Luke 1:13-17 meaning

There are no apparent parallel Gospel accounts of Luke 1:13-17.

In Luke 1:13-17, the angel gave Zacharias a wonderful message of good tidings, that he was to have a son in his old age. Zacharias, the common priest, was performing his service in the temple to burn incense (a once—in—a—career opportunity) (Luke 1:9) and suddenly “an angel of the Lord appeared to him standing to the right of the altar” (Luke 1:11). This terrified Zacharias (Luke 1:12). According to Jewish tradition, he would have likely been taught that such an appearance would have meant that the angel had come to kill him.

The angel had not come to kill him. The angel came to tell him happy news—which was really the beginning of the “good news”/Gospel (Luke 1:19).

THE ANGEL ANNOUNCES THE COMING BIRTH OF JOHN

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John” (v 13).

The first thing the angel (whose name was “Gabriel”—Luke 1:19) said to him was: Do not be afraid.

The angel tried to assure Zacharias. He wanted Zacharias to know that he did not come to harm him. The angel Gabriel came to bless Zacharias.

The second thing the angel said to Zacharias was: for your petition has been heard.

A petition is a request. In the context of the Luke 1:13, the petition the angel is referring to appears to be a prayer request that Zacharias made to God. As a priest who was “righteous in the sight of God” (Luke 1:6), Zacharias likely had many petitions and requests that he asked of God. We are not told explicitly which petition it was. But from context it would seem that the petition would involve a prayer to bring them a child.

This would likely have been an old petition which Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth prayed many years ago, that God would bless them with a child or son. Given their advanced age (Luke 1:7) and Zacharias’s response to the angel (Luke 1:18), this does not appear to have been a recently offered petition.

If this was the petition the angel was referring to—that Elizabeth would bear a son for Zacharias, then it shows that God does not give up on our prayed petitions—even when we might have. It also shows that God answers our petitions according to when He thinks is best, rather than when we want Him to answer them. God’s timing for answering our petitions is always for our best. We can see an example of stored up prayers in Revelation, where God pours out judgment upon the earth inspired by incense that is mixed with the prayers of saints (Revelation 8:4-5).

It would also fit the context for Zachariah’s petition to refer to Israel’s deliverance and salvation from its oppressors and for God to send the Messiah. This was a petition many faithful people in Israel had prayed before and during the lifetime of Zacharias. This would be because their son would be the forerunner of the Messiah predicted by Malachi (Malachi 4:5).

The angel’s expression—your petition—also may have been a lumping of both of these petitions into a single one.

Whatever it was, Zacharias’s petition was heard, presumably by the Lord. Elsewhere in scripture, James writes: “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (James 5:16), and we know that Zacharias was righteous (Luke 1:6).

The angel may have been doing a kind of word play with Zacharias’s and Elizabeth’s names when he said: your petition has been heard and the birth announcement that followed.

Zacharias’s name means: “the Lord remembers.” Elizabeth’s name means: “God’s promise.” Inserting and replacing the meaning of the couple’s names into the angel’s statement could be rendered:

For your petition has been heard and remembered by the Lord, and God’s promise will bear you a son.

The third thing the angel said to Zacharias was: and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son.

This was not just exciting news from an out—of—this world messenger. It was a miraculous announcement. Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth had been unable to have a child and “were both advanced in years” (Luke 1:7). In Jewish culture, this description meant they were likely over 60 years old, well past the normal time when conception was possible. Only God could make happen something like this impossible thing—Elizabeth bearing Zacharias a son.

The fourth thing the angel said to Zacharias was: and you will give him the name John.

Here the angel delivers a divine command for what Zacharias is to do—give the son Elizabeth will give birth to the name of John. Normally a Jewish son, especially a firstborn son, is given a family name (Luke 1:61). But this was not to be the case with Zacharias and Elizabeth’s son. After he was born, Zacharias obeyed this divine command and named his son, John (Luke 1:63).

Zacharias and Elizabeth’s son would come to be known as “John the Baptist” or “John the Baptizer.”

This Bible Says commentary of Luke 1:13-17 will have more to say about John the Baptizer as it discusses what the angel said about John to Zacharias.

