The Coming of the Messenger of the Promise

3 “I’m going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way ahead of me. Then the Lord you are looking for will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the promise ^[a] will come. He is the one you want,” says the Lord of Armies.

Luke Writes to Theophilus

1 Many have attempted to write about what had taken place among us. ² They received their information from those who had been eyewitnesses and servants of God’s word from the beginning, and they passed it on to us. ³ I, too, have followed everything closely from the beginning. So I thought it would be a good idea to write an orderly account for Your Excellency, Theophilus. ⁴ In this way you will know that what you’ve been told is true.

The Angel Gabriel Appears to Zechariah

⁵ When Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the division of priests named after Abijah. Zechariah’s wife Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaron. ⁶ Zechariah and Elizabeth had God’s approval. They followed all the Lord’s commands and regulations perfectly. ⁷ Yet, they never had any children because Elizabeth couldn’t become pregnant. Both of them were too old to have children.

⁸ Zechariah was on duty with his division of priests. As he served in God’s presence, ⁹ he was chosen by priestly custom to go into the Lord’s temple to burn incense. ¹⁰ All the people were praying outside while he was burning incense.

¹¹ Then, to the right of the incense altar, an angel of the Lord appeared to him. ¹² Zechariah was troubled and overcome with fear.

¹³ The angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife Elizabeth will have a son, and you will name him John. ¹⁴ He will be your pride and joy, and many people will be glad that he was born. ¹⁵ As far as the Lord is concerned, he will be a great man. He will never drink wine or any other liquor. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. ¹⁶ He will bring many people in Israel back to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ He will go ahead of the Lord with the spirit and power that Elijah had. He will change parents’ attitudes toward their children. He will change disobedient people so that they will accept the wisdom of those who have God’s approval. In this way he will prepare the people for their Lord.”

¹⁸ Zechariah said to the angel, “What proof is there for this? I’m an old man, and my wife is beyond her childbearing years.”

¹⁹ The angel answered him, “I’m Gabriel! I stand in God’s presence. God sent me to tell you this good news. ²⁰ But because you didn’t believe what I said, you will be unable to talk until the day this happens. Everything will come true at the right time.”

²¹ Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah. They were amazed that he was staying in the temple so long. ²² When he did come out, he was unable to speak to them. So they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. He motioned to them but remained unable to talk.

²³ When the days of his service were over, he went home. ²⁴ Later, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and didn’t go out in public for five months. She said, ²⁵ “The Lord has done this for me now. He has removed my public disgrace.”

John Is Born

⁵⁷ When the time came for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸ Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very kind to her, and they shared her joy.

⁵⁹ When the child was eight days old, they went ⌞to the temple⌟ to circumcise him. They were going to name him Zechariah after his father. ⁶⁰ But his mother spoke up, “Absolutely not! His name will be John.”

⁶¹ Their friends said to her, “But you don’t have any relatives with that name.”

⁶² So they motioned to the baby’s father to see what he wanted to name the child. ⁶³ Zechariah asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” Everyone was amazed.

⁶⁴ Suddenly, Zechariah was able to speak, and he began to praise God.

⁶⁵ All their neighbors were filled with awe. Throughout the mountain region of Judea, people talked about everything that had happened. ⁶⁶ Everyone who heard about it seriously thought it over and asked, “What does the future hold for this child?” It was clear that the Lord was with him.

⁶⁷ His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,

⁸⁰ The child John grew and became spiritually strong. He lived in the desert until the day he appeared to the people of Israel.