happened. The people knew for sure that he had seen a vision. Because he was unable to speak, zachariah finished his rotation at the temple, then headed home to Elizabeth. She conceived, but for five months she remained hidden and did not socialize. But in the sixth month of her pregnancy Elizabeth got a visit from her cousin Mary, a young girl engaged to the carpenter Joseph. At this time Mary was newly pregnant by the Holy Spirit. But when Mary greeted her cousin Elizabeth, the baby and Elizabeth's womb jumped for joy and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In that moment Elizabeth knew that the baby and Mary's womb was the Messiah. Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months until Elizabeth delivered. When she gave birth to her son on the eighth day they came to circumcise the baby and the neighbors and relatives were talking about what they should name him. Some suggested Zachariah after his father, but Elizabeth said no, his name is John. The crowd, very confused, asked why, john, no one in your family is named that. Wouldn't you prefer a family name? But Elizabeth persisted. So the crowd signed to Zachariah to get his opinion and he asked for a writing tablet and wrote four words His name is John. Immediately his mouth was open and he was able to speak again. He began praising God and the whole community was filled with awe. Zachariah sang and worshiped Yahweh because he had followed through on his promise. Zachariah now had a son, and that is where our story pauses for now. The one who was destined to make way for the Lord is born, and as he grows he will ensure the nations hear about the coming Messiah. So, as I said at the beginning, if you grew up around church, or even going to church every once in a while, you have probably heard this story many, many times. But I do think there are a few things for us to dig into to really see the context of what is happening in this moment and why this is so significant for us. Let's start with location. Our story takes place in a couple places. First was Zachariah doing his priestly duties, then with Elizabeth in their home in Jerusalem. For the last year, zachariah would travel north, 18 or so miles from their home in Hebron, to the capital city for his priestly rotation. This would have taken a full day to make this trip. However. Mary's journey from Nazareth to Hebron was a lot longer, but more on that next week. To really get into the day and time of these events of Elizabeth and Zachariah, we first have to back up about 400 years. This time in history is known as the Inter-Testamental period. It's the 400 years span that took place on that one white piece of paper between the Testaments, and a lot happened during these 400 years. It was during these years that Alexander the Great spread Hellenism, aka Greek culture, throughout the known world. He would invade regions and, instead of conquering them by sword, he would build Pauli's, or major cities that can only be described as a modern-day Vegas. This place had everything a person could possibly want or desire. Also during this time was the infamous romance between Cleopatra and Mark Antony, as well as the rise and fall of Herod the Great, and all that happened during the one white page between our Testaments. Around 27 BC, rome was relatively peaceful empire to live in. Caesar Gustus was on the throne, the entire empire shared a common language of Greek and the Roman roads have been built to connect the entire empire, and Herod the Great took up residence and power in Judea. Now, herod was ruthless and the Jewish people did not like him because he was a descendant of Esau and therefore illegitimate to rule in their eyes. Remember, the kingship was supposed to come from the line of Jacob through David, so the Jewish people felt like King Herod was not supposed to be on the throne At this time. During these 400 years on, these one white page between our Testaments are considered the silent years to the followers of Yahweh, meaning that Yahweh did not speak to his people for 400 years. But this is better understood, as there was not a writing prophet to convey the words of Yahweh to Israel during this time, which begs several questions that we are going to get into right now. What are the last words Yahweh spoke through the prophet in the Old Testament, and why does that matter to us in this story? So let's take the first one. What were the last words of Yahweh that he spoke to Israel? For that we have to go back to Malachi, chapter 4, verse 2, and then 5 and 6. Malachi was the last writing prophet of the Old Testament, and God's last words through him were this but for you who fear my name, the Son of righteousness shall rise with healing in his wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from a stall. Then we'll skip down to verse 5, which says Behold, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes, and he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Keep in mind, most Jewish people still believe these are the last words of Yahweh. Since they do not believe the Messiah has come, they hold these words in high esteem. But if we were to look at this verse, on the surface it doesn't look like much. But I want you to see something really, really cool. When Gabriel comes to Zachariah in the temple that day, he was the first time Yahweh had spoken since these words were written in Malachi. And this is what he tells Zachariah in Luke, chapter 1, 16 through 17, when describing John. