Luke 1:5-25 - The Prediction Of John The Baptist's Birth

⁵ In the days of King Herod, of Judea, there was a certain priest named Zacharias of the "Abijah" division. He had a wife named Elizabeth who was a descendant of Aaron. ⁶ They both did what was right in God's sight [by] living blamelessly according to all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. ⁷ But they had no children, because Elizabeth was unable to bear offspring due to their both being very old.

⁸ Now it happened that when Zacharias' turn came in his division, ⁹ to perform his customary duties as a priest before God, he drew the responsibility [that day] of entering the Temple of the Lord to burn the incense offering. [Note: This was done on a golden Altar in the Temple by a priest twice a day]. ¹⁰ There was a whole crowd of people praying outside because it was the time for burning the incense offering. ¹¹ Just then an angel from the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the incense altar. ¹² Zacharias became disturbed when he saw the angel and was gripped by fear. ¹³ But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid Zacharias, for your earnest prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will give birth to a son and you will name him John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and happiness and many people will rejoice when he is born. ¹⁵ For he will be great in the sight of the Lord and he will not drink any wine or intoxicating drinks [Note: This restriction suggests that John may have taken the special vow of consecration making him a "Nazarite"]. And he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from the time he is born. ¹⁶ And he will influence many Israelites to turn to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ He will go on ahead of the Messiah [See verse 76], in the spirit and power of Elijah, to rekindle the affections of fathers for their children, and [to influence] disobedient people to live wisely like righteous people. And he will prepare the people to be ready for [the coming of] the Lord."

¹⁸ And Zacharias said to the angel, "How will I know this? For I am an old man and my wife is [also] very old."

¹⁹ The angel answered him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. ²⁰ And consider this, you will [have to] remain a mute and be unable to speak until the day when these things happen because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in due time."

²¹ Now the people who waited [outside] for Zacharias were very surprised that he was staying in the Temple so long. ²² And when he [finally] came out, he was not able to talk to them. Then they realized he had seen a vision while in the Temple. So, he remained a mute and had to make [hand] signs to them [i.e., in order to be understood]. ²³ And so it happened, when he had completed the [required] days of his ministry, he went home.

²⁴ After those days, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and she stayed in seclusion for five months, saying, ²⁵ "The Lord has done this for me, and at this time [in my life] He has favored me by removing the stigma placed on me by people [i.e., for not having children]."