History recognizes but few “great” individuals. There are a few monarchs: Catherine the Great (1729–1796) and Peter the Great (1672–1725) of Russia; Frederick the Great of Prussia (1712–1786); Charles the Great (Charles le Magne, i.e. Charlemagne) of the Holy Roman Empire (c742–814); a few great churchmen, Leo the Great (c400–461) and Gregory the Great (540–604); and a few great Presidents: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and few others. We all may have others that we might wish to add to our lists: the theologians Augustine, Aquinas, Calvin, Luther, Edwards; the scientists Isaac Newton, James Clerk Maxwell, and Albert Einstein; the composers Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven; the artists Rembrandt, Michelangelo, and DaVinci; the entrepreneurs Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and Henry Ford. Yet, all of those whose greatness has been universally recognized have feet of clay. They are all a mixed bag of worthiness and weakness, of fitness and frailty, of the honorable and the contemptible. Our “august” ones turn out to be not so august. Moreover, the appellative “great,” along with so many of our superlatives, has been debased through overuse. “How are you doing?” “Great,” we say. “How was the movie?” “Great.” “Did you finish your homework?” “Yes.” “Great,” we respond. Everything, today, is great, and consequently, nothing is great.

The angel Gabriel tells Zacharias that his son, the future John the Baptist, “will be great in the sight of the Lord” (Lk 1:15). Jesus will say that of those born of women (which would be, need we say, all of us who ever have lived) there were none greater (Luke 7:28). None. Do any of us aspire to greatness in one realm or another? It is a worthy aspiration. By no means do we disparage greatness. Here is the greatness that counts: not greatness on the ball field, or on the big screen, or in the statehouse, or as measured by income, prestige, recognition, or worldly accomplishment. True greatness is not that which is “in the eyes of humanity;” it is not that which my peers, my friends, my classmates or co-workers think greatness consists; rather it is but “in the eyes (lit.) of the Lord.” That is the only greatness that, in the end, means anything. God identifies true greatness and separates it, distinguishes it from the superficial, the external, the ephemeral, the counterfeit greatness of human calculation. On judgment day God will identify and reward the great ones of human history and all creation will concur with His verdict. What, then, is the greatness of John the Baptist? What is it that will make him great, and for which we, in turn, ought to aspire?

Family

John does not become great in a vacuum. He is the product of a great, that is, godly family. Only Luke provides background information on the family context out of which John the Baptist will be prepared for ministry. Who will nurture John through infancy, childhood, and his youth? Upon whose lap and at whose table will he be introduced to the things of God? Who will teach him his first prayers, the Ten Commandments, and to look to the Messiah? Deliberately Luke highlights certain characteristics of John’s parents.

First, John’s parents were devout. That they are described as such by Luke is no accident. John doesn’t drop on the scene out of heaven fully-grown. For John to fulfill his calling he will need to be prepared. A believing home will be the nurturing womb in which he will receive all his initial preparation to serve God.

In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. (Lk 1:5)

First, the background. “Herod, King of Judea,” called, ironically enough given the foregoing discussion, “the Great,” reigned from 37 BC to 4 AD (33 years). The events Luke records come somewhere near the end of his reign. It was he who ordered the “slaughter of the innocent,” of the male children three years old and younger, at the time of Jesus’ birth. Zacharias, or Zechariah (ESV, NIV), is a common Old Testament name and means “Jehovah remembers.” Zacharias is a priest and therefore a descendent of Aaron. The priesthood was hereditary. His father, grandfather, great grandfather, and all the way back to Aaron would have been priests. Like many other priests, Zacharias didn’t live in Jerusalem but rather in an outlying area (1:39).

Here’s how priestly service in the temple worked. There was a roster of priests who took turns serving in the temple (1 Chr 24:1-6). Each priest was a part of a group of priests, a “division,” of which there were 24 which were on duty twice a year, for a week at a time. “Only at Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles did all the priests serve,” notes Barclay.[1] During the rest of the year Zacharias’ regular duties back home would have been as a teacher and leader in the local synagogue. We meet Zacharias in verse 8 during one of his tours of duty.

Elizabeth, Zacharias’ wife, was herself a daughter of a priest. Priests were not required to marry the daughters of priests, but it was considered an added blessing and so was preferable. Together, along with Mary and Simeon and Anna, they represent the Israel within Israel, believing, faithful Israel, looking for the coming Messiah (Lk 2:25,38; 24:21).

