Yesterday we mentioned how that God speaks to His people
and calls them while they are busy doing their daily task. Zacharias was busy
at his appointed duty as a priest. In the previous verses we also read that he
and his wife Elizabeth both were “righteous before God”. They were
blessed with this testimony by being faithful to fulfill “commandments and
ordinances of the Lord” in every aspect of their daily lives and in their
worship of Jehovah. They were also “blameless” (v. 6). Not only did they
have a testimony before the Lord, but they also had a testimony before the
world around them.
What is amazing about this is as you study the Gospel
accounts of the times in which Zacharias and Elizabeth lived, there was rampant
corruption everywhere and especially in the religious world. Most of the
leaders of the priesthood and religious teachers of Jesus day were very corrupt
and misusing their position for both political and financial gain. Jesus
accused them of turning the House of God into a den of thieves. I believe that
Zacharias and his wife prayed daily for the Messiah to come in fulfillment of
the Old Testament Scriptures. Their faith in His coming led them to live holy
and “blameless” lives despite the corruption around them.
And God richly rewarded their faith and godly lives! May
the Lord help us to do the same in these days of darkness! I love how verse 8 begins
the next section of Scriptures, “So it was, that while….”! This when God
does a supernatural miracle! “An angel of the Lord appeared to him…” (v.
11). Luke mentions angels twenty-three times in his Gospel. In Revelation 5:11
we read that there are innumerable angels, but only three of which are actually
named in Scripture: Michael (Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude 9; Rev. 12:7), Gabriel
(Dan. 8:16; 9:21; Luke 1:19, 26), and Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12). In Scripture,
Michael appears to be a “warrior angel”. Gabriel appears to be a messenger
angel. And Lucifer is a fallen angel who becomes know as the devil or Satan.
When Gabriel appeared by the altar, Zacharias was
frightened, for the angel's appearance could have meant divine judgment.
Gabriel assures Zacharias that he doesn’t need to be afraid because he is a
bearer of good news. "Fear not" or “Do not be afraid”, is
a repeated statement in the Gospel of Luke (1:13, 30; 2:10; 5:10; 8:50; 12:7,
32). Imagine how excited Zacharias must have been when he heard that he and
Elizabeth were to have a son! “Many will rejoice at his birth” (v. 14). "Rejoicing"
is another key theme in Luke, mentioned at least nineteen times. Good news
brings joy!
Gabriel instructed him to name his son John ("Jehovah
is gracious") and to dedicate the boy to God to be a Nazarite all of his
life (Num. 6:1-21). He would be filled with the Spirit before birth (Luke 1:41)
and would be God's prophet to present His Son to the people of Israel (see John
1:15-34). God would use John's ministry to turn many people back to the Lord,
just as Isaiah had promised (Isa. 40:1-5).
Today, these verses should encourage and remind us that our
prayers may be answered very unexpectedly (v. 13). When the angel said to him, "Do
not be afraid, for thy prayer is heard," it was to him staggering
news, although he had been praying many long years that a son might be given
them. They were both now "well advanced in years" (v. 7),
suggesting that he had continued this prayer long after the expectation had
died away. If the Lord lays it on the heart to continue in prayer for any
definite thing, is this not in itself an evidence that He desires so to bless
us?
This also reminds us that the Lord is able to do far above
what we ask. Zacharias not only would have a son born to him, but that son "would
be great in the sight of the Lord and filled with the Holy Spirit" (v.
15). God is not unfaithful. Wait on the Lord. Though the vision tarry,
wait. (Habakkuk 2:3).
Today we should pray, “Even so come, Lord Jesus”
(Revelation 22:20).
God bless!
