Responding to the Angels of Advent, Week 1
1st Week of Advent: Zechariah’s Angel
Theme: Faith
Luke 1:8-20
Angel’s Message:
“Do not be afraid, Zechariah. Your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (vv. 13-17)
Zechariah’s Response:
“How can I be sure of this? I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years.” (v. 18)
Zechariah was a priest, which meant he had spent his life studying the scriptures, and was therefore well-acquainted with what the Word of God said. If anyone would have faith, we might assume it would be a priest. However, his response to the angel’s message suggests that this man of God’s faith wasn’t as strong as it should be, and it seems his relationship to God was more ritualistic and liturgical than personal. In his study of the scriptures, he had to have read the accounts of the Lord answering prayers and fulfilling His promises. Yet when the angel appeared to him, breaking into his rituals to tell him that his own prayers would be answered, his response suggested a lack of faith.
The angel’s message was not only news of an answer to Zechariah’s personal prayer for a son; it also held a deeper significance for all of God’s people. The long-awaited son for Zechariah and Elizabeth would be the forerunner of the long-awaited Messiah who would take away the sin of the world. In responding doubtfully to the angel’s promise of a son, it appears that Zechariah completely missed the second part of the message given to him. Did he doubt the news of the coming Messiah as much as he doubted the news that there would be a child in his house at last?
Application:
Christmas is often considered a time of miracles, a time to believe that prayers will be answered and that our wildest dreams will be realized. Have you been praying earnestly and seeking God for something in your life? Do you truly believe that God can and will answer those prayers? How would you respond if God sent an angel to you right now to tell you that God had heard your prayer and would answer it?
