An Incredible Announcement

A Preserving Bible Times' Contextual Reflection on Luke 1:8-22

 

The name this ordinary levitical priest gave his newborn son was Zechariah, the Semitic meaning of which is “whom Jehovah remembers.” In a culture where naming was very significant, this proud and overjoyed father had given his newly born son a name that invokes the personal, covenantal name of God, a name that recalls His promises and testimony to be faithful to his people.

In choosing that name, Zechariah's father drew upon a prophetic name that harkens back almost 500 years in the nation's history. The mere mention of the name Zechariah always evoked prophetic echoes of Messiah's coming, priesthood, kingship, glory and His enduring reign of peace and prosperity. In a culture in which the act of naming was highly significant and naming a male child a most sacred and solemn task, Zechariah's father had just given him a name that came with a history and a legacy. “Whom Jehovah remembers” would be engrained in young Zechariah's mind and embossed in his soul as he journeyed through life. “The Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob always remembers. And my name signifies all that, and more!”

No doubt Zechariah's father had great priestly expectations for his son. Thus it would be important to find his son just the right wife. If priests wanted their sons to remain in the priesthood, their sons had to marry daughters of priests. Finally a priestly family with a daughter was found for a possible marriage that seemed almost too good to be true. This daughter's name was Elizabeth, the name of Aaron's wife. Because Aaron had been Israel's first Chief Priest, and with Elizabeth's Semitic name meaning “one who swears by God,” if one wanted a great name and a great legacy for a priest's wife, this was it.

When the marriage details were agreed to, and the betrothal contract between the two families finalized, Zechariah's father had to have been overjoyed. His son has married into Aaron's priestly line. Perhaps he could not help but wonder, “Maybe the Lord has something truly wonderful in store for this young priest-to-be and his seemingly very special wife. Of course there will be a family. The only question being how many children, and particularly, how many next-generation priestly sons would God bless them with?” As Zechariah and Elizabeth ended their wedding festivities, they most likely had their own expectations of what they thought their family life would be. And in defining their expectations for a family, they unknowingly set the stage for future disappointment.

In verses 6 & 7 of his first chapter, Luke surprises his readers with an incredibly concise summary of the first 30+ years of wedded life for Zechariah and Elizabeth.

Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well along in years.

With incredible economy of words, and with sudden, new and totally unexpected information, Luke packs decades of pain, disappointment, hurt, frustration, self-doubt and misunderstanding into one sentence, with the word barren being the most arresting. To first-century Jews, this is an unconceivable outcome. Such a situation does not make any sense in the way their religious world was thought to work. To be upright in God's sight, and yet to be barren all those years, was incomprehensible to Luke's listeners. It was totally outside a devout Jew's mindset. God just doesn't “bless” people that way. Everybody knows that – or do they?

As a result of barrenness, Zechariah and Elizabeth had to deal with years of incredible misunderstandings. Two things were starkly clear to their clan and community. Elizabeth was childless and Zechariah had never been chosen by lot to perform the incense offering in the Temple. Only one conclusion was possible. Although Zechariah and Elizabeth appeared to be righteous, they must have offended God in some way, and He was punishing them for their sin. Our religious mindsets, those frameworks in which we think, process and make judgments, can so easily inflict pain in the lives of those who do not conform to our understanding of how we think things should be.

What was it like to be Zechariah all those 30+ years? You are doing right in God's eyes, but your religious culture says you must be doing something wrong! Sometimes life's heaviest burdens are rooted in unsolvable misunderstandings. Reinforcing this dogmatic perspective was the teaching of some of the rabbis who held that there were only two conditions for which it could not be argued that God was chastening a person because he loved them: leprosy and childlessness. We can only imagine how painful that perspective must have been to the psyche and souls of these two righteous Levites – to be branded as social and religious lepers by those closest to them. Yet they kept on praying (1:13). They prayed even when they began to wonder what it all meant. They continued to pray even when their hearts were weary and heavy from waiting. No doubt they prayed when they didn't feel like praying at all, especially when they felt they were now waiting in vain for a son.

