Hidden Heroes in the Christmas Story: Zechariah, The Persistent Priest
by David Chadwick
Hidden heroes in the Christmas story. These may be more well-known names, but their significance in the Christmas story has a hiddenness that must be sought out.
Zechariah is today’s hidden hero in the Christmas story. His story is-found in Luke 1:5-25.
Zechariah was a righteous, blameless, and Godly person. He was a priest in the temple. As noted in Proverbs 16:33, the Jews believed that drawing straws was under the sovereign hand of Almighty God in decision-making. In the case of Zechariah, straws were drawn for him to serve in the temple. He was selected, which implied God’s sovereignty.
Zechariah, and his wife Elizabeth, were childless. Like many fathers do, Zechariah desperately wanted a son. He was older in years and the hopes of having a son seemed increasingly impossible.
One day, in the silence of his temple service, he begged God for a child. The angel Gabriel appeared to him and told him that a child was coming. Upon hearing this news, Zechariah expressed disbelief, so the angel closed his mouth.
This child who would be born to Zechariah and Elizabeth would be John the Baptist. And I am convinced that John the Baptist was SO important to both the Christmas story and God’s overall narrative that God chose to silence Zechariah’s mouth as the child developed in his wife’s womb so that no doubting or negative words were able to be heard.
As a side note, do you think babies can hear words of unbelief in the womb? Do you think they can cause negative emotions within? It is powerful to think about the importance of those months in the womb for fetal development, not just physically but emotionally and spiritually!
How do you think Zechariah communicated the news to Elizabeth? Maybe he ran home with sign language and a writing tablet! But she surely understood.
Zechariah didn’t speak again until the birth came. He named his son John as instructed by the angel. He didn’t give him a family name, which was what was most often done, but the name God wanted. John means “grace.” The moment he wrote the name on a tablet, his voice returned. And he praised God.
I can only imagine how wonderful of a father he must have been to John. His son became the first cousin and good friend of Jesus, and the forerunner to declaring the coming life and ministry of Jesus!