The First Family of the New Testament

Jesus Himself said of one man that there was no greater man born of woman. The first great character we are introduced to in the New Testament is John the Baptist. He stands head and shoulders above so many other Bible characters. The Holy Spirit chose to emphasize certain people’s lives because they teach us essential lessons for the journey of faith.

Behind the great ministry of John the Baptist was a Spirit-filled home with godly parents: Zacharias and Elisabeth. Let us examine this first family.

God’s design is for the family to lay the foundation for all of life. It should provide an environment from which every later year draws. The most famous family in the opening pages of the New Testament is Jesus’ family—Joseph, Mary, and the Lord Jesus. But chronologically, the first family that God records for that time in history was John the Baptist’s family. John was the forerunner of Jesus Christ; he came first. But, like us, his life began in a home.

Home: The Soil for Spiritual Fruit 

Perhaps your childhood home was not what it should have been; make up your mind today that by the grace of God, you will begin the right kind of spiritual heritage for the next generation. John the Baptist’s life and family reveal the Heavenly Father’s heart for the home.

God designed that spiritual awakenings begin in the home. The basic unit of society and civilization is the home. God established this institution to be the garden out of which every other good thing should grow.

When you close the Old Testament in Malachi chapter 4, there is a promise about the coming of John the Baptist in the spirit and power of Elijah: The prophecy declares:

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” (Malachi 4:5-6)

In Luke chapter 1, that same Scripture is applied directly to John the Baptist. The angel declared: “And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:17).

Churches are made up of families, and God designed that spiritual awakenings begin in the home. No home is perfect, including John the Baptist’s family. Yet the heritage he received is an indicator of why John possessed such strong faith in God.

A Couple Right Before God

God designed marriage to begin with one man and one woman for one lifetime. This couple was made up of a husband (Zacharias) and his wife (Elisabeth). Luke records their testimony:

“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. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.” (Luke 1:5-7)

When we first meet Zacharias and Elisabeth, they are an older couple facing profound personal heartache. Like every couple, they had their hurts and disappointments. Zacharias and Elisabeth had prayed for a child, yet God had not seen fit to give them one. Still, they were both righteous before God—faithful to the Lord and faithful to each other through all the disappointments of life. This is God’s design for marriage. We can remain faithful in the face of personal struggles and disappointment.

Zacharias: A Father Who Knew How to Pray

Zacharias served as a priest in the temple, yet he was a real man with real struggles. While executing his priest’s office, the Bible records:

“And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.” (Luke 1:8-13)

This man knew how to pray. He had been in the presence of God, offering incense. Whatever you have been praying for, do not give up. Keep on praying—God is listening. The angel announced: “And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.” (Luke 1:14)

Elisabeth: A Humble, Holy Woman of Worship

Elisabeth was a humble, holy woman who knew what it was to worship God. When she greeted Mary, her heart overflowed with spiritual joy. The Scripture records: “And Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost… And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:41-43)

Zacharias and Elisabeth were not perfect people—they had their doubts—but they were people who knew how to pray, believed God, worshipped the Lord, and passed on a goodly heritage to their son. As the Psalmist declared: “The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.” (Psalm 16:6)

Instructing the Next Generation: Who Is Going to Teach the Children?

God sets the solitary in families because He designed mankind for mutual connection. At the end of Luke chapter 1, we read this summary of John the Baptist’s upbringing: “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel” (Luke 1:80).

John Was A Gift from God

How did the child grow and wax strong in spirit? God worked in John, but God worked through his father and mother. Zacharias and Elisabeth took their God-given assignment seriously: to bring up their child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. The name John means “gift of Jehovah.” God named him. Even his name reminded them that every child is a precious gift from the Lord:

The Psalmist wrote: “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” (Psalm 127:3) In Genesis 4:1, Eve declared at the birth of her firstborn: “I have gotten a man from the LORD” (Genesis 4:1). All children come from the Lord.

Zacharias and Elisabeth Instructed John

Consider the instruction that took place in this home. Who taught John the Baptist that he was to be a Nazarite? Who taught him to abstain from strong drink, not to cut his hair, and what it meant to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Zacharias and Elisabeth did. The home is the greatest classroom on earth.

There is no greater way to instill character and purpose for life than teaching your children the Scriptures, because God’s Word is infinitely more powerful than your words.

The Bible gives us this eternal command: “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6). (More on what this means HERE.)

Zacharias, as a priest, knew the Old Testament Scriptures well. He would have known Isaiah 40 and Malachi 4, which prophesied of his son’s ministry. He used the Word of God to instill eternal purpose in his boy. As David asked: “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9).

Early in the chapter, Zacharias questioned the angel with unbelief. But by the time John was born, Zacharias stood up and spoke in bold faith. Zacharias praised God: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people” (Luke 1:68).

When a young child hears his father speak in faith, lifting up the Lord, it leaves an indelible impression for the rest of his life. Zacharias and Elisabeth likely died before John’s public ministry commenced, yet their influence lived on. John lived in the desert without them, but their instruction rang in his ears.

The Essential Ingredient: Controlled by the Holy Spirit

What makes a great family? It is not a large house, a full bank account, or expensive vacations. It is not even defined by what is taken out of the home. The key to a great family is what is put into it. The key ingredient in John the Baptist’s family was that every member of the family—father, mother, and child—was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Notice the divine pattern in Luke chapter 1:

1. The child John: “He shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb” (Luke 1:15).
2. His mother, Elisabeth: “And Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost” (Luke 1:41).
3. His father, Zacharias: “And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied” (Luke 1:67).

A home is not truly a Christian home simply because everyone in it is saved. It must be a home where everyone is spiritual—controlled by the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit controls the father’s words, the mother’s agenda, and the child’s attitude, everything changes for the better.

The chief mark of the Holy Spirit’s fullness is superabounding joy. The angel promised Zacharias: “And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.” (Luke 1:14)

When Elisabeth’s neighbors heard of God’s mercy, they rejoiced with her: “And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.” (Luke 1:58)

The fruit of the Spirit brings real, lasting joy into the home: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).

This first family possessed a powerful, far-reaching influence.

• They affected their neighbors and cousins, who joined them in praising God.
• This family affected their nation. The prophecy declared: “And many of the children of Israel shall turn to the Lord their God” (Luke 1:16).
• Zacharias and Elisabeth affected eternity. Two thousand years after Luke 1 was written, we still study their example. God’s people can still learn from their faith.

Seek to have a home where the Holy Spirit is in control, the Word of God is taught, and faith is modeled. This is not just for your own enjoyment…it is for everyone whose life your home will touch.

The ministry of John the Baptist can be traced upstream to the spring of real faith in the lives of his father and mother. Decide today, by the grace of God, what kind of heritage you will leave for the next generation.

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About Scott Pauley