Bible Lesson: Miracles By The Power Of The Holy Spirit:
Bible Location: The Temple at Jerusalem (Judea).
God's Messenger: Angel Gabriel.
Bible Text: Luke 1:11-23, 57-79 KJV
Luke 1:5-25, 57-79 KJV
5 THERE was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,
9 According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.
11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
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.
14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
15 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.
16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
17 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.
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.
19 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.
20 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.
21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he tarried so long in the temple.
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.
23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein He looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.
57 Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.
58 And her neighbors and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.
59 And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.
60 And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.
61 And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.
62 And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.
63 And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marveled all.
64 And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.
65 And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judea.
66 And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.
67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people,
69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David;
70 As He spake by the mouth of His holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant;
73 The oath which He sware to our father Abraham,
74 That He would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life.
76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways;
77 To give knowledge of salvation unto His people by the remission of their sins,
78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the Dayspring from on high hath visited us,
79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.
Luke 1:5,6 KJV
5 THERE was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
Luke tells us that John the Baptist, was descended from a priestly line, for both his parents were descendents of priests. Elizabeth, with lineage to Aaron, and Zacharias descended from a class of priests, known as Abia. I Chronicles 24, tell us there some twenty four such priestly classifications. At the time of our Lord, there were some 20,000 priests.
There had been a prayer that Zacharias as a young man, he had prayed, and prayed, and now as an old man, praying the same prayer, perhaps unconsciously, by rote. That prayer was that his wife Elizabeth would have a son. Year after year came and went, and that prayer was not answered, and Elizabeth's
personal sorrow, not taken away.
Luke 1:7 KJV
And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
In this story told by the beloved physician Luke, The God who always hears all prayers, decided it was time to answer Zacharias' prayer.
Psalm 141:1,2 KJV
1 LORD, I cry unto Thee! Make haste unto me! Give ear unto my voice when I cry unto Thee.
2 Let my prayer be set before Thee as incense, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
Revelation 8:3,4 NLT
3 Then another angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God’s people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne.
4 The smoke of the incense, mixed with the prayers of God’s holy people, ascended up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out.
The Angel of the Lord, stood before Zacharias, as he was burning incense at the golden altar in the Holy Place. And Zacharias, became afraid.
Luke 1:13-17 KJV
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.
14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
15 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.
16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
17 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.
Old Testament Prophecy:
Malachi 4:5,6 KJV
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
But, as splendid and overwhelming as this revelation was, Zacharias, began to doubt. His Doubt was based upon Eliazbeths' old age, and his own.
Isn't it so like human nature, to forget the truths we have learned and know only so well, just when we need them most!
Certainly Zacharias, knew well the story of Abraham and Sarah, and that Abraham became a father at 100 years of age, and Sarah a mother at 90. And yet, all was not applied to his own life.
The Lord told Abraham...
Genesis 18:14 KJV
Is any thing too hard for the LORD?..."
Apply God's promise to your own life, and remember it, when you need it.
Luke 1:18-23 KJV
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.
19 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.
20 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.
21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he tarried so long in the temple.
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.
23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
The Angel Gabriel, stands in the very presence of God.
Daniel 8:15-17 NLT
15 As I, Daniel, was trying to understand the meaning of this vision, someone who looked like a man stood in front of me.
16 And I heard a human voice calling out from the Ulai River, “Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of his vision.”
17 As Gabriel approached the place where I was standing, I became so terrified that I fell with my face to the ground..."
Daniel 9:21,22 NLT
21 As I was praying, Gabriel, whom I had seen in the earlier vision, came swiftly to me at the time of the evening sacrifice.
22 He explained to me, “Daniel, I have come here to give you insight and understanding.
To please the Lord, we as His people must have a heart of faith.
Hebrews 11:6 KJV
But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
Zacharias, would not be able to speak for nine months, silenced by his own doubt.
The God who had given Adam and Eve speech, and who had confused the speech of Nimrod and his followers at Babel, could not only bless, but with hold His blessings.
The power of God's Spirit is seen in this story through the muting of Zacharias' speech, and the miraculous birth of John.
Faith, gives life while doubt brings sin and death.
Romans 14:23 KJV
And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
The Lord Jesus came to earth to tell men...
Mark 11:23 KJV
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Luke 1:23-25,57-80 KJV
23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein He looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.
57 Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.
58 And her neighbors and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.
59 And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.
60 And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.
61 And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.
62 And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.
63 And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marveled all.
64 And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.
65 And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judea.
66 And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.
67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people,
69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David;
70 As He spake by the mouth of His holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant;
73 The oath which He sware to our father Abraham,
74 That He would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life.
76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways;
77 To give knowledge of salvation unto His people by the remission of their sins,
78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the Dayspring from on high hath visited us,
79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.
John the baptist,the last Old Testament Prophet was born, a miracle of God.
Matthew 11:7-10 KJV
7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.
10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send My messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
Mark 6:5 KJV
And He could there do no mighty work, save that He laid His hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.
Doubt, always costs us. The people of Nazareth lost so many opportunities, but may that not be said of you or I. Our God, through the power of His Holy spirit, longs to guide, heal and help us, if only our hearts are full of faith, in the God of miracles.
Isaiah 43:10 KJV
Ye are My witnesses, saith the LORD, and My servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He: before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me.