And they were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. (Lk 1:6)

Luke describes Zacharias and Elizabeth as “righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly.” He explains his means by adding that they kept “all the commandments,” probably meaning here the ethical portions of the Law, and “requirements” or “ordinances,” pointing to the religious obligations of the law.[2] This doesn’t mean that they were perfect. They were sinners like the rest of us. Rather it means that they were faithful. They were sincere and earnest in the service of God. They were exemplary in holiness. “Men are reckoned righteous and blameless,” says Calvin, “because their whole life testifies that they are devoted to righteousness, that the fear of God directs them, with some evidence of holy living meanwhile.”[3] “Yet,” he continues, “their pious efforts are far removed from perfection.”[4] Given that proviso, we must not miss the point. God chose a devout couple through whom to bring the great John the Baptist into the world and through whom to provide his initial training. “The lantern which shone in front of the Son of God (i.e. John), was taken from no mean house,” says Calvin, “but from a particularly holy place.”[5]

Our zeal to identify all sinners as equally such should not blind us to the relative righteousness in devout sinners that God commends. There is a difference between holy living and unholy. There is a difference between righteous behavior and unrighteous. There is a difference between virtue and vice, and we can distinguish the two and speak meaningfully of them. It is on this basis that qualified leadership is identified and distinguished from the unqualified (e.g. Acts 6:1-7; 1 Tim 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9). It is on this basis that the New Testament commends approved living from disapproved (e.g. Rom 12–16; 1 Cor 4–14; Gal 5:13-22; Eph 3–5, etc.). No one is perfectly holy, righteous, virtuous, or qualified, yet there is a difference between being imperfectly holy, righteous, virtuous, and qualified and not being holy, righteous, virtuous, and qualified at all.

Not only can these qualities be identified, but they are rewarded. The Beatitudes, Jesus says, will be rewarded in those characterized by them (Lk 6:20-23; 27-38) and their opposite punished (Lk 6:24-26). The poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, the merciful are blessed, and to them is given the kingdom of God, comfort, an eternal inheritance, and mercy (see Mt 5:3ff).

It pays to pursue holiness. It pays to live righteously. It pays to cultivate virtue. Godliness is right in its own right, but it also is rewarded, praised, and blessed by God, and renders us more useful to the purposes of God. Zacharias and Elizabeth are used because they are godly, and that is the key to our own usefulness as well.

Is this righteousness and blamelessness their own? No, the whole Bible would teach us that they progress in godliness only by the grace of God. He has enabled their moral and religious accomplishments. His verdict is itself an expression of grace, that God would overlook their faults and describe them as such. They would have no room for personal pride or boasting. Yet God Himself does say they were “righteous” and “blameless.” These, and no other, are the people whom God chooses to bless and use. It would not have been just as well for John to have been reared in a worldly home.

And they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years. (Lk 1:7)

 Yet they had no children. This would have been seen as an anomaly in first century Judaism, that they would be devout, yet childless. To have children is a sign of blessing (Gen 1:28; Deut 28:1,4; Gen 30:22-23; Isa 1:5-8; Pss 127, 128). We are reminded by this that there is not a one-to-one equivalent between godliness and prosperity in this world. They were a devout couple. They had prayed, no doubt for years, for a child, and their prayers had not been answered (1:13). Nor is there a one-to-one relationship between our unrighteousness and our deprivations. Verse 6 teaches us that verse 7 was not a punishment for their sin. They were devout. They had prayed. Yet they were barren and now beyond childbearing years. Their childlessness is a tragedy. No doubt this experience was one of many tears. Yet their heartbreak, their years of unfulfilled longing, of trusting and waiting upon God, of quiet submission to His will, have had their impact. Their deprivation has provided the context in which Zacharias and Elizabeth developed into the couple, of all the couples in Israel, even of all the aged barren couples of Israel, to whom God was pleased to assign the task of nurturing the young John the Baptist through his early years.

Let us not underestimate the value of devout Christian homes in nurturing the next generation of disciples of Christ. Sometimes we are intimidated to establish a connection between godly homes and godly children because of the exceptions, and there are exceptions. There always will be the wayward, the prodigals. Yet God deliberately sought out a devout home for John the Baptist because of the vital role godly parents would play in his spiritual development. Their day to day example of devotion to God, of love, of obedience, of love of God’s word, of prayer, of service to others would be crucial to John’s future usefulness. Parents, your example of godliness to your children is crucial. Parents, your instruction of your children is crucial. Parents, regular family prayer and Bible reading are crucial. Parents, consistent attendance at divine services is crucial. Do not doubt, do not underestimate the role of the Christian home in nurturing the next generation.