The angel may have been doing another kind of word play with Zacharias, Elizabeth, and John’s names when he said: your petition has been heard and the birth announcement that followed. In Hebrew, Zacharias’s name means: “the Lord remembers.” Elizabeth’s name means: “God’s promise.” And the name John means: “the Lord’s grace.”

Inserting and replacing the meaning of the family’s names into the angel’s statement could loosely be rendered:

“For your prayers have been heard and remembered by the Lord (‘Zacharias’). And God’s promise (‘Elizabeth’) of the Lord’s grace (‘John’) is about to be given to you.”

Zacharias later makes a similar word play in his prophecy (Luke 1:68-79).

After the angel assured Zacharias to not be afraid, and let him know that his petition has been heard by God, and that his wife Elizabeth shall bear a son who is to be named John, the angel began to reveal the greatness of Zacharias and Elizabeth’s son and the important role John would have in the history of Israel.

For John would have a remarkable purpose that would be much bigger than his individual life. John would be the promised forerunner that prepared the way for the coming of Israel’s Messiah (Malachi 4:5).

Thus, the happy news which the angel came to deliver to Zacharias was the beginning of the good news of the Gospel. It was the news that God’s rescue, redemption, and exaltation of Israel was about to commence.

Indeed, the angel’s declaration that the child’s name is to be John—“the Lord’s grace,” is a divine announcement that the old covenant’s promises were about to be fulfilled into a new covenant of grace.

WHAT THE ANGEL SAID CONCERNING JOHN

Next the angel makes a statement concerning John:

You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord (vv 14-17).

In this revelation of verses 14-17, the angel told Zacharias seven specific things about John.

1. His birth will be celebrated by many.
2. He will be great in the sight of the Lord.
3. He will drink no wine or liquor.
4. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb.
5. He will turn many sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.
6. He will be the Messianic forerunner in the spirit and power of Elijah.
7. He will make ready a people who will be prepared for the Lord.

These declarations will now be explored in order.

1. John’s birth will be celebrated by many.

The first specific thing which the angel said concerning John was: You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth (v 14).

At the birth of Zacharias and Elizabeth’s baby, John would be a source of joy and happiness for his parents, who had been childless into their old age. As her pregnancy became too obvious to conceal, Elizabeth praised God for His favor and grace in giving her this son (Luke 1:24-25).

John’s birth would also be rejoiced over by many people. The circumstances surrounding John’s birth were highly unusual. An elderly couple getting pregnant in their old age and delivering their first child, and an angelic appearance in the temple of the Lord prophesying his birth before he was conceived would have likely attracted special attention to this respectable couple. Their family and community would have been eager to rejoice with the family at John’s birth.

The angel’s prediction that John would become the Messianic forerunner would have added hope and gusto to the rejoicing of any God—fearing Jew who may have been aware of the angel’s prophetic words.

Luke later tells us that when John was born, this kind of rejoicing from relatives and neighbors did in fact happen, thus fulfilling the angel’s prediction (Luke 1:58).

2. John will be great in the sight of the Lord.

The second specific thing which the angel said concerning John was: For he will be great in the sight of the Lord (v 15a).

God created humans to be great with an incredible destiny to rule with Him over all creation (Genesis 1:26-30). The psalmist alludes to this destiny to rule when he writes how God chose to “crown [humans] with glory and majesty” (Psalm 8:5b).

In our fallen world, perceptions of greatness are often twisted, being misconstrued as attaining power over others and exercising it to one’s own benefit. But Jesus taught that true greatness comes from humbly serving others (Matthew 23:11-12).

To be great in the sight of the Lord is to have true and lasting greatness. Greatness in the sight of men is often an illusion and short lived.

The angel’s prophecy of John’s greatness in the sight of the Lord proved accurate.

Vouching for John, Jesus Himself proclaimed: “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist!” (Matthew 11:11—see also Luke 7:28).

The reason John was great in the sight of the Lord was because he faithfully followed and sacrificially obeyed God’s unique call upon his life to testify of the coming Messiah at the expense of his own comfort and fame (John 1:19-18, 1:23, 1:29, 3:28-30).

John’s faithfulness was a tremendous service to all who heard his call to “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2) because it gave them an opportunity to get themselves right with God before the Messiah appeared. Many did repent and were baptized by John because of his preaching (Luke 3:3).

