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| diorama of a desert |
Zacharias
Here is a little tidbit to begin with - more space is devoted to Zacharias than any other person in these chapters. I find that interesting. All of this is from Luke 1.
1:5-7 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.
Zacharias and Elisabeth are introduced - he was a priest and she was the daughter of a priest; they were righteous, which is explained as walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless, or as Tyndale translated it, no man could find fault with them.
Sadly, they had no child, which was a keenly felt source of reproach among the Jews. And to make it worse, they were now well stricken in years (and both had gone far in their days ~Wycliffe). They were old. How old? So old that the hope of having children had died. If they were unable to have children when they were young and in the prime of life, it was an impossibility now.
1:8-10 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.
“We are informed in the Talmud, that it was the custom of the priests to divide the different functions of the sacerdotal office among themselves by lot: and, in this case, the decision of the lot was, that Zacharias should at that time burn the incense before the Lord, in the holy place.” (Adam Clarke)
“Incense was burnt twice a day in the temple, in the morning and in the evening. The incense was itself an emblem of the prayers and praises of the people of God. While, therefore, the priest is performing the rite, the people are employed in the thing signified. Happy the people who attend to the spirit as well as the letter of every divine institution!” (Adam Clarke)
1:11-12 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.
I have learned that supernatural experiences in the temple were not uncommon, nevertheless seeing an angel always resulted in fear.
1:13-17 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. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 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.
Zacharias is afraid but the angel comes with 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. This is wonderful and amazing and awesome!
And it gets even better: He, your son, the answer to your prayer, will be the forerunner of Messiah! Yes, the time is fulfilled, Christ is about to appear, and your son will prepare the people for him. Exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think...
1:18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.
What??? This is great news and Zacharias is stumbling over it.
1:19-20 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.
Here’s the problem – Zacharias didn’t believe. As a result he was struck dumb, unable to speak until the boy is born. Why didn’t Zacharias believe this announcement? We are not told, but I’m persuaded it was discouragement. They had prayed with faith and expectation for years and nothing. That’s discouraging. Now, "I am old, and my wife hath gone far in her days (Wycliffe). This can’t happen, it is a physical impossibility." How sad, discouragement has robbed this righteous man of faith in the power of God. This still happens. Discouragement keeps us from believing God, and we slowly stop praying about it at all.
Now to be sure, the angel is asking Zacharias to believe a lot – “Hey, old man, your old lady is gonna have a baby.” But in the angelic worldview, God said it and that settles it, so he doesn’t take kindly to this unbelief and as a result Zacharias will be unable to speak.
And now for “the rest of the story.” Yeah, it doesn’t end here. I believe Zacharias, when he was smitten by the angel, repented of his unbelief and believed the word and promise of the Lord. I think we have three proofs of this repentance in the rest of the chapter.
1:21-24 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless. And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, [that’s Elisabeth’s story!]
He finished his week of ministry and went home. I believe he told Elisabeth what happened, and then in faith, well, they were married! And Elisabeth conceived! Oh his faith is soaring now! That’s first.
Second,
1:57-63 Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son. And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.
And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.
And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.
And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.
Elisabeth not only conceives, she goes full term and delivers a baby, a boy, just as the angel announced. When it is time to give this boy a name, Zacharias goes with John. He was indeed a righteous man, and when he stumbled, he repented, believed, and obeyed.
And third,
1:64,67 And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God... And was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
He prophesied. Yes, his mouth was opened and he prophesied, which can only be done by faith. (His prophecy, 68-80, is one of the most powerful sections in the whole New Testament. Sadly, we are not looking at this today.)
Zacharias walked in obedience and righteousness but became discouraged and lost faith; but to his credit, once rebuked he repented and believed again and in that faith knew his wife, had a baby, named him John, and prophesied of the salvation of God. Oh the grace of God!
Only believe, only believe;
All things are possible, only believe.
(Only Believe, Paul Rader, 1921)
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