Zechariah’s Response

Zechariah represents us: the common man approached by God who desires to use us to bring about his will. Mary is a fantastic role model for us, but by virtue of her Immaculate Conception, she is different from us. She does not suffer from the effects of original sin, including concupiscence. However, Zechariah is just like us. He had original sin and suffered from concupiscence. As you read the story of Gabriel’s visit to him, try and picture yourself in the story.

The Angel Appearing to Zechariah - William Blake

Gospel - Luke 1:5-25

In the days of Herod, King of Judea,

there was a priest named Zechariah

of the priestly division of Abijah;

his wife was from the daughters of Aaron,

and her name was Elizabeth.

Both were righteous in the eyes of God,

observing all the commandments

and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly.

But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren

and both were advanced in years.

Once when he was serving as priest

in his division's turn before God,

according to the practice of the priestly service,

he was chosen by lot

to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense.

Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside

at the hour of the incense offering,

the angel of the Lord appeared to him,

standing at the right of the altar of incense.

Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him.

But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah,

because your prayer has been heard.

Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,

and you shall name him John.

And you will have joy and gladness,

and many will rejoice at his birth,

for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.

He will drink neither wine nor strong drink.

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.

He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah

to turn the hearts of fathers toward children

and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous,

to prepare a people fit for the Lord."

Then Zechariah said to the angel,

"How shall I know this?

For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years."

And the angel said to him in reply,

"I am Gabriel, who stand before God.

I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news.

But now you will be speechless and unable to talk

until the day these things take place,

because you did not believe my words,

which will be fulfilled at their proper time."

Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah

and were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary.

But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them,

and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary.

He was gesturing to them but remained mute.

Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home.

After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived,

and she went into seclusion for five months, saying,

"So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit

to take away my disgrace before others."

Scriptural Analysis - Background

Luke makes an interesting editorial choice as he switches from the introduction of his Gospel to retelling the events surrounding the birth of Jesus. The introduction is written in a very formal Greek style. The stories that follow the introduction are written in a narrative style similar to that of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. This is Luke’s way of connecting the birth of Jesus with what came before, showing that it is all part of one story of salvation history.

Once again, God is visiting his people by sending an angel to Zechariah and Mary to announce the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus, respectively. These two figures come together in the meeting of their pregnant mothers. The infancy narratives in Luke’s Gospel of John the Baptist and Jesus mirror one another. First, we have the announcements of John the Baptist and Jesus, and then, we have their births. Luke uses a similar structure for the two to show their connectedness.

These announcements follow a similar pattern to the birth announcements of Issac (Genesis 17-18) and Samson (Judge 13) in the Old Testament. Once again, Luke uses an Old Testament structure to show that God’s work in the Old Testament continues to be fulfilled today.

There are five steps in the birth announcement:

1. Appearance of an angel

2. Reaction of fear

3. Message of the angel

4. Response with a question

5. Giving of a sign

Scriptural Analysis - Zechariah And Elizabeth

Luke starts his narrative by situating this event within the larger historical context. We learn that this event takes place during the reign of King Herod. Among the many building projects King Herod undertook, he was responsible for refurbishing the temple and expanding its courts. Within the temple, an angel appeared to a Jewish priest named Zechariah. Zechariah’s name means Yahweh has remembered.

As a priest, Zechariah was a member of the tribe of Levi which descended from Aaron. The tribe was organized into 24 groups. Each group served in the temple, one week at a time, rotating through all of the groups. Zechariah, being a descendent of Abijah, was in the eighth group, “The eighth to Abijah.” (1 Chronicles 24:10) As was typical, Zechariah’s wife was also from a priestly family, and her name Elizabeth, which is derived from the Hebrew words for my God, is reminiscent of Aaron’s wife “Aaron took to wife Elisheba.” (Exodus 6:23)

Zechariah and Elizabeth are presented as model Jews. They are described as “righteous before God” and “walking in” all of the commandments. They model what God told Abraham, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.” (Genesis 17:1). Like the rest of those introduced in the first two chapters of Luke’s gospel, Zechariah and Elizabeth are very devout. The law promises people such as these blessings from the Lord, " If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you.” (Deuteronomy 30:16).

However, Zechariah and Elizabeth have no children. Elizabeth is considered barren and advanced in age, so their hope for children is running out. This is similar to Abraham and Sarah. Elizabeth’s struggle to bear a child recalls the similar struggles of Rebekah, Rachel, the wife of Manoah, and Hannah. God remembered all of these women, and they all bore a son.