The universal theme of Advent in Luke's first chapter is that life seldom turns out the way we had hoped or dreamed. We all have unfulfilled longing. Everyone is waiting for someone or something to arrive that just never seems to come, e.g. a spouse, a child, the “right” job, etc. Waiting for things that seem so right and so good yet never seem to arrive. How did Zechariah and Elizabeth wait? Luke tells us they waited blamelessly. They faithfully kept on keeping on even when there seemed to be no reason to continue to do so. No doubt many a time Zechariah would reflect on the meaning of his name: whom Jehovah remembers, and ponder the irony of that meaning when it seemed like God had forgotten the two of them. What an inspiration they are to us to keep on keeping on when life does not go in the direction and with outcomes we had hoped and dreamed it would!

How might years of waiting have affected this couple? Might there have been times of soul-searching and self-doubt? Luke gives us no clues that answers ever came to their “why” questions – the seeming silence of God. Yet, they remained faithful in walking blamelessly (a present tense verb Luke uses) never allowing their shared sense of being “passed over” to degenerate into cynicism and despair. They never permitted their profound sense of unfulfilled longings and discouragement to paralyze them. All the while this couple's shared sense of unfulfilled longings for a child went deeper and deeper into the marrow of their souls. How long can a soul ache for something seemingly so right before it begins to lose its grip on hope?

Meanwhile, God was at work at a higher level preparing the earthly stage for the entry of His only begotten Son into the world. And to start to unfold the next phase of God's plan, the angel Gabriel was summoned and briefed for his visitation to an unassuming ordinary priest named Zechariah who faithfully served Jehovah in this land.

Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. (8-9)

While on duty yet again with his division and family clan, and perhaps now approaching his fourth decade of service in the priesthood, Zechariah is finally chosen by lot to perform the coveted incense offering. As a result of his selection, he will enter the Holy Place in the Temple to perform this offering at the Altar of Incense. Given the design of that part of the Temple, he will now be within thirty feet of the Holy of Holies. The only thing that will separate him from the Presence of God will be the massive veil that divided these two chambers.

After all these years, especially given Elizabeth's perpetual barrenness, what could this lot selection mean? Might this be the validation of something? But of what? Or could this be ominous? In Temple worship tradition, the upwards trail of incense smoke was viewed as signifying the ascending prayers of the people rising up to God. That understanding might have prompted Zechariah to consider raising his prayer for a son one more (maybe last) time as he was praying while prostrate in the Holy Place.

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. ? When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. (11-12)

For the briefest of moments, as Zechariah recalled the demise of Aaron's sons in the presence of the Lord (Lev. 10:1-2), he might have thought that perhaps “Woe is me!” was the best response. Somehow, he might have reasoned, “my wife and I must have been displeasing God, and now I am going to find out why and face our judgment! At least we will finally know, after all these years, what it is that we have been doing to displease the Lord.” But, if Zechariah could just have thought a little more clearly for just a moment, this surprise visit might well have heartened him. With this angelic visitation, Jehovah obviously had NOT forgotten him!

In verses 13-17, Zechariah is informed he will be the father of a son and that this son will prepare the way for Messiah! It is hard to fathom what might have been going through Zechariah's mind and emotions as he heard these words from the angel. Furthermore, this was not going to be just any son for he would be great in the sight of the Lord. His son will prophetically “turn the hearts” of people, bringing repentance (a new way of seeing and understanding things) to many in Israel. In so doing, his son would make people ready for Messiah. All the prophetic significance of Zechariah's name will now be coming to fruition. Messiah is coming and he will have a son. But did Zechariah really hear those words? Did he really listen to what he had just been told? Apparently not!

Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” (18)

Zechariah has just been honored by God to be the first person to hear that the Messiah's coming is imminent. Yet his initial response has to do with biological issues! Nor can he even trust the Lord's promise of a son, suggesting that perhaps he had just prayed his ascending prayers without any conviction they would be answered. While Zechariah has long been faithful, he is not perfect! Nor might he be expected to be. This momentary expression of doubt and disbelief does not change him into a faithless priest.

Not unlike us, Zechariah was so focused on the unfulfilled longings of his heart for a son that he couldn't hear the fullness of God's message -- the incredible “good news” that Messiah is coming! Luke's readers must have wondered, “What would be God's response to Zechariah's physiological preoccupation and resultant disbelief?” As will shortly become clear, in this particular setting the expression of doubt and disbelief does have its consequences.

