Read: Luke 1:5–7
“So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age.”
Luke 1:35b–36a
Perhaps the most ignored aspect of the Christmas story is the birth of John the Baptist, which preceded that of Jesus. John’s prophesied birth is integral to Luke’s Gospel account, yet it is rarely touched on during the Advent season. We, however, will start our devotional journey together looking at Zechariah, Elizabeth, and Gabriel.
You might ask, Why should we look at the events surrounding the birth of John the Baptist? Think of his story as the opening act of a play, for there will be his role—to precede and make way for the Messiah. Just as everything prophesied about Jesus must come to pass, the prophecies about the one who precedes Him must come to pass as well.
For today, let me set the table by sharing with you some of the amazing similarities between the accounts of these two births. There is a clear list of remarkable likenesses to be found in Luke’s account. We will begin by examining these, and then back up and navigate through the events more closely in subsequent days.
These two couples are close, as Elizabeth and Mary are related. There is much evidence in Matthew’s and Luke’s Gospels that both sets of parents are righteous people. They give praise to God for the children with whom they are going to be entrusted. Zechariah, Elizabeth, and Mary all prophesy, while Joseph receives several dreams.
In both cases, the angel Gabriel is dispatched by God to declare several things. First, he tells them to not be afraid as he stands before them. He announces to Zechariah and later to Mary that they will be parents to sons whose arrivals had been prophesied for centuries.
Gabriel declares to both John’s dad and Jesus’ mom the names that God has for their children and what their missions will be. As we read in Luke, we discover that both are given similar special titles. John is to become the “prophet of the Most High,” whereas Jesus will be “Son of the Most High.”
Both births are miraculous in nature. Elizabeth is beyond childbearing years, while Mary is still a virgin. Only the sovereign, miracle-making God can bring shattered or future dreams of conception into reality. The last similarity for today is that both infants are circumcised on the eighth day as was the custom, and they both grow up spiritually in the years leading up to their time of ministry.
Isn’t this a pretty impressive list of similarities? Spend some time studying these stories for yourself and you will find additional likenesses. Marvel at this special period in human history and God’s sovereign hand upon it. As for our Christmas journey together, let’s now look deeper at the people and events surrounding the amazing story of John the Baptist’s birth.