JOSEPH: Mary’s Prophetic Poem Luke 1:46-56

JOSEPH

Mary’s Prophetic Poem

Luke 1:46-56

John MacArthur Study Bible

1:46–55 Mary’s Magnificat (the first word in the Latin translation) is filled with OT allusions and quotations. It reveals that Mary’s heart and mind were saturated with the Word of God. It contains repeated echoes of Hannah’s prayers, e.g., 1 Sam. 1:11; 2:1–10. These verses also contain numerous allusions to the law, the psalms, and the prophets. The entire passage is a point-by-point reciting of the covenant promises of God.

Luke 1:46-47 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

Susie: Mary broke out rejoicing in song, humbly praising the Lord for all He was doing through her.  This is known as the Magnificat because that is the first word of Mary’s praise song in Latin.

Susan: Mary says that her soul magnifies, exalts the Lord. She identifies God as Savior, highlighting the purpose for which God was coming in human form as the Son, Jesus. I think it is significant that the one chosen to bear the Messiah sees her own need for salvation and knows that God is meeting that need. Every fiber of Mary’s being declared the greatness of her God who had transformed her into the mother of her own Savior. One of no special significance was carrying the One of supreme significance.

Luke 1:48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.

Susan: Mary viewed herself as God’s servant, his handmaiden.

Susie: She was probably poor, not significant in any way. Therefore, she realized she was extremely blessed to be chosen to conceive and carry her Redeemer in her womb. She acknowledged that this was not her doing but was the choice and work of God in her life.

Susan: She needed the Seed of God she carried as much as the world He would be born into needed her Baby.

Susie: Mary magnified the Lord as the Holy One—pure, sacred, blameless.

Luke 1:50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.

Susie: Mary may have had several passages from the Psalms in mind. We looked up “them that fear him” on www.biblegateway.com and came up with these as well as others: Psalms 25:14, 33:18, 34:7, 34:9, 85:9, 103:11, 13 & 17, 111:5, 145:19, and 147:11. Psalm 103 has been a favorite of mine (Susie’s) for a long time:

Psalm 103:11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

Psalm 103:13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.

Psalm 103:17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;

Susan: The best tool to interpret scripture is the scripture itself.

Susie: This is the reason we often present cross-references in our studies.

Luke 1:51-53 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

Psalm 103:5-6 (KJV) Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.

Susie: In Jewish thought, riches were a reward from God, which in essence they are. However, they believed the opposite was true as well, that poverty was a curse from God. Mary espoused the truth that God would bring down the proud and boastful and elevate the poor and downtrodden. The poor are not forgotten or forsaken by our Lord.

Susan: In the Magnificat, Mary was announcing prophetic reality that God would bring forth, in the fullness of time, the bringing down of the proud and elevation of the humble. God’s salvation would be for all people who believed.

Luke 1:54 He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed forever.

Susie: God would fulfill His promise to Abraham to redeem His people. 

Susan: The time was drawing near for the Messiah to be revealed. The baby Mary was carrying was the long awaited Anointed One promised to Abraham and Sarah, the Savior who would be descended from their son Isaac.

Galatians 4:4-5 (NASB) “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

Luke 1:56 And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

Susan: Mary stayed with Elizabeth her final trimester of pregnancy and probably until John was born.

Susie: Then she went back home to Nazareth where she stayed until she and Joseph were married and ended up having to make a long, arduous journey during the final days of her pregnancy. More on that later.

QUESTIONS

1.  Why is Mary’s speech called “The Magnificat”?

2.  What was Mary’s view of herself?

3.  How does she describe her relationship to God?

4.  What did Mary prophesy concerning the poor and lowly people?

Ponder this: One of my favorite Christian singer/songwriters is Michael Card. Reflect on this line from his song The Mystery:

No fiction as fantastic and wild,

A mother made by her own child,

The helpless Babe who cried

Was God incarnate, man and deified.

