Doubting Zachariah

Good Morning,

Today we will be in Luke 1 and we will be looking at verses 5-25. Before we begin let us open with a word of prayer.

Pray 3+

Here in Luke starting in verse 5 and continuing through chapter 2 verse 40, will give an infancy narrative that is unique to his Gospel. Where Matthew’s Gospel is focused on the coming King, Luke’s Gospel is focused more on the joy of the coming Messiah. We see that in the infancy narrative found in each Gospel as well. In Matthew we see the perceived threat to the crown of Herod and how he deals with it by slaughtering all of the boys 2 years and younger. By contrast the opening chapters of Luke are built around these three moments of praise, Mary’s Magnificat in Luke 1 verses 46-55, Zechariah’s Benedictus in Luke 1 verse 68-79, and the Song of Simeon in Luke 2 verse 29-32. It is as if this is God’s overture and the rest of Luke and Acts are the culmination of God’s plan.

However we can also see another difference in the beginning of Luke when we compare it to Matthew. We see this comparison Luke is making between the forerunner and the fulfillment that is found nowhere else. The opening chapters of Luke will give us these parallel yet different stories that show while the forerunner John the Baptist is important and has a unique calling, his ministry is to direct our attention to Jesus, the one who fulfills all righteousness.

Our passage today, is the birth announcement of John the Baptist and has a direct comparison in the birth announcement of Jesus. We will continue to see these up to the birth of Jesus, there is Mary’s song of Praise then Zechariah’s song of praise, John’s birth and Jesus’s birth, even a comparison between this older barren couple and Mary the betrothed virgin all of these pointing to Jesus who has the better ministry. Like I said this week we are looking at the birth announcement of John the Baptist, in Luke chapter 1 starting in verse 5 it reads

Luke 1:5–12 “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. 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.”

Luke 1:13–18 “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, 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.” 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.””

We see in this passage a list of characteristics given about Zechariah, first we see he is a priest, of the division of Abijah, his wife is from the daughters of Aaron. They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statues of the Lord.

Our passage also tells us he and his wife Elizabeth had no children, they were advanced in years and he was chosen to enter the temple to burn incense. So.....

Why does Luke tell us so much about Zechariah? 

What purpose does all of this serve? Well on one hand this gives us a pretty substantial pedigree for the right John had to be a prophet. His father was a priest of the eighth division as established by David in 1 Chronicles 10:24. Zechariah was also selected by lot for entry into the temple to burn incense, this was an honor that might never happen in the life of a priest due to the limited number of times each division served and the fact that it was up to what some might call chance, we can see it was divine providence. His mother Elizabeth is a direct descendent of the line of Aaron, the first High Priest of the Mosaic Law. We see his parents are much like Saul or Paul was in that they were walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord, however unlike Saul, they were both righteous before God. This fact gives us some insight into Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth. It tells us that their righteousness was based on their actions but rather it was based on faith in God. Habakkuk describes this difference in chapter 2 verse 4 of his book when he writes, “4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.” Where many of this time were puffed up because they were Abraham’s children and they kept the Law and they were righteousness in the sight of men, this couple’s righteousness was before God. Then because of their faith and true righteousness before God, they were continually walking blamelessly in all that God commanded, this was their natural response. Yet despite this righteousness and blamelessness, Elizabeth was barren and were advanced in years.

Now it is here in verse 7 that we see the real reason that Luke gives us so much information about Zechariah. In this one simple sentence, Luke alludes to three different Old Testament narratives that Zechariah would have known or at least he should have known. The first of which is Abraham and Sarah. If you could turn with me to Genesis 18 and starting in verse 9 it reads

Genesis 18:9–15 “9 They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” 10 The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” 13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.””

We see in verse 11 here the first allusion they were advanced in years, and here it goes even further to tell us the way of the women had ceased to be with Sarah or she was beyond the human ability to conceive children. Here the Lord visits Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, he then tells them they are going to have a child at about the same time the following year. Then if we were to continue reading Genesis we see in chapter 21, that God did in fact visit Sarah and she was able to conceive a child. She then gave birth to a child about the same time the next year as God had told them.

The second narrative this alludes to is found in Judges 13 this is passage that Marc read earlier. And the Allusion is found right at the very beginning of the passage.

Judges 13:2 ESV

2 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children.

We see in this narrative the angel of the Lord visit appear to this man Manoah’s wife and tell her she is going to conceive and bear a son. Here however, the angel of the Lord goes farther and tells her what type of life this son shall live. After hearing what his wife said, Manoah prays to to the Lord that the angel would come again to teach them what they are to do with the child. They angel does come again and teach them and they later have a child whose name is Samson and becomes a judge of the nation of Israel.

