Luke’s gospel does not begin with the promise of Jesus’ birth, but that of John the Baptist.
Zacharias, a priest who ministered in the temple during the days of Herod the Great, was visited by an angel of God with the news that he and his wife would have John as their son.
Zacharias and Elizabeth (the cousin of Mary, Jesus’ mother, cf. vs. 36), had no child. Elizabeth was barren, and they were an elderly couple. Regardless, God made the promise to give them a son. Later, when Mary questioned the possibility of her, as a virgin, conceiving a child, Elizabeth’s pregnancy was given as a sign that, “with God nothing will be impossible” (cf. vs. 34-37).
John the Baptist was a great man who served as the forerunner of Jesus Christ. He was the object of prophecy (Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 4:5-6), and received the highest praise from Jesus Himself, “Assuredly, I say unto you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11).
John the Baptist’s promised birth was another thread in the tapestry of God’s great scheme of redemption.