You can listen to the entire song here:

https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?hsimp=yhs-att_001&hspart=att&p=The+mystery+by+Michael+Card#id=1&vid=1e57dea890087119df296b7ab23fed24&action=view

Luke 1:39-45 - Zacharias’s Bouncing Baby Boy

ZACHARIAS:

Zacharias’s Bouncing Baby Boy

Luke 1:39-45

Luke 1:39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

Susan: Mary may have fled Nazareth to avoid prying eyes and whispering lips as her own pregnancy developed.

Susie: But I believe she wanted to see the miracle of Elisabeth’s pregnancy in person as well. That would give her further confirmation of the angel’s prophesy concerning her own son.

Luke 1:41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:

Susie: When Mary spoke a greeting to her relative Elisabeth, the unborn baby John, filled with the Holy Spirit, jumped for joy!

Susan: Elisabeth was overjoyed as she was overcome by the Spirit of the Lord. Then Elisabeth began to prophesy over Mary.

Luke 1:42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

Susie: John, who Gabriel foretold would be filled with the Spirit in the womb, leapt when Mary greeted His mother. 

Susan: An UNBORN baby was the first to recognize the Savior while HE was yet UNBORN. This is a strong argument for the fact that an embryo or fetus is already the person God is forming inside their mother.

  

Susie: The fetus John’s reaction, caused Elizabeth who was also filled with the Holy Spirit at the moment he moved within her to rejoice as well.

Susan: Elizabeth questioned her worthiness to be visited by the mother of the Son of God, but she boldly prophesied concerning Mary because the Holy Spirit empowered and anointed her.

Susie: Elizabeth called Mary “the mother of my Lord,” which says that she already believed Jesus would be the Messiah. No human had told her this. Mary had just arrived, so they had not had time to even discuss the fact that Mary was pregnant and all that Gabriel had told her (Remember: Mary could not phone ahead or send Elizabeth a Facebook message or Tweet about her pregnancy).

Susan: The Holy Spirit prompted Elizabeth to honor Mary’s faith in believing the Lord.

Susie: Somehow, in the moment that baby John moved excitedly in her womb, the Lord caused Elizabeth to know exactly what was going on with her relative, Mary. For this moment in time, the Lord was using Elizabeth as His prophetess.

Susan: The baby boy promised to Zacharias was already fulfilling the angel’s prophesy by preparing his own mother’s heart to be fertile ground for the good news of the Messiah.

QUESTIONS

1.         What happened the moment Mary greeted Elizabeth?

2.         What prophesy given to Zacharias does the baby’s reaction fulfill?

3.         Who empowered Elizabeth to prophesy concerning Mary’s baby?

4.         Could reading about the encounter between Mary and Elizabeth change a person’s perspective on abortion? Why or why not?

PONDER THIS: Things that assure us that a baby inside the womb is already a human soul even before they take their first gulp of air when born.

1.         John was filled with the Spirit even while in his mother’s womb.

2.         John jumped for joy at the sound of Mary’s voice because he recognized by the power of the Spirit that she was carrying the Messiah.

3.         Jesus was recognized by John even though Mary was probably not even showing yet, even though by today’s modern medical standards He would not be “viable.”

LUKE 1:26-38 & MATTHEW 1:18-24 - JOSEPH'S FIANCE FAVORED BY GOD

JOSEPH

Joseph’s Fiancé Favored by God

Luke 1:26-38

Matthew 1:18-24

Luke 1:26-27 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

Susie: Six months after he gave Zacharias the news about Elizabeth’s pregnancy,

Susan: God sent the angel Gabriel on another mission, a second divine assignment.

Susie: Gabriel was dispatched to the small town of Nazareth to make an announcement to a virgin girl named Mary. She was engaged to a carpenter named Joseph who was in the lineage of King David as was she, but they had not yet married.

Susan: They were betrothed, which was legally binding; and any infidelity would be considered adultery against the future spouse.

