This week,
we are looking at the opening section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible
called the Gospel of Luke. Yesterday, we looked on as Luke introduced us to a
couple named Zacharias and Elizabeth. Both Zacharias and Elizabeth were pastor’s
kids who were very familiar with the message and teachings of the Lord. Zacharias
and Elizabeth were model citizens who did what was right in the sight of the
Lord. Zacharias and Elizabeth lived out their day to day lives in such a way
that no one could find fault with how they followed the message and teachings
of the Lord and how they worshipped the Lord.
However, Luke tells us that Zacharias and
Elizabeth were childless, because Elizabeth was barren and they were both
advanced in years. Now in the culture of the day, being childless was viewed as
a sign of God’s judgment and punishment for one’s selfishness and rebellion.
Being childless was a source of shame and resulted in a couple being ostracized
by others.
Even though
they served the Lord and prayed to the Lord for children, they were still
childless. And they were at a place in your life where there is no hope of ever
having a child. You are Zacharias and Elizabeth. How would you feel? How would
you respond? Luke records what happened next in Luke 1:8:
Now it happened that while
he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division,
according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter
the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people
were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering.
Now, to fully
understand what is happening here, we first need to understand the meaning of
burning incense on the altar of incense. The altar of
incense was located inside the sanctuary of the Temple in Jerusalem, in front
of the curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. Here is a
picture to help us understand what we are talking about.
God commanded the priests to burn incense on the altar every morning and
evening, the same time that the daily burnt offerings were made. The incense
was to be left burning continually throughout the day and night as a pleasing
aroma to the Lord. This
offering of incense would bring the priest as close to the presence of God as
any other person otther than the High Priest might ever come.
Now, with all that in mind, Luke
tells us that Zacharias was selected by lot to have the privilege to enter
into the sanctuary of the Temple to burn incense before the Lord. You see, at this time in history, prior to having the complete word of
God and the Holy Spirit, casting
lots was used to either determine blame or know God’s will. To be selected to
enter into the Temple to burn incense was significant because the privilege to enter into the Temple to burn incense before the Lord would
only occur once in the lifetime of a priest. So the custom of the priests was
to cast lots to determine who would have that privilege.
By being
chosen by lot, Zacharias was viewed as being chosen by God for the privilege to
come before His presence to worship Him. As Zacharias entered into
the Temple to offer up the incense before the Lord, Luke tells us a multitude
of people remained outside the Temple in prayer. This multitude of people would
be praying to the Lord and would be praying that Zacharias would honor the
Lord through his offering of incense to the Lord.
However, as the multitude of
people prayed to the Lord and as Zacharias approached the
Lord to honor the Lord, Luke reveals for us the reality that this day would be
unlike any other day, as we see in verse 11:
And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the
right of the altar of incense. Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him.
Now imagine
yourself as Zacharias. Place yourself in his shoes. You are selected by the
Lord to have the incredible privilege to enter into the Temple to burn incense
before the Lord. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be as close to the
presence of the Lord as you will ever be while here on earth. Then, as you are
before the Lord to offer up worship to the Lord, an angel of the Lord shows up.
You are Zacharias.
What would you be thinking? What
would you be feeling? Luke tells us that Zacharias responded to
the appearance of the angel by being troubled and fear gripped him. Now the
word troubled here, in the language that this letter was originally written in,
literally means to have an inward turmoil that produces alarm. When Luke states
that fear gripped Zacharias, this phrase conveys the sense of fear cascading or
falling upon Zacharias.
You see, Zacharias
recognized that he was in the presence of a messenger of the Lord. Zacharias
recognized that this was not normal. And as a result Zacharias
experienced an inward turmoil that produced alarms in his mind as a sense of
overwhelming fear fell upon him. An alarming fear of being face to face with a
being who has been in the presence of the Lord and who could take him out in an
instant, which is most likely what Zacharias thought was
going to happen. “Uh oh, I’m in trouble. Did I do something wrong? What did I
do wrong, because this does not happen every day? This does not happen any
day.” We see what happens next in verse 13:
But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid,
Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear
you a son, and you will give him the name John. "You will have joy and
gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. "For he will be great in the
sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled
with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother's womb."And he will turn many
of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. "It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the
spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE
CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make
ready a people prepared for the Lord."
The angel
basically says to Zacharias “Zacharias do not be afraid because I am here to
tell you that your prayers have been heard. And the Lord is going to answer
your prayers by supernaturally enabling you and Elizabeth to have a son. But
Zacharias, your son is not going to be just any son. Zacharias, your son is not
only going to cause you to powerfully proclaim your joy and gladness, your son
is going to bring joy and gladness to many people. You see, Zacharias, your son
is going to have a position of prominence before the Lord and in the Lord’s
story. Your son is to be set apart to the Lord in such a way that he will never
be influenced by alcohol. Instead, he will live a life that is controlled and
influenced by the Holy Spirit.
Zacharias your son is the fulfillment of a
promise that the Lord made that last time He spoke to the Jewish people over
400 years ago through the prophet Malachi. Your son is the fulfillment of a
promise that the Lord would send a messenger that would turn the hearts of the
Jewish people from a life of disobedience to a way of thinking that is right
before the Lord. Your son is the fulfillment of a promise that the Lord would
send a messenger prepare the Jewish people for and to announce the arrival of
the Messiah who would bring the Jewish people back to the Lord and back to
prominence in the world.”
Now you are
Zacharias. You are very familiar with the Lord’s promise to the Jewish people
that He had proclaimed through the prophet Malachi. And now, you are told that
not only are you going to have a son; you are told that your son will be the
fulfillment of that promise. What would
you be thinking at this point? What would you be feeling? How would you
respond?
Friday, we
will see Zacharias’s response...
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