Have you ever stopped praying for something because you finally gave up hope? That’s exactly where Zechariah was. And then an angel showed up. This Luke 1 sermon on Zechariah and Elizabeth, preached by Alex Kremer at Atlantic Gospel Chapel, lands on one tender question a lot of us are quietly asking: does God still see me?
The short answer the passage gives is yes. But how Luke gets us there is worth slowing down for, because it’ll change how you pray, how you handle disappointment, and how you trust God when life seems to contradict His promises.
Setting the Scene: 400 Years of Silence
Picture the moment. It had been roughly 400 years since God sent a prophet to Israel. Four centuries of quiet. A whole nation waiting on a Savior who hadn’t come yet.
Then we meet Zechariah, an ordinary priest, and his wife Elizabeth. Both of them are described as righteous, walking blamelessly before God. But there’s a deep ache in their story: they had no children, and now they’re old. Way past the age of hope.
On this particular day, Zechariah is chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary and burn incense, a once-in-a-lifetime privilege. He basically hit the priestly lottery. The people are praying outside while the incense smoke rises like their prayers going up to heaven. And right there, in the high point of his life, something happens that nobody saw coming.
The Angel Gabriel Appears to Zechariah
An angel of the Lord shows up, standing to the right of the altar. And Zechariah is wrecked. The text gently says he was “troubled” and “fear fell upon him,” but that’s a soft translation. He was filled with dread.
Why Was Zechariah So Terrified?
If that reaction surprises you, look at how people respond to angels all through Scripture. Gideon thought he was going to die. Daniel saw a similar being and described shining bronze, a face like lightning, and eyes like flaming torches; he stood there trembling while the men with him ran and hid. Isaiah cried out, “Woe is me, for I am undone.”
This is the natural response of a sinner standing near God’s glory. Angels dwell in God’s presence and reflect His holiness, and that’s more than sinful people can bear. Zechariah may have wondered if this was the day of his doom, if he’d somehow gotten too close to a holy God and was about to be struck down.
“Do Not Be Afraid”: God’s Heart Toward His People
So what’s the angel’s first move? The same thing angels almost always say: “Do not be afraid.” It’s practically the first lesson in angel school, because they know people will be terrified.
But sit with why he can say it. The message isn’t doom. It’s good news. As that old hymn puts it, “‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved.” We’re right to fear a holy God because of our sin, and yet when He sends His messenger, His word to His people is, “Don’t be afraid. I’ve got good news.” That’s grace.
What Was Zechariah Praying For?
Here’s a question people love to debate: what was Zechariah praying for in the temple?
The angel says, “Your prayer has been heard,” and then promises a son. So we naturally assume Zechariah was in there praying for a baby. But that’s probably not it. He and Elizabeth were old, well past hope, and his own unbelieving reaction shows a child was the last thing on his mind. You don’t keep praying a prayer you’ve already decided God answered with a no.
More likely, Zechariah was doing his job: praying for the nation, for the salvation of the people, for the coming of the Messiah. And here’s the beautiful part. God answers that bigger prayer and the long-abandoned smaller one at the same time. Two birds, one stunning act of grace. He meets the needs of a whole nation and the private ache of one aging couple in a single move.
How Does God Answer Prayer?
So how does God answer prayer, according to this passage? In His own time and for His own purpose.
That’s a hard truth and a comforting one. We don’t always get immediate answers, and we don’t always pray in line with God’s will. Part of prayer is actually conforming our will to His, just like Jesus in the garden: “Not my will, but yours be done.”
Think about every believer wrestling with a health problem, praying for relief. Here’s a striking way to frame it: God has already said yes to healing you of the greatest ailment of all, which is death. When that’s cured at the resurrection, every lesser ailment goes with it. It may not come in your timing, but it will come in His. That’s not health-and-wealth wishful thinking. It’s the long view that anchors hope.
The Meaning of the Name John and the Ministry He’d Have
The angel tells Zechariah to name the boy John. And the name itself preaches: the meaning of the name John in the Bible is “the Lord has been gracious.” Fitting, because God is being gracious to this couple and to the whole nation through what this son will do.
John would be:
- Great in the sight of the Lord. No prophet before him had the privilege of pointing directly at the Messiah and saying, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” The old prophets pointed ahead. John got to point right at Him.
- Set apart from birth. He’d take no wine or strong drink, echoing the Nazarite vow, marking a life fully dedicated to God’s special task.
- Filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb. Unusual even in the Old Testament, where the Spirit came and went. John would later leap for joy in Elizabeth’s womb at the presence of the unborn Savior.
Turning the Hearts of Fathers to Children
John’s mission, drawn from Malachi, was to go before the Lord “in the spirit and power of Elijah,” turning the hearts of fathers to children and the disobedient back to wisdom. His first recorded word would be “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Notice what repentance does here. It’s vertical and horizontal. When we get right with God, it spills over into getting right with each other. Restored relationship with God leads to restored relationships at home. That’s a powerful, practical picture of what real repentance bears as fruit.