John was unafraid to speak truth to power (Matthew 3:7-12, Matthew 14:3-4)—even when it cost him his freedom and earthly life (Mark 6:14-29).

3. John will drink no wine or liquor.

The third specific thing which the angel said concerning John was: and he will drink no wine or liquor (v 1:15b).

This indicated that John was to be dedicated to the Lord from birth for a special purpose. John’s abstention from wine and liquor was a way he displayed his dedication.

Wine referred to any juice that is extracted from grapes—either fresh or fermented (alcoholic).

The term liquor in first—century Judea meant “strong drink.” It referred to alcoholic beverages that were based on dates or figs. Liquor could also refer to beer which came from grains or barley. Beer was more prominent in Egypt than Judea at this time.

Wine and Liquor were used in Jewish celebrations and festivals.

The Bible does not condemn alcoholic drinks such as wine or liquor as inherently sinful. The psalmist says that wine is a gift from the Lord that gladdens the hearts of men (Psalm 104:15). Jesus turned water into amazing wine (John 2:9-10). But the Bible does condemn getting drunk (Proverbs 20:1, Isaiah 5:11, Romans 13:13, Ephesians 5:18).

John’s abstention from wine and liquor may have meant that John was to be a “Nāzîr,” also known as a “Nazirite.” Nazirite means “consecrated one” or “devoted one.”

A Nazirite was a man or a woman who made a special vow to dedicate themselves to the Lord (Numbers 6:2). The requirements of a Nazirite, described in Numbers 6:3-7, were:

• Abstain from wine and strong drink, including vinegar.
• Abstain from eating grapes or raisins, their seeds or skins.
• Abstain from shaving or cutting any hair on his head.
• Abstain from going near a dead body, including one’s relatives.

A Nāzîr was to keep himself holy to the Lord in these ways until the completion of his vow (Numbers 6:8).

The angel did not appear to say in explicit terms that John would be a Nazarite. But the angel’s description of John’s lifestyle of drinking no wine or liquor is one of the requirements for being a Nāzîr. Moreover, John lived an extreme form of asceticism in the wilderness, wearing camel’s hair, and his diet was locusts and honey (Mark 1:6). While these were not Nazirite requirements, they were compatible with its rigorous vows.

Accepting the Nazirite vow as described in Numbers was voluntary and only for a certain limited time period. If John was a Nazarite, the angel seems to indicate that he would be one from birth.

At least one, possibly two, of the judges of Israel were designated to be a Nāzîr from birth.

• Samson, whose birth was also foretold by an angel to a childless family, was clearly a Nazirite (Judges 13:1-5).
• Samuel, whose barren mother promised the Lord if He would give her a son, that her son would follow one of the Nazirite’s core vows (1 Samuel 1:11). His mother’s prayer may have indicated that he too was a Nāzîr.

Samson was an unfaithful Nazarite. Samuel (assuming he was one) appears to have been faithful to the vows his mother made for him.

John may have been a third Nāzîr from birth. Interestingly all three of these men were the son of women who were previously “barren” (Judges 13:2, 1 Samuel 1:2, Luke 1:7).

But again, whether John was to be a Nazarite or not, this requirement is clear that John was designated for the Lord from birth.

4. John will be filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb

The fourth specific thing which the angel said concerning John was: and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb (v 15c).

The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Godhead. Paradoxically, God is Three and God is One.

• God is God the Father.
• God is God the Son.
• God is God the Holy Spirit.

The Old Testament usually describes the Holy Spirit as “The Spirit of the Lord.” The Holy Spirit was with God at the creation of the world (Genesis 1:2).

Throughout the Old Testament, The Spirit of the Lord/Holy Spirit was a source of divine and holy inspiration. The Spirit of the Lord/Holy Spirit accomplished the works and motivated the words through the human beings He filled.

To be filled with the Holy Spirit meant to be in harmony with God so that God’s Spirit has direct and personal influence of what a person says or does. When a person was filled with the Holy Spirit, that individual shared intimacy with God. Their spirit was in fellowship with God’s Spirit.

The Holy Spirit empowered some individuals to perform mighty acts of God (Judges 3:10, 6:34, 11:29, 13:25, 1 Samuel 16:13).

The Holy Spirit inspired others to proclaim God’s message to Israel (Isaiah 61:1, Ezekiel 11:5, Micah 3:8).

