Chapter 5 

The Virgin Incarnation of God 

Zechariah in the Temple 

     Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of 

the priesthood, it fell to him by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude 

of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord 

standing on the right side of the altar of incense.  (Lk 1:8 11). 

    Luke's Gospel begins, after a brief introductory passage, with the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth. 

Zechariah is burning incense in the Temple when the angel announces to him that he and Elizabeth will 

conceive a son (Saint John the Baptist). Luke's Gospel tell us that  the whole multitude of the people  were 

gathered outside praying. Since all the people were gathered for this event, it was not merely the daily burning 

of incense of any day of the year (Ex 30:7 8). 

    The phrase,  the whole multitude of the people,  is a superlative expression which cannot be interpreted as 

referring merely to any large crowd. Other expressions are used in the Gospel of Luke to indicate a large 

crowd of people, but without using the phrase  the whole multitude of the people.  For example:  When the 

crowds were increasing  (Lk 11:29),  so many thousands of the multitude  (Lk 12:1),  He also said to the 

multitudes  (Lk 12:54), and  Now great multitudes accompanied him  (Lk 14:25), are all used to refer to a 

large  gathering of people. But the expression  the whole multitude of the people  differs from these other 

expressions in that the words  whole  and  of the people  indicate that this very large crowd was 

representative of the whole Jewish people. This type of crowd would not be gathered outside the Temple every 

day of the year, but only at the time of important religious celebrations, such as the Feast of Passover, the 

Feast of Weeks, or the Feast of Tabernacles (Deut 16:16). At such feasts, devout Jews traveled from every part 

of the nation, and even from other countries, to worship at the Temple of Jerusalem. Therefore, the service of 

Zechariah in the Temple must have coincided with a major feast of the Jewish faith. 

    There are only three major feasts in the Jewish faith: the Feast of Passover, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast 

of Tabernacles. Passover occurs in early spring (March April), in the Jewish month of Nisan. The Feast of 

weeks occurs in late spring (May June), in the Jewish month of Sivan. The Feast of Tabernacles is the only 

major feast that occurs in the autumn (Sept. Oct.), in the Jewish month of Tishri. 

    Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich also taught that Zechariah was serving in the Temple at the time of a 

feast. She explains that Zechariah was teaching in his home town about an impending feast. Shortly thereafter, 

Zechariah left his home to go to the Temple. And a few days later, while serving in the Temple, he saw the 

angel, who told him that he and Elizabeth would conceive the child John.

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    Saint John Chrysostom believed that Zechariah was serving in the Temple about the time of the Day of 

Atonement (Yom Kippur) and the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev 23; Num 29), when people from every part of 

Israel would be gathered in Jerusalem for these holy  days.

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 Yom Kippur is the 10th of Tishri and is 

considered the holiest day of the year. The Feast of Tabernacles follows soon after and lasts for 8 days, from 

the 15th to the 22nd of Tishri. Tishri is the first month of the Jewish civil calendar and occurs in the autumn. 

The Feast of Tabernacles (also called  the feast of booths ) is one of the three holy feasts of the year (Deut 

16:16). 

In the Sixth Month 

     In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin 

betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.  (Lk 

1:26 27). 

      and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren  (Lk 1:36). 

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