The angel answered, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. ? And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time.” Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak. (19-22)

Part of the protocol of the incense offering was for the officiating priest to pronounce the prescribed Numbers 6:24-26 blessing at the end of the liturgy. What the people always heard at the end of that service was the officiating priest with uplifted hands pronounce,

Jehovah bless thee, and keep thee: Jehovah make His face shine upon thee: And be gracious unto thee: Jehovah lift up His countenance upon thee and Give thee peace.

To this the people would always respond,

Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.

When it came time for Zechariah to pronounce that blessing, he opened his mouth and nothing came out! As far as we know, this was the only time this blessing could not be uttered by the officiating priest at the end of the incense offering. Talk about instant notoriety. Suddenly this seemingly passed-over priest is the “talk of the Temple,” and this news will soon travel back to his own village. Many would wonder what to make of all this.

Silence is often God's prescription for those times when we are having difficulty listening to Him, when we are so preoccupied with our own issues that we don't hear, or can't take time to listen to God's “still small voice.” God, who designed and made us, knows what we need to live abundantly so as to honor Him. As our Creator, He knows we need periods of solitude and silence to reflect, to listen, to regain our perspective, to refocus on who He is, His will and His ways. God is perfectly aware of all that Zechariah is and what his realities are. God does “remember” Zechariah and blesses him with silence as well as a son, the significance of which Zechariah cannot yet comprehend. As part of His grace and restorative discipline, God gives Zechariah an opportunity to reflect and refocus.

Going home, Zechariah now has a new challenge. Being mute (and considered by his culture to be possibly deaf as well), his ability to communicate is severely constrained. How is he going to explain all this to Elizabeth? For starters, Zechariah now needs to find a writing slate and start to document this incredible experience so he can share it with her.

When Zechariah walks back into their home in Judea, it didn't take Elizabeth long to realize something profound had happened. But what, that was the question? Slowly Zechariah silently pieced the story together in a way that Elizabeth could understand. As part of this slow communication process, there had to be a humorous moment when Elizabeth finally recognized the significance of what the angel had said to Zechariah. They were going to have a son! And then there had to be a wonderful moment, full of paradoxical incredulity, when Zechariah wrote down on his tablet that they needed to be intimate one more time. After hundreds and hundreds of failed attempts at conception, this time there would be no failure and disappointment! What a poignant and healing moment that must have been for the two of them!

 

REFLECTIONS

Luke shows us in this Advent narrative that there can be long periods of time between the initial expression of the prayers of our heart, our prolonged periods of “waiting,” and God's surprising ways. God's long-term plan is to remake our character and reveal His glory. Yet our short-term desire is often for immediate gratification and prompt removal of trying circumstances. Obviously, these are two very different and conflicting objectives! Luke also tells us something about God's nature and His ways in this story. We see a God who is utterly faithful. Yet at the same time, we also see a God who is totally unpredictable!

We also see in Luke's narrative that God sometimes uses enforced periods of silence, both for our benefit and His glory. Often times He does this to get our attention (yet again). Frequently it seems as if His purpose is to break our preoccupation(s) with the trinkets and pursuits of this world. That way He can draw us to Himself once again, so that we can more clearly hear His voice to realize afresh and anew that we truly are His beloved.

• Can you relate to Zechariah's state of hearing but not really listening? Of being so preoccupied with something that you miss much of what's being said?
• God's time frame and Zechariah's time frame of possibilities are certainly not the same! What's new? Can you relate to that from your personal experience? Can we totally trust God and rest in the fact that His timing is perfect while our notions of what's appropriate are not?
• Have you ever felt that you have waited too long, or were waiting in vain? That time, history, and maybe even God, had passed you by? Did those experiences allow you to imagine what might have been going through Zechariah's mind when he heard this sudden, surprising announcement?
• Has intentional silence been a part of your life? Do you set aside time to attentively listen to God's “still small voice?”
• Someone once observed that the word “illness” is totally contained within the word “stillness.” What insights might that suggest? Have you ever experienced how God can take a time of “illness” in your life and redeem it into a time of “stillness” with Him? How about a period of prolonged unemployment? What was God teaching you during those times? What did you learn about listening? Where do you need to grow in learning to listen to Him?
• Have you ever experienced a time of God's “imposed silence?” Was it an opportunity to refocus and be still before Him? What did God reveal to you during that time?

 

PONDER… The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. Proverbs 16:33

As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:9

Be still and know that I am God… Psalm 46:10a

 

Shalom Doug Greenwold, PBT Teaching Fellow Reflection #1007 © Doug Greenwold 2007

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