In the first chapter of the gospel of Luke, 2 people have an encounter with the angel Gabriel. The first is an elderly priest called Zechariah, and the second is a young girl named Mary.
Zechariah was on duty at the temple. He was part of the priestly order of Abijah, and he had been chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. This was often a once in a lifetime privilege. In fact, some priests completed their years of service at God’s house without ever being given this honour. I imagine Zechariah felt a huge weight of responsibility and wanted to carry out his tasks to the best of his ability.
However, as he set about his duty of burning incense, the elderly priest was startled by the appearance of a heavenly visitor. Unaware of what was happening inside the sanctuary, the crowd stood outside praying and waiting for Zechariah to come back out and offer a blessing.
Verse 12 of Luke 1 says that Zechariah was “shaken and overwhelmed with fear” when he saw the angel. We don’t really know what he saw, but we can imagine a brightness, and perhaps an imposing figure standing in the middle of all the light. No wonder he was afraid. My reaction would have been just as extreme.
Gabriel gets right to the point. After telling Zechariah not to be afraid, he announces that his previously barren wife Elizabeth will conceive and bare him a son, and that their son will bring them great joy. He is to be named John and will be great in the eyes of the Lord. Furthermore, John will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before his birth and will be the Elijah figure the prophet Malachi prophesied about, turning many Israelites back to the Lord their God and preparing them for the coming of their Messiah.
Zechariah reacts by asking a question. “How can I be sure this will happen?” Luke 1: 18.) He then tries reasoning with the angel. He and Elizabeth are elderly. They have been childless all their married lives. Surely this is too much. As you read his words, you can sense the disbelief in the elderly priest.
Before we judge Zechariah too harshly, let’s try and put ourselves in his shoes. Many years of disappointment had led up to this moment. He and Elizabeth had probably married young, since most people did in those days. It was every man’s greatest desire to have a son to follow in his footsteps, and every woman’s longing to provide that son and heir. Just consider the distress of old testament women such as Sarah, Rebekah and Rachel when they believed they were barren, and the lengths some of them went to in order to make sure their husbands had offspring.
Zechariah struggles to believe the good news he’s been given. It seems too good to be true, and perhaps he wonders if this is all a nasty trick. He probably spent the first few years of his marriage hoping every month would bring good news, then comforting Elizabeth when it didn’t. He stuck by his barren wife, so clearly he was a loyal man, but even the most faithful people can become jaded when their hopes are continually dashed.
Perhaps Gabriel’s response to Zechariah’s doubts seems a little extreme. Verses 19 and 20 of Luke 1 reads: “Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”
For the next 9 months, Zechariah would be mute. Some people also believe he was deaf, but we don’t know this for sure. We only know that when he went back out of the sanctuary to pronounce the awaited blessing, he had no voice with which to do so.
Zechariah reacted to Gabriel’s miraculous news with disbelief, but young Mary’s reaction was totally different. The news Gabriel had for her was even more startling, because her child wasn’t even going to be conceived in the usual way. She was a virgin, and yet she would bare Israel’s long-awaited Messiah. Like Zechariah before her, she too has a question, but hers is not tainted by disbelief. She simply lays out the facts. “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” (Luke 1: 34.)
If I had been Mary, I think I would have wanted a lot more detail than simply: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.” Luke 1: 35.) I would have wanted to know the inns and outs, the whys and wherefores. Yet Mary simply responds: “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” (Luke 1: 38.)
2 angel encounters, and 2 very different responses. Zechariah suffered the consequences of his disbelief, all be it temporarily until his son was born and his mouth was opened once more, and Mary has been praised ever since for her faith and obedience. I’d love to say I’m like Mary – eager for whatever God has for me and completely open to the miraculous, but if I’m truthful, I’d have to admit I’m often more like Zechariah. I believe God can do great things, but if he suddenly sent an angel and said he was going to do them for me, I’d probably pinch myself and presume I was dreaming.
This year, I have been pondering the question of why Zechariah was silenced during his wife’s pregnancy. It must have made life pretty hard for them. And at the very time when they should have been rejoicing and planning together. Why would God inflict such a punishment? I have concluded that perhaps Zechariah needed some time to think. If he’d been able to verbalise everything that was in his heart, perhaps more doubt would have spilled out. Maybe his negativity would have tainted Elizabeth. After all, it would have taken a while for her to discover she truly was pregnant. Would she and Zechariah have gone on talking negatively right up until she felt John’s first kicks? Would they have shared their disbelief with others and tainted their faith? Sadly, it’s my experience that doubt can be contagious.
Mary had youth on her side. She probably hadn’t experienced as many of life’s let-downs as her elderly relatives. I’ve noticed how young children are much more willing to believe God for miracles than those of us who’ve experienced the harsher side of life. We can learn so much from the faith of a child. Although perhaps not quite a child, Mary was almost certainly a young teenager, and teenagers often believe they can do anything if they set their minds to it. Obviously, I’m not taking anything away from Mary’s faith, because she was certainly relying on the Lord. I’m sure she knew she had a tough road ahead of her, especially when Joseph found out and would almost certainly jump to the wrong conclusions.
The fact is that where Zechariah doubted and questioned, Mary trusted that her God had a plan and would ultimately work everything out. She seems to have let the blessing of her situation override the possible negative consequences.
My desire is to be more like Mary and less like Zechariah. I am unlikely to get a visit from the angel Gabriel, but when God calls me to do things that seem impossible, I want my attitude to be: “Well, if it’s what you want Lord then I know you’ll give me the ability to do it. I’m ready and willing.” Instead, it is often more like: “Are you sure Lord? Isn’t there someone else who’d be better at this than me? Is this really you speaking, or am I imagining things?” I am grateful he has never felt the need to silence me, although when I consider some of the negative words that have come out of my mouth or the doubts I’ve had, I sometimes wish he had.
As we celebrate Christmas during the coming days, let’s remember we still serve a God of miracles. Let’s not become so embittered by the world in which we live that we cease believing our Lord has wonderful things in store for us. He has a calling upon each of our lives, and he may just ask us to do something unexpected. The question is, will we believe him, and will we be ready and eager to obey?