Scriptural Analysis - The Announcement

The scene of the story now shifts to the sanctuary inside the temple. Zechariah, based upon law, was chosen by lot to burn incense in the temple, “They organized them by lot.” (1 Chronicles 24:5) Burning incense was done twice a day in accordance with the daily offering, “Now this is what you shall offer upon the altar: two lambs a year old day by day continually. 39 One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer in the evening.” (Exodus 29:38-39) Our best guess is that this event likely occurred during the evening offering. Zechariah enters the Holy Place, the first room of the temple where the incense is burned.

While the offering was going on, the assembly of the people were outside in the courtyard praying. This is a common motif in Luke’s Gospel. You will see the people portrayed as reverent and pious as opposed to their leaders.

The Angel of the lord now appears to Zechariah and like many before him, his original reaction is fear. The angel immediately moves to provide reassurance to Zechariah, to calm his fears. The announcement to Zechariah mirrors the announcement to Abraham (Genesis 17:19). Zechariah is told that his prayer has been heard and that his wife will bear a son and he is to name him John. The Hebrew name means the Lord is gracious, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious.” (Exodus 34:6). This birth is to bring joy: many will rejoice because of it.

The angel then turns his attention to John and describes what this child will be. This entire description is full of references to the Old Testament, designed to show that John and his mission will be great.

1. John will be dedicated as a Nazirite like the priestly sons of Aaron (Lev 10:9) and like Samson and Samuel (Num 6:1-21, Judger 13:4-7, 1Sam 1:11) John will not drink wine or strong drink

2. John will be filled with the Holy Spirit even in his mother’s womb, just like OT prophets (Isa 49:1 Her 1:5)

3. John will go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the people to the lord. This fulfills Malachi (3:23-24,3:1)

Scriptural Analysis - The Response

Zechariah finds this news too difficult to accept. He asks how he should know this. This is the same question that Abraham asked, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” (Genesis 15:8) yet Abraham believed, “And he believed the Lord.” (Genesis 15:6) With Zechariah we see doubt, “I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” This sounds like Abraham and Sarah’s response, “After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?” (Genesis 18:12) However, Zechariah knows that God kept his word with Abraham so Zechariah should have known better than to doubt God.

The angel then responds to Zechariah’s doubt by first identifying himself as Gabriel. Known from the book of Daniel, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” (Daniel 8:16) Of note, in Daniel, we see that Gabriel also appeared at the time of the evening offering, “While I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice.” (Daniel 9:21) Gabriel was sent specifically to announce this good news. Zechariah’s response should have been belief, but it wasn’t, so his punishment was to be made speechless (silent)

The people were waiting for Zechariah, as the custom was: “Say to Aaron and his sons, thus you shall bless the people of Israel” (Numbers 6:23). However, Gabriel’s punishment took effect immediately, and Zechariah was unable to speak. Later, Jesus gave the priestly blessing.

In his mute condition, Zechariah finished his assignment and then returned home. Elizabeth conceives, and her response, “he looked on me, to take away my reproach,” echoes Rachel’s, “She conceived and bore a son, and said, ‘God has taken away my reproach’” (Genesis 30:23). God has remembered Elizabeth.

Daily Application

The story of Zechariah should make us stop and think. If we were him, and an angel appeared to us, what would our response be? It is easy to point fingers at Zechariah and ridicule him for his response. How could he possibly doubt God when an angel is before him? Yet the more we think about this exchange, the more we may find ourselves convinced that our response would be like Zechariah’s.

Most of us would identify with Zechariah for the same reason Zechariah doubted God: comfort. We get comfortable in our lives, including our sins. Most of us resist when confronted by something threatening to upset that comfort. Zechariah’s response is rooted in realizing that what Gabriel tells him will fundamentally upset the life he has created for himself and gotten comfortable in.

Our Lord tells us that to follow him is to be uncomfortable, picking up our cross daily to follow him. That means we must be prepared for God’s call to challenge and make us uncomfortable. Our response to that call needs to be like Mary’s. Her response was not one of doubt but one of seeking understanding, “Is there something I need to do, Lord?” Zechariah doubted God’s call, whereas Mary did not. In just a few days, we will celebrate the Nativity of our Lord. Perhaps as we get closer to that day, we can ask the Lord to give us the grace we need to be comfortable being uncomfortable so that we can answer his call.