In a scam-filled world, there is a saying learned from hard experience: if something is too good to be true, it probably is. We learn to be skeptical of good news and stay on guard against those who would use our desires or desperation to take advantage of us. So when we come to God’s Word and we read promises that seem too good to be true, we find ourselves struggling to believe. Years of disappointment or pain convince us that we cannot really take God seriously. That’s exactly what Zechariah believed. The very first story that Luke tells is not the birth of Jesus, but the announcement of the birth of his cousin, John the Baptist. In this story, we are reminded that God’s Word should be believed. All others may fail us, but God will never do that. Let’s see how God showed Zechariah, Elizabeth, and His people this truth at the very start of Luke’s Gospel.