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord, their God, and he will go before them in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared Right. Isn't this awesome? Zachariah is the first to hear the fulfillment of God's promise made 400 years prior to this moment. God is really bringing forth one like Elijah who will make way for his son. So why does that matter to us today and for this story? Well, because Zachariah and Elizabeth were among the first to know that the Messiah is coming. Gabriel told Zachariah in the temple, but then Zachariah couldn't tell Elizabeth because he was made mute. But Elizabeth knew when Mary came to visit her. In Luke 1.41,. When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby within her, ie John, leaped, jumped in her womb. Where have we heard that before? In Malachi 4, chapter 4, verse 2, on the day of the Lord, you will go out leaping like calves in a stall. When John leaped in Elizabeth's womb, she knew that Mary was carrying the Messiah. Remember, this is thousands of years before cell phones. Elizabeth didn't know that Mary was coming to visit, much less than she was pregnant, even less than she was carrying the Messiah. But as soon as she felt John leap, she was filled with the Holy Spirit and said bless are you among women, bless is the fruit of your womb. And why is it that this granted to me? The mother of my Lord shall come to me. Elizabeth knew that Mary was carrying the Messiah because John leaped for joy. That is so, so cool. Okay, let's go back to the beginning again. Talk about the Levitical Priest. We opened our story with Zacharias serving in the temple, so it's important for us to know about the Levitical Priest who they are, what they do and where they are in the temple. The Levitical Priest are descendants of the tribe of Levi, the fourth son of Jacob. When Yahweh pulled Israel out of Egypt, he gathered the tribe of Levi as his first fruits and offering to himself. They would be set apart, fully consecrated to Yahweh. They would work in the temple and help guide the Israelites through a worship experience with God. They are the ones who taught the law of God, performed the sacrifices to Yahweh, kept up the tabernacle and later the temple. They were kind of like the go-between Yahweh and his people. The temple had three sections in it the outer court, where only men could go. The holy place, where the priests could go. And the holy Vaholes, where the Ark of the Covenant was, where the presence of Yahweh was and only the high priests could go. The Levitical Priest set a rotation according to the custom of the priesthood found in Leviticus. The King David made a 24 priest rotation in which each family would serve in the temple for one week twice a year. During the service they would cast lots to determine what each person would do during that week. They would be casting lots as kind of like rolling dice or drawing straws as a way of choosing who does what. Some would light candles, others would sweep the floors, while others accepted sacrifices. Zechariah was chosen to burn incense, zechariah was serving in his usual way when he was chosen to burn incense and meet with the angel Gabriel. When Zechariah was met by Gabriel and told he was going to have a son despite his age, he doubted. And Gabriel said because you chose not to believe me, you will be mute until this has come to pass. This seems a little harsh for Gabriel to be so quick to mute Zechariah after just a simple question of how can this be A fair question, and one that many, many others have asked in the Bible, especially because this is the first time Yahweh speaks in 400 years. So why did Gabriel silent Zechariah for not believing? Some scholars have argued that Gabriel not only muted Zechariah but also made him deaf for his unbelief. This was based on the end of Luke 1, where everyone gathered for the naming of John and they made signs to Zechariah. Why would they need to make signs to him if he could hear? It is important to know that an ancient Jewish person's belief in understanding would come from hearing. So for his hearing to be taken away, it is to make the point that his unbelief is the same as him not being able to hear. So with that understanding. It's not a far leap to think that it is plausible that Gabriel made him deaf and mute in this moment. Some other scholars have argued that mutism was to keep Zechariah from spreading his lack of faith to everyone around him. Also plausible, because I'm sure the first thing Zechariah wanted to do was go outside and say I saw an angel and he told me I was going to have a son. But look at me, I'm old and Elizabeth is past childbearing years. How can this be? But Gabriel mutes him and he is not able to say anything to anyone until John is born. But what I find interesting is the way the other priests reacted to his mutism and deafness. Potentially Typically, disabilities are prohibited inside the temple because they were considered unclean. Cleaning can never come in contact with clean, because the unclean person will make the clean person unclean and therefore unfit to do their duties in the temple. And this was especially true for the priest. That's why, in the parable the Good Samaritan, the priest walked on the other side of the road because the injured man would have made him unclean. So if this is how they normally treat people with disabilities, what do they do when it happens to a priest while in service. Well, luke 1 tells us when he came out, everyone knew and he saw a vision, but he couldn't speak. And then the next verse is at the end of his service, when he went home. I can only imagine how the remainder of his time went, especially if the scholars were right and he was deaf and mute. But he does go home and Elizabeth does become pregnant. And when she gives birth on the 8th day, when they go to