Second, John’s home was a clergy home. We must also consider the fact that Zacharias was a priest and his wife Elizabeth the daughter of a priest. If ever a home had spiritual bloodlines, it was this one, reaching all the way back, on both sides, to Aaron himself. Why a clergy home? That Zacharias was a priest and Elizabeth the daughter of a priest underscores that this was a devout home. However, beyond that, a clergy home exposes John the Baptist to knowledge that he would experience nowhere else. Those who grow up in clergy homes have unique privileges. They grow up knowing “how it works,” so to speak. They know what it takes, what’s involved in serving the people of God. This is true of both the sons and daughters. It is no accident that the home of a priest was selected because the son of a priest would be uniquely equipped to serve. Granted, God sometimes rescues his most effective servants out of pagan homes and converts them as adults. Church Fathers Tertullian (c.160–c.225) and Cyprian (d.258) may serve as two examples, the former being the father of Latin theology and the originator of such terms as trinity and sacrament. Augustine (354–430) sometimes is cited as an example of an adult convert, but it should be remembered that he was reared by his Christian mother Monica. His conversion was more correctly a return to the faith of his childhood.

Regrettably there is a certain notoriety connected with the pastor’s children. More often, the Christian home, and specifically a minister’s home, is the seminary in which some of the most effective servants of Christ are trained. Think of the Bonar family in Scotland. Horatius Bonar (1808–89) wrote a number of our hymns. His brother Andrew (1810–92) edited The Memoirs and Remains of Robert Murray McCheynne. Both wrote outstanding books still in use today. All four of the Bonar brothers became ministers. They represented the fifth consecutive generation of Scottish Presbyterian ministers. I’ve heard it said (though I cannot confirm it) that there were eight successive generations of Bonars in the ministry. Think of the Mather family in New England. Richard Mather (1596–1669), the immigrant, one of the compilers of the Bay Psalm Book, drafter of The Cambridge Platform (1648) of church government. He sired Increase (1629–1723). Increase wrote 130 books and pamphlets and served as president of Harvard for sixteen years. He married a daughter of John Cotton (that the daughters of clergy marry clergy is a pattern too), another of New England’s founding pastors, and they gave birth to Cotton (1663–1728). Cotton fathered several sons who followed him into the ministry, and on the ministerial line continued, until it died out with another minister, his grandson, the Rev. Samuel Mather (1706–1785). Mathers were in New England pulpits for over 150 years. The same impact can be shown for the family of Archibald Alexander (1772–1851), founder of Princeton Seminary, and his brilliant sons J. A. Alexander (1809–1860) and J. W. Alexander (1804–1859), both ministers and Princeton theologians. Again, Charles Hodge (1797–1878), the greatest of America’s theologians in the nineteenth century, reared Archibald Alexander Hodge (1823–1886), missionary and theologian, and C. W. Hodge (1830–1891), who in turn reared Caspar Wistar Hodge, Jr. (1870–1937), who continued the Hodge family’s presence on the faculty of Old Princeton into the late 1930’s. From the Administration of President James Monroe to that of Franklin Roosevelt there was a Hodge teaching theology at Princeton.

Perhaps the most outstanding clergy home in American history was that of Jonathan Edwards. Edwards’ maternal grandfather was the famous “Pope of the Connecticut Valley,” Solomon Stoddard, for nearly 60 years (1672–1729) pastor of the Northampton Church which Edwards would serve as his successor. His father, Timothy Edwards (1669–1759) was a graduate of Harvard and a minister in New England. His wife, Sarah Pierpoint, was the daughter of a New England minister, as was her mother, and a great granddaughter of Thomas Hooker, founder of the Connecticut colony and among the most renowned of the first generation of Puritan ministers. His son, Jonathan Edwards Jr. (1703–1758), followed him into the ministry, and his grandson, the Rev. Timothy Dwight (1752–1817), was a leader of the Second Great Awakening, President of Yale, and one of the outstanding clergymen of the late eighteenth or early nineteenth centuries. According to Elisabeth Dodds in her delightful book, Marriage to a Difficult Man, by 1900 one hundred descendants of Jonathan and Sarah had served overseas as missionaries and “they had entered the ministry in platoons.”[6] Thirteen had become college presidents and dozens had served society as judges and statesmen, professors, and doctors. These examples of clergy homes could be multiplied a thousand times over.