When the angel told Zacharias that his son would be filled with the Holy Spirit, he was telling the priest that John would be influenced and empowered by the Holy Spirit to do great things on God’s behalf, and would proclaim the message of the Lord to Israel.

That John will be filled with the Holy Spirit was a momentous statement, not just for Zacharias or his soon—to—be—born son, but for all of Israel. God had been silent for over 400 years. There had been no prophets of the Lord since Malachi.

The Jewish Rabbis taught:

“After the last of the prophets, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, died, the Divine Spirit of prophetic revelation departed from the Jewish people.”
(Babylonian Talmud. Sanhedrin. 11a.7.)

Now the angel of the Lord was announcing to Zacharias that the Holy Spirit was returning to Israel. God would remain silent no longer. A new era of prophecy was about to begin. This was incredible news for the Jewish people. And most wonderfully for Zacharias, the Holy Spirit would fill his soon—to—be—born son, John.

Indeed, as an adult, “the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness” (Luke 3:2b). And John saw the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus as a dove (John 1:32). John understood this to mean, and proclaimed to others, that Jesus was the Messiah and Son of God (John 1:29-32).

The angel’s additional expression—while yet in his mother’s womb—means John will be filled with the Holy Spirit before he is yet born. The angel’s expression also may indicate that John will be filled with the Holy Spirit on a permanent or near—permanent basis.

Throughout the Old Testament, being filled with the Holy Spirit was usually temporary.

Examples of this include when the Spirit of the Lord rested on the elders of Israel (Numbers 11:25) or when He came upon Balaam (Numbers 24:2), but departed from these people once their prophetic tasks were complete. Other times, God’s Spirit departed a person when that person’s spirit disengaged God and they chose to disobey Him—see Samson (Judges 16:20), King Saul (1 Samuel 16:14), and David’s prayer (Psalm 51:11).

In this respect, John seems to be greater than the elders, judges, kings, and prophets because the Holy Spirit filled him from before his birth, while he was yet in his mother’s womb. Perhaps this partly explains why Jesus described John as not only a prophet but “more than a prophet” (Luke 7:26) and that “among those born of women there is no one greater than John” (Luke 7:28).

One more thought on this topic of being filled with the Holy Spirit is worth mentioning before we move onto the next thing the angel said concerning John.

Luke 1:15 is the first of many references to the Holy Spirit within Luke’s gospel (not to mention the Book of Acts which was also composed by Luke). This touches upon two of Luke’s objectives.

One of Luke’s objectives in writing his so—called “Gospel to the Greeks” was to show the Greek believers that Jesus was the perfect human being, and that the good life is attained by following His example and teachings by faith. (The Greeks were obsessed with the ideal human and the pursuit of the good life).

And throughout his gospel account, Luke reveals that Jesus accomplished everything He did not through His own divine power, but instead by entrusting Himself and His human frailty entirely upon God and the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1, 4:14, 4:18, 10:21, 22:42).

Believers in Jesus are now permanently indwelt by and filled with the Holy Spirit because of what Jesus accomplished (John 14:16-17, Acts 2:38, 10:44-45, Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 3:16, Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Timothy 1:4, 1 John 4:13).

Because believers are filled with the Holy Spirit, they too can follow Jesus’s example of faith by trusting God, following His commands, and enacting His will according to the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit as Jesus did (Philippians 2:5-8). And if we as believers adopt and practice Jesus’s mentality as we go through life, we will experience the good life and share in His triumph (Philippians 2:9-11, Romans 8:16-18, 1 Peter 1:6-9, James 1:2-12, Revelation 3:21).

A second objective of Luke in writing his gospel seems to be to validate and support the Book of Acts. The Book of Acts focuses on the actions of the Holy Spirit, who came and empowered Jesus’s disciples after He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9, 2:4).

Acts also validates Luke’s ministry partner Paul as an authentic apostle of Jesus Christ, showing that Paul was miraculously appointed and that God worked the same sorts of miracles through Paul as He did through Peter.

Paul’s many enemies routinely attacked Paul by questioning his apostolic authority. Luke’s books of Luke and Acts definitively answered those objections and won the day, as is born out through church history and the inclusion of Luke and Acts into scripture.

Luke—Acts can and perhaps should be read as a single work with two parts. And the Holy Spirit is a prominent figure in both writings.

