Introduction // 5 minutes
When was the last time you were forced to wait for something?
Leader Note: Have your group think through unusual or comical situations. Examples may include getting stuck on a ride at Disneyland or accidentally walking into the wrong movie theatre ect….
How did you respond? How did those around you respond?
Observation // 20 minutes
Read Luke 1:5-10
What do you observe about Zechariah and Elizabeth?
Sample Answers May Include…
- Zechariah was a priest (v5)
- Elizabeth was a descendent of Aaron. Note: She also came from a priestly line (v5)
- They were righteous and blameless in God’s sight (v6)
- Elizabeth was barren (v7) Note: baroness was a sign of cursing and cause for shame. This creates a tension as God calls them righteous and blameless.
- They were both very old (v7)
- Zechariah was singled out amongst a great number of people (there were upwards of 20,000 priest at this time) for a once a lifetime task (v9)
Commentary: Zechariah was selected for the task of offering up the prayers of the people through the burring of incense in the Holy of Holies within the Temple. The most common prayer offered was for the Lord to Come. It was a prayer of hope for the promised Messiah to come and deliver His people. The Jewish people were under Roman occupation during this time, which would make the cry of that prayer all the more passionate and immediate.
Read Luke 1:11-25
What do you learn about faith and doubt from Zechariah and Elizabeth?
Sample Answers May Include…
- Zechariah had prayed continuously for his wife’s barrenness (v13)
- Zechariah still doubted despite all the signs given to him, i.e. being selected to perform this task in the temple, an Angel appearing before him and announcing that Elizabeth would give birth to a son (v18)
- Zechariah was fixated on what he could see and knew to be true, mainly that they were past the age child bearing (v18)
- There is a cost to unbelief (v20) Note: The cost was silence. He would not be able to exit the temple and proclaim not only the good news of the coming birth of his son but also the good news of what his son was prophesied to do, that is prepare the way for Jesus, the Messiah.
- God’s plan was accomplished despite Zechariah’s doubt (v20)
- Elizabeth, viewed as shameful and cursed by society was now given the privilege to announce the great news of God’s favor to her and His people (v25)
Commentary: Zechariah an Elizabeth’s waiting for their own child is set in the context of an entire people who had been waiting for the arrival of their Messiah. The prophets of the Old Testament spoke about God’s promised Messiah and then suddenly there was silence. 400 years had passed between the age of the prophets and the time of the New Testament. God amazingly fulfills his promise to Zechariah and Elizabeth and also begins to bring the manifestation of the promised Messiah to His people through the life and ministry John the Baptist who is sent to prepare the way of the Lord. Both parties had to endure a prolonged time of waiting to receive what had been promised.
What do you learn about God through the way he answers Zechariah and Elizabeth’s prayer?
Commentary: God often works in the middle of despite and seemingly impossible situations when there appears to be no other way.
Understanding // 10 minutes
What keeps people from believing God’s promises today?
Sample Answers May Include…
- When their prayers go unanswered
- They don’t believe in God in the first place
- Doubting in His goodness
- Believing that He’s too busy for them
Application // 20 minutes
Where have you seen God answer your prayer?
Where are you still waiting for a prayer to be answered?
What has waiting for that prayer to be answered looked like for you?
Leader Note: Allow room the spectrum of answers here. Some in your group will be holding on with great belief and faith while others may be in a place where they are ready to give up. Hold both in tension while pointing to the reality of God’s goodness.
Live It Out // 10 minutes
How might the way we wait be a testimony to those around us?
Prayer: Ask God to give strength and peace in the middle of waiting. Pray that we may be able to learn something about God’s nature and have Christ’s character further developed in us through waiting.