Luke 1:18-20  “And Zachariah said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.  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 thee these glad tidings.  And , behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

Zacharias was told before anyone else that God was setting in motion his own visit to earth. Zacharias and his wife, Elisabeth, were known for their personal holiness. They were well suited to doing a special work for God. But they shared the pain of not having children, and in Jewish culture this was considered not having God’s blessing. Zacharias and Elisabeth were old, and they stopped even asking for children.

This trip to the Temple in Jerusalem for Zacharias’s turn at duty had included an unexpected blessing.  Zacharias was chosen to be the priest who would enter the Holy Place to offer incense to God for the people.  Suddenly, much to his surprise and terror, he found himself face-to-face with an angel. The angel’s message was too good to be true! But Zacharias did not respond to the news of the coming Savior as much as he expressed doubts about his own ability to father the child the angel promised him. His age spoke more loudly than God’s promise. As a result, God prevented Zacharias from speaking until the promise became reality. 

The record of the prayer in Luke 1 is our last glimpse of Zacharias. Like so many of God’ most faithful servants, he passed quietly from the scene once his part was done.  He becomes our hero for those times when we doubt God, yet are willing to obey. We gain hope from Zacharias’s story that God can do great things through anyone who is available to him.

Strengths and Accomplishments:    *Known as a righteous man:           
                                                      *Was priest for God               
                                                      *One of the few people to be directly addressed by the Angel                                                                 *Fathered John the Baptist

Weakness and Mistake:                  * Momentarily doubted the angel’s promise of a son in old age        

Lessons from his Life:                     *Physical limitations do not limit God                

Vital statistics:                                  Occupation: Priest              
                                                        Relatives: Wife: Elisabeth, Son: John the Baptist

Key verses:   “And they were both righteous before God , walking in all the commandments and ordinances                             of the Lord blameless. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both   
                      were now well stricken in years” (Luke 1:6-7)