Day 9: Zechariah’s Prophecy

Zechariah had a very special point of view in the Christmas story. He was a priest, the father of John the Baptist, and the uncle of Jesus, the Messiah. Zechariah was visited by an angel who told him, “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” (Luke 1:13-14).

What a miracle! Even in their old age, God was providing them a son. Even more than that, their son would be the prophet that would prepare the way for the Messiah they had been waiting for!

But Zechariah did not respond like Joseph. Because he doubted God’s promise, Zechariah became mute. How sad it would be if that was the end of the story. But God is not only faithful, He is also merciful. After Elizabeth had their son, God gave Zechariah a second chance to obey and trust in Him, “Then they made signs to [Zechariah], to find out what he would like to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, ‘His name is John.’ Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God” (Luke 1:62-63). Zechariah was healed by his faith.

After all of this, God also blessed Zechariah with the gift of prophesying what He was doing for the people of God—that He has raised up a horn of salvation through Jesus! The Bible says that when we place our trust in Him, we are adopted into the family of God. We are redeemed from the debt we owe from being sinners. Zechariah not only got to experience God’s power; but also by believing in what God had said, he got a foretaste of what God was doing. He was one of the first to declare that the Messiah would be born.

Let’s not miss out on the opportunities God gives us to take Him at His Word. Let our prayer be, “Lord, make us a people of faith. Let us listen to your voice. Let us declare the coming of the Messiah, who came to save us from our sins. Let us experience Your power, O God!”

“O thou joyful, O thou wonderful
Grace revealing Christmastide!
Jesus came to win us
From all sin within us;
Glorify the holy Child!”
- Johannes D. Falk
O Thou Joyful, O Thou Wonderful