Miraculous Births

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old. Luke 1:5-7

Luke began his account of the birth of the Savior with the account of the birth of the Savior's forerunner. Both are miraculous conceptions, but only one is an immaculate conception. Both are of great importance, however, to the fulfillment of the promise of God. Vss 5-25 of chapter one covers the announcement to John's father Zechariah, the prophecy of the ministry of John, and "very old" Elizabeth's conception of this miracle baby, who would be the cousin of our Lord Jesus Christ and would play an important role in introducing Him to the world.

Luke 1:16-17:
He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

God keeps His promises. Even after 400 years. What He has promised, He will do. He has all the details worked out. He knows who you are and where you are and what kind of provision must be made to bring about the fulfillment of your destiny. He has had all that in your grace package from eternity past, waiting for the right time to bestow in whatever way pleases Him. Zechariah and Elizabeth learned this on the fly, but John had evidence of it from before his birth. Gabriel told his dad.