Zechariah-God Uses Broken Vessels

Introduction

I have a book that perhaps some of you have heard about or read that is titled, Disappointment with God. It was written several years ago by Christian author Philip Yancey, and in it, he attempts to answer three questions about God. That is, is God unfair, Is God silent, is God hidden?

The reason he addresses these questions is because most Christians have asked them at one point or another. As much as we would like to think that serving God is nothing more than blue skies and peace and prosperity, the reality is not that at all. Serving God is often a difficult and tough road.

Perhaps some of the disappointment we feel in our lives stems from the fact that we feel at times that our life is meaningless. That it has no purpose, it has no value. We feel like there is nothing God can do in and through our lives, that we are broken and matter very little any more. And we feel this way despite the fact that we have faithfully served God over the years. You’ve heard myself and other pastors say, do this and do that, and we have done this and done that, and yet, the results seem to be the same.

This leads to a feeling of brokenness. This leads to disappointment with God. This leads to perhaps feeling much like Zechariah in our story today. And if that is the case, I want to give you some hope, just as Zechariah found. God has not abandoned you, God has not forgotten about you, and God wants to use your life.

And so, let’s think about Zechariah and let’s consider first of all,

I. Zechariah-The Model person.

If there was a person that anyone wanted to emulate in the Jewish faith, there would have been no one better to emulate than Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth. If there is someone who a pastor would want in their church, it would be these two.

The words of verses 5 and 6 sum it all up.

Luke 1:5–6 ESV

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. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.

Again, to throw myself under the bus, we often in the ministry refer to the outsiders, the broken lives, shattered and ruined by sin. We rail against the dangers of becoming the prodigal, and we are not wrong in that statement. We used to sing an old song saying that sin will take you further than you want to go, it will cost you more than you want to pay.

But this is not the case here. This is not the situation we are dealing with. They were both righteous before God. They walked blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.

Luke: An Introduction and Commentary A. The Birth of John Foretold (1:5–25)

The piety of this couple is brought out with the adjectives righteous and blameless. This means, of course, that they served God faithfully, not that they were sinless. It made their childless state hard for them to understand, for people believed that God would bless faithful servants by giving them children.

This brings me to the next point. Zechariah was a model Christian, a model citizen, but he was also a broken Christian.

II. Zechariah-The Broken person.

When I use the word broken, as I mentioned, this is not a brokenness that stemmed from sin, or a life ruined by sin and mistakes. But, it was a life that was imperfect, that we could say was broken.

How do I mean that?

A. Broken because of natural circumstances.

Before I go any further, let me just say that the inability to have a child, the inability to conceive is not a sin. We know that it is a result of the fall and just because a couple does not have children, it does not mean that they are less of a Christian, or somehow not loved by God or whatever you want to say.

But, particularly in ancient cultures, being childless was thought to be a sign of God’s displeasure, or disfavor on their life. That is why we read these words in

Luke 1:7 ESV

But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

In a commentary by Darrell Bock, he writes these words. Yet despite their righteousness, they have suffered the disappointment of barrenness, a condition Elizabeth will later refer to as a disgrace (v. 25).

Bock, D. L. (1994). Luke (Lk 1:5–7). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Another writer mentions this. The mention of their age is probably to make it clear that they could expect no change in the situation. Zechariah may have been very old, for there was no retiring age for priests (as there was for Levites).

Morris, L. (1988). Luke: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 3, p. 85). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

We know how this works. Zachariah and Elizabeth are married, he in his mid to lat 20’s, her in her mid teens, the years pass, the children don’t come, and the feelings of hopelessness, of desperation, of feeling abandoned by God, and no doubt brokenness are piling up, piece by piece, little by little, until one feels completely broken and crushed.

The crushing weight of circumstances, of life, are enough to break any person. There is a Christian blogger, who is pretty popular, perhaps in his mid 40’s, a couple of years older than I am, who this month, in November, lost his 20 year old son for a reason that no one knows why. He simply lost consciousness, playing a game in a group at a Christian college, where he was studying to be a pastor. And now he’s gone.

Perhaps there is something in your life that has left you feeling this way. Maybe it’s this whole pandemic, maybe it’s something personal, whatever it is, I hope I can convince you that God has not, and will not abandon you.

Psalm 34:18 ESV

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Zechariah is broken because of the circumstances of his life, and he is broken

B. Broken because of a lack of faith.

We’re told in verses 8-12 that Zechariah was fulfilling his duties as a priest. He was offering up the incense before God, he was being faithful to his duties, and suddenly an angel appears to him. Out of the blue, here is this heavenly being with a message for Zechariah.

Luke 1:13–17 ESV

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. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 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. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 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.”