Godly homes, lay and clergy, are effective nurseries for Christian disciples because of the promises of the covenant: “I will be a God to you and your descendants,” God promised Abraham and us (Gen 17:7). “This promise is for you and your children,” Peter repeated at Pentecost (Acts 2:39). God is faithful to His covenant to the thousandth generation of those who love Him and keep His commandments (Deut 7:9). The Christian home has been the most effective instrument of soul-winning and disciple-making in the history of the church. God uses devout homes to save, sanctify, and render serviceable His people.

Divine initiative

The covenant faithfulness that lies behind the effectiveness of the Christian home introduces our second observation. John’s greatness is also a result of God’s initiative. Verses 8-13 show God at work. Zacharias and Elizabeth are going about their normal tasks. God sovereignly places His hand upon them and sets them apart for privileged service. What were these normal tasks? Luke tells us about Zacharias’:

Now it came about, while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, (Lk 1:8)

Zacharias was in Jerusalem with his priestly “division” at its appointment time.

according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. (Lk 1:9)

Again, we must first review the background. Because there were more priests (over 18,000) than duties, those chosen to serve were selected by drawing straws, as it were. Among the highest privileges for priests was the task of offering incense. A priest was permitted to do this only once in his lifetime. Some priests never were selected and never enjoyed the privilege. Both morning and evening a burnt offering was made. Prior to the morning sacrifice and after the evening sacrifice, incense would be offered on the altar of incense (Ex 30:1-8). This would be done in the naós, the Holy Place, as opposed to the heron, the greater temple complex.[7] For a priest, his two weeks of service were the high point of each year. For those selected to burn the incense, it was the greatest day of his life.

And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering. (Lk 1:10)

It was common for a crowd of spectators to gather together and pray at the time of the sacrifices. That they were able to wait suggests it was the evening sacrifice. The people, of course, were not admitted into the Holy Place, but remained outside in prayer.[8] The devotional life of the whole nation was patterned after that of morning and evening sacrifices, and the prayers, Scripture reading, and psalmody that accompanied them (e.g. 1 Chr 16:5-43; 23:30,31; 29:9-22; 2 Chr 5:11–7:4; 29:20-28; 35:14,15).

And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. (Lk 1:11)

Suddenly an angel appeared, a messenger from God. The altar of incense, by which Zacharias was standing, was located in the center of the holy place. “Zacharias’ task was to place incense on the heated altar and then prostrate himself in prayer,” Marshall explains.[9] The angel was standing on the right side of the altar, probably between the altar of incense and the golden candlestick.

And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear gripped him. (Lk 1:12)

Zacharias was “troubled” by what he saw and “fear” (phóbos) “gripped him.” This is how fallen mortals respond when they see the inhabitants of heaven. Exposure to the heavenly reminds us of our weakness, corruption, and guilt. We become aware of our unfitness to be there, in the presence of God and those who serve in His presence (see Isa 6:1-5; Rev 1:17,18); but the angel calms Zacharias’ fears:

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. (Lk 1:13)

What “petition” or “supplication” was “heard”? Some have argued that on this occasion Zacharias prayed for a child. But it is doubtful that Zacharias and Elizabeth would still be praying for a son at their age, and further, “he is unlikely to have been praying for a personal request at that time,” notes Marshall.[10] Moreover, Zacharias’ “blank incredulity,” as Morris called it, “when told he would have a son seems hard to reconcile with this.”[11] More likely is that he prayed, on this public occasion for the expected public concern, namely the redemption of Israel, which was associated with the evening sacrifice (Dan 9:20). One linguist speculates that “petition” (deēsis) perhaps indicates “a liturgical prayer for the coming of the Messiah.”[12] The “petition,” then, would refer them to either the request for a son that had occurred over a lifetime or his prayer in connection with his duties for the redemption of Israel. Either way, “John,” meaning “the Lord is gracious,” is the answer to prayer.

