Hi, readers! I enjoyed writing my last holy role-model post on St. Monica in a new format. The “Top 10 List” was also well-received, so I am going to stick with it. This month, I’ve got the 10 things you need to know about Sts. Elizabeth and Zechariah, parents of St. John the Baptist! They have a lot to teach us about hope and faith despite the trials of life. Let’s dive right in and meet this married couple.
1. Everything we know definitively about this couple is found in one chapter of the Bible.
The first chapter of the Gospel of Luke tells the story of this Judean couple who lived during the reign of King Herod. (Yes, THAT King Herod, who had tons of babies killed because he was so scared of the newborn king of the Jews, Jesus)
2. St. Elizabeth was a “kinswoman” of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
While some translations use the word “cousin,” a better translation is “kinswoman.” Elizabeth was definitely much older than Mary, so in any case it is unlikely they were first cousins. There is some speculation that Elizabeth was the sister of St. Anne, Mary’s mother… Which would make Elizabeth the aunt of the Blessed Virgin.
3. St. Zechariah was a priest.
Elizabeth and Zechariah were both from the priestly tribe of Levi and descended from Moses’ brother Aaron, the first high priest of the Israelites. Zechariah served as a priest in the Jerusalem Temple.
4. Elizabeth and Zechariah carried the heavy cross of infertility.
They had been unable to conceive, and they were already “advanced in years,” so they assumed they would never be parents. This would’ve been painful then as it is now, but with an added layer of shame. The ancient Jewish law states that those in the favor of God would not be barren, so many would’ve assumed the couple (and in particular Elizabeth) had offended God in some way and had been cursed with infertility as a result. But Luke tells us right away that this was not the case- Sts. Elizabeth and Zechariah were “righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.”
5. An angel appeared to Zechariah in the temple… but Zechariah doubted his message.
Zechariah was serving the once-in-a-lifetime role of offering incense in the sanctuary of the Lord (the holiest place in the temple) during daily worship. The angel Gabriel appeared and told Zechariah that Elizabeth would bear a son, and that his name should be John. Even though Zechariah had received a message directly from an angel, in the holiest place he had ever been, on the day he was serving the most important role he would ever serve as priest… somehow he still he doubted that his wife could become pregnant. Because of his doubt, Zechariah was struck dumb and could not speak again until after the baby was born and named.
6. Elizabeth showed great faith in God’s promise.
Elizabeth responded differently to this news. She did not hear it from an angel at a holy altar, but most likely from her now-mute husband making crude signs. And still, she showed great faith. “This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to take away my disgrace among men,” she said.
7. The Virgin Mary spent three months with St. Elizabeth while they were both pregnant.
Elizabeth greeted her cousin with words that we repeat every time we say the Hail Mary: “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” The two kinswomen were both experiencing unexpected, miraculous pregnancies that were causes of great joy as well as some questions or even shade from their communities. I can imagine they enjoyed one another’s company in these strange months (especially with St. Zechariah being mute the whole time)!
8. Just as the angel had predicted, Elizabeth and Zechariah welcomed a son: St. John the Baptist.
Once the child was named John as the angel had instructed, Zechariah could finally speak again. The first thing he did was praise God with the words we now know as the Canticle of Zechariah: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; He has come to His people and set them free….” Zechariah had learned a lesson in faith! His son John the Baptist was one of the most important figures in the New Testament, revealing Jesus as the Messiah.
9. Some traditions hold that Zechariah was martyred soon after John’s birth.
Matthew 23:35 tells that an “innocent” man, Zechari’ah son of Barachi’ah, was “murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.” It is definitely possible this was St. Zechariah, given the name and the location of the murder (since he was a priest). Additionally, in 2003, excavators found an inscription in a tomb claiming to hold “Zachariah, the martyr, the holy priest, the father of John.”
But why would Zechariah have been killed? According to the Orthodox faith, Zechariah was murdered for refusing to give up the location of his newborn son during the “murder of the innocents” when King Herod killed all young Jewish boys in an effort to destroy the newborn King, Jesus. Alternatively, St. Gregory of Nyssa claims that Zechariah was killed for attesting to the virginity of Mary and the divinity of her Son, Jesus.
10. Sts. Elizabeth and Zechariah are honored by people of many faith traditions.
Greek and Eastern Orthodox Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, and even Muslims honor this holy married couple. Their shared feast day in the Roman Catholic tradition is November 5.
References:
Easton, Matthew G. “Easton’s Bible Dictionary: Zacharias.” WikiSource. Last modified, 1897. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Easton%27s_Bible_Dictionary_(1897)/Zacharias.
“Elizabeth (biblical figure).” Wikipedia. Last modified November 24, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_(biblical_figure).
Harrower, Scott D., and Greg W. Forbes. Raised from Obscurity: A Narratival and Theological Study of the Characterization of Women in Luke-Acts. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2015.
“Holy Prophet Zachariah and Righteous Elizabeth, parents of Saint John the Baptist.” Orthodox Church in America. Last modified, 1996. https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/09/05/102502-holy-prophet-zachariah-and-righteous-elizabeth-parents-of-saint.
Michuta, Gary. “Did John the Baptist’s Father Die a Martyr?” Detroit Catholic. Last modified September 1, 2016. https://detroitcatholic.com/news/gary-michuta/did-john-the-baptist-s-father-die-a-martyr.
Mowczko, Marg. “All About Elizabeth (Luke 1).” Marg Mowczko Blog. Last modified December 16, 2017. https://margmowczko.com/elizabeth-bible-woman-luke-1/.
“Zechariah (New Testament figure).” Wikipedia. Last modified November 25, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zechariah_(New_Testament_figure).
