Do you believe in chance encounters?
Two people meet on a bus ride and end up getting married, remaining so for over 70 years.
A random introduction leads two men to become the best of friends and end up establishing Apple computers.
A random encounter between a 9 year old girl and a Theology graduate lead to the establishment of Gallaudet university - a school dedicated to equip the deaf.
Are those encounter chance encounters or something more? I’d like to suggest that it’s more, that it’s God working in mysterious and wonderful ways. Throughout the Bible we get to witness God’s direct hand in so many different places. We get to see God’s sovereignty at work in the passage that we will consider today.
Luke 1:5-25.
As we walk through these verses, the overarching theme that we will see is…
Theme: God will accomplish his plan in our lives and in the world in his perfect time no matter what obstacles seem to be in the way.
As we work toward seeing how this theme is developed in this passage, we’re going to do so with a five-fold outline.
a moment ordained
a misery to heal
a miracle promised
a ministry to perform
a mark to confirm
As we walk through this, I want to encourage you to keep this outline or at least some of these thoughts in your mind as we will find a similar scenario next week. There are some striking parallels between the announcement of this baby and the announcement of Jesus.
But let’s begin where this section does with…
A moment ordained (5-10)
There are so many times when we will think of certain encounters as being a matter of luck or chance, but when we think about the fact that God is at work in the world and in our lives, we have to recognize his sovereign rule and reign over everything - even what seems like a fortuitous moment.
After providing an initial introduction to his reader, Luke dives into the birth announcement of John the baptist. But as we read these opening remarks, note the detail that Luke provides.
Luke 1:5–10 ESV
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.
Time
So Luke here provides a general timeline - noting that this happened during the reign of Herod. Historians note that Herod became king about 37BC and died in 4BC. Comparing this with the account in Matthew’s gospel suggests that this happened near the end of Herods reign - 5-4BC.
Rotation
But notice too, there is a specific priest who served in a specific division of priests. A according to 2 Chronicles 24, there were 24 divisions of Levitical priests who would serve in Jerusalem for approximately 2 weeks each year. They would assist with some of the formalities of worship and the sacrifices. The division of Abijah was one of those groups. In total there were approximately 18,000 priests who would serve (Bock).
Assignment
So Luke notes the general year and the Levitical assignment, but he also notes specifically that Zechariah was chosen by lot to go into the Holy Place to “burn incense.” Now, according to the Midrash (a resource that provided guidance for specific religious functions) there were a few other priests who would have been chosen by lot to go and remove the old ashes and clean the area. One priest was given the assignment to offer the incense. This happened twice a day. (Midrash, Tamid 6-7). Burning incense was a representation of the prayers of the people. This holy place was just outside of the holy of holies or the most holy place in the Temple. So twice a day incense was burned near the altar close to the presence of God. So for Zechariah, this would likely have been a once in a life time privilege to enter into this place to burn incense while the congregation was praying outside. What a sacred duty. What a divinely ordained moment!
Point of application
Zechariah may have been felt honored to do this duty at this time. I think we have to recognize that every moment, every assignment, every encounter is one that God has divinely allowed or ordained. Do we view those that way? Do we take advantage of the opportunities that God places before us? Do we pay attention to God’s work in the ordinary moments and the extraordinary?
So at this appointed time, Zechariah finds himself burning incense in the Holy Place, offering prayers to God. Luke also gives us a bit of insight into Zechariah’s family, noting that there is…
A misery to heal (6-7, 25)
Luke 1:6–7 ESV
And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
Luke notes that Zechariah and Elizabeth were both righteous. They were not perfect, but they were devout. Throughout Israel’s history, there were always people who were consistent in their walks with God even when the kings and culture moved away from God.
But notice, their righteousness and blamelessness did not equate to them being able to have children. While it’s becoming less of priority today (unfortunately), in their day, the ability to have children, to fulfill the mandate that Adam and Eve received in the Garden of Eden to be fruitful and multiple (Gen. 1:28) was an important ability. In many ways, it even went so far as to being a part of their identity.
For Zechariah and even more so for Elizabeth, this misery of being childless in their latter years seemed like an obstacle that was insurmountable. Elizabeth even noted in verse 25 that her misery left her with social reproach or disgrace. Her barrenness left her stigmatized. There was no amount of medicine or treatments that would fix this, but they didn’t let that deter them from faithfully walking with the Lord.
Yet, this was not the first time that God dealt with this kind of obstacle.
Sarah - Abraham’s wife was unable to have children until God opened her womb in her 90s (Gen. 21).