5. John will turn many sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.

The fifth specific thing which the angel said concerning John was: And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God (v 16).

The angel’s statement that John would turn the hearts of many Jewish people back toward God, meant that John would be a prophet of the Lord and that his ministry would have great positive impact upon the people.

The term sons of Israel refers to the Jewish people who descended from Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, who was later renamed Israel.

The Lord was always to be Israel’s God (Deuteronomy 5:7). But Israel often turned away from Him. One of the primary roles of the prophets was to call the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. Some of the prophets whose main message was repentance include:

• Weeping Jeremiah (Jeremiah 3:12-13)
• Visionary Ezekiel (Ezekiel 18:30-31)
• Faithful Hosea (Hosea 14:1-2)
• Urgent Joel (Joel 2:12-13)
• Fiery Amos (Amos 5:4-6)

In this respect, John was a prophet like those prophets before him as he too called the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.

John’s message was one of repentance. Repentance means to “change or turn one’s mind.” John came “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:3b). And his core message was “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). His sermons called the sons of Israel to repentance by telling them to abandon their wickedness and to return back to the Lord their God. John was preparing the hearts of the people of Israel to recognize and accept their Messiah.

When “the word of God came to John” (Luke 3:2b) and he began his ministry, John became a prophet who did in fact turn many sons of Israel back to the Lord their God just as the angel foretold of him.

Despite John’s eccentric lifestyle in the wilderness, his message of repentance struck a deep chord that resonated within the hearts of many sons of Israel. Mark describes the scene:

“And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.”
(Mark 1:5)

But even as John was a prophet, he was also more than an ordinary prophet (Matthew 11:9, Luke 7:26). John was the last of the Old Testament prophets. He was the final one (Matthew 11:13). And his message was the most important and anticipated of all the prophets, for John’s role was to prepare the hearts of the Jewish people for the coming of the Messiah.

6. John will be the Messianic forerunner in the spirit and power of Elijah.

The sixth specific thing which the angel said concerning John was: It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous… (v 17a).

All of the previous things the angel told Zacharias concerning his son John have been pointing toward and building up to this point. Namely that John is the Messianic forerunner.

Previously the angel said to Zacharias that John would:

• Have many rejoice at his birth
  (v 14)
  
  
• Be great in the sight of the Lord
  (v 15a)
  
  
• Be dedicated to the Lord (possibly as a Nazirite)
  (v 15b)
  
  
• Signal the Return of the Prophetic Age—be filled with the Holy Spirit
  (v 15c)
  
  
• Be a prophet—turn many sons of Israel back to the Lord
  (v 16)

And now, the angel said John will be:

• The Messianic forerunner in the spirit and power of Elijah
  (v 17)

The angel’s sixth (and seventh) points about John are essentially a rephrasing of the final two verses of the Old Testament.

“Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”
(Malachi 4:5-6)

This was a direct way of telling Zacharias that his son John would be the fulfilment of the final prophecy of the Old Testament.

It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah.

In multiple prophecies, including Malachi 4:5-6, the Lord had promised to send a forerunner to the Messiah (Isaiah 40:3, Malachi 3:1). A forerunner is someone who would come before an important figure, such as a royal dignitary or ambassador announcing his impending arrival. A forerunner’s job is to prepare the way so that everything is ready when the dignitary shows up.

The Messianic forerunner announces the Messiah’s impending arrival and prepares the way so that everything is ready for Him when the Messiah appears.

John was the forerunner who came before Him—Jesus the Messiah. The way John prepared the path for the Messiah was to turn the hearts of many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord so that they were ready to receive the Messiah and His message when He appeared.

Interestingly, one could finish reading Malachi and go directly to the Gospel of Luke without missing a beat. Malachi ends with a prophecy concerning Elijah the Messianic forerunner and The Gospel of Luke begins with the angelic announcement of the forerunner’s birth. Thus, the good news of Jesus Christ literally begins (Luke 1:3) with the fulfillment of Malachi 4:5-6.

The Jews believed that the Messianic forerunner would be the prophet Elijah returned to earth. They believed the forerunner to be Elijah in no small part because of Malachi’s prophecy (Malachi 4:5-6). Elijah was considered to be one of Israel’s most powerful prophets.

