When my pastor asked me to preach for him on December 1, we talked about that being the beginning of Advent. I asked him what his theme was going to be and he said that he had not yet decided. I thought about it and offered a couple of suggestions. The first one was to go through Luke 1 & 2. He decided to go in a different direction. Well, I’ve been sorta thinking about Luke 1 & 2 ever since.
Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.
How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
Two seemingly similar questions, but they received very different responses.
The first question was asked by Zacharias. He was a priest and was married to Elisabeth. They were child-less and were now both well stricken in years. While he was in the temple, executing the priest’s office, an angel appeared to him and gave him great news:
Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
The angel announced that John would go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah . . . to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. His son, the forerunner of the Messiah!
Zacharias and Elisabeth wanted children. They had been praying for God to bless them with children. And now, in a dramatic way, an angel told Zacharias that his prayer was about to be answered. And this brings us to Zacharias’ question: Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.
The angel then struck him mute for 9 months!
The second question was asked by Mary. Six months after speaking to Zacharias the same angel came to her and announced:
And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.” He told her that her child would be the Messiah! And her question? “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
This time the angel offered her an explanation of how this would happen.
Why did the angel answer Mary and smite Zacharias??
Gabriel’s announcement to Zacharias is in Luke 1:13-17. He offered him great detail about the birth and life of this promised son. This is no fleeting feeling - God sent an angel to him to tell him his prayer was answered! And this is what the angel said about Zacharias’ question, thou believest not my words. Ah, even though Zacharias knew how babies were made and had been praying for a child, he did not believe the report. To be fair, they had spent many years trying to have a child with no success and now they were well past child bearing years. They were no doubt discouraged and this is a hard thing to believe. But, while we may excuse him, God did not. Zacharias did not believe God.
Mary was a virgin. She was engaged to be married, but was not yet married. She was still a virgin. When the angel announced that she would have a son her question was understandable, “Uh, how can this be? I’m a virgin.” Zacharias responded, “Yeah right, we’re too old to have children.” He had enough information (he knew how these things happened), he just didn’t accept the Word from God. Mary, on the other hand, simply needed a little more information (how could this happen?). And how do we know this? From her response to the angel’s explanation, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.
Amen. Mary walked in faith, Zacharias did not. Did Mary completely understand the how of all this? I doubt it. But God said it and she believed it. Zacharias on the other hand, heard the Word and did not believe it. He knew his Bible. He knew the story of Abraham, who against hope believed in hope . . . And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. Zacharias staggered at the promise of God.
What’s all this to me today? I want to walk in faith like Abraham and Mary. I need to accept God’s Word over what I see or hear. The twelve spies all saw the same thing: a land of abundance with giants! Ten saw the giants, Joshua and Caleb saw the Lord. Amen.
This is also a reminder that God is not opposed to questions. Basically, Mary said, “Lord, you are promising me great things but how can this be? How can I have a baby, I’ve never been with a man?” This is a fair question and God provides the answer. The prophet Habakkuk is a great example of this. The book begins with a serious question, O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear? God answered him, but the answer was even more difficult to understand than the current conditions, so Habakkuk cried out, “Lord! What? How? I don’t understand.” Then he did the wisest thing he could, “I will wait for his answer.” And God did answer! The just shall live by his faith. There is much more in chapter 2, but this is the essence, “Trust me.” Habakkuk got the message and he did trust the Lord - chapter 3 is a prayer/song that ends with a great confession of confidence in God!
And speaking of examples! Habakkuk was a man so full of love for God that he was not merely saddened and distressed by the terrible spiritual conditions around him, he was moved to intercession. And he fervently persevered in that intercession until he heard from God. And when he didn’t understand that word, he waited until he heard again. Is this not the violence God delights in? (Matt 11:12)
And back to Mary. By faith she responded, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. We don’t get it. In our day a single woman having a baby is no big deal. It’s almost the norm. In fact, if you don’t have sex before you get married, you are the odd duck. So we merely see the struggle of believing she will give birth to the Messiah. But Mary knew the stigma this would bring. Even though believing God would increase hardship, she said, Be it unto me according to thy word. Ah Mary, Blessed art thou among women.
Finally, a note to myself, if I ever have an angel appear to me and give me a Word from God . . . believe it!
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