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The Voice in the Wilderness
This chapter is based on Luke 1:5-23, 57-80; 3:1-18; Matthew
3:1-12; Mark 1:1-8.
Christ’s forerunner came from among the faithful in Israel.
Zacharias, an aged priest, and his wife Elizabeth were “both righ-
teous before God,” and in their quiet lives the light of faith shone out
like a star amid the darkness. This godly pair was given the promise
of a son who would “go before the face of the Lord to prepare His
ways.”
Zacharias had gone to Jerusalem to minister for one week in the
temple. As he stood before the golden altar in the Holy Place of
the sanctuary, suddenly he became aware of an angel of the Lord
“standing on the right side of the altar.” For years he had prayed for
the coming of the Redeemer. Now these prayers were about to be
answered.
The angel greeted him with the joyful assurance: “‘Do not be
afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth
will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. ... He will be
great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong
drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit. ... He will also go
before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, “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.’ And Zacharias
said to the angel, ‘How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and
my wife is well advanced in years.’”
For a moment the aged priest forgot that what God promises,
He is able to perform. What a contrast between his unbelief and
the faith of Mary! Her answer to the angel’s announcement was,
“Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to
your word.”
Luke 1:38
.
The birth of a son to Zacharias, like the birth of Abraham’s child
and Mary’s, was to teach a great truth: in every believing soul, God’s
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