Blessing of Family

I love the words from a song: “You gave me your love Lord and a fine family. Thank you Lord, for your blessings on me.” There’s one thing that is near and dear to our hearts. The gift of a family is one of the greatest blessings that God can give us. Today, we are discussing how two different people learned that they would become parents: Zechariah and the Virgin Mary. Both of them learned about their future sons from the Angel Gabriel.
The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
The story of the parents of John the Baptist is a good one. Zechariah and Elizabeth had prayed their entire lives for children that had never come. For this couple it was the dream of a family. Elizabeth and Zachariah prayed to God to give them a child. Zachariah was priest in the Jewish temple.
They stayed faithful to God, but it was still painful not to have any children. They thought that children were a blessing from God. Each year they prayed for children and each year they still did not hear the laughter of children in their home. Here’s their story. It is told in Luke 1:5-25;
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly. 7But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.
Moses determined that the tribe of Aaron would serve as the priests. Zechariah belonged to the tribe of Aaron. Zechariah was well regarded as a priest. There were 24 different groups of priests. Each group were assigned a different time to serve in the temple. Zechariah’s group was called Abijah.
The priests were responsible for maintaining the temple, teaching, and preaching. The Jewish temple was split into different sections. The outer section of the temple was entered through the Gate Beautiful. The women were only allowed into the outer court called the “Court of Women.” The priests were allowed to go into the inner rooms of the temple. Zechariah was selected to go into the “Alter of Incense” which is right before the Holy of Holies which is behind the Veil.
11Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. 14He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.[b] 16Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. 17And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." 18Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years."
Zechariah was a very religious man, but he still had a hard time believing the angel sent by God to tell him that he was becoming a father. Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, were extremely old. He was using his logic and not his faith. His logic told him that it was impossible for an old couple to have children. His faith should have won out especially when he was in the inner temple talking to an angel.
The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time." Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.
23When his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24After this, Zechariah’s wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25"The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people."
Elizabeth wasn’t sure what people would say so she stayed in seclusion. Elizabeth was the cousin of the Virgin Mary.
Luke 1:26-38 The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.
Gabriel was the same angel who gave the news to Zechariah about his son, John, the Baptist. Mary was very young. She was engaged to be married to Joseph. Gabriel told her that she was highly favored. What does that mean? God’s favor is discussed throughout the Bible. God’s favor is the gift of God’s grace. If you are highly favored by God the impossible becomes possible. If you are favored by God, then God will bless you and protect you. If we study God’s Word, walk in His Ways, and share the love of Jesus Christ with others, we can also have God’s favor.
God’s favor is available to all of us. God’s favor allows things that are impossible to be possible.
31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." 34"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
35The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37For nothing is impossible with God." 38"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
Mary didn’t understand the concept of “immaculate conception.” Her reaction was of trust and faith. She said, “I am the Lord’s servant.” That shows her faith even if she didn’t understand how it would all happen. She said, “May it be to me as you have said.” Mary’s faith was evident at a very young age. She wasn’t a priest like Zechariah, but she was a faithful servant of God who was willing to trust God with her life and future. It was very risky to have a child outside of marriage. She was engaged, but at no time did she stop to ask about these issues. She just said “May it be to me as you have said.” She had faith in God before she could see the results.
Both Zechariah and the Virgin Mary found out in a very unusual way that they would become parents. I didn’t hear about becoming a father in the same way as they did. There’s a lot we can learn from the Virgin Mary. She trusted God with her life and her future family. She had faith that God would take care of her if she put her faith and trust in God. Zechariah was also a faithful servant who obeyed God’s commandments. God choose them to be parents of the man who would prepare the way and for the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
God has also given us a family to teach and train in the ways of God. Our families are gifts from God as well. We need to be thankful that God has provided us with family, friends, our church, and Jesus Christ.