name the baby, zachariah said his name is John and his voice immediately came back and he began praising God. Lastly, let's talk about the importance of names in this culture. A person's name was their identity, but it also shows their personality or purpose. There are only four people in the Bible who God names, meaning he comes to the parents and says you will have a son and you will name him Blank. This happened with Isaac, ishmael, john and Jesus. The custom was to circumcise and name a male child on the 8th day of life. This was a tradition set up with Abraham and when God first established circumcision. It also could be because at the time babies did not live that long, so they wanted to wait to name the child. I don't know if you ever noticed that Elizabeth tries to name the baby after he is born, but the relatives and neighbors are questioning her when she says John. They look to Zachariah to name the child. In this culture, the patriarch, the father, had the final say on all things, including naming the children. But because Zachariah was mute he couldn't speak for himself. Elizabeth said his name is John, but they still didn't believe her because it was such an outlandish name for this family. They had no relatives named this. They had no ties to the name John. So they made signs to Zachariah and was like are you sure? And he said his name is John. So why the name John? Why did God want them to name their son John? As everyone else in the ceremony said, there is no one in their family with that name. Why not the name Zachariah? Remember, the name means something in this culture. When Gabriel came to Zachariah he said do not be afraid, zachariah, for your prayer has been heard and your wife, elizabeth, will bear you a son and you shall call his name John and you will have joy and gladness and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. The name John means God is gracious. I find this fitting because Yahweh sends his grace ahead of his son to pave the way for his love to enter the world. So how does this story point us to Jesus? As we've mentioned before on this podcast, jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament through covenants, prophecies and the law. Jesus is the fulfillment of them all. So each time we meet together we'll discuss how this story points to Jesus. Our story today is about the birth of Jesus' cousin John, who will become known as John the Baptizer or John the Baptist. He prepares the way for Jesus to enter society and start his ministry. Without John constantly pointing to Jesus and naming him the Messiah, many would not have believed. So before we go, I want to close our time together reading the scripture from which our story comes from today. I hope that as you listen to this chapter of Luke being read, that you will embrace all that we have learned and that this passage will be illuminated for you. Let's read In the time of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah who belonged to the priestly division of Abba-Jah. His wife, elizabeth, was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all of the Lord's commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive and they were both very old. Once, when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by Lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense, and when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled 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 and their God, and he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready the people prepared before the Lord. Zechariah asked the angel how can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years. 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 the 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. Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple and he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak. When the time of his service was completed, he returned home. After this, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, but for five months remained in seclusion. The Lord had done this for me, she said. In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among. In those days, mary arose and went with haste to the hill country, to a town of Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth, and when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why is this granted to me? That the mother of my Lord shall come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy, and blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth and she bore a son, and her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her and they rejoiced with her. And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child and they would have called him Zechariah after his father. But his mother answered no, he shall be called John. And they said to her None of your relatives is called by this name. And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called, and he asked for a writing tablet and he wrote His name is John. And they all wondered and immediately his mouth was open and his tongue loosed and he spoke Blessing God, and fear came over all the neighbors and all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying what then will this child be, for the hand of the Lord was with him. Thank you for listening to today's episode of our ancient future story. I hope that you really enjoyed it. This episode was written and produced by me. Vic Harmon Music is embarking on an adventure by Evan McDonald. Please support the show by subscribing and rating us, and if you want more info or want to dive deeper, check out our website at our ancientfuturestorycom. See you next time. Bye.