The third allusion is found in 1 Samuel chapter 1 and while this one is a little less dramatic than the other two it is still just as important. Starting in verse 1

1 Samuel 1:1–5 “1 There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. 2 He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. 3 Now this man used to go up year by year from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the Lord. 4 On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb.”

1 Samuel 1:12–19 “12 As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. 14 And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.” 15 But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. 16 Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” 17 Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.” 18 And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad. 19 They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her.”

1 Samuel 1:20 “20 And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the Lord.””

Again we see a wife who had no children and again the Lord blessing her and giving her a child. Through all of these though, God gives a promise of a future child and that promise being fulfilled.

If you go back to our passage in Luke 1, we see this same thing going on. Zechariah and Elizabeth are without children and they had been praying for children or a child, however there is a difference between our story and the others that is worthy of note. It is again what Luke tells us about Zechariah. Where in the other narratives those who were childless might have had some of the revelation of God, Zechariah had all of the Old Testament, though at that time it was just the Scriptures. He was a priest serving in the temple so he should have known the connection when the angel appears before him.

He is standing in the Holy Place offering incense to the Lord, where two of the narratives the angel of the Lord appears before those receiving the news in or near their dwellings, Zechariah is receiving this message in what was to be the Lord’s dwelling on earth. He is inside of the Temple of the Holy God offering incense and an angel appears before him and gives him this news that he is going to have a son and in verse 16 and 17 look what the angel says.

Luke 1:16–17 “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.””

This is nearly a direct quote from LXX version of Malachi 4:5–6 “5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.””

And yet despite all of this all the allusions even the quote the angel gives him, look what his response is in verse 18.

Luke 1:18 ESV

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.”

What does this tell us about his doubt?

I mean I am just like really dude? How much more do you need? His initial response is skepticism and doubt. He literally had no excuse for the doubt he showed here and we hear that in the next couple of verses.

Luke 1:19–20 “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.””

It is as if, the angel is like do you not know who I am. I was sent with this good news, I spend my day in the presence of God and now you doubt what I say? It is almost as if this prayer Zechariah and his wife had been praying had been given up on. Where he was blameless and righteous in so many ways, in this one he was doubleminded not really expecting it to happen. Then when it does he doubts not only Gabriel, but the very character of God in doing so. Again Zechariah should have known what Scriptures said and taught. It had showed God’s faithfulness and how he kept every promise he gave and now Zechariah doubted this promise.

Doubt is often sneaky like that, I can be faithful in nearly every area of life, yet when it comes to prayer so often I feel like I have to be the one to answer it. I am lifting up these prayers to the Lord but not expecting him to do the very thing He says He will and answer them. That is what Zechariah is doing essentially and because of that here is his disciplined for it. He is told he will be unable to speak.

However this discipline, is not to be permanent. It is not a punishment but something that was to build his faith in God. Gabriel says that the word he spoke would be fulfilled and as we read the rest of the passage we see the start of that fulfillment.

Luke 1:21–25 “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. 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.””

We see here that God is already building in Zechariah the reassurance of the promise He gave to him. When the time of his service was ended and he returns home, his wife conceives the promised child. She like many who have struggled to get pregnant and don’t want to deal with what happens if problems arise, keeps it secret for five months, but she praises the Lord for taking away her reproach. This is a culture that looks down on those who cannot have children. While her husband is being disciplined, her false scorn is taken away. And we will see later how the discipline Zechariah is receiving, turns into praise and worship in a few weeks. But I have to ask...

Where do we doubt when we should be able to trust?

If you are here today and your faith is in Jesus, you and I are even more culpable than was Zechariah. He had the Old Testament, we have the entirety of God’s word. He had seen many of the promises fulfilled but was still waiting for some. We have seen God’s plan of salvation fulfilled and we are waiting not on the offer of salvation, but the coming Judgement of God to be displayed to the world. Jesus the Lord has already come the first time and defeated death, offering us eternal life. He has given us the power to overcome temptation and always provides a way of escape, do we believe that or do we doubt it living as if we are still slaves to sin.

He has promised to answer our prayer and provide for us if we first seek the kingdom of God, do we believe that or do we believe we have to provide or be the answer to our prayers.

Do you believe that he has made you a new creation as he has told us he has or do we believe we are still the old man that we were before?

Do you believe that your body is now the temple of the living God as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians?

1 Corinthians 3:16 “16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”

Or are we living a life doubting the the promises of God?

Let us close in prayer.