THOU SHALT BE DUMB
Text: Luke 1:5- 25
Luke 1:5-25 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. (6) And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. (7) And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. (8) And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, (9) According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. (10) And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. (11) And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. (12) And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. (13) But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. (14) And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. (15) For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. (16) And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. (17) And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. (18) And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. (19) And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. (20) And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. (21) And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. (22) And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless. (23) And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. (24) And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, (25) Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men (KJV).
Have you ever wanted something so bad that your life was incomplete without it?
That was the life story of Zechariah and Elizabeth. They wanted a child. They were up in years and now it seemed impossible. In fact, it has been said, that Zachariah and his wife Elizabeth were past the age of sixty before Elizabeth was pregnant with the John the Baptist. (Paul N. Benware. Everyman’s BIble Commentary: Luke. Chicago:Moody Press, p. 28). Last week, we mentioned several biblical couples who were childless until God blessed them with a child. Today’s text is about another one of those miracle stories.
Zechariah and Elizabeth were a devout couple who did not have any children.
We see in today’s text a lack of faith---unbelief. Then, one day the angel Gabriel showed up and told him that God was going answer His prayers and that Elizabeth would give birth to a son who was to be named John.
Today we will focus on unbelief, dumbness and revival.
UNBELIEF
How did Zechariah respond to the visit of the angel Gabriel?
1) Prayer: He had been praying for a child.
2) Startled: When the angel Gabriel arrived in Zecharaiah’s presence, he was startled. He was startled and fearful because He not ever experienced anything like this until this moment.
3) Judgment: Was he thinking that he was about to meet His maker? How would you have responded if you were Zechariah when Gabriel showed up with good news?
4) If you were Zechariah: Can you imagine what you Would you be thinking that you might be about to meet your Maker?
5) History: Was he thinking of the four hundred years that no one had heard anything from a prophet since the days of Malachi? After all, John the Baptizer was going to be ministering as a forerunner of the Lord Jesus Christ in the power and the spirit and Elijah (Luke 1:17).
6) Unbelief: Because of of his doubt that God was going to answer his prayer, he was made speechless----”thou shalt be dumb” (Luke 1:20).
7) Speechless: I have heard of times when a husband might become speechless with joy when he found out he was going to become a father.
Why was Zechariah’s service in the temple such a big deal?
1) Number: There were twenty four courses (divisions NIV, ESV) of priests stemming from the fact that Aaron had twenty-four sons (Fred B. Craddock Intrepretation: Luke.). There were as many as twenty thousand priests because every direct descendant of Aaron was automatically a priest (William Barclay. The Daily Study Bible Series: The Gospel of Luke. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975, Revised Edition).
2) Chosen by lot. According to the custom having been chosen by lot, it Zechariah’s course it was Zechariah’s turn to burn incense (Luke 1:9).
3) Burning incense: Burning incense was a once in a lifetime opportunity and Zachariah was blessed to have this opportunity this night. “It was the privilege of the priest at the evening sacrifice to come to the rail between the two courts after the incense had been burned in order to bless the people” (William Barclay). The people marvelled that Zacharias was so long delayed.
DUMBNESS
What was ironic about him being speechless this night?
1) Irony: On a night that Zechariah had probably looked forward to all his life, he was speechless when it came to saying a blessing.
2) Custom: "The people customarily waited in the outer court for the priest burning incense to come out and dismiss them with a blessing. Zechariah apparently signaled the blessing with his hands only or indicated that the blessing would not be said that day". (College Press Bible Textbook Series).
Luke 1: 21 - 22 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. (22) And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.
Can you imagine what it must have been like for Zechariah to be speechless at such a high point in his life? Couldn’t you imagine trying to do something like charades to communicate?
REVIVAL
Why was the birth of John the Baptist such a big deal?
Through John the Baptizer’s mission, many people would be repenting and coming back to God (Luke 1:26).
It seems that there were some who wanted John the Baptizer to be speechless.
Consider Matthew 3:5-8 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. (6) Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. (7) But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? (8) Produce fruit in keeping with repentance (NIV).
John was a voice crying in the wilderness as a forerunner to prepare the way for God’s only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (see Luke 3:4); to make straight in the desert a highway for our God (see Isaiah 40:3).
What is our role today in this revival?
John the Baptizer prepared the way for Jesus and during His time of visitation. Jesus warned that there were still many who were unprepared before His crucifixion (Luke 19:44). Jesus was resurrected and ascended to sit at the right hand of God the Father (Ephesians 1:20). Our role is to be who God has called us to be through His Son Jesus Christ to make disciples (Matthew 28:19) until Jesus comes back. John paved the way for Jesus in the first Advent and we are called to evangelize the world until Christ comes back in the second Advent. The world would like for us to be dumb [silent] but we are called to witness for Jesus until Jesus comes back!
In the Name of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