Rachel - Jacob’s wife was unable to have children for several years (Gen. 30).
Hannah - the mother of Samuel was also unable to have children for many years (1 Sam. 1).
While Zechariah and Elizabeth’s situation was not the first time that a couple has had to deal with the pain of infertility, it also clearly is not the last.
Application:
Infertility: I know for some of us, reading about Zechariah and Elizabeth hits close to home. The misery, frustration, and helplessness of infertility is a painful reality. Sure, we have treatments and options today, but we also have to weigh the ethical and moral implications of some of those treatments. Even as we think back to Sarah and Rachel, in their desperation, they and their husbands made questionable decisions by having children through servants. We’ve also seen through Scripture how God is able to redeem any situation for His glory. But, if you find your self in this situation, where the desire for children is not fulfilled by the ability to have children, please know that you are not less of a person. You are a child of the King. God may or may not bring fulfillment to your desire, but as we can learn from Zechariah and Elizabeth’s example, keep walking with the Lord, keep praying, keep serving, keep hoping.
Other miseries: But our personal misery does not have to be limited to our ability to have children. There may be other miseries that we deal with - chronic illness or pain, discomfort of aging, broken relationships, academic struggles, frustration at work, financial hardship. In all of these situations and more, know that God is aware of your misery and suffering. While it’s painful to consider, he allowed it. That doesn’t make him an evil God or a jerk. He knows that it’s in our misery and suffering that we find growth. It’s in our pain that we find progress. It’s in those times when we need, more than ever, to maintain our relationship with God and to bring our requests and concerns to the Lord. We get the joy of pressing in to Him. He is the One who is ultimately able to address our needs.
Students - you may feel like you have a great deal of misery. Maybe you feel blessed and highly favored. Whatever the case, let me encourage you to establish patterns now while you are young that will serve you for a lifetime. Carve out a bit of time each day to read and reflect on God’s word. Zechariah and Elizabeth didn’t decide as elderly adults to walk in the “commands and statutes” of God - they likely had been living out those patterns from childhood.
Young adults/singles
Parents
Misery of sin: But there is a misery that affects all of us - sin. Our own sinful rebellion has marred our character and stained our world. We may try to address our sinful misery with self-help solutions and positive thinking, but ultimately we’re engaging all of those solutions from within the problem. While I’ve never been in quicksand, I’ve heard that the more you move, the faster you sink and so you’re stuck until aid can come from outside. We have to recognize that the misery of our sin can only be healed by help from above, from outside - by the perfect life of Jesus.
This divinely ordained moment which intersected with Zechariah and Elizabeth’s misery resulted in an encounter where Zechariah learned of…
A miracle promised (11-14)
While Zechariah burned the incense, he met a messenger from God.
Luke 1:11–14 ESV
And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,
What a fantastic encounter! Zechariah comes face to face with an Angel that provides him some hope, even a specific message from heaven.
Let’s consider a couple of things in this encounter.
The Answered Prayer
The angel notes that Zechariah’s prayer had been heard. What was this prayer? Had he been praying for a child all of these years? Was his prayer focused on something else?
There are a couple of thoughts about this.
Thabiti Anyabwile notes in his commentary:
Exalting Jesus in Luke Gabriel’s Visit and Prophecy (1:8–17)
Given Zechariah’s response in verse 18, I do not think Zechariah was praying for a son at that moment. I think the angel delivered an answer to prayers prayed long ago and now almost forgotten, maybe abandoned. Maybe Zechariah thought God had not heard or had forgotten. He did not realize God records our prayers in a book. In the fullness of time God sent the angel to say, “I heard you. I have you in mind.” God had stored his prayers until this dramatic moment in his plan of salvation. God was so interested and delighted in Zechariah’s prayers he gave the baby a name for him!
Several commentators suggest that the prayer Zechariah offered at that moment was more broadly directed, toward the redemption of Israel.
Whatever the case, I think it’s important for us to think about a couple of points of application:
What are we praying for? Are our prayers oriented toward ourselves or toward the broader work of God in our lives, in the lives of people around us, in the world?
Are we praying persistently?
Are we praying faith-filled prayers? God hears our prayers. He wants us to come to him. His memory is long and will remember our prayers long after we’ve forgotten them. Are we trusting that God will respond in his perfect time?
Whatever prayer God was answering, in this message from the Angel, notice that he provides a very specific promise. It could be that Zechariah’s prayers had been for both a child and for the redemption of Israel, for God’s Messiah.