Zechariah’s response is not much different than mine or yours might be. Think about it. You’re getting married, you’re being asked and told to have lots of children, the years go by and the questions no longer come. You’re looked at with pity, assuming you will never have a baby. The signs of middle and now old age are quickly upon you. What do you do when someone tells you something so preposterous?

Luke 1:18 ESV

And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”

Biology is as old as creation. Even in the ancient cultures of Judaism, it was understood how things worked. They knew the biological clock that is present in ladies and knew that Elizabeth’s time had passed.

As I was studying this week, many of the commentators I read put forth the supposition that the prayer that was heard was not Zechariah praying for a child, but rather praying for the soul of the nation of Israel. Praying for her deliverance. And that makes sense when you consider the response Zechariah has. How can this happen? How can you state that I will have a child at this stage in our lives? My wife and I are simply too old.

We know what happens as a result of a lack of faith.

Luke 1:19–23 ESV

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. 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.” And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 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. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

We read of this story and juxtapose it with the story of Abraham and Sarah. And I’m always blown away at what Paul states about Abraham.

Romans 4:19–22 ESV

He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.”

In other words, a man who was 100, a wife who was 90, and he did not waver when God said, you will have a child in your own age. That’s hard to comprehend and I confess that I am more on the side of Zechariah than I am on the side of Abraham.

And yet, broken because of natural circumstances, broken because of a lack of faith, and a person restored by God.

III. Zechariah-The restored person.

We move from the time of conception, the time of the beginning of the pronouncement of the angel 9 months down the road to the birth of John the Baptist. Elizabeth’s term is fulfilled, the time comes, and out comes a baby boy. According to Mosaic law, you bring the child to the Temple and he is circumcised and blessed according to the law. Also at this time, his official name is given.

And so, we want to name the child, and we name him after the father, the grandfather, the family lineage, but Elizabeth says,

Luke 1:60 ESV

but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.”

Zechariah, what is she talking about? Get your wife in line, straighten her up. And Zechariah stands up, takes a writing tablet and writes that his name was to be John. Look what happens.

Luke 1:64 ESV

And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.

Look at what he says,

Luke 1:67–68 ESV

And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people

You can read his pronouncement and it is a beautiful praise and worship to God. He rejoices and exults in the praise and glory of the God who has visited his people once again.

Can you imagine? A lifetime of wondering, of feeling the disappointment of why we don’t have a chid, to 9 months of being unable to speak, watching your wife grow in her pregnancy, to the joy of holding the child, seeing him circumcised, and bringing a joyous exclamation of praise to God.

And it’s all because God delights to take the life that seems broken, the life that seems to be full of disappointment, and he delights to use that life for his glory and that advancement of his kingdom.

IV. Lessons Learned from Zechariah.

A. God has a plan for every life, regardless of __________.

That is an intentionally left blank spot for all of you rabid note takers. Because I don’t know your circumstance, and what it is that you feel is hindering the work of God, being used by God. Perhaps it’s age, or some physical limitation, as it was in Zechariah’s life. Perhaps it’s the lack of an education or something, and you say, I am not capable of fulfilling God’s purposes.

But can I tell you, you are. You’re not forgotten by God. God has not put you on the shelf and forgotten about you.

Many of us hear these words about doing something for God and we scoff because we’re thinking, I’m not heading to Africa or China. I’m way too old. I would caution you and say, no you’re not, you still have life in you and God still has a plan for you, but, that’s probably not God’s will.

What is his will?

Micah 6:8 ESV

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Perhaps its just where you are, to live for his glory, to do good, to show mercy to a neighbor, a friend, a grandchild, on and on we go. Whatever it is that can point someone to Christ, do it. And be thankful that pointing someone to Christ probably doesn’t mean having a child who will be the forerunner to the Messiah.

B. Our job is to trust Him, to walk by faith, and to allow Him to work in and through us.

It’s hard, it’s difficult, his ways don’t always make sense, but we trust. His plans may defy human reasoning and expectations, but we trust. We walk by faith, we believe that all things work together for the good of those who trust in Him.

A television program preceding the 1988 Winter Olympics featured blind skiers being trained for slalom skiing, impossible as that sounds. Paired with sighted skiers, the blind skiers were taught on the flats how to make right and left turns. When that was mastered, they were taken to the slalom slope, where their sighted partners skied beside them shouting, "Left!" and "Right!" As they obeyed the commands, they were able to negotiate the course and cross the finish line, depending solely on the sighted skiers' word. It was either complete trust or catastrophe.

What a vivid picture of the Christian life! In this world, we are in reality blind about what course to take. We must rely solely on the Word of the only One who is truly sighted--God Himself. His Word gives us the direction we need to finish the course.