Signs

 Hello everyone. 

Today, we will continue the story of the message that the angel Gabriel has for Zechariah the priest.  He has told Zechariah that in their old age, he and his wife Elizabeth will have a son who will be given a very special mission from God. Zechariah’s response to Gabriel’s message is somewhat understandable: 

18 Then Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be certain of this?  I am an old man.  My wife has advanced in years, too.” 19 The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, one who stands before God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to proclaim this good news to you. 

20 So understand this, you will not have the power of speech.  You will be silent, until the day this all happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true in their proper time. 

     21 While the people waited for Zechariah, they began to wonder why he was in the temple so long. 22 When he came out, he did not have the ability to say anything to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. He made motions to them, but remained unable to speak. 23 When his time of service came to an end, Zechariah went to his home. 

24 After some time, his wife Elizabeth conceived.  She kept herself in seclusion for five months saying, 25 “This is what the Lord has done for me in these days, He has watched over me, and removed my disgrace from among the people.”

He asks, ‘How can I be certain of this?’ and acknowledges the advanced ages of both he and his wife. Two different commentaries on Luke, (Darrell Bock’s and Robert Stein’s) indicate that Zechariah’s question is asking for some kind of sign to confirm that what Gabriel is saying is true.  Of course, we can see in the story that Zechariah is given a sign, but not necessarily one that he would have chosen. Gabriel tells him that he will be unable to speak until the child is born.  

To me, it seems Gabriel might be a little annoyed by Zechariah’s question.  He informs Zechariah of his standing.  He had left God’s presence to come and deliver this message. He had been sent ἀπεστάλην (apestalane) to Zechariah for the specific purpose of declaring this good news to him. Darrell Bock says this about Zechariah; ‘It is better to say that Zechariah leans toward unbelief here, rather than that he is entirely unbelieving. His asking for a sign suggests that he is attempting to respond positively to the angel’s message, though he has grave doubt  and needs prodding.  Thus the angel’s reply calls Zechariah to faith instead of doubt.' (Bock, 92)  So, Zechariah is given a sign, and this sign would be a constant reminder of his unbelief.  

Gabriel expected Zechariah to believe this message.  After all, Gabriel was here to tell him that his prayer had been heard and was now being answered. (We shouldn’t be surprised when our prayers are answered, even if it is not the way we expect it to be answered, or not on the timetable we were expecting.)  I think that Zechariah and Elizabeth had probably prayed diligently for children when they were younger, but likely had stopped praying this in their old age.  The fact that their prayers seemed unanswered did not mean that they went unheard. 

So, Zechariah finishes his priestly responsibilities, in spite of his new infirmity, then returns home to his wife, Elizabeth.  He impregnates Elizabeth and she consciously secludes herself for the next five months.  It is not clear why she does this.  The one thing that Luke says about it is that Elizabeth spends the time praising God for this blessing. God had removed the unnecessary reproach that she had felt due to her lack of children.  God was not only blessing her with a child, but a very special one.  So old prayers are answered and a woman who should not have been pregnant is with child, to the glory of God. 

Tom