The Promised Child
This child would not come from a surrogacy or some other means, but from Elizabeth’s womb. And this child will bring joy to Zechariah and to Elizabeth. Decades of waiting and hoping will be met with a baby! But, what’s more, this baby will have an assignment. So the Angel highlights…
A ministry to perform (15-17)
While this child will bring joy to many, he will also play a specific role.
Luke 1:15–17 ESV
for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
John will have several qualities that would not only bring to mind pictures in the past, but also very present applications. While he will be great and set apart from conception, his main role will be as a forerunner. Did you notice what we read a bit earlier in the service from the book of Malachi?
Malachi 4:5–6 ESV
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”
This prophecy was likely written during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, when the city of Jerusalem and the temple were being rebuilt after the exile. So for some 500 years, this prophecy had been hanging out there as a point of hope for the Israelites. They would be looking for “Elijah” to precede the day of the Lord, the precede the Messiah. Now, in John, both the prophecy that Elijah would come and the anticipation that the Messiah would shortly follow were coming to fruition! What a profound ministry! What a promise! What a miracle!
And yet, this answered prayer and promised miracle and profound ministry were not met with hope and joy and faith - they were met with fear and doubt. In response to this doubt, the Angel provides…
A mark to confirm (18-25)
Let’s look at a bit of the conclusion of their conversation:
Luke 1:18–22 ESV
And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute.
Zechariah’s doubt
Zechariah had known misery for decades. He had likely given up hope of a child long ago. This angelic encounter was not yet enough to wipe away the disappointment that plagued him. He had seen the problem of their age and their empty home so clearly that anything different was unbelievable. So he responds with a question and a condition - “how will I know this? We’re old.”
But how often are we like that? How often do we think about our problems as being so big that even God can’t handle them? How often to we let the delay in Jesus’ return to deter us from continuing to walk in faithfulness? When do we let disappointment become our ruler rather than God alone?
Neither Zechariah’s doubts or our own questioning can deter the plan of God. He will accomplish his will in his perfect time.
But notice how the angel responds:
Gabriel’s response
He basically shares a four-fold response:
appellation - or name - he notes that he is Gabriel - which in Hebrew means “strong man of God.” He is one of only two angels named in Scripture. In the OT, he appeared to Daniel in order to explain the meaning of Daniel’s visions. You can read about those visions in Daniel 8-9. Here in the NT, he appeared to Zechariah and as we’ll see next week, to Mary in order to announce the births of John and Jesus. This afternoon, if you make time to read the Daniel passages, see if you can figure out why Gabriel would have been the messenger for all of these things?
authority - He states that he came from the presence of God. He’s not acting on his own accord, but rather was given this assignment from God himself. Which brings us to the next part of his response…
assignment - He was given the great privilege to bring Zech good news. And yet, because of Zechariah’s doubt, the final part of Gabriel’s response is an…
adjudication - in other words, he provides a judgment that Zechariah will be silent because of his doubting.
So the angel departs and Zechariah completes his assigned duties and exits the Holy Place in literal silence. And yet, Zechariah’s silence may have served another role. His silence forced him to let the plan of God unfold. He was withheld from talking about the angel’s promise to those people who were waiting outside. They were left in suspense until the promise was fulfilled.
This scene concludes with…
Luke 1:23–25 ESV
And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
Concluding Thoughts
God clearly orchestrated a variety of events in order to accomplish his will in and through Zechariah and Elizabeth. God’s actions answered prayer and fulfilled prophecy. God’s actions made an indelible mark on Zechariah and on history.
We may feel like there is little hope. Things in the world around us seem to move from bad to worse. Circumstances in our personal lives may leave us disappointed and feeling shame. In all of this, we can trust that God is continuing to work. He will accomplish His will in the world. He is continuing to advance his kingdom in and through us. One day, Christ will return and will bring the full consummation of his reign.
Let us continually
walk in hope-filled obedience
pray fervently
trust Him
Let’s pray.
How does this passage give Theophilus confidence (certain knowledge)?…
Benediction:
1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Questions for reflection and discussion
Sources:
Anyabwile, Thabiti. Exalting Jesus in Luke. Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2018.
Bock, Darrell L. Luke 1:1-9:50. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999.
Martin, John A. “Luke.” In The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, edited by J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985.
McKinley, Mike. Luke 1–12 for You. Edited by Carl Laferton. God’s Word for You. The Good Book Company, 2016.
Wilcock, Michael. The Savior of the World: The Message of Luke’s Gospel. The Bible Speaks Today. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1979.
