John the baptist’s parents. Who were prophets.

Too many Christians claim the four centuries between the prophet Malachi, and the prophet John the baptist, were silent years, in which God turned off the miracles and stopped talking to Israel through prophets. That’s why there are no books of the bible between the days of Malachi and John: Nothing to record!

Thing is, the New Testament itself contradicts this idea. Jesus’s adoptive father Joseph had prophetic dreams. When Joseph took Jesus to temple for his dedication, they ran into two prophets—known prophets, who’d been prophesying there for years. Jesus’s mom prophesied. And John’s parents prophesied.

That’s right. John was the son of prophets.

People who grew up hearing and believing this “silent years” bushwa, can look right at the New Testament, read this for themselves in the gospels, and still think John’s parents weren’t prophets. That this was just a one-time-only freak occurrence. A sign God had turned the miracles back on, just for Jesus and the ancient Christians, soon to be turned back off once the New Testament was written and done. God, they imagine, is stingy with the miracles like that.

But really it makes no sense for John to have not been raised by prophets. (And for our Lord to have not been raised by prophets either.) If you’re meant to raise your kid to hear and serve the LORD, shouldn’t you yourself hear and serve the LORD? Shouldn’t you be able to hear and serve the LORD?—whether specially empowered to do it, as some believe; or whether you’re able to tap into every human’s innate ability to hear God, as most Christians believe?

John’s parents are the priest Zacharias and his wife Elisabeth. Both are Levites, ’cause only Levites could be priests. Zacharias was a descendant of Abijah, Lk 1.5 and Elisabeth a descendant of Aaron ben Amram, Lk 1.5 the first head priest. They lived in the hill country of Judea, Lk 1.39 which likely means they’re from the Aaronite city of Hebron, Js 20.7, 21.13 one of the 48 cities Levites possessed instead of tribal land.

And in Luke, we see God speak through the both of them.

The prophet Elisabeth.

When the angel Gabriel told Mary of Nazareth she’d become pregnant—despite being a virgin—as confirmation it told Mary her relative Elisabeth was also pregnant. Zacharias and Elisabeth were both described as προβεβηκότες ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις αὐτῶν/provevikótes en tes iméres aftón, “farther along in their days,” meaning really unlikely to be pregnant. Elisabeth had also been in seclusion, Lk 1.24 likely to make extra sure nothing’d happen to her baby, but this tends to mean fewer people knew about her pregnancy.

So Mary—and likely her parents, who’d want to know their daughter legitimately was pregnant by a miracle—went to Hebron to see Elisabeth, to see whether the angel’s prophecy was true. And when they encountered Elisabeth, this happened.

Luke 1.39-45 KWL

39In those days Mary, rising up in haste,

goes to the hill country,

to a city of Judea.

40Mary enters Zacharias’s house

and greets Elisabeth.

This happens when Elisabeth hears Mary’s greeting:

The fetus in her belly leaps.

Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit,

41and exclaims a great shout,

and says, “How blessed are you¹ among women!

How blessed the fruit of your¹ belly!

42How does this come upon me?—

that my Lord’s mother might come to me?

For look!—when the sound of your¹ greeting comes,

the fetus in my belly leaps for great joy.

How awesome is she who believes

what was spoken by the Lord

will be fulfilled!”

So, three things Elisabeth can’t have known unless the Holy Spirit told her so—because all Mary had said was a greeting.

1. Why the unborn John the baptist leapt inside her.
2. That Mary was incredibly blessed, because she was “my Lord’s mother.”
3. That Mary “believes what was spoken by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

I should point out most translations say Elisabeth “was filled with the Holy Spirit,” Lk 1.41 NKJV and most interpreters claim this means Elisabeth was filled with the Spirit at that moment. I would say that’s a really bad interpretation. John was filled with the Spirit in his mother’s womb, Lk 1.15 so at the very least Elisabeth would be filled with the Spirit since the time she conceived him. But let’s not forget the reason John, or anyone, was filled with the Spirit: So they could prophesy.

Joel 2.28 KWL

“After this happens this way,

I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh.

Your² sons and your² daughters will prophesy.

Your² elderly will dream dreams.

Your² young will will see visions.”

He doesn’t just give Christians his Spirit to indwell us so we can feel good about ourselves. The Spirit’s gonna do stuff with us. We’re gonna grow in good fruit. We’re gonna hear God, constantly. We’re gonna be able to share what God told us—and that’s prophecy.

If Elisabeth hadn’t been a prophet before she became pregnant with one, she was definitely one now. Able to confirm everything that’d happened to Mary with her own prophecy. Able to know—from personal experience!—how prophecy works; able to raise her son to become a better prophet than she was.

The prophet Zacharias.

Next Zacharias. He likewise might’ve been a prophet before he had his Gabriel-encounter in temple, but I’m not gonna focus on that today; more on his declaration after the Holy Spirit gave him back his ability to speak.

Luke 1.67-79 KWL

67John’sᴾ father Zacharias is filled with the Holy Spirit,

and prophesies, saying,

68“How blessed is the Lord, god of Israel,

for he visits and makes a ransom for his people.

69God raises up a horn of salvation for us,

in the house of his servant David.

70Just as God speaks ages ago

through his holy prophets’ mouths—

71salvation from our enemies

and from the hands of all who hate us,

72working mercy among our ancestors,

remembering God’sᴾ holy covenant,

73which he swore to give us

by oath to Abraham our ancestor,

74fearlessly delivering us from our enemies’ hand

to serve Godᴾ

75in holiness and righteousness

before Godᴾ all our days.

76“And child, you’ll¹ be called the Highest One’s prophet,

for you’ll¹ go before the Lord to prepare his way,

77giving salvation knowledge to God’sᴾ people,

with forgiveness of their sins.

78Through God’s compassionate mercy to us,

in which the Rising Sun will visit us,

79shining upon those in darkness,

and those sitting in death’s shadow,

guiding our feet in peace’s way.”

When God made Zacharias unable to speak, it forced him out of his temple duties. Priests had to be physically perfect, Lv 21.17 so if you were injured or unwell you were disqualified. He’d have to go home—and he wasn’t permitted to function as a priest at home either. He’d have to do something else for a living; manual labor or paperwork. Something to stay busy and get ready for a baby.

And no doubt during that time Zacharias was having some intense conversations with God. And God was showing him exactly what his son would become. As soon as he got his voice back, he proclaimed it. This prophecy right here. This is no doubt what he repeated to John for the rest of his life: Your job is to go before the Lord to prepare his way.

For God’s merciful attitude—his grace—was breaking out into the whole world. Thus far it’d mostly been seen by Israel, but God sent his son to save the world, Jn 3.17 and let everyone know his grace extends to them too. John was the beginning of this message, which he’d preach to Jews and Romans alike. Lk 3.10-14 Being a descendant of Abraham doesn’t matter and never did: God could make such people out of rocks. Lk 3.8 What God wants are repentant people of every race, and for all flesh to see his salvation. Lk 3.6

And John most definitely learned this from his parents—until he got the hang of hearing God for himself.