What makes for greatness as God sees greatness? God’s sovereign and gracious call. God determines that John will be great. God determines to bless Zacharias and Elizabeth with the privilege of being his parents. God did nothing for years as Zacharias and Elizabeth prayed and hoped. God determines to bless the couple in His own time. God enables the barren to conceive. God chooses the child’s name. God initiates. God calls. God provides. God selects John for greatness. The role of the couple, the role of John, the overall purpose behind it all, are determined by God. This theme of divine initiative will continue through chapter 1, in God’s initiative with Mary, and to the end of Luke’s gospel. Salvation, in the broadest sense possible, is God’s doing. We are saved and serve at God’s gracious initiative.

The sovereignty of God leaves no room for boasting or complaints. True greatness is a gift of God. He chooses and blesses His servants. We have nothing about which we can boast. John the Baptist does nothing to deserve his role as a forerunner of Christ. It is given, even assigned. Likewise there can be no complaints. Zacharias had experienced profound disappointment. Yet how do we find him prior to his elevated role? Carrying out his assigned tasks. Zacharias continued his priestly duties. God is sovereign. Zacharias did not become angry with God, or rebel against Him and withhold love, obedience, or service. Likewise for us. We are to leave all things in the hands of God and trust Him. In the meantime, we go about our tasks, trusting that He assigns roles as He sees fit.

Subordination

And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. (Lk 1:14)

The parents will have the natural joy that accompanies the birth of a child, and beyond that, the joy of those who longed for a child, had given up hope, and at long last were to see their hopes fulfilled. Hence “joy and gladness,” even “exultation.”[13] Beyond the parents, “many,” not a few, but “many will rejoice at his birth.” They will rejoice because, or “for,”

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. (Lk 1:15)

“He will be great,” Gabriel announces.

Before we proceed further into the details of the text, we need to understand the overall point. John will be great because of God’s sovereign initiative working through his devout parents. Yet, the greatness of John is a subordinate greatness. His is great only in a derived sense. He is great only because he will devote his life to promoting the glory of a Greater One. There is no true greatness apart from dedication to the cause of the Great One. In every way John the Baptist’s life is surrendered to the service of Christ. His unusual birth is but a foreshadowing of Luke’s account of Jesus’ miraculous birth. John’s life is but a gateway to Christ’s life. John is “the morning-star to the Sun of righteousness,” says Matthew Henry. John is one “who will go before” (lit.), who “will go as a forerunner before Him,” that is, Christ (Lk 1:17). He is the one who is to “make ready the way of the Lord” (Lk 3:4ff; cf. 1:75; Is 40:3ff). He will be as a “voice crying in the wilderness” (Lk 3:4). He is the Messenger promised through Malachi who would prepare the way (Mal 3:1; cf. Lk 7:27). As for his greatness, he addresses it directly in response to the question of whether or not he is the Christ:

"As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Lk 3:16)

John says Jesus is “mightier” than he, and John says he is not worthy “to untie the thong of his sandal.” Jesus’ baptism of the Spirit and fire will far exceed that of John’s water baptism.

It is in subordination to the plans and purposes of God that John the Baptist will find greatness, and it is the same for us all. What is our chief end? Is it not “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever” (Shorter Catechism, Q #1)? We were made, all of us, for God. We were made to know Him, and in knowing Him, serve, please, and honor, not ourselves, but Him. John never lost sight of this, “All the country of Judea” came out to hear him preach (Mk 1:5). “Multitudes” came out to the wilderness to be baptized by him (Lk 3:7). He was something like a “rock star” in his time and place. Yet to the end he said, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (Jn 3:30). This is an excellent motto for life. True greatness, greatness as God counts greatness, is found not in battles won, offices held, money earned, things accumulated, or honors recognized in the eyes of humanity. It is not found in making a name for oneself, in being known and admired by the multitudes or esteemed by “the people who count.” True greatness is found in surrendering one’s life completely and utterly to Christ, to do with what He will. It is to say with Jesus, “not my will but Thy will be done” (Lk 22:42). It is to say with the Apostle Paul, “I no longer live . . . and the life I now live I live by faith in the Son of God” (Gal 2:20). It is to deny oneself and take up one’s cross and follow Jesus, wherever He leads, wherever He goes, whatever the result, whatever the cost (Mt 16:24).

We see now our opening glimpse of true greatness. True greatness is nurtured in the context of a devout family, it comes about by God’s own initiative, and it is built upon a foundation of entire submission of one’s life to the service of Christ. There is no greater greatness than that found in serving our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.