God caught Zechariah in the fulfillment of divine promises that occurred with the coming of the Messiah. God had chosen Zechariah, along with his wife Elizabeth, to play crucial roles in his great story of grace. Zechariah experienced the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as a priest to offer sacrifices at the great Temple in Jerusalem. While performing his duties, a heavenly messenger visited Zechariah and revealed that he and Elizabeth would have a son. Despite being well past the age to have children, God was answering their prayer. The messenger told Zechariah to name their son, John. He obeyed, and God used Zechariah's "simple" obedience to bless the world.