And here’s some encouragement for us. John had the privilege of pointing directly to Jesus, but Jesus said the least person in the kingdom is greater still. Why? Because we get to point back to the cross and say, “He is the Messiah. He saved us.” Same privilege. The question is whether we’re treating it like one.
Why Was Zechariah Struck Mute?
Now for the hard turn. You’d expect Zechariah to be overwhelmed with joy. Instead, he asks, “How will I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” That’s not faith. That’s “prove it.”
Here’s the irony Kremer points out: Zechariah, an Old Testament priest who knew the Scriptures cold, suddenly thinks like a skeptical modern person. He hears of a great supernatural work and demands evidence before he’ll believe.
A Sign That Fit the Sin
So why was Zechariah struck mute? Gabriel essentially says, “Do you know who I am and who sent me?” He gives a sign, just not the one Zechariah wanted: he’d be silent (and likely deaf too, since people later made signs to him) until the promise came true.
There’s a fitting justice in it. Zechariah didn’t use his ears to hear God’s word, so his ears were closed. He used his mouth to question God’s word, so his mouth was stopped. It’s a sobering reminder: when we misuse what God gives us, we can lose the use of it for a time. And yet, notice, the promise still stood. The discipline didn’t cancel the grace.
Does God Still See You? Our Modern Skepticism and the Supernatural
Let’s be honest about ourselves here, because this is where the sermon gets personal. When we hear a story with a supernatural element, our gut reaction is to look for the natural explanation.
Kremer shares R.C. Sproul’s account of a 1963 mine disaster where two men were trapped 300 feet underground for 14 days. When rescuers finally broke through, the men were alive and insisted angels had attended to them. The local news immediately chalked it up to hallucinations from too long in the dark.
That’s us. We’re quick to be skeptical of any supernatural intervention. But Luke, the careful historian who promised Theophilus an accurate account, has zero problem placing a real angel in a real room next to a real altar. He doesn’t soften it into a vision. He reports it as history.
The challenge for us is the same one Zechariah faced. Do we trust God’s word, or our own understanding of how the world “normally” works?
God Is Faithful to Keep His Promises
So what do we walk away with? The big takeaway of this Luke 1 sermon on Zechariah and Elizabeth is simple and steadying: God is faithful to keep His promises.
The whole Old Testament is stuffed with them. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.” The Lord is our rock, our shelter, our fortress, our Savior. And these aren’t the empty flattery a man might whisper to win someone over and then forget once he’s “got her locked in.” God actually does what He says.
He’s faithful to His people as a whole. And He’s faithful to individuals. Who were Zechariah and Elizabeth, really? Just people. Faithful, but ordinary. Nobody especially remarkable. And God saw them. He kept His word to them by name.
So does God still see you? According to this passage, yes. If He saw an old, childless couple in a forgotten corner of history, He sees you.
How to Respond: Hold Fast to the Promises
Here’s the actionable part. Don’t respond like Zechariah did. Don’t look at your circumstances and conclude, “These promises sound nice, but surely they’re for someone else, not me.”
When the world feels contrary, when bad things keep happening, the temptation is to trust our own read of the situation over God’s word. Scripture shows us the folly in that. Instead:
- Take the long view. God answers in His time, which may be far past your preferred deadline. Faithful nonetheless.
- Conform your will to His. Prayer isn’t just handing God your to-do list; it’s surrendering your will to His, the way Jesus did.
- Anchor on the biggest promise. Eternal life through the Son is something you can’t earn, control, or lose. Turn to Christ and believe, and you’ve passed from death to life.
We are honestly more like Zechariah than we’d like to admit. We don’t always hold fast. But through all of it, God is faithful, in sending His Son, in the cross, in the resurrection, and in the day He’ll raise us in glory. So hold fast to His promises and don’t waver.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was Zechariah praying for in the temple?
As a priest, Zechariah was most likely praying for the nation, the salvation of the people, and the coming of the Messiah, not for a child. He and Elizabeth were old and had given up hope of a son, which is why his “prove it” response shows a baby was the last thing on his mind. God graciously answered both the nation’s prayer and their abandoned one at once.
Why was Zechariah struck mute?
Zechariah doubted Gabriel’s message and demanded a sign before he’d believe. So God gave him a sign that fit his unbelief: he was made silent (and likely deaf) until the promise was fulfilled. He questioned God’s word with his mouth and failed to receive it with his ears, so both were temporarily closed. Even so, the promise still came true.
Does God still keep His promises today?
Yes. The story of Zechariah and Elizabeth shows God is faithful to His people as a whole and to ordinary individuals by name. He keeps His promises in His own timing and for His own purpose, and His greatest promise, eternal life through Jesus Christ, is sure for everyone who turns to Him in faith.
What does the name John mean in the Bible?
The name John means “the Lord has been gracious.” It captures the heart of the whole account: God showed grace to Zechariah and Elizabeth by giving them a son, and grace to His people by sending that son to prepare the way for the Messiah.
This post is based on a sermon preached by Alex Kremer at Atlantic Gospel Chapel, an evangelical church in Atlantic, Iowa, committed to expository Bible teaching and faithful gospel proclamation.
