Zacharias: A Priest's Encounter

A Priest Before the Altar

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Zacharias was an ordinary priest from a town in the hill country of Judah. One day in the Temple, his whole life changed. His story helps us understand Jesus, our great High Priest.

Born a priest. Only men from Aaron's family could serve as priests. Zacharias was “a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah” (Luke 1:5).

Taking turns. There were thousands of priests, so they were divided into twenty-four groups. Each group came to Jerusalem to serve for a week at a time.

Faithful for years. Zacharias was old when this happened. For many years he had traveled to Jerusalem and served God, with no child at home and no sign of an answer.

The lot. “According to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord” (Luke 1:9). Out of all the priests, God chose him that day.

The Holy Place. The incense altar stood inside the Temple building, near the golden lampstand and the table of bread. Only priests could go in there.

The curtain. Right behind the altar hung a thick curtain called the veil. Behind it was the Most Holy Place, where only the high priest could go, once a year.

Praying people. “And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense” (Luke 1:10). While the smoke rose inside, prayers rose outside.

A visitor from heaven. “Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense” (Luke 1:11). Zacharias “was troubled, and fear fell upon him” (Luke 1:12).

Good news first. The angel said, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard” (Luke 1:13). God had seen every year of his faithful service.

Our High Priest. Zacharias served in an earthly temple. The Bible says “we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God” (Hebrews 4:14).

He understands. “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

Always praying for us. Jesus “always lives to make intercession” for those who come to God through Him (Hebrews 7:25). Intercession means praying for someone else.

Come boldly. “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

What to do. This week, pray at the same time each day, the way the people prayed at the hour of incense. Thank Jesus that He brings your prayers to the Father.

Zacharias met the angel in a room most Israelites would never see. Knowing where he stood helps us see why the coming of Jesus mattered so much.

Aaron's line. God gave the priesthood to Aaron and his sons (Exodus 28:1). Both Zacharias and Elizabeth came from Aaron's family (Luke 1:5), so their home was doubly a priestly one.

The divisions. 1 Chronicles 24 records David dividing the priests into twenty-four groups by lot. The eighth lot fell to Abijah. About a thousand years later, the same system was still in use.

Hill-country priests. Many priests lived outside Jerusalem and traveled in for their week. Zacharias went home when his service ended (Luke 1:23), and Mary later found his house in the hill country of Judah (Luke 1:39-40).

Casting lots. Jewish writings from this period describe lots cast every day to assign the tasks. Incense was the most honored duty, and a priest who had done it once stepped aside for others. Proverbs 16:33 teaches that every decision of the lot comes from the Lord.

The incense. God gave the recipe and the rules in Exodus 30. Incense burned morning and evening, and God said, “You shall not offer strange incense on it” (Exodus 30:9). People approached God on His terms.

Smoke and prayer. David asked that his prayer be set before God as incense (Psalm 141:2). In Revelation 5:8 and 8:3-4, the incense of heaven goes up together with the prayers of God's people.

The veil. The altar stood just outside the veil. Behind it, “the high priest went alone once a year” (Hebrews 9:7). Even a righteous priest like Zacharias could go no farther.

Holy fear (1:12). Fear “fell upon him.” Standing in the Holy Place did not make Zacharias comfortable with heaven's holiness. Isaiah also trembled when he saw the Lord (Isaiah 6:5).

Christ in the true sanctuary. “Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Hebrews 9:24).

Once for all. “With His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:12). Zacharias's service had to be repeated, but Christ's work is finished.

The veil opened. At Jesus' death, “the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:51). It was torn from the top, so God Himself opened the way.

A new and living way. Believers now have “boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way” (Hebrews 10:19-20). The place Zacharias could not enter is open to every believer.

Application. You will never stand where Zacharias stood, but through Jesus you can come closer to God than he could. Bring one specific request to God each day this week, trusting Christ's intercession for you (Hebrews 7:25).

Silence, Then a Song

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Zacharias doubted the angel's message, and for months he could not say a word. But his story did not end in silence. It ended with a song of praise about Jesus.

The question. Zacharias asked, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years” (Luke 1:18). He looked at his age instead of at God.

The answer. Gabriel said, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings” (Luke 1:19).

The sign. “You will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words” (Luke 1:20).

Loving correction. God did not take back the promise. He gave Zacharias a quiet time to learn to trust. God corrects His children because He loves them.

Months of quiet. Zacharias went home (Luke 1:23). Day after day he watched God keep His word as Elizabeth's baby grew.

Naming day. When the baby was eight days old, the neighbors wanted to call him Zacharias, after his father (Luke 1:59).

Trusting God's word. Zacharias “asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, ‘His name is John.’ So they all marveled” (Luke 1:63). This time he believed God's word and did what it said.

Words again. “Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God” (Luke 1:64). His first words were praise.

Filled with the Spirit. “Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied” (Luke 1:67). To prophesy means to speak a message from God.

God has come. “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people” (Luke 1:68). Redeemed means rescued by paying a price.

A Savior from David's family. God “has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David” (Luke 1:69). A horn was a picture of strength. This Savior is Jesus.

John's job. “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways” (Luke 1:76).

Light in the dark. Jesus came “to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:79).

What to do. When God answers a prayer, thank Him out loud, like Zacharias. Write down one answered prayer this week and share it with your family.

Zacharias's silence lasted from the Temple to the naming of his son, about nine months. God used that silence to turn a doubting priest into a Spirit-filled prophet.

Asking for proof. “How shall I know this?” (1:18) is much like Abraham's question in Genesis 15:8. But Zacharias had God's word from an angel in the Temple, and still he wanted more.

Mary's question. Mary asked, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” (1:34). She asked how; she did not ask for proof. Elizabeth later said, “Blessed is she who believed” (1:45).

A fitting sign. Zacharias asked for a sign and received one he carried in his own body. Later the neighbors “made signs to his father” (1:62), so he may not have been able to hear either.

The unspoken blessing. Jewish writings say the priests blessed the people after the incense: “The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you” (Numbers 6:24-25). That day the blessing went unspoken.

Believing in writing (1:63). By writing “His name is John,” Zacharias agreed with Gabriel's word in 1:13. His faith came back before his voice did.

Released (1:64). “Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed.” God's discipline had a set end, and the first words Zacharias spoke were praise.

A Spirit-filled song (1:67-79). Zacharias's prophecy has two parts. Verses 68-75 praise God for the Savior from David's house. Verses 76-79 tell what John will do.

Visited (1:68). The Greek episkeptomai (say: eh-pee-SKEP-toh-my) means to visit someone in order to care for and help them. God Himself had come to His people, and the Messiah had already been conceived.

A horn of salvation (1:69). In the Old Testament a horn pictures strength, like the horns of a strong ox. God had promised David a King whose throne would last forever (2 Samuel 7:16), and Zacharias sings that this King has come.

Remembered covenant (1:72-73). God acted “to remember His holy covenant, The oath which He swore to our father Abraham.” Zacharias means the Lord remembers, and Elizabeth means my God is an oath. Their names were now their song.

The prophet of the Highest (1:76). John would “go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,” just as Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1 promised. The Lord he prepared for is Jesus.

Forgiveness and dawn (1:77-79). Salvation comes “By the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God.” Many Christians see the Dayspring, the sunrise from on high, as Christ Himself, who brings light to people in darkness.

Application. Silence can become a school of faith. When God says wait, keep listening to His word. When the answer comes, let your first words be praise, as Zacharias's were.

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