Moreover, the Jews also believed that Elijah would return at Passover. If the angel visited Zacharias during his priestly division’s first term of service (Luke 1:8-11), then John would have been born roughly nine months later around the time of Passover.

For more information about the possible significance of the timing of John’s birth see: “Do the Jewish Festivals of Passover, Hanukkah, and Tabernacles Bear Witness to the Messiah’s Birth?”

The angel said that John would come in the spirit and power of Elijah as a way to further associate him with the Messianic forerunner and Malachi’s prophecy about him.

Notice, the angel did NOT say that John was Elijah.

He said that John will go…in the spirit and power of Elijah.

When asked if he was Elijah, John said “I am not” (John 1:21a). John was not literally Elijah, even though in a sense he came in an Elijah—like role. Jesus acknowledged as much when He said: “And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come” (Matthew 11:14).

The angel also said John will go as a forerunner…to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous.

This is a paraphrase of Malachi 3:5: “He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers.”

Fathers and children may symbolize different generations within Israel.

Malachi’s prophecy fulfilled in John, foretells a time when the faith and covenant of the forefathers (such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses) will be restored in the hearts of their descendants—the children and sons of Israel. This may speak to how the forerunner is the bridge between the Old and New Covenants.

The forerunner is the last of the Old Testament prophets and he is the first prophet of the New Covenant of grace. (Recall how John’s name means “the Lord’s grace”).

Both the Old and New Covenants were based on faith.

The Old Covenant required trust in the Lord and His promises. For example, Abraham believed God’s promise and it was accounted to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). That represents the Gift of God’s grace (Romans 4:3). God promised the people He would bless them if they would obey His commands (Deuteronomy 30:19-20). This represents the Prize for obedience to God’s commands.

The New Covenant requires faith in Jesus as God’s Son who fulfilled the Lord’s commandments in order to obtain the Gift of God’s grace and be born again (John 3:3, 14-15). The New Covenant also promises great rewards (a Prize), for those who walk in the obedience of faith, overcoming the world and following Jesus’s commands (Revelation 3:21).

To learn more see our article: "Eternal Life: Receiving the Gift vs Inheriting the Prize".

The Law of Moses contained 613 commandments of the Lord. These commandments are summed into two core commandments which were to Love God (Deuteronomy 6:5) and Love others through humble service (Leviticus 19:18). Jesus validated these commands as the two greatest in Matthew 22:37-39.

The sons of Israel constantly failed to follow the commandments of the Lord.

Israel was disobedient to God’s commands, both through blatant acts of rebellion (Exodus 32:1-6, Numbers 2:11-13, 1 Kings 12:28-30, 2 Kings 17:17) and through twisting and manipulating the commands to exploit others for their own selfish gain (Jeremiah 22:13-14, Ezekiel 22:25-29, Amos 8:4-6, Micah 3:9-11).

The angel said that John will turn many sons of Israel back to God and turn the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous. The attitude of the righteous is faith. The righteous live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4).

As Israel returns to faith, its people are made ready and prepared for the Lord and to have faith in His Messiah. And this is the reason John came as a forerunner to the Messiah—so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

This reason—the purpose for why John came—is the final thing the angel said concerning Zacharias’s soon—to—be—born son.

7. John will make ready a people who will be prepared for the Lord.

The seventh and final specific thing which the angel said concerning John was: so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord (v 17b).

This was the reason for which John came. He came, according to the angel, to make ready a people (Israel) who would be prepared for the coming of the Lord.

The angel’s stated purpose for John paralleled Malachi’s stated purpose for the forerunner.

The forerunner’s purpose in Malachi was originally stated in negative terms:

“so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”
(Malachi 4:6b)

The angel frames the same message about the purpose of John’s role as the forerunner using positive terms:

so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
(v 17b)

The people of Israel were prepared by John, but they did not receive the Lord or His Messiah. And if the people of Israel did not receive the Messiah when He came, then the Lord would “come and smite the land with a curse” (Malachi 4:6b).

John came as the Messiah’s forerunner to make the people ready so that they would be prepared to receive and believe in the Messiah when He came.