Susie: We’ll examine this from Joseph’s perspective in Matthew’s gospel after we finish Mary’s encounter with the angel.

Luke 1:28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

Susan: Gabriel told Mary she was to be unique among all women, specially chosen by God.

Susie: He explained that God was present in her life. Mary was favored in the sense that God extended grace to her for the assignment of bringing forth the Redeemer of the whole world. Mary was a simple peasant girl.

Susan: She was confused and in wonderment at this greeting from the angel. In fact, she was completely taken by surprise.

Susie: She may have even felt alarmed at the presence of an angel.

Luke 1:30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

Susie: Seeing the shock and alarm on Mary’s face, the angel assured her she had nothing to fear. In fact, God was pleased with her and gracious toward her.

Luke 1:31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.

Susie: Gabriel gave Mary the shocking news that she was going to become pregnant and have a son and she understood this to mean immediately even before her marriage to Joseph.

Susan: She was to name this son Jesus which means “Jehovah is generous, Jehovah saves.”

Susie: Jesus is a derivative of Joshua or Yeshua and was not an uncommon name, but the angel’s next statement made clear that this would be no common baby.

Luke 1:32-33 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Susie: Gabriel clarified that this baby would not be the son of Joseph. Instead, He would be the Son of God, but that did not really sink in with her at that moment. Gabriel told Mary that her son would reign on the throne of David FOREVER.

Susan: That throne would continue eternally because Jesus as the Son of the Most-High, the Son of God, is an eternal being.

Susie:  A descendant of David was not on the throne at this point in history, for Rome had appointed Herod the Great as Israel’s king.  Herod was not a Jew.  His father was from Idumea, and his mother was Arabian.  Both Mary and Joseph were in the line of David, but they were poor peasant people. Therefore, this news was shocking.

Luke 1:34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

Susie: Mary, understandably, was astonished at the news that she would be pregnant since she and Joseph were not married yet, and she was a virgin. I’m not even sure she comprehended the rest of Gabriel’s message because her mind stopped at the word “pregnant.”

Susan: She must have been terrified and confused. Also, she would have no one to share her troubles with since probably no one would believe her. 

Susie: Keep in mind, this was a private conversation between Mary and Gabriel. God did not provide her with other witnesses to corroborate her account.

Susan: If Mary shared this with anyone else, surely, they would have deemed her crazy. 

Susie: Or worse, stoned her as unfaithful to her betrothed, Joseph.

Luke 1:35-37 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible.

Susan: Gabriel answered Mary’s question by explaining that this was not going to be the normal exchange between a woman and a man. God was going to personally, miraculously, impregnate her with His Son in the form of an embryo. The virgin birth was in fulfillment of prophecy:

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Susie: Gabriel assured Mary of God’s power to perform this miracle in her by telling her of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, miraculous because of her advanced age. I find the statement in verse 37 in the Voice translation particularly comforting: "So the impossible is possible with God." AMEN.

Luke 1:38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Susan: Hearing the angel’s answer to her question, Mary submitted and committed herself to the process of conception, pregnancy, and birth of the Redeemer Jesus in accordance with the Father’s will. 

Susie: She must have known she would be subjecting herself to ridicule, gossip, and even the possibility of stoning or banishment, either of which would have been within Joseph’s rights to demand. 

Susan: At the risk of all these things, she humbly submitted anyway.

Susie: Surely, she had an understanding that God was able to do what He was proposing, including protecting her and the child.

PONDER THIS: Mary's response to God's plan for her was humble.  When God uses you in a mighty way, remember to give Him all the glory and credit. You are just the vessel to carry His blessings to others.

Susie: Wait! What is Joseph going to say about this? Will he even believe it when you tell him, Mary?

Matthew 1: 18-19 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.

