He’s the father of John the Baptist, and although he never shows up in your Nativity scenes, Zechariah is an important figure in the story of Christ’s birth. So important, in fact, that when Luke writes down the account of Christ’s life on earth, he begins with Zechariah.
Let’s get a closer look at this often-overlooked character.
1. Zechariah is a priest
A priest is someone whose responsibilities included offering sacrifices and taking care of the Temple of the Lord, and blessing the Lord’s name (1 Chr 23:13). One of their duties was to make sure that incense was burning before the Lord at all times. Zechariah is offering incense when we meet him in the book of Luke (Lk 1:9).
The priests were descendants of Aaron, the first high priest of Israel. Aaron was the brother of Moses—the same Moses who led Israel out of Egypt.
2. Zechariah is from the tribe of Levi
In Bible times, the Jews traced their ancestry back to one of Jacob’s twelve sons. Zechariah is from the tribe of Levi, the same tribes that Moses, Aaron, Ezra, and Asaph hail from.
3. Zechariah followed the law of Moses
Luke tells us that both Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth were “blameless” when it came to the Torah: they observed all the Lord’s decrees and commands (Lk 1:6).
Now, this doesn’t mean they were sinless—we’ll see in just a minute that Zechariah is not perfect. It means that they followed the commands thoroughly: especially the commands that involved cleansing themselves of sin (making sacrifices).
4. Zechariah is the first person in the NT to speak with an angel (chronologically)
Most of our stories of Jesus’ birth start with an angel speaking to either Mary or Joseph, right? Well, when Luke kicks off his story of Jesus, he begins with an angel speaking to Jesus’ relative, Zechariah.
Zechariah is ministering in the temple when an angel appears. The angel tells Zechariah that his wife will bear a son: one who will go before the Lord (Jesus).
This conversation would have taken place before Mary’s or Joseph’s visit from angels announcing the coming birth of Christ.
5. Zechariah is old and (at first) childless
Luke fills his first chapter with callbacks and allusions to the miraculous of significant figures in Israel’s history. Zechariah and Elizabeth are old and have no children: similar to how Abraham and Sarah were before the birth of Isaac.
It was a sad thing in those days to have no children. In their culture, having no children meant that your family line ended—Old Testament characters (like Job and Jacob) were blessed with many children. But being childless was a shameful thing.
6. Zechariah prayed for a child
Luke doesn’t record Zechariah’s prayer. But the angel who visits him does mention that he had prayed to have a son (Lk 1:13).
7. Zechariah doesn’t believe the angel’s message (at first)
When God told Abraham that his wife Sarah would bear a son, Sarah laughed at the idea (Gn 18:11–15). In similar fashion, when the angel tells Zechariah that his wife will bear a son in her old age, Zechariah does not believe it. Zechariah asks how he can be sure that such an outlandish promise will come to pass.
The angel replies, “I am Gabriel” (a name Zechariah may have recognized from the book of Daniel), and then tells Zechariah that he will be mute until the message comes to pass.
Was it Joseph, Mary’s husband who was of the line of David?
The 12 tribes were all related. 10 were brothers and the other 2 were nephews (Joseph’s sons) so they were all cousins for the most part.
Hi, thanks for the bible study. I am reading Luke 1 this morning and was wondering about the relationship between Zecharias’ wife, Elizabeth and Mary, the mother of Jesus.
“In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.” Luke 1:5 NASB
My question:
If Elizabeth is from the priestly line, the tribe of Levi, how can she be related to Mary, the mother of Jesus, who is from the line of David, the tribe of Judah?
⭕”And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.” Luke 1:36 NASB and the king James says cousin. ⭕”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.” Luke 1:36 KJV
Thank you.
Blessing,
Theresa
Theresa, I dig into this question on my list of facts about Mary. I think you’ll find it interesting.
Long story short: Mary’s probably a Levite, but the fact that Mary was marrying Joseph (from Judah) implies that the tribes were already intermarrying. The gospel writers didn’t get hung up on genetics—it’s best if we don’t either.
It doesn’t tell us how, but one of Mary’s grandparents must have married someone from the tribe of Levi. Mary’s genealogy had to come from Judah.
It’s possible that there was some mix, but I don’t think we necessarily need to apply the “DNA test” to Jesus. As far as the authors of the gospels were concerned, Mary’s bloodline doesn’t seem to be as important as Joseph’s. (Which makes sense, since marriage and fatherhood was the main way they tracked lineages.)
It seems like for the original readers of the gospels, Jesus being a son in Joseph’s household was qualifying enough for him to be a descendant of David. Again, it’s possible that Mary also had some Davidic blood, but not necessary.
Seriously? The whole Gospel story is built on the Davidic lineage, and this includes both Mary and Joseph’s lineage is given to prove this.
It is likely that Elizabeth was from Judah’s line and married a Levite.
Your answer was incredibly dismissive and, frankly, non-responsive.
David, did you read the post I linked to earlier in this thread? I’ve covered this question in a lot more detail here.
Like you say, two gospel stories begin with a claim that Jesus is a descendant of David—an appeal to the Davidic lineage. That lineage was traced through the fathers. As far as the culture of Jesus’ time goes, it was more important that Joseph be a blood descendant of David than Mary. (Hence Joseph being named in both genealogies, and Mary only in the one that most people don’t think is hers.)
Because Zechariah was from the tribe of Levi. I don’t know if it states exactly which line Elizabeth was born from.
It says she was a daughter of Aaron.(Luke 1:5) who was a Levite.
Luke 1:5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
Jeffery, nice insights into Zechariah and ancestry and life. Thanks.
What was zacharius’ reaction to Mary’s conception was he her advocate.God did communicate to him as he was a prophet . Did he rebuke the slanderers and uphold her chastity and vitrtuosity?
Which slanderers? Joseph was a kind man who did not intend to denounce Mary in public but was considering divorcing her in private until the angel appeared to him in a dream and informed him that Mary was still chaste but was pregnant of the Holy Ghost with the son of God!