Using “Light” as a metaphorical symbol for “Messiah,” the Gospel According to John (Jesus’s disciple) describes John the Baptizer’s role this way:

“There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.”
(John 1:6-8)

John’s message was: “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). He warned the religious leaders to “bear fruit in keeping repentance” (Matthew 3:8) and to not rely on their ancestral lineage to Abraham to save them (Matthew 3:9) for “the axe is already laid at the root of the trees [and] every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matthew 3:10).

Alluding to the prophetic warning of Malachi 6:5, John warned that One is coming after himself who “will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11b). John described this figure in terms of judgment:

“His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
(Matthew 3:12)

After such a warning from Malachi and John, one would suppose Israel would have listened more closely to the things John had to say.

However, the sons of Israel did not heed John’s message and receive Jesus as the Messiah (Luke 19:41-44). Because the people did not believe in Jesus, the curse of Malachi was upon them and their land (Malachi 4:6b).

Jesus came into the world and was presented unto Israel as the Messiah, but He was rejected by both the religious leaders (Luke 22:66-71) and the people (Luke 23:20-25). The prologue of John’s gospel aptly summarizes Christ’s reception on earth when it says: “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11).

The Consequences of Israel’s Rejection of John’s Message

Because the sons of Israel did not heed John’s message and receive Jesus as the Messiah (Luke 19:41-44), the curse of Malachi was upon them and their land.

God warned through the prophet Malachi, that if the people ignored the forerunner Elijah’s message that the Messiah was coming and did not believe in Him, that the Lord would “come and smite the land with a curse” (Malachi 3:6b).

After Jesus was resurrected and ascended into heaven, Israel was given a time to repent. Peter appealed to his Jewish brethren to repent and believe in Jesus as the Messiah to be saved from this terrible consequence (Acts 2:40, 3:19-23). The Jewish leaders did not repent. Instead, they led the people to persecute the followers of Jesus (Acts 20:20-21, 27-30). Their window for repentance closed and Jerusalem was destroyed.

This curse did in fact happen because Israel rejected Jesus; the Roman army utterly destroyed the city of Jerusalem and demolished the Temple in 70 A.D. (See The Bible Says commentary for Matthew 27:6-10 for more details). The destruction of the Temple was predicted by Jesus (Matthew 24:1-2).

The ancient historian Philostratus described the reaction of the commanding general of Rome’s army in the aftermath of Jerusalem’s destruction:

“After Titus had taken Jerusalem…he disclaimed any such honor to himself, saying that it was not himself that had accomplished this exploit, but that he had merely lent his arms to God, who had so manifested his wrath.”
(Flavius Philostratus. "The Life of Apolonius," 6.29)

From this point forward, the Jews would not have political control over the promised land until 1948 A.D.

The prophetic consequence for not heeding the forerunner’s message to receive the Messiah was devastating (Malachi 4:6b), but not final.

The Future Fulfillment of Malachi 4:5-6

Jesus, the Messiah, will come again. And so will His forerunner—Elijah.

Therefore, Malachi’s prophecy that the Lord will send Elijah (Malachi 4:5-6) will have a dual fulfillment.

John the Baptist was the first Elijah—fulfillment of Malachi 4:5-6. The second Elijah—fulfillment of Malachi 4:5-6 awaits the last days, when Jesus comes to earth again.

At that time, Elijah, or someone else in his spirit and power, will appear and complete the prophecy. Elijah could be one of the two witnesses spoken of in Revelation 11:1-7, since he never died, and it is appointed unto man once to die (Hebrews 9:27).

The two witnesses of Revelation 11 bear resemblance to Elijah because they can create drought by drying up the rain, as Elijah did (1 Kings 17:1). Perhaps Elijah comes back to earth and resumes his ministry, then dies and is promptly resurrected and raptured to heaven (Revelation 11:7, 11-12).

SUMMARY OF LUKE 1:13-17

The angel came to honor Zacharias by telling him the good news (Gospel) that after centuries of waiting and suffering, the Lord remembered (Zacharias) His promise (Elizabeth) to send Israel a Messiah who would deliver Israel from her enemies (Numbers 24:17-19, Psalm 110:1-2, Isaiah 11:1-4, Zechariah 9:9-10) and restore her to glory among the nations (Isaiah 2:2-4, Zechariah 8:22-23).

The angel also declares that Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth would conceive and give birth to a son, named John (God’s Grace), who would be the Messiah’s forerunner.