Knowing The Word in Luke 1:18-25

Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

1:18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 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.” 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.

Elizabeth Conceives

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.”

Comments

Zechariah refused to believe the message of the angel. Zechariah, as a priest and righteous man, knew the scriptures well. He sounds like Abram, asking God how he can be certain of God’s promises, except he demanded a sign, explaining his and Elizabeth’s ages as his reason for unbelief. The angel now identifies himself as Gabriel, which means “God is my strength” or “God is my strong man” or “God’s able-bodied man.” We last saw Gabriel in Daniel 8:16. He was the last angel seen in the Old Testament and the first one to appear in the New Testament. He has consistently stood in the presence of God. His credentials were impeccable, and Zechariah needed to listen to and respect his message from God of “good news.” Luke later used this same phrase for preaching the “good news” of the gospel.

Zechariah’s request for a sign was answered. He lost his ability to speak because he failed to believe the one speaking to him. Luke then reminds us that the people were still waiting for Zechariah to appear. Offering incense did not take long, so something had happened. When he finally appears, he was supposed to join the other priests in pronouncing the benediction. Instead he only motioned to the people with his hands. This is the evidence that something happened inside, that he had seen a vision, something the people were unable to understand or explain.

Zechariah remained at the temple, serving the Lord for the rest of the week before returning to his wife to accomplish Gabriel’s prophecy!

Zechariah returned home and obeyed God’s directive and Elizabeth conceived a child. Why does Elizabeth then hide for five months? No one would have seen her pregnancy at the beginning. Perhaps she had suffered reproach from others for being childless and wanted to be seen as “really” pregnant and not as an old woman putting on weight. We do not really know. However, in biblical Israel, childlessness is considered a disgrace. Throughout Genesis, childbearing is considered a divine blessing. It is also seen as God acting to keep his promise to Abraham. That Elizabeth was now pregnant was a continuation of this promise. Perhaps her seclusion allowed her to focus primarily on God rather than the reaction of other people.

A note on Angels: angels are God’s messengers who belong to his heavenly court and service. Their primary mission in heaven, as we see throughout the Bible, is to praise God. When heaven comes down to earth, they have an earthly mission in which they devote themselves to carrying out the will of God and proclaiming his message to his people. They are active in the divine work of reconciliation from rescuing Lot in Sodom to proclaiming the birth of Jesus to the shepherds. They bring good news to everyone they encounter in the Gospel of Luke.

Application

When have you not believed a promise of God or asked him for a special sign? Zechariah learned to trust God and his good purposes. So can we.

Prayer

Holy Spirit, when we cannot say the right words in prayer, you pray on our behalf with groanings too deep for words (Romans 8:26). Pray on our behalf today for those things for which we cannot find the right words. As Zechariah was quieted by God for a time, help us to be quiet in God’s presence today and let you do the praying for us as we acknowledge our dependence upon you and the Father and the Son, One God for ever and ever. Amen.