The Year I Read the Bible with Laurie Larsen

Episode 18: The Role Zechariah and Elizabeth Play in the Jesus Story

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Our God is a god of the big and massive.  But he's also a god in the small details.  This concept is so evident in the story of Zechariah in the New Testament.  When you learn exactly how miraculous the circumstances were around the angel Gabriel's visit to Zechariah in the Temple to give him the news that his aged wife Elizabeth would give birth to the Messiah's predecessor -- it's gonna blow your mind!

Laurie's guest today is Christina Sinisi -- author, professor, friend and repeat guest from last week!  If you'd like to check out Christina's inspirational fiction, take a look right here.  

Also in case you haven't checked it out, here's The Year I Read the Bible in book form -- ebook, paperback, hardcover and audio!  If you're enjoying the podcast, maybe you'd enjoy the other formats -- or buy a gift for a friend!  

Also ... please consider sharing these weekly inspirational messages with your friends.  And while you're at it, leave a review wherever you listen.  THANK YOU FRIENDS!


Hi, I'm your host Lori Larson, and this is the year I read the Bible. Welcome a Lifelong Christian. I thought I was familiar with the Bible, but in 2023 I accepted the challenge of reading the whole thing, cover to cover. Whenever I encountered something I didn't understand or wanted to learn more. I jotted it down, but I kept reading to stay on schedule. Then I reached the end Imagine Confetti rating down on me, and a huge sigh of relief. I had 40 topics to research in 2024. I started diving into all those topics. I did research, I wrote blogs and I shared them with whoever might wanna learn too. And in 2025, the project continues. I published a book containing all my essays, and now a podcast. Is there something you can learn from that dusty book that sits on all of our shelves? Yes. Yes, there is. Let's dive into The year I read the Bible. Hello everyone. I hope you're doing well today. I'm excited to share an essay with you called The Role Zechariah and Elizabeth Play in the Jesus Story. Let's get right to it. The New Testament of the Bible starts with the birth of Jesus, right. Well, that's right. But each of the four gospel writers decided to start the story in a slightly different way. Matthew starts by listing out the long genealogy of Jesus, then moves to the appearance of an angel to Joseph, assuring him that the baby Mary was carrying was conceived from the Holy Spirit. Mark begins with John the Baptist, preparing the way for Jesus in the wilderness. Luke tells the story of how an angel appeared to a priest named Zechariah, telling him that his childless wife, Elizabeth, will bear a son who will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. And John begins with a truly poetic section about the word. Which is Jesus becoming flesh, and then he moves into the mission of the adult John the Baptist. I wanted to explore Luke's story since he alone shared it, who were Zacharia and Elizabeth, and how do they play into the story of Jesus being born. Turns out Zechariah was a priest of advanced age around the time that both John the Baptist and Jesus were conceived. Thought by scholars to be between eight and six BC. Jewish priests during this time had different responsibilities than Jewish rabbis. A rabbi was a religious teacher who operated out of the local synagogue and was not required to belong to a particular family or tribe to hold his position. Priests, however, came from a prestigious bloodline. Remember the 12 tribes of Israel. Those qualified to be priests had to descend from Aaron Moses' brother. They worked at the temple in Jerusalem. My thanks to the website catholic.com for this information, Luke one verse five gives us a more specific bloodline for Zechariah. In the time of Herod King of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah who belonged to the priestly division of Aja. His wife Elizabeth, was also a descendant of Aaron, so both Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth, descend from Aaron, the original priest of Israel. But who is Aisha? According to First Chronicles at the time of King David, the priests of the Jewish faith were split into 24 divisions. Abijah was the eighth of the 24. Luke one, verse eight tells us once when Zechariah's division was on duty. And he was serving as priest before God. He was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. Let's look at this a little closer. Zechariah was inside the temple in Jerusalem, burning incense. Typical priestly duty. Well, yes and no. At this time in history, there were many descendants of Aaron who filled the ranks of Jewish priests who work in the temple. Because so many priests crowded the 24 divisions, a priest was only selected by lot or basically throwing dice to perform this task for Yom Kippur. The Day of Atonement, which only comes around once a year. In other words, this particular task that Zachariah was doing didn't come around often. And where did they burn this incense? Luke tells us it was in the temple in Jerusalem, but further research shows that it was in the most holy place within the Holy Temple. Stay with me. I'm about to make a point. In the Old Testament, God appointed King Solomon, the son of King David as the king to oversee