3 it seemed good to me also, having1 had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, amost excellent Theophilus,
4athat you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.
John’s Birth Announced to Zacharias
5 There was ain the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, bof the division of cAbijah. His dwife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.
8 So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division,
9 according to the custom of the priesthood,1 his lot fell ato burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
10aAnd the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense.
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of athe altar of incense.
12 And when Zacharias saw him,ahe was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ayou shall call his name John.
14 And you will have joy and gladness, and amany will rejoice at his birth.
15 For he will be agreat in the sight of the Lord, and bshall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, ceven from his mother’s womb.
16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.
17aHe will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘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 to the angel, a“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”
19 And the angel answered and said to him, “I am aGabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you1 these glad btidings.
20 But behold, ayou will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”
21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple.
22 But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless.
23 So it was, as soon as athe days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house.
24 Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying,
25 “Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to atake away my reproach among people.”
Christ’s Birth Announced to Mary
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27 to a virgin abetrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, Zacharias, a priest of the division of Abijah, and his wife Elizabeth, a descendant of Aaron, were the parents of John. Their son's conception was miraculous, as Elizabeth was beyond childbearing age, similar to Sarah with Isaac. Though both parents were Levites and of Aaron's lineage, John had no connection to the established system of Temple worship. His birth, like Isaac's, followed natural means despite the mother's age, contrasting with Jesus' unique conception without a human father. John's heritage tied him to the priestly line, yet his role remained distinct from the traditional religious structure of the time.
Luke 1:5
From both parents, Zechariah his father and Elisabeth his mother, John was a Levite. He was from Aaron's line, yet not one acknowledgement is made regarding John having any tie at all with the already-installed system of Temple worship.
God miraculously caused John's conception and birth, even as He did Isaac's and Jesus'. Jesus' conception in a virgin woman without the involvement of a human male is an exception. Isaac and John's conceptions were normally produced except that Sarah and Elizabeth were beyond childbearing age.
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In the days of Herod, king of Judea, Zacharias, a priest of the division of Abijah, and his wife Elizabeth, a descendant of Aaron, were the parents of John. Their son's conception was miraculous, as Elizabeth was beyond childbearing age, similar to Sarah with Isaac. Though both parents were Levites and of Aaron's lineage, John had no connection to the established system of Temple worship. His birth, like Isaac's, followed natural means despite the mother's age, contrasting with Jesus' unique conception without a human father. John's heritage tied him to the priestly line, yet his role remained distinct from the traditional religious structure of the time.