Susie: In the Jewish culture of that day, parents chose a mate for their children, sometimes while they were still quite young. From that point, they were considered engaged. When they came of age, a date was set for the wedding and the man began preparing a place for his bride to live. At this point they were considered “betrothed” and if they decided not to marry, the man would need to divorce his wife. With the assumption that Mary had been unfaithful to her betrothed husband, Joseph could have had her publicly humiliated and even STONED TO DEATH as an adulteress! So, Joseph was going to do an extremely kind thing in divorcing her quietly and sending her away from the prying eyes of their home town.

Susan: Joseph was merciful even though he did not yet know the true origin of Mary’s baby. He knew he was not the father, so the only logical assumption was that she had been unfaithful. Joseph was upright in heart and a man of integrity, but he did not assume a “holier than thou” position.

Susie: Even though this was an arranged married, I believe Joseph already loved Mary, his bride to be.

Matthew 1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Susie: God sent an angel to explain the situation to Joseph in a dream. I’m sure Mary had tried to give Joseph an explanation, but he probably found it hard to believe. 

Susan: The angel announcer of Heaven was probably Gabriel who had previously appeared to both Zacharias and Mary, now sent to let Joseph know not to fear going ahead with marrying Mary because it was part of God’s redemptive plan. 

Susie: He let Joseph in on a bit of the divine masterplan. He reminded Joseph that he was descended from David as was Mary. Then he pointed out that Mary’s pregnancy was orchestrated by the Holy Ghost, making the baby the Son of God, the long-awaited Messiah.

Susan: The angel instructed Joseph to name the baby Jesus meaning “Jehovah is generous, Jehovah saves” because He would save His people from their sins. Jesus would later declare, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)

Susie: As He shared a last Passover meal with His disciples, Jesus made it clear that His death on the cross was to free believers from sin:

Matthew 26:26-28 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it, for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Matthew 1:22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Susie: Matthew makes it clear that Joseph’s step-son, Jesus, would be the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14 which we quoted above.

Matthew 1:24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus.

Susie: We do not know how much time intervened between the announcement to Mary and Joseph’s dream. Joseph may not have been aware of the pregnancy until after Mary returned from a three month visit with her relative Elisabeth. However, we know that Joseph realized this dream was truly from the Lord God and obeyed what the angel told him. 

Susan: Joseph married Mary, but he restrained his physical, human desire for intimacy and kept Mary chaste until after Jesus was born. He named the baby Jesus as the angel had instructed him. 

ZACHARIAS: Zacharias Left Speechless Luke 1:5-25

ZACHARIAS:

Zacharias Left Speechless

Luke 1:5-25

Luke 1:5-7 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abijah: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

Susan: Zacharias and Elisabeth were upright people of the utmost integrity. They were believers in the One true God, striving to live according to His commandments. They were both descended of the priestly line of Aaron. Zacharias means “Jehovah has remembered.”

MacArthur Study Bible note:

Division of Abijah: The temple priesthood was organized into 24 divisions, with each division serving twice a year for one week (1 Chr. 24:4–19); Abijah’s was the 8th division (1 Chr. 24:10)

Susie: We are about to read exactly how God remembered this couple in their old age.

Susan: Elizabeth means “Consecrated to God” and “My God is Bountiful.” Both of these are significant since Elizabeth (like Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Hannah before her) was barren which was thought in those days to mean a woman was cursed by God or in the least not favored by Him. Zacharias and Elisabeth, like Abraham and Sarah, were way past the age of being able to conceive a child.

Susie: We are not given their ages, but Luke makes it clear that Elisabeth had gone through menopause. However, with God all things are possible; and their lives were about to be completely changed.

Luke 1:8-9 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

Susie: Zacharias’s division of priests would take their turn serving in the temple twice a year. Burning incense in the holy place directly in front of the curtain that closed off the Holy of Holies was a once in a lifetime experience (Ex. 30:7, 8; 2 Chr. 29:11). No priest was allowed to do it twice.

Luke 1:10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

Susan: The people who had come to the temple to offer sacrifices and worship would wait outside. They were praying which is in keeping with the symbolism of the incense representing prayers rising to the Lord God. More specifically, it represents Christ’s continual intercession for believers.

