Zechariah

Faith in the Margin • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

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Gabriel in the temple

Zechariah was a priest, and the husband of Elizabeth. Elizabeth also came from a priestly family as she was described as “a daughter of Aaron”.

Zechariah and Elizabeth were serving the Lord at the end of 400 years of silence, during which God did not speak to His people at all.

When Zechariah was serving at the temple, he entered the temple to burn incense when an angel appeared beside the altar.

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.”

Of course, we know that his son would be John the Baptist, who would proclaim the coming of the Messiah.

But Zechariah doubts and questions the angel, saying that he and his wife are past the age to have children, how could they have a son?

It’s almost like he’d never heard of Abraham, Sarah, and Issac.

The angel of the Lord, whose name is Gabriel, rebukes Zechariah for his doubt! And he tells Zechariah that he will be mute until the day that his son was born.

This is both a rebuke and a blessing. Zechariah cannot speak until the day that John is born, meaning that despite Zechariah’s lack of faith, the things that were promised will still take place!

God is faithful even when we doubt. Even when it seems like the situation we are in is too difficult or too impossible to get through, God has promised that He will see us through, and we can believe that. I hope you’ll hold that close to your heart as your take on life and it’s many challenges.