Thy Prayer Is Heard – Zacharias

Know the Setting

Luke places the story “in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea” (Luke 1:5). Zacharias was a priest “of the course of Abia” (Luke 1:5), one of the priestly divisions listed in 1 Chronicles 24:10 (spelled Abijah there). His wife Elisabeth was “of the daughters of Aaron” (Luke 1:5).

Both were “righteous before God” (Luke 1:6), yet “they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years” (Luke 1:7).

Zacharias was chosen by lot to burn incense in the temple, while “the whole multitude of the people were praying without” (Luke 1:10).

Who Speaks

• The angel Gabriel, who names himself in verse 19
• Zacharias (verse 18)
• Elisabeth (verse 25)

Look Closer

• Luke never tells us exactly what Zacharias had prayed for. The angel says “thy prayer is heard” (Luke 1:13) and then promises a son. Reflection: many readers connect the prayer to the couple's long hope for a child, but the text leaves the prayer itself unstated.
• Compare two questions. Zacharias asks, “Whereby shall I know this?” (Luke 1:18) Mary later asks, “How shall this be” (Luke 1:34) Gabriel gives the reason Zacharias was made silent: “because thou believest not my words” (Luke 1:20).
• The silence had an end built into it: “until the day that these things shall be performed” (Luke 1:20). Watch for its fulfillment in Song 3.