the building of his holy temple, which would house the Ark of the Covenant. In one Chronicles 28, king David gave detailed plans to Solomon, including designs for the temple buildings, and literally everything else within its walls. The room known as the Holy of Holies was the inner most and most sacred area of the ancient temple of Jerusalem. The Holy of Holies was constructed as a perfect cube. It contained only the arc of the covenant, the symbol of Israel's special relationship with God. The Holy of Holies was accessible only to the Israelite high priest once a year. On Jan Kapur, the Day of Atonement, the high priest was permitted to enter the small windowless enclosure to burn incense, and sprinkle the blood of a sacrificial animal on the ark. By doing so, the high priest are toned for his own sins. And those of the people, thank you to the website. Got questions for this explanation. It was when Zacharia was performing this special task that he was approached by Gabriel, the angel of the Lord. Luke, of course, described the scene accurately, but with minimal details. Just the facts, ma'am. When you add in the additional facts of just how extraordinary it was that this particular man was performing this particular holy task during this particular time and this particular holy place, well, it just becomes that much more amazing to me. How about you look, continues his story in chapter one, verse 11. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zacharia saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. Paraphrase time. The angel speaks to Zechariah, tries to reassure him not to be afraid and informs him that Zacharia's wife Elizabeth will bear him a son who is to be named John. And John will be great in the sight of the Lord. Everyone will be so happy at his birth and he'll be a great son who will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will draw many people of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go on in the power of the prophet Elijah to make ready for the Lord. It all sounds great, right? For a distinctive priest of a long line of holy men to be there in the holiest of holies. Talking to Gabriel and hearing this fantastical news. Zacharia should be jumping for joy, right? Uh, no. He says, how can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years. He doubts, he argues with the angel. Remember the room he was standing in was almost impossible to get into. It was the innermost room in the temple. Inaccessible except for one man, and that year it was him. No random passersby could have gotten in and made up a story of being an angel. He had to have known that God had sent this angel and that he was legit. But the realities of the world invaded his mind, and despite the miraculous circumstances that had brought the angel to come visit him. The first thing he thought was, Elizabeth and I are too old to have children. This can't be true, but it was true, and his doubts and disbelief were documented for us thousands of years later to read and learn from. Because honestly, can we blame Zacharia for his doubts? He and Elizabeth had been yearning for a family their entire marriage. And despite them being righteous and blameless in front of the Lord, as described in verse six, it had never happened. Scholars have reached the conclusion that Elizabeth was approaching her sixties when she became pregnant, so I'm sure they both felt that the chance of having a family of their own had long since sailed. The consequence that Zachariah faced due to his doubts was swift and immediate. In verse 19, the angel said to him, 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. And 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 appointed time. There's more to the story of Zacharia and Elizabeth, including the same angel Gabriel, visiting Mary to tell her about her own miraculous conception and the visit Mary makes to Elizabeth. But let's move on to the part beginning in verse 57 of John's birth. On the eighth day, they held a traditional Jewish briss celebrating the baby boy's circumcision, and Elizabeth announced that the baby's name would be John. The attendees asked Zacharia to confirm, and since he was still not able to speak, he asked for a tablet on which he wrote. His name is John. Then verse 64. Immediately, his mouth was opened and his tongue set free and he began to speak praising God. Wow. I'm quite sure that Zechariah believed the angel's claim during the nine months prior to getting his speech back, but what fabulous proof that God keeps his promises and chose this special couple to hold a vitally important role in the greatest story ever told. Have you ever asked God for something that you desired over and over, and then when it finally came true, you had trouble believing it was a gift from God? I'm sure we can all think of at least one example in our lives, and if so, I think we can all extend a little bit of grace to our friend Zacharia. Let's end this part with a prayer. Dear God, thank you for this story about a very holy man who, when the time came to show his faith faltered just a little bit. It helps us to remember that even when we ourselves make mistakes, you can always still use us for your purposes here on Earth. You don't give up on us and you don't expect us to be perfect. Thank you for that. Amen. And now stay tuned for my chat with my guest. Okay.

