"A Prophet And His Parents"
Luke 1:5&6
"There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife [was] of the daughters of Aaron, and her name [was] Elisabeth. (6.) And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless."
Zacharias and Elisabeth were the parents of the great prophet John the Baptist. The prophet of whom Jesus said in Matthew 11:9-11:
"But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. (10) For this is [he], of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. (11) Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he".
Jesus puts John at the top of the prophet’s list, even above the prophets of the Old Testament. It is no small matter to have it said about you by none other then the Eternal Son of God himself, "Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist".
Much can and should be said about John the Baptist himself, but let’s begin with his parents. How would you like to be chosen by God to be the parents of such an extraordinary man?
Let us for the sake of theoretical discussion pretend we were asked by God to advise Him on how He should go about preparing Zacharias and Elisabeth for such an exceptional role. First, we probably would tell God to send Michael, the arch angel early on in their young married lives to tell them to start preparing for this grand event, nobody likes surprises. He should also advise them to consult the experts, attend the best conferences and read all the foremost books on the subject of Christian parenting. God should especially have Zacharias go to men’s conferences on faith building and Christian manhood. God must also make sure that Zacharias was the most prosperous priest of the temple, so he could afford the best home for little John and send him off to the best of seminaries when he grew up. They also both must be young, in perfect health with strength and virility. Above all they have to be capable of bearing children. Finally, God cannot have the father of this great prophet with a flawed imperfect faith and a mother that is barren which is a ridiculous contradiction!
Stick around for the "rest of the story", but let me give you a few hints to think about.
Hint one:
"For my thoughts [are] not your thoughts, neither [are] your ways my ways, saith the LORD. (9) For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8&9)".
"For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? (35) Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? (36) For of him, and through him, and to him, [are] all things: to whom [be] glory for ever. Amen (Romans 11:34-36)".
Hint two:
"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us (2 Corinthians 4:7)".
To Be continued
Jim Wenger
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