Susie: There is a good article on the altar of incense here:

http://www.bible-history.com/tabernacle/TAB4The_Golden_Altar_of_Incense.htm

Luke 1:11-12 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

Susie: An angel suddenly appeared to the right of the altar of incense. The word “troubled” does not do justice to the Greek word which can mean “agitated” like churning water. The butterflies in Zacharias’s stomach felt like they were waging war. He was seized with terror. Fear is often the response when an angel appears.

Luke 1:13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

Susan: The angel comforted Zacharias with the words, “Fear not.” He made the startling announcement that Elisabeth was going to give birth to a son who would be appropriately named John which means “Jehovah has shown grace.”

Luke 1:14-15 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

Susie: The joy of this baby was not for Zacharias and Elisabeth alone. Many would rejoice with them because John was to be a special child.

Susan: Refraining from alcohol was associated with a Nazarite vow, usually temporary, but in the case of both Samson and Samuel it was from birth and throughout life. Nothing is mentioned here about whether John would cut his hair or not. Not cutting the hair was another part of being set apart in this way.

Susie: Even more significant is the statement that John would be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he was born! We’ll talk more about that in the verses ahead.

Luke 1:16-17 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, 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.

Susan: As the forerunner of the Messiah, John would urge the people to repent—to turn from their sin—in order to prepare their hearts for the Kingdom of God.

Susie: John would preach with the same boldness as the prophet Elijah. John the Baptist would fulfill the prophecy found in Malachi 4:5-6. Jesus confirmed that John had been the Elijah to come as He, Peter, James, and John descended from the Mount of Transfiguration (Mark 9:11-13) and again in Matthew 10:11-14.

Luke 1:18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.

Susan: Zacharias mirrored what Abraham went through.

Susie: Although, he did not laugh as Abraham did, he questioned the validity of the angel’s prophecy. He pointed out the obvious, that he and Elizabeth were way too old to have children.

Susan: I find it peculiar that a priest serving in the temple would see only his own physical limitations rather than the Lord’s power to do according to His good pleasure.  

Luke 1:19-20 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.  And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

Susan: Gabriel chastised him and basically said, “You can be quiet now,” because Zacharias did not believe the word of the Lord that he had been sent to declare to him.

Susie: I wonder if this was the root of our southern expression, “Well, shut my mouth!”

Susan: Zacharias would remain silent up until the naming of the baby.

Luke 1:21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.

Susie: The people praying outside began to wonder what had happened to old Zacharias because he was inside offering incense longer than the usual amount of time.

Luke 1:22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.

Susie: Zacharias, using hand signals, was able to get across to the people that he had seen a vision while serving in the temple. It does not appear that he was able to communicate the exact nature of the vision. Or perhaps he felt that he was supposed to keep it a secret since he was unable to speak by the power of the Lord. Perhaps he thought Elizabeth should be the first to know.

Luke 1:23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

Susie: Zacharias went home to his wife, and it seems she conceived immediately.

Susan: Elizabeth realized that by enabling her to conceive, the Lord was removing her shame of being childless. She remained in seclusion for five months, perhaps in a period of reverent gratitude for how the Lord had smiled upon her.

Susie: The scripture does not record how Zacharias responded to the pregnancy. Perhaps he was unable to communicate his response effectively. He could not shout from the rooftops, because he could not shout!

QUESTIONS

1.  To what Old Testament figure could both Zacharias and Elizabeth trace their lineage?

2. What priestly honor did Zacharias have the once in a lifetime opportunity to experience?

3. How did Zacharias respond when the angel told him Elizabeth would have a son?

4. In who’s footsteps would John eventually follow?

5. What would be significant about this baby even before he was born?

6. Think about the things God has laid on your heart to do. Are you having doubts about any of them? Are you unsure of His ability to work in and through you? Pray that He will increase your faith and infuse you with His strength to serve Him boldly.