Laurie:

And welcome back. I am so excited to welcome a repeat guest. My guest from last week, Christina Sinisi, and she is my friend who is a fellow author, a fellow wife, a fellow mother, and a fellow chapter member of a American Christian fiction writers. Christina, welcome back and thanks for coming.

Christina:

Thank you so much for having me.

Laurie:

We won't go into detail, about all your books and, how we know each other. But I do encourage any listeners who did not listen to last week to please do so because you'll get to know Christina A. Little bit and you'll also listen to a very interesting topic. But this week we're going to jump into. A topic called the role Zacharia and Elizabeth play in the Jesus story. So here we are, we're in the New Testament. We've been waiting for the birth of Jesus, but in one of the gospels, we hear this story about Zechariah and Elizabeth, you may be reading along and thinking, well, what does this have to do with Jesus' birth? Well, the long story short is Zechariah and Elizabeth are the parents of John the Baptist, but there's just so much in this story we talked a little bit last week about God being in the details. There's a ton of details in this story. Right the essay, I shed a little bit of light on just how unusual it would've been for Zacharia, who was just one priest among many be selected to be in the Holy of Holies room this particular Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur. The very day that the angel Gabriel appeared to him inform him about God's plan for him and his aged wife. Elizabeth, what are your thoughts, Christina, about this amazing sequence of events?

Christina:

This has always been an interesting story to me because. It's showing secondary characters that God doesn't just focus on the main people, Mary and Joseph and Jesus, I mean, there's no reason that even think that Zachariah, would have ever thought such a thing would happen to him, would ever have. Put himself forward as somebody important, but he's still playing a role and God gives all of us purpose and roles to play.

Laurie:

Yes, that is definitely true. And Zechariah, as we know from Luke's gospel, he had very prestigious bloodlines, both Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth.

Christina:

Mm-hmm.

Laurie:

they were obviously qualified as I'm putting air quotes around it, parent John the Baptist, the

Christina:

Mm-hmm.

Laurie:

to Jesus. But this man who was basically born to be in this esteemed role that he plays, you know, he has to be from the lineage of Aaron, and he's an actual priest in the, holy of Holies. When Gabriel announces what's gonna happen to him and Elizabeth, he doubts. The announcement. You make of Zacharia's Disbelief and then his subsequent consequence.

Christina:

We're all, all of us humans are human and we are flawed and. I think even if you are a person of faith, when it gets down to specifics, sometimes you might doubt because we're human. And again, the story reminds me of Sarah with Abraham and Sarah laughing when the Lord tells Abraham that she's gonna have a child. And Sarah's laughing and then saying, I didn't laugh. But. It was just a very difficult thing for them to believe. And I'm certain with both Zacharia and Elizabeth and then conversely Abraham and Sarah, that they have been very disappointed because the whole woman's role in that time period was for a woman to have children, and for them to be childless in their old age, which probably is even younger than me. But, um. She would've felt like Elizabeth in particular would've felt like she had never fulfilled her role, and Zachariah would feel like he'd already dealt with the disappointment and accepted it and moved on. And now it's like, wait, you're giving me hope again.

Laurie:

Yeah,

Christina:

Don't, don't do this to me.

Laurie:

maybe like, I, I don't wanna get my hopes up that

Christina:

Yeah.

Laurie:

saying is true, because it's what has caused a lot of grief in our married life is that we couldn't have a child.

Christina:

Yes. Yes.

Laurie:

can definitely see that.

Christina:

Mm-hmm.

Laurie:

but yeah, you made a really interesting point. As a Jewish priest or any, person who grew up in the Jewish faith in the time that Zacharia did, he would've known the story about Abraham and Sarah.

Christina:

Mm-hmm.

Laurie:

I wonder if he drew the connections,

Christina:

probably not fast enough because, you know, the disbelief was his gut level reaction.

