From Luke 1
A righteous priest named Zechariah receives a long awaited answer to prayer. He will have a son and he is to name him John. Zechariah at first does not believe and is rendered mute. This righteous man sins. How can we avoid making the same mistake?
This post is part of my bible in a year series.
Passage and Comments
Luke’s gospel begins explaining he has closely investigated the story about Jesus and put it together in an orderly account. He has done this so the recipient of the gospel (a man named Theophilus) can know with certainty these events happened and what he has already been taught about Jesus is true (Lk 1.1-4).
The narrative begins telling us about an old married couple Zechariah and Elizabeth.
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.
7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. (Lk 1.5-7)
‘Righteous before God’, ‘walking blamelessly’. They were righteous before God. Obviously this does not mean they were sinless and perfect. Rather we can infer they believe in God and they made a regular practice of righteousness (1 Jn 3.7-10). This righteousness entails all the commands and statutes in the law of Moses (cf. Dt 6.25) including the levitical sacrifices for atonement and forgiveness.
But they have a problem. They are old and have no children.
8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.
11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, (Lk 1.8-14)
‘He was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the LORD’. Zechariah’s was chosen to enter the temple and burn incense. He meets a waiting angel near the altar of incense. The meeting was not haphazard or random.
‘Your prayer has been heard’. After much persistence, God answered their prayer for a child. He is to be called John. The man we will know to be John the Baptist.
and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” (Lk 1.14-17)
‘Great before the LORD’. John the baptist will be great before the LORD. John will be an important person, used and highly regarded by God.
‘He must not drink’. John will be a Nazirite. Its a special role of dedication to the LORD’s service which included the prohibition to drink wine or spirits.
‘Filled with the Holy Spirit from his mothers womb’. John is born a believer and specially empowered for his ministry. This is remarkable. An exception to the norm.
‘Turn hearts’, ‘wisdom of the just’. John’s ministry will be the fulfilment of Malachi 4.6.This involves calling people to repentance and teaching them how to live.
He will prepare the people for the LORD’s coming.
18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” (Lk 1.18-20)
Sadly, over the years Zechariah has lost hope he will have children despite his prayers. He thinks they are both too old to have children.
Yet we don’t see angels of the LORD every day. We should believe God can do the impossible.
Zechariah should have believed the good news of his sons upcoming birth. Zechariah is rendered mute because he did not. The righteous still sin (cf. Ecc 7.20; Eze 3.20-21).
21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. (Lk 1.21-23)
When the waiting people see he is mute they realise something must have happened in the temple. They believe he had a vision. Zechariah unsuccessfully tried to explain, but in the end gave up and went home.
24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.” (Lk 1.24-25)
‘She kept herself hidden’. Zechariah and Elizabeth make love and she gets pregnant. For a long time she tried to keep it a secret, perhaps embarrassed at what the LORD was doing.
About Jesus
God occasionally instructs the righteous through difficult times. Sometimes doubting and underestimating God is as dangerous as rebelling against him. Our sin may not be a matter of doing something wrong (a sin of commission) but of being hesitant to pursue righteousness and to trust fully in the Lord (a sin of omission).
When God promises to do something, we should trust he will.
Copyright © Joshua Washington and thescripturesays, 2016. All Rights Reserved.