Laurie:

Yeah,

Christina:

if he even had taken time to think he might've had a better answer,

Laurie:

yeah,

Christina:

but he didn't and then he couldn't

Laurie:

Right.

Christina:

because he could no longer speak.

Laurie:

could no longer speak for nine months of the pregnancy. He

Christina:

Yeah.

Laurie:

Yes. And when the baby who's born a boy, just like the angel promised, was, is it called a BRI or a Briss? During the eight

Christina:

Um, I think Bris.

Laurie:

it's called a Briss. when he was circumcised at the Briss and whoever was doing it said, what will this boy be called? And Elizabeth said he will be named John. Well, we know that's because that's what the angel told him. He would be named, but the rabbis looked at Zechariah and said, is this true?'cause normally the first name would be somehow related to the father. And

Christina:

Yes.

Laurie:

on a tablet, his name is John. And that's immediately when his tongue was loose and he could speak.

Christina:

Something else just that strikes me because as a professor, if I were to lose my voice, for nine months it would be devastating. I couldn't do my job. Well, the priest is the same.

Laurie:

Yeah.

Christina:

I mean, so he, he was unable to do his job because of that, and his job was worshiping God. So it would've been a really hard punishment.

Laurie:

Mm-hmm.

Christina:

So that's just something that occurred to me and I thought about that.

Laurie:

Yeah. And you know, another thing that occurred to me was we know, what John the Baptist life was like. It wasn't easy as he was fulfilling God's plan for him. It's very difficult and ended of course, in a tragic way. Maybe those nine months, of silence, zacharia could, just think about. a wonderful opportunity God is giving him and his wife to be a part of Jesus's story like this. I mean, weren't there, prophecies in the Bible about the

Christina:

Yes,

Laurie:

predecessor to Jesus?

Christina:

yes, yes. Yes,

Laurie:

when you can't talk what, where your mind goes. Maybe he started

Christina:

true.

Laurie:

thinking about all that.

Christina:

When you talk about John the Baptist life, I've just always assumed, and there's nothing that I've read that would disabuse me of that notion, that both Zachary and Elizabeth did not live to see him. Beheaded because they were older and I know Joseph also died before Jesus Christ.

Laurie:

Joseph definitely died. I'm just pulling this outta my memory from my research. Of course Jesus had several brothers,

Christina:

Yes.

Laurie:

and I think the youngest one, I don't know what that, but in James or whoever the youngest one was.

Christina:

My

Laurie:

Um,

Christina:

memory says that James was the next in line.

Laurie:

okay, so the one underneath.

Christina:

Yes.

Laurie:

I'm gonna say Jude, but I don't know if

Christina:

Yes.

Laurie:

hundred percent true. But that he was the youngest son was about 12 when Joseph died. At least that's what, it doesn't say it in the Bible, but

Christina:

No.

Laurie:

scholars think.

Christina:

Yes.

Laurie:

but yeah, John the Baptist was quite a character

Christina:

Mm-hmm.

Laurie:

I have an essay later on about John the Baptist and how he's off doing his ministry and he knows exactly what his purpose is. But then at one point in time, he sends a messenger

Christina:

Mm-hmm.

Laurie:

he sends one of his disciples to ask Jesus, are you the one that I am preparing for, or is it someone else?

Christina:

Yes,

Laurie:

how could he ask that? But he's known that from the day one.

Christina:

because he was in.

Laurie:

yeah, he was facing hardship and

Christina:

Yes, And there, and the Jewish concept of a Messiah was someone who was going to come in and destroy civilization and put the Jews back on top, and Jesus didn't operate that way. So it was a complete

Laurie:

yeah. I.

Christina:

with what they believed as far as what a Messiah should be.

Laurie:

You know, that makes a lot of sense that obviously Jesus knew exactly what his role was. Maybe John the Baptist still thought that the Jewish, definition of the Messiah is what Jesus was coming and he was preparing the way for Jesus, but he wasn't exactly sure what Jesus was doing or

Christina:

The other thing that's always struck me is, Elizabeth and Mary were cousins. I find it hard to believe that they didn't interact.

Laurie:

Right?

Christina:

boys were growing up,

Laurie:

Yes. Even

Christina:

so

Laurie:

it was a distance when Mary went to visit Elizabeth, it was a distance and she stayed several months.

Christina:

mm-hmm.

Laurie:

I think probably Jesus and John were in some ways raised together, family reunions and

Christina:

Yes.

Laurie:

you know,

Christina:

Yes.

Laurie:

thing. Interesting. So in my essay,, I asked a question for the listeners. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts about this. Have you ever asked God for something that you desired over and over, like Zacharia and Elizabeth? I'm sure ask God for a son or a child. And then when it finally came true, you had trouble believing it was a gift from God. Can you think of something in your own life or in someone else's life that we might know?

Christina:

I could not think of something like that. But instead my flaw tends to be that I forget to ask.

Laurie:

What do you

Christina:

I I forget to ask God, for help. I realized that probably, I don't know if. For years, I didn't even pray for myself. I prayed for other people, not out of being purely unselfish. It's just, I was like, well, I shouldn't pray for myself, so I'll rather I'm more likely to just try to solve everything on my own. And then when God helps me with something, I'll be grateful, but I often forget to ask to start with.

Laurie:

that is so interesting. Is that how you are with other people as well? Asking for help of other people?

Christina:

It used to be that way more than it is now. Partially'cause at work we're so understaffed. I'm desperate, but yes, yes. I tend to just get it done, and what I've realized. Probably more than once in my life, but recently I've realized again that that probably means I'm not necessarily doing what God wants me to do because I'm not asking.

Laurie:

Hmm.

Christina:

So I'm actually, I have started to pray more for myself, which makes me feel selfish, but it's what we're supposed to be doing.

Laurie:

I have a good friend. I had this almost same exact conversation. It was a man who said. not gonna pray for help. God has other things on his mind. He doesn't need to help me. I'm not gonna use my prayer time to ask for something for myself,

Christina:

Yes,

Laurie:

that that was the unselfish thing to do. But really, I think God wants us to come to

Christina:

yes,

Laurie:

and ask him whatever is on our hearts desire, it

Christina:

yes.

Laurie:

true.

Christina:

He may decide to say no because he knows.

Laurie:

be no, or the

Christina:

Yep.

Laurie:

might be not yet. You know,

Christina:

Mm-hmm.

Laurie:

more appropriate to, grant the desire later. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't ask.

Christina:

Right. And that's something that I need to tell. I've relearning

Laurie:

Yeah. Well, is there anything else that you wanted to add on this whole topic about Zacharia and Elizabeth? I.

Christina:

One thing I've been learning in my own Bible reading lately is to go back and look at a different side of stories. And I think whenever somebody preaches on this topic, the story, or when we read it, the focus has always been on him not believing it first, but then. A focus that has just occurred to me is just the joy they must have felt when they finally had this baby.

Laurie:

Oh yeah.

Christina:

Just the joy,

Laurie:

Not only that, they had a baby so late in life when they had pretty much given up hope,

Christina:

mm-hmm.

Laurie:

that he was such a vital part of God's plan for the delivery of his son to the world.

Christina:

Yes.

Laurie:

The whole story of Zacharia and how the angel approached him is just steeped in miracles.

Christina:

Yes, yes,

Laurie:

a miraculous story from

Christina:

yes.

Laurie:

So, and here we are thousands of years later talking about it, Well you have a wonderful afternoon and I thank you again for being my guest. I really appreciate you coming on and it's been a pleasure to have you.

Christina:

Thank you. You have a great rest of your day.

Laurie:

you too.

and that's it for today. Thank you very much for being here with me on the year I read the Bible Podcast. We'll be back with another episode next week. If you enjoy this podcast, please do all the normal things to spread the word like it, review it, share it with your friends. If you are interested in additional the year, I read the Bible resources such as the book, the video channel, and the blog, I will include the links in the show notes, and I'd love to hear about your own journey to read the Bible cover to cover. Have you done it or are you doing it right now? Please reach out to me and let me know how it's going. Until next time, it's Lori Larson with the